“No, but I daresay it's ingrained into all Altmer to defer to members of the Thalmor, even when they marry one,” Nepos said thoughtfully. “So he lets his wife take the lead in public, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if she later seeks his counsel in private. Liriel's a very loving wife and mother despite very little previous romantic experience – she learnt how to be that way from somewhere, and it was probably her own parents' marriage.”
Of course she had, Liriel was a starry-eyed romantic despite being Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, a skilled thief and trafficker with more than one Daedra. Children of loveless or abusive marriages did not end up like that – well, look at Eola for proof of that. It also explained where Liriel's skill with children came from – she'd had practice with her baby sister, had probably imagined Ancalime's face when she first met Sissel and Lucia. Much about his wife was rapidly becoming clear on meeting her parents.
“So now what,” Madanach said quietly. “I know they're her parents, they know I'm her husband, we all know we know that. What do I do next? I can't avoid the issue forever.”
“Where's Liriel?” Eola asked. “She needs to be here, last thing she needs is to get back and find you all at each other's throats. Once she's back we can start planning, or at least make a few things clear to them.”
Madanach closed his eyes and focused, reaching out to his wife, seeking her out. Back in the Reach, not far away, yes she'd missed him too, she was sending reassurance his way. Here in an hour or two maybe? Good. Madanach could cope with Nord armies, fire-breathing dragons, Daedric shrines and assassination death cults. What he couldn't deal with were his in-laws.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So that's Madanach,” Sabrinda said, lying back on the double bed that was presumably once their elder daughter's, and what she might have done in that bed, Sabrinda didn't want to think about. At least the marriage had most likely been consummated at the Keep. That was if Liriel had retained her maidenhood until the ceremony and frankly Sabrinda was by no means convinced that was the case. “He's older than I expected.”
“Older?” Meryndor snapped. He'd not stopped pacing since he'd got to the house, distressed and furious after meeting his son-in-law for the first time. “He's got silver hair! Wrinkles around the eyes! I was expecting a young man, or at least someone in the three hundreds or whatever the human equivalent is. As it is, I'm not convinced that if he was a mer, he wouldn't be older than me! What was she thinking, Sab?”
Sabrinda closed her eyes, trying to work that one out for herself. “I don't know, Meryn,” she sighed. “I honestly don't. She never even seemed interested in actual men back home. She read all those romance novels, but you remember all those dances we took her to, all those eligible men we introduced her to? Not a flicker of interest in anyone. All she cared about was her books and her spells and her pony. Now look at her.”
“I know, I always thought she'd stay single forever,” Meryndor said softly, one hand resting on the back of the door, and he looked awful, far worse than Sabrinda felt. Now she'd got a better grasp of the situation, she actually felt quite calm, her strategic mind kicking in and analysing the situation, looking for vulnerabilities. Whereas Meryndor always had been the more emotional of the two of them, much like his daughter. He and Liriel had always been close. “Honestly, I don't think I'd have minded that, having my little girl around forever. But she had her heart set on travelling.”
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Thicker Than Blood 3.5
Date: 2014-01-31 12:08 pm (UTC)Of course she had, Liriel was a starry-eyed romantic despite being Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, a skilled thief and trafficker with more than one Daedra. Children of loveless or abusive marriages did not end up like that – well, look at Eola for proof of that. It also explained where Liriel's skill with children came from – she'd had practice with her baby sister, had probably imagined Ancalime's face when she first met Sissel and Lucia. Much about his wife was rapidly becoming clear on meeting her parents.
“So now what,” Madanach said quietly. “I know they're her parents, they know I'm her husband, we all know we know that. What do I do next? I can't avoid the issue forever.”
“Where's Liriel?” Eola asked. “She needs to be here, last thing she needs is to get back and find you all at each other's throats. Once she's back we can start planning, or at least make a few things clear to them.”
Madanach closed his eyes and focused, reaching out to his wife, seeking her out. Back in the Reach, not far away, yes she'd missed him too, she was sending reassurance his way. Here in an hour or two maybe? Good. Madanach could cope with Nord armies, fire-breathing dragons, Daedric shrines and assassination death cults. What he couldn't deal with were his in-laws.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So that's Madanach,” Sabrinda said, lying back on the double bed that was presumably once their elder daughter's, and what she might have done in that bed, Sabrinda didn't want to think about. At least the marriage had most likely been consummated at the Keep. That was if Liriel had retained her maidenhood until the ceremony and frankly Sabrinda was by no means convinced that was the case. “He's older than I expected.”
“Older?” Meryndor snapped. He'd not stopped pacing since he'd got to the house, distressed and furious after meeting his son-in-law for the first time. “He's got silver hair! Wrinkles around the eyes! I was expecting a young man, or at least someone in the three hundreds or whatever the human equivalent is. As it is, I'm not convinced that if he was a mer, he wouldn't be older than me! What was she thinking, Sab?”
Sabrinda closed her eyes, trying to work that one out for herself. “I don't know, Meryn,” she sighed. “I honestly don't. She never even seemed interested in actual men back home. She read all those romance novels, but you remember all those dances we took her to, all those eligible men we introduced her to? Not a flicker of interest in anyone. All she cared about was her books and her spells and her pony. Now look at her.”
“I know, I always thought she'd stay single forever,” Meryndor said softly, one hand resting on the back of the door, and he looked awful, far worse than Sabrinda felt. Now she'd got a better grasp of the situation, she actually felt quite calm, her strategic mind kicking in and analysing the situation, looking for vulnerabilities. Whereas Meryndor always had been the more emotional of the two of them, much like his daughter. He and Liriel had always been close. “Honestly, I don't think I'd have minded that, having my little girl around forever. But she had her heart set on travelling.”