Kintsukuroi_ Chapter-14
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Chapter-14
“Why are you so against
going back?” Janardan questioned softly as he stepped into the room after the
fateful phone call, coming to perch next to Jayna on the bed.
“Because it’s horrible!”
Jayna confessed, turning so she could bury her face against the alpha’s
shoulders. She felt the alpha stiffen and swallowed convulsively to try and
explain her position.
“And- and I know that
it’s your home.” She added haltingly through hiccups, “But that place took away
Adam from me... and I- I...I’m scared Janardan... What if we go there again and
I lose my baby?”
“Sshhh... its okay, I
get it.” The alpha comforted, thumbs gently wiping at the tears that had leaked
out. “Your fear is real, but you need to get past it and think of Ben, alright?
He has to lead that pack someday... shouldn’t he at least be familiar with his
people?”
Jayna nodded morosely as
she peered tearfully up at him.
“And you’ll have me,
alright? I’m going to protect your boy. And
you, of course. ... Nothing and no one is going to be able to get you
without going through me first, okay? I promise. ...I- I’ll die before I
let anything hurt you two.”
Don’t want to lose you either... Jayna almost told
him, but held her tongue. After all, it would be inappropriate: Janardan was
supposed to be just her guard, not her friend.
“Why do you look like
you’ve swallowed a lemon?” Janardan asked, interrupting her silent musing.
“I have to wear an eff-ing collar again,” She admitted with
a grimace, choosing to reveal one of her worries about returning to Pack-lands without
confessing to her actual thoughts.
“That’s-”Janardan started,
then paused, frowning as he regarded the omega contemplatively, “Wait, I have
an idea. You still have some of Adam’s
old stuff, right?”
The omega nodded.
“Will it be okay if I
cut it up?”
Jayna bit her lip
considering, but eventually nodded her assent.
“Do you remember which
perfume he liked?”
Jayna went to her
dresser and wordlessly pulled out a bottle of Old Spice that she kept hidden- only bringing it out when she missed Adam
too much, something that was becoming rarer as time passed- and offered it to Janardan.
“Thanks,” The alpha
accepted, “Give me a few days, okay?”
The next weekend, Janardan
shyly offered her a soft braided ‘collar’ made of strips torn from Adam’s
clothes and drenched in the perfume. “Will
this collar be acceptable, ‘Mega-heir?”
Jayna felt her eyes tear
up as she regarded the soft contraption- it
was nothing like the unwieldy collar Adam has bestowed upon her on her last
visit. She had never imagined that a collar could be anything but a
degrading sign of ownership, but as she turned the soft, scented material over in her hands, she could see the tiny row of
eye-hooks sown carefully into the material at adjustable lengths and couldn’t
deny the functionality of the item. Unable to force words past her choked
throat, she could only nod as she accepted the unexpected kindness and pulled
the alpha in for a spur-of-the-moment hug.
Three weeks later, Jayna was not smiling as
she tugged at the collar - again - as
she tried to get used to its feeling against the skin of her throat. Sighing, she
let it go and relaxed back against the seat; glanced at her watch absently and
pulled a face when she noticed that only fifty-nine minutes of the original ninety
were left from when she would be that much closer to her hated destination.
Janardan appeared to be
relaxed in the seat next to hers while Ben was conveniently immersed in one of
his comic-books and Jayna couldn’t help but think back to how different the last
time had been seven years ago when the three of them had been making this
journey- back then, Janardan was the nervous one, away from his pack for the
first time, while Jayna had been relaxed and eager for home. Now she was all jittery nerves while Janardan was going ‘home’.
A warm palm curving over
her left right knee stilled the nervous bouncing of her legs, “Sshhh... it’ll
be okay, you’ll see. It’s not even two weeks, ‘Mega. Ten days will pass in a
blink.”
Jayna exhaled noisily,
nodding as she reluctantly faced the man at her side, finally giving voice to
the nightmare that had been haunting her ever since the phone call demanding they
visit: “What if something goes wrong?”
“I promise, I’ll make
sure you and Master Ben will be boarding the return flight back home if it’s
the last thing I do,” The alpha reiterated his vow.
“Thank you,” Jayna
whispered. Then, after a minute confessed “They don’t like me much, you know,
Adam’s parents...”
“They are fools, then.” Janardan
interrupted emphatically. “You are accomplished and educated far more than
anyone in the pack- I don’t think even
Alpha Baid has as many degrees as you, and he was late-Alpha heir Adam’s tutor!
And despite all your accomplishments, you are kind. But most importantly, you are a wonderful parent to Ben. You have
nothing to worry about, ‘Mega-heir. They will love you.”
Jayna blinked, taken
aback by the earnestness of Janardan’s compliment and felt her cheeks warm with
a pleased flush even as she protested: “But I don’t know your traditions...”
“You were not raised
here, ‘Mega. So it’s no wonder that you don’t know. ... But you still try to uphold as many of them as
you know and you keep trying to learn more. That means a lot.”
“...”
“Look, you want my help?
I mean... would it help if I told you about what to do in some situations? Like
for instance when you were required to act more traditionally and stuff?” The
alpha asked when Jayna kept quiet.
Hazel eyes jumped up to
meet the green gaze hopefully, “Would you?”
“Of course,” The warrior agreed readily. He
bit his lip as he considered something and turned to face her again, “Okay, why
don’t you and Ben do traditional the ‘pranam’ when we reach? That ought to
start you off on a good foot.” [pranam= pay respects/seek blessings, usually a greeting when meeting
someone elderly or one who commands great respect]
Jayna nodded, then
nudged her son, “Benny.”
The almost-teenager
looked up from his comic, “Yes, Mama?”
“Listen to this, it’s
important.” Jayna told him as she glanced back at Janardan, gesturing for the
warrior to continue.
“Well, pranam is just respectful gesture... You
touch your right bicep with your left fingertips and then bend and touch your
right hand to the feet of the person you’re greeting before raising it and
brushing it over your head. Ideally, the person would respond by patting your
head as they murmur a blessing or pull you in for a hug. ... sometimes they
might ask you to wait till they remove their footwear and stand before they’ll
let you seek their blessing.”
“And I can greet
everyone this way?” Jayna clarified.
“Only those elder to you
or those in a position of authority over you...”
At the omega’s befuddled
expression, Janardan explained further: “Well, since you are Heir Adam’s mate,
you will only bow to his parents. You greet everyone else by joining your palms
and nodding you head once. Ben can greet his grandparents and uncles-”
“and you.” The boy
added.
“No!” Janardan’s eyes
widened in horror, “You must never greet me that way. In fact, I think
it would be best if you limit your interactions with me while we’re on Pack
grounds, Kiddo.”
“But why, Da?” The child countered, “You’re
my teacher- in a way- and teachers
are equal to God.”
Janardan swallowed, his
adam’s apple bobbing visibly as his eyes moistened. “You humble me, baeta
... but please don’t do anything like that...” [baeta=son]
Jayna’s brows furrowed
as she regarded the warrior, the man looked honestly worried and something
about the expression unsettled her. She glanced towards her boy and noticing
the ill-concealed mischief in his eyes, guessed that the kid was planning something.
The warrior obviously thought the same but didn’t know how to stop the kid.
Frowning, she decided to get to the bottom of the matter. “Janardan... What-
what is going to happen if Ben does seek your blessings with a traditional pranam?”
“I would be chastised
for acting above my station.”
“Chastised,” Jayna
repeated sardonically: somehow, Janardan’s
reaction did not fit in with a verbal dressing down- even a public one if it
came to that.
“Flayed,” The alpha
whispered, voice soft enough that it wouldn’t carry to Ben.
Jayna felt her breathe
escape in a hiss and could only stare at the alpha for an interminable minute- had
their positions been reversed, she wouldn’t have had the wherewithal to lower her
voice for Ben’s innocent ears if faced with such a threat. Clearing her throat and swallowing rapidly to get her saliva
flowing again, she turned to her son seriously: “Benny, this is serious, okay?
You absolutely cannot include Janardan
in the list of people you pay your respects to; not- not while we are on
Packlands. The rules are different here and people might take offence.”
“But-”
“No buts,” Jayna
overruled, then sighed as she realized that she would need to reason with her
son instead of expecting him to just go with what she said. “Look, you like Janardan,
right? So what you do reflects on him... and if they think that your behaviour
is incorrect or you break tradition, they may not allow Janardan to return home
with us. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”
She felt a little bad
for lying to the boy, but didn’t want to explain to the child that his mentor
would be flayed alive if his grandfather was offended by his attachment to the
man; besides, she reasoned to herself, that
if they could whip Janardan, they could very well force him to stay back.
“I’ll be good, I promise.”
The boy murmured and the frightened look on her baby’s face almost broke her,
but she needed to be strong now and so Jayna just ruffled his hair and accepted
his assurance.
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Time seemed to have
stood still in the quaint hamlet that her late husband hailed from, and Jayna
could feel her stomach tying itself in knots as she returned to the place that
had taken the love of her life from her. Janardan was a pillar of strength by her
side and Jayna found herself grateful for the warrior’s grounding presence. Her
in-laws greeted her warmly and were visibly enamoured by Ben. For his part, the
boy revelled in the adulation and Jayna felt herself relax slightly.
She noticed the
appreciative glances Janardan received as he carried their bags to what was to
be their room for the duration of their stay and smothered a smile: the last
these people had seen of the warrior had been a leanly muscled man in ill-fitting
clothes. Now, Janardan looked fitter and carried himself taller. He was still
slender, but regular diet had given his form proper definition... besides, the
well-worn, but fitted denims and shirts in proper size did their bit as well
and Jayna felt proud of how far the man had come from his days as a mere Guard.
She was sure that,
contrary to the warrior’s expectations, Janardan would be treated with the
respect that was his due; but received a rude shock when she realized that the
man was not even allowed to dine at the same table as them. In hindsight it
explained the alpha’s initial hesitation over joining them at meal-times and his
gratefulness when Jayna had cooked for him (even for the meals she had ruined
on purpose during their initial months together). Her in-laws treated the man
like a servant (or worse, a slave)
and while Jayna felt bad, she didn’t know how to help Janardan unless the man
helped himself. Unfortunately, Janardan accepted all the little indignities
heaped upon him as his due while Jayna stewed silently.
Things took a turn for
worse when Ben accidentally shattered an antique idol the day after arriving and
the patriarch decreed that he must be punished for his offence.
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Earlier Parts: Prologue- Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter-3- Chapter 4- Chapter 5 - Chapter 6-
Chapter 7- Chapter 8- Chapter 9 - Chapter-10 - Chapter-11- Chapter-12- Chapter-13
As always, comments and critique is welcome :-)
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