Absolution (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"I understand," Vincenzo assured her softly, remaining only long enough to put on a shirt and shoes, pressing a kiss to her cheek before he stepped out.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina was sitting quietly in the library of the keep when she saw her father enter the room. She had one of his books in her lap, trying so hard to read and failing as her thoughts were elsewhere at the moment.

"Da sent me to the keep this morning with Cole. He said he had business to take care of." Valentina said softly as she looked up at Vincenzo. "You look sad, Papa."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Everyone is a bit sad, bambina. I'm not special," Vincenzo sighed and came to join her. "Your mother is having a rough time. A lot of broken things that even being free of what broke them can't fix." He was aware that Valentina had a cursory knowledge of Tamblin's life and the works of Oliver Colton, but he still felt she was too young to know the details.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I know Aunt Kitty wants me to call her Ma." Valentina looked up at her father as he sat down at her side. "I don't want to hurt her feelings, Papa."

 

[KieranSoares]

"It's a difficult situation... She has wanted you your whole life, darling... And she had to hand you off to me thinking she might never see us again. And now that you've suffered such a heartbreak, all she wants is to be the mother she should've been all these years. But she stands back because she knows she can't force you to love her like you did Ashelin. And she's having trouble coping with her two eldest being abroad, avoiding the nightmares and memories they have here. There's nothing I can do to help her but remain beside her."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Will you marry her?" Valentina asked as Vincenzo told her all about the situation and how he felt about Kitty. "Mummy said that one day you would."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I intend to," he nodded. "But it will be a long time... I don't want to marry her while I'm running back and forth between here and Italy. That way... Well, that way she can still change her mind if she needs to." He offered Valentina a small, bitter smile. "She's waited so long for me... I half expected her to give up on me. And I'm so married to my work and will be til Venice is in good hands without me... I want her to be happy, not shackled to a roving doctor. But it's up to her in the end. I'll love her even if she finds someone better, more stable."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I guess if you're going to marry her, I should be nicer to her." Valentina said softly, looking down at the book in her lap as if she felt guilty about the entire situation. "It's hard, Papa. I just want Mummy to be here."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Valentina... Listen to me, darling," Vincenzo set her book aside and drew her into his lap. "I don't need you to feel guilty or obligated. I don't need you to call her your mother unless you feel it's right. But I do ask that you get to know her. She's a wonderful woman. Get to know her as another person first. You don't have to choose a new mother now, or ever if you don't want to. Ashelin was the woman who raised you, and nothing will change that."

 

[heartofcourage]

"But everyone wants me to call her Ma. I know that." Valentina said softly as Vincenzo as he encouraged her to continue on her own path at her own pace. "I guess I should spend some time with her. Maybe that would make her feel better. You always said that sometimes you have to do what you don't want to do in order to make someone feel better."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I want you to do what feels right, love. That is the only expectation you should heed from anyone." Vincenzo leaned down to kiss her forehead.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina spent a lot of the morning with her father before he went about his other business. When he left, she went in search of Brogan. She knew that he was busy being king, but he always seemed to make time for her when she needed it.

Entering his new office, she waited quietly as he finished up with some paperwork before she climbed into the seat on the other side of his desk. "What are some things that Aunt...Ma like to do?" Valentina asked her elder brother, correcting herself before she could call her Aunt Kitty.

 

[KieranSoares]

Brogan set aside his work as she climbed into the chair, crossing his arms and leaning on the desk as he considered her question. "Hm... Well, she's always liked knitting... Walks along th'loch... Cooks some recipes from Skye with Chessie fairly often. Kinda quiet, really. Spends most o' her time lookin' after all of us, so I guess now tha' we're older, she's runnin' out o' things t'do. Seen 'er tryin' some new things lately, occasionally gardening, tailoring. Why d'you ask, love?"

 

[heartofcourage]

“I’m just trying to find something that we both might like to do together.” Valentina said softly as if it weren’t a big deal. “Papa thinks it might help her.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"It could. Ye'd get t'know 'er better," Brogan encouraged gently. "An' she's interested in things you like too, she jus' doesn't want t'intrude."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina was quiet when Brogan encouraged her. She might have been very young but she was highly intelligent and knew what the score was. She was soon to be alone in Inverness without Warwick. He had told her that the time was coming that he needed to leave, but she still wanted to cling to him as much as she could.

"I know Da is leaving." Valentina said softly. "And I can't stay with Cole or Ciaran. I know that Papa will be traveling a lot, which means that I'll have to stay here more and more often. Da wants me to be here more often than not and encouraged me to move some things here. I'm not ready to say goodbye to him just yet."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Warwick an' Vincenzo won' leave you behind if you don' want them to," Brogan reminded her gently. "If you wanted t'go t'Edinburgh, no one would blame you."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Da has to do that on his own. I know that." Valentina said as she looked up at her elder brother. "He has to do it to move on."

 

[KieranSoares]

"We don' give you nearly enough credit fer how well you understand how this is effectin' everyone." Brogan stepped around the desk and kissed her forehead. "You decide what you want t'do, love, an' I'll do what I can t'help. Cole an' Ciaran won' force you out o' the cabin if you aren't ready yet."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I know I have to, even if I don't want to." Valentina told him, knowing that for all of them to move on and start their new lives, she had to make that decision to move into the keep. "And I know that Mummy would want me to move on too. She would want me to love Aunt Kitty as much as I loved her. I want to make her proud."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Jus' don' compromise your own happiness along th'way." Brogan scooped her up and stepped out of his office. "You tell me what you want t'do, love."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Maybe we can go to the market and find some things you think that Aunt Kitty might like." Valentina asked as Brogan scooped her up and stepped out of the office. "Something that we could do together."

 

[KieranSoares]

"We'll see what we can find." Brogan set Valentina down as they came into the great hall, pausing to let a servant know they were off to the market, should anyone need him. Outside, Brogan walked with Valentina to the stables and saddled his horse, helping her onto the saddle before they set off.

 

[heartofcourage]

When they made it to the market, Valentina was struck with how much bigger it had gotten over the past few weeks. It used to only hold a few vendors, some of them only having food to sell, but it had steadily grown. Since Ashelin had been sick, she hadn't been able to come without Warwick or Cole or Ciaran, so the sight was a little startling.

There were people selling fabrics, little stores that held tailors, baked goods in the window of one shop. It was by no means as big as what she had seen in Edinburgh or Venice, but it was much bigger than Inverness had seen in a long time.

"What should we look at first?" Valentina asked, looking up at her brother as she took his hand.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Let's start with th'yarn an' fabric," Brogan smiled gently down at her, guiding her through the market with his horse close beside on his lead.

The array of fabrics had begun to grow, slowly but surely, with selections from further and further away. There was even some silk to be found, though only a few bolts in simple colors. Brogan hitched his horse to a post and let Valentina lead the way, browsing for anything that caught her eye.