Dylanna listened quietly to his story, only nodding, never commenting. It was still a lot to take in to consider her father had befriended... well...this... this man. She studied him over, especially his eyes, finding, an odd sense of comfort from them. They looked oddly familiar... a beautiful color, like the ones she had looked into that night on her ship after the storm, and she had gotten drunk and allowed herself to fall prey to Ryk Handelaar's charms.
She felt her heart drop into her belly. Should she warn Ryk about this? Let him know his son is..
but no.. no, that was silly to think, considering Ryk wasn't even aware who his son was. And she was still tremendously afraid of the repercussions of coming clean on the identity of Samuel's father. Even still, it only added to the guilt in that moment. Then again... would Mr. Handelaar even care? He might, considering, if he were to claim the child as his own, it would give him an heir.. but then again, he'd have the right to take Samuel away from her. But... could he be be so cruel?
No, no. She couldn't risk it. Not after all of this. Ryk Handelaar must never know. Thinking back to what Rufus was saying about her father, she remembered what her father had said about Ryk. He had mentioned he wasn't such a bad fellow, perhaps a bit to loose and uses too much of his charms and other unmentionable tactics to do business, but with a good wife, he'd say, that man would be golden.
And then she recalled the endless nights about why she would be the perfect match. And as much as she protested it, her own barriers had been broke down that one fateful night to give Ryk Handelaar the one night they both needed, had craved.
Truthfully, the pair could of died that night on the sea, and to be alive... and drunk, well, it made her think to things she had never allowed herself to consider before... and that one night was truly heavenly. But even still, she knew it was a mistake, thinking back to all of those times she had seen him at social events, shamelessly flirting wtih every woman he saw, and even disappearing to have rumors of scandal pop up only hours later.
She never wanted to be one of those women, but there she was, having turned into one and she was no longer any better than the rest. And now that she thought on it, he probably had several other bastard children out there. So why would he ever care for Sam?
But then she thought back to the flowers..
her house had been full of them, and still, now, she would never know the identity of her admirer... but then he showed up that night after the fair, with just a single, plain bouquet. And she didn't know why she felt more moved over that single bouquet then over the menagerie of flowers taking up a hefty bit of realestate in her house.
Rky Handelaar.. shameless flirt! She shook off her thoughts about him, and as the men were boarding the ship, she found a moment to approach Rufus's side and spoke directly to him.
"I'm... sorry about early. You must forgive me, I'm afraid I do not know who I can trust on this and well.... you've already proven yourself worthy in my book for offering to help. I'm not sure how or why my father had met or befriended you, but I do know he had quite the open mind, and was more welcoming than my mother on some of the men he had taken under his wing. He was a good man, that he was, and I wish he were here. I could surely use his guidance right about now." ANd she turned away from him to look out onto the sea,t he rains still pouring down heavily upon them. It was a ship full of fools. She looked towards the crew. Was this all for real? Were these thieves just really going to help her rescue her son? Though she supposed it made sense if they were connected...
"The woman you spoke of before," Dylanna began. "How dangerous is she? You say she's some sort of witch?" That made her worry even more for Samuel- for would this godawful witch be doing something wicked to him now?
"What do you think she'll ask of us? Gods know I'll give up anything to save my son. Does she want money?" She only hoped it was that, but she had a feeling it would be something much worse, and her connection to this man was probably much deeper than his story. "I'm afraid I know nothing about her and barely anything about you and your wolves. That portion of what makes up Arca, I try to ignore."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Elsewhere, a woman sat in the shadows of the lighthouse. The man who was on outpost for the weekend was now dead, his blood draining well into the stone floor, and Samuel... well, he and his wolf pup were inside, away from the storm and rain. She treated them like kings, having bought him all sorts of cakes and sugary sweets. And he had gobbled them up and now was playing in the basement level of the light house when he came running up the steps and approached the woman with his pup.
"When can I see my mother?" he asked, wiping off the snot from his nose on his sleeves.
Valeska turned around, grinning down at him.
Samuel felt afraid, for her one eye, now marred with an ugly, gnarled and fleshy-bubbled scar, had a coating of white over top of it; and her smile... she smiled so wide it was frightful and exposed much of her teeth, making her appear wicked, like a witch. She had even told him she was, and that seemed to keep the boy and his dog in line.
"Your mother is on her way. Just be patient and when she is here.." her grin grew. "Then we can all play." Samuel gave a sniff as he looked down at his shoes. "Do you want to see some of my magic, boy?"
Samuel lifted his gaze. Valeska's smile grew when he replied with a hesitant nod. Reaching out her hand, she held it, palm side up. The tips of her fingers began to glow blue, then dwn from her finger tips and into her palm snapped a crack of lightning that surged and popped before she thrust her hands towards the heavens, and a massive bolt of lighting struck out from her hand, surging in a wicked, blue-hued dance at hte bottoms of the swollen, black storm clouds before striking out onto the sea.
"See that power?" she said, her eyes wild. storm winds blowing through her blonde hair, while the remnants of the lightning bolt licked up her arm. "That's the power of a witch of the weather, boy. Know it well." she warned him,t hen gestured to the light house. "Now, get back inside. We don't need you catching a cold."
Samuel could have pissed himself, and once the order was given, he rushed back inside, the wofl pup following after, it's tail between it's legs. Once the child was gone, Valeska's eyes went back out into the ocean, and traced a finger along the horizon, then began to tap it, and soon the waves were growing stronger and larger than before.
