Darkwood (closed)

“I don’t know if adore is the right word. I just feel like he is destined for something more than his current lot in life.” Dylan said, glancing up as Ashien invited her to the stupid to paint late into the evening. “I suppose. I’ve done nothing but doodle since the pregnancy changed everything.”

"I have a masterpiece to finish," Ashien reminded her with an adoring smile, taking her by the hand as they stepped out of Burke's room. He led the way to the studio and immediately went to his unfinished work to look it over and pick up a note he'd left himself about his plans for the piece.

Settling into his chair to contemplate on how best to move forward, he stared at the half-painted canvas for a long while before finally picking out paints and brushes, but he still took his time about it, almost lazily mixing colors and comparing shades to match his former work.

Dylan watched her husband so closely in the studio as he stared at the canvas. She couldn't help the feeling that still crept along the back of her mind that she wouldn't have Ashien for as long as she would have liked. There might be a day when all she had were the paintings that he worked so hard on for her. Stepping behind him as he got his brushes all laid out, Dylan wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek against his left shoulder.

"I missed you." Dylan murmured softly, just needing to be close to him for as long as she could.

Ashien paused, letting the brushes lay on the small table beside the easel. His hands rose to her own on his chest, and he lifted one to press a kiss to it. "I missed you too, love... While I was glad to help Kayla... I was ready to be back here, back to normal, almost as soon as I left... I had a bit of a close call out there in the Rus. My horse was shot down and I'm lucky I didn't break anything in the fall. I was holding off a couple attackers and they shattered my shield and nearly broke my arm before the Mongolians- Kjotva's father's warriors- picked me up... Another scar for the collection, I suppose. At this rate I'll look like Durban in a few years."

“I can’t shake the feeling that we don’t have much time, Ash. It frightens me.” Dylan said softly as Ashien spoke about his experience in battle. “What will I do without you?”

"Love..." Ashien turned in her arms to face her, his hands coming to rest gently on her cheeks. "... I can't promise you something won't happen one day... No one can live forever, especially not a soldier... After all, I wouldn't even be here if you hadn't come to save me with Julia in Inverness. And... If I do go before you... What you do after that is entirely up to you. But I want you to be happy above all. And now that we have a little one on the way... You see that they're happy too, and they never forget their mother and father love them."

“I know and I’ve tried to make my peace with all of that. I know my duty is to Darkwood above all else. It still doesn’t help to stop the panic that appears sometimes. It’ll fade in time, I’m sure.” Dylan said softly as he tried to put her at ease with some practical advice.

"Your duty is to yourself and the people we love. Forget the estate if you need to. But it would be yours if I was ever gone. I just need you to be alright in the end."

“I went through time for you.” Dylan muttered as she leaned her head on her husband’s shoulder. “I’m not going to give you up easily, if ever. However, I promise to try my hardest.”

Painting forgotten, Ashien settled into the large armchair by the fire with Dylan, taking a blanket from the back of the chair to wrap around both of them. Eventually Ballas came padding in and laid at their feet with a yawn, content to be close to his two favorite people.

The next morning, Ashien was up a bit late thanks to the long nap the day before, and he immediately got dressed and ready to go out after breakfast to Kensington Home. He was speaking with Van about the trip into London when Burke overheard and came fleeing to Dylan, clinging to her skirts.

"Don't let him take me back," Burke said quickly, shyness and stoicism forgotten in the face of deeply-seated fear.

Dylan was late to breakfast, a bout of morning sickness causing her to stay in bed even longer than Ashien. As she was preparing to come to the dining roo, she paused when Burke wrapped her up around the legs, begging her to keep him there.

“You don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to go, Burke.” Dylan said softly, kneeling down to look him in the eye. “If you wish to stay here for now, Ashien will make that happen. If you wish to go somewhere else, we can make that happen too. The choice is entirely yours.”

"Lord Ashien's going to Kensington... he's taking me back..." Burke looked up at her with the fear of death in his eyes. "The Overseer won't let me be hired out after I ran away, he'll make me stay there where all the older boys can get me."

“Burke, he’s not taking you back.” Dylan said as the little boy showed his true fright. “I promise that you don’t have to stay there.”

She wrapped him up in a hug, holding him tightly. “You can stay here or come with us. Van will take care of you if you would like to come with us. He won’t let anything bad happen.”

"I'll go... I should go," Burke muttered softly, finally calming in Dylandra's embrace, clinging to her tightly.

Dylan nodded as Burke slowly started to calm down. “Let’s get some breakfast and then get bundled up. It’s cold outside.”

Dylan pulled back slightly to look down at Burke, making sure that he was alright before she let him go. “Come sit by me.”

Burke nodded, keeping close as if his life depended on it. Hearing Ashien talk of visiting Kensington had made Burke's imagination run wild with fear, certain the Lord of Darkwood was sending him back to hell.

As Dylan walked Burke to his seat, she gave Ashien a look that told him not to ask questions. The boy was very frightened and she wa doing her best to calm him down.

“Van, some toast and jam for me, please. What would you like, Burke?” She placed her hand on his arm, giving it a squeeze.

Burke looked to Van and was quiet, having heard Van in on the conversation about Kensington. Van, noting the hesitation, turned with a gentle smile. "Well, Master Burke?"

"Whatever you're making..."

"Alright then. Help yourself to the mulled cider if you like."

“Eggs and ham for him, please, Van.” Dylan answered for the little boy as it seemed he wouldn’t do it himself. “We need to be well braced for the cold ride.”

She glanced down at Burke and gave him a reassuring smile. “Maybe while we’re out, we can look for some new clothing. Anything young boy at Darkwood needs to be properly outfitted.”

Burke nodded slightly at that, glancing up as Ashien came to the table and settled beside Dylandra in his usual seat. He offered Burke a gentle smile, one that began to soothe Burke, especially as Ashien asked, "So, my friend. How have you liked the manor?"

"It's nice," Burke murmured, unsure til he remembered something. "The noble lady I worked for last... She said you built this whole estate."

"I designed it, yes. Art was my forte as a child alongside horses, and I earned a love of architecture studying in London. So when the king awarded me a knighthood as well as the title of Royal Cavalry Master, I used both my savings and the money awarded to me to build Darkwood."

"But aren't you Scottish?" Burke questioned, his brows furrowed.

"I haven't quite lost the accent, have I?" Ashien chuckled. "I am, son of Katherine Ghis of Clan Inverness. Her friendship with the Scottish High Throne, and then King Brian's with King Henry, put me where I am. That good luck has held for a long time. But tell me... Kiva's told me a bit about your good work, especially in the stables and with Helen in the kitchen. What are you interested in, Burke? If you're going to stay here, we need to know where to start."

That seemed to finally, truly relax the boy, and he nodded as he spoke, "I've always liked horses... And I've always been good at cooking, especially baking... The noble lady I worked for taught me, and she was going to teach me to ride."

"Kiva's already well on that, he says you're a natural. And seeing as horses are my main source of income, you're in the right place. Now that I'm home, I'll be able to expand upon what Kiva's taught you. He's a fantastic rider with or without a saddle, and we've both ridden horses as long as we can remember. Together we'll make you a master in no time."

Burke looked to Dylan then, as if for some confirmation or approval. He was turning to her more and more often as a source of guidance.

Dylan glanced down at Burke as Ashien worked to soothe Burke's doubts over his place. She gave him a smile and shrugged slightly.

"It's up to you, Burke. If the biggest thing you have to choose between is horses or food, I think that's a pretty good place to be." She said as Van came in to serve the food for breakfast. "No pressure, though. You don't have to do any of those things if you really don't want to."

"And you're welcome to change your mind as you learn new things," Ashien encouraged. Burke simply nodded, politely waiting for everyone else to be served before he tucked into his own breakfast. There was still a nervousness about him, knowing they'd be going to Kensington, but Burke was far from skittish now with support at his back.

Dylan made sure that everyone was as warm as possible as Van and Kica got the wagon pulled up in front of the manor. She wrapped Burke in a borrowed cloak trimmed with fur. No one was getting ill on their trip out that fridged morning.

One the wagon was brought around, Dylan took Ashien’s hand to step up into the front seat, settling beside her husband as Van and Burke took seats in the back.

“I don’t remember winter settling in this hard and this early.” Dylan commented as sash took the reigns and the horses took off at a spirited trot.

"The seasons tend to get harsher or milder every few decades. I remember when I was very young, we had a string of blizzards that nearly buried the entire first story of Inverness Keep." Ashien barely had to direct the horses, they knew to follow the already-flattened path of the road eastward. The large road led to London central, but Ashien would be taking another road later on to turn toward Kensington, which was really just an outer portion of London itself. Eventually Ashien glanced back to Burke, who seemed lost in thought staring out into nothing.

"Burke. Ever driven a wagon?" Ashien's question snapped the little boy to attention, and Burke looked up to shake his head no. "Come up here, I'll show you."

Kiva helped the boy climb over the divide and into the seat between Ashien and Dylandra, and Ashien placed the reins in Burke's hands. "These two are well-trained, you don't need to do much other than watch their speed, occasionally direct them around holes and away from other horses and people. Just let the reins go slack til you need them to do something." Ashien showed the boy how to give a gentle tap with the reins to keep the horses up to speed, how to pull them in one direction or the other, and how to slow them. He also told Burke about how some drivers used long poles with a small whip on the end, not to hit the horses, but to tap them and keep them up to speed like he was doing with the reins.

As they came into Kensington, Burke began to grow nervous again, and Ashien took the reins for him. "You're alright, Burke. No matter what happens today, you're coming back to Darkwood," he soothed.

“I promised you wouldn’t go anywhere that you didn’t want to.” Dylan mentioned again, taking Burke’s hand in her own and squeezing it tightly. “There’s nothing to worry about. Ashien will take care of everything.”