Heirot

Tenele smiled. "It didn't fair well, but I managed to keep it under control. Tenara didn't get sick, so that was good. Neither one of us got much sleep, but I'm getting used to that. She's napping right now. Talon is watching her. Tonight we are going to have dinner with the captain, thanks to Matthew. I think she'll enjoy it very much. Hopefully she doesn't drive the captain insane."

Vlad tilted his head. The story was familiar, after Sam's rambling. "Who is Matthew?"

Tenele smiled. "He is one of the crew members. Brown hair, blue eyes, tall, thin guy. I'm not exactly sure what he does on the ship, now that you mention it. He brought Tenara a treat the other day and enjoys stopping in to check on her. He won a ticket to eat dinner with the captain and invited us, thinking it might make Tenara happy. He's a nice guy. Better than some of the other lot on this vessel." She grumbled the last part, casting a few of the leering men a glare.

"Matthew seems like a decent man," Vlad acknowledged. He felt strange about her statements. Normally he'd never be jealous of such a thing, but... well, Tenele had no reason to be loyal to him, did she? "Just don't get too fond of him."

Tenele frowned at him. "What does that mean? I know we aren't going to be on the boat forever, but that doesn't mean I can't make friends. And who are you to tell me who I can and cannot grow fond of. Tenara likes him."

Vlad narrowed his eyes. Four days without rest had made him ornery, and imagining some doe-eyed prick wooing his amnesiac wife wasn't helping his mood. "Tenara may like him, but he is not her father. I am." He could hear how defensive the words sounded, and under the circumstances, he didn't care very much.

"Of course he isn't her father, that doesn't mean he can't be her friend or be nice to her. What is your problem?" Tenele narrowed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest.

"You're blind if you can't see what his attention means. Unless you actually intend to welcome it and return it, you should keep a distance from him." Vlad said flatly.

"Well, what if I do?" Tenele growled at him. "Even if I didn't, I should be allowed to have friends. You can't pick my friends for me. You aren't my master, you don't control me, and you don't tell me who I can and cannot grow fond of!"

Vlad glowered at her. "Mark. Mainstay's secure," he called to the first mate without looking away from her. "Don't flirt with him," he told her firmly.

Tenele growled. "I'll do what I want," she replied, turning away in a huff and stomping to the opposite end of the ship.

Vlad watched her leave. His anger seemed to dissolve his legs. "I'm going down below for a while," he told Mark, and headed to the lower deck in a daze. He found Tenara's room and let himself in to where Talon and his daughter were playing.

"Hey," he greeted, sitting on the bed while his legs tried to resolidify.

"Hello, Daddy," Tenara greeted her father, playing with her dolls. She crawled on the bed to him and crawled into his lap. "Buttercup wants a kiss." She held the doll up to her father.

Vlad took the doll in his hand and held it against his chest absently. He didn't try to kiss it. He wasn't thinking very well. "I hear you're spending dinner with the captain," he told her with forced enthusiasm.

It was a great idea. One he hadn't thought of. He'd been so busy on deck. He'd barely had time to spend with them. He'd barely spoken to his estranged wife, and now she was considering other men.

His wife. His wife. He was losing his wife. He couldn't think of a way to be any less upset about it, so he bottled it in.

Tenara perked up. "I'm going to ask him how the sails catch the wind." She brushed Buttercup's hair while her father held her. She turned her gaze up to him thoughtfully.

After a minute Tenara poked his cheek. "Smile," she ordered. "You don't smile."