Chapter 86

86 Closure

It was quite late by the time Skye and Tidas came back from the loch. After passing their horses off to a sleepy stable boy, the newlyweds walked hand in hand to Skye’s room. When they entered, both had been shocked to see Lucas sitting on her bed; waiting for her.

Tidas wanted to stay, but knew that it was a matter between Skye and her father. He didn’t want to intrude on their moment, but wasn’t sure he should leave, either. He squeezed Skye’s hand, not knowing what she wanted him to do.

Seeing the uncertainty in his eyes, Skye told her husband; “Ima fine.. Why don’t ye sleep in yer room tonight, and come get me when ye wake up?”

Tidas hesitated, looking at Lucas. He seemed ten years older now than at dinner. He wasn’t sure what exactly Skye had said to him, but it must’ve been torturing him the entire time they were gone. Lucas had never really looked his age; except for his hair. But now he looked even older..

Tidas kissed his wife’s cheek before departing for the night. The only two left in the room were Lucas and Skye. A dense silence began to fill the room like before. This time, however; Lucas cut through it.

“Ima sorry, Skye.. I never meant to put ye in harm’s way. I didn’t want to tell ye about the plot because I didn’t want ye gettin’ any more involved than ye had to.. Me heart sang when the messenger came with news of Tidas. I wanted to call off the wedding, but I couldn’t.. The Fowlers wouldn’t stick around to watch ye marry the prince,” Lucas had gotten up from the bed, and grabbed two tumbler glasses he had sitting by a fresh bottle of whiskey.

Pouring two glasses, the lord then turned to his daughter, and gave her one. Skye looked a little skeptical as she took it. Lucas couldn’t figure out if it was due to what he said, or the act of sharing his whiskey with her. For it was rare for Lucas Moonstone to share his whiskey with anyone; even the king.

Skye swirled her cup, like she’d seen her father do countless times. She didn’t really care for alcohol, but the act reminded her of her father. She sniffed for the under-notes, enjoying the slightly woodsy musk that was common to her father’s favorite brand. She took a sip at the same time as her father, and made a similar facial expression at the taste of it.

Alcon was famous for it’s whiskey; particularly in the north. If one didn’t drink whiskey, at least on occasion; you weren’t considered a northerner. It’d become a favorite export to Sai and the Ruscovic Kingdom. Tidas’ second oldest brother probably had a hand in it becoming popular in his own kingdom. Sai was surprising though; normally they didn’t drink much except their own. A sweet, potent alcohol called Sake.

.....

Skye sipped her glass as she thought about her father’s small speech. He seemed completely genuine, but there was one question Skye had to have a completely truthful answer to. It was hard sometimes to tell when her father was being himself, or the businessman part of himself. But the sincerity in his expression made Skye believe she was really talking to her Da.

“I need to know one thing, and then I’ll drop it; one way or the other... If ye had found out about Jacob’s, Umm.. tastes.. Would ye have stopped the wedding?” Skye’s heart felt heavy; scared of her father’s answer.

Half a second passed before Lucas replied; “I would’ve ripped up the contract in from of his face, then shoved the shreddings down his throat! I love ye, Skye; I’d rather die then see ye suffer how Felicia did..”

Skye’s heart felt like a weight had been lifted off of it as she asked, for good measure; “Even if Tidas would’ve really been dead?”

“I made a promise to protect ye, no matter what... Yer mother and I didn’t want ye to be hurt when ye left some day, so we kept ye at arms length.. But nothing has, was, or will ever be as important to us, as you are... Even if I lost me entire fortune and home, so long as ye were happy and safe.. Yer me only bairn, and greatest treasure. I would’ve found another way to catch the Fowlers, I know it in me heart,” Lucas had maintained eye contact with his daughter as he’d spoken.

Tears threatened to spill from Skye’s eyes as she leaned in to hug her father. For most of her life, Skye’d thought her parents saw her as a social prop, or as an inconvenience. They’d never really spent time with her; especially her mother. Her and her father used to read together, but that hadn’t lasted long.

Skye still had a gut feeling that her father was hiding something from her. It was something that had kept him from her, but now wasn’t the time. Skye’s father was being honest, even if not completely. And she didn’t want to muck up the connection again with her fearful ‘what ifs’.

The two sat hugging for several minutes before Skye heard her father sniffling. When she tried to lift her head up to see him, Lucas had held her in place. She giggled at how silly he was being, but kept her head in place until he’d cleared his throat. He gave a nervous chortle before stating; “I think it’s time we talked about you, sweetheart.”

“What do ye mean?” Skye questioned with a quirked eye brow at her father.

“What do ye plan to do at the capital? Ima sure Magnus will eat up some of yer time, but what will ye do to stay busy?” Lucas swirled his tumbler glass as he talked.

“Oh, Ima have plenty to keep me busy,” Lucas took a good-sized drink of his whiskey as Skye continued; “Ima be training to join the RMC..”

Skye’s father choked on his drink as he spit it out in surprise. Lucas feared his daughter’s involvement in the military most. Magnus coveted magic users; always keeping them in service long after they’d paid their dues. He’d wanted a life of enjoyment for his daughter, unbound by politics and war. Being married to a prince required some involvement in palace life, but Skye wasn’t one for intrigue. And with seemingly no magic, Lord Moonstone had felt his daughter would be safe.

That was before Lucas learned of his daughter’s multiple traits. Now, being the wife of Tidas would be her only safety. Magnus would most likely want her to be a member of his royal guard; to have her on hand to show off to diplomats and visiting royals. It would most likely separate her and her husband, though.. And Lucas knew that his head-strong daughter would never accept it.

Since Tidas was the Commander of the RMC, he answered to the king first and foremost. If he was ordered to sail to the ends of the earth, he would do it. Same as if he were sent into battle. Skye obviously loved her husband deeply, and Lucas had no doubts that she would follow him, wherever he went. Including onto a battlefield.

Skye’s father drank another glassful of whiskey before asking; “Does the king know of yer powers already?”

“I seriously doubt it. Unless someone sent a message by bird after the wedding. That’s always a possibility,” Skye took a good sip of her whiskey as she finished.

“Ima hopin’ not.. Ima not exactly sure how Magnus will react to how ye hid yer powers,” Lucas found himself needing to focus on his speech for it to come out as something understandable.

“I’ll just tell him the truth; I was scared for him to know. I didn’t want to be taken away from me home, and there’s no guarantee he would’ve let me marry Tidas, had I been a soldier. Mags will be fine; so long as I play it off like he always knew me secret. Ye know how he is about saving face, Moonie...”

Skye laughed loudly as she mentioned her father’s nickname. It was utterly silly to her; his expression when she’d said it. Like a child caught stealing sweets after bedtime. Her voice bounced off the walls of her room; filling it with her mirth.

As Lucas looked and listened to his daughter, he couldn’t help but think of how much she looked like Sorcha. Her biological mother had the same laugh; one that caused laughter in others. Lucas found himself drunkenly chuckling along with Skye, feeling like his wife was there with them through her.

After half an hour or so, Lucas began to sway while sitting. Skye was feeling good herself, but had stopped drinking after two cups. She had a lot of work to do, and only a few hours to do it. She still needed to track down Maevis as well. She’d felt bad for needing to wake her, but Skye knew she’d need the old Fae’s help to work the dragon leather.

“Ima thinkin’ it’s time ye went to bed, Da,” Skye said as she attempted to pull her father to his feet.

Lucas swayed terribly as his daughter pulled him up. He leaned forward like he was about to fall over, but his wee daughter caught him. She righted him before turning away to open the door. When she turned the handle, Skye heard a loud thud from behind her. When she looked back, her father was no where to be seen; until she looked down.

Lord Moonstone was face-down on the floor of his daughter’s room, snoring loudly. He’d gotten so drunk that he couldn’t even walk, and passed out on impact. Skye huffed her dismay at her father’s state before calling for some of the guards. To her happy surprise, two of Tidas’ men were at the end of her small hallway. The prince had assigned them to watch over his wife, and Skye was grateful for the quick help.

Once the two guards had scooped up the lord, they dragged him off towards his quarters. He’d been mumbling something about a source, or a torch, or something. Skye couldn’t understand him, so she’d written it off as drunken ramblings. She asked the guards if she knew where the Fae were, but didn’t get an answer from them.

Instead; Maevis popped her head out of Peggy’s room as the guards began to drag Lucas, and said; “Looks like you and your da had a good time..”