Blood's thicker than water. (IC plotline)

[Mercy]

Mercy sat at the table in cells re-reading the letter over and over again as if it would help make any sense of what was written or would make anything change.   The candle burned lower leaving a pool of wax that slowly hardened on the top of the table.   Gradually she put the letter down and took a deep sigh.  The letter had been entirely unexpected and was penned by her younger brother Sean, her mother had taken ill and he was going to come back to check on Mercy and look after the family home.  He had also written a few things about the past that he wanted to talk to her about.  Since her time in joining the army she had had no contact with her family except by sending home half of her wages by courier who seemed to always know when she recieved any money and made sure it was delivered to her mother.

Thinking back over her time at home she began to wonder if she had seen things in the wrong light.  Her mother had been near neglectent towards her, her brothers constantly bullied her and threatened her with local officials or the church if she dared once use her spells on them.  Most of her childhood had been spent alone except from when she could escape to her grandmother's and even then she risked coming back to a beating and no dinner, of what meagre amounts she was given.   No there was nothing she had missed or misunderstood about the actions dealt towards her.  So why did this letter seem to tell otherwise?  She thought then about Kas, the only person she has told about her life at home.  Perhaps he might have an idea about it?  He didn't truely believe her mother was like she was and that she must of loved her.  But her brothers?  Were they just doing as told to keep the peace, surely they had their own minds and what about when her mother hadn't been around, they were still cruel.   Folding the letter up she decided that would be the best idea, to speak to Kas because if what was written in the letter does come true she'd need a very good reason not to cause damage to Sean when he came to visit.

[Mercy]

A few days later she managed to catch up with Kas and talk to him alone, they went inside the small guard room at the gate to Cove.  Showing him the letter she waited for his response.  She watched as he read the words trying to see if any emotions showed in his eyes, when he finally read the letter he turned to her and his face seemed blank.  He started by asking her about her mother, which Mercy just brushed off as not being the important point, she didn't really care if her mother was ill or not.  The worrying part was why her brother was coming to Cove and more importantly to speak to her Commanders.  Kas in his usual optimistic nature just brushed off her concerns, perhaps he genuinely cares about her, he suggested.  Mercy knew that couldn't be the case, if her brother gave one damn about her he'd never of bullied her the way he did.  He is obviously wanting to interfere in her new found life, probably to get her to look after the house so he can go back to whatever he was doing.   At this point Kas became concerned by saying she can't leave and he wouldn't let anyone force her into doing what she didn't want to do.

Sitting on the table in the room Mercy let out a heavy sigh, she thought she had gotten away from all this and could finally live her life in peace.  Now at least she had a place where she belonged and to think she could be taken away from it all was upsetting.  Kas kept trying to give her alternative reasons to what was written in the letter, maybe she was reading it all wrong.  They would just have to wait and see when her brother arrived, she just hoped that Kas would be there when it happened.

[Mercy]

Standing at the guardpost they had helped Demarian to make, Mercy watched as a lone rider approached wearing fine armour and a verite green robe and hat.  The rider stopped and looked over the guardpost, he spoke directly to Demarian, enquiring on who they were.  Then to Mercy's horror he said her name and asked if the guardsmen knew where she was.  Stepping back slightly, she stood closer to Eve as Kas stepped forward to see who the man was.  Dem looked over his shoulder to Mercy, who silently shook her head to an unspoken question.  He walked over towards her and whispered with her a while, when Mercy explained what the problem was he allowed her and Eve to be dismissed and to head directly to the Barracks.  Eve comforted Mercy as they made their return to the barracks, saying that she needn't be afraid she was a member of Cove's guardsmen and no one was going to take that away from her.

Mercy was still trembling as she stood in line to attend an event, behind her she heard voices and turned to see him standing there talking to Tiberius, she turned back around and hoped he didn't notice her.  Seeing that she was obviously distressed she was dismissed from the line up and went to sit on the benches on the roof.  She watched as Kas and the others left for the training and wished she could of been with them instead of sitting there alone.  She listened to some of the voices coming from downstairs and could hear her brother talking to Octivious, though she couldn't make out what they were saying.  After a while she heard another voice and decided to try going downstairs without being seen, standing near the archway she watched as Zoie talked to him.

Listening to the words she grew angrier and angrier until she could no longer take it, in a fit of rage she stepped forward and shouted at him, stamping her foot.  He looked over to her and told her to come and sit down with the same tone he used on her when they were children.   She skulked onto a stool and sat down obediently but still argued with him, Zoie offered to hit him but Mercy replied only if he hurts her.   After what seemed like hours James and Kas arrived from the training and sat beside her, she shuffled closer to Kas as the argument raged on, this time with Kas trying to play intermediate.  Eventually Sean backed down as James threatened to kick him out the barracks and was being fairly agressive, even took a few swipes at Sean.   

The problem that he had come to see Mercy about was their family house, the land owner was wanting to sell the house if they left it unoccupied.  Sean had given up his place in the Knights Accademy in Luna to take residency in the house, he hoped Mercy would live in the house and leave Cove.   To which she was not happy about and nor were the others sat around the table, they wouldn't let her go and would certainly fight against it.  Mercy came up with an idea, possibly their cousin could live in the house instead, then they could both carry on with what they were doing.  But Sean couldn't return to his former position, he would be left without employment.   Kas decided that enough had been said and they should all sleep on it, perhaps tomorrow would bring a solution.   

With that they went their seperate ways, Mercy walked down to the cells with Kas and sat on a stool, resting her head on the table.  He spoke to her quietly, trying to comfort her, she was glad he was there for her and soon fell asleep listening to his promises of keeping her safe.