Seb Gray

[urmilkovich]

This is so cool put in your url or your friends and it gives an mbti personality type based on your blog.

[lizzydobbs]

Seblina kid

(So there’s a lot of uncertainty w/ this just because things would be different if they had a kid in the happy AU/later after all of this is over/if Lina is rescued before she had her kid VS. if she had her kid while still being married to Vardon, etc. etc. because those are two very different environments to grow up in!!!! For this, I’m going to assume that he’s technically seblina’s kid, but born as Vardon’s but eventually espaces with his mom and lives at the lighthouse w/ both parents

Name: haha lmao officially it’s probably Victor Xavier or Xavier Victor depending on what Xavier goes with but I feel like neither Seb nor Lina would appreciate either of those names!!! so his feel name is probably something else!! Can see them naming him after Nathaniel??? Since Nathaniel was Seb’s bff and helped them escape Vardon! 

Gender: Male

General Appearance: tall and thin, wears a lot of sweaters

Personality: Seems quiet and reserved, but isn’t if he knows/trusts you. Overall, a really good kid who just wants to do the right thing but he does have a mischievous streak!!! loves make others smile and laugh. the sweetest kid!!!! can tell when you are upset or sad and does his best to remedy that. Doesn’t like letting others know when he’s feeling sad or scared b/c he’s determined to stay strong for his parents, especially his mom

Special Talents: skipping stones, climbing trees/scaling the walls @ vardon’s, outsmarting his tutors, exploring!!!! - knows every inch of land on vardon’s estate (the places he’s allowed to go … and some, where he isn’t) and could navigate it in the dark 

Who they like better: both!!!! but tbh probably closer w/ lina since most likely only rarely saw his dad growing up thanks to his dad having to sneak in to see him (#goals)

Who they take after more: Seb

Personal Head canon: Loves the ocean!!!! (honestly a given for any Gray tbh ;DDD) Is BFF’s with Seb’s dog who is also super protective of him; likes to collect stones/rocks from the beach; has a pet frog; adores aunt beatrice and aunt vera and is spoiled by both

Face Claim: Thomas Brodie-Sangster

[asriels]

you ever just want to move to a remote lighthouse and wear wellies and cable-knit sweaters 24/7 and only have to deal with people when they bring you supplies every now and again

[per-asperaa-ad-astra]

[violentwavesofemotion-deactivat]

Walks in the moonlight by the sea.

James Joyce, from The Complete Works; “Ulysses,” (edited)

[upryalouisa]

I Think I Know You || Louisa + Seb

There was a limited amount of reading material in the south and Louisa Prior was working her way through most of it at a breath taking speed. She’d been going simply mad without a book to occupy her thoughts that she was almost thankful she’d sliced her hand open and been introduced to Ren Conway. Beyond being one of the more polite fellows she’d come across since she’d been brought here, he’d been handing over whatever texts they could spare around the infirmary for her to read. While a bit different than her normal choices of literature, she found it all endlessly fascinating.

“Ren!” she called, turning the corner towards the small room in the infirmary she most often found him holed up inside. She wouldn’t call it an office, since offices required a door, but it worked well enough. “Don’t laugh, I’ve finished another one and I have loads of questions. Also, should this bandage be itching like this?” she was entirely consumed with looking down at her own hand that she slammed directly into a large form that was not Ren Conway.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she apologized, taking a quick step back. Someone else was in Ren’s little work room that she had not seen around the infirmary before. “I’m looking for Ren… have you seen him?” she asked, stepping back once again to get a better look at the person she’d literally run into.

She recognized that face. She’d seen it in a photograph and that photograph had been lying on Xavier’s desk.

“You’re the one who took Madeline Vardon and brought her here,” she blurted out before she could stop herself.

[upryasebastian]

It had been around 3:00 in the morning, yesterday, when Seb had returned to Arcadia from Uprya.  His first stop had been to the infirmary to sew himself up after a scuffle at the border.  Fortunately for him, Ren had happened to stumble into the room and had done the job properly.  Having had a little rest (and a good talking to from Vera) since then, Seb had returned to thank his cousin properly.  Instead of him, however, Seb had been run into (quite literally) by a tiny, chattering blond practically the instant he’d crossed the threshold.

Stepping back by instinct, he peered at the girl.  She was familiar to him and he realized, all at once, that this must be Louisa Prior.  Seb had been marginally acquainted with the Priors through the Hartwrights, back when he was stepping out with Lina before their marriage, but in truth he’d barely known them, seen them more than much else.  He would be surprised if they had seen him, as well.

“It’s itching?” he inquired, glancing at her bandage.  In truth, he didn’t know so much about medicine, but he did know something about this.  “That just means it’s healing,” he assured her.  He’d seen his share of scrapes to know that well enough by now.

“I was here to see him, myself,” he replied, shrugging with his hands.  “I guess he’s stepped out.  I know he was up very late the other night.  He might still be catching up on sleep.”  He paused.  “How do you know Ren?”

Seb’s brows furrowed at the sound of her accusation.  His jaw clenched along with his fists as she uttered the name Madeline Vardon.  “Took?” he demanded, stepping forward.  “You make it sound so sordid.  Is that what they’re saying in Uprya?  That I stole her away?”

[upryasebastian]

Elite Voids | Seb & Becca

[upryasebastian]

upryarebecca

Rebecca had awoken with a start.

She’d drifted into sleep; thoughts of her brother consuming her as she did. She dreamt they’d exhausted his usefulness. She’d dreamt they’d killed him. She told herself that it had only been a dream. Repeating the words over and over again in her head; a silent mantra that only provided her with temporary relief from her fears. Her brother was still alive … but how long would that last?

She looked over to her sister’s bed … only to find it empty. “Lou?” Her heart raced in her chest and she stood from her own with a quickness she didn’t know she had. It took her a moment to calm herself: it was likely that her sister had gone out. It was hard not to fear the worst here.

She wondered what time it was. Not that it mattered. Her days here lacked structure; lacked meaning. She didn’t always keep regular hours. Taking a glance out the window, she saw the sun was setting beyond the mountains, and assumed that Lou had likely gone to get something to eat. Rebecca wasn’t hungry, herself, but she wouldn’t be able to sit still until she was sure that Lou was alright.

She made her way down to the dining hall, first. She drifted through the rows of tables, keeping a keen eye out, when someone approached her.

It was Sebastian Gray.

Rebecca stood deathly still. They’d never met, officially, but she remembered him. She remembered how he used to try to come between Xavier and Madeline before he finally went mad and kidnapped her. She had never seen Xavier so devastated; so angry when he had discovered what Sebastian had done.

He extended his hand towards her and she made no moment to take it. “I know who you are,” She said, cooly. She had no wish to know him further.

Seb watched her mistrustfully eye his extended hand and dropped it.  He was just as glad she didn’t take it.  He had no particularly interest in being friendly with either of the girls, but it still grated.  He didn’t particularly want to have a conversation with her and, on top of that, he was going to have to work to have one if he wished to get any information from her.  “Makes two of us,” he responded, tilting his head.  “Didn’t think you’d remember me.”

They’d met once or twice, connecting usually through the Hartwrights, but the meetings had been little more than cursory, a somewhat oblique glance here an awkward nod of acknowledgement there.  The Priors had never seemed to much care for Seb, which had never bothered him, as the feeling had been mutual.  He’d never thought, then, that he might regret it.

Gesturing towards the food line, he forced a smile.  “Hungry?”

Taking a sip from the piping cup he clasped in his hand, he turned back to her.  “I, uh, I wanted to check in and see that you two were comfortable.”  He nodded.  “I know that’s what Lina would want.”  That much, at least, was true and he did genuinely wish to respect her wishes - but not so far as it might cost him an opportunity to get her back.  He glanced into his cup, not able to meet the girl’s eyes, suddenly.  “How, uh...”  His smile wasn’t quite a smile so much as a wince.  “How was she when you saw her?  Was she...was she all right?”

[upryalawrence]

Lightly Stabbed | Seb & Ren

Ren couldn’t sleep. 

He’d tried, for what felt like hours; tossing and turning restlessly. Finally, giving up, he got out of bed and shuffled down to the infirmary where he stored his books. If he couldn’t sleep, he’d work. 

Ren walked across the yard in the cold, pulling his jacket closer across his chest. He noticed that there was a light on in the infirmary … he’d remembered turning it off before he’d left. 

“Seb?”

His cousin was sitting on the bed. His right hand was covered in blood as he sewed up a deep gash he’d gotten on his left shoulder. Ren wanted to ask what had happened, but he could guess. It was hard to keep tabs on him since he lived away from the encampment, back at the lighthouse. But he’d been gone for a long time and Ren knew it had something to do with Lina. He wondered if he had gone all the way back to Uprya or if he had only made it halfway before he’d run into trouble. 

His temper had not been the calmest, just now. 

Ren wanted to ask, but he decided not to. His wife was all he thought about now. It might do him some good to think about something else, even if it was only for a moment. 

“Here, let me,” Ren said, washing his hands quickly; taking the needle from him. “You should have come to get me.” He added, “Won’t ever say no to some impromptu surgery at three in the morning.” 

[upryasebastian]

He hadn’t been as careful as he should have been.  Even as it was happening, Seb had been faintly aware of that, aware that he wasn’t taking the precautions wisdom dictated.  He’d had more of a purpose to it on the way there - if he didn’t make it, he wouldn’t see Lina - but on the way back he was too absorbed with the information she’d given him to think of much else.  Besides maybe, just maybe...a part of him wanted a fight.  And when Seb walked up on three scouts, caught unawares, it was a fight he got.

He was fortunate, perhaps, that it happened so close to Arcadia.  He’d slapped a temporary bandage over the stab wound and continued his trudge, finishing up by strolling unannounced into his cousin’s infirmary.  All was quiet, the house asleep, but Seb knew where everything was to be found and this wouldn’t exactly be his first time sewing himself up.  Gathering his supplies, Seb shed his shirt and hoisted himself onto a nearby bed with a grunt.  He began his bloody work.

Hearing a familiar voice, Seb spared a glance.  “Hey, doc,” he greeted with a half-rueful ironic quirk of his brow before returning his attentions to his shoulder.  “Thought you were asleep.”  He shrugged.  “You know what time it is, don’t you?”  Ren had always been much more regular in the hours he kept than Seb was, these days, and it frankly hadn’t occurred to him to rouse Ren.  In truth, there was a part of Seb that hadn’t wanted Ren to know, but now that he knew anyway, Seb couldn’t deny he was grateful for the assistance.

Surrendering the needle, he glanced from his bed to where Ren stood.  “This is nothing,” he replied, gesturing vaguely at his arm.  He thought of Lina, glanced away again.  “This is nothing,” he murmured.

At Ren’s comment, Seb chuckled, teasing: “Wouldn’t want to bore you.”  Shifting slightly - and wincing when he did - he frowned.  “Did I wake you?”

[watchxlyrics]

Alt-J // Dissolve Me

[pscalpedro]

Lily James for Town & Country | March 2016

[upryasebastian]

OOC | Seb & Jack

[upryasebastian]

upryajack

OKAY, so I’ve thought about it … and I think that they should be friends!!!!! (Mainly b/c i’M THE WORST and I thought about how that would ultimately hurt way more down the road when Seb realizes that not only is Jack a spy for Vardon, but that he is the one who turned in Bea and put this whole mess in motion for a few bucks!!!!)

I feel like there is a good chance that they did know each other b/f the wife-swap of ‘43! I can see where Lina and Seb would occasionally come and visit the resistance and see veronica and their friends and idk I feel like they didn’t have a super active role, but I can see them bringing any extra food or supplies they have w/ them and basically doing small things to help whenever they came by?

AND yeah w/ seb in a good mood then haha, I feel like he and Jack could have gotten along!!!! Also idk that seb knows about the jeanette/xavier/jack love triangle business atp b/c that is something he does play super close to the vest and doesn’t like to relive …. like … evER!!!!! bUt! I think that he def wants to make sure no one looks at him and suspects that he’s a spy so that might be something he pulls out soon and tells seb??? and hoping that that will help put seb, at least, in his corner if he is ever accused???? like no one just goes and willingly works for vardon after he forces his ur woman to be his wife!!!! plus!!! if he’s super into helping him get lina back, too, that’s a few things in his favor!

YOU KNOW IM ALWAYS HERE FOR THE ANGST pls yESSSSSS

Ahhhhhhhh Lina and Seb taking helpful trips to Arcadia IM NOT CRYIN UR CRYING kldsjafsd;asK:KL  And omg them getting to know ppl and hanging out I juST lakjsdfkds  (Also this makes me even more emotional re: Seb’s treks to and from Uprya alone bc you know he’s thinking of his trips w her bYEEEEEE)  But yessssss I can totally see them interacting a lot and getting to know each other esp since Jack and Vera were also going back and forth and maybe once or twice they sort of went one direction, the four of them?

omG that would absolutely 100% put Seb in Jack’s corner!!  Like they’re already established friends and then Jack’s been through the same thing basically Seb would be like MY BROTHER!!!!!!!!! hahaha  (Only to learn later that, even knowing that Xavier was like that™ he put these events into motion!

it! will! be! emotional!)  So yeah, he’ll be all about their bond and how Jack is just trying to do the best after such a harrowing experience and he’ll trust 100% that Jack genuinely wants to help him and he’ll be like ‘don’t worry, we’ll get jeanette back too!’ and alkdsjfksdjfkdjf bYEEEEE  I love it!!!!!!!!!

[upryalawrence]

ooc | Ren & Seb

[upryasebastian]

upryalawrence

That all works for me!!!!!!! I feel like, in that case, Ren would be so!!!!! thrilled!!!! to discover that he his cousin was alive and that he still had some family left (I mean the ppl in the south are family, too, but yeah seb is the last of his blood relatives when he thought those were all gone.) and ahhh omg!!! he just wants to help him so badly????? but he doesn’t know how!!!! he’s just gonna try to focus on aiding him in the best ways that he can – which basically is to make sure that he’s eating and sleeping and keeping the drinking to a minimum … like not sure how well that’s gonna go, but ren tries!!!!!

also … idk if seb would tell him, but he would not be on board with some of the more extreme things that seb is considering r/n???? like for sure is not okay with him using the priors (especially after he develops feelings for louisa haha – its not a great day when ur cousin is thinking about murdering the girl u like ~*~fire and skull emojis~*~)

OMG them rediscovering each other lakjdlksfjsdkljfkjlsda <333333  I LOVE!!!!  And you know it meant so much to both of them lsdkjfklsdjf  I LOVE OUR CHILDREN!!!!  Omg no but Seb absolutely feels exactly the same!!!!  Like, I feel like they lost all contact during the whole ~apocalypse~ thing and Seb just sort of assumed he was the last of his blood and then no!!!!  there’s Ren!!!!! <3333  And I def think he was particularly in need of having someone around at that point so it meant even more than it normally would and I CREY

Ren trying to take care of him laksdfdjsfad  Good! luck!!!! tbh!!!!!!!  For example, I deF feel like Seb told exactly NO ONE when he took off to Uprya and I mean that was bc he wanted to protect them in case they tried to tag along or he got caught and they tried to save him or something equally dangerous/didn’t want anyone to try to stop him but still he just...does things that aren’t good for his health and poor Ren tbh hahahaha

Hahhahah yeah no!!!!  DEF noT a good day ahslkdjfkaldjfkds  No but honestly I def don’t think Seb would tell him for more or less the same reasons he didn’t tell him when he up and went to Uprya to visit his wife hahaha  He plays his more dangerous ideas close to the chest.

That being said, I feel like Ren and Vera are the two ppl responsible for Seb’s better moods and he is sooooo grateful to have them in his life!!!!!!  They’re the ones that can make him smile and laugh <3333333

EDIT

I just read your thing from Jack and now I’m having ~other thoughts!!  Maybe these two did know each other when they were kids buT they were separated during the apocalypse and eventually concluded the other was dead and so they reconnected but it had been so many years they were like strangers and yeahhh until more recently!!  BUT maybe they first met each other again during some of the trips that Seb and Lina took to Arcadia????????

[upryasebastian]

OOC | Seb & Louisa

[upryasebastian]

upryalouisa

So I could honestly see Louisa being very distrustful of Seb if she has any idea that he’s the only who was in the south with Lina… I assume there is some sort of story of how she got carried off by some rogueish southern brute and Vardon heroically saved her or whatever, which Louisa will should up fresh out of the north believing!!  She could probably manage to unintentionally push his buttons, honestly?? Like talking about how much better off Lina is now that she’s back and married to Vardon, how adorable their child will be, blah blah blah… She’s  obviously going to change her tune after awhile, and i honestly don’t know if she’d really babble all that much about such things unprovoked, but its always a possibility!

I do think that once she realizes the truth about the while Seb/Lina/Vardon/Beatrice debacle, she’ll warm up to him (especially since he’s ren’s cousin and they’ll have become friends!) And even though he obviously would NEVER TELL HER about his plans, she’d say something ridiculous like “oh, go ahead and try the trade! Xavier would never let you kill us!” because even though her eyes are opening to things, she’s still sort of stupid and idealist #mypoorchild 

You’re exactly right!!  That’s the story that’s been spread around Uprya: that Seb abducted her and she was able to finally escape back to her true love, Xavier who heroically rescued her or something like that hahaha  So yeah it makes total sense that she would view Seb as a figure of menace!  That being said, Seb kind of feels the same!!  He just sort of assumes that, since the Priors condone Vardon and therefore his actions, that they must! be! awful!  He has no idea that it’s in fact just that they’re super sheltered and have only ever seen one side of Vardon and don’t know everything at all!!

OMMMGGGGGGGGG!!!!!  That would make his head explode hahaha  Seb would noT react positively to that at all (probs inadvertently confirming her views on him hahahaha) esp in the mental/emotional state he’s currently in, given his recent visit to Lina, etc.  

GO AHEAD AND TRY THE TRADE!!!!!!  Cue Seb screaming internally ;DDD  Like honetly I feel like her willing (in his mind) sacrificing her life for it would actually make it much harder for him to go through with!!!  He’d be like ‘how could i ever harm someone so good and generous????’ etc  Bc he naturally assumes the v worst of Vardon and is like 60/40 Vardon would let them die rather than negotiate or certainly surrender his wife!!  And, honestly, I do think once they got to know each other, Seb would actually quite like the Priors and...it’s a big mess hahaha

[upryasebastian]

Elite Voids | Seb & Becca

Seb was exhausted - from his recent journey to and from Uprya, but more so from the heavy news that had greeted him there.  Until the baby was born, there would be utter uncertainty between them.  After all, if the child was Seb’s, and clearly resembled him, what then?  He hated himself for having put Lina in a position like that.  After all, Xavier Vardon did not strike him as the forgiving kind.  Seb imagined he would see that as an utter betrayal and wish to exact revenge upon her.

Since learning about the pregnancy, Seb had spent most of his time brooding over the entire topic: Lina’s return, her marriage to Vardon, the child, everything.  He hated every part of it with every fiber of his being.  He had thought they were out and done when they’d escaped to Arcadia.  How had they been pulled back in?

Movement nearby.  Seb glanced up to spot one of the Priors (he didn’t remember which one) flitting about nearby.  Scowling, Seb looked away.  It was difficult for him to imagine how anyone, anyone could live around Vardon and still condone his actions.  Seb rolled his neck and shot her another glance.  He didn’t particularly want to speak with her, especially given the ideas that had been swimming around in his head about them, lately, but it occurred to him that the Prior girls would have had access to Vardon’s wives.  Surely they would know details of how they were held and kept beyond what little Seb had gathered from his two trips there.

Swearing under his breath, Seb shook his head.  Turning, he approached the girl.  He extended his hand.  “I’m Sebastian Gray,” he said.  “Thought I’d come over and introduce myself.”

[upryavictor]

ooc | Victor & Sebastian

victor: so those hartwright girls really know how to make ur hart hurt, am I wright??? Ha ha

everyone: *crickets*

ANYWAY so these two were both married to the hartwrights at the same time! idk that they’ve spoken in years haha and I don’t see them speaking anytime soon bUT I do think that they knew each other ~back in the day. 

So I don’t think Victor knew who Seb was until he started dating Lina. And since Papa Hartwright was still alive then, Beatrice didn’t need Victor so I don’t think there was any double dates or anything, haha, but I do think that Victor still had ~some~ hopes that maybe one day Bea would warm to him (but even if she didn’t, he still wanted her to be happy!) anyway, I think he kind of looked at seb and thought about how in a happy au they’d be brothers-in-law and I think he would have liked to be his friend and hoped that they’d be family one day!!! anyway idk how well they would have gotten along b/f everything went south (liTERALLY) #thanksxavier but victor would have always tried his best haha! (also idk that he would have told seb this, but he would have also tried to recommend him for a promotion! which would have obviously fallen through haha but yeah anyway). 

buuuuuttt yeah then xavier tried to move in and tbh victor was #teamxavier so that made things awkward between them for sure so even if they were once friends or friendly, I feel like they probably weren’t on good terms when they last parted 

[upryasebastian]

alksjfkldsfjkldsajfkladjf HONESTLY THO Seb: *looks directly into the camera* <33333333  Honestly tho Seb lowkey wants to fight someone hahaha and if Victor ever said that to him he’d be like (yelling) ‘don’t you see what’s going on here!  it’s not them!  it’s him!’ *points are vardon*

DOUBLE DATES W THESE TWO AND HARTWRIGHTS lkjdsfkljDKLFJSADKLF honestly it’s probs for the best that didn’t happen hahaha  I feel like Seb would’ve been completely distracted by Victor’s presence bc he was technically one of his bosses...and Seb was growing more and more and more to hate his bosses bc he was seeing what was happening to Uprya and yeahhh  Honestly, part of why Seb was probs like *michael bluth voice* “her????” when Lina was like ‘i wanna destroy our lives to save my sister’ was bc he just remembered her as the one who was for some???? reason????? dating Vardon’s bff and I feel like when Bea introduced Seb to Victor, he was just like (softly, but w feeling) ‘wtf’ under his breath hahahaha

Anyway, anyway!  I’m actually seeing sort of a turbulent relationship here!!  Bc I feel like Seb def liked and respected all the Hartwright girls and so, despite the fact that his impressions of Victor from afar weren’t! positive! and so the first couple times they spent any time together Seb was just like ‘what is happening can we noT’ basically, he was also like ‘Bea wouldn’t bring him around if there wasn’t something more to him’ yknow?  So after he settled in a bit, he made a genuine effort and obv Victor was making an effort too and they could def have compared notes on the Hartwright girls which...it was probs nice to have someone else being like ‘yeahhhh their dad was a jackass’ or ‘heyyy have you ever noticed this weird quirk or is that just me and her????’ ‘no buddy that’s def a thing™’ etc hahaha  And, esp back then, Seb was def in a really good place and he’s always been more the forgiving type, naturally (not so much now #yikES) so I feel like they def could’ve gotten on!!

But thennnn Xavier comes around and starts sniffing around and that was just a step too far!!  Seb was NOT feeling that!!!!  Esp when he started trying to make the moves on Lina like...nO!  And then Victor gets aboard the Xavier train and Seb is just like exCUUUUUSE!!!?!!!??!!  And now he’s like ‘wow that guy put on a really good act there for awhile totally pulled the wool over my eyes now i see he was genuinely a jackass the whole time’ re: Victor hahaha a feeling which only embittered after Lina was taken away esp to save Bea bc Victor obv didn’t do it (and, Seb suspects, Victor was probs in on uncovering her activities and maybe that’s why he got w her in the first place!).  So I feel like that’s where Seb is now hahahah  Honestly if he just saw Victor randomly in the street sometime he’d probs slug him but...also...like I said, he’s sort of jonesing for a fight so there’s thAT 

How do you think Victor feels about Seb atp?

[upryavera]

Wellness Check || Vera + Seb

[upryasebastian]

upryavera

“No one is suggesting you abandon your wife,” Vera replied defensively. She often felt, after Sebastian of course, that she was the person who most wanted to get the Hartwright sisters out of the north and back to Arcadia where they belonged. “No one wants to abandon any of our compatriats in the North!”

She wasn’t sure she believed those words the second they left her lips.

“Don’t you forget I was also Uprayan before I was Arcadian,” she snapped at him in response. “I may not have trained in his army, but I sat in rooms with his closest confidants… I listened to the stories of what happened to dissenters. How will you help Lina if you’re dead?”

She wasn’t sure why she was so frustrated with him seeing as they both had the same end goal: save the people they cared about. Vera wasn’t, outwardly ,overly sentimental, but in her own mind considered Bea and Lina to be the closest things she had to family, meaning Seb was part of that family now. She imagined part of her frustration about his seeming lack of care for his personal well being stemmed from not wanting to lose any more of her adopted family.

Vera had geared up to start another tirade, but stopped at the look on Sebastian’s face. When he turned and divulged Lina’s news to her, she was rendered speechless for a few moments. Nothing had prepared her for that news. Thousands of thoughts were swimming through her head until she heard Seb speak the words I don’t know what to do.

“We have to think about this logically… He must know she’s with child, correct? If she and the baby are unharmed than he must believe the child is his… which, as odd as it sounds, is good news. From what I’ve come to understand about Vardon, he is obsessed with… legacy. Obsessed with having children– well, boys– to carry on his future. That’s undoubtedly part of the reason for the harem of women he keeps marrying– if one won’t give him what he wants, he finds another and tries again.” she paused, not wanting to get off track and start ranting about Xavier Vardon’s less than proper lifestyle.

“The bad news is that he will take every precaution to see that nothing happens to Lina… which will obviously make it more difficult to extract her from the north,” Vera paused, letting out a heavy sigh. She didn’t mention that the farther along in her pregnancy Lina was, the more dangerous it would be for her to travel the long, somewhat dangerous trip out of the north.

“You must believe the child is yours, Sebastian,” Vera said, her voice softer than when she had been discussing the details of the situation. She took a step towards him, reaching out to put her hand on his shoulder. “Even if… biologically, it isn’t… any child would be the luckiest to have you as their father instead of a man like Vardon.”

She dropped her hand almost instantly once she’d made that statement. “We should go inside… its quite chilly and we will do no one, especially Lina, an ounce of good if we freeze to death along the seaside. I’ll put on some tea.”

Seb turned to look at her, said, “Hmmm,” and looked back at the sea.  He wanted to believe her, but he did not.  Virginia had no plan for rescuing the Hartwrights - and how could she? - it was much too dangerous and would risk too many lives for too little gain.  Thought Seb fully comprehended this and her reasons for it, it made him no less bitter.  “No one wants to,” he replied, slowly, watching the water rise towards his boots before falling back.  “But all of this has nothing to do with what we want.  It has to do with the rights of the people who are here.  The ones who aren’t here...” Seb shook his head.

He nodded, felt a touch of guilt bubbling up.  “You’re right, Vera,” he responded.  “I’m sorry.”  Seb was very much carried away with his emotions, caught up in the ramifications of what he’d learned.  It was hard, now, to think, to stop anything, to return from the haze in which everything had left him.  “I won’t die,” he said, softly.  “I wouldn’t do that to her.”  Lina had little enough to hope for, just now, but what she’d done, she’d done to save the life of a loved one.  He knew well and good that, if something were to happen to him as a result, she’d never forgive herself.  She’d only ever wanted to save lives.

Seb chuckled, nodding.  “That’s just what I said,” he responded.  More or less, he supposed.  “He does know and he does feel confident regarding the child’s paternity, thankfully, a fact that will keep both mother and child safe.  I’ll tell you the truth, Vera.  I pray the baby is his or, if not, that he or she so closely resembles Lina as to give him no cause for doubt.”  Seb shook his head.  “Legacy, huh?” he murmured.  “What about this legacy of tyranny and oppression he’s leaving behind?  What can he be thinking?  Is he mad?”  Never in his life had Seb hated anyone the way he loathed Vardon - and never had he been so helpless in the face of something like that.  Seb was a soldier, too.  He’d been raised to fight his enemies.  He despised this inactivity perhaps even more than Vardon himself.

He nodded slowly.  “Security is very tight around his ‘wives,’ anyway,” he replied.  “I can’t imagine what it will look like tightened.”  He shook his head.  “I can’t stand it, Vera, to think of her there, I...I can’t stand it.”  He bowed his head, listened to the crash of the waves.  The sound no longer soothed him.

He heard her words, felt her hand on his shoulder, and slowly turned to look at her, smiled softly.  “It is,” he assured her.  “Any child of Lina’s is ours and that’s an end to it.  She didn’t choose this path, not really.  Whatever happens, she’ll always be the love of my life.”  He shifted, then laughed at her next words.  “Good to know where I rank in that lineup,” he said, half-teasingly, but he knew how she meant it, and he nodded.  “Thank you,” he said, softly, genuinely, then added, assuringly: “I have no intention of allowing either of them to remain there any longer than they have to.  I haven’t figured it out yet, but I’m sure - I’m sure - there’s a way.  We’ll get them out of there...with Virginia’s help or without it.”

Shaking himself as he heard her suggestion, Seb nodded.  “You’re right,” he responded softly.  He hardly heard her, but the idea of warmth and something hot to drink did sound appealing, he thought, as he followed her inside.  Seb got to work starting a fire - found it was relieving to be able to make one, to stab at something with a stick, after the days he’d passed.  “Have you eaten?” he asked over his shoulder as they both continued with their tasks.  “I’ve got some food here, if you’d like to have dinner.  It’s nothing much,” he confessed.  “But it’s food.”

[upryasebastian]

Hamlet: I wasn't injured. I was lightly stabbed.

Horatio: You were stabbed?!

Hamlet: Lightly stabbed.