Valeriya pays a visit
Valeriya stood in the hallway before his door. Her heart was thumping in her chest so that she felt as thought it might force it’s way out at any moment, leaving a ragged, gaping hole. She swallowed, her throat dry, and knocked softly on the door.
She heard the muffled sounds of movement inside, and then the door swung wide and he was standing before her. She had to stop herself from gasping when she saw his face, his eyes were sunken and hollow, the skin on his face an unhealthy grey in the flickering candlelight.
His mouth sagged at the corners where it had once warmly smiled and the light had gone out of his eyes leaving them dull and empty.
“What do you want Valeriya?”, his voice sounded dry and dusty, the rustling of parchment left too long in the sun, curling upwards at the edges.
She desperately missed the warmth of his smile, the way that simple upward flick of his lips could make her feel happy again. She wanted him to smile now. No, she realised, she wanted him to smile for her, to smile because she stood in his doorway, unable to cross some invisible barrier that stood between them.
“Father Harndall”, she began, her words catching in her throat, “I… I came to see you because one of the peasants has been killed”.
“I know”, he replied with a sigh, “what do you want me to do about it?”
She felt anger flare up inside her. “What do I want you to do? I want you to say the rites over the poor woman! I want you to come and comfort her poor husband!”.
He sighed again and began to turn away his hand on the doorknob.
“I am not the man you think I am Valeriya… I cannot help these people. I am not worthy of my station”.
She hated this weak man she saw before her, this usurper of Harndall’s body who had taken someone strong and brave and turned him into a coward.
“You cannot stay like this snivelling in your room”, she cried, “the people expect more of you! I expect more of you! You cannot hide in here just because she is gone!”.
The words had poured out of her mouth before she could stop them. She noticed with growing distress that his body was trembling.
“Leave me alone Valeriya!”, his voice cracked at the end as a sob tore from his throat and he turned away from her his shoulders shaking.
It only took a moment for her to walk through the doorway and she was in his room, her arms wrapped around his body. She had crossed to the other side without thinking and now her body was pressed up against the warmth of his, her face close to his, her hand brushing away the tears that ran down his face.
A gust of wind blew through the corridor and slammed the door to Harndall’s room shut. She was suddenly filled with dismay, though she did not know why. She could only stand there, gently stroking his back, whispering comforting words in his ear.
His weeping began to subside and he wiped his face with the sleeve of his robe and turned towards her, shame written across his face.
She carefully withdrew and placed her hands firmly on his shoulders, looking into his red-rimmed eyes.
“You are a good man Father Harndall… do not ever let anyone tell you otherwise. What happened to Sister Mella was not your fault. You did everything you could for her and more. She was lucky to have someone like you watching over her”.
“You are a good man”, she repeated as much for her own benefit as his.
She slowly lowered her hands to her sides as he gazed at her. She could not look away, she felt as though he could see right into her, to the depths, to her very soul and see the tattered edges and the oily black stains that covered it.
“Am I?”, he asked, his voice trembling.
She felt a blush rising slowly from her breast, the heat caressing its way up her neck to settle in her cheeks, lovingly entwining the freckles that covered them.
She saw his gaze lowering unbidden and she followed it to were it lay, on the bed that she stood a mere step away from. If he had wanted he could have thrown her down there and done as he pleased. She realised she would not have resisted him.
“You should go”, his voice sounded strained in her pounding ears.
She stood there unable to move. He turned away from her and walked to the corner.
“You should go”, he said it again, his voice brittle now and she feared if she replied something would shatter and fall to the floor in a thousand tiny pieces.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath then walked towards the door, opened it and stepped out into the hallway.
She heard it click shut behind her and she felt something snap inside her. She wanted to throw herself to the floor and weep, laughing madly. Her entire universe was spinning from her grasp and she was helpless to stop it.
She clutched at her sickened heart not knowing whether to let it beat again, or to crush it to a pulpy unfeeling mess between her fingertips.
woah poor Father Harndell he’s trying so hard to fight temptation when its staring right in his face.
Good job, Valeriya. You would have been feeling worse still if you had stayed.
I am not liking poor Father Harndall too much at the moment… even though I understand how he feels. But he’s a priest, and he needs to pull himself together. As Father Brandt once said, “Hast not only thine own soul in thy care, but these many others.” Plus, although he may not know it yet, they may be needing some divine assistance.
It’s funny, because I usually seem to be all for the naughty priests, but I keep hoping that Radomir and Valeriya will make up and she’ll forget all about Father Harndall. (Even though I do like men with beards.)
I had hope for Radomir ever since that time we found out about his less-than-ideal childhood, but his last appearance won me over. He just needs to be loved! If only he would allow himself to be! *sniff*
I think they are all three completely confused about what they want and need and it is just getting into a gigantic tangled mess. It’s funny how your sims make a few faces that you weren’t expecting and you completely change the direction of your story. I have been planning what happens to Radomir, Valeriya and Harndall for as long as I can remember but the way they are behaving is starting to change it a bit.
And you’re right Devin… it is hard for Father Harndall… especiallly now that he sees himself as weak after what happened with Mella.
Hi. I had a feeling that Valeriya had feelings for Father Harndall though I don’t think it’s one sided. For a moment there I thought they were going to start making out on the bed! lol!. I hope that Radomir hasn’t told Valeriya he was sorry just to get her to come back to him!.
I’ll be looking forward to the next episode of this medevil soap opera lol!.
Keep Simming!
See ya.
Well, should they get together? It’d be complicated. This is hardly like Flann, because she’s unmarried. Valeriya has a violent but redeemable husband.
But perhaps it’s just me, but I want to slap the Father in the face and tell him to stop being an idiot. I think I expect too much. I don’t care if he seduces nearly every lady in Verity-world as long as he does his duty. Or nearly.
Hehe… seduces every lady in Verity-world… I like that one. I know what you mean though… Harndall should snap out of his whole self-loathing thing and help his people.