Of the Fells

[heartofcourage]

Valentina blushed at his compliment and his smile as he looked down over her naked body. She had never really considered herself a great beauty. She was very small like her mother proportion wise, except for her breasts. She had been well endowed by her father's Italian heritage and her hips had a nice curve to them. She wasn't vain but under his intense gaze, she could almost believe that she was the beauty that he saw.

"And you're very handsome, Theo." She murmured softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

Theo couldn't help another chuckle, letting his fingers stroke through her ebony hair. "I think yer biased." He sat up at her side, still enjoying his new view of her beautiful form. He still felt his own lust, but he paid it no mind for the moment. He didn't want to push her. "We've got the whole rest o' the day t'do whatever we like while everyone's sleepin'... got anythin' in mind?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Perhaps we should rest as well." Valentina said, knowing that he probably needed a release as well, but she was afraid of taking that step.

What kind of horrible woman did that make her? She should have been willing, but in the back of her mind, she knew that she wanted to wait.

 

[KieranSoares]

Theo knew she wasn't ready yet to return the favor and in truth he didn't mind. He let her know that with a smile, and drew her blankets up over her bare form to ward off the cold. "Y'could certainly use it. I know I could. Y'don' mind if I stay 'ere with ya, do you?" he asked softly before he let himself relax beside her too much.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'd hope you stay for a long time." Valentina said softly as he pulled her blankets up over her body and she curled up against his side. "Forever might be too short a time for me though."

 

[KieranSoares]

Theo chuckled at her words but didn't need to say anything more. They weren't disturbed til dinner when Vincenzo knocked on the door and called in, "Val, wake up, cara mia. Time for dinner. Go find Theo and let him know too once you're up."

Theo was silent as he looked up to make sure he'd locked the door just in case. He wouldn't dare make a sound until Vincenzo walked away.

 

[heartofcourage]

Val's eyes popped open as she heard her father knocking, telling her that it was time for dinner. Her heart was thudding hard in her chest, looking at Theo as he watched the door until Vincenzo walked away. She let out a long sigh of relief.

"You better go. I'll dress and meet you in the great hall." She said softly, looking at her lover with wide and worried eyes.

 

[KieranSoares]

Before he sat up, Theo drew her in just a little closer and pressed an adoring, warm kiss to her lips. "I'll see ya there, lovely," he murmured before he rose to pull on his boots, vest, and shirt. Before he did, though, she got a look at his bare back for the first time where there stood out scars that she recognized as lash marks from a whip, and one particular deep ridge of a scar that stretched from his right shoulder across his left shoulder-blade and under his arm. A scar like that didn't come from a quick lash or slash of a sword, it was an intended digging-in of some thick blade like an axe or broadsword or wide dagger.

He tried not to leave his back exposed to her sight for too long, pulling his shirt on quickly.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina watched Theo dress and was curious about his scar, but it was something that he wasn't comfortable even letting her see. She was quiet, waiting until he was dressed before she shyly came out from under the covers to dress herself before she went to dinner.

 

[KieranSoares]

Theo paused before he left her, just as she was buttoning her shirt. He stepped back over, stealing one last kiss before he gave her a smile and quietly and carefully headed out when no one would see him leaving her room.

Dinner was similar to lunch, but news had everyone talking. Julia had imprisoned Sarah and Brogan had attempted suicide under Sarah's hold. It was the first thing Valentina heard when she entered. Durban was sending some tribal healers to Wick, telling them the Julia and Brogan and any civilians caught in the conflict up north were their priority.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina didn't like the sound of the news that reached them during dinner. Her Ma was worried to death about Brogan and her brothers were too weak to go and see him on their own. She knew that her Papa was better off staying in the keep and suddenly, her decision was made for her.

"I'll go too." She said to Durban. "I'll make sure that Brogan is alright."

 

[KieranSoares]

Durban looked to Valentina with an expression that told her he'd rather she stayed, but he didn't say so. Instead, he nodded. "If anyone can get Brogan on th' right track, it's 'is little sister." It was the first time he'd not argued with her about going to a potentially unstable or dangerous place.

"I have to go," Kitty spoke up suddenly. Durban turned to his mother, but she fixed him with an icy glare before he could protest. "Don't you say one bloody word, Durban Courser Ghis. I know you're the patron o' this family when Brogan's gone, but I'll be damned if I don't go to my baby when he's suffering."

"Ma... We need you here," Ashien said softly. "And as strong as you feel, you're still fairly ill. They'll bring him home when he can make it, and Julia and Val will see that he does make it. We need you to stay for our sake."

Kitty fell silent, knowing the most rational of her sons was right.

 

[heartofcourage]

She would talk to her Ma later and allow her to vent her fears and frustrations out of the ear shot of her sons. She knew that her mother had a soft spot for Brogan that went all the way back to when he was born. She had almost lost him as a baby and she didn't want him to slip away from her.

"Ma, I promise that I'll bring him back alive and safe." Val murmured softly, looking at her mother with a gaze the simply told her that she understood.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know you will... Y'always have," Kitty murmured. As assured as she was of Valentina's skill and love for her brother, Kitty couldn't help the same pain in her heart from coming to the surface as when an infant Brogan had been struggling for breath in her arms and she couldn't do a thing until the healer Selma arrived with her son Saano.

After dinner, Kitty quietly retreated to her parlor, away from her children and husband and everyone else. She could only sit and worry, and it was tearing her up on the inside.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina was the only one brave enough to approach her mother after she had retreated from the great hall. She came bearing gifts, a cup of tea and a black currant scone from the kitchens as she entered the room and sat down beside her mother in silence.

"You know that even if you go, there's not much you can do." She finally said softly. "And I'm not going to let him slip away from you. I know how much he means to you."

 

[KieranSoares]

"All my children mean more than life to me," Kitty murmured. "But Brogan was the one I had to fight for until he could stand against Tamblin alone... Brogan was the one that was always small and too weak to make it... Then in just one day, he saved his kingdom and me from his father and brought the light back and he never really needed me again... Not til now. Now he needs me again whether he'd ever admit it or not... And I can't go to him. I know if I tried, I'd get too weak and sick to make it to Wick."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'll bring him home, Ma. I promise you." Valentina said as she took her mother's hands and held them tightly, squeezing them to let her know that she wasn't alone in this.

The entire family needed him back, Julia above all else. She had been so strong this entire time, but that could only last so long. Their entire family needed to close ranks and heal. It would take a while before they were the same joyful family that they had been for so long.

 

[KieranSoares]

When Valentina eventually came out of her mother's room after Kitty was calm and resting, Theo was in the great hall waiting to see if Valentina would report that Kitty was alright, as well as to check with Val about her plans to head north with the tribal healers.

 

[heartofcourage]

"She's alright." Valentina said as she sat down at the table with her father and Theo. "She just needs some time to think and rest. I promised her that I would bring Brogan home no matter what. She's just worried."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'll leave her be a while, then," Vincenzo nodded. But then his expression grew a bit more serious. "Now as for you two... Don't think I didn't know that Theo was in your room with you, cara mia, with a locked door no less. I don't necessarily mind, but I expect you two to be careful and not to rush into anything. And Theo... I don't think I have to tell you just how very thin the ice is that you tread when it comes to treating my daughter well. If you so anything at all to upset or hurt her, I will gladly step out of Durban and Boar's path and let them do as they please."

"Yes, sir," Theo nodded quickly despite his embarrassment that Vincenzo probably knew what they'd been up to.

"It's not in my nature to make threats, but I want a proper understanding. Even though I consider my stepchildren as my own as much as Valentina, you must realize that in truth, she is my only little girl, and when it all comes down to it, she and her mother are my world and my life. I don't think you'll mistreat her, I never did. But I want it made clear how important she is to me."

"I promise ya, Vincenzo, I won' ever mean t'cause 'er harm 'r pain of any kind."

"As I said, I don't think you ever would." Vincenzo shook his hand.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina was mortified as her father brought up the fact that he knew she had been alone in her room with Theo. Her cheeks burned a bright red, her head lowering as he took his time to threaten Theo that he needed to take care of her. She wanted to get up and run away from the situation, but Theo seemed to be taking it well.

"Papa...I'm sorry." She murmured softly, glancing at him with an embarrassed look on her features.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Don't be. There's absolutely nothing to be sorry about. You're nineteen, a fully-grown woman who can make her own decisions. Theo is a bit older and just as responsible. As long as you're careful and this is about love or even just honest enjoyment, I don't mind a bit. Even if I did mind at all, how much of a hypocrite would I be when I loved and had a child with a woman out of wedlock, who was married to another man, no less? No... I don't mind at all, as long as you two are being responsible and taking care of each other and respecting each other." Vincenzo rose from his seat and gave them both a reassuring smile before he kissed Valentina's cheek and left them to go check on Kayla and Christopher.

Theo didn't say anything, partially out of his own embarrassment and partially out of surprise that Vincenzo seemed to be all for the two lovers enjoying themselves.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina was quiet as her father kissed her cheek and then left the two of them alone. She was still quiet as she looked at Theo and blushed deeply again, feeling like she was near tears.

"I'm so sorry, Theo. I thought we were being careful." She murmured softly, feeling anything but the adult that her father had told her that she was.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Don't be sorry. We were careful... yer Da jus' seems t'know everythin'. An' honestly... I'm glad 'e's open-minded about it." Theo reached across to take her hand. "It's okay, love. It's nothin' t'be ashamed of e'en if it's embarrassing t'talk about."

 

[heartofcourage]

"No, because if he knows, my brothers will know too. Theo, I don't want you to have to go through that. They're ruthless when they put their minds to it." She murmured softly, knowing that they were focused on Kayla at the moment.

She had no idea how they would react to the news that their little sister, the one that was always there, was in love with someone. It made her belly hurt to think about what they might do to Theo.