To Become a Father

Rosamund sipped his tea in silence, deeply focused on the document in front of him. His engineer's plans for a steam engine train had gone missing. According to his mother, the poor woman was inconsolably crying in their manor for hours until she passed out from exhaustion. He decided he needed to pay her a visit soon, as her benefactor. There was also a new merchant company in the Capital, asking for a trade permit...
"Rosamund," Ekliptik said.
"Hm?"
"Is the tea good?"
"Yes, very good. Thank you," he absentmindedly said.
"I made it," they said.
"Oh, I apologize. The tea is amazing, I've never had better. Officer Teodolit only wishes he could compare to you." He offered them a playful smile.
They nodded, satisfied. They weren't in livery today, but they were still dressing as a young man. In fact, they exclusively wore men's clothes since his event, despite Rosamund noticing they preferred dresses once they got a few. Perhaps he should talk to them about it, or perhaps it was too soon to bother them. He supposed by now they knew they could rely on him. "Do you have any reports for me?" he asked instead.
They sat on a chair backwards, resting their chin on its back. "Yeah. In order: two of those guardsmen you exiled turned to banditry and they are terrorizing a few nearby villages with a group of similar trash. I already told Hexkey, he will clear them out. I'll have a few people going with him, so you can tell me if you'd prefer them dead or alive."
"Aha. Tell Hexkey that I'd prefer people captured rather than killed. A judge can sort them out. However I understand how difficult that might be considering the situation. I will trust his judgement, but I want your men's report along with his on my table after that issue is resolved."
They nodded.
"What of the other two?" he asked.
They shrugged. "One tried his luck in the Cove and got killed. Other one's living, I guess. I don't know where he is. I only know these guys because they did stuff I could notice."
"Fair enough. Thank you for your help," he said. "Do you have anything else to report?"
"Mhmm. Rumors 'bout you an' Nita bein' lovers," they said. Their ears turned a bit red. "I figured it'd be best to bury 'em before you get hurt. I talked to Lady Ansatz and she helped me to gather some information. I made up some gossip and had my guys spread it through the commoners in the city. It's believable enough, an' more interesting than this now that Nita left town."
"Very clever."
"Thanks. Are you, uh, gonna marry?"
"No."
"Oh. Aight." They tried their best to hide disappointment in their voice, so Rosamund decided to respect that and pretended not to notice.

Hmm... "Mislav left me some candy as a parting gift. Would you like to try?" he asked.
"Sure."
Rosamund fetched a small tin can from his drawer and gave it to the teenager. It was filled to the top with hard sugar candy that was flavored with various fruit juices. Ekliptik tried a red one and instantly took a few more. He decided to make sure he always has a bowl of sweets on his table, since they loved it so much.

"Anything else?" he asked.
"Yeah. Some stuff, I'm solving it with Nivelir tho. Nothing new from the Coterie, Prony's doing good work there. I'm still keepin' an eye on Alberic. Nothing new... I think. He's weird. He puts up a show when he's coming over here, but back in the palace he keeps to himself. Ravenel is scary."
"From my experience, he is the most reasonable of the royals. He keeps quiet and listens to what people say before making a decision. There is a wisdom to that," he said. "Alberic is much more... rash, I suppose. But he is very young."
"But you support Alberic," they said.
"I do. I am not sure I would've been able to convince Ravenel to ally with Adanita, to be honest. Alberic needs all the support he can get, so he could agree to this loss of land. Ravenel... would surely feel a certain amount of entitlement to it. And besides, Alberic's concerns about him seem... valid, although he never gave me a reason to suspect anything."
"I don't like him. I think Alberic is the sanest," they said.
"Well, that's sad. The bar is in hell," Rosamund replied. "But I will trust your judgement. I am happy to know I made the correct choice." They were remarkably good at reading people. Better than him, in many ways. He could tell when people were lying, but they had a keen sense and skill to detect danger. If they decided Ravenel was worse, they surely had a reason to.

"How were you planning to do it if Alberic hadn't come along?" they asked.
"I don't know. No plan survives the first contact with the enemy, so I try to remain as flexible as possible. Alberic was simply the first opportunity that came my way. If there had been something else, I would've done things differently. I had some ideas and they would've been aimed directly at Sarmia. They were far riskier though, so I am happy I don't need to use them."
"So you're just making it up as you go?"
"Yes."
"Does Nita know you're insane?"
"I believe so. But perhaps keep the full scope to yourself. Last thing I need is Nivelir starting a mutiny if he realizes it," he joked.
"You seem happier now that you're together."
"I am," he said. "Though, I did decide I'd like to grow closer to you, too. You are rather endearing and I'd like you to know you can rely on me."
"Heh. Sure thing, pops."

Pops?

Pops?

Rosamund's heart melted as Ekliptik buried their face in their hands. They were thoroughly embarrassed, trying to make themself seem smaller. Dear goodness, this just wouldn't do. They were being absolutely adorable and he couldn't just let it slide. He got up and approached them. He gently placed a hand on their head and started petting them.

"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Mhm."
"You know why I can't officially adopt you, right? It would be a horrible experience for you. You would be acknowledged as the future heir of the Alsop en la Dale, title, land, name, and everything that comes with it. It is a heavy burden."
Silence.
"You'd need to constantly visit events like my party, and you wouldn't have people protecting you from Sinjon and those like him once I am gone. Social aspect, intrigue, diplomacy, owning land and leading people... it is a tough act. I don't want you to be bound into that life. You would suffer and I don't want that," he said. "But I like you. You are a sweet and dear young person. If you would consider me a father even without an adoption... it would be the highest honour I can imagine. I will be happy to have you as my-" men's clothes, but overall androgynous. Rosamund calculated in his head for a split second before smoothly finishing the sentence with "-daughter."
Bingo. They looked up with a smile, still awkward and red in the face, but happy. Rosamund smiled back.
"Would that be alright with you? Perhaps don't say it in public, it would cause both of us a lot of trouble if people started thinking you are my illegitimate child, but you may call me pops whenever you'd like to. I find it sweet."
They nodded again and went back to hiding their face.

Hmm...

"You know," he said, leaning on his table and crossing his arms, "yesterday a merchant came and tried to sell me a coffin."
They looked up, alarmed. "What?"
"I told him it's the last thing I need," he said with a bright smile.
Ekliptik was deeply confused. "Wha- oh. Oh gods."
He let out a laugh. "What is orange and sounds like a parrot?"
They shook their head.
"A carrot~"
They groaned and covered their ears.
"What do clouds wear under their pants?"
"...what."
"Thunderwear."
"These are the worst jokes I've heard!" they complained over Rosamund laughing. They sighed and looked away. "...do they have silver lining?"
"Now you're getting it!" he brightly said.
"Do you have more?" they awkwardly asked.
"I can't waste them all on the same day. You should come by tomorrow if you want more."
"Heh. Right."

They were cute when they were blushing. Their overly pale complexion turned more healthy under the care of people in the manor. They gained a bit of weight and they looked happier and more rested than when they first met. If Rosamund helped them even slightly with the stress of their position, he was glad.

So why was he suddenly feeling so uneasy? As if something changed in the air, a strange suffocating sensation. Was he having an anxiety spike for no reason? Ekliptik didn't notice it yet, and since they were so sensitive he really needed to fully focus on making sure they don't catch on. There was no need for them to be concerned.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" he offered. "I'm somewhat tired from work, I think I could use a break."
They nodded and he offered his elbow to them, leading them through the hallways towards the garden. The sense of unease was simply growing as they walked, but he firmly decided not to let it show. He couldn't let his silence to last too long. He started considering sending them away on some business, but he simply didn't want to. He wanted to spend more time with them now that- now that he was really seen as a father.

"I've noticed you don't wear dresses anymore," he tried. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"N-no. Not really," they said. "I just... don't like 'em anymore."
"Because of Sinjon?"
"Mm..." They tightly held onto his arm, but refused to face him.
"It's alright. I have no intention to push you. I apologize."
"No, it's fine. I'm fine. It's just stupid and I feel stupid," they said.
"Why?"

They took a deep breath. "I- like it's the first time I run into creepy people. It's not. I just stab 'em. I just- I just didn't expect 'im like tha'. At the party. He was the worst. He said such disgusting things. I- froze up." The defeated sound of their voice didn't match how angry they looked. They clenched their fists. "I shouldn't have. I should've killed him an' I was too... I don't know. Scared. And- and I shouldn't be. I'm supposed to be the best." They wiped their eyes with their palm. "And he got the jump on me so easily. It's not right."
"It isn't," he agreed. "And I am sorry you had to go through that."
"I'm supposed to be better than that!"
"Absolutely not," he firmly said. "Ekliptik. Horrible things happen to people all the time, but the worst you can do is blame yourself for things that happen to you. Sinjon was at fault, not you. I am glad you didn't kill him because we would be in a world of trouble, but I don't want you to think you somehow failed. You are wonderful and you are strong. And if he made you hate something you loved before, he deserves to suffer for it. I am truly sorry."
"But- I'm s-suppose-d t' b' d' b-best-" They broke down fully, grabbing onto him tightly. Rosamund carefully hugged them, patiently giving them time to cry it out.

"It's alright," he quietly said, stroking their hair. "It's fine. Take it slow, there is no rush."

But there was. Something was wrong.

He could feel a chill running down his spine, his hairs raising on ends, his heart beating in his ears. He felt like a deer during the hunting season, as if there was something waiting for him in the bush. He felt as if there was a beast running straight towards him and he couldn't move. His hands were shaking while he was trying to console the crying teenager and figure out what was happening, desperately looking all around the hallway to see where this feeling was coming from. Finally his gaze fell on the window and he realized what it was. His eyes widened as he stared at the sky outside.

The holy barrier around his manor, created by the priests from the city, was gone.

His heart skipped a beat. He barely managed to snap out of it before shock and fear took over.

"Run!" he shouted, pushing Ekliptik out of his arms. The startled child almost fell over. Their scream was obscured by the sound of an explosion, coming from the direction of his office.