Of the Fells

(Closed for heartofcourage)

Theo Irons had never left his home of Kent Island off the northeastern coast of Scotland. He'd spent his days wandering the barren mountains and green valleys. He loved the peaks so dearly that he'd become known as 'Theo of the Fells'. He'd married and settled down and he wanted for nothing. He lived near his parents and welcomed his frail sister to live with his family consisting of himself, his lovely wife and his two little girls.

A life of peace with his lovely family, a good and steady job, and a bright future- that was what Theo remembered of those happy days. But not long after his twenty-fifth birthday, the island was invaded by the men of the King of Wick Clan. Lochlan O'Hennessey was meant to be the leader and protector of Kent Island, but he came to raid it for supplies. The people tried to defend themselves, but in the riots and raids, Theo and his family were caught up in the middle. Suddenly after just one night, Theo found his wife and daughters and parents lying dead at his feet, and the King had taken his sister as a serving maid and to bed whenever he pleased. Theo was put in chains and broken. It wasn't so hard, with his heart lost to grief, and he suddenly found himself as a prison guard. He remained that way for three years, until the wife and two children of King Brogan Ghis of Inverness were kidnapped and brought to Wick by O'Hennessey's once-kind and now insane son, Arland Wick. Arland was made so by a poisonous love for a woman who wanted him only for his power to attack the Ghis family.

Theo found himself pulled by the jail master from his post to go and stand guard over the imprisoned Queen. But his heart went out to her, and the first thing he did was get her stepdaughter Annie and her infant son Ciaran from the other guards. After she was taken away by Wick guards, he was left to keep the children safe. When men came to take them away to kill them, Theo and his dear, weak sister defended the boy and girl with their lives. Theo was left clutching the children tight after the last man and his sister fell, until the Queen Julia Ghis returned with her husband, both having escaped from Arland's chains, leaving his poisonous lover Sarah Monaghan unconscious and Arland dying. Theo had to leave his sister's body behind to guide the Ghis out of Wick Keep. The journey was hard, through a blizzard to a quickly thrown-together snowpack shelter, and the next morning to an Inverness Clan fort. When they were just about to arrive back in Inverness, Brogan was shot off his horse and taken in to be treated, and Theo had to make his own way for a while as the family needed to focus on themselves. Still, he'd forever solidified his place as a guardian of the Ghis family.

It was the next night, after Brogan was surely going to make it and being taken care of by his mother's Italian husband, the healer Vincenzo, that Vincenzo's daughter, a fellow healer, found herself making her way back from dinner. She came upon a dark giant of a man in the hall who seemed a bit lost. His skin was dark with sun and weather, the sort than only farmers had, and his long hair was black as ebony. He almost looked like he could be a Ghis except for very rare and odd blue eyes that were almost violet. He wore common man's clothing of an off-white tunic, a dark vest and trousers, and hunting boots, but he carried a warrior's battleaxe on his belt that marked his knowledge of battle. He didn't seem to know where to go or what to do.

Valentina had always been a strong, independent woman who was mature beyond her 19 years. As the youngest of the Ghis children, she had dutifully stayed by her mother's side, taking care of her through a difficult illness. Now that her parents were married, she had turned her attentions towards other things in the keep, leaving her mother in her father's care. Her brothers needed a keeper all their own, it seemed.

She was returning from dinner one winter evening, pausing when she came across the man that had escorted Julia and Brogan home. She glanced around the hall, she saw that he wasn't with anyone. She felt bad when she caught sight of the lost expression on his face.

"Can I help you?" She asked the man, looking back down the way that she'd come from. "Are you lost?"

"Uh... I'm no' lost. Jus'... sorta waitin'." He had a heavier Northern accent that was far too country to be Wick Scottish. Valentina, being a knowledgeable woman of Europe's geography and peoples (and plants), could recognize it as an islander's Scottish, the heavy accent that even Scottish mainlanders had a hard time understanding.

Theo looked down at the floor, and Valentina could see he was a humble sort of man. He looked to be a tad nervous about being in the keep, almost like he felt he didn't belong there.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Val asked, cocking her head to one side as the man looked down at the floor beneath his boots.

"I, uh... I don' really know. I came 'ere with Julia an' Brogan... I'm no' sure what I'm s'posed t'be doin'."

"Val," Vincenzo called out from down the hall, telling her in the native tongue that he needed her to get some more herbs from her storage for him. Theo had no idea what they were saying, but assumed he was in the way so he simply stepped over to the wall to stay out of the way.

Val turned towards her father as he told her in Italian that they needed more herbs from her storage. She nodded, letting out a sigh as she looked at the giant of the man that seemed so lost there in the middle of their keep.

"If you would like a job, you can come with me." She said as she turned and didn't wait to see if he would follow as she made her way to her own bedroom to gather what her father wanted.

The huge man hesitated, but slowly followed, offering his vast arms to carry what she was gathering. He seemed interested in what she was doing, and he seemed to understand the herbs she was pulling out. Perhaps he had some knowledge of healing. "... You're th'keng's sister, aren't ya?" He asked quietly. He'd heard of the Ghis siblings, including that the youngest was Kitty's daughter by an Italian healer. Having seen Vincenzo, he knew Valentina was that sister, but that was about it.

"Half sister." Valentina corrected him as she pulled jars of dried herbs from their resting spot in her vast cabinet. "Vincenzo is my father and Lady Katherine is my mother."

She paused with a jar of wormwood in her hand, turning to look at the strange man. "Does that bother you?" She knew that some people had a problem with the fact that her mother had a child out of wedlock. It didn't bother her in the least that her parents hadn't married except recently.

"Nah. Lady Katherine 'ad t'deal with Old Tamblin fer so long... I migh' not know 'er personally, but I ain' ever heard nothin' but good about 'er an' bad about Tamblin. A sweet lady like 'er deserves t'be with someone tha' loves 'er after so long... 'Sides, I'm no' one t'judge people. I 'ad my first girl b'fore I was married." However, the thought made a strange expression, almost painful, appear on his face, and he dropped the subject.

"Where are your wife and children? Is that who you're waiting for?" Val asked, her attentions back on the jars of herbs as she mentally told herself which ones her father might need. "Because if you are, my brother will make sure that you have a room large enough for all of you."

Theo was quiet for a long moment, but eventually murmured, "No, uh... I'm waitin' fer Lady Julia... t'tell me what she wants me t'do... she invited me back 'ere from Wick t'live In Inverness. I was a... sort of a forced prison guard under O'Hennessey an' then Wick 'imself." He said no more, though, unwilling to talk about his former job and why he was there alone.

Val sometimes had a one track mind when it came to medicine and her position there at the keep. She was half listening to Theo's story, half focused on the task at hand.

"Well, you can just help me for the time being. Do you know anything about herbs? I tend to go through them a lot because of my brothers." She said as she looked over her shoulder, coming towards him with the last few bottles and pouches.

"A... fair bit. My Ma was a healer," he nodded to her. Once she had all she needed, he followed her to bring the herbs to Vincenzo. Vincenzo welcomed them in a finger to his lips to warn them to be silent. Julia had fallen asleep beside her injured husband after Vincenzo had finished getting the crossbow bolt head from his chest that had nearly killed him. It was a miracle that Brogan had survived, but his heart would never be as strong again after being so damaged. Vincenzo didn't ask about Theo, simply glad for a bit of help as he murmured to Val in Italian about this and that as they sorted through herbs and bandages and quietly sorted them out on a table where Vincenzo could reach them quickly if needed. Mostly what he'd wanted were painkillers and salve-making plants and extra bandages.

But behind them, Annie came in. She saw her parents asleep and looked a bit crestfallen, having hoped to seek her father's comfort. But she knew better than to disturb him while he was healing. Her savior ended up being Theo who she'd already put great trust in. After setting down everything in his arms, Theo came to kneel beside Annie. When she hugged him tightly around the neck, he wrapped her up in his arms and stood. Valentina had never seen the girl take a shine to someone so quickly. Even Vincenzo, whom she adored, had taken a couple weeks to get used to. She wasn't shy, simply careful with who she trusted.

Valentina worked alongside her father, a few words his direction in Italian but she was mostly quiet. When they worked, she was there to learn and take in as much information as she possibly could. Her father was the best healer she had ever known and she made sure to soak in all the knowledge that he had to share.

She glanced over her shoulder as Theo scooped Annie into his arms. The little girl had such a forlorn look on her features and she pardoned herself from her father's side and made her way to her niece.

"Did you eat dinner, amore?" She asked Annie softly as the little girl shook her head and buried her face against Theo's neck. "Well, then, we'll just have to go visit Chessie, won't we?"

Theo murmured softly to Annie and gave her a small smile when she peeked up at him. "I'll be righ' there with ya, Princess." He used it less as a title and more as a term of endearment. Vincenzo smiled to the three.

"I've got things handled. Go ahead with them, cara mia." He, like her, let a few Italian words slip into his conversations with certain people, mostly only his daughter and wife but slowly included everyone else in the family.

"Send for me if you need me, Papa." Val said softly as she kissed her father's cheek and went to lead Theo and Annie to Chessie's kitchen.

The dear cook of Inverness was clearing the kitchen of dinner when they entered and Val gave her a soft smile as she motioned for Theo and Annie to take a seat.

"Chessie, can I talk you into making something for Annie and Theo? They seemed to have missed the meal in the great hall." Val murmured, knowing that she would very well jump in to help the woman cook if need be.

"You know you can talk me into just about anything, Val," Chessie smiled to her dear friend. They were almost like sisters even though Chessie was Brogan's age at twenty-nine while Valentina was nineteen despite her maturity and older looks. Chessie set to her work preparing a small pot of hearty stew for Theo and Annie. It was no surprise to her that Annie had missed the meal- she'd hardly left her grandmother's side and Kitty hadn't eaten thanks to worry.

Theo seemed to have a very calming effect on the little girl, even though Valentina knew that Annie couldn't have known him any longer than two days. It was easy to tell he was a parent by how well he cared for her in her fearful state.

Val set into helping Chessie with the meal, stealing glances at Theo and Annie every so often. It was nice that Annie had someone that she could trust so much through this hard time. Soon, she had her back turned to Annie completely, breaking the crusty bread into bowls for the two of them.

"Aunt Val?" Annie called and Val kept her back turned, focused on her task. "Aunt Val?"

Annie soon wriggled down from Theo's lap, scurrying to her aunt where she tugged on her breeches to get her attention. "Can I have some milk, Aunt Val?"

Valentina glanced down at the little girl as she got her attention. She hadn't heard her, but she still gave her a gentle smile and cupped the little girl's cheek.

"I'm sure we could get you some. Or maybe Chessie has some hot cider instead."

"Either y'like, sweetie," Chessie told the girl. "An' you, Theo?"

"Cider'd be fine an' lovely, ma'am," Theo returned politely. Chessie wasn't used to his thick accent and simply picked out the word 'cider' with a chuckle.

"Y'talk like an islander an' a country man. Where d'you get a drawl like that?"

"I'm from th'big island off th'coast o' Wick's reign. Ain't been able t'get rid of it."

"Well, if y'stick around here and people ask ya t'repeat yourself enough, y'might lose it fast."

"Tha's fine with me, if'n Lady Julia wants t'keep me 'round."

"Oh? So you're th' one who came back with them."

"Yes'm."

"I see." Chessie asked no more, knowing it wasn't her place unless either Julia or Brogan decided to tell her. All she knew was that Arland had kidnapped the Queen and her children and they'd been gone for days.

"Well, if you do stay here then we will send for your wife and children. I can only imagine that they're worried about you." Val mentioned as she served up a mug of hot cider for everyone.

"Be careful, amore. Don't spill." She coached Annie, helping the little girl to get settled yet again. "Is your fratello still with nonna?" She asked as Annie nodded and she rewarded the little girl with a kiss to the forehead.

"Chessie, if you could send some milk to Ma, I'm sure that Ciaran is hungry by now as well. You know that she sometimes loses track of time especially when Papa isn't around."

"O'course," Chessie hurried off, but Theo had fallen silent after Valentina's suggestion. He kept quiet through his little meal with Annie, and he returned her to Kitty afterward. As Valentina returned to Julia and Brogan's room, she found her father closing the door behind him as he stepped out.

"They should be fine for the night," he told Valentina, which was her cue that she was done with her usual work for the time being. Vincenzo was usually the one who was on call at night. He was a night owl while his daughter was more of what was called a 'morning lark'. "That man, Theo..." he murmured. "I saw him pass by. He looked depressed. Did something happen?"

"He won't talk about anything with me, Papa." Val said softly as her father asked about Theo. "He has a soft spot for Annie though. I know he has a wife and children but he changes the subject when they are brought up."

Vincenzo met his daughter's eyes and he seemed a little surprised by her. "Valentina, you have a brother who used to do the exact same thing if anyone mentioned Cassie or Annie. Please tell me you aren't that oblivious." He'd always teased her all her life for how, when she was working on what she considered her calling, she wouldn't have noticed anything even if the world ended. It was partially due to her being deaf in one ear, but he often said it was as if she were completely deaf and blind.

Valentina actually blushed as Vincenzo said that, her cheeks turning scarlet under his gaze. "Papa..." She said softly, looking down the hallways as he brought up the death of Cassie and how Brogan had sank into a deep depression.

"He never corrected me." She struggled to come up with an excuse. "Surely...I mean, he would have said something...right?"

"A man who has lost everything would rather be silent in the face of his past than anything else, even if it hurts." He knew it well, too. Before she was born, she knew he'd dealt with a small plague during a war, and most of the men who'd returned to find their families dead would never speak a word of them and wouldn't ever mention their deaths if asked, perhaps, how their wife was doing.