Lorrus held his breath before opening the front door. He hoped that the usual click of its lock and its screeching hinges wouldn't disturb the sleeping infant he carried on his elbow. Also, more importantly, he wished not to alert his wife; he was not ready to face her yet.
Once he squeezed through the doorway, whilst awkwardly manoeuvering the bulky wicker basket, he pushed the door to. He then turned around and jumped at the sight of his wife standing with a glower on her brow and her arms crossed in front of her chest.
"Where did you go?" she demanded.
"Just out..." Lorrus answered, looking down at his feet and trying his hardest to conceal the basket underneath his navy blue cloak.
"Don't be so vague, Lorrus, where did you go?"
"Just to Night Forest," Lorrus shrugged, then added with fake assertiveness, "Is there an issue?"
"Really?" Lorren bit back, her eyes widening. She then took in a deep breath to calm herself down, for the thought of her boys trying to sleep just down the corridor came to her mind. "I was worried about you. We all were. How could you just take off like that?"
Tears then came to her amber eyes and her bottom lip quivered, she turned her head away, desperate to hide that her brave front was beginning to crumble. But, of course, Lorrus saw. Her broken look grabbed at his heart. He put the basket down carefully and took his distraught wife into his arms. She shook with sobbing as soon as she felt his warmth.
"Please, Lorren, don't. Don't cry. I'm sorry," Lorrus whispered into her curly, chestnut hair. She gave a pitiful sniff in return and wiped her eyes across his shoulder. "I was at Night Forest, I needed space to calm down, that's all. I'm sorry for worrying you."
"Okay," Lorren choked out, her voice barely audible.
Lorrus then moved back so that he could look into his wife's face. He took in a deep breath and let it out, whilst caressing his wife's arms. "So, am I forgiven?"
A small smile played on Lorren's lips and she nodded her head. "Yes, yes of course you are."
Lorrus then bent down and pressed a gentle kiss upon her lips. A moment of bliss blossomed between them, but was cut short when Lorren's gaze fell upon the wicker basket sitting behind her husband's feet.
"What is that?" she asked, making Lorrus follow her gaze. His eyes grew and he turned back to his wife; guilt coloured his dark face.
With a scowl, Lorren walked around him and took a closer look. A gasp left her as the last thing she was expecting met her eye.
"By the stars!" She quickly grabbed the basket and lifted it onto the kitchen table. A small smile curved her mouth as she gently brushed the baby's cheek. But then she snapped out of it, worried, she turned back towards her husband.
"What have you done?" she demanded. "Whose child is this?"
"What do you mean by asking a question like that?"
"You storm out angry with Biabus-Lus, angry at society, and come back with a baby! What am I supposed to think?"
Lorrus stared at his wife, gobsmacked at her accusatory tone. "I found her, in Night Forest, abandoned!" he answered defensively. "I didn't go out and steal an infant in a fit of insanity, if that's what you're getting at!"
Lorren shook her head, brought the fingers of her right hand to her face and nervously fidgeted with her bottom lip. She was at a loss for words.
Her silence spurred Lorrus to carry on his defensive rant. "I heard crying, I saw the basket in the clearing, all alone, in the dark. What was I supposed to do, just leave the poor thing there?"
"You shouldn't have brought the child back here, Lorrus," his wife argued.
"Lorren..."
"No! We don't know who this child is - whose this child is. What if they're looking for it? You should've taken it to Astrid Palace, you should've turned it in to the King!" Lorren's rising voice woke the sleeping baby and a high-pitched screeching pierced the air.
Lorrus, without a beat of hesitation scooped her into his arms and held her close to his chest. He cooed over her trying to calm her down again.
"I know that look, Lorrus," Lorren interrupted. "You can't keep the baby, you must report the abandonment to King Tellum. Someone has committed a crime and he'll need to be made aware."
"No," the besotted head of Draoicis-Lus answered firmly, yet in a hushed, gentle voice as he smiled down into the infant's calming face.
"Lorrus..." Lorren warned.
"No, I can't do that to her."
"Her?" Lorren repeated, her heart plummeted to her stomach as she glanced towards her boys, who were standing silently in an open doorway. They snuck out of bed to see what all the commotion was. Not saying another word, she made her way to them both, knelt down and hugged them to her. She held her beautiful sons that she would cherish all the more now that she'd lost one merely days ago. She was overjoyed to have brought such wonderful lads into the world after so many miscarried baby girls. She knew that Lorrus always longed to meet those lost souls. He craved for a daughter - the one thing that Lorren could never give him. This was the cruel reality that never ceased to play on her mind.
"Lorren, please listen..."
A silent tear made its way down her trembling cheek. She tried her hardest not to make a sound, she didn't want her boys to notice her pain.
"Lorren..."
She slowly straightened up, her two sons held onto her hands and the three of them left the room in silence, making their way to the boy's joint bedroom. It was only little Dillan that dared to glance over his shoulder towards his father, who was rocking the baby in his arms; lost in her bright, blue eyes.
Still smiling into the baby girl's face, Lorrus placed her back into her basket and carried her into the same corridor his family just walked down. He tip-toed past the boys' room as he listened out for their hushed voices.
"Mummy, what's the matter?" he heard Aeron-Lius's young, innocent voice ask. "Why are you crying?"
"No, no don't worry, my darling, I'm not... I'm not..."
The focus Lorrus put on each foot fall made the squeaking floorboards seem much louder than they were. He scrunched up his face, willing the house to be quieter as he made his way towards his bedroom door.
He eventually made it, went in, placed the basket on the double bed, took off his cloak and scooched up onto his usual side. He took the baby out again, got comfortable leaning against the headboard and set her tiny form upon his raised thighs, so that they sat face to face.
"Don't you worry, my sweet little girl, you are safe. I will not let anybody take you away. You will never be abandoned or alone again. Not ever! I promise!" He rubbed his nose gently against the baby's tiny button nose and chuckled as she let out the biggest yawn she could manage with her cute mouth. "I don't blame you, kid. It's been a long day," he said, then added with a sad sigh. "For all of us."
He sat there peacefully, enjoying the company of the tiny, innocent gem that he felt an instant protective connection with - thanks to the floating stars that he saw in Night Forest. Floating stars, the famous sign that Astrid the First herself had seen when in hiding from the darkness - a story that resonated with Lorrus as a child.
"Illuminare-Trabem gave me the desire to have my own little girl, just as Astrid the First did. I've had to wait for so long, I've lost too many. The Great Power has finally seen my pain and decided to bless me," he said in a quietened voice and watched the small girl's eyelids fall. He then placed the sleeping baby inside her basket, and as he did he thought he heard the front door shut.
With a quick shrug, he got off the bed, put his hand into his trouser pocket and drew out the gold necklace that he found with the baby. He analysed the small pendant with a deep scowl, he pursed his lips and hid the troubling pendant in his tight fist. He fished out a small, empty tin box, placed the necklace inside, closed the lid and hid it under a loose floorboard that he was made aware of one night. This was a place, he was sure, his wife didn't know about; the perfect place he could put the necklace and forget about it.
Out of sight, out of mind.
After quite some time, Lorren's absence began to plague Lorrus' mind. She had not joined him in the bedroom and he was beginning to worry about where she might be. Was that really the front door that he heard earlier?
He left the sleeping baby in search for his wife. He peeked into his sons' room, she was not there, just his two youngest boys both tucked up and snoring. He backed out quietly, then checked the bathroom next, which was empty, as was the kitchen and the living room. He sat down with his head in his hands.
"Oh, Lorren, my Lorren..." he said to himself and felt his lips begin to tremble. "I'm such a ridiculous person..."
His lamenting suddenly got interrupted by the sound of the front door's screeching. This made him rush to his feet and he darted through to the kitchen, where indeed his wife stood.
"W-where did you go?" Lorrus asked, not able to disguise his anxiety.
"Don't we make a right pair?" Lorren asked rhetorically with a forced smirk and a roll of her eyes. This response did not sit right with Lorrus. "Oh relax, Darling, I just went out, that's all."
"You went out?" Lorrus asked, his words coming out harsher than he was intending.
"Yes, I needed space to calm down," the short, curvy woman said, using the exact words that her husband used on her earlier that night. She then reached for the bag that was slung over her shoulder and placed it upon the kitchen table. "I also thought I'd give the Sprèintis a late night visit, to get these." She then drew out a couple of bottles, which the Sprèintis (the livestock farmers) usually used to feed their smaller lambs in the time of Earrons. "I thought the baby will need to be fed somehow," she explained, then added, "Especially if she is to stay."
Tears sprung to Lorrus' eyes as he heard this. Overwhelming emotion sealed his lips shut. Instead of saying anything he just crossed the kitchen and threw his arms around the woman he loved the most.
"Thank you," he eventually managed to whisper.
"It's alright," Lorren responded, whilst rubbing her husbands back affectionately. They stayed in that embrace, swaying back and forth.
Then Lorren stopped and stepped back and looked up into her tall, dark and handsome man's damp face.
"Well, Lorrus Draoicis-Lus, if the child is to be a part of our lives and our family she'll need a name..." she said with a smile.
"Indeed," her husband croaked, cleared his throat, then continued, "She will, and I know just what to name her - Beanni."
"Beanni?" Lorren looked confused. This was such a strange name to choose. A much too weighty title for a stranger's abandoned child to bear. "Are you sure, Lorrus?"
"Positive. My daughter - our daughter shall be named Beanni."