He had already started closing the door when she made a soft pitiful sound as he pressed the coins into her hands, a choked little “Aah-” that made him regret opening it in the first place. He felt sorry for the girl, sorry for all children orphaned by the war, but if he started going around and handing every single one of them money he wouldn’t have any for himself; there were just too many of them. Besides, he doubted Serano would approve if he simply gave the money away he had earned by selling the daggers the altmer had spent hours to forge and enchant.
“No, you don’t understand”, she said and returned the money, albeit somewhat reluctantly. “You see, I’m your daughter.”
The declaration came out of nowhere and startled him, but he regained his composure eventually.
“No, you aren’t.”
He was fairly sure of that.
Besides, that was a cheap trick to use.
“Am too!”, she insisted and puffed out her chest as she said so, suddenly determined. “Serano came to the orphanage and adopted me! He’s my papa now! He told Constance I should come here to live with him! And since you’re married to him I’m your daughter as well. Unless you were lying. You weren’t lying back then, were you?”
Romlyn blinked.
Repeatedly.
His mind had gone completely blank.
It took some time for him to make sense of what she was trying to say.
The girl couldn’t be telling the truth.
Serano had told him in no uncertain terms that he didn’t want to have children, not right now, not ever. He hadn’t even been gone that long; it her story was true she couldn’t possibly be here this soon, unless Serano had gone straight to Riften to get her, and she had headed here immediately afterwards. Why did she even come on her own? Shouldn’t someone have accompanied her? He knew that the orphanage was short on staff, especially after the old woman’s death, but surely they hadn’t sent this girl all the way here on her own?
Still, he found the girl’s confidence pretty convincing. She held herself proud and glared defiantly at him, practically daring him to try and send her away, utterly certain that she was in the right. She had referred to Serano as her papa as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
After a long and stressful journey she had come to an unfamiliar town and should have realized by now that the people who were supposed to take her in hadn’t even known she was coming. That whole situation should be getting to her; but she was not afraid. Her strength of mind was intriguing, and maybe something that would have made Serano take an interest in her.
When their hands had touched earlier when he handed the money over he had felt the faintest spark of magic in her, a hint of potential that rarely manifested this early. She was pretty, and would eventually grow up into a beautiful woman.
She was the kind of girl Serano would probably choose as his daughter.
Alone (M!DB/Romlyn) (31/?)
“No, you don’t understand”, she said and returned the money, albeit somewhat reluctantly. “You see, I’m your daughter.”
The declaration came out of nowhere and startled him, but he regained his composure eventually.
“No, you aren’t.”
He was fairly sure of that.
Besides, that was a cheap trick to use.
“Am too!”, she insisted and puffed out her chest as she said so, suddenly determined. “Serano came to the orphanage and adopted me! He’s my papa now! He told Constance I should come here to live with him! And since you’re married to him I’m your daughter as well. Unless you were lying. You weren’t lying back then, were you?”
Romlyn blinked.
Repeatedly.
His mind had gone completely blank.
It took some time for him to make sense of what she was trying to say.
The girl couldn’t be telling the truth.
Serano had told him in no uncertain terms that he didn’t want to have children, not right now, not ever. He hadn’t even been gone that long; it her story was true she couldn’t possibly be here this soon, unless Serano had gone straight to Riften to get her, and she had headed here immediately afterwards. Why did she even come on her own? Shouldn’t someone have accompanied her? He knew that the orphanage was short on staff, especially after the old woman’s death, but surely they hadn’t sent this girl all the way here on her own?
Still, he found the girl’s confidence pretty convincing. She held herself proud and glared defiantly at him, practically daring him to try and send her away, utterly certain that she was in the right. She had referred to Serano as her papa as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
After a long and stressful journey she had come to an unfamiliar town and should have realized by now that the people who were supposed to take her in hadn’t even known she was coming. That whole situation should be getting to her; but she was not afraid. Her strength of mind was intriguing, and maybe something that would have made Serano take an interest in her.
When their hands had touched earlier when he handed the money over he had felt the faintest spark of magic in her, a hint of potential that rarely manifested this early.
She was pretty, and would eventually grow up into a beautiful woman.
She was the kind of girl Serano would probably choose as his daughter.