Absolution (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"I think we'll go tomorrow. I don't think I'm terribly welcome here either outside your family. I appreciate your time and honesty, though. And I wish you the very best. I don't want to fight with Inverness, and I hope I can dissuade my father in time."

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena gave him a nod, bowing her head as he retreated from the room. She felt a worry settle in the pit of her belly. Walking to the window of the parlor, she stared out at the courtyard and the grey dreary day beyond. She knew it would only be a matter of time before her father learned that she and Abel would not marry and she knew it was only a matter of time before Oliver bent his ear to another lord.

Turning to leave the room, she paused when she saw Ghell there, shaking her head as she moved past him to find her father. She would tell him in person, no matter how he raged.

 

[KieranSoares]

Ghell still followed at a distance, able to tell where she was going. If Tamblin did explode, Ghell would shield her as he had always shielded the children from Tamblin's worst rages. Tamblin was in his own chambers rather than his office, which was a rare occurrence, the door slightly ajar. Selena found him settled in an old chair, his head in one hand as he stared down at the pages of a book. He'd never been much of a reader until the break he'd taken in Skye with the family, biding his time and escaping his depression with Martin's books. Ever since then, if he was stressed or lost and didn't have the energy to be angry, he'd retreat to the books he'd moved into his room until he fell asleep. With Selena facing Abel, Tamblin hadn't known what to do with himself, and so brought a volume about the famed Invernessian Axemen from the library. Disbanded since his father's time, Tamblin had once dreamed of reviving the Axemen, but had never succeeded with Inverness' decline.

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena entered the room and shut the door quietly behind her, ready to face Tamblin alone. She didn't ask his permission as she stood there, her hands clasped in front of her and eyes down cast.

"There will be no marriage between Abel and I." Selena said softly. "He is in agreement."

 

[KieranSoares]

Tamblin looked up as she entered, quietly regarding her as he set the book aside on an end table. At her admission, he sat back and nodded slowly. "I know..." He ran a hand back through his hair and rose stiffly, taking up his cane to lean on it as he faced her. "... Don't tell anyone else yet, little love... If Oliver finds out, he'll force it." He limped forward to place a hand on her shoulder. "I need you t'get ready t'leave. You'll go t'Edinburgh. Brian an' Marianne'll look after you."

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena's brow furrowed in confusion as her father stepped forward and told her that she needed to be ready to leave. He was offering her the chance to escape towards Edinburgh, to be under the protection of Brian and Marianne.

"I don't understand." Selena said softly. "You wanted me to marry Abel. Why are you changing your mind so easily?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I changed my mind a long time ago, sweet'eart... but I'm no' the one in control anymore," he murmured quietly, as if afraid they were being listened to. "I 'aven't been in control for a long time... no' for most of your life. But you can be in control o' your own life... an' you can come back with your brother when things are better."

 

[heartofcourage]

"When you're dead." Selena said, knowing just what the score was. "I know what everything means. You don't have to treat me like a child."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know... You're a young woman. An intelligent young lass who'll be a credit t'helpin' werefolk an' human relations... Who'll be free an' independent no matter what... You'll be everythin' I'm not... You'll be what the Ghis used t'be." He looked down at her sadly, but offered a tiny, bitter smile. "I'm proud o' you... For never losin' yourself like I did."

 

[heartofcourage]

"How long do you think I have?" Selena asked him as he admitted that he was proud of her for the person that she was. "Long enough to say goodbye to Ma and the rest? I don't want to leave without that happening."

 

[KieranSoares]

"As long as it's kept secret, you don' have to rush. Jus' be very careful... If you do 'ave to run suddenly... Ghell knows what t'do." He opened the door for her then. "... Go on an' let your mother know... I'll try t'make some arrangements."

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena stared at Tamblin for a long moment as he opened the door for her and told her to let Kitty know. She lowered her head for a moment and then looked Tamblin in the eye.

"I can't ever forgive you for what you did to my mother." Selena said softly. "Nor can I ever forgive you for sending Durban away. However, you're my father and your blood is in my veins. I will forever be a Ghis."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You never need t'forgive or forget, lass," Tamblin murmured. "Jus' remember I do love you... Even if I'm too lost t'show it. I want you t'be happy. That'll be enough fer your mother an' I both."

 

[heartofcourage]

The words got stuck in her throat, the words that he wanted to hear. Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked at him with that proudly tilted chin, lips pursed to keep them from falling. She simply turned to leave the room, knowing that it would be one of the last times she ever saw her father.

 

[KieranSoares]

Tamblin watched her go til she disappeared from view, and he quietly closed the door to return to his book, only to find himself staring into his empty hearth, lost but resigned to a fate he knew was a long time in coming.

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena passed Ghell in the hallway on her way to her mother's apartments when she paused and looked up at him. "What did my Da give you this morning?"

 

[KieranSoares]

Ghell sighed and withdrew the note to show her. It was a short list of directions and people, all the same businesses and craftsmen who'd made gear for Durban before he left. Tamblin had commissioned things for Selena from all of them and Ghell was to pick them up and store them away for whenever Selena had to flee. He'd also told Ghell specifically to take his horse. While Selena had a horse, it wasn't really her own, and was only a riding horse. Tamblin's was a powerful charger and traveling horse, a cross between a Clydesdale and Thoroughbred. It would be far better for heavy lifting, hunting, and cross-country travel.

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena read over the list and looked up at Ghell in confusion. "He's trying to atone with his sins. I don't know how I feel about that."

 

[KieranSoares]

"He knows he can never make up for these past decades," Ghell murmured. "But he can try to prove that under all that fear and paranoia and madness, there's still a piece left of a father who gives a damn. I've told you many times, eli... He loves you. The real Tamblin, before Oliver and a prison sentence that broke him, loves you. But there's only a tiny piece of him still able to show."

 

[heartofcourage]

“I’ll speak to Abel about delaying his trip back home. Maybe he’ll understand the situation if I talk to him. It would give you time to get everything ready.” Selena said softly, looking up at Ghell as if he knew her thoughts.

 

[KieranSoares]

"It won't take me too long. It's just avoiding Oliver's men that will be difficult. You need to be careful too. Oliver knows he's in absolute control."

 

[heartofcourage]

“I’ll speak to Abel.” Selena said, leaving Ghell’s side to find where Abel was being housed inn the keep that evening.

She quietly knocked on the door and entered at his call, closing it carefully behind her. “There is something that I need to ask of you, Abel. A favor, if you will.”

 

[KieranSoares]

Selena found Abel beginning to relax, settled into a chair in the guest parlor in much more comfortable but handsome clothes, glasses perched on his nose and a large tome in his lap. To one side sat a heavy satchel brimming with books as well. "Yes, milady?" He asked, setting his book aside.

 

[heartofcourage]

“May I ask that you stay a while longer? There are plans in motion, plans that would get me free of Inverness for safety but I would need a cover to keep them under wraps for a while longer.” Selena said softly, not wanting anyone else to hear.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I see. I'm in no rush," he assured her, rising to face her. "Is there anything I can do to help? Perhaps put on airs that things are going well?"