g ↔ f ↔ ρ (chickidy) wrote in valesco,
@ 2010-05-17 22:32:00

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"Are you sure?"

Tristan nodded to his mother, his blue eyes wide as he stared up at her. Despite understanding that her child felt perfectly temperate, Glenda still pulled his coat closer to his chest and gently pushed his hat down to cover his face. For her, the temperature had nothing to do with it; anxiety and annoyance did. Anxiety because they still had twenty minutes until it was time to depart for their portkey, and annoyance because Rhys Nott had dared to attack them in the middle of the city just a few hours ago. Fortunately, Alice had been there....

Glenda glanced over at her friend, feeling nothing but brusque. Logically speaking, she knew she should be thankful that Alice was trained for things like this, and would make all the right decisions. Leaving Milan was without a doubt the safest option for Tristan at this point, but that didn't stop Glenda from feeling downright bitter about going back to England so soon. She wasn't ready yet, Tristan wasn't ready yet--- but there was no choice. They couldn't risk another attack: Tristan was too young, and soon the press might get wind of things, not to mention the location of their house might get revealed in the mix of it all. So, for the time being, back to England they went.

A sigh escaped her lips as she waited for another minute to pass by. She knew that this would be the time to talk with Alice, or at least something, but Glenda couldn't quite bring herself to turn and open her mouth to the other woman just yet.

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alongday
2010-05-18 04:36 pm UTC (link)

She lightly swatted the shoelace of Tristan's very nice shoes and smiled to herself. Alice was tired in many ways, but she needed to keep herself alert and ready for Gleny and Tristan's sake. The attack hadn't been a surprise; Glenda had informed them about Nott, and Alice had been dealing with the terrible feeling in her gut that something was going to go down. She hated that she had left Frank and Neville so abruptly, but it was more about being rude to her two men than actually thinking she was doing something brash or wrong.

Alice was an auror. She'd always wanted to be an auror and pushed through the jokes her friends had made about how she could be snapped in half by a rather brisk breeze. She had worked hard for her grades and even earned herself a prefect badge in seventh year, so she was an auror. She wanted to be an auror before she had wanted to be Frank's wife, and she had been an auror for quite some time before she had become a mother and...it was hard to put those titles in front of her job description.

It made her feel like a terrible person when she had times like this---Alice rarely had lingering moments of silence in her life anymore that allowed her mind to wander and think about anything that didn't have to do with her job, family, or the war. She wanted to be everything for Frank and Neville, but the call of her duties was too strong and she'd pushed away. Maybe it would be safer and better for everyone if she just went off and did her job. She wouldn't have to worry about Frank or Neville, and they wouldn't have to be panicked that their wife or mother was never coming home...

Life wasn't fair. You couldn't have it all, and Alice was finally beginning to understand that. Her eyes wearily looked up at the clock; at least with portkeys, once they set off, you arrived at your destination in nearly an instant.

"I figured you wouldn't want to stay at the House," she said, knowing that Gleny would pick up on that meaning the Order Headquarters, "But I've had Frank set up a room at our place if you want."

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chickidy
2010-05-19 04:31 am UTC (link)

It wasn't very hard to detect that Glenda wanted absolutely nothing to do with the Order. And that, by extension, obviously included its headquarters. In all honesty, she had taken her almost a week before contacting them after noticing Rhys Nott's presence in Milan. Wrestling between the idea of dealing it herself and letting them know what was going had prolonged her to reach out. But, as most of her actions of late, the well-being of her son had fueled her to finally suck it up and do the one thing she had moved away from England for. Glenda knew it was selfish to want to refuse their service and help, but all of this had just been so difficult, and--- it had barely been a year. Her wounds were still very much fresh.

Glenda shifted Tristan to her other hip and turned to look at Alice. She blinked slowly, taking a moment to respond. Staying with Alice and Frank.... her lips pulled back tightly as she thought, already not specifically enjoying the thought of forcing herself into their home and then being restricted their until they deemed it fit for her to return home. But, living with two top aurors did come with its benefits....

She fixed on Tristan as she spoke, only breaking away to look at Alice toward the end. "That's very generous. We'll stay out of your way as much as possible. I know how difficult everything is getting, so---- thank you." Glenda's head tilted slightly as she spoke, her voice smooth and low. And suddenly, while looking at Alice's face, she couldn't help but realize how things had changed so quickly between them. Alice had been one of her closest friends over a year ago. Now, they talked in a strained manner. While she knew otherwise, it almost felt like she was talking to a person she barely knew, not someone who she had once shared secrets and laughed with.

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alongday
2010-05-25 05:14 pm UTC (link)

"Believe me, you won't be a bother," Alice said with a smile toward her friend. She tired, very tired, and the last thing she wanted to do was use up the little energy she had left to convince Gleny that this was going to be a good thing for her. Alice barely believed that herself, so to try and force the ideas on Gleny would prove impossible. It was the safest route for her friend to take, but Alice could understand the pain coming back to England would bring to her friend.

Alice wasn't one to run away from the things that hurt her, or scared her, but she fully understood it. She had gone into Marlene's house to start the investigation of her friend's death before they had taken the entire McKinnon family's bodies out. As much as it hurt, Alice knew she had been there for a reason and she wouldn't let Marlie's death be in vain. So--as much as some things hurt, you had to do them because it was for the greater good.

The greater good. It sounded like something Voldemort believed in---Alice knew that her good was going to help children like Tristan and Neville make it to adulthood in a world that wasn't trashed by war.

"We don't have to tell anyone you're back in England," Alice added softly. She straightened up from her slouched position in the seat, "We only ever have his mother over---and Ralph Frobisher sometimes, but other than that the estate is empty and big enough to be on for a while without going insane...I don't know what you want, really," Alice concluded, pulling her jacket tighter around her. "It's whatever you want, Gleny."

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chickidy
2010-05-27 03:56 am UTC (link)

Whatever she wanted?

No. No, Alice shouldn't say that: she couldn't give Glenda whatever she wanted. No one could. Alice couldn't restore her home, couldn't undo all the terrible things that had happened to them in the past year, and she certainly could not bring Gideon back. A beaten-down feeling suddenly filled her as a worn face finally broke through.

She missed Gideon so much--- unbelievably so to the point where she couldn't even begin to describe what it felt like. The pain was constant, with no day getting any better than the last. It wasn't--- she couldn't--- without Tristan, Glenda wasn't sure how she could have survived this long. The only thing keeping her in check was her son-- his son. He had already lost a father, it would be plain selfish to take away his mother as well. But being constantly left to her own thoughts, all she could wander to was the memory of him. All the mistakes she had made, all the fights she had started with him---

Glenda's cheeks flushed as a rare break through of emotion occurred. Just thinking of him--- her eyes locked on Alice, suddenly thinking of how she would react to Frank's death. It was impossible to think at this point, as of late becoming an obsession of Glenda's to place others in her position. How would Alice react? Would she do the same thing Alice was doing for her now? Would it even---

"Mamma!"

Tristan's voice broke her out of her trance, causing her to quickly attend to whatever it was. Glenda blinked slowly, her eyes low again as she returned to watching Alice. "It would be best if no one knew about our return. That's what I want."

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