Sleep, PG (#12)

[hawksandfeathers]

Title: Sleep
Rating: PG
Prompt: Behind Closed Doors, #12
Summary: Mattin can't sleep a wink.

---

Sleep

"Mattin…" Amiliane groaned agitatedly, kicking back the blankets. "Can you ring for Pirisi? That damned - " Her words slurred. "I mean, Sandril - Sandrilene, she woke up. I can hear her from… down the hallway." She yawned fitfully and wound her arms around her husband.

"I can't call Pirisi if my arms are trapped, darling," he said softly. "Can you wait a moment? It's cold. Keep your hands under the sheets. I'll ask for a cup of tea." He rang the bell by their bedside shrilly, covering himself with the duvet. 

In a moment, Pirisi was at their door, knocking. "Don't come in," Mattin called. "Just, try and calm Sandry down a bit, alright?"

"Yes, Master," came the muffled voice. "Anything else, Master?" 

"A cup of that Bengal Spice tea with hot milk would be lovely. Leave it outside the door."

"At your service, Master." 

Amiliane was snoring by his side (she would never admit it) and Mattin lay rubbing his eyes when he heard a crash. "Oh, no."

"What? What?" Amiliane sat bolt upright, trying to get hair out of her eyes.

"It's the tea," Mattin sighed. "She'll bring another."

"Oh, good," his wife groaned, and fell onto the pillow. 

---

Sandry was still squealing, but Amiliane wouldn't wake. Mattin assumed the tea had worked its wonders, and watched her lovingly in the lamplight. Her face was creased from the pillowcase, and her hair was a tangled rat's nest. He chuckled to himself, knowing that if she was up right now, she'd be frantic. He stroked her cheek and settled next to her. He was just dozing off when he heard another timid knock.

"What now?" he asked wearily, irritated.

Pirisi spoke anxiously. "It's the dogs, Master. They're barking frightful, and Sandrilene's got fever."

"Oh gods," Mattin almost bellowed. "What can I do about it?" He strained to hear the maid's voice.

"You forgot to take the dogs out for the hunt today, Master, they're restless."

"Well, so am I! Do your best to fix Sandry; go to the apothecary, do something!" 

"Certainly, Master," she answered meekly.

"Now please, let a man sleep!" He blew out the lamp and ducked his head underneath the bedclothes.

[wordy]

Oh, this is quite sad! Great use of the prompt. I wonder what Sandry would think if she knew (remembered?) what her parents were really like.

[hawksandfeathers]

Oh, I know But their relationship has always fascinated me. My (modern) headcanon is that they go to places like Paris and London and Spain, all artsy and chic, leaving Sandry at home

[Kris11]

I do find it a little difficult to read fics in this formatting; sometimes going through to make sure there is a full paragraph break between each paragraph makes it a lot easier on us to read.

Very interesting take on their relationship with each other and with Sandry. You took the mentions of them being feckless and a bit self-absorbed and took it to a very interesting place. I enjoyed the descriptions.

[hawksandfeathers]

Thanks, Kris! Sorry about that! Will fix pronto.

[mistrali]

This is a rather realistic glimpse into what their lives might've been like as fairly high-ranking nobles in Emelan. I especially like Mattin and Amiliane's total reliance on Pirisi - well done! Just one nitpick, though, you might want to rename the tea, as Bengal obviously doesn't exist in Emelan.

I wish we'd seen this sort of thing in canon.