Darkwood (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"Poor thing... I'm sure Lord Ashien will want to at least take him in."

As Burke reemerged from the cellar, he fetched a small pot to warm the cider, making extra for anyone else who might want it. He also found a stool to take down mugs from the cabinets before returning to the hearth to watch over the cider. Ben smiled lightly, but didn't interrupt Burke's seemingly intense focus.

 

[heartofcourage]

“I don’t think I could let him go back to where he came from knowing what he’s told me about them.” Dylan said softly as she watched him work quickly and quietly. “He’s a good boy and he has the capacity to be a good man. We’ll just take things slowly.”

 

[KieranSoares]

Eventually Ben went off to the guest quarters with his drink and Burke soon retired as well to the room Van had set up for him on the second floor. That night, a blizzard blew in at full force, making even the still-new manor creak against the wind on occasion. Come morning, Kiva, Burke, and Benjamin all went out to shovel snow away from the main path from the gate to the doors, over a foot of snow having fallen in the night, and still falling even in the calm, bright white morning. Things were calm, but everyone was worried for Ashien, wondering if he'd made it to an inn or shelter, or if he got caught camping out when the blizzard hit. But come noon as the snow began to fall in heavier flakes and the wind began to pick up again, the front gates opened and in trotted a single rider, four others remaining outside and turning back to head into London. The dark rider approached the stables first, the horse walking along lazily, exhausted. Some twenty minutes later, the rider came trudging up the path to the manor alone, a large bag slung over his back along with his saddlebags. He threw open the door and pulled off a scarf and tricorner hat, hanging both up and dropping his bags by the coat rack. He left his coat and gloves aside as well, but he didn't care about anything else beyond finding the one person he wanted to see.

"Dylan!" He called, his voice a tad hoarse. Ashien Ghis looked worn out, a bit dirty, and exhausted as he went down the main hall toward the den. He hadn't shaved in weeks, a rather handsome beard having grown on his normally-smooth face.

 

[heartofcourage]

Quietly working on a painting in the studio, Dylan paused when she heard Ashien’s voice calling out in the lower levels of the house. She dropped what she was doing and started to run, not stopping until she found him and had him wrapped tightly in her arms. They didn’t have to say anything as they stood in the den, simply holding on to one another.

“Remind me to be angry with you for not writing back.” Dylan muttered as she pulled back to look up into his dark gaze.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Benjamin was my answer back," he chuckled softly, lifting a hand to her cheek as he smiled adoringly down at her. "No messenger could've gotten back any faster." With that, he leaned in to steal a long, lovely kiss, his arms wrapping securely about her waist. "I love you," he murmured as their lips parted. "And I missed you more than you can imagine..."

 

[heartofcourage]

“You have no idea.” Dylan said with a small smile as she kissed him again, her arms holding him so tightly that she feared she might crush him. “I was not expecting to find out I was pregnant while you were gone either. I was shocked to say the very least.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don't think it's really sunken in yet for me... Kayla was surprised at how calm I was when I showed her your letter." He smiled down at her once more before taking her hands. "Come sit with me. I'm frozen, exhausted, and I nearly ate my own horse. I forgot half of my supplies hurrying home to you." He walked with her to the kitchen, only to pause seeing an unfamiliar little boy.

Quietly watching over bread baking in the oven for Helen, Burke was perched on a stool by the counter practicing kneading dough like he'd been taught. He paused as Dylan and Ashien looked at him, a hint of his former nervousness returning at the sight of a new person.

"Hello, friend," Ashien said, his tone both curious and confused. "I didn't know we had a guest."

Seeing Dylan so close to this man, Burke figured out who he was immediately, dusting flour off his shirt and stepping down from the stool to bow respectfully.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Ashien, this is Burke.” Dylan said as if it were nothing. “Burke, this is my husband, Sir Ashien Ghis. Burke has been staying with us for a few weeks now. He’s learning from Kiva.”

Dylan gave Ashien a slight nudge as if to tell him that she didn’t want to talk about the circumstances just then in front of the little boy.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Well, any friend of my wife is a friend of mine. It looks like you're certainly being a good help." Ashien smiled gently to the boy with a nod toward the dough he was working on. "Don't let me distract you. I'm sure we'll have plenty of chances to talk later."

Burke nodded and dutifully set back to his task while Ashien gathered a few things from the cupboards and a bottle of cider before walking with Dylandra to their own chambers to get out of his gear and relax a while.

Once they were in their bedroom after dropping the bottle and snacks off in the adjoining parlor, Ashien began to pull off his travel armor to change. "Do we have an orphan on our hands, love?" He asked, looking over his shoulder at her. His thoughts of his homecoming had been entirely interrupted by the sight of a very out-of-place little boy.

 

[heartofcourage]

“We have so much to talk about, Ashien.” Dylan said as he got changed out of his riding clothes.

She met him with more comfortable clothing, a loose tunic and pants, the fireplace adding warmth to their private rooms. “He showed up, starving and scarred. I had to take him in. Maybe that motherly instinct is finally kicking in after all.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Well I'm certainly glad you did. What has he told you?" Ashien asked as he tossed his soaked riding clothes aside and began pulling on the dry garments. "I saw the scars on his face and hands right away. You don't get those working on a farm..."

He settled into the center of their bed, welcoming Dylandra into his arms there and wrapping a blanket around both of them.

 

[heartofcourage]

"The Kensington workhouse. His mother was young and died on the streets when he was two. He's been there ever since. I think he's around five, but he won't talk much. Burke is all he has told me about his name." Dylan said as she snuggled against her husband's side and sighed in contentment. "I told him that you expected young men to have an education, so he's been starting to learn to read and write."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Good." Ashien nodded and hugged her close with a sigh. "We'll let him settle in a while, find out what his interests are... He has a place here as long as he needs it, but a child that age needs a family, a place to call his own... He'll never see the inside of a work house or orphanage again."

 

[heartofcourage]

“I’ll speak to him and see if he has a preference of where he would like to go. Then perhaps we can go talk to the foreman of the workhouse to make things all legal.” Silence cut through the air after that statement and Dylan turned her gaze towards her husband, giving him a small smile. “You’re going to be a father. How does that feel?”

 

[KieranSoares]

"I spent my entire journey back thinking about it... I'm still not sure I can believe it. I knew even when I was little that I wanted to have my own family one day, be the kind of parent my mother is, and raise good people who would look up to her and Vincenzo for how to act and love... Now that the chance is coming, I think I'm in a daze. I've already started worrying constantly about you. My whole way home I wished I could talk to you and Can and Kiva, and bring Vincenzo here to look after you. I started thinking about whether I really wanted to raise a family in England, or if I should go back to Scotland, or even somewhere else... Mad thoughts about things much too far in the future, and things I know I'd never do."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You would never leave England. It's your home now. It's our home." Dylan said as he told her what he had thought about on the journey home. "You've made a name for yourself here and going back to Scotland would mean starting over again. I've been fine so far with a few minor bumps. I'm exhausted and hungry all the time. I feel like this will be smooth sailing. I'm a little scared at the prospect of giving birth to a tiny human being in this time instead of my own, but I suppose there's nothing I can do about it now. I'll put up with the pain and have a health child at the end of everything."

 

[KieranSoares]

"If it makes you feel any better, Vincenzo can be here when it comes along. He specializes in that sort of thing. But until then... I'm going to spoil you rotten. Even more than usual." He pressed a kiss to her cheek at that, laying back on their bed with a tired sigh. "Starting tomorrow, of course," he muttered.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Tomorrow." Dylan agreed, curling into Ashien's side as they both slept in celebration of his return to Darkwood Manor.

She woke before him just as the evening was settling on the land. Everyone had worked hard to get the manor in shape before the first big winter storm and everyone was exhausted. As Dylan left Ashien to continue sleeping, she moved into the kitchen to find a snack for herself. She paused when she saw Burke, sound asleep next to the fire with a leg of lamb roasting that he had obviously been watching for the night cook.

"Burke?" Dylan asked softly, bending down to shake the little boy's shoulder. "Let's get you to bed, love."

 

[KieranSoares]

Burke sat up a little straighter in his chair, but he couldn't seem to keep his eyes open long enough to respond, slumping back against it again. He'd been working just as hard as everyone else, seeking to constantly earn his keep as if he were afraid he'd be kicked out.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan gave him a soft laugh as she leaned down and picked the young boy up with some effort and carried him from the kitchens and to his own little bedroom. She sat him down on the bed and helped him into his pajamas and properly tucked in beneath the blankets.

"Do you want your fire lit?" Dylan asked, knowing that the rooms could get chilly in an instant.

 

[KieranSoares]

Burke could only manage a quiet sound of confirmation before he was completely lost to the world again, silent and peacefully asleep. The sound of the door latch heralded Ashien's entry, glancing in as he'd woken to find Dylandra missing. He chuckled softly at the sight of Dylandra caring for the lost little boy.

"We may as well keep him at this rate," Ashien whispered with a smile.

 

[heartofcourage]

“If it’s his choice to stay.” Dylan stated as she worked to get his fire going. “It all been what he wants all along. I promised him he’d always have a choice”

Dylan turned from the fireplace and tucked the blanket a little tighter around his shoulders, her hand stroking across his short hair as she regarded the scars she could see on his face.

“Who would do this to a child?” Dylan asked softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"People who consider orphans and work house boys slaves, worse than mules and livestock, to be kicked and ordered around, and then thrown back into the corner once their jobs are done." Ashien leaned on the doorframe with a sigh. "So many like him run away, they see starvation and potential death as a better alternative to the hell they live in. Henry's been trying to tighten up regulations about work houses, making sure the children get their proper cut when they're of age, along with allowances and strict rules about what kinds of jobs they can do, and for how long. But so many of those places just operate how they please... and there are far too many for Henry to reach."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, perhaps we should go have a talk with these people to make sure that we're not doing anything wrong by keeping him here." She said as she glanced over at Ashien. "And maybe he'll tell us his story when he's ready."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Perhaps. I know I've only just met him, but he seems like a good boy, and you already seem to adore him. That's all the reason I need to make sure he has a home, here or anywhere he feels he needs to be." Ashien smiled gently before glancing back down the hall. "I think I hear the studio calling my name... I haven't touched a paintbrush since I hurried away to Kayla's side. Care to join me, love?"