Claymore and Dagger (closed)

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As Lena spoke up, Sam chuckled and scooped her up to kiss her cheek and hug her tightly. "Still small enough fer me t'carry around, though," he teased before setting her back down and greeting her brother and father with embraces as well. Then he turned back to Fiona with a smile that told her he was excited for this moment, or as close to excited as Samuel Ghis got.

"Aunt Kay," Sam said softly, reaching out to take Fiona's hand and draw her nearer to his aunt. "This is Fiona." The way he said her name told Fiona Kayla had probably been among the very few to find out he was in love. In fact, Kayla had always been Sam's main correspondent whenever he did talk about his personal life. He found a comfort in her perspective and understanding that Inverness just didn't offer. She had received a very simple letter when Sam had first fallen for Fiona, of Sam worrying about what he was getting himself into. She knew of their break but not the reason why, and she knew that they'd reunited stronger than ever. Thanks to Ulfric, she knew a fair bit about Fiona and her father and grandfather and family history, and of course she knew all about Invah, being Annie and Alex's aunt.
 
"My dear girl." Kayla said, welcoming Fiona with a warm smile. "I feel as if I have known you for ages. Sam has told me so much about you."

"All of it good, I hope." Fiona said with a look towards Sam.

"Of course." Kayla chuckled, pulling Fiona into a hug. "Thank you for making him happy."

Those words were whispered against her ear, meant for her alone. She glanced towards Sam as Kayla said that, welcoming her into the family in just a few simply gestures.
 
Once everyone was introduced and settled, a meal was brought in after Harlo put Erys in her nursery for a nap. Kjersten sat with Harlo and the other royal couples were to either side, all of them forming the steadfast and calm Triad between them as they faced Sam and Fiona. After the dishes were cleared away and talk turned serious, Sam fell quickly into his role as a General and Prince facing the Triad leaders as allies and equals. Kristoff sat dutifully at his mother's side. As heir to Norway, he took knowledge of the outlying world and conflicts very seriously. And similarly, Kjotva and Ulfric's daughter named Freja after her grandmother, sat in rapt attention. Though her mother wasn't queen anymore, her half-sister was and Freja intended to succeed her father in at least one of his lines of work. And while Lena was welcome to listen in, Christopher made sure to let her know it wasn't required should talk of war bother her. She was sweet and innocent as any little girl, but Christopher didn't want to shelter her too much from the world, and he regularly encouraged her to learn from powerful women like those at the table.

"So Alexander is in captivity, there's been an attack on Inverness town itself, and Naiya Corel was freed by an Axeman, who gave herself up in exchange as the granddaughter of the Caliphate of Palmyra. I must say, Samuel, Inverness gets itself into some interesting challenges," Kjersten murmured calmly. "I'm guessing the focus on Inverness was very deliberate, considering Katherine and Khelt are there and it's Katherine's home. How better to strike at the High Throne than its roots? But what confuses me is why Scotland first, when the Empire wants England most. Perhaps they intend to retake what the old Romans failed to keep."

"Scotland is a powerful position in itself," Elhardt rumbled. "To remove the High Throne and install a powerful base there would give Barbarossa the ability to corner England and cut her off from any potential Scottish Clan or Irish help. And I'm afraid Wales has long been out of the equation, being an English holding."

"Will England aid Scotland, if only for their own sake?" Ulfric asked Sam.

"I don't know yet. But Henry and Elizabeth know Scotland's a key point in their armor an' a formidable sword. We've supported them- the allied clans an' the High Throne- since Henry ascended. He respected Brian an' Gale an' he's supportive of Kate no matter what. They'll help if they can spare it, but they're already fightin' too t'hold Normandy."

"And Ireland?" Kjotva asked quietly. "What about Sarah?"

"No word yet, but Khelt Aleister's probably already made contact with Kate an' Kell. It jus' hasn't reached me yet."
 
"You have the dragons and I to defend." Fiona said as all attention suddenly turned towards her. "Sam does not like the idea but I have been training and they will fight for all of our homes."
 
Sam didn't want to support the idea of Fiona fighting, but in that moment, he had to think like a general and take Fiona's previous words to heart- he had a key tool that he needed to use in Fiona and the dragons. So he nodded as she spoke and added, "I'll be continuing Fiona's training myself. Th'dragons'll give us an advantage in quick correspondence an' air travel an' surprise, an' outside battle they'll give us pull t'gather more allies an' Fiona's reputation migh' reach other people who'd be willing t'help."

Sam then revealed a piece of information he hadn't yet told Fiona. "Fiona's trainer Dmitri mentioned there may be Riders out there tha' no one knows of. Fiona's appearance in Inverness as a fighting Rider migh' bring th'others out o' hiding t'unite with her an' support us all if we prove we care for our dragons. An' paired with Invah who's famous t'dragons, werefolk, an' humans, they may draw even more support."
 
Fiona looked over towards Sam in surprise at the mention of other dragon riders. She had thought that Rory was the last of his kind, but it seemed that he knew much more than she did. They would have a discussion as soon as they were alone and she would get the full truth from him.

"I thought dragons weren't real." Lena said, looking up at her father. "You said that they were only in fairy tales."
 
"I thought they were only in fairytales, love," Christopher murmured, reaching over to take her hand with a smile. "But we'll talk about that later. We'll meet them if they're not too busy."

Sam noted Fiona's expression, and his own calm told her it'd been something he probably wouldn't have revealed otherwise. War required some secrets to be told.

"If there are Riders in hiding," Kjersten began, folding her hands before her on the table, "we will welcome them. It seems that the reappearance of one dragon will bring out many more once they realize it's safe. And we will try to make it safe. No doubt the people will panic if dragons suddenly fill the skies, so we need to warn them ahead of time though they may not believe us at first. And we need to prepare our soldiers and guards to deal with any panic or fear."
 
"Invah and her mate are waiting outside of the city right now. They do not want to cause a panic." Fiona commented. "Dmitri and his mate are on their way to the city. They are trying to get dragons out of danger before they are killed by the Emperor. Many of them have fledglings that cannot survive a battle."
 
"I think we can agree that we'll offer what we can to help this Dmitri's efforts," Elhardt said with a look to each Kjersten and Kayla. "Though I'd certainly like to meet them and understand all of this from the perspective of people who have been working with dragons for years."

"In the meantime," Christopher spoke up. "What are the plans to recover Alex?"

"At this point, we know he's still fairly safe," Sam muttered. "Da's contacting allies an' workin' with Kell. Obviously Inverness can't attack Vienna, no one really can. So the only option seems t'be stealth an' subterfuge. I'm hopin' Kell's grandfather will join in. If Kell can't manage, Khelt can."
 
"This has all moved so fast." Kayla commented, sitting back in her chair with a sigh. "Barbarossa is the last person I thought might do this. He's always been a thorn in our side but nothing this aggressive before."
 
"He was only a thorn when he was just the Emperor's nephew," Kjotva muttered. "Then he killed his uncle and took over."

"We don't know that for sure," Ulfric corrected quietly.

"Who else would've benefitted from it, Ulfric?" Kjotva shot him a glare. "Lothair was as sweet as they came. He was good for the Empire and he was a personal friend to the English Royal Family. He presented a suit for Elizabeth, then gave it up because he saw John loved her. He would've done so much good for Europe. And when Barbarossa took over, he immediately reversed half the progress Lothair made and started a war. He even has the Pope on his side, no doubt he bought the Catholic church's loyalty. Not to mention half the Empire's nobles are joining in on those stupid Crusades too and ripping the Middle East to shreds as we speak. Even across Scandinavia and the Isles, people are fighting between Catholics and non, and some are leaving with Christian lords to fight their way to Jerusalem. Even Henry is being sucked in, expected to show his loyalty to some god by killing Muslims. It's all a mess, and Barbarossa is responsible, that little brat. Him and that senile old bastard sitting in the Vatican."

"Kjotva," Elhardt murmured. "Don't take it out on your husband. He's the reason we all even know about these things."

"I know," Kjotva sighed, resting her head on one hand while the other laid on Ulfric's shoulder. "It's all just such a mess... Europe is becoming a powder keg... And speaking of, those damned abominations they call cannons are being put to use everywhere now. And Barbarossa doesn't care how awful it all is, as long as he gets to add another trophy to his collection."
 
"He won't add any of us as a trophy." Kayla said, glancing at her other leaders. "Nor will he add any of our friends to his collection. We stand united and strong against him and push him back into his own country with a firm message that were are not to be trifled with. If we must involve the Russians as well, then so be it."
 
"No doubt once Monomakh sees what's happening, he will aid us if we call. He may even join in without prompting, considering the Empire could target just about anyone. It is best to stand together and fend Barbarossa off now than let him pick everyone off one by one," Kjotva said with a resolute nod. "And if we need the horses and the archers, I can call upon my father in Mongolia as well seeing as his clan is not bothered with any enemies right now."

"Dad, will I get to help?" Young Freja asked Ulfric quietly.

"We'll see," he murmured in return. "You're still too young to fight."

"Boys my age fight all the time."

"They join militias to fend off pirates, not go to war. Now hush, we'll talk about it later."
 
Lena leaned into her father's side, not liking all of the talk of war. That would mean that both of her parents and her brother would go away for a while. She knew what it meant since they were the rulers of Norway and Kristoff was the heir. They might leave her with her nanny, which she didn't like in the least.

Fiona looked around at all of the rulers, each with a resolute and serious look on their faces. She knew how much it meant to them to stand together, but she hoped they wouldn't be ripped apart in the process.
 
"It looks like we're all on the same page," Sam confirmed, looking over all of them as well. Christopher lifted an arm to wrap around Lena silently as Sam rose from the table. "Tomorrow, we'll take some time t'enjoy ourselves at th'ball before we all dig int' this issue head-on. I'll be leavin' early in th'morning after th'ball with one o' the dragons, an' Fiona will be followin' me by ship t'bring our drakes. Once I'm home, I'll be takin' over th'full military power o' Inverness, an' work side-by-side with Kell fer th' High Throne. My sister's stayin' home til after her baby is born, probably even longer now with Imperial troops skulkin' around Scotland." He straightened his jacket and his posture before adding, "I want t'thank you all... I know yer all family an' Kjersten an' Elhardt, ye've considered all o' my family t'be yer own fer a long time. But it's goin' t'make a huge difference havin' the Triad on our side defendin' the isles. An' th'more we stand t'gether, th'less chance Barbarossa's gonna get t'divide an' conquer."
 
Fiona rose beside Sam, reaching out to take his hand as he gave his final words to those assembled. She knew that she would follow his lead on the subject of war, but she was going to do her best to convince him to go easy. She didn't know what she would do with herself if he were killed. If her dreams were any indication, it would be truly horrible.
 
Sam looked to Fiona for a moment, giving her hand a squeeze, before looking back to everyone else. "I think Fiona an' I have some things t'discuss ourselves. So we'll say goodnight."

"Rest well, kids," Elhardt smiled.

"I expect to see you treat that young lady to a proper night together tomorrow," Kjersten warned.

"Don' worry," Sam cracked a smile. "I already promised we'd dance, whether she thinks she wants to 'r not."
 
"I don't dance. Sam knows that." Fiona said, giving Sam a small smile as she bid everyone that was gathered a good night as well.
 
When they returned to their room and the door closed behind them, Sam began taking off his uniform to fold away neatly, dressing for bed in just dark trousers. He glanced to Fiona as he went, and murmured, "Guess I've got a little explainin' t'do about those other Riders, aye?"
 
"To say the very least, Samuel." Fiona commented as she readied for bed herself, pulling on a long white nightgown before she turned to face him with her hands on her hips. "You should have told me sooner. That's not exactly a secret that needs to be kept from me."
 
"Dmitri asked me t'keep it t'myself unless there was an emergency. It's somethin' I found out accidentally on my own. But I'd call th' invasion o' the isles an emergency."
 
"That's something you should have told me, Sam." Fiona said, unsure as to why he had hidden something like that from her. "At the very least you could have given me some kind of heads up that Invah and I weren't the only ones out there."

She was about to launch into another tongue lashing when a knock sounded at the door and soon a serving woman was bringing in a small meal for them. "I'm sorry, my lord. Your aunt insisted that you get something to eat this evening."
 
Sam nodded to the woman. "Thank you, ma'am," he took the tray and closed the door behind her when she left. He set it down on the desk in the corner of the room, turning back to Fiona with a sigh. "I would've told ya, love. But Dmitri insisted I keep it quiet. I found out about it before I knew there was a war on, an' before Dmitri was completely sure o' you."
 
"So Dmitri's opinion of myself is greater than your own? If I had not proved myself to him, you would never have told me?" Fiona asked as Sam settled their meal onto a small table by the fire. "Sam, I am just as much involved in this as you are. Inverness is my home too, no matter whether I ride a dragon or not."
 
"It's not a lack o' confidence, Fiona. I didn' want t'betray th'trust 'e put in me. It was up t'him when you found out. Th'way I understood it, he wanted t'keep it quiet because 'e didn' want t'draw the other Riders out where they might be in danger."
 
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