'How to plan a life' (Eothan/The Hawthorns)

‘How to plan a life’

Runes, shadow, pain, time, effort and stress… these had been the things that Eothan had been filling his time with since he arrived in Dalaran, and while there had been a few brief moments of pleasure and amusement, for the most part he was left with nothing but pressure.

He had spent the past day travelling away from Dalaran, returning to Stormwind to take care of something he never thought he’d find himself doing. He knew the risks of walking straight back into the den of people trying to find him, to do… something, it was a strange feeling being a target and not knowing exactly why. He knew that he was the “perfect culmination” of two families, two very different cultures, according to the Hawthorns. He couldn’t find himself agreeing with them, even if he was the combination of the two bloodlines, it had never made him more powerful than any Caan he’d encountered.

Only through sweat and pain had he been able to defeat the single Caan that he had, and even that hadn’t really given him any sense of achievement, merely fulfilling a goal.

He pulled his hood up as he stepped into the mage district, quietly cursing the heat of the sun as it poured over the city. Wearing as much clothing as he was didn’t appeal to him, but it felt like a necessary sacrifice, if he were to avoid capture. He dropped the end of his cigarette on the neatly trimmed grass and weaved his way through some of the quiet back alleys of the district, to a small home that he had purchased a few years ago. One that he had left with great pride, regardless of the almost cowardly acts that accompanied it.

He lifted a gloved hand as he looked up at the dull looking home, and rapped his knuckles gently against the door. He lowered his arm and waited for a moment before hearing a rattling on the other side of the door, it slowly opened, revealing the face of a woman.

‘Yes?’ she said quietly, strangely peering around Eothan rather than at him.
‘Helena’ he simply said and lowered his hood.

Helena stared at him for a moment before beginning to scowl, as he swiftly moved to slam the door in his face, Eothan shoved his foot in the way, wincing briefly at the force of the door upon his foot.

‘No, I’m not going to allow a simple slam of the door. Open it and let me in, or I will force my way in’ said Eothan as he moved closer to the door and placed his hand against it. Helena let out a deep sigh and very slowly moved away from the door, allowing Eothan entrance. He stepped inside and closed the door carefully behind him, peering around the brightly lit home.

It was around this time that he felt very glad that he had fled when he did, the colours in the house were all of those one would grimace over, the fluffed cushions and frilly curtains ordaining even the simplest greeting room were starting to make his insides produce bile.

‘Ah… you and I need to talk, and then I need you to trust me’ said Eothan as he managed to turn his attention to Helena. ‘Oh, so now you want to talk? You know you walked out on me, left me to raise our daughter alone, left m-‘ she started, before Eothan lifted a hand.

‘I left you plenty of gold to take care of everything, so button it’ he stated bluntly. Helena raised her eyebrows and simply grumbled quietly as Eothan moved to walk past her. He lifted a hand to cover his eyes slightly as he walked past rooms he simply knew were going to be a horrible mix of yellow and purple.

He stopped at a door at the end of the corridor and slowly opened it, peering down at the little girl sitting in the middle of the room. She had several stuffed toys and dolls dotted around her. He cleared his throat as she looked up at him, holding out a somewhat chubby arm with a bear clasped in her hand. He walked across the room and knelt down in front of her, taking the bear. He peered at it for a moment, before watching her carry on playing, the hair she had dancing around her face a little as she moved. It was a very rich blonde, she had her mother’s hair, he couldn’t really complain.

Helena had been stood in the doorway watching him, with a confused look on his face. He stood up and turned to look at her, the bear still in his hand. ‘Listen… Helena, there are some things I can never explain to you, in fact… for your own safety I can explain next to nothing. But there are people that will kill you to get to me now, and kill her’ he muttered as he nodded to the side. ‘I have to take her with me now’.

‘What? So you run off for a year to sleep with anyone and everyone, do whatever you like, and now you come back and say you’re taking Jess? I don’t think so!’ said Helena. Eothan could tell she was seething, even if she was trying to cause Jess no worry, but it didn’t matter to him anymore.

‘She has my blood and that blood makes her a danger to you right now, she needs to be with me. I’m afraid that I can’t explain anything else’ said Eothan as he stepped forward and ushered her out of the room, closing the door behind him.

‘You’re a real piece of work you know! A piece of shit, and you’re not taking –my- daughter away, you can shove it up your arse!’ yelled Helena. Eothan lifted his hand and placed two shadow-covered fingers against Helena’s forehead. As she was about to continue yelling she dropped to the floor. Eothan knelt down and lifted her into his arms, carefully carrying her into a nearby room and resting her on a horribly coloured sofa.

‘She cannot be yours anymore, Helena. Much like I never could have been, but it’s okay… I can take away the pain you might feel when you wake up, she’ll be a myth now’ said Eothan as he placed his hand against her forehead once again, the shadow burning brightly.

After a few moments he stood up and opened his eyes. He would have to gather some of Jess’s things and leave; there was no sense in remaining any longer. He had more than his own safety in mind now.

----

‘Marie, open up!’
‘Marie, open the blasted door!’

A few large smacks against the wooden doors of the Dawn household rang through the otherwise quiet mage district. Suddenly the door swung open, seemingly on it’s own and two hooded men stepped inside. They heard a distant click of fingers as the door slammed behind them, they shrugged and lowered their hoods, turning to walk into a rich and full looking living area.

Sat in front of a fire, was an older looking woman, carefully flicking through a book.

‘I can’t understand for the life of me why you’re here, boys. I’ve done my part’ said the woman as she continued to read, not bothering to look up at the men. ‘You didn’t provide us with either of the potential candidates’ said one of the men as he stepped forward, only to be yanked back by the other.

‘They were separated, raised individually, he was made to suffer, he was introduced to his powers and the Caan was killed. I spent my life dedicated to this little plan, he should have come here himself to try and question me. Not send two children to do his dirty work’ said Marie as he snapped the book shut.

‘But we can’t find them!’ said the man as he lifted his hands to run them back through his hair. ‘How can we continue if we haven’t the essential parts?’

Marie carefully stood up and walked around the chair she had been sitting in. He tapped the book against her left hand and simply stared at the two young men. ‘Everything I could have done has been done, return to Landrus and inform him of that. If he wishes to take the issue up with me, he is to do it in person’ she said.

‘Well… ah… could you clarify exactly what we need to say?’ said the other man, who was clearly intimidated by this normal looking woman. Marie sighed and lifted a hand, it quickly engulfed itself in shadow flame before the energy itself shot away from the hand, striking the young man in the face.

She lowered her arm as the man fell to the floor, screaming and clawing at his face.

‘Tell Landrus that I have done all he requested with Eothan and Rosemary. Tell him that Rosemary is not the one he seeks, and that Relius Caan is dead. If he questions Marie Hawthorn one more time, after I have spent my life acting out the family’s plans, I will find him and kill him. I’d be perfectly able to execute this plan myself’

---

Eothan stepped onto a large boat that would take him to Borean Tundra, with Jess asleep in his arms. He looked out to sea and sighed, just how much of everything he ever believed was true? And was he ever going to get a single thing he actually wanted?

It wasn’t starting to look that way that was for sure. But as he looked down at Jess in his arms, he could feel some warmth in his heart, as if for the first time in a long time, that heart actually felt the need to open up again.

Holy moly, more complications. And yet... intriguing ones! I am guessing that Landrus and Marie are the heads of the two branches of the Hawthorn family, yes?

I mainly love the Eothan bits though. I even feel a twinge of sympathy for Helena, even if her situation is much better than it would've been if Vale had gone to take the little girl. But he has a child now! And how interesting this is all going to be.

You'd be correct, yes. Landrus and Marie.