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Ciaran did not want to get out of bed. How could a three-year-old be so stubborn? And then there was breakfast. Alright. I can't blame him for being stubborn about breakfast. I feel the same. And I'm sure Jaden would say I am just as difficult to drag out of bed.
There was so much about her son that Danya didn't understand. And some she did, but couldn't explain to anyone other than Miska or Jaden, because they wouldn't believe her.
Like the blood red tint to his black hair that sometimes became visible in the light. Most people just passed it off as Danya’s red hair combining with Ciaran’s father’s black hair.
But the other Mages, especially more powerful ones like Elspeth, Darkwind, and Firesong, the last of which generally eyed the boy with some suspicion, as if the toddler might burst into flames or kill you with a look…
Ha! He might just learn how to do that, someday.
Ciaran seemed older than his three years, sometimes. Once in a while, he would look at Danya with what looked to be overly wise eyes. But then he would go back to being a normal child.
Dirk had once said that Ciaran reminded him a bit of Kris. If only he knew that technically, Ciaran and Kris are brothers. I wonder what Lord Perigrine would think if he had ever known he wasn't Kris’s true father?
But today was far too important a day, and Danya thought back to six months prior.
“Ciaran, you like Jaden, right?”
“Uh huh. I love him.”
Danya smiled. “Well, he wants to know if he can be your daddy.”
“My daddy?” Ciaran asked. “Daddy!”
He seemed so enthusiastic, so Danya took that as a yes. “Then I'll tell him yes, and he says you can call him Daddy all you want.”
Now, though, Danya was just thanking all the gods she knew that she wasn't Queen's Own. Or a hero. She still remembered the spectacle that Talia and Dirk’s wedding had been, and how the only way to fit everyone in was to have it in Companion's Field!
As it was, this would be a small ceremony. Jaden's parents weren't even coming. They didn't approve. Well, alright, they didn't have to. But Danya’s parents were there and excited about it. They loved Ciaran, and knew Jaden did, too, and if Jaden was good enough for Danya, he was good enough for them.
But now Ciaran was being picky about his water temperature in his bath. That definitely wasn't something he had gotten from Danya! Growing up in a wagon and then becoming a Herald, Danya had a rather broad tolerance for water temperature, knowing she was never guaranteed the steamy heat she loved best.
Eventually, though, she had him bathed and dressed. Just in time, too, because there was a knock at the door.
Danya opened it to reveal her mother, Adira, along with Herald Talia. There were certain traditions from her clan that Danya had wanted to follow. One had been the choosing of a mentor couple, an already married couple that could help guide the newlyweds and act as mediators in an argument, offering up their wisdom. Talia and Dirk had been the obvious choice.
Another tradition was being dressed by her mother in the traditional red of her people. “I brought the same jewels I wore when I married your father,” Adira said gleefully.
“You must be from the same clan as Evan,” Talia said. “I used the red silk he sent me to make attendants’ dresses.”
“Evan is my brother,” Adira said. “He wrote to us about what you did for him, how you saved his life. Now you will see how our brides dress.”
Talia helped keep Ciaran entertained while Adira stressed Danya. Her own son, Jemmie, was with Dirk and Jaden.
Danya stepped into the other room and came back out in a beautiful red gown with billowy sleeves that cuffed at the wrist. Over it was a buttoned up vest covered in elegant gold floral embroidery. On her feet, the boots of her Whites had been replaced by red and gold embroidered slippers.
“Mama, you're so pretty!” Ciaran said.
“Thank you, Ciaran, but Mama’s not finished yet,” Danya said.
Adira opened the box she had brought. She placed large gold hoops in Danya's ears. Then she put a gauzy red veil over Danya's head, securing it with a circlet of gold coins and gold cuffs on her wrist. She also added a gold nose ring with a red bead.
“I never noticed your nose was pierced, Danya!” Talia exclaimed.
“Yes. It's part of the coming of age for a girl from our clan,” Danya said.
“We had just barely gotten her pierced and gotten it healed up when she was Chosen,” Adira added.
“I don't wear a nose ring very often these days. It's impractical on Circuit,” Danya admitted, wilting a little at the look her mother gave her.
“During a battle, especially,” Talia said. “I can see that. But it's beautiful. I don't understand why you don't wear one when you're assigned to Court.”
“I don't know. I guess I just never thought about it beyond wanting to not have all eyes on me,” Danya said. “Before you ask, yes, Jaden knows my nose is pierced. I used to wear it all the time as a student, except during weapons practice. Alberich forbade it because of the danger it posed.”
“Herald Talia is right,” Adira said. “You should wear your jewels with pride. They are part of your culture.”
***
“Are you nervous at all?” Dirk asked as he stood with Jaden in the courtyard where everything had been set up. He had been pleased to meet Danya's uncle, who had been of help during the war against Hardorn, if only because he believed he owed Talia a life debt.
“Not a bit, actually,” Jaden said. “Danya and I were friends for so long before we finally became lovers, and I love Ciaran. He's a good kid. Everything about this just feels right.”
“I think he still makes some of the Mages nervous, for some reason, though I can't imagine why,” Dirk said.
“I do, but I don't think anyone would believe me,” Jaden said. “At first, I didn't believe it, but the Companions say it's true, and surely they wouldn't lie about it.”
“What is it?”
“Dirk, the reason Ciaran makes the Mages nervous is because of who his father is and why he isn't around,” Jaden said, trying to figure out if he had already said too much.
Nathan, however, had seemed to figure it out. “He came and chose her as a lover, didn't he?”
“Who?” Dirk asked.
“The Shadow Lover!” Nathan cried. The timing of my grandson’s birth, nine months after Sovvan. The looks. The fact that Danya won't tell anyone because she might not be believed. It all adds up now. Adira and I told Danya stories of such a thing when she was a child, that the Shadow Lover occasionally comes at Sovvan to take a mortal lover. Sometimes, there are children, always powerful Mages.”
Dirk looked like he’d just been told chirras had three heads.
But Jaden just nodded. “It's true. I am giving the Shadow Lover’s son the Ashkevron name when I adopt him as part of the ceremony.”
“I can see why she's been reluctant to tell people who Ciaran’s father is,” Dirk said at last. “It's rather unheard of.
“Danya says he's not even the first, that there have been a couple of others,” Jaden said. “But it's not something we talk about a lot unless something odd happens where Ciaran is involved. She does say Ciaran's likely to exhibit powerful Mage Gift, though.”
***
The ceremony was brief and simple. Danya and Jaden exchanged vows. Ciaran became an Ashkevron along with his mother with the signing of a little paperwork.
And then someone from Danya's clan took up a fiddle and began playing a joyful tune. Other instruments joined in, leading to dancing and feasting.
Ciaran grabbed a honey cake and began stuffing his mouth with it.
“Ciaran! Where did you get such poor manners?” Adira asked. The light in her eyes told everyone who saw it that she knew the answer.
“Isn't it obvious, Mother?” Danya asked. “He gets that from me.”