She didn't know what she had come here wanting to hear. That he was part of it, that he wasn't? The truth - and she didn't doubt it was the truth - was so damn simple and she didn't know how to take it. He wasn't even in the country, he hadn't been home for years, and then he came back and ended up in this mess. Fuck, she didn't want to come here and sympathize and be understanding, she wanted to be angry, to lash out, to hurt something, to have a good reason to take it out on him...
But there was no good reason. His family would go down in history reviled and had lost everything because of his father's actions. He had been conscripted and there was no way out of the Wardens once you were in. What more could she ask for?
She didn't try to hide any of the contradictory emotions warring in her as she stood there processing what he said. She didn't realize it, but her previously cold countenance had softened and her stance had slipped from commanding to something much smaller and more vulnerable. [color=#17b529]"I believe you." [/color]Three words, so simple, and yet the weight they carried could move mountains.
Nathaniel didn't know his father's motives, but she did. He deserved to know. [color=#17b529]"He did it because he was jealous. I don't know why - I always remember our families getting along as well. But he... craved the power. And he didn't regret a single one of the terrible things he did to get it."[/color] His last words I deserved more still echoed in her head. It was the basest of motives, and yet it had sent her family and every other soul in that castle to their graves.
Now it was her turn to look him squarely in the eye. [color=#17b529]"I don't know if Lana told you, but you should know I was the one to kill him."[/color] It hadn't been a kind death, she'd made sure of that. Nathaniel didn't need to know that particular detail, but she wouldn't shy away from taking responsibility for the death of Rendon Howe. She didn't regret it in the least.
But there was no good reason. His family would go down in history reviled and had lost everything because of his father's actions. He had been conscripted and there was no way out of the Wardens once you were in. What more could she ask for?
She didn't try to hide any of the contradictory emotions warring in her as she stood there processing what he said. She didn't realize it, but her previously cold countenance had softened and her stance had slipped from commanding to something much smaller and more vulnerable. [color=#17b529]"I believe you." [/color]Three words, so simple, and yet the weight they carried could move mountains.
Nathaniel didn't know his father's motives, but she did. He deserved to know. [color=#17b529]"He did it because he was jealous. I don't know why - I always remember our families getting along as well. But he... craved the power. And he didn't regret a single one of the terrible things he did to get it."[/color] His last words I deserved more still echoed in her head. It was the basest of motives, and yet it had sent her family and every other soul in that castle to their graves.
Now it was her turn to look him squarely in the eye. [color=#17b529]"I don't know if Lana told you, but you should know I was the one to kill him."[/color] It hadn't been a kind death, she'd made sure of that. Nathaniel didn't need to know that particular detail, but she wouldn't shy away from taking responsibility for the death of Rendon Howe. She didn't regret it in the least.
05-12-2023, 01:49 AM
