Daddy's little... Angel?

[Felicity Mason]

A few weeks was all it took to get settled. Surprisingly, commoner food wasn't half bad! And the fashions were so freeing! She could wear a dress that showed some leg! And midriff too if she wanted. And she could wear boots. But what she was most excited about was the fact that she could go out alone! She still hadn't found a job yet. That was something she was still working on. Turned out, nobody wanted to hire someone without any previous work experience. But then, how was she supposed to get work experience in the first place if nobody would hire her?
No wonder commoners were so poor. None of them could possibly have jobs with rules like this!

Felicity sat at the small kitchen table chin resting in her hand. What a day she'd had. Rejection after rejection. She wished she had Uncle B here to give her advice. Even mom. But especially, she wished Dad was here.

..Dad. She was so stupid. She nearly fell from the table as she scrambled to her feet. The holopad. She could send a message. It was okay if she sent one to him. She knew exactly how to get through to him, even with all the security. And it didn't matter if he could track them. He was her daddy. Why would she care?

In minutes, she had set up the connection. Now it was just a matter of waiting to see if he'd answer. He might not, if he didn't recognize her signature.

[member="Owain"] [member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Dis - Immeria

The windstorm outside was, for once, being drowned out. Keter Mason was in a Mood. And that meant Barnabus had to spend more time than usual in the armory, fixing the training droids alongside K-36215. The old veteran sighed as tossed aside a plate of metal cleaved nealty in two, adding it to the towering scrap pile they would ahve to melt down for metal to forge into new parts. Keter was seriously being rough on the machines today. The man had not taken the recent news well.

Feena was still busy saving Naboo.

The world their precious duaghter had been on had fallen into chaos, and Felicity had gone missing. Along with Barnabus' nephew. THe old man worried as well, hoping the two were alright. At least Celeste was safe, staying with her mother whilst her father worked out all his Sithy rage.

A beeping alerted him to an incoming message. He had rerouted all calls to his personal device to make communications easier. They couldn't staff the tower all day after all, and Keter was liable to tear a communicator apart rather than answer one.

"Hello, Mason residence," he answered with a sigh, inspecting a half melted droid head. Huh, a stab right into the optics. Nasty.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

"Uncle B? Is that you?"

No image came with the voice, but Felicity was fairly sure she recognized it. Why was it so noisy? She expected the signal to be bad, but this sounded awful! Felicity settled on the couch. At least she'd gotten through. Of course, now that she'd managed to get through, she had no idea what to say. Daddy was probably really worried by now. How could she explain?

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Barnabus blinked, and stared at the communicator. "Felicity?! Is that you?!" he yelled suddenly, dropping the machinery in his hands. THe ehavy droid head clunked onto his foot, making the man loose a long line of expletives as he hopped around the forge towards the exit. He needed somewhere quieter for this. "Where the blazes are you?!" He had to figure this out before Keter found out. Otherwise...things would get messy.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

The yelling didn't help. And the cursing. Honestly! She was a big girl! She didn't need to check in every time she decided to run off!

"I can't tell you. I'm in hiding. Things have gotten a bit crazy. Dangerous. Assassins and all that. Had to split before i got caught up in it all."
She realized that saying this probably did nothing to ease his worry though, so she kept going trying to clarify.
"It's okay! I'm with Owain and the baby. We're all fine."

...probably not the best thing to say now.

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Hopping and cursing, Elliot Barnabus missed out on most of what Felicity was saying. Except of course, the last part. The blood drained from his face. "The WHAT?!" he nearly screeched down the phone, clutching his heart. No. No. They couldn't have. There was NO way they were THAT stupid.

Was there?

...

He was going to KILL Owain.

If Keter didn't get to him first. And speak of the devil...

"What's all this racket?" the blond man demanded hotly.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Ugh. The yelling again. Why did everyone in her family have to yell all the time? Haven't the ever heard of inside voices? She opened her mouth to lecture Barnabus about screaming into the communicator, when she hard a familiar voice in the background. She felt her face go hot and her heart skip a beat.

"Daddy! Put him on, please Uncle B?"

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter's red stare bored into the SIth commando, who felt a bead of sweat form on his brow. UNfortunately, Felicity chose to speak again at that moment. Keter's gaze snapped to the communicator, before glanicng back at Barnabus. The man chose discretion as the better part of valor, thre whis communicator and the blond and promptly fled to the infirmary to get his curshed toes looked at.

The blond took the communicator and instantly went into full on father mode. "Felicity? Where are you? And with who?" he stated, quickly and clearly. He and Feena had been worried. The details needed to come first.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

"Relax Daddy," she sighed, leaving back on the couch, "I'm fine. You always worry too much."

Where was Owain anyway? Had he taken Zelda out somewhere while she was job hunting? When would he be back? Probably not a good idea to mention Zelda to Daddy right away. She was going to have to ease him into it. No parent wanted to hear that they'd reach grandparent status this soon, after all.

"It's okay. I'm with Owain. I'm staying somewhere safe.That's all I can tell you"

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"I worry too much? Have you SEEN what you're mother has done? There's a bounty for your safe return!" the blond pointed out, somewhat annoyed his own daughter would up and vanish on him. "Oh?" he continued, his tone beocming frosty. "Safe with Owain? Why exactly can't you tell me? You know if there's any problem you can rely on me to help, right?" he asked. She was with Owain...and no other supervision? The boy was going to be in trouble if that was the case. Not that he thought Owain was behind this - the lad knew better than to irk him.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

"I know, I know," she snapped, "Look, tell mom to call her guard dogs off. I'm a big girl now. I can take care of myself. I'm almost seventeen!"

To anyone older than seventeen this statement sounded like the biggest joke, but to a seventeen year old girl, she thought she was as smart as she could ever be. This was the height of maturity to her. How could she possibly be too young for anything.

"I can't tell you where I am. It's too dangerous if someone else is listening in. I'm with Owain. I don't mean I'm just living with him, Daddy. I mean he and I are... together..." she trailed off, cleared her throat. confidence. Just tell him straight! "Look, you know Owain would never let anything happen to me. You and mom should be happy that I found myself a nice, err, husband."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"You can tell her yourself," the blond countered, his anger cooling off rapidly into the icy displeasure his wife was famous for. Seventeen?! Yes, she was fully capable, but to willfully disregard the aid she could have...it boggled the mind. And so she WAS with Owain. Well at least - hang on.

"Husband?" he asked quietly.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Yeah... She figured he would be less than pleased to hear that. She was ready for it. Even if it wasn't completely the truth, even if they were only posing as a married couple, it was still important to keep up the illusion.

"Kinda, yeah," she responded slowly, voice low, "It all happened kinda fast. We didn't have many options. Um.. are you angry?"

She glanced down at the ring on her finger, biting her lip. He was probably furious. She supposed he was allowed to be. She'd be mad if her daughter ran off without telling anyone then came back with vague answers and a husband. It was kind of irresponsible of her and she knew it.

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Huh. So this was the rage the Sith talked about. It was...strange. It was beyond hot, beyond cold. It was a pleasant detachment. "And you didn't even invite us to the wedding. For shame Felicity," he said sweetly, a twitchy smile forming on his face as the red in his eyes shurnk into pinpricks. Owain was going to have some explaining to do. And bleeding. WHilst Keter approved of him having enough of a spine not to ask him for his daughter's hand in marriage, making her family miss out on something like this....

"Well, guess I'm just going to have to get you a late wedding gift," he continued.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

He was too... sweet. It wasn't normal and Felicity was at least smart enough to know that something was deeply wrong.

"We... didn't really have a wedding, Daddy," she explained, "so it's not like you missed it. No ceremony. Nothing like that. It's only official because of the paperwork..."

She didn't know if that would make it better or worse for him. Well, as long as he was halfway across the Galaxy, she didn't have to worry about him coming over to murder her lover. Now how was she going to tell him about Zelda? That was something she was still figuring out. Where was Owain? He'd probably be home with Zelda any moment. Maybe she should make him tell Keter. She could just imagine.

"Like I said, we were in kind of a hurry..."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"Indeed. DIdn't even bother to tell me or your mother. I mean, with ehr I'd understnad some sort of teenage rebellion for not being there, but me? Tsk tsk, that's just forgetful my dear," the renegade said in a sing-song voice, his smile growing wider, an aura of pure unadultered darkness spewing from him like a toxic cloud. "And no no no, we can't have that. I'll make sure you have just a -perfect- ceremony," Keter added. "Just sit tight Felicity, daddy is coming."

He wondered how expensive funerals were. And how broken up Elliot would be over the untimely demise of his nephew.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

"You can't kill him, Daddy."
Her voice was flat. She wasn't about to let her father frighten her or threaten Owain. She'd protect him. She liked having him around to take care of her, and help her out when peasant food was too difficult to make. And not to mention how he was between the sheets...

Well, if he insisted on trying to fight her on this, she had one more weapon to break out.

"If you kill him, who's going to help me with the baby?"

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

And with that, something broke. He felt like a glass statue that had shattered into a million pieces. "Oh, never you worry. Your mother is very good with looking after babies. And I've had some practice too. And why, I think I'll call her and let her now she's a grandmother too. YOu really should stop holding secrets like this back from us," he continued, voice as sweet as sugar and soft as silk, throwing in a chuckle for good measure. "Besides, you'd be surprised what the human body can live through..." he let slip before he could stop himself. Ah well. GIrl had to learn sometime.

"Felicity, my dear. I think it's time you relearned a lesson about consequences."

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Well. That was one way to tell him. About the reaction she expected. She sighed, pacing back and forth across the living room.

"You don't scare me, Daddy. Mom already knows!"

She bit her lip. She... really shouldn't have said that. Now he'll be upset that mom didn't tell him. She really wished she could explain herself right here and now, but until she saw him in person, it was far too dangerous. She had to keep Zelda's identity a secret until the time was right. Even if it meant making her Father completely hate her.

"I told her right before I called you," she lied, "Call her next. I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about!"

At least this way, she could put him in touch with the one person who could actually explain things to him. He'd understand once Mother explained everything. He wouldn't be able to hate her after that!

"Besides, I can tell that you aren't half as angry as you let on," she continued, trying to ease his anger somewhat, "I bet you're already thinking of presents you can get for your new baby granddaughter. When Owain gets home with her, I'll even let you talk to her. She doesn't really do anything but kinda blabber at people, but she could hear you just fine."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"Hehehehe...Felicity Mason. You really should have asked your mother about the times we had to rescue one another. You wouldn't be so bold if you weren't so ignorant," he laughed, his grip tightening on the device, hairline cracks appearing. "But I will have words with your mother. And after that...well, it has been a while since I've seen you, so I think I'll visit."

It was a promise. Owain had better run.

[member="Felicity Mason"]