May 29, 2011

In Which Jadin Eliminates the Options

June 2, 1174

Jadin's tread must have been noisier than he'd thought, for when he returned to the sitting room, Roddie immediately stopped taking swipes at Falidor and shot him a pleading look--rather uncharacteristic of the boisterous little brat, really. "Is Viridis feeling better?"

It had been Jadin's turn to check up on their sister, or so he'd insisted after their father had made three trips up to her room in the past hour. Nora was next. Then Xeta. His father needed to rest almost as much as Viridis did.

"A little. She's up reading now." If only for his father's sake, Jadin put on his widest grin and joined him on the couch. "Her fever's gone down. I think she'll be back on her feet soon, and Grandmother agrees."

Hopeful, he sent a sidelong glance his father's way, but all he got in return was a sigh. "I hope you're right."

A shiver pulsed its way through Jadin's body. He'd never seen his father quite like this--not even when Searle had been so depressed, not even when Raia had gotten knocked up. The closest he could recall was just before his mother's death, and that was unsettling. His father had a toxic way of grieving and Jadin didn't want to know what he might do if Viridis died. Hell... he didn't want to know what any of them would do. His sister was just a kid.

Uneasy, he looked to his wife and daughter for some sort of sign. Lyssa's tiny hand rested on Xeta's collarbone and having lain his own stronger and larger hand there before, it was a painful reminder of just how fragile his little girl was. He couldn't blame his father for worrying. He would have been just as much of a wreck had it been Lyssa.

But it wasn't his daughter. It was his sister. He loved her and didn't want to lose her, but he was only her brother; as painful as it would be for him, surely it would be worse for their father? "She'll be all right."

His father took a minute to respond. Those dark eyes flickered about the room--Xeta and Lyssa, Nora and CeeCee, Roddie and Falidor, back to Jadin--then finally fell to his own hands, folded and trembling atop his lap. "At least your grandmother knows what she's doing. Still, this whole year..." He didn't finish. Jadin got the sense that he couldn't.

Nora too seemed to pick up on this. She lifted the baby to her shoulder and put on a face that must have been intended as thoughtful but came out as being more wistful than anything else. At least she was pretty enough to pull it off. "Maybe it's the weather? It's been a cold year."

Jadin's father grunted in agreement. "Maybe I should take her to the sea."

Maybe he should have; too bad it was out of the question. "You're needed here."

Grim, his father closed his eyes. "I know."

Xeta's mouth opened, probably to suggest that Jadin or one of his brothers take Viridis to the sea in their father's stead, but Jadin cut her off with a shake of his head. As next in line for lordship of the shire, he and Xeta were needed here. Searle had his duties as a knight and Lonriad's sense of direction was so poor that Jadin was frankly astounded he could find the village--much less, the coast. No, none of them were options.

But surely there must have been someone...

Knock. It was probably Falidor and Raia, along with the three siblings right after Viridis. There were only so many distractions out there and it had only been a matter of time before they'd found their way back. Jadin exchanged a quick glance with his father, who nodded. "Yes?"

The door opened, but the person who stepped through was not Falidor or Raia or any of Jadin's siblings--and yet, he probably should have seen him coming.

"Uncle... might I have a word with you? In private?"

NEXT CHAPTER:

13 comments:

Van said...

Bah. Work.

:(

Chene303 said...

Please tell me she's not gonna die on us any time soon. You're giving her this awesome little story and yet she's still very sick. WTH?
Well I guess her story depends on her being sick, doesn't it?

I can't wait to see the little vacation at the coast!

Penelope said...

Despite the preview picture, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Severin says yes to letting Searle take his sweet, innocent daughter out for some salty sea air. *facepalm* Not that anything terrible will come of it. Searle is just so... low.

You know who would have never let this happen? Alina. Severin can be so useless at times.

Van said...

Chene: Sorry :(

If she does end up going, we probably won't see the coast, just because 1175 is going to be an absolutely packed year as is. But at least in this story, no news is good news?

Pen: He does seem to be extremely lenient with the kids. Alina was a little stricter. But yeah, I can't imagine someone with Searle's tract record would have been allowed anywhere near her fragile teenage daughter if she was around.

Stay tuned...

Van said...

*track record

Penelope said...

Unrelated but do you number your chapters anywhere? I'm idly curious about what number we're up to. XD

Van said...

This is Post #399 ;)

Penelope said...

Whoah! I was only guessing two hundred something.

Van said...

Most of the individual posts are pretty short.

Anonymous said...

Searle the Sad to the ... rescue? Never thought I'd say that.

... You yourself seem to have a track record, Van, of making me say things I thought I wouldn't say. Particularly regarding Searles.

Still, I hope Searle-the-Sad can take Viridis down to the coast if it means her getting better. Alive Viridis, even Broken-Hearted Viridis, is much better than dead Viridis. Knocked Up and Abandoned Viridis, however, is only slightly better than dead Viridis, but that's just because I wouldn't lay money on her surviving a stressful pregnancy at this point.

And I have to admit ... for a second there I thought you'd gotten BV and were doing the whole "coast" thing just to have an excuse to send your Sims to a beachfront lot and catch pretty pictures of the waves. :)

Van said...

Heheh :P

I can't imagine the coast will have her up to a hundred percent, but the weather might help. But yeah, I'm not even sure how Viridis would get through the most stress-free pregnancy ever :S

Heheh... thanks to Sunni, I do have the files for the EPs now, but I haven't had a chance to install them. If I had, I'm sure you would have heard plenty of grumbling and whining about hack conflicts and whatnot by now :P

S.B. said...

Ok, putting myself in Severin's place, there would have to be some REAL magic about sea air before I'd allow my sweet and innocent daughter to go there accompanied by Searle. But then, the situation seems pretty dire. If she lives, she could get over being used and dumped by Searle. None of it makes any difference if she lies safe where she is and dies.

What a choice.

Van said...

Searle would not be the best choice of companions for a girl like Viridis, for sure--or at least not in a parent's eyes. But on the other hand, it's getting to the point where she needs something and there is a connection there.

I guess we'll see :S