Hope Falls

Aodhän turned his head to press his lips to her hair, whispering as he turned his head back to a resting position; "She would have been a distinguished young woman, with a fierce tongue and a warm heart. You are a fantastic mother, there would be no words to describe your daughter accurately. A credit to you, in every way."

---

"And you have returned that debt. She is here and in luxury, as is the second in command. Don't let her take advantage of you, T."

“She’s seeking comfort, not favour right now… I can’t turn her down.”

---

“It is bittersweet, seeing Kael grow when I never got the same for her. It just makes me think sometimes, how things worked out.”

((Night))

"And Kael's mother has not been able to see him grow." Aodhän whispered. "As I said before though, she is with your daughter, you are with us. The love we all share sustains us, even though we are apart. It keeps us all close., it's a circle."

---

"Don't let her say anything to upset you."

“If she does I’ll let her know. She’s shown here with the baby and without Izsak. I doubt I’ll be doing much more than offering relationship advice.”

---

Isolde nodded, closing her eyes and taking a steady breath to centre herself.

Aodhän ducked his head to press his lips to the top of her head, closing his eyes as he tightened the embrace slightly.

---

"Mm, I'll make myself scarce for you." Magnus whispered, getting to his feet and pulling in on some fresh clothes. "I am sure someone, somewhere in this building have something to they want me to deal with."

“No no, you’re doing nothing today. Allow your family to handle it, it’s going fine so far, mm? Go take some time for yourself. When was the last time you beat a soldier at cards, mm? We’ve had time today, you spent the morning with Z, go do something for you.”

---

“I hope I haven’t dampened your mood for visiting Kael.”

"Maybe," He humoured, leaning over to kiss her cheek softly as he headed out. Slipping out of their space past Matilda as she opened the door.

"Sorry," Matilda grimaced.

---

"No, no never."

“Not maybe!” Thea called after him with a deep sigh.

---

“I’m excited to see him too… what else have you got to do today before we leave?”

"He is bring stubborn, is he?" Matilda asked quietly, letting the door close behind herself.

---

"The only thing I haven't done is make sure that the security is prepared for the summer celebrations whilst we are away, I feel like Wyatt would have been ahead of me with that though."

“When she was a baby, he didn’t spent as much time with her as he would’ve liked. Getting back to the kingdom after a war and everything, stabilising it all… the older she gets and the more she remembers and the more new things she does he wants to see, but he still can’t quite let his cousins take control - even of tasks he assigns them to do.” Thea explained, closing the door behind her. “He’s a perfectionist… but he can’t be in two places at once, and I think it eats him.”

---

“He’ll manage, he’s capable enough.”

"Men are stubborn things, they like to be in control." Matilda mused quietly. "It makes then their own worse enemy."

---

Aodhan nodded.

“Is that the explanation for your neck?”

Matilda snorted softly to contain laughter, shaking her head. "No, no. Not in the bad way anyway."

“You may want to keep a scarf or something… those kind of marks appear when someone’s been feeding on you a little too roughly too and the blood has seeped under the skin.”

"People can think they are from being fed on if they like, or I will happily tell them what they are from. There is nothijg wring with enjoying something a little more rough with my mate." Matilda snorted. "Emmett and Karina didn't know how to cope with it either."

“Their usual company is a lot more reserved, remember that.”

"They shouldn't be so prude." Matilda shot back quietly, setting herself down on the sofa and leaning her head back to watch the ceiling. "Emmett is a bastard, tried to say my daughter was Draven's, not Izsak's."

“From what I gather his first wife left him because he was boring so… I wouldn’t be too offended.”

"He and Karina can be boring together without judging everyone else, can't they?" Matilda scoffed. "Izsak is struggling today with all of it. The fae's torture, Sarika and Draven, losing his family... all of it. We do fine, when we take turns being wounded but today... we're both anxious today so it exploded."

“Losing family is one of those things that can just suddenly knock you sick at any time isn’t it? And those we consider family. Sometimes, out of nowhere, I’ll be reminded of our sisters, the ones dragged from their beds and slaughtered when this place was attacked. Sometimes Magnus and I will have to spend a few days in the city - or at some courtiers estate for a few nights. We do it under the guise of friendship, seeing people, discussing business… but in reality it’s because neither of us can stand being under this roof sometimes because of all we’ve lost under it.” Thea empathised softly, nodding her head. “Usually we manage just fine too, but sometimes we clash - we’ll both be hungry, or he’ll be exhausted after a day of running round after his cousins and I’ll have a migraine from visions and one of us will end up in the nursery with Zaria… It’ll never be linear, healing, will it? But he’ll come round, once he has shifted, it’s tomorrow mm? It’ll settle after.”

"He thought that I told him that what happened to him was a consequence of his own actions. It isn't what I meant, what I said." Matilda whispered, voice faltering.  "Everyone looks at the wolves like they are the villains, but Isolde was the one who began this. We were cheated out of our home, Isolde saved her own ass and we ended up with nothing. She is praised for helping to end the war, and I get filthy looks so who knows what Izsak goes through... as if we wee the only enemies. It isn't fair, anc home doesn't exist anymore."

“Nothings fair in love and war…” Thea murmured sadly. “Isolde’s people love her because there isn’t a limit to what she would do for them… but we all know she would’ve thrown every last Fae in as canon fodder to win the war back for their land. Their kind value their dead just as much as their living which… is something I have never understood. They would rather have the land appease their dead than support anyone else’s living…” she mused before snorting; “Humans see Fae as their whimsical little Fairies. Helper butterflies. Magnus has told me there’s children’s tales in the human world, of them granting gifts and wishes with no consequences or expectations, with no bond or entrapment. That they’re a foot tall and die if people no longer believe in their existence… if only they knew mm?”

"They are evil, they are the puppet masters in all of this and they have come out unscathed. It isn't fair... they do not have to live with it all. My daughter get dirty looks, have you noticed? She is born after it all, and she is still judged. I wish Izsak would let me bring her to meet Draven and Sarika, so she has people other than her parents who don't think she is a monster."

“Not everyone thinks she’s a monster… we do not. But I can’t agree with your sentiment that Draven should meet her. I know what he is to you but. He is the villain in other stories… including mine.”

"You aren't one is mine, nor are they or I wouldn't have saved you. This isn't a game of good and bad guys." Matilda muttered. "The difference is you are safe, Thea. I am not. My daughter is not. If I am not safe as a Seer, and my daughter isn't as a baby then the amount of danger Izsak must be in... It is better here than other places, I am aware of that, but it still isn't safe."