Guardian's Key
Part 8
Morana
II
(Note: When A Vampire’s Tale was written it was never intended to be more than a short story explaining how Kerrin arrived in the Sea of Moons and his sad tale of loss. However, before I was even finished posting it at the Sims2Community Forum, I realized I didn’t want to see Lassirra die. As a result, their story changed and morphed but never with any plans beyond any given point. So, in order to bring all those bits and pieces into a viable conclusion, I’ve had to bend and twist things. Hopefully this doesn’t appear to be too contrived, but working with what was and making it fit into what is to be can be tricky. Also, when I finished A Vampire’s Tale, I deleted the neighborhood as well as the characters I used - including Lassirra’s father. So, if he looks different - he is. He looks much better actually. -Lachesis)
It’d taken two turnings, but finally they stood outside one of the Master Wizard’s hidden homes and Lessa knew he and her mother were here. “About time,” she said as she started walking, moving faster the closer she got to the house.
“Fuck, he does know how to hide himself, doesn’t he?” Xavier said as he matched his long-legged stride to her shorter one.
“Yes, and now that I’m here, I have a very strong feeling they’ve been hiding from me, and that just pisses me off even more than I already am.” She’d suspected all along that her father had hidden their whereabouts, and now she knew for sure. Damn him, he knew exactly what she wanted, and he was avoiding her.
Anger flowed through her as she opened the door and led the way in. She’d expected to have to search the house for them, but instead they both stood just inside the door as though she and Xavier were invited guests.
“Welcome Daughter, Xavier Quaendis,” her father said as he came forward and kissed her on the cheek before shaking Xavier’s hand.
Lessa stared at him, amazed by his attitude. She opened her mouth to unleash just how damned pissed she was when extreme pain radiated down her back. Falling to her knees, her back burning as she slammed into the hard floor, she fought to retain consciousness.
“Lassirra!” her mother cried as Lessa felt her soft loving hands on her arms. “Quick, she’s reached Kerrin’s mind and is joining with him, we must get her clear. The Vampire can take this pain, she cannot.” She’d never heard such panic from her mother, but she couldn’t comprehend it as another wave of fire shot through her, taking her breath.
She felt Xavier pick her up, the pain increasing as Kerrin was struck once more with what she hoped was only a whip, but suspected it was something much more deadly and damaging.
“Oh!” She clamped her teeth together to keep from shouting again and alarming her mother even more. She’d been reaching for Kerrin’s mind since she’d felt him two turnings past. She hadn’t believed she’d actually connect, but had hoped she would.
She bit her lip to keep from making a sound as Xavier carried her as carefully as he could up the stairs and gently laid her down. The soft bed was too much to bear, and she rolled to her side trying to ease the pain. What the hell was Silanos doing to him? Tears flowed as she thought of the pain the man was enduring because he’d dared to love her. She needed to stay with him, pain and all. As long as she could feel him, she knew he was alive.
Her mother appeared before her, kneeling next to the bed. It’d been years since she had comforted her, and Lessa reached for that comfort with all her might. Never had she needed it more than she did now.
Softly, her mother’s voice sounded like a lullaby as she chanted in the ancient language. “Break this connection, and bring forth the blessings of the Sundara to cover and protect them both.”
As suddenly as it came, the pain left. “No! I can’t feel him any more.”
“It’s all right, my daughter. Your father and I will see what we can find out about Kerrin, he’s a good man who deserves our protection and help. You, however, must rest.”
Lessa wanted to protest, so much she wanted to protest, but her mother put her hand on her forehead, as she’d done so many times when Lessa was young, and the world faded away into a dreamless sleep.
***
Lessa looked at the familiar bedside clock, four in the afternoon-time. She’d slept far too many hours, but she felt refreshed, and her back no longer hurt. She only hoped Kerrin was as pain free as she was, but she knew that was not the case. Her mother had blocked her connection with him, but not before she’d felt the gnawing hunger and knew he hadn’t fed in many hours. Being whipped had only caused him to lose blood and strength more rapidly. She tried once more to reach out to him, to feel him, but there was nothing. Her mother had very effectively separated them. Damn, if only she could connect again, she’d be able to sooth him now that she understood, she just knew it.
They had to reach him soon, she had no idea if a vampire could starve to death or not, but she didn’t want to take any chances. Walking to the wardrobe, she chose a dress and headed for the bathroom.
Fifteen minutes later she was walking down the stairs, clean and refreshed. Her parents’ quiet voices reached her from the parlor. She entered just as her mother said, “Azrael, you must remove your spell. There’s no longer any reason for it, and she’s in more pain as a result of it than she would have been had you not placed it on her in the first place. I told you at the time it wasn’t a good idea.”
“Yes, Thalia my love, I’m perfectly aware that the time has come to remove it. She was so terribly unhappy; I felt I had to do something.” Azrael Orisso’s voice was deep and soothing. A voice that had told Lessa many happy stories as a child, and soothed many child-year hurts.
Thalia smiled and took his hand, “You’ve always been too worried about her. She’s stronger than you’ve ever believed.”
“I’m beginning to realize that.”
Lessa entered the room and said, “Yes, Father, it is time you remove your spell, if you can.” Anger laced every syllable.
He rose moving forward and took her hand, ignoring her efforts to avoid him. “Lassirra, my dear child, you were in such pain, I just couldn’t bear it.”
“No Father, whatever pain I was in, can’t compare with what I’ve been going through since I met Kerrin. Please, you must allow me to deal with my pain. It’s mine to bear and not your choice to remove.”
“You’re right, my Daughter, it was wrong of me to hide those memories as they could have offered you comfort over time. However, I didn’t remove them, I merely suppressed them. Removing memories can be very dangerous, even for me. It’s very possible you would have remembered over time, you have been, in fact, haven’t you?”
“Yes, but not fast enough to suit me.”
He chuckled, “Yes, my Daughter, you’ve always been most impatient.” He placed his hand on her forehead. With a few softly spoken words suddenly every moment of her time with Kerrin returned, even the night of her death.
“You removed theses memories because I said I’d rather die than live without him.”
“Yes, my Daughter, you had been through so much.”
“Azrael, she should have been able to live with those memories. She would not have died because of them. It’s life experiences that make us stronger, and since she has Times of Change ahead of her, she needs to grow stronger.” Her mother said softly from her place on the sofa.
Lessa turned and stared at her mother, “Times of Change?”
“Yes, my darling, you are Spirit-Touched. You don’t know what that is because you’ve never been taught the ways of it.”
“Why, why have I always been left in the dark about myself and my heritage? Why are you and Father still so young, even though I know Father should be in his Elder years?”
Her father spoke, “Sit my Daughter, it’s time you learn what we should have told you two years ago; but so much had happened, and so much was soon to happen that it was best to get you packed off to Acantha as soon as possible and for us to hide. Then when we found you’d moved to Mist Hollow that was even safer than Acantha.”
“We should have realized you’d meet up with Kerrin sooner or later, but we just couldn’t take the chance to come to you or for you to come to us, so we just had to trust in the Spirits to keep you safe,” her mother finished.
“You’re involved with the Guidance.” It wasn't a question, she didn't need to ask. It only made sense that her parents wouldn't sit back and let the Guidance destroy Neith.
“Yes, as much as Nanda's mother, Neasa, perhaps more,” Azrael said. “But we must hurry if we’re to get to Kerrin in time. I do know where he is, but we can’t go to him until full evening-time, he’s too weak to be able to handle even the smallest amount of sunlight, so that gives us just enough time to explain a small portion of what you need to learn.”
Lessa sat and said, “Please do.”
Neith
6 comments:
Its amazing how a small story can build to epic proportions, one idea leads to another but in this case I'm so glad it did.
Oh I'm so glad Lessa got her memories back but if I was her I'd punch her dad for blocking them in the first place.
Poor Kerrin, I hope they get to him in time.
Great chapter, the shots are wonderful and yes her father does look good.
Hey Iron Mum. :D Frankly I would have never dreamed it would have had three parts to it. Awww, thank you.
I think at the moment Lessa might just be a bit too overwhelmed, and there's much more to come. Her parents' secrets were many.
As for Kerrin, I guess you could say he's, um, hanging in there.
Thank you so much. He's actually the male version of Lessa with a few modification. Both my storytelling and Sim making have much improved over the years.
Lessa is finally getting the answers to her questions.
It seems that her parents have kept a lot from her and i can only hope it doesn't get worse for her. Although, i do think it's fair if she cursed her dad or something along those lines.
I really hope Kerrin is alright and doesn't do anything stupid once he gets off the leash, in a manner of speaking.
And yes, the dad looks much better.
Great job!
They can get a bit bigger than you anticipated all too easily :)
I know there is a lot for Lessa to take in, but her father still needs a kick up the backside, despite how kind and gentle he is towards her now. But I guess I am much less forgiving than Lessa.
Hey RedRose. I think in the long run what Lessa's about to learn is going to change her life significantly, but at the same time, her parents' reasons were such that understanding why they did what they did will make sense to her. Besides, there are still bigger problems to be dealt with, and Lessa will finally have the strength to do what must be done.
Thank you!
G_S, you know that as well, if not better than me. :)
Geez, I guess I'm going to have to see what I can do about making Lessa's pissed offness spark out to her father or she's going to come off a wimp. ;)
The information she's gotten so far is only the beginning, and not all that surprising since Nanda has already told her she was Spirit-touched. But she just might be a bit surprised by the rest.
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