While I lay around getting drunk on Alkas wonderful elixir, the castle changed hands. First, Joe killed Aubert. In many ways Joe is not his fathers son. Iven was a careful and thoughtful man, driven once or twice to violence as a last resort, but he would never have done what Joe did, which was to push the mortally wounded Aubert off the balcony where they fought. Aubert died instantly. He was an evil man, Joe told me later. And even with the wounds that would soon have killed him, he was capable of rallying his men. As it is, most of them gave up fighting when they saw him die. And I still had Hagen to deal with. Joe and Hagen found each other at the gate. This is a big gate, more like a tunnel through the walls. Its a high gate, too, rising up four stories to the tower where Joe, and later Alka, had been held prisoner. Joe came in from one end of the tunnel. Kate came in through the other end. Hagens oversized bodyguard had no problem raising his sword to fight a woman. Guess hed done it before and expected an easy fight. Hagen faced Joe and said, So the little prince has decided to stay. I thought Id done with you, Konstantin, when I blew up Ivens lab. I thought you were down there with him. Never knew youd run away. These royal secrets, he shook his head, always a problem for honest folk. Joe stood quietly as he heard Hagens confession to murder. Hed already figured that his uncle was somehow responsible, and this cold-blooded bragging to the Kings son just made the final battle easier. When Hagen suddenly swung his sword at him, Joe did not give thought to the fact that he was fighting his mothers brother. He was fighting his fathers killer. Hector, Etienne, and Lochlann saw the fighting at the gate and ran immediately to give aid. By the time they got there, though, it was over. Hagen was dead. His bodyguard was dying. Joe and Kate were still standing, panting, wild-eyed, but unharmed. And every day for the rest of my life I give thanks for that.
There were more pictures to this encounter -- (Just a suggestion to any nonmembers who might be following this story, or at least checking this thread. Membership is free and the pictures we add to our stories around here are usually pretty interesting.) SBW, I tired to make the house more playable by eliminating the graves, removing the statue in back and filling in the pond. Also removed the fence around the property, and so forth. It's not too bad, but I don't think I'll have Errol start up his business in his home again.
Violas visit to the urn in the attic didnt go quite as shed planned. For one thing, it was suddenly cold up there. Really cold. It should have been very hot, as it was every other time, since it was right under the roof that had been cooked by the sun all day long. But it was cold. She shivered. She saw her own breath. Curious change in the weather, she said. She didnt believe it, but what else could it be? She bent to pick up the urn. It moved. It rattled against the floor. Viola stumbled backwards in surprise. Dont do this, Daddy, she whispered. Please dont do this to me. Im leaving. Im going back downstairs. Keep still. Dont move. She edged forward reaching for the ladder. The urn rose off the floor and dropped back down, hard. The lid loosened. Viola backed away. OK, Im staying. Is that you, Daddy? Yup, it was him.
When she told me about it later I remembered my nightmares. Maybe she had a nightmare, too. Maybe she only thinks that she was walking around fully dressed right after dinner. Nightmares can fool you sometimes. They can seem too real. As with mine, she saw just his face, rising up out of the urn and floating in the air in front of her. He talked to her. “Why is my little girl coming up here in the dark to look at this bit of stone every night? I watch you. Every night I watch you and see you up here and I am asking why you do such a thing? It is not a grave, not for me, not for your mother, not for you.” Viola was not feeling brave but she was definitely real angry and unhappy and frustrated. “You told Errol it was me,” she said. “How could you do such a terrible thing to a little boy, your grandson?” “You want I should tell him his mother ran off and left him?” “But I didn’t! You know I didn’t. You disowned me! You told me never to come near either of you again!” To her surprise a look of agony and suffering distorted the face that floated in front of her. “My daughter! My child, given to me by my sweet Violetta who died and left me alone, help me. Help an old man who is your father.” “Help you what?!” Viola said. She stamped her foot. Talking to a ghost, it seems, can be maddening. I knew all about it. “I am always with you, my daughter, my beautiful little girl, my Viola.” He faded from view. She thought about that, not sure she liked it. Stupid ghost hadn’t answered the question, either. What help did he want? But he had called her 'daughter.' In life he had disowned her. In death she was his child again. “You can’t do that,” she said to the empty room. It was very warm now. “You can’t undo the big mess you made of our lives just because you‘ve changed your mind. It‘s too late for that.” She stared at the urn for a few minutes, then picked it up and carried it down stairs.
Viola set the urn on the table and studied it. The lid was loose. “Well then,” she said. “Here it is. All this fuss and bother--Errol chasing after Ania, Kate chasing after Errol. And it’s all your fault. Errol wouldn’t have come here but for you. And Joe wouldn’t have followed him and gone home. And Ania wouldn’t have followed Joe. So what do you have to say? That we should help you? Ridiculous. You should be helping us! They’re all in trouble. I know they are or they’d be here with me. And it‘s your fault, Daddy.” She reached out, lifted the lid and peeked inside. “Looks like paper in there. Just paper, Daddy! All this because of some paper!” Viola’s eyes stung. She wiped at tears. “What did I really expect? I should have expected nothing. Just like you, it is.” Sniffing and disappointed she emptied the urn onto the table then carefully set it upright and put the lid back on it. The papers were letters tied up with string. When she realized what the letters were all about she was spitting mad. She stamped her feet and waved at the walls, cursing her father’s name until she burst into tears. The letters had never been opened. They were all tied up tightly in a bundle but she knew immediately what they were. They were the letters she had written and sent to her little boy, praying that somehow he’d get to the mailbox before his grandfather did. It looked to her as if he never had. He’d never seen these letters from his mother. She grabbed the bundle and shoved it back into the urn. One of the letters had slipped free. She picked it up and almost ripped it in two. Then she looked more closely at the handwriting and saw that it was not hers. It was her Daddy’s. And it was addressed to her. It had never been opened because she herself had written across it -- Moved - Return to sender!!! Still holding the letter Viola walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. No ghost had written this letter. She’d forgotten all about it. Well, Daddy, she thought. I can’t possibly get any more angry with you than I am right now. Maybe it’s time I read your last letter to me.
The Letter To my daughter Viola, I am asking that you read this letter to the end. It is important for you and for your son and for me also. I am not very good with words. I have around me on the floor the paper I have used to write this letter with the wrong words. You know already that I am bad with words. I am from a time when we walked to a friends house and knocked on his door and asked him how he was doing and visited in his parlor and shared a small glass of something we saved for those visits. I am thinking about walking to your house and visiting you in the old way but it is too long a walk for an old man so I am writing this letter to you. I am a very old man tonight. Perhaps I am 80 years old but I am not sure because my mother your grandmother was not always straight in the head with numbers. I also did not get the schooling I could have gotten. No, I should not, and I do not, blame your grandmother for this life which I have chosen on my own. Most of these years have been good years. But I am thinking now about how I am a very old man alone in my house and that I should have done some things differently. That is the way old men think. I am thinking now that raising Errol in the trade was not the good idea I thought it was when I decided to show him what I knew when he was still young and quick with his hands. I do not know where he is now. I have not heard from him and I worry that the police might have him. But if he needs me he can use the telephone because I will answer it and he knows I will answer it because I always answer it since I sometimes forget that I sent you away. I am thinking now, and it is probably too late, that I want you to come home. I would like to see you again and tell you that everything that is mine is yours because you are the daughter given to me by my bride who died before you were old enough to remember her. Write to me or use the telephone to tell me you will forgive your father and come home to see me before I die. I am your father who loves you, Hector
Viola carefully folded the letter and returned it to the envelope. She touched the corner of her sleeve to her eye. You know you dont deserve forgiveness, Daddy, but Im sorry I didnt open this when I first got it in the mail. Things might have been different. I might even have come home and talked to you. She set the envelope on the table next to the urn and went upstairs and got ready for bed. The letter had left her drained of all energy and emotion. She was exhausted. But when she got in bed she couldnt sleep. She thought of the ghost in the attic, wanting her help. Errols grown into a fine man, she said to herself. In spite of you, Daddy. Im proud of Errol, now. And Im proud of my grandbabies. They are beautiful and smart. Viola shut her eyes for a while but still couldnt sleep. She opened her eyes again. OK, Daddy. I am truly sorry I didnt open your letter. But I still cant forgive you for telling Errol I died. That was an awful thing to do. She shifted around on the bed, tried sleeping on her left side, then her right side. No good. She sat up. So Ive thought about it. Its all over. It's buried history. Youre dead now and Im hoping Errol and Kate and Ania are still alive. For them and for the sake of us all, because I want peace in my heart and theirs, I forgive you. Now go bring them home safe to me. Viola lay back again. She smiled now, and fell asleep.
It was midnight in Strangetown when Viola reconciled with the memory of her father and forgave him for sending her away. In Vassily, it was dawn. The castle was now Joe’s. He and those left alive and still upright now had to deal with the dead, the dying, and the badly wounded. They converted Dominic’s throne room into an infirmary and moved cots from the soldiers’ barracks into it. All the wounded were brought to the infirmary, no matter whose side they fought with. He left guards in the room, however, to discourage any quarreling that might erupt. As for me and Alka, she went out into the road and caught the attention of a farmer she’d heard rattling by in his cart. The two of them persuaded me to get into it. Alka asked about the castle. The farmer insisted the fighting was over and that the mountain men controlled Vassily. That’s all we needed. Both Alka and I were anxious to get back there. As the cart bumped over the dirt road, taking me back to Kate, something very strange was happening in Vassily. Hector set a wounded man down in the infirmary then walked outside and stood in the middle of the courtyard. His camera eye moved side to side, as if he looked for something. Nobody paid too much attention at first, to what he was doing. Not until he lit up as bright as a bonfire. Brighter than that, in fact. Those nearby had to turn their eyes away. Then the light went out and the robot fell over on the ground and lay there like one dead. Joe couldn’t understand it. The power cell was fully charged. Nothing inside the chest was damaged. But the robot wouldn’t respond. They carried him into the infirmary. And that’s where he was when I got there.
Looks like the ghost of Hector is finally at peace. But what about the rest of them? Do we get our wedding or not?
LOL, SBW. And the Kate of Arc comment left me ROTFL, too. Yes, there will be a wedding. Now I've got another one of those dreadful thunderstorms overhead and should turn off the computer. (Maryland is really soggy this spring, one thnderstorm after another almost every day.)
When does that bright-light thing happen in TS2? Or did you use moveobjects on to stick him somewhere? By the way, fantastic story! The pictures are awesome.
Teleportation. If you haven't seen it yet, it's neat. I move Ironsides like that all the time because I love the way it looks. Without using cheats sims can do that after meditating for some length of time, which I don't know about. It turned up in my game after I got the InSiminator thingy. Anyway, the light is so beautiful I thought it would make a nice resolution to the ghost of Hector. I took several pictures of his 'final' event. I attach a couple more. Thank you. And although Hector is gone, the story still has a little ways left to go, several loose ends to tie up. So tune again again.
I liked everything about Hector/Ironsides, too. He was a robot who never saw himself as a robot. Nor, apparently, did anyone in Joe's kingdom. To them he was just another man in armor. He was cool. It won't be the same without him.
I agree, but I have faith in you, Lynet. You'll have us on the edge of our seats with the next installment, soon enough.
Alright, alright, I'm only up to the Urn and the Floating Face... Freaky stuff, Lynet! Someone's watching a scary thriller movie in the room next door, so I'm reading your story listening to this olden-day detective movie music... Oh great, and now there's someone in the front yard... There was a big bang from the tv, and I think I must have jumped a metre high at least... Talk about perfect timing. P.S. Those pictures, Lynet... Wow! P.P.S. Joe is great! He seems so real, and the pictures match your story so well... P.P.P.S. My sister's ex-boyfriend's name was Vassily... P.P.P.P.S. Ironsides climbing the wall? But- but- but... HOW??? Ok, I really have to go to bed. I will continue reading tomorrow
I've finally caught up... Wow Lynet! I wish I had Nightlife... I wanna horsie!!! And the houses and castles look beautiful You're so lucky. I can't wait for the next installment
Aw Lynet - I am all misty with the passing of Hector...I will miss him a lot. What a great character he was! And what a great story you have going!!! Glad I've finally been able to catch up!
The farmers cart clopped through the Vassily gate and stopped. The farmer helped Alka climb down and she went looking for Joe. I saw Kate come running and I hobbled and hopped on my good leg to reach her. After a couple of minutes, Kate took a deep breath and pushed me away, Errol, Lover, let me breathe. Im OK. Not a scratch. I let go reluctantly. But you, she said, wellumnot good. You stink. And your eyes! Ugh. They look awful. Youve been drinking something stronger than water. Lets get you cleaned up. That turned out to be more difficult than Kate expected. Im not an easy patient. Never have been. But eventually she got me scrubbed up and in clean clothes. Then she showed me to a chair out in the sunshine and told me to stay put. Next thing I know its late afternoon and Kate is shaking me awake. She said, Joe wants you to take a look at Hector. How do you feel? Hungry. What happened to breakfast? You slept through it. Lunch, too. Whats this about Hector? Can I eat first? Kate hadnt yet said a word to me about Hector. Now she told me about the sudden bright light and a robot that no longer responded to any command. I wasnt much worried. Something must have gone wrong with his power supply. Where is he? The only way I could figure out how to get upstairs was backwards, sitting down, lifting myself up with my arms one step at a time. Alka had done a good job with her stitching but I wanted to give those leg muscles a break. They were real sore. At the top of the steps Kate helped me to my feet and handed me crutches. Then she showed me the room where the robot was stretched out on a cot. Ive got other patients, she said, and left me there. I spent an hour looking at wires and testing the connections to every chip. Without a computer I couldnt study the software, but since critical gauges showed some activity I knew that at least part of the programming still worked. Joe came into the room. Find anything? If something had exploded thered at least be scorching and melted wires. Theres nothing! I dont get it. It wasnt an explosion. Just light. Maybe hell come around on his own. Hes losing power. How? Hes powered down. It didnt matter. Before the sun rose on the following morning everything in Ironsides closed down. The gauges all went to zero. Joe and I werent able to get any of it started up again.
I talked to Kate about taking the robot back to Strangetown. She said, I think you should leave him here. Bury him here. Build another robot when you get back to Strangetown. Maybe. I didnt like the idea because my original plan had been to build the prototype and sell it, with blueprints, to an outfit that had the capital for factory production. Persuading Hector to act like a prototype--predictable and useful--might have been difficult, though. And I was having odd feelings about him. I mean, I kind of missed him. No kidding. He often made me crazy, yet thered been so much of Granddad in him. Impossible to explain, so I should just shut up about it right now. Kate said, In the meantime, Im meeting Ania at the chapel because we have a wedding to plan. What wedding? Oh, right. I thought about the Joe Id seen here, in his own country, with a sword in his hand and a cold look in his eye. He had the face of his father but not the manner, not in any way. Do you think this is a good idea? Leaving Ania here? Married to Joe? Shes already got plans for this country. And not only has she told me all about them, shes told Joe, too. She wants to start by rebuilding the hospital. And the schools. Have you seen her around here? No, you havent, because shes already working on those projects. Im thrilled for her. She has a chance to do something important for a lot of people. Besides that, Kates eyes were all lit up, have you seen them together? They really are in love. I took her hand. Should we move here and help out? And get in her way? Kate laughed. Well come back when theres a grandchild to look after. Shell need us then. What do you think? I think youre beautiful.
