Heir

The party got off to a late start, with the sun slowly setting in the sky painting colors of magenta and orange hues over the Tuls river.

The guests trickled in one by one to their massive estate and were led to the lavish banquet hall. Rows of long tables with benches on either side were set up throughout the hall, many platters of exquisite delicacies lining each table. Ava was invited to sit near the center of the table facing the rest of the room. Her seat was placed next to the seat of honor reserved for her Cousin Lydia and her new baby. Charlotte and Little were seated at a nearby table along with Richard and some other important people from the merchant guilds.

The party carried on smoothly as her aunt had planned. Lydia did not make her entrance until much later on. She came in accompanied by her husband Mark, holding a small child dressed in long white robes close to her chest. Her husband Mark was the first son of a powerful political family in Valens, who exercised great influence in the region's located just on the other side of the river. Usually, they resided in their home in the neighboring kingdom, however, Lydia felt more comfortable giving birth nearby in her family home in Tulsdale.

The young woman and her husband made their way with the infant child, and took their seats at the center of the table. "I'm so happy to see you looking well. It seems you have fully recovered from the fever?" Ava stood up politely too open space for her cousin to sit.

The two women sat down and pulled their chairs in close to the table. "Your grace," Mark bowed his head to Ava respectfully before walking around to sit next to his wife. The jovial noises of conversations going on, aided by the endless flow wine, provided some privacy for Ava and her cousin to have a more personal chat.

"Thankfully my fever broke after the first night, but mother was anxious and had me stay in bed for two more days. I love her dearly but honestly I started to go a little crazy being cooped up in my room alone with her and the baby for that long. Luckily, my cute baby here is in great health, just like his brothers."

Ava took a closer look at the half asleep baby, bundled up in her Cousins arms. His head was covered in a white bonnet that slightly covered his half open eyes. The distinct smell of a newborn was still fresh on his skin. "Oh, another boy! He's so cute. I'm sure he will grow well, just as his brothers are."

'I guess my prediction of a daughter was wrong,' she chuckled to herself.

"Hmm?" Lydia looked at Ava with curious eyes.

"Oh, to be honest, I thought you had finally given birth to a daughter as your letter was so vague."

Lydia flashed an undiscernible smile, "That was my mother's idea. I think she was concerned not many people would show up to the party if they found out we had yet another son. Her little way of planning a fun surprise."

The conversation between the two cousins continued quite amicably as the party went on. Other members of the family joined in and shared anecdotes from their childhood, laughing about how young Peter tried to teach Lydia's eldest child how to catch a rabbit before he could properly speak.

"It's a shame Will couldn't join us," Ava brought up her cousin's oldest brother, who was off somewhere on a research expedition for the King.

"Please, I get a headache whenever I think of that boy," aunt Gertrude swirled the wine in her glass and took a large sip. Lydia and Ava shared a knowing look, as Angela sent a maid for a large jug of wine.

Just as the sun was nearly set, the butler announced from the doors to the hall, "The priest from Valens has arrived." And with that an older man with white hair entered the hall, carrying with him a small bowl of holy water. The kingdom of Valens followed a single religion as over time the power of their monarchy came to be shared with that of the influential church.

The people of Fonteria, however, largely practiced local traditions and beliefs in place of a large religious institution. In Berhllan, it was quite common for the people to ask members of the nobility to bless their children, and in turn the less powerful nobles would ask for blessings from the highest seated person in the Castle of Grethyll.

The entire hall fell silent as the elder priest made his way to the center of the room. Lydia and her husband followed suit, carrying their child and meeting him in the center. The priest said his prayers then blessed the infant with the holy water in his cup. After he was finished, Gertrude motioned to Ava that it was her turn, so she stood up from her seat and made her way to the center of the hall. She congratulated her cousin and her husband, then said her blessings for the baby in their arms. She ended the blessing with a light kiss upon the baby's head, triggering a round of applause from the rest of the party for the successful blessing of their newborn son.

The party carried on jovially late into the evening. Some maids had already taken the infant to bed upstairs soon after the blessings had finished.

"Well, I think that was enough fun for me tonight. I shall retire for the evening. Cousin, would you mind escorting me to my room, I'm afraid I haven't had alcohol in quite some time and the wine has gone straight to my head," Lydia gave a small yawn and flashed an innocent smile in Ava's direction.

Ava agreed and the two women took their leave from the room. As soon as the doors to the party hall closed behind them, Lydia linked her arm into Ava's, surprising the duchess with her friendly gesture. As they walked through the halls, Lydia spoke to Ava in a low voice so as not to be heard by any of the maids nearby.

"You know, I'm so happy you came all the way down to the border so soon after Alex died. It truly is sad that he left this world so young." It didn't go unnoticed to Ava how informally Lydia addressed her deceased husband, but she chose to let it go as her cousin had been surprising cordial that evening.

"And to leave you widowed and childless is so sad." Lydia paused her steps and turned to face Ava, the kind innocent look slowly fading away from her face into a hidden intentioned smirk. "It wasn't easy giving birth to three healthy children within four years, but I'm sure it was much more difficult for you to be joined in marriage for seven years and yet still bear no heir for Behrllan." She let out a dramatic sigh.

Ava held herself back from rolling her eyes until they made a full rotation around the sun. "Lydia, please just get straight to it. What is it that you want to say?"

"Fine. I want you to take my third son as your god child and declare him as your heir and future Duke of Behrllan. You're barren anyway, so wouldn't you think it better to secure an heir in the family now, rather than wait for some greedy noble son to steal away your position after your mourning period is over." Lydia dragged out her words, putting particular emphasis on Ava's inability to have children.

'The nerve of this girl! Of course she had a hidden agenda after her play at being nice!' Ava thought to herself, as she reigned in her desire to shout at her cousin in the halls. Holding back her emotion to avoid giving her cousin an opening of weakness, she replied, "Thank you for your concern, but I must decline your proposal. I can defend my position just fine from greedy noblemen. Besides, I'm not sure how the King would feel about me appointing a subject of Valens as heir to the Dukedom." Ava added in the last part to remind Lydia of her paternal relation as sole cousin to the highest seat in the land.

Not curious at what else her cousin might say, Ava waved over a nearby maid and asked them to accompany Lydia the rest of the way to her room.

"I must return to the party to finish discussing political matters with the Count. It was nice talking with you, cousin. Good night and take care," Ava smiled at her cousin then swiftly made her leave.