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@forgottenaine
Sarah Gadon as Mirena in Dracula Untold Costume Design by Ngila Dickson
OOC | Aurelian & Aine
as one of the few, if not the only, strongholds never taken in the conquest of astaira, i think aurealian is keen to get his hands on lorcan, and atp i think he's feeling that wedding aine to one of his sons -- potentially @forgottenlucian? -- might be a really strong way to do that, esp if lucian can get in there and really raise peadar etc!! atm, he's concerned abt both guin and godfrey having inroads there via their betrothed being half-calleary, etc, so yeah he def wants to move quickly and thoroughly. this ~does also mean booting @forgottenrian but that might be just as well esp if he can arrange a wedding w one of his daughters or, better yet, nieces or -- best of all -- simply thoroughly discredit the stafford boys and get them the hell outta there lkajsdlfkjksjdf
but yeah, as a result, i think he's def being super nice (at least for him bc lbr [ his dinner parties rival those of lucian moran ] ;D) and tryna be all grandfatherly towards her kids -- and also find out which of his many younger sons she finds the most attractive tbqh hahahaha asldjfalksjdfj
I'm not sure if Aine would know that this is his plan or not? Because she honestly can't understand anyone trying to get her to marry someone because she's???? already???? married??? (to a man who is totally alive and well!!!) So Aurelian being nice to her might just cause her to get the absolute wrong impression of him saldkfjsldafjdlfs
However, depending on the level of interest he starts to take in her kids, I feel like Aine might start to be suspicious of his motives?? Her goal is to keep them as separate as possible (which is hard especially for paader but!!) from the political scene and she certainly knows that peader's position as lord of lorcan is a coveted one, so as soon as it seems like people are really interested in him she's starting to wonder why!!!
OOC | Aleksander & Aine
so i feel like alek was probs a bit of a nightmare for poor aine at the lorcan hangings (bc lord knows she needed more headaches there!), bc he ~as a holy man~ def sought her out so she could talk abt her troubles etc bc everyone knows womenfolk need extra coddling esp when it comes to -- even justified -- deaths, and then proceeded to ask her all kindsssss of questions abt her husband and son and cassimir and exactly how the rights of succession stands there and rian's role in everything just...yknow...in the course of casual conversation...so like literally digging into that wound when its kinda bleeding anyway so like...you are soooooo welcome and i hope you took hella spiritual comfort outta that <33333333333
I feel like Aine's natural instinct when it comes to Aleksander would honestly be to trust him (big fail on her part tbh!!!) more than she does with most people associated with the Varmonts, literally just because he is a priest/man of god and - in theory - he's out here living for everyone else and not just himself! And although Aine is deeply religious and definitely has different ideals than Aleksander and his religion, she can still respect it! Plus, he's certainly someone who can be charming/read people/tell people what they want to hear so I can see where she might have been taken in a little by him???
However, if he starts digging into questions about inheritance, specifically, I can see where she might start to see that as a red flag? Or even if she doesn't, where she might start to pull back a bit because even though her son is definitely the rightful heir, she doesn't trust that Roderick will allow him to keep it, especially if a claim can be easily made for someone who is much more likely to just do whatever Roderick wants like Cassimir, etc.
She was also nOT in a great mood to have long conversations with anyone that day who honestly weren't her kids/maybe 1 or 2 of her siblings lmao so I can see where his digging might have actually backfired for him?? but I can also see where he was manipulative/casual enough with her while she was legit distressed that she didn't get as defensive as she might have otherwise been???
TL;DR, I do think that Aleksander would know the right things to say to get on Aine's good side, at least initially, but as far as how long that lasts is up in the air -- depending on how Aleksander handles her!
By the Fireside | Aine & Fiona
This was no place for a child.
The bodies of the prisoners who had been executed were still on display. It would be three more days yet, before Roderick would allow them to taken down and buried.
Aine had kept her children inside: she had no desire for them to ever see this. If she could have stopped poor Peadar from being at the hanging, she would have, but Roderick was insistent. Peadar was the lord of Lorcan in his father's absence and their new emperor had insisted on his presence there. When Aine had suggested that she planned to ignore his commands, it was Rian Stafford who had told her that it would be far worse for her son if she disobeyed Roderick's orders.
Aine was still convinced that her husband was alive and that he had his reasons for staying away. Perhaps he had found Siobhan? She often wondered, Or was his rallying some allied troops in Eilia's name? If he was alive, he would not abandon them for nothing, but this was the first time that Aine had felt angry that he had. If he had been here, Roderick never would have thought twice about Peadar.
Given recent events, she had been especially attentive towards her son. He seemed fine, all things considered, but Aine could not help but shake the feeling that he wouldn't be and she wanted to be there if he needed her. She'd spend the day with him and, in the evening, when she'd returned him to the nursery she went to check in on Clea when Saoirse told her that she was with her aunt.
Aine found the two of them on the floor by the fire in one of the sitting rooms, playing with an old wooden puzzle that had once been Fiona's when she was young. Clea adored playing with it and had done it so many times she knew exactly where each piece was to go. There were cut outs of a fish, a ship, a dolphin, and a little crab and Clea was meant to put them into their respective slots on a board. She was purposefully attempting to fit each piece into the wrong slot, giggling as she asked her aunt, "Here?" on each failed effort just to see her aunt laugh and tell her, "no."
Their laughter warmed Aine's heart and she could have stood in the doorway watching them for hours play at their little game. For a moment, it felt like nothing could touch them and she wished both her children could always be as happy as Clea was now.
"And what have we been up to today?" Aine asked, somewhat suspiciously, as she took a seat in one of the chairs near the fireplace. She knew her daughter and sister too well to believe that they had been playing so quietly together all day.
Fiona missed Hanthom desperately. She missed the sound of the waves, the smell of the sea, waking up to watch the boats disappear on the horizon each morning as they departed from the harbor. She knew that Hanthom wasn't their home any longer, and that it wasn't likely to ever be there home again, but she missed it desperately.
However, when they had been at Hanthom, Fiona had desperately missed Aine. While it was clear to anyone with half a brain that both Eabha and Aine were the calmest and most logical of their family, Aine had a calming way about her that was different from their eldest sister. And Fiona had realized now that when the moment inevitably came one day that they would have to leave Lorcan, not only would she desperately miss Aine, she would desperately miss her niece and nephew as well.
"Oh we have had a very busy day, haven't we?" Fiona asked, looking to Clea would was very involved with her puzzle pieces at that moment. "Clea, tell Mama what we did today."
"Worms," Clea said matter of factly, still focused on her puzzle.
Fiona stared at her for a few moments, wondering if the little girl was going to elaborate. When she said nothing more, Fiona turned back to her sister.
"We went down to the lake and dug for worms," Fiona explained, holding up her hands to show her sister her now rather dirty nails. She knew her eldest brother would be appalled by the sight of them, which was why she had not bothered to scrub them properly just yet.
"And as long as it doesn't rain tomorrow, we're going to try and catch a fish, aren't we?" Fiona asked Clea. In response, Clea held up the puzzle piece shaped like a dolphin. Fiona stared at her before shrugging.
"Or a dolphin. Who knows what is in that lake," Fiona grinned at her niece.
Aine couldn’t help but laugh softly, though she lifted her brows in mock severity. “Worms?” she repeated, turning her gaze from her sister to her daughter. “My darling girl, you mean to give your poor mother a fright. I thought you’d spent the day tucked away like an angel, and instead you’ve been digging in the mud. ”
Clea looked up, eyes bright with mischief, clutching her dolphin piece as though it were proof of their grand adventures.
Aine sighed fondly, shaking her head. “Although, I suppose I should have expected it, as you have your aunt with you,” Aine raised her eyebrows at Fiona, shifting her gaze. "I just hope you didn't let her too near the water, unsupervised?" Clea, unlike her aunts and uncles, had not grown up close to the sea and while they were all practically fish (even at her age), little Clea did not yet know how to swim and it was growing too cold out to teach her.
Living now, as she did, with her aunts and uncles, Aine was certain that that would change by next summer when all of them would teach her to swim in Lorcan Lake (although she was certain Uncle Cormac would take no part of it. There would be nothing that would provoke him to go down into those "ungodly lake waters")
Aine took a seat next to her sister, “Still… thank you. She hasn’t stopped laughing since I came in, and that’s worth more to me than I can say.” She leaned down and brushed a curl from Clea’s forehead. “We all need days of worms and dolphins, I suppose." She said, teasingly.
"Fiona," She began, after a moment, "What exactly did you do with the worms you dug up?" Clea simply giggled and Aine began to fear that, any minute now, Cormac would come running in complaining of the worms he had found under his pillow.
Fiona tried to hide the frown that threatened her features when Aine asked if Clea was near the water unsupervised. Fiona was completely sure she would cut off her own arm before she let anything happen to Clea-- to either of Aine's children.
"We stayed a good way from the shore," Fiona assured her sister, handing Clea an additional puzzle piece. "And I was the muddiest of the pair of us, which I am sure Cormac will tell you all about when he comes back from dinner. He informed me that not even Lord Boyle would have me in such a state, as if that would deter me..."
"Worms, worms, worms," Clea was singing half to herself as she looked to her puzzle. "Worms for Unc-ee Co-maa!!"
"Tattle tale," Fiona poked her niece in the side and Clea let out a screech of laughter.
"Most of the worms are in a bucket of dirt for us to use for fishing tomorrow..." Fiona said, looking up towards her sister with the most innocent face she could muster.
"One or two made it into Cormac's room. As a gift!"
Aine’s brows lifted ever so slightly at Fiona’s words, though the faint crease between them did not fully disappear. “Tell me truthfully,” she said, lowering her voice just a touch, “he has not persisted in that dreadful notion, has he? Still pressing you toward Lord Boyle?” There was a softness to her tone, but beneath it lay something firmer. “I have already spoken to him on the matter. I told him plainly that you and that man are entirely unsuitable in years, in temperament, in… every possible regard.” She exhaled quietly. “I had hoped that would be the end of it.”
She shook her head, a small, resigned smile touching her lips. “Though it seems Cormac has lately taken it upon himself to play matchmaker for the entire household.” Aine’s expression turned wry. “And I cannot think of a single success to recommend him in that endeavor.” Her gaze flicked briefly back to Fiona, more thoughtful now. “Not that I imagine you would ever consent to a match you did not choose for yourself. Still…” She hesitated, just a fraction. “I do worry what lengths you might go to, to escape one.”
The laugh came before she could stop it when Fiona admitted to the worms. “Fiona!” she cried, a hand rising instinctively to her chest in mock horror, though her eyes betrayed her amusement. “That is ... ” she tried for severity and failed, shaking her head instead, “ ... unkind. Entirely unkind.”
She turned then to Clea, gently smoothing a stray curl back from the child’s face. “And you, my darling, are not to be placing any sort of creature into your uncle’s chambers,” she said, with careful emphasis. “No worms, no frogs, no birds… nothing that wriggles, hops, or flies. Do you understand?” Her tone was patient, though she suspected full well how little such instruction would be heeded.
Clea only giggled, and Aine sighed softly, though the sound held more affection than frustration. Her gaze drifted back to Fiona, warmth settling into it despite herself. There was something in the easy mischief between her sister and child: something bright and careless that felt almost unfamiliar these days.
“I ought to scold you properly,” Aine said at last, though her voice had gentled again. “Both of you. But,” she paused, the hint of a smile returning, “I suppose there are worse crimes than a pair of worms ... at least just this once."
Attempting to arrange a marriage between Fiona and Lord Boyle for one, she thought.
ooc | Aine & Lucian
I know we don't have a laoise rp'er, but I sorta imagined that she and aine are pretty close and that aine likely knows about Lucian's feelings for laoise? tbh, aine is not about men trying to get w/ her friends when they want to be left alone, however unlike the other guys (roderick, cassimir ... ), after Lucian was rejected, he actually seemed to have respected Laoise's feelings and ngl that does go a long way with Aine and I feel like she would feel a little sorry for him and would certainly admire the way he handled her refusals!
Mirenas white dress from Dracula Untold designed by Ngila Dickson
OOC | Alistair & Aine
ok so w roderick considering the lorcans to be a pseudo-royal family, i imagine he's paying more attention to them, ~and between that and them having an impregnable fortress, i def think these two have met bc ngl alistair def has a lot of professional curiosity abt that place! he wasnts to study it big time!! laksjdfkjdsf
aine is NOT a fan of roderick or the varmonts or those associated with them, but I feel like, of the calleary fam, she's certainly the least judgmental and prejudice towards people until she has gotten to know them, and so I feel like she's the one who is likely going to be the kindest towards him of her siblings?? (I mean there IS still Cormac who is a while other thing haha bUT!) Anyway, I feel like she would like Alistair, if she got to know him, however if she knew that he has interest in Lorcan, especially as a fortress, I feel like she'd put her guard up a little bit about that because there are a lot of secrets about lorcan that she does not want getting into varmont hands, nor does she want paeder to loose it b/c roderick decides that he'd rather have control of it, so if he starts asking a lot of questions about lorcan/comes to see it with the clear intent of learning more about it, I feel like even Aine would be like "respectfully, no" @ him!!
cormac 'it could be worse'
Cormac swept into the room like a man making an entrance at court -- as though an adoring crowd was there to witness it. Instead, it was just Aine.
It had only been days since Rian Stafford had been appointed the new Steward of Lorcan, and this only after a few weeks without word from her husband. To Aine, this move by Roderick Varmont to usurp her husband's position before anything about his whereabouts had been confirmed had come much too quickly in her mind.
Part of her was fiercely determined that if something had happened to him, that she would know it, somehow, instinctively, but another part of her worried more and more each day that passed without word, that some terrible fate must have befallen him. She tried desperately to hope for the best, all while doubting if she had the strength to face the worse.
She'd barely noticed her brother's entrance, but she had no choice but to pay attention to him now, as he made an attempt to distract her.
"It could be worse," Cormac announced, in an attempt to cheer her.
Aine glanced over, her expression flat but polite. "Could it?"
"Absolutely," Cormac said, lowering himself into the chair opposite her with the air of someone about to deliver great wisdom. "While you are trapped in this bleak mountainous fortress run by a dreary, humorless steward with all the charm of a damp rag -- "
The door creaked behind him, but Cormac didn’t notice.
" -- who skulks about like a shadow and takes the fun out of everything," he continued, swirling his wine for emphasis. "... a man who probably hasn’t smiled since he was born and wouldn’t know how to dress himself, even if my entire wardrobe was at his disposal -- you have been granted the rather exceptional honor of having myself as your brother. And I'm sure that must be a comfort to you and your children ... even if you must find some way to tolerate this rather unfortunate newcomer."
"…I see," came Rian’s voice from the doorway.
Cormac froze mid-gesture, nearly spilling his wine. He turned slowly, mouth agape, to see the stony expression that was etched across the Rian Stafford's face. Cormac looked as though he might melt into his chair.
Rian stepped fully into the room, his eyes flickered from Cormac to Aine. "Lady Lorcan," he said curtly, with the faintest incline of his head.
"Lord Stafford," Aine replied evenly, ignoring the sudden tension.
Cormac, desperate to recover, forced a laugh that came out far too high-pitched. "Ah, yes, Lord Stafford, my good man! We were just talking about… uh… your merits ... in overseeing Lorcan. All very complimentary, I assure you."
"Hmm."
Rian’s gaze lingered on him for a long, pointed moment before turning back to Aine. "Your brother has quite a talent for composing ... compliments."
Cormac puffed himself up. "Well, yes, I ... " The sarcasm in Rian's voice was apparent enough that even Cormac noted it after a moment's consideration and his face reddened again. But Rian had already walked past him without another word, leaving Cormac spluttering into his wine while Aine bent her head over her embroidery to hide a smile.
Safe and Sound | Aine & Eilionora
Aine had not wished to attend this dinner. The summons alone had set her nerves on edge, for dining at the Emperor’s table felt too close to treachery, too close to pretending that the world had not been broken two years ago. Yet the thought that Eilionora and Aria would be present had undone all resistance. Whatever danger lay in proximity to the Varmonts, she could not refuse the chance to see her friend with her own eyes and know she still lived.
She could not know the reasons behind the Calleary family's invitation here, this evening. It had had all been orchestrated by Marian Varmont (under the secret wishes of her brother-in-law who privately begun to consider the prospect of courting Eabha) that this evening came together.
Aine spotted Eilionora as soon as they entered: she sat composed beneath the weight of a court that no longer belonged to her, every inch the queen she had once been despite the absence of crown or title. And now, it was certainly by some quiet miracle, that Aine found herself seated beside her.
Aine folded her hands neatly in her lap as servants poured wine and conversation rose around them. She waited until attention shifted elsewhere before turning slightly, just enough that her voice would not carry beyond their place settings.
“I am very glad to see you,” she said softly, the words steadier than she felt. Her gaze lingered on Eilionora’s face, searching for signs of harm, exhaustion, anything hidden beneath courtly composure. “I have missed you terribly.” A faint smile touched her lips, gentle and restrained. “And I hope, truly, that you are well.”
It was a foolish thing to ask. Well was impossible here. But she needed to say it anyway.
Her fingers tightened slightly around her napkin before she continued, a hint of reluctance creeping into her tone. “I bring greetings as well, from your Stafford cousins.” She glanced down briefly, almost apologetically. “They insisted I carry their regards to you before I departed.” Though Aine did not presume that Eilia held much affection for them now, after everything.
ooc | Aine & Rosie
Aine honestly adores all of the Malconaire girls <33 Also, Rosie was only 10 years old when Aine married her cousin and I feel like she was probably the Astairan equivalent of the flower girl in their wedding <3 (also it probably blows aine's mind every time she realizes how old rosie is now no lie she'll always be like 11 years old in her mind)
she's def lowkey pleased that Clea is demonstrating some Rosie traits and I feel like Clea idolizes her almost as much as she idolizes Fiona!
rosie was the astairan!flower girl stoppp that's too cute and i knowwwww she looooved that!!!!!! ok so bc i am who i am alkdjsflkjsf i did a lil research abt all this akljsfkjsdf and, while the flower girl tradition we have now comes down to us from the greeks (via the romans), children ~could have a role in celtic weddings, often scattering coins (if the family was rich -- so this is probs the role here hahaha) or treats (if it wasn't) to represent prosperity and acting as attendants to (in rosie's case, being a girl,) the bride or groom, carrying items like flowers and small gifts, and were meant to largely be a playful/cheerful/enthusiastic presence for the atmosphere, as well as to represent the hope of children to come from the marriage itself etc so yeah!! rosie, proving to be enthusiastic even as an adult, feels perf for this!! hahaha lil rosie getting this assignment like wait so you guys want me to be upbeat, give to the poor, support my family, wear a pretty dress, and dance around w flowers?????? i was born to do this????? ;DDDDDD
but yeah!! im guessing they were ofc engaged before they were married so taken altogether, i feel like rosie effectively grew up w the concept that they were fully mfeo honestly!!!!! plus, ik the malconaire/calleary pipeline was strong even before the lorcan involvement but yeah my point is i think rosie sees aine as fully a cousin, in and of herself, not simply a cousin-in-law! and she and padraig are deffff otp <33333 but also i deffff think aine is someone she looks up to sooooo much!!!!! she's def that cool/glamorous older woman to rosie that ur like 'omg teach me ur ways' as a kid <333333
BHAHAHAH poor aine...relatable honestly alsdjkfkjsf not rosie being the obnoxious kid like 'ofc im 14 whatre you talking abt' etc lakjsdfkjdsfkjdf she had to overcompensate a bit as the youngest lakjsfjlsf but she's grown out of that for many years now! but she no doubt found ~other ways to inadvertently make aine uncomfortable in the mean time, im sure, like she probs did like to pepper aine w all kinds of questions like 'how do you know he's the one' etc from even a young age (news flash, rosie, piers was ~not the one!!!!!! teen!rosie: that's not true we're otp!!!!! skldjafskdjlfjdf) since she never really got to ask her mama those kinds of questions and so aine, being a happily married woman in her family, etc, probs had to substitute for those sorts of things (bc she def wasn't asking valentina!! lakjdfklsdjf)
and ommmggggggggg rosie adooooores those kiddos!!!!!! she def (i mean she knows she's too little to pick it up yet but!!! an early education makes it easier when the time comes! ;D) shows her the art of making flower crowns and such and she's always making her bouquets and bracelets and such of flowers (esp lilies bc sorcha was lorcan too <3) and once she gets a lil older (so swallowing aint sm a problem!) she cant wait to make her flower-and-shell things, which peadar is already getting!!! and he's ~def had instruction in these astairan arts as well! rosie is also a go-to for storytelling -- she has so many fairytales and such memorized and i feel like she daydreams a lot and can make up new ones (often w her lil cousins as protagonists! and sometimes even ft their great-aunt sorcha and great-grandfather command lorcan in a galadriel-esque and galdalf-esque kinda role to the kids) on the fly too!! and, any time aine needs a baby sitter (not that she doesn't already have an army of those at the ready BAHAHAHA), rosie is def there to hang out w those kids, whether going up to lorcan or bringing them back to malconaire w her -- and probs getting their help pranking either cormac/rian or cassimir/valentina, depending where they may be ;D rosie has a slightly different method to her prank madness than fiona has, but i feel like either way their lessons from their aunt and their cousin complement one another alksjdfkljsdfjkdf
but she also tries to be there for the bigger things -- like, she def tries to be there for peadar as someone he can talk to abt having lost his dad in the war etc (tho rosie def ~also maintains that padraig is coming back asap!!!!!!!!) but this goes for aine, too, bc she ~also lost her dad and her home to roderick and (tho not nearly as literally on the home front! thanks cassimir ig??? ;D) so did rosie so she's like 'im here if you need an understanding ear!' and rosie has no idea what it might be like to have ur hubby go missing!!!!!! but she ~does know what its like to lose someone you love to the war/to be scared they might never come back from it, so!!! she def tries!!!!!
aine would 100%% be more than happy to answer any of Rosie's questions about marriage/love!!! especially since yeah, omg ur right, like she doesn't have a mom to ask and clearly Valentina is NOT it and like ...everyone else is dead or not happily married lmao! Also, Aine would have certainly told her: dearest, if you must ask, then he isn't the one!!!
also I'm obsessed with her telling tales to her kids (I feel like both of them would be in such raptures over these!!!) especially since she added them into the stories and had their great aunt/great-grandfather represented as well!! <333 honestly that's so adorable!!! Also Aine loves to see her kids be actual kids (particularly Peader!!) and I can see her appreciate seeing them experience magic like this, still, y'know??? And it's a real shame that Valentina and Cassimir are just out here existing, because otherwise I feel like she'd have her kids visit Malconaire even more often than they do now -- but alas!!
Also I feel like Paeder might be more open to talking to someone like Rosie about missing his dad/feeling uncertain about the future, etc. etc. because I know he feels like he must be brave and strong for his mom and I think even letting his guard down around his Calleary/Lorcan aunts and uncles and even Saoirse is a little too close to home, but he might feel more comfortable being a little more vulnerable with his Malconaire cousins and (I'm not crying YOU'RE crying!!) I can see him confiding in Rosie, especially if she brings the topic up first!!
and like idk if Aine would necessarily know that that has happened, BUT either way she'd be eternally grateful that both her kids have Rosie in their lives!!
Also, she knows that Cormac feels the need to marry one of the Malconaires and she will certainly use whatever influence she has to stop that from happening (unless it saves them from an even worse fate!!) like Aine does love her brother but .... no ... especially now that he seems to be obsessed with Cassimir and do whatever he wants and there's no way that won't end well!!!
I do think that Aine is also trying to do what she can to discourage that relationship, and I think she'd also be asking Rosie whenever she sees her if Cormac has been around recently and any updates on what has been going on with him and Cassimir (especially since I feel like Cormac's stories and the truth are NOT the same, even if Cormac thinks that they are haha). Basically, she's worried that Cassimir is using her brother and isn't sure yet to what end but she doesn't think it is a good one!!
ooc | Aine & Aoife
Aine definitely has a soft spot in her heart for Aoife <333
So, Aine has been a Lorcan for 11 years atp and between her marriage to Paidraig and her friendship with Eithne, I feel like she knows Aoife pretty well? ngl I can definitely see them bonding over music and Aine does really like to sing and maybe she does sometimes while Aoife plays the harp? Although I feel like they are both too reserved to want to do any kind of public concert, they probably just do it for themselves/when no one else is around akdjljf
Also, like Sebastian, I feel like Aine recognizes a fellow introvert and on more than one big social occasion, I can see her asking Aoife to help her with the kids and then they just escape outside/to the courtyards/seaside/etc. for a few moments so the children can play and she & Aoife can get some quiet and just do chill things like looking for leaves and seashells and flowers with the kiddos
okay but this quiet little friendship is already just so lovely!! <3 I've sort of realized that I think aoife very much enjoys being around children! even though they can sometimes be loud or unpredictable or whatever that might make her uncomfortable in a situation adult persons, shes fine with it with the kiddos! I think we'd maybe all sort of headcannoned that the malconaires and lorcans were close so i think (probably like everyone!) she was so excited when peadar was born! (... am i realizing that aoife actually wants to have her own family more than i initially she would personally admit to herself!?) Also i'm now just imagining aine and aoife with the kiddos at the beach or the forest of whatever and teaching them the names of trees or birds or shells of whatever and its SO WHOLESOME I CANT.
these two bonding over their love of music, too! <3. i'm imagining them just having their own little jam sesh and then cormac busts in and its like -dead silence until he leaves- ;)
I'm also getting emotional thinking about how both Aoife and Aine have dealt with grief and loss in their life and neither of them has let it harden them <33
And now the engagement between Aoife & Finn has also happened! And like, as much as Aine would love to have Aoife as a sister, I think Aine isn't exactly ~huge~ on this development, because she is a big believer in marrying for love and she really wants that for all of her siblings and she just doesn't think Finn and Aoife love each other??? And she wants more for them both!!
Anyway, I feel like she's been more vocal about her concerns with her Finn than Aoife -- but I still think she'd try to see what Aoife really feels about both the match and her brother?? It doesn't help that Finn seemed in denial about the whole thing at first and then hesitant at best!!!
tvw!rian/aine
It is in this moment that I realized that Rian & Margot/Cordelia/Genevieve are all Staffords!!!! omg! So this actually works a little too well for an AU
In this AU we, once again, have Rian betraying his cousins for a shot at the throne (yay!)
Rian is the oldest son of the late King Stafford's younger brother and there were some people who thought that the throne should have gone to him as soon as Nicholas disappeared (I can't remember if they think he is dead or he just abandoned his crown #whoops but either way!)
Rian feels that the throne should be his/his father went to his grave telling him this!
He is also a firm Loyalist!
He is possibly working with Clarence Calvert to remove Margot from the throne but doesn't realize that he's just a pawn in Clarence's game and that Clarence means to have control of the throne through Genevieve/has no plans to give the crown to Rian
Aine's husband was a moralist who secretly harbored sorcerers/helped them get to safety when they were exposed
One day he didn't come home, but no one has heard a word from him in years!
One of Aine's children (perhaps Clea???) starts exhibiting signs of having abilities and Aine is literally terrified!!
Rian starts trying to court her and she's very much against it 1) because she is sure her husband is alive and 2) she fears what would happen if he discovers what her daughter is!
Possibly Rian DOES find out, but is determined to still protect them and Aine feels she has no choice but to accept his advances
(meanwhile with the while Calleary clan I feel like Finn & Fiona have both developed abilities and are trying to keep them secret from everyone to ~protect~ them ... but they both use whatever powers they have to mess with cormac and it isn't long before the rest of the family finds out!
also Cormac is TERRIFIED of people w/ abilities
also the Calleary clan may or may not be harboring people who are being hunted by Rian in their basement/have taken over from Patrick Lorcan, which makes things awkward when he starts to court Aine
I'm not sure how this plays out from here, but these are my initial thoughts
aesthetic challenge ~ Aine Calleary Lorcan
“I am half agony, half hope.” — Jane Austen, Persuasion
By the Fireside | Aine & Fiona
This was no place for a child.
The bodies of the prisoners who had been executed were still on display. It would be three more days yet, before Roderick would allow them to taken down and buried.
Aine had kept her children inside: she had no desire for them to ever see this. If she could have stopped poor Peadar from being at the hanging, she would have, but Roderick was insistent. Peadar was the lord of Lorcan in his father's absence and their new emperor had insisted on his presence there. When Aine had suggested that she planned to ignore his commands, it was Rian Stafford who had told her that it would be far worse for her son if she disobeyed Roderick's orders.
Aine was still convinced that her husband was alive and that he had his reasons for staying away. Perhaps he had found Siobhan? She often wondered, Or was his rallying some allied troops in Eilia's name? If he was alive, he would not abandon them for nothing, but this was the first time that Aine had felt angry that he had. If he had been here, Roderick never would have thought twice about Peadar.
Given recent events, she had been especially attentive towards her son. He seemed fine, all things considered, but Aine could not help but shake the feeling that he wouldn't be and she wanted to be there if he needed her. She'd spend the day with him and, in the evening, when she'd returned him to the nursery she went to check in on Clea when Saoirse told her that she was with her aunt.
Aine found the two of them on the floor by the fire in one of the sitting rooms, playing with an old wooden puzzle that had once been Fiona's when she was young. Clea adored playing with it and had done it so many times she knew exactly where each piece was to go. There were cut outs of a fish, a ship, a dolphin, and a little crab and Clea was meant to put them into their respective slots on a board. She was purposefully attempting to fit each piece into the wrong slot, giggling as she asked her aunt, "Here?" on each failed effort just to see her aunt laugh and tell her, "no."
Their laughter warmed Aine's heart and she could have stood in the doorway watching them for hours play at their little game. For a moment, it felt like nothing could touch them and she wished both her children could always be as happy as Clea was now.
"And what have we been up to today?" Aine asked, somewhat suspiciously, as she took a seat in one of the chairs near the fireplace. She knew her daughter and sister too well to believe that they had been playing so quietly together all day.
Fiona missed Hanthom desperately. She missed the sound of the waves, the smell of the sea, waking up to watch the boats disappear on the horizon each morning as they departed from the harbor. She knew that Hanthom wasn't their home any longer, and that it wasn't likely to ever be there home again, but she missed it desperately.
However, when they had been at Hanthom, Fiona had desperately missed Aine. While it was clear to anyone with half a brain that both Eabha and Aine were the calmest and most logical of their family, Aine had a calming way about her that was different from their eldest sister. And Fiona had realized now that when the moment inevitably came one day that they would have to leave Lorcan, not only would she desperately miss Aine, she would desperately miss her niece and nephew as well.
"Oh we have had a very busy day, haven't we?" Fiona asked, looking to Clea would was very involved with her puzzle pieces at that moment. "Clea, tell Mama what we did today."
"Worms," Clea said matter of factly, still focused on her puzzle.
Fiona stared at her for a few moments, wondering if the little girl was going to elaborate. When she said nothing more, Fiona turned back to her sister.
"We went down to the lake and dug for worms," Fiona explained, holding up her hands to show her sister her now rather dirty nails. She knew her eldest brother would be appalled by the sight of them, which was why she had not bothered to scrub them properly just yet.
"And as long as it doesn't rain tomorrow, we're going to try and catch a fish, aren't we?" Fiona asked Clea. In response, Clea held up the puzzle piece shaped like a dolphin. Fiona stared at her before shrugging.
"Or a dolphin. Who knows what is in that lake," Fiona grinned at her niece.
Aine couldn’t help but laugh softly, though she lifted her brows in mock severity. “Worms?” she repeated, turning her gaze from her sister to her daughter. “My darling girl, you mean to give your poor mother a fright. I thought you’d spent the day tucked away like an angel, and instead you’ve been digging in the mud. ”
Clea looked up, eyes bright with mischief, clutching her dolphin piece as though it were proof of their grand adventures.
Aine sighed fondly, shaking her head. “Although, I suppose I should have expected it, as you have your aunt with you,” Aine raised her eyebrows at Fiona, shifting her gaze. "I just hope you didn't let her too near the water, unsupervised?" Clea, unlike her aunts and uncles, had not grown up close to the sea and while they were all practically fish (even at her age), little Clea did not yet know how to swim and it was growing too cold out to teach her.
Living now, as she did, with her aunts and uncles, Aine was certain that that would change by next summer when all of them would teach her to swim in Lorcan Lake (although she was certain Uncle Cormac would take no part of it. There would be nothing that would provoke him to go down into those "ungodly lake waters")
Aine took a seat next to her sister, “Still… thank you. She hasn’t stopped laughing since I came in, and that’s worth more to me than I can say.” She leaned down and brushed a curl from Clea’s forehead. “We all need days of worms and dolphins, I suppose." She said, teasingly.
"Fiona," She began, after a moment, "What exactly did you do with the worms you dug up?" Clea simply giggled and Aine began to fear that, any minute now, Cormac would come running in complaining of the worms he had found under his pillow.
Midnight Meetings | Eabha & Aine
"I am brave, mama," Peader had said to her, when she had tucked him into bed. "I am not afraid."
Aine kissed her son's forehead, determine that she would not shed any tears until she had left. He looked so young, just now, snuggled amongst the blankets and Aine suddenly found that she was angry: angry with a man who would make her little boy witness what he had seen today.
"You are very brave, my darling. But your poor mother is not. Would you let me sit here with you, for awhile?" She was determined not to leave her son's side until sleep found him, and even then, she was afraid to leave his side, lest he fall into an uneasy one filled with terrors.
Aine could not say if she stayed with her son for minutes or hours, but it was not until she was satisfied that his slumber was peaceful that she finally left the nursery. Given how quiet the halls of Lorcan had grown, Aine determined that it must be quite late, but the idea of returning to her own empty room where her husband no longer slept, made wandering the cold hallways a more comforting alternative.
This cruel war had taken so much from so many, but if there was to be any silver lining to be found amongst all of the loss, Aine would admit that having her brothers and sisters so close at hand, was certainly a blessing. And tonight, when she passed the rooms where her elder sister slept, she found she was grateful that Eabha was here.
Aine tapped softly upon her door. "Eabha?" She whispered, "Are you awake?"
It was an awful dance: bound legs kicking useless against restraints as those poor souls whose necks had not snapped hanged, suspended by their throats, and left to dangle till, slowly, horrifically, they strangled. It had taken all the strength Eabha had not to rush out and try whatever she might to help them. Roderick called himself a bastion of civilization, but what civiled man sat sipping red, red wine, and watching living beings slowly strangle to death, when he might spare them? If die they must, at all, surely there was a better way than this.
She felt cruel. Eabha had had no hand in the ghastly play they'd been forced to watch as the sun's warm rays washed the scene in queasy crimson, but she felt cruel notwithstanding. She had been there. She was a lady: her position demanded she intervene, demanded she stand for those poor souls, but she'd done precious little, save suggest to any Varmont who would listen that perhaps there might be another way to deal with this (supposed) treachery, and find herself brushed off, one way or another. It was true that none of those hanged that day had been of Calleary or Hanthom, but still she had allowed herself to be silenced and rebuffed without fighting as hard as she might, and in that way, she was guilty, in a sense, wasn't she?
Eabha held her head in her hands. At the time, she had thought only of her family and of her own people, and what repercussions might fall upon them were she tomake a public spectacle of herself, pleading for their lives. because she was a woman, she surmised, Roderick might not be so furious as he might have been had she been one of her brothers, but she could not imagine he would look upon such questions in a friendly light, and she was sure that Lorcan and Hanthom and Calleary, alike, would be forced to pay the price...and yet for all that, those poor wretches would still be hanged by the neck until dead. It had seemed the only path ahead, in that moment, yet now it was over, Eabha balmed herself for not doing more, and stared in blank horror at her wall.
She'd taken to her rooms after the event, claiming headache and fatigue, and Roderick had dismissed her paternalistically: of course she must go, such things were no sight for a tender-hearted woman. But it was no true illness which plagued her, but rather her own accusations, her own guilt, and her own resolve to find a means of avoiding such horrors in future. She must work harder, she must think harder, she must be harder. But she could not see the path forward. Rderick rejoiced, it seemed, in blood, and an emperor's appetites could not be appeased by any one individual: stripped of her titles and her hopes, stripped of her powers and her duties. All that was left to her was the hope of making a good marriage, and she meant to do that, already.
A light, familiar knock was a welcome reprieve. Eabha did not, herself, know how much time had passed since the hanging till now, but she did know that gentle rap, its cadence and weight familiar to her from childhood, and some warm comfort spread into her veins, leeched till now, she suddenly realized, of it.
Getting up, Eabha crossed to the door and, opening it, pulled it open and her sister into her arms. As awful as it had been for everyone to witness, she could not imagine being forced to watch her son's innocence murdered into the bargain was beyond anything. Had little Peadar not known suffering, enough? His grandfather slain by this same tyrant, and his father lost in making war against him, thrusting him suddenly into the light and hailed as lord, only, like his aunt, to be just as suddenly stripped of all such powers with, in his case, a traitorous stranger hailed, instead, as his overlord?
"I'm so, so sorry, Aine," she whispered, slowly stepping back to see her sister's face, again. There she stood for a moment before, suddenly, recalling the door and, quickly, shutting it again for some modicum of privacy. Eabha led her sister to a seat by the fire. "How is our boy?" she asked. "How are you?"
Aine sank gratefully into her sister’s embrace, holding on a little longer than she meant to. When Eabha drew her to the fire and asked after her boy, she folded her hands tightly in her lap -- as if to still the tremor in them.
“He told me he was brave,” she whispered, voice soft but steady. “And he was. He stood tall, as if he were twice his years, and he did not flinch.” Her throat tightened, but she pressed on. “He said he was not afraid. But he is ten, Eabha. Ten.”
Her gaze slipped to the hearth, to the flames that licked at the logs, her eyes shimmering in their reflection. “I should be proud, I suppose. All the empire will say that it bodes well for him ... that he will make a fine lord. But when I look at him…” she drew in a careful breath, “all I see is my little boy who was no more prepared for this than any other child would have been. He should have been tucked away in his nursery ... not overseeing executions." A beat. "I cannot help but think how cruel this world must be, to strip away a child’s innocence so soon.”
Although what she truly meant, was she could not believe that a man could be, to do such a thing. A man who was a father, himself. Would he truly have asked such a thing of his own children, at that age?
"Was it right of me to bow so easily to the requests of Roderick Varmont?" Aine asked, her words hushed as though she might be overheard by one of his men, even now. "Should the punishment for his absence truly be worse than what he witnessed today?" It had been what had driven her, but she felt as though she should have done more to protect her child. And the question that still floated in the air, unasked, was: What would Paidraig have done, had he been here?
Aine found she could not answer and, for a moment her voice nearly broke, but she forced it into calmness again. “He sleeps peacefully tonight and I suppose that is all I can ask for. Tomorrow, I will be brave again. For him. But …” she reached for Eabha’s hand. The words went unspoken, tonight she needed her older sister who, in Aine's eyes, was always brave.
eabha 'have have you seen the--*oh*'
The door to Aine’s chambers creaked open, and Eabha swept in with a usual purposeful stride. “Aine, have you seen the— oh!” She stopped short.
The sight before her was chaos incarnate. Every bedcover, sheet, and pillow in the room had been pulled from their rightful places and refashioned into a sprawling labyrinth of tunnels and towers. From within the fort came a chorus of giggles.
Aine sat primly at her writing desk, quill in hand, lips pressed together in a long-suffering smile.
“Guardians preserve us,” Eabha whispered.
The bedclothes shifted, and Fiona popped her head out, a wild grin on her face, hair full of feathers from some pillow they’d sacrificed. “Welcome to our stronghold, Lady Eabha! No invaders allowed.”
Behind her, Clea clapped her little hands together, eyes shining. “No invaders!” she echoed.
Eabha blinked. “This is your doing, isn’t it?” she said flatly, fixing her youngest sister with a look.
Fiona ducked back inside, her voice muffled by the blankets. “Clea is the one who ordered the raid!”
Clea squealed with laughter, toppling over into the pillows.
Aine set her quill down, though her tone remained gentle. “I did tell them to keep the noise down. But I fear my authority only extends so far and I have no jurisdiction beyond the wall ... ” Aine indicated the books that had been piled around their imaginary castle.
Eabha exhaled, her amusement apparent. “Of course. I come in search of a ledger and instead find myself in a fortress.” She shook her head and allowed herself to smile. “Very well then. Carry on with your rebellion. But if you’ve ruined the stitching on those covers, Fiona, you will be mending them.”
From the depths of the fort came a very insincere, “Aye, my lady.”
Aine’s laughter chimed softly through the room, and even Eabha couldn’t quite stop her mouth from twitching at the corners.