A Dash of Demise

Ch 28: Father.

Red POV:

There was a ripple of shock when I entered the building that housed the guard.

I ignored it. Opting to continue to my destination.

The fourth floor, end of the hall. Master suite.

I knocked three times, knowing about this time of day he was once more going through his strategies and would take a moment to realize someone wanted his attention.

Still, when he opened the door surprise washed over him, "Red? Come in, i have some still warm tea if you would like?"

I looked him over, his greying hair and the permanent crease between his brow the accompanied the many lines of his face. "You are getting old Vlad."

He scoffed a bit, "raising you took a good chunk of years from my life."

I paused looking around the room I had known all too well as a child. "Are you sure it was not being head of the queens guard?"

There was a long silence where he sort of just looked at me. "I am sure it wasn't."

"But as of late?"

He just smiled sadly.

"She..." I practically whispered, "she tries to have me killed you know. Her and the king."

He sat with a heavy sigh. "I know. I was away on a mission at the time Red. Otherwise I never would have allowed it."

"They ruined a dress the prince gifted to me."

Slowly he poured me a cup of tea, "I am sorry to hear that, I know how much his gifts mean to you."

"I killed them."

"I know."

Silence.

He was unreadable, as always. "Why did you not turn me in for treason? Why has no one come to get me?"

"I convinced the queen that they likely met with wolves before ever have getting to you. She in turn convinced her husband after all you carried on as if nothing had happened. And when asked the prince said you reported that you were attacked by wolves, he was so very worried and angry about the mutts daring to try and hurt you, it convinced them."

"I lied to prince Julius."

"I gathered that."

Finally he returned to his work.

It was so very difficult to talk to people like this with their full attention on you.

I stared firmly at my lap, "I...Wanted to thank you."

"Those were corrupt guardsmen to try and kill you it was nothing Red, people aught to respect you more."

My cheeks filled with color, "not for that..." i cleared my throat softly, "for taking upon the burden of raising me. I am no fool, I know no one else would and I know you have lost much of your reputation because of it."

His quill froze, "Red... look at me."

I did face burning, "It is no big deal, as a woman now I feel I owe you my thanks for-"

"There was no way I was going to leave a babe out in the cold. Red hair or not. It was true, the officials that had been gathered as potential wards for you wanted nothing to do with you. I will admit I was hesitant, seeing as who and what you were. But all you did was coo at us and giggle. You were so small born into grace only to fall within weeks, the world had already been so cruel to you. Your nurse maid barely containing her sobs, I could not see myself loving you child that you were but you had already been thrown out by your parents. I knew if none of us offered to take you, they would have killed you."

I swallowed hard, knowing that too. "This is why I thank you for your sacrifice."

"As it turns out," he smiled, which came as a shock because he so rarely ever does, "it was not much sacrifice at all."

"Oh."

"You are a daughter to me Red. I never married, never had children of my own. But if I had I imagine I would want her to be just like you, strong and well mannered, clever and quick."

Unconsciously I reached up to touch one of my perfectly curled ringlets of red hair.

"I long stopped seeing you as just your hair, Red."

I blinked at him several times, surprised, "oh. Id that why you never allowed me to forget who I was? Who I was born into?"

He leaned back in his chair, brows furrowed, "we haven't talked about your blood origins in years. What's wrong Red?"

I did my best to show no emotion, none of my cards as I spoke, "why did you re name me Red if you did not simply see a color?"

He laughed a bit, "because you always turned the brightest shade of red when you wanted to be kind and didn't know how to show it. You have always been firey yet cold. Besides, I could not exactly continue to call you girl your whole life." He paused, "and I knew it was a title people would use, rather than the insults they hurled at you."

My lower lip quivered so I bit it, "I see."

"Why do you ask this Red?"

"Someone has recently learned that Red is not my true name."

He went utterly still, "do they know?"

I shook my head. "No. And they uhm seem to fancy me so I am sure I can convince them to let it go and that my true name is Red."

He scoffed, "if they fancy you that will never work. A man wants nothing more than to know the woman he holds. Not knowing her true name would drive anyone insane."

"Oh."

He nodded, "take the wolf people for example. Ones name is so powerful to their kind that it is part of their mating ceremony. No true name, no mate."

I just stared at him, "oh."

He nodded, "Apparently their people consider it a sign of strength to use their true names despite the danger of someone knowing that power." He scoffed, "fools the lot of those mangey beasts."

"I see."

He nodded once, "but I suppose you can try to convince this man. If he does not let up though Red, you will have to kill him."

"I know."

"I trust you can separate your feelings from this. It is simply survival. If anyone in the kingdom knew who you were, you would he hunted like some animal."

"I know."

Another nod, "just give the poor man a goodbye kiss before breaking his heart Red."

I puffed out my cheeks, "That is scandalous Vlad!"

He laughed, "he will be dead, who's going to tell? Red i always wanted you to live more than you do, you are a young woman after all."

Still pouting I ignored the man.

We sat in an oddly comfortable silence for a long while before I decided to to and truly process the information I had been given.

Vlad peered up at me as I stood, "goodnight Red."

I turned to leave, "goodnight...father."

I hurried from the room cheeks burning a path down my neck, as I the sound of a surprised old man dropping his quill upon the ground followed me.