His return to Shadowrock ended up in a great feast, though clouded by the news that the old Count had fallen ill during his absence. The man, for the first time in his life, felt guilty that he had sent his only son to his death. When Alaric entered his chamber he was met by a person of an entirely opposite personality to the one he had known all his life. Not only did he not shout, but he asked him to come closer to embrace and welcome him.
“My boy, my boy, you are!” exclaimed the old man with tears in his eyes, and, at that sight, Alaric felt he had made the right decision. Had he stayed with Yaritza, he would have lost the opportunity to reconcile with his father before his death.
Old Barthra had also been very touched by his arrival, and kept hugging him and crying with joy.
“Dear child! Praise the Blue Dragon! Thank you, My Lord!”
Alaric was overcome with shame, and not even to her could he tell the truth.According to Barthra, the old Count had very little left to live. The news of his son's disappearance had affected him so profoundly that he had suffered a stroke from which he had barely escaped with the help of the healer.
The Count knew this very well, and some days after his son's return, he expressed his last wish.
“My dear boy, it would be a joy for me to see you married with children before I die. Not only for the sake of Shadowrock and the Circle, but because I would like to see you happy before my departure. There is a girl, daughter of a noble friend, who I think would be a good choice. It is not my wish to force you, because I do not want to leave this world on bad terms with you but... if you could get to know her a little and decide for yourself...”
Thus it was arranged. A week later, a Baron and his family arrived in Shadowrock, proudly accompanying the youngest daughter, Irina, to be presented as a possible candidate. The girl was a few years younger than Alaric, with brown hair and honey-colored eyes. She possessed a calm and kind personality, even going to the extreme of behaving as if she was worried about being a nuisance. While talking to Irina, Alaric realized she also had a difficult childhood and her family expected a lot from her. He couldn't feel but sorry for her, and that may be one the reasons why he accepted the marriage.
Although every time he thought of Yaritza, Alaric's blood boiled with rage, he knew he could never forget her. Still, he had to do his part and to father an heir to carry on the tradition. That little woman with the placid look seemed the perfect companion to lead a quiet life. Perhaps, with time, the memory of Yaritza would become weaker and weaker, and he would come to love this new wife, so attentive, who faithfully devoted herself to perform her duties.
The old Count lived long enough to witness the wedding and the seemingly marital bliss of the newlyweds for more than a year, but, while eagerly awaiting the birth of an heir who was taking his time to arrive, he succumbed to another attack, this time a fatal one, and not even Barthra or the best doctors and magicians sent from the capital were able to bring him back to health.
As the new Count of Shadowrock, Alaric assumed his duties in such an exemplary manner that it only took a short period of time before everyone came to the conclusion that new airs blew through the castle. While the former Count had changed in the last year, most could not forget the abuses of his darker days. Alaric, however, imposed new rules that protected all the people under his care, including the servants, who were to be treated with respect, especially by the wizards of the Order, who sometimes took advantage of their status.
That first year the one thing he did not do as Count was to attend the Return of the Sirenians. He entrusted that task to Eldrin, while he went to visit, as was tradition, along with his wife, the Lady of the Whispering Forest. The elf had always treated him with the best of courtesies, in addition to the fact that his wife was very excited to explore the city of the elves.
As soon as they arrived, the two women became instant friends. The elf took Irina on a tour of the Great Blue Willow, and shared with the Countess several dance and poetry sessions that were prepared as part of the couple's reception.
The new Countess could not help but rejoice at such a display of generosity, and that relieved Alaric's heart. His sweet wife had felt very depressed since the death of her father-in-law, because she had been unable to conceive an heir in time. She thought there was something wrong inside her that prevented her from having children. She was consumed by a guilt that Alaric could not appease. Therefore, he felt very grateful to Daephennya at that moment. That was why, since they wouldn't visit the lake, he decided to stay at Serenity Glade a few more days than previosly planned.
Then, one evening, shortly before returning to Shadowrock, his wife appeared in a most cheerful mood in their chamber, as he had never seen her before. Behind her followed several elven servants bearing trays for supper. Irina told him that she had conveyed to the elf her desire to spend a quiet evening with her husband, and she had been most understanding. As the young Countess laughed and recounted all that she had done that day at the Great Blue Willow, Alaric watched her, delighted with her gestures and mischievous smiles, thinking that he might well be beginning to grow real feelings for her. He was sure they would find a way to have children. They hadn't been married that long yet. It was not the time to give up.
The next day, however, the happy wife with whom he had spent the night was not present beside him when he awoke. Later, when he went to look for Irina, he surprinsingly found her looking perhaps even much sadder than before. When Alaric asked if anything had upset her, she dismissed his fears. She was simply sad to have to leave so soon, but when Alaric offered to stay more days she declined because they could not continue any longer away from Shadowrok.
Once back in the castle, despite his wife's inexplicable grief, Alaric did not lose hope that she would regain that brief joy. However, when he tried to recount to her how happy they had been that last night in Serenity Glade, she turned away, and avoided his touch.
She then came back to apologize, saying that she must be ill, but still she continued in the same mood, and asked to move her things to another room to sleep separately from her husband, as if that night had never happened.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
After a few weeks, Irina informed him that she was pregnant. Alaric received the news with joy, and it seemed that his wife was pleased to see him so excited, but continue to sleep separately. She explained that she felt more comfortable resting alone, and did not want to do anything that might affect the pregnancy. Alaric agreed, although he could not understand what he had done. Perhaps rumors had reached Irina about his relationship with Yaritza, so he tried to be the more attentive of the husbands over the next few months, as he watched with anticipation how his wife's belly grew.
Barthra checked on Irina several times. It seemed that everything was going well, although every time he asked her about the countess, a shadow of doubt seemed to cover the old woman's eyes.
In spite of that, everything seemed to be going normally, until, close to the date of the birth, the Count received an message from the Lady of the Whispering Forest who wished to have a most urgent meeting with him.
This was unprecedented. Daephennya had never needed to call upon her father in such a way, much less had she left Serenity Glade to meet him at the edge of the forest, so close to the castle. The elf was also requesting the presence of his wife, but, though such a condition puzzled him, he had no reason to think that the elf had ill intentions either. Perhaps she simply wanted to see her friend once again and congratulate them on the pregnancy. Alaric also thought that her visit might cheer up Irina who, despite her condition, still showed no signs of improvement in terms of spirit.
That day the couple walked to the forest, followed by some guards and servants who stayed nearby in case their masters required their assistance.
Daephennya was waiting for them accompanied by a pair of elves. One of them held a small bundle that Daephennya, as soon as she greeted them, took in her arms and handed it to the Countess. The bundle began to move, and suddenly a loud cry resounded among the trees.
Alaric did not understand anything.
The elf showed an annoyed expression before she spoke:
“As promised, here is your daughter. I am sure she will be very happy with you.”
It was there when Alaric met a little baby girl with dark hair and eyes just as blue as his own. When he asked for an explanation, his wife tearfully told him that she had made a deal with Daephennya. Using one of her tricks, the elf had pretended to be the Countess during that whole damned night, and the screaming little girl was the result of it all. As for Irina's pregnancy, it was really nothing more than an illusion caused by some potions that the elf had made her drink during all those months.
“But still, my Lord. Look at her, she is beautiful, just like you. No one will notice, thanks to the Nymph and the lady Daephennya. She has great plans for the child, you will see!” said his wife drowned by tears.
Alaric wanted to run out of the forest, but Daephennya stopped him. First they had to agree on what they would tell to the rest of the world.
The next day, the news spread through the Circle that the Countess had unexpectedly given birth in the middle of the forest, but thanks to the Lady of the Forest, the new heiress was born without any problems. All the servants commented that little Lady Olivia of Shadowrock was a beautiful, cheerful baby, so full of life.
The only one who knew the truth at that moment was Barthra, who at first took care of the child. Later Eldrin and Leander would also know, but for that a long time would have to pass. In the meantime, Alaric wanted nothing to do with his wife or the baby. He felt betrayed. Just when he thought he could enjoy some happiness, fate slapped him in the face.
Barthra shared his sadness, but told him that the child was not to blame and, whoever the mother was, she was without doubt his heiress. He did not have to forgive Irina, who had acted in desperation and, surely, manipulated by the cunning elf, but it would be cruel to the child.
“You really don't want, my Lord, to act just as your lord father did when you were a child.”
That was true. Alaric did not want to follow in his father's footsteps, but still kept his distance from the girl. It was a relief that she seemed to have no traits of Daephennya, but still he could not help but think of the elf every time he saw her.
However, Alaric had to put aside his resentment because, after a few weeks of festivities in the castle following the birth, he was awakened one night by the news that the Countess had fallen ill with a strange disease that caused red spots to appear on her skin. They had continued their separate lives, so there was no reason why he should be ill as well.
As the days went by, however, it was discovered that she was not the only one, but that other wizards and servants had been infected. The outbreak, it seemed, had started in the village and then spread to the castle.
“And Olivia?”, Alaric asked with guilt.
“The child seems to be well, my Lord,” explained Eldrin. “The Countess was not spending much time with her. She was always entrusting the servant girls to take care of her.”
Eldrin then forced the Count to leave the castle with his daughter. They could not take any chances. The Countess would be left under the wizards and Barthra's care, who would not abandon the sick for anything in the world.
Alaric could not take refuge in the village. Together with Cormac, they decided to camp near the lake, the only place that seemed to be safe from the plague. Just in case they would stay away from the villagers.
It was spring again. Days had passed since the sirenians returned to the lake. For the first time in two years, Alaric was again just a few minutes away to Yaritza, but he still did not want to meet her.
In the meantime, during those days of waiting, the news of Irina's death reached him. He felt sad for that sweet woman who had gone to great lengths to fullfil her duty, but he was incapable of crying, even though he wished to do it as a last sign of affection towards her. It was as if he was saying goodbye to someone he had barely known despite the time they had shared together as husband and wife, which have been even longer that the intermittent encounters shared with Yaritza.
Their daughter Olivia was indeed beautiful. It was hard not to be captivated by those sapphire-colored eyes that give him looks of joy, surprise, curiosity, even admiration. The maids who attended her kept commenting that the girl only stopped crying when her father took her in his arms.
As Alaric's heart was not made of stone, he could not help but be moved when one of the women passed him the crying girl who, as soon as she met her father's blue eyes, became silent and hypnotized as she couldn't stop gazing at him.
Once the danger had passed, Alaric decided it was time to return to Shadowrock. The plague had claimed a lot of victims, and now he had to focus on helping the mourning villagers, whose food production had been affected.
A short while before their departure, Alaric saw a man from the Lake Tribe approaching with a sirenian girl in his arms. It was none other than Mantok, Yaritza's father, that being one of the chiefs had approached to the camp to greet the group and wish them a safe journey.
“On behalf of the entire tribe, I am deeply sorry for the loss of your wife, Guardian of the Circle," Mantok said, bowing his head. "At least you managed to save your daughter, who appears to be such a lovely child.”
Alaric had no desire to talk about his late wife, so he pointed to the curious girl sitting on the chief's shoulders.
“One of your daughters?”
The man laughed.
“If my Thalassa could heard you! No, no, we have already done our fair share! Actually, she is my first granddaughter, Numi, daughter of my eldest, Yaritza.” Mantok gave him an enigmatic look.
“You two knew each other since childhood, didn't you?”