Absolution (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"I'll try my best," he muttered, stepping back as they finished preparing Ashelin's body. She hadn't wanted anything over the top for her funeral, just something for family and friends, but she had demanded there be a proper feast afterward to lift everyone's spirits.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kitty soon left Warwick alone to his tasks, finding Vincenzo curled with Valentina in the little girl's bed. Valentina had cried herself back to sleep by the time Kitty carefully sat on the edge of the bed. She could only imagine the sorrow that Valentina would go through in the next few days, the little girl having lost the only mother she had really known for the first few years of her life.

"What can I do to help her?" Kitty asked softly, glancing down at Vincenzo. "I know I can't replace Ashelin, but I am her mother, and I would do anything for her."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Let her know you love her, but don't crowd her," Vincenzo murmured. "She'll come when she needs it. She doesn't accept help very easily." He stroked his daughter's dark hair soothingly before looking up to Kitty. "She never has... It takes a lot to make her break down and ask."

 

[heartofcourage]

"She sounds a lot like the both of us." Kitty said softly as Vincenzo gently stroked Valentina's dark hair. "Soldiering on until we're exhausted or nearly dead. Hopefully she doesn't continue to be too much like us in that regard. We all need someone to be weak with."

 

[KieranSoares]

"For now she has her brothers at least... And she's always been open with Brogan too if she felt embarrassed about coming to me or Ashelin and Warwick." Vincenzo gently slipped away from Valentina as she slept, standing to kiss Kitty and hug her tightly, knowing she was hurting too but trying to support the little family who'd lost Ashelin.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kitty hugged Vincenzo tightly as he sought to comfort her in the midst of all of this. She had lost her dear friend, but she was determined not to be sad about it. Ashelin wouldn't have wanted sadness. She would have wanted happiness and people to celebrate her.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'll let her sleep. We should encourage Warwick and the boys to go back to bed as well. Sleep does wonders to at least settle broken heart. I would encourage you to do the same. I'll arrange things with the undertaker."

 

[heartofcourage]

"The boys were sent to bed not long ago. I made sure they ate something before they went. I don't think Warwick wants to be far from Ashelin right now." Kitty said softly as she looked down at Valentina and reached down to pull her blanket further up under her chin. "Ashelin wanted a tribal funeral."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Influenced by Ghell, I imagine," Vincenzo muttered. "Then I'll go and find some of the local Lunars and ask their help. Without Ghell, I haven't the slightest idea how to do it properly. I imagine Selena could help too."

 

[heartofcourage]

"She would be honored if you asked her." Kitty said with a nod as she moved into Vincenzo's arms and hugged him tightly. "What am I going to do without her?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"Continue on, remember her, and use the chance she helped to give you. Brogan's ascension would never have happened if Ashelin wasn't around to help care for the children..."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kitty let out a long sigh and pulled back from Vincenzo, giving him a nod. "Let's go back to the keep. I'll have Chessie send enough food out here to keep them all fed for a while. I think they need to be alone for a while."

 

[KieranSoares]

Kissing her cheek, Vincenzo nodded. "I'll talk to Selena when we get there, then." He hesitated only briefly, leaving a note for Valentina and the grieving family to let them know they were welcome to call for help or go to the keep anytime.

 

[heartofcourage]

Once back at the keep, Selena sat in the great hall in front of the fire with Vincenzo as they talked about a ceremony for Ashelin. She woke early, as was her routine, and had fixed her own breakfast before Vincenzo had requested some of her time. Her hand rested on her belly gently, smoothing over the rounded shape as she listened and offered her opinions.

"You will need to find a silversmith in the town that can make them all silver rings. And we will need to build a funeral pyre." Selena said softly. "And I don't know if a priest would come to preside over a ceremony, but it would be nice as well."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don't think it would be a great loss without a shaman. Ashelin never struck me as the religious type," Vincenzo murmured. "But I'll ask Warwick about it. Your brother, meanwhile, already had rings made some time ago at Ashelin's request. We decided to keep them secret so not to upset anyone."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Then that's all there really needs to be. A simply ceremony would fit her." Selena said softly, looking over at Vincenzo after a moment. "Don't let Ma fade away with all that's happened. In spite of how Da treated her, she still loved him deeply. With Ashelin, the love was there from the first moment that she set foot in Inverness. She loved that woman deeply and I'm afraid that it all might be too much for her."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm offering anything and everything I can to keep her going," Vincenzo told her softly. "Everything from medicine and counseling when she needs it, to every bit of love I can possibly give. If I have my way, she'll last for another fifty years or more, love. Because there's always something to live for, something to be happy about. And now, so much of the stresses and strains are gone that it'd be an absolute shame if your mother didn't get to enjoy the peace either. Ashelin should be here to enjoy it... but she's not. I won't let anyone else miss it too if I can help it."

 

[heartofcourage]

"After the funeral, I need to go home." Selena said softly. "I can't stay here much longer without seeing this baby's father. I'm sure he's worried sick. I'll be back after the baby is born. I just don't want Ma to worry when I do leave."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Understandable. Though I still think you should give your mother a little more insight into who your Wolf is. I know the risks in bringing him to meet anyone, but your mother will still want to know at least a bit about him."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I can't. It's not up to me to tell her." Selena said softly. "I've asked him to come to Inverness, but he's frightened and claims he can't leave the others or his family. I want to respect his privacy."

 

[KieranSoares]

Vincenzo sighed softly. "Well... Keep coaxing. He'd absolutely be welcome. And I'm sure the local werefolk would welcome him as well."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I hope that this baby is human and a boy." Selena confessed after a long moment of silence. "I don't know a thing about raising girls and I don't want my child to have to suffer the same way that the were do currently."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Girls are no different in the long run, darling," Vincenzo assured her. "Not if you let them choose what they want to be. However, I do understand your sentiment about werefolk... It's a dangerous world for them."

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena gave him a nod, thinking about Ghell and how much she missed him. She thought about him every day, at least once a day, and the sorrow simply grew. She knew that her uvore was probably lost forever and she hadn't made peace with any of that yet.

"It's moving." Selena said softly, looking up at Vincenzo as the baby moved beneath her hand. "Would you like to feel?"

 

[KieranSoares]

Vincenzo smiled gently, reaching out to press a hand to her belly. "It's strong and active. That's a wonderful sign, amore." He kissed her cheek and hugged her close then, offering the fatherly affection she had been missing for months now.