Myshuno: No good alternatives

[katrisims]

Prompt: An heir's dilemma (by smoothiesims)
Words: 489
Universe: canon Alphabetia, some time after the beginning of chapter 32
Warnings: overdose of gloom

I was originally going to make this about Cho, since she has plenty of dilemmas, right? But that would have been the obvious option, so I thought of another plan. Sorry, this one is sad too.


It had been several nights, and Baudolino still couldn't understand it. It was impossible to believe it. He woke up every morning, thinking surely it had been only a bad dream, a terrible dream. But even before he would open his eyes, he could hear Marylena sobbing by his side, quietly, trying not to wake him up. So it must be true. His youngest son must really be dead.

Charlie, who had always been so... lively, bursting with life? Surely that must be some kind of a mistake. Surely all that remained of Charlie couldn't be a cold, grey stone in the Greek House yard? And the youngest, yet. Someone who would have had so much life in front of him. Often Baudolino found himself wishing it had been himself instead. Him, who already had a long, beautiful life behind him, him, almost an elder instead of almost an adult. It just wasn't fair.

Sometimes Baudolino thought he should just quit the whole thing. The stupid Legacy thing C so insisted on. Who cared about points and generations and career rewards and alien abductions when his son was dead? His wife was crying through the nights, and his children were feeling guilty about things that were not their fault. Worrying about whatever "family honor" and "carrying on the family name" definitely wasn't what the family needed. He really should just quit the whole thing, tell C she could keep her impossible wants and elixir and master points, let the whole thing fall apart and concentrate on the things that were important.

But really, how does one even quit a Legacy challenge? Baudolino didn't know. Maybe it was possible to just... quit. He was the heir, after all. Maybe he could tell C this was it, sit down and refuse to do anything more, until she agreed to end it and just bring Charlie back. Or maybe he couldn't. From what Baudolino had heard from Sunny, there were magical things involved. Something about his grandmother's rest was such that if it was disturbed... Well, no one seemed to know exactly what would happen, but from Sunny's look he could tell it wouldn't be good. And it would affect the whole family.

So on the one hand, thought Baudolino, he had a son who had to die in a terrible, unfair way, and knowing that with the accumulated knowledge of the family, it would (probably) be possible to bring him back, it felt wrong not to. And on the other hand, if he did bring Charlie back, eventually Salahuddin Chamcha would be able to do the same to Author, and that way, he would apparently risk not only his remaining family, but also all the rest of Alphabetia. Which would also be wrong. Baudolino sighed and prepared to spend another night waiting for sleep, only to wake up to reality, and Marylena's sobbing, all too soon. There were no good alternatives.


And this means... I can claim a myshuno! Proof!

Comments

[esmeiolanthe.livejournal.com]

:( This was so sad! I wish I could give Baudolino a great big hug right now! (And Sal a smack upside the head for making everyone unhappy! Even if I can see where he's coming from, he still needs a smack.)

Congratulations on your Myshuno!

[katrisims.livejournal.com]

I'm sure Baudolino would appreciate the hug. The passing of time and things like Dirk's birth and Cyrus' upcoming marriage have made things somewhat better for both Baudolino and Marylena, but it certainly is something that they'll both remember for the rest of their lives. (And yes, Sal does deserve to be smacked for that. Whether that'd actually do any good is a different matter, but he does deserve it.)

Thanks! :) I thought I probably wouldn't make it, but apparently I did, and with time to spare. Go figure.