To Diovan - From Gia

[Deleted]

.. this put her perhaps a little out of her comfort zone.. she couldn't recall ever writing a letter requesting permission for anything, and to top it off.. it was to a male.. but if the last month had taught her anything at all it was that things werent always as she would expect it.. and it was time to look at the wider picture.. she had separated herself from everyone for a moment of time.. leaving Nautilous to learn his role in the war room.. and Diovan had not returned from his jaunt to the surface.. so she found that nook.. up in the roof cavity.. the one she often used to haul herself away into.. to give herself a moment to think.. and to pen this very letter.. her handwriting had always been pristine.. perfect..being proud of ones penmanship was paramount..




Diovan,


This might come a little left field, and for that I do apologise.. I know we dont really know one another, other than that one chance meeting on the surface.. but I feel that is perhaps something that should if possible.. change.


The reason for this letter is that I have been informed that you are to be joined in Marriage to Sydel soon, someone that I at one point in my life was very close to.. and someone who I did consider an incredible friend. I managed to break that bond after it was corrected for a second time through my actions and the guilt that was born of such has become .. i wont deny.. quite encompassing. That is my cross to bear.. not hers.


I am writing to ask you , if you would allow me to approach Sydel , I do not want to cause her any undue grief.. I dont want to cause any pain or a scene.. that is not my intention.. I want to apologise , I want to lay it all out on the table.. to be honest and upfront and then leave it up to your dear Wife to be to decide what happens from that point forward.


I have come to understand that your prognosis long term is not good, and I could not be more apologetic.. I was heart broken to hear such news, I do want to assure you.. that Sydel will be safe and looked after. She will never ever be alone..


I will leave the decision with you Diovan, I wont approach if you feel it will cause her any great discomfort, and if that is the case I will leave the ball in her court entirely and you wont hear from me again.


Please know that if we can help you both in any way, we will.


I wish you well and good health.


Matron Gia Navere

[BadInfluence]

To say he was shocked was an understatement. He fully believed his one meeting with Gia Navere was contained to a rather luscious drug filled orgy in that pool room. Never did he believe he would be getting a letter from her and it had caused him a bit of concern at first, wondering if something had happened to his brother, after all even he had to know better than to be sticking his neck in a place like Menzoberranzan. Even the most fearless of races refused to dabble with them for the sheer fact that while you saw one, ten thousand were aiming daggers at your back, there was never a race more dangerous than they were. Upon reading the letter though he felt his heart seize a bit, his fingers curling around the paper as he read it over more than a few times, and each time it surprised him just a little more. He was penning this as Sydel grabbed that last minute shower before they left the hospital, after all even if he had picked off the wax there was a good deal more that could use a little care, which managed to give him the perfect opportunity to write a reply. Gia’s penmanship was perfect that was without a doubt and his was somewhere between masculine and somewhat elegant, he had a certain flare to his capitals yet there was a straight forward sense of a man through the letters all the same, and of course the occasional crossed out word as he replied.



Dear Matron Gia,



I confess at first when I received this letter my heart took a turn for the worse as I feared my brother had met his end. It is with a much gladder heart that I realize such is not the case and rather you wish to see someone it appears that we all love in our own ways. If you wish to change it I have no objections, upon meeting you the first time I confess much of what I know of the Drow and what you have shown me aren’t exactly the same, which leads me to wonder if perhaps I have only seen the worse and judge the whole simply on the dark side of the coin.



We hope to be married as soon as we manage to find out if Hanali will permit it, and if she does not then we will find a place on the surface to do so, neither one of us are picky nor elaborate. All we wish is to be together. We have both come to realize that our mistakes as children have haunted us for quite some time and have decided to not repeat them this time around, rather than do things by the books were… Winging it as they say. Sometimes you just have to go against that current to have what truly matters, so Hanali’s approval or not, Sydel and Will be wed within the week.



As for your visit… To be quite blunt Sydel feels deeply wounded by several people she once felt were close to her, you are not the only one so I hope that does soften it a little bit, besides I do hold out hope that all is not lost. She would, if given the opportunity, choose to turn away from something like this and refuse to face it. While that is well within her right I also know that in the end it will do nothing to help heal her hurt or anyone elses for that matter, all it does is keep everyone in limbo, something of which I would rather not leave her in when it is my time to leave this world. The fact is… Is giving her an option right now is simply going to result in a resounding no… I believe if your words are true that you know as well as I do that when she digs her heels in, nothing, not even a God can budge her. You must knock her clean off her feet if you are to do it at all otherwise nothing will come of it.



I do have to say thank you, from the bottom of this Rangers heart for your words, to be honest just knowing that she risked being left alone hurt worse than my illness ever could. I’m trying with all my might to pack in as much good as I can with her, to help ease the sting of memories and fade the scars of the past, something which I think you would do a great number on as well… In all honesty I trust you to look out for her for me because of my brother… He can be the most idiotic, self-righteous, pompous peacock anyone has ever seen. Trust me, I know, he’s my brother and no one in this world or the next has more bravado and moxy than he does. I also know because of that it makes him…. INCREDIBLY hard to deal with. Worse still is the fact knowing all this he somehow manages to make you love him even when you want to hang him from a tree and watch him dance a while… But despite all this? You haven’t killed him or sent him back to Arvandor, you haven’t tossed him aside because he’s too much to deal with, instead you’re trying… And I know you have to be because to love that man is to constantly love and hate him all at once.



The fact is I love my brother very much, finding out I had my fathers illness I did my best to try and slam a wall down between us so that he wouldn’t bear any grief when I was gone, I honestly worried for him because he… How to say it… He needs someone who is so strong they can love themselves without anyone else… They have to be fierce and independent, have a spine of steel and a strong mind, a will like diamonds both brilliant and tough. Anything less and he just destroys them… It’s just his nature. Sydel doesn’t have that anymore, that hard coating is gone, it’s cracked open and the beautiful woman she was always waiting to become is here now. Shes both hard and soft and while that is more than I could ever dream of for myself, Nautilous would ether become exceedingly overbearing trying to protect her, or he would poke and prod at her until she became bitter and toughened up again to survive him. While I know he loves her and will do his best to care for her, he is right now still far too young, too heavy handed to understand the delicateness that comes with… To be frank… A partner. I keep hoping he will grow and become the man I thought he could become when he was younger, I pray that I might live long enough to see it, but if not… Watch it… Watch it and remember it for me.



I am taking Sydel out of town to the Lowlands far north of Arvandor, the weather is a bit colder, far more storms which she loves. I have purchased a house there for us to spend the remainder of my time with her as we travel between it and Arvandor for the seasons our shops are open. I will list the address below and have a magical lantern set outside for you to home in on, there is no one around for ages so it will be easy to find, do please come and join us for dinner. I will bring you in with me as I leave the room to get a bottle of wine and we can enter the room with her together. I can ask her to listen to you and if she wishes give you two privacy if you wish, I just feel that if she is to listen to you at all, or give this any sort of a chance? That We have to enter together…



May You Always Find Success in Every Endeavor,



Diovan Fenriil…



P.s: A bottle of deaths head wine would be appreciated. I can’t find any without my brothers connections and it is a favorite drink of hers. Just a hint…



-D.F