The Lady of Skye (closed)

Lady Katherine Lucina McTavish had long heard the stories of how cruel Tamblin Ghis was. It was true that the first time she met him at the age of ten, he looked dower and serious. At twenty, the age difference between them seemed too much of a gap to solve. She was the daughter of poor nobility, raised on an island with little rules. He was the son of a powerful king, brought up in a household of strict structure and brutal punishment. Still, there was something in the man that she found charming and when she married him, she made it her mission to make their home a good one.

She woke that cold winter morning as she always did...alone. Glancing at his side of their large bed, Kitty frowned slightly. He always rose before the sun and left her on her own. Just once she would have loved to have him stay with her, holding her through the night, but he wasn't that kind of man. She let out a sigh and turned her attentions to the window, watching as fat flakes of snow fell from a slate grey sky. It had been a long winter, she thought to herself as she sat up, frowning slightly as the baby in her belly tumbled excitedly.

"Calm now, little one. There's no reason to be so excited." She murmured softly to the swell of her belly, smiling as the baby calmed and settled.

It won't be long, she thought as she tossed her legs over the side of the bed and stood to stretch. She was eighteen that day. She was the queen of Inverness. Soon, she would have two bonny children to help fill all of her time. At that thought, she heard a cry coming from the tiny bed that was next to the fire.

"It's alright, Durban." She murmured, moving to her son's bed and sitting on the side of it gently. "Ma's right here."

She scooped her chubby toddler against her chest and held him tightly, kissing his thick cheeks until he giggled with joy. "See. No reason to cry."

Little Durban was only a year old at this point, but maids around the keep often commented that they could swear he was much older. He had been large from the beginning, bright, and strong. He'd begun walking early and had begun to discover words here and there, but he was stubborn about what words he'd take to heart. He couldn't be taught quite yet, he'd only randomly repeat things and giggle whenever he was asked to say it again. Like his father and the Ghis before him, he'd be bull-headed, vast, and a force to be reckoned with according to Tamblin.

As the boy laughed, the bedroom door opened and in stepped Kitty's huge brute of a husband. He was a giant at over six feet and his body was solidly built like a berserker made to battle. She'd learned that his father had purposely forced him to become such, training and sparring til his bones cracked and his muscles tore from strain throughout his adolescent and teen years. But of course, Tamblin had destroyed his father, essentially making his father's well-laid scheme to have a warrior son backfire.

Tamblin dressed plainly, seeing no need for decor and pomp when everyone knew exactly who he was. His real markings of title were his huge claymore that never left his back until he settled for sleep, the leather, steel ring-studded armguard that covered his entire left arm, and the traditional black kilt about his waist with little else adorning it but his two belts which he carried a hatchet and small satchel on. His hair was dark like night unless you caught it in just the right light where its true dark brown would be revealed, long and often tied back messily. He wore a dark emerald tunic and the seal of the Ghis House about his neck, tall boots, and he still had his cloak on from being outside, which he hung up on a rack near the fire. He pulled off his well-worn armguard which had cracked from the cold- he usually replaced it every year- and turned to Kitty. His eyes were what often enchanted or terrified the people around him- usually terrified- as they were pools of nearly-black intensity in purest form. But for the moment, he seemed calm and in at least an even mood. He reached up to smooth his short beard, glancing down at Durban. Never had Tamblin Courser Ghis been so happy than the day his healthy and strong firstborn son was brought to him after a long, strenuous birth on Kitty's part. And after the boy had been born, Tamblin was certainly much more loving and proud of Kitty. He would gladly have taken care of her and defended her honor as she was a beautiful and well-liked woman before, but after she'd given him what he considered the perfect heir, he actually treated her like a wife rather than just the woman who helped him keep his domain in order when he was too busy to do it himself. The people loved her and she loved them, so he often left her to the more social affairs of the estates whilst he focused on economics and defense.

"Mornin' lad," Tamblin cracked a formerly-rare smile, but it had become much more common since he married the woman who took such wonderful care of him and his keep and even more so since Durban's arrival. He then met Kitty's eyes. "An' g'mornin' t'you too, darlin'." Again, another effect of her presence and Durban's birth was the addition of such endearing terms.

"And good morning to you, my lord." Kitty murmured as Durban held up his chubby arms to his father.

Kitty never had found a term of endearment which seemed to fit Tamblin. He was a hulking man, one that had moods like a sudden storm. My lord seemed to be the only thing that fit, save for the occasional cry that left her lips during their moments of passion. He never seemed to mind it either. He had been nothing but kind to her, cordial on his coldest days, but he had certainly been more interested in her since she had born him their son.

She had worried for months over whether their first child would be a son or a daughter. She, of course, needed a son to keep her husband happy. A daughter wouldn't solidify his claim to the throne of Inverness, but a son would give him all the security that he needed. She had worked hard to bring that baby into the world too. Durban had been large, demanding, screaming as he came into the world after days in labor. She had sworn that she would never have another child again, but it seemed that there were other plans at work for her. Durban had only been five months old when she found herself pregnant yet again.

"Durban Courser Ghis, settle down." She said to her son, his dark eyes turning to her at her scolding. "Impatient little boys will never get what they want. It seems that he's been waiting for you to return, my lord."

"Hm," was Tamblin's simple answer. He always seemed pleasantly surprised that Durban was so attached to him. He knew he was not a man many people liked to keep near, much less cling to like his son did. But he enjoyed it, little as he'd thought he would. Being a father had come naturally to him despite never having helped to raise children before. His younger brother Seamus, whom Kitty knew from their wedding day to be a complete sweetheart and a charmer, was only a year younger.

As Durban fell quiet, understanding what his mother wanted from him, Tamblin gladly took the boy into one arm and Durban happily curled against his broad chest. Tamblin looked back to Kitty, softening as he often did with his son. And then Kitty received a soft phrase from him that she'd been told she'd never hear, among many other things such as 'I love you'.

"Happy birthday, Kitty," he told her softly. How he knew, she had no idea. But he'd found out, and he reached into the satchel at his hip to draw out a small gift box. He pressed it into her hands, and inside she found not jewels or gold, but something far more precious; a white Skye shell on a leather cord necklace. A Skye shell, which was really just a spiraled seashell, was a special ivory-white shell that only ever appeared on the shores of the Isle of Skye and, very rarely, Mull and Islay. They never reached the main isles whole and could never be found on the mainland. It was a rare and special gift. Kitty had only ever had one, passed down to her by her mother from her grandmother, and that one had gotten crushed on her move to Inverness.

"I know yours broke, an'..." He trailed off, not knowing quite what to say. Tamblin cleared his throat, not much for such romantic things, but he tried for her sake.

Kitty smiled at her son as he made himself at home against his father's chest. Tamblin looked like such an oddity holding that little boy in his broad arm, but he seemed so at peace with it. She had been told by ladies at the court that she would never see him smile or never see him pick up the child even if it was his own son. He had constantly surprised her with his willingness to be involved with Durban's upbringing.

She was even more surprised when he muttered Happy Birthday to her and offered her a small box. When she opened the top of it, she gasped and looked to her husband with wide eyes. Her shell, the one that she had wanted to wear at her wedding had been crushed to powder by a careless mover when she had arrived in Inverness. She never thought that she would see one like it again even though she had asked him to let her return to Skye from time to time.

"Thank you, Tamblin." She said softly, pulling the necklace out and immediately putting it around her slender throat. "Does this mean you've given more thought to Durban and I visiting Skye? You know my parents would love to have us there."

"I've been thinkin' about it... an' I'd be glad t'let y'go after y'have th'baby, just t'be safe, but I ain' goin' with ya. I 'ave t'stay." He was very serious about his position as King and all the duties it entailed. He even had a man who was basically his advisor and assistant who helped him make sure everything was taken care of day in and day out. In fact, it was a surprise that said man, a thin and scholarly man of their age, wasn't waiting for Tamblin outside their door. Tamblin had probably dismissed him while he was giving Kitty her gift.

"Send a letter 'ome, tell 'em ye'll be there late this comin' summer. But I want ya home b'fore th'winter sets in." He glanced down as Durban toyed with his seal, then back to Kitty. "An' tonight I wanna treat ya t'dinner, just us. I was off fightin' yer last birthday so I'm gonna make it up t'ya."

Kitty practically beamed as he delivered that news. She had been homesick for Skye since she had arrived in Inverness. The fact that she was going to take both of her children to her home land was even more special. It seemed that as if on cue, the baby kicked her ribs hard enough for her to wince, but even that didn't dampen her mood.

"Thank you, my lord. You have no idea how much that means to me." Kitty said as she stood and pressed a kiss to her husband's cheek. "And I will have someone watch Durban this evening. That way, it will make tonight truly special."

Tamblin had been gone fighting for much of their marriage. In fact, it had been a surprise to many in Inverness that she had become pregnant so soon after their marriage. There was some rumor that she had a lover, but that was quickly quashed when Durban had been born the spitting image of his father.

"Of course, a trip to Skye would be better with you coming along, but I understand. You have a kingdom to care for." She answered diplomatically as she leaned in and kissed Durban's cheek before she turned to dress for the day. "Take him with you this morning, my lord. I will have a maid come and fetch him in a while."

"I'm sure 'e'll enjoy a little walk," Tamblin nodded, and made his way out, soon joined by his advisor. It was odd for Tamblin to have chosen such a wiry man, but thin as he was and even though he was English by birth, Warwick Danforth was a force to be reckoned with in the field of strategy and knowledge. He'd won many battles for Tamblin, thus making him as valuable as Tamblin's best warrior, Marius. Kitty knew both Marius and Warwick well, they were very sweet on her even though Warwick was too serious and had a harsh way about him, while Marius was a great romantic and father who always came to Kitty for advice on what to get his wife or what to do to fix a problem with his newborn son Cole.

After Kitty had readied for the day, she was quickly joined by her favorite maid and best friend Ashelin. "Good morning, milady," she piped up cheerily. She was an average woman all around, but spirited and more educated and bright than one might consider a scullery maid should be. She was one of a handful of servants in the keep who could read, and that made her an invaluable leader when needed, and a spark of intelligence to talk to for Kitty.

"Good morning Ashelin." Kitty chimed back as she finished lacing her gown, letting out a sigh as the baby kicked again. "It seems this little one is active this morning. It must be all the excitement in the air."

She turned from the mirror, grinning at her good friend. "Shall we go to breakfast? We will have to retrieve Durban in a little while when Tamblin is tired of him."

Tamblin would take Durban for brief spaces of time, doting on him until something more important came along. That would give Kitty time to relax and get some of her own duties done before her attention went back to her rambunctious son.

"And I have the best of news. Tamblin has agreed to let me go to Skye when the baby is born." She announced, her eyes sparkling with the news as she looped her arm through Ashelin's as they walked to the great hall. "Of course, you will have to come with me."

"Oooh, an adventure?" Ashelin returned with glee. She had been one of the little girls who explored a little too much and got lost more often than any other children when she was young, and she loved to be at Kitty's side as the woman always seemed to have a tidbit or a story to make the day more interesting, be it a simple happening or a memory from Skye.

They sat down together at the head table- Tamblin allowed Ashelin there among his warriors because she was to Kitty what Warwick was to him- and Ashelin listened practically with bated breath to Kitty's story about what had happened that morning. "He really got you a Skye shell? Oh, let me see! I've never seen one!" She knew what they meant to Kitty and had always wanted to see one.

"It's just like the one that got destroyed." Kitty said with a beaming sense of pride as she showed Ashelin the necklace around her throat. "Just like the one my Gran gave to my Ma. And one day, I'll give this one to my daughter."

"Perhaps when we're there, we can find one for you as well." Kitty's eyes lit up with that thought.

As grown up as she had been at a young age, she still acted like the teen that she was around Ashelin. It was that beauty and that life that inspired her to do so many things around Inverness Keep. She had brightened up the hall, opened the windows and shutters to let the light in. She had changed the dusty old tapestries in favor of new ones that told the complete history of Inverness. She had even surprised Tamblin on his last birthday with a stitched family crest that hung over the broad fire place. Everything was in an effort to make Tamblin's rule more firm in the minds of his court. So far, she had succeeded.

After breakfast Ashelin gladly volunteered to take her favorite little toddler for the King and his Queen. She considered Durban her nephew for all intents and purposes.

Tamblin was busy overseeing the building of new stables within the walls of the Keep's grounds when the giant, soft-hearted warrior Marius found Kitty. In his slow and deep rolling tone, he greeted her with a smile, "Mornin', yer ladyship." Many people accused him of being stupid or touched in the head for how he spoke and moved slowly, but they quickly changed their minds when they heard about the lightning-fast and vicious man he could be on the battlefield, which was why Tamblin considered him a brother. But in calm and pleasant situations like this, he was the giant who took his time and made everyone know he had their best interests at heart. He adored Kitty, and she knew that if he and she weren't married to other people, he likely would've asked her to marry him.

"Good morning, Sir Marius. How is that wee lad of yours?" Kitty asked with a grin as she sat knitting in front of the great hall's ride place. "I haven't seen him except for the day he was born. I'm sure that he's twice the size now."

She had a sweet spot in her heart for Marius. He was one of her dearest friends there at the keep. Tamblin never seemed threatened by what they had, unlike the relationship she had with her brother-in-law. Tamblin didn't like the fact that she was close to Seamus. She kept the letters that they wrote to one another a secret from him for that very fact.

Despite the fact that Marius was the more likely to steal her away and much more able to do so by being so close, Seamus was the one to be threatened, but Marius didn't know that. He happily went about his life and made Kitty feel special every chance he got. He sat down beside her after pulling his claymore off his back, laying it aside. He didn't like to have weapons in front of ladies, but Tamblin insisted his men were always armed.

"Cole's plenty fine, but even if 'e is a month older, Durban outsizes 'im a fair bit. Marius looked down at the yarn and needles in her hands and raised a curious eyebrow. "What're ya makin' there, love?" He was always sure never to use such terms of endearment around Tamblin.

"Clothing for the baby." She mentioned as she glanced up at Marius with a smile on her lips as she settled into a seat beside her. "I firmly believe that a woman always knows what she's having and this time around, I think it'll be a girl. I can't dress her in Durban's old cast offs."

She laughed softly at the idea as she looked back at what she was making. "How has your wife been? I'm sure that Cole has been keeping her busy. I do miss talking to her in the evenings after dinner."

"Ah, Lilly's been jus' fine. Tamblin's got me runnin' around organizin' the defenses so much that I 'aven't gotten much chance t'see 'er fer a few days 'cept at night. Other'n always tired, she's doin' well. Cole's a good lad, but she's got a handful b'tween him an' lookin' after my brother's girls after 'is wife passed away las' winter. She takes care of 'em so 'e can keep workin' enough t'support 'em, but I've gotten 'im t'cut down a little t'spend time with 'is girls."

"Then I'll just have to talk to Tamblin about giving you some more time with your family." Kitty answered simply as if having that conversation with her husband was normal. "Your little boy will be full grown before you know it. You'll regret all the time that you didn't get to spend with him when he was young."

"I know yer right, m'dear lady," he took her hand and kissed it lightly, ever the gentleman even if he considered himself nothing special. "I see Durban's really stole 'is Da's heart. Tamblin ain' ever treated anyone like 'e treats Durban, talks to 'im all the time, tellin' 'im just what's 'appenin' whether 'e understands 'r not. An' 'e's talked about you a fair bit too, usually pretty affectionate about it e'en if 'e tries t'pretend 'e's made o' stone. Ye've opened 'im up a bit, 'e's even a little more talkative with th'people an' 'e's gettin' more involved with th'common workers an' farmers like you do. I dare say 'e may 'ave finally softened up."

"Not on yer life, boyo," came Tamblin's voice as he approached. "You sweet talkin' my wife?" He said with more good humor than Kitty had ever heard from him. Marius knew it was a joke and rose to smile at his king.

"Sure am. Y'picked th'prettiest rosebud out o'Scotland. I migh' be a little jealous."

Tamblin gave a small chuckle that was almost stiff from how little he laughed. "G'on, get 'ome."

"Home?"

"Tha's what I said. Yer dismissed fer th'day."

"Aw... thank ya, m'lord." Marius shook his hand and smiled back to Kitty before making his way out. Tamblin settled beside Kitty with a soft sigh. It seemed that whatever he was up to was finished or he'd left it to Warwick.

"We were just talking about how much he has been away from home, my lord." Kitty said with a fond smile as Marius practically raced from the great hall. "I was just about to demand that you give him time off, but it seems that you have beaten me to that."

Kitty put aside her knitting and settled back in her seat with a hand resting on her rounded belly as she looked at her husband. She cocked her head to one side, considering the kind of man that he was. He was certainly dower, focused on his duties as king, but there was a side of him emerging that no one had ever seen before.

"If I didn't know any better, Tamblin, I would think that you're starting to loosen up." Kitty commented, giving him a smile. "I had to admit that I like this side of you, my lord."

"Well... y'can't be too harsh with a little lad t'raise... an' a wife t'keep happy. I ain' tryin' t'be my father." She knew the stories of Old Tamblin, as he was called now that his son was a king and had removed him, how he'd raised his two sons with calculated cruelty, trying to toughen them into warriors that would win him an Empire. He'd succeeded with the elder of his two sons, but it had backfired and left him dead, whilst Seamus had followed the path of his sweet mother who, despite Old Tamblin's cruelty, had been to him what Kitty was to her own husband. The poor woman had died during the change of power from a heart attack after she was told her firstborn had killed his father, and her younger son was banished because he'd received the blame and she'd never see him again. Kitty had never known her, but when Tamblin did speak of her, he spoke fondly, in a soft tone with a gentle expression that he never used with anyone else, not even Durban.

Kitty reached out and gently touched her husband's hand. He wasnt the sentimental sort, but when he chose to open up to her she was always there to listen. Their marriage was friendly enough and they made each other smile from time to time but neither had made an undying exclamation of love.

"If our baby is a girl, we're going to name her Selena. That way your Ma can be honored as our family grows." She said softly, squeezing his hand gently.

Tamblin was silent for a long moment at her decision. Kitty was a decisive woman, he knew that, but he doubted her choice. "Wouldn' y'rather name 'er somethin' tha' means more t'you? Y'didn' even know my Ma." He didn't like to talk much about her, it was too tender a subject for the hard man.

"It means a lot to you, Tamblin. I don't mind having our daughter share her name with your mother." Kitty said softly as she watched her husband turn quiet and pensive. "We can choose something else, my lord, but I thought it would mean more if we named her Selena."

Kitty had often had to tiptoe aroun the issues that haunted her husband. This was the first time she had ever met them head on.

Tamblin thought about it for a long moment before sliding closer and wrapping his arm around her, hugging her gently against his side with a murmured, "Thank you, darlin'..." before he let her go. He struggled with such shows of affection, but he tried for her sake since she was such an integral part of his life and rule and he knew she liked it.

"You're welcome, Tamblin." Kitty murmure softly as he surprised her with his hug.

She leaned across the short distance and pressed a kiss to his cheek, showing him the little amount of affection that he was comfortable receiving from her. She smiled as he settled back away from her, keeping his distance.

"If you have dismissed Warwick today, perhaps we could take a walk on the loch before dinner. I know my legs could use a good stretch." She said, giving him a smile.