Chapter 257

257 Mended Fences

The three cried until their eyes ran dry, and Skye and Lucas had gotten hiccups. Lidia thought it was adorable how the father-daughter duo even hiccuped the same way. ‘How did Skye ever doubt Lucas was her father?’

As she wiped the tears from her eyes, Skye noticed the whiskey and glasses on the table. She laughed softly as she picked up the bottle, and flashed the label at her parents. Grinning warmly, Skye simply said; “That Peggy..”

Lucas chuckled in response while Lidia’s gentle smile matched her daughter’s. The old woman was just as big a part of their family as a paternal grandmother. Due to Skye’s lack of family and parental contact, the old servant was her family.

Peggy had been the glue between them all these years. Whenever Skye was lonely, she was there. Whenever Lucas and Lidia needed to either know about Skye’s well-being, or help picking out a present for her; Peggy was there.

As Skye poured the whiskey into the tumblers, Lucas asked; “Did either of ye two even see her come in?”

Skye chuckled; “No, but that’s Peggy for ye. Genie taught her some tricks years ago. I called him a traitor for months because I couldn’t sneak sweets anymore..”

Lucas quirked an eyebrow; “What kinda tricks?”

Skye smirked in response as she handed out the glasses; “Ninja tricks.. That’s why she’s so good at sneakin’ up on people. She can break a board in half with her hand, too.”

Lucas choked on his drink upon hearing his daughter’s remark; “She can What?!”

.....

Skye and Lidia’s laughter rebounded within the room, filling it with familial warmth. She glanced at her adoptive daughter as she laughed. ‘The lass really does look like her mother.’

As Skye began to tell stories about Peggy’s antics, Lidia thought about the day Sorcha had told her that she was pregnant. She’d been so excited and distraught at the same time that Sorcha had literally paced while talking at rapid speeds. Skye, excited to share her stories, looked and sounded just like her mother in that instance.

Not thinking of where the conversation might go, Lidia stated; “You sound just like Sorcha when you’re excited like this.”

Skye stopped mid-sentence to look at her with hope as she asked; “Do I? Really? What was she like?”

“Skye-” Lucas started, but Lidia cut him off.

“Lucas.. She already knows her mother’s name. If she wants to, she could look her up after we leave; not that that would do you much good anyway.”

“Why?” Skye asked, a little irritated that her mother had seen through her so easily.

“Most of the records pertaining to the Warrick family have been destroyed. We had our friends from every kingdom find and destroy anything that had to do with the Warricks that they could. The only references you’ll find to that name pertain to the original family, and the forest that the Fae now own.”

Skye’s expression was a mix of shock, anger, and confusion; “Why would ye do that?!”

“To protect ye, sweetheart. It’s all to protect ye,” Lucas added solemnly.

Skye wanted to be mad, but she was already emotionally and physically exhausted. Between dealing with Angelica Bibalow earlier, and now her parents; Skye had little fight left.

Skye had been noticing for a while now that she’d been a lot calmer than average. Anger was her go-to emotion, but lately she’d been cool and calculated. ‘Maybe Tidas is rubbin’ off on me? He’s usually the more collected one between the two of us..’

Before Skye could get lost in her head again, Lidia spoke; “There’s a lot of things that you need to know about your mother’s family, but now isn’t the right time. All I can tell you for now is that Sorcha would be proud of you. Between your Shaman work and the kind person your are in general.. I would be elated if my daughter would’ve turned out half as good as you did.”

Skye’s heart ached for her adoptive mother as she told her about her cousin. If Lidia’s daughter would’ve lived, then they’d be nearly the same age. Hearing more details about her child; Skye now understood the pained expression that her mother always had whenever she looked at her.

Once she finished describing her, Skye looked to her adoptive mother sheepishly before asking; “I know that yer me aunt now, but.. Can I still call ye me mother? Yer the only one I’ve ever known..”

Lidia’s heart filled with adoration as she replied; “And you’re the only daughter I’ve ever known.. I’m so sorry for keeping my distance from you. It’s just very painful for me because you look so much like your mother. Then there’s days where I can even see a bit of Henry in you, too..”

“Was that me uncle’s name?” Skye asked with a soft voice.

Lidia nodded in response because she was already crying again. It was painful for Lucas to see Skye sometimes, but he also got to have her as a reminder in a good way. She was the culmination of their love for each other, and Lucas was grateful for her, but Lidia had lost almost everything.

From her family, to her possessions and home. Almost everything she’d ever loved: gone in one night. Skye’s heart wrenched in her chest for her.

Sometimes when Lidia looked at Skye, her grief was overwhelming. There were days when she was akin to a doppelg?nger of her mother: Lidia’s best friend. Other days she simply couldn’t see past the loss of her own child.

As Skye listened to her mother, the mention of her ‘best friend’ rang a bell for her. Once she’d finished speaking, Skye asked why the term was sticking out to her.

A giant smile broke out across Lidia’s face as she led Skye to the answer; “Remember what you asked about your necklace? What else did I give you that day?”

“I got me favorite necklace and me wedd-?!”

The answer hit Skye and instantly brought fresh tears to her eyes; “Me dress! Me weddin’ dress was me mother’s?!”

Lidia grinned ear to ear as she replied; “Aye. Yer mother saved it after her wedding because she thought you’d might like to wear it yourself on your wedding day. We actually talked about your wedding often.. And Matilda’s..”

“Was that her name? It’s pretty. I probably would’ve called her Matty,”

Lidia beamed as she laughed and said; “That’s what Henry nicknamed her! Oh! I think you two would’ve been friends..”

As a touch of sadness started to creep back into her mother’s features, Skye leaned her head against her mother’s shoulder and said; “I know we would’ve been best friends..”

After a few quite moments, Lucas cleared his throat and stated; “I feel terrible for sayin’ this, but we really must be goin’ now, sweetheart. Tis well over an hours since we were supposed to be on the road.”

“Aye, I understand.. Haha! Poor Petrie! He’s been waitin’ all this time for ye!” Skye said as she started to giggle.

“Ima sure he’s fine.. Or so I hope,” Lucas stated before all three slammed their drinks, and headed for the door.

As Skye reached out to grab the handle, a loud ruckus could be heard from the other side of it. The Moonstones all exchanged looks before Skye stated; “Tidas?!”

Throwing the door open with her Earth magic at the ready, Skye instantly deflated when she saw the source of the uproar. Tidas was trying and failing to walk down the hallway with Peggy yanking on the back of his shirt. Trying her best to pull him backwards.

Seeing an opportunity, she kicked at the back of one of his legs, making him fall to one knee. He cursed out loud due to the jolt of pain caused by his knee hitting the hard marble floor of the palace. He whipped his head around and started to bicker with Peggy.

They went back and forth for about a minute before Skye whistled loudly to gain their attention. With her intense gaze on them, Peggy and Tidas instantly stopped arguing and explained.

Tidas was on a break and wanted to see his wife. Peggy knew what was happening in their room, so she tried to stop Tidas from entering and ruining any family moments between them. When Skye saw the confusion on her husband’s face, she promised to explain later.

************

When the group came out, Petrie was impatiently pacing back and forth in front of the stagecoach. He looked like he was going to curse them out, but stopped himself when he saw their puffy faces. They were smiling now, so it couldn’t have been all bad, but Petrie still refrained from yelling at them just in case.

Skye hugged each of her parents tightly as Petrie shook Tidas’ hand. Lucas shook his son-in-law’s hand it turn, then he actually hugged Peggy, which startled her greatly. He whispered something in her ear that made her smile softly as she nodded in agreement.

Skye was too preoccupied with her mother to hear, but Tidas grinned knowingly at them. He’d heard Lord Moonstone’s heartfelt gratitude to Peggy. He apologized for hardly being around, and thanked her for raising such a wonderful daughter for him.

It was a rare treat for Tidas to see Peggy flustered in a sweet way instead of her usual surly attitude. He couldn’t agree more with Lucas as he added; “Ye will always have a place amongst our family.”

After a flurry of goodbyes, well wishes, and more tears; the Moonstone Stagecoach pulled away from the palace as it headed out of the capital. Petrie opted for riding with the driver until their first stop. His visible presence alone was enough to deter any bandits.

Lucas and Lidia sat next to each other as they held hands and talked. They loved each other, but it was more based on friendship than any kind of passion. As they shared their thoughts about their daughter, they intentionally avoided a specific subject until they neared their first stop.

Lidia’s brow furrowed as she spoke; “I don’t think we should tell her now, but we Have to tell her soon. Who knows when her next trait will show, and she needs to know before she has them all.”

Lucas’ face was pensive as he replied; “I don’t want to tell her until we absolutely have to. If she goes there before she has them all, it’ll kill her..”

Lidia squeezed his hand; “I think that this has been our biggest problem.. Skye is not a child any longer, and we need to trust her. Fate would not have made her the Catalyst if she couldn’t handle it.”

Lucas scoffed; “Fate?! When has Fate ever done right by our loved ones?! Fuck Fate..”

Lidia sighed heavily; “She has to know the Warrick secret, Lucas. If we don’t tell her, she’ll never fulfill her destiny, and All will be lost.. We Need to tell her about the Loch...”