Absolution (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"She's only in her thirties and about to be a grandmother. She told me that I make her feel old." Selena commented as she led Vincenzo to a steeper stone path up the hill. ""She secret loves it though. She was stunned and wanted to know when and how and who, but once I told her that I couldn't tell her, she settled."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm curious about that myself. I won't pry necessarily how and when, but it'd be helpful to know about your secret fellow's background and health." Vincenzo didn't push, though, knowing Selena would reveal things in her own time if needed.

 

[heartofcourage]

"He's a wolf." Selena said, trusting Vincenzo to keep that secret from the rest of them. "I know they wouldn't be shocked or ashamed, but I would much rather keep it quiet. Edinburgh is a much different place than Inverness. He supports his tribe through hunting, which means that he's gone more often than not. He takes care of me when he can, though. Food, things I need, any way that he can."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Ah, that explains everything, then. Your family would never reveal him to other people, but I understand your caution. Things are especially unfriendly in the High Throne holdings for werefolk as far as I've heard. It seems King Brian just doesn't know how to deal with the Hunters... But trust me when I say the isles are paradise for werefolk compared to the mainland."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I don't want him hurt and he's shy." Selena said softly. "He's excited to be a father, but he knows that he might not have much time with the baby. We're trying to make everything work, Vincenzo. A lot has happened in such a short amount of time, but I know that this is where I am meant to be."

 

[KieranSoares]

"That's all that matters, then," Vincenzo assured her. "Hardship cannot contest with real love and family. You know that as well as I do."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Will you move here?" Selena asked as they paused at the top of the hill. "Or will you take Ma to Italy? I think either place you go, she'll be happy. She's waited a long time for you to come back to her. She said that even Da was resigned to the fact that you were the only one that could make her happy."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I think I'll come here..." He gazed around at the late spring landscape, the sky blue with a handful of cottony clouds and the trees growing fresh, vibrant leaves, some blossoming here and there for future fruit. "I'll have to visit Venice often for a number of years to make sure my apprentice is set and trained correctly. With his youth and progress, imagine he'll be a master of his craft in ten years or so. I may well spend a season there, the other three here. Likely summer, so I can be here if winter gets too tough on your mother. But it's all up to her. This is her home, her keep, and her son makes the rules."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Give it time to make everything proper. Make sure that rumors don't follow her." Selena advised softly. "Court her like she never got the chance. She didn't have a choice with Da and she never had the choice with you. She would never ask for it, but I know she would appreciate it."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm Italian, darling. Romance is second nature. I intend to make your mother so happy that she can barely stand it, if at all possible. And having you and your siblings support me in that is more than I could ever ask. You've always pulled for your mother to be happy, and one day you all decided I was part of that. I'm grateful for that. It gave me the chance I have today."

 

[heartofcourage]

"We just have to make it through Ashelin first. I know that will devisate Ma. I can only imagine what it's like losing the only friend she had for so long." Selena said softly as she looked over at Vincenzo. "On top of Valentina not wanting to come here often. Ma acts like it's not a big deal, but I know she's hurt by it. She understands that Valentina loves Warwick and Ashelin very much, but I think part of her thought that she would come here with open arms."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Valentina will adjust in time. As I told Kitty, Valentina has a big heart. But there is a shyness to her. She does beautifully with strangers, but she struggles to make deep relationships beyond those she already has. She's only little, though. She's learning how to make friends and choose family."

 

[heartofcourage]

"She is a bright spot for everyone." Selena said with a small smile. "She is as bright as they come, honestly. She loves anything to do with baking and medicine. She insists that she practice all the time."

Selena reached over and took Vincenzo's hand, giving it a squeeze. "Thank you for giving my ma some hope. Without you, she would have died a long time ago. I don't know where any of us would be if that happened."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm happy to help, because she gives me just as much. I'd be a quiet, sad hermit without her to hope for." Vincenzo drew Selena against his side as he'd done when she was small, pressing a kiss to her cheek. He fit beautifully into a fatherly role for the Ghis children, and had done even from afar.

 

[heartofcourage]

Things around the keep seemed to settle over the following week. Kitty helped Brogan decide on what projects he wanted to see done first and she encouraged him to take on larger tasks than he expected. She saw great potential in her boy and knew that he would be a great king. The people of Inverness supported him without hesitation and she enjoyed seeing him flourish.

Valentina had started to visit the keep more, overjoyed that her Papa was actually there and not on some foreign shore. She still had some trepidation about Kitty, but she was very slowly warming up.

"Da told me that when Mummy dies, I might have to come here to live." Valentina confessed to her Papa as they shared tea one afternoon, Kitty off to give them some privacy.

They had all been honest with her about Ashelin's illness. Cole and Ciaran had been resigned to the fact that their mother was dying, but Valentina had tried her hardest to try and help her.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know, cara mia," Vincenzo murmured to her in Italian. "But you understand why, don't you? Cole and Ciaran will soon be off on their own, and Warwick intends to move to the Edinburgh court. And your mother- Kitty, she's been waiting your whole life to have you home. I know it'll be a difficult adjustment... But Ashelin wants you to be happy and know your family. I wish you'd gotten to know your mother the way Ashelin does..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Kitty is nice." Valentina said softly, responding to him in Italian as he had taught her. "But she's not mummy. Maybe Da will change his mind and stay. Maybe he won't move anywhere and we can all stay together as a family."

 

[KieranSoares]

"That's between you and him, darling. Sometimes loss and a broken heart can make it difficult for a person to stay in a certain place. But he'd never want to be separated from you for good. He loves you as much as I do."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina didn't say anything to that. She knew that there was little that she could do to make Warwick stay if he didn't want to stay, especially now that her Papa was back and Kitty was her actual mother. It was a confusing time for the little girl, one that often left her feeling confused and the slightest bit angry.

She drank her tea quietly, her little legs kicking back and forth. Her boots were slightly muddy from her adventures that morning as Cole and Ciaran had taken her on a walk through the woods. They had explored the area around their cabin, walked in the river bed, and given Warwick time alone with Ashelin. Each of them was struggling in their own way.

 

[KieranSoares]

Vincenzo watched his daughter for a long moment. He knew she was resilient and could handle change, but this sort of change was incredibly difficult as she faced several of her steady constants changing forever. "... You know, bambina," he murmured. "If you need to ask questions, or talk, or just vent, I'm always listening. You and your brothers don't have to suffer in silence. Warwick and Ashelin and I all know that you're suffering too. It's the people who will be left behind that hurt the most." He had taught her some time ago and the how to help families cope if a loved one couldn't be helped by medicine, or could only be treated til they passed peacefully. But he had hoped she'd never need to use that advice herself.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I know." Valentina said softly, not really wanting to talk about it as her father leveled that warm brown gaze on her. "I'm not ready to let Mummy go. I know Kitty is my real Ma, but she's not the one that raised me."

She felt ashamed by saying that, but that was what she felt. Even so young, she knew what the score was, but it didn't mean that she was ready to admit that she needed Kitty.

 

[KieranSoares]

"No one expects you to suddenly accept someone else as your mother, darling. And no one is ever ready to let their mother go. Kitty... She loves you, but she understands your position. You don't have to feel guilty. Everyone understands. Ashelin will always be your mother, Warwick will always be your father as much as I am. Cole and Ciaran will be as much your siblings as Kitty's children. I don't want you to see this as losing one family or replacing anyone. You can have both. And losing Ashelin will never negate the relationship you have with her. You just get even more family now that Brogan has sorted things out. Maybe you should talk to him too. He has an interesting perspective, being the one who's making this all work."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Maybe." Valentina said in her frustratingly stubborn way that she had sometimes. "If I need someone to talk to, I will."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Just make sure you don't wait for a breakdown to do it, cara mia," Vincenzo murmured, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "I won't push anymore." He drew her gently against his side for a long while.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I love you, Papa. I'm happy you're here." Valentina said as Vincenzo hugged her against his side, giving her the comfort that she needed in that moment. "I can't wait to go back to Italy to see Nonna and Uncle Van either. I've missed them."