Of the Fells

[KieranSoares]

Kitty saw their shared smiles and loving gazes, and it both soothed and broke her heart to see her youngest really was grown up and finding her love. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves," she told them softly. "You've needed this for a long time, Val."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina looked over at her mother as she said that, a sad look crossing her gaze. "Ma...you know I don't blame you for anything, right? My sense of duty doesn't come from anything more than having pride in what I do."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know, sweetheart. It's just hard to accept you're growing up. But it's comforting to know you're happy and you're in love," Kitty assured her. "As long as you enjoy your life, I'll be happy."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina stood and hugged her mother tightly, kissing her cheek as the door opened and her brothers all stood there with dark looks on their faces. Valentina glanced towards them and then towards Theo, giving him a sympathetic smile.

"Looks like your time is up, love." She murmured softly. "Please be kind to him."

 

[KieranSoares]

Kitty spoke before Theo or Valentina's brothers could, rising to meet them. It was most comical, the tiny and petite woman standing up fearlessly before her giant sons who all stood at least a foot taller if not more. "Now you boys listen to me. This man has been nothing but a gentleman and a savior for this family since the moment Julia met him. He took your sister out to the fells for a much-needed vacation and a bit of adventure. If you so much as look at him wrong, I'll tan your hides. Am I understood?"

They answered back rather sheepishly with nods or a quiet "Yes, ma'am." Except, of course, for Brogan who was the one still very much in support of Theo.

"I jus' came t'ask how it went," Brogan said with a soft smile while his brothers looked at him like he was a traitor to their cause of defending their sister.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Ma." Valentina said with a grin, laughing softly as she cowed her brothers into submission. "It was the best vacation I've had since I was a little girl. I'm very, very happy."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Good. We'll 'ave t'get Theo t'steal ya away more often. 'R did you steal him?" Brogan asked with a chuckle as he came to kiss Valentina's cheek. "I'm glad ya enjoyed yerself, darlin'." With that, he clapped Theo on the shoulder and made his way out. He wouldn't oppose his sister's sensibilities nor the man who'd saved his own small family.

 

[heartofcourage]

"So, that just leaves the two of you." Valentina said as she looked at Boar and Durban. "Take Theo and say what you need to say to him. We have work to do now that we're home and I'm sure that Brogan's children would like to see Theo before too much longer."

 

[KieranSoares]

Theo faced the tempest before him and followed the two men out into the hallway. Kitty watched them go with a sigh. "You and Kayla put up with so much from those boys. They didn't get a chance to do it to Selena. And besides, I this k she'd tan their hides herself if they tried."

 

[heartofcourage]

"They just want to make sure that he won't be like Tamblin." Valentina murmured as she guided her mother back to her seat and sat down beside her. "And he does have a lot of pain in his soul, but he is also sweet and kind. His entire family was slaughtered. He misses his little girls more than anything in the world."

She glanced over at her mother and blushed slightly as she thought about Theo. "I never thought that I would have a family of my own. I'm afraid that I won't be a very good mother. He said that he can care for any children that come along and I can keep working but I'm afraid that would be too hard."

"Ashelin quit working when she took me in. She was always there as far as I can remember." She had never called Ashelin Ma like Ciaran and Cole did. They loved her deeply and raised her like their own daughter, but they had also been very clear that Vincenzo was her father. It had taken longer to find out that Kitty was her Ma.

"Cole wants me to go to Edinburgh with him. Warwick has finally decided to settled there." Cole was a quiet brother but he cared deeply for the man that had raised him and worried about him constantly. "Perhaps you and Papa would like to go with us?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'd love to and I'm sure your father would like to see him again," Kitty agreed with a nod. The last time Vincenzo had seen Warwick had been the last time he'd come in person to pick Valentina up so she could spend the summer with him. "That poor, sweet man... I had really hoped he might find happiness again one day, but it seems like the only reason he didn't follow Ashelin is for you and Cole. You might not be his children, but he promised Ashelin he'd be around as long as he could to make sure you both found your way."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Cole writes to him all the time. I think he even paid for his home in Edinburgh. He wants to make sure that he has a peaceful time now." Valentina said, knowing that Cole spoke to his adopted father far more than she did. "He is working for Marianne at the Scottish court. I think it is a good job for him. He was always too intelligent for simply living in the middle of the woods of Inverness."

 

[KieranSoares]

"He used to be what kept this kingdom going," Kitty nodded with a sigh. "He could do anything that anyone else couldn't. Then he turned out to be the right man for the job when it came to being the one for Ashelin, and he became a man for family and the people more than for Tamblin. Tamblin couldn't stand to have his best man killed... which was why he let Warwick and Ashelin go and live the the forest. And it was as much my begging as Ashelin's and Warwick's that he let them take you, rather than send you away or have you killed," Kitty murmured softly.

 

[heartofcourage]

"He never really said much. I guess he's just the kind of man that could tell people what he needed without talking all the time." Valentina said with a soft smile towards her mother. "Ashelin missed you out there in the woods. When she reached the end, she would get so excited when she knew that you were coming. I don't know how you managed those visits, especially with Tamblin forbidding you from seeing me, but it meant the world to her."

 

[KieranSoares]

"She was my first and best friend when I came here from Skye. And you're my little girl. I had my ways. Usually it involved Tamblin being off fighting or supervising. Though there were a few times I'd come back and he was already back. Thankfully there were a few guards who would cover for me most of the time." Kitty never admitted to her children what Tamblin had done to her, but they had heard his rage roaring through the keep, and Valentina had become aware of it as she grew old enough to hear the stories from her siblings.

 

[heartofcourage]

"And now you have Papa who treats you like a princess." Valentina murmured as she saw the memories starting to effect her mother. "I'll tell Cole you'd like to go with us. He wants Warwick to meet his children, so it should be a fun little trip to Edinburgh. You should write to Marianne. I'm sure she would love to see you too."

 

[KieranSoares]

Kitty drew Valentina close once more to kiss her forehead. "I'll do that tonight. In the meantime, I think I hear your great protectors coming back." Sure enough, Valentina could hear her brother's heavy boots on the stone floor, still warning Theo until the door opened and Theo returned looking no worse for wear.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina smiled as she saw Theo enter the room, looking just as he had when he had left the room. She knew that her brothers could be rough if they wanted to be, but he had held his own against Durban and Boar. It amazed her that he had fit so perfectly into their lives.

"Ready to go see Annie?" Valentina asked with a smile as she stood from her spot. "I bet that she is chomping at the bit to go riding with her Uncle Theo."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Says th'lass who insisted we 'ad work t'do." Theo chuckled softly and offered her his arm after giving Kitty a kind smile. "Whatever yer up for, I'll follow."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I said that to keep my brothers at bay. They're probably still outside if you would like me to tell them that our plans have changed." Valentina murmured as she took his arm and gave him a smile. "I'm sure that they can do some more talking."

 

[KieranSoares]

"They've 'ad their chance t'say their piece. If they've got more, it can wait." Theo seemed to be growing more confident about facing her family.

 

[heartofcourage]

The smile on Val's face grew as Theo said that, standing up for himself where her brothers were concerned. That would certainly gain their respect in the long run and show them that he really was there for her and no other reason.

"Good. Let's go steal Annie away and go for a ride then." Valentina said as she let Theo lead the way, glancing back at her mother one last time before they left the room to show her just how happy she was in that moment. "See you for dinner, Ma."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Bye, loves," Kitty called after them as they went. They found Annie idly looking through a book of pictures Vincenzo had drawn long ago, his journal from China still with some old leaves glued into the pages. Theo snatched Annie up with a grin.

"Miss me, lass?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Theo!" Annie squealed as Theo scooped her up into his arms, hugging him as tightly as she could. "You came back!"

"Of course we did, little one. Did you think we wouldn't?" Valentina asked with a smile towards her niece as Annie shyly nodded. "We'll always come back, Annie. No matter what, Inverness is our home."

"Mummy is going to have another baby." Annie announced out of the blue. "And Ciaran only likes to play baby games. Da has to take care of them both."

"Well, guess what? Theo and I are going to steal you away to go ride. How about that?" Valentina asked as Annie nodded enthusiastically.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Don' you worry, love, I'll always 'ave time fer ya when yer parents can't play," Theo assured her, letting her ride on his broad shoulders as they headed out to the stables. "Who'd ye like t'ride? Yer Da 'as Phearson, so there's always Raul if yer aunt says y'can, and Bart an' Helland. Y'know how Bart an' Raul love ya."