Guilty Conscience

[Annalie Darkhart]

Annalie had made a decision, she had woken up in the middle of the night with a start and this time it wasn't even for her baby Mikki. Over the last little while she had been thinking more and more about her family, and the circumstances around her leaving. She had been experiencing feelings of guilt, something she hadn't felt for a very, very long time. After the fighting that had gone down between her and Cashlin, Annalie had sworn to cut ties and never go back. But now after becoming a mother herself she was beginning to understand how her mother would have thought when she had said what she had said all those years ago. Annalie wasn't at all sorry for the events leading up to getting kicked out, she still felt totally justified in how she acted with that brat Tamalia. But she was beginning to feel bad for swearing at her mother and storming out of her life. So dressing her kids as cute as they would allow she headed out to her old family home.

Walking up the path holding Aurelia's hand she felt a twinge of homesickness looking at her old family home. It hadn't changed much in the last 10 years or so. Adjusting the car seat holding the sleeping bundle that was her youngest daughter Annalie took a deep breath. Her hands were clammy, and her heart was pounding. She didn't want to feel like this. The feeling of guilt that she was experiencing was both unusual and uncomfortable. Putting her hand on her eldest daughters shoulder she pushed her slightly in front of her as somewhat of a shield. Hoping the presence of her kids would distract her mother long enough to defuse the situation. Trying to put a smile on her face, though it probably looked more like a grimace she knocked on the door, waiting with bated breath.​

 

[Aurelia Darkhart]

Aurelia Darkhart was tired. It was as simple as that, she had been woken up early after a night of being woken up by her baby sister, and being put in her "cutest" dress was not helping. Her mother thought she looked cute in the pink floaty dress but it was Aurelia's least favourite. It was tight and scratchy and couldn't sit down without scrunching up in some unflattering way. The ten year old couldn't even understand why they were even going to her grandmother's house. From what Aurelia understood about her mother's family they had kicked her out for basically no reason. But she had to do what she was told. Following her mother a few steps behind she huffed and moaned as she went, making her point that she didn't want to be there. It was too early, she was tired and uncomfortable and from what she understood this part of the family was awful. Her mother and her baby sister was the only family she needed. She didn't need any of these other people and neither did her mum. She had proved time and time again that she was a great single mum of two kids and Aurelia thought that this was a huge mistake coming here. Stopping at the front door she crossed her arms and frowned as her mother pushed her in front. She knew what her mother was doing and it annoyed her. Aurelia rolled her eyes and waited for the door to open.​

 

[Tate Darkhart]

Tate had been having a good day thus far. After graduating, he returned home and had been there since. The young man adored his parents, which was evident by numerous family photos depicting several times in his life. Of course, there were pictures of his sisters, but all that included Annalie had been removed long ago by his mother, to be stored in a place that the nineteen year old did not know. He had never thought to ask his father, as Annalie had disappeared from his life before he even started school. He hasn't had the chance to get to know her beyond her failures and poor choices - it wasn't the best impression to grow up with, or the best shadow to live under. Fortunately, he had worked his entire life to prove to his parents that they were good parents - the best, in fact, and their adopted son loved them dearly.

His father was out and Tate was house minding for him. Them living together wasn't awkward at all, he felt. His mother's death was hard on everyone, and the young man didn't want his father to be alone, nor did he want to be alone himself. He was studying magizoology in his spare time and hoping to make a career of it eventually, though he knew that such a thing was very difficult. Once alerted that there was a visitor, he closed his books on the dining room table and took a quick sip of his juice before going to answer it. Not expecting visitors, he wandered over with some confusion, and pulled open the door without any preparation. He was met with a vaguely familiar face - his sister had changed somewhat, and he was so young when he last saw her. It was also hard to imagine her with children. Were they his niblings? "Annalie?" he stammered, eyes wide. "What are you doing here?"
​

 

[Annalie Darkhart]

Annalie was taken aback when a semi-familiar face had answered the door. It took her a beat to put a name to the face. Tate, if she remembered rightly. Her parent's had adopted him when she was in her 6th year of Hogwarts. She almost visibly winced at the thought of that place. She hadn't seen Tate since he was eleven and here he was basically grown up. Shaking her head slightly to collect her thoughts, she wasn't really hear to play catch up with another of her parents adoptions but to keep it polite Annalie put her hand on Aurelia's shoulder to stop her hands shaking. "Hi Tate." she grinned sheepishly, "Come now, is that anyway to greet your sister?" she joked. Trying to stop it from becoming too overwhelmingly awkward of a situation. "I'm here to catch up with the family and introduce you all to my kids." she said looking down at the top of Mikki's head, thankfully she was still sleeping away peacefully. The carrier was starting to make her arm hurt from holding to her side for so long and she adjusted her grip again. "So can I come in? How is everyone? Is Mum around? I... uh have somethings to say to her." she said biting her lip knowing that it was going to be one very weird tense apology, but she was keen to get it over and done with.​

 

[Aurelia Darkhart]

Aurelia tapped her foot impatiently. This was boring. Looking up when the door opened she cocked her head in confusion. This didn't look like her grandfather, he was far too young, younger than her mother in fact. Frowning she tried to recall if her mother had mentioned anyone else, she knew of Aimee and of the various cousins she had, Í guess I'll be meeting them too someday.' Aurelia thought to herself rolling her eyes. Aurelia shook her mums hand off her shoulder, she was gripping it too tight to be comfortable. "Who are you?" she asked bluntly interrupting the conversation, she caught the name Tate but she still didn't know who he was to the family. If she was to be here and putting up with this she at least wanted to know who she was putting up with. Before he could answer Annalie had answered her question for him. He was a brother? Her mum had never mentioned a brother which she found odd. Squirming Aurelia looked up at her mum. "I need to go to the bathroom." she announced quickly slipping past Tate and into the house, she was sure she could find it and it was heading towards being an emergency. She was sure Tate wouldn't mind, besides the alternative was much, much worse. Looking around she began opening doors looking for the bathroom and stumbled across a few bedrooms and a hallway closet before finding the bathroom. She slipped in and shut the door.​

 

[Tate Darkhart]

Tate wasn't sure what the protocol was right now. His - their mother was dead. He told himself repeatedly that he was over it, but he wasn't sure anyone ever could get over the death of a loved one. At least he had moved on to the point where he could wander around and talk about her without becoming upset, but seeing as this would all be very new to his sister, he doubted it would be as easy. "Oh-" He sighed quietly, from relief, as Annalie's daughter interrupted them. "I'm your uncle," he answered quietly, loathing the fact that he would eventually have to explain the absence of Cashlin soon. They were interruped again by Aurelia looking for a bathroom. He called out the location after she had barged her way past him, and she eventually found it, and he was once again looking back at his sister.

Slightly dumbfounded, he opened the door further for her, and finally allowed her into the house. "Sit in the lounge room," he advised, guiding her through even though not much had changed. "Dad's out shopping," he tacked on at the end, purposefully not mentioning their mother. "Do you want something to drink?"
​

 

[Annalie Darkhart]

Annalie couldn't stop herself rolling her eyes at Aurelia's outbursts. She was her daughter after all and she had her confidence and personality. But at least she was making sure she wasn't going to have an accident. Following Tate into the house she looked around, not a lot had changed in last 10 years though there were more photos around than she remembered, her mother was always one for putting photos up everywhere. She could see photos of all the family together, even the extended family, all the cousins, and more little kids she didn't recognise, she really had been away for a long time. Aimee and Tate were smiling at her from the hallway, as were Cashlin and Moriarty but there was something missing, there wasn't a single photo of her. She knew she had left under terrible circumstances but it still made her heart pang to see that she wasn't anywhere. It was like they had all forgotten her.

Following Tate to the lounge she sunk down onto the sofa and pulled Mikki who was starting to rouse from her carrier and held her in her arms, rocking her gently and mummering to her. Annalie nodded, acknowledging the absence of Moriarty in the house. "I'll just have some water thanks, oh and can you heat this up?" she asked pulling a bottle of milk out for Mikki, sometimes being unable to do magic sucked, and now was one of those moments. "So where's mum?"​

 

[Aurelia Darkhart]

Aurelia finishing up in the bathroom wandered the house. She could hear Tate and her mother talking and it sounded boring and exploring the house sounded far more interesting. She went back to the bedrooms she had passed earlier poking her head around the door to make sure their was no one in them before slipping in and looking around. The first one she came across looked like a generic spare bedroom nothing interesting at all. The next appeared to be Tate's, as he was home Aurelia only had a quick look before opening the hallway closet again. It was filled with all sorts of bits and pieces. She spotted a really nice old hand bag and pulled it down off the shelf to take a closer look but the bag strap was hooked around a box and she managed to pull that down on top of her as well. It opened and bits of paper and stuff went everywhere. "Damn!" she hissed quickly all the loose bits together and trying to make it fit back into the box again. Her mother's name on one of the bits of paper caught her eye and she stopped to read it, even though she knew she probably shouldn't. It looked interesting and she hoped Tate and Annalie wouldn't miss her and she could take a look at all this stuff.​

 

[Tate Darkhart]

With the topic of his mother plaguing his mind, he completely forgot Aureliawas off on her own in the house. He went to the kitchen to fetch her some water, trying to think of ways to break their mother's death to her delicately. He poured himself a glass and took a swig before going back out, and joining her in the lounge room. He returned to her the now warmed bottle, and placed her cup on the coffee table, whilst his own was turned between his hands as he thought. "Um... it's been a while," he began, looking at Annalie cautiously. "Your children are beautiful, by the way. Dad will be chuffed to see them, I'm sure." He had beat around the bush long enough - he had to tell her someday.

"Mum isn't with us anymore," he explained, taking another sip of his drink as he throat began to dry. "She died, a couple years ago after my graduation. It was quick apparently, painless. I'm not sure how that makes things easier, but um..." He didn't know what else to say. He didn't know his mother's thoughts, whether she had forgiven Annalie or not - and he wasn't in the business of lying, either. "I'm sorry this is how you had to find out."
​

 

[Annalie Darkhart]

Annalie took the bottle from Tate and positioned Mikki so she could drink it. Annalie took her glass from the coffee table and took a sip before replacing it. Realising she hadn't formally introduced her kids to Tate she smiled and adjusted Mikki, "Thanks, Aurelia is ten and Mikki here is just 6 months." she hadn't planned on being a mum but now that it had happened it was probably the best thing that could have happened. She had been on a downward spiral since her expulsion but she had something to work towards with them and with Aurelia about to start school she couldn't help but be proud of how she had done raising her.

At Tate's next words Annalie froze. Unsure of whether she had heard him right. Cashlin couldn't be dead, it wasn't fair Annalie had come all this way to make it up to her mum, to apologize and make things right. Show her mother that she had brought up some fantastic kids, the eldest of which had Cashlin as one of her middle names. Mikki pushing away the bottle and squirming pulled Annalie back into the present. She held her to her chest and rubbed her back as Mikki snuggled into her neck. "A couple of years ago..." she repeated in a hollow voice. "Did no one think to try and get a hold of me?!" her eyes misting over and her voice cracking. "I was only in England I'm sure an owl would have found me." Annalie couldn't believe that her mother was gone. Surely this was some kind of sick and twisted joke to make up for all the terrible things she had said all those years ago, things she now couldn't take back. But in her heart she knew even though they never had much to do with each other Tate wouldn't lie to her like that. He wasn't like her. Tears started falling down her cheeks. She could never say sorry.​

 

[Aurelia Darkhart]

Aurelia was finding the things in the box very interesting, more and more of it seemed to about her mother. Picking up the box she wandered out of the hallway closet and followed the voices, "Mum, why is there a bunch of your stuff hidden in the closet?" she asked before stopping dead at the sight in front of her. Her mother was crying. Her mother never cried. The young girl couldn't recall a time that Annalie had ever cried in front of her and yet here she was. Her face turned into a scowl and turned to Tate, as the only one in the room he had to have done something "What did you do to my mum?!" she demanded locking eyes with him before moving over to the couch and clambering onto it not caring about her dress as she wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and buried her head into her side the box of interesting stuff left discarded on the coffee table. Aurelia wasn't good with crying but she knew that Mikki liked it when she got hugs when she was sad so surely her mum would like it too. "Are you okay mum?" she asked cautiously not wanting to upset her any further.​