March 23, 2011

In Which Octavius Makes Note of the Only Thought

January 28, 1173

"Good morning."

"Likewise." Not even a nod of the head or a backward glance accompanied Severin's reply. His eyes seemed to be fixated on an open book in front of him, his right hand to his chin and his left grasping a quill, scribbling a note between the lines of the page. A stack of books sat on the other side of the table; Severin opened the topmost one to a dog-eared leaf, scanned it, then jotted down something else.

Octavius closed the door, then strode forward to skim the spines of the tomes. Most were written in Hebrew or Greek--nothing that Roderick might have wanted reviewed, and probably nothing that Severin would have picked up for the sheer pleasure of it either. And yet, whatever it was he was busying himself with, he was engrossed. Curious, Octavius stepped around Severin and glanced down at the open book, recognizing it immediately. "What are you doing with that?"

Severin set down the quill and sighed. "Taking notes."

Octavius's brow twitched. His own reverence, he had realized one night as he lay tormented by the toxic sounds of Holladrin's cough, tended to depend on his wife's health--cycling in spiritual peaks and near-atheistic valleys. Presently, he was somewhere in the middle: not pious enough to find any blasphemous comment of Severin's too scandalous, but not quite so skeptical as to play along. "In a Bible?"

"Just for my own personal reference." Severin gave one of the passages a last look-over before pushing the Bible to the back of the desk. "It's a changing world. I used to think that all these books and chapters contradicted each other in some divine ploy to test our collective idiocy, but I see now that what might have been applicable to one time won't necessarily be applicable to all the times that follow--our own included. That, and some of the translations aren't exactly accurate; certain Hebrew words don't have any counterparts in our language, vice versa, that sort of thing.

"But enough about my personal projects." His hand latched onto Octavius's arm and turned him away from the open Bible before any of his smudged left-handed scrawls could be untangled into proper text; perhaps the revisions were more 'personal' than Severin cared to admit. "I take it you didn't come all the way out here unannounced to read my heretical footnotes. What can I do for you?"

It was true. Inquiring though he may have felt, he did have his own business to attend to--his own personal business, at that. "It's my daughter, Thallie. You're, err... aware that she seems to have taken to worshiping your Riona, are you not?"

Severin's mouth curled into a frown, his eyes darting to the ceiling and back in their exasperation. The man had more than his fair share of children to keep track of, but such a reaction was a blinding testament to just how well he knew each and every one of them. "What did she do this time?"

"Oh, nothing I'd recommend any harsh punishment for," Octavius did his best to reassure him. He didn't think that Riona was a bad kid. On the contrary--and especially considering Holladrin's inconsistent health, Jeda's sham of a marriage, and whatever the hell was happening with Sparron--he was quite grateful to her for taking his younger daughters under her wing. But all of Severin's children had an impish streak in them, and Riona was... well, no exception, to say the very least. "It's just that my little girl has something of a runaway imagination, and some of the bedtime stories Riona has been telling her--"

"--have her begging to spend the night with you and Holladrin." His hand flew to his forehead and pushed back his hair in frustration; Octavius caught sight of the occasional fleck of gray amidst the black. "We've had similar incidents with the twins. I'll have a talk with her, but it probably won't do much; you might have to just start sending her home earlier."

"I shall." The idea wouldn't sit well with Thallie and Pandora, but the nightmares were getting rather out-of-hand. Besides, surely Riona would grow out of it soon? "But I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's probably just a phase."

"That's what I keep telling myself, at any rate." Severin's brow furrowed, his hands clasping together like the jaws of some monstrous beast. It was as if he was trying to decide whether to be angry or disappointed, or perhaps to prevent himself from being either. "But if it is a phase, then it's beginning to grow to a troubling length. I'm sorry for what she's been doing to Thallie, and I'll try to think of a suitable punishment, but nothing ever works with her."

Not really sure how to respond, Octavius scuffed his boot against the floorboard. "She's just spirited."

"Her siblings are spirited. You'd need to come up with a whole new word for Riona."

"Perhaps, but it isn't as if she's malicious." He hoped he knew what he was talking about. To his great fortune, Octavius's own children had always been among the most well-behaved in the kingdom, and he could only imagine what it might be like to be a parent to girl such as Riona. At the same time, however, he liked to think that no child was ever a lost cause; some days, if he walked into a room to find his son moping on the couch, it was the only thought that kept him going. "She's a little wild, but she does have a kind heart. I know that you and Nora and your children all realize that, but I just want to let you know that the rest of us can see that too. She's a good kid, Severin."

"She is, deep down." An almost wistful look crept forth from his eyes and spread across the rest of his face. As if some great burden had been lifted, his lips twitched upward, relieved. "They all are."

NEXT CHAPTER:

11 comments:

Van said...

Sooo... term paper got extended! :D I now have until next Tuesday. I'll be picking away at it, and I'm actually kind of glad it was supposed to be due earlier because I probably wouldn't have started it otherwise. I'm hoping to have it done a few days in advance, but it's nice to know I have the time now :)

That being said, sorry about the rough post. It was kind of a stealth info-dump.

S.B. said...

I think I'm in love with Severin. This is a wonderful look at the philosophy and thought of one of your major characters. I'm so glad you did it. I can see him reworking and making notes on the Bible. Poor man.

If his spirits were lifted by knowing that someone else thinks well of his children, it's a mercy he deserves.

And good luck with the term paper. I'd rather clean toilets in all the motels along Route 1 than do another term paper!

Van said...

Thanks Beth :)

Riona definitely worries Severin, although she's not the only one. Lonriad's a scamp too, and people have probably at some point been "talking" about both Raia and Jadin. But it's got to be a relief for Severin to know that the people he associates with most often think well of his children :)

Heheh... thanks. I'm not a fan of academic writing either, but I need the credits :S

Chene303 said...

Ha! Severins heretical comments! I still think that one good smack is all Riona needs.

Also: "spiritual peaks and near-atheistic valleys". That makes Atheism seem so.... depressing. It's not, I promise! LOL :P

Van said...

She probably could use a good smack... but I don't know if Severin would be willing to hit his twelve-year-old daughter. Maybe Raia could smack her.

Ahhh, sorry if that line was a bit offensive. I was thinking more in terms of mathematics there than in our subjective "positive" and "negative".

I'm what you might call an agnostic, I suppose. I certainly have no problems with atheism, and the idea doesn't seem depressing at all.

Anonymous said...

Hmm, Severin annotating the Bible? Is there anything in there that can get Jeda out of her marriage to Ietrin? "Thou shalt not marry thy daughter off to an ass"?

I'm glad that Severin knows people like his kids in spite of the mischief they cause. And Riona taking Pandora and Thallie under her wing is awfully sweet. Even if she does give them nightmares.

We need to see Riona in action soon, though! This girl looks like a lot of fun! (Especially since she's not my responsiblity to keep in line!)

Van said...

Unfortunately, I can't imagine that's what Severin was looking for (although possibly Octavius went and checked for that later that day).

Riona does have a sweet side, and I do have a planned storyline for her. She needs to be a few years older for it to happen, though--that and it might have a little more impact if it happens after my plans for her sister Viridis.

Chene303 said...

Oh, it wasn't offensive I just wanted to point out how depressing that line made Atheism sound.

And Raia should smack her but wouldn't that be a bit hypocritical, Raia's not as bad a Riona but she was still pretty.... 'outgoing'. Yeah, let's put it that way! lol

Van said...

Oh, okay, that's a relief to hear :)

Haha, yeah, maybe Raia wouldn't smack Riona with that in mind. The same probably goes for the rest of her siblings :P

Penelope said...

Having come to this chapter with more background an insight into what was troubling Severin here, I absolutely love that we get to see this "ah ha!" moment.

Van said...

There can certainly be advantages to reading out of order ;)