"This is Kate Barlow, from a place close to the one William is from," Teja says. "She is a good friend, and takes care of the horses in the place that is my afterlife."
"Your horse was here!" a little boy pipes up. "Beaut! William took care of her!"
"That is Athalwin, one of Wachis's sons," Teja says. "These children are, by their parents and ages, the children of Wachis my former shield-bearer, and his wife Liuta: - Rauthgundis, who came into being when we were on Mount Vesuvius, and I still alive; Witichis and Athalwin, her younger brothers, and Ursula and Hilde, her even younger sisters. Her youngest brother Sameth is still so small, he cannot leave his mother's side yet. Hilde is the small monkey who climbed me; she has taken a special liking to me."
And he to her -- that is obvious.
"And the others are the children of my former cup-bearer and pupil, Adalgoth, and his wife Gotho: Alaric, who is almost as grown as Rauthgundis, and the twins, little Myrtia and Valeria. They are indeed named after the women that my predecessor Totila, and I, would each have married, had fate not intervened, as they were girls, and could not be a Teja and a Totila outright, as Adalgoth found fitting for twins. With enough years in-between, dead men's painful secrets become the stuff of stories, and I do not mind that."
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"Your horse was here!" a little boy pipes up. "Beaut! William took care of her!"
"That is Athalwin, one of Wachis's sons," Teja says. "These children are, by their parents and ages, the children of Wachis my former shield-bearer, and his wife Liuta: - Rauthgundis, who came into being when we were on Mount Vesuvius, and I still alive; Witichis and Athalwin, her younger brothers, and Ursula and Hilde, her even younger sisters. Her youngest brother Sameth is still so small, he cannot leave his mother's side yet. Hilde is the small monkey who climbed me; she has taken a special liking to me."
And he to her -- that is obvious.
"And the others are the children of my former cup-bearer and pupil, Adalgoth, and his wife Gotho: Alaric, who is almost as grown as Rauthgundis, and the twins, little Myrtia and Valeria. They are indeed named after the women that my predecessor Totila, and I, would each have married, had fate not intervened, as they were girls, and could not be a Teja and a Totila outright, as Adalgoth found fitting for twins. With enough years in-between, dead men's painful secrets become the stuff of stories, and I do not mind that."