[Walpurgis Knights] Five Letters
Title: Five Letters
Characters: Rien
Word Count: ~1000
Summary: Rien tries to write a letter home to her mother.
Notes: Little fic for
lunapome's game.
1.
Mom, thanks for the pies. I'll share them with the others when we get to a place we can relax a little. Not that we can't relax or are always on the run or anything.
[The last two sentences are scratched out.]
We sure will enjoy them next time we're enjoying a safe, peaceful dinner on a peaceful evening, just sharing one another's company. Peacefully.
[The last two sentences are scratched out.]
I've definitely missed your cooking, but don't worry that I'm roughing it or anything. We've stayed in plenty of nice, comfortable spots. In fact, right now we're at the White Plume and Shield, a group that has been very kind to us. They're very helpful, too. They're even teaching us how to avoid getting killed by fae-
[The entire letter is scribbled through, and the paper is wadded into a ball.]
2.
Dear Mom,
I know we didn't leave under the best circumstances, but I hope you're not worried about me now that you've met my friends. For instance, Melion, he's kind of annoying and I can't stand him sometimes, but he can protect anybody from anything.
[Rien pauses in writing, moving the pen back as if to cross out the previous sentence, but then shrugs and keeps going.]
And Grisetta is a princess, you know. She's had a hard life, but she's a great friend and has been very sweet to me, even though I turned down her marriage proposal.
["Hmm ..." Rien frowns and taps her pen against the paper a few times before continuing.]
Camille is a lot of fun, a good person to have on your side, and even though she might have killed her sister I'm sure she deserved it.
["... Um."]
Oswald is a nice boy. Mostly normal. He just has some ... odd things happen to him. But they're not particularly bad or dangerous, just lots of women wanting to marry him.
["... Probably best to just move on."]
Then there's Faelann, who maybe gets a little irksome sometimes, but just like Melion I still know I can trust her. She's a wolf, though I know you know better than to judge her for that. But you can understand why we had to be discreet in town. Maybe you should make sure you put this letter somewhere safe so no one else sees it.
[Rien sighs. "Better not risk it."
This letter is ripped into small pieces and fed to rats.]
3.
Dear Mom,
Please tell Dad that I'm sorry I worried him. And if you talk to Sallah, please tell her I'm okay. I'm sorry I worried you, too. You'll probably hear from Kyrri before I do. I bet she'll realize soon enough that this has all been a giant misunderstanding, and she'll be so sorry she made everybody freak out. But you can count on it that I'll make her make it up to me somehow. She's going to have to work really hard to make me forgive her. Maybe I'll even make her take a break from her museum and come back with me to Peeptown for a spell, make her do all the nastiest chores at the Baa Bar to prove she's really sorry. It's been too long since she's stayed at the Bar, hasn't it? Sallah too. I'll bring them both and you can enjoy having all three of your daughters at your beck and call. Just like old times.
[This letter is folded and slipped into an inner pocket in Rien's backpack.]
4.
Dear Mom,
Would you be mad if I said that seeing you again made me realize I couldn't stay in Peeptown? Before I saw you, I kind of wondered what would happen if I just stayed home and tried to pretend that none of this was happening. Like maybe the people we pissed off wouldn't come to Peeptown somehow. I mean, I know that's unrealistic, and I probably wouldn't have held that illusion for long, but that's not what I thought about when you started yelling at me outside of the Baa Bar.
You were so upset, I knew I had to have a good reason for making you worry so much. That there had to be a worthwhile reason for me to put myself in danger the way that I am. And I think there is. There are a lot of people who could be hurt if the things we've been fighting against go unchecked. And there's a whole nation in the 8th Kingdom that really deserves some help. I don't know if we can be that help, but we can try.
I think if I tried to bury my head in the sand and hide from all of this ... Well, first of all, it wouldn't work. But more than that, I think you deserve better than just to worry about a daughter who got caught up in some trouble. I don't want to just run away and hope that the trouble doesn't catch up to me. Especially when I think about you, living in Peeptown because it makes you happy, even if other things and other people get in the way of that sometimes, and how you never let them drive you off. You've never run away. I think that, if I really dedicate myself to this war and fight to protect people, then you could be proud of me.
I'm not sure if you'll think that I can do this. Maybe you know what I used to do before I left Peeptown, why I have Dad's old cloak and hat and why I learned how to use a rapier.
You probably already know this, but that time that Jeb Woolsworth got his nose broken, it wasn't because a ram kicked him in the face for being a dirty sheepfucker, like I told you. He wasn't taking 'no' for an answer from Sherrie Fleecely, and I gave him a solid right hook, then a mighty kick to the balls. It's just what he deserved.
I never made much of a difference in Peeptown, I know. But maybe I can make a difference now.
[This letter is burned.]
5.
Dear Mom,
I'll be okay. Please don't worry.
Love,
Rien
[This letter is folded, addressed, and sent.]
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Characters: Rien
Word Count: ~1000
Summary: Rien tries to write a letter home to her mother.
Notes: Little fic for
lunapome's game.
1.
Mom, thanks for the pies. I'll share them with the others when we get to a place we can relax a little. Not that we can't relax or are always on the run or anything.
[The last two sentences are scratched out.]
We sure will enjoy them next time we're enjoying a safe, peaceful dinner on a peaceful evening, just sharing one another's company. Peacefully.
[The last two sentences are scratched out.]
I've definitely missed your cooking, but don't worry that I'm roughing it or anything. We've stayed in plenty of nice, comfortable spots. In fact, right now we're at the White Plume and Shield, a group that has been very kind to us. They're very helpful, too. They're even teaching us how to avoid getting killed by fae-
[The entire letter is scribbled through, and the paper is wadded into a ball.]
2.
Dear Mom,
I know we didn't leave under the best circumstances, but I hope you're not worried about me now that you've met my friends. For instance, Melion, he's kind of annoying and I can't stand him sometimes, but he can protect anybody from anything.
[Rien pauses in writing, moving the pen back as if to cross out the previous sentence, but then shrugs and keeps going.]
And Grisetta is a princess, you know. She's had a hard life, but she's a great friend and has been very sweet to me, even though I turned down her marriage proposal.
["Hmm ..." Rien frowns and taps her pen against the paper a few times before continuing.]
Camille is a lot of fun, a good person to have on your side, and even though she might have killed her sister I'm sure she deserved it.
["... Um."]
Oswald is a nice boy. Mostly normal. He just has some ... odd things happen to him. But they're not particularly bad or dangerous, just lots of women wanting to marry him.
["... Probably best to just move on."]
Then there's Faelann, who maybe gets a little irksome sometimes, but just like Melion I still know I can trust her. She's a wolf, though I know you know better than to judge her for that. But you can understand why we had to be discreet in town. Maybe you should make sure you put this letter somewhere safe so no one else sees it.
[Rien sighs. "Better not risk it."
This letter is ripped into small pieces and fed to rats.]
3.
Dear Mom,
Please tell Dad that I'm sorry I worried him. And if you talk to Sallah, please tell her I'm okay. I'm sorry I worried you, too. You'll probably hear from Kyrri before I do. I bet she'll realize soon enough that this has all been a giant misunderstanding, and she'll be so sorry she made everybody freak out. But you can count on it that I'll make her make it up to me somehow. She's going to have to work really hard to make me forgive her. Maybe I'll even make her take a break from her museum and come back with me to Peeptown for a spell, make her do all the nastiest chores at the Baa Bar to prove she's really sorry. It's been too long since she's stayed at the Bar, hasn't it? Sallah too. I'll bring them both and you can enjoy having all three of your daughters at your beck and call. Just like old times.
[This letter is folded and slipped into an inner pocket in Rien's backpack.]
4.
Dear Mom,
Would you be mad if I said that seeing you again made me realize I couldn't stay in Peeptown? Before I saw you, I kind of wondered what would happen if I just stayed home and tried to pretend that none of this was happening. Like maybe the people we pissed off wouldn't come to Peeptown somehow. I mean, I know that's unrealistic, and I probably wouldn't have held that illusion for long, but that's not what I thought about when you started yelling at me outside of the Baa Bar.
You were so upset, I knew I had to have a good reason for making you worry so much. That there had to be a worthwhile reason for me to put myself in danger the way that I am. And I think there is. There are a lot of people who could be hurt if the things we've been fighting against go unchecked. And there's a whole nation in the 8th Kingdom that really deserves some help. I don't know if we can be that help, but we can try.
I think if I tried to bury my head in the sand and hide from all of this ... Well, first of all, it wouldn't work. But more than that, I think you deserve better than just to worry about a daughter who got caught up in some trouble. I don't want to just run away and hope that the trouble doesn't catch up to me. Especially when I think about you, living in Peeptown because it makes you happy, even if other things and other people get in the way of that sometimes, and how you never let them drive you off. You've never run away. I think that, if I really dedicate myself to this war and fight to protect people, then you could be proud of me.
I'm not sure if you'll think that I can do this. Maybe you know what I used to do before I left Peeptown, why I have Dad's old cloak and hat and why I learned how to use a rapier.
You probably already know this, but that time that Jeb Woolsworth got his nose broken, it wasn't because a ram kicked him in the face for being a dirty sheepfucker, like I told you. He wasn't taking 'no' for an answer from Sherrie Fleecely, and I gave him a solid right hook, then a mighty kick to the balls. It's just what he deserved.
I never made much of a difference in Peeptown, I know. But maybe I can make a difference now.
[This letter is burned.]
5.
Dear Mom,
I'll be okay. Please don't worry.
Love,
Rien
[This letter is folded, addressed, and sent.]
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