11-16-2021, 12:40 AM
[align=center][div style="width: 470px; text-align: justify; font-family: andale mono; font-size: 7pt; letter-spacing: 2.5px; word-spacing: 1px; line-height: 14px;"]Duty first unto death.
He was not dead, but alone. Being alone was not freedom; that in itself was its own death. If nobody knew that he was alive, he wasn’t. That day was the day his life changed forever. Dominik should have died, and he nearly did. A bullet wound to the abdomen before tumbling backwards and plunging into the depths of a tumultuous river. His family would have grieved, and Dominik too had grieved his own loss. The trust that he had in his own father had been shattered the moment Alfred fired that gun his son’s way. All those months ago, he should have been dead. That should have been his last memory of the world he knew.
But suddenly he was older. The air was crisp, it was a cloudy day and his eyes were raw with exhaustion. He had since swapped out his torn and bloodied coat and t-shirt for one he had collected from a corpse, and he spent many days and nights considering his next moves. He could return to his duties in Flintlock Lodge at the expense of his own safety. After all, Alfred was leading the family business again, wasn’t he? What would he do if Dominik returned to him again, desperate to appease his cruel intentions? He had carried out all duties that he had been expected to carry out as the eldest living Stirling brother. What more would there be for him to do? Once Alfred was too old to lead, he could pass the role of leadership down to Alfonso, to Frank, even to Edmund if he was so desperate to take on all those skeletons in the family’s closet.
Perhaps this was his only chance to make things right with the only family that should have mattered in his life; not the one he was born with, but the one he chose to cherish. Minka and Oliver had been a thought he often tried to brush aside, but it was a thought that lingered nonetheless. Ultimately, he had to choose between the Stirling enterprise and his lover and what the Stirlings considered to be his bastard son. This time, he’d put the people that truly meant the world to him first, if they were willing to forgive him. And so he spent many weeks in the wilderness on his own, allowing for his injuries to heal up — all whilst trying to prevent infection of the tissue — before setting off on his journey in search of Minka Valencia and Oliver Stirling.
Initially, Dominik investigated the outskirts of Boston before venturing into his childhood city. The buildings were decrepit and mostly vacant, and the streets seemed to be even more cold and unwelcoming that he remembered it. Searching every corner of the city, locating Minka and Oliver was a job that seemed so futile until he finally realised exactly where they would be. Through the evergreens, Dominik shrugged the straps on his rucksack more securely on his shoulders as he trudged through the mulch. Further up north, the weather seemed to turn, as if spring hadn’t yet crept into the atmosphere. But, apart from the patches of melting snow, this area began to feel exactly like how he envisioned it would be. What he and Minka envisioned it would be — their dream to start a new life together.
Even though Dominik had spent the past six years separated from his lover and son, he really hoped that soon they could make their dream a reality. An escape from the Stirling life, at least for a little while. But, most importantly, Dominik was finally going to prioritise them above the Stirling family. If they were the Stirling’s rejects, then Dominik would finally be brave enough to take the fall with them. After all, he had nobody to try and impress anymore — Alfred had shown him that he didn’t deserve as much as a glance from Dominik.
Leaning himself forward, Dominik peered at a small house nestled within the safety of the surrounding pines in the forest. To the right of him was an expansive lake, a magnificent mountainous landscape along the horizon. Dominik wandered closer, soon stopping once he noted a small pier where a man sat with a fishing rod in hand. Quietly, Dominik approached, lips grimacing with slight uncertainty. Was that…? A stick snapped beneath his weight as he stepped onto the shoreline, the man twisting his head to look over towards Dominik. Eyes darted across Dominik’s face, and then he gawked, body tensing as he pulled the fishing rod close to his body.
❝ Dad?❞
Dominik’s lips twitched into a tender smile, Oliver recoiling with surprise before ripping the fishing rod from the water and dropping it on the pier to walk over towards his father. ❝ Hey. ❞ Dominik murmured softly, standing rigidly in one spot as father and son stared across at one another. ❝ I’m sorry… for ever leaving. But I’m back now. Back for good. ❞ Oliver huffed with disbelief, turning his head to look out across the lake. When he looked back towards his father, his eyes had welled up with tears, nodding slowly before walking over towards Dominik. They didn’t hug. Dominik had never hugged his son, after all. In fact, he had rarely been a good father to Oliver to begin with. Oliver didn’t deserve it at all, but Dominik hoped that he could try and make it up for all those lost years. Dominik really wanted to try — this was their only shot at a normal life, but was Dominik already too late?
❝ You’ve grown so much, my God. Nearly as tall as me now. How old are you now then? Fifteen, sixteen? ❞ ❝ Try seventeen. ❞ Oliver returned with a saddened smile, Dominik swallowing hard before his bottom lip jutted out. Damn. His boy was nearly an adult, and he had spent all of this time not being the father that Oliver really needed growing. The apple truly neve fell far from the tree. Like Alfred's neglect towards Dominik and his brothers, Dominik had neglected his own son all of these years. After a moment of awkward silence, Oliver gestured towards the house. ❝ I’ll get Minka. ❞ ❝ Oh, I can come with. ❞ Quickly, he interjected, following his son towards the house as Oliver called out, ❝ Hey, Minka? There’s somebody here to see ya. ❞
He was not dead, but alone. Being alone was not freedom; that in itself was its own death. If nobody knew that he was alive, he wasn’t. That day was the day his life changed forever. Dominik should have died, and he nearly did. A bullet wound to the abdomen before tumbling backwards and plunging into the depths of a tumultuous river. His family would have grieved, and Dominik too had grieved his own loss. The trust that he had in his own father had been shattered the moment Alfred fired that gun his son’s way. All those months ago, he should have been dead. That should have been his last memory of the world he knew.
But suddenly he was older. The air was crisp, it was a cloudy day and his eyes were raw with exhaustion. He had since swapped out his torn and bloodied coat and t-shirt for one he had collected from a corpse, and he spent many days and nights considering his next moves. He could return to his duties in Flintlock Lodge at the expense of his own safety. After all, Alfred was leading the family business again, wasn’t he? What would he do if Dominik returned to him again, desperate to appease his cruel intentions? He had carried out all duties that he had been expected to carry out as the eldest living Stirling brother. What more would there be for him to do? Once Alfred was too old to lead, he could pass the role of leadership down to Alfonso, to Frank, even to Edmund if he was so desperate to take on all those skeletons in the family’s closet.
Perhaps this was his only chance to make things right with the only family that should have mattered in his life; not the one he was born with, but the one he chose to cherish. Minka and Oliver had been a thought he often tried to brush aside, but it was a thought that lingered nonetheless. Ultimately, he had to choose between the Stirling enterprise and his lover and what the Stirlings considered to be his bastard son. This time, he’d put the people that truly meant the world to him first, if they were willing to forgive him. And so he spent many weeks in the wilderness on his own, allowing for his injuries to heal up — all whilst trying to prevent infection of the tissue — before setting off on his journey in search of Minka Valencia and Oliver Stirling.
Initially, Dominik investigated the outskirts of Boston before venturing into his childhood city. The buildings were decrepit and mostly vacant, and the streets seemed to be even more cold and unwelcoming that he remembered it. Searching every corner of the city, locating Minka and Oliver was a job that seemed so futile until he finally realised exactly where they would be. Through the evergreens, Dominik shrugged the straps on his rucksack more securely on his shoulders as he trudged through the mulch. Further up north, the weather seemed to turn, as if spring hadn’t yet crept into the atmosphere. But, apart from the patches of melting snow, this area began to feel exactly like how he envisioned it would be. What he and Minka envisioned it would be — their dream to start a new life together.
Even though Dominik had spent the past six years separated from his lover and son, he really hoped that soon they could make their dream a reality. An escape from the Stirling life, at least for a little while. But, most importantly, Dominik was finally going to prioritise them above the Stirling family. If they were the Stirling’s rejects, then Dominik would finally be brave enough to take the fall with them. After all, he had nobody to try and impress anymore — Alfred had shown him that he didn’t deserve as much as a glance from Dominik.
Leaning himself forward, Dominik peered at a small house nestled within the safety of the surrounding pines in the forest. To the right of him was an expansive lake, a magnificent mountainous landscape along the horizon. Dominik wandered closer, soon stopping once he noted a small pier where a man sat with a fishing rod in hand. Quietly, Dominik approached, lips grimacing with slight uncertainty. Was that…? A stick snapped beneath his weight as he stepped onto the shoreline, the man twisting his head to look over towards Dominik. Eyes darted across Dominik’s face, and then he gawked, body tensing as he pulled the fishing rod close to his body.
❝ Dad?❞
Dominik’s lips twitched into a tender smile, Oliver recoiling with surprise before ripping the fishing rod from the water and dropping it on the pier to walk over towards his father. ❝ Hey. ❞ Dominik murmured softly, standing rigidly in one spot as father and son stared across at one another. ❝ I’m sorry… for ever leaving. But I’m back now. Back for good. ❞ Oliver huffed with disbelief, turning his head to look out across the lake. When he looked back towards his father, his eyes had welled up with tears, nodding slowly before walking over towards Dominik. They didn’t hug. Dominik had never hugged his son, after all. In fact, he had rarely been a good father to Oliver to begin with. Oliver didn’t deserve it at all, but Dominik hoped that he could try and make it up for all those lost years. Dominik really wanted to try — this was their only shot at a normal life, but was Dominik already too late?
❝ You’ve grown so much, my God. Nearly as tall as me now. How old are you now then? Fifteen, sixteen? ❞ ❝ Try seventeen. ❞ Oliver returned with a saddened smile, Dominik swallowing hard before his bottom lip jutted out. Damn. His boy was nearly an adult, and he had spent all of this time not being the father that Oliver really needed growing. The apple truly neve fell far from the tree. Like Alfred's neglect towards Dominik and his brothers, Dominik had neglected his own son all of these years. After a moment of awkward silence, Oliver gestured towards the house. ❝ I’ll get Minka. ❞ ❝ Oh, I can come with. ❞ Quickly, he interjected, following his son towards the house as Oliver called out, ❝ Hey, Minka? There’s somebody here to see ya. ❞