Shattered Windows, Broken Locks

Kalt I say goodbye to my weakness, So long to the regret, and now I see the world through diamond eyes.     He didn’t care how long he was holding her, how long her arms were wrapped around him in the hall. His eyes remained closed when she apologized, and it felt as though a piece of him was breaking with every word she uttered. He didn’t care for her apologies, didn’t care that she felt guilty for something that happened years ago. It was in the past, long ago, and her guilt would do none of them any good. Even so, he let her finish. If she needed to apologize, he would let her, but it wasn’t anything he held onto. There had been nothing to forgive in the first place.     Kalt watched her mind working, relatively sure he knew where her thought process was going to lead, but he didn’t jump to any conclusions before she voiced it for herself. Ashetta stepped back from him once she had – mostly – gained her composure back, at least enough to form full sentences.     A gentle smile played at his lips, as he shook his head and reached out to her, tenderly running his hands down her arms. ”Ashe, the only reason she’s alive in the first place is thanks to you” he said quietly. ”She would have died if you hadn’t taken her in. It was an impossible situation, but we made it work. Every moment we breathed in the Guild was risking our lives; that was nothing new. You gave us a real reason, a good reason to risk our lives, and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. Not then, and certainly not now. She might have another man’s blood, another woman’s blood, in her veins, but I’m her father. And you…” Kalt smiled at her, touching his fingers to her jaw gingerly. ”Ashe, you’re her mother.”     He had a feeling that she would protest, that she wouldn’t believe him, wouldn’t want to believe him, but it was true. Any time Theea asked for stories about her mother, Kalt told her stories about Ashe. The toddler asked about his scars, and he told her that he got them protecting her mother and that her mother had matching ones from protecting the little girl. And fuck, that was true. The scars on Ashe’s back were because of her part in saving Theea’s life, just as a mother would have. She might not have known the toddler well because of the time apart, but that didn’t make her any less her mother.     ”You aren’t doing anyone any favors by leaving, by running,” he whispered to her, casting a glance at the closed door. ”You were a kid when Master caught on, and still, you withstood the punishments and made it through. But you’ve been running ever since the Guild fell. It’s time to grow up and face what you’re afraid of.” Kalt would gently press a kiss to her forehead, before giving her a smile. ”Now, come on. I want you to actually meet her.”