Claymore and Dagger Pt.2

[KieranSoares]

"Don' be sorry, lass. Th'old man's stayed around far longer'n what's fair to 'im. No doubt Ma'll tan 'is hide once 'e rejoins 'er. I've made my peace an' my siblings are makin' theirs. He's pretty special t'this family... Lot o' you kids don' know what 'e meant t'my brothers an' sisters an' I. What 'e still means. But 'e's actually part o' what I wanted t'talk with you about."

Hugging her a little tighter to his side, Brogan sighed quietly. "Lot o' good an' bad is gonna happen this winter, probably one after th'other. No one wants t'postpone th'good for the sad things, we all sort of agree it'd be against this Clan's values t'mourn instead o' havin' things like festivals an' weddings. But there's also th'issue of the war. The Empire migh' hibernate with its main forces, but I don' trust 'em not t'send spies an' small probing groups t'see our defenses while we think we're safe."

"I guess what I wanted t'know..." Brogan summed up, "is what yer feelin' about all o' this, an' any plans. Seems like lately things're just happenin' and we all 'ave t'keep up, especially you an' a couple others around 'ere."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Brogan, if I thought you and Sam would let me, I’d ride Invah to Barbarossa’s stronghold right now and burn it to the ground to save everyone the pain of a war come Spring.” Fiona said with a conviction in her voice. “And I probably still could without Sam knowing until it’s too late.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know y'would, but I also know ye'd get yourself an' Invah killed before y'got anywhere near Vienna. What I want t'know is how yer gettin' on righ' now, an' what y'intend t'do when this war really rages. Sam'll have t'go t'the front sometime, an' so'll the Riders. What will you do?"

 

[heartofcourage]

“Being Sam’s wife and the queen of Inverness, I suppose I’ll have to stay behind to take care of everything here while he’s on the front.” Fiona said diplomatically even if the things get secretly terrified her.

 

[KieranSoares]

"As Queen, you go where you need to be to do the most good." Brogan looked down at her once more. "Julia isn' a fighter, tha's why she never went with me to deal with threats. But you've been trainin' t'fight, your place isn' far behind allied lines waitin' fer casualty lists. You do what you need to."

 

[heartofcourage]

“I know if I did go, you and Julia would protect Inverness. I suppose it all comes down to what Sam wants.” Fiona said softly. “Or where he wants me to be.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Sam doesn' have any say. Yer a Rider. With 'r without allegiance, you still choose yer path. I'm no' sayin' you shouldn' take his opinion into account, but don' let 'im be unreasonable with you."

 

[heartofcourage]

“I’ll give him a piece of my mind if he’s unreasonable over anything.” Fiona said with a small smile up to her father-in-law. “No more hiding away for him. He’s been making a good effort. He might not show it to the rest of you, but he truly is content. He’s also excited to meet Rho’s cub.”

Fiona smiled wider as she thought about the secret stash she had found in their room where Sam had been collecting things for his twin's child. The baby was so close to being born, but Sam was prepared for any possibility. He had been sheepish when she had asked what everything was, but she thought it was sweet that he already adored his niece or nephew so much.

"I stand for Inverness above everything else. This has always been my home and always will be, no matter how old I get." Fiona admitted in a soft tone. "I will do anything in my power to help the people of Inveress."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Good," Brogan nodded with a light smile. "An' while we need people with tha' dedication in times like these... don' forget yer still a person like everyone else. Take good care of yourself." He kissed her forehead and hugged her a little closer. "I'm glad t'call you family, love. An' I'm proud o' you an' Sam. Yer doin' well."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I love your son deeply." Fiona said as Brogan held her tightly and kissed her forehead. "Probably more than I have ever loved anyone in my life."

She easily told Sam how much she loved him when they had their time in the evenings. He would sometimes return the sentiment. It was something they were working on, but she knew that he loved her just as much.

"Sam was thinking about asking you to stand up for him at the wedding, but I think Rho threatened to beat him up if he wasn't made his best man." Fiona said, giving Brogan a grin. "You might just have to settle for sitting in the front row again."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don' mind. More comfortable there anyway," Brogan chuckled. His attention turned to the east and a smile spread across his face. "Ah, look who's here."

Off in the distance over the inlet to the bay, two huge flying figures had appeared and were closing in quickly. Even with the grey day, Invah's teal scales stood out against the cloudy sky.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona felt her breath stick in her chest as she saw the two dragons closing in on the keep. She didn't even excuse herself as she pulled away from Brogan's side and hurried down to the courtyard to greet her family as Gaiann and Invah circled for a moment before they made a smooth landing.

"You've had me waiting for days." Fiona commented, giving her dragons a grin before she saw her family start to disembark. "And you barely beat the blizzard that's coming in."

 

[KieranSoares]

The first one on the ground was Rhett to help his parents dismount. While Oleg could get down fairly well, Rhett climbed halfway up Invah's side to pick his mother up and carry her down.

Oleg caught Fiona in his arms first, hugging her as tightly as he could muster. "Hello, little kit," he murmured. "I'm sorry we took so long. The wind wasn't cooperating."

 

[heartofcourage]

“I missed you terribly, Uka.” Fiona murmured as her grandfather instantly wrapped her up in the tightest hug that she had ever been given.

 

[KieranSoares]

"You've no idea how we've all missed you." Oleg kissed her forehead and immediately, she was in Anya's arms, Rhett having just set the old Fox down. "We talked about you all the time, all year, and your letters brought the family together every week to read what you'd gotten up to."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona hugged her grandmother just as tightly, no matter how frail she felt in her arms. This was where she had belonged since she was a little kit, even if things hadn’t worked out that way. Glancing up, she saw her little cousins looking around at the keep in awe, never having seen anything so large in their young lives.

“Let’s get inside before we get caught by the snow. We’ll get everyone fed and warm.” Fiona said, looping an arm around her grandmother to escort her inside.

 

[KieranSoares]

Guards opened the doors for Fiona and her family, helping to usher them in. At the hearth, Owen remained as it seemed Vincenzo had retired with little Brogan. Now with him was the elder Brogan, awaiting his guests. Even if he wasn't king anymore, it was long tradition that the keep officially belonged equally to the king and his predecessor if said former king still lived. Sam still insisted it was Brogan's keep, so Brogan still treated visitors as his personal guests.

Owen rose alongside the former king, hurrying to meet his late mate's family. Oleg caught him in an embrace before looking to Brogan. "Ah, now I know a face like yours. Greetings, and many thanks for your support from the Voya."

"Clan Inverness welcomes th'Elder o' the Voya," Brogan greeted in turn, and quickly dropped the formality. "It's good t'finally meet you, Oleg. Even better t'have you fer th' Solstice."

 

[heartofcourage]

Each of Fiona’s uncles kept order of their little families, Juno and Voluun ushering their kits respectfully forward to greet Brogan while Yul brought their belongings and started to stack them where the servants would bring them to the individual rooms later.

“You’ll get to meet Suara tomorrow if the weather isn’t too terrible.” Fiona commented as each of her nephews and her niece greeted Brogan. “She insisted she wanted to come and greet you personally, Uka.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Meeting her is something I've looked forward to all year," Oleg said with a smile. "She's got quite the reputation across the north, and her tribe is one of the largest Teo groups outside their homelands in Africa."

"And she's family," Owen spoke up. "She's long since claimed the Ghis family as kin, and she has a particular love for Sam. It didn't take her long to claim Fiona and I as family as well."

"To think... My granddaughter is a queen connected to a powerful Teo Elder and to the Scottish Throne. Any other high-profile kin you've gathered?" Oleg teased gently as he looked to Fiona while Rhett came to hug her close. It seemed his sweetheart Orla had come as well, but she was keeping back for the moment.

 

[heartofcourage]

“You’re lucky I didn’t wear my crown today.” Fiona said with a smile as her uncle Rhett hugged her tightly for a long moment.

She still felt a special connection to Rhett, the same connection that her mother had to her older brother. He was a quiet soul but willing to do anything for his family at a moment’s notice. When he let go, she gave him a smile and then turned back to her grandparents.

“Come and see my portrait.” Fiona said, leading the way to show them where her official portrait as queen hung alongside Sam’s.

Dylan had outdone herself for her nephew, painting them both true to life with pieces of their great passions around them. Fiona was dressed in her coronation gown in her portrait, her blue eyes glowing as brightly as her crown. Beside her was her helm from her riding armor and Sam’s crest could be seen in the background. There was also a nod to her heritage with a fox embroidered on the pillow of the chair that she rest one hand on. It was the most beautiful thing that Fiona had ever seen and she was immensely proud of it.

 

[KieranSoares]

The family of Foxes stared around in wonder at the keep as they walked, and came to a stunned halt before the hallway of paintings. Fiona's portrait was a new gem of the small gallery, decidedly very different from most of the other women there with her clear military involvement and youth.

Beside her portrait hung Sam's, which was different from what most had expected. Most had thought he'd be painted in uniform, but he and Dylandra had chosen his ceremonial armor instead. It was an ensemble of black and steel, to reflect the grave personality of the man therein. He stood before the keep's main hearth, the blades and banners behind him and firelight reflecting on bits of his armor and face. His expression was stoic but not unwelcoming, and the only hint of color to his entire ensemble was a Ghis tartan sash about his waist under his belts. Other than Fiona's banner behind him, there was an influence of Fiona in his armor, but it was mostly unnoticeable by those who didn't know it was there. On the main plate on his chest, a fox was engraved in the center seam, too small and in shadow for most to see even when he actually wore it. He had one hand grasping the handle of his Claymore standing point-down beside him, his ring visible on his dark glove. The other hand rested on a sheathed dagger at his side. His helmet sat on a small table beside him, the new aerodynamic design he used in flight.

"You really are royalty now," Juno muttered softly. "I still can't believe it."

"These are beautiful..." Yul whispered, inspecting the work with the eye of a fellow artist.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Sam’s Aunt Dylandra did the both. She also did one of his sister and her new cub to send back to Edinburgh. She’s still here at the keep with her daughters waiting for her husband to come back from the front. I’ll introduce you, Uncle Yul.” Fiona said, the smile on her face so bright and permanently in place.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I-I wouldn't want to bother her..." Yul muttered, ducking his head as Voluun ruffled his fur.

"You're not as much a nuisance as you think you are, little fox. I doubt she'll mind. And I'm sure she'll appreciate meeting a fellow artist."

"It would be good to get to know our little kit's new relatives," Oleg agreed. "I'm looking forward to meeting the Maliars myself, particularly this Taqu'un fellow who seems so respected in the isles."

 

[heartofcourage]

"That's Sam's cousins and his Aunt Selena. His uncle is Kreston Maliar." Fiona said as her grandfather spoke about wanting to meet that side of the family most of all. "Speaking of which, Sam should be finishing up and joining us for lunch. I'm sure most of his siblings will as well. They're all lovely."

 

[KieranSoares]

Yul seemed to grow even more nervous, his anxiety coming out even though he was silent. Rhett wrapped an arm around him, smiling quite serenely.

Oleg nodded at Fiona's words, "Then let's go and join them. Afterward... I think your grandmother and I could use a rest."