Before - Legends "Wolf whelp", the story of a female clone, comment co-author & fanart 23rd Jan 2012

Great update! I hope Lucien will realize what he has done. Having to live with that will be the greatest punishment for him.

Have you already read the next chapter? Or spoke with my husband on the phone while I was a couple of days in Germany enjoying my autumn holidays?

No, but I was reminded of the Jedi Academy trilogy. In the 3rd book, a Mon Cal called Terpfen (or so) helped an Imperial discover the secret location where Anakin was raised by Winter. Because of that, Anakin Solo was almost kidnapped. While rescuing Anakin, Terpfen almost died, but Ackbar saved him (despite the terrible consequences Terpfen's actions had for Ackbar) and said: "Your punishment will be to live."



I took a step closer to Caelestris, who was busy with five waffle irons at once. ?The emergency supplies that Carrie had stuffed in my saddle bags really paid off?, she explained to me.

Ingredients for waffles as emergency supplies? That says a lot about this family!

Caelestris beamed. ?Luçien has a lot of maple syrup and icing sugar in stock. Bless him.?

Ehhh...I'm not sure about the last part.

?This is why Daná still hopes that Luçien has a food poisoning by now or will get one in the future at least. Our Lady Sunshine is skilled in a plethora of Force powers, but she is a disaster in the kitchen.?

That's very funny. I also like the Grianan has something she's very bad at - that saves her from being a Mary Sue type of character.

?Perhaps that was another motivation for her to be with him,? suggested Iocus. ?She has a sweet tooth, you know. If the Dark Side would lure followers with chocolate cookies, Grianán would be the first in line to sign up.?

Join the Dark Side - we've got chocolate! Glad someone else also recognized this line.
Heck, if they gave me chocolate, I'd sign up, too!

I went to greet him nicely. He was family of mine after all and after our first dreadful meeting his attitude towards me was flawless. In the aftermath of Polysýndeton he had been kind and sweet with me and Eibhear.

I used to not like Parhelion. But after Sionnach lost the twins...I think that he changed after he saw her suffering and I've liked him ever since.

Eibhear gave our visitor just a cool nod. His face was set and serious. It almost startled me to see the similarities with the Elfin noble man who had sired him. Against my will.

I hope he won't take too much after that man....

?It still amazes me what siblings can do to one another.?

Or lovers. Please tell me you had a serious word with Lucien....

?I will not answer for him.? Parhelion crooked a thin eyebrow.

*nods in agreement* Lucien alone will need to answer for his actions.

?What occurred at this lodge is a drama, that is for sure. But rest assured it shook him to the core of his being. Made him realize the true dangers of the Dark Side of the Force. Even for himself.?

Especially for himself! Someone who believes in his own righteousness and has no one to correct or control him.
One of my friends once said a very good thing that has stuck with me. We were talking about a teacher who'd reacted very unreasonable towards a student. My friend said something along the lines of people developing a bad character if they never reflect upon their action and if they don't have friends who tell them "what you have done wasn't right".
As you have pointed out in earlier updates, Lucien never had someone correct hin or made him reconsider his actions.

?Good,? said Eibhear. ?Because I have two mothers now and I would hate to lose any of them, because he has a fit of temper or puts his family honour above all. Never mind his duties to the Brotherhood of Shadows.?

Great! I love how Eibhear stood up.
And I also like that he accepts Grianan as his new mother.

?Which he will need to earn. From me. From my mother. From his new wife. From all that are gathered he

 

MsLanna/ Etain will stay with us the entire weekend, arriving around 1:00 pm tomorrow when I am still at work. On Sunday earlybird-Obi-Wan & Exar_Xan will visit, too.

So I really do hope to have everything nicely in the evening hours on Sunday.

Yepp, see you soon in RL in our house which is decorated for Halloween since the beginning of autumn.

 

The last part was sweet!

 

Well, nobody really wants to sleep there. That place almost has a Force wound.

Seriously!


ee, I wanted to give Lucien something that neither Anakin nor his grand-son Jason had: a partner that is alive and forgives.

But since he?s a character and not a real person, I don?t want to think that he deserves forgiveness.


I like the paintings


Chapter 44: Forgiveness


Everybody here at the lodge would prepare a real Udaler ceremony, weaving the already married Grianán and Luçien into it.

*sigh* I guess that?s nice of them




*sighs again* Fair enough


?It feels like a circle being completed, doesn't it?? Garou beamed. ?So many lose threads coming together.?

oh that is too true!


A pale, yet happy face turned towards me. It was Grianán, her tattoos gone. Her grey eyes swimming with love.

WOOHOO!!!


Luçien smiled at our son. It was a bright smile, splitting his face from ear to the other. In one fluent movement he went to his knees and took the boy by the shoulders. ?You were right. You were right about me.?

Nuh-uh I don?t trust it. I don?t trust it at all.


It is the past. Nothing but the past. It cannot harm you. You freed me from the Dark Side. We married. Remember??

Awwww.


In addition Luçien had put a pillow in her neck.

I?m sorry, but that sounds weird. Do you mean against her neck?


?Death can be a mercy. Especially when a spirit is broken.

That is something I can understand.


She is so noble and full of light

*nods* She is!


You know what just hit me? The age difference between Lucien & Grianan. Now I am grossed out even more.


?Sleep?? Luçien laughed dryly. ?After her seizure earlier on I suspect a wave of scary nightmares to bother her tonight. There is a pattern behind it. I keep track of it.?

Poor Grianan


?You have not...? I started again, flushing.

*shakes head* Oh she is so modest sometimes.


?He sings,? I stated, pleasantly surprised at Luçien's solution for his wife's troubles. He sang a lullaby for Grianán.

That is just weird.

 

Thanks that the two of you read the update & answered.



That means a lot to me.

I first feared it would be too slushy an end, but my husband, who edited it carefully, liked that idea as much as you.

There is a German saying: "Wo man singt, da lass dich nieder. Böse Menschen haben keine Lieder." (Basically meaning: Where song is there can be no evil.)

Lucien said a lot of sick things to Grianán during her abduction, as we will learn in "Cat litter" at one point. This is why he refrains from speaking to her directly. So he uses song lyrics instead.

 

It was a Force miracle really. One day you can read all about it.

One day soon, yes
I like being the first!

 

Thanks for always taking the time and straightening things out, hon!



You are a very good editor!



Okay, is the update list still aright?

* SWpants ?

* Lady_Misty ?

* earlybird-Obi-Wan ?

* Gkilkenny ?

* Chilla ?

* dm1 ?

* FelsGoddess ?

Any one here off the list?

 

?It feels like a circle being completed, doesn't it?? Garou beamed. ?So many lose threads coming together.?

I nodded wordlessly. In the rich carpet of life the Force had woven us all in together, our threads meeting and entwining. Very much like Garou's small children's hands on mine. This was when I heard the hyper drive of Parhelion´s ship outside.

Not much later the front door opened unannounced, due to a soft Force tuck. There had been no knock. My chest went tight, as if my solar plexus had turned into stone.

Interesting and well written

 

Draíocht and Ciall were both outcasts of the Elfin society. Luckily they had found refuge in the culture of the humans of the Northern Hemisphere. My best friend´s first husband had been an Udaler. Giving their wedding vows in front of his family was the pair's way of honouring the father of five, who had been killed by a tree a long time ago. Mössa would be there in spirit when his widow formed a new commitment to another man.

That is so sweet. Love that they are honoring Mössa like that. And I'm glad they've found happiness together.

If a dubh sith, a notorious Dark Elf, could be turned into a loving family man, why shouldn´t Luçien find his way back from the shadows?

You're actually making me hope.

Not for the first time I asked myself what Arcana would have made of her fellow bean feasa. Both women had done the same nasty work for Mórag, making prisoners of the Holy Inquisition confess. Yet they had turned out differently. The love of a man and the joy´s of motherhood did not have the same effect on the two women though.

2 people are never completely alike. One might break while the other one stays strong.

Perhaps it had been her privileged position that had stopped many from keeping her grounded in love and family life.

Possible.

During the visit of my royal cousins, all the nephews and nieces of his dead soul partner Princess Adamah Tamisra Tjiehenet, he had been slightly overtaxed. He truly liked them, but looking at them had stirred his most painful memories.

nice to see this pointed out here. That must hurt him a lot.

The love of his life was no more, brutally slaughtered by her younger sister Arcana. He had watched the wrath of Daná with unease.

Yes. Unfortunately there's still danger of the Dark Side in this family. But thankfully Dana has a lot of people to ground her and to catch her before she can fall.

There had been no knock. My chest went tight, as if my solar plexus had turned into stone.

I'm sad that she's so afraid of Lucien.

He was laughing heartily as if somebody had just told him a brilliant joke. One meant for his ears only. As usual he was dressed in his desert robes, but at present he wore no veil or turban bindings. His black hair fell open over his shoulders, untamed and wild. He was in company.

He seems to have changed a lot, both in appearance (more open, not hiding) and in character (also displaying his emotions openly).

A pale, yet happy face turned towards me. It was Grianán, her tattoos gone. Her grey eyes swimming with love.

That part made me so relieved.

Grianán came to stand on her feet, self-assured and graceful.

She seems to be fine. I hope she really is.

?I knew you would leave Grianán alive and in one piece,papa!?

Luçien smiled at our son. It was a bright smile, splitting his face from ear to the other. In one fluent movement he went to his knees and took the boy by the shoulders. ?You were right. You were right about me.?

Awww! Such a sweet part! Garou believing in his father all this time. For Garou's sake as well, I'm glad Lucien returned to the Light.

Grianán was shaking uncontrollably by now, white foam coming out of her mouth. Instead of putting some cloth into her mouth, that she would not bite her own tongue off by accident, Luçien shoved his own hand between her lips.

Oh no! I was marveling at her inner strength, how she seemed to still be complete inside. Unfortunately she isn't.
But I like Lucien's reaction. Very dedicated.

"Please! Come back into the light for me.?

That line is great!

?Oh!? With the realization Grianán began to cry. ?I am so sorry.?

Poor one! I hate to see her broken like that.

"I never meant for you to be confronted with your own despair this way.?

I'm beginning to doubt the decision to bring her there. She's not ready for that, yet.

?You are being very considerate and human with her,? I

 

It's hard to forgive oneself.

 

You smell so good, my love!

Even in the morning? Weird


Since yesterday her face had won considerably more colour. Her throat seemed to glow with every breath she took.

Yay!


?Cocoa solids contain alkaloids such as theobromine and phenethylamine. Those have physiological effects on my wife´s body. Which is a good thing. She needs to heal from the inside out.?

*nods* Agreed on both
Mmm hot chocolate


With her he was less patronizing than he always had been with me.

*mutters* That?s something at least.

I still don?t like him. Hmph.


?I never hated Grianán. I hated her mother, but I never could hate her. It was impossible.

It is!! I love Gri, but she?s crazy.
CRAZY
Lucien is blargh


I?m very glad he?s turned though. That makes me happy.


He would not look up. ?I still hate myself for the bad decisions that I made at Polysýndeton. The blood of hundreds of citizens sticks to my hands. I brought even more darkness into the lives of Agathos and Narthex. And I killed our children, their nanny.?

DARN. Now I feel bad for him. I can?t imagine how bad that must stain his soul, how much pain it still causes him.

I still don?t like him. You can?t turn me back to liking him! I?m going to be stubborn!


?Had you not focused on your own grief and especially that guilt of yours, we could have brought this out in the open long ago. The Dark Side would have had less of a grip on you. That cannot be undone. It is good that you talk of it now.?

*nods emphatically*
Talking really does help, a lot.

 

Yes, another of your brilliant updates to read as soon as I came back from my trip

 

Yes, I'm still in!

Hot chocolate.... Mmmmmm, lovely! I think I'll have a mug right now.



It's good to talk and get things out in the open. The hardest part for those who have survived the Dark Side, it seems, is to forgive themselves, especially for actions that happened around them. They tend to take on blame for everything, whether they are responsible or not.

 

Lucien did make the wrong choice as do all that choose the dark side and then their guilty concience gets to them.

Another great post.

 

Draíocht was up and so was Luçien. They did breakfast together, talking with hushed voices.

I hope she's giving him a piece of her mind....

That dish had always been a favourite of Angina Oon. I had not been thinking of the kind Scatel in ages. She had died together with the twins during the Force storm.

I like that Sionnach remembers Angina, too.

The light was expanding in her again, but she still needed a lot of healing.

Glad Grianan is getting better.

?You must deeply love Grianán when you violate the holy scriptures of your own people.?

I wish he had violated them earlier, and not antagonized Grianan!

"But I happen to place my wife´s virtue higher these days. She already suffered enough for my religious upbringing and ideas."

Finally he's seeing what following a religion too closely and blindly can do.

?I am glad that you learn to jump over your large shadow for Grianán.?

Go, Sionnach!

?There was this man singing to me all night long,? she probed, twitching her nose.



?Scandalous,? he droned, ?I will hunt him down when I see him. Keeping you awake with ridiculous lullabies. As if you were a sulky baby. Or a scared toddler.?

I like the banter between them. But Lucien, why do you have to ridicule her?

Suddenly she looked at me, giving my heart a pang. She stopped drinking.?Will you tell her, Luçien? Sionnach has a right to know.?

Tell Sionnach what? You've made me curious.

?Hate?? He was taken aback. ?I never hated Grianán. I hated her mother, but I never could hate her."

Then you did a good job of pretending to hate her - both to others and to yourself.

?Do not worry, Sionnach. You did not cause that assassination attempt."

I'm glad to hear that. That must be a great relief for Sionnach.

?Because she is a witching?? I repeated some of his past accusations against her. ?A demon who possesses you? Who bewitched you with her grey eyes and put you in never-ending agony??

Yes! Finally someone's confronting Lucien over this.

?No,? he snapped. ?Grianán is one of the most clear-minded and brilliant people that I know. But she is Tjiehenet after all, with the potential to end up as an evil Force witch.?

*grumbles* Everyone has the potential for evil! You are the prime example, Lucien! Just because family members of her were Dark Siders, that doesn't mean she has to fall. It's not hereditary, for crying out loud. It's a choice.

Not to play with his feelings was difficult for me. Right now he was such an easy target and I had been silent all those years.

Yes, that must be difficult for her. I hope she can hold it down. It won't be helpful right now if she just accuses him of countless things.

?You never gave her sister Adamah that time,? I accused him openly.



?It was badly done,? he mumbled.

That's the only thing you have to say?! Your people killed a child, while you prevented Isa from protecting Adamah, and all you can say is that it was badly done???

"The blood of hundreds of citizens sticks to my hands. I brought even more darkness into the lives of Agathos and Narthex. And I killed our children, their nanny.?

He paid a terrible prize indeed. My reaction is like SWPants...you're almost making me feel sorry for him. But I will never drink tea with him!!!

?You made a wrong choice there, true. But you were not the one who unleashed the Force on the temple district."

She is right with that.

"Arcana redeemed herself there. The Force works in mysterious ways."

What a prize to pay for the return to the Light. But most Dark Siders had to pay a huge prize for their return. Darth Vader died after his redemption, too.

I'm glad the love for her child won in Arcana.

?Don´t take all of the blame on yourself. Only the part that your choices directly effected. It is not only your pain and loss.?

She so right. I think Sionnach will be able to help

 

Because he's evil and we don't like him. He's two-faced. Hmph.

Are you with me on the "I hate Lucien" bandwagon?

 

Yes, I am. I wanted to quote parts of your reply, but I forgot about it. But yes...don't like him. After this chapter, I'm somewhat conflicted, though.

 

That is so true, dear Misty. This is why the story does not end with the redemption of Lucien. There is still much to tell.

Yes, he has not talked about such things before his unfortunate honey moon in the dune sea. One fine day you will read about it.

 

So sweet!

 

It also keeps me from getting mad with my husband and his Formula One enthusiasm.

More lovely writing like this chapter and adding artworks will keep you distracted enough I hope.

Men and racing

 

Sjke is still rather sleepy and mistakes her with the pillow that smells of lavender.

Ahh, that makes sense

And hey, pants & Chilla, I saw your common ranting! Lucien would find this lack of faith disturbing!

I find his life disturbing!!



Grianán´s little body had taken an overdose of Dark Side power.

That sort of thing makes me winter.


With her paintings alone I could have lined the walls in the Embassy.?

She was freaking adorable, that?s for sure.


?That is not how it was. I saw her artistic potential.?

Oh yes, because that?s bloody better than what you did to Sionnach. It?s all about how it helps him.


He hung his head. ?There can never be any excuse for what I did to her. I knew her soul better than anybody else. It lay embedded in her art work, in the music she made.

No, but I believe people can change.
Again though, since he?s not a real person, I?m going to stay angry at him.
He knew her soul?!!? Then RAWWRRRR He?s a lame, lame guy.


?Sionnach O´Conghaile. From this day on you are free!

IT BLOODY WELL TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH YOU FIEND!


I?m glad Sionnach is officially free from him. finally

 

The spiced chai tea was heavenly

I've done that often, drank lots of tea and then had some more.

Very nice.

 

And hey, pants & Chilla, I saw your common ranting! Lucien would find this lack of faith disturbing!

I found it quite amusing. I couldn't care less what Lucien thinks about it.

"I was desperate to help her heal, to let her stay in the light."

Then why the heck did he suddenly turn around and torture her later?

"There are many things I never told you about me or my life.?

That's putting it mildly.

"She would have believed me to be a child abuser.?

Guess what: She would have been right!

?That is not how it was. I saw her artistic potential.?

Yeah, sure you did. *snorts*
If you saw any potential in her, you saw her potential in the Dark Side.

?Sionnach, I never saw you as a potential Force witch. There was no need to fear that somebody would provoke the darkness of the Tjiehenet heritage in you.?

So only those on the brink of falling are allowed to learn how to play an instrument by you? You've got to be kidding me.

?Because in the end it was you who provoked the worst in her and not Mórag.?

1:0 for Sionnach.

"She has chosen you, because she sees something in you nobody else can. You are the one that she loves. We all have to learn to respect that."

True words. Love the way Sionnach stands up to him here.

?Sionnach O´Conghaile. From this day on you are free! Free from me and the House Ankou!"

Yes! Finally!

To my surprise he had my wedding ring with him, but then I remembered that I had given it Isabeau for her journey to Sapuhru. He must have taken it from her dead body in the ship hangar.

That makes me sick.

?And for Eibhear, if he still wants that. Somebody showed him the remains of his biological father. They were in a jute bag, if that rings a bell for you.?

Yeah, wonder if Eibhear will still want to see Lucien....Lucien really ought to be ashamed of many things.

?We do not need to hear anything from your mother Fleur.? I added.

Oh yes. Good thing she remembered that. No need for contact with that woman. (I always think about a carnivorous flower when I hear Fleur's name.)


Great update! I'm so glad Sionnach is finally free.

 

I wonder what you make of the next chapter, dear Misty. My husband & I hope that it is equally sweet.

Yes, it helped to write & paint against the Formula One noise. But in the end it was bearable & my husband extra sweet to me.

*sings David Bowie song "Let´s dance" for you*