"So what did you want to know?" John asked a bit awkwardly. Though had agreed to finally speak about her mother, Penelope could tell that he still had some reservations about bringing up the matter. He was tense and his gaze never seemed to land on her for a very long time. Her father nearly seemed nervous. However, Penelope was far too interested in hearing about her mother to worry about that aspect.
"I want to know everything." Penelope responded with an eager smile.
John glanced over at her and let out a small sigh. "Well you know most of the story already don't you?"
"I only know what Layth told me." she explained with a shrug. "I want to know the story from your point of view.. I have a feeling it'll be quite different."
John paused and gave a solemn nod. "Alright then.. Well..." he paused as he tried to figure out where to begin. Deciding on a place, he focused his gaze ahead as they walked out into the courtyard. "As I mentioned before, I met your mother when I was on a mission for the king with Albin. It was many years ago and I don't recall all the specifics of the mission but we were traveling out to check on the border of Gorm, it was more a task for Albin than myself. I was just added protection." he muttered, always lowering his voice slightly when the current king's name was brought up. "I was never the type to go out to taverns, especially on a mission, but that night Albin talked me into it. My intention was merely to grab a drink but before I knew it, he had somehow roped me into talking with a couple of women... Of course he had already locked his eyes on one of them."
"Crow's mom." Penelope mumbled under her breath with frown.
Her father gave a small nod of confirmation before continuing on. "It wasn't long before they left together and I was left alone with your mother.. I was married and Layth had already been born so I had no intention of following my comrades footsteps but I couldn't exactly just retire to our room." John explained wrinkling his nose slightly. The insinuation made Penelope smirk in amusement at her father's reaction. "So instead I stayed out with your mother, I made it clear to her that I wasn't looking for anything and she offered to find me a spot to sleep at her home.. I accepted and in the end, we spent most of the time sitting together outside her family home just talking." John's expression softened at the memory. "She told me about life in the outer villages and I told her about my life as noble. How I was preparing to take my father's place as the next family head."
Penelope looked at the ground to hide a fond smile as Crow came to mind. Though the stories were slightly different, the way her father described it made her think of how her and the former thief would exchange stories about their differing lives. She had always joked about following in her father's footsteps but now she was truly seeing more similarities than ever before.
"At one point she brought up how she wanted to leave and make more money for her family. I guess her family was struggling due to the taxes the king enforced... So, I offered her a job as a servant. I told your mother that she didn't have to decide right away and that on my return from the border, I would find her to hear her decision. And she agreed to it." John glanced over at Penelope. "And, of course, she also took me up on my offer once I returned. After that, she returned home to the manor with me and took up her new role as a servant there."
"No one questioned why you suddenly brought her there?" Penelope asked with a hint of confusion.
"Your grandfather did and so did Layth's mother but I simply explained it as taking pity on her." John said with a small shrug. "Which wasn't a total lie. After all, I hadn't realized that I was taken with her yet. We grew closer on the trip back but I denied any feelings more than friendship."
"I see.." Penelope mused thoughtfully. "So what did make you finally break and realize?"
John looked off to the side. "Well...we would often catch moments alone with each other. Merely to talk, nothing more." he added strictly. "But then one day, your mother confessed that she had feelings for me... I remember she said that she was only telling me this so that she could get over me after I rejected her... but I couldn't. I may have already been married to Layth's mother, Mary, but it had been arranged. We married because we were told to but truly we were a bad pair. Only together because it was forced onto us. Your mother was the only woman I truly loved and once I realized that, there was no way I was going to reject her."
Penelope crossed her arms over her chest. "You really became a hypocrite then." she mused teasingly.
Her father looked over at her with a less than amused look. "Yes well your mother wasn't a criminal." he retorted sternly.
"Does that tiny detail really matter in the grand scheme of things?" Penelope sighed.
"Do you want me to finish this story or not?" John grunted.
Penelope gave an apologetic smile and held up her hands. "Yes, sorry go on then."
"Right... After that, we began to sneak around to see each other in private. We planned on being together somehow but there were a lot of restrictions. Namely the ones on me since she was free to return to her family. It was a difficult time but we had each other and that was enough... Of course, until Mary found out about your mother and I. She never caught us but one of the other servants reported to her about seeing us together. It was right at the time that I found out that she was pregnant with you." John shook his head. "She was furious. She wanted to send your mother away but I wouldn't allow it so instead she left me. Once she did, your grandfather turned his back on me. I had little to my name alone so I took Layth and left with your mother back to the outer villages. We had some gold but not much so we ended up moving in with your mother's sister."
"Wait, my mom has a sister?" Penelope blinked. "I have an aunt somewhere?"
John frowned. "You had an aunt.." he corrected. "She died sometime ago.."
"Oh... What happened to her?" Penelope asked.
"Your mother's home village was Tamsworth... It was where your aunt lived." John sighed heavily. "It's where—"
"Where the tax collectors killed everyone.." Penelope finished the thought for him with a frown. Thanks to Crow, she was quite familiar with the horrific story. However, she never would have guessed that she would have had ties to people there. "She was killed?"
John eyed her for a moment before looking ahead as they continued to walk. "Everyone else was, I can only assume she was caught in the massacre... I wasn't ever able to find her after."
"I see..." Penelope mumbled, feeling slightly saddened by the news. She would have liked to have met her mother's family, at least even if it was just a small part of it. But knowing what happened in Tamsworth, it was unlikely that anyone was alive unless they left the village prior.
Her father studied her for a moment before placing a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, we should begin heading back in. You still need to visit the Lenz's. I should be able to finish this by the time we get there." he assured. Penelope nodded her head in agreement and followed his lead as the two Vermillions began to make their way back into the castle.
