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 Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 4:45 pm
She sunk into the family room chair with a satisfied sigh-- dinner had been filling as usual. The only real thoughts the girl had now were whether to take a nap or stay up and play a game with Varu. Mulling over this, she pulled her feet up into the chair, wrapping her arms around her scraped knees and looking over at him.
She knew that if she asked to play a board game, he would accept. That was the kind of man that Varu was-- a true prince in his own right. But at the same time, he always offered her a place in his bed at night-- it would be lonely to sleep by herself. With that in consideration-- Game it was! They’d find something in the ‘library’ that wouldn’t take too long, and have fun (Maybe even trying to invite Sydni along as well) before snuggling together for bed.
It was so much better here. She wished she could stay forever.
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 5:09 pm
He'd have to tell her tonight, he decided. Really, he'd been meaning to tell her as soon as he had learned of it - but then he'd been distracted.
Damn Quinn and his distracting ways. Before he'd realized it the morning had come, and work; there was no good time to pull her aside and tell her.
Now was the good time, and he was spending it with Sydni, taking extra time up with cleaning her face of mashed potatoes and cleaning the dishes. But all too soon his little distraction was drooping her shoulders and shuffling her feet, lulled to sleep by turkey and gravy.
Trotting back down the stairs, he spotted Tepin on the living room chair, pausing at the last step before continuing forward.
He had to tell her. He didn't want to hurt her. But he had to tell her - it was only fair of him. Lying to her would only be worse.
Padding over, he swung the girl up, lifting her briefly before settling into the chair himself. He had to do this. Now - while he still could make himself do it.
"Tepin," he was looking at her carefully, gauging her every reaction, "I have something to tell you. Something ee'mportant."
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 5:38 pm
She smiled as she saw him coming back downstairs. If Sydni was going to bed, that meant it would be just the two of them. As much as she loved Sydni, she loved Varu even more. Those loves were different, but even she couldn’t deny that her fondness for the man was larger than any she had felt before.
But then the look in his eyes caused her smile to droop-- that was not the face he wore when he was going to play around… That was the serious face. The face she hated to see. The serious face meant that someone was wrong. Something important. He didn’t even need to tell her.
Perched in his lap, she looked up to that face. The feeling of déjà vu washed over her… Already once today they had enjoyed a serious talk… And the results were not as satisfactory as she would have liked. Hopefully this wouldn’t be a repeat… She didn’t want to go through that again.
".... Is it about... Earlier today....?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 5:44 pm
He shook his head, smiling slightly in understanding.
"No, not about today."
An ear flicked in nervousness, his next words coming far more carefully.
"Yesterday...Yesterday I v'ent to speak v'ith your mother."
He didn't mention how he knew, because it wasn't important.
"V'e talked. At length," that was the phrase he'd always heard used, hadn't he? "About you, and about her."
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 5:53 pm
“I want to stay!” She was up at arms now, raising in his lap as if she would run away at any moment. “I don’t want to go back!!”
He had seen her mom? Behind her back!? Why? Why would he do that unless he wanted to get rid of her? Did he really… Had he really planned on this the entire time? How could he?!
“I’m not going back!!” She protested now, leaning back. If she had to run, if she had to leave him, she would. She was never going to go back to that house-- even if it meant leaving Vale.
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:04 pm
"Calm down," he hushed her, arms snaking out to hug her reassuringly and resting his chin on top of her head. "Ee't ee's not like that."
"You do not have to go back." He was trying not to hug too tight - trying not to let her know how glad he was. It was terrible of him. To even begin to think that, to be happy that her mother was willing to let him take care of her.
"V'e talked. I v'anted to know v'hat had happened, and," he tried to find the right words, struggling to phrase it right, "and your mother loves you. Even I could see that. But she does not think she can take care of you like you should be cared for, not right now. Maybe one day."
"I am...I am hoping, one day, you v'ill be ready to go back, and she v'ill be ready to have you back. She ee's still your mother, no matter what."
"But, until then...v'ould you really like to stay v'ith me? For longer than a few days?"
He was nervous. For all the fit that she had thrown - she didn't know. Hadn't known. Hadn't known that her mother couldn't take her back for longer than she might've planned to stay and hide away at his house.
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:17 pm
What? Her mom…. She knew that her mom didn’t want to have her around. Deep down she always knew that. But to hear it from someone else’s mouth…? That hurt. It hurt way more than she thought it would.
Burying into his chest once more, she gripped at the fabric of his shirt.
Why did it hurt so badly? She knew that. So why…?
Tepin could only nod, still hidden against him. Even though it hurt, knowing her mother hadn’t come to get her… Even if she knew she still had to go back someday… She couldn’t cry. Something in her… Something felt that all things considered… She was better off now.
Her mother couldn’t do it. Varu could.
But… Varu couldn’t… not really. Not once he knew what she really was.
Pulling her face back, looking up at him from his breast, she sniffled.
“Can you do it…? No matter what?”
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:23 pm
He grinned, ruffling her hair and hugging her more snugly and ears flicking back up.
"Of course. Even ee'f I die, I v'ill claw my v'ay back here," he reassured, utterly seirous, "I could not leave my two princesses alone, now could I?"
"No matter v'hat. I promise."
And that was a promise he would keep.
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:28 pm
She pulled back from the hug, looking at him with all seriousness. He had promised-- that was an eternal vow, as far as Tepin was concerned. It was reassuring, hearing him say those words. As if maybe… Maybe being a Godling wouldn’t matter, once it came down to it.
But it wasn’t enough. She still didn’t know how he would react… Quinn and Mixcoatl seemed to understand the game much better than she did. She needed more proof that she would be safe.
A pinky finger was thrust in his face-- There was only one way to make a promise stronger than words, and that was with actions.
“Pinky promise?”
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:32 pm
He blinked in bemused surprise at the pinky, looking from it to the girl.
He mustn't laugh. He mustn't. He swallowed back a snort of laughter, putting on his serious-face, and with the utmost of care hooked his pinky with hers.
"Pinky promise."
And he meant it.
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:49 pm
She pulled their promised grip in close to her chest, smiling at it briefly before releasing the poor stolen finger.
It was in stone now, he couldn’t go back on his word. He’d have to take care of her, no matter what. Even if it meant that he didn’t like her anymore, or he even hated her, he had to take care of her. Which meant that he couldn’t hurt her.
“Hey….?” Snuggling up against him, she looked up at his strong jaw line. Even if she had been sworn to secrecy, she knew that Varu would not get mad at her over something so simple. “What was it like living in a castle?”
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:53 pm
What.
"A castle?" His brow furrowed, looking down at her in even more puzzlement.
Why would she think he lived in a-
He groaned, leaning his head back with a thunk against the chair.
"V'hat did they tell you?"
Those damn Carnegie brothers. He should've known.
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:12 pm
Liars. Darn it!! She had trusted them! And they had played her like a violin.
“They said…” She took a big breath, preparing to recount their epic tale, “That you were a prince from a far away city… And that you and your parents were happy, until an evil bint came and made your uncle evil. So your family tried and tried to keep the land happy, but the bint was making everyone unhappy, and they blamed it all on you guys.”
She took another breath-- saying the story in one breath proved to be too difficult.
“So you ran away to this city, and had to live despite being poor-- but your family got by, an had Sydni, and was all happy and all. Except the bint followed you!! So your parents had to flee to allow you and Sydni to have a happy life without them!”
Another deep breath; she was starting to push her lung capacity to the max.
“And so here you are now, tormented by the evil bint. They said she made you look weird too… But the bin-- I mean, Quinn, said that was because of the game!”
No… Even if the story was false…. The evil bint would always be Quinn. There was no denying he was nothing but bad for Vale. Even the gods thought so!
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:21 pm
Gently, he placed a hand over her mouth with a wry look.
"Firstly, ee'f the twins ever say a word you do not know, ee't ee's best that you do not repeat ee't. Usually they are bad words, and that term that they use ee's not very nice."
He hefted her up, leaning back in the chair more comfortably and attempting to smooth out her wild locks with his hands - it wasn't working.
"Truth ee's, I am not a prince. I have lived ee'n this house my whole life. And my parents v'ent missing about a year ago. That ee's all," he smiled, giving up and ruffling her hair to make it even messier. "Nothing so ee'nteresting as v'hat they say. They enjoy making up stories."
A new one. Every damn day.
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:36 pm
She listened intently, her eyes following every movement his face would make, every twitch of the ear. He was far more interesting than he made himself out to be, even without the stories to help. Nodding a response to his scolding, she could only listen to his story with a subdued awe.
“But…” Wriggling in his lap, she tried to squirm free of his ruffling, “But why did your parents disappear? You guys looked so happy in the pictures…”
There. She did it. She asked the question she had been meaning to ask since day one.
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