Geddoe (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
trueltning_fury) wrote2008-04-14 06:33 pm
trueltning_fury) wrote2008-04-14 06:33 pm
Prose log with Queen
Who: trueltning_fury and queen_of_castle
When: after Queen's last plea for help
Where: Queen's room
What: the captain checks up on his forlorn friend
Even though Queen was no longer technically in the unit, seeing what she was going through made Geddoe as worried as ever about his friend. While he wasn't good at cheering people up, or giving advice on such a personal problem, he could at least try, so he went up to Queen's room and knocked gently - just in case the toddlers were sleeping.
Queen had just put Ivan to sleep and was now rocking Elyssa, humming softly in hopes to get her to fall asleep quicker. Unfortunately, Elyssa was too stubborn and the infant's attention turned towards the slight rapping noise coming from the door. Sighing, Queen called out, "Yes?"
Geddoe cleared his throat. "Queen...it's me. Is this a bad time?"
"Oh, Geddoe. Come in. It's fine." She continued trying to rock Elyssa to sleep as she stood up to open the door for him. "This little one is too stubborn for her own good."
Geddoe glanced at the little girl with the slightest smirk. "Takes after her mother, does she?" He stepped in and closed the door with a quiet click. The room looked the same as the last time he had visited, even if Queen's husband was no longer there. "I just had some time, and thought I would see how you're doing. Since you don't drop by the tavern as often as I thought you would."
Queen smiled at that. "Maybe she does. But whether that's a good thing or not remains to be seen." She patted Elyssa's back soothingly when she began to fuss a little, as if she were trying to say something in response. Queen then walked over to the bed and sat down, still rubbing her daughter's back gently and humming a little to coax her a little more. "If I didn't have these two, I would probably be at the tavern every moment I could. However, it would be completely irresponsible of me to do so with two babies to take care of." Lying Elyssa down on the bed next to her brother, Queen sighed again. "I honestly don't know how I'm making it from day to day though ..."
Geddoe watched from a distance, not wanting to interfere, but listened patiently. "You've been putting on a brave face. Teasing me, talking to people. If I didn't know you as well as I do, I'd have been fooled."
"It is the only thing I can think of to try and cope." She leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands, a stricken look on her face. "Otherwise, the pain would just be too overwhelming. Otherwise, I'd collapse into my grief and end up neglecting my poor children ..."
Geddoe stepped closer, but standing there towering over her made him feel foolish, so he knelt down to face her. "Sometimes, having someone who needs you is just enough to help you get by. Even though I'm sure there are dozens of people around the castle who would love to watch the kids here and there so you can...collapse."
Queen lifted her head a little to look back at him, her lip quivering. "I can't. I just can't. From the moment I was born, I never could afford to sit around and grieve, whatever my particular circumstances might have been. I was dealt bad cards but I had to work with what I had regardless. What's the point of moping, Geddoe, when life is simply unfair?"
Geddoe's eyebrow lowered into a pained look. "You're asking the man who moped for about thirty years after the Fire Bringer War?" He shook his head. "I don't know how I've gotten as far as I have, either. I wish I had some great, swelling words of advice that will change your life...but I don't."
Leaning over her knees again, she raked a hand through her hair before resting her head in her hands. "I'd try and blame someone - the way I blame Harmonia for my fucked up childhood - but who can I blame for Graham's disappearance? Fate? The same fate that brought us together to begin with?" She took a deep breath before sighing again and continuing. "I'm sorry, Geddoe. I know that I'm asking so many things that can't really be answered."
"And railing at fate never gets us anywhere, as it is." Geddoe leaned his elbow on his knee. "Don't be sorry. Anger is a part of grief, and I make a good punching bag. If that's what you need - to get it out, one way or another." He tossed a hand idly. "I'm here."
Queen couldn't help but crack a a tiny smile at that. "But I can't hit someone or something I'm not mad at. If you were Ace and saying something obnoxious, perhaps. And I'd hate to put you in the infirmary yet again."
The eyebrow went up at a different angle this time. "What makes you think I'm that soft?"
"Heh, nothing. But I've got a lot of anger that's not going anywhere anytime soon."
"Then maybe it's a good thing I'm not as good as Ace at pushing your buttons." Geddoe fumbled with his gloves for a moment, not sure what else he could say. "It's difficult to stand by and not be able to help. It's only now that I'm realizing...how much my friends mean to me. Their problems are my problems. I would do anything." He looked up quickly. "...short of babysitting."
Queen rolled her eyes and shook her head. "It comes naturally to him. It's like he lives to annoy me. Even if he isn't always aware of it." She smirked at how quick he was to add the exception. "Of course. I still think you'd get along splendidly with the twins though." Glancing out the window, she continued. "And just because you cannot bring Graham back doesn't mean you haven't been able to help."
Geddoe rested his chin in the palm of his hand, gazing concernedly at her. "Have I? That's...good. Because sometimes I feel so ill-equipped for this sort of thing. Captains aren't counselors. I'm great at giving orders and knocking heads, that's about it."
She nodded. "You have come to see me and talk to me, counselor or not. Sometimes, those little things matter a lot." Sitting up again to turn around to check on Elyssa, Queen picked her up again when she noticed that she was still awake and held her in her lap. "They really do ..."
"That's good." Geddoe watched the child, hiding his wary sense, but now that he'd gotten used to it, seeing Queen with a baby in her arms was very natural. Very right. "I'd find it hard to believe that I'm the only one, though. I'm sure you have no end of people wanting to pat you on the shoulder and do favors for you."
Elyssa sat up on Queen's lap to look up curiously at Geddoe. She gurgled a little, making some babbling noises before cooing "Gehddy!" Queen smirked at that. "That's right. It's Uncle Geddy-bear." She bounced Elyssa on her lap a little. "I'm aware and grateful that there are plenty of people who would like to comfort me but no one has really stopped by to see me other than you."
Geddoe found himself chuckling a little, and even blushing slightly, at Elyssa's recognition. "Really?" His smile faded. "No one? Well, Aila's away but...not Joker? Nash?" He frowned, disturbed by that.
Queen shook her head. "If I'm cooped up in here, I don't see anyone. They might be afraid of disturbing the babies, I don't really know."
"Or of disturbing you." Geddoe gave her the helpless look again. "I don't get it. I've found people around Budehuc to be generous to a fault, always nosing into other people's business and trying to help when they're not needed. I can't imagine what's stopping them this time." He closed his eye and sighed. "I suppose, it's good you've got your ol' captain, then."
"Yes, but they're also quite busy at times too." She smiled slightly at him. "It is and I'm glad." Elyssa cooed and Queen bounced her again. "Isn't it good that Uncle Geddy-bear is here, sweetie? He has always been reliable."
Geddoe flushed again; he still wasn't used to that ridiculous nickname. Good thing few other people had heard it. "You're lucky I like you," he said wryly. "I don't let just anyone get away with that."
"Heh heh, I would start to worry if you did." She cocked her head to the side a little and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Although, does that mean you don't even let Sigurd call you pet names?"
"Sigurd calls me..." The redness became rather obviously pronounced. He'd spoken to no one, yet, about the personal details of his relationship. His voice dropped in volume. "...he calls me 'love,' sometimes," he confessed.
Her other eyebrow raised in amused surprise. "Oh really? Heh, no need to blush. At least it's nothing retarded like schnookums or hunny-bun." She paused to process that thought in her head and snorted in laughter at the picture of Sigurd calling him either name.
Geddoe clapped his hand over his eye. "Don't put that in my head. No, it's nothing like that. He's a decent man, we both respect each other enough not to embarrass each other." Too much, anyway, he thought to himself, considering how much Sigurd blushed around him.
"Heh heh. Yet~ Embarrassment unfortunately comes with the territory sometimes." She lifted Elyssa and rested her against her shoulder when she started to fuss, rubbing her back soothingly. "I have been wondering something. And you really don't need to answer if you don't want to. I'll understand. But have you always liked other men your entire life?"
Geddoe folded his arms on his bent knee, relaxing a little. "I don't mind answering. I have no need to keep secrets anymore...god knows I kept them well enough the whole time you ran with me." He shook his head slightly. "Not my whole life. I've been with my share of women. But after a time, I got bored. I no longer found any of them...compatible, with the way I wanted to live my life. I could relate to men better." His eye shifted to look away. "I've never loved either, though. Not until now."
Queen blinked. "Your share of women? What, were you like Ace in your youth or something?" She shook her head. "There's a disturbing image that I didn't need to give myself. Anyways, isn't it funny that it took a freak opportunity of being here at this castle where all sorts of people from all sorts of point in time have come to live, before it happened?"
"No, I was not," Geddoe retorted, looking vaguely offended. "But I wasn't a monk, either. Before I got the rune, I was a bit of a hellion. It came with the territory." His expression faded into something more serious. "I've caught myself thinking that, yeah. That...if not for the strange ways around here, I'd have never met Sigurd. I could have continued on alone, angry, bitter, for another fifty years."
"Heh, good. I don't want to really picture it. But that makes sense." She hummed softly in Elyssa's ear, rocking a little back and forth. "It's really funny how things turn out. Did I ever tell you how I even met Graham?"
"You mentioned something about...some trouble with Nash. But other that that, no." Geddoe cocked his head slightly. "Mind telling me the story?"
"Oh, that happened later. But ironically, I met Graham right after I made a fool out of myself for making a scene about my panic over my drink being spiked with love potion. I went around with my eyes shut tightly afterwards for a day and when I woke up in the morning, I couldn't open them again. Graham offered to use his alchemy to unseal my eyes and he did, obviously. And in more ways than one."
Geddoe listened in interest. "That's...crazy. That someone slipped you a love potion, that it made you blind..." He smiled vaguely. "And when he healed you, it did what the love potion couldn't. That's far more exciting than my story."
Queen shook her head, smiling at the recollection. "It's not like I fell in love with him on the spot. We were friends first and foremost. And it took a long time before I got over my phobia. And it took ..." Her smile turned into a frown at another recollection. "... Rekion's death to bring us together, unfortunately."
Geddoe's brow furrowed. "Rekion...was killed?" He remembered the rogue saying something about alchemy and the makeup of her being, but not enough to understand how she could have died and been resurrected.
Queen nodded. "We believe Colton killed her although he denies it to this day. Graham was able to bring her back with his alchemy because she's a homunculus." Realizing that Elyssa was finally asleep, she set her back down on the bed next to Ivan, looking pensive as she recalled the events from the past couple of years.
"Ah. Now that's something a bit outside my understanding." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "She was my recipient in the secret santa thing. I gave her a knife. She's...former Howling Voice Guild, right?"
"I don't pretend to understand either but he was rather good at it. Apparently, he's Sindarian." She nodded again. "Actually, as far as I knew, she was still a part of the Guild but part of some faction that held no loyalty to Hikusaak or Harmonia."
Geddoe absorbed all of that information with his usual stoic blankness, filing it away for future reference - considering that the words "Howling Voice" had come up so recently. "I see. Hm. But...how did all of that lead to falling in love? Just...the right time for an epiphany?"
Queen's gaze drifted off again, staring off into space at something only she could see in her mind's eye. "No, I think it had happened slowly before then. Rekion's death was such an emotional event for the both of us that we simply turned to each other for comfort and support. I wrote him a letter expressing how I felt and then later he told me himself that he felt the same."
Geddoe smiled faintly. "That's kind of sweet, actually. Even I can appreciate that."
"Fortunately, the worst of our problems was my infatuation with two others and a jealous, possessed Nash. We got along really well, with no conflict."
"That was the part you'd mentioned before." Geddoe shook his head in disbelief. "Infatuations I can understand. Possessed Nash? I'll chalk it up to all the strange things that seem to go on around here of their own accord."
She sighed and nodded. "Indeed. I still don't think I understand how it happened exactly. Just hope that nothing like it happens again."
"Believe me, I hope, all right. I'm likely to have enough problems without people being possessed or switching bodies or god knows what else." Geddoe straightened a little, realizing that his legs were cramping from kneeling beside her the whole time they talked. "I can see, now, what he meant to you. As much as Sigurd does to me. And I'm sure I'd be equally devastated if the same fate happens to him."
She patted the spot beside her on the bed, gesturing for him to sit instead. "I sincerely hope or both of your sakes that it doesn't happen to him. But try not to worry about something that may or may not happen. If it does, I'll be here whenever you need someone to talk to."
Geddoe pushed himself to his feet and took the invitation, perching lightly so as not to jostle the sleeping children. "I hope I won't have to hold you to that," he murmured. "I'm more worried that Harmonia will make a move for my rune, and he'll be in harm's way. But...I don't want to spend my days worrying. Just living. I can't take a single day, or moment, for granted."
"That's perhaps the best thing you can do." She nodded in agreement. "Enjoy what you have now. Worrying never solves anything or helps anyone. Besides, as obnoxiously persistent as Harmonia can be, will they really try to take your Rune when they failed terribly the last time?"
"One never really knows, with them," Geddoe said heavily. "That's the problem. I'd never let my guard down." He turned his gaze away. "But Sigurd isn't a civilian. He's tough. He's...well, I've asked him to join the 12th. So if something happens...he'll be ready. As ready as one can be."
"True. But yeah, you're right. He's not a wimp and he should be able to take care of himself well enough." Queen watched him, thinking about whether or not it was wise to be working so closely with one's lover but did not voice her concern out loud and instead stood up to lift the twins to put them in their crib. "You'll both be all right."
Geddoe sat by and watched, smiling faintly. "Thanks, Queen. I don't know what I'd do if my friends didn't approve of who I was with." He snorted, then. "Ignore you and do my own thing as usual, probably, but...don't think I wouldn't have strong feelings about it."
Queen smirked. "Well, of course. Even if we didn't approve, you should be the one who knows best what you need. And yeah, I can see that you'd just ignore everything if that were the case." She sat back down beside him and yawned a little. "I'm sorry. Putting two kids to sleep is a pretty exhausting task in itself."
"Better you than me." Geddoe patted her shoulder kindly. "I'll let you have a nap of your own. I have a woozy pirate to look after, I shouldn't leave him alone too long."
"Heh, did he drink too much last night or something?"
"No. Bit of a fight, Roy clouted him across the head with his weapon." He rose and sighed hard, not wanting to go into the details. "It's probably just a slight concussion, but I feel the urge to dote on him. He's asleep in our quarters, I should get back to him."
"I hope it wasn't that bad of a hit. He should be checked out by Apple in any case." A grin slowly spread on her face. "Right. Go on and "dote" on your lover boy. As much doting as a mercenary captain is capable of, anyhow~"
Geddoe grinned back. Oh, if only she knew how soft he could be in his private moments. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he snorted. "All right, I won't be in your way. Get some rest, Queen." He stepped to the door, but paused and glanced over his shoulder on his good side. "Take good care of yourself. All right?"
Queen nodded. "I'll try my best. It will take some time for me to recover but you don't need to worry about me. Go on now. There's a wounded pirate that needs some pampering~"
As much as he would have liked to point out that if there was anyone wounded in need of pampering, it was her, Geddoe could not argue. He wasn't the one to do it, anyway, so saying it would amount to a lot of pointless, fluffy words. He simply nodded and let himself out so she could sleep.
Once he closed the door behind him, Queen sighed as she climbed onto the bed and underneath the covers, pulling them around her tightly and staring at the empty half of the bed for a bit before drifting off to sleep.
trueltning_fury and queen_of_castle When: after Queen's last plea for help
Where: Queen's room
What: the captain checks up on his forlorn friend
Even though Queen was no longer technically in the unit, seeing what she was going through made Geddoe as worried as ever about his friend. While he wasn't good at cheering people up, or giving advice on such a personal problem, he could at least try, so he went up to Queen's room and knocked gently - just in case the toddlers were sleeping.
Queen had just put Ivan to sleep and was now rocking Elyssa, humming softly in hopes to get her to fall asleep quicker. Unfortunately, Elyssa was too stubborn and the infant's attention turned towards the slight rapping noise coming from the door. Sighing, Queen called out, "Yes?"
Geddoe cleared his throat. "Queen...it's me. Is this a bad time?"
"Oh, Geddoe. Come in. It's fine." She continued trying to rock Elyssa to sleep as she stood up to open the door for him. "This little one is too stubborn for her own good."
Geddoe glanced at the little girl with the slightest smirk. "Takes after her mother, does she?" He stepped in and closed the door with a quiet click. The room looked the same as the last time he had visited, even if Queen's husband was no longer there. "I just had some time, and thought I would see how you're doing. Since you don't drop by the tavern as often as I thought you would."
Queen smiled at that. "Maybe she does. But whether that's a good thing or not remains to be seen." She patted Elyssa's back soothingly when she began to fuss a little, as if she were trying to say something in response. Queen then walked over to the bed and sat down, still rubbing her daughter's back gently and humming a little to coax her a little more. "If I didn't have these two, I would probably be at the tavern every moment I could. However, it would be completely irresponsible of me to do so with two babies to take care of." Lying Elyssa down on the bed next to her brother, Queen sighed again. "I honestly don't know how I'm making it from day to day though ..."
Geddoe watched from a distance, not wanting to interfere, but listened patiently. "You've been putting on a brave face. Teasing me, talking to people. If I didn't know you as well as I do, I'd have been fooled."
"It is the only thing I can think of to try and cope." She leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands, a stricken look on her face. "Otherwise, the pain would just be too overwhelming. Otherwise, I'd collapse into my grief and end up neglecting my poor children ..."
Geddoe stepped closer, but standing there towering over her made him feel foolish, so he knelt down to face her. "Sometimes, having someone who needs you is just enough to help you get by. Even though I'm sure there are dozens of people around the castle who would love to watch the kids here and there so you can...collapse."
Queen lifted her head a little to look back at him, her lip quivering. "I can't. I just can't. From the moment I was born, I never could afford to sit around and grieve, whatever my particular circumstances might have been. I was dealt bad cards but I had to work with what I had regardless. What's the point of moping, Geddoe, when life is simply unfair?"
Geddoe's eyebrow lowered into a pained look. "You're asking the man who moped for about thirty years after the Fire Bringer War?" He shook his head. "I don't know how I've gotten as far as I have, either. I wish I had some great, swelling words of advice that will change your life...but I don't."
Leaning over her knees again, she raked a hand through her hair before resting her head in her hands. "I'd try and blame someone - the way I blame Harmonia for my fucked up childhood - but who can I blame for Graham's disappearance? Fate? The same fate that brought us together to begin with?" She took a deep breath before sighing again and continuing. "I'm sorry, Geddoe. I know that I'm asking so many things that can't really be answered."
"And railing at fate never gets us anywhere, as it is." Geddoe leaned his elbow on his knee. "Don't be sorry. Anger is a part of grief, and I make a good punching bag. If that's what you need - to get it out, one way or another." He tossed a hand idly. "I'm here."
Queen couldn't help but crack a a tiny smile at that. "But I can't hit someone or something I'm not mad at. If you were Ace and saying something obnoxious, perhaps. And I'd hate to put you in the infirmary yet again."
The eyebrow went up at a different angle this time. "What makes you think I'm that soft?"
"Heh, nothing. But I've got a lot of anger that's not going anywhere anytime soon."
"Then maybe it's a good thing I'm not as good as Ace at pushing your buttons." Geddoe fumbled with his gloves for a moment, not sure what else he could say. "It's difficult to stand by and not be able to help. It's only now that I'm realizing...how much my friends mean to me. Their problems are my problems. I would do anything." He looked up quickly. "...short of babysitting."
Queen rolled her eyes and shook her head. "It comes naturally to him. It's like he lives to annoy me. Even if he isn't always aware of it." She smirked at how quick he was to add the exception. "Of course. I still think you'd get along splendidly with the twins though." Glancing out the window, she continued. "And just because you cannot bring Graham back doesn't mean you haven't been able to help."
Geddoe rested his chin in the palm of his hand, gazing concernedly at her. "Have I? That's...good. Because sometimes I feel so ill-equipped for this sort of thing. Captains aren't counselors. I'm great at giving orders and knocking heads, that's about it."
She nodded. "You have come to see me and talk to me, counselor or not. Sometimes, those little things matter a lot." Sitting up again to turn around to check on Elyssa, Queen picked her up again when she noticed that she was still awake and held her in her lap. "They really do ..."
"That's good." Geddoe watched the child, hiding his wary sense, but now that he'd gotten used to it, seeing Queen with a baby in her arms was very natural. Very right. "I'd find it hard to believe that I'm the only one, though. I'm sure you have no end of people wanting to pat you on the shoulder and do favors for you."
Elyssa sat up on Queen's lap to look up curiously at Geddoe. She gurgled a little, making some babbling noises before cooing "Gehddy!" Queen smirked at that. "That's right. It's Uncle Geddy-bear." She bounced Elyssa on her lap a little. "I'm aware and grateful that there are plenty of people who would like to comfort me but no one has really stopped by to see me other than you."
Geddoe found himself chuckling a little, and even blushing slightly, at Elyssa's recognition. "Really?" His smile faded. "No one? Well, Aila's away but...not Joker? Nash?" He frowned, disturbed by that.
Queen shook her head. "If I'm cooped up in here, I don't see anyone. They might be afraid of disturbing the babies, I don't really know."
"Or of disturbing you." Geddoe gave her the helpless look again. "I don't get it. I've found people around Budehuc to be generous to a fault, always nosing into other people's business and trying to help when they're not needed. I can't imagine what's stopping them this time." He closed his eye and sighed. "I suppose, it's good you've got your ol' captain, then."
"Yes, but they're also quite busy at times too." She smiled slightly at him. "It is and I'm glad." Elyssa cooed and Queen bounced her again. "Isn't it good that Uncle Geddy-bear is here, sweetie? He has always been reliable."
Geddoe flushed again; he still wasn't used to that ridiculous nickname. Good thing few other people had heard it. "You're lucky I like you," he said wryly. "I don't let just anyone get away with that."
"Heh heh, I would start to worry if you did." She cocked her head to the side a little and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Although, does that mean you don't even let Sigurd call you pet names?"
"Sigurd calls me..." The redness became rather obviously pronounced. He'd spoken to no one, yet, about the personal details of his relationship. His voice dropped in volume. "...he calls me 'love,' sometimes," he confessed.
Her other eyebrow raised in amused surprise. "Oh really? Heh, no need to blush. At least it's nothing retarded like schnookums or hunny-bun." She paused to process that thought in her head and snorted in laughter at the picture of Sigurd calling him either name.
Geddoe clapped his hand over his eye. "Don't put that in my head. No, it's nothing like that. He's a decent man, we both respect each other enough not to embarrass each other." Too much, anyway, he thought to himself, considering how much Sigurd blushed around him.
"Heh heh. Yet~ Embarrassment unfortunately comes with the territory sometimes." She lifted Elyssa and rested her against her shoulder when she started to fuss, rubbing her back soothingly. "I have been wondering something. And you really don't need to answer if you don't want to. I'll understand. But have you always liked other men your entire life?"
Geddoe folded his arms on his bent knee, relaxing a little. "I don't mind answering. I have no need to keep secrets anymore...god knows I kept them well enough the whole time you ran with me." He shook his head slightly. "Not my whole life. I've been with my share of women. But after a time, I got bored. I no longer found any of them...compatible, with the way I wanted to live my life. I could relate to men better." His eye shifted to look away. "I've never loved either, though. Not until now."
Queen blinked. "Your share of women? What, were you like Ace in your youth or something?" She shook her head. "There's a disturbing image that I didn't need to give myself. Anyways, isn't it funny that it took a freak opportunity of being here at this castle where all sorts of people from all sorts of point in time have come to live, before it happened?"
"No, I was not," Geddoe retorted, looking vaguely offended. "But I wasn't a monk, either. Before I got the rune, I was a bit of a hellion. It came with the territory." His expression faded into something more serious. "I've caught myself thinking that, yeah. That...if not for the strange ways around here, I'd have never met Sigurd. I could have continued on alone, angry, bitter, for another fifty years."
"Heh, good. I don't want to really picture it. But that makes sense." She hummed softly in Elyssa's ear, rocking a little back and forth. "It's really funny how things turn out. Did I ever tell you how I even met Graham?"
"You mentioned something about...some trouble with Nash. But other that that, no." Geddoe cocked his head slightly. "Mind telling me the story?"
"Oh, that happened later. But ironically, I met Graham right after I made a fool out of myself for making a scene about my panic over my drink being spiked with love potion. I went around with my eyes shut tightly afterwards for a day and when I woke up in the morning, I couldn't open them again. Graham offered to use his alchemy to unseal my eyes and he did, obviously. And in more ways than one."
Geddoe listened in interest. "That's...crazy. That someone slipped you a love potion, that it made you blind..." He smiled vaguely. "And when he healed you, it did what the love potion couldn't. That's far more exciting than my story."
Queen shook her head, smiling at the recollection. "It's not like I fell in love with him on the spot. We were friends first and foremost. And it took a long time before I got over my phobia. And it took ..." Her smile turned into a frown at another recollection. "... Rekion's death to bring us together, unfortunately."
Geddoe's brow furrowed. "Rekion...was killed?" He remembered the rogue saying something about alchemy and the makeup of her being, but not enough to understand how she could have died and been resurrected.
Queen nodded. "We believe Colton killed her although he denies it to this day. Graham was able to bring her back with his alchemy because she's a homunculus." Realizing that Elyssa was finally asleep, she set her back down on the bed next to Ivan, looking pensive as she recalled the events from the past couple of years.
"Ah. Now that's something a bit outside my understanding." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "She was my recipient in the secret santa thing. I gave her a knife. She's...former Howling Voice Guild, right?"
"I don't pretend to understand either but he was rather good at it. Apparently, he's Sindarian." She nodded again. "Actually, as far as I knew, she was still a part of the Guild but part of some faction that held no loyalty to Hikusaak or Harmonia."
Geddoe absorbed all of that information with his usual stoic blankness, filing it away for future reference - considering that the words "Howling Voice" had come up so recently. "I see. Hm. But...how did all of that lead to falling in love? Just...the right time for an epiphany?"
Queen's gaze drifted off again, staring off into space at something only she could see in her mind's eye. "No, I think it had happened slowly before then. Rekion's death was such an emotional event for the both of us that we simply turned to each other for comfort and support. I wrote him a letter expressing how I felt and then later he told me himself that he felt the same."
Geddoe smiled faintly. "That's kind of sweet, actually. Even I can appreciate that."
"Fortunately, the worst of our problems was my infatuation with two others and a jealous, possessed Nash. We got along really well, with no conflict."
"That was the part you'd mentioned before." Geddoe shook his head in disbelief. "Infatuations I can understand. Possessed Nash? I'll chalk it up to all the strange things that seem to go on around here of their own accord."
She sighed and nodded. "Indeed. I still don't think I understand how it happened exactly. Just hope that nothing like it happens again."
"Believe me, I hope, all right. I'm likely to have enough problems without people being possessed or switching bodies or god knows what else." Geddoe straightened a little, realizing that his legs were cramping from kneeling beside her the whole time they talked. "I can see, now, what he meant to you. As much as Sigurd does to me. And I'm sure I'd be equally devastated if the same fate happens to him."
She patted the spot beside her on the bed, gesturing for him to sit instead. "I sincerely hope or both of your sakes that it doesn't happen to him. But try not to worry about something that may or may not happen. If it does, I'll be here whenever you need someone to talk to."
Geddoe pushed himself to his feet and took the invitation, perching lightly so as not to jostle the sleeping children. "I hope I won't have to hold you to that," he murmured. "I'm more worried that Harmonia will make a move for my rune, and he'll be in harm's way. But...I don't want to spend my days worrying. Just living. I can't take a single day, or moment, for granted."
"That's perhaps the best thing you can do." She nodded in agreement. "Enjoy what you have now. Worrying never solves anything or helps anyone. Besides, as obnoxiously persistent as Harmonia can be, will they really try to take your Rune when they failed terribly the last time?"
"One never really knows, with them," Geddoe said heavily. "That's the problem. I'd never let my guard down." He turned his gaze away. "But Sigurd isn't a civilian. He's tough. He's...well, I've asked him to join the 12th. So if something happens...he'll be ready. As ready as one can be."
"True. But yeah, you're right. He's not a wimp and he should be able to take care of himself well enough." Queen watched him, thinking about whether or not it was wise to be working so closely with one's lover but did not voice her concern out loud and instead stood up to lift the twins to put them in their crib. "You'll both be all right."
Geddoe sat by and watched, smiling faintly. "Thanks, Queen. I don't know what I'd do if my friends didn't approve of who I was with." He snorted, then. "Ignore you and do my own thing as usual, probably, but...don't think I wouldn't have strong feelings about it."
Queen smirked. "Well, of course. Even if we didn't approve, you should be the one who knows best what you need. And yeah, I can see that you'd just ignore everything if that were the case." She sat back down beside him and yawned a little. "I'm sorry. Putting two kids to sleep is a pretty exhausting task in itself."
"Better you than me." Geddoe patted her shoulder kindly. "I'll let you have a nap of your own. I have a woozy pirate to look after, I shouldn't leave him alone too long."
"Heh, did he drink too much last night or something?"
"No. Bit of a fight, Roy clouted him across the head with his weapon." He rose and sighed hard, not wanting to go into the details. "It's probably just a slight concussion, but I feel the urge to dote on him. He's asleep in our quarters, I should get back to him."
"I hope it wasn't that bad of a hit. He should be checked out by Apple in any case." A grin slowly spread on her face. "Right. Go on and "dote" on your lover boy. As much doting as a mercenary captain is capable of, anyhow~"
Geddoe grinned back. Oh, if only she knew how soft he could be in his private moments. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he snorted. "All right, I won't be in your way. Get some rest, Queen." He stepped to the door, but paused and glanced over his shoulder on his good side. "Take good care of yourself. All right?"
Queen nodded. "I'll try my best. It will take some time for me to recover but you don't need to worry about me. Go on now. There's a wounded pirate that needs some pampering~"
As much as he would have liked to point out that if there was anyone wounded in need of pampering, it was her, Geddoe could not argue. He wasn't the one to do it, anyway, so saying it would amount to a lot of pointless, fluffy words. He simply nodded and let himself out so she could sleep.
Once he closed the door behind him, Queen sighed as she climbed onto the bed and underneath the covers, pulling them around her tightly and staring at the empty half of the bed for a bit before drifting off to sleep.