Darkwood (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"I wish you would have told me that your family was coming. I could have delayed my arrival." Lilith said, still stunned that he was willing to take her in when he knew that his large family would be there any day. "I'm sure that your wife isn't too happy about any of this."

 

[KieranSoares]

"The only thing she's unhappy about is getting scolded for doing too much." Ashien let Burke go back to his reading before turning back to Lilith. "I'll show you to the guest cabin. Kiva works quickly, he and Benjamin probably have everything put away by now."

 

[heartofcourage]

Lilith turned to watch as Burke slowly walked back to his task, his eyes on her the entire time as if he were sizing her up. She had never seen a child like him before, both old beyond his years and incredibly young. She glanced up at Ashien as he offered to walk her to the cabin and she gave him a nod.

The moment that they were out of the manor, she took his offered arm and they took off towards the cabin that was situated just past the newest stable. "Burke seems like an odd child."

 

[KieranSoares]

"He's had a hard time in his short life. But he's a good boy, and wise beyond his years. I adore him, but I don't mind admitting Dylan will probably always be his favorite. She was the one who took him in while I was away, and she's got a natural way with him."

 

[heartofcourage]

Lilith looked up at her former lover as he spoke about his wife and his newly adopted son. "So, he'll inherit all of Darkwood? That's a generous gesture from a very wealthy lord. If only all of the lords out there in this God forsaken country felt the same way."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Maybe. It all depends on what our other children want or need. I'm not going to give everything to the eldest and leave the rest to fend for themselves like most Lords do. But he deserves good things in life, and his origins make him empathetic to others."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Honorable, but I suppose I shouldn't expect anything less from Ashien Ghis, the great defender of the British crown." Lilith teased with a soft chuckle. "I mean, he took in a poor, homeless former lady of the realm. What more should I expect from him?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I take care of my friends and neighbors," Ashien said simply with a shrug as they came to the cabin. While certainly small compared to the manor, the cabin was constructed like a Lord's retreat with all the amenities of a proper home and then some. Kiva had brought everything in and a member of staff had put it all away. The hearth was already blazing, chasing out the chill of midwinter.

 

[heartofcourage]

"It's lovely, Ashien." Lilith said, taking a look around the cabin, looking over each and every detail. "The rival of any other manor in England."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I wouldn't go that far, but thank you," Ashien smiled gently to her. She had always been supportive of his architectural studies and designs. "I think I designed these cabins when we went on that vacation in Paris."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You fell in love with Paris." Lilith commented, turning to look at him with a soft smile. "Have you taken your lovely bride?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I haven't had a chance yet. Between the attack on Inverness and some trouble for my sister in Norway, I've been busy to say the least. My time away from Darkwood has been rough."

 

[heartofcourage]

"And now a child on the way." Lilith murmured softly as Ashien admitted that he had been away from Darkwood more often than not. "Doesn't look like that trip to Paris will happen any time soon. Surely she's a patient woman."

Lilith had an effortless air about her, a beauty that had gotten her what she wanted from many different men over the years. Including Ashien. However, in that moment, they were simply old friends who had shared a lot in their time together. She had been his muse. They had traveled together. They had dreamed together.

"You always told me that you didn't want children. After your childhood, you didn't know what kind of father you might be. What changed your mind?" Lilith asked him in all honesty, realizing that she didn't know Ashien any longer.

 

[KieranSoares]

"War changed my mind," he answered softly. "I was already starting to consider it when I married Dylan... But I nearly died in Inverness, trying to protect my men from a trapped cannon... Dylandra almost didn't recognize me, I was so torn apart, my body full of metal. There's still a few shards that Vincenzo couldn't risk removing. I'll have to live with them forever. I realized there was so much I'd never done, never experienced... And I wanted a family of my own, people to come home to, people who will remember me long after I'm gone, and tell their children and grandchildren about me... I suppose it's one of the ways I'm avoiding my greatest fear... Which is being forgotten."

 

[heartofcourage]

"And she is that woman who can do all of that for you? This mysterious Dylandra Jennings, a woman whom no one in my inner circle has ever heard of before you started bringing her to gatherings, is the one that completes your soul?" Lilith asked, knowing that Ashien could be as mysterious as his artwork when he wanted to be.

 

[KieranSoares]

Ashien raised an eyebrow as he turned to her. "That's an odd question to ask. Why?" Their relationship had been a very easy one when they were together, doing as they pleased together while pursuing their lives mostly separately. He didn't expect such a question from her of all people.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Curiosity." Lilith said with a shrug of her slender shoulders. "It's unusual that a lord of the realm or a lady of the realm is allowed to marry for love."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Well, I'm a Scottish mongrel who already does what he wants according to most English nobility. They didn't think much of my marriage to Dylan beyond the usual sneering."

 

[heartofcourage]

"And that doesn't bother you, Ashien?" Lilith asked him, stunned that he seemed to not spare another thought to the other lords and ladies that saw him as their equal.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Not in the slightest," he chuckled. "They think they're better by miserable. They can just go right on thinking that while I happily raise my family and surround myself with people I love."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, you are a better man for it too." Lilith said, kissing his cheek and giving him a gentle shove. "Now, get back to that little family of yours. I'm sure that they're searching for you high and low."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Hardly. Dylan's running herself ragged trying to make the place perfect, Kiva's probably already got Burke out in the stables, and Van... Well, he's doing all the things Can does." Ashien turned toward the door with a smile. "Let us know if you need anything at all."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Of course." Lilith said with a nod as Ashien showed himself out.

When he entered back into the manor, Dylan was sitting on the main staircase, her face pale and slightly beaded with sweat. She glanced up at him as he closed the door behind him, a nauseated look on her face as she tried to catch her breath.

"Help me up." She said softly, offering him a hand. "I need something to drink."

 

[KieranSoares]

"What have you done now, love?" Ashien sighed softly, scooping her into his arms instead and bringing her to a parlor near the kitchen.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I got dizzy and had to sit down." Dylan said softly as Ashien took her into the parlor and sat her in one of his overstuffed chairs. "I was drawing in the studio and everything started swimming all of the sudden. I came downstairs to get a drink from the kitchens and I didn't make it past the staircase."