Mark thought up a kind of ‘healing timeline’ for her, as his way to help her recover. All it really declared was that Adelinde wouldn’t let Matteo progress more quickly than she did—if Matteo was walking around and talking to people, she could, too. The motivation to make it so Matteo couldn’t remember her extended mourning and anxieties helped.
Initially, it was as simple as actually eating in the dining hall with Mark, then she worked up enough courage to continue speaking with the palace staff. Adelinde had one particularly productive day when she rearranged her room, then prepared another one for when Matteo was ready to move out of the nursery.
When Matteo started walking, it was Adelinde’s choice to go into town and walk with him—although Mark was the one who suggested going to the music district to play one of the instruments there. It only took a few trips for Matteo to beg as much as a two-year-old could to go outside so he could lightly tap the keys closest to him. That led to her meeting Rene.
She noticed Rene’s general patterns in the following two months. The woman often came in the mornings, with afternoon or evening visits being less frequent; overall she made an appearance once or twice a week, and always alone. The infrequency somewhat assured her—if nothing else, Adelinde had that time to get used to the interaction.
They only really had two or three ‘lessons,’ and from there maintained general small talk—Adelinde actually found that to be easier, and Matteo enjoyed the chances to chime in with his own comment and occasionally lead conversation. Rene didn’t seem to really know how to talk to him, but Adelinde admired her effort regardless.
After eating dinner, Matteo wanted to go to the music district. He wasn’t satisfied with the palace’s music room and he didn’t listen when she tried to reason he would be tired soon, so ultimately Adelinde obeyed the toddler’s whims. Both pianos were taken when they got there, so she sat down on an unoccupied bench a bit farther away from the others; Matteo initially sat next to her before getting on her lap, lazily playing with one of the toys she brought with them. When he seemed to be asleep, she lightly wrapped her arms around him.
It must’ve been around an hour before someone sat down on the bench to the right of hers; she glanced over and nodded a greeting to Rene. She was just out reach—a bit too close, honestly, but Adelinde didn’t want to outright mention it either.
“Good evening,” Adelinde said.
Rene murmured a kind of agreement, casting an amused look at Matteo.
“Your kid’s sleeping,” she pointed out.
“He wanted to come out—and I don’t mind coming here, besides,” Adelinde admitted. She smiled when Matteo shifted a bit to be closer to her. “He’s like…a small emotional support person. Needing to watch him gives me something else to think about.”
Rene changed her position so she sat facing Adelinde, leaning on the back of the bench.
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“He doesn’t make you think of his father?”
Adelinde tensed and, judging by Rene’s expression, she didn’t intend to say it out loud. It lingered between them for a minute before Rene spoke up again, much more hesitant.
“May I ask about him?”
“You…may.” She was fortunate the people at the palace were understanding, but it was one of the things that still bothered her. One of the things she still needed to move on from. With that in mind—paired with a steadying breath—she looked back at Rene. “Did you ever meet him? He traveled a lot; he didn’t really settle down until we were dating, and even then he was always finding some excuse or another to take me on dates outside of San Asari.”
“I never formally met him, no,” Rene replied, shaking her head. “He visited the household once or twice to talk to my parents. All I really know is that he was an omyn.”
“That was one of his more distinctive features,” Adelinde mused. She sighed and faced the musicians. “He would bring it up to strangers—‘oh, I don’t dream, I’ve never slept poorly.’ He didn’t seem to understand how that sounded to someone who still had nightmares.”
“He stopped eventually, I hope?”
“Only after we argued about it a few times.” Oddly, the memory was almost a fond one; most of them were, depending on her mood. She didn’t think she would say this much about her former fiancé to a familiar stranger, yet she slightly turned towards Rene, careful not to disturb Matteo. “He even offered to bind the ring after he proposed; it was an heirloom of some sort and I didn’t want to lose it. He laughed it off when I said I didn’t want to always wear a ring, since damaging it would be worse than losing it.”
Rene frowned. “Gods. Most omyn don’t offer to bind something for their significant others at all—it’s too hard to maintain for more than a few days.” Pausing for a second, she admitted, “I don’t know if that makes him slightly witless or incredibly in love with you.”
“It could’ve been both,” Adelinde admitted. “In hindsight, I can’t really say he usually had good judgment. He offered me things that no one reasonably would to a partner of two years—even when that partner was royalty.”
Neither spoke for another minute as Adelinde checked on Matteo again, just to make sure he was still asleep. He barely moved at all since he last changed positions; his apparent comfort made her jealous. Neither her nor Mark had the same luck as their mother—she couldn’t count the amount of times she woke up just to wish she had been one of the people who never dreamt.
Rene slightly gestured towards Matteo, careful not to get any closer.
“Do you know yet if he’s an omyn?” she asked curiously.
“I think he is,” Adelinde said, still watching her son. “He sleeps very easily and hasn’t had a nightmare yet. The odds are in his favor, as well—Aurik’s family was nearly all omynic in some way, and my mother didn’t dream. It can’t really be confirmed until he’s old enough to know what a dream is and be honest about whether or not he has them.”
Rene nodded, and after a moment they continued on some useless conversation—some odd thing that happened during their day—once again avoiding the topics of Aurik and only mentioning Matteo if one of them commented on how nicely he was sleeping. In an hour Adelinde decided she should go back to the palace and gave a kind of farewell to Rene.
Each time she said goodbye, she could tell the familiar stranger was becoming more and more like a friend. As long as she continued making progress, her mind wasn’t harsh enough to ruin the little outings with irrational fears.