Of the Fells

[heartofcourage]

"I'm not complaining." Val said as she nuzzled against him, accepting his weight without a problem. "And I love you, mi Amore."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I love you too, lass," he murmured. Before long he scooped her up and carried her away to the bedroom, settling quietly beside her. He was content to simply drift off after the long, exciting, sometimes painful day.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina let out a long, content sigh as he scooped her up off the floor and carried her to the bedroom. She curled up against him as he drifted off to sleep. The day had taken a toll on her lover and she knew that Theo was feeling a lot of emotions as he faced the home that he had left under horrific circumstances. She would have to help him through the coming days as they explored his home and shared more moments together.

 

[KieranSoares]

The next morning brought on the characteristic Scottish mist that made the country so mysterious on its grey days. But on the island, it seemed a little more apparent. Not much could be seen ten feet beyond the windows, not even shapes in the distance. It was silent, the curtain of fog diffusing any sound from the town or forest or coast. To Theo, it was comforting. For Valentina who had spent her childhood half in Italy, it was not unfamiliar but it had always managed to keep that ethereal quality for her that was lost to many Scots as they grew older.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Is it always like this?" Valentina asked Theo as he cooked them breakfast and she stood in front of the windows with a mug of herbal tea. "It's almost eerie in a way that the mist is so thick here on the island. I don't think I've ever really seen it like this before."

 

[KieranSoares]

"The mist gets a lot thicker here since we're surrounded by water with tha' stream goin' through the middle, but it gets like this mostly when it's rained in th'night. I heard it startin' jus' as we went to bed. Happens all th' time." Theo turned to look at her with a smile. "But it's what enchants people an' makes 'em come back. Annie would love the stories."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You've gotten attached to Annie." Val said with a smile as she looked over at Theo. "She adores you. You did so much for her when she was scared of losing her Da. You might have yourself a friend for life if you're not careful."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Good. I love 'er t'death. Reminds me o' my girls." Theo smiled to himself even if there was a painful tug at his heart. "I'll 'ave t'see if Holly has my gran's old storybooks. If she doesn't want 'em I think I'll put 'em in the keep library fer Annie an' any children around t'read."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Or you could save them for your own." Valentina said softly, knowing that thinking about his girls was incredibly painful. "Theo, I know that you've lost so much in your life, but there is still a long future ahead of you. There's more than enough time to have children if that's what you want. It can't replace your girls, but it sounds like it would make you happy."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Well tha' would depend on whether or no' the woman I decide t'spend the rest of my life with wants them too." He gave her an adoring smile. "I know I'm still young. Still plenty able. But I wouldn' ask tha' of you so soon. Much as I love you, we're still half-strangers in th' grand scheme o' things."

 

[heartofcourage]

"To be honest with you, I''m not sure how to be a healer and be a mother." She said softly as Theo talked about their future together. "I might be a complete failure at it."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Not with the way you care for Annie and Ciaran." Theo seemed quite sure of himself. "I thought I'd be a terrible father since I worked constantly. But... You find y'make compromises, find ways t'make time fer th' little toddler riding on yer shoulders 'r clingin' to yer leg. You could train more people y'trust. Many hands make light work, they say."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I can imagine that you would be a wonderful father." Valentina said softly. "I'm sorry that you lost that part of your life so suddenly."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Well... A' least I got t'have 'em at all. It's better t'hurt than never 'ave felt anythin'." Even if his heart didn't want to believe those words, he knew he'd be a much different, emptier man if he'd never had his little girls. They allowed him to be what he was to Annie and Ciaran, and to love easily.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Perhaps if you feel strong enough while we're here, we can go and visit them. I think it would do you some good." Valentina said softly as she looked at Theo. "And we can plant some cheery flowers so that they are always bright and beautiful."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Th'cemetery'll be full o' new spring flowers fer all the people we lost durin' the raid. Everyone lost someone," Theo murmured, more to himself than Valentina. "Holly grows flowers inside year-round fer our family there, takes 'em out every season." He sighed and shook his head, "I'm sorry, love... I shouldn' still be so torn up about 'em. It's been years..." Theo wasn't the sort of man to try to get past such things quickly and try to keep going as if nothing had happened. If he was, he'd have remarried and had children again after a year.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I never want you to forget them." Valentina said softly. "They were a part of you that was taken away in a horrible way. It would be cruel of me to expect you to simply forget them."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I couldn't forget them even if I tried... I jus' wish it didn't hurt so much t'think of 'em." He ran a hand back through his long dakr hair. "I can smile at th'good times... But it doesn't stop my heart from breakin'. Sometimes I feel guilty tha' I survived." Valentina had heard that sentiment from her brothers countless times when men they considered greater or more deserving died instead of her brothers themselves.

 

[heartofcourage]

"That might never go away, Theo." She said softly as she stepped forward to wrap him in a tight hug. "But hopefully in time those painful memories will fade and all you'll be left with are the good ones. Your wife and your girls would have wanted you to be happy."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Thank you, Val..." Theo murmured and wrapped his arms around her waist. After they finished breakfast, Theo took Valentina out into the mist and to the forest. It was eerie as could be, and every sound that reached them seemed to echo. The animals were quiet, but the occasional scamper of a rabbit in the leaves could be heard. Theo knew his way by heart, bringing Valentina to the spring that fed the stream in a small glade. He'd brought a couple fishing poles that he'd found in a closet, intending for them to spend some time at the spring and catch dinner before going to get flowers for his family's graves.

 

[heartofcourage]

On the walk through the woods, Valentina found herself looking around the woods, taking in everything that she could see. Every so often she stopped to pick an herb that was growing on the misty path but for the most part her hand remained in Theo's, letting him guide her towards a spot in the middle of the woods.

"It's beautiful out here, Theo." Valentina murmured as she pressed against his side, a smile on her lips as she looked up at him. "If I had known it was so beautiful here, I would have ran away with you weeks ago."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I told you it was beautiful. But words jus' can't do it justice an' don' have th' skill fer poetry t' even get close. It's th' sort of place people 'ave t'see fer themselves t'really know anything about it. I was lucky enough t'be born here. I suppose I never really believed there was more t'the world til I was near ten years old, goin' to the city fer market with my Da."

 

[heartofcourage]

Val smiled as he told her about growing up on the island. She gave his hand a squeeze, leaning into his side as they drew up to a crystal clear loch that was partially obscured by the mists. It was breathtaking, she thought to herself as she took one of his fishing poles and took a seat on the ground at the edge of the loch.

"Every summer, my Ma and the woman who raised me would send me to Italy. Papa did everything he could to make Italy a beautiful and magical place for me. He helped me grow olive plants, taught me about different herbs that grew around the area, and took me to play in the sea every evening. He hid his sorrows well when I was around, but I always knew that he missed my Ma." She told him as they shared a little bit more about themselves.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Who was she? Th' woman tha' raised you?" Theo asked softly. He could only assume the woman wasn't around anymore because he'd not seen her nor heard other people speak of her. The only people who really remembered Ashelin as more than a nursemaid were the Ghis siblings and Valentina and Kitty, and Warwick who had left Inverness because he couldn't stand to stay in the place his love had died. There was, of course, Ciaran and Cole who had also been raised by Ashelin and Warwick and were like Valentina's older brothers, but Ciaran had been killed in war and Cole didn't like to talk about his late mother and broken father.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Her name was Ashelin." Valentina said as Theo asked her about the woman that had raised her and had been a second mother to her. "Ma's husband was furious when he found out she was having me. He beat her so badly that everyone thought I wouldn't survive. Papa says that's why I have a hard time hearing."

"She sent me to live with Ashelin and Warwick in their little cabin in the woods. It broke her heart but Ashelin did everything she could to make sure that she could still see me often. I always thought she was my Aunt Kitty growing up. If she had admitted that she had been seeing me, Tamblin would have killed her." She let out a soft sigh as she thought about her early life.

"Ashelin and Warwick also adopted two boys named Ciaran and Cole. Ciaran is dead now, but Cole is still Brogan's right hand. I care about them deeply and they'll always be my brothers even though we don't share blood. Our life in the woods was beautiful. Warwick would walk with us in the woods. Ashelin taught us how to cook. Then every summer she and Ma would send me to Italy. The first summer after my birth, Papa actually came here to get me. I was a few months old, but he wanted me to be with him. He realized that he was too busy to care for a baby on his own, however, and I went back to Scotland."