Ghis (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"Sam, you don't HAVE to be anything." Julia said as he answered that he had to be like Kell for Rho. "You simply have to be Sam. If that means that you become the protector of Inverness, then that is what you shall be. If you would rather become an artist, then become an artist. Your Da and I and Rho simply want you to be happy."

Julia drew her mare, Chester, close to Sam's side and reached out to touch his cheek with a soft glance. "Love, if you carry that guilt for the rest of your life, it will kill you before your time. Look at your cousin, Seamus. A wrong word and he is willing to kill someone. I don't want to see you take that same path."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Rho's going to be a king... I know what kinds of things happened to you and Da, and I don't trust anyone else to protect Rho if those things happen to him too. It's my fault he lost his arm, so the least I can do to make up for it is protect him," Sam told her, the reasoning making clear sense to him. But it was also out of sheer loyalty to his brother.

 

[heartofcourage]

"His stubborn pride had a large hand in his losing his arm, Sam." Julia said as she saw the determination in her son's gaze. "What happened can't be changed, but I would like to see you find your happiness again. Perhaps your Da and I can send you to spend a summer with your Uncle Ashien. Would you like that?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don't want to bother them," Sam told her quietly, but that got him thinking. "Ma... I don't want to bother Aunt Kayla either, but... do you think she would mind if I went to Norway? I'd like to see Denmark and Sweden too."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Sam, you'll find when it comes to family, you are never a bother." Julia said as he son expressed interest in going to Norway to visit his aunt Kayla. "I think that can be arranged. I think it would do you some good to go on a trip on your own. That way, you and Rho can find out who you are apart and become that much closer together."

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam didn't have much to say to that, getting a bit lost in thought. His hope for visiting Scandinavia was to learn from Kayla and Christopher's thriving economy, Ulfric Moor's spy network, Elhardt's immense navy, and Sweden's warrior culture that was usually quite peaceful to outside nations, but overwhelmingly powerful when disrupted.

 

[heartofcourage]

Soon, they had found a spot for the horses to graze and a spot for them to sit and enjoy the afternoon while they ate their meal. Julia kept looking over at her son, proud of the man that he was coming. He was quiet, so different from the mischievous little boy that he had been.

"Do you remember the time that you accidentally set fire to the wheat field outside the keep?" Julia asked, giving a smile to her son. "I don't think I've ever seen your Da so cross before."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I still think it was Maul's fault," Sam said with a hint of a smile. "He knocked my lantern over with his clumsy hooves."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You are the only little boy I know of that likes to go on midnight rides." Julia said as she saw the small smile start on his face. "Well, besides Ciaran. He would run in the woods whenever he could. He almost gave me a heart attack the first night he didn't come home. Uncle Boar found him sleeping in a tree the next morning, cozy as a bug."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I think I got it from him, when you let him take me camping, just the two of us. I guess I just don't like being stuck inside all the time either." Even if he was constantly studying and training, he was rarely inside unless he was sleeping or fetching something from the library.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Not so different from your Da." She said as he talked about wanting to be outside all the time. "He enjoys the outdoors just as much as the rest of his brothers. I still have hopes that Heather will be the child that likes to stay with her Ma."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Maybe she will be, or she'll take after Ciaran. She and Ashelin love him almost as much as Heather loves you an' Ash loves Da." Sam moved a little closer to her side. Even if he wouldn't say it, he missed always being beside her like he'd been as a little boy. Brogan still spent plenty of time with all his children, but at a certain age, he'd taken over Ciaran's education almost completely, soon followed by Kate when he realized she listened to him more willingly and preferred his style.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia smiled and wrapped an arm around Sam, pulling him close to her side. She pressed a kiss against his forehead and simply sat with her son for a long moment of silence. He was a serious child, but the little boy that he had once been was still there, just buried beneath responsibility.

"When I was a little girl in Chester, I use to dream that one day I would have a family that loved me. I'm happy that someone out there was listening to my hopes and wishes." Julia murmured softly to Sam. "You remind me a lot of myself when I was little. Always wanting to be something more. I don't want you to lose that drive, love. However, life is too short to be so serious about everything."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don't know how not to be," he told her honestly. Even if he'd once been carefree, he always had been a little less wayward than Rho and often had the plan that got them out of trouble, and Rho was usually the one to carry out plans.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Don't tell me that your Ma has to tell you how to be happy." Julia teased with a smile towards her son. "How did you get such an old soul, Sam?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I think you know, Ma," Sam told her, though he gave her a small smile in return. He'd always been closest to her, but he'd learned from his father from the moment he was born. Brogan had become a different man since the war with Wick that nearly took all he knew and loved, and after Kate's birth, he'd mellowed out. He was more loving and gentle and forgiving than ever, but never overly energetic and usually calm and decisive. Where Rho had perhaps followed Kate's lively streak, Sam had learned almost solely from his parents and older brother, and Ciaran had always been calm and even-tempered. Sam was only a troublemaker when in the company of his minutes-younger brother.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Whatever you decide to do in your life, I will love and support you, Samuel." Julia said softly. "As long as you are happy and safe, you'll always have my support."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Thanks Ma," he murmured, leaning against her side.

It was a few days later after plenty of lessons for Kate and Rho that Brogan finally seemed to have his energy back. Julia found him out riding one morning, a fake sword in hand as he sparred with Kate. Brogan liked to keep up on his skills just in case, even if fighting in battles was no longer much of an option, and he was showing Kate's skills off to others in the training field, mostly royal guards, squires, and those in training to become soldiers and guards. Her fighting men would respect her more willingly if she could prove her own arm.

 

[heartofcourage]

"How long have those two been at it?" Julia asked Sam and Rho as they sat on the wooden fence rail and watched their father and sister spar on horseback.

Kate's brow was heavy with sweat as she pulled her stallion back towards her father, the warhorse pawing at the ground in anticipation. Anson was a gentle horse most of the time, but the love of a fight was in his blood. He came alive during the sparring matches that she put him into. Her father had specially helped to bread him and she was forever grateful for the lovely steed that she had been given.

 

[KieranSoares]

"An hour," Rho told Julia. "He's unhorsed her once and she broke one of his shields."

Brogan was still the formidable figure astride his great dark umber stallion. Brogan had originally intended to name him Dunn and sell him to Annie after he'd insisted she keep Ferrous as she loved him so much. Brogan being quite a masterful horse breeder himself had joined her in providing horses for his men. But when this particular stallion had proven unrideable by anyone else, Brogan had taken him and they ran each other into the ground with training for two years before the horse finally found a respect for his rider. Brogan finally renamed him Ghairhardt, and the stallion was Ansen's own sire. That didn't stop the two from battling and sparring just as hard as the father and daughter riding them.

"Watch those openings," Brogan growled at Kate after dealing her a bruising dull hit below her ribs when she left an opening after a swing. He was usually so loving and gentle with her, but after he'd stepped up her training, all relations were off when their swords clashed. Currently he was working her with her claymore and he was teaching her to fight a faster person with sword and shield. She was usuing her real blade while he had been using wooden weapons. He finally tossed aside the sword and shield and drew his real claymore to force her to really focus. He would never actually hit her with it, but she didn't know that he wouldn't at least hit her with the flat of the blade. "Come on, lass!" He met her with a powerful overhead swing.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate released the reigns as she used both hands on the claymore to deflect her father's blow. The strike made her arms ache, but she was stubborn enough to keep going. With a squeeze of her knees, Anson got her out of danger, allowing her to get her breath.

"Watch your form, kitten!" Julia called to her daughter, watching as the stunned girl glanced towards her. "Sloppy form and you'll be unseated again."

 

[KieranSoares]

Brogan watched Kate dart away for the chance to catch her breath, and he lowered his blade to his side. Ghairhardt snorted dangerously, but didn't advance without his rider's command. Brogan patted his neck and nudged him just slightly to follow after Kate and Anson. "If this were a real fight, lass, I'd be chasin' you t'hell an' back. Y'need t'learn t'breathe better. Never hold yer breath. I see ya doin' it whenever yer about t'swing. Tha's a clear tell, love, and ye'll never surprise yer opponent." It was one of the reasons Brogan could overcome her, because he had no tells when it came to battle.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I can't fight off an attack like that, Da. My arms hurt." Kate admitted to him as he talked about getting rid of her tells of weakness. "I can barely keep the claymore in my hands as it is."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know," Brogan told her simply, motioning her over. "Here, I'll show ya." Brogan dismounted and Ghairhardt remained where he was left. "If th'blade's too heavy for ya, I can fix it up. But I'll show ya how t'take hard hits like tha'." He brought her over and had her hold up her blade to block overhead. "Both hands, love... alright, now when I swing down, don' lock yer arms. Give jus' a little, let yer elbows take th'shock. Yer hands migh' sting a little but I won' be breakin' yer wrists 'r shockin' yer arms anymore."

He lifted his blade to let her give it a try, working through it slowly with her at first until he delivered a proper full swing. It made her fingers tingle, but it would allow her to slide his blade away and hit an opening at his chest or neck. "Lots o' big fighters like me love t'do this an' overpower smaller people. But if yer smart, y'can take their heads clean off for it."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Brogan, please don't wear yourself out." Julia said softly as he continued to put Kate through her training paces.

She was worried that he would get ill again, something that they were both concerned about since they had learned that he had the same illness that his mother had. Nothing would stop him from training Kate, however.

Julia and the twins watched the two of them for a while longer before she heard someone come up beside her. Glancing to the side, she gave a smile to Warwick as he watched as well. Reaching over, Julia gently tapped Sam on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Warwick, I would like you to meet my son, Samuel. He's been talking about making your acquaintance since we arrived." Julia said towards their old family friend. "He fancies himself the keeper of Inverness. Interested in strategy."