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After all those long-ass rounds with the supernatural trio and Norweni, this one seems so short. 😅
Oh Drustan, I have missed you and your ten million neat points back on the farm. Drustan is still on the isle of Thessos, enjoying himself and meandering between the library and the island's various food stalls and taverns.
Parisa: How's it going, lad?
Drustan: Oh man—sorry, that reminded me so much of my father. He calls me that all the time. Um, good, you?
Parisa: Good, good.
Parisa: Ah, while I have you—you should come over and eat dinner with us tonight. For once we actually went to the market and bought ingredients to make a meal and not something from one of the stalls. I'll introduce you properly to Kynna, my assistant.
Drustan: Oh, uh, I think we've met, actually. And I'm pretty sure I made a poor impression.
Parisa: Welp, you can make a better one tonight. The green house by the bridge, come by after sunset.
Drustan: Errrrr, alright?
Knowledge sims. 🙄
Parisa: Ah, you showed! I did wonder if I might have to drag you here.
Drustan: Ha, well, it would be nice to have a home-cooked meal. Um, the company's not bad either.
Parisa: That's the spirit!
At least Kynna likes Drustan more when they've both had a drink or two. He's not sure if wine makes him more tolerable or just increases her tolerance of him.
Parisa: Do you like the tapestry? It comes from my homeland. I have another in the other room, if you want to see it.
Drustan: It's beautiful. I didn't realize you came here from somewhere else too.
Parisa: Oh yes, I've been here so long that my accent has faded a little. Otherwise you might be able to better tell the difference between me and the island's natives when I speak.
Drustan: How did you come to live on Thessos? Because of the Library?
Parisa: In part... oh, you don't really want to hear an old woman's boring life story. *laughs*
Drustan: Well, now I'm intrigued.
Kynna: She just says that to sound mysterious.
Parisa: You're damn right I do.
Parisa: Fine, well. Once upon a time, I was a young woman, even younger than you two, believe it or not, and I fell in love with a prince.
Drustan: See, that is an intriguing start.
Parisa: My family had no noble heritage, but my mother was a well-known actress and my father was a physician who treated many of the rich, titled, and snotty, so they moved in those circles regardless. I was a bookworm who had very little patience for all of that, but when I grew old enough they started bringing me to parties and dinners in hopes that I would make connections or even find a spouse.
That was probably a mistake on their part, because whenever politics came up, I had no qualms about making my opinions known, regardless of the audience. One night I was seated next to a man about my age. I had no idea who he was, just that he had the most lovely, large, dark eyes. Someone else brought up a new governor the queen had just appointed, a man I considered both corrupt and unqualified. Obviously I couldn't possibly keep my mouth shut about that.
Kynna: Obviously.
Parisa: The young man first asked if I had so little faith in the queen's decisions, then asked me to clarify a few of my points. I had no idea until someone told me after dinner that he was the queen's second son.
Drustan: Oh shit.
Parisa: Precisely! I retreated out to the garden for a few moments to try to tame my embarrassment, but of course who else is out there but the prince. He saw me before I could hide; he approached me and told me 'thank you'.
Drustan: What?!
Parisa: He thanked me for voicing a different opinion and said that I had given him a lot to think about, bowed, then left. I hoped that was him gracefully letting me off the hook and that there wouldn't be any repercussions on my family.
Drustan: So what happened?
Parisa: At the next dinner party he came over and started a conversation with me. And at the next one. And it kept happening whenever we were at the same functions. I learned he was very academically minded—he spent a lot of time meeting with various philosophers and mathematicians and started inviting me along. One thing led to another...
Drustan: And you fell in love?
Parisa: We did. But it wasn't long until his family found out. The queen had plans for marriage alliances that involved him. One day she had her personal guard take him and escort him to a remote estate where they could make sure he stayed until his wedding.
Drustan: What? That's so sad.
Parisa: Unfortunately, that's the way of life for royal and noble children the world over, I've found—marriage alliances are a reliable way to establish connections and loyalty, but unless you're willing to take on four or five spouses yourself, eventually you need some handy children or perhaps cousins to tie that knot.
Parisa: So. I decided I would leave and travel, as young people with ennui and too much money do, and found myself lured by tales of the Library. Somehow I've never bothered to leave. Last I heard of the prince, he had helped establish a small library in his new wife's province. I think we actually sent them a copy of an astronomical treatise a few years ago.
Kynna: It was on the movements of the planets.
Parisa: Right, yes. Thank you, Kynna. What would I ever do without you to keep me sorted?
Duncan has become one of Drustan's closest friends here in Thessos.
Drustan: So, uh... I've been thinking it might be time for me to return home. Also my funds are getting low and I don't want to get stuck waiting for a boat while I save up for passage.
Duncan: My landlady's always looking for people to help with the grape harvest if you need some money. Gotta say, stomping them in that big vat is pretty fun.
Drustan: I can, uh, see the appeal, I guess, but the sun is so strong here that I get burnt way too easily out in the fields.
Duncan: Hmm, yeah, you do look like you'll get a sunburn if you stand next to a candle flame for too long.
Duncan: Are you homesick?
Drustan: Maybe a little... and I was thinking earlier, my parents are getting older while I'm away, and my sisters too. My youngest sister is probably twice as tall now as she was when I left. You've been here a while, Duncan—do you ever get homesick?
Duncan: Me? Nah. Sometimes I miss certain places, but I've moved around a lot; I like the novelty. I'll probably stay here a little longer, though.
Drustan: Until some more angry spouses try to run you off the isle, you mean?
Drustan has certainly enjoyed Thessos, especially the Library, but he really is a bit homesick. He wouldn't mind the opportunity to hug his parents and eat some of Da's lamb and dumpling stew.
His and Chen Zhi's little love affair is still on-going. Well, calling it a love affair is probably generous—more like friends with benefits.
Drustan figures if he's going to go home soon, he should make the most of Thessos while he's still here and pays another visit to the beach.
That seems like a good idea, considering how many fires there have been on the farm the last few rounds.
Drustan: So, um, yeah, I'll probably be leaving as soon as the winter storms clear out.
Parisa: Well, I'm sure we'll all miss seeing your scowling face around the Library. Do tell your father that he has thirty years worth of late fees on that book he checked out last time and I expect them to be paid in full.
Drustan: What?
Parisa: I'm joking, kid. You think I would allow someone to leave this building with one of our books?
Drustan spends a few hours picking olives for the landlord—an experience that is honestly more enjoyable in the rain than the hot sun for him—and makes himself a late lunch after he dries off. Chen Zhi returns from her own work and hangs around to chat with him a bit.
lmao. What on earth is that face for???
...Oh dear.
Zhi proceeds to spend the rest of her evening worrying.
Drustan: Zhi? Is something wrong?
Zhi: Oh... I'm pregnant. A midwife confirmed it for me today.
Drustan: What? I mean, that's, uh...
Zhi: *sniffs* The midwife thinks I'm almost half-gone, too. I didn't realize. My bleeding is never regular, and I didn't feel any different than usual until recently, except that I was a little tired...
Drustan: Um, I'm sorry? Okay, sorry, I have no idea what to say in this situation. Fuck.
Zhi: That's a pretty good word for it. The midwife agreed that it's too risky for me to use herbs to get rid of it once it's quickened...
Zhi: I just... I haven't finished my studies yet, and I have so many plans and I never even thought of fitting a baby into them! I don't even know where to begin doing that! And you, you're getting ready to return to your home, and now I'm springing this on you.
Drustan: Hey, um, you were surprised too. It'll be alright, Zhi.
Zhi: Will it? How am I supposed to practice medicine while forever running after a child? The money I have saved is enough to return home, not that and pay for a nursemaid—
Drustan: Give me the babe when he's born and I'll bring him home with me.
Zhi: What? You... you would be willing to raise a child alone?
Drustan: Well, uh, yes, but we wouldn't be alone. My parents love babies, and he would have aunts, and cousins to play with, and my babá can even teach him your language. You—you're so ambitious, Zhi, and I don't have all these goals and plans the way you do. But I feel like maybe… before I left Veridia, I was wondering what I was supposed to ever do with my life, and maybe this is it.
Zhi: You're a good man, Drustan of Avalon.
Drustan's last few months in Thessos seem to go by so quickly. He spends a lot of time at the Library and the rest of it with Chen Zhi, talking about either the baby or what they each plan to do when they've left Thessos. (Poor Junia back there with her sunburn!)
Drustan: There's no shortage of work on farms. I'm sure I'll find something to do.
Zhi: You don't sound very enthused.
Drustan: Well, after doing a bit of it here... I think I would rather work as a scribe? But, um, there's not much call for that in a small place like Veridia. I would have to try to establish myself in a city, or earn the patronage of someone wealthy with a taste for books...
Drustan: Or maybe I should just become a fisher like my best friend. He might like the help.
It's not long before Zhi goes into labor.
Drustan: Oh sh—what should I do?
Zhi: Go get the midwife!
Drustan: Right, right—
Drustan is soon feeding the newborn baby girl goat's milk while Zhi sleeps off her exhaustion. He finds himself rather grateful for his little sisters; at least he already knows how to feed, burp, and swaddle an infant instead of going into parenthood blind with little to no help.
The little babe is so sweet, though. He and Zhi didn't choose any names beforehand—Zhi worried that if she were to name the baby herself, she would grow too attached and it would hurt too much when it comes time to let her go, so Drustan will come up with something once he and the babe are safely on the boat.
And that marks the end of Drustan's time on Thessos. Gotta say, I was sort of expecting he would bring home maybe a few bottles of wine as a souvenir, not a baby. He'll return to Veridia next round.
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