Curious Acquisition

     It’s about appearances, mostly. She and Adelio had done a tour of the kingdom after being wed, and had not a moment to themselves until they collapsed onto a bed or fell asleep on a carriage ride. They didn’t talk. Didn’t do much of anything besides exist at the other’s side in public. Adelio, she had learned, changed. Maybe not changed. Maybe he gave up. He was so incredibly closed off, and his smile never reached his eye. 

He was a great help despite her advisor’s warning. He cleaned up the budget, managed the new merchant deals, and picked up a lot of the behind the scenes work. He didn’t talk to others. He looked at his data and notes from people and worked from that. It was impressive, she had to admit. 

    Still, his reservedness left much to be desired from, well, everyone else. It’s at tea in the garden with her friends a few weeks after their return when Eulalia has finally heard enough of the complaints.

    “He’s always got that sour look, Your Majesty.” One of the ladies said at tea. “I don’t know how you deal with it.”

    “And he’s so terse,” another complains, wagging her cup, “is he capable of more than five-word responses?”

    “And what kind of King never attends the citizen discussions?”

    Eulalia sets down her tea with a bit more force than necessary. “Enough.” She keeps her face as neutral as possible. “You may all be my dear friends, but I will not take this slander of my husband. Unless you want to hear my thoughts on your partners?” She raises an eyebrow. Her three friends apologize quickly. “That is what I thought.” She takes up her cup again and sips. 

    After her friends leave, she wanders over to a secluded corner. “I’m sorry you had to hear them. It’s all rubbish.”

    Adelio looks up from his spot on the small bench set in the bushes. “It’s fine.”

    “I really don’t think it is.”

    His voice raises, sharpening “I said it’s fine, Eulalia.”

    She winces. Terse and sour indeed. She can’t fault him. If she were pressed on something she wanted to dismiss, there’s no evidence to say she wouldn’t react like him. 

    “If you say so, Adelio.” She giggles, “That rhymes!”

    He glares at her. If this is the Adelio she remembers, he is trying not to laugh at something so entirely dumb. The glare lightens to what she could best describe as mild annoyance– an expression she has put as current-Adelio’s happiest– and stands, stretching slightly. “I could go for a walk.” He takes a few steps and turns back to her with an unasked question. 

    It’s an invitation and Eulalia is definitely taking it. “Mightn’t we go outside the castle grounds? I’ve been-”

    “-feeling trapped?” He asks, continuing his walk. “Let’s go, then.”

    So cold, yet he hits the nail on the head. Maybe he feels the same. Him a couple years back definitely did. “Yes, let’s.” She falls into step next to him. 

    Unlike the walks a younger her had with him, it’s entirely silent, save for Adelio’s little remarks for her to watch her step. Eulalia doesn’t mind much once they get closer to the treeline. The birds warble to one another and rustle leaves. The forest is so beautifully alive that she can’t help but to smile. “It’s such a lovely thing, the sounds of the forest.”

    Adelio nods. “Indeed.”

    A sudden wail rings from somewhere in the trees, and Adelio stops.

    “What was that?” Eulalia looks around. “Was it a bird?”

    Adelio hushes her. “Quiet,” he whispers, “there’s no wailing birds in this area.”

    “And how would you know?” she whispers back. Another cry resounds. 

    “It sounds like a baby.” He ignores her remark. “I’m going to check.”

    “I’ll grab guards to investigate.”

    He frowns. “And what if it is a child and something happens while we run off?” 

    Eulalia keeps quiet. Mostly because he is right. If it is, she couldn’t live with missing the opportunity to save it. The other part of her is surprised he seemed to care so much. 

    “You stay here, I’ll go check.” He’s gone before she can rebut. 

    The next few minutes take ages to pass by. She paces idly, a fingernail caught in between her teeth. The child wails still, but she’s lost sight of Adelio. She looks back on the path they took for anyone. There’s no one, and she can't help but worry. If something were to happen to Adelio, she didn’t know what to do. What if it was a trap? Her parents had been working for peace with the fae quietly, but she remembers the conversations she overheard. Most fae weren’t in favor. What if they had set this up? She spins on her heel and resumes pacing, more frantic. 

    Suddenly, the wails quiet. Her thoughts run a mile a minute, imagining only the worst. She can hear the rustling of something in the forest that grows louder and louder. Her heart races, scared, until she sees Adelio come into view. 

    He walks out with a basket’s handle tucked into his elbow and a bundle gently held in his arms. He talks quietly to the bundle.

    “Adelio!” His eyes snap up to her “Is that what I think it is?”

    He nods. “The note said their name is Rowan.”

    “The note?” She asks, incredulous.

    “Yeah, the one in the basket.” He lifts his elbow to show off the basket. 

    “I-” she shakes her head, not knowing what to say.

    “They’re so little,” he says softly as he approaches. “Look.”

    She peers at the swaddled mass. The baby gazes back at her with hazy blue eyes. “Hello, little one,” She gently brushes her thumb over the baby’s cheek. They smile, and her heart melts a little. Eulalia steps back and composes herself. “Let me see that note.”

    “Can you read it while we walk back?” 

    Eulalia nods. “I’ll take the basket. We need to drop this little one off at the orphanage.” He quickly offers it to her.

    “We can’t send Rowan to an orphanage!” Adelio looks offended by even the thought of it. He holds the baby closer.

    “The baby can’t stay with us.” She tucks the basket so she can hold the note with both hands. 

    “The note said whoever found Rowan ought to take care of them.” He starts the walk back.

    “I really doubt that.” She reads the note and frowns. It really does say that. “Well, we can’t be expected to listen to the advice of a parent that abandoned their child, Adelio.”

    “Maybe they’re struggling and can’t take care of them. And they recognized that and chose to give Rowan a chance for something better instead of what they could offer. Someone who doesn’t care leaves the baby for dead, not swaddles them and sets them in a basket with a note and a few bottles.” He whispers something to the baby after with a small smile on his face, and Eulalia can’t fight him anymore. This is the closest she’s ever seen to the Adelio she snuck out and saw. He’s unguarded and goodness, doesn’t he look happy. 

    “We’ll head home and have the nursery prepared, if you’re so insistent.”

    Adelio looks at her surprised. “Are you sure?”

    “Who can guarantee a child a better life than the royal family?” Eulalia smiles at him. 

    “Exactly.” He smiles back. She’d do anything to see that smile.