Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Chapter 4: Glass Promises

Warning: Violence (Implicit)



Griffin Everard knows this feeling all too well. The sickening sensation of helplessness gnaws at him with a reckless sort of urgency, and he itches to do something, anything, to relieve it.

Georgia entered the duke’s manor over half an hour ago to treat him for a supposed cough, and although he desperately wanted to go with her Griffin knew better than to walk straight into the lion’s den. A risk-taker by nature, he hates sitting idly by when every instinct in his body screams for him to act, but he simply cannot justify chancing an encounter with the duke.


Revenge is not a good color on you, Griffin.

The young man starts and glances around.

“I should have guessed,” Griffin replies dryly, turning toward the cat. “Ari Sidra, you never fail to surprise me. I take it your mistress is not far behind?”

I do not keep tabs on My Lady’s whereabouts. She comes and goes as She pleases, same as me. Although I do know She has been quite interested in your movements lately. What do you want with the girl, Griffin?

“What do you two want with Georgia?” Griffin spits, anger seeping into his words. “I may owe Delia my life, but I feel no obligation to help either of you with whatever plot you are cooking up now, especially if it involves George.”

No plot. Seven years have passed, and the old sage finally spoke to us again. She deemed Georgia would fulfill the Gods’ promise to the duke, to bear him the great warrior she foretold to us during her last oracle. I am here simply to ensure that her words become a reality. I will not allow you to interfere.

“Your ‘sage’ should be hung,” he snaps. “If there’s one thing my father taught me, we each hold the keys to our own destiny, and no being, mortal or immortal, God or human, can change that.”

Believe what you will, Ari purrs and rubs himself up against Griffin’s legs.

Griffin chuckles and bends down to pet the feisty cat. “I shall. Thankfully that’s one freedom the Gods have yet to steal from mankind.”


“Have you such a low opinion of my brothers and sisters?” a woman laughs coyly from the shadows. “I admit that we have not always treated you well, but your father carries the blame for that.”

Griffin glances over at the glimmering silver figure and shrugs. “They murdered my brother and sister in cold blood, and they attempted to kill me as well. If not for your interference, they surely would have succeeded. I cannot respect a race that believes in the slaughter of innocent children.”

“Yes,” the Goddess grimaces. “Indeed.”


“What do you want?” Griffin demands irritably as he rises to speak with her.

“Georgia belongs here,” she tells him in a gentle tone. “I know you want revenge for the deaths of your siblings, but the duke is merely a pawn acting on the orders of his deities. He does not deserve your scorn.”

“I have no intention of touching the duke,” he hisses. “Let the bastard stew in his own guilt. Karma will turn the tables on him one day, but Georgia deserves better than to get tangled up in the affairs of some meddlesome Gods. I cannot stand by and watch her suffer for a promise you all had no right to make.”

“You love her.”

Griffin nods. “I do. I never meant to fall for her if that’s what you think, but I cannot deny my feelings now. I came to Everly Isles searching for my father, and I stayed in the hope that he would find me here. But Georgia changed all that. I still wish to see him again, to continue our training together, but now I remain on the islands for Georgia and Georgia alone.”


“Your father struggles with reality, Griffin,” Delia replies vaguely. “He does not feel the passing of time anymore, and it causes him to lose track of the days. He would never purposely abandon you.”

“I know that,” Griffin sighs uneasily. “But my powers continue to strengthen, and I have no one to turn to for advice, nowhere to go for help. I fear one day I will no longer be able to control them.”

She frowns, her pale eyes unreadable in the faint glow of the full moon. “I must leave, but mind yourself Griffin. My brothers and sisters do not realize you live, and my magic can only shield your true identity for so long. Your father can find you anywhere once he returns to our time, but the Gods watch the girl closely. You do not want them to discover you.”

“I will not leave her.”

“Then you risk their wrath,” she snaps. “Ari will stay with you for now, but Georgia will have the duke’s son whether you remain with her or not. The sage’s prophecies never lie.”


On the other side of the property, Georgia quietly slips inside the duke’s training quarters, suddenly nervous about seeing him again. A chambermaid led her to his private wing, but the woman deserted her at the door.

“I’m sorry to intrude,” she stammers, “but you sent for me?”


The duke stops abruptly and turns to face her.

“You came,” he smiles, wiping his sweaty face on a nearby cloth.

“They said you needed me…” she trails off as the realization suddenly hits her. He is not sick at all.

“I do need you,” the duke murmurs. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Georgia. The scent of your hair, the sound of your voice, the touch of your skin. I need to hold you, darling. I need to touch you, to kiss you, to make love to you. Tell me you need me too.”


Georgia does not feel herself move toward him, but as he speaks the distance between them vanishes.

“Your Grace-” she begins hesitantly.

“Call me Alasdair,” he commands as he wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her to him.

Georgia swallows hard. “Alasdair,” she murmurs, letting the sound play on her tongue. “You don’t know how many evenings I’ve laid awake longing to hear you whisper those words.”

“Then stay with me tonight,” he breathes.


Closing her eyes, Georgia momentarily allows herself to succumb to his tender caresses and the feel of his lips on her neck, but as his hands move lower down her body she tersely pushes him away.

“Stop!” she exclaims. “This is wrong. I do not love you, Alasdair. I barely even know you.”

“What did you say?” His voice carries an icy edge.

“I do not love you,” she repeats more boldly. “And I will not sleep with you. Not like this.”


“How dare you refuse me?” he snarls, his eyes frozen with rage. “I will not tolerate it. I can have any woman I desire, and you will show me the respect I deserve!”

“Let me go!” Georgia cries as he grabs her arm. “Please, Alasdair! Stop!”


Georgia fights him with all her strength, but the duke easily overpowers her. “STOP!” she shouts as he rips at her clothing. “Leave me alone!”

“You ungrateful wench!” he roars, slapping her hard across the face. “I will have you!”

Tears stream down Georgia’s cheeks as she finally submits to the inevitable. “But I don’t love you,” she sobs over and over again. “I don’t love you.”


“Georgia?” Griffin calls out her name as she sprints past him. “Georgia, wait!”


When he finally catches up to her, he finds her clinging to a tree dry heaving violently, and he instantly realizes what has happened.

“I’ll kill him,” he growls as runs over to her. A blazing fury surges through his veins, slashing through his chest like angry daggers of fire, and for the first time in his life he feels the red hot venom of pure hatred embroil him in rage.


As he sits there, clinging to Georgia with all his might, he makes her a solemn promise.

“I will never let that man touch you again,” he whispers with rigid determination. “As long as I live, Georgia, he will never hurt you again. I promise.”


Author’s Notes:

I struggled writing this chapter due to the nature of the content, so I decided to cut it off here. I did intend to have some happy stuff occur too, but I’ll get to that next time hopefully. =)

Did that first scene with Griffin make sense? After reading a comment on my last chapter about all the secrets in this legacy *hugs Becky*, I realized that I really needed to reveal more information about my plot and backstory. I hope this list is unnecessary and you guys gathered all (or most) of it from the story itself, but to summarize:

1) Griffin had two siblings. For anyone who doesn’t remember my last legacy (which is most of you, I’m sure!), Griffin was the middle child of a set of triplets. Alasdair, the duke, murdered them at the urging of the Gods, but unbeknownst to pretty much everyone Delia (the Goddess who appears in this chapter) saved Griffin’s life.

2) I should clarify that while I frequently reference the duke as their killer, he most likely did not carry out the crimes himself. He either A) ordered their execution on some phony, hyped up charges and/or B) sent some underling spy types to do his dirty work. Not that it makes the deed any less terrible, but I think it offers some interesting insight into his personality.

3) The duke agrees to assist the Gods in their plan to kill the triplets because, basically, they bribe him. The Gods promise him this great warrior heir if he does their bidding, which honestly they have no (or very little) control over, but they learned of the sage’s prophecy and used it to their advantage.

4) The Gods and Goddesses in my universe are not omnipotent. Their powers are limited, although how and to what extent varies based on the individual deity. But more on that later. =D

5) I can see how this might get confusing, but the old sage that Ari the cat and Delia the Goddess spoke of is not a human seer, like Isolde and Amara are, but rather a demi-god sort of character. I don’t know if anyone has any knowledge of or interest in ancient Greece, but they had two types of fortunetellers in their society, the oracles (priestesses) who worked at various temples throughout the islands and the everyday seers. The oracles were supposedly infallible, as they spoke directly to the gods, but they only gave their predictions on the seventh day of each month during the nine warmest months of the year, at least at the most important oracle in Delphi. Of course, common people rarely had the means to travel to one of these select few destinations, nor could they afford the necessary animal sacrifices, so they used seers when they needed answers. Seers interpreted signs from the gods rather than having any sort of direct contact with them, and you could only ask them yes or no questions. It’s not exactly like my tale, but that’s where I got my inspiration from. But long story short, neither Isolde nor Amara is the sage.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask, and thanks for reading! =)

20 comments:

  1. Do it Griff.. A little stabbing never hurt anyo... Wait. No. DON'T DO IT. It will not end well if someone hurts a Duke.

    So, the powers that be that are loosely based off Greek Mythology? I don't think being a God's play thing ever really ended well for the play thing... Maybe the Duke will do something that doesn't please them.

    Now, hopefully George has that son, so she doesn't have to go through any of that again, but I hope he isn't some warrior. I hope he's gentle and kind... OR he's a warrior, but not in the sense that the Duke wants him to be.

    Or she just has a girl and the Duke can't get to her again to try and fulfill this "prophecy".

    Is the sage Amara's man-friend?

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    1. LOL, yeah. Hurting Alasdair would not end well for Griffin. XD

      Loosely based off of Greek mythology, yes. I studied the ancient Greeks quite a lot in school, and I always found their legends so fascinating, so yeah, I’ll probably draw from that a bit when writing about these deities. And yes, they are definitely of the meddlesome variety, and they are very interested in Georgia, which does not bode well for her. However, she does have some powerful friends on her side, but more on that later.

      Hahaha! I need to pick your brain, teal, because you keep giving me really interesting ideas! ^_^ I won’t say whether she’s pregnant or not yet, but it would be… unusual for a woman to get pregnant after only one time, no? Definitely possible, but unlikely I’d think.

      Regardless, I am greatly amused that you don’t want the prophecy fulfilled, although that WOULD be an awesome way to stick it to the duke, hehe. And no, Amara’s man-friend is not the sage, but that’s actually a really good idea! I wish I’d thought of it myself, LOL!

      Thanks for the comment! *hugs*

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  2. Oh! I can't wait to see where you're going with this! I love Griff's backstory so far! Intriguing!

    I was surprised the Duke resorted to force! I thought that Georgia would go with him willingly! It definitely shows the character of the Duke - spoiled rotten & used to taking what he wants. Hopefully she can find a way to make the child a girl! (Eat a lot of watermelon!!!)

    Poor Georgia! Griff is going to need to take good care of her! (And it looks like he's up for the task!)

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    1. Thank you! I was (am) very fond of Griffin’s father, and his backstory draws quite heavily on where I was going with that story. So I’m glad that you like it so far. ^_^

      Yeah, I was sort of surprised too. I actually shot an entirely different version of that scene, but when I went to write it I just couldn’t imagine Georgia consenting to sleeping with him on the fly like that. So retook the pictures and wrote it out this way. I hope it was believable at least! =)

      The duke is definitely used to getting (or taking) what he wants, and her rejection did not please him. He probably wouldn’t have resorted to force if it had played out differently (as in, she had let him down more gently), but she wasn’t having any of it and it irritated him, to put it lightly.

      Yes, poor Georgia! But at least she has Griffin. =)

      Thanks for reading!

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  3. Oh dear gracious I just now realized who he is. o__o And his name. He's the son of... It really wasn't Beau! (You honestly had me going between the two of them!) Whooooaaaa. *deep breaths Oh yeah. Current legacy. Yeah. Whoa! Hey! Wait a second! That means Kieran is a god?type?demi?sort? *gasp! Will we See Kieran?!? :o <3 I need to calm down. I'm going to fall off my exerball. And if you need to delete this because I went ape please do. Current Legacy, let's get back to that. Since that's where Griffin has been disappearing to on business! Oh!

    Oh Georgia. Poor Georgia. She didn't deserve that. At.All. Gosh. Perhaps she was a bit naive when she went in, but that? *smh *Down with the Duke! And as I've arrived on his royal assiness- did he assume there were only two children to kill, or did he assume that he killed Griffin as well in his bid to fulfill the terms of the bribe?

    Hmmmm... Delia has indeed gone through quite a bit to keep Griffin alive. To what end, I wonder? Just to be kind? Or will we find out about that later on?

    That's a mighty promise Griffin has just made to Georgia, whom the gods are toying with currently. I *really* hope he can carry it out.

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    1. LMAO! *huggles Sunny* Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m rather pleased that you didn’t get the reference! I wanted it to be a surprise, at least for some people, so yay! <3

      Kieran is not a god, per se, but we *may* see him again. Someday, lol. I still have a lot of plotting to do. =D

      No, Georgia did not deserve that. No one does, but yes, naïve is a very good way to phrase her overall attitude so far.

      As for the duke, he knew that there were three kids, but he assumes that they all died, as do the handful of gods who ordered their deaths.

      Delia’s motivations have not come up yet in the story, so I haven’t settled on them 100%. It is definitely in her nature to be kind and save the lives of innocent children, but I believe there is more to it. When it will come up is an entirely different question, lol, but I hope that I can work it in eventually.

      Thanks for the wonderful comment, Sunny! *hugs*

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  4. Poor Georgia! Poor Griffin! Poor Kieran (his mind isn't all there anymore, poor fellow). I know you said previously that there isn't all that much "linkage" between your previous legacies and this one but Kieran still is his father right?

    I'm proud of Georgia, for recognizing her heart and not falling into bed with the duke willingly because of her infatuation with him. However, I hurt for her and what she must be going through. She's going to have a long road ahead of her I imagine, as her life continues.

    And I agree, the demigods and "heroes" of Greek legacy almost never had a happy ending. I'm already worried about these prophecies and who will do what to achieve them.

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    1. Yeah, lol. Poor Griffin and Georgia, for sure, but Kieran… That’s a different matter. He hasn’t lost his mind in the sense that he’s gone crazy and can’t think rationally, but he has lost it in the sense that he’s struggling to maintain a grasp on reality. As in, he perceives/feels things differently now, and it’s causing him to lose touch slightly. I *will* be going into more detail about that in the future though, I promise. =)

      Yes. Kieran is definitely still Griffin’s father. <3

      Aww, I’m kind of proud of her too, hehe. That’s a really good way to phrase that, heaven. =) However, she does have a long road yet to travel, not the least of which is due to the Gods’ meddling.

      Thanks for reading and commenting! =D

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  5. I certainly hope Georgia never actually fulfills the prophecy of having the Duke's son. I hate his stupid, beautiful face and I don't want him to have what he wants even if he's a total dreamboat. >:c Maybe she will have a warrior and he'll cut the Duke's head off. I can only hope...

    So if Delia kept Griffin alive, I hope that means he has some sort of awesome story to play out as well.

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    1. Hahaha! *ponders* I hadn’t considered that at all, but I can totally picture it now… (The warrior son killing the duke.) Thanks for the ideas, Owl! >:)

      Well, I hope it’s awesome! =D But yeah, Griffin’s story is important to my overall plot, so I’ll definitely be covering it alongside Georgia's journey. Thanks for the comment! *hugs*

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  6. Caught up with your legacy and I must say your writing is superb! Do you write novels? Just curious.

    :c Gee, I'm totally speechless as to what to comment on. Everyone else has already expressed exactly how I felt. Hopefully I will have much more to say on your next chapter. I am, however, totally smitten with Griffin. I would love to see a match between him and Duke, the jerk! Can't wait for more. :)

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    1. Aww, thank you Nicky! =D I don’t write novels, just sims stories, lol, but I’m so flattered that you wondered about that. <3

      Hehe, I’m a bit smitten with him too. As I mentioned in an earlier reply, I adored Griffin’s father (he was one of my most favorite sims ever), so I do of course favor his son a bit when writing about my characters. But honestly he’s a sweet sim in game too. Very friendly and good natured.

      A match between Griffin and the duke, eh? =D Depending on the weapons at play, it would be a very one-sided battle, lol. (Griffin with magic, the duke with his sword.)

      Thank you for reading! <3

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  7. I hope Georgia doesn't have the Duke's son, I want her to have a girl just as an added extra stuff you to the Duke. However, if oracles and Gods are going to make it happen in return for a dirty deed on the Duke's part... *sigh* I just hope everything turn out alright.

    I hope that the Duke gets horribly hurt in an 'accident', and I hope Griffin stays with Georgia despite the Gods being against them. True love can fight anything, right?
    And I was happy to see Ari again <3 hehe

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    1. Hehe, but if she had a girl who’s to say that the duke wouldn’t keep trying to have a son with her? Unfortunate as it is, he seems like the type. =(

      Aww, yes! I hope they end up together too. =D But I have to follow the random legacy rules, you know? Stupid challenge. XD

      Ari. <3 I love him too. He's a fun cat in game. He has the proud trait I think it's called, so he acts a bit stuck up. Just like my real life cat, lol!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. That Duke is an absolute ********, poor Georgia having to go through all that and I'm horribly afraid that she will have the warrior son, given all the prophecies flying around there.

    So Griffin is Delilah and Keiran's son from your previous legacy? And Keiran's somewhere around but has lost his mind? But, if the Duke had the other two of those triplets killed (and I assume believes he had Griffin killed too), then how did they get to this time? Of course the other burning question is why did Delia save him, and why did the other gods want him and his siblings dead?

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    1. LOL, yeah, there are a lot of prophecies flying around, haha. Who knows though, lol? ^_^

      Yes, Griffin is Kieran and Delilah’s son, and yes, Kieran is still around, but no, he hasn’t “lost his mind” exactly. He IS losing touch a bit (or seems to be), but I’ll go into more detail about him later.

      How did they get to this time? XD That’s a *very* good question! I won’t answer you now, but I will say that Kieran is a bit of a wild card still (and may have had something to do with it). <3

      Oh, same for the Delia and the Gods! I don’t want to give away my plot, hehe, but I can promise that all of your (really, really good) questions will be answered. Someday. XD Thanks for reading, Ali! *hugs*

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  9. Aww, poor George. What a way to find out the Duke's true character. He's not even smooth about it. :/ And very interesting back story for Griffin. I'm glad that he likes/loves George, but there sure is a lot of stuff between them and happily ever after! lol

    I'm also slightly worried about what happens if George is pregnant with the Duke's son. Will he try to keep the baby? Try to keep her and baby? Being a Duke, he could pretty much do what he wants.

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    1. Nope, not smooth at all. =(

      Yeah, so much between them and happily ever after. Your concerns about the duke and Georgia are well founded also, and I’m pretty impressed that you thought about it. =D In the current state of the kingdom, the duke CAN do pretty much anything he wants. He rules these islands after all, and with his close relationship with the king (which hasn’t exactly come up yet, whoops) he wouldn’t even face repercussions from it. Poor George indeed.

      Thanks for reading, Nirar! <3

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  10. I still can't believe I never finished this chapter D: I remember now why though. The 17th was the day they came and treated for the brown recluses, no wonder I got derailed.

    So, back on track. Yes I noticed he's an Everard! That's what really made me notice him, actually. And hmmm...a time traveling father? I wonder who that might be :D

    Oh wow, the duke turned nasty there in a trice. Not much into seduction much, is he?

    Aha! So he *is* Kieran's son! See? I knew I liked him :D :D And that clears up the duke mentioning killing children previously :-/

    I like your conception of the gods, and the tie-in to Greek history. It was interesting reading about the seers and oracles.

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  11. I started reading this and thought to myself: "This will be the last chapter for now". But now I can't stop. I have to know more.

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