“Welcome home, squirt,” Nael said while not putting her down too gracefully.
“Thanks,” Leila replied. As she stood back up, her brother’s expression changed again at the sight of Nalick.
“What the heck did you get yourself into?” Nael asked pulling up the sleeve on her left arm. Though her brother ran the family winery, he was the most educated person in their family. In his free time he loved to read and would read a book about anything. Nael knew what the lines on her arm meant. Part of Leila was disappointed in his seriousness. She had been hoping that Nael would be her one ally in the house when she explained to her parents why she would be staying in Lexia. Nael finally acknowledged the man standing in the doorway.
“Is this his fault?” Nael asked Leila pointing behind her accusingly.
“No,” Leila quickly replied. “It’s my fault. I made the choice.” Nael looked like he didn’t believe his little sister. Though Nael had been told Leila was the best courier Roger had ever trained, it was hard to believe his little sister was any good at it when she was constantly coming home hurt. Nael knew all about the troubles she had gotten herself into over the years and the many people who had offered bounties on her head to try to force her into marriage.
“Does Roger know about this?” Nael asked.
“Yes,” Leila said, not backing down to her angry brother. Nalick was amazed that the quiet shy girl she had been just moments before when she was with her mother was gone, and the spirited, head strong woman he had seen before was back.
Nael proceeded over to Nalick and extended his hand, “I’m Leila’s brother Nael.”
Nalick shook his hand, but before he could say anything Nael added, “I know who you are King Nalick.” Leila held her breathe. While they were nearly the same size, Nael standing eye to eye with Nalick, Nalick was in better shape physically and more muscular. Leila waited to see if her brother would be foolish enough to pick a fight with a man she doubted he could beat. Nael briskly turned and walked back to his seat to go back to his work.
“Nael,” Leila complained. “You have more manners than that.”
Nael looked at his sister. “When is the wedding?” he asked, “or rather should I ask when your priests have decided when the wedding should be?” Nael asked Nalick sarcastically.
“In three months,” Nalick replied kindly, not taking the bait for an argument.
“Three months?” Nael repeated, assuming he heard incorrectly.
“Why do you think so many kings wanted to marry her?” Nalick replied. “Your sister is very special.” Leila smiled up at Nalick. She had heard numerous people tell her over the years how special she was, but it meant something else coming from Nalick. Nael caught the smile on his sister’s face. It had been four long years since Erich died. It had been just as long since he last saw her truly smile as she had just now at Nalick. Nael sat and stared at his little sister. Though it was subtle, something about her seemed changed.
“He has offered several times to just let me stay here,” Leila explained to her brother, “but I am going back with him to Lexia no matter what you or anyone else says to me. I was only hoping I could introduce Nalick to everyone, but we seem to keep getting the same reaction.”
“Oh, so you talked to mom first?” Nael laughed as he put down his papers. “Sorry about that,” he said as he walked over and patted Nalick on the shoulder. Now they were allies.
Nalick was surprised Nael’s attitude changed so quickly. “I could have told you not to meet her quite yet. She just needs some time to adjust to new people after meeting them. Ah, the first time I brought Gisela home. I didn’t think my mother would ever like her, but now they are best friends. Our mom is just naturally cautious with people. Trust me; it will be much easier meeting our father.” Leila was relieved to see the change in her brother. “Just give our mom a little time. If Leila has decided you are safe enough to bring home, then you can’t be all that bad.” Leila smiled, as Nael had never said he trusted her judgment before.
“We better get going home. Mom actually sent us to get you for supper. Kay is cooking,” Leila replied, happy that this meeting was over.
As they returned to the house, the commotion in the kitchen could be heard outside the door to the house. Leila walked into the kitchen following her brother. In the middle of the kitchen four young children were standing in front of Selma having their hands inspected. As Selma approved each child, she patted them on the head and sent them to the table. Theo and Macarius were already seated. Both men slightly bowed their head at Nalick’s entrance.
Leila commented under her breath. “Doesn’t that ever get old?”
Once the children noticed Leila was standing in the room, all four jumped up to greet her with hugs.
“Auntie Leila,” all four called at once, rushing to her. “What did you bring us back?” one asked.
Leila picked up each child hugging them. As she picked up the last child, the young boy asked by whispering in Leila’s ear, “Who’s that?” with pointing at Nalick.
“That is Nalick,” Leila said before setting him back down on the ground.
From the doorway to the right of the kitchen table in walked a woman carrying a small girl. Smiling, she also greeted Leila with a hug.
“This is my sister-in law Sabine,” Leila said introducing the woman hugging her. “Sabine, this is Nalick. And Theo and Macarius,” Leila said indicating to the men sitting at the table. Sabine sat down at the table and joined in with the conversation the men were having.
“That one right there,” Leila pointed at a young girl with golden ponytails, “Is Sabine’s oldest Gabi and the child with Sabine is Karin. The young boy there is Luca. He is Kay’s son. And the two older children are Dierk and Cara. They are Nael’s oldest children.”
Leila seated herself next to her niece, Gabi, and Nalick sat between Theo and Macarius. After everyone was seated, Kay brought the food to the table. Nalick noticed an empty seat and tried to figure out who was missing. Nalick quickly found out as a younger, loud man entered the house.
“Where have you been?” Sabine scolded the man, Leon, Leila’s other brother. “You’re late again.”
Leon grinned as he ignored his wife and noticed his sister was home. “Sis,” he called as he bent and hugged her around the neck. “Long time, no see.”
“Yes,” Leila replied, prying his arms off her neck so that she could breath. Leon continued to ignore his wife who was giving him a stern stare.
“And you brought friends,” Leon added as he walked to the other side of the table. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Leon, Leila’s favorite brother.” Nalick stood to shake Leon’s extended hand and was surprised to find himself a whole head shorter than the young man.
Dinner was louder than Nalick was used to but very entertaining. With all the conversations he learned more about Leila than he did from all his notes. After dinner had finished, Selma insisted that Leila’s group head to bed. Leila tried to help out with the chores, but no one would let her. She finally gave up and took the men upstairs to the bedrooms. Leila showed Theo and Macarius each to their own rooms.
“You guys are really going to need to stop that,” she complained at Theo and Macarius as they bowed to her before going into their rooms. Leila walked Nalick to the next room. As they entered, Nalick could tell it was Leila’s room. The room was small but cozy. The bed was pushed against the wall and two chair sat next to the three windows on the wall across from the door. Leila quickly picked up the clothes that were lying on the floor.
“You can have my room,” Leila said to him. “Just don’t go snooping through my stuff.”
“But where will you sleep then?” Nalick asked.
“I’ll be downstairs on the couch,” she replied turning back to the door. Nalick gently grabbed her hand and pulled her close.
“I don’t want to take your room away from you. I’ll sleep downstairs,” he said going to the door himself.
“No,” she said.
“You are a guest in our house. I will not let a king sleep on our couch.”
Nalick could see she was not about to let him have his way. He continued to hold her hand and pulled her closer to him. “Well, if I don’t want you to sleep on the couch and you don’t want me to sleep on the couch, how can we find a compromise?” Leila shook her head no to a compromise. “How much trouble would you get in with your mother if we both slept here?” Nalick indicated to her bed. Leila’s mind began to rush through several questions, what does this mean, what is he asking me to do, is he actually serious? “I mean no disrespect to your mother and father and have no plans to compromise your integrity, I promise, but since neither of us wants the other to sleep on the couch…” Nalick trailed off. His hand found its way around her waist as he talked.
“I suppose,” Leila began but stopped, as she could not believe she was actually considering his compromise. Nalick waited for her to finish, “We are going to be married in a few months, so my parents won’t take it as a sign of disrespect, but…” she didn’t find the words to argue with Nalick. Nalick gently leaned over and kissed her forehead.
“Good. Then it is settled. Goodnight,” he said as he walked over to the opposite side of the bed, removed his shirt, and climbed under the covers. Leila was too tired to argue and too shocked to respond with normal banter, so she also climbed into the bed. Leila shivered and pulled the covers around her body. Nalick moved slightly so that his body was close enough to keep her warm. Leila’s shiver was not just from the cold. She felt her eyes get heavy and thankfully sleep came before her heart had a chance to begin beating uncontrollably.
Chapter 13
“Good morning,” Leila said as Nalick entered the kitchen the last to wake for the morning, and she stood and offered him her chair. “Would you like coffee or tea?” Leila had woken up early in the morning as usual and lay in bed over an hour watching Nalick sleep. She was surer about her feelings towards him but still confused. He was still a puzzle to her. The gentle kind man she saw when they were alone was a stark contrast to the king he was.
“Does this mean the Nalick stories will have to stop now?” Kay asked, disappointed.
“Tea,” Nalick said to Leila. “What sort of stories?”
Theo turned away as he answered, “Oh, nothing much. We were just answering their questions.”
Nalick looked to Leila to see if she would give him any clues to what they had been saying, but her lips were also sealed. Leila brought over his tea along with the basket of muffins. “I have to get my chores done,” she said to the men. “Kay will keep you company.”
While dreading time alone with Selma, after chores with her mother and getting questioned about Nalick, Leila was relieved. She felt like she had passed the first test of getting her mother to trust her in her decision. Next, Leila would need to work on gaining her father's trust. She finished hanging up all the clothes she had washed and followed her mother back into the house. Once inside Leila could hear more people in the kitchen talking. To her surprise she found Nalick sitting with not just Theo and Macarius but also her brothers Nael and Leon and her father, Dirk.
“That’s my girl,” she heard her father say as she entered.
“What did I do now?” Leila asked. All five of the men turned to look at her. Everyone was smiling and getting along, which surprised Leila.
“Oh, we were just telling your brothers and father about how you escaped the jail and then asked to be put back in,” Theo explained.
“You know your guards are not very efficient,” Leila said to Nalick, casually putting a hand on his shoulder. “I did have to wait over an hour to be let back in.” The men all laughed.
“Hello, Papa,” she greeted her father with a hug and a kiss.
“So how was your trip?” Dirk asked, while hugging her back. “Besides finding a husband,” he winked at her. Leila quickly turned to Nalick, who just smiled.
“It was fine. I ran into a bit of trouble with Kay, but it all got sorted out. She was able to finish the assignment,” Leila said while sitting between her father and Nalick.
“So when will you be heading back to Lexia?” Dirk asked.
“I figure we better head back tomorrow. I don’t want to worry everyone if they find out their king is gone,” Leila explained.
“Well then, you better get busy and show this man around,” her father suggested. “There are still some daylight hours left.”
“But you just got home,” she complained wanting to stay and visit with her father.
“I’m not going anywhere. We can catch up after it gets dark out,” Dirk said, while pushing her to stand back up.
“Fine, but you better not go off anywhere. This way,” she said while standing up and directing the three guys, but Theo and Macarius remained seated.
“We’ll stay here,” Theo offered.
Leila and Nalick bundled up in fur-lined coats and boots. For hours Leila walked around their village hand-in-hand with Nalick. He listened intently as she talked about various buildings, homes, and people. As their tour finished and they returned to her parents’ home, Leila grew quiet again.
“Could we sit out here for a bit?” he asked. Leila was happy he had asked because she thought it would sound silly if she has asked to stay outside rather than visit with her family.
Leila led Nalick over to a bench beside the house and wiped the snow off the seat before sitting down. Their backs were protected from the cold wind. The snow had stopped falling and the yard and trees were covered. As the sun had already started to set, the world outside her home looked magical as everything was coated white while sparkling. As a child she had always waited for the moments when she could pretend she was in another world. In a way her dream was coming true as Lexia felt like another world.
“I’m having a hard time understanding you. You seem to be happy here so part of me wants to just let you stay here, but then you are so sure you want to return to Lexia. If you only want to return because of our deal,” Nalick picked up her mittened hands and stared straight into her eyes, “I will leave with Theo and Macarius, and you can stay here.”
Without breaking his gaze Leila asked, “Do you love me?”
Nalick tried to turn his head away before responding, but Leila slipped off her gloves and quickly caught the side of his face to hold it facing her. “Yes,” Nalick replied looking down quickly after replying.
Leila smiled at him kindly, “Then I will return with you to Lexia.”
“What was Erich like? You don’t mention him and seem to cringe anytime someone else does,” Nalick asked about the one man who had once won her heart.
Leila leaned back against the house and closed her eyes. “I was fifteen when he asked me to marry him, and at that point, I didn’t think life could get any better. I fell in love with him years after I met him, but he always told me he loved me the moment I followed him home. Within months of telling everyone we were going to get married, I messed up an assignment in Samael. I panicked, and I signaled to Erich.
“Erich got me out but got cut by a poisoned blade in the process. I brought him back to Roger, but there was nothing he could do. Instead we both sat with Erich and watched him die. He was the first and only man I ever truly loved, and yet, there was nothing I could do to help him.” Leila involuntarily reached up and felt the ring beneath her shirt that was hanging on her necklace.
She opened her eyes and looked at Nalick who was watching her. “Erich was a good man and his life was cut short because of me. I have spent the last years training and taking on every hard assignment so that I could get better at my job. I never want to be the cause of someone getting hurt again. Part of me died that day with him.”
“Did you love him?” Nalick asked.
“Yes, very much so,” Leila replied. “Will you still want to marry me, even if I don’t love you back?” she wondered. “I just don’t know if I can ever love again.”
“I am willing to wait. I truly believe you will
love me some day. If we don’t get married in three months, then so be it,” Nalick tried to reassure her. “When I looked into your eyes that day we met in the woods, I saw what I always have felt: loneliness. I no longer feel it.” Nalick removed his gloves and gently took her hands in his hands. “I am willing to do anything for you even if it means somehow explaining to the priests that you are not ready to marry.” Nalick thought for a moment. “Do you at least not hate me?”
Leila laughed. “I don’t think I ever hated you.”
“But you were quite mad with me the day that you agreed to stay,” Nalick responded.
“Only because I felt like I was failing to protect Kay. I had tried so hard to get better and the one time I was put to the test to see if I was better; I was failing,” Leila tried to explain. It was freezing out, but she did not want to take her hands out of his.
“Hopefully you will let me lighten your load a bit and help you protect everyone,” Nalick causally put his arm around Leila. She rested her head on his shoulder and smiled. It had been a long time since she trusted someone. Nalick was wearing down the barrier she kept around herself. Leila and Nalick sat together in silence. By the time they both realized they were quiet cold, they had to sneak back in the house as almost everyone had gone to bed. Nalick and Leila stopped briefly to talk to her parents.
With night settling in, everyone rose to go to bed. Leila and Nalick returned to her room and she lay down quickly and closed her eyes. Quietly Nalick joined her. Leila was not asleep, but because she was not opening her eyes he played along. Nalick took his time getting into bed while studying her face.