To Capture a Captain's Heart (closed)

The next day, almost all of the fighting men of Inverness left the town to face Wick and Sarah, leaving only a small force of guardians headed by Theo, Julia and Brogan's newest fighter from Wick who'd saved the children when they'd been trapped there. It was weeks before anyone returned, but then, Kayla and the other women in charge of caring for those who returned were overwhelmed with wounded men, led home by Boar who'd suffered permanent damage to his knees and a shattered arm among other things. Only ten dead came with them, though, and only three men did not survive their wounds later. Things were at a stalemate, Boar told them, neither side truly losing or winning because Brogan had skilled men whilst Sarah had vast numbers.

Another few weeks, and another wave of wounded returned, headed by a badly shaken Valentina. She was caring for Durban, who'd fallen into a coma from massive head trauma thanks to strange new, unstable weapons Sarah had borrowed from the English. They didn't bring any dead men back with them, they just couldn't carry them. Valentina reported that her father was near death, so much so that she couldn't have brought him home and it killed her inside to be away from the man when she felt he needed her most.

It was after this that Julia, accompanied by her brave and resolute nephews Ruben and Gabriel, headed south to seek allies in Edinburgh and elsewhere. Kayla, Kitty, Selena, Marri, and Emma were left the Keep and the town. Kitty took care of more diplomatic things whilst leaving her daughters and daughters-in-law to focus on their children and the wounded. Selena aided Valentina closely, trying to keep Val's mind off Vincenzo, and her own mind off her young son. Marri and Emma were mostly kept away taking care of their incapacitated husbands. Boar was doing better, but still incredibly weak and having an awful time coping with his ruined knees. Durban finally woke on the third day after returning home, and he'd broken down in tears of relief seeing that he was still alive with Marri. However, something was off about him, and he soon gathered the energy and words to tell them.

Durban reported what he could remember seeing Norsemen and Norwegian banners on the horizon, that he was certain he saw Norwegian Royal Guards. That meant only one thing: Wick's long-time friend and ally Norway and its king Olaf III was there to aid in the destruction of Inverness. Brogan was facing a force that nearly took over all of Britannia in 1066, but was only defeated by sheer luck on behalf of William of Normandy. Many people in Inverness lost all hope, and a few families fled south to Aberdeen or Glasgow.

Durban and Boar, as they healed, took over Inverness with an iron grip on defenses. Durban was once meant to be the king, til he was exiled by his father. He'd never wanted to be king and had been glad to see the mantle fall to Brogan. But right now, Inverness' King was fighting for their lives, and Durban knew he and the rest of the Ghis family needed to act in his stead. Emergency drills were drawn up and Aberdeen was contacted, agreeing to allow Invernessian people to take refuge there if they should need to.

Hope seemed to be regaining its flame, until it was snuffed out by the arrival of a letter addressed to the entire Ghis family:

To the Royal Ghis Family of Inverness,

I am Olaf, grandson of warlord Harald Hardrada who lost his proper claim on this land to the English. I have come to make these lands my own, and use Scotland to destroy England and Ireland so I may take them for my own. I bring an armada of ships, carrying three armies of four-thousand men from Denmark and Norway. Inverness only stands at five-hundred against just one of my armies. The other two will wait. Surrender now and give up your best to my men and I, and you shall live.

I will not negotiate, I will not give mercy if you refuse, and I will not hesitate to destroy you all if you try any tricks. At dawn after the next full moon, I expect to see you all on your knees begging for your lives when I return with your men and King prisoner.

Olaf III, King of Norway, King of Scotland

Kayla had been unnerved by the letter that had arrived from the King of Norway. She had set about making plans with Theo and Val to get the children away from Inverness. It seemed that Aberdeen was their only hope. She had already packed enough for Annie and now she was working on Ciaran, tears streaming silently down her cheeks as she put his warm blankets and clothing into a sack that Theo would carry.

Hearing the door open, she looked over her should and saw Durban enter. Immediately she turned her gaze back towards the task at hand. “I’m almost done.” She said softly. “But I won’t be going with them.”

"Yes y'are, Kayla," Durban told her, his tone resolute. "They'll need ya there... Yer goin', an' so is Marri an' th' rest o' the family, including Boar. I'll stay an' take care o' Inverness."

"You're an idiot if you think I'm going," Selena growled as she came behind him.

"I'm done wi' arguments, Selena," Durban grunted back at her, and that got him a slap to the face. They were all on edge and it was no surprise Selena snapped at him.

"Just because you're the eldest, that doesn't give you the final word in our lives! I don't know about you, Durban Ghis, but I'm not abandoning my family's ancestral home to the likes of bloody Vikings and Wicks! My little boy is out there with your own, fighting to defend our sister while she's trying to help us. The least I can do for her is stay and make sure Inverness is still here when they return!" She shoved him away, leaving him stunned at her outburst. She gathered the children so they could go with Emma and Boar. Boar went to lead the refugees as he was no use in battle at the moment, and it was up in the air which Ghis were actually leaving. With Ashien and Brogan still out on the battlefield, the rest would have to decide to flee for safety with the children or stay and face what might be the downfall of Inverness.

If someone didn't do something about it, Inverness might become the first domino to fall in the destruction of Scotland by the hands of a vengeful Irishwoman and her Norwegian ally.

Kayla gasped loudly as her sister slapped Durban, telling him that there was no way that she would leave Inverness. Kayla took a step backwards, watching the scene between the two of them in silence. She had never seen them so aggressive towards one another and it shook her to her core. When Selena stormed away, Kayla looked at her brother in silence before she hurried forward and wrapped him tightly in a hug.

“I can’t leave Inverness, Durban.” She murmured softly, her cheek pressed against his broad chest. “I have to stay in case Christopher returns.”

Durban stood frozen, still stunned. Selena was quick-tempered sometimes, but this was more than he'd ever seen. He glanced down at Kayla as she embraced him and he sighed, "If he comes... he can find you in Aberdeen." But he saw how she just couldn't leave, and he wrapped his arms around her. "Though I suppose you could stay... but you need to keep close to me."

“I’ll stay close, I promise.” Kayla said softly, relieved that her brother wouldn’t send her to Aberdeen with the rest. “Besides, you need someone who can cook around here.”

She smiled and tried to make him smile. She knew that the stress of the situation was wearing on her strong, loving brother and she simply wanted him to experience some happiness in this dark moment.

"By the way," Durban kissed her forehead, "I expect t'be part o' th'weddin' plans fer you an' yer Captain." It wasn't an outright 'it's okay if you marry him', but it was a confirmation nonetheless. Just the fact that Christopher had gone to fight in such a difficult battle made Durban respect him.

Kayla was quiet for a long moment as he said that, his lips pressing against her forehead in an almost fatherly kit. She looked up at her brother and couldn’t help the distressed look that crossed her eyes.

“He has to return first, Durban.” She said softly, knowing very well that Christopher might die in the battle that was currently raging.

"... Somethin' tells me 'e will," Durban hugged her tightly once more before turning, "I'll let Selena cool down b'fore I go tryin' t'reason with her... I wan' 'er t'go t'Aberdeen because I've jus' got a bad feelin' about 'er stayin'." He left her side with another kiss to her cheek- ever the loving brother- and disappeared into the halls.

“Or I can talk to her first.” Kayla said softly after Durban had disappeared.

She gathered the bag that she had packed for Ciaran and made her way to where her mother was tending to the children. She handed over the bag, kissing her mother’s cheek before she went in search of her wayward sister. She found her outside, pacing through the vegetable garden with an agitated look on her face.

“Selena, you know that Durban is only looking out for you.” She said softly, standing well away from her older sister. “You have Ruben to think about. Ma needs your help too. Emma is going to have her baby any day now and Marri has so much on her mind. I think you need to go to Aberdeen.”

Selena paused to look at her youngest sister and Kayla could see a pain in her eyes. It wasn't the war or Durban that had caused her to snap, it was something entirely different. "I know I should, but... no, I will..." She turned away. Kayla had never seen her act this way. It just wasn't Selena's way. Despite a temper, she was a resolute and collected woman.

“Selena?” Kayla murmured softly, stepping towards her sister and wrapping her arm around her trembling shoulders. “Sister, tell me what’s wrong.”

Kayla might have been the youngest Ghis, but she was the one that all of her siblings could talk to, no matter what. It was on her shoulder that Brogan had cried upon when he lost Cassie. It was her that Ashien had confessed he had married a woman named Dylandra, a English woman that no one had met. It was to her that Boar had confess his deepest desire to marry Emma. She was the one that could keep their secrets.

"... I sent a letter home to..." she had to gather her courage to say it, "to... Ruben's father. But... he never answered. I sent for a friend we trust to go check on him, and they sent back that the house had been abandoned, that there were horse tracks in the snow and it looked like Kreston was running..."

She looked to Kayla. "He... he's a werewolf, Kayla... what if hunters found him...?"

Kayla looked into her sister’s eyes and saw her intense fear. She had always expected that Selena’s lover was someone that she couldn’t introduce to her family, but she needed her sister to see that just because bad things were happening in Inverness, bad things wouldn’t be happening at home.

“Selena, you know that things happen. Letters are hard to get out in times of war.” Kayla said softly, holding her sister tightly. “I’m sure he’s alright but you need to go to Aberdeen. Our family needs you there. Ma needs you there with her.”

"I know... but I just don't want to leave Inverness... I have an awful feeling... something is going to happen that's never happened before, and we're all going to be all the worse for it... I know it."

She looked to the west horizon. Somewhere out there, two of her brothers were fighting their hardest, her father-in-law lay dying, and friends were barely holding out against a vengeful woman who'd taken over a warmongering nation.

“You need to be strong, Selena. Everyone is depending on you.” Kayla said softly, knowing that her sister would hide her worry and fear from everyone. “And I’ll miss you.”

She kissed her sister’s cheek, hugged her tightly one last time before she left her to collect herself. Her next stop would be to check on Boar and Emma. She found them in their little house, Emma in tears as Boar tried to wrangle his toddling twins. It seemed that there was a mountain of things still to do in their household and the stress had forced Emma into a fit of emotion, her hands cradling her large, swollen belly.

“Hello, my boys!” Kayla said brightly as she scooped both Leon and Eli up into her arms and kissed them both. “And a kiss for you too, Boar.”

She kissed her brother’s cheek and gave him a smile, knowing that he was still upset about not being able to fight.

"Hiya, darlin'," Boar smiled to her with exhaustion clear in his features. "D'ya mind holdin' th'rascals fer a bit?" He kissed her cheek in return and went to Emma, drawing her aside into the comforting circle of his good arm, whispering softly to her that they'd be okay and that they would make it. He couldn't stand to see her like this, even more so now that she was pregnant again and couldn't take the stress.

“Of course.” Kayla said sweetly, watching as her brother tended to his pregnant and distressed wife. She took the twins further into the room, away from their parents as Boar worked to calm his wife’s distress.

Sitting down on their warm blanket spread out before the fire, Kayla played with the sweet toddlers, laughing at their antics. They were bright boys, very much like their father. She could see the men that they would grow to be and she couldn’t be any prouder to be their aunt.

She glanced up when Boar escorted Emma to a wooden rocking chair, helping his wife to sit down. Emma had stopped crying, her eyes red and an exhausted look upon her face. It seemed that they were both at their wits end.

“Tell me what I need to do and I will help you both pack.” Kayla said softly, still distracting the twins as she glanced up at her brother. “You will be leaving in a day. You need to pack.”

"Jus' clothes an' th'boys things, really," Boar sighed, letting Emma rest while he continued trying to gather everything. He limped awfully and was still learning to walk correctly with his bummed knees, but one was worse than the other and he had to pause frequently so not for them to give out.

Kayla let out a long sigh as she watched her brother struggle to do even the most simple of tasks. She felt bad for him and knew how much all of this was wearing on him. Leaving the twins to play by themselves, she stood and caught her brother by the arm, looking up at him with a sympathetic look.

“Let me handle it all, Boar. You need to sit down yourself before you do any more injury.” She said softly, kissing his cheek sweetly to show him that she was just being a sister concerned about her brother.

"But I 'ave t'take care o' my family..." Boar muttered. He was just too proud to admit he couldn't do it alone. Too proud, and too ashamed of his own weakness.

“Boar, you’re no less of a man because of what happened. You’d do better taking care of your children and wife then you would packing up some of your belongings.” Kayla said softly, trying to soften the blow of what she had to say. “Let me help you, brother, and take the time to rest.”

"I can' really say no, 'ey?" He sighed with a slight smile, but he kissed her cheek and returned to Emma, keeping an eye on the boys.

“Not to me, no.” Kayla said with a smile as he kissed her cheek and returned to his wife, keeping an eye on his toddlers as they played.

Kayla started her packing, pleased that she could help her family even if it was in a small way. She made sure that there was enough clothing for Emma and Boar, toys and blankets for the boys, clothing and of course, things for the new baby, which would more than likely be born while in Aberdeen.

Emma and Boar were on their way by that evening, and Inverness lay quiet with half its population gone, looked after by the remaining Ghis Durban and Kayla, and their few warriors.

Olaf was coming, they all knew it. It was just a matter of whether Brogan could catch him, or if Brogan could survive at all.