Post by Lisa on Nov 18, 2010 8:16:04 GMT 10
Title: The Life of Our Lord: As Written for his Children
Rating: G
Summary: Ewain has questions about his father’s life.
Notes: part of the Dickens Arc.
“Why is Father so much older than you?” Ewain asked hesitantly one afternoon, when he’d swung himself into the saddle of his horse. He looked at Kel with an earnestness that made her wonder if his father had worn such a hopeful, childish expression when he was a lad. Or if he’d looked so small on his horse.
The creature had been a point of contention between Kel and Wyldon. She had wanted their son to start on a pony rather than one of the rowdy, large horses bred in Cavall. He didn’t agree with her, insisting that he had learned to ride on a full-size mount. So they compromised and Ewain, now seven, was riding the smallest horse ever bred in their stables, affectionately known as the Midget.
His mount sidestepped awkwardly, as though feeling her rider’s unease. “Pelin says that he’s old enough to be your father.”
“Pelin is right,” Kel said with a small nod. “He’s much older than me because I’m his second wife. Remember when I told you that your sisters have a different mother?”
Ewain nodded.
“That’s because their mother, Lady Vivenne, was your father’s first wife.”
“Why did he marry her first?”
“I wasn’t born yet,” Kel said matter-of-factly. “He fell in love with her when he was very young and they married and had your sisters around the time I was born.”
“What happened to her?”
They steered their horses down the path toward Cavall village, and Kel thought long before answering. A part of her wanted to tell him that it was his father’s story to share or conceal, but then she looked into his curious face, seeing the frown on a mouth that was so much like Wyldon’s. Perhaps it was easier to learn this from her, rather than making Wyldon share a painful part of his history.
“They were married for over twenty-five years and saw their daughters married and placed in the world. But then she fell terribly ill – and the healers couldn’t help her. She was taken to the Black God’s realm.”
“What did Father do?”
“What would you do if you lost the person you loved most in the world?”
Ewain frowned down at his saddle pommel. “I’d cry a lot, even though I know only babies cry.”
“Grown-ups cry, too,” Kel told her son. “I’m sure your father did, even if he’s the most stoic person I’ve ever met.”
“Would you cry if you lost either of us?”
Kel shuddered at the thought. “More than you could imagine.”
“But you don’t cry at anything.”
“I weep often enough,” Kel replied, tearing a leaf from a branch hanging low over their path. “I just wait until I’m alone, so no one sees.”
“Is that what Da did?”
“I think so.” No one had really witnessed Wyldon’s mourning, except his close family. Even Owen’s description of his behavior after Vivenne’s death didn’t prepare Kel for the emotions her husband described to her years later. She had known he was a private man who kept his feelings close to his heart, but it had been so easy to imagine the depth of emotions muted in comparison to men like Neal or Owen, who were unable to conceal their delight or misery. But no, Wyldon felt the loss of his first wife even now, no matter how much he loved Kel and no matter how happy he found himself to be.
“Spouses are your closest friends,” Kel explained. “They’re your best companion, the person who is by your side through thick and thin. Wouldn’t you be sad if Pelin was gone forever?”
Ewain nodded.
“But sometimes we can move on after horrible losses, and that’s what your father did.”
“Does he love you as much as he loved her?”
“That’s the kind of question you’d have to ask him,” Kel said cautiously. “But my guess would be that he loves us so differently that it’s hard to compare.”
Her son frowned again. “But I want him to love you best.”
“Do you?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. “But wouldn’t that make your sisters as unhappy as you would be if I told you he loved Lady Vivenne the best?”
“I suppose,” he replied with a noncommittal shrug. “How did you meet?”
Kel grinned at his obvious shift in direction. He would come around to empathy at his own pace, she trusted. “When I was training for knighthood, he was the palace training master.”
“Is that when you fell in love?”
“No,” she said with a short laugh. “It took many years for our feelings to develop. In fact, when we first met he wasn’t very fond of me at all.”
The Midget tossed her head angrily, as if demonstrating her rider’s disbelief.
“It’s true. It took years for me to grow on him. But that’s all right, because he was busy raising your sisters, and training the realm’s pages and squires. It wasn’t until I was a knight that we were to be able to become friends.”
“And that was when his first wife died?”
“A while after I was knighted, yes.”
“How long did it take to fall in love? After Lady Vivenne, I mean.”
“It was a couple of years before he was able to begin courting.” Kel answered. “And within another two we were married, and then you came along.”
“He’s happy with us?”
“Of course he is. And he’ll be even happier when we decide what we want to do for his birthday. Come, let’s talk of more pleasant things for the life he’s living now.” She smiled down at her curious boy, loving the way his wide mouth twisted into a gentle smile at the thought of the celebration they planned. He wasn’t the spitting image of his father, but she could see so much of the man in the little boy, and it warmed her heart.
Rating: G
Summary: Ewain has questions about his father’s life.
Notes: part of the Dickens Arc.
“Why is Father so much older than you?” Ewain asked hesitantly one afternoon, when he’d swung himself into the saddle of his horse. He looked at Kel with an earnestness that made her wonder if his father had worn such a hopeful, childish expression when he was a lad. Or if he’d looked so small on his horse.
The creature had been a point of contention between Kel and Wyldon. She had wanted their son to start on a pony rather than one of the rowdy, large horses bred in Cavall. He didn’t agree with her, insisting that he had learned to ride on a full-size mount. So they compromised and Ewain, now seven, was riding the smallest horse ever bred in their stables, affectionately known as the Midget.
His mount sidestepped awkwardly, as though feeling her rider’s unease. “Pelin says that he’s old enough to be your father.”
“Pelin is right,” Kel said with a small nod. “He’s much older than me because I’m his second wife. Remember when I told you that your sisters have a different mother?”
Ewain nodded.
“That’s because their mother, Lady Vivenne, was your father’s first wife.”
“Why did he marry her first?”
“I wasn’t born yet,” Kel said matter-of-factly. “He fell in love with her when he was very young and they married and had your sisters around the time I was born.”
“What happened to her?”
They steered their horses down the path toward Cavall village, and Kel thought long before answering. A part of her wanted to tell him that it was his father’s story to share or conceal, but then she looked into his curious face, seeing the frown on a mouth that was so much like Wyldon’s. Perhaps it was easier to learn this from her, rather than making Wyldon share a painful part of his history.
“They were married for over twenty-five years and saw their daughters married and placed in the world. But then she fell terribly ill – and the healers couldn’t help her. She was taken to the Black God’s realm.”
“What did Father do?”
“What would you do if you lost the person you loved most in the world?”
Ewain frowned down at his saddle pommel. “I’d cry a lot, even though I know only babies cry.”
“Grown-ups cry, too,” Kel told her son. “I’m sure your father did, even if he’s the most stoic person I’ve ever met.”
“Would you cry if you lost either of us?”
Kel shuddered at the thought. “More than you could imagine.”
“But you don’t cry at anything.”
“I weep often enough,” Kel replied, tearing a leaf from a branch hanging low over their path. “I just wait until I’m alone, so no one sees.”
“Is that what Da did?”
“I think so.” No one had really witnessed Wyldon’s mourning, except his close family. Even Owen’s description of his behavior after Vivenne’s death didn’t prepare Kel for the emotions her husband described to her years later. She had known he was a private man who kept his feelings close to his heart, but it had been so easy to imagine the depth of emotions muted in comparison to men like Neal or Owen, who were unable to conceal their delight or misery. But no, Wyldon felt the loss of his first wife even now, no matter how much he loved Kel and no matter how happy he found himself to be.
“Spouses are your closest friends,” Kel explained. “They’re your best companion, the person who is by your side through thick and thin. Wouldn’t you be sad if Pelin was gone forever?”
Ewain nodded.
“But sometimes we can move on after horrible losses, and that’s what your father did.”
“Does he love you as much as he loved her?”
“That’s the kind of question you’d have to ask him,” Kel said cautiously. “But my guess would be that he loves us so differently that it’s hard to compare.”
Her son frowned again. “But I want him to love you best.”
“Do you?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. “But wouldn’t that make your sisters as unhappy as you would be if I told you he loved Lady Vivenne the best?”
“I suppose,” he replied with a noncommittal shrug. “How did you meet?”
Kel grinned at his obvious shift in direction. He would come around to empathy at his own pace, she trusted. “When I was training for knighthood, he was the palace training master.”
“Is that when you fell in love?”
“No,” she said with a short laugh. “It took many years for our feelings to develop. In fact, when we first met he wasn’t very fond of me at all.”
The Midget tossed her head angrily, as if demonstrating her rider’s disbelief.
“It’s true. It took years for me to grow on him. But that’s all right, because he was busy raising your sisters, and training the realm’s pages and squires. It wasn’t until I was a knight that we were to be able to become friends.”
“And that was when his first wife died?”
“A while after I was knighted, yes.”
“How long did it take to fall in love? After Lady Vivenne, I mean.”
“It was a couple of years before he was able to begin courting.” Kel answered. “And within another two we were married, and then you came along.”
“He’s happy with us?”
“Of course he is. And he’ll be even happier when we decide what we want to do for his birthday. Come, let’s talk of more pleasant things for the life he’s living now.” She smiled down at her curious boy, loving the way his wide mouth twisted into a gentle smile at the thought of the celebration they planned. He wasn’t the spitting image of his father, but she could see so much of the man in the little boy, and it warmed her heart.