"Why do you want to go to the temple?" Esmae asked as we waited for Theorn to finish his paperwork.
"My brother's mate just lost her first child," I said softly, watching as her eyes flashed with emotion and she took a deep breath, "They had a baby girl, but she was still-born. They will be arriving today and I was wondering if-"
"If I could talk to her about it?" Esmae asked, tears already welling in her eyes. "I don't think I can..."
"Not talk to her," I explained, grasping her hand and fighting back my own tears, "I want to go to the temple so we can pray for her and her child. I'd also like to pray for you and your children if you'd allow it."
Esmae wiped away her tears, pulling me into a tight hug, "Thank you, I'd like that very much."
"What happened?" My brother suddenly asked as he stepped out of Theorn's office, "Why are you both crying?"
"We're fine," Esmae sniffed, smiling brightly at me, "Are you coming with us to the temple, Bryn?"
"If you'd like," Bryn replied, stepping out of the way of Theorn, "Are you all going now?"
"Yes," I replied, "We will be taking a carriage, the temple is near the outskirts of the city."
"You've been studying the maps," Theorn grinned, leading us towards the doors.
"Of course," I replied, "Did you expect me not to?"
"Come on, Aslin," Bryn huffed, wrapping an arm over my shoulders and tugging me with him. "You can argue in the carriage."
The doors opened revealing a carriage tied to the large black horses Theorn had shown me on my first day here. Casi was standing by the horses with a smile and Sel was sitting at the front of the open carriage.
This carriage wasn't like the ones we used for traveling. It was open to the elements and there was a bench on either side. Furs had been layered over the seats to help us keep warm, but I doubted I would need any of them. Eva had insisted I wear a cloak to keep warm so I was wrapped up in the black fur Azrael had gifted to me.
Theorn gripped Esmae's hand and helped her into the carriage before reaching for me. I took his hand and stepped up into the carriage, I sat opposite of Esmae. My brother sat down next to her with a yawn.
"How do you like being a lady?" He asked, the carriage lurching into motion once Casi and Theorn got onto the carriage.
"It's nice," I smiled, "I don't think I'm really doing much, but I really do enjoy meeting all of the people. Father never let me into town as you know."
"Your father didn't let you leave?" Casi asked, turning around with a frown. "Why not?"
"Our father is a special breed," Bryn huffed, crossing his arms with a scowl, "With Aslin being his only daughter he became very protective of her. Almost obsessive with her safety."
"I wasn't even allowed to start learning to read till I was twelve for fear of me getting a paper cut," I rolled my eyes, "That was his excuse anyways. He really just wanted me to be as dumb as possible for as long as possible. He was like that for Bryn and Henry too. Mother of course didn't put up a fight."
"She lives to please that man." Bryn huffed.
"Henry got educated first being the oldest," Smiling I looked at my brother, "He taught both of us how to read and write once he was taught at ten. Our teacher was shocked at how quickly we learned once father finally decided we would need to start lessons."
"Henry sounds like a great male," Esmae commented. "I met Garren a few years ago. He helped me get away from my mother. My father died when I was seven and mother was never the same after. She blamed me for his death."
"Why?" Bryn asked cautiously, not wanting to set off the emotional female.
"I was there when he died." Esmae replied, taking a deep breath, "He killed himself. I've gotten over it now, but mother never did. Garren gave me a way out, a place to stay to recover and got me in with the healer here."
"He sounds like a good male," Bryn said.
"He is an amazing male." Esmae said with a firm nod.
"Henry should be here by mid-day," Bryn said, turning to Theorn, "He is bringing Marie, she is an amazing female. I'm surprised he managed to win her over."
~~~
"Hello," One of the sisters said, standing in front of the temple doors. "It's lovely to see some new faces."
"Sister Ransa," Esmae called, grinning up at the black haired female with silver streaking through her long hair, "It's lovely to see you again."
"Esmae," The sister's face sombered, "I'm so glad to see you. I was worried when Garren was coming here alone. Especially when he has been so erratic."
"What do you mean?" Esmae asked, stilling.
"Garren has been showing up here every morning when the sun rises," Sister Ransa explained to her, "He seems frantic when he comes in, but settles down for prayer."
"Oh..." Esmae breathed, "Is he here now?"
"He is," The sister frowned, "Is something wrong Esmae?"
"Not at all," Esmae smiled, "Have you met our lady yet?"
Sister Ransa looked away from Esmae towards me, "Not yet. Lovely to meet you, Lady Aslin. I was hoping you would show up soon."
"Sorry I haven't come sooner." I replied, stepping closer, "Would you be willing to give me a tour of the temple?"
"Of course," The sister beamed, tilting her head to the side before using us inside. "Right this way my lady."
She led us through the pews that lined the center hall. I took note of the sandy haired male that had his head hung low in the back of the temple pews. Esmae slipped away from our small group and Theorn and I shared a smile. We walked through the temple, praising the stained glass windows.
"Through here is the school room," Sister Ransa said, leading us into another room, "Class doesn't start until midday so the children have time to do chores and whatever else their families may need help with. Sister Anya leads the classes."
"Do the orphans come here?" I asked, trailing a hand over one of the tables.
"Of course!" She answered, "The sisters here also run the orphanage. We are all very grateful for the donations from his lordship. They keep this place running."
"I'm so glad to hear that," I replied.
The sister smiled at me about to continue talking when a startled scream split through the air. We all rushed out of the room just in time to see Garren rushing out of the temple with Esmae in his arms.
"I'm fine!" She managed to yell before disappearing from view.
"What just happened?" Bryn asked, looking down at me, "Should we go after her?"
I looked to Theorn and he shrugged, "She said she's fine and Garren clearly needed to spend some time with her. Let's send someone over to check on them tonight. Actually... Casi?"
"Yes?" He answered, stepping away from the carriage.
"Can you follow them please?" I asked, "I'm not sure if he will take her to their home or try to hide her somewhere. He clearly isn't himself right now."
"Yes, Ma'am." He smirked, his bones cracking as he shifted and started jogging in the direction they had run off in.
"He won't hurt her, right?" Bryn asked, scowling in the direction she had been taken.
"Even if he was completely insane, that male wouldn't harm a hair on her head," Theorn assured him, "You don't need to worry about her. Aslin, is there anywhere else you would like to go?"
"We should probably head home," I replied, turning to Sister Ransa, "I'd love to visit the orphanage next time, Sister, and I'll try to attend mass as much as possible."
"Thank you, Lady Aslin," She replied, tilting her head to the side, "I hope to see Lord Azrael here next time as well."
"I'll do my best," I laughed. "Let's go see if Henry has arrived yet."
~~~
"Where did he take her?" I asked Casi.
We were standing in the courtyard with my brother and Sel. Casi had just returned from following Esmae and Garren.
"Back to their house," Casi replied, running a hand through his hair, "Thankfully Rasen was already out of the house and looking for Garren otherwise he might've attacked him. He got his female now and I don't think he is gonna let any male get near her for a while."
"That bad?" Bryn shook his head, "I hope I don't get that nutsy when I'm mated."
"You'll lose your mind when you find a girl," A rough voice laughed.
"He's only twenty, Henry," A feminine voice scolded, "He doesn't need to worry about any of that yet."
"Marie!" I squealed, turning and wrapping my arms around the tall female.
"Oh sure," Henry huffed, "Marie gets all the love and no one cares about Henry."
"I care about you Henry," Bryn teased, "Come give your little brother a kiss."
"Oh shove off," Henry growled, pulling me away from Marie and giving me a tight hug, "How are the parents? They were excited to meet your mate."
"Actually..." I pulled away, "We should go talk to him about that. Sel would you mind taking Marie and showing her around?"
"No problem, my lady," Sel replied, "What would you rather see, the library or an office?"
"Library sounds good," Marie laughed, following Sel with Bryn following behind them.
"It's odd hearing people call my sister a lady," Henry chuckled, "Now talk to me princess. What's wrong?"
"I thought we got over that nickname when we were kids." I huffed, rolling my eyes.
Henry had come up with the name princess after noticing how careful my father was when it came to my safety. He doted upon me, never letting me do anything dangerous. Or meet new people...
"You'll always be a princess," Henry replied, tossing an arm over my shoulder, "What happened?"
"You know how they can be," I started, heading towards the training grounds where I knew we'd find Az, "I couldn't handle it... so Az took care of them."
"Fuck," Henry looked down at me, "How did he handle it and what did they say that you couldn't handle?"
"They started talking about Marie... and the baby," I said softly as we walked through the open doors of the training grounds.
Henry stopped walking, turning so he could meet my eyes, "What did they say about my Marie and my baby?"
"Aslin," My male called, drawing Henry's attention away from me, "Is this Henry?"
Azrael quickly walked over, pulling me away from my angry brother and placing himself slightly in front of me. Az towered over both of us, but Henry glared up at him all the same. My brother turned his attention away from Az focusing back on me.
"Aslin," Henry huffed, his voice considerably softer, "What did they say about my female?"
"They said Marie lost the baby because she is lower born and that it was the mother punishing her." I gritted my teeth watching as my brother began to lose control.
"Henry," Azrael growled, the dominance in his voice forcing Henry's black eyes to his, "Bryn said you'd cut out their tongues for saying that. So since you weren't here I took the liberty."
Henry's eyes widened, "You cut out their tongues?"
"Just the tips," Az shrugged, his fingers toying with the ends of my hair as he spoke, "We can take them out of their rooms and cut out the rest if you'd like?"
"Why would you do that?" Henry asked with a wide grin.
Azrael's eyes darkened and he pulled me tighter into his side, "They upset my mate. What else was I supposed to do?"
"I like you." Henry huffed out a laugh, "Good job finding this one, Aslin."
"I didn't find him," I rolled my eyes, "He found me when I was tricking some male into finding a noble female instead of me."
"You always were a tricky one," Henry grinned, his eyes sparkling in the fading sun, "Come tell me about your time in the Garden. Please leave out the unimportant parts."
How do we feel about Henry? And Az being protective?