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03 - Public / Video

[Linda is sitting on a bench in the garden when she activates the feed. she's dressed casually in a coat and jeans, though her right hand visibly has a bandage around it. she looks tired, and she's obviously fallen in some mud at some point today as well]

Anybody else having trouble learning to ride their animals? [there's weariness in her tone. but a thought occurs to her then, and she adds:] Are many people going to be in the race? I know it's optional.

[while the mud is a result of her rocky attempts to learn to ride a "yoshi," her burned hand isn't. it's been a busy day, starting with testing forcefields with Agent K to try to find one like the dome followed by her riding session on the farm. needless to say, relaxing for a bit chatting with friends strikes her as a good way to end an exhausting day]

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[Grainne gives Linda a slightly astonished look.]

That is the end? They lived together, happily? Everything was all right and they were for the rest of their days? It seems like a miracle they were not killed by Gaston...

[It's hard to wrap her head around. She knows love stories could end happily, at least on an intellectual level, but most of the ones she heard personally ended... well, realistically.]

They must have had a godling or very good luck watching over them. I know mine did not end that way at all. That is amazing, wonderful even. It gives hope...

[Linda frowns at Grainne's surprise] Yeah. I mean...it's a children's story. Don't you know other stories like that?

[she pauses, struggling for words. she's never thought about why this is a normal part of so many children's stories before, so it's not easy for her to come up with a way to describe that reason. after a moment, she says:] It is about hope. Hope is--important. I mean... [she makes a face, not quite sure how to say what she's thinking] What would we do if we stopped believing there was any way for things to turn out okay? We'd just...stop when things got hard. Wouldn't we?

[Grainne looks away for a moment, then down at her hands.]

No, not until I came here. Our stories tend to be based in real events, which do not always have a happy ending, or one that favors any particular person and very often speak of tragedy on all sides. They speak of hope, too. I would even dare to say Belle's story did not turn out a happy one for Gaston.

But then, those who persist in foolishness bring about their own ruin, too. Gaston may have been selfish, and barbaric in some ways, though he also must have been an important member of the community to rally and lead the others so, and feared for the safety of the village. Ignorance and fear are not permanent afflictions, except it was not his ignorance and fear that ended his life, but his lack of mercy.

I have always believed it is important for my children to be prepared for the harsh realities of life that they will face on their own. They would not always win just because they felt themselves just. It has always been my duty as a parent. That does not mean I did not teach them to hope or to stop believing in other people to do the right thing.

Oft, it is believing in others that brings out the best in them. Sometimes that is all that they need.

[She sighs, and drops her hands to grasp the seat on each side of her.]

I suppose when it comes down to it, I could not tell my children stories that were not true, not when their father's ended so badly.

[Linda stares at Grainne for a long moment. she hadn't expected that reaction--hadn't been thinking about this exercise in storytelling nearly so seriously. and she'd had no idea what Grainne might have come from before she came to Blackway, but just that short allusion to her life strikes a chord with Linda. finally she asks, quietly:] You're a mother?

A mother, a grandmother. Great-grandmother... my descendants number thousands. My surviving children founded a clan and spread across the world. Not a one claims me as their founding mother.

[she still doesn't understand how Grainne could be who and what she claims to be--so old and also dead but not. but there's one question that hits Linda before anything else] But...why wouldn't they?

As I said before, not all stories end happily.

[She sighs heavily, discontent.]

You can try to save someone, do something that you absolutely hate to succeed, and be hated by that someone for it.

[Linda moves closer to Grainne on the bench, putting her bandaged hand over one of Grainne's. her voice is quiet when she asks her next question] What happened?

[Grainne looks down, wondering. What did happen? Sometimes, thinking back to those times she wonders if her memory is still remembering things right. Or is she speaking about the more recent happenings? Her words could apply to so many things, she doesn't know how to answer Linda's question right away.]

What always happens when you betray someone, Linda. You can spend the rest of your life trying to make up for it, and still it will not be enough.

[Linda's voice gains strength as she probes further, determined not to let Grainne just sit here and talk ill of herself] But you said whatever you did, you did it to save them. Don't they realize that?

[She shakes her head, frowning a little.]

No. It was necessary to keep the reasons to myself, otherwise it would not work. They stayed true to their father.

That's so sad... [the response is a kneejerk reaction. after that, she's quiet for a moment, taking in what she's been told and struggling to make sense of it]

[when she speaks again, her words start out hesitant but gain strength as she goes] But...even if they'll never know, that doesn't change what you sacrificed for them. You saved them. Right?

I wonder. The path I set them on may have led to their death, but when I averted it, it only set them on another that definitely led them to it. It took a bit longer, but the end, still the same. They died and that time there was nothing I could do about it, because it was a matter of politics and several clans going to war.

[at Grainne's response, she's quick to add:] But intentions are important. We can't know what our actions will bring, not really. You did what you did to save them--no matter what happened after.

[but she frowns, not really sure what else to say without a better understanding of what happened to Grainne and her family] Could you...tell me about it? If it's not...you know, too much to talk about.

[The words linger in her ears for a moment or two, stirring memories she would rather have buried and forgotten again. When is the last time she spoke about it?

Back there, with him?

She sighs, feeling that emptiness again.]

Wait here.

[Standing without waiting for an answer, she leaves swiftly, heading into the resort. After what seems like far too short a time, she is back, holding a thin pamphlet that might have been a book once, labeled The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne.

Grainne sits in her place again, and holds out the book for her to take.]

Here. This tells the entire story. It is not one I will tell myself.

[Linda isn't expecting Grainne to leave suddenly, but she stays where she is, waiting as instructed. and when Grainne returns, she's surprised to be offered a written version of her story. she takes the pamphlet carefully, her words earnest:] I'll read and give it back soon.

[after a pause, she adds:] Thank you. I'm sorry, Grainne.

[Grainne smiles sadly, but thankfully Ian't tearing up.] You have done no wrong, Linda. There is only one person that owes an apology for what happened, and he is long dead.

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03 - Public / Video

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Do you want to finish this out? I think we're close.

yeah

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just gonna use this account

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