“Seems like her sire was good at discrediting her and Henga,” Gramin shrugs, “I caught him once, blaming her for some stunt that I watched one of her older brothers pull. There was an extra chair in the dining room with a damaged leg that hadn’t been repaired yet. It got pushed off to the side, and another chair was at the table. She was supposed to decorate the table before the staff came to set it. When she was done and she’d left, Madoc snuck in and swapped the bad chair into the spot where one of the guests was supposed to sit. I know it was Madoc because I saw him do it. When the chair broke, her father made her sit on the floor and be the chair leg. It was so degrading; it made everyone at dinner uncomfortable. Everyone ate quickly and left.”
Everyone spins to look at Emlyn, who spews curses for a moment, “That was Madoc? Damn his mangy, flea-ridden hide! He swore to me it wasn’t him, and I believed him. Mama fired one of the maids over it. I had to sit there while everyone else ate, holding up that chair. I had a bruise on my shoulder for a week. Gweda tried to keep her weight on the three good legs. After that, she told me that if I ever wanted to leave my House, she’d adopt me. I told her that I could never leave Arwydd or Myfanwy alone with that man. She couldn’t take all of us without starting a war with House Irilan. House Wegg couldn’t have protected us. House Irilan would have stormed their keep and hauled us back. She meant well, but it would have been worse for us, not better, in the end. My sire and his brothers might have been rat bastards, but they were some very skilled rat bastards, and they had my cousins to help them. House Wegg wasn’t powerful enough to provide any protection from that lot.”
Otrin nods slowly, “Abusive in many ways… No wonder your mother made four contracts with us to take you kids. The more I find out, the more I wish she’d just left him and brought all of you to the Taig.”
Emlyn shakes her head, “I think Mama might have tried. My sire closed that path off. He’d made some quiet accusations about Botrel bedding me. If we’d fled to the Taig, that would have given them credence.”
Loket’s head whips up, “What’s this about Botrel? He accused my brother??? Why didn’t anyone ever tell me about this? Is that why Botrel quit going on trading runs with us?”
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“I don’t know. I thought you knew,” Emlyn shrugs, “I know that Mama knew. I thought she’d have told you. Mama never believed it and even had one of the healers validate that I was… unsullied. That didn’t stop my sire, though. He insisted it was all female trickery. He threatened to kill Myfanwy if I told any of you about it, so maybe he threatened her, too. That’s when he started trying to become more physical, sneaking around my room, sneaking around the bathing area, telling me that since I was already ruined that he may as well have a taste, too. That sort of nonsense. That was why I started sleeping with my weapons. I made Arwydd do the same.”
Atres shakes his head, “One of these days we will sit down and you can tell me all about everything your sire has ever said or done to you or the rest of your family. I think we’ve firmly established that your sire is a rat bastard. We can leave it at that, for now. Your new family is here. My family is here. Let’s all get to know each other a bit better.”
“That sounds like a tough way to grow up,” Oso says quietly to Rilgi, “What has Atres gotten himself into this time?”
“Handle it a bit like a frightened animal? Speak softly. Control our emotions and our energy. Let her get used to us and see that we’re not a threat,” Rilgi replies quietly, “Remember how jumpy Olasha was when we got her back from those trappers? Let’s see where she is with being around men.”
“I think she’s pretty stable. She doesn’t seem to be overly shy or uncomfortable around Benger, Atres, or Dergit,” Usurg adds quietly, “Kethas doesn’t seem to make her uncomfortable at all, either. If I were betting, Kethas would be the one to trigger a reaction from her since he’s more her father’s age.”
“Sounds like her older brothers were cut from the same cloth,” Oso shrugs, “We might be more likely to bring back a bad memory.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Otrin says after overhearing them, “If Girlie had a problem, she’d say something. I’m more concerned about her nightmares. Hopefully, Henga can give us some insights there.”
Henga nods subtly to Loket, who grins and winks at his daughter, while everyone else resumes chatting. Stories are exchanged, and everyone seems to be settling in nicely. After Emlyn heads up to go to sleep, Henga tells Loket quietly about Emlyn’s nightmare about the ambush in the forest at Solva.
Loket frowns, “Are you sure?”
Henga nods, “I heard what she was muttering about. She mentioned Solva quite a few times and someone, probably Elgan, she referred to as that ‘g?r phwyso libin-chal twp ff?l’ (overweening, limp-dicked idiot).
Loket snorts, “Girlie did say she picked up some language in the barracks. Poor Bryn.”
Laughing, Henga agrees, “Quite a mouth on her for such a sheltered Cymry girl. Why do you feel sorry for Bryn?”
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The Chair Leg Incident: We find out that Emlyn’s brother, Madoc, set her up to be humiliated. Her father made her hold up a broken chair during a formal dinner. It was so bad it even made the guests uncomfortable—and guests usually have the stomach of a goat.
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The Slander of Botrel: Emlyn reveals her sire accused Loket’s brother, Botrel, of "bedding" her to keep them from fleeing to the Taig. It worked—it kept the families apart and left Emlyn isolated.
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The Nightmare at Solva: Henga confirms that Emlyn’s nightmares aren't just about her family; they’re about the ambush at Solva and her former commander, Elgan—whom she eloquently describes in barracks-tongue as a "limp-dicked idiot."
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The Valkis Strategy: Atres’s cousins, Oso and Rilgi, decide to treat Emlyn with the same patience you’d show a "frightened animal" rescued from a trap. They’re good lads, even if they’re still trying to figure out what Atres has gotten them into.
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The Tall Obstacle Rating: 5/5 Tankards.
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Review: He stepped in exactly when he needed to. He stopped the downward spiral of dark memories and refocused the group on family. "Your new family is here. My family is here." That’s the kind of leadership that keeps a cohort together.
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Rilgi & Oso: They’re being incredibly observant. They noticed she’s comfortable around the younger men (Atres, Benger, Dergit) but were worried about Kethas. Seeing her trust Kethas gave them hope. They’re becoming the protective brothers she deserved to have in the first place.
That concludes the chronicles for Chapter 124! The "Storm Crow" is sleeping, the cousins are planning, and the Tall Obstacle is standing guard.
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