January 6, 2010

In Which Evaleith Cannot Tell

June 11, 1164

As Had wrapped up his tale, Evaleith found that she could only stare; it was fortunate that Ceidrid, however, seemed more than willing to speak on her behalf. "So... you overheard that conversation Evaleith had with your mother, and you've been keeping it to yourself this whole time?"

The boy nodded. Ceidrid sighed. "Why didn't you tell someone about this sooner?"

"Hey, she's my mother too!" Had protested, his eyes wide. "I didn't want to get her in trouble! I don't know why she was so mean, but she's not a bad person!"

Beside Evaleith, Ceidrid bounced up and down indignantly. "I never said she was! I just... well..."

"Ceidrid," Evaleith addressed him, finding her voice at last, "shut up."

She did not want to hear what Ceidrid thought of this. He was her best friend--her only friend--but in this instance, he was still an outsider. As far as Evaleith was concerned, he was not entitled to an opinion. There was no way he could possibly understand well enough to have any valid input.

He did as he was told. Satisfied--or, at least, as satisfied as she could be given the circumstances--she turned back to her half-brother. "Does your father know about that conversation?"

Had shook his head; Evaleith frowned. "Thought so."

"You're not going to tell him, are you?" asked the little boy suddenly, a distinct note of alarm in his voice.

Evaleith rolled her eyes. "Why would I? Why should he believe me? As far as he's concerned, I'm just some lunatic claiming to be his wife's long-lost bastard. Anything I tell him will be taken with a grain of salt, at best--and for the sake of your illusion of a family, you should be grateful for that."

The child rocked back and forth in his father's chair. "I believe you, you know--I know you're my sister. I just... don't want any trouble. I love my parents. I don't want them to fight."

She could understand his logic--regardless, she was thoroughly unmoved. "Maybe it's better if they do. My father says he never fought with her, and that gave him even more of a shock when he woke up to find that she was gone."

Ceidrid sent a worried glance Had's way. "Evaleith..."

Evaleith turned to face him, but quickly jerked her gaze to the door as the hinges creaked open and Had's father stepped inside.

Adonis reacted to the sight of the three of them with only a mere twitch of his brow, but Evaleith could tell that he was not particularly happy to see her and Ceidrid--not that she could really blame him. "Hello," he greeted them curtly before shifting his gaze to his son. "Had, I hope you didn't ride back from the castle unescorted. You know what's been happening to lone travelers lately."

"They brought me back here," Had promised, nodding toward Ceidrid and Evaleith.

His father's lips curled into a brief smile. "Well, in that case, you both have my gratitude. But... why are you here, exactly?"

Ceidrid's mouth opened, but Evaleith cut him off with a shake of her head. She stood, then slipped through the gap between the couch and Had's chair and strode toward Adonis; in his position, the man deserved to be informed, and to hear the news from someone on the inside.

And yet, as she met his sparkling brown eyes, she found she could not tell him. This was a man who loved her mother, who had dedicated a decade of his life to making her happy. She did not care how he saw her, but she would be damned if she caused him to see his beloved as a liar and a coward, even if that was all Honora truly was. Adonis was a good man; could she really inflict upon him the same pain that had been thrust upon her father all those years before?

"Actually..." she began, searching desperately for any words that seemed even vaguely appropriate, "we were just leaving."

Adonis raised an eyebrow. "All right..."

"Papa?"

Evaleith turned around to see Had standing behind her, staring up at his father with unblinking eyes. She was worldly enough to detect the sadness in his young features, but even more than that, she saw determination, resolution; no matter what happened, he would not back away. He would not break down. "Papa, I have to tell you something."

NEXT CHAPTER:

9 comments:

Van said...

In response to some comments on the last post, there is now a Raia-centric poll on my LJ.

Also, it suddenly occurs to me that I posted another Dovia Diaries like forever ago and completely forgot to mention it. Typical of me, really, losing track of my own companion blog :P

thewynd said...

Had is going to be an honorable man when he grows up and Evaleith's decision not to tell was equally wise and mature.

I can't help though, but feel sorry for Honora despite the fact that she lied. I think she has her reasons. I'm not sure her reasons are bad ones. It's going to be tough when it all comes out.

Van said...

Both Had and Evaleith did impress me in this post :)

Honora does have her reasons. Fortunately, they'll come into light over the course of the next two posts. Next post is from Honora's POV, and we'll also be getting the first flashback since waaaaaaay back in 1156 (!), so there will be more insight in regards to Honora's motivations very soon :)

Em said...

Oooh, a Raia poll!

I was definitely impressed with Evaleith and Had too. I thought Evaleith would have a little more compassion for him, so when she decided not to tell his father I was glad. I just hope poor Had doesn't feel too guilty about this later.

I'm also glad Evaleith considers Ceidrid her friend. I thought she didn't really stand him.

And yes, Honora's POV! And a flashback! *happy dance*

Van said...

This is the last we've seen of both Evaleith and Had for a while, so it was definitely nice to see them both take the high road out. But yeah, Had might feel a little guilty later.

I think Evaleith likes most people more than she seems. Plus she's been living at his house since she had that conversation with Honora, so he's probably grown on her :P

Flashback! I always meant to have more flashbacks in this story, but somehow, I never manage to fit them in :( Probably because it's a lot of work, cloning sims and aging the clones down and building sets for one-time use :(

Phoenix said...

I finally figured out what my work computer hates...the captcha thing. I had a nice comment written out here and pressed post comment and it took me to a black page! Grrr!! Stupid work computer!

Anyways...I'm glad that Had is going to say something. A secret like this would have ate at him and completely destroyed whatever relationship he had with his mom. He's wise beyond his time!

I wonder what Honora is going to do? I can't wait for her POV!

Van said...

Ahhh, that would do it. Sorry Phoenix, just been getting a ton of spam attacks lately :S

Had's definitely a smart, mature little guy. I'm sure he'll make his relationship with his mom work in spite of all this.

Honora's POV next post :)

Whymustallthegoodonesbetaken said...

woohoo! Finally I've read the entire series up to this point! I'd been meaning to read The Kingdom of Naroni for a good ...6 months or so now.. but just within the past week decided to take up the challenge of reading from the beginning to now. Great stuff I must say! Lovely characters! Especially fond of Florian but who isn't? lol Anyways just wanted to finally post my newfound devotion to your series!

Van said...

Hi, and welcome! :D

I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. And all the posts in one week? Wow!

Thank you so much for reading, and for the lovely compliments. Once again, welcome to the story, and I hope you continue to enjoy :D