Of the Fells

[heartofcourage]

"Ma was beside herself when Ashelin died. It was like she lost a part of herself even though she hadnt worked for Ma in years by that point." Valentina said as her Papa's face turned slightly melancholy.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Sworn sisters like those two never grow apart, even if one went off to the woods to raise three handfuls of children with her husband who was always far too busy," another voice reached them, and Vincenzo turned with Valentina to see a familiar face had stepped out of the keep. Warwick was standing in the doorway leaning on his cane with a gentle smile on his face. He was dressed in a simple lord's suit with a long jacket and sash, and his gaunt but warm face was trimmed with a fine beard as he looked at Valentina and Vincenzon over his half-moon glasses. His hair was much longer than Valentina remembered, tied back smartly, and he looked older and more worn down, but definitely happier and more content than the last time she'd seen him.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina was stunned to see Warwick standing there, a happy smile on his face but a lifetime of hard living weighing him down. It had been a long time since he had lost Ashelin and it was very clear that he still missed his dear wife greatly.

Valentina said nothing as she left her father's side to hug Warwick tightly. She pressed her face against his throat, her arms wrapping around his chest as she fought back tears. He had raised her just as much as Vincenzo had and he was the man that had been responsible in bringing her to Italy every single summer. He had taught her to read, to write letters, to speak English.

"I'm happy you're home, Da." She murmured softly, having called him that from the time that she was very little with her Papa's blessing.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Hello, my sweet little girl," Warwick murmured, lifting one hand from his cane to wrap his arm around her. "I've missed you so much..." Valentina had always had two mothers and two fathers up until Ashelin passed, and each of the four had always considered her as much their daughter as she was the others'.

Warwick drew back just a bit, smiling warmly down at her though he looked terribly weary. "Come sit with me." He looked to Vincenzo. "You too, old man."

The two met in an embrace of their own as Vincenzo chuckled and Valentina heard a bit of emotion in his voice too as he murmured, "You have no room to talk, you're nearly a decade older."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina grinned as Warwick embraced her and confessed that he had missed her. Then he was greeting Vincenzo and bidding them both to come and sit with him. She nodded and took his free arm, walking with him towards the kitchens. As soon as Chessie saw her father-in-law, she burst into tears, wrapping Warwick in a tight hug. The loss of Ciaran still stung and Chessie had never really gotten over her husband's death. Seeing Warwick was very welcome, however.

"Did you see Cole yet?" Valentina asked as she took a seat. "He has a whole passel of children that he can't wait to introduce you to."

 

[KieranSoares]

"The only one I've seen so far is Julia. I asked her to keep my arrival a secret for now. I wanted to come see you, and I'm not sure where Cole lives now. But I'll see him tomorrow after a proper rest."

Chessie brought them all tea, still sniffling from the tears. Warwick embraced her once more, kissing her forehead. "Sit down, love," he murmured, welcoming her to sit at his opposite side from Valentina. Chessie had never had much family until she married Ciaran, and having Warwick never return after Ciaran's death, not even able to bring himself to come to the funeral, had been nearly as painful as losing Ciaran himself.

"Once I've caught up with everyone, I think I'll attend to some things that I've put off for far too long," he added softly, glancing to Valentina. He'd not been at Ashelin's proper funeral either. She'd had a Lunasian funeral with a pyre, and it had been Cole and Ciaran who'd watched over the pyre. Warwick had lit the pyre and had been given a silver ring, but had suddenly left a few minutes later and no one saw him for three days except his children whom he still cared for in silence.

Warwick still wore that silver ring, after it'd been forged together with his golden wedding ring to create a single spiraling ring. And he still wore the silver ring on his other hand that Brogan had sent him when Ciaran had died.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'll take us there." Valentina said softly as Warwick looked at her with an intense sadness in his gaze. "Ciaran is close to her. Cole insisted it's what they both would have wanted. He makes sure that flowers are always growing on the little plot, even in the winter. It's impressive, to say the least."

Chessie chuckled at that as she leaned against Warwick's shoulder, comforted by the fact that he was there. The boys had been in their teens by the time Ashelin had died, angry, sad and confused that their mother was so suddenly gone from their lives while Warwick had struggled to keep them on the straight and narrow path. Valentina had been young, almost too young to understand that Ashelin was never coming back home. She remembered many nights when he would simply hold her all night long, rocking in Ashelin's favorite chair and struggling to find a life after he had lost his love.

"And you'll have to meet Theo and Alex." Valentina said with a smile. "Ma has been watching over Alex. He has been ill."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Julia told me what you've been up to lately, and about Alex," Warwick said with a nod. "But we'll talk about all of that tomorrow. Tonight, I wanted to spend some time with you seeing as you're the one who managed to talk me into coming home finally."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Oh, there is much to talk about." Valentina said with a grin as she leaned in and kissed Warwick's cheek.

She glanced up as someone stood at the door and her smile turned a little warmer as she saw Theo, his gaze clear after having slept that afternoon. She motioned him to come into the kitchen and Chessie moved to get him a mug of tea.

"Da, this is Theo. Theo, this is Warwick." Valentina said.

 

[KieranSoares]

Theo pressed a kiss to Valentina's cheek before facing Warwick with a warm smile of his own. Warwick stood, albeit unsteadily at first without his cane on his ruined leg, and met Theo with a kind handshake and then a proper embrace. "You picked quite the family to marry into, my boy. And quite the girl to chase after."

In his younger days, he might've been as stern and forceful as any of Valentina's brothers, but he seemed to welcome Theo now with trust in Valentina's choice.

 

[heartofcourage]

"And a whole lot of brothers who wish that I had stayed little." Valentina said as Warwick greeted Theo warmly. "Cole has even joined the hunt."

 

[KieranSoares]

"He and Boar will have your hide," Warwick reminded Theo, receiving a laugh in return.

"I know, but I'm willin' t'take tha' chance, especially now with both Val an' Alex." Theo sat down with them and Warwick returned to his seat with a long, contented sigh.

"Well, I ought to admit that Marianne's as much responsible for my return as I am. She caught me in tears over Val's letter, and she read it for herself. She practically shoved me out the door and Gale paid for everything for me to come."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Marianne's been good for you." Valentina said with a smile towards Warwick as Theo sat down at her opposite side. "And being home will be good for you too. For all of us."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm certainly looking forward to learning about all I've missed. And I understand Durban and Selena have finally set down roots around Inverness after so long away. It'll be nice to see them again." Warwick had only seen Durban twice since he'd been run off from Inverness. He'd gotten to see Selena once every couple months when she'd lived near Edinburgh, so it was perhaps she and Ruben that he'd kept the most contact with out of the Ghis children other than Valentina. "I'm especially looking forward to seeing Kitty... It's been too long."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm surprised that she hasn't discovered that you're here already. She always knows what's going on at the keep. But, she's been worried for Alex." Valentina said, glancing towards her father. "I think she's lost as much sleep as the rest of us have. He had the were plague. We thought that we might lose him a few times."

 

[KieranSoares]

"She's asleep with Alex," Theo told them. "I checked on 'em before I came in."

"It can wait. She's being a grandmother. I wouldn't want to bother them. I'll probably turn in early tonight myself. It was a long journey."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina chuckled as Theo commented that Kitty was asleep with Alex. Her mother loved all of her grandchildren and they all adored her. Their conversation with Warwick went on until dinner and when they had eaten, Valentina retired to his room for a quiet conversation.

"Cole was looking forward to you coming back." Valentina said as she sat down beside Warwick and took his hand. "He missed you."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm looking forward to letting him know how proud I am... It wasn't too long ago that his boy Lane wrote me his first letter, and I don't mind saying I was in tears when he called me 'grandpa.'" Warwick took Valentina's hand between both his own. "And I can't tell you how proud I am of you too. I know what you all have been going through this past year or two, and I've been working with Gale to support Inverness while it's still recovering... I almost can't believe you all made it through all of that. And you came out strong, too. And now you're a mother. Even if he's not yours by blood... I was incredibly excited to hear about Alex."

 

[heartofcourage]

"He's just as serious as I was when I was his age." Valentina said as she squeezed his hands tightly. "Probably more so. Theo and I have been trying to teach him how to be a child, but all he wants to do is help me. At least you encouraged me to climb trees and swim in the creek behind the house."

"Cole still lives there, you know? He couldn't give it up after you left. He's made a lovely little home in the woods and he raises those children just like you and Mummy did." Valentina murmured, knowing that Warwick had so much to learn in his time spent in Inverness.

 

[KieranSoares]

"He's told me a bit here and there in his letters," Warwick nodded. "I've missed far too much, love... I hope you can forgive me one day. It's just... When I was feeling ready to come home after losing Ashelin... I was just about to make plans when I got the letter about Ciaran. I suppose I took it as a sign not to come back at all."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Da, there's nothing to forgive." Valentina said softly as he begged for her forgiveness. "I can't imagine how I would be if I lost Theo or Alex. Cole doesn't blame you either. You have us all a home when we had none. How could we ever be mad?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I suppose I convinced myself that I betrayed you all. I tried to be there for every single moment for so long, and then after Ashelin... I wasn't there for any of it." The pain of losing his wife was still as sharp and debilitating as the moment she passed in his arms, but over time he'd managed to at least talk about her again.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You're home now and that's all that matters." Valentina said as she leaned in and pressed her forehead against his cheek. "And I hope that you continue to keep coming home. Cole wants his father around. I want to see more of you. You are our family and you aren't alone."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I can't promise you much, sweetheart, now that I have a place by Marianne and Gale. But I can promise that this won't be the last time I visit."

Warwick hugged her close, letting his fingers run through her hair as he always had when she was small. It was as much a comfort for him as it was for her.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I've heard about Marianne." Valentina said as Warwick pulled her in close and stroked his hand through her hair. "Are you just friends?"

How many nights had Warwick simply say and done this with her? After Ashelin died, it happened more frequently, each seeking comfort. Valentina wanted her mummy back and he his darling wife. When Warwick left for Edinburgh, Cole had taken Valentina back to Kitty and she had struggled at first. She didn't want a new mother. She wanted her mother. But over time, Valentina had resigned herself to the fact that Ashelin was never coming back...and neither was her Da.