Grieving Mother, Take Two (Sunrise)

"It promises to be exciting either way," she says with a soft laugh. Then she hesitates. "Luther? I should ask. Does... does Gwyn have anything particular that she calls you? Other than your name, I mean?"

He hesitates, starting in a guilty way. "No?" he says, but he's too surprised to finesse the lie properly.

She raises her eyebrows at him. "Luther, dear heart, please don't start lying to me now. This could be important."

"It's just a really bad joke," he explains, wincing. "People would... misunderstand. Why don't you come inside?" he offers with a sigh, looking defeated.

"I would love to," she says gently, stepping in.

When the door closes behind her she looks up at him. "We're making headway on the diary," she says quietly. "But even translated from code, a lot of it doesn't make sense. She doesn't use anyone's full names, for one thing. I know you're close to her. I don't want to judge you or tease you or get the wrong impression or whatever, I just need to know what she calls you."

He takes a deep breath and lets it out very slowly. "She calls me Luther in public, of course," he explains, looking embarrassed. "But... she used to call me 'sire', and sometimes still does with affection when we're alone. But it's not like you think! When she was very young, she thought I was king of the Feytower. It was adorable so I didn't correct her. But now that she's eighteen years old, it would be... awkward if someone were to overhear the joke. For all that I'm happy to pretend to be Thorn's new squeeze, I don't actually have a romantic interest in teenagers."

She smiles. "It's actually kind of sweet. I could see you as king of the Feytower." She hesitates. "Is that why you're on the S floor?"

He laughs and sits easily on a nearby couch, gesturing in offer for her to join him. "Oh, the alphabet again," he observes with a chuckle. "Ah. Hmm. Well. No. I wasn't placed here for 'sire', ha. When I was elected commissioner of the Feytower, I made a decision to room near Laerdya because she... well, the woman is a valuable asset to the city and inarguably brilliant, but she's always been difficult to corral. I was worried about her focus and wanted to work closely with her to keep her and her projects on-track."

It's a good lie, plausible and well told. It is still a lie.

She hesitates. "Is this the part where I pretend to believe you and let it go?" she says softly. "I won't pretend the answer to this one is important to finding Gwyn."

Something in his perfectly groomed expression falls and he gives her a freshly defeated look. "My surname was Siannodel. Briefly. I didn't change rooms when I went back to my father's name."

Her eyes widen. "You and Laerdya? Is that why she hates you?"

He shrugs, looking tired. "I don't give her out as a character reference to the other marriage prospects, if that's what you mean."

"Oh, hon." Affection and understanding dawn in her eyes. "And Gwyn really is like a daughter to you, isn't she." Reaching over, she puts a hand on his shoulder.

He nods, leaning imperceptibly into her touch. "She wasn't happy here," he admits in a quieter voice. "I could tell, even if she tried to pretend she was fine. When the kidnapping happened, I convinced myself she'd run off with a kitchen hand or a guard. A little adventure of her very own. She's smart and powerful like her mother; I was sure she could take care of herself. So I stonewalled Laerdya and tried to buy Gwyn a few more days of freedom."

He sighs, looking miserable. "Instead, I left her in the hands of fiends. Some father I turned out to be."

"If it helps," she offers, "from her diary it sounds like she and Korogur may have actually been having a love affair. I'm sure that's also not what a father wants to hear," she adds with a smile. "But you heard what Thorn said. Korogur acts impulsively, and Betreygis and his mother pick up the pieces. If she ran away with him willingly, the ransom letter could be a bluff and she could be just fine." She hesitates. "I... don't have to explain how her blood could have gotten on the nightgown, do I?"

He chuckles ruefully. "I do vaguely remember menstruation," he agrees with a self-deprecating smile.

Sighing, he shakes his head. "I'm relieved he's not hurting her, but I worry for her heart when she realizes he doesn't love her in return."

"Well, we don't actually know that," she points out, rubbing his shoulder. "Maybe he does. Just because his family is awful doesn't mean he's incapable of love."

He gives her a gently skeptical look, deeply unsure. "I love Gwyn. She's a wonderful girl, smart and clever and more capable than Laerdya gives her credit. But she's... delicate. Frail and sickly. I just... can't picture her on a pirate ship long-term, and I can't imagine a pirate not tiring of her quickly. Aren't they usually adventure-chasers? I just feel like... once she's been 'won', he'll tire of her."

"Very possible," she agrees. "I'm just pointing out that we don't actually know. We don't have to assume a bad outcome." She smiles. "But. We'll find out when we find her."

He tilts his head very slightly at her, studying her face. "What... do you see as a good outcome for all this?" he asks in a gentler voice.

She sighs. "I don't know," she admits. "Not without talking to Gwyn. But I have a hunch it isn't going to be the outcome Laerdya hopes for." She looks at him. "She deserves to know her daughter is alive and well, any parent does. Past that?" She shakes her head. "Maybe Gwyn is perfectly happy with her pirate and doesn't want to come home. Or maybe he's a callous cad who used her and broke her heart, and she still doesn't want to come home."

She hesitates. "Laerdya... she loves her daughter, I'm not questioning that. But she... seems like she'd be difficult to live with? And Gwyn's not that much younger than me. She may decide she prefers independence."

Luther sighs, looking weary again, and nods. "Yeah. ...Yeah." Shaking his head, he rubs at his face. "She won't like that."

"No, she won't," she agrees. "But children grow up. She won't be the first parent who's had to come to terms with it."

"No, but she may be the first parent upon whose mental health and happiness depends the lives of everyone in this city," he points out with a sigh.

"Mmm. Maybe Gwyn will be willing to take one for the team just until a cure is found? Laerdya said she was close."

She looks up sharply. "Speaking of. What do you think of this aboleth being here?"