"Gentle Storm" - Adelaide Slytherin-Gryffindor
Title: Gentle Storm. (027. Parents)
Characters/Pairing: Adelaide and Galen.
Rating: PG.
Word Count: 1654
A/N: Galen Gryffindor and Áina are Sil's brainchildren. The world they live in is JKR's.
There was an alarming entourage of people waiting for her when she stepped foot on the shores of Wales. There had been a fair few waiting when she reached Ireland, but that was a different matter. They were her friends and their families. The sight of so many people gathering around her when they weren’t necessarily supposed to know she had left the country set Adelaide’s teeth on edge. Then again, her teeth had been on edge for the past week. Áina had warned her and her wand had been packed up along with her clothes so she would not be able to turn on anyone as quickly as she would like.
“Unless all of you are here to help me Apparate, please step aside.” Her tone was colder than she really intended. On some level she was appreciative of their presence, but she didn’t have time. She just wanted a hot bath and apparel that made her look less maternal. She watched her luggage Apparate ahead of her and the Coachman - she had to scoff at the title since there was no coach to be seen - stepped up and offered his elbow. Grasping his forearm with both hands and closing her eyes, she felt the world around her move. She opened them again once she felt familiar stone beneath her feet, but again, there was a long line of staff waiting to welcome her. Had someone informed them or did they just have a sixth sense about these things? There was a distinct lack of Galen, however. At least some things were going unmentioned as she had requested.
“I suggest you scatter,” Adelaide said as politely as possible. “One wonders how my husband would feel if he knew his household staff were keeping things from him.” She doubted he would actually be that bothered, especially since she was making the situation out to be more significant that it really was. Nevertheless, murmurs rippled down the line that greeted her and, with the appropriate gesture of respect, they all took their leave and returned to their previous duties. Only her personal staff remained, although they looked a little nervous. She was clearly not quite herself.
“Ladies, if we could find rather more fitting attire for greeting my husband, I would be much obliged.”
Several hours was spent before the full length mirror in her bedroom, staring at her midriff from a side view. Of course, now that her maids had helped her in and out of various outfits they had all seen the reason she was less inclined to be as civil as she usually was. Upon hearing their excited chattering, she had rifled through her luggage for the singular purpose of turning her wand on them and issuing threats on their lives if they were to utter a word to anyone else. It would not do to have the rest of the country know there would be an addition to the family before the father did. They finally found something that hid her bump. It was small, virtually nonexistent, but she knew it was there and she suspected Galen knew her well enough to notice the difference if she got too close. She wanted to tell him first, and she justified these foolish sentiments with the way her allegedly delicate condition was changing her nature.
Even after she was bathed, dressed and fully made-up by the maids, Adelaide continued to examine her reflection.
“You had better be a boy,” she muttered almost inaudibly, “I refuse to go through such grief for anything less than an heir.” Lifting one hand to her hair, she prodded the bizarre hairstyle the maids had created. It suited her well enough - her vanity wouldn’t allow them to render her anything less than radiant - but it was strange. There were odd little trinkets pinning it up in an elaborate knot, but of course, she could not see the back of her head. Either way, she was tempted to pull them out and let her hair down properly. She was not being introduced at court; she did not need to look like a peacock.
“You abandon me for over a month and the first thing you do is fix your hair?” Turning her head, Adelaide’s eyes lit up as she saw Galen leaning again the doorframe. Circe, she had missed that smile. The remaining maids scurried out of the room despite her asking them to do so almost an hour ago. He opened his arms wide and she stepped forward, slipping her own arms around his waist and feeling far too pleased with herself when his closed around her shoulders and back. She had resisted the urge to run and jump into them. It was enough that he knew she always wanted to. Looking up, she rested her chin on his chest.
“I did not abandon you. I told you where I was going. I also recall telling you I wasn’t sure when I would be back.”
“But over a month?” There was a hint of a pout in his voice, though he was successfully keeping any sign of it from his face. “Adie, I missed you.” His arms tightened around her in a bear-hug and she felt her feet lifting off the floor. Pulling her arms up between them, she tried to loosen his grip a little.
“No, Galen, you can’t do that.” Almost immediately her feet returned to the floor. Confusion coloured his eyes and she stepped back, planting the palms of her hands on his chest. One of the buttons was odd; she made a mental note to find him a new tailor. “I needed Áina to confirm a few things. Well, one thing.” There were plenty of witches in Wales she could have turned to, but she trusted none of them. “And then she insisted that I stay, to rest.”
“Is your bed so uncomfortable that you can’t rest here?” Galen glanced at her bed with the bewildered expression of a man whose wife was deliberately being too vague. “I can have my bed brought down. Or we could swap rooms. If you didn’t demand your own room to begin with, this wouldn’t be a problem.” Adelaide raised an eyebrow. Not once had she slept in her room. She had spent the night there, with Galen, but that was quite different. This was just where she came to think.
“I’m sure the bed is perfectly fine,” she placed herself between her husband and the bed, trying to draw his attention back to her and not the state of her living quarters. “But sometimes you can be a little, well, rough.” If Galen had not caught his wife’s meaning from her slightly awkward tone, then he did from the way she blushed immediately after speaking.
“You were taking a rest from me?” Adelaide was about to reassure him that she wasn’t resting so much from him as from his bed when his face cracked into a grin and she found herself being directed backwards to her own bed. “So you’re rested now...”
“Galen, no, we can’t,” she tripped over her own foot and landed sitting on the mattress, pinned between the sheets and a rather insistent man. “I said no,” frustrated with the hands that were wrapped in her skirts, she swiped at them with one hand and used the other to tilt his face towards hers. “Galen, I’m pregnant.” The hands that struggled with her clothing fell still and, for the first time since she had met him, Adelaide could not read the expression behind the wide green eyes that stared back at her. “Say something, please.” There was not enough time for the concern in her voice to manifest itself in a frown before his hands were under her arms, lifting her up to the ceiling. Squeaking involuntarily, she grabbed at his forearms and he set her back on her feet before she had the chance to make any indignant demands. They stood there for a moment, Adelaide waiting for a more reasonable response while Galen held both of her hands in his.
“A father!” was his eventual declaration, plausibly loud enough for the whole country to hear. She envied his spirit; she had not felt so overjoyed when she discovered she was with child, she had been mildly irritated that it had not happened sooner and positively furious that her suspicions were correct. But her bad moods were to be expected and he, at least, had a sweet enough disposition to pull her back to some form of rationality if she lost her temper. “And you, a mother!”
“You aren’t supposed to be rough with me,” Adelaide reminded him, trying to sound firm despite the way her heart had skipped a beat when she heard the words from Galen’s mouth. It only took a few seconds for her to realise that statement had been ignored; she was draped over his arms, clinging onto his neck and feebly kicking her feet. “This isn’t playing fair,” she muttered through a slight pout, completely aware that while he was actually being gentle with her, she could not escape the usual lifts and bear-hugs.
“I know,” his grin was infectious. Relaxing a little, she allowed herself to smile and rested her head against his chest. She stayed that way as he made himself a seat upon the bed, leaning back against the wall and pulling the covers up over both of them. He watched as she curled up tighter on his lap and finally fell still.
A glance out the window confirmed that it was dusk. A reasonable hour to go to sleep and he would feel cruel waking her. Trying his best not to disturb her slumber, Galen carried her back up to his own chambers, blankets and all. Tomorrow was a good day for arranging the future. But tomorrow could wait until his wife was awake.
Characters/Pairing: Adelaide and Galen.
Rating: PG.
Word Count: 1654
A/N: Galen Gryffindor and Áina are Sil's brainchildren. The world they live in is JKR's.
There was an alarming entourage of people waiting for her when she stepped foot on the shores of Wales. There had been a fair few waiting when she reached Ireland, but that was a different matter. They were her friends and their families. The sight of so many people gathering around her when they weren’t necessarily supposed to know she had left the country set Adelaide’s teeth on edge. Then again, her teeth had been on edge for the past week. Áina had warned her and her wand had been packed up along with her clothes so she would not be able to turn on anyone as quickly as she would like.
“Unless all of you are here to help me Apparate, please step aside.” Her tone was colder than she really intended. On some level she was appreciative of their presence, but she didn’t have time. She just wanted a hot bath and apparel that made her look less maternal. She watched her luggage Apparate ahead of her and the Coachman - she had to scoff at the title since there was no coach to be seen - stepped up and offered his elbow. Grasping his forearm with both hands and closing her eyes, she felt the world around her move. She opened them again once she felt familiar stone beneath her feet, but again, there was a long line of staff waiting to welcome her. Had someone informed them or did they just have a sixth sense about these things? There was a distinct lack of Galen, however. At least some things were going unmentioned as she had requested.
“I suggest you scatter,” Adelaide said as politely as possible. “One wonders how my husband would feel if he knew his household staff were keeping things from him.” She doubted he would actually be that bothered, especially since she was making the situation out to be more significant that it really was. Nevertheless, murmurs rippled down the line that greeted her and, with the appropriate gesture of respect, they all took their leave and returned to their previous duties. Only her personal staff remained, although they looked a little nervous. She was clearly not quite herself.
“Ladies, if we could find rather more fitting attire for greeting my husband, I would be much obliged.”
Several hours was spent before the full length mirror in her bedroom, staring at her midriff from a side view. Of course, now that her maids had helped her in and out of various outfits they had all seen the reason she was less inclined to be as civil as she usually was. Upon hearing their excited chattering, she had rifled through her luggage for the singular purpose of turning her wand on them and issuing threats on their lives if they were to utter a word to anyone else. It would not do to have the rest of the country know there would be an addition to the family before the father did. They finally found something that hid her bump. It was small, virtually nonexistent, but she knew it was there and she suspected Galen knew her well enough to notice the difference if she got too close. She wanted to tell him first, and she justified these foolish sentiments with the way her allegedly delicate condition was changing her nature.
Even after she was bathed, dressed and fully made-up by the maids, Adelaide continued to examine her reflection.
“You had better be a boy,” she muttered almost inaudibly, “I refuse to go through such grief for anything less than an heir.” Lifting one hand to her hair, she prodded the bizarre hairstyle the maids had created. It suited her well enough - her vanity wouldn’t allow them to render her anything less than radiant - but it was strange. There were odd little trinkets pinning it up in an elaborate knot, but of course, she could not see the back of her head. Either way, she was tempted to pull them out and let her hair down properly. She was not being introduced at court; she did not need to look like a peacock.
“You abandon me for over a month and the first thing you do is fix your hair?” Turning her head, Adelaide’s eyes lit up as she saw Galen leaning again the doorframe. Circe, she had missed that smile. The remaining maids scurried out of the room despite her asking them to do so almost an hour ago. He opened his arms wide and she stepped forward, slipping her own arms around his waist and feeling far too pleased with herself when his closed around her shoulders and back. She had resisted the urge to run and jump into them. It was enough that he knew she always wanted to. Looking up, she rested her chin on his chest.
“I did not abandon you. I told you where I was going. I also recall telling you I wasn’t sure when I would be back.”
“But over a month?” There was a hint of a pout in his voice, though he was successfully keeping any sign of it from his face. “Adie, I missed you.” His arms tightened around her in a bear-hug and she felt her feet lifting off the floor. Pulling her arms up between them, she tried to loosen his grip a little.
“No, Galen, you can’t do that.” Almost immediately her feet returned to the floor. Confusion coloured his eyes and she stepped back, planting the palms of her hands on his chest. One of the buttons was odd; she made a mental note to find him a new tailor. “I needed Áina to confirm a few things. Well, one thing.” There were plenty of witches in Wales she could have turned to, but she trusted none of them. “And then she insisted that I stay, to rest.”
“Is your bed so uncomfortable that you can’t rest here?” Galen glanced at her bed with the bewildered expression of a man whose wife was deliberately being too vague. “I can have my bed brought down. Or we could swap rooms. If you didn’t demand your own room to begin with, this wouldn’t be a problem.” Adelaide raised an eyebrow. Not once had she slept in her room. She had spent the night there, with Galen, but that was quite different. This was just where she came to think.
“I’m sure the bed is perfectly fine,” she placed herself between her husband and the bed, trying to draw his attention back to her and not the state of her living quarters. “But sometimes you can be a little, well, rough.” If Galen had not caught his wife’s meaning from her slightly awkward tone, then he did from the way she blushed immediately after speaking.
“You were taking a rest from me?” Adelaide was about to reassure him that she wasn’t resting so much from him as from his bed when his face cracked into a grin and she found herself being directed backwards to her own bed. “So you’re rested now...”
“Galen, no, we can’t,” she tripped over her own foot and landed sitting on the mattress, pinned between the sheets and a rather insistent man. “I said no,” frustrated with the hands that were wrapped in her skirts, she swiped at them with one hand and used the other to tilt his face towards hers. “Galen, I’m pregnant.” The hands that struggled with her clothing fell still and, for the first time since she had met him, Adelaide could not read the expression behind the wide green eyes that stared back at her. “Say something, please.” There was not enough time for the concern in her voice to manifest itself in a frown before his hands were under her arms, lifting her up to the ceiling. Squeaking involuntarily, she grabbed at his forearms and he set her back on her feet before she had the chance to make any indignant demands. They stood there for a moment, Adelaide waiting for a more reasonable response while Galen held both of her hands in his.
“A father!” was his eventual declaration, plausibly loud enough for the whole country to hear. She envied his spirit; she had not felt so overjoyed when she discovered she was with child, she had been mildly irritated that it had not happened sooner and positively furious that her suspicions were correct. But her bad moods were to be expected and he, at least, had a sweet enough disposition to pull her back to some form of rationality if she lost her temper. “And you, a mother!”
“You aren’t supposed to be rough with me,” Adelaide reminded him, trying to sound firm despite the way her heart had skipped a beat when she heard the words from Galen’s mouth. It only took a few seconds for her to realise that statement had been ignored; she was draped over his arms, clinging onto his neck and feebly kicking her feet. “This isn’t playing fair,” she muttered through a slight pout, completely aware that while he was actually being gentle with her, she could not escape the usual lifts and bear-hugs.
“I know,” his grin was infectious. Relaxing a little, she allowed herself to smile and rested her head against his chest. She stayed that way as he made himself a seat upon the bed, leaning back against the wall and pulling the covers up over both of them. He watched as she curled up tighter on his lap and finally fell still.
A glance out the window confirmed that it was dusk. A reasonable hour to go to sleep and he would feel cruel waking her. Trying his best not to disturb her slumber, Galen carried her back up to his own chambers, blankets and all. Tomorrow was a good day for arranging the future. But tomorrow could wait until his wife was awake.