Advice Column (TF: Salacia)

[Kender Bard]

Salacia hummed quietly to herself as she traversed the halls, rolling the stem to a daisy between her fingers. She was returning from a pleasant stroll in the gardens, in high spirits, and pondering what next to do with her time.

[Devon]

"Excuse me," a soft voice called out to Salacia from behind. Behind her stood a young woman with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. The woman nervously fidgeted with the hem of her blouse as she began to take steps towards Salacia. "Excuse Lady Salacia, I was wondering if I could ask you for some advice?"

[Kender Bard]

Salacia paused and regarded the young woman with a tilted head. "Yes?" she asked. "And please, my dear, you must introduce yourself. I'm afraid I don't know everyone's names around here."

[Devon]

"My name is Emma," the woman spoke. "Lady Salacia I was just recently married you see, but I've never held together a home and you seem so adept with your family, I was wondering if you could give me some tips."

[Kender Bard]

Salacia chuckled low and soft in amusement at the girl's apparent fretting. "Well it's not too hard dear," she remarked gently. "Come, let's retire to my room and we'll speak there. What is it that your new husband does for a living, if I may ask?"

[Devon]

Emma nodded and waited to follow Salacia. She was quite nervous about all of this, she would have normally asked her mother, but her own home life had shown her that maybe her mother wasn't the best source for information. "Well my husband owns a stable, he breeds, cares for, and sells horses. He occasionally offers riding lessons as well."

[Kender Bard]

"Well that's good," Salacia remarked and found a comfortable seat she sank into. "Was this an arranged marriage or are you two happily in love? Or both?"

[Devon]

Emma smiled and her cheeks turned a tad rosy as she thought about her husband. "Oh he courted me for months," she began. "It took him even longer after that to convince my father to let us marry, but he was persistent."

[Kender Bard]

"Well, that's even better," Salacia remarked, grinning slightly. "In that case, I need only tell you a few basic things. First, make sure that you and your husband are always open and honest with one another. Secondly, compromise. Thirdly, try to keep a level head if you notice that he isn't. And... that's all there is to it. The rest is just experience."

[Devon]

"You make it sound so easy Lady Salacia," Emma commented as she earnestly listened to her tips. "What about children? I don't know if I'll be a good mother at all."

[Kender Bard]

"Oh, that," Salacia replied breezily. "Believe me, dear girl, that the children is the easiest part. Or rather, bearing them isn't." She gave a small laugh at that. "But raising them is; as long as you keep Love in your heart and try your best to see your children happy and cared for. That's the most important thing."

[Devon]

"Really?" Emma asked with a hopeful look in her eyes. "How many children do you have Lady Salacia?" Emma's nervousness seemed to fade away as the conversation went on. The newlywed was beginning to feel more at ease and hoped that as Salacia said, marriage wouldn't be too hard.

[Devon]

"Really?" Emma asked with a hopeful look in her eyes. "How many children do you have Lady Salacia?"

[Kender Bard]

Salacia raised a brow. She shouldn't have been surprised the girl didn't know. Sometimes she still forgot that the whole kingdom didn't know the details of her life anymore. "Five," she answered. "I had four by my first husband, Elijah, and then adopted Seafoam with Flash."

[Devon]

"Oh five, wow," Emma said softly. "Do your five children live here with you? I think I've seen Seafoam, but I never heard of the other four. I can't imagine having that many children, I think if my husband and I had a child, I'd stop at two or three."