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Kyriakos | Memory 53
53. "He was twice the man you could ever hope to be." (Significant Negative)
THIS IS A LONG ONE.
This memory takes place shortly after this one.
She doesn't trust the man as far as she can throw him, but with all the craziness dying down at the inn, Tempest decides to investigate the information he gave her anyway - mainly, her father's parents, and her grandparents.
It's just a location on the paper and the name of a shop - a bookstore, and one that she had been to before, years and years ago before she was Tempest. She remembers the lady who worked there being friendly enough, and a tiny sliver of hope peeks through.
An hour later, and changed into clean clothes, Tempest finds herself in front of the shop. Tiny bells jingle as she enters, and just as she remembers, the elderly woman who works there greets her pleasantly, and asks if she can help her find anything.
Not one to beat around the bush, Tempest explains that she's not here for a book, but instead to ask about some information she was given by an acquaintance. The woman is pleasant and tells her to go ahead, and Tempest just outright asks if she has a son named Doran.
The reaction is immediate: the woman pales, the friendly demeanor . . . not quite gone, but not the same as it was. Without answering the woman heads for the entrance to the store and locks the door, before inviting Tempest back to the living area for some tea. Wary, Tempest accepts.
Once seated, the woman - Evelyn La Paulmier, she briefly introduces herself as - explains that she did have a son named Doran, a smart young man who was gifted in magic and who had aspirations far greater than he could actually accomplish. Even though he was from the poorer side of the merchant district, though, it was rumored he was supposed to hired on with someone as permanent, magical protection. Tempest points out that it would have been decent work, and Evelyn agrees; however, she goes on to explain that it didn't pan out that way, and that he had fallen in love with a village woman (her words) and moved out of the capital shortly afterwards, and she hadn't seen him since.
When she asks Tempest why she's asking after her son, she decides to be honest for once - she tells him that Doran didn't fall in love with just any village woman, but an Elvish noble - and that they moved to a village only a few days from the capital. The woman asks how Tempest knows all of this, and she says that she's his daughter - and Evelyn's granddaughter. Before the woman can react, Tempest thanks her for telling her what her family name was - it was not someone anyone used in the village, so she never knew until then.
And then a man walks in - Evelyn's husband, Oscer. He takes one look at Tempest and scowls at a stranger being in his home, and demands an answer from his wife - who finally bursts into tears and explains that this is his granddaughter - ("Aurae", she supplies, when Evelyn blanks on her name). Tempest politely doesn't scowl as the woman goes on about fate and the gods bringing them together and that maybe they'd forgive them for . . . something. Tempest isn't sure.
At least, not until Oscer speaks up. Immediately he goes on a tirade, scolding his wife for allowing this "abomination" into their home, and that his good-for-nothing bastard of a son deserves to rot in whatever hellhole of a village he's taken up residence in, with his savage, Elvish wife. He finishes up by saying that he doesn't care who Tempest is, but that she's no family of his.
Tempest takes all of this as calmly as she takes anything - at least at first. She puts down her half-finished tea and politely thanks Evelyn for her hospitality, then gets to her feet.
And then she apologizes, before she draws her sword and backs Oscer against a wall, the point of it pressed to his jugular.
"I should kill you for the way you speak of him." She says, voice low, but still calm, when Oscer demands to be freed. Evelyn lets out a plea behind her, but she doesn't hear it. Oscer doesn't scream, but he tries to grab Tempest's arm, but she's stronger, and she presses the sword even closer. Oscer stops immediately.
"What a pitiful father you are, disowning a son merely because he fell in love with someone who wasn't one of your kind. Do you even know what became of your son after he left? Did you even try to speak to him after?" With each pause, she presses the sword, until it's nicking Oscer's neck. Evelyn is crying, but Oscer doesn't answer her. He just scowls, and, feeling brave, lifts his head as high as he can and tells Tempest that he doesn't care.
"No? You don't care that your son is dead?" She manages the words even enough, her voice still calm, but inside she's raging. Evelyn makes a distressed noise, and Oscer looks shocked, but she doesn't stop. She can't. "It's because of people like you, who have nothing but hatred for everything else, that I couldn't even put his damned body to rest because I couldn't find one. They burned my village so thoroughly that I couldn't tell his or my mother's remains apart from the damned bed they burned in."
By now Evelyn is sobbing, and even Oscer looks upset. With a disgusted noise she pulls her sword away and sheathes it, but doesn't leave; not yet.
"My father once told me he wanted me to meet you, despite how you may feel about it. Even knowing you would hate him more, and hate me just because I was born. But you know what?"
And she leans in right in Oscer's face. "I'm glad you disowned him. When he spoke of you, he only spoke of you with love in his heart, and not once did he disrespect you or his mother. He was a man any father would be proud of to have, and all you have done is disgraced yourself speaking of him as you have. Is that not worse than death to your kind? To be disgrace."
She finally pulls back, allowing her words to sink in. When she finally meets Oscer's eyes again, she stands up straight, lifts her chin, and confidently tells him, "He was twice the man you could ever hope to be. Remember that the next time you decide to soil his memory."
And with that, she turns and inclines her head to Evelyn, apologizing once more, and leaves the bookstore. She doesn't look back once.
The memory ends with Tempest stopping under the bridge separating the merchant and poor districts and finding a dark corner to sit in, so she can cry in peace.
tl;dr version: Tempest finds her grandparents, her grandfather is a giant bag of dicks, so she tells him off and tells him how great her father is and leaves to hide under a bridge and cry about it.
What she learned:
- She goes into this with a tiny bit of hope; things worked out well enough with her uncle and cousin, maybe it will with her father's parents?
- SHE HAS A FAMILY NAME it's La Paulmier.
- Her grandparents, Evelyn and Oscer La Paulmier. They run a bookstore in the merchant district.
- HER GRANDMOTHER SEEMS VERY NICE if a bit . . . unsure about meeting their half-blood granddaughter
- Her grandfather on the other hand immediately hit all of Tempest's buttons and called her parents all manner of nasty things. (That's a big no)
- How her parents actually died - they burned in their beds, so it must have been right as the fires started in her village. HA HA HA . . .
- Welp
- There went hope of family on her father's side
- Good.
- Even if the whole thing made her really upset in the end
THIS IS A LONG ONE.
This memory takes place shortly after this one.
She doesn't trust the man as far as she can throw him, but with all the craziness dying down at the inn, Tempest decides to investigate the information he gave her anyway - mainly, her father's parents, and her grandparents.
It's just a location on the paper and the name of a shop - a bookstore, and one that she had been to before, years and years ago before she was Tempest. She remembers the lady who worked there being friendly enough, and a tiny sliver of hope peeks through.
An hour later, and changed into clean clothes, Tempest finds herself in front of the shop. Tiny bells jingle as she enters, and just as she remembers, the elderly woman who works there greets her pleasantly, and asks if she can help her find anything.
Not one to beat around the bush, Tempest explains that she's not here for a book, but instead to ask about some information she was given by an acquaintance. The woman is pleasant and tells her to go ahead, and Tempest just outright asks if she has a son named Doran.
The reaction is immediate: the woman pales, the friendly demeanor . . . not quite gone, but not the same as it was. Without answering the woman heads for the entrance to the store and locks the door, before inviting Tempest back to the living area for some tea. Wary, Tempest accepts.
Once seated, the woman - Evelyn La Paulmier, she briefly introduces herself as - explains that she did have a son named Doran, a smart young man who was gifted in magic and who had aspirations far greater than he could actually accomplish. Even though he was from the poorer side of the merchant district, though, it was rumored he was supposed to hired on with someone as permanent, magical protection. Tempest points out that it would have been decent work, and Evelyn agrees; however, she goes on to explain that it didn't pan out that way, and that he had fallen in love with a village woman (her words) and moved out of the capital shortly afterwards, and she hadn't seen him since.
When she asks Tempest why she's asking after her son, she decides to be honest for once - she tells him that Doran didn't fall in love with just any village woman, but an Elvish noble - and that they moved to a village only a few days from the capital. The woman asks how Tempest knows all of this, and she says that she's his daughter - and Evelyn's granddaughter. Before the woman can react, Tempest thanks her for telling her what her family name was - it was not someone anyone used in the village, so she never knew until then.
And then a man walks in - Evelyn's husband, Oscer. He takes one look at Tempest and scowls at a stranger being in his home, and demands an answer from his wife - who finally bursts into tears and explains that this is his granddaughter - ("Aurae", she supplies, when Evelyn blanks on her name). Tempest politely doesn't scowl as the woman goes on about fate and the gods bringing them together and that maybe they'd forgive them for . . . something. Tempest isn't sure.
At least, not until Oscer speaks up. Immediately he goes on a tirade, scolding his wife for allowing this "abomination" into their home, and that his good-for-nothing bastard of a son deserves to rot in whatever hellhole of a village he's taken up residence in, with his savage, Elvish wife. He finishes up by saying that he doesn't care who Tempest is, but that she's no family of his.
Tempest takes all of this as calmly as she takes anything - at least at first. She puts down her half-finished tea and politely thanks Evelyn for her hospitality, then gets to her feet.
And then she apologizes, before she draws her sword and backs Oscer against a wall, the point of it pressed to his jugular.
"I should kill you for the way you speak of him." She says, voice low, but still calm, when Oscer demands to be freed. Evelyn lets out a plea behind her, but she doesn't hear it. Oscer doesn't scream, but he tries to grab Tempest's arm, but she's stronger, and she presses the sword even closer. Oscer stops immediately.
"What a pitiful father you are, disowning a son merely because he fell in love with someone who wasn't one of your kind. Do you even know what became of your son after he left? Did you even try to speak to him after?" With each pause, she presses the sword, until it's nicking Oscer's neck. Evelyn is crying, but Oscer doesn't answer her. He just scowls, and, feeling brave, lifts his head as high as he can and tells Tempest that he doesn't care.
"No? You don't care that your son is dead?" She manages the words even enough, her voice still calm, but inside she's raging. Evelyn makes a distressed noise, and Oscer looks shocked, but she doesn't stop. She can't. "It's because of people like you, who have nothing but hatred for everything else, that I couldn't even put his damned body to rest because I couldn't find one. They burned my village so thoroughly that I couldn't tell his or my mother's remains apart from the damned bed they burned in."
By now Evelyn is sobbing, and even Oscer looks upset. With a disgusted noise she pulls her sword away and sheathes it, but doesn't leave; not yet.
"My father once told me he wanted me to meet you, despite how you may feel about it. Even knowing you would hate him more, and hate me just because I was born. But you know what?"
And she leans in right in Oscer's face. "I'm glad you disowned him. When he spoke of you, he only spoke of you with love in his heart, and not once did he disrespect you or his mother. He was a man any father would be proud of to have, and all you have done is disgraced yourself speaking of him as you have. Is that not worse than death to your kind? To be disgrace."
She finally pulls back, allowing her words to sink in. When she finally meets Oscer's eyes again, she stands up straight, lifts her chin, and confidently tells him, "He was twice the man you could ever hope to be. Remember that the next time you decide to soil his memory."
And with that, she turns and inclines her head to Evelyn, apologizing once more, and leaves the bookstore. She doesn't look back once.
The memory ends with Tempest stopping under the bridge separating the merchant and poor districts and finding a dark corner to sit in, so she can cry in peace.
tl;dr version: Tempest finds her grandparents, her grandfather is a giant bag of dicks, so she tells him off and tells him how great her father is and leaves to hide under a bridge and cry about it.
What she learned:
- She goes into this with a tiny bit of hope; things worked out well enough with her uncle and cousin, maybe it will with her father's parents?
- SHE HAS A FAMILY NAME it's La Paulmier.
- Her grandparents, Evelyn and Oscer La Paulmier. They run a bookstore in the merchant district.
- HER GRANDMOTHER SEEMS VERY NICE if a bit . . . unsure about meeting their half-blood granddaughter
- Her grandfather on the other hand immediately hit all of Tempest's buttons and called her parents all manner of nasty things. (That's a big no)
- How her parents actually died - they burned in their beds, so it must have been right as the fires started in her village. HA HA HA . . .
- Welp
- There went hope of family on her father's side
- Good.
- Even if the whole thing made her really upset in the end