#Ferdinando Carlisle

[sweet-vanilla-sims]

Year 1625

TW/CW: Death, Infant Death, Child Death

Whatever good feelings the end of 1624 had brought with it was quickly replaced with worry and uncertainty as plague began to spread like wildfire. The only ones of the household who were unconcerned were the children who were far too young to understand what that would mean.

While family to the West were falling to the plague news first reached Francisco's ears that Frideswide had been in an accident on stage and had sadly died. Adrian couldn't believe that she had passed from an accident when the plague was ravaging the world.

The brothers did their best to move on from their dear elder sister's death by giving more attention to the children, Osana, in particular. Something about holding the small girl made it easier to just focus on the ones still with them. Especially as news of more deaths came in. Including that of Frideswide and Aurelio's son, Hector, that April.

Alexis focused on the older children and cheered up the family by noting that despite the deaths some people reported marriages in Talia's tome such as Gabriella Jaleel who married into the Soto family.

Though in May, Karmine received word that her step-father and step-grandfather had both passed in the plague. The fear of losing her grandmother, mother, or siblings after losing her unborn children tore at her heart and while the city was turning away new arrivals in fear of a new bout of plague, Francisco told Adrian that he and Karmine would move to Karmine's family home once they could travel there. Adrian lamented the idea of them leaving when so many were dying all around them with Parnell and Terric's deaths in the spring, but he also understood that the Carlisles weren't their only family.

Frideswide's twins grew up into young teenagers and while Ferdinando took more after his father, the two of them managed to avoid the plague while their neighbors, the Uptons, lost two daughters in the wake of the birth of a son.

Though the Plague did not spare the Carlisle family in Tartosa as July brought with it both Piero and Alexis catching it. Given Alexis's werewolf immune boost the family was confident that there was a chance for her to fight it off but when Piero died on July 19th, all the fight seemed to leave her following his quick funeral.

It was of little surprise when Alexis collapsed in front of the family graves just a few short days later, the biggest surprise in Adrian's eyes was that it hadn't happened sooner. Alexis died July 27th.

Giulia couldn't understand what had happened in a few short weeks her brother and mother had gone away. Her aunt and uncle tried to explain that they had gone to heaven to be with the Lord above but all that did was make her start asking when they'd be back to which they had no words to comfort her further only hugs.

Osana was blissfully unaware of the goings on in the home she did miss her mother and brother but her age made it hard for her to even think too much on it. She was happy to be held by the other adults in the home so while she fussed for her mother she determined that her aunt, uncle and father were reasonable substitutes.

Vincente was a wreck after his wife and son's passing. He barely ate and when he did come into the house from wandering God only knows where, he'd be filthy. One time even coming home singed from the storm outside. Francisco was more than concerned. Of course it was a tragedy to lose his wife and child, he had lost a child of his own but the two girls needed their father and Vincente just wasn't there.

That being said, Francisco was more than happy and willing to give his nieces the love and affections they deserved. After the consecutive losses and the plague, he and Karmine were done actively trying again for a while yet but both him and Karmine had love to give children and their nieces were in need of parental love.

In the midst of the losses the plague took from the world, Guglielma celebrated her thirteenth birthday. It was a muted affair what with her aunt and little brother's passing early in the year but it was a celebration in the family nonetheless. The Robles family hoped that it was a sign that their tragedy would be over for the time being.

With it now being months since Alexis and Piero's passing, Adrian and Francisco were tired of Vincente aimlessly disappearing into the forests for days on end. It was more than just concerning. It needed to stop. It was understandable that he was hurt but hearing Osana look to Francisco and call him 'papa' was proof enough of Vincente's absence. Francisco was honored that his niece would call him that but her true father was still with them and was missing out on his living children while he mourned the dead and gone. Adrian was shocked to hear that Osana didn't seem to know her own father after the four months since her mother died but it made sense that she wouldn't since she hadn't yet reached a year, to her it was a long time. Too long. They had to do something.

After confronting Vincente when he returned home by throwing him into the bath, Francisco and Adrian told him in no uncertain terms that it was time for Vincente to come home and stay home. He had responsibilities and it wasn't as if Francisco and Karmine were going to be around forever since they planned on moving to care for Karmine's family soon though just her grandmother as her mother remarried and left with her siblings to a new town. They couldn't leave Vincente and the girls without knowing they'd be marginally alright though. They could tell the message hadn't really sunk into Vincente but he mumbled vague promises about being home more frequently. Francisco hardly believed him but it wasn't as if he could force his brother to come back to his family. He could only hope that he'd keep his questionable dismissive word and time would mend his younger triplet's broken heart.

[sweet-vanilla-sims]

Year 1618

TW/CW: Death

Late at night in January, Grace was woken from her sleep by the stirrings of labor which both made her sigh in relief but also stressed her out since the wait was over but the fear that she almost died last time was immense.

Her labor was thankfully uncomplicated once she was forced to set aside her fear and on January 20th, Isabella Robles was born. Grace was immediately in love with her daughter and while the family was delighted to welcome their little girl, the family patriarch tried, badly, to hide his disappointment with not having a great-grandson instead. Still, a healthy mother and child was a cause to celebrate in the home.

With the new baby in the family Adrian felt it was time to talk to his grandson about the future. He wasn't exactly the man to give lectures about marriage and kids but he did want his boy to settle into some kind of career at least to make a name for himself at the least. Vincente wasn't immune to considering the future for himself, in fact, with his brothers gone he knew that he was supposed to build something for his family. But what? He liked the stars but that wasn't much of a future for a humble farmer's son.

Late May came around and it was official. The fears that they had been hearing about came to fruition as War broke out. Mostly near Windenburg but still, war was never a good thing. Tartosa was largely unaffected in that the only people heading out were those who wished to such as Barnaby and the Laurent family head but who knew how things may change in the future. Adrian was glad to hear that Vincente had zero intention of going to any war but the thought scared him that there could come a day where he'd have no choice. Hopefully things would end sooner than later.

Frideswide left for Henford sooner than she had anticipated to at the very least attend her sons birthday and while she was there she noticed that her sister-in-law had grown into a lovely young lady. Though both Frideswide and her husband left the Carlisle ancestral home as Watson chose to join up with the war much to the rest of the family's disapproval. Frideswide didn't say much about that since she also followed her whims but she wondered about the future of her sons being raised by their paternal family.

Back in the Robles family, a fire had broken out and claimed the life of Aurelio's mother, orphaning him and his much younger sister in early October.

Though Guglielma turned six not even two weeks after her grandmother's passing which was did help lift the mood of the home, it was still a muted affair. Of course, with her growing bigger and with the loss of his daughter, Ignacio was more adamant about seeing that the Robles name continued on through Aurelio as he began to start pressuring his grandson and granddaughter-in-law to have a son.

[sweet-vanilla-sims]

Year 1612 Part 2:

TW/CW: Death, Infant Death. Stillbirth

Frideswide was no longer able to hide her pregnancy so she decided that she could take a break to spend time in her home with her husband and enjoy the town her mother had grown up in. It made her feel connected with her as she thought of how her own baby and would play in the same places as her mom did.

Though Frideswide was many things, faithful to her marriage was not one of them. As much as she enjoyed Watson's company, she was more suited for a life on the road much like her mother and sharing her time with her lovers like her grandfather had. Though she was certain that her baby was her husband's she was feeling rather trapped by staying in one place for so long after a life of freedom.

While Watson was fine with his wife taking other lovers as long as he didn't have to hear of it, Marjorie was deeply upset at finding her husband in the bushes with their son's wife. Julien had been away for when Frideswide's baby was conceived so at least Marjorie was confident in the paternity of her future grandbaby but she was determined to make Frideswide realize the error of her adulterous ways since she couldn't really punish her own husband for it.

In Tartosa, Agustin began to develop chronic migraines that pained him for days on end. The physician's were of little help and often all he could do was hole up someplace dark with some water and hope for it to pass quickly each time.

Vincente spent his time when he wasn't studying, writing letters to his siblings and on occasion they'd write back. News came that Grace was expecting. Frideswide also shared that one of the Upton boys married and left for Willow Creek in March.

As Frideswide's pregnancy progressed she shared through Talia's tome that she had met the ghost of her great-grandfather, Thomas. Thomas was glad to meet her and was eager to get to know his new descendant as well. Thomas felt that Frideswide reminded him a lot of Adrian so it was nice to have someone so close that reminded him of his son. Though he was surprised to hear that Adrian was still alive.

Frideswide was not enjoying her pregnancy. The time away from her passion and the fact her mother-in-law was making life miserable for her was weighing her down but she was excited for her child. She didn't dislike the idea of being a mother after all but the daily life of being pregnant was weighing on her.

Thankfully, the pregnancy came to an end rather quickly and on July 5th, Angus and Ferdinando Carlisle were born. Both boys were healthy and well which was a blessing for the entire household. It felt like a dream that when the boys were born Marjorie was kind to Frideswide but perhaps that was more due to her excitement at being a grandmother.

Unfortunately while Frideswide's luck with children had been good, her cousin Lawrence and his wife delivered a stillborn son later the same week. Frideswide felt conflicted at the sigh of relief she felt knowing that it wasn't her own child that was lost.

Though they were separated, the Carlisle triplets celebrated turning 13.

Vincente still didn't know what he wanted from the future but now that he was older he was kept busy to have a more active role around the household. It still felt so empty with just the two others in the home. A part of him wanted to leave as well but he didn't know if it was because he was genuinely wanting to leave or if he just wanted to be in a less empty home.

By September things had gone back to how tense they were during Frideswide's pregnancy but without the barrier of carrying her grandchildren, Marjorie had become much more vicious with her displeasure like making her fear for the boys by taking them into town with her when Frideswide tried to sleep. Frideswide's nerves were shot wondering if she'd wake up to find her son's missing anytime she closed her eyes. If she wasn't so exhausted all the time she'd never stand for this but newborns were tiring.

Grace felt for her sister from the letters she got from Vincente running the notes to her. She couldn't imagine having a mother-in-law be so spiteful. Aurelio's mother was incredibly kind to her from day one welcoming her into their home and giving advice. Though maybe it was because they had thought Aurelio would be an only child for the longest time. Bernice shared that she and her husband married young and didn't get pregnant until they were a few years into their marriage and after Aurelio, nothing, until Emma who was born when Aurelio was nearly an adult considering she was only a year and a half-ish. The Robles family was overjoyed to welcome Grace in as one of their own and were even more glad that they were already expecting.

Grace unfortunately went into an early labor so early in fact that the household was convinced that they were going to lose the baby.

That said, their fears didn't come true. Guglielma was born October 27th, healthy as a premature infant can be. Given how loud she fussed they were confident her lungs were just fine.

That said there were complications with Grace's delivery which involved a physician's toolkit and left Grace very sore. Thankfully she didn't develop an infection but the pain was so much that even by the end of the year she refused to let Aurelio come any closer than sitting next to her at the table for meals. She was glad to spend time with her daughter though and often found reasons to sleep in the kids room with her and Emma in hopes of avoiding her husband. She did know that it wasn't his fault and that at some point the family would want a son but that was not something she was okay with just yet.

Aurelio decided not to press since things could be worse, one of his younger cousins's, Tala's, little brother sadly passed away at the end of December which left him feeling grateful that his wife and daughter were relatively fine.

[sweet-vanilla-sims]

Year 1614:

TW/CW: Death

The year started out with not only Fridesiwde's sons growing big enough to toddle around on their own but Watson's younger brother Soren, turned thirteen as well.

The tense atmosphere in the Carlisle home was temporarily lifted to celebrate Soren's birthday but that only lasted so long as Adrian shared the news through Talia's tome that Julian's mother, Watson's grandmother, Seema had passed away. Though with the twins being older now, Frideswide had more time to rest though the new growth meant that she had to adjust to having toddlers.

Though Soren wasn't the only teenager in the family and Maria's only granddaughter, Artemisia, also celebrated turning thirteen.

Guglielma grew old enough to toddle about as well which made the Robles home glad after the pervious year of loss. Emma was happy to have a playmate big enough to actually play with as well.

Adrian and Agustin were enjoying the peace the recent years had brought their branch of the family though Adrian did worry about what John III's new marriage that July would mean for his great-granddaughter Sofia's heirship if the Laurent family head welcomed a son.

Thomasin was happy to see her youngest growing up well when she visited but when she learned she had missed both of her daughter's wedding she was frustrated that she was missing so much.

Vincente was starting to enjoy being the only one home. His father and grandfather were engrossed in their own lives and while he still didn't know what he wanted from life yet, he was happy that for the time being he didn't have too many responsibilities since the household was so small.

Adrian knew he should be preparing Vincente for the future but with his long life, he was happy to watch his young grandson just be a kid while he worked. He did make him learn to care for the garden but that was mostly because Adrian was considering taking another trip to visit family again in the coming years. Life was well in Tartosa and proof of that was that September brought with it Lawrence and his wife welcoming twin daughters into the Markovic family.

As the year came to a close, Grace's nerves about pregnancy still hadn't faded but she was willing to once again interact with her husband and even went so far as to initiate flirting. After actually having a conversation, Aurelio revealed that while it was obvious his grandfather wanted them to have a son, he felt overwhelmed with fatherhood with the one child they already had let alone adding more so to Grace's relief, he said he wasn't interested in trying again until their daughter was a bit older. So instead the two decided to focus on their relationship together and with their daughter for the time being.

[sweet-vanilla-sims]

Year 1619

TW/CW: Death, Child Death

With war on things had felt normal for only the briefest of moments since it was being fought so far away but news began to come in through Talia's Tome of deaths, most of which Vincente had no clue of who they were aside from distantly related. That said, he began to exchange notes with a young woman who lived far away which became the highlight of his day.

Perhaps it was rash but after the tragedy struck close with Samuel's death in February and then Margaret and Satoshi's in April, Vincente began to feel that life was fleeting. Frideswide advised him to follow what he thought would be best for him.

After taking the time to think it over, Vincente was convinced that waiting would be akin to tempting fate to torment his peaceful life and so he decided to bring up his idea to Adrian. He had decided that he was going to travel and bring home the young lady he had be exchanging letters with for the past few months. Adrian thought the idea was insane to travel so far for a person that his grandson hardly knew especially when he still wasn't certain what he wanted from his future but it wasn't as if Adrian could say too much about his grandson's love life considering he was chased out of his hometown for good reason because of his.

All Adrian could do for his grandson was give his blessing and prayers that his no longer very little grandson would have safe travels and the young woman would be a good match for him. Vincente appreciated his grandfather's support and that June he set off to bring home his love.

The house felt empty with just Adrian. Frideswide did blow through randomly but it was remarkably lonely. The famine in Mt.Komorebi took both Terric's wife and youngest daughter while the war in the west took his grandson Barnaby. So much death in other places made the tranquility of Tartosa feel surreal.

A new guest arrived at the home in early August as Frideswide was shocked to find her brother-in-law at her door. He explained that with Watson fighting at the front his parents were wanting him to take over the farm but he felt it wasn't his place since the home should have gone to Watson and therefore, Angus and Ferdinando. So he decided to head to Tartosa since it was peaceful and he could keep clear of being given something he felt shouldn't be his.

Frideswide was glad for his company. After catching up about the state of the Carlisles he had left back in Henford, Frideswide took it upon herself to introduce him to the people she knew in Tartosa if only to ignore the fact that Soren had grown up to be quite handsome, that was a line she was not going to cross. Luckily, Soren felt the same and soon found himself daydreaming about the women of the Laurent family. There was the lovely noblewoman herself, Sofia, and there was her lady-in-waiting, Faustina Jaleel. Both of the women had caught Soren's eye and he could only dream of catching their attention.

November came around and it was clear that after trying again, Grace and Aurelio were expecting their third child. Ignacio had made it clear he wished for a boy but after two girls, Grace was also hoping for a son if only for the novelty.

December brought with it terrible news for Frideswide and Soren, Watson had died in the war. From what they gathered from his parents through Talia's tome, he had gotten injured but the method didn't matter too much since for them it was heartbreaking to know he was gone. Frideswide never really thought herself as old enough to be a widow but now she was one. The war was making war widows left and right.

Adrian tried to cheer her up but it was hard to all things considered.

What really lifted the spirits of the home was Vincente coming home with his love, Alexis Akiyama. The young woman was still a stranger to the household but after months of travel with Vincente the pair were close and the love between the two was sickly sweet.

Alexis did her best around the household from making fast friends with Frideswide to getting into the habit of tending the crops.

Vincente had waited until Alexis had settled into his home before formally proposing though the entire household knew that it was merely a formality since he had literally travelled months just to bring her home with him.

Adrian knew Alexis the second he saw her but it took him a few days for the realization to set in. His niece Rebecca was the girl's grandmother. It was weird to think that the little girl he had left behind in Henford had not only passed a long while back but was the grandmother of a child of marrying age even though he knew that there was a lot more he had missed from back home. Life went on with his family when he wasn't paying attention and the girl before him was proof of it.

Surprising no one four days after Vincente and Alexis had arrived in Tartosa, the two wed on December 6th. Thankfully no other news in the family had come through and so the Carlisles were glad that despite the losses, the decade at least ended with a union of young love.