#udc gen2

[alintricsims]

1324

As time passed, Nicole wasn’t getting any better. At first, she was just more lethargic than usual, but eventually started complaining of a persistent headache and Marisol thought it best to let her rest on her bed for a while until she felt better. When her good-sister started shivering and sweating, Marisol got worried and talked to her husband about it. Since Gabriel spent most of the day outside in the fields he hadn’t really noticed Nicole’s worsening condition, but when he learned of it he initially waved it off. It was winter, people got sick. It wasn’t until him and Marisol got woken up by Nicole groaning in pain, that he really worried. She wouldn’t wake up completely, she just whimpered and mumbled incoherently. She struggled to breathe, her breath coming in painful rasps.

Marisol and Gabriel looked at each other, but for Gabriel to leave his pregnant wife basically alone in the middle of the night, in winter, was not an option. They decided that in the morning Gabriel would go to the nearest farm, his uncle’s house, for help, and ask for his aunt to keep Marisol and Nicole company while he looked for the apothecary. 

In the end, it didn’t matter what they had decided to do. Nicole got weaker and weaker during the night, and as dawn broke, she got really agitated. As Marisol and Gabriel looked on helplessly, she tried to get out of the bed, gasping for air. Gabriel tried to catch her in his arms, but Nicole fell too quickly to the ground, too weak to move anymore. With the help of Marisol, they tried to move her back to her bed, but then Gabriel noticed Nicole wasn’t making those rasping breath sounds he had almost gotten used to. As soon as they got her in bed, Gabriel checked her pulse, but there was nothing. Nicole was gone.

[alintricsims]

In Memorian Of Nicole Radcliffe (1305-1324)

Nicole Radcliffe was the fifth child of David and Ada Radcliffe, the fourth one to live past infancy. With three older siblings already, Nicole learned to crawl very quickly so she could follow them around and be included in their games. Soon, she learned how to walk and talk, and the four of them went on fun adventures together. 

Growing up, Nicole had never been particularly close to her siblings: Gwen and Gabriel were off on their own adventures and excursions, Chloe found her annoying, and Cassian and her always fought. The only sibling she had truly been close to was her baby brother Caleb, but he passed away at less than two years old. She always felt disconnected from her siblings, so she clinged to her parents and older relatives. She was especially close to her mother, they shared a deep love for food and she spent most of her time talking to Ada while she cooked.

As time went on, she made friends outside her family circle: she was especially close to John Wakefield. She was glad to be able to talk to someone who understood feeling disconnected from their siblings.

In 1313, after years of losing siblings, another tragedy struck her family: her father died. Not long after that, her only remaining younger sibling also passed away. Her family unit was reduced to just Nicole, her mother, and Gwen and Gabriel. There was a silver lining to all of this, though: Nicole became closer to her brother Gabriel, bonded by their shared grief. Then, another loss: her eldest sister, Gwen, also passed away. With the family unit down to three people, and with no husband, Ada had to get married to another man. 

And then, the famine started. Nicole struggled a lot with the food shortages, so as soon as she was able she asked to learn how to cook. Being able to actually cook the food made her feel less powerless against hunger (and maybe she stole bites of food while she cooked, with no one the wiser). She bonded a lot with her mother, Ada was preparing her to run her own home when she became of age. Sadly, Ada never saw Nicole become a young woman: she passed away after a difficult birth. Nicole then became the only woman in the household, having to take care of the cleaning and cooking for three years until her stepfather remarried. Her new stepmother was not quite a mother figure, more like and older sister, but they got along quite well until Gabriel decided to leave the house and take Nicole with him.

At the new house, Nicole and Gabriel’s relationship soured. Nicole had had enough of grinning and bearing it: her grief and frustration manifested in being easily irritable. This annoyed her brother, who started thinking of marrying her off to John, her former best friend who she had recently fought with. John apologized eventually, but things weren’t the same after that. Additionally, Nicole found, if not love, a strong affection between her and her friend Flora. But sadly, a bad case of influenza killed her before that love could truly blossom. 

Nicole was buried at the local cemetery, leaving behind a grief-stricken brother and good-sister.

[alintricsims]

1324

Nicole hadn’t been feeling well lately. Nothing that serious, just something uncomfortable enough to keep her at home. She still had her chores to attend to, and with her good-sister with child, there was no reason not to do her part. Marisol took over the washing, though. She didn’t want Nicole to spend too much time outside in the cold. So, for the past few days, Nicole had been stuck at home with no one but the chickens for company. 

There was someone who came to visit her often, though. Her friend Flora, who was not afraid of catching cold and did not mind braving the snow to get to the Radcliffes’ house. She made Nicole’s days brighter, spending hours and hours talking about everything and nothing while she helped her friend with her chores.

One of those days, Nicole and Flora were sitting together chatting about nothing in particular, and Nicole thought of just how lucky she was to have a friend in Flora. She knew their days of long conversations by the fire and sitting side by side, doing the mending, were going to be over soon. Flora had been betrothed to Elias Scott, the heir to one of the best breweries in Henford. Nicole couldn’t help but be happy for her, it was a very good match, though she didn’t expect anything less considering how beautiful Flora was. But she still dreaded having her friend be taken away from her. Elias lived in town, which, while not that far away, was still not as close as the McMullen farm. 

Nicole was about to say something to her friend, something about how much she would miss her, when something in Flora’s face made her pause. If you had asked them afterwards, they wouldn’t be sure as to who leaned in first. They just knew they had shared a kiss, short but sweet, with no one to witness but the chickens. 

They smiled at each other and shared more kisses after that, until the sound of footsteps outside alerted them of someone coming into the house. They greeted Marisol like they always did, and if she noticed them sitting closer together than usual, she said nothing about it. 

Eventually Flora bid her friends goodbye and made her way home, happy in the knowledge that something beautiful was blossoming between her and her best friend.

[alintricsims]

1323

One day, John showed up at the Radcliffes' house again, sober this time. For the past few months John and Nicole had barely talked, nothing more than a greeting in passing when Nicole went to the convent to make small donations.

John looked sad, but said he wanted to make things right between them. He confessed that that day he had drank more than he should have, and had gotten angry at the world, for the family that had been taken from him, for the house that he had lost the rights to, for how unfair everything was. He had gone to Nicole's house in an attempt to disuade her from liking him, he knew she had feelings for him and he also knew that she deserved better. What he had actually said had been very different, but that had been his intention.

Nicole forgave him, but admitted things couldn't go back to the way they were between them. He had disrespected her, something a friend should never do, no matter how drunk.

Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched from afar by Gabriel. Gabriel had always known Nicole and John were close, and he hadn't been told about their falling out. He had never really thought anything of their relationship, but now a thought ocurred to him: they could get married. He knew John's situation was pretty bad, so he wouldn't demand a big dowry. It was a perfect idea.

[alintricsims]

1323

The first thing the Radcliffe siblings did in their new house was celebrate Nicole's birthday: she was turning into a young woman. After so much hardship in her formative years, Nicole was tired of grinning and bearing it: now it seemed like every little thing irritated her. Gabriel was not happy with his sister's moodswings, so he started thinking of marrying her off now that she was of age.

[alintricsims]

1321

There were also two more important birthdays for the Radcliffe family in 1321: first, Piper turned 11. Having spent so many of her formative years during the famine, she was still used to having to think of ways to steal more food for herself, since she could take nothing for granted. Now that things were better, she did not really know how to relate to other people, since up until the famine ended she viewed other people (even her family) as competition. She preferred to spend her time by herself.

In another household, Naomi turned 6, leaving her days of toddlerhood behind. She had always been very perceptive of the world around her, acting older than she really was. Now that she was older, she wished to have an education, a way to keep learning. Sadly, as a serf, that was not a possibility.

[alintricsims]

1324

Gabriel and Marisol had been married for almost a year, but they hadn't had any luck conceiving. That changed one morning when Marisol told her husband she was with child. She had suspected it for a while, but wanted to be sure before telling him. Gabriel was incredibly happy, kissing his wife many times and already talking of potential baby names. Marisol was somewhat surprised, Gabriel had never really talked about children, so she hadn't really known what to expect. She was happy, however, that her husband was as excited as she was.

[alintricsims]

1323

True to her word, Lorena soon married a man named Edmund Smith at the local chapel. While she had gotten married just so Gabriel wouldn't inherit her house, she was aware of how ironic her son's situation was. Basil, as Edmund stepson, couldn't ihnerit the house, it would go to Edmund's future sons. She realized her son would be in Gabriel's position one day if she had more children, but her dislike for Gabriel had been greater than her desire for Basil to ihnerit. Still, she would do everything in her power to make sure she had no more children, though she knew that the herbal mixtures she could use weren't completely effective.