Gingerbread/Orange/Guava/Trail Mix smoothie
Authors: Marina and Casey
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy universe, post-NIEE
Challenge: Gingerbread 14 (wicked witch), Orange 11 (I could eat a horse) [Marina]; Guava 2 (why can’t you be more like ____?), Trail Mix 21 (in the shade) [Casey]; FOTD (impetrate) [both]
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Sprinkles, Smoothie [both]; Malt (BTS prompt - Eva with the candlestick in the hall) [Marina]
Word Count: 2,132
Rating: PG
Summary: Colin intervenes.
Notes: Follows this and this. One more piece that will help bridge the gap between this one and the previous two is coming soon.
Colin folded up the message, adding it to the pile to send out with whoever in the house went out next. He then heard someone in the doorway and looked up, spotting Dean as he poked his head in the door and looked around. “Dad here?” the boy asked.
“No, he and Russ went out to do something in the barn. They shouldn’t be long.”
“That’s okay.” Dean stood in the doorway, shuffling his feet nervously. “I actually wanted to talk to you anyway.”
“Me?” Colin said, setting everything down to give Dean his full attention. “What can I help you with?”
“Carrie says you know her mom.”
“Well, yes,” he said, blinking. “I’ve known Eva for…well, since Sorin took over Tira, really. That’s, how many years now?”
“Around thirteen. Carrie said she was just a toddler when she first met you.”
“Right, thirteen. I mean, we haven’t had much contact in a while, but I would consider us friends. Like to think we are, at least. So why do you ask?”
“Can you go talk to her?”
“Well, I was planning on it anyway now that I know she’s settled here, but I suspect you’ve got a reason.”
Dean sighed, plopping himself in the chair across from his dad’s desk and slouching into it. “Carrie stayed for dinner the other night and it got dark, so Dad and I drove her back.” He fiddled with a piece of paper. “She recognized Dad.”
“Oh,” Colin said, wincing. That could not have been good. “What happened?”
“She gave Carrie crap and Dad went and tried to talk to her, but it didn’t really go great. I mean, she’s been nice to me and she’s gotten over it with Carrie, but I still don’t like it.”
“I’m not sure I can change her mind either, Dean,” Colin cautioned, seeing where this was headed.
“I’m not asking you to change it, really. I just want you to talk to her and see what she says. You said you were going to go visit her anyway. Just…talk to her when you do.”
“Dean…”
“Please, Colin,” Dean said, sitting up and staring at him earnestly. “I don’t expect you to fix it, honest. I just want you to figure out if…if it is fixable. I mean, if Carrie and I keep together, then…”
“I’ll see what I can do, Dean, promise,” Colin said. “I’ll go over this afternoon.”
“Just don’t tell Dad, okay?”
“Promise.”
***
Colin quietly obtained directions to Eva and Carrie's house without alerting Sorin to the plan, and headed into town that afternoon as he had promised. It did not take him long to find the little inn. He found himself smiling despite the reason for his errand, thinking back to Eva’s old business out of Greensward with fondness. He took a deep breath and let himself in the front door, looking around for someone to point him in the right direction.
A young woman was standing at the desk, writing something down in a thick book. He stepped forward. "Hi, I'm looking for Eva. Is she in?"
"Oh, yes, she's here," the woman said, offering Colin a bright smile. "I'll find her for you. Wait one moment."
"Thank you," Colin said, leaning against the wall to wait.
A few minutes later, Eva walked in. Substantial wisps of hair had fallen out of her bun and her apron was stained, indicating that she had been hard at work doing some sort of messy task. Her eyes lit up when she saw him. "Colin Lockholme!" She offered him her hand. "It's so good to see you."
Colin grinned. "Same goes," he said, shaking it enthusiastically. "How goes the business? You've downsized just a bit."
"It's going well. I like having fewer lodgers who stay for longer periods of time. It's less harrying."
"I can't argue with the logic there, although you ran the best place in the Greensward area." He made a bit of a face. "I still have to catch myself when I'm suggesting places around Greensward not to suggest you."
Eva smiled widely. "Well, thank you, Colin. I've always appreciated your business, and your friendship. When Carrie told me she’d talked to you about joining KIN, I was hoping you’d stop by before going back to Greensward. It’s been a while."
"It has! I almost didn’t recognize Carrie, to my shame."
"She said she remembered you right away."
"Plainly I just suck," Colin said. "And here I'm supposed to remember names and faces both!"
She laughed. "It comes with old age. I'm guilty as well."
He wrinkled his nose. "I don't like to think of myself as old. I think part of it was the context," he said, sobering some as he looked at her.
"That context?" she repeated, perplexed.
He glanced past her for a moment, making sure the girl at the desk had not returned. "Your daughter in Sorin's house," he said, looking almost apologetic.
Eva's eyes narrowed. "I see."
"Can we talk?" he asked, suspecting she would know what he meant.
"Certainly, we can talk," she said, but her tone had snapped into cold formality. "Would you like something to drink?"
"A glass of water would be great. It's a longer walk here than I realized."
"Sure. I'll get that for you and we can sit on the back porch."
They were soon settled, but Colin could tell that Eva had shut down. She sipped at her water and looked at the scenery beyond the back fence instead of at him. Colin leaned forward so that he knew he was at least in her peripheral vision. "Look, Eva, I don't blame you at all for having every emotion about Sorin that you do and I'm not here to change your mind. I just...I respect you and I want you to know why I do trust him."
"All right. Why do you trust him?"
He smiled briefly, following her gaze out to the fence. "It's sometimes hard to remember why I did initially. And, well, I guess that's because I didn't totally. What convinced me was watching him with Dean. He loves that kid more than life itself, not that it's hard to."
"Dean is a good boy," Eva said. "I like him very much."
"I think everyone who has met him except maybe Vlad has liked him," Colin agreed.
She shuddered a little at the mention of Sorin's brother. "I don't understand what you're getting at, Colin. Why are you telling me this if you're not trying to change my mind?"
"It's not...there's just so much that most people don't know...and I know you actually have a reason to dislike him. A really good reason to dislike him..." he paused and then laughed slightly. "It's not often I'm at a loss for words."
She took a sip of her water, her stony expression beginning to crumble.
He let out a breath. "I think what I've learned more than anything else, from Ani, Ren, and Sorin himself, is that Sorin was barely more responsible than Ani, even if Sorin claims otherwise."
"He allowed it to happen," said Eva. "He participated. There's no excusing that."
Colin snorted. "So did I and Beau and my parents and Ben's parents, the duke and duchess."
"You know what I mean, Colin. You didn't start it. You were trying to end it."
"Yeah, I do," he said, letting out a breath. "All I wanted to do was give you my perspective, Eva. You're welcome to keep hating him. I think he actually prefers that. He'd be pissed at me and Dean if he knew I was here."
"Carrie doesn't hate him," she said softly. "She doesn't even care. She's...I don't even know how long she's known, but she never told me. Didn't even think to. I don't understand it. I just..." She pressed her lips tightly together and pinched the bridge of her nose.
He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Did you ask her why she didn't find it important? Or why she likes him?"
"She said he was nice to her. I don't know."
"I think...I think that a lot of the next generation doesn't care, because they barely remember when it was different," he pointed out, not sure how she would take that.
"She doesn't seem to care that she hasn't had a father since she was a toddler, either," Eva said bitterly. "I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised."
"You get used to what you know," he said.
She shook her head, nothing but misery in her face now. "I'm not used to it. Knowing this has just dredged it all back up again, and I don't know what to do. I can't stop Carrie from doing what she wants because she's all I have. I don't want..."
"I know," Colin said quietly. "And I'm so sorry you've ended up in this position."
"Are you sure he wouldn't hurt her?" she asked.
"I'm positive he will never ever hurt her," he said seriously, thinking of the stories he had slowly pulled out of the residents of Sorin’s house over the years.
Eva exhaled. "Then...I will try to take your word for it."
"I promise I'd tell you if I had the slightest doubt, Eva. I hope you know me well enough to know that." Colin smiled faintly.
She nodded quickly and reached for her water again. He patted her shoulder before finally taking his hand away. "I'm sorry for ruining your day," he said, striving for a bit of levity.
Eva shook her head. "I wouldn't call it that. I wanted to talk to you anyway, but not about this. I told you that Carrie mentioned KIN after she talked to you about it. She’s seriously thinking about joining up."
Colin instantly brightened. "Really? I was serious but I didn't think she'd go for it!"
"No, she definitely wants to. She's very excited about it."
He eyed her. "And you? It'll be another year and a half or so until she's done with school, right?"
"I want her to finish school first, yes."
"I can wait that long," he said easily. "What do you think about it?"
"I'd probably be more excited about it if she had told me at a better time," Eva said, "but I do think it would be a good thing for her to do."
"I think she'd be an awesome help. And to be honest, I always like finding more people that can work with this crowd." He jerked his head back toward Sorin’s house. "It's good to keep them all on their toes."
"What do they do? Or can you tell me anything about that?"
"They do a little bit of everything. They spend time here and in Yulkido going through what the many different people we have over the four countries are sending us. They spend time investigating some of the leads off there, and sometimes they get themselves in trouble, that they always manage to get out of again."
Eva smiled faintly. "That's not necessarily the best thing to say to the mother of a potential recruit, especially one you know is going through an emotional crisis."
Colin shrugged. "You know me, I'm dedicated to being honest. Ninety-nine percent of the time, they don't find trouble and things go off without a hitch."
"I know it's unreasonable to expect it to be one hundred percent, but..." She rubbed at her face.
"I'd say that I don't know if Carrie would choose to be a field agent...but, well, that'd be a lie."
"Oh, I know she would. That's exactly her type of work."
"I wish I could give you that one hundred percent guarantee, but I can't," Colin said. "However, I have yet to lose an agent, if that helps, and I've been in business...well, you of all people know how long."
"I trust you. It's Carrie's choice, and I know you'll do your best to protect her."
"I will, and so will Russ, Morgan and the rest."
"All right, then."
"So I haven't completely ruined your day, then?"
"No, you haven't."
"Good, I'm glad," he said with a smile. "And I promise to come visit more often for no reason."
"You'll always be welcome, Colin." Eva looked a little more relaxed now.
"Good, because I don't think I've had stew and dumplings as good as you make it since I last stayed with you!"
She chuckled. "Does that mean you intend to stay for dinner?"
He positively beamed at her. "Can I?"
"Of course you can."
"Yes!"
She got up. "Well, do me a favor and go find Carrie for me. Dinner should be ready by the time you get back."
"Can do," he said happily, hopping up and heading in search of Carrie.
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy universe, post-NIEE
Challenge: Gingerbread 14 (wicked witch), Orange 11 (I could eat a horse) [Marina]; Guava 2 (why can’t you be more like ____?), Trail Mix 21 (in the shade) [Casey]; FOTD (impetrate) [both]
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Sprinkles, Smoothie [both]; Malt (BTS prompt - Eva with the candlestick in the hall) [Marina]
Word Count: 2,132
Rating: PG
Summary: Colin intervenes.
Notes: Follows this and this. One more piece that will help bridge the gap between this one and the previous two is coming soon.
Colin folded up the message, adding it to the pile to send out with whoever in the house went out next. He then heard someone in the doorway and looked up, spotting Dean as he poked his head in the door and looked around. “Dad here?” the boy asked.
“No, he and Russ went out to do something in the barn. They shouldn’t be long.”
“That’s okay.” Dean stood in the doorway, shuffling his feet nervously. “I actually wanted to talk to you anyway.”
“Me?” Colin said, setting everything down to give Dean his full attention. “What can I help you with?”
“Carrie says you know her mom.”
“Well, yes,” he said, blinking. “I’ve known Eva for…well, since Sorin took over Tira, really. That’s, how many years now?”
“Around thirteen. Carrie said she was just a toddler when she first met you.”
“Right, thirteen. I mean, we haven’t had much contact in a while, but I would consider us friends. Like to think we are, at least. So why do you ask?”
“Can you go talk to her?”
“Well, I was planning on it anyway now that I know she’s settled here, but I suspect you’ve got a reason.”
Dean sighed, plopping himself in the chair across from his dad’s desk and slouching into it. “Carrie stayed for dinner the other night and it got dark, so Dad and I drove her back.” He fiddled with a piece of paper. “She recognized Dad.”
“Oh,” Colin said, wincing. That could not have been good. “What happened?”
“She gave Carrie crap and Dad went and tried to talk to her, but it didn’t really go great. I mean, she’s been nice to me and she’s gotten over it with Carrie, but I still don’t like it.”
“I’m not sure I can change her mind either, Dean,” Colin cautioned, seeing where this was headed.
“I’m not asking you to change it, really. I just want you to talk to her and see what she says. You said you were going to go visit her anyway. Just…talk to her when you do.”
“Dean…”
“Please, Colin,” Dean said, sitting up and staring at him earnestly. “I don’t expect you to fix it, honest. I just want you to figure out if…if it is fixable. I mean, if Carrie and I keep together, then…”
“I’ll see what I can do, Dean, promise,” Colin said. “I’ll go over this afternoon.”
“Just don’t tell Dad, okay?”
“Promise.”
***
Colin quietly obtained directions to Eva and Carrie's house without alerting Sorin to the plan, and headed into town that afternoon as he had promised. It did not take him long to find the little inn. He found himself smiling despite the reason for his errand, thinking back to Eva’s old business out of Greensward with fondness. He took a deep breath and let himself in the front door, looking around for someone to point him in the right direction.
A young woman was standing at the desk, writing something down in a thick book. He stepped forward. "Hi, I'm looking for Eva. Is she in?"
"Oh, yes, she's here," the woman said, offering Colin a bright smile. "I'll find her for you. Wait one moment."
"Thank you," Colin said, leaning against the wall to wait.
A few minutes later, Eva walked in. Substantial wisps of hair had fallen out of her bun and her apron was stained, indicating that she had been hard at work doing some sort of messy task. Her eyes lit up when she saw him. "Colin Lockholme!" She offered him her hand. "It's so good to see you."
Colin grinned. "Same goes," he said, shaking it enthusiastically. "How goes the business? You've downsized just a bit."
"It's going well. I like having fewer lodgers who stay for longer periods of time. It's less harrying."
"I can't argue with the logic there, although you ran the best place in the Greensward area." He made a bit of a face. "I still have to catch myself when I'm suggesting places around Greensward not to suggest you."
Eva smiled widely. "Well, thank you, Colin. I've always appreciated your business, and your friendship. When Carrie told me she’d talked to you about joining KIN, I was hoping you’d stop by before going back to Greensward. It’s been a while."
"It has! I almost didn’t recognize Carrie, to my shame."
"She said she remembered you right away."
"Plainly I just suck," Colin said. "And here I'm supposed to remember names and faces both!"
She laughed. "It comes with old age. I'm guilty as well."
He wrinkled his nose. "I don't like to think of myself as old. I think part of it was the context," he said, sobering some as he looked at her.
"That context?" she repeated, perplexed.
He glanced past her for a moment, making sure the girl at the desk had not returned. "Your daughter in Sorin's house," he said, looking almost apologetic.
Eva's eyes narrowed. "I see."
"Can we talk?" he asked, suspecting she would know what he meant.
"Certainly, we can talk," she said, but her tone had snapped into cold formality. "Would you like something to drink?"
"A glass of water would be great. It's a longer walk here than I realized."
"Sure. I'll get that for you and we can sit on the back porch."
They were soon settled, but Colin could tell that Eva had shut down. She sipped at her water and looked at the scenery beyond the back fence instead of at him. Colin leaned forward so that he knew he was at least in her peripheral vision. "Look, Eva, I don't blame you at all for having every emotion about Sorin that you do and I'm not here to change your mind. I just...I respect you and I want you to know why I do trust him."
"All right. Why do you trust him?"
He smiled briefly, following her gaze out to the fence. "It's sometimes hard to remember why I did initially. And, well, I guess that's because I didn't totally. What convinced me was watching him with Dean. He loves that kid more than life itself, not that it's hard to."
"Dean is a good boy," Eva said. "I like him very much."
"I think everyone who has met him except maybe Vlad has liked him," Colin agreed.
She shuddered a little at the mention of Sorin's brother. "I don't understand what you're getting at, Colin. Why are you telling me this if you're not trying to change my mind?"
"It's not...there's just so much that most people don't know...and I know you actually have a reason to dislike him. A really good reason to dislike him..." he paused and then laughed slightly. "It's not often I'm at a loss for words."
She took a sip of her water, her stony expression beginning to crumble.
He let out a breath. "I think what I've learned more than anything else, from Ani, Ren, and Sorin himself, is that Sorin was barely more responsible than Ani, even if Sorin claims otherwise."
"He allowed it to happen," said Eva. "He participated. There's no excusing that."
Colin snorted. "So did I and Beau and my parents and Ben's parents, the duke and duchess."
"You know what I mean, Colin. You didn't start it. You were trying to end it."
"Yeah, I do," he said, letting out a breath. "All I wanted to do was give you my perspective, Eva. You're welcome to keep hating him. I think he actually prefers that. He'd be pissed at me and Dean if he knew I was here."
"Carrie doesn't hate him," she said softly. "She doesn't even care. She's...I don't even know how long she's known, but she never told me. Didn't even think to. I don't understand it. I just..." She pressed her lips tightly together and pinched the bridge of her nose.
He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Did you ask her why she didn't find it important? Or why she likes him?"
"She said he was nice to her. I don't know."
"I think...I think that a lot of the next generation doesn't care, because they barely remember when it was different," he pointed out, not sure how she would take that.
"She doesn't seem to care that she hasn't had a father since she was a toddler, either," Eva said bitterly. "I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised."
"You get used to what you know," he said.
She shook her head, nothing but misery in her face now. "I'm not used to it. Knowing this has just dredged it all back up again, and I don't know what to do. I can't stop Carrie from doing what she wants because she's all I have. I don't want..."
"I know," Colin said quietly. "And I'm so sorry you've ended up in this position."
"Are you sure he wouldn't hurt her?" she asked.
"I'm positive he will never ever hurt her," he said seriously, thinking of the stories he had slowly pulled out of the residents of Sorin’s house over the years.
Eva exhaled. "Then...I will try to take your word for it."
"I promise I'd tell you if I had the slightest doubt, Eva. I hope you know me well enough to know that." Colin smiled faintly.
She nodded quickly and reached for her water again. He patted her shoulder before finally taking his hand away. "I'm sorry for ruining your day," he said, striving for a bit of levity.
Eva shook her head. "I wouldn't call it that. I wanted to talk to you anyway, but not about this. I told you that Carrie mentioned KIN after she talked to you about it. She’s seriously thinking about joining up."
Colin instantly brightened. "Really? I was serious but I didn't think she'd go for it!"
"No, she definitely wants to. She's very excited about it."
He eyed her. "And you? It'll be another year and a half or so until she's done with school, right?"
"I want her to finish school first, yes."
"I can wait that long," he said easily. "What do you think about it?"
"I'd probably be more excited about it if she had told me at a better time," Eva said, "but I do think it would be a good thing for her to do."
"I think she'd be an awesome help. And to be honest, I always like finding more people that can work with this crowd." He jerked his head back toward Sorin’s house. "It's good to keep them all on their toes."
"What do they do? Or can you tell me anything about that?"
"They do a little bit of everything. They spend time here and in Yulkido going through what the many different people we have over the four countries are sending us. They spend time investigating some of the leads off there, and sometimes they get themselves in trouble, that they always manage to get out of again."
Eva smiled faintly. "That's not necessarily the best thing to say to the mother of a potential recruit, especially one you know is going through an emotional crisis."
Colin shrugged. "You know me, I'm dedicated to being honest. Ninety-nine percent of the time, they don't find trouble and things go off without a hitch."
"I know it's unreasonable to expect it to be one hundred percent, but..." She rubbed at her face.
"I'd say that I don't know if Carrie would choose to be a field agent...but, well, that'd be a lie."
"Oh, I know she would. That's exactly her type of work."
"I wish I could give you that one hundred percent guarantee, but I can't," Colin said. "However, I have yet to lose an agent, if that helps, and I've been in business...well, you of all people know how long."
"I trust you. It's Carrie's choice, and I know you'll do your best to protect her."
"I will, and so will Russ, Morgan and the rest."
"All right, then."
"So I haven't completely ruined your day, then?"
"No, you haven't."
"Good, I'm glad," he said with a smile. "And I promise to come visit more often for no reason."
"You'll always be welcome, Colin." Eva looked a little more relaxed now.
"Good, because I don't think I've had stew and dumplings as good as you make it since I last stayed with you!"
She chuckled. "Does that mean you intend to stay for dinner?"
He positively beamed at her. "Can I?"
"Of course you can."
"Yes!"
She got up. "Well, do me a favor and go find Carrie for me. Dinner should be ready by the time you get back."
"Can do," he said happily, hopping up and heading in search of Carrie.