The Triplets

When Kaleb let out a snicker, Aiden grinned inwardly as her attention was diverted his way.

"I suppose I should have expected you three would be raising a ruckus as soon as you got back, Aiden. Though I had hoped you would behave at least the first week you are back."

She sighed and swept a stray lock of blonde hair from her face. Aiden mock pouted at her, gratified to see her lips twitch in amusement.

"No matter. I'll have you make it up to these ladies by escorting them around the garden. I have to see to this evening's celebration for Aiden's return."

Aiden felt the corners of his mouth turn down slightly, seeing mirroring expressions on his brother's faces. It was times like this he really disliked the title of eldest, but he pushed himself to his feet and swept the stray blades of grass off of his clothes before going to the closest woman and offering his arm. Kaleb did the same though perhaps a bit more eloquently than he had. Lucky Grey, still had the snake in his hands.

Almost grudgingly, the woman placed her hand into the crook of his arm. That caught his attention and he finally gave her a good look. She glared back at him, her green eyes flashing in some sort of triumph. Her dark hair made a marvelous frame for her face.

"So you've decided to look at me, have you?"

Taken aback by her bluntness, Aiden felt his face slip into an easy smile. It was unusual for one of the ladies his mother kept in her company to actually speak in such a rude manner, but he found that he enjoyed the spark of rebellion. Like most of the dragon blooded, the woman had a fair, heart-shaped face with large expressive eyes, though her mouth was fuller and rather tempting.

"My sincerest apologies, I was quite distracted by the serpent in my hands. I'm relieved that you came to no harm, my lady."

Her eyes narrowed, but she smiled tightly. He felt his own lips twitch in response.

"I hear you've just returned to Ardis. Where have you sailed from?"

Aiden began to walk, adjusting his stride to her shorter one, leading her along the well weeded garden path.

"I left the Cortulla continent, off in the south. Wonderfully warm, with water as blue as the sky and beaches with sand that almost looked like gold. It was sunny nearly every day, but a storm could sweep through at a moment's notice and pass just as swiftly."

Aiden talked contently about the small islands he had sailed past where strange animals could be heard if you sailed close enough. As he spoke he noticed that the lady had relaxed her aggressive posture quite a bit and had even begun to lean her weight slightly on him. He saw her eye widen in wonder at a few of his tales and felt the ridiculous urge to show her first hand the wonders beyond Ardis. Aiden mentally shook the notion off. No well-bred lady of dragon blood would go off to dangerous uncharted lands, especially with someone of his "reputation."

Grinning at the self-depreciating thought, Aiden turned the talk to her, finally realizing he didn't even know her name, which he stated.

"Meredith," she said easily.

"Well, Esa Meredith, I am Aiden, eldest of the golden sons," Aiden said, putting the respectful prefix to her name which signified that she was unmarried.

She laughed for the first time. The sound surprisingly low and pleasant to his ears.

"What a fitting title, Es Aiden."

"Well, it is well deserved, my lady." He grinned cheekily at her and waggled his eyebrows.

"I've heard of you and your brother's accomplishments during your year of initiation," she said in an almost bored tone though it was obvious she was trying to hide her amusement.

"Have you now? I will be the first to tell you that every tale you've heard is absolutely true."

Aiden grinned at her cheekily and watched her eyes light up with amusement, and she let go of her bored facade.

"Well, I've only heard some of the stories. And only from second-hand accounts. I doubt that they were all true."

"Oh?"

Aiden steadied her as she stumbled slightly over a dip in the path. He caught her flush before she turned her head away, pretending to look at a bed of flowers. An odd feeling of concern swept through him as well as amusement in her attempt to hide her embarrassment. Aiden forced the grin from his face and turned away as well. He wasn't crass enough to embarrass a lady unnecessarily.

"Have you heard the story of the three of us stealing our mentor's entire library and hiding the books in the practice yard?"

"Yes!" she said excitedly "Did he really make you and your brothers run about the area for the entire day naked!?"

Aiden laughed, surprised she would have heard the punishment and then had dared ask.

"We didn't finish running till we were stumbling around in the dark. Apparently, he thought our laughing meant the punishment wasn't humiliating enough. We had to run around the kitchen and dining hall as well, while the evening meal was taking place."

She smothered her laugh behind her hand, her eyes practically twinkling. Aiden found himself surprisingly enjoying her company. Not nearly as difficult a task he had once thought.

(Meredith)

Meredith sipped at the tea in her cup. Once Aiden had escorted her back to where the rest of the arriving ladies were chatting, she'd been immediately beset with questions. They sat her down and surrounded her before she could manage to answer even one of them. Finally, Esa Eira clapped her hands loudly and called for some semblance of order. Most of the women subsided, the rest were subdued by her fearsome glare.

"Now, Esa Meredith, tell us how Es Aiden was. Is he much like the rumors from his youth? We hardly know anything about him since he constantly leaves Ardis," Esa Eira asked putting a slight emphasis on the respectful prefixes.

The gathered woman looked at her with rapt concentration. Quite uncomfortable, Meredith gave them a vague answer.

"He claimed the rumors are all true. Though he didn't elaborate much," she said.

That set all the women chatting again, some even fanning their faces dramatically. Meredith suppressed the grimace that tried to turn the corners of her mouth down. She could almost feel the greedy anticipation coming off of the women. She had to admit that Aiden and his brothers were considered the prize matches since the all of the silver dragons had already married.

Aiden had surprised her. She had expected him to be a conceited, irresponsible, narcissistic bachelor, just like most of the other males whose blood had even a fraction of the prestige his own blood held. Though he was most definitely arrogant and quite confident about his own appeal, Meredith had found that he was amusing and much more interesting than she had first believed.

"I've heard Es Aiden is quite 'practiced' with ladies. I'm sure his future wife would benefit from his diligent studies," one of the ladies said.

"That's only if he decides to implement such practices. I doubt he'd just give up on his exploits and settle for just one woman. Especially considering how wild he is," another pointed out.

"Well, he would certainly be better than one of the reds. At least there aren't any rumors of him getting hard handed with women. I've heard that all the brothers are quite well mannered."

"Just because you haven't heard such rumors, doesn't mean that it won't happen. Though I do agree they are much better than any of the current reds. I've heard they are a bit too blood-thirsty," a lady commented.

"Es Iram's a green, but he's got money and one of his grandparents was a silver."

"We all know golds and silvers are the best to marry into. It's just too bad the last silver had to marry last spring. He was quite handsome and wealthy too," another proclaimed.

"I heard the marriage is a bit rocky at the moment. Eta Evania hasn't conceived yet and there is talk about her being barren."

"It's barely been a year into the marriage," a woman argued.

"Most couples conceive within three months," another sniffed.

"Most being the key word," retorted another.

"Perhaps she'll have triplets of her own. Eta Celia conceive nearly 3 years after the marriage."

"That doesn't mean the woman will have triplets," a lady said mockingly.

Meredith marveled at the amount of information that all the ladies had on each family. Though she had known a few rumors, these women seemed to know every detail of each male from the time they entered initiation to the present. Her head spun with all the information and criticism that was flung about. Every lady seemed to have her own opinion or input about anything anyone else said.

With relief she spotted Eta Celia approaching, surely the triplet's own mother would at least temper the conversation.

"Hello ladies. Is everyone comfortable?" she asked.

Everyone nodded their heads. Once again Esa Eira took it upon herself to take the initiative.

"Oh Eta Celia, would you tell us some stories about your sons? I'm sure Esa Meredith would love to hear anything about Es Aiden."

Meredith flushed, mortified that she would specifically call her out.

"Well, I've got plenty of stories about how often the boys got in trouble, but the evening party will be starting soon. I'm sure you'd like a few last minutes to make yourselves ready."

Mercifully, Eta Celia began to coax the women towards another room. Meredith stared at her tea-cup and frowned. She quickly swallowed the rest of the lukewarm liquid and set the cup aside. Rising from her seat, she made a quick decision to stay for the party, despite the unsettling thoughts in her head. She followed the group of women out the room.