A/N: Still here? After the unremitting angst of last chapter (I'm so sorry) we have an action packed beast this time around. One reviewer called Liriel and Madanach a bipolar couple (to be fair, they're mostly fairly sweet and loving to each other and all is usually fairly calm, but the stories tend to revolve around the emergencies) and you know, I'm starting to wonder if he actually is. He's definitely a bit messed up - twenty years stuck in a cave with only Skooma for entertainment will do that to you, and Madanach was the brilliant but crazy type beforehand... Oh and losing three kids, also not great for the old sanity. Liriel's mostly too young and inexperienced to know any better, but Madanach's definitely got Issues. As you will see.
Warnings: trigger warning for substance abuse. Also, er, Madanach/Sanguine. Sort of. Kinda. Non-explicitly, and it's not entirely clear if it's actually real or just a hallucination. It's a bit weird and a pairing I never thought I'd write, but um, there you go.
Summary: With Liriel gone, Madanach's long suppressed demons finally get the better of him at the worst possible moment, as Liriel goes to confront her parents and learns a few things about her family, from her parents' romantic histories to the lengths they're prepared to go to to save her from herself.
Madanach didn't move as Liriel fled the Keep. He just looked down, staring at the wedding ring she'd left behind, mutely removing his own and placing it next to its twin, all feeling just seeming to cut off. He was barely aware of Liriel's presence in his head growing ever more distant, both physically and emotionally, and Cicero wailing about something or other until Eola grabbed him, snapped at him to calm him down and sent him away... and then his little girl started showing all her mother's famous sympathy and compassion.
“Da, what did you do, what are you doing, don't just sit there, get after her, tell her you're sorry!”
Madanach just poked at the rings. They were pretty, a perfect little pair, and truth be told he'd even found the Restoration boost useful before now. Both for healing injuries to the kids, easing his own aches and pains... and keeping Skooma shakes at bay, a little gift from Mara to help keep him clean.
Mara's magic hadn't worked this time.
“Better this way,” Madanach said softly. Not for him, no, but for Liriel it would be. He'd do anything for Liriel. Including breaking his own heart to set her free.
“What are you talking about, it is not better!” Eola shouted. “She's the most beautiful woman in Skyrim and you just sent her away, damn it, what is wrong with you?”
Nothing. Everything. He was old, tired, going to die soon enough, his marriage had been destroying his wife, he'd failed every child he'd ever raised, the Reach was free and didn't need him any more, and he'd just had enough.
“Damn it, Eola, if you think she's that pretty, go after her yourself, see how easy it is!” Madanach snapped at her. He regretted it immediately, seeing her cheeks flush and the hurt in her eyes.
“Cariad, I'm sorry, I didn't...” Madanach began. Eola shook her head, an odd pinched expression on her face and it was only when Madanach racked his brains to realise where he'd seen it before and remembered her childhood that he realised it was the look she got when she wanted to cry but was hiding it.
“How could you,” Eola whispered, looking utterly betrayed. “After all this... Liriel's one of the best friends I ever had and you just...”
Marrying his daughter's best friend. A truly terrible idea. More than anything he missed Kaie, missed her calming presence and unswerving loyalty, missed the guaranteed hug and tea made for him that Kaie had provided whenever previous Liriel problems had cropped up. But she was gone, and Eola was all he had left, and Eola was as much Liriel's as his.
Re: Thicker Than Blood 7.1
Warnings: trigger warning for substance abuse. Also, er, Madanach/Sanguine. Sort of. Kinda. Non-explicitly, and it's not entirely clear if it's actually real or just a hallucination. It's a bit weird and a pairing I never thought I'd write, but um, there you go.
Summary: With Liriel gone, Madanach's long suppressed demons finally get the better of him at the worst possible moment, as Liriel goes to confront her parents and learns a few things about her family, from her parents' romantic histories to the lengths they're prepared to go to to save her from herself.
Madanach didn't move as Liriel fled the Keep. He just looked down, staring at the wedding ring she'd left behind, mutely removing his own and placing it next to its twin, all feeling just seeming to cut off. He was barely aware of Liriel's presence in his head growing ever more distant, both physically and emotionally, and Cicero wailing about something or other until Eola grabbed him, snapped at him to calm him down and sent him away... and then his little girl started showing all her mother's famous sympathy and compassion.
“Da, what did you do, what are you doing, don't just sit there, get after her, tell her you're sorry!”
Madanach just poked at the rings. They were pretty, a perfect little pair, and truth be told he'd even found the Restoration boost useful before now. Both for healing injuries to the kids, easing his own aches and pains... and keeping Skooma shakes at bay, a little gift from Mara to help keep him clean.
Mara's magic hadn't worked this time.
“Better this way,” Madanach said softly. Not for him, no, but for Liriel it would be. He'd do anything for Liriel. Including breaking his own heart to set her free.
“What are you talking about, it is not better!” Eola shouted. “She's the most beautiful woman in Skyrim and you just sent her away, damn it, what is wrong with you?”
Nothing. Everything. He was old, tired, going to die soon enough, his marriage had been destroying his wife, he'd failed every child he'd ever raised, the Reach was free and didn't need him any more, and he'd just had enough.
“Damn it, Eola, if you think she's that pretty, go after her yourself, see how easy it is!” Madanach snapped at her. He regretted it immediately, seeing her cheeks flush and the hurt in her eyes.
“Cariad, I'm sorry, I didn't...” Madanach began. Eola shook her head, an odd pinched expression on her face and it was only when Madanach racked his brains to realise where he'd seen it before and remembered her childhood that he realised it was the look she got when she wanted to cry but was hiding it.
“How could you,” Eola whispered, looking utterly betrayed. “After all this... Liriel's one of the best friends I ever had and you just...”
Marrying his daughter's best friend. A truly terrible idea. More than anything he missed Kaie, missed her calming presence and unswerving loyalty, missed the guaranteed hug and tea made for him that Kaie had provided whenever previous Liriel problems had cropped up. But she was gone, and Eola was all he had left, and Eola was as much Liriel's as his.