Nervousness is written all over Matilda, who had become unsettled with the thought of losing another child. Dawin, on the other hand, watches how she paces back and forth while he, seems to be getting infuriated with the irreverent updates on his son, (He sought within and knew wasn't the vessel who housed a child for nine months but he tried his best to understand her pain but it was his pain to sooth hers.
"Pacing won't help us find him"
Dawin sets a foundation to try to ease her the best he could but evidently, Matilda wasn't herself, regardless of paying him heed.
"Sitting down there won't help us either"
Matilda barely gets a hold of herself in anger, which danced around her face with a pinch of visible fear. Dawin stands up from the throne, he gently walks towards her, gripping her shoulder to stop her from pacing.
"We will find him"
He reassures her with his doubt buried deep within. Matilda shrugs out of his hands, takes one step farther away from him, turns to him so he could see the disgust, anger and fear in her blue eyes.
"And if we don't?"
Dawin, aware of the severity it would cause if he breaks, buries his doubt deeper to reassure her.
"We will, I promise"
Matilda scoffs
"Its the same promise you made when we lost Wesley, honestly, your promises mean nothing to me."
She moves away from where he stands to the other end of the throne region. Almost immediately, Xander walks in
"Xander?"
Matilda's mood swiftly changes at the sight of her son and she rushes towards him and throws him a hug.
"We haven't found any traces"
She refrains and asks looking into his eyes.
He lets out a soft whimper. Matilda slowly let's go of him and moves back.
"Have you searched everywhere, where is Tommen"
She pushes forward
"He's alright, he's on his way back"
Xander looks into his mother's ocean eyes and begins to sob.
"Every corner of the land mother, We searched every inch. I can't lose another brother."
(Xander played the victim to the core, so well that it felt so real. Irony of the situation was that it was real, at least some part of it. He did love his brother but he loved his ego more.)
"I need to see Honora."
(Honora, the only daughter and the last child of the family, was very close to Alex. He taught her how to read her first book, how to interpret them and most importantly, how to be princess-material. Xander, heartless as he may have seemed did love his sister in a intricate way but all he could do was imagine how she felt)
"She should be having her lessons at this hour"
Xander leaves the hall unprecedentedly, leaving Matilda and Dawin alone again. She walks to the seat beside the throne burying her head into her palm. Dawin walks closer and tries to hold her.
"Don't you come any closer".
Dawin understood how she felt, he knew where all these feelings came from, he thought of how else to help her but he ran out of weapons in his arsenal.
"We can......"
"....still find him, are those the filthy words you were about to say? I promise you, if I lose another child, I will feed myself to the hounds"
Matilda immediately shuns him, Apparently, Dawin had just made things worse everytime he tried comforting her. She leaves the seat, exiting the halls in rage, making Dawin drop dejectedly to his throne.
***
The Brightons are seated at the diner this peaceful and quiet evening, Maids come in bringing different varieties of food (Chicken, Civet, Muscadine, Pandemain, water and wine).
They all quietly leave the diner while the family begin to say their prayers
"We bless this meal in the name of the Father, Son and Holy spirit"
A quiet rhythmic chorus of 'Amen' flows through the diner.
The clashing of spoons on plate, glass on table is only heard till Hillary interrupts
"Your mother is expecting a child"
Anne drops her cutlery in shock while Calah let's out a laugh echoing through the whole room, the six eyes in the room perch on her.
"And why do you find that funny, Calah?"
Calah observes the reaction of her parents and interprets the seriousness on their faces.
It was then she realized it wasn't a joke, and once again she looked like a clown.
"The wives say 'tis a Boy."
Brie looks away in uninterest and the only people focusing on him were just Anne and Calah.
"That's good news."
Anne says, genuinely happy about the news but aware of the fact that she might never meet her brother.
"Good?, That's great news"
Calah, on the other hand, says out of personal interest.
(Having a little brother who would inherit her problems with her mother, was what made her most elated)
"There's also more"
Hillary's tone had changed, it was the same tone he used when he informed the family about Anne's marriage, the same tone he used with Calah when she asked if she could have a snake as a pet.
"Alex of Miledale has been declared missing"
Word had already spread to everywhere, Anne's face froze and she drops her cutlery for the second time.
(She hadn't gotten there yet and someone was already missing. What more was to be expected?)
"Missing or Dead?"
Anne inquires fearfully
"He definitely will be found as soon as possible"
Hillary tried to put sugar on the whole lemon but Anne wasn't buying any of it
She pushes her plate slightly forward and her chair back making way for herself before walking out of the hall. She stops at the door and turns
"He's probably as dead as Wesley"
She walks away
Calah pulls her sister's left overs, slowly pouring into her food.
(She sure wasn't planning on making food waste)
They both watch their daughter slowly pour left overs into her food in pure awe.
"Go talk to your sister"
Brie concludes in an attempt to get her humiliation of a daughter out of her sight. Majorly focussed on the humiliating act than Anne's dilemma.
"But I...."
"I said go"
Brie says hitting the table. Calah grumbles and refuses to move. Brie begins to steam and she eventually pulls back her chair. With immediacy, Hillary holds Brie from standing
"Calah, please just go, don't let Anne be alone."
Hilary says, genuinely worried about Anne.
Calah eventually takes her infuriated eyes off her Mother and on looking at her Father, she softens up and easily pushes back her chair before leaving. She stops the maid approaching
" Wrap my food and send to my room"
Calah exits and Brie exhales, easing off her steam, pulls her seat back in and continues eating.
YOU ARE READING
Sun and Shadow
FanfictionAn unknown man serves as a threat to the people around him without knowing what he is Meant to protect as duty but puts a lot in danger instead, for what he is.
