Grottin's Lamp, SFRIM Headquarters
"Ave, dearest brother!" The soft tone of a Deteis voice carried into the small room, almost chiming with mirth and excitement. "I assume you've already heard the news?"
Tired eyes on a freshly balded head met with Kailen's gaze, feint embers of defiance glowing amidst a sea of sorrow. "My Lady Gallius, I have. What are you doing here?" A soft giggle met him in response. "To see how you are, of course. I see you've taken on penance. Shame, your hair was lovely."
"Tch.." Rising slowly from his seat, Utari gave his sister-in-law a formal bow. Smiling, the Caldari woman returned the formality with an incline of her head. "Pleasentries aside, I'm here to bring you your Grandfather's answer... Seems he's decided you're not to be given the Gallius name after all."
The Caldari-Amarr halfbreed seemed unsurprised, 'hmphing' as he looked about his new quarters. A simple chair, a single sized bed, a table and a basic console were all that Utari allowed himself. With the walls left unplastered, revealing the structural steel the Amarr often hide behind stone and gold, it seemed more a prison cell then a bedroom.
"Interesting that he's chosen to send you, Kailen. I imagine that's because he didn't." A shake of the head from the woman. "No. He'd told Miguel when your brother asked about it. I decided it'd be best if I came along to soften the blow."
Thump. The fist crashed down on the table as wild eyes shot back. "Soften the blow? Not only am I to be shamed in the refusal of attendance to my own brother's ennoblement, shamed by being turned over for inheritance, and shamed into pennance, you think you can soften the blow? Tell me, your Grace, what made you think you could soften anything of the sort?!"
Undeterred by the explosive reaction, Kailen considered the question for a moment. "Because of our history, Utari..."
Sarum Prime II, Gallius Family Estates
Beaming with pride, Lord Thiago Gallius placed his hands on the shoulders of his Grandson. "Now you become a man, Miguel, the son I should have had."
Sheepishly, the Amarr-Civire looked around the court room. Opulant, gilded and festooned with family heirlooms and religious relics, it was a world away from the simple family quarters he was used to. "A man I already was, grandfather. A parent to a daughter and two sons, and a Capsuleer."
"Yes, but you now have the greatest of responsibilities before you. All of the small folk of the Baron will look to you for guidance and education for generations to come. You will be teacher, judge and father to them all..."
Biting at his lip, Miguel could feel the weight of the new title sink onto his shoulders. He had long been groomed for it, living with his Grandfather for most of his life, but to take the title at less then thirty years old was unusual to say the least. It had been a most peculiar of arrangements, spurned on as it was by the murky issue of his brother's status.
"Father I might be to them, and independant Lord I might well have been made, still you sit as head of the House, my Lord." Patting at the shoulders he held, Thiago moved to be beside his heir. "And in such a capacity, I will guide and assist you in your new works."
Grottin's Lamp, SFRIM Headquarters
The spark of a lighter glowed in the threadbare room as Utari light up a cigarette. Taking a long draw, he watched with hazel eyes as the exhailed smoke wafted towards the ceiling.
"I envy you, Kailen. To have a family, to be recognised despite your lineage. It's crushing being deprived of such things."
Tilting her head, the Deteis pierced her brother-in-law with icey eyes, as if drilling down into his soul. "I know, but you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself. You're no good to anyone going on these self destructive binges, and certainly no good to your family chasing after what you always knew you couldn't have."
Letting out a half laugh, the weathered man took another drag. "Pity. So it's pity why you came here then." "Pity?" came the sharp reply. "Yes, pity. You have what you wanted now. Title, security for your children, social standing. You're as ruthless today as you were the day I met you at SAK. You've no reason to come giving advice to me other then pity."
A wounded smile formed on Kailen's lips, before leaning in to plant a kiss on Utari's cheek. "I suppose you're right. I have gotten what I wanted, but don't think I wouldn't do all it'd take to ensure my children were well provided for. I did what I needed to do."
Picking up her dress from the floor, Kailen allowed it to glide down the curves of her body, giving a quick adjustment before retrieving the rest of her things. "Besides, you should be happy. Your daughter at least has a good name now."
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Topic: Blood Denied (Read 1171 times)