Killian was sitting watching Alice play. She kept running around the tower, very narrowly avoiding most of the furniture. She ran over to him.
"Papa, play with me!" She ran off laughing as Killian stood up to chase her. He ran around behind her, her far faster than he'd been in years. Her laughter was infectious, he started to laugh too.
He finally caught up with her. They'd been running in circles. That's the best they could do.
"You're it, Starfish." He ran off. Not really very far or all that fast..he was much more careful of hid surroundings than his young daughter. Alice managed to catch him, her laughter echoicing on the stone walls.
"You win you win. I surrender," Killian told her throwing his hands up in mock surrender and pretending to colapse into a seating position on the floor. Alice laughed and bounced excitedly. She was having fun.
Alice ran off and grabbed something else. She wanted to but there were plenty of other games and toys in the tower.
She ran back with a ball. Killian knew most kids were asked not to run around in the house. But he couldn't make that a rule. If he did Alice wouldn't be allowed to run at all, same with throwing thw ball inside.
"Aye, that looks fun," Killian said when he saw what Alice had brought back.
"Can we play catch?"
"Aye, starfish."
Killian pulled himself off the stone floor he'd sat down on after his loss at their most recent game of tag.
Alice tossed the ball to him and he caught it. Or he did the best he could at that task with his one hand. It wouldn't do to impale the toy with his hook. But he was a strong man, feared for centuries He could catch a ball.
They kept playing and eventually Alice threw the ball and it went further then she'd intended. Landing perilously on the edge of the windowsill.
"I'vd got it!" Alice had a lot of energy and offered to retrieve her ball. She ran over to the windowsill and reached for it, stretching her small frame over the edge of the windowsill she could get near. She grabbed at the ball and bumped into it, accidentally pushing it over the edge. Thr ball fell. She couldn't go outside. She could try, but it would only make the barrier whir it's reminder that she was trapped.
"Papa," Killian turned and saw that the ball was no longer where he thought it had landed.
He looked over in the areas that had been behind him.
"It went outside," Alice's voice deflated. She couldn't go outside. Her and papa had been having fun. And one mistep ruined it.
Killian heard the tone his dsughter's voice fell into as she pointed out her toy wasn't easily retrievable. He hated their situation. His daughter had been playing just like any other kid would have and all it'd taken was the smallest thing to remind her that she was trapped. She wanted her ball back. And she couldn't simply run and get it like she'd been trying to do.
"I can go get it," Killian offered. He felt guilty. Alice should have been playing with her ball outside. His biggest worry should have been that she'd trip on some part of nature. But instead they'd had no choice but to play inside and now he jad to worry about leaving her alon while he retrieved a toy she had no way to get to. And he couldn't promise himself she'd be okay. Couldn't promkse himself the witch wouldn't return tontry to hurt her in thr time he was at the base of the tower.
"Aye, but I don't want to play any more."
"Okay, I will be right back," Killian promised his daughter that much. He hated leaving her. Hated letting her out of his sight for even a few seconds..sometimes he had no choice but he did his best to avoid it when possible. He went and rrtrieved the ball as quickly as he could. This situation wasn't fair. Je'd explaimed the conxept of the word fair to his child far sooner then he ever should have had to..her life had been betrayed from the start. He blamed himself sometimes. It was hard not to..
He reentered the tower to Alice sitting near the windowsill waitong on him.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, stsrfish. What'd you want to do now?" He wanted to cheer her up. He knew there were lots of things that made her happy but so many of them ended in her being cruely reminded that she was trapped.
Alice shrugged.
"I know, I knlw it's it's not fsir. I will find a way tonget you out of here, eventually."
"Eve tually?" Alice didn't pronounce the word anywhwre near close to correctly, being a ylung child besring it maybe for the first time.
"Eventually, starfish..it means at some point in time. But for now, would mamrmalade make you feel a bit better?"
Alice nodded excitedly..it was her favorite.
"Okay, let's do that."
They wemt the painfully few paces to their kitchen and Killian made Alice her sandwjich. which quickly got all over her face. And somwhow je got the sticky sweet substance in his beard. Which at least made Alice laugh.
"I love you papa."
"I love you too, Starfish. Try to get ateast some lf that sandwhich in your mouth, nkw would you?" Alice laighed and finished her food. At least momentarilynforgetting about the fiasco with her ball and chattrring happily to her papa.