Prose log with Bernadette
Who: Skald (loudest_egan) and Bernadette (youngest_egan)
When: yesterday-ish...recent
Where: Bern's room in the manor
What: daddy's got to take care of his youngest
Since she became ill, Bernadette had only stayed in bed for one day before becoming restless. She had since wandered off to the tavern the previous night and ended up chatting with Apple and Chris. Now, even though she was in her and Kyle's room, she wasn't even near their bed, but standing by the window to look out at the abundant snow.
Skald wasn't necessarily the overprotective type, but after his talk with Kyle, he resolved to make a little time to check up on his daughter nonetheless. He went around to the room and knocked heartily. "You'd better be taking doctor's advice and resting, young lady!" he bellowed.
Blinking out of her wandering thoughts, Bernadette turned towards the door at the sound of her father's loud voice but didn't have the energy or motivation to throw herself in bed. "Of course, I am." She called back. "I'm not working, after all."
"Kinda hard to work when the ship's in a different port." Skald invited himself in, raising an eyebrow in her general direction. "Something tells me when the doctor says 'rest' this isn't exactly what he has in mind," he said smartly. "At least you're not wandering about. Feeling better?"
Bernadette nodded before turning back towards the window. "Well, I am working in the infirmary in the meantime." Sighing, she continued. "I don't like to lie around doing nothing for too long. Especially when I'm not all that ill in the first place."
Skald remained on the other side of the room, just in case. "What do you figure, you just caught a little bug from someone in the infirmary? It's nothing a father ought to worry about, I mean."
She simply shrugged, not knowing what else it could have been. "Most likely. Sir Mathiu himself has been pretty ill as well. And if I can be out of bed like this, I am certainly not dying." But even so, it was apparent that something was troubling her, even with her back towards him as she gazed out the window.
Skald didn't need to be an expert to read that kind of body language. "Something on your mind, kiddo? If you don't mind me prying, that is. I'm sure the last thing an adult woman needs is her father being a nuisance."
As soon as Skald voiced his concern, her tight lips relaxed and began to tremble slightly but she fought to maintain her composure still, clutching at her pants. "No, you're not prying or being a nuisance. Besides, you were never one to worry about that, so why start now?" Sighing again, she shook her head a little. "I'm sorry, Father. I don't know what's wrong with me, why I feel so ... slighted. Perhaps I'm too sensitive ..."
"Now, I'd never say that about you." Skald paced further into the room, still giving her the space he tended to allow his children. "You put up with a lot from me, I think you're pretty strong. Strong as Ferid, really. Maybe it's not as obvious just because you're quieter than he was."
"Ferid ..." Bernadette's lips trembled a little more. "I miss him. And ..." Turning around to face her father again, her facial expression crunched up a little as she tried not to cry before running into his arms. "I don't know what's wrong with me."
Oh boy. Crying women - one of few things Skald feared. "Aw, what's the matter, Bern?" he asked as casually as he could. "C'mon, you can tell me."
She buried her face in his chest, still not quite tearing up and holding it in as much as possible. "I ... I don't know why I asked him such a thing. I wasn't thinking. Now I probably pushed him away ..."
Skald patted her gently on the back. "You asked somebody something...huh. Let me take a guess. Kyle?" Naturally, who else would she be so concerned about pushing away? "What'd you ask him, and did he answer?"
Bernadette hesitated then, not being eager to tell him exactly what she blurted out. But as she had already begun pouring her heart out to her father, she couldn't do much more than continue. "H-he ... he never answered me." She choked a little. "I ... I ..." Then, she blurted out, "I asked him to marry me ..."
"Whoa..." Skald pulled her back just enough to look down into her face. "Bern? Are you serious?"
Tears now rolling down her cheeks, she glanced up at him, looking almost as if she were guilty of something terrible and nodded. "Y-yes ..."
"Aww..." His brows furrowed a little. Women crying put him out of his element, but she was still his daughter. He decided to pull her into a hug with his hand on the back of her head. "You're really head over heels for him, aren't you? You've got that thing that just makes you want to do all kinds of crazy stupid things..."
She nodded again, sniffling a little. "So it was completely foolish of me to ask him such a thing? I know I should not have expected him to ..." Bernadette inhaled deeply, feeling another sob coming on. "I should not expect him to ... want the same thing. Why? Why couldn't he answer though? Or ... address it in some way? He just completely ignored what I said as if it had never been said at all!"
Skald huffed a sigh. "Kyle's got a lot on his plate right now," he said plainly. "Then again, I also don't know him as well as I know you, so I can't really say." His voice became slightly more stern. "But it's never foolish to let somebody know how much you really love them. As long as it's the truth."
"I do. I love him so much ... And he has told me that he loves me too. And yet ..." She gulped down the last of her sobs. "I'm such a fool. I should trust him completely instead of worrying about ... whether or not he really loves me." Bernadette glanced back up at Skald. "After all, I know he's probably just preoccupied with looking out for Her Majesty ..."
"That's probably a good part of it," Skald admitted plainly, nodding. "The Queen, I mean. It's a serious situation." He lowered his head to look straight at her. "Remember that, if it seems like he's not around as much. It's got nothing to do with you. He'll always come back here to you no matter what."
Nodding again, she breathed a small sigh, her sobs having ceased altogether. "I know. I just ... I can't explain it but I feel ... rather lonely and vulnerable now. I know he has his duty but I ... I just feel that I need him now more than ever ..."
Skald raised an eyebrow at her, his only comfort being a strong hand on her shoulder. "Have you told him that? Not like...that hinting thing that women do," he grumbled, knowing from experience. "Have you come right out and told him in plain words?" He leaned down and pretended to whisper. "He's not that bright, you know."
"Father!" Bernadette chided him as she hit him lightly on the arm. "Kyle is quite intelligent, I'll have you know." Sighing again, she shook her head. "Not yet. As you're already aware, he hasn't been around much lately. I'm usually asleep when he returns and asleep when he leaves again. I haven't had a chance to talk to him about it."
"Well, then." Skald folded his arms over his brawny chest. "Looks to me like you're just gonna have to tie him down and make time. He may be the only active Queen's Knight around, but he forgets that an Admiral can hold his own with her Majesty just long enough to give him a date-night."
She couldn't help but giggle at his suggestion before smirking. "Oh, believe me, I would like to tie him down if I could but I don't think you want to hear that. A shame it's too late~" Smiling again, the tears long forgotten, Bernadette embraced the Admiral tenderly. "Thank you, Father."
Skald recoiled from her as if he'd been threatened with a sword. "Gah, Bern! I don't want to know these things! I'm all for happy times and exploration but good night!" He shook it off and straightened himself up to receive the hug. His daddy-senses peeked through just enough for him to put an arm around her shoulders. "Yeah, yeah. I do what I can. I'm not the best, but I'm all you've got."
Very much amused and wondering if this was what Skald found so thrilling about teasing her, Bernadette was simply glad that for once, she turned the table on him. "Oh, I'm sorry, Father. I forgot that your sensibilities were so ... delicate." She released him from her hug to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't be silly. You're the best father I could have or ask for."
"I just think you don't want to start a war you can't win." His eyes twinkled dangerously as he grinned down at her. "Remember, I've got a forty-some year marriage to use as ammunition. God..." He looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "Have I really been married that long? Hell."
Smiling, Bernadette nodded. "Well, you are only getting older as each year goes by after all. I'm not a child anymore either. So yes, I think you have been married for that long~"
"Damn," Skald snorted. "Well, goes to show you. When it's right, it's right. That's all I know, don't expect me to be any more deep than that."
"There's no one I look up to more than you and Mother so I believe you." Bernadette yawned briefly before waving it away. "I suppose I should get some sleep now. I think I should be able to now."
"Good." Skald moved away, so she could get set for bed without him being in the room. "All the better for your love life, you know. Can't get ready and make a date to spend with your boy if you're still sick. Baahh..." He pretended to wipe down the front of his tunic. "You went and made a mess out of me."
She laughed at his reaction again. "Oh, Father. You ought to be used to it by now, after eight children. Besides, I'm sure Ferid made much more of a mess than I ever did."
"Well he didn't go and cry on me, if that's what you mean," Skald snorted. "Bled, yes. Excessively. I swear, your mother was gonna kill me if I didn't teach him to stop getting himself cut every time he fought."
Bernadette rolled her eyes. "Oh, because crying is not manly. But bleeding is. Well, he did learn, right? He became an excellent swordsman from what Kyle and the others have told me."
Skald shrugged. "So they say. I'm inclined to believe it, judging by the company he kept. Still." He sighed and turned toward the door. "Wish I could have had the chance to find out for myself if he could beat me."
"If this castle is any indication, anything is possible. He might just return yet. I won't stop wishing on the stars every night until he does come back." The youngest Egan walked with the eldest as he headed towards the door. "I'm sure that one day soon, we'll see him again and you'll have your chance to spar with him."
"That'd be nice," Skald said quietly, not betraying his realistic expectation that it would never be. "It's too cold for that right now anyway. Damn the cold. You stay bundled up warm until you feel ship-shape, all right?" he said sternly at the door. "I won't have you fainting on people all over again."
Bernadette just sighed, not about to try to convince him at this point. "Well, I only fainted on you and that was once. I promise it won't happen again."
"As long as we're clear." Skald gave her a cheeky grin and a pat on the shoulder. "Get some rest, kiddo. I'll be around when you need me, say for a chess match maybe." He leaned down and smirked. "I think I've got that defense figured out."
"Oh, maybe I'll have Kyle play against you one of these days. He needs to practice some since I first taught him last year." She raised an amused brow before yawning again. "That's a sign, I suppose, to head to sleep. Thank you for coming by, Father."
"Oho...now that sounds like fun." Skald gave his daughter a wave in lieu of a salute as he backed out the door into the hall. "You can tell him I'll kick his ass anywhere, anytime, on the chessboard or on the field. Be good, Bernadette..."
She nodded with a smile as she began to close the door behind him. "I'll let him know but you can be sure that he won't go down easily either way. And you know me. When have I ever been bad~?"
When: yesterday-ish...recent
Where: Bern's room in the manor
What: daddy's got to take care of his youngest
Since she became ill, Bernadette had only stayed in bed for one day before becoming restless. She had since wandered off to the tavern the previous night and ended up chatting with Apple and Chris. Now, even though she was in her and Kyle's room, she wasn't even near their bed, but standing by the window to look out at the abundant snow.
Skald wasn't necessarily the overprotective type, but after his talk with Kyle, he resolved to make a little time to check up on his daughter nonetheless. He went around to the room and knocked heartily. "You'd better be taking doctor's advice and resting, young lady!" he bellowed.
Blinking out of her wandering thoughts, Bernadette turned towards the door at the sound of her father's loud voice but didn't have the energy or motivation to throw herself in bed. "Of course, I am." She called back. "I'm not working, after all."
"Kinda hard to work when the ship's in a different port." Skald invited himself in, raising an eyebrow in her general direction. "Something tells me when the doctor says 'rest' this isn't exactly what he has in mind," he said smartly. "At least you're not wandering about. Feeling better?"
Bernadette nodded before turning back towards the window. "Well, I am working in the infirmary in the meantime." Sighing, she continued. "I don't like to lie around doing nothing for too long. Especially when I'm not all that ill in the first place."
Skald remained on the other side of the room, just in case. "What do you figure, you just caught a little bug from someone in the infirmary? It's nothing a father ought to worry about, I mean."
She simply shrugged, not knowing what else it could have been. "Most likely. Sir Mathiu himself has been pretty ill as well. And if I can be out of bed like this, I am certainly not dying." But even so, it was apparent that something was troubling her, even with her back towards him as she gazed out the window.
Skald didn't need to be an expert to read that kind of body language. "Something on your mind, kiddo? If you don't mind me prying, that is. I'm sure the last thing an adult woman needs is her father being a nuisance."
As soon as Skald voiced his concern, her tight lips relaxed and began to tremble slightly but she fought to maintain her composure still, clutching at her pants. "No, you're not prying or being a nuisance. Besides, you were never one to worry about that, so why start now?" Sighing again, she shook her head a little. "I'm sorry, Father. I don't know what's wrong with me, why I feel so ... slighted. Perhaps I'm too sensitive ..."
"Now, I'd never say that about you." Skald paced further into the room, still giving her the space he tended to allow his children. "You put up with a lot from me, I think you're pretty strong. Strong as Ferid, really. Maybe it's not as obvious just because you're quieter than he was."
"Ferid ..." Bernadette's lips trembled a little more. "I miss him. And ..." Turning around to face her father again, her facial expression crunched up a little as she tried not to cry before running into his arms. "I don't know what's wrong with me."
Oh boy. Crying women - one of few things Skald feared. "Aw, what's the matter, Bern?" he asked as casually as he could. "C'mon, you can tell me."
She buried her face in his chest, still not quite tearing up and holding it in as much as possible. "I ... I don't know why I asked him such a thing. I wasn't thinking. Now I probably pushed him away ..."
Skald patted her gently on the back. "You asked somebody something...huh. Let me take a guess. Kyle?" Naturally, who else would she be so concerned about pushing away? "What'd you ask him, and did he answer?"
Bernadette hesitated then, not being eager to tell him exactly what she blurted out. But as she had already begun pouring her heart out to her father, she couldn't do much more than continue. "H-he ... he never answered me." She choked a little. "I ... I ..." Then, she blurted out, "I asked him to marry me ..."
"Whoa..." Skald pulled her back just enough to look down into her face. "Bern? Are you serious?"
Tears now rolling down her cheeks, she glanced up at him, looking almost as if she were guilty of something terrible and nodded. "Y-yes ..."
"Aww..." His brows furrowed a little. Women crying put him out of his element, but she was still his daughter. He decided to pull her into a hug with his hand on the back of her head. "You're really head over heels for him, aren't you? You've got that thing that just makes you want to do all kinds of crazy stupid things..."
She nodded again, sniffling a little. "So it was completely foolish of me to ask him such a thing? I know I should not have expected him to ..." Bernadette inhaled deeply, feeling another sob coming on. "I should not expect him to ... want the same thing. Why? Why couldn't he answer though? Or ... address it in some way? He just completely ignored what I said as if it had never been said at all!"
Skald huffed a sigh. "Kyle's got a lot on his plate right now," he said plainly. "Then again, I also don't know him as well as I know you, so I can't really say." His voice became slightly more stern. "But it's never foolish to let somebody know how much you really love them. As long as it's the truth."
"I do. I love him so much ... And he has told me that he loves me too. And yet ..." She gulped down the last of her sobs. "I'm such a fool. I should trust him completely instead of worrying about ... whether or not he really loves me." Bernadette glanced back up at Skald. "After all, I know he's probably just preoccupied with looking out for Her Majesty ..."
"That's probably a good part of it," Skald admitted plainly, nodding. "The Queen, I mean. It's a serious situation." He lowered his head to look straight at her. "Remember that, if it seems like he's not around as much. It's got nothing to do with you. He'll always come back here to you no matter what."
Nodding again, she breathed a small sigh, her sobs having ceased altogether. "I know. I just ... I can't explain it but I feel ... rather lonely and vulnerable now. I know he has his duty but I ... I just feel that I need him now more than ever ..."
Skald raised an eyebrow at her, his only comfort being a strong hand on her shoulder. "Have you told him that? Not like...that hinting thing that women do," he grumbled, knowing from experience. "Have you come right out and told him in plain words?" He leaned down and pretended to whisper. "He's not that bright, you know."
"Father!" Bernadette chided him as she hit him lightly on the arm. "Kyle is quite intelligent, I'll have you know." Sighing again, she shook her head. "Not yet. As you're already aware, he hasn't been around much lately. I'm usually asleep when he returns and asleep when he leaves again. I haven't had a chance to talk to him about it."
"Well, then." Skald folded his arms over his brawny chest. "Looks to me like you're just gonna have to tie him down and make time. He may be the only active Queen's Knight around, but he forgets that an Admiral can hold his own with her Majesty just long enough to give him a date-night."
She couldn't help but giggle at his suggestion before smirking. "Oh, believe me, I would like to tie him down if I could but I don't think you want to hear that. A shame it's too late~" Smiling again, the tears long forgotten, Bernadette embraced the Admiral tenderly. "Thank you, Father."
Skald recoiled from her as if he'd been threatened with a sword. "Gah, Bern! I don't want to know these things! I'm all for happy times and exploration but good night!" He shook it off and straightened himself up to receive the hug. His daddy-senses peeked through just enough for him to put an arm around her shoulders. "Yeah, yeah. I do what I can. I'm not the best, but I'm all you've got."
Very much amused and wondering if this was what Skald found so thrilling about teasing her, Bernadette was simply glad that for once, she turned the table on him. "Oh, I'm sorry, Father. I forgot that your sensibilities were so ... delicate." She released him from her hug to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't be silly. You're the best father I could have or ask for."
"I just think you don't want to start a war you can't win." His eyes twinkled dangerously as he grinned down at her. "Remember, I've got a forty-some year marriage to use as ammunition. God..." He looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "Have I really been married that long? Hell."
Smiling, Bernadette nodded. "Well, you are only getting older as each year goes by after all. I'm not a child anymore either. So yes, I think you have been married for that long~"
"Damn," Skald snorted. "Well, goes to show you. When it's right, it's right. That's all I know, don't expect me to be any more deep than that."
"There's no one I look up to more than you and Mother so I believe you." Bernadette yawned briefly before waving it away. "I suppose I should get some sleep now. I think I should be able to now."
"Good." Skald moved away, so she could get set for bed without him being in the room. "All the better for your love life, you know. Can't get ready and make a date to spend with your boy if you're still sick. Baahh..." He pretended to wipe down the front of his tunic. "You went and made a mess out of me."
She laughed at his reaction again. "Oh, Father. You ought to be used to it by now, after eight children. Besides, I'm sure Ferid made much more of a mess than I ever did."
"Well he didn't go and cry on me, if that's what you mean," Skald snorted. "Bled, yes. Excessively. I swear, your mother was gonna kill me if I didn't teach him to stop getting himself cut every time he fought."
Bernadette rolled her eyes. "Oh, because crying is not manly. But bleeding is. Well, he did learn, right? He became an excellent swordsman from what Kyle and the others have told me."
Skald shrugged. "So they say. I'm inclined to believe it, judging by the company he kept. Still." He sighed and turned toward the door. "Wish I could have had the chance to find out for myself if he could beat me."
"If this castle is any indication, anything is possible. He might just return yet. I won't stop wishing on the stars every night until he does come back." The youngest Egan walked with the eldest as he headed towards the door. "I'm sure that one day soon, we'll see him again and you'll have your chance to spar with him."
"That'd be nice," Skald said quietly, not betraying his realistic expectation that it would never be. "It's too cold for that right now anyway. Damn the cold. You stay bundled up warm until you feel ship-shape, all right?" he said sternly at the door. "I won't have you fainting on people all over again."
Bernadette just sighed, not about to try to convince him at this point. "Well, I only fainted on you and that was once. I promise it won't happen again."
"As long as we're clear." Skald gave her a cheeky grin and a pat on the shoulder. "Get some rest, kiddo. I'll be around when you need me, say for a chess match maybe." He leaned down and smirked. "I think I've got that defense figured out."
"Oh, maybe I'll have Kyle play against you one of these days. He needs to practice some since I first taught him last year." She raised an amused brow before yawning again. "That's a sign, I suppose, to head to sleep. Thank you for coming by, Father."
"Oho...now that sounds like fun." Skald gave his daughter a wave in lieu of a salute as he backed out the door into the hall. "You can tell him I'll kick his ass anywhere, anytime, on the chessboard or on the field. Be good, Bernadette..."
She nodded with a smile as she began to close the door behind him. "I'll let him know but you can be sure that he won't go down easily either way. And you know me. When have I ever been bad~?"