Heirot

"Anyone I should be jealous of?" Vlad joked, heading for the washroom to start the water for her.

Tenele looked absolutely petrified and she thought her heart stopped. She even put a hand over it to make sure. "No," she laughed uncomfortably, and she felt like fainting. Gods, was she always this bad at lying. She was totally going to puke. He was going to hate her. Maybe she deserved to be hated.

Vlad hesitated with his hand over the faucet. A moment later he came back out without starting it. "Tenele, what's going on?" he asked worriedly.

Tenele glanced back to Tenara. She didn't want her to hear the fighting. She took a deep breath. If Vlad hadn't told her about what happened to their marriage because he was hoping to save it, then maybe he would forgive her for this... She led him into the bathroom and closed the door.

There she paced back and forth for at least a minute. She was going to hyperventilate. "Being like this is exhausting," she whispered. "One emotional high after another."

More pacing, and then... "I... Grelot... and I... may have... been having an affair," she huffed out, feeling nauseas. She turned away from him, covered her ears and closed her eyes, waiting...

Vlad stared at her oddly. Several long seconds passed. Then he burst into laughter, warm and helpless.

Tenele turned to look at him, puzzled. "Why are you laughing?" she asked, near tears. Was he just mad enough that laughter came before his rage? "Don't laugh at me."

Vlad put a hand in front of his mouth to hide his smile as he forced himself to quiet down. "Sorry," he chuckled. "What in the world could make you think that?"

Tenele frowned at him. His reaction made her feel silly. "He said that I grew lonely and that's how we met. He knew things about our relationship with Atul, and how you and him had grown closer. That, I apparently was jealous of you and felt excluded. He described nearly every mark on my body, from the scars to the tattoo..."

Vlad hesitated, pondering this new person and why he would tell her these things. "Tenele...I know it's a shock to see me close to Atul. But I'm no closer to him than I am to you. In fact, we've had the chance to love each other more deeply because we've been together longer. Atul still has catching up to do. If you'd cheated on me, I'd know it. And while we've had our fights, they've never been about Atul."

Tenele's face scrunched in confusion. "I don't understand," she whispered. "How does he know so much about us? How does he know so much about me? Who is he? Why would he try and convince me that I'd betrayed you like that?"

Vlad shook his head. "Did Tenara recognize him?"

Tenele thought about it. "No," she replied. "I don't think so. She didn't say anything. She wanted to go back to play. I think she hissed at him, but I've seen her do that to a number of people."

Vlad smiled as he imagined Tenara's hiss. "I don't think it's anything, but could you keep Stalker with you in the city, until some of this crazy stuff settles down? If you do spot this - what's his name? - person again, Stalker can keep his scent and I can do some investigating afterwards."

He looked at her, calm but sympathetic. "I'm sorry. I guess it's not obvious to you, without your memories." He stepped a little closer to her. "I don't know what that guy's after, but there's nothing in this universe that could make me believe you would cheat on me."

She glanced up to meet his red eyes. Nothing in the universe? Her heart thumped a little faster.

"I've spent the whole evening worrying about how much you'd hate me once I told you," she whispered, half laughing. "That really makes me angry. I'm going to go find him and break his nose."

"I will make him regret manipulating you," Vlad said flatly. "It's common knowledge in the capital that you have amnesia. You've also spent a significant amount of time in the hospital here. Our way of life is fairly dangerous, and giving birth to Tenara nearly killed you. In short, Atul and I are hardly the only people who have seen you naked. Still, I intend to find out what this guy's motives are." He reached out and touched her cheek very briefly, wary of overstaying his welcome. "And for the record, I'm not capable of hating you."