Reading Shakespeare and also being a Slytherin myself, I hope this is up to our Founder´s alley. Oh Slytherin the greatest of the Hogwarts four. Please forgive this humble one if she didn't do you justice.
Oh, BTW: Hello, people! My update schedule is Friday- Saturday so far.
Salazar was sick and tired of dealing with self-entitled, obscenely rich and rude noblemen and ladies. The scions of the non-magical noble houses were a pain in the rear end, and that was being nice about it. It seemed they were all suffering staggeringly marked bad effects for all the inbreeding their ancestors and seniors indulged and promoted. They were intellectually challenged and also believed that everyone else had to kiss the ground they walked. If he could choose, he´d willingly sign a contract that forbade his mediation in any noble business for the rest of his days after this one.
He was someone that knew from an early age how to read people and get them to do what he wanted. That ability kept him alive and relatively safe for long years on end. Before meeting Helga and Godric he lurked dark places, lakes and caves, the absolutely loved lurking about in isolated swamps so he could be unbothered while he practiced his spells and curses. Far away from people that delighted in killing his kind. He lived in a swamp until he was certain he could defend himself and kill if needed.
He met Godric in a near mortal situation, it seemed that big oaf of a man lived for the thrill of having his life threatened and for a good combat (better yet if he happened to save someone while he was going at it, the dunderheaded buffoon), on the other part, Salazar liked to hone his skills for a good spa and leave it at that, if given a choice, the best duel was the one that never happened. He certainly wouldn't place himself willingly on a situation where he might be negatively affected, specially of he got nothing out of it.
He tended to disappear quietly if things got too heated wherever he happened to be at the time if he was given a choice or had the chance to slip away unnoticed by the bullheaded dunderhead that made the racket in the first place. All his years of quiet observation and people reading skills allowed him to amass riches and create connections so he could live comfortably and skip unpleasant business if he so wished. He was making good use of some connections he formed on his earlier years, collecting those favors and debts now. For the sake of building a sanctuary for magical kids, it was one of the most selfless things he had participated in his whole live. And he was doing it for his friends, yes. But he was also getting something out of it. Even if Godric chose to believe that he had embarked on this out of some unknown hero or altruistic streak.
It was within reason that people though his involvement on this was altruistic, but he really wanted to research without worrying about being hunted or interrupted by savage beasts or bloodthirsty morons that on top of interrupting him, he really couldn't just use them as potion ingredients they weren't even good enough to fertilize Helga´s gardens. If building this school didn't happen, this whole thing allowed him the chance for new connections, debts and disciples. That couldn't harm him, on the contrary.
Also, having a place that he could call "Home" had an appeal and that was what finally sold the whole idea about him participating in building this school. Even knowing his reasons for doing this, dealing with these obnoxious people, he was running out of patience, little by little and so…
He had to send Godric away, the redhead was fit to burst after their latest meeting with the recalcitrant landlord of these lands and Salazar really didn't have any patience to spare on his friend's volatile temper.
Godric was a magnificent swordsman and a great man, he was also a protector and loved to save people and do righteous things for the sake of humanity in general. He sounded and acted like a paragon of perfection, like a god walking the earth.
His mane of red hair and bear helped convince people that he was special… with his infamous temper it was a miracle he was still alive, part of that was owed to the general effect he had on people.
He had the power to gain the masses and if he had any political instinct he could be sitting on a throne and be a formidable King.
But of course he wasn't interested in such a thing and for someone like Salazar… to have that kind of charisma and not exploiting it to its fullest… he really struggled to understand Godric sometimes.
He admired him (that much he could admit, at least in his own mind without anyone else nearby) but also… Godric Gryffindor frustrated him to no end.
The feeling was mutual, but then again, the dunderhead will do a world of god back at Helga´s inn. Especially if his alarm spell going haywire was an indicator. Danger was abounding.
He knew Helga was capable of fending for herself, but with Rowena in the equation… the woman was a mystery, highly intelligent but also seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
…
Godric rode as if the devils from the Christians feared hell were chasing him. He knew Salazar allowed him to leave because something had to be going on back home, to the girls.
Even if he was relieved of being left free of this tedious task that wasn't suited for him, he'd rather stay with Salazar and have the girls safe than being riding full speed begin to all gods he knew he made it back on time to prevent something from happening,
Helga was perfectly capable of defending herself… Rowena worried him more. After all, he and Salazar met her when she was being harassed by a lowlife.
Even if she was incredibly intelligent and resourceful, she didn't have a lot of training in offensive magic since she just focused in understanding how things worked, not so much on things she could use as self-defense. At least not like Salazar did.
Helga had an amazing gift with plants, growing them for potions, cooking and self-defense, not to mention healing. Salazar developed some of the nastiest cursed Godric had ever seen and he really didn't like to dwell on that, just on his dueling skills and also his talent for potions. But Rowena didn't seem to have received any sort of training for her abilities before meeting Helga and that she had reached her age and also had some sort of grasp of her gifts without any guidance spoke of knowledge beyond comprehension, she was incredibly intelligent, but also a target.
She was beautiful, otherworldly even. He had to admit it even if he didn't see her that way.
Helga and Rowena were like sisters for him and he was sure, for Salazar as well.
He hadn't liked the idea of leaving for so long, and less of all when he found out about an infamous minister might reach town. He really wanted to be there as soon as possible. That Salazar made him leave was a statement of its own. The man was resourcefulness in the flesh, he must've left some kind of guard that alerted him if something happened. Otherwise he wouldn't have staged a fight so Godric had a reasonable excuse to bail on this task he hated.
Walking full speed back to the girls that was his goal. Once there he could make sure they were fine and maybe be teased for his overreacting. Right? Well, his and Salazar´s.
…
This was her longest visit to Narnia so far, and she was divided between being incredibly happy and also… weirded out and worried. As if something might end up happening. If not here, then back with Helga, Godric and Salazar.
After dealing with counselors, close friends and even after her own input, it seemed Caspian got it into his head that he had to set sail in order to find answers or someone worthy of his throne.
She got it, in his darkest hour he went back to his prime, he had sailed in search of Narnia´s seven lords. But she really didn't think he could pull that off. He had a terrible cough, she could attest to it.
Caspian wanted to leave in order to find a successor for the throne and that felt like a stab through her heart… it wasn't as if she hadn't notice his age but… she found it incredibly cruel for him to pass away without even getting a glimpse of his son. And he was dying soon. She had seen it.
Not completely but she also felt it. And she didn't know what to do when the moment came to happen.
She loved Narnia, but she didn't know if she could enjoy her visits to Narnia without Caspian.
He was always there since that first time she saw Narnia from a dusted old mirror back home, a lifetime ago… to see him go and not being able to ever lay eyes on him again or talk to him.
She wept openly at the idea, but it was something that was bound to happen. Without question, her visions were like that.
She really wished Caspian found Rillian before leaving, and even if she was unsure of what might happen if she tried to set sail with him, shell never leave him alone. Not even if it killed her to see him die.
She owed him that much.
Even if it was tearing her apart.
…
Helga woke up with a start and a curse, the sound of the bells and the banging on her door. Morgan must be at it; she couldn't fathom any other reason why her alarms were going crazy or why someone banged on her door as if they wanted to break it down.
She opened the door to find a group of anguished women facing here, the first one was wringing her apron and biting her lips. Her hair in disarray but she didn't seem to care. One look at Helga´s face and she was ready to cry in earnest.
_ We can't find the kids. They gave us the slip and we thought that maybe they came here. You know… they like the sweets that you bake and you're always letting then eat it. - Helga didn't care if it kind of sounded like a complaint, they were worried and they had reason.
_ Let´s go and search. We´ll have quick results if we split. Some of you have to ask around if someone saw then, I'll go and have a look by the lake. - the news about the children was like cold water falling on top of her, it had the advantage of vanishing sleep tenuous grasp at the edge of her consciousness but she also was terrified.
If one of the children happened to be found by Morgan and no one was there to stop it.
She dreaded what might happen and… she also feared for Rowena, she might be on her way back and if Morgan was doing something awful to a child and she got involved…
She was definitely killing that man if he touched even a hair on her head, not to mention the kids.
They soon formed search groups, Helga insisted on going along with the group that will search the edge of the forest and the lake, it was likely the one that might face danger or find Morgan and shed be damned if she let something happen.
Even if the village wasn't her school, it was her home, she grew up with some of this women if not with most of them, she knew them all, she saw the kids since they were babes and even cared after them when they were sick. It was as if they were her own. Also, any child deserved to be looked after and protected from peril. And she had this people to protect. She won't fail.
…