Ghis (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"Brogan, you're always too hard on yourself. You are the king that Inverness needed and you are the king that they admire and adore." Kayla said softly as she took her brother's hand and held it tightly. "Da was a monster, though Ma still swears that there was some good in him once upon a time. You have shown the people that they can have a king who cares for them."

"And you have a lovely family. I can't tell you how much I have envied your polite sons and stunning daughters." She said with a smile. "And you've given them so much love and support. Even Ciaran who thought that you would disown him when you found out about his secret."

She paused as she gathered her thoughts and her hand strayed to her belly. "I can't even tell Ash about my sorrows, but you have always been there and understood me better than anyone else. I don't think I'd be here today without you."

 

[KieranSoares]

"If I didn't 'ave family like you t'fight for, I wouldn' be 'ere either." Brogan wrapped her once more in his protective embrace, though he lingered this time, seeking a bit of comfort from the girl he'd been offering his own comfort to for her entire life. "I can' 'ardly stand t'think yer all grown up an' 'ave a son o' yer own. Y'were supposed t'stay little forever, Kay, so Boar an' I could carry ya around on our backs an' protect ya from monsters under th'bed." He chuckled softly at that, remembering how Boar had once told Kayla about the goblin under her bed and she'd slept beside Brogan for a week afterward.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I have Chris to do that for me now." Kayla answered with a grin on her face as her brother held her tightly against his side. "But I will never forget everything that you did for me when I was younger. You saved me from Da. He never laid a hand on me thanks to you and Durban and Boar."

She took his hand in her own and squeezed it tightly. "Come back to Norway with us, Brogan. Get away from Inverness and just relax. You have good people here who can watch Inverness in your place."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I can' leave, Kay. You know I jus'... can't." He'd never left Scotland except for times of crisis outside, or, such as her ascension to the Norwegian throne, diplomatic requirement. His journey with her had been to secure her place safely, but to go just for a holiday was beyond what Brogan would ever consider. It was the only thing that he exactly resembled Tamblin in: neither would leave their lands for anything other than emergencies or political meetings and opportunities. It wasn't a bad thing to inherit, but it made Brogan unable to escape for long.

"I know Julia wants t'take time away... But I jus'...." He sighed. "Hell, I guess I'm jus' stubborn an' paranoid."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Brogan, I don't think any ruler of Inverness has enjoyed a more secure rule than you. Julia deserves that vacation." Kayla said with a smile. "She is a saint for putting up with you and this family for so long."

 

[KieranSoares]

Brogan chuckled. "She's an angel, no mistake... I'll talk with 'er, see where she wants t'go. I still owe 'er a honeymoon, even after near two decades, an' another wedding like I promised 'er after Ciaran was born." He then met Kayla's eyes and gave her a smile that told her just how tired and worn out he was, but how strong he remained. "I'm glad yer 'ome Kay. Scotland was missin' th'gem in 'er crown." He wrapped an arm around her middle. "Come on, b'fore someone thinks we're gettin' into some kinda trouble again." Even if she'd never had the emotional connection to Brogan as a little girl, he'd spent all his free time helping her get out of trouble that he and her other brothers often got her into with Kitty, including ruining Kitty's flowers and pestering the cook and Ashelin and, when their guardian werewolf Ghell had still been there, pestering Ghell to no end.

Brogan walked out to the Great Hall with Kayla and took a deep breath in before he faced the rest of the world. As they emerged, Kayla found her son chasing around with Rho while Sam had made himself a watchdog for his brother. Kate and Kell were sitting together with Ciaran at a table, and Kitty, Vincenzo, Julia, and Christopher were sitting together at the front table. Vincenzo and Christopher, despite never having really known the other well except for one or two fleeting meetings, had a very close understanding of one another as quiet keepers of their families who generally left their wives to the larger decisions. Kitty had always been the matriarch of her entire family, and Kayla was the same for her own small family, not to mention both were Queens in their own right, even if Kitty had long ago stepped down for Brogan. Kitty was now, as the English might call her, a 'grand duchess', and so Vincenzo was, by marriage, a grand duke, but he never considered himself as such unless his title was needed to solve a problem. Christopher was much the same. He'd never become a king and he didn't want to, but he used his position as Lord Protector when required, and elsewise left the power to Kayla. Kayla and Christopher had probably ended up most like Kitty and Vincenzo.

 

[heartofcourage]

As Kayla entered the great hall on her brother's arm, she smiled as she watched Kristoff playing with his cousins. It warmed her heart to see her little boy acting his age and getting into trouble as he should have. He was expected to be much too serious at court and he relished the days when his father would take him out of the palace for mischief.

"Vær forsiktig, Kristoff." Kayla called as she went to sit at the table with her mother.

Instantly, Kitty was up and fussing over her daughter. It made Kayla smile, but she also blushed. "Ma, I don't need you fussing over me like that. Just sit and let me enjoy your company."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Sit down, love," Vincenzo chuckled, drawing Kitty back to her seat. He leaned over to kiss Kayla's cheek and settled comfortably.

At that moment, Ciaran, Kell, and Kate were looking over a book that Kell had brought out for Kate to study. In his lessons of Lunar, Kell didn't really follow the rules Kate knew for learning new languages. There were no charts of sentence structure, no confusing lessons of verbs versus nouns versus adjectives. He outright spoke in Lunar to her and she got to figure it out like a child would in learning their first language. Ciaran had decided to take part in these lessons too as he'd wanted to learn Lunar for some time now. Lir had started to teach him but they'd not gotten far.

The three were taking a break from the lesson as Kell was absently drawing Lunar designs on a scrap sheet of paper they'd used for writing letters. Ciaran was studying the book still, or daydreaming as he'd begun to do more and more often. Kell glanced over to Kate and gave her one of his no-longer-so-rare smiles. It seemed that coming to Inverness was just what he'd needed to start to open up. "Bored of me yet?" He asked softly.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Why would I be bored of you?" Kate asked as she looked at Kell with a grin. "You make life interesting in boring old Inverness. This is much better than learning Greek or Latin."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Inverness isn't boring at all," Kell chuckled. "You just have to know where to look for the fun. Your parents might not approve, but maybe I can show you where to find a little bit of entertainment. And Ria's always someone to ask. Having been a pirate, she knows how to find the best places. But then again, if I let you do that, I'd be a bad influence."

"No worse than Uncle Boar and Kreston and Ruben," Ciaran muttered without looking up from the book, cracking a small smile.

"Why's that?"

"Boar's the one who set Kate on the path to become a knight more so than anyone else. He made her first sword, he picked her first horse, and he filled her head with stories of knights from far away. And as Ruben got older, he and Kreston got a bit more carefree and, for lack of a better description, became what Rho and Kristoff are right now." Ciaran looked up to see the two skittering past. Sam wasn't far behind, but he decided to pause and take a seat by Ciaran to see what he was doing. Ciaran wrapped an arm around his shoulders and hugged him against his side.

"Basically, the Maliar side made her a troublemaker, and Boar made her a knight. Hence Ma's grey hair," Ciaran chuckled softly.

"Oh, so the night you let me out of that cell wasn't so crazy," Kell looked over to her.

"I'd have been surprised if she hadn't. I think Ma knew it was going to happen, that's why she set Gabriel the task of watching her."

"A lot of good that did."

"He's good at being a guardian, but he takes things slow like Uncle Durban, so it's no wonder Kate got away without him catching her."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Gabriel use to be fun, but now that he has a family, he's an old sourpuss." Kate groused, letting out a sigh. "It seems that Ruben is the same way. I guess having a family means that you have to grow up. I hope the same doesn't happen to Annie."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You never had to grow up, you just have to know when to stop being child, even if it's only temporary. Catch Ruben and Gabriel on a day with fewer worries and you'll see they're just the same as ever. But then again, being around you makes everyone tense," Ciaran teased with a gentle smile. He used to prod at her all the time like this, and it was a sure sign that he was recovering if he was beginning to tease again.

 

[heartofcourage]

"No, I make everyone nervous because I do what I want, when I want." Kate said with a grin towards her brother.

"And that, my sweet daughter, is why you are constantly in trouble." Julia commented as she paused to kiss Kate's red hair on her way to feed the twins.

Kate, despite her bravado, blushed furiously at her mother's comment and she glanced up into her mother's familiar green eyes.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell chuckled at the two and then added, "But you're still soft enough to be embarrassed by your mother."

"Ma can't help it. She thinks her major duty in life, behind being a mother and a queen, is to embarrass everyone," Ciaran gave his mother a wink.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Only when it comes to my children, love." Julia said as she leaned over and kissed Ciaran's cheek. "Want to help me with your sisters? I'm sure they're screaming at their nanny by now for food."

 

[KieranSoares]

"We'd hear them if they were, Ma," Ciaran smiled as he rose, offering her his arm before they went on to the infants' room. Kell watched them go before returning his attention to Kate.

"I don't know about you, but I don't think I can stand being inside much longer," Kell told her as he rose. "And I think it's time for a break from books anyway. Das. Ahm ikt e mu'un." Even if she'd only just begun to learn to learn Lunar, she knew, roughly, he was asking her to come with him on a walk.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'd love to." Kate said with a smile as she took Kell's hand and let him lead her from the room.

The rest of the family watched the little scene unfold quietly, Kayla glancing at her brother with a grin on her lips. "I'm surprised you're not reaching for your sword yet, Brogan." She teased her older brother.

 

[KieranSoares]

"So'm I, honestly..." Brogan sighed. "But... Kate was th'first t'ask me if she could explore 'er feelings with Kell... An' it was jus' the night b'fore last that Kell asked me th'same. I 'ad a long talk with 'im, an' after seeing how 'e's fought fer Inverness and fit right in, even with Annie an' Julia... I gave 'im my permission." It was unheard of for Ghis men to consent to their daughters' relationships unless the girls' mothers overthrew the men. Annie had practically had to join up her whole family on David's side before Brogan had given a thought to letting them marry. He probably would've done the same to Ciaran but the opposite way round if his son had been interested in his many admirers.

"Julia an' I 'ad a rule tha' the kids can court when they're eighteen. Well... Kate's seventeen now, and I doubt if Kell asked 'er properly that she'd say no just because o' some silly rule we made. Hell, Ciaran certainly didn't. So... I'll just let 'em run their course... They know what Julia an' I expect, an' they know I trust 'em not t'disappoint me."


Outside, Kell made his way to the forest with Kate where they came across the oldest part of the woods with ancient gnarled trees and huge root networks that spider-webbed the ground underfoot. Kell soon took a seat at the foot of one tree where the roots formed almost a little basin big enough for two or three people to sit in comfortably. He smiled up at Kate with a silent invitation for her to join him. He glanced around in clear curiosity at the ancient grove. "... I've been here before... I think."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate enjoyed the time that she spent with Kell. He was so unlike her family and it was a breath of fresh air in her otherwise routine life. She gladly took the spot next to him, sitting beside him as they looked around the old part of the forest. It had always been a magical kind of place where she and her siblings played. Her Da had ordered the lumberjacks to stay far away from the great majestic trees and they grew undisturbed as they had for hundreds of years.

"You would have remembered if you'd been here, I think." Kate said as Kell mused about being in the forest before. "It's not the kind of place that you forget."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Maybe... I distinctly remember coming to an old forest when I was very young, when my mother tried to teach me about my heritage so that I wouldn't grow up just with my father's influence. She was Christian, but she taught me everything she knew about being Erygonian... we came to the Inverness region for a while, mostly for the herbs and medicines that grow here." He smiled softly at the memory, then chuckled. "I nearly set my tail on fire one night. Ma told me I was lucky my fur is black, otherwise everyone would've noticed the char."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate laughed softly as he relayed the tale to her. She sat down beside him at the base of the tree, her knees tucked against her chest as she wrapped her arms around her legs and looked off into the thick forest.

"Da use to take us all here for picnics. I remember one time, when Sam and Rho were too small to come, he took Annie and Ciaran and I out here. Ciaran challenged me to race him through the trees. Halfway through, I tripped and fell into one of the trees. I knocked out my front tooth and had a gap in my smile until my new teeth came in."

She smiled as she thought about that. Her father and mother had completely spoiled her after she had been injured. Ciaran had also felt immensely guilty about it as well.

 

[KieranSoares]

"That would've been adorable," Kell laughed, shifting and laying back comfortably beside her. After a content sigh and a long silence, he turned his gaze to her. "I'm glad I came here with you, to Inverness. I know it probably sounds sappy and whatnot, but... meeting you was probably one of the best things that's ever happened to me."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate looked towards Kell as he said that and she smiled, reaching over to take his hand in her own. "I'm glad that you came. I wish Mary could be here with us, but I know that she's happy for you."

 

[KieranSoares]

"She's having her own adventures, probably with Ma and family we never got to meet." Kell seemed so at-peace with his little sister's passing despite how she'd been the last member of his family left and she had died so young. But Kate had seen that, though not all tribal werefolk could let go so easily, their faith and their beliefs allowed them to be happy for their honored and beloved dead rather than feeling sorry for their own losses. It was similar with non-tribal Lunasians like Brogan, but not quite as pronounced.

"So what with the war done and everything slowly shifting back into place... You're a knight... What do you think you'll do now?" Kell's eyes returned to meet her own.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm not sure." Kate said honestly as she let out a long sigh. "My uncles would help to train me if I asked. I kind of like the idea of taking a break. I think I've had enough of fighting and war for a while. Besides, my Ma and Da need some sort of calm in this family."