Drage Herrogard

Estrella clutched her fists at her sides as she listened to Valcan's explanation. "For some reason I'm having a hard time believing you," she replied quietly, her voice hinting of anger although having lost its potency. "In fact, why should I believe you at all? You told me before I even jumped into this whole guardianship thing- which I didn't really have any prior knowledge about- that you weren't one. In fact, you showed Kale and me that your arms were bare! Why the reason for hiding it from me?"

She knew well enough why he would hide it, and hoped that she wasn't jumping to conclusions. She stepped forward a bit closer, waiting fervently upon his answer. Her gaze was locked to his, trying to find some hint of a lie in them- something she could fuel the fire with.
 
Sarah touched Valcan's shoulder, then spoke to help back up the story. "He is telling the truth. When we were a couple before, when your Uncle Lief and Aunt Daisy were in school and your father was just out, I reacted horribly to the discovery of the Mark as well as you. He had forgotten to put the disillusionment charm on it one morning and I discovered it. Could you imagine what it would look like if that was discovered at the Ministry? I was not about to be involved with a man who was or is a Death Eater and I left your Bestefar to return to Gilderoy. I could not get past the fact of the kind of man he was, not who he is now." She smiled down at Valcan from where she stood. "We could have been happy together this whole time and not have caused issues for our children." She took Valcan's left hand in her right, rubbing over the Mark with her left. "If I had accepted the fact that he was no longer involved with them, we would have been able to have a longer relationship than we did." She put forth a face of regret to Estrella, knowing full well they did not split before because of her fear of his Mark -- but because he was still married and he no longer had use of her.
 
Valcan's jaw was taut as he listened to his granddaughter, quite fortunate to have Sarah to back him up. This would be much more difficult if she wasn't here. He nodded, grasping to her hand gently as she traced her finger over the mark. Sarah of course had not left him because of the Mark, but what Estrella didn't know would not hurt her.

"You have to understand, Estrella- I was young and stupid when I joined up. I knew as soon as I had that I would have to get out- I was not much older than you, in fact." Which of course was untrue, he had been about twenty seven when he had gotten it but that was irrelevant. "My parents kicked me out of the Herrogard until I cleaned up. Which i did. I had a bad crowd of friends. I realized that it was not the lifestyle I wanted to lead. I wanted to have a family, and above all respect in society. Which is exactly why you did not know about it before- I can't have something like that visible in public. It would ruin my reputation as Minister and probably cost me my job."

He looked up fondly at Sarah. "And what she says was true. Do you think, if I had driven her away, that I could have you, above all people, knowing that I had been involved in the group at one time? You had been through enough. I did not want to burden you with anymore of the rather unfortunate things that have happened to you over the past few years. It was the only option I had to keep you away from your father. I could not bear to see any more of my family succumb to that group. I had already lost your father and Sam. I could not lose anyone else."

He smiled. "But then I have to ask you this- have I ever, in this whole course of time, done anything to harm you? Anything to contradict your well being?" He searched Estrella's face for any emotion other than anger, wondering how she would take this all in. How she would respond.
 
By this point Estrella had moved over to sit in a chair, a bit overwhelmed by both the accounts of her grandfather and the woman he was with. Could she have overreacted after all? People changed over time. Was this the same thing with Valcan? Was he really just looking out for her best interests? Was Sarah as well? She knew it would be easier to just believe him, not to cause any more problems. Her life over the breaks so far had been a giant fiasco and she wanted absolutely nothing more to do with it. Would it be too much to cast aside her doubts and go to sleep without worrying about incessant matters? Surely, there were those Death Eaters who had reformed. What had compelled him to join in the first place? Sarah only helped to solidify Estrella's nagging belief that she had jumped to conclusions, and reacted without finding out the real facts first.

"No, you haven't," she murmured quietly, feeling like a complete arse. Valcan had provided for her with a better opportunity to escape the reach of those he had joined up with and what had she given back to him? She had lied to him and accused him of the exact opposite.

Guilt consuming her, tears broke from her eyes, starting out slowly and then becoming a steady flow. She wanted it to stop but she couldn't. She was very tired of everything. The secrets, the shady business. And on top of that, her father refused to talk to her, had rejected her as smoothly as if she were a common solicitor. She was embarrassed for crying, felt like quite a little kid in fact but couldn't get up and go somewhere else.
 
Sarah squeezed Valcan's hand, then let go to cross the room to where the girl sat down. She knelt down next to her chair and pulled forth her best Grandmother actions. "Estrella, I know what you are feeling like. Well, somewhat. I remember the feeling of betrayal that I had when I first found out. I could not get past it. I want you to not lose time like I did. Take time and think about all of this, but I really hope that you can trust that your Bestefar is not the same man that he was as a foolish boy." She placed her hand on Estrella's shoulder. "And if you need to talk, I am here for you. I can help." She hoped that she came off as concerned and not pushy. She knew that trust was important for her love to build here and felt the need to help any way she could.
 
Feeling quite the baby Estrella wiped away the tears with her shirtsleeve, moisture still welling around her eyes, the little makeup that she had had around them smeared. She was fifteen years old, she was not supposed to be acting like this. And especially around two people of such high esteem, or as they appeared to be. This made her even more angry at herself, sobering as she looked to Sarah.

She listened to the woman's kind words, soaking them up like a sponge. But she did not deserve them. She had behaved erratically and would just have to deal with it. A part of her told her that she had not been irrational- but another was screaming at her to grow up. If Valcan was a Death Eater, which he didn't seem to be, she would just have to get over that fact. She couldn't go telling tales on her family like an idiot nark.

She shuddered a bit as Sarah put her hand on her shoulder, smiling at her weakly. While it was in the spread of her lips it was not in her eyes. "Thanks," she stated quietly, her voice trailing off. She could not even bring herself to look at her grandfather. Could she trust him? Possibly not. But it was a better option than her father, and in any case she needed to be able to trust somebody. She had managed to stay cool at school for the whole of last term, even though it was largely a matter of outside and inside factors. She hoped that something like this wouldn't drag her down again. No, it couldn't. If she started acting weird people would hate her again, draw away from her.
 
Sarah leaned over and picked up one of Estrella's hands. "It has been a long day, and a shocking evening. Why don't I help you up to your room and you can sleep on things. I think things will be much clearer for you once you have had a chance to think." She smiled at Valcan lovingly. "I will meet you upstairs in a bit. I want to escort Estrella to her room." She then looked down at Estrella again with a smile. "Come dear, we can talk along the way if you wish."
 
Estrella stood up slowly, nodding at Sarah. She was only able to steal a quick glance at her grandfather; there was no way she was making eye contact. The woman was very right about it being a shocking, stressful evening. Most of her initial anger having melted away she now realized how incredibly tired she was. She was more than willing to just go to bed.

Waiting for Sarah to lead her out of there the fifteen year old girl knew she had a lot to think about. Shame kept her gaze away from her grandfather, and she didn't know if things were going to be normal again. As normal as they could be anyways.
 
Valcan watched as his granddaughter broke down, deciding not to intervene. He had never been one to comfort children. The old man knew very well that it would not be a good idea for him to try and console her. And on top of that, he was not quite understanding of what she was going through; the only thing that mattered to him was that her suspicions would go away. He may be acting most of the time while she was around but his coldness was still there.

"Good idea. Good night, Estrella," he knew that he would not get a retort for that but no one could say that he hadn't made the effort. Snapping open his book again he began to scan it, sighing quietly. That had been a rather close one. He would have to be more careful from now on. He had taken note that Estrella would not look at him but he figured that she was angrier at herself than she was at him.
 
Sarah lead the girl out to the hallway and up the stairs to the wing where her room was located. She watched her carefully, but maintained silence, wanting the other to lead the way on this. Sarah knew this was a huge problem, and could be potentially dangerous to the precarious situation that Valcan had with Estrella, they had discussed this very issue at one point in time. She played her part to a tee, and knew that Valcan would have nothing but praise for her. As they approached the door to the bedroom suite, Sarah snapped her fingers to make a house elf appear.

"Please bring Miss Estrella a pot of chamomile tea and a warm pack," she ordered, then dismissed the elf with a wave of her hand.

Again alone, she turned to the child and spoke gently. "I know this has been stressful and frightening, but you need to have your rest. The tea will help to relax you and the warm pack will help you to sleep. On nights when your Bestefar is away for business, I sleep with a pack. It really helps the bed to be warm and cozy and your tension to just float away." She smiled, hoping to convey the sincerity that she was speaking with. Valcan left a large gap to fill when he was gone for the night, figuratively and literally. The elves created a snuggleable, rice-fulled sack that helped her to sleep when she was alone. The warmth held for hours.

Sarah moved toward Estrella and gave her a hug as they reached her door. "Your tea will be hear shortly, dear. If you need anything, please call for me." She then touched the girl's shoulder and gave her a knowing look before she turned and began to walk back to Valcan.
 
Estrella followed Sarah, attempting to hold her head high. The tears had dried onto her face by now, leaving behind a rather odd film on her skin. Getting it off was not her first priority however. She felt that Sarah was being too nice to her, especially after the way she had acted. The Ravenclaw girl felt that she did not deserve it. She knew it was odd but she would feel a lot better if she had been given a tongue lashing. She appreciated Sarah's willingness to make her comfortable but on the same token it made her feel even more cruddy.

She had never been a fan of tea but she knew that drinking it usually made one feel better, no matter the rather bitter taste. Giving Sarah a weak smile, she trailed her to her room, listening the woman's instructions. Yes, sleep sounded incredibly nice. She really had no idea what a warm pack was, but she was willing to try anything that was going to relieve tension. Something that could make her pressing guilt go away would be incredible too.

"Okay, I will if I need anything," the younger girl stated, opening her door and slipping into her room. Not having been around many female influences lately in her life she was not accustomed to Sarah's gesture, although it comforted her all the same. Sarah quite reminded her of her own muggle grandmother- whom she had not seen for an incredibly long time. She knew then that she liked the woman, even if she was not sure what to think of her grandfather.

She shut the door behind her quietly, sliding into her pajamas and crawling onto her bed. Soon, one of the house elves had brought her her tea and warm pack. She sipped at it, burning her tongue just a bit. Setting it onto the nightstand she clutched the warm pack tentatively, smirking to herself at the feel. Feeling incredibly like a child with a favorite teddy bear she soon fell into a rather untroubled slumber. It was nice for once to sleep as if she was five.
 
Valcan flipped through his book, quite anticipating Sarah's return. He had had a rather fulfilling day, and he was quite glad that this late night fiasco was pretty much sorted out. He couldn't have Estrella go telling tales on him, whether she believed his story or not. He could not uproot his position at the Ministry or in society. He sighed as he attempted to concentrate on the text on the page but he was becoming rather tired, the words blurring together. The old man wondered if he needed reading glasses- though he would be damned if he ever were to wear them. Sitting prostrate in his chair, he sipped at the glass of wine that Persephone had brought for him. His thoughts were now dwelling on Christmas, and when he and Sarah would bring their grandchildren their presents. He was particularly fond of them. It probably helped that the two were his only legitimate grandchildren.
 
Sarah had not heard Valcan walk up the stairs, so she headed back down to the library. As she entered the room, she smiled, seeing her love relaxing in the chair with his glass of wine. She crossed the room lithely, and settled herself back onto his lap. Quietly and quickly, Sarah took his face in her hands and kissed him passionately.
 
A wide smirk etched its way onto Valcan's face as he recognized Sarah, receiving her with much enthusiasm. "My my. I figured you could act well, but that was quite spectactular," he murmured into her lips as he held her in his lap. He was quite glad for the end of the day, when he could forget about politics and everything else that was plaguing his mind.
 
Sarah smiled as she kissed her love. "Why thank you darling. I hope she believed us." She kissed him back, her hands snaking up into his luxurious hair.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top