AN: I love this movie. :) I've been watching it for years, and I bought it on iTunes a while ago, so it's on my iPod and goes with me everywhere. Finally decided that I needed to write a fic for it. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the movie The Reckoning. I do not own the characters of the movie The Reckoning.
Missed and Not Forgotten
The only sound that echoes out over the grassy knolls and moss-laden rocks of the misty expanse is the steady and rather irritating squeak of the cart's old and rundown wheels. The occasional wisp of the whip flipping back and forth between the mules keeps the small troupe's thoughts from wandering too far. But with everything that has happened, everything that has been lost, no one is quite sure how to push the memories from their minds.
The two sit side by side, brother and sister, neither saying a word – neither having to. It's been days since Nicholas' death, days since Lord De Guise murdered their dear and beloved friend. None of them have said more than two words to one another since then, none of them have dared break the silence of mourning. Only one of them has the right. And the question is: who?
He speaks first.
"You were in love with him."
Her pursed lips say it all. Yes, she loved him. Yes, she would have done anything for him. Yes, she would have married him had he only asked . . . had he only loved her back.
She's seen him – Martin – when they stop to make camp and everyone else is asleep. He sits and he stares at Nicholas' pale, sunken face all night. He refuses to bury him, not yet. Not until they reach someplace safe, someplace Nicholas would want to be buried. Martin doesn't know where, none of them do. He only understands that when they reach that place, he will know.
Because she's also seen the heartache in his eyes, not for the loss of a friend or a brother. She feels the same heartache. She knows the pain that's settled in his stomach, the void that's been left by Nicholas' absence.
"So were you." Her words are barely spoken, hidden behind bated breath and unshed tears. But he hears them, and his grip on the rope tightens. He'd hoped she hadn't noticed. He didn't want her to know, to get her heart broken. He was foolish to think her so ignorant.
"I miss him," he whispers. She nods ever-so slightly.
"He is missed," she states confidently, her wide, all-seeing eyes focused on her white-knuckled fists. "He will always be missed."
He is quiet for a moment, contemplating her words. "And he will always be remembered," he adds with a nod of his own. "We will make sure of that." They spare each other a knowing glance before the silence resumes and their journey continues.
AN: That's it for me. Hope you liked. Later, Gators! Catch you on the flip side.