Sisters Three (Completed)

35. Brenna (1/2)

"A child?" Robbin asked through clenched teeth.

They stood in Brenna's bedroom, the morning sun only just risen in the sky. Brenna sat by her mirror, trying to match a necklace to her gown, while Robbin paced restlessly behind her. Raking his hand through his hair, he stopped by the bed.

"Are we certain?"

"A doctor hasn't been to check, but it's... well, the signs all point to it," Brenna said, settling on a pendant made of amber and silver. She clasped it behind her neck and arranged her curls to fall on one shoulder. The wide neckline of her gown exposed a swatch of pale skin, and she titled her chin to admire the effect.

Robbin let out a long breath and sat with a flop on her mattress. They'd sent away the maids before anyone could straighten out the blankets and pillows, and so he half-buried himself by accident. Brenna pushed away from the mirror and came to yank her pillows out from under him and toss them to the other side of the bed.

"So this maid decided to spread the news that Afton has an heir, and now the people wish for the infant to be crowned," Robbin said. It wasn't a question, just a recitation of the facts. "Who do they expect to rule for it until it's old enough?"

"Morna, I expect. They're all quite taken with her now that Afton's died. When he breathed she was a backwoods Ittalan, but now they think she's some saint from heaven," Brenna said. She'd meant it as a joke, but a hint of bitterness put an edge to her voice.

Robbin said nothing at first. Brenna lost interest in the conversation and was about to ask him if he thought her blue gown was too gaudy for morning wear, when he jumped up and slammed a fist into the bedpost.

Blinking in surprise, Brenna froze with her mouth open. It was so sudden that she couldn't think of anything to say after his outburst. He saved her from having to come up with anything.

"These people are never pleased," he growled. "They want this child to be the monarch, to rule them. They want Morna as regent. I fought for them, won this battle with Revours for them. The risks we went to to ensure that this war ended quickly and in our favor, and yet they toss me aside like refuse once they don't need a warrior anymore?"

Robbin's fist hung clenched at his sides, his face flushing red. Brenna edged back a step, putting the bed post between them. "They want their bloodline, Robbin."

"Of course, that cursed bloodline. It's been a bane to me since I was born, the wretched thing," he muttered. "Added to that I can consider myself a sinful consequence, as well, seeing as how my mother and father couldn't make it to a wedding before starting my miserable existence. Afton, of course, and the two little non-entities we call brothers, have the world at their fingertips. Mi and Wesley have the ill-fortune of Afton's child taking their place as well. Seems we're all to be cursed by my brother's death."

"Robbin, we're not going to get anything done complaining about things we can't change. You were born of a mother who did not have ties to the queen. That is done and gone, and cannot be helped. What we can do, however, is prove to the people that you are a better option that an unborn child. We can still earn their loyalty. As you said, you won the battle with Revours for them. The men who fought with you saw your bravery and cunning."

Robbin strolled to the windows that lined one wall of Brenna's bedroom, and leaned against the stone work to peer into the courtyard. Her room was located just above the covered walkway, and thus had a view of the destruction from the bombing. They'd mostly cleared away the rubble in the weeks passed, but the gate still hung damaged from its mooring, and the patchwork done to the road was messy and obvious. Guards had made a temporary barricade from sharpened poles and mounds of earth, to make up for the gaping hole in the gate.

"There's something else about Morna," Brenna said, her eyes trained on her skirt. She wasn't sure if she should tell him, if it really was as bad as she thought. Yet, her mind kept straying to the many times she'd found her sister standing in water after Afton had died. If the curse was back to stay, she knew Robbin had to know. "She has a problem."

She launched into the strange story of her sister's curse, trying to explain something that she didn't fully understand herself. Robbin looked skeptical at first, but he'd seen enough of Morna's peculiar behavior to doubt for very long. As Brenna talked, his expression grew darker and his fist clenched at his side.

"It's come back recently?" he asked.

Brenna nodded mutely, feeling like somehow she was betraying her sister. However, if she didn't tell Robbin about it, she'd be betraying him by hiding something that large from him. Not to mention the country-- should they bring the child to rule and have Morna as their regent, her curse would be a threat to the entire kingdom.

"This doesn't bode well," Robbin muttered. "Perhaps..."

"What?" Brenna looked up, pushing off the bed and walk to his side.

"Maybe she needs help. There's a place in the country that deals with those whose minds are damaged. She could go there and they might be able to cure her."

"An asylum, you mean," Brenna said, her voice flat. She knew such places, where they locked those with strange behavior and addled minds in rooms that were never visited except by their nurses. She shivered at the thought of Morna, all alone so far away, taken from what was left of her family. Such healing was a rough procedure, and Morna was a delicate soul. "I don't think we need to be so hasty to be rid of her."

"We're approaching a ledge, Brenna," Robbin said, turning to face her. "A war was just fought for the throne, and this child brings with it the threat of another. We can risk even more lives by having it around, or we can send Morna to the asylum and the people can see that she is not the beloved leader they thought she could be."

Brenna hesitated. She didn't like the idea of her sister alone. Letting Morna take the throne could be so easy, just stepping aside and being content with what would have been their lot from the start. Morna would never treat them badly if she were queen, Brenna knew that. If anything, they would have an easier life as merely the sister and brother-in-law of the regent, instead of having to wade through the backlash that came with the end of a war. Those who didn't side with Afton's child were sure to demand repayment for the years of fighting, and Grella would want Brill as soon as they knew Robbin was safely on the throne.

Yes, it would be so easy to step aside. Yet the thought of giving it up, taking the crown off and giving it to another, froze Brenna with fear. There was no way she could release this position. For once she was someplace where no one could take anything from her, and yet they threatened to. She couldn't give in to their demands, couldn't just step to one side and watch others make decisions once again.

But still she didn't know if she could condemn Morna to a life in isolation merely for bearing Afton's child.

Shaking her head, Brenna rubbed the bridge of her nose to try and ease the headache which sprang up there. Brain feeling like mush, she just wanted a bit of peace to think in.

"I'm going to go down to breakfast," she said, grabbing a shawl and wrapping it around her shoulders.

Robbin watched her go without a word, but Brenna knew he wouldn't just forget about Morna. Shaking her head once again, she dispelled the drama for the moment. Thinking about everything all at once was only serving to make her temples pound.