Pardoned on the Peak (Sequel to New World Sasanaichs)

Seven

April, 1757

Over the next couple months, things slowly got better and better for the young lass who’d undoubtedly lived the softest Life of an-yone on Morgan’s Peak. After being alerted to just how lil she’d actually been adjusting to her new Life, Jamie’d taken more proac-tive action to make sure she never felt that isolated again. He still maintained what separation he could between his Life with her a-nd that with his ginger wife, which meant his family was still split between two different cabins, but that was mostly for his own S-anity. There was nothing stopping the women from banding together to accomplish certain tasks, or simply calling on each other f-or company when he was physically absent, but it certainly allowed them to avoid unnecessary strife from having a constant battle for Control–which’d been his main goal with that separation.
As those couple months passed and her pregnancy grew heavier, Róisín found her sister wife to be quite the helping hand aro-und her cabin. She could still do almost everything necessary to keep her household running, but it was certainly easier for Geneva to chase after her daughter when the lass decided to be stubbornly defiant. It was also easier for said sister wife to bend over to g-et things from low shelves or off the floor, even though she’d long proven that she could just use her magick for such a thing, if s-he needed to.
However, the thing that was prolly the biggest and most important was something the ginger man was completely unaware of–their spending Time together not only allowed his wivesta bond more, but gave the younger of them a sorta mother figure. She w-as able to talk to another woman about certain things she’d have normally gone to Lady Dunsany about, if she felt that said mothe-r’d actually give her the answer she wanted–or needed, depending on the topic. But she didn’t have to Travel all the way to the No-rthern End of their homestead–near what everyone referred to as the Blowing Rock–to seek out Saoirse for that kinda motherly co-mpanionship and advice.
That was certainly something that came in handy one Day about halfway between the Sabbat of Ostara and Jamie’s birthday, a-nd he was unaware of just how much so since he was gone on another hunt.
“Uh, Rose…” the brunette lass said, her tone sounding nervous as she used the meaning of her name since she still couldn’t quite pronounce it.
“Aye, lass?” Róisín cocked a brow as she looked up from the list of staples she’d been making to send with Corbin down to W-oolam’s Creek.
“I was hoping I could talk to you about something.” She paused for a moment, her hands shaking as she settled at the table w-ith her.
“The worst I’m ever gonna tell ye is that something’s too personal to answer, or I dinna have the answer ye seek, but will move Ásgarðr and Miðgarðr to fine it, and ’tis even possible,” the Healer assured her.
“Ásgarðr and Miðgarðr?” Geneva’s brow furrowed in confusion, her Anxiety lessening a bit in her momentary distraction.
“Miðgarðr’s what Earth’s called in Norse culture–’tis one of the Nine Norse Worlds ye’ve heard me mention when I’ve sworn to them that I’d tan one of the weans’ hides, and they didna do as they were told,” she chuckled.
“Oh,” the brunette lass breathed, nodding. “Then what’s the other one?”
“Ásgarðr’s sorta like Heaven, and ye look at the Mythology the right way,” Róisín answered. “’Tis the home of the Gods, partic-ularly ones like Óðinn and Thor, as well as the location of Valhalla–the hall of Warriors slain in battle.”
“So, you basically said that you’d move Heaven and Earth to find any answer I wanted or needed, if you didn’t already have it–j-ust in your own way,” she laughed.
“Aye, more or less since I’m no any form of Christian, and never Intend to be,” the Healer said. “Now, what’s this ye Wish to s-peak to me about, lass?”
Geneva’s Anxiety ramped up again, which made her grab her free hand to give it a tight squeeze since–like their shared husba-nd–she was technically left-handed, but could use either hand for a lotta different tasks.
“Take a deep breath and relax, lass,” she told her. “Whatever ’tis, I guarantee ’tisna that bad, and ye’re just working yerself into a fit for naught.”
“I’ve been thinking about inviting Jamie to my bed lately–but for more than what lil we’ve engaged in since our wedding,” the brunette lass finally blurted, the Energy she was sending her through that physical touch Calming and Soothing her enough to spe-ak her mind.
“And ye’re terrified, ’cuz ye dinna ken exactly what to expect, aye?” Róisín chuckled.
Nodding, she finally became aware of the squeeze she was giving her hand when she reflexively Returned it, the action seemi-ng to Calm her even more.
“’Tis the exact reason why I’ve never liked that particular rule of Christianity, and ye will,” the Healer said. “No only’re lasses l-ed to believe they’re insignificant, compared to lads–even though we’ve more Power than them in our own ways–but they’re raised to be scairt shiteless of an act that’s perfectly Natural, which makes them resistant to it when the Time comes, and it ever does.”
Geneva’s eyes widened as she listened, mostly ’cuz her sister wife warned her that part of what she was about to tell her was no doubt to make her think she was a heathen at first. But while she certainly did question the morality of Elves a bit at first, just li-ke Jamie’d once done, she could also see the point she was trying to make to her. That allowed her to move on to what lil she re-membered of her first Time, considering she’d never used her magick to regrow her maidenhead before or after her handfasting.
Róisín admitted that the memories of that Time were fuzzy, at best, but she remembered enough to confirm that such a thing did generally hurt for lasses. More importantly than that, though was that she remembered how Lachlan’d almost immediately rais-ed her up higher to reduce the pressure–and therefore, the pain–she felt. He’d also remained as still as a statue while waiting for t-hat pain to fade enough for her to give him a sign that she was ready for the next step. Only when she’d whined irritably and tried to push herself back down onto him, her hips trying to roll against his pelvic bone, had he moved a muscle other than to breathe and let his hands guide her into the perfect rhythm.
Chuckling as she squeezed her hand again, she told her that Saoirse’d recounted having a similar experience, the main differe-nce that hers hadn’t involved saving her Life from haywire magick. Her mother’d told her that she’d experienced a momentary sha-rp pain once her father’d fully entered her, but that pain’d quickly faded into a mere dull ache. And a bath of special Healing herbs and Salts–which’d allowed her to clean up the mess even her sister wife was aware would be left, too–had helped relieve even that dull ache.
“’Tisna nearly as bad as folks like yer màthair’d (mother’d) have ye believe ’tis, lass,” the Healer said. “No and ye’ve a lad that actually cares enough to take his Time, that is.”
“Màthair?” Geneva queried, her brow furrowing again.
“It means mother in the Gàidhlig,” she answered on a chuckle.
“Ah, I see.” The brunette lass nodded. “I’ve never spoken aught but English, so I generally have no Earthly idea what you Scots say.”
“Which’s even worse with us, Elves since we’re no always speaking Gàidhlig, ken,” Róisín snickered.
Her eyes widened in surprise, which earned her a grin.
“Sometimes, we’re speaking Quenya, the language of the High Elves,” the Healer told her. “Others, we’re speaking Sindarin, w-hich’s pretty similar to the Gàidhlig–others still, we’re speaking one called Noldorin, which’s a sorta lower class of Quenya.”
“And even Jamie can speak those?” Geneva asked, her eyes round with Wonder.
“Aye, plus a few others unique to Elves,” she answered, nodding. “We made sure he kent them all just like we do, and he sho-uld ever need to use them to Communicate with other Elves who didna speak English, Gàidhlig, or any other Earthling language.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” the brunette lass mused. “Unlike what you say about Christianity Intentionally raising their girls-ta Fear the physical joining of man and wife.”
“Och, that’s ’cuz the men who essentially Created Christianity when me grandsire was a young Elf didna understand things like how bairns were made, so they started Fearing the so-called Power a woman possesses in that respect,” Róisín said with a snort.
“What do you mean?” she queried, her brow furrowing once again.
“I canna truly explain it to ye since I dinna fully understand it meself, but think about it, lass,” she answered. “It takes a màthair agus athair (mother and father) to Create a child fer a reason.”
Geneva nodded, her eyes momentarily dropping down to the globe of her belly that was Hidden beneath her dress at the mo-ment.
“In that respect, men and women’re equal since we couldna Create a new generation wi’out the other,” the Healer said. “The o-nly way that women’ve more Power than men in that regard is ’cuz we can carry those infantsta term, and generally survive a live Birth–men canna, so it made men of Ancient Times jealous.”
“That…actually makes sense,” she mused, nodding again.
Róisín issued a nod of her own as she said that due to that Jealousy, those who converted to one monotheistic religion or ano-ther–whether through choice or coercion–wanted to take away what Power they considered women to have. By doing that, they m-ade themselves seem more significant and powerful than they really were–it was sorta similar to how Royalty worked, when one t-hought about it. What they didn’t realize was while they might succeed with making a lotta the womenfolk believe they were right about them being weaker and far less powerful, they wouldn’t succeed with all of them.
Circling back around to her original topic, the Healer reiterated that if she were to Change her mind, Geneva’d undoubtedly suf-fer some pain with her first Time, regardless of the man who was Graced with her virginity. The thing she needed to remember w-as that much like Lachlan, the husband they shared may not seem like it at Times, but he was equally tender and gentle. As long as she didn’t tease him overmuch and he hadn’t been without a woman for too long beforehand, he’d take the same approach with her first Time as his Elvin father-in-law’d once done. It was only if she teased him too much and/or he’d been without for just long enough when she extended such an invitation to him that he wouldn’t be very gentle with her, even though he damn well should.
The brunette lass’ brow furrowed as she considered her words, then she nodded as she admitted that it could be hard to tell whether or not he’d been with her sister wife in that sense recently. Grinning, said sister wife told her to pay attention to how tense his shoulders seemed to be, and how much he did or didn’t seem to lapse into Daydreams. When he was overly tense or seemed to Daydream more than normal, chances were, they hadn’t been together recently and inviting him to her bed wouldn’t be smart.