1322 - Kids Will Be Kids
In the early hours of the first day of the year August came knocking on the Chapmans' door. Byrhtnoth rushed down the ladder from his room, a rock in his stomach as early visits like these never meant anything good, but as he opened the door to see his son in law with a beaming smile on his face his worries melted away.
"Byrhtnoth! Linyeve just gave birth to a baby girl!" the new father announced. "She is doing just fine but I rushed over to have you be the first to know. Please, come to our home when you can; Liny is excited to introduce you to little January."
"... January?" was all Byrhtnoth could utter back, the pride and joy of becoming a grandfather once again washing over him.
"Yes, January," chuckled August before explaining, "We thought it would be fitting as she was born on the first day of the year and Linyeve has always enjoyed how I was called after a month in the year... it just fit."
Byrhtnoth extended his arms towards the young man and enveloped him in a tight hug. The feelings had settled and he was content with the news so he began giving him a manly pat on the back and extending his congratulations to August. He was eager to see his daughter and so he asked August to wait while he informed his children that he would disappear from the home for a few hours and off they went.
The men travelled on horseback to the Dodson cottage and tied their horses to the small stable that inhabited their land. The sky was still quite dark as it was the very early hours of the day but it didn't matter to Byrhtnoth. As soon as the horses snorted upon their arrival Linyeve peered outside and burst through the door. Her face had the biggest smile plastered on her face and she called out to her father. She embraced him tightly and whispered to him, "I'm a mother now... I can't believe it."
"You can continue you heartfelt moment inside, it's best to get you away from the frost, Liny!" beckoned August as he guided them in through the front door.
It was actually the first time Byrhtnoth had visited August Dodson's home and he was pleasantly surprised. The main room was quaint and cozy yet large enough to house a significantly sized family. He took a moment to imagine how August and his siblings would have ran around near the fire and soon it would be August's and Linyeve's children that would be sharing this space. The bedrooms were separated by a wooden wall yet little baby January's crib was placed close to the hearth as it was the depths of winter. A midwife rocked the small crib and waved him a small hello and he was happy to know that Linyeve didn't go through labor alone. The home smelled of crisp wood burning at the fireplace and a hint of thyme, and he realised why once he saw a branch of it drying near the stone hearth.
"I'm sure you want to meet your new granddaughter," stated Linyeve as she clasped her hands with excitement. Her father nodded with enthusiasm and she went to fetch her newborn, thanking the midwife for minding her while they exchanged their welcomes.
Linyeve clasped her baby daughter gently and whispered loving affirmations to her before turning around and presenting her to Byrhtnoth. She truly handled her like a new mother, every movement calculated and sprinkled with fear as she handled this fragile and important little person to her.
Her father leaned over and looked at his granddaughter, so small and beautiful. Her skin was fair yet had a golden glow just like August's yet her small and dainty lips reminded him of Linyeve's when she was born. She was an absolute angel and he lightly gasped when January opened her eyes to gaze upon him. Linyeve offered for her father to hold her and he accepted it immediately.
He held her small body and watched her lips curl into a smile. He tickled her lightly and even heard a cute giggle, waking up even further. He raised her gently above him and suddenly the room was filled with the joys of a baby's laugh. The parents stood aside and watched with content and August sighed, thinking of how wonderful it would have been for his parents to share the same joy that Byrhtnoth was experiencing if they were still alive.
It wasn't a long playtime as January was still very small and needed lots of rest after only being born in the last few hours but Byrhtnoth passed her back to August and thanked them both for inviting him over so early. The young father was assisted by their midwife to place the baby back into the crib and while they watched Linyeve spoke with Byrhtnoth.
"My life has truly changed for good," confided Linyeve as she glanced over to her husband.
"And it will only keep changing as your family grows, my love," agreed Byrhtnoth. "You do plan on having more children, yes?"
"Oh, definitely," said Linyeve. She never wanted to be left childless in this world, especially after seeing how many losses her parents faced with her siblings she would rather have too many children than have none. "We won't force another child into this world just yet, we want to settle into parenthood with January first, but there will be more in the next decade, father."
"I'm delighted to hear," smiled Byrhtnoth. January began to gargle a cry and the midwife informed them that January must be hungry and Byrhtnoth took this as the perfect moment to bid them all a farewell. He hugged his daughter tightly and waved to the rest of the people indoors goodbye and went outside.
He untied Gloria from the stables and saddled her up, taking one last glance at the Dodson bungalow as he heard January's cries subdue. He galloped on home and was met with two sleepy and hungry children of his own to which he got straight to making breakfast for.
Over the breakfast table he told them all about their sister's new addition to the family and Osuald and Lavina were fascinated. They had many questions about how this came to be and Lavina chimed in with her own knowledge,
"Liny told me that it was The Watcher that graced them with January, that They thought the two of them were ready for a baby." Osuald threw his spoon into his breakfast soup and retorted,
"That's just an excuse, they didn't want to tell you the truth because you're still a baby."
Byrhtnoth raised a brow and asked, "Oh really? Then how did Linyeve and August come to having January, my boy?"
Osuald crossed his arms as he spoke, "Everyone knows that the boy needs to give a girl a seed to have a baby!" The other family members stopped moving their utensils and side-eyed the smart boy with a skeptical glance.
"And... where did you hear this explanation?" asked Byrhtnoth, trying his best not to laugh.
"At the Mahlsberg festival ground, the older children told me." He smiled smugly before Lavina shook her head,
"No... I still think it was The Watcher that brought January to Linyeve."
Spring had sprung through Praaven as the winter months quickly came to an end and the children were delighted to stretch their legs outside again. The rain helped the growth of their crops early in the year as Byrhtnoth would be doing less work with watering them and they seemed to be growing stronger ever year.
The older horses began to need some extra care as they didn't much want to gallop across the field anymore. Osuald stayed enthusiastic around horses and loved to groom them and begin to learn how to clean their hooves. Gloria was still to remain as his trusted steed when he was to grow a little older but he had a soft spot for Beauty and Greyson.
And yet, even with her older body, Beauty still nudged Byrhtnoth to go for rides with him. Every year he would trot slower down the dusty paths but she neighed with glee when he would saddle her. Their surroundings came to life and they admired the lush green grass and busy streets when Byrhtnoth would deliver his quarterly produce to the Praaven castle.
On one such day he was delighted to spot Linyeve among the crowd of people leading into the city walls. He called out her name and she looked over her shoulder before waving Beauty down and watching her father come to a halt on the stone road. They exchanged pleasantries and caught up with how spring was treating them.
Linyeve was honest that the drainage of the soil on their farm had gotten worse over the winter and work had to be done to guarantee crops for the year. In Byrhtnoth's pity he took a satchel off of Beauty's saddle and handed it to her,
"Treat this as payback to when you brought me those delicacies from the castle many years back." What a throwback to Linyeve, she clasped her hand on her chest and smiled with nostalgia and promised to make one of their family recipes with the vegetables and fish he gifted her.
Byrhtnoth had to ask about January and Linyeve's face dropped. She confided that her daughter had been ill on and off, fighting off countless fevers, but she was a fighter. She was still such a young baby and she worried what all of this stress on her body would do to her in the long run. Linyeve admitted that she was on her way to consult with an apothecary in the city, asking which unheard of or exotic herbs she could afford would help little January out. Byrhtnoth wished his best to his daughter and eventually had to bid her farewell.
He rode to the castle, met with the king's hand, and travelled on out of the city walls, all while growing a concern for his granddaughter. Life has never been fair and he knew that, the world they lived in was tough and cruel and he wished there would be no disease or war that people had to go through.
He stopped a moment near the river bank, close to where the fresh water met the sea, and got off of Beauty's back. He felt an overwhelm of negative emotions as he remembered the few children he had that passed from ailments, both young and not so old, and felt his heart sink. He looked to the lapping water, the sunlight dancing on the surface, and took a minute to pray to The Watcher that Linyeve wouldn't have to go through her own grief like he did; shield her from death and suffering and let her prosper.
Beauty snorted into his ear and snapped him out of the small rut he was getting himself into. Byrhtnoth pat her on the nose and remembered he decided to spare an apple from the delivery he made to the castle and thought it was the right time to feed his steed. He fetched it out from his pocket and fed Beauty. Once she finished tickling his hands with her lips she shook her mane and nodded with delight. He saddled up once again and made his way home.
With the delightful weather the children were once again at it with their hobbies and small money making. Osuald went back to the riverbank where he and Lavina swam near last summer and threw his line out to see if the fish here were good. He had started going fishing alone, and sometimes with his father, but Lavina had decided to dedicate herself more to her baking than standing around near the water.
It was during one of these fishing days that a new fear spawned for Osuald after a strange encounter. He came running home, out of breath and unable to form a word, and Byrhtnoth kneeled down to his son's eye level to calm him down and hear what had happened.
Osuald stumbled over his words at first, voice and hands shaking, but eventually spat out a story about a... wolf-man? The evening had grown to dark faster than he had expected and started walking at a faster pace. Just as he fully crossed the bridge to his home he saw a pair of eyes in the distance. Osuald had been warned about wolves and other animals that could do him harm but he never imagined that he would come face to face with one. But it was no wolf or animal he had been told about, it was a man... a man with glowing orange eyes.
The raggedy, crouched man skulked his way, a tattery and dirty garment draped over his hairy body, and he snarled lowly in Osuald's direction. The young boy had stopped in his tracks out of fear and curiosity, his eyes darting at the strange humanoid's appearance. The man-wolf flexed his long clawed fingers and bared his fangs until Osuald startled him with a sudden scream and the humanoid ran off into the brush to the wayside. Osuald took this as the chance to run down the road that would take him straight home.
Byrhtnoth was skeptical after the entire story was told yet he remembered how he saw a unicorn once and he didn't believe his daughter about it either, who was the first who saw the magical creature. There had always been rumours of mystical and unknown creatures that came out at night so perhaps a humanoid wolf wasn't fully out of the ordinary, but regardless Byrhtnoth had to give his son an answer and so he spun the narrative into a lesson,
"Perhaps you shouldn't stay out this late again, my boy," lightly scolded Byrhtnoth. "Whatever you saw was scary, and scary things tend to come out at night, so let this be your lesson to come home before sundown."
Osuald looked down into the flames in brief guilt as he warmed his hands near the hearth before resorting to being a child again, "can I go fishing with you from now on?"
"As long as you help me out on the farm in the mornings, I'm all yours." Osuald nodded and smiled at the prospect. Later after dinner Osuald and Lavina were playing at the dollhouse as a little wind down before bed, and Osuald began to create a make believe story of the half-man half-wolf he saw that night. Lavina thought it was a little weird and annoying but decided to pry for information,
"Wait, the man-wolf-thing wore old ripped clothes? Were they light in colour?"
"Er... yes, they actually were... why?" responded Osuald, dropping his hands gripping the dolls into his lap.
"I think I know the man you're talking about, I've seen him at the Praaven town square several times before... he would look at me funny." The siblings sat in uncomfortable silence as the information sank in but Lavina continued,
"I-I've heard people say he was unhoused, he didn't have a place to go to sleep at night... maybe that would make sense if he was a wolf-man." The children processed this information as one of Osuald's dolls became the wolf-man they discussed and they fantasised about how they would slay such a beast... if they were holy nights, that is.
Not long after Osuald's encounter Lavina had her own story to tell, less scary but it was still a curious event. Over dinner, sometime in May, Lavina shared with her family about her success at the Praaven town square with her baking stall. It was a particularly busy Sunday as many knights rode through the town and decided to be chivalrous and spend some coin for a delicacy. And even when the soldiers weren't around other delightful Praavenites would socialise with her.
She even got the pleasure of seeing August again! He stopped by and bought several little muffins and asked how they were all doing at home. He told her about how January had been doing well now that Linyeve had found some herbs that would strengthen her but it was a hard fought battle. Byrhtnoth expelled a sigh of relief when Lavina told him this, but her story continued to get more interesting.
As she sold her last slice of strawberry loaf she dusted her hands from the crumbs and glanced around the square. Her eyes landed on a woman with stark white hair and watched her swirl her hands around in front of a person who was slightly hunched over in secrecy. She saw an apple conjure out of thin air and into the white haired lady's hands!
Lavina gasped but pretended she didn't see a thing... it was like magic! She described this experience with stars in her eyes and Byrhtnoth couldn't believe he was going through a tattle-tale phase all over again merely ten years later. He so desperately wanted to believe his daughter's story but... a unicorn, a wolf-man and now magic?!
Byrhtnoth had also experienced what happened when people feared magic, witch hunts weren't common but occasionally the church would experience some ungodly miracle and decide that some members of society should be punished. He was just a child when it happened last and there hasn't been anything since but could it be that magic was real?
Summer was prosperous yet rainy and Byrhtnoth was reminded of how the last famine started. He prayed to The Watcher almost daily for the warmth to stay and for the rain not to flood his crops and his prayers were answered.
Their yield was immensely high this year and he made sure to thank his children for their assistance on the farm as without them they wouldn't have made such a tremendous profit. With the lack of funerals and tragedies to spend money on Byrhtnoth made sure to begin to set aside coin for Lavina's dowry in the next few years. He couldn't believe Osuald's tenth birthday was next year and he was ready to secure his children's future by working very hard.
Once the rain had a moment of calm Byrhtnoth used a scythe to cut some local long grass down and dry it as feed for their horses. They chewed it with delight yet still tended to nudge anyone who fed them for a carrot or apple and it was difficult not to indulge them.
Locals of Lughaven experienced a strange phenomenon as autumn rolled in, the church's tower got struck by lightning and caught fire. The fire went out on its own but the tower was only fully reconstructed as the first autumn leaves began to fall. Fortunately the graveyard was left untouched.
CW: infant death, burial.
Once the rebuilding of the church finished the Chapmans had the misfortune of viewing the new tower in person as grief had befallen the family once more. January failed to live through another illness and passed from a fever in her sleep. Linyeve spoke of how within a day all of the herbs and remedies that once helped her child stopped working and this was the illness that would end her. They had a very quiet and quaint burial for the little girl and mourned in solitude.
And yet, once again, life gives way. Deep into Linyeve's grief she found herself feeling sick in the mornings and she had missed her monthly bleed, signifying she was with child once more. The parents didn't know how to take this information so soon after the death of their only child but held on hope that that was their one and only death they would experience.
CW over.
While the sun still stayed out relatively late Lavina used her last month of freedom to sell some more baked goods, sticking to the Tovar festival ground and with that often visiting her older sister, checking in on her and delivering her a delicacy or two. She was still very young and naive to fully understand death yet but in her own childish way she knew that Linyeve and August needed some uplifting and so she delivered.
Once the frost began to roll in day by day Osuald had only a few more days of fishing left. He stayed close to home, giving the river bank another chance, while his father and sister stayed home.
Lavina introduced a new game she learned from some of the children she saw at the various markets called Stone, Paper, Shears. Byrhtnoth remembered a similar game from when he was young but needed a refresher from his daughter to play correctly. This would be established as the game of their winter days soon enough!
With the last harvest out of the way it was time for Byrhtnoth to make his last delivery to the royal family. He brushed Beauty in his stable before their journey and trotted on down one evening and into the night. It was a pleasant journey as the air was brisk yet not too chilling on his fingertips just yet. As he dismounted from Beauty to tie her to a post outside of the castle he spotted a familiar face, Frank!
He was walking with a young little boy in his hands and dressed in fabulous and wealthy looking garb, such a stark difference to how he was when he lived closer to the Chapman home. Byrhtnoth exchanged his greetings with the father of one of his grandchildren and waved hello at the little dark haired boy who turned away shyly.
"Meet Shad, this is my son," shared Frank. Byrhtnoth's eyes widened with surprise... son?! He had heard of his romance with the Queen Dowager through his letter last year but to see their mutual child be so old already was a complete shock to him.
"He looks a lot like you, what a handsome lad!" amused Byrhtnoth, trying to stay friendly in his sudden shock. Suddenly a maid rushed out from the grandiose doors and bowed to Frank before gently taking little Shad from his arms stating that she will get him ready for bed and have him be fed by a wetnurse. Byrhtnoth felt out of his element with these various servants but continued to smile politely.
The two men caught up on the mundane yet important discussions of how people were faring and what they had missed in one another's life. Frank gestured to his friend to come on in and have a warm drink and listen to how he ended up with his current title but Byrhtnoth felt like he had enough news for the day but promised to meet again very soon. Just as the lads shook hands as a goodbye the first snowflakes made themselves present, melting on the stone beneath them.
As Byrhtnoth raced on home he pondered how a lowly man like Frank could score a lady as fine as Queen Dowager Mary-Anne. He had heard of fairytales of disapproving marriages of varying classes but to see it first hand? It felt unreal.
He entertained himself on the way home if he could seduce a princess into sharing her wealth with him but ultimately dismissed these thoughts. As fun and silly as these fantasies were his heart belonged to one woman only and that woman is six feet below ground, Olyff Chapman. She may be long gone yet she will live in her soulmate's heart for all of eternity.
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