I'm thinking about Justin Duarte seeing Madoc and immediately deciding to cut him down with an axe.
He didn't even try to apologise and talk it out. Of course, he thought Madoc would be angry and though that killing him would do the trick, but did he literally consider the fact that his daughters were there at the time? Did he actually think that Madoc was so dangerous that killing him right in front of 3 little girls was better than trying to talk it out and apologise?
Of course, we know Madoc's an honourable person, but Eva and Justin did dishonour him by pretending to die and then running away with Madoc's child, no less (Though Eva and Justin were also her parents. They raised her for 9 years).
Did Justin really think that Madoc was so angry that he'd kill both of them right there and then in front of 3 little children even if he tried to talk it out?
Eva was already talking with Madoc. Madoc hadn't killed her yet. Did Justin think that Madoc would be angry enough to kill him if he saw him (Justin) because Madoc loved Eva, but he didn't love Justin?
Did he not think at all because everything happened so fast? Did he not think it out properly because the whole sequence of events was too rushed?
We get to know Madoc, but it's through Jude's perception, and that's very different from Eva and Justin's perception. How did Justin and Eva see him? What stories did they hear? How did his interactions with them view their perception of him?
I really wish that Holly expanded on their relationships, because it would make this scene much more interesting.
What are your thoughts?
VIVIENNE AND HEATHER HURT/COMFORT (Part one?)
Heather grunted and rolled over. Something was missing………….. Her eyes slowly opened. Vivienne was not there. She frowned sleepily. Mmmmmmm, where was Vivienne? Maybe she had gone to the bathroom. Heather yawned and snuggled into the blankets. Vivi would be back soon. And then they'd snuggle and be warm. Yay. But time passed, and Vivienne didn't come back. And far from falling asleep, Heather started to gain more and more consciousess, until she was finally wired enough to go and find out where Vivienne was. Heather slowly walked out of the bedroom and turned on the lights as quickly as possible. Whew. No monsters in the dark. Heather never really believed in monsters until the incident years ago. After that, she'd been more than a little wary of the dark, but she had accepted that not all faeries were out for her, and some of them could be kind. Other than Mother Marrow. That woman gave her the freaky-deakies. Yech. Heather rubbed her eyes and stopped, tensing.
Sobbing sounds were coming from the bathroom. The smell of popcorn was strong and fresh in the air.
How could that be? They HAD made popcorn today, to accompany their watching Superhero Movie, but what was left of it was in the fridge, and it had probably gone cold. So how had Vivienne heated it up again? Did she use magic? her mind said. Heather inhaled sharply and strode towards the bathroom. She didn't like Vivienne using magic in the apartment and Vivienne never did. So why would she use it now..........? 'Vee?' she said softly. 'What happened?' The sobs were muffled by a slap of hand to mouth, then a surprised squeak was emitted. 'N-nothing,' Vivienne's broken voice came from the bathroom. 'I-am-fineHeather. Gobacktosleep.' she said. 'Vivienne……..' Heather pushed open the bathroom door. Their popcorn, the one that Heather had stored in the big green plastic bowl, was trembling on Vivienne's lap. Vivienne's hands were shaking and she was hyperventilating. 'VEE! What happened?' Heather fell to her knees and leaned towards Vivienne, who sobbed and shook her head, wiping her tearstained face. 'The popcorn,' she sobbed. 'Superhero movie. OW.' Heather felt like her heart was breaking. Here Vivienne was, sobbing, and Heather didn't know why. How could she help Vivienne? 'Vee,' she said gently. 'Do you want to tell me something?' Vivienne shook her head, but yet another sob escaped her, and she grabbed a handful of popcorn and stuffed it into her mouth. Vivienne's entire body was shaking. Heather slowly scooted in. 'Vee. You're shaking. Hey, listen to me. Just lean on me for support.' Vivienne gulped and wiped her nose. 'I miss him. It HURTS.' 'Miss him?' Heather asked. 'Do you mean Oak?' 'N-no. I mean-my dad. Justin.' Vivienne said. Heather mentally raised her eyebrows. Vivienne almost never talked about her father. She said that she had two fathers, but Heather had always heard her refer to Madoc as her father mostly, though Vivienne also thought of Justin as her father. Vee sneered at Madoc and took pleasure in taunting him. Heather was uncomfortable about it, so she stayed out of it. Not her problem. But now………'Justin?' she said slowly. 'Your mortal father.' Vivienne sniffed and nodded. 'I-I was going to-' she gestured to the bowl of popcorn. 'Vee, you can tell me,' Heather said, slowly rubbing Vivienne's back as her girlfriend sobbed into her shoulder. Once Vivienne had calmed down, she took a deep breath and gulped. 'My father-Justin. He made me popcorn.' OH. Ohhhhhhhhhh. Of course. Vivienne had always liked popcorn a lot. She made a big bowl for herself every movie night. Somehow, the bowl was always full. So Vivienne clung onto her memories of the mortal world and with it, her mortal parents. Heather had wondered if Vivienne really thought that the big, hulking, scary man was her father or whether the muscular yet gentle-looking man in the rare photos that Vivienne had taken with her was Vivienne's father in her thoughts. Maybe it was both, as weird as that sounded. Maybe that was it. Faerie was weird. Not Vee, though. 'Today. Superhero Movie.' Vivi said weakly. 'Released 2008. Dad and I were going to watch it that night. He made popcorn. But it never happened because-' She smiled weakly and then burst into more sobs. Oh. Oh. OH. Heather sucked in a breath. Of course.
Madoc had killed Vivienne's parents and taken her and her sisters back to Elfhame. When Heather had first heard the story, she was terrified of Madoc. She hadn't wanted to meet him, but Vivienne assured her that he wasn't always violent like that, though he could be 'a total jerk' most of the time. It was hard to believe that Jude and Taryn could love him and Elfhame, hard to believe that they could want to takr their chances with the cruel faeries who plagued Locke's wedding party. Heather had never been able to understand them.
Oh, well, it took all sorts to make a world.
But it was hard to believe that the tall, hefty, frowning man who'd stared at her with those eerie cat eyes was really nonviolent. Heather had shivered. She'd loved Vivienne's cat eyes, but somehow, they looked terrible on Madoc. She had been terrified of Madoc then. And she was still a little scared of him-but there was something else stirring in her now. Anger. Not just anger. Fury. Boiling rage. Heather had seen enough of Vivienne's silent crying and Madoc bothering Vivienne for something or the other. Now, she wanted to stride into his apartment and punch him deep in the gut. She didn't care if Oriana gasped or if she was glamoured or even if Oak cried. Vivienne was hurt, and this bastard had hurt her. Heather remembered thinking that Vivienne was crazy. She remembered her remembrance and the fear that came with it- But she also remembered the pure love that she felt for Vivienne, and her absolute joy and contentment at being with Vivienne again. Vivienne sighed and rested her head against Heather's chest. Heather immediately shifted her weight to accommodate Vivienne. 'Sorry,' Vee mumbled. 'I just really miss him. I mean, I miss both of them really bad sometimes, and now-it's just one of those times. I'm so sorry, Heather. And-and Jude and Taryn don't think that I'm grieving Dad, because Madoc is my dad, but he raised me too, you know? Crap, I'm so sorry.' 'It's no problem.' Heather said, slowly rubbing circles into Vivi's back. She couldn't imagine having a life like that. Just thinking about her parents being murdered made her want to vomit. But to have the murderer be her actual father and to have her sisters love him? Heather didn't have sisters, but she cared for Mikey, and she couldn't imagine how betrayed she'd feel if Mikey loved the man who did that. Vivienne had suffered so much that all Heather could do was be there for her and support her during these trying times. 'Vee,' Heather said, 'Let's not talk about that. Let's go back to bed. Do you want to finish the popcorn, or………?' 'Yeah,' Vivienne said, stuffing handfuls of it into her mouth. Once it was over, she took the bowl and poured water into it, leaving it in the sink to clean tomorrow. They both went back to bed. Vivienne was shivering.
If Madoc came tomorrow, Heather would tear him a new one.
She had called him daddy on the day of the coronation. She had called him father when shooting bolts at him. Sometimes she acknowledged him, sometimes she acted like he was a stranger. In a way, however, they WERE strangers. Madoc realized with a start that he didn't know what her favorite color or foods were. He didn't know what clothes she liked to wear, he didn't know what she did for a living, he didn't know what music she liked to listen to. Well, she had never stayed for long. She was always off to some place, even when he tried to get her to stay. It wasn't HIS fault. 'Oh, yeah, look at this park! It's my favorite-Lincoln Park. My dad used to take me here all the time.' she said. Madoc raised his eyebrows. What? Her father? He'd never- Justin. Justin. My father. Justin.
It suddenly crashed into him. That even though he was Vivienne's biological father, the man who had raised her was Justin Duarte, and then he'd died, and there was no other man, because his one biological daughter had always avoided him, avoided acknowledging their bond. 'I loved playing catch with him. And when I was tired, he would take me for ice cream. Vanilla ice cream-my favorite. While Mom took care of Jude and Taryn.' Madoc bit his lip. He was very uncomfortable now. The car was very cramped. He wanted to get out and run away. (Run away? How odd. He never ran away from things. Emotional troubles-he pushed them down, not ran away.) Vivienne swerved to avoid accidentally running a dog down and cursed. (Push down, run away. Run down, push away). He had never apologized to them for killing their parents. His apologies came in the form of raising them as his own, insisting they live like the Gentry Faeries. Teaching them swordplay and strategies. Giving them ball gowns and faerie food. 'I don't really like killing. It's a you thing.' she said. 'Of course, you wouldn't know anything else, would you? You can only kill, pathetic monster.' 'Vivienne.' he said. 'I've had enough. Stop this.' She snorted. 'Of course. Run away from emotionally charged conversations. Always the Madoc I knew.' When she had yelled at him, about Justin and Eva, he had always yelled back and told her to shut up. Walked away. Distracted himself. He never cried. (Though he'd blinked quite rapidly when standing near Eva's cooling body. Very rapidly, more than usual.) 'I never-' he said, then stopped. He couldn't speak. Why couldn't he speak? (That was a lie. He couldn't lie.) 'You never WHAT?' Vivienne yelled. The car was going to fast for his liking now. 'Never WHAT, Madoc? Never wanted to talk about them? Yeah, you never DID acknowledge what you did to us.' 'I have you everything, but you never took it.' 'No you didn't. You took what you wanted from my mother and then took even more from the three of us. Took everything from the three of us.' 'Vivienne, please-' 'NO.' she screamed. The car slammed to a halt and Madoc lurched forward. 'Get out.' He blinked. 'What?' 'Get. OUT!' she screamed, blinking back tears. 'I don't know why I took you on. I never win. Just get out and find your way back. I don't care.' He sighed and got out, staring at the car zooming away morosely. And then he realized where he was. The house. The house where it all happened. He grit his teeth. VIVIENNE! Then it hit him-Eva would've done something like that. A silly, lighthearted prank-well, not really, but she would have done it in a lighter manner. He remembered Eva and her reddish brown hair streaming behind her as she squinted her eyes and threw her head back when laughing. She had been a perfect mix of Jude and Taryn-Jude's daring and cunning and Taryn's soft femininity. He knew that he was so dedicated to the twins because they reminded her of him-more specifically Jude, who could have been an adopted Vivienne. His own Vivienne, however, had his eyes and ears, but she also had Eva's brown hair and a lighter shade of her skin. And now Madoc really saw some Eva in Vivienne-her snark, her boldness, her carefree nature. And he wondered how he hadn't seen it before.
Madoc was standing in the house once again, reliving his worst memories-Eva and Justin's deaths. The house where Vivienne had vowed to hate him. The house where Jude had screamed at him and hit him. The house where Taryn had sobbed, shaking her mother's dead body, though Eva would never get up again. It was empty. No one had bought it even after 3 years-the deaths still haunted them. It looked normal-a red plastic FOR SALE was mounted on the lawn and the wind chimes jingled in the comforting breeze. He wondered if ghosts existed. Would Eva and Justin be staring at him with contempt in their eyes? He hesitated, just as he had 3 years ago on that fateful day. Oh, how he wished he had grabbed Vivienne and Eva and ran. Would Justin come after him? Perhaps. But maybe he would take care of his daughters first. Madoc didn't know-Justin had been such a strange man. He didn't want to go inside. He didn't want to relive the bloodstained carpet and smell of wet blood.
He swallowed. He was a redcap. He was brave, and he slept at night knowing that he had killed thousands of soldiers. He could go inside and endure the ghosts of the past. He inhaled, curled his hands into fists and stepped inside. Nothing. It was empty, scrubbed clean, like no one had lived inside it at all. There were ornamental decorations and a pleasant perfume permeated the air. All dressed up to make it look flashy and attractive. Nothing could ever attract Madoc to the house, except for the fact that his daughters had run away. Just like Eva. Just when he had thought that they had begun to like him-they had sat on his lap, eating out of his plate, and played Nine Men's Morris with him. Taryn had stopped flinching every time she saw him, and Jude had smiled at him, even coming to have a somewhat twisted affection for him. Vivienne, of course, had not stopped. The weight of her vow would never leave her, and she had been so angry that she could not speak to them for days. Had she guilt tripped them into leaving? Most probably. Though they loved him somewhat, they would never be able to forget their real parents. The ones that he had murdered right in front of their eyes. Blood on the kitchen floor and the heavy smell of blood. He forced his feet to move, up, down, up, down. Into the kitchen where Eva once lay. Into the backyard where Justin's forge once stood. Into the bedrooms- He stopped, inhaling sharply. The beds were clearly made with gray and yellow covers. The room was airy and sunlit, dust motes dancing in the sunlight. A peaceful, drowsy afternoon. Was this where his daughters had slept? Where they had played with each other? Where they had watched, what did humans call it, TV? Television? Eva had told him of it and he had watched the strange pictures dance across the screen. They had watched it together, she laughing, he not understanding but smiling and playing along. He closed his eyes. He opened them again. Any question of them being here was gone, though they might have come for a brief visit. Were memories too painful for them as well? Footsteps made him spin around. Standing there was a woman, wearing a suit that hinted that she might be a-what had Eva called it-a 'real estate agent', someone who sold property. 'Sir,' she said. 'I don't know what you're doing here, but you need to leave, unless you're a potential buyer. How did you get in here?' He hit her on the side of the head and she crumpled. His heart wildly richocheted and suddenly she was Eva. He had killed another person. He stepped back and fell against the wall, screaming into his bundled cloak. Was she dead? His eyes were wild, his heart pounded as he scrambled to find out. No, Eva, please don't be dead- She had a pulse. She was bleeding, but she would be all right. He couldn't stay here. He had to leave-he barely had a few minutes to go back before he would have to attend a meeting. He took her phone, called the police (911, was it?) gave them directions and then stepped out. Suddenly, he didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay here and drink in the memories of a family, torn apart by him, that he had so desperately tried to put back together. And now that they had run away, he might never be able to. He took the silky black horse back to Elfhame. His memories took the form of knives, stabbing into him as he recalled their painful shapes and colors. They took the form of needles, slowly sliding into him as he silently screamed, feeling the cold, sharp pain of memories upon him.
11 year old Jude looked at Madoc. 'What you want to do is evade the strike.' he said. 'You can't always evade, but it's best to learn how. Your reflexes have to be quick enough-if they strike suddenly, you'll need to jump back and preferably not fall over. I'm going to strike, and you're going to step back.' 'Ok,' she said. He took the sword and struck at her. She screamed and jumped back, tripping over her feet. 'Yes,' he said, smiling slightly. 'That's what you want to avoid.' He would not admit it, but he was growing to love Jude more than Vivienne. She was so like him-fierce, determined, ready to protect her loved ones at all costs. He saw so much of him in her, rather than Vivienne, though he had spent years thinking about the latter and imagining how she could have been if not for her untimely 'death'. Yet it was Jude whom he gravitated to. She had Eva's fierceness, determination and resilience. What he had originally been attracted to. Taryn was also there, yes, but she was more quiet and submissive. It was Jude that he really liked. And it seemed that she growing to love him as well, though she did not feel comfortable with it. He had let her sit on his lap and eat out of his plate, even though he had murdered her parents in front of her own eyes. Jude flushed. 'Sorry.' she said, darting glances at him. 'Um.' 'Let's try again.' He struck at her and this time, she stepped back expertly. 'Good. Now, it's not always good to evade-you're only putting yourself where the blade is not, which might be useful in some situations, but if you want to end the fight, you'll have to strike back. And sometimes, the enemy will be faster than you, or you will tire out and finally be struck. And if you misjudge their timing, you're done for.' She nodded. 'You want to be able to do a simple BLOCK.' he said. 'When your opponent attacks you, you raise your sword and block their thrust. Put the blade between yourself and your attacker. You can also support the blade, like this-' he grasped the blade in one of his hands while holding the hilt with the other. She practiced the block and at the end of an hour, she had mastered it. 'Amazing, Jude! You're a natural.' he said, smiling at her. 'Keep on doing this and you'll be the best swordsman in Faerie.' 'Swordswoman,' she mumbled, then nodded and smiled back at him. One of their mutual interests was sword fighting-well, their strongest mutual interest, actually. They took many lessons outside, sometimes Jude being covered in dirt and sweat after them, much to Oriana's chagrin. Everything was all right now-he might have murdered their parents, but they seemed to have gotten over them and were well adjusted to Elfhame. (Even if they had left for a brief period of time last year. Vivienne had said that they just needed a vacation from Faerie, but Madoc was glad to see that Jude and Taryn were ecstatic to be back. Even if Vivienne was sulky and depressed.) Still, sometimes he felt depressed looking at them. How could he have killed their mother? They were so young, and it had obviously affected them in terrible ways. He wondered if they still cried into their pillows when they slept. Hopefully not. He was delighted with Jude's progress, and, as time passed, hoped to make her into one of the best, if not THE best, swordsman in Elfhame. It was the least he could do, teach her how to survive in Elfhame, for her mother. Eva may not have been a good wife, but he would be a good father to Jude-and to Taryn, and Vivienne. If there was one thing he would do for his dead wife, it would be to raise her daughters in honour and give them a good life. Fate may not have smiled upon him in the Duarte house, but he was in Elfhame, and by the blood crown would he bend it to his will here.
Murderer, 8 year old Jude thought as she looked at the man who had killed their parents.
How long ago had it been? A year, perhaps. Time flew by before she knew it. One year ago her biggest fear had been the math test coming up, and now-well, she would take every math test in the world if it meant going back to her parents and house.
Not this horribly large mansion with its false promises of empty beauty. And the terrifying monster that resided in it.
Her parents' murderer. The smell of wet red blood and splayed limbs on the kitchen floor was burnt into Jude's mind like it had happened yesterday-perhaps always would be.
When she first came here, she had been fully in shock. Taryn and Vivi had wailed, she had been dazed. Now, she was ready to fight-fight for both her sisters, like Vivi who would fight for them. She still cried, but she now drew her sword, eyes narrowed, baring her teeth at Madoc, her mother's former husband.
Vivienne didn't call him father. She said that Justin Duarte was her father, and that Madoc could never live up to him. Madoc's cat eyes flashed, and Taryn shrank, but Jude was glad of Vivi's ferocity and disgust, matching her own.
Madoc sighed as he watched her try to wield her practice sword. For some reason, he had wanted to give her a sword fighting lesson one on one-without her sisters, in front of this monster, Jude felt terrified and stripped bare.
'Adjust your grip,' he said, touching her hand, and she recoiled in horror. He adjusted it himself, then stood back. 'Try again.'
She growled and lunged at the practice dummy. Strike and thrust.
Her practice sword broke in half-she had hit too hard.
'Well,' she said sarcastically. 'I guess that's broken, then.'
'I can see that,' he said. 'Now, cut vertically. Like this,' he said, swishing his blade down, and she flinched and jumped. He drew in a sharp breath, then shook his head.
'I'm sorry,' he said. 'It must have been too soon. Cut vertically.'
She cut her sword vertically down. It was somewhat difficult.
'Practice. Do it again. It will get easier with time, and you must hone your reflexes. You need to know how to jump back without falling and how to duck and roll.' he said.
Maybe if he hadn't killed her parents, she'd be back in the human world, learning normal human things instead of sword fighting.
She missed her parents so hard, it hurt sometimes. A part of her still believed that they might come back, that maybe someone had taken them to the hospital and they were actually alive and they were searching for them.
But wouldn't her parents have found them by now if they were still alive?
'All right, Jude, keep cutting down vertically.' he said. 'Maybe your sister Vivienne will learn the hard way of refusing to learn the ways of Faerie.'
'Don't say that,' Jude snapped at him, then shrank when he looked at her and raised his eyebrows.
'Very well.' he said. 'Keep on practicing, Jude.'
‘NO!’ Vivienne screamed, running away and sobbing. ‘LEAVE ME ALONE, MURDERER!’
Murderer. Madoc’s head pounded. How long ago had it been since his rage and grief controlled his head and actions, thus causing another emotion to seep in-guilt?
But maybe he had already been guilty-guilty that he hadn’t done enough for Eva to want to stay here. He had always been at war, and she had been so young-somewhere in her early twenties. Human aging was confusing.
He took a deep breath and strode towards his daughter. He couldn’t make Eva stay, but he had his daughter now and he was going to make her stay. He’d make her stay and learn how her mother was wrong-she would be his heir, his pride and joy, and she would stay in Elfhame.
He picked her up and pinned her thrashing arms to her sides. Vivienne screeched and he winced. If only Eva were here to control her.
Eva. Another wave of guilt overtook him. How could he have thrown his sword at her back just like that? Justin was another matter entirely (escaping with HIS wife and siring THOSE brats! Hmph). But Eva was their mother, the mother of ALL of them, even those bastards.
(They looked so much like her, though. And Vivienne looked like him. She had his ferocity from his younger days.)
‘Vivienne,’ he said sternly, ‘listen to me. I am your father and you will obey me. Can you not listen to me for once? You are already behind-I will catch you up on the ways of Faerie. You and your sisters.’
‘I HATE YOU!’ she screamed, tears running down her face. ‘MONSTER! KILLER! MURDERER! I HATE YOU SO MUCH YOU KILLED MY PARENTS LEAVE ME ALONE LET ME GO-’
‘SILENCE!’ he roared, and she flinched away from him, trembling in his grasp. She glanced at him and then glanced away, continuing this like a pendulum.
He drew in a sharp breath, looking at her. She was so small, so tiny in his hands-he could hurt her in any way he wanted.
(Just the thought of it made him sick. How could he do that to his own daughter?)
She looked at him, her eyes red and watery, her nose sniffly, her face wet with uncontrollable tears.
She was scared of him. His beautiful young daughter, his baby, his heir, she was afraid of him.
The worst thing was that he was used to it. He knew those flinches, those wide-eyed pendulum glances, those limbs jerked away from him, that shivering. Even Eva had sometimes displayed them, though he had tried to ignore it.
But to have his daughter do it-his sweet, precious daughter that was supposed to have been born in the walls of his mansion, who should have been trained by him from the time she could walk, who should’ve been brought up like a warrior, who should have laughed as she killed with him, a true redcap, yet Eva had run away, and this was the result.
He moved to wipe her nose and she bit his hand. He let go of her with a yell and she dropped from his hands, rolling into a ball on the floor (who taught her that? Eva maybe) and, picking up a vase, threw it at him. It shattered against the floor, dropping before it could reach him. She screamed and ran away again.
He sighed. He was exhausted. He had accidentally ruined his chance at happiness by killing Eva, and now he was stuck with her two bastards. If it had been only Vivienne, it would have been somewhat better, but………..
(Why had he killed her? And what if he had not? Would she escape a second time?)
A thought struck him-what if VIVIENNE tried to escape? She had her mother’s courage and spunk, so the thought of her planning to run away with her sisters was not far off.
No, he couldn’t allow that. (But he did. Three years later. Though thankfully they returned).
‘You’re not my father,’ she snarled at him. ‘Justin Duarte is my father.’
He froze.
Justin Duarte.
The best human smith Faerie had ever seen, once his friend, then his enemy for a brief period of time, before he had died by Madoc’s blade.
He had trusted him, taken his blades, laughed with him.
How had he not seen the signs? Of course, he had been at war for too much time. Of course he had thought that Eva wanted to spend time with Justin because he was another mortal, and wouldn’t she get lonely without her own kind?
She had promised Madoc that she was his bride and his alone. Oh, those sweet words from her honeyed, smiling, full lips.
Mortal words. Ones that he never should have trusted. Mortal vows, so easily broken, like porcelain vases.
And mortals themselves, who would smile and simper and promise, and in the end, they would take what they could and did not care.
How like fairies, only fairies used different methods of manipulation, and then they could be far crueler.
He’d thought Eva was a human-she could have been a faerie, the way she deceived him and took his own daughter from him.
And then Justin, raising her as his own. Horrible man.
(Honourable man, loving his stepdaughter as if she were his own.)
Had Justin ever abused her? No. Had he ever looked down on her for not sharing his blood? No.
Madoc grit his teeth. If Justin could do it, then he could too. After all, they were the progeny of his wife and thus his responsibility.
(Damn responsibility. Sometimes he wanted to fling off its burdens, just let his rage and bloostlust wander freely).
They would receive the same education as his real daughter. They would be claimed and accepted as his own and live in high Fae society and eventually settle down.
(And they did. But did they?)
Justin Duarte is my father, not you.
He looked at her, his eyes cat narrowed. Her eyes were the same and her ears were his. Even her skin was white, unlike his green and her mother’s brown. A mix of human and faerie, both worlds. He had been excited to know what she would like, and then he thought that he would never know. And then he knew, and her face had been distorted with fury and hatred.
She was staring at him fiercely, murderously, like a redcap. He almost laughed-such irony. What he had most wanted her to look like was directed towards him. Oh, Eva.
He sighed. ‘I am sorry, Vivienne.’
She looked at him warily. ‘What?’
‘I am sorry for killing your mother-and your stepfather.’ he said.
She snarled. ‘You mean my father.’
‘No. He was your stepfather. I am your real father. And I should have not killed him-yet my rage took over. One day you too will know the feeling. Though I hope that day will never come for your sake.’
She laughed wildly. ‘It’s too late. They’re dead. They’re dead, and I hate you, and I’ll never love you, and my sisters will never love you, so stop trying.’
‘I don’t expect them to love me,’ he said. (But they did. It was just not a comfortable one.)
‘Good. Because we won’t. And one day, we’re going to leave and never come back.’ she said.
He inhaled sharply. ‘No. You are going to stay here. You are my heir and will obey me.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Like hell I will. I obey no one and do as I please.’
He swallowed and picked her up again. She started screaming and kicking, and he knocked her out. She fell imply in his hands and he sucked in a breath, pausing to make sure that he hadn’t seriously hurt her.
He carried her back to her room, ignoring the surreptious looks from the servants.
He opened the door and stopped.
There were Eva’s other children-her twin daughters, huddling under the covers. One looked at him, eyes wide with terror, while the other, the one who had kicked him after he had killed Eva and Justin, glared at him, burning anger concealing white hot fear. Both of their faces were like hers. They were wet with tears like his daughter’s.
He walked over to the bed and they scrambled away from him, screaming when they saw Vivienne lying unconscious.
‘What did you do to her?’ the angry one screamed.
‘She’s unconscious right now. She’ll wake up later.’ he said gruffly.
He deposited her on the bed and turned to leave. At the last moment, he stopped, his hand on the door handle.
‘I am sorry, children,’ he said to them. ‘Sorry for taking away your parents when you so desperately needed them. But know that I will make it up. I will claim you as my own and you will be raised as High Fae.’
He would do it-he could raise them, his daughter-daughters. Eyebrows would raise, mouths would whisper, but he was the High General and he could bear it for their sake. He would sacrifice for them if need be.
He would do it for Eva and Justin, for he owed it to them-they had wanted to raise their children peacefully and he disrupted it, but now he would do the same. Maybe he could find a wife to teach them what he could not-the social customs and methods of Faerie, the intricacy and delicacy and finesse that he was so lacking in.
‘All right.’ he muttered. ‘Eva and Justin, this is for you. Here I go-to becoming a new, determined father.’
Was Vivienne ever aggressive like Madoc? That her redcap nature, though somewhat tempered by her human nature, played a role in her pre-Elfhame childhood? Was that why their parents and the other adults were so worried, apart from the cat eyes and fairy ears? Do you think that Eva saw Madoc in Vivienne's eyes and shrank from her? What about Justin? Do you think that they homeschooled her to keep themselves safer? Do you think that she was angry and ferocious at Madoc, then saw that he liked it, then tried to calm down and be nicer and go against her fiery nature and not learn battle strategies and swordplay in order to displease him?