16Montmorency suburbs, Paris, France
Lucas was lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling. His little sister was dead. He has just gotten her back, and now she was dead before he even got the chance to know her properly or spend some time with her. The last few months had been a preparation for the war, and half of this time he'd spent arguing with her. He felt bad for it now; If only he'd acted differently, more brotherly! But in his desperate bid to keep her from harm, he didn't; and he'd failed to keep her safe as well. He'd come to help her, but got himself petrified like some kind of idiot. He'd let the enemy get him and was helpless when his sister needed him. Just like years ago during the fire. He'd been knocked out, and could do a thing. He felt anger stir in him, why has this have to happen again? Why was he so useless again? Why did his sister have to die? She was so young! She had her life before her! A splendid life! A life of a great seeker and Casterwill queen who was respected by all and loved of her friends and her family; the latter who should also make up for their awful, ungrateful behaviour. His sole comfort was that he at least managed to say sorry. It didn't make up for much- there was a lifetime or several to make up for all they'd...all he'd done- but he still managed at least THAT. These unhappy thoughts had been interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Lucas?" spoke a gentle voice from the other side "can I come in?"
He sighed deeply, he didn't feel up to having company much but still...he was a member of the House of Nobles, and an Elder.
"Yeah" he said finally. There was a creak as Nina entered, and then closed the door behind
"Lucas..." she begun, a little uncertain "the Cornwall Clan, would like to express condolences for the loss of your leader" she paused "we will try to help however we can"
He gave her a polite nod, far too exhausted to even try and reply in another way. He was grateful to her, especially as he knew how anti-Casterwill her clan(and vampires in general) could be. Still, his sister has died and he couldn't muster much of an energy to show this gratitude. Nina didn't seem to await any though. She instead came up to his bed and sat down. There was a silence for a while, before she spoke again.
"Listen" she said "I...I really am sorry about Sophie. I know the condolences mean little to you at the moment. I know how much you've suffered in your life, how many you'd lost and this is a second loss to your family in this war, and even more painful than the one of Nimue. Sophie was your sister. It's not easy to live with this pain; I would know" she shot him a small, sad smile that reminded him of those that graveyard angels usually had "I cannot promise you that it will go away, because it might as well stay with you, but the time will make it more bearable and you'll just stop noticing it at some point" another pause, she reached out and put her warm hand over his "but I'll be there for you. We can talk about Sophie, or just sit there"
Lucas didn't answer; not right away. Mostly because he didn't know what to say to all this. He didn't know what to think or feel in general. He was such a mess...
"Thank you" he said after a long while; opting for the most clichéd but also safest answer "it means a lot"
Nina gave him another smile, squeezing his hand a little. After what seemed like ages she finally moved, preparing to leave.
A sense of panic came over him, and a cold feeling seized his heart. He didn't want to be left alone! He didn't want to be alone with all this grief and regret and guilt. He had been alone for such a long time! Ten years, if not more. Sure he had someone to look after him after the fire, but the Casterwill family wasn't exactly...emotionally supportive. They were very Victorian: proper and polite. On top of that he was a team leader and therefore his feelings always had to remain under control because he had to be responsible for everyone. But he couldn't do it anymore, it seemed enough was enough and he started to break under the weight of all the grief and stress of past decade. He was only twenty for crying out loud! He reached out and grabbed Nina's wrist. The girl stopped, startled.
"Lucas?" she asked cautiously
"P-please" he said "please don't leave me. I...don't want to be alone anymore"
Nina's expression softened at the words and she sat back on the bed again.
"I won't leave, as long as you want me too" she promised "how long has it been since you've slept properly?" she asked after a while, giving him a proper look.
He let out a sigh. He hadn't slept at all during past few days, and very little for past months..
"I...I don't know" he said at length "I'd say days, but to be honest I probably hadn't have a good night's sleep since the fire"
Nina kept silent for a while
"That's a long time" she said "you could try and catch up to those last few days at least"
"I-I don't think I'd be able to" he muttered, looking away
"at least try" she said "I'll be here for you"
He sighed, but gave up. He really was exhausted and wanted to sleep. He could barely keep awake after all, and only fear of nightmares kept him from closing his eyes and giving in. Nina shifted a little bit, so that his head was lying on her lap and quickly buried her fingers on his hair; brushing it gently. He felt himself relax, and closed his eyes.
"Lucas" she spoke "I've been thinking...maybe you could do with a change of climate"
He let a questioning hum.
"you know" she said "leave this library for a while. The Blood Spiral danger is pretty much over and the Foundation, or the French Clan can look over the library. I thought that maybe you could go and visit your father. He lives near Callington in Cornwall, a little bit outside the village, so it's pretty quiet there. It's completely different place than Paris, or France altogether. And it would do you good to spend some time amongst people who care about you. Maybe in a place that is fresh and new, and doesn't hold so many bad memories you'd be able to relax and sleep better? No one will disturb you there either, no visits or calls from Foundation and nagging, and people wanting to see the library..."
He kept silent for a while, considering her proposal. On one hand, his Casterwill pride and his dutiful side would not hear of vacation. It was a strange concept to him, he had spent so many years working here and protecting this place; but on the other hand he really did feel tried and almost sick of this library and the burned remains of his house outside; as well as of the memories that haunted it. To go away, to be able to forget about it at least for a while, and for once being able to focus on his own needs seemed like a dream come true. Not to mention, his father. He had never spent much time with the man, not since he'd been a little child. And to be honest he wanted to rekindle that relationship. Times with his biological parent had been amongst the few good memories he had from his past. It brought the feeling of security and being loved. He let out a sigh.
"That's a good idea" he said at length "will you be there too?"
Nina froze for a moment, but then seemed to have relaxed as she returned to run her fingers through his hair.
"If you want me to, of course" she said "I've promised I'd be there for you, as long as you need me, didn't I?"
He couldn't help but smile a little, and he reached with his hand to touch hers.
"Thank you" he muttered. He knew that there was no way he's going to get rid of his guilt, night terrors and all other problems that had piled up during the years. But this was a start. He could tell that Nina smiled back at him, as she bend down, kissing his forehead.
"You're welcomed" she whispered.
Well this took long, but Lucas is a more complex character and probably has tons of psychological issues so I had to highlight this all, and detail it. As well as somehow manage to slip in comfort into all this. Yes, I know I haven' done it for Santi and LeBlanche, but Lucas has suffered so much poor dear, that he deserves a little bit of love and understanding.