Hope Falls

Avani gasped, heart rate raising as she moved her hand to his shoulder and pushed him backwards. Settling to straddle his waist, lips finding the crook of his neck, running fingernails down his back.

Ruari moved a hand to tangle in her hair, his other tracing up her chest as he let out a low groan.

(( Skip a couple of hours for all of them now? ))

((Sure, you first?))

(( Sure thing. Sorry just sorting my hair out ))

((No worries, I’m out anyway lol))

"Mother, father." Kael greeted coldly as be pulled a chair out from the table for Daphne to sit at several hours later, the setting sun casting shadows across the table that separated then from one another. "I'm sorry I didn't meet you sooner, as said, but someone rushed us here this morning, so my wife and I have been exhausted." He gave a pointed look to his father.

"You are clearly not tired anymore, walking in like you are ready for a fight." Aodhän scoffed, still rubbing sleep fromvthe corner of his own eye. "Sit down and stop being so dramatic, Kael."

“I believe we are all exhausted Kael.” Isolde sighed softly at his attitude being harsh from the outset. “Welcome, Daphne.”

“Thank you, your grace.” Daphne said softly as she sat down, glancing at Kael as he spoke.

"I am sure there is something you have to say to her, further than a welcome." Kael prompted, remaining stood as he resting his hands on Daphne's shoulders gently. "Humilation is not a very warm welcome, mother."

"Dramati-"

"You don't get to speak after the information you have been keeping from me." Kael seethed.

“No it is not. And yet it is what we have all experienced it seems.”

"Daphne has done nothing wrong, and to make her out to be prudish on your first meeting is not appropriate in any circumstances. It is not her fault that Indira has fallen pregnant, nor that my father decided not to tell any of us. Apologise to her, or we aren't entertaining this dinner."

Isolde remained silent, jaw shifting as she stared at the table before pushing her seat up and getting to her feet. “I wish you all goodnight,” she said quietly before turning to leave.

"Of course." Kael answered, muscle in his jaw feathering in anger. "Of course you are leaving, because an apology in private is far too much to ask when you humiliated her in front of others. Shall I treat my wife as some breeding cow like you were treated by your first husband, would that make you happy? Is that what you are asking of me because that was not what I was told and you can have the fucking crown back and give it to Mor. I don't want it if I have to treat her like that, if I have to accept you talking to her like it."

"Kael!" Aodhän hissed the reprimand, hand slamming on the table as he pushed himself to his feet. "You have put us in a difficult enough situation as it is, you and Indira with your wreckless when you have been raised bett-"

"I am asking for an apology for what was said to Daphne! You can chatise me all you like once she has recieved that!"

“So it is acceptable for you to bring up the fact I was raped in response to me being surprised that you haven’t bedded your bride like every other woman you have had a romance with?” Isolde scoffed, shaking her head. “I apologise that I was surprised that after three months of marriage you had not bedded your wife. I thought that you would have made her comfortable enough to bed her by now.” She added quietly, clearly shaken by the reference to her first marriage.

"It was not surprise, it was judgement! Judgement when all she is doing is trying to be fucking respectful." Kael squeezed Daphne's shoulders, almost trembling with anger. "It isn't acceptable of me, but you are being abhorrently rude and unwelcoming. Walking away when you are being held accountable?" He shook his head in disgust. "I am asking very little of you."

"I do not think you realise the absolute mess you left me in Kael! And because children are blessings you are shrugging this fiasco off! Yes, we are blessed that there are children to enter the family and I hope they are born safely into this world as much as I would my own children but the way in which they are doing it has had intense repercussions!” And I warned you about it. About what it would mean for us, not just for you but for all of us. And I had to field all of that, whilst being pregnant and alone without your father, without you for help. And then I get the letter that tells me that the situation is nowhere close to being remedied with an heir to alleviate the damage Indira’s pregnancy has caused because you have not bedded your wife yet!” Isolde almost sobbed then, a vase at the table shattering as vines and roots began growing rapidly from the flowers within as she lost control. “I am truly sorry, Daphne, truly, that my words were so crass in public. The intent was never to humiliate you. It was only my shock at the situation, and then another with Princess Avani and her outburst that I became overwhelmed. It does not happen often and I assure you that it will not happen again.” She turned to her daughter in law as she spoke, before looking at Kael and shaking her head at him. “We know where we go from here don’t we? You will do as you usually do when you are pissed at me, you will tell me I am not your mother. I am only Isolde to you. You will isolate me and say I do not see you as a son, just as someone else to take the crown. You will run to Wyatt and tell him that I am a shadow of a replacement for the woman who birthed you and how terrible it is that you have been left with me. Leave the crown Kael, go ahead. If it would make you happy to not take it then don’t. I am just the weak whore who let her husband use her and not say a word about it mm? How silly I am to think that I may be forgiven for losing decorum once after everything. Now, if you will excuse me.” She finished, making no move to acknowledge and wipe off the tears on her face until she had turned her back and begun to walk away from the table.

"That wasn't fucking hard, was it?" Kael seethed, the mutter to himself as he moved settle into his seat beside Daphne then. Glaring at the glasses upon the table in front of him. "Are we going to sit down and have a normal conversation now?"

"You have ruined any chances for that." Aodhän scoffed, hand resting on the small of Isolde's back as he made way to encourage her out of the room. Brushing his thumb in small circles.

Daphne was silent, moving her hand to rest on Kael’s leg as Aodhän left.

Isolde shook her head at his touch, moving her hand over her mouth to stifle the noise as she hurried toward their rooms.

Kael laughed humourlessly when they were alone, resting a trembling hand over hers as he turned his face away to stare at the wall. "Indira would like to speak to you, whenever you feel ready to meet her. She wants to reassure you that she isn't some crazy woman who wants to complicate things. She -" He cut off as he felt his throat constricting, "Horrific. Horrific that there can't be happiness over my first child before the chaos descends. I am sorry that you have walked into a storm, and if you want to change your mind I'll guarantee you get home safe."

---

Aodhän held arms out to her as he closed the doors to their rooms behind him. "Sol..."

“I do not wish to end our marriage Kael…” Daphne shook her head, swallowing as he turned his head away, assuming the anger was also directed at her. “I just… I do not wish for there to be any conflict. There was enough conflict at home. I do not think your mother wishes to cause you pain, and I do not think you wish to cause her any. She has said things that have hurt you. And you have said things that have hurt her… I would like for things to be resolved by our wedding day… You not speaking to your parents such a day does not bode well when your ancestors are watching. They will be angry at me for causing such division… A foreigner coming and sowing discord.”

---

Isolde headed to their room and sat on the floor with her back to their bed, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her head on them as she sobbed into them intensely.

"You deserved an apology, I am sorry it was a battle to get one out of her. She was out of line, and she should have seen it."

---

Aodhän's arms encompassed her, bringing her onto his lap as he crushed her into his chest silently. Pressing his nose against the top of her head.

“I got one… I would like the matter to be laid to rest. I accept it…” Daphne assured, moving her hand as she continued to grow anxious that she was the issue. “I do not want to live in resent and awkwardness… it’ll breed resent toward me…”

---

Isolde continued to cry, unable to take breaths between as she carried on.

"No, no. My mother's issues are to do with me, not you." He assured quietly, finally looking back towards her. Reaching his hand across to caress her cheek, "You accept her apology? Fine. Okay. I will leave the matter alone now, I just had to make sure you received one."

---

"Sol," Aodhän whispered, squeezing her gently. "Breathe with me, try to breathe. Things will all settle, and he will regret his words, the stupid boy."

“I believe that Grace should be extended to everyone right now. She has had to deal with what sounds like a threat to our future children and their line to your throne whilst carrying a child. We have had to spend so long at sea, a long time from home for you, and it sounds as if we are all incredibly tired. And everything about this situation is new. You have never had a wife before, I have never had a husband. She has never had to deal with her sons pregnant mistress… I think that the situations could have been handled better all around in small ways… but ultimately we are all very tired and weary and so they were not. But nobody meant harm. Nobody is truly angry at the children growing inside Indira. Nobody wished to embarrass or hurt anyone with their words… Not you with what you said to your mother, not your mother with what she said to me… not even your father, with what he did not say…”

---

“I - I find myself i-increasingly at a loss. T-these past few months I h-have never been as s-so lost as to what to do. W-what is right. What will cause the le-least harm… What will just make the girls shut up a-and be quiet. W-what will make Kael h-hate me the le-least whilst still protecting his crown. What will make it all j-just go away!” Isolde screamed hoarsely, pulling at her hair, strands coming away from her scalp.

Aodhän shook his head, eyes widening in horror as he dropped his arms so he could instead use his hands to grab hers. Guiding them towards his chest, holding them near his heart, "You have done well! I am so, so very proud of how brave you have been, Isolde. Not surprised, though, because there is absolutely no one in this world who could ever hold a candle to your resilience, the brilliance of your mind. You are not hated, he would never be able to hate you. You have done everything right, everything, and you no longer have to navigate it alone. You aren't alone, Sol. It will be okay. You are astounding."

---

"A threat?" Kael echoed, shaking his head to try and soothe the stinging in his eyes. "Everyone is so busy behaving as if my unborn sons are the sign of the apocalypse that they are not seeing..." He swallowed, "After we eat, I will be spending time with Wyatt. Not to bitch about my mother, as she implied, but because I know he will be able to place it all to the side and be excited with me."