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He and Ellaria borrowed her father’s cabin for a week. He holds in a snort. ‘Cabin’ is a misnomer. It’s a small chalet in the mountains. Multiple comfortably appointed rooms, a well-stalked kitchen, two fireplaces, a firepit out back, and a hot tub.
It was perfect for their large group consisting of him and his fiancé, all eight of his children; his brother, sister-in-law, and their three kids; and, his sister, his brother-in-law, and their two kids.
Because they don’t get much if any snow where they live, the kids were having a blast. Unfortunately, of his eight children, only the youngest three were interested in doing safe activities like building snowmen, making snow angels, or hurling snowballs at one another. No, the rest of the kids plus his nieces and nephews were interested in doing anything that drove him and their parents crazy.
But, there was no point in bringing all their kids up here to just to force them to stay in the cabin even though he was certain Ellaria, Mellario, and Elia hoped for a little bit more of that. Sadly, most of their brood was old enough to go off on their own and his eldest three, Arianne, and Quentyn were legally adults. Rhaenys and Aegon were not quite that far behind in age, either.
And there was plenty of snow, so it was a constant stream of in-and-out for this group or that group to skiing, snowboarding, sledding, and what not, usually, in every direction possible. In short, it was a mad house. Probably what Harmen hoped for when he allowed this. The old goat probably was imagining this scene and laughing from the safety of his home right now. If his parents were still alive, they’d be mocking him too, he thinks.
To think, this looked like a good idea on paper. At least no one broke any bones…yet. The day was still young!
Ellaria opens the door again and screams out the towards backs of his elder daughters, two nieces, and two oldest nephews, “Keep Elia away from Devil’s Point!”
As he expected, the response was lukewarm at best. She’d gotten some “Yes, Ellaria’s”, a “Yes, Aunty” or two, and one half-hearted wave. The Elia in question gives her mother a thumbs up that neither one of them believed was a good sign for a moment.
He realizes, she probably shouldn’t have said it. Now, they were probably going to head straight there. He tilts his head and squints and stares at those retreating backs. Then again, knowing his family, this group probably has been plotting to go master that ridiculously steep and dangerous slope since their arrival. Harmen probably put them up to it!
His shoulders slump slightly as Ellaria turns to him pointedly. “Well, go on.”
He could argue that their Elia had enough family about her who have more than enough experience with nature & its elements. Obara was adept at kid-wrangling, but he did not see any way around this. Elia and Rhaegar elected to remain behind to “help out” with Obella and Dorea who were content to build snowmen with varying degrees of success and Sarella and Trys who were inside playing a game of Cyvasse by the fireplace. Ellaria wasn’t going to leave Loreza behind to go chasing around after everyone else when the group was mostly his relatives, even if one of them included their mutual child.
He argues, “They’re old enough to handle themselves.”
Archly, she bites back. “Do you trust them? Because I don’t.”
As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t against that though he wanted to…badly. Like him, Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene were daredevils through and through. While he was content in the knowledge that his Elia will listen to the instructions of her older sisters and Arianne took this sort of thing seriously, he knows his kids and brother’s. Arianne liked to have her fun too. Even Quentyn isn’t opposed to some daring when his parents weren’t right in front of him, which neither Doran nor Mellario were. Rhaenys and Aegon were fairly risk averse, but, they reminded him too much of him and Elia as kids. He couldn’t trust them either!
So, to chaperone what was probably going to be a fiasco was up to him!
Being a father was a rewarding if thankless job, he thinks as he trudges into the snow after that wayward crowd that reminds too much of himself at, well, any of their respective ages. He knew the kids could handle anything that came their way, he taught them well after all, but as Ellaria already knew, he didn’t trust them not to do something risky.
He still has moments of recklessness, but, he supposes now he understands what his parents went through with him.
It’s a good thing Doran was too busy at the other end of the cabin cuddled up with Mellario drinking hot cocoa to see him right this moment. The last thing he needed right now was his smug looking brother telling him: “I told you so.”