Ghis (closed)

[heartofcourage]

Julia Ghis and Maxwell of Chester led the family towards the graveyard, Beth and Brogan following just behind as the children brought up the rear. Julia's arm was looped through her brother's as they walked, neither saying much as they passed the people of Chester.

"You didn't bury her next to father?" Julia asked in surprise as they entered the graveyard and passed the spot normally reserved for the rulers of Chester.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Absolutely not," Max said with a shake of his head. "She didn't want anything to do with him anymore, so he was buried in a different cemetery."

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia nodded, knowing it served her father right to have lost the woman that would have loved and supported him not matter what with a little love. Her mother deserved better and it seemed that Maxwell had given her that peace in death.

 

[KieranSoares]

"She asked me if I would bury her in sight of the forest," Max murmured, looking off to the woods nearby. She had secretly loved the natural world but was unable to enjoy it thanks to her husband's paranoia of the outside.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia smiled as Maxwell told her that he had given their mother one of her last great wishes. When he pulled her to a stop next to a stone that had beautiful carved leaves on it, Julia knew that her mother was truly happy. She could see the forest from that spot and flowers were growing on the little plot. It was cheerful and happy.

"You did well, Max." Julia said softly as she looked down at the final resting spot of the woman that she wished could have met her family.

 

[KieranSoares]

Ciaran was the first of Julia's children to approach, a flower of his own in hand. He knew what it meant to his mother for them to be there and pay their respects to the woman. Ciaran knelt down beside the grave, laying the flower at its base with care that told Julia the moment was important to him too.

"Go on, boys. Don' be shy," Brogan murmured to his two younger sons, and Rho and Sam followed Ciaran's lead. Rho had even carved a little figure of the Invernessian dragon to bring to his grandmother's grave, and he laid it down too.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate moved to stand beside her mother, looking down at the grave of the woman that she never knew. "What was her name, Ma?"

"Octavia." Julia murmured, looking over at Kate. "She was a descendant of the Roman soldiers that once occupied the island. Her father's name was Octavian Maximus Julian. She made sure that we knew our heritage very well, despite the fact that father didn't care."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Father was descended from Normans who took over with King William in 1066. He would've been born just after the war, I believe," Max commented. "So the only heritage he cared about was Norman and a little bit of French. He always had such a problem with Scotland and Ireland because men like Brogan are descended from Saxons and Celts, even Vikings."

 

[heartofcourage]

"No one is better than the other." Julia said as she glanced at her children, wrapping her arm around Kate as she stood the closest. "We can be proud of all the parts that make us who we are."

 

[KieranSoares]

Max was silent from there. He'd always felt a bit guilty for how cold he'd been to his mother while his father still lived, but Beth had managed to soften him up and was the key to the warm relationship Max and Octavia had shared in the years before her death.

 

[heartofcourage]

Beth saw how uncomfortable Maxwell was in that moment and she moved forward to his side to take his hand. She gave him a smile as he glanced towards her and she kissed his cheek gently.

"Octavia talked about your children constantly. She always enjoyed reading your letters and would talk about all of you like you had just visited."

 

[KieranSoares]

Max laid his head on Beth's shoulder, kissing her cheek. "But you're all here now... and that would make her happy, to know you didn't forget about her."

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia glanced towards her side when she felt someone take her hand. She squeezed her husband's hand tightly, glad that he was there to give her the strength that she needed in that moment. Her mother was gone, but she was happy that the woman had experienced some peace in her final years. That meant the world to her.

"I'm glad that we're all here." Julia said, giving Max a smile. "It's always been a dream of mine that my children could come and explore the city where I grew up."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm only sorry it took so long for me to wise up and welcome you back," Max told her with a tiny smile.

When they all finally retreated from the cemetery, Max treated the family to a little tour before they returned to the castle for a meal. The feeling was a little somber, but Brogan remained close to Julia to offer a shoulder to lean on and the children did what they could to lighten the mood.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia felt as if she were drifting after visiting her mother's grave. She wished that she could have come sooner to see her, but it was never meant to be. Brogan and the children all did their best to make her feel better, but she really just wanted to be alone for a while. She retreated to her favorite spot of the keep, a little window just big enough for a person to sit in that overlooked Chester. She had no idea how long she sat there before Brogan came looking for her.

"I carved my name in the stone here." She murmured to him, showing where JULIA was carved in the soft grey stone of the window sill. "I wanted someone to remember me."

 

[KieranSoares]

Brogan glanced down at the carving before looking back to his wife with concern. He knew well that her life before Inverness hadn't been the best. Her father hadn't cared, her mother had been cold in those days because of her husband, and Max had been at least mostly unconcerned with his sister. Brogan reached out to lay a hand on Julia's back, coming to lean on the wall beside her.

"Look a' you now, love," he murmured. "Now no one can ever ferget you. You'll always be remembered by our lads an' lasses. An' their own too."

 

[heartofcourage]

"But what happens when you're gone?" Julia asked softly as she turned her sad green eyes towards her husband. "You're the greatest love that I've ever known. You taught me that I was worthy of being loved. I would like to hope that we have many blissful years ahead of us, but what if that isn't true? I can't live without you, Brogan."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I can' promise you I won' die, love, much as I wish I could." He knelt down before her and took her hands. "But I can promise I'm doin' my best t'take better care o' myself so tha' when my time does come, we won' be apart long. If I 'ave my way, I'll keep my promise t'make it t'one -hundred. But when I do go... I'll be righ' on th'other side waitin' for ya, jus' like I do in our lives now."

He laid his head down in her lap. "It's no' easy t'accept... But it's part o' life. An' I believe there's somethin' else after all this. I'm no' brave enough t'face it alone, so I don' want t'leave without you."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I wish things had been different." Julia admitted softly, running her fingers through her husband's dark hair. "I wish I had come back to see her just one last time. This place wasn't a dream but it's still my home."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know, darlin'," he murmured, looking up at her once more. "But a' least y'never forgot 'er. Th'way Max talks about 'er... Your letters were what kept 'er going."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Thank you for always loving our children...even Kate." Julia said softly. "You didn't have to. You could have been like my father or even your own father. Instead, you've given us a lovely home and a man to love and respect."

 

[KieranSoares]

"It's completely selfish on my part, love," Brogan told her with a smile. "Couldn' help keepin' you all t'myself. Tha's why I put up such a big fight with David."

 

[heartofcourage]

"And you've simply made Kell our son." Julia said softly as she leaned down and kissed her husband gently. "Their life is much happier than the one I had here in Chester."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Well, tha' was th'plan, t'give our children better childhoods than we had," Brogan nodded. "Tha' way their own families'll have good lives too."

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia gave her husband a smile as he commented on giving their children a better childhood than the one that they had. She hoped that her children looked back on their early years with a fondness that would make them smile. It hadn't been easy, but she was very content.

"Let's go for a ride, just the two of us." She said softly. "I'll show you around Chester."