A plaintive cry pierced the night and woke Etienne from a light sleep. His son, Noel, was hungry and it was his night to tend him. Etienne swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up, running a hand through his hair, then catching it up in his hand, and securing it with a hair tie from his nightstand. He stood and stretched to his full height, his back popping, and pulled on the pair of jeans he had thrown over the back of the chair when he had gone to bed. As he reached for the door knob he realized that Noel’s cries had stopped. Maybe the little one had fallen back asleep, but that would have been unusual, and Etienne was not a fan of unusual. He opened the door and slipped down the hall to the nursery.
The soft light from the reading lamp next to the rocking chair reached the nursery doorway and Etienne’s pace slowed. Cian must have forgotten that it was Etienne’s night and gotten up before him. He leaned against the door to say hello and froze. It wasn’t Cian holding his son in the rocking chair. It was the wizard, Alerich. Etienne could feel his heart racing. Winter may have lost her mind and allowed the wizard to stay, but Etienne had not forgotten that the man had betrayed her trust and tried to kill her, even if Winter seemed to have. He couldn’t see the baby from the doorway and suddenly Noel’s silence felt ominous. He rushed through the door but as he cleared the back of the rocking chair he could see that Noel was cradled in the wizard’s arms, contentedly drinking one of the bottles of therian rabbit milk. He stopped and stared at the man. “What are you doing?”
Alerich looked up from the baby, the smile slipping from his face. “Feeding the baby. He was crying.” His smile returned as he looked back down at little Noel.
Etienne face was full of skepticism. “What would you know about babies?”
Alerich sighed. “I’ve been around babies before, Etienne. They’re not that complicated.”
Etienne snorted. “Who let you near their child?”
A look of hurt flickered over the wizard’s face before he schooled it away. “Thomas’s parents. He has a little sister, Amelia.”
Etienne watched him for a moment, trying to reconcile this picture of domesticity with the crazed would-be-murderer of a few days before. He shook his head. “Give me my son.”
Alerich sighed. “He’s almost finished, Etienne.”
“Give me my son.” Etienne’s tone held warning and warming anger.
Alerich rolled his eyes and stood cradling the tiny boy. “Fine, but I would never hurt him.” He carefully handed the baby to the sidhe.
Etienne tucked the baby against him in one arm. “Why should I believe you? I don’t know what hold you have over Winter and you even have Cian, Brian, and Jessie fooled, but I have a longer memory than they seem to. You tried to kill her. That’s not something I am going to forget, or forgive, any time soon.”
Noel finished the bottle and Etienne moved him to his shoulder to burp him. Alerich held out the burping cloth he had been wearing and Etienne moved away from his outstretched hand. “I don’t need your help with my son.” Noel chose that moment to spit up down Etienne’s back. The faerie knight closed his eyes and counted to three. “Merde.”
Alerich’s eyes danced with amusement but his voice came out even. “Would you like my help, now?”
Etienne glared at him.
Alerich sighed and shook his head. “I swear on the grave of my mother, I will never hurt this child.”
Etienne watched him for a moment, then held out the baby. “I will hold you to that oath, Alerich Ashimar. If you hurt one hair on this child’s head, you’ll join your mother.”
Alerich took the baby and bounced him lightly, handing Etienne the burping cloth to wipe up with. As he finished, both men’s noses wrinkled and Alerich looked down at the little boy in his arms. “Someone needs his nappy changed.”
Etienne smirked. “Don’t look at me, you wanted the baby. Go right ahead.”
Alerich smiled down at Noel, his voice pitched high and happy as he talked to him. “Don’t worry, tiny one. We’ll get you set to rights in no time.”
Etienne watched as Alerich carried Noel to the changing table and made quick work of cleaning and changing him, even dropping a cloth on him to avert Noel’s famous fountains. Etienne was rather looking forward to watching his son douse the wizard, but he had to admit, Alerich knew his way around babies. And Noel seemed content with the wizard. In just a couple of minutes he was changed and redressed and curled up in the crook of Alerich’s arm.
Etienne watched the man, searching his face for any sign of the murderous wizard he had seen last week. Not finding it, he sighed. Everyone else in his house seemed to trust that Alerich was safe to them all. He wasn’t ready to completely sign on, but he didn’t think Alerich would hurt Noel. “It takes him a while to go back to sleep after feeding.”
Alerich nodded slowly. “All right. We’ll just sit here and read until he dozes off, then.” He sat back in the rocking chair and picked up the book that Cian was reading to Noel. He flipped it open to the bookmark and smiled. “Treasure Island. Are you the adventurous sort, Noel?”
Etienne watched him read and rock from the doorway for a few minutes, then headed back down the hall to his room. He shut the door and shucked his jeans, throwing them back onto the chair. He pulled the hair tie out of his hair and slid under the covers, letting out a long sigh. First Winter and now Noel. Alerich Ashimar seemed to fit into life here. Etienne rolled onto his side and pulled a pillow up over his arm. It was becoming clear that getting rid of the man was going to be a challenge. “Merde.”
If you liked this flash, you can find more original short fiction and all things Seahaven at www.aelowan.com.