I adored you Madly, Extravagantly, Absurdly.

Chapter 29

What's this? One of my favourite Teleny quotes??? Yes! Isn't it beautiful? Isn't it so all of them? But especially RoseKiller?

Warnings: this is a dark one
Retellings of infanticide & sexual & emotional abuse
Descriptions Physical abuse, torture, physical violence
Descriptions of vomiting
Conversation about Dysphoria
Death of a parent

If you don't want to read any of these, you might want to skip the Evan and Barty in the carriage scene and ESPECIALLY the Barty-Flashback. And possibly the Barty & Evan scene after the Jegulus one.
The rest should be safe. The rest is literally just a conversation between James & Regulus about dysphoria
If all of this is not your cup of tea, just read the Teleny quote and wallow in it as I do.

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"We must have looked, on that bridge amidst the thickening fog, like two damned souls suffering eternal torment" Teleny 109

The past few weeks have been warm and dry. Barty thought he'd choke on the air if he stayed out for too long.

The journey from Lioncrest to his parents' house is a journey of two or three days by carriage. They pass the night in an inn or other when Evan insists the horse can't go on.

On the second day, in the afternoon, the sky suddenly breaks apart, deep clouds obscure the sun, and rain falls on them in heavy beads.

Evan holds the carriage, and Barty sticks his head out the window, urging him to continue.

"Barty, this is more than just rain. It will turn into a thunderstorm soon."

"I don't care. Go on."

"Look at the sky. It isn't safe!"

"Go on! Go on, or we will be late!"

Reluctantly, Evan forces the horse to go on. He was right. The sky turns black, and within the hour, lightning strikes the sky and roaring thunder frightens the horse.

Evan holds again. This time, he opens the door and comes inside. He is drenched from head to toe. "We need to stop. With every sound, I lose control of him. We must seek shelter from the rain and go on when it clears up."

"No. We can't delay. Evan, we need to be there in time!"

"You don't understand. We can't go on. It would put both of us and the animal in danger. Get out and help me find a place we can pass the time."

"But-"

"Get out and help me, or I swear I will turn this thing around and not take you anywhere!" Evan jumps back out of the carriage into the pouring rain.

Barty bites his tongue. They won't make it in time. He has to be there before his mother passes. She can't die thinking he didn't want to come.

He takes off his jacket to leave it in the dry carriage and follows the coachman. He freed the horse from all the straps that bound it to the carriage and whispers calming words into its ear.

"Do you see that little forest over there? We will pull the carriage towards it, get it off the road, and see whether the horse could find some dry spot under the trees."

Evan and Barty push and pull the carriage, with the horse dutifully following them to the side of the road, a few feet into the little forest.

When the carriage is just obscured enough not to attract passing bandits immediately, they stop, and Evan finds a spot where he can loosely bind the horse. He gives treats to the animal and whispers to it until it calms down.

Barty hides in the carriage. They procured bits of food for the road in the town they passed yesterday. Apart from that, they took nothing with them. They have been wearing the same clothes since the morning Barty got the letter. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters. He just needs to get there in time.