The Tavern Down at Old Caernarvon (closed for heartofcourage)

[heartofcourage]

"You know, I feel woefully unprepared to be your wife. You know so much and I only know what I learned in Wales. Are you sure you wouldn't rather have someone that shares some of that with you?" She asked her husband, looking up at him in the firelight as the wind picked up outside.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Where'd tha' come from?" Durban asked softly, looking down at her with concern in his dark eyes and furrowed brows.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I just wonder." She said softly. "I never want you to get bored with me. I fear that some day you might."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Marri..." Durban drew Marri into his lap and held her tightly. "I never want t'hear you wonderin' whether yer good 'r interesting enough ever again. Yeah, I could've gone fer a well-traveled lass an' we could've wandered forever... but I don' think tha's what I need." Durban let his head rest against her own. "Th'one thing I never 'ad was a constant... My whole life, nothin's been sure. Anythin' could go wrong 'r change fer any reason. My family couldn' be constant because they were in th'same situation. An' I even uprooted you. But yer my constant... my rock. I know, come hell 'r high water, I belong next to you, an' you keep things as normal as nomadic life allows, fer me an' Gabriel. Tha's what I needed. An' beyond all tha'... one o' my greatest joys since marryin' you is teachin' you all th'things I've learned, showin' you th'people an' the places I've gone. I love t'see th'spark in yer eyes. I know I picked th'right person, because you keep everything together an' you make th'hard times more bearable. We 'aven't been going long, but we've been stronger than I ever was alone."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You're a hopeless romantic, Durban Ghis." Marri said with a small smile, leaning in to kiss her husband as he professed that she was the one that made him a better man. "When everything is said and done and our children are grown, I know that I only want to be by your side."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Yer too sweet t'me, love," Durban murmured with a kiss in return.

Winter set in with a vengeance from that point. While Marri had faced a few with Durban and Gabriel so far, they had at least been near towns before where they could get supplies and take shelter in an inn if things got too difficult. Out on the steppes, there were no such luxuries. It was plan ahead, or get caught unprepared in a blizzard. Durban spent most of his time herding and hunting while Marri, like most other mothers, became the chief caretaker of everything else. There were some couples in the tribe that reversed those roles, but it was safe to say that the men relied heavily on the women being able to keep things going so they could focus on gathering food and fuel for the fires, which was a constant endeavor.

It was before the Solstice that Durban and a few other men went off for nearly a week, returning the night before the Solstice with some packs in tow. While the tribe couldn't afford big feasts in the winter, they did have a few coins to spare to make the depths of winter a little happier for everyone. The gifts they brought out were not trinkets or jewelry for the most part, but useful tools and supplies. Many families were absolutely thrilled when Arslan gifted them sacks of coal and tinderboxes. It would make things a little easier to keep up with, especially for those who didn't have a constant supply because they lacked a person strong enough to keep up. This mostly included families where one parent had died, or older couples whose adult children could barely keep up with their own families.

Knowing Durban didn't have trouble keeping up with the fuel his family needed, Arslan decided he'd help on the other important front- food. Durban had been using his Mongolian shortbow for years almost constantly and it was showing signs of age despite how well Durban cared for it. So Arslan gave him a new bow and two quivers of hand-crafted bodkin arrows. The clan generally pooled all their money with their Khan and thus he provided for them accordingly. And because Durban's family pulled their own weight as well as anyone else, Arslan treated them as fellow clan members. Durban had more or less been adopted by Freya and Arslan, so Marri and Gabriel were family too.

The morning of the Solstice, Marri would wake to find a bundle beside her in Durban's place, and she was alone inside the ger. Durban usually made a habit of taking Gabriel out to learn how chores were done, letting the boy help where he could. Everyone was needed to keep the camp going, and everyone was expected to pull at least part of their weight as soon as they could toddle after their parents. By the time they were seven or eight, they would be functioning members of the clan.

 

[heartofcourage]

Marri woke to the silence in their ger, which wasn't unusual. She was becoming use to the idea that Gabriel could do more and more with his father. She enjoyed him in the evening when he was tired and only wanted to play and snuggle with her next to the fire. She stretched under the furs and turned to look at the bundle next to her with a small frown. When had Durban left something for her? She sat up and pulled the bundle closer, opening it to see what he had left behind.

 

[KieranSoares]

The bundle was wrapped with a new fur cloak that Marri had seen Freya working on, but she'd never said who it was for. Wrapped up with it was a smaller shortbow of Marri's own with a quiver of arrows. Durban had been making sure to teach her to hunt but he hadn't had a good bow for her to use that was easier to draw back. It was both for defense and in case Durban was away and they ran low on meat, or for Marri to take over hunting should Durban be unable. The bow was definitely from Arslan, but Durban's gift was something completely out of place in Mongolia.

Neatly wrapped in paper slightly worn at the edges from its journey across continents was a beautiful little hand-carved, thin wooden frame box made of Welsh yew. Protected by two thick wooden panels, there were two small paintings inside. One was of Marri's parents, and the other was of her brother and his lovely wife and a beautiful little baby girl that Marri hadn't yet heard about. With it was a bundle of letters from her family, as well as some new parchment and a bottle of ink and two new quills for Marri to be able to write back to them.

 

[heartofcourage]

Marri had never been so spoiled on her life. The fur cloak would keep her warm during the brutal winter and the bow would help her to carry the weight that Durban was shouldering when it came to providing for the family. Then she came across the gifts from her family. She couldn't help the tears that came when she saw her mother and father and then Armand's little family. Aida was cradling a little baby girl, one that she had no idea had even been born. She little girl looked like an angel, bright blue eyes and dark hair.

"I've missed so much." Marri murmured, looking to the letters that her family had sent as well.

 

[KieranSoares]

The letters ranged from the beginning of that winter all the way back to the last time they'd gotten a small bundle from Wales. Some of the first mentioned Aida's pregnancy and how Armen was adding on to their home. There were mentions of Ghis visiting fairly often, a few thwarted emergencies, and so on. Most were from Armen and Marri's parents, but Aida occasionally wrote little notes as she herself learned to read and write, until it developed into small letters of her own about the baby and Armen.

Marri's niece had been named Lise Simone in honor of her grandmother's French heritage and Lysander. She looked most like Aida, but had Armen's dark hair.

 

[heartofcourage]

Marri was crying as she read the letters, wishing that she could have known about the baby in time to have been there. It sounded like Lise was calm and quiet, a good infant for her mother and father. That was all that they could ask for, really.

 

[KieranSoares]

When Durban eventually returned, having let Gabriel scurry off with some friends under Freya's watchful eye, he paused after entering the ger. "Marri?" He asked softly, seeing the tears rolling down her face as she read the letters.

 

[heartofcourage]

"They have a baby." Marri said as she heard her husband's voice. "Her name is Lise and she's beautiful."

She wiped her cheeks, looking up at him with a sniffle. "I've missed so much of their lives."

 

[KieranSoares]

Durban came to kneel beside her, glancing down at the letters and the little framed paintings. "All those things can't get through easily... an' it's expensive t'send anything. Doesn' surprise me they 'ad t'send it all in one big bundle. They wanted t'make sure you got it in time fer Christmas," Durban told her with a little smile. "An' ye've got somethin' lovely t'look forward to whenever we go back."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I miss them so much, Ban." Marri confessed to him, wiping her damp cheeks. "I just want to hug them all and talk to them."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know, love," Durban nodded slowly. "I miss my clan too. An' I don' know how long it'll be before we 'ave th'money t'go back, but we will before we miss too much. I promise."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I know you'll find us a way, Ban." Marri said as she slowly started to calm down, tucking her letters away with a sigh. "I'm sorry I'm ruining the solstice for us. I have some things for you."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You aren't ruinin' anything. I expect tears an' happiness both where family's concerned." Durban kissed her and sat back. "Y'didn' have to worry about things fer me, love..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Of course I did, Ban. It's the holiday. What kind of wife would I be if I didn't get my husband anything for the holidays?" She murmured as he sat down next to the fire as well. "I managed something for Gabriel too. He's a good little boy and I want him to have the best memories that he possibly can."