Lady of the Lake: Chapter 28 – Destinies

From: DuGaunnes.B&
[email protected]To:
[email protected] Subject: Re: Return to the Grindstone
Hi Honey,
I trust you and the boys are well. Galeas doesn’t call or text or email much anymore. I hope Lance will be a better communicator but I’m not overly optimistic. Thank you for taking the time to keeping us in the loop.
I am glad you had a terrific time in Sunset Valley. As to your first question, I’ve known your father since he was ten years old. That was when he and his brother came to live with their cousin on the small island where I lived.
Is love at first sight real? I don’t know. I never experienced it. I think like any first bloom of love, it’s real, but you have to work at it to make it something stronger or even to find out if it is indeed love and not something less profound.

I never told you this, but my first love died before I was ever able to tell him how I felt about him. In those days it was not proper for a lady to be forward and tell a man how she felt, but maybe if he’d known how I felt, he would have made different choices and not even gone to the Middle-East. But when Bors kissed me for the first time, it was wondrous and magical and I just knew from that moment on, that I wanted him to kiss me like that every day for the rest of my life. Clearly it was Bors I really loved and not the other man.

Please don’t tell your father I told you about this, he’s really old fashioned about such personal things.
Obviously you have two choices; either you follow your head or your heart. I can’t advise you because you’re the one who has to live with the consequences. I know your father will tell you to concentrate on your studies. Medicine has been your lifelong dream. After you graduate, you’ll have plenty of time to explore your feelings further. If your love interest is a good man, he’ll wait for you.
But since you can’t stop thinking about your Thornton, you could follow your heart and pick up your studies at another time. We’ll be there for you whatever choice you make.
Please make sure those boys pull their weight around the house with the chores. You have more than enough to do.
Love you all
Mum.

From:
[email protected] To: DuGaunnes.B&
[email protected] Subject:
Re: Re: Return to the Grindstone Hi Mum,
Thanks for your advice. Oh mum, I really want to have the love you and dad have and I won’t settle for anything less. I think this could be it, even if it has occurred at an inconvenient time in my life plan.
In the meantime, Thornton and I are working out how we can fit ‘us’ into our busy schedules: my study programme and his work hours. Next semester I won’t overload my schedule so we can have more time together. For now, Thornton rings me first thing in the morning before class and I call him in the evening.
I am planning to go back to Sunset Valley for the next long weekend and Thornton has agreed to come to Dragon Valley for the holidays and meet you all. I think this a good compromise.
Lance has settled in at university well. He makes friends so easily and has made a new BFF who he spends every spare second with. It’s most peculiar in that this man just calls himself ‘The Doctor’ – no first name or surname – just ‘The Doctor’. I don’t think he’s an MD doctor, although he sure knows his anatomy; and history and physics and astronomy now that I think about it. The Doctor hasn’t actually mentioned it, so I’m not sure what his degree is in. This is really unusual in itself. Just about every professor on campus brags about their PHD but not this man. Anyway, Lance doesn’t mind and The Doctor seems nice enough, albeit a wee bit odd.
Anyway I’ve too much on my plate to worry needlessly about it. I’ve got assignments piling up and experiments to analyse and write up. Bye for now.
Love to all. Hugs for Ginny and the twins.Morgana
[Submitted through Smart Phone app]

From:
[email protected]
To: DuGaunnes.B&
[email protected]Subject:
Secret Men’s Business Hi Mum and Dad, Ginny, Winnie and Daisy,
I arrived safely and have started classes. As I expected, it’s a bit full-on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays but Tuesdays and Thursdays are easier with only the practicum classes.
By the way, I ran into an old friend of yours who simply calls himself The Doctor.
He said he was at your wedding and that you all travelled to Dragon Valley together when you left the old country. He seemed delighted that you two are still together and have settled into Dragon Valley and are raising a large family.
The Doctor knows Dr McCann and says he has the same heart irregularity that I have. He says I got that because I was conceived on the journey to Dragon Valley despite his best efforts to dissuade you two otherwise. Initially, that didn’t make any sense to me but intuitively I know that it’s true. How do I know this?
Oh... and he’s invited me to visit a sentimental friend of yours where much of what he’s said will be explained. I think he means Dr McCann. And although he seems a bit strange, there’s something about him that I implicitly trust. Should I go with him?
Cheers
Lance

From: DuGaunnes.B&
[email protected]To:
[email protected] Subject: Re: Secret Men’s Business
Hi Lance,
Thanks for your email. I’m glad to hear that you are settling in well. Yes Dad and I remember The Doctor vividly. He was a friend of my Godfather’s and I am thrilled that he remembers us.
I’m sure you will have an interesting time if you visit with my dear sentimental friend, who is not Lorna McCann. I know I am being ambiguous but I’m sure it’ll be a more memorable and incredibly exciting experience if you go there with no preconceived ideas.
Yes, the Doctor appears somewhat unusual but he is completely trustworthy. Please send him our regards and be sure to let me know how you get on if you go.
Love
Mum
Ring Ring
“Hi Mum it’s Lance.”“Hi Lance. How are you?”
“Good. Mum, I met your sentimental friend. Wow. Just Wow!”“She’s really something isn’t she?”
“You bet. The Doctor and I are working on getting me one of my own. Except you don’t build a TARDIS, you grow them because they’re sentient. So it’s going to take some time and as it turns out, it seems I’ve got plenty of that!” “So you do have Time Lord DNA. I wondered about that. Dr McCann wouldn’t tell me, but when a baby has two heartbeats, it is pretty hard to miss spotting it.”
“Yeah so it seems. I’ll be careful. The Doctor advises me not to tell anybody unless I absolutely have to – even Galeas.” “I think that’s wise. Galeas is a worrier.”
“You’re not wrong! Look, Galeas is on my back about skipping my last class, and he wouldn’t listen when I told him that I already caught it up, twice! Since I’m not supposed to tell him, I’ll do what I can to placate Galeas and study extra hard this week.”
“That would be best Lance.”
“Yeah, I’ll catch you later. Bye Mum.”“Bye Lance.”
From:
[email protected]
To: DuGaunnes.B&
[email protected]Subject:
Thursday Hi Mum and Dad,
I tried calling you two but the calls go straight through to voicemail. Has either of you two spoken to Morgana lately? She’s really freaking out about something. I thought it was just stress with her hectic schedule or something went pear shaped with Thornton then Professor Mahoney asked to see me. She said Morgana has been acting strangely since she analysed the results of one of her experiments. Morgana asked Professor Mahoney to double check her work because she thought she’d screwed up but the professor said Morgana did a brilliant job on the experiment and the analysis.
When I asked which experiment, Professor Mahoney said it was the forensic pathology experiments. Mum, Dad, this is my fault. Before Lance arrived, Morgana asked me for a DNA sample because she had a lab experiment to do and the sample she had been given was too degraded to work with. She asked me for the sample in a hurry between classes and it totally slipped my mind until today.
Morgana is asleep now, but I think you’d better call her tomorrow before class or between classes. Don’t tell her I dobbed her in. I’ve got three exams tomorrow. Call me after 6:00 PM.
Galeas
Next day...
Ring Ring
“Hello.”“Hi Honey, it’s mum. I’ve haven’t heard from you lately. Are you okay?”
“No I’m not okay Valerie and whoever you are, you’re not my mother and Galeas is not my twin brother or even a brother for that matter. I have no DNA markers in common with any of you and while Galeas has some common patrilineal markers with Lance, there are not enough markers in common for him to be Lance’s brother. Who are we Valerie? Were we adopted?”“Morgana, I think we need to have this conversation face to face. Can we come visit you?”
“No! I can’t wait that long! I want the truth!”“Honey, calm down, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know but it’s really complicated.”
“I’m listening.” [sniffle]
[Deep sigh] “Morgana you are sort of my step-sister. You are my father’s wife’s child from another marriage.
“Is my mother alive?”“No. She passed long ago.”
[Sob]
“What about my real father?”“I never met him but I know he died before your mother passed.”
[Sob]
“Okay... and Galeas?”“His father was Bors’ cousin. They were very close. He passed long ago too.”
“What about Galeas’ mother?”“Please don’t tell Galeas, but Elaine took her own life.”
“Oh my God! Are you serious?”“Absolutely.”
“Do you have any pictures or anything?”
“No, sorry. Bors and I arrived in Dragon Valley with little more than the clothes we wore.
“Why didn’t you ever tell us any of this before now?”“We’d planned to but the time never seemed right. It was more or less a condition of his adoption that we were not to tell Galeas the truth. In the end, Bors and I decided to tell you both the truth if you ever asked. Honey, can we please come visit?”
“Not right now. Please, let me just digest this over the weekend and I’ll get back to you.”“Please remember that Bors and I love you and Galeas very much.
“I guess I know that, but it’s just a little hard to take, finding out about it like this. Give me time to think this through.”I’m here any time you want to talk about this. I’d really like to tell you about your mother, but I believe that now is not the time. Please call me when you’ve thought this through and we can talk further.
Okay. Just give me some time. Goodnight.We love you Morgana. Always remember that.
I will. I promise....Disconnect tone
Later that evening...
Ring Ring

“Hello, duGaunnes residence. Guinevere duGaunnes speaking.”
“Hi Ginny, what are you doing up so late? Don’t you have that medieval fair you’re competing in tomorrow?”“Hey Galeas, lighten up will ya, it’s a Friday. Dad and I were going to search the galaxy for stars but the clouds rolled in. My archery competition isn’t on til Sunday but
Dad’s in the main event tomorrow with his mare, Prairie Rose. I've been meditating to get my focus. What’s up?”
“Can I speak to mum or dad?”“They’re in their bedroom. Want me to knock?”
“Heavens no! I’ll send mum an email. Tell mum about it please. Tell her before you all go off to the fair.”“Yeah sure.”
“Good luck with the archery competition.”“Thanks. Dad says I’m good enough to go up against you.”
“Let’s do that someday soon. Love you kiddo. Give the rugrats a kiss for me.”“Will do. Love you back big brother. Bye.”
From:
[email protected]To: DuGaunnes.B&
[email protected]Subject:
Friday Hi Mum and Dad,
I know I said to call me after 6:00PM but I got sidetracked.
I tried calling the house but you’d already gone to bed. You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had.
Problem 1: This guy showed up at our place about a month ago and Lance and he became really good mates. Lance said he was a Doctor from Gallifrey. I thought it was just a campus friendship like Connor and Blair and me. But Lance told me this evening he is going to get a deferral from his studies and is going away with the Doctor for a while. He’s only just got here! This really worries me especially as Lance has gone away with that man a couple of times before and always comes back covered in cuts, scratches and bruises that he wouldn’t talk to us about.
Look I know you and Dad know and trust this Doctor, but Mum, I’m seriously worried. I searched the whole map and there isn’t any Gallifrey or anything that sounds remotely like that. Is that part of the old country that you two never seemed to want to talk about? I know you still have a similar accent to that man Mum, but our name duGaunnes, is French. Is Gallifrey in the UK or France? I could really do with your advice on this one.
Problem 2: I don’t quite know how to tell you this but lately Morgana’s behaviour is troubling me. Earlier today she got caught spraying graffiti on the pavement in front of the Science Building.
Morgana! Tagging! Yeah, I know that’s unbelievable but I’m not kidding! The Campus Police brought her home and gave her a lecture about graffiti but she just flew off somewhere. I paid the fine and then cleaned up the graffiti.
By the time I got home all Morgana’s clothes and personal things were gone. I’ve had a totally rotten day but I’m sure I passed the exams. Please call me ASAP.
Galeas