Ghis (closed)

[KieranSoares]

Ciaran's expression grew concerned at her mention of her little brother, until he saw that she was quite at peace with the idea. He could only wonder how Sarah and Ian had gotten through it all. He glanced down to Ashelin, cradling her closer as she settled and he relaxed with a sigh. Soon he rose and laid Ashelin beside her twin, knowing the two didn't like to be apart for long, not unlike Rho and Sam. Looking down to Cassie, he gave her a smile, "They're really lovely girls. Ashelin's just got some strong opinions about everything. Just like my Da, only a lot louder."

 

[heartofcourage]

Cassie gave him a small, shy smile as all attention turned towards her once the twins were taken care of. She was a little girl who liked to be in the shadows, unnoticed and left alone. The Ghis, however, seemed to take special pains to make her feel welcome.

"Can we go and get some cookies?" She asked Ciaran, holding out her tiny hand to him as her other hand still gripped her stuffed wolf tightly to her side.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Sure we can," Ciaran nodded and took her hand with a smile. He led her around to the kitchen, going at her pace until they reached the airy and large kitchens where Chessie was humming merrily away as she boiled a kettle of water over a fire for tea and cleaned here and there. The other cooks were cleaning up from the last meal and baking bread and sweets.

Noticing the Invernessian Prince and the Irish Princess enter out of the corner of her eye, Chessie turned to them with a warm smile. She'd always had a soft spot for the young man named after her husband, and she'd been quite fond of Cassie since she'd arrived. "And what can I do for you two, hm?" Chessie asked the young girl softly.

 

[heartofcourage]

Cassie pressed against the back of Ciaran's legs as Chessie asked her what she wanted. She had suddenly lost her nerve even though Ciaran held her hand to give her strength. She didn't know that she could get the words out that she wanted to say.

"Cookies?" She finally managed to whisper, peeking around the side of Ciaran's thigh to look up at Chessie. "Please."

 

[KieranSoares]

Chessie couldn't help a soft chuckle. "O' course, love." She reached up to a large jar on the shelf- placed high out of Rho and Sam's reach- and pulled it down to offer to her to take what she wanted. Ciaran took just one for himself. "Jus' came out o' the oven this morning."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Thank you." Cassie murmured as she took two cookies and then returned to her hiding spot.

At that same moment as if on cue, Sam and Rho came running into the kitchens with William and Sean just behind them. They had a knack for knowing when Chessie had pulled down the cookie jar.

"Can we have some too, Chessie?" Sam and Rho said at practically the same time.

All of the commotion made Cassie nervous and she pressed herself closer to Ciaran, a little frown of concern and worry on her features.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Not until th' four o' ya calm yourselves down, makin' a commotion," Chessie scolded them, knowing they'd frightened Cassie. Ciaran laid a hand across Cassie's back, letting her know everything was just fine. William, however, ever the dutiful brother, came to his little sister to make sure she was alright, forgetting about the sweets.

"You okay, Cass?" He asked gently. For all the times William and Sean tended to run off to have fun without her, William always made sure she was in good health and tried to help her to not be afraid of the world.

 

[heartofcourage]

Cassie nodded as William asked if she were alright. She was always alright, but she had little courage to explore like her brothers did.

"I want to go back with Shia." She announced, looking up at Ciaran with a defeated look on her face.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Sure sweetheart," Ciaran nodded, taking her hand. William left his younger brother and two new friends to make sure that Cassie made it back to Shia alright. They found the old wolf in the garden, simply enjoying the peaceful surroundings. But he heard them coming and he rose, offering out a hand to Cassie.

"Little too much for you, love?" Shia asked gently.

 

[heartofcourage]

Cassie nodded as she took his hand and she was instantly lifted into his arms. She pressed her cheek against his shoulder, visibly relaxing once she was back in her safe spot.

"I got to see the babies." She announced, not moving from her spot. "And I got you a cookie."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Ah thank you, sweetheart," Shia kissed her forehead and looked to Ciaran with a smile, letting him know Cassie was taken care of. William remained for a short while, and Ciaran returned to his infant sisters. Shia settled on the bench with Cassie on his lap, keeping an arm around her. "What had you spooked this time, lovely?" He asked softly.

 

[heartofcourage]

"All the noises." Cassie said softly, biting her cookie as she let out a sigh. "I don't like it when things are so loud. It makes my ears hurt."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Inverness Keep can be noisy with all those young boys running around, yes, but sometimes it's even more peaceful than home. I know your mother tries to keep things calm and quiet, not just for your sake, but for her own and your father's too." Shia let out a soft sigh, rather content where he was.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Shia, how can I be brave like Sean and William?" Cassie asked him softly, knowing that he had tried his hardest every day since she was born to give her the confidence to do just that.

 

[KieranSoares]

"There's a difference between brave and foolhardy, my love, and half the time, your brothers overstep that line. That's to be expected because they're young boys, honestly... But being brave doesn't mean facing everything without fear. Being brave is knowing you're scared to death, but facing your fear so that you can overcome it... For example, I'll tell you a little secret... When I first went blind, I was terrified, and I hid from the world. But I realized I'd never be happy like that. So, I began to face the world again, I made plenty of mistakes, and I learned to ask for help. Now... being blind seems like it's not so bad. My ears tell me what's around me, and so do my hands and my nose. I can hear horse hooves half a mile away, I know when things are coming and when things happen. That's how I always manage to find you when you're lost or scared, I just know when you need me. But I also know when you don't."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'll always need you, Shia." Cassie said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Always and forever."

Just like her stuffed wolf that was sitting in his lap, Shia provided the security and confidence that she needed to get through the day. He had always been in her life and she refused to think about the day that he might be gone.

Little did Cassie know that her mother and father had set up an appointment with Vincenzo and the healers that had taken on Julia's case. They both knew that they had one shot with their daughter's disfigured leg and even that wasn't a guarantee.

Sitting in Vincenzo's rooms as Cassie was in the garden with Shia, Sarah let out a long sigh as they spoke about her daughter.

"It pains me to know just how much she'll have to go through to fix this. She's a little girl that's already had so much sorrow in her life." Sarah said as she looked at her husband and then at Vincenzo. "What if we make it worse?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"At the very worst, she may lose her leg if things go drastically wrong," the senior tribal healer, called Mariko Vamo, warned her. "But we will do absolutely everything in our power to make sure that, at the very least, she comes out of this no worse than she went in."

"The operations she'll need are far beyond my knowledge," Vincenzo told Sarah honestly. "But the tribal healers deal with such things all the time, usually caused by war wounds, and their people have practiced the same medicine techniques for thousands of years. If anyone can improve upon little Cassandra's condition, it's them. I can help with the physical therapy she'll need if it goes smoothly, but that's the extent of my knowledge."

The senior healer looked to Sarah with a serene and sure expression. "I will do all I can."

"What can we do t'repay you?" Ian asked softly.

"All I ask is peace in your realm for my kind, and room and board for my healers while we're there and safe passage home. Your daughter is a very sweet child, we would be glad to help her." Mariko shook Ian's hand with a kind smile, "We will come to you as soon as Queen Julia and King Brogan are well and on their feet again, but we will try not to take too long. The younger Cassie is when we begin, the more likely she is to heal faster and for her leg to develop properly with her."

 

[heartofcourage]

Sarah nodded at that promise, knowing that she would agree to anything if it meant that her daughter had any chance in the world. She shook the hands of the healers and did the same for Vincenzo. They were going to do everything in the world to make sure that Cassie had a fighting chance.

 

[KieranSoares]

It would be a week more before Sarah and her family returned home, and as the year turned to planting season and food became plentiful once more, the healers followed them to Ireland. Brogan had fully recovered, though he'd never be able to take so much strain ever again, and Inverness benefited greatly from having their King back at the helm with his sight. The people loved Julia and followed her without question, but it did their hearts good to see their King hale and whole once more.

Brogan spent his time between caring for Julia and setting things back to normal in his clan, but he wouldn't negotiate the Erygonians' fate just yet, not without Julia and Kate and Kell all together with him while speaking with Suara.

 

[heartofcourage]

It took Julia a longer time then she thought to recover from the birth of her twins, but under her husband's care, she certainly did flourish. As the planting season arrived, she was able to care for the girls with Ciaran's help. He knew so much about Heather and Ashelin. He could tell them apart, even though they were identical. He could hear the differences in each and every cry that they uttered. It did her heart a world of good to see her son flourishing after such tragedy in his own life.

One afternoon, while everyone was out helping with the crops, Julia rocked Heather to sleep, glancing at Ciaran as he changed Ashelin's diaper as the little girl whimpered and squirmed in her displeasure.

"Tell me how you're doing, my heart." She said as Ashelin was scooped up and she cooed happily in her brother's arms. "You look well and I noticed you've been spending more times in the woods lately."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I won't say I'm not still hurting," Ciaran told her honestly, but he gave her a smile to let her know he was okay. "But... I think I've made my peace with him being gone. Between the girls and my time in the woods, I've been feeling a lot better. I think it's just having things to do that make it easier. I don't have the time to sit and think about how much I miss him and depress myself. Not to mention, every time I start to get down, Ashelin demands my attention... she's taking care of me even more than I take care of her."

Ciaran came to settle at his mother's side, his little sister curling into his arms. He gave Julia a smile, "I guess Ash knows, huh?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm sure she'll be your little shadow when she's old enough to walk." Julia said as he came to settle at her side. "I also wanted to talk to you about Kate."

"As the first born, you know that you have every right to your father's throne. Are you sure that you're alright with your sister taking it when the time comes? Your father still agonizes over that choice and we just want to make sure that you aren't feeling left out."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don't want to be a king, Ma. I never did," Ciaran told her softly, knowing the issue was painful for his great father. "I'd rather be a forester like Uncle Durban and Uncle Kreston. I'm not objecting to helping if I'm needed, but... honestly, life with a were-tribe has always appealed a lot more to me than being a King or a Prince."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You make me so incredibly proud, my heart." Julia said softly as she reached out and touched her son's cheek. "I don't think I could have asked for a better son then you."

She knew that he was still dealing with his own issues with Brogan, but she hoped in time they could work them out between them. "When he's finished with the crops, why don't you ask your Da to go fishing on the loch? I think it would do you both some good to just sit and talk."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I think we might just do that," Ciaran nodded and laid Ashelin in her crib as she dozed off, and she was soon joined by her sister. "I don't think I've gone fishing with him since... since I was thirteen." He came to his mother, kneeling before her and laying his head in her lap. It had been a habit of her husband, and had been passed on to her boys more so than her girls, especially Ciaran.