The Birthday

Anhelina knocked on my door a little before sunrise. It startled me awake, my little heart taking off as if I were being chased. Footsteps sounded and I heard Putra’s soft voice on the other side of the door.

“I already tried to wake her up. She asked for another half hour.”

I could hear her sigh. Most mornings I got up without too much of a pushback and a whole lot of bitching, but sometimes, I needed the extra half hour. I didn’t usually sleep much before moving here, but since everything had changed in my routine, I was more exhausted than normal. I could count on one hand how many times I actually asked her to give me more time.

“Alright, then. I’ll be back in a half hour.”

I settled back into bed, wishing Putra could come and sit with me. As it was, no man was allowed in my room. Even if Muin visited me, unless there was an emergency, Putra would never be allowed in.

The first rays of morning spilled in, dulled by the curtains and by the time the light hit my bed, and I was me again. Human and clumsy and feeling far too large for my skin. And cold. Far too cold.

When Anhelina came back, she didn’t knock, just walked in to wake me up. Thankfully I’d already pulled on my pajamas. “Oh! I thought you needed more time.”

“I did, but the sun said otherwise,” I said. I slid out of bed, yawning. “Tell me about my day.”

In the weeks to come, my routine remained the same. In the morning, I had my history class with Jurek, in the afternoon I went over the mountain of paperwork Muin set aside for me, and in the evening, I had my free time.

Letters from Muin slowed as the Solstice Festival came closer, shut in his office to answer the influx of budget requests.

The Solstice Festival in Wisteria was a huge event that lasted almost two weeks leading up to the actual solstice. Every part of the city was covered in lanterns of every color. Fried foods, soups, and stews brewed in every stall and games were played in ferocity. Alcohol flowed after sunset to warm the adults that were still wandering around. It was a time of good and bad decisions to make the most of the next year.

In Datura, the festival lasted only one day, but boy did they seem to go all out. The budget Jurek showed me far exceeded anything else I’d seen.

But more than that, there was one thing that we, as a house, needed to celebrate before we went to the festival.

As I looked over the letter Muin had left for me on my desk, I smiled. I’d received two letters since my last reply. The first was short, not even half a page. He wrote to me about two days after my first day as a proper marquis and told me he loved the painting I’d left for him, though looking at it for too long made him hungry. The other part was about the songs he knew on cello. A few folk songs and lullabies and asked if I knew their accompanying vocals (I did) and told me he looked forward to working with me.

The second he sent me a few days ago.

> November 19

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> Lady Hyran,

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> Thank you for your patience with the time between our letters. I know you’ve told me not to worry but worry I must. It’s what gets me through the day.

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> Before I ask you this favor, I have to commend you on your diligence and effort you’ve been putting in your work. I’m sure Jurek’s told you this, but everything you do comes across my desk. There’s been very little I needed to change and what I did need to change is just from your lack of knowledge of the people and town. Your knowledge of both is rapidly increasing.

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> Since you’ve started working with me, I’ve had more time to explore the hobbies you’ve asked me about. I’m still awful at cello, though I remember how to play those songs I mentioned. Perhaps your voice could carry the burden of talent and others could focus on that instead. I also remembered the other thing I enjoyed was gardening. When I first came to Datura, I was determined to fix up the greenhouse, but I never had the time to do so. Now I have a bit more free time and I want to get back to it. I see that you’ve already started to clean and pick up, which I greatly appreciate.

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> Perhaps if our schedules align, we can take a walk and work in the greenhouse together.

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> As for the favor, I ask that you help plan a celebration for Jurek. Her birthday is November 23 and while I know she’s always busy, she deserves some time to celebrate another year. I want it to be a surprise around two-thirty, so I’ve asked Freja and Kristin to help you and Anhelina. I know this will be difficult since you’re always around her, but I ask that you try. When you’re ready, leave me a letter to let me know.

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> Lord Muin

Last night I left a letter on his desk and today I was in my room, getting ready for the party. I had to be quick since she would be in the living room soon. Jurek always made a lap around the manor after our history lessons, tidying as she went. Around two-thirty she would be in the living room. Around two, everyone would gather there to wait until she came, having put up the decorations in the time between her last lap and now.

As I walked out, patting my clothes and flanked by Putra and Anhelina, I tried to calm my nerves. The party would be fine, I was sure. Fedir knew her favorite foods and Kristina and Freja were amazing planners. The thing that had my stomach in knots was my husband. This was the first time we would properly see each other since the wedding and the first time we would talk in person. I suppose the wedding counted, but considering it was less than ten words altogether, I didn’t.

It isn’t about you, I reminded myself. We were here to celebrate Jurek, not awkwardly stand next to Muin and hope he was as likable in person as he was through letters.

“You look ready to throw up,” Putra said.

“I feel it,” I said, taking a deep breath. I was glad I chose a floor length, flowing dress. If I’d worn anything tighter, I might have lost my lunch on the floor, however light it had been. “You think Jurek would be upset if I skipped out?”

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“If you’re unwell, I’m sure she would understand,” Anhelina said. A glance saw that her brows were furrowed, and she had a deep frown. “Was it something you ate? I can ask Fedir to change the food if there’s something you can’t eat.”

“I’m allergic to tuna but we don’t seem to have a lot of that here.” There wasn’t much fish in the diet of a landlocked town. “I’m just anxious. I’ll be okay.”

“You better be,” Putra muttered. “I put a lot of work into this and if you sit this out, the whole thing will be ruined, and I didn’t spend hours scouring the property for flowers for you to chicken out.”

“Alright, I get it.” He could be so snippy sometimes. “I’ll keep it together.”

The living room was one of the largest rooms in the manor. It was where guests would be entertained and where the bulk of my time, if I didn’t have the art studio, would be spent outside of work. It had several soft couches, a large, low coffee table, and a fireplace big enough for me and Putra to sit side by side in. The walls of this space were still white since I wasn’t sure what to put there. Like the entryway, I wanted it to reflect both of us. Since his last letter, a few ideas were starting to form.

Now, as we walked in to see everyone standing at the ready behind those large couches, I could see our hard work all together. There was a sign above the fireplace that I’d painted that screamed HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUREK! in bright, bold letters. The coffee table was full of presents and the walls were covered in various flowers hanging upside down to dry. In an offhanded comment a few weeks ago, she’d mentioned how she loved flowers, but never saved them since she could never figure out how to dry them properly.

Off to one side was a long table full of her favorite treats: vanilla cupcakes, sugar cookies, donuts, the flaky bread we’d brought back from the baker, and a huge two-tier chocolate cake. Taking up much less space on the table was the finger sandwiches that we all knew were going to go to the wayside.

On the left were the butlers Franz, Rozina, Pili, and Kristina. Freja and Kasi were next to the windows, ready to throw open the curtains when Jurek walked in. They looked excited for a moment, then realized it was just us and moved back to the couch. Anhelina posted by the door to keep watch and Putra followed me to the other couch where Fedir and Muin were standing.

I tried to keep my staring discreet, but I couldn’t get over how much different he seemed. At the wedding, I only really took in his face and how stiff he was. Now, despite having the curtains drawn, I could take in all of him. He must have shaved for the wedding since he had a thick, but well-trimmed beard shot through with a solid patch red against his dark brown hair. He was taller than I realized, at least half a foot taller than me and so solidly built I was sure I could run into him at full speed, and he wouldn’t budge. His hands gripped the back of the couch and the size of them was dauting. Definitely bigger than my face and very calloused. Everything about him was huge and I couldn’t figure out how I didn’t notice before.

I took my spot next to him, suddenly feeling smaller than I had in a while.

There was a low rumble next to me and I realized Muin was clearing his throat. “It’s nice to see you again.” His voice was deeper than I remembered and seemed to shake the air as he spoke.

“You, too,” I said. My voice was far too high, and my stomach rolled as a new wave of anxiety claimed me. For Solas’ sake I was calmer at my wedding than I was just standing next to him. I’d been looking forward to actually talking to him and now that I had a moment to, I was at a loss for words. I tried to keep my voice low as I said, “Do you, uh. Do you know how old Jurek is?”

He was quiet for a moment, and I was sure I screwed up. Maybe he didn’t know or maybe he wanted to wait for her to get here before talking about her. Maybe he thought I was stupid for not knowing despite helping put this together.

“Forty-seven,” he said, looking back at me. I could have cried with how relieved I was he answered. Instead, I relaxed my death grip on my dress and tried to breath normally. “She’s been serving my family for about half of that, I believe.”

“Really?” That was a bit surprising. Anhelina mentioned he’d had to get warmed up to her at first. Maybe his family just had so many servants he wouldn’t have seen her much. With how lavish I was told they lived, I wouldn’t be surprised. “Did she come here with you?”

He nodded. “After I… After I moved out here, my parents decided to send her with me to help out since she was originally from here. It was an adjustment.”

“I can imagine,” I said.

“I’m sorry.” He looked away, staring at the fireplace. “I know this isn’t what you assumed your future would be like.”

“Why are you apologizing?” He turned to face me again, brows furrowed and head tilted. I wanted to reach up and smooth out the wrinkles on his forehead. “It’s not like either of us had much of a choice in what happened. I just hope you had a bit more time before hand than I did.”

“I did know the moment it was decided,” he admitted. “But I know the cold isn’t something you can easily get used to and, well.” He looked away again. “I’ve been here by choice for years. You were torn away from your family and your home. If you were unhappy here or hated me, I wouldn’t blame you.”

“Oh. Right.”

It was hard to sort through my feelings about Muin and being here when they were always so jumbled up. I was still homesick often enough that I cried while painting, remembering the first time I picked up a brush or my room where I used to paint. I still got angry when I thought about the way my parents acted at the wedding—Dad’s ambivalence and Mom’s outright hostility that she would never be able to set aside. Everything about uprooting my life still sent me reeling when I really thought about it. I was told a week in advance about the wedding and in less than a month my whole life changed and there was nothing I could do about it.

The sad part was, when it came to Muin himself, I was always neutral about him and now, after talking with him through our letters, I was leaning toward positive. I looked forward to receiving his letters and getting to know the man I married, but since he was at the center of my world being shattered, I couldn’t help but attach his image to the pain and anger I felt.

“You got me there,” I sighed. “It’s a big adjustment and I still miss home, but I don’t hate you. It’s hard to hate someone who’s made sure I have every accommodation and comfort a girl could want. And you complimented my paintings.” I flashed him a grin. “That’s always a good way to get into my good graces.”

His brows shot up and opened and closed his mouth, like he was struggling to form words, but his response was cut off by Anhelina’s harsh whisper. “My lords!” She motioned to the door and rushed over to us, dropping down as we all crouched.

There was a heavy moment of silence as we all waited for Jurek, her footsteps getting louder until we heard the door creak open.

Kasi and Freja pulled opened the curtains as we all popped up, shouting, “Happy birthday!”

Jurek, despite squinting at the sudden light, looked at a loss for words as she stared around the room. She took a step in as everyone moved from their hiding spots, swarming her. She looked tearful, a sharp difference from the stern woman I normally faced.

“I can’t believe you did all this,” she said, turning her head away as she dabbed her eyes. “You all shouldn’t have worried about today; it’s honestly just another day.”

“Just another day?” Kristina said, looking appalled. “I wouldn’t have a job if it weren’t for you so you being born also set into motion me being here.”

“All of us being here,” Pili added. “We wouldn’t be here without you. So just let us celebrate you and enjoy it, okay?”

She smiled, looking around the room, taking in the decorations and food, before settling her eyes on me and Muin. “It’s great to have you both here, my lords.”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Muin said. “It’s not often I’m around during the day and I wanted to be here for you.”

“Yeah, and it’s the least I can do for all those history lessons you give me on top of your regular duties.” I leaned forward, grabbing her hands. “You’re always so on top of everything every day and it’s a marvel to behold. But today, for right now, you can relax. At least a little.”

Her shoulders fell a bit, her immaculate posture easing as she looked at the table full of sweets. “A little break wouldn’t hurt.”

“That’s the spirit!” I turned to everyone as Fedir, who’d stepped out to get the booze walked back in. “Let’s party!”