Shape of Things to Come (Invite/PM to Join/Open to VDM)

[Leonie von der Marck]

The von der Marck Lioness sat back in her plush office chair, idly spinning back and forth as she stared up at the ceiling. It was late, and after spending a few precious hours with Alis up to and through their bedtime routine, she had gotten right back up to her home set-up to work on a few urgent matters that required more that her regular office hours. Thankfully, on nights like those, there were people she could count on to call upon to sit with the monitor and help soothe the mini toddler back to sleep... if even needed, since she had been sleeping through the night for quite some time. But, at any rate, it allowed her to focus on the work at hand while it also helped keep the house from feeling so empty while she worked her way into another mostly sleepless night.

No one had really been around for months. Alaric had left for Germany, leaving her to run the parts of the family business he had entrusted to her. No one lived at the Estate with her and Alis anymore and Leonie had assumed almost all responsibility for it in the interim. She didn’t know even half the things that the prior Keepers had, but she had been able to piece enough together from those who had been employed there under Louvel’s and Otto’s terms, as well as the writings she could find. Including Mara’s, which had so far been the most detailed and informative. No matter what had happened, Alis was set to inherit that title now, and Leonie had decided earlier on that she would do what she could to keep it open for her, should she want it and want to learn all that went with it. It was not something she would force, one way or the other, though. Things had not gone the way they were supposed to, in any way, and she had no idea if the vision for the lineage Alaric had had was sustainable any longer.

Her eyes closed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking back over the last few months before they opened again to rest upon the freshly-dated stack of papers sitting in the place each prior stack had sat before. Her father hadn’t given up his quiet push for her to end things, legally-speaking, and had had his attorneys send a new copy to her every time the previous one had expired. This latest had come in the days following her return from her last visit; rather than having a sad, quiet, likely solitary party in a now-empty house, Leonie had taken Alis to celebrate her first birthday at the German estate where her parents were based most of the time these days.

An entire year. Leonie didn’t know what to make of it, but she had made enough of her own kind of peace about the entire situation to truly consider moving on. With a slow sigh, she sat forward again and drew the packet closer in order to review it, for the very first time. For the most part, it was standard stuff, but her brow crinkled deeply at the things that were not - such as the clause that provided $1,000,000 to her estranged husband to sign away all of his rights to Alis, in total, and never try to initiate contact. Frowning, Leonie drew a heavy line through the ‘no contact’ part - she would never block him from trying to meet his daughter - but found she wasn’t opposed to him signing away his rights. It would make things in the future a whole lot easier for it to be an official abandonment, after all. Because after over a year of nothing, even Leonie was starting to have trouble seeing it as anything more than that.

Aside from that one edit, she also placed a large X through the offer of alimony - Lou was well enough off in his own right, and she didn’t think sweetening the pot was in anyone’s best interest, anyway. She didn’t owe him anything.. She hadn’t decided to leave, she hadn’t broken any vows. All those papers were doing, in her opinion, were finalizing and making official something that had already come to pass. Heart hardened, she stood and made her way to the window, looking over the newly lit-up grounds - another change she had insisted upon, being by herself now in the rambling place. A slender hand took up the glass of bourbon on the desk as her hazel gaze at last landed upon the cottage she had had to force herself from having torn down. There was more important history than her own within those walls, and she’d had to work hard to remember that and see it for more than the painful memory it had become. She took a lady-like sip of her drink and swept back to the desk, signing everything but the two clauses that she took issue with. She added a note that the papers could be served now, stuffed them in an envelope, and sat them in her bag. They could be mailed off tomorrow, she supposed with a hefty sigh.

And without a look back, the Lioness made her way out of the home office at last to relieve the babysitter and finally head to bed.

[Louvel von der Marck]

One bare foot pressed to the wood beneath the dirty sole. The second followed and just like that both of the sorcerers feet were connected to the foundation of what had been a childhood home to the von der Marck born. The woods surrounding the exterior was where Mara birthed him. The ground secured him to be what he was destined to be long before he was a twinkle in the von der Marck cousins eyes. The fresh Canadian waters nourished him and the blood that enriched the soil was just as much his birthright as any other whose roots anchored them to Alaric von der Marck’s legacy. It was a life force that could not compare to any other. Perhaps everything was about to painfully change for one, two or even three.

An internal cloud of what could be likened to a first year college hangover actively lingered in the sun kissed bare form made its way through a hallway. Size twelves went about their way leaving temporary warmth that would fade as quickly as his feet lifted in the brief journey to the bathroom. The walk was typical for the one who had been Keeper of the sprawling centuries old estate. A dry smack of his lips sounded as he passed by draped sheets over what would have been furniture inviting him to rest.

Typically deft and strong fingers flipped at the space where a light switch would be. Discovering nothing but air Louvel moved forward passing through the warmth of rays seeping in of a too early morning sun. A calloused palm lifted to ward off what became too much. Contact was made to a thick layering of facial hair that cascaded down the normally well groomed face. Unexpected evidence of time lost, circumstance he couldn’t reason with greeted him in his reflection as his large hands curled at the sides of the sink beneath him. His face was covered in routinely ignored layers of well earned sweat, framed with an unwashed, unkempt golden mane that could be felt sweeping the small sensitive base of his spine as he froze in his tracks. He blinked slowly and repeatedly waiting for everything to settle into what he expected it to be. When That didn’t happen he reached back and retrieved months of length in hair and pulled just enough to confirm it was there.

“Oh hell no!” In that split second his feet moved in double time pushing the bathroom door out of his way. Nothing could stop him from tugging open the door across from his..their bedroom. There would be answers beyond the springing of the door. Reassurance would be found in the refuge of her presence, her warm touch. The swell of her body just above her divine sacred hips where she cradled their child would reorient him and ground him from the state he was in. She was his compass, his truth.

Four walls surrounded him as he stood in the center of the nursery room. He turned on his heels several times feeling the growing sensation he was in some sort of dream. Empty. It was void of anything that was supposed to be there. The blindingly bare walls taunted him until he couldn’t take it anymore. The door bounced back with the force of his hand as he cleared it from his path.

“L E O N I E !” His voice was a guttural gravely roar as he ignored the lack of his clothing or cover. It was a bad dream. She wouldn’t judge him. No one would. This happens. But he had to find her. The sounds of barefoot flight thudded through the cottage as the sorcerers emerald orbs glowed in panic. “L E O N I E!” The centuries old door cracked with the tug of his dominant hand. Sunlight greeted him as he burst with a speed he rarely felt the need to use in his laid back, calm demeanor. The scent of lilac, lavender and grass filled his nostrils and sweetened the expanse of his lungs as he arrived to the doors of the estate. A sharp turn of his wrist was blocked from completing. A lock was in place.

“L E O N I E!” His roar was louder than before as his hands double in tight transforming into insistent fists as he pounded against the wood.

The mere sight of her would clear up everything that was making zero sense. She was due to give birth anytime. He was warned often women could get unpredictable as the pregnancy progressed. However, If she was starting without him that was unacceptable. Then again so was moving all their baby furniture and not telling him. The length of his hair licked at his back as his shifted his weight from right foot to left. First thing he would do is carry her back to the cottage, put her feet up then carry all the furniture back. His hands went to his hips. Perhaps he would dress as well somewhere between the above. His eyes danced from the door to confirm the absence of snow. Of course there wasn’t snow. He was buck *** naked and it was a disorienting dream.

“Leonie? Alaric? Birdee?” He pounded again going through the roll call of possible faces that could appear at the door when it opened. “Can someone open the door?!”

[Leonie von der Marck]

Steaming, strong coffee - light, with a pinch of monkfruit - spilled past the Lioness’ full lips from a gleaming travel mug. Lacquered that morning in an everything-proof neutral pink that was a direct opposite of the bolder, fun colors that she had been known to sport, once upon a time, they pursed for a short moment as she read over an urgent e-mail. But weren’t they all. Even so, an ever-watchful eye stayed trained upon the toddler playing happily with the pots and pans and safe odds and ends to be found in what she had long-since made into the ‘Alis-cabinet.’

With a sigh and a hand dashed through perfectly-coiffed (and toned down) hair, the von der Marck heiress shook her head and set her phone down, the better to spend a last few quiet moments with the darling center of her entire world, who she would soon enough have to relinquish to the daytime nanny. Not so long ago, Alis had attended the daycare on premises at the family corporate headquarters that Leonie now headed, where she could come see her any time throughout the day. But neither she nor Alaric had foreseen, in what she supposed was a stroke of naivety, that there was always bad in the world and for various reasons, that bad had been pointed at her. And her child. Making Leonie the public face of the business at the time had been mostly a good thing, but they soon learned there were plenty of people who would hold her responsible for any ill they perceived came from the entity as a whole. After one too many threats and close calls, Leonie had pulled Alis from the daycare, worked from home for several months, and installed and upgraded the security features at the Estate to the nth degree.

She glanced over the security feed on the smart home hub set up in the kitchen, taking note of the sunny day, chasing the high definition sight with another sip of coffee before she crouched down, chic silk blouse and expensive slacks be damned, to play with her daughter. A smile played on her lips as the small girl banged pots on the old tile and tapped lids with wooden spoons in a delightful din all of her own making. Leonie laughed, a surprisingly buoyant thing, and tapped right along with her for a few minutes before the distinct sounds of a fist on the front door could be made out through the toddler’s music.

Her brow creased and she stood up, smoothly, before bending to lift Alis, protests and all, and press a few buttons on the hub. As the screen flipped to various camera views, she saw nothing amiss - until -

”L E O N I E!”

The sound of her name bellowed through time and distance and a centuries-old oak door had her heart in her throat. No one had ever tried to confront her at home, not yet. All the precautions taken - the panic button, the armored room in the middle of the rambling old mansion - had merely been to soothe her paranoia of it ever coming to pass. Her mind raced, her pulse along with it; the voice was muffled but familiar. Familiar enough to keep her from frantically tapping that panic button and sending immediately for the Mounties.

But then the hollering came again, just as the camera view finally changed to the front door, and as the sight of him hit her full force, it was all the Lioness could do to stay upright. The weight of her child grounded her, but only just, to keep the sudden sway of the world from knocking her over, and out. Wildly, her thoughts bounced to the packet of papers meant for her father’s attorney - one she had failed to mail away - nestled in her briefcase, where it had been residing for the better part of three months. A tremble raced through her, but she managed, barely, to calmly carry Alis to her playroom and settle her into the pack and play with a soft kiss to her crown. She didn’t daly, but the monitor was switched on and double checked, an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse turned on and ready to distract, and the door closed firmly behind her before she finally made her way to the front door.

Shaking hands undid the lock after the alarm was disabled with her fingerprint, her breath already mere short gasps that had her automatically wondering what she’d done with her inhaler. She set the screen down on the table by the door, drew in as deep a breath as she could muster, and at last swung the door open to face him. His unkempt state shook her, but it wasn’t enough.

“Louvel...?”

His name leaving her lips was both statement and question, wrapped into one neat little package that hid so many things swirling within. In that single moment, she didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry, to scream at him or kiss him forever or deck him square in the face. Her own was growing hotter by the moment and the hand clutching the doorknob surreptitiously let go, lest she ruin another original.

Her thoughts skipped to her daughter and she sucked in another sharp breath, trying to stay calm. Losing control could only hurt Alis.

“What... what are you doing here?” She asked in a trembling voice and with sharp, widened hazel eyes, the question falling flat and stupid-sounding and not even close to covering the sheer amount of wretchedness and loss and pain that had spanned the last eighteen months.

[Louvel von der Marck]

“That’s what I was about to ask you.”

It was a bit odd. His sense of timing had been off before. Way off. With Leonie in fact. Perhaps this was a reminder to work on that. For now at least they were together in this dream. Physically his body ached as he shifted his weight to both feet equally and braced himself for anything to happen. He felt like he had been beaten to a pulp. The sorcerer made a point to shake that off and focus on his wife.

Knowing orbs scanned the face that was etched in the darkest recesses of his mind. The lioness was not acting like herself. That was fine by him. He felt like ****. Worse than he could really ever recall experiencing before. That still was minimal to the relief that Leonie was found. Granted he was not receiving the warm greeting from his bride that he expected. A noticeable chill was palpable in the air between them despite the generous sun dancing on his shoulders. Leonie was fiery. As much as he liked it he knew how to handle this. It would take some work but he had hours of shut eye banked in resolving it. He never bailed from a situation where the odds were against him. Truth was in his veins in copious amounts that prevented him from being anything but honest. This Leonie knew more than anyone else.

But it was a dream. Maybe that wouldn’t matter. And for the record it was a sour one he couldn’t quite place in origin. None the less not every dream would be earth shattering sex and fireworks for them. Hell, she was standing in his clear as day so he had to gain points for that. Lou would do what he did best and would roll with it.

The plan was about to be set in action when his eyes traveled down her body and landed at her trim waist. That was not at all what he expected.

“I was going to ask what happened with the nursery since it was empty. The sheets draping all the furniture was a bit off.”

The Keeper dared to raise a hand to scratch at the tangled mess perched at the crown of his head. In that brief moment a breeze gave a rather sour reminder that he was ripe and not for any good reasons that he could come up with.

“And my beard is likely a shock too. This shouldn’t be all about me but so far I’m not fairing as well as you appear to be. This is so vivid, Lioness. Forgive me when I point out you seem to be less encumbered since I fell asleep.”

He didn’t dare blink. The woman was expecting any day. Dream or not he was not taking any chances.

“I can start with the furniture if you are comfortable standing here.” He was about to step forward when he realized this dream or whatever it was... maybe it was not limited by reality. It was worth a shot. “Or we can crawl back into bed and wake up the right way like we normally do?” He gave his wink that only she would know and waggled his right brow like it was another one of his absolute winning ideas. So much tension had been relieved in their bed.

[Leonie von der Marck]

”Since you FELL ASLEEP?!”

At the very last second, the Lioness remembered to keep her voice to a barely-raised growl, even if she was aghast at how lighthearted he was acting. Looking for all the world like he’d just returned, quite worse for the wear, from one of his grand adventures - and a few items of clothing short, she noted, finally, with a flash of... something she refused to acknowledge in the present moment - there could be no sane explanation for his behavior. His complete and utter lack of anything to acknowledge his long absence and sudden reappearance had her reeling, but after a hard shake of her head, she composed herself again - barely - and drew in another deep breath, ignoring the wheeze that threatened with the rising emotion.

“You’re joking, right? Louvel... “ her gaze narrowed, only slightly, more in consternation than in anything else. If she hadn’t just experienced the last eighteen months of misery, she might have even found his antics amusing. She used to, after all. But at the moment, it was simple bewilderment that topped off the growing list of whirling emotions that were all warring for prominence... and release. She ushered him inside before closing and locking the door once more. “Why are you acting like this? Why are you doing this? You left one day, eighteen months ago, and never came back.” Her gaze moved briefly to the monitor screen, taking in the grounding sight of her daughter, giggling and relaxing with her stuffed Mickey and Minnie dolls, looking almost ready for her morning nap. With baleful eyes, she looked at him again, finally taking in the details of too-long hair and beard, and a musty, earthy scent that seemed to be right on target with her suspicions of another adventure somewhere in the middle of nowhere. The only thing that didn’t fit with prior escapades was the nudity, but she supposed there was always a first time for everything. “You didn’t take my calls and left all my text messages on read. The times I was able to look for you, you were nowhere to be found and then... and then Alis came, and it was too much for me to keep looking. I let the private investigator go about six months ago because for all intents and purposes, you were living your life and seemed to be yourself and well.”

A slender hand reached into the drawer of a nearby console table and removed a thick folder, complete with clear photos of a healthy and seemingly normal Louvel going about his business on the farm, and in a few different areas of Harper Rock, which she held out for him to take. “Unless you got knocked on the head and suddenly thought you were, oh, I don’t know, Jon Snow from ******* Sheboygan, I don’t see how any of it adds up to anything more than you got tired of reality and decided it wasn’t for you and bailed.” She crossed her arms loosely and leaned against the wall, trying her best to keep the wounded look from her eyes, her jaw set in almost a challenge to him to try her patience further. The timing of his departure might have hurt the most; sick with pre-eclampsia in the weeks before Alis was born, she knew from almost the moment it was diagnosed that the longed-for homebirth was not on the cards anymore. Ending in surgery was a hard outcome to swallow and a little part of her had always wondered if he’d left because even he knew she would fail in the goal they both had wanted and embraced so hard. She swallowed the lump in her throat. It didn’t matter. Alis was perfect in every way and that was all that mattered.

“Our daughter is seventeen months old, Louvel. Her nanny is on the way so that I can get to the office. We moved back in to the main house a few weeks after Alis was born, because it made more sense to be close to Alaric and the others who were still here back then and helping. But everyone’s gone now. Aurelia and Hadrian are around somewhat, but I haven’t seen Judah or Mirella in months. Alaric moved to Germany. I have no idea where the others have gone. I’ve rebuilt my life and found a purpose here, so we stayed. Otherwise, we’d probably be in New York or Germany by now.” She shrugged slightly; If it hadn’t been for the Patriarch’s tough love and gentle guidance, Leonie probably wouldn’t have anything at the present moment. Alis included. Her downward spiral would have seen to that quite handily.

She drew in another deep breath, somehow finding it within herself to relent, just a smidge more. “She knows your face. She knows your name is Daddy... she loves babbling to your picture. I... wanted her to know you. But you can’t just come waltzing back in like nothing’s happened, either. It isn’t fair to any of us, Louvel.” She let her words trail off, unsure what else needed to be said. “And I can’t risk you leaving again, because this time... this time she’ll really understand who she’s missing. So you have to be sure... absolutely certain... “

But the low tone of the doorbell interrupted anything else she planned to say at present and the Lioness found herself heaving a sharp, annoyed sigh. ****. “Head to the bathroom in my room... same one as always... and start getting cleaned up. I’ll get you some of your clothing... but for now, I have to get the nanny settled with Alis. Hurry... We’ll talk more in a minute.”

[Louvel von der Marck]

The sound of her voice ended with him standing in the same spot he was essentially planted in, chiseled jaw sinking at everything a man like him stood for, held sacred, never expected to hear. Dry lips shaped with hesitation as his lower mandible regrouped with the action needed for him to whisper what he could sense with every fiber of his being. Mara’s voice slid through and joined his own. The truth, Louvel.

“Alis.” His voice alone spoke.

Eighteen months. The scraping of unforgiving beard caressed his chest as his mind tried to doubt against all hope of what he was being accused of. In the end the truth he was reminded of framed Leonie’s eyes. Doubting her any longer was cruel and unfair. The dream was over and the nightmare was too. In place of that he was convinced he was robbed of the better part of the most important two years in his thirty-something life. Alaric had moved. Judah was who knows where. The rest? Birdee? At that moment Mara could walk into the room and he would be less shocked. His eyes closed briefly for a pause in what was a lot to take in.

He had no immediate answers to the rising questions.

How did he miss all this? Where was he? When did this happen? Who was responsible? Why in hell would he leave? What could have been able to tear him away from his home, his family, his life. They witnessed him living day to day as if nothing was a miss in his own absence?

The impact of her words might as well have been a bullet searing through his beating heart. In that moment it stopped. Everything stopped. What had been mistaken for hours in time, at most, was eighteen inexcusable months! His chest stilled and his lungs exhaled the only air he had left to surrender. He didn’t dare inhale as he thumbed through the evidence she handed him.

Briefly he scanned what was presented with his brow progressively arching in silent judgement. It certainly appeared to be him. He paused on the captured image of him in a shirt he didn’t recognize as current in his wardrobe. Did he shop unbothered as well? The only discrepancy that stood out was none of the images were of him long beard, hair and disheveled. The point would be raised later. She was expecting a nanny and he was being sent to clean up. The annoyance of his beard brushed to the left as he closed the generous file and handed it back when the doorbell announced someone was on the other side interrupting them.

“Indeed we will.” Louvel left her with the parting words of agreement.

Steps were counted as he made his way through the hallway he knew so well. Doors blocked his view of several rooms while others were open for him to glance at as he passed by. He continued his pace until he reached the one he was issued invitation to enter.

Eighteen months came to mind as he entered and closed the door behind him. He spared himself the curious glance around. The chance of reminders laying about that she went on with life while he was winning awards for man and father of the year would be a bit more than he wanted to take in. As for his wife, well, Leonie could pop in anytime and tell him to wake up and he would be eternally grateful.

If only it was that easy. Life and all the powers he possessed couldn’t wash this away as easily as he did the layers of sweat, time and dirt that had accumulated over his skin. Beneath the water his hair rinsed clean to the golden mane it had been known for. His facial hair was trimmed down and eased into the drain beneath his toes until it was manageable with the razor available. The pink Gillette performed miracles and retired ten minutes later to the shelf in the medicine cabinet until a safer spot for disposal was located. A packaged toothbrush was given its first use while he took in his reflection in the mirror.

His hair was brushed out with increased effort leaving it to be pulled back in one of the ties he found laying in a drawer. A towel pulled from the neat arrangement wrapped tightly about his waist and had him prepared to exit the bathroom. All that was left to do was wait patiently for his wife just as she had apparently done for eighteen unforgivable and shameful months. He sat down on the most reasonable spot and folded his hands palm to palm and bowed his head to rest the bridge of his nose on his thumbs. He would stay put until she returned. Any calls or investigation he had to make would have to wait.

[Leonie von der Marck]

She nodded and swallowed the fresh lump trying to fill her throat.

“Alis Mara,” she said, quietly, and moved to the front door once she was sure he was safely out of view. Until they figured out ... whatever this was... no one needed to be the wiser that her husband had returned, nor in what state. Certainly not the nanny who, though top notch and highly paid as she was, was well aware of the near-celebrity status of her employer. Temptation was an ugly thing. No matter how much she trusted Kayla, she saw little need to introduce fodder for the tabloids.

Moments after he retreated, though, she found she wasn’t quite alright after all, knees buckling and a tremble threatening to drop her where she stood. A tight grip of the counter had her feeling steadier after a few deep breaths, and she lifted the forgotten coffee once more. A few more deep breaths had her able to plaster a faux smile on her face, a mask of calm settling over her features that she didn’t at all feel, as she unlocked the door and swung it open to greet Kayla.

“Good morning,” she said with a false brightness to her tone. “Alis is napping in her pack and play. I will be home today, but I need you to stay with her mainly in the playroom for a bit, please. Family... things,” was all she said. Kayla nodded; and after a few more questions were exchanged and answered, Leonie was confident they’d have the privacy they would need, with Alis in safe hands.

“I’ll have my phone... well, both of them, and I’ll be just down the hall. But there are some things I need to ... handle... privately, “ she trailed off. “Text or call first and only come get me for an emergency, please.” And as Kayla went to the playroom and closed the door quietly behind her, Leonie breathed a brief sigh of relief before making a quick call to her secretary.

“Mmhmm... yup. Taking a day off. Family... stuff. No, no... Alis is fine, everyone is fine. Just need to be home today. I’ll be checking emails as able, but no calls and please clear my schedule. Mhm... okay. Uh huh... thanks...” She ended the call with a grumble. It was shaping up to be the Mondayest Friday ever in the history of the world and she was for once unable to give a **** she was missing it. All the while, she was rifling through drawers and closets in one of the spare rooms, where she’d organized and stored his clothing, unable to bear the idea of getting rid of anything. And currently unable to decide... but what the hell, it was Lou - who barely cared about labels or colors or doing anything more than looking somewhat put together and being comfortable. And yet, it somehow seemed an incredibly important decision this time. So she took her time picking out a nicely-worn pair of butter-soft jeans and a green long-sleeved baseball t that she already knew brought out the deep mossy color of his eyes. Added to that were his typical underclothes and she figured that was enough for now. If he wanted to leave, she’d direct him to the rest of his belongings.

The water was still running when she was done gathering an outfit, so she took her time pouring him a cup of coffee, fixing it the way she knew he once liked... if he still did, anyway. With each task came many starts and stops; she was second-guessing every choice and every move made and before she knew it, the shower had been off for more than a few minutes. She tucked the clothes under an arm and gathered up both cups before heading to the bedroom, wondering all the while why she wasn’t screaming and yelling and burning **** to the ground. In all of her imaginings, if she ever had this chance sitting in front of her, this had never been one of the fantasies she’d entertained. This strange, hollow sense of calm had not been anticipated, but then, she supposed, a great many things had changed in the last year and a half. And besides...something still seemed off. Louvel wasn’t one for lying. Initially, she’d thought his antics to merely be a way of covering, of trying to circumvent having to tell the truth at all for the time being, but there was more to it than that. She wasn’t sure what, but it couldn’t be as cut-and-dry as she had laid out for him just before. It simply didn’t fit.

Another deep, bracing breath hurtled past her lips as she strode down the hallway and lifted her hand to knock quietly, waiting a beat before she balanced the cups in one hand and eased the door open, letting herself drink in the sight of him sitting on the bench at the end of the bed for just a moment, her heart breaking all over again as she took in the look upon his face. A fresh scent curled in on the steam from the bathroom, one she had once reveled in in the moments after he showered. One she hadn’t been quite sure she would ever get to experience again.

“Hi,” she said softly, setting the mugs down on the bedside table before placing his clothing in a neat pile beside him. “So, um... Hm. I called out of the office today... and the nanny has Alis away in the other part of the house. You’ve got my mostly undivided attention, Louvel.”

[Louvel von der Marck]

Watching his clothing placed in the open space beside him signaled he was not dressed. Typically he wouldn’t care in her presence but, somehow over the course of a single night while he was sleeping, everything had changed. So much so that the discussion would be best carried out with attire. He rather have something on in case a nanny or child-his daughter, entered the room before they finished.

Standing up and pulling the towel from his hips he left it to rest on the edge of the bed. He glanced at the only set of eyes in the room and cursed under his breath at what he felt inside. Each leg felt too tight sliding into the minimal layers of clothing that had him covered from the waist down.

“I know it is a lot to ask but a little patience might be necessary.” The T-shirt went quickly over his head and his sun bronzed hands popped out of each sleeve. While he moved in a limited space at the bedside his wedding band sparkled beneath the natural sunlight that found a way into the room. “I feel like I have been tossed into some scripted event and I am still trying to absorb it.”

The sorcerer reached back and pulled the length of his too long hair from beneath the collar and let it drop over his back. Fast work of his fingers tugged down on the hem of the T-shirt as he sat back down. His palms came together while his elbows perched at each knee causing him to lean forward just enough to be as comfortable as he could be given the circumstances.

“From what I know I went to bed like always and I woke up thinking I was in a nightmare. You and the baby were gone. The furniture was covered. I looked like Captain Caveman.” His voice took pause before adding on. “And the one thing that supports what you are claiming was eighteen months passing is my sudden beard and long hair, no snow outside and you apparently aren’t pregnant.” His hands go about massaging slow circles one against the other finally stopping to weave his fingers and fold them together. “You are trying to tell me I walked around looking normal, ignored my life, my responsibilities, your calls, Alaric, my sister. That I went about business as usual while you gave birth to our daughter alone?”

That was the part Louvel could not fathom. It didn’t make any sense at all. Anyone who knew him, loved him would find that bizarre at best. Was he somehow possessed? There was no way he would be so distant, so cold. He loved his life. Everything he looked forward to as much or even more than Leonie did. His eyes found hers searching for answers that weren’t coming to him.

[Leonie von der Marck]

She watched him in silence, only averting her gaze long enough to give him the appearance and feeling of privacy while he dressed. Somewhere in the last eighteen months, a barrier had gone up, one she had understood - the nature of it of course came with a long, inexplicable absence - but she hadn’t really grasped the significance of it until the present moment. They were practically strangers again... As much as the two of them ever could be, anyway. She cleared her throat as he finally spoke, and gave a nod. “I can do that,” she said quietly, and endeavoured to listen patiently as he worked it out in words.

A sigh was breathed out when he fell silent, though she barely repressed the near-snort that wanted to make itself known at the idea of anything being scripted. If only it were the case, because then she might not be feeling so utterly lost and confused by his sudden reappearance. Then, she might have some cue, some card to read off her next lines and be absolved of having to feel anything right then. She took another deep breath and assembled her thoughts, though his final summation of events had her sitting down quickly beside him, silently passing him the cup of coffee she’d fixed for him while she tried her best not to react to feeling like she’d been punched squarely in the gut.

“You see... that’s just it, though. It wasn’t normal, for you. Or expected. But when the PI couldn’t come up with anything solid, and when Alaric couldn’t find anything in your head to suggest anything amiss aside from your general behavior, it didn’t take a psychic to read the writing on the wall. Or what seemed to be it, anyway. I... I lost my way for a bit, after, but I held out hope, even when everyone tried to get me to move on. And... its not an excuse, but I tried. I tried, Louvel. Alis’ birth was... well, it wasn’t easy. I was too sick to look for you myself for long, even after you rejected my calls and texts and emails and I was near-frantic with worry. I was forced to leave it in the investigator’s hands most of the time. And after she arrived, I had major surgery to recover from while learning to be her mother and I... I just couldn’t. I’m sorry. I’m sorry because obviously something doesn’t fit that narrative. But if our Patriarch couldn’t come up with anything, if professionals couldn’t either, I’m not really sure what else can be said or what more I could have done. Because from where I was sitting, and from what everyone was telling me, it sure looked like you changed your mind. It... it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened to me, so... well.” She trailed off, her mouth set in a line. He knew her history and he knew her defense mechanisms to be swift and certain. It would have eventually been enough to believe that she simply wasn’t enough.

She drew in another deep breath, trying to ground herself better, because it was almost too much. Too much to hear, to believe that everything she’d finally started accepting and believing might not be the truth after all. “Its June of 2019. You’ve been gone since January of 2018. If you’re saying you didn’t leave us voluntarily, then where the hell have you been?”

[Louvel von der Marck]

“Nothing in my head?”

Louvel’s focus on Leonie hardened. He stared deeper into the eyes of the only woman he had ever known. Probably more so than he ever had before. Literally in the context of knowing a woman so completely Leonie had really been it. Other than her it just wasn’t in the cards to get involved with another to the extent they had. Now he was a bit confused as to what reality truly was.

“C’mon now. Alaric knows what I want for dinner before I do. He just watched me in some sort of fog moving about ignoring all my typical and expected obligations? Professional and personal? I went to work, to the bank, tended business as usual? All the while I pissed away everything I give a damn about?!” His voice started to rise as his body did from the surface beneath him. “That is not me!”

The sorcerer was generally calm and peaceful in any situation. In fact, more so than most by far. However, this moment was evolving into an exception.

“I am supposed to believe he just watched that happen?”

June 2019 registered in all of it. He froze for a few thoughtful silent seconds then moved on bare soles towards the nearest window and cleared the treatments from the glass without care as to their make or cost.

“Lioness, I went to bed last night, laid next to you and …” His hand dropped as soon as he discovered a glorious morning beckoning him beyond the walls that were seemingly closing in on him. He turned to face her and managed to land his right hand on his hip while the left found the top of his damp head. “What in the hell is going on?”

Where in the hell had he been?

That was a damn good question. So far whenever he asked he was reminded he was being the biggest asshole of the century. At the very least Alaric could have gave him a brain freeze or something. Amnesia could be a possibility but eighteen months of going about his daily routine but dodging the most important parts of his life. Those he loved and lived for? He couldn’t accept it.

“I don’t know what else to say.” He stood still where his feet were planted. “I would never willingly leave you.” His eyes widened as his truth was verbalized. “Ever. No matter what.” His vows to her came back to the front of his mind and he felt overwhelmingly violated. “Only death could pull me from your side.” If she didn’t understand that then perhaps aliens kidnapping him was plausible. “Whatever happened was certainly not of my choosing, my cooperation or knowledge. What exactly that was is still a mystery.”

The business man in him pondered calling Buddy to see what he had to say. What did his right hand man know about this time warp he had been the unwilling participant of? Eyes still on Leonie had that thought quickly banished. The woman was as uncertain as he was. Only one other sign that he had been gone so long besides his wife’s claims would seal it as true for him. He had to see with his own eyes. “Tell me about her.” His heart ached with his request. Even if it didn’t appear that he deserved to ask he wanted to know what he missed while he had been sleeping.