Part 2
It took a few days, but Kincaid eventually went back to Nherazkar. He wasn't overly to concerned if he was drunk or sober. If he was drunk he'd kill him, wasn't worth the trouble, if not, he planned to take him back to Solinar where he would set up his plan.
He arrived in the Fridged city, went to Cecilys old shack of a home, knocked on the door and her father actually answered. He was sober, Kincaid could tell by the look. He also didn't notice the same raunch smell that came from him or the house.... it was actually semi sorta clean from what Kincaid could see from a half opened door.
"oh, It's you.." Her father sounded disappointed, but actually relieved. Likely cause he just wanted this whole mess over with so he could get back to drinking.
"Grab some warm clothes, we are heading to Solinar." Kincaid demanded, not acting like he overly cared about the current improvements of the man.
"Solinar?!" He choked surprised. "Why the hell we gotta---" The look of Kincaid said enough, there was no arguing, he was going. He shook his head... "Gimmie a minute, need ta grab some stuff..."
Kincaid waited patiently and when her father was ready, took him on the long trip back to Solinar.
The entire way back was quiet between the two. Both miserable, both not really caring to be there. Her father did ask though if he planned to take him back, since Kincaid was paying the mans way, food and such. Kincaid informed him not to worry about that, it was unimportant. To which, made the man a little more nervous.
Eventually they made it back, Kincaid put him up in a room for the night. "Leave here, and you die. I have the place watched. Food will be braught as well as water. Just get a good nights sleep, this happens tomorrow."
"What happens?! You have not told me nuthin yet!" He barked at Kincaid, but Kincaid merely closed the room door, and left him to his frustrations.
The next day, Kincaid came back, sat Cecily in an area where her father would not see her, but she could easily hear the conversation. Cecily didn't even know truely what was going on yet, but she trusted Kincaid to let him do what he had to, till he called for her. He went upstairs, knocked on the door, to which her father called from inside. "Tis about time, I'm getting tired of this." Kincaid merely threw open the unlocked door and motioned him to follow. Frustrated, he did and down to the inn where Kincaid had rented the entire area to themselves, so that speaking quiet would only enable Cecily, and them to hear.
They sat, and Kincaid watched him, saying nothing for a good while.
..."Well?.. You brought me here, what do you have to say?" in an angry tone.
"Do you like your life?" Kicnaid asked calmly.
"What sort of question is that?!" He scoffed, still in a very irritated, evasive, attacking tone. "Who are you to be questioning my life anyway? I came here because you threatened me and said you wanted to discuss my bitch of a daughter."
Kincaid reached over and slapped him quickly. Not extremely hard, but enough to warn him, talk like that was a no no. Cecily hearing the slap, gasped softly and covered her mouth. Her father growled at the hit, but got the point and fell silent.
"None of that. We are here to be civil, and if you wish not to be civil, then I won't be civil either. But I have a feeling you aren't easily insulted, insults only make you angry, and won't work. So, for everytime you say something inapropriate, I will hit you, and they may very well get worse. Understand?"
Her fathers face twisted in hatred of Kincaid, he hated Kincaid having all the power and control in this situation, but he had no choice but to obey. He nodded.. "Good man." Kincaid simply said.
"Now, you are going to answer all my questions here.. no matter how much you dislike them and how much you wish to avoid the truth. I may end up killing you here today, /how/ I kill you, is up to you."
"If'n ya going ta kill me, ya might as well get it over with.. why interrogate me before ya do?"
*As I said /how/ you die, is up to you." This was an attempt at making him understand that 'death' may just mean a tranisition into a new life, but he could see on the mans face he didn't get it. He sighed... "Just answer my questions and you may come out of this alive..."
"Fine..." He grumbled barily audible, but Kincaid caught it. *Good, now.. do you like your life?"
It took a bit for him to say anything, but eventually.. "No, are ya happy? I hate my life, I live in a gods damned shack with no floor, I don't even know where me wife is, probably whoring herself off to some guy right now, and me daughter is..." He stopped himself, seeing Kincaids expression change to a warning to becareful what he said. ".. she is a mage.." "Good man, see... you're learning, this is good. I may be able to talk sense into you. Now... why is your life like this? Hm? What caused it. And I know.. I know.. you're going to blame society.. misfortune... badluck.. but we both know... that ain't true, hm?"
He glanced at Kincaid, his eyes dark. "And what would you know about anythin'? Nuthin'.... tha's wha'... ya' think ya' know what happened... ya' don't know what it is ta' see ya' crew all die. All of them, not just one or two. All of them. Ya' ship, an' sixteen men dead on the bottom of the sea. I failed. Might as well stay a failure, and let everyone see wha' they expect ta' see."
Kincaid stayed straight faced despite the emotional outburst. "What if I were to turn that around and say... you didn't fail?"
He narrowed his eyes at him. "Impossible... what are ya' talkin' about?"
"You lived, out of them all, /you/ pulled through. You're skill at surviving triumphed all of them. Yeah, they died.. death happens, but it didn't happen to you. /You/ made it. But.." He sat back, watching his eyes closely. "Alot of good you're doing showing everyone this. You might as well /be/ dead."
*"Right about tha'.... " The man glanced around the dark room, seeing some sailors across the bar room and eyeing their mugs of rum, but he didn't say much more, his hands shaking slightly from the addiction.
"When Cecily was born.. you do realise.. you /created/ life, yes?"
"Yeah... I did... tough ta' manage with her ma' not around though. I'm not much fa' women."
"Can't imagine it being easy. Look back to when you first laid eyes upon her, what do you remember about it? About her?"
"She was little an' she cried a lo'... she was always so little." He smirked and then slapped Kincaid on the shoulder like a man giving congratulations for scoring her. "Was quite the fire cracker at the tavern. Slappin' men who took they's liberties with 'er."
"Indeed she is. Despite you, despite anything, she became what you failed to be." Kincaid allowed the 'congradulations', but didn't react to it. "But did you fail? Or have you merely made mistakes?. Answer carefully." Kincaid was willing to kill him based off what he answered.
He frowned, looked away and thought a bit, wrung his hands together in a nervous action, glanced at the drinks at the table across the room, and then forced himself to look away again. "I don't even remember most them times.... ya' know.... where I put the scars on her hand. I don't even remember the day I threw her out hardly. I remember I did it, but .... not much more."
"That's what drinking does to a person.. look.." He leaned forward looking him straight in the face. "I'm giving you a chance here, to become the man you should have been. All those men that died.. yeah, it hurts, it sucks.. but you can either let it kill you, or make you stronger. Your fault or not, you can't make it better if you're dead or drunk. As for Cecily, does it /really/ matter that she is able to make things happen magically? I bet you never really thought about how impressive it is, have you? How beneficial it is?"
"I hear them people turn inta' things... an' they are harmful.. an' they's looking for more power all the time. Studyin' them books in they's towers. While us regular folks do alls the toilin' an' sufferin'. Tha's what I hear., just usin' thems magic ta control everyone else."
"Some do, some don't. You know what really determines it most times?..." He watched him closely...
"Hmm?" He didn't know what Kincaid was getting at, he didn't like being under such scrutiny so he leaned back in his chair.
"The parent." Kincaids stare penetrated him, making sure he realised how serious Kincaid was.
He looked at Kincaid in all seriousness, confused. "Didn't I already fuck tha' up?"
"That's between you and Cecily. If you could change right now, and become the man you should have been, would you?"
"I kept her things where she had been sleepin'.... I didna' change it, thinkin' she would come back. I wouldn't want me either if I were her." He looked away, truely ashamed of himself.
"What she wants...." He sat back now, folding his arms. "..is a father she can respect.. You're not that man right now. But can you be?"
"It would be nice... but... I's not knowin' wha' I can do. Too old... an' I can smell the rum over at tha' table there." He eyed the drinks again, desperately wanting some.
"So you're saying, if you had one day left to live, to have Cecily look at you, and see a man she could respect... you wouldn't take it?"
"Look... I's knowin' wha' ya's tryin' ta' do... an' now that I'm sober, I'd like ta' take the chance. But face it, tha' was about eight years of hurt on her. I wasna' there fa' here, an' when I was... well, it wasna' fun times fa' her. Some things 'sorry' just don't fix. I'll see her iffn' she wants ta'... She's me girl... I want her ta' do well." He was serious, but just not at all convinced. "Are ya' there fa' her? Treatin' her right?..."
"Ask her yourself.." He glanced to where Cecily was hiding. "Cecily, come on out."
She peeked out from behind the wall a moment, seeming unable to move, but soon stepped out, her skirt brushed around her ankles, her curls pulled back from her face, and layed lightly on her shoulders. "He does da'... I'm not afraid ta' sleep." Her words were soft, but seem to hit home as Edward flinched at her last statement.
Kincaid pulled a chair up and patted the seat for Cecily to sit beside him, and he went quiet... allowing the two their time to talk.
Would he have kill him, or would Edward change for her? It all came down to this. Either way, this was the death of Cecily's father, one way or another.
_________________ Tell me your deepest darkest secrets and I'll offer you my soul.
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