Chapter 25 Revenge and Wounds Still Aching
Ermelian knocked on Rachelle's door, brown eyes glittering with malice. A small smile twisted on her pretty face, as she felt victory about to happen.
Oh yes, she would pay. For all of Ermelian's suffering, the commoner whore would pay.
She wasn't even on here legally; she only came here on charity. She came here on charity and she took advantage of that!
The more she thought about it, the angrier and more determined she got.
This whore was the reason why Cleon acted the way he did; this whore stole him from his wife. Her payment was going to suit her crime.
She answered. ''Hello,'' she said.
She obviously doesn't recognize me. Ermelian realized this with a flash of anger.
''Hello,'' she said. Her lips curled up in the smile of malice she had perfected over the years.
Rachelle's smile immediately vanished, and replaced by a look of instinctive fear.
''Do you know who I am?'' she asked.
Rachelle shook her head.
''The reason you're going to have to leave Kennan,'' she said, ''or no, you're the reason you're leaving here.''
''I don't understand.''
''Think twice the next time before you fuck another woman's husband,'' Ermelian said.
''But I wasn't...''
''Specifically if that woman is the lady of whose fief you're at.''
Rachelle looked at her through wide eyes. ''I didn't...''
''You have until tomorrow morning.''
''Please, I have a daughter...''
''This fief won't be hurting from one less common bastard.''
Rachelle looked as if she was slapped. Her eyes lost their look of fear, and were replaced by one of fiery anger. Yet there was nothing she could say; saying anything would do nothing to help her.
Knowing this, Rachelle's smug smile increased. ''Good day,'' she said, before leaving.
Meanwhile, Neal approached Liam. He didn't know what to say, because Liam's grief felt different from Kel's. He knew he had to try to help his uncle, though.
Liam had just come in the night before. Neal noticed a great difference in Liam from the last time he saw him. His hair was almost completely gray, and numerous wrinkles lined his face. When asked questions, he gave terse, one-word answers with a distant tone.
Neal found Liam sitting on a log in the middle of the forest. He wasn't crying, but he might as well have been. The look on his face was distant and darkened with his grief. His grief, Neal knew, had not lessened in all of the months after Dom's death, a fact that had not surprised Neal considering the intensity of his emotions.
''Uncle Liam?'' Neal approached his uncle tentatively.
The distant and sad look on Liam's face left and he forced a small smile. ''Hello, Neal.''
There was a brief pause.
''Come on over here,'' Liam said, moving over to make space for his nephew.
Neal walked over to his uncle, and sat down next to him.
''Beautiful day, isn't it?'' Liam asked.
Neal then looked at the scene around them, at animals blissfully doing their usual daily business. Nothing out of the ordinary had occurred for them; the majority of them had not received a major upset in the last few months. With a certain bitterness, Neal supposed there was a certain beauty in that.
''Yes,'' Neal said, ''it is.''
The silence that came was louder and more revealing than any words they could have said then. Grief once again shadowed and distanced Liam from Neal; Liam said nothing, yet he said everything. Neal felt the grief that he had felt these past few months well back up within him.
''I miss him, too,'' Neal said with a hoarse and raspy, looking down.
Liam looked at him, and Neal briefly saw just all the grief that Liam still held inside.
And then, Liam fell apart. He uttered forth a choked cry of despair, and it was one of the most heartbreaking things Neal had ever heard. He then started to sob- violent, uncontrollable, and loud sobs that shook his being.
Neal did what came to him naturally; he wrapped his arms around his uncle.
''Why?'' he asked, ''Why did he have to go? Why did the gods choose to take my son?''
''Because of Kel.'' This came unbidden from Neal, before he could stop it. Kel was always in the back of his mind; saying her name came naturally to him.
Neal thought that this comment was going to force a barrier between them. Instead, Liam broke from Neal's embrace and turned to him, with thunderclouds imbedded in his eyes.
''Then why would the gods take the life of a pregnant woman?'' he asked, ''Why would they force my son to lose his life, to save a life that shouldn't even be on the line? Why wouldn't they at least let her get him to safety?''
Neal didn't answer. He knew that there was no rational answer for any of these questions and that, even if there was, Liam couldn't be see reason.
''Why?'' Liam asked a final time. The thunderclouds faded from his eyes and transformed into a rainstorm.
''I wish I knew,'' Neal said, feeling a raindrop of his own fall from his eye.
Later, when Neal did visit Kel, he could not think of anything else except of his encounter with his uncle.
Kel could tell something was wrong; Neal was reserved and distant.
''My uncle came,'' Neal told her.
''Liam?'' she asked.
''Yeah.''
Kel was confused. Was he upset about his uncle's presence? Why? It seemed that they got along pretty well.
''He's still pretty upset over Dom's death.''
Kel looked away. ''I am, too...''
''I know,'' Neal said, ''but he's still... I'm worried about him. I don't think it's healthy to grieve that much for that long.''
Kel didn't know what to say.
''Maybe you could come over to Queenscove,'' Neal suggested. ''It might help him.''
''Yes,'' Kel said, ''it might.''
Silence followed.
''I want to see him, Neal,'' she said finally, ''I haven't seen him since...''
''I know,'' Neal said, ''since the funeral.''
Kel nodded. ''Yeah,'' she said, ''since the funeral.''
''I'll talk to my father about you coming over.''
Okay, so basically Kel will visit Liam soon (I was hoping for a better ending, sorry about the lame one). Hopefully, she'll make him better. I was hoping to update Telling Neal soon but the next scenario is not even halfway done ( although it IS Election Day tomorrow, so maybe I'll get a lot accomplished). For any of you who might know what Criminal Minds is, I'm posting a oneshot of Tobias' point of view during Revelations. I've just been hooked to that TV show by my friend. Anyway, so please read and review and I will try to update soon.