Of the Fells

[heartofcourage]

Valentina got to work brewing a tea before she started to fill up a wash basin to help the woman get clean. Once Anna was tucked back into bed, clean and warm and slumbering peacefully, Valentina turned her attentions towards Alex. He had such a worried expression on his features that her heart ached for him. When Gerald had him distracted, she retrieved an overly large shirt to change the boy into.

"Do you want to sleep with your Mama?" Valentina asked as she cleaned his face with a damp cloth, giving him a kind smile. "Or would you like your own nice warm bed?"

 

[KieranSoares]

Alex's simple answer was to point to his mother, determined not to leave her side more than he had to. Once he was clean, Theo picked him up and tucked him in beside Anna and it was practically no time at all before Alex was fast asleep too.

 

[heartofcourage]

After Alex was asleep, Valentina left more herbs with Gerald before she and Theo had saddled up Raul to head back to the keep. She would be back bright and early in the morning with her father to give the woman a proper physical. They didn't say much until they were both finally in bed. Valentina let out a sigh as she rested her head on Theo's shoulder.

"What did Anna tell you?" She asked him, her dark gaze looking up towards his own. "Alex wouldn't speak at all."

 

[KieranSoares]

"She said they've been on their own since 'er husband ran off, an' she's been fightin' cancer fer a year now. " He sighed quietly to himself. "She begged me not t'let Alex be put into an orphanage. She knows she's too far gone." Theo wasn't one to be negative but Anna's mortality was fairly obvious.

 

[heartofcourage]

"He's a sweet little boy who is very worried about his mother." Valentina said softly. "I'm sure that there will be many people who would want to include him in their families."

Her heart ached for the toddler that had tried to care for his mother as she died. No little boy should ever have had to worry about something like that, but Alex was attached to the woman that had given him life and loved him so fiercely.

 

[KieranSoares]

It was just after dawn when Valentina was on her way back to the tavern, when Gerald came riding toward the keep with Alex in his arms. The boy looked devastated and was constantly looking back over Gerald's shoulder.

Seeing Vincenzo and Valentina out saddling their horses, Gerald halted his own. "Val... She passed in her sleep." He looked incredibly guilty.

"What happened?" Vincenzo asked quickly.

"She just... Drifted off. I got the nearest healer to try to help her, but she was long gone."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Gerald, there was nothing you could have done. It's alright." Valentina said softly as Alex kept looking over his shoulder, the wounded look on his face telling her that he knew his mother was gone, but wasn't ready to think about that yet. "She was very, very ill. I had hopes I could have given her some more time, but I think Anna knew."

She turned her attention towards Alex about the time that he burst into tears, wailing for his Mama. Valentina instantly scooped him into her arms and let him cry. There was nothing she could do to fix a broken heart except for letting the ache run its course.

"Shhh...bambino. It'll be alright." She murmured against his ear. "Your Mama loved you very much."

 

[KieranSoares]

Vincenzo came to his daughter's side and kissed her cheek as Alex clung to her. "Take him inside. I'll get a few local healers to help with Anna and we'll put her to rest." He climbed up in his own saddle and Gerald followed him away after leaving a small leather cord necklace with Valentina. Anna had been wearing it, and a blue stone hung on the end. It would be all Alex had left of her.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina nodded as she took the little boy inside, the leather cord necklace in her hand. In the Great Hall, she sat Alex down next to the fire and dried his tears as he looked at her miserably. He sat still as she put the leather necklace around his neck and then pressed a kiss to his brow.

"You've been very brave, bambino." She murmured softly as she crouched in front of the little boy. "Your Mama loved you very much and you know that she is always going to be watching you."

Brushing his hair back from his forehead, she gave him a sad little smile and offered him her hand. "What do you say the two of us go and get a cookie? Then, we'll see if we can't find you a new pair of clothes and maybe even a toy or two to play with."

 

[KieranSoares]

Little Alex gave her no kind of answer, either not understanding or simply not caring anymore. He had lost the one constant in his young life after facing starvation and homelessness for quite some time.

Of course Brogan, passing by, had taken notice. "Val? Who's this?" He asked quietly as he paused beside them.

 

[heartofcourage]

Val gently ran her fingers through Alex's thick hair, her heart aching as Brogan came by and asked what was happening. "This is Alex. His Ma passed away last night. Papa and Theo are taking care of her right now."

Glancing up at her brother, she wondered if there were something he could offer her in order to lessen the horrible thing that had happened to this little boy. "I need to find him a new outfit. He doesn't seem interested in cookies or toys right now."

 

[KieranSoares]

"He's a bit smaller'n Seamus is righ' now. Why no' ask Marri? Borrow Seamus' old clothes til we can get a tailor t'make new," Brogan offered.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'll go talk to her about it. Perhaps they might be interested in taking him in as well." Valentina said as she picked Alex up and held him in her arms. "Having someone else his own age around might do him some good."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Y'can ask, but I'm no' sure what with Seamus bein' such a handful," Brogan warned her before sending her on her way. Marri and Durban were spending a quiet day at home with their children. Durban needed such breaks every so often since the last war, unable to handle stress quite as well anymore.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina knew the sight of her carrying a sobbing child on her hip was odd. She couldn't escape the gaze of her eldest brother as he saw her coming down the path to his home with Alex against her shoulder. She didn't have to say anything as he held open the gate for her and she stepped into his garden.

"He needs some clothes. Maybe a toy or two. Can you help me?" She asked him as Alex kept waiting for his mother.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Sure I can," Durban gave her a nod and welcomed her inside his home. Alex immediately caught the attention of all three children and Durban went to a little closet where he picked up a small crate and brought it out for Valentina to look through. It had old clothes and toys that Marri was saving so that other family members having their own children wouldn't have to search too far for such things.

 

[heartofcourage]

"His Ma died last night." She said softly as she sat Alex in the ground and searched through the crate of clothes for a few items that would fit him. "Theo and Papa are taking care of her. He has nowhere else to go. I was thinking...maybe you and Marri might like to have him. He's close to Seamus's age. She didn't want him to go to an orphanage."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don't know, love," Durban said with a sigh. "We've got a lot t'handle already, an' we're always off somewhere when th'mood strikes us. Especially me. No' a very stable place fer a lad what just lost everything."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina paused and looked at Durban as he said that, thinking about everything that had been going on in their lives. "Brogan and Julia have a little one on the way. Boar has his hands full with the twins. There is nowhere else for him to go."

She glanced down at Alex as Seamus tried to console him, offering him his toys in order to help him stop crying. Alex was beside himself, sniffling as he shook his head and started to suck his thumb again, soothing himself in the only way that he knew how.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Well..." Durban sighed. "We'll see if we can' look after 'im til another family comes up. If 'e likes it 'ere... Marri an' I'll talk about makin' it permanent," Durban murmured. He could hardly say no to a child in need.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina felt better knowing that Durban would try to give Alex the home that he needed and deserved. She simply nodded as she knelt in front of Alex and got him changed into a pair of trousers and a new shirt that she had found in the crate. He looked a little more comfortable and relaxed as Valentina fawned over him, letting him play with Seamus until Theo and Vincenzo came back.

When Theo and Vincenzo finally found their way to Durban's home, Alex was slumbering in her lap, curled up against her chest after having fallen asleep in her arms. She rocked him gently, glancing towards Theo and her father as they dismounted and approached.

 

[KieranSoares]

As they entered, Vincenzo pressed a kiss to Valentina's cheek. "So, what's the plan, cara mia?" He sat down beside her while the other children practically leapt on Theo and he went outside with them so they wouldn't disturb Alex.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Durban said that they can see if Alex is a good fit for their family. He said that he has his hands full with Seamus at the moment though." Valentina said softly so not to wake Alex as he slept. "I can't let him go to an orphanage, Papa."

 

[KieranSoares]

Vincenzo sighed, "No, no you can't. Nor can I. As well as the orphanage here is kept... it's not a place of much hope, especially for one so young. But Durban will do his best, and Marri will love him like he was her own."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina continued to rock with Alex as she thought about that, glancing to her father from time to time. "He could stay with me for the time being. Until Durban and Marri have things ready for him."

She was attached to the little boy. That much was very obvious. However, she knew that being a healer and a single mother would be a very difficult thing to do. Then there was her relationship with Theo. Keeping Alex as her own very well might tear them apart after starting their relationship so recently. It was a lot to think about.