Hey I'm back with another update... yep..
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
Iris- Goo Goo Dolls
Responses to the Sweet reviewers:
Maliaphire- yeah Neal is a prat right now... but you'll see why... I actually used your review as a kind of base on this chapter..lol... thanks for reading... and yep it is Chuck
Promiscuous gal- I love humanity so I guess I won't quit...lol.. thanks for the review hun.. lol
Rough Landing Holly- okay kid you got it.. you people convinced me to stay on track.. thanks a billion for reviewing...
annoymoud- oh jeez.. I never liked holler monkies.. lol.. as I told other reviewers I am not quitting.. just needed a quick reality checks.. thanks for the review..
emeraldi- aawww I don't want you to cry! Lol.. I promise no quitting now.. lol... thanks for the awesome review
DreamlndxFantasy- Jzet is seventeen now going on eighteen... ahh your so generous.. send ten reviews... lol... don't worry though I got ten.. and if it was you thanks...lol... thank you sooo much for everything.. and I hope you enjoy this chapter...
nativewildmage- lol the force is a pretty sweet thing.. people must be like wth are they talking about.. haha.. I would be mad at him too! Two rows behind the bench jeez.. I would be like hopping onto the field and hug Bryan McBride (he's my fave and he's sooo hott)... lol.. I can't believe US is out of the cup WAHHHH.. landon donovan wass soo bad.. he didnt do anything.. wahhhh... I am rooting for England now I guess.. lol... I can't believe your thinking of blackmailing me...HUMPH.. lol... speaking of Cheyenne when are you going to update that.. hmm... lol... thanks for the review... it's always good to hear from you lol... Oh I did update what if Alanna was Queen for a week if you wanna check that out.. gracias...
Michi- yeah I know.. you aren't the only person to tell me the harshness... lol... thanks for the complimento... I appreciate it.. don't worry I am continueing.. lol.. thanks for the saweet review...
Misled Nymph- ouch the buggyness... lol.. I dont think I could stand that.. haha... I like your new name its cool... yeah friendship umm happyness! I think.. lol.. thanks for the review!
Tracefan- thanks.. yeah I needed to get the details in because I never really wrote about Jzet being in Queenscove before.. so it was new.. thanks for the review ever so much.. I hope to hear from you in the future! mucho gracias...
stormrider7- Fungus? lol... I was like reading this and I was like when was her name fungus... thanks the summer is going to be quite interesting... lol... I really dont know about half brother and step brother stuff.. I'm not good with that kind of stuff.. lol.. thanks for the review!
Let's get this started than...
Jzet and her step brother, Chuck of Queenscove and Blythdin stood outside their father's office.
It was the middle of the afternoon and the new friends had just finished lunch, when they were called down to their father's office. The two step sibblings were curious on what their father wanted to see them about.
"I wonder what he wants?" Jzet asked Chuck.
"Well what ever it is," he said. ", it probablyisn't good, if he wants us to meet him in his office, privately."
Jzet nodded in agreement.
A few seconds later, a servant, came out of the office.
"My lord is ready to see you both now." said the scrawny manservant. He bowed and left quickly.
Jzet took a deep breath and stepped inside her father's office.
She had always liked her father's office, with its many books and maps. Before she had decided to become a page, she spent hours in the room reading and memorizing maps. Her favorite part of the room was the portrait of her grandfather, Baird of Queenscove, which hung above the fireplace. She admired her grandfather on many levels, even thought she had never been able to meet him. But, her father had told her of his many deeds. A person could not, not respect her grandfather.
Her father sat behind his desk, staring out the window, which looked down upon the town, where the peasants lived.
Without looking at either of them he said, "Sit down,"
They both did so, without any hesitation.
Jzet's mind raced with questions. Why was her father being so cold? Did they do something wrong at the party last night? Did he find out Jzet knew the truth about him not looking for her on the Yamani Islands? Jzet was anxious to hear her father speak.
There was a brief period of silence and then their father spoke.
"Chuck, I have received a letter from your mother." he said turning around and facing his two children. "And I am not pleased."
Jzet looked over at her step brother, who turned pale and looked at the ground with shame.
"You ran away from Blythdin." Neal said sharply. And you scared your mother to death. Now what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Sorry," Chuck mumbled.
Silence filled the room in an awkward fashion. Had her father always been such a strong parental figure? She had never seen him so angry.
"But, how did she find me?" Chuck asked, still looking at the paneling on the floor.
"A mage from Blythdin contacted me last night and asked if you were here." said their father simply. "She is very angry that you came here." He added grimly.
Why was Chuck's mother mad that he came to Queenscove? Jzet thought. His father is here and will take care of him. She should be happier that he came here than anywhere else.
"I know." Chuck replied, frowning.
"Why did you run away, Chuck?" Neal asked tensely.
Chuck continued to look down at the floor in silence.
Jzet frowned and began to recall memories of her Aunt Kel and Uncle Dom telling her stories of how funny her father was. These stories that varied from Kel and her father's Page days, up to family gatherings Uncle Dom had with Neal when they were just mere children. These tales always made her father sound like a person who could make any one laugh with his antics. What happened to him? How did he become so cold?
"Well?"
Jzet studied her father's angry face, the stress lines evident on his forehead. Who had made those stress lines appear? Who had made his once brown hair, have streaks of grey in it? Was it her? Or was it her mother? Or was it someone else? Someone, Jzet didn't even know existed.
"I told her I wanted to become a healer for the military, when the war started up." said Chuck. "She told me, she wasn't going to lose me to war like she lost her first husband in the Scanran War." He sighed. "We argued of course. I told her I wasn't going to be caged at the palace, while everyone else was out on the front lines. And I then went on about how you were a healer for the military. She became even angrier when I mentioned you." He added quietly.
Jzet became perplexed with the whole situation. Why was Chuck's mother angry that he came to Queenscove? And why was she even madder when Chuck mentioned his father? It sounded to Jzet, that Chuck's mother didn't want her father in Chuck's life at all.
"Chuck, your mother went through very rough times when her first husband died in war." said her father. "She doesn't want the pain to repeat."
And why was her father defending Chuck's mother?
"That's her problem," Chuck shot back. "That man was a soldier. I don't make wounds. I just heal them. I am in no danger." Neal opened his mouth to argue, but Chuck kept on going. "I know you know this too and I for one am not going to sit around in Corus, while good men die out there. I want to help. I want to be important!"
"Chuck I don't want you to go out there and neither does your mother." said their father. "It's dangerous. I agree with your mother's decision. You'll be safer in Corus."
Why was her father agreeing with Chuck's mother? Jzet thought. Chuck came here for support and all her father was doing was agreeing with his mother. He didn't even seem to care what Chuck wanted. He just wanted to agree with Chuck's mother.
"But father," Chuck protested. "I thought you, of all people, would understand. That's why I came here, because you've lived that kind of experience. I thought you were the one who was going to put your support behind me, your only son!"
Jzet looked at her step brother with sadness and pity. He just wanted to feel useful. He wanted to be somebody in this world. Someone important, someone his own parents could take pride in. He wanted to be just like his father. And the worse part was that his own father didn't want him to be just like him and neither did his mother. This only made Jzet angrier. Most parents were joyful when their children announced that they idolize them and want to be just like them. Why not her own father? Did he fear for his son's life? And then, if he was, why not hers? She was putting herself in danger too, if not more. What was holding him back from agreeing with Chuck?
"Chuck it's not pleasant." said Neal. "It's not like the type of healing you're doing at the university. This kind of healing will push you to your limits. And sometimes if you exceed them, you will die. I've seen good healers die because they wanted to save everyone. Out there, your gift is limited. You can only save so many men and women. But anyway, your mother is right, it's too dangerous."
Jzet felt her eyes open to what she did not see before. It wasn't her father that was holding Chuck back. It was Chuck's mother. Chuck's mother was the one who held the reigns around Chuck and Jzet was beginning to think that she was holding the reigns around her father too. He was letting her make all the decisions in Chuck's life.
"But you're letting her go." Chuck cried pointing at Jzet. "You're going to let her face danger."
The whole time, Jzet clutched her necklace she received from Gosha, tightly. If I had a mother, that was alive, would she let me go? Jzet thought. Would my own mother allow me to become a knight?
"Chuck, she's trained as a warrior." said her father. "She already knows what to expect, you don't."
Things could have been different if my mother was alive. Jzet thought. I could have been in Chuck's position, fighting with my own parents so I could accomplish my dreams. Would my father be different, if my mother was still alive? Would he be so cold and broken? Would he be so easy to push around?
"But in the Scanran War, you didn't know what to expect, did you?" Chuck asked. "Your father didn't hold you back, did he? Father, I am a Queenscove! I am meant to be a healer. You can't prevent what's meant to be." His last words echoed through the room, sending shivers up Jzet's spine.
Neal closed his eyes, as if he took a direct hit to the heart.
"I am no longer under your control, son." their father whispered. "Your mother is the one who will decide."
She wanted to scream at her father and shake him. Chuck was his son too. Just because they didn't live with each other anymore didn't mean that he was no longer Chuck's father. Nothing in the world could change that. He was basically telling Chuck that he had no father anymore. That his mother wants him to forget that he ever existed and not come to him for advice. And he was actually letting her!
"But you're my father!" Chuck cried. "You have as much authority over me as that bitch does! Don't you even care about me anymore?"
Jzet looked at her father, who looked like he was in more pain than someone with an arrow in their chest.
"Chuck," Neal said softly. "I do care. But you're mother doesn't want me to be apart of your life anymore. She doesn't want me to make your decisions anymore. She believes that she is your only parent now. "
"Than tell her I'm your son!" Chuck shouted rising from his chair and knocking it over. "Tell her to stop being a bitch and get over it."
"I can't do that." her father whispered not looking at Chuck. "It's too late to fix something that has been broken forseven years."
Chuck grimaced. "I know you two are broken. You guys remind me all the time. But for once, why can't you think of me?"
Her father sighed.
"I am so sorry Chuck." said her father hanging his head, defeated.
It was all he could say.
Jzet looked at the chair on the ground that Chuck had pushed over. It reminded Jzet of her own father, fallen.
"So you're letting her win, like always." Chuck snapped. "You're letting her lock me in that cage and block meoff from the outside world."
"She might be, but she's doing it for your own well being." their father shot back. "She's doing it because she cares."
"Well, I am almost sixteen." Chuck argued. "I don't think I need her to make my decisions for me anymore. I don't want her to control me anymore."
"You're the only thing she has left." Neal said softly.
"Well, that's her loss not mine." said Chuck. He picked of the chair abruptly and placed it the right way. "If you need me, I'll be in my room."
As he slammed the door behind him, Neal sighed.
Jzet looked at her father's troubled face with the wrinkles, from stress, lining his forehead. His emerald green eyes weren't light up as they were, when she first met him five years ago. Instead, they were filled with sorrow and despair. Seeing this she began to feel frustrated because she did not know what to say to him.
He put his face in his hands.
"What am I going to do?" He asked his voice muffled.
"I don't know." Jzet said frankly. "It sounds to me that Chuck's mother doesn't want you to be apart of his life at all." Her father said nothing. So she continued. "He said his mother becomes angry with him when he brings up your name and you said she was angry that he came here. I don't think that's very good."
"Heather hates my guts." said her father. "In your Uncle Dom's words, she thinks I am a total meathead."
"Just because you found me?" Jzet asked. "I don't understand why she would be resentful towards you, just for that. If she really loved you, she would have wanted you to be happy when you found me. Instead, she became bitter and left you. I don't think that was the proper thing to do."
Her father nodded. "I know." He said with a sigh. "But I'd rather not dwell on the past. I need to think of what to do about Chuck."
"But it's your past with Chuck's mother that is destroying your relationship with him now." said Jzet feeling kind of awkward about the subject. It wasn't like she actually felt comfortable about talking about her father's problems with his ex wife and their son. "If you two didn't divorce, Chuck would still have you as a parental figure. But now, Chuck's mother, who is still filled with anger, tries to drive you out of his life. This is why you guys are arguing now. You don't want to anger Chuck's mother, but that means you anger Chuck." Jzet took a deep breath before she continued."You need to show her that youare stillinvolved with your son.You need to show her that she doesn't runChuck's life by herself and that you are his father.No matter what happens," She added.
"You're right Jzet." said her father turning to look out the window. There was a pause and then he said, turning around. "I have some bad news."
"What's the bad news?" Jzet asked, curious.
"Heather is coming to visit." said her father. "She wants to bring Chuck home."
Oh great, that witch is coming here to cause discord. Jzet thought. She probably will try and murder me in my sleep too.
"When does she arrive?" Jzet asked, clearly not pleased.
"In three days," He said running his fingers through his thinning, brown hair. "I don't even know what to say to her."
"Well you need to tell her that you're still Chuck's father and that you should have the right to talk to Chuck and help him make decisions." Jzet said. "And tell her that she isn't the only parental figure in his life. You are too."
He sighed.
"You're right Jzet." said her father. "I need to show her that I am still Chuck's father and that I don't appreciate her down sizing me."
"That's good father," said Jzet smiling. "I think you'll do very well."
"This is going to be so awkward though." said her father.
"Why?" Jzet asked.
"Well, it's because she hates me so much." he said. "And now this rift with Chuck will only make things worse when she gets here."
"Well just remember father," Jzet said, ", you need to take Chuck's side or he'll never respect you. You do want him to become a healer in the war, don't you?"
"Yes," said her father confidently. "Yes, I do."
Jzet grinned.
"Well then, you are going to give a reasonable argument to Heather and show her that you still control Chuck too." said Jzet. She had never really given anyone a pep talk before.
Her father sighed and for a second he was deep in thought.
"Maybe I should go buy a pair of ear plugs. Between the yelling Heather,Chuck, and mewill be doing when she gets here, a man could go death." said her father jokingly.
Jzet laughed and the got up to hug her father.
"Well I'm going to down to the practice courts and work with my sword." said Jzet. "I'll see you at dinner."
"Okay Jzet," said her father hugging her tightly. "Thank you so much for listening." He added.
"Any time father," Jzet said, a smile touching her lips.
"It means a lot to me." He said. "And I'm glad and proud to have you as a daughter."
Jzet kissed her father's cheek.
"And I am glad to have you as my father." she said smiling.
"Now scram and work with that sword." her father said smiling. "I need you to get better than the lioness for a little payback for all the bruises she gave me."
Jzet laughed and left the room quickly.
But her laughter died down quickly when she remembered who would arrive here in three days, Heather of Blythdin, who hated her guts.
And that was a fact.
Oh boy this is going to be fun. Jzet thought.
yeah this chapter was a tad bit confusing.. summary: Heather (Chuck's mother) wants Neal to be out of Chuck's life completely.. Chuck wants to become a healer in the war.. his mom disagrees... he gets mad.. runs away to Queenscove... Neal finds out that he ran away from Blythdin (the fief his mom lives).. gets mad at Chuck.. Jzet wonders what happened to the father her Uncle Dom and Aunt Kel knew about twenty years ago... thoughts on that... Neal and Chuck argue.. Jzet realizes Neal is just agreeing with Chuck's mother so she won't be mad at him... Jzet gets pissed at her father.. Chuck so pissed at father leaves room.. Jzetgives good advicetoNeal about his problems with Chuck.. he needs to show Heather that he won't stand to be blocked out of Chucks life.. Neal brings bad news.. tellsJzet that Heather is coming to visit in 3 days to come and get Chuck.. Jzet is like oh shit.. they joke a little bit.. the end...
yeah if you wanta summary of the chapter look above you..lol.. bottom line: Chuck mad at Neal and mother.. mother coming to get Chuck.. that is bad for both Neal and Jzet because Chuck's mom hates them both...
so read on because the next chapter is going to be quite interesting/ good... lol...
oh and read my lil comedy ficlet.. What if Alanna was Queen for a Week... if you really like sillyness and Jon bashing/ Neal making fun ofness... so yeah thanks..
read and review.. even flames are welcomed at this point...
And I hope everyone on the East Coast has a lovely rainy afternoon.. lol
3 Caiti.. your demented authoress