IP: 82.19.140.112
Posted on September 18, 2013 at 11:19:49 PM by t r i s t a n
Tristan followed her over to the window seat, sitting in the empty space on her left. He turned himself so that instead of facing out into the room, he looked towards her shoulder, his back pushed up against the wall and his legs grossed before him. “Thea,” he said, his eyes adopting an expression of concern, “nothing that happened is your fault, I promise.” She had had no way know what would happen in the cove. It wasn’t as if portals opened up in Shaman every day, and even if they had, what were the chances of a small army of religious fanatics pouring out? That was all it had been, chance. Chance that it had been that day that Thea had chosen to go to the cove, and that she had found herself on the wrong stretch of beach. It had been cruel chance too that meant that when the invaders had opened fire on the crowd, Gibbs had been one of the men who had been hit. Tristan winced inwardly, his father’s words suddenly brought back to him, you do not give a thought to what the consequences could be if your luck ran out.’ That was what had happened to Thea, fortune had abandoned her, and she was left to make sense of the pieces. “There was no way you could have known” the prince said earnestly, “there’s no one to blame for any of it but the Manekhtites. You didn’t cause anything.” He watched her face carefully for a reaction, wondering if he was getting through to her. Tristan could understand something of what she was feeling. When his mother had left, he had blamed himself too. If he had been better somehow, then maybe she would have had had more reasons to stay. He wondered sometimes too if everything would have been better if he had been kidnapped instead of Gawain; if he had been the one in the cabin when they had come, and he had drowned in the icy water. Ifs could drive you mad if you let them. It was easier to criticise yourself in retrospect, when you had the benefit, or curse, of hindsight. “Don’t worry about me,” he smiled, looking up at her again, “I don’t think he was as cross as he was just because I came to help you. He’s probably right, he usually is.” Grinning he pressed on, impersonating his father’s voice “ ‘this is a pattern of behaviour with you Tristan’” his eyes regained their usual mischievous glimmer, “ ‘it’s time you had a good hard think about your actions.’” He reached out and rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder, “there’s nothing to forgive,” he told her firmly, his jaw set, he wasn’t going to let her argue with him, “and I’d do it again. I might do it differently, but if you were in trouble, I wouldn’t leave you. You’re my friend, and that means we look out for each other. If you need me for anything, I’ll be here, okay?” He felt it was important that she knew that. Grief could make you lonely, and for some people, that was what they needed in order to work through it, but if Thea was anything like him, then she would need someone to talk to, someone she could trust. She was sad and scared and far from home, but she didn’t need to be alone.  |
Replies:
- be noble, for you are made of stars - By Alethea September 27, 2013 at 06:02:18 AM
- may you sing the deeds of glory - By t r i s t a n October 6, 2013 at 07:08:43 PM
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