February 12, 1191
"Father!" If not for his sturdy frame, Holladrin might have tackled him to the couch when she sprung into his arms. The last time her father had shown up at her grandfather's castle, she'd slept right through his entire early morning visit. This time--in exchange for distracting the cook while he herded a pack of squirrels through the kitchens--Florian had promised to alert her first, and he'd kept to his word. "Father, I haven't seen you in ages!""Yes, well..." He swallowed. He always did. For some reason, Holladrin kept pretending not to notice. "I've been very busy back in Dovia."
"It's fine." She let him go and stepped back. It hurt that he looked relieved. "What are you doing in Naroni?"
"Just a few errands for your Uncle Oswald. Nothing too interesting.""Oh." There'd be no point in asking him to elaborate. "Do you have any time to visit for a while? Grandfather's birthday was yesterday, and there's still some cake in the kitchens."
"Thank you, but no. Cake is a little sweet for me."
Why doesn't that surprise me? "Oh. Yes, of course.""Anyway, is your grandfather around? I have a message for him."
That would be it, then. Her grandfather would send Florian in to hear the message in his stead, then her father would slip off to Lord only knew where without so much as a parting nod.She must have been mad, thinking it would ever happen differently. "I'll go find him."
NEXT CHAPTER:
3 comments:
Flames in the playoffs, baby! :D
Congratulations to you and the Flames!
I had to go back for the history with Holladrin and her father. I can't believe it's been so long since her poor mother died. Good for Florian and his squirrels, but that shouldn't be necessary for Holladrin to see her father. I wonder what he's told her about why she lives with her grandfather. She doesn't seem to resent her father.
Thanks! Alas, they didn't have the greatest finish to the season today, but I'm chalking it up to them warming up a goaltender who was out with an injury for a few months and needed to get used to playing again, plus resting a few of their key players. Playoffs are always a different kind of game entirely.
It has been a while. :S Holladrin rarely gets a conversation with her father, so I doubt she's asked him about it and gotten a half-decent answer. Octavius's Holladrin-friendly explanation is that Karlspan has some grown-up things to work out on his own, but that's been going on for years now, and Holladrin is getting older and more aware. I don't think she quite resents Karlspan, but she always ends up getting hurt when he shows up. :(
Post a Comment