Ghis (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"Two years is a long time to wait for her." Annie murmured, watching as Kell sighed like a man head over heels in love. "Are you sure that's what you want? And Kate has always been the apple of Da's eye. When the time comes that you decide you want to seal your relationship, you could find yourself in an intense fight."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I think the wait is as good as it is bad," Kell answered softly. "It gives us both time to be sure of each other. She can decide if I'm what she wants, and whether or not she really wants to be with a wolf, or anyone for that matter, so early. She can do so much with her life now that she's become a knight. She could travel the world on her title alone. She could do and be anything, she's got the energy for it. Two years... It's plenty of time to decide if I'm what she wants, and whether she wants to do something else entirely different from remaining where to defend Inverness."

 

[heartofcourage]

Annie laughed softly, her hand resting on her belly in a protective gesture. "Katherine is stubborn and headstrong. She leaps before she thinks most of the time. I can see that you are imparting a lot of wisdom to her."

She glanced towards her fiery haired sister as she helped Sam to string his fishing pole. "You already seem sure about things."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You learn to make up your mind quickly when your life hangs on it for so long," Kell murmured. "Besides... what's not to be sure of? My job might be to teach her now, but... I learn more from her that she does from me. She makes me think about things more so than I ever have before. She makes me laugh... She's not like any girl I've ever met before." He then looked to Annie. "I lost my first wife and my two daughters some time ago..." That was something he'd never told anyone but Kate. "And I was sure I'd never be able to be with anyone, much less be in love, ever again. But Kate saved me just by being stubborn. She helped me save my sister. When she and I work together, even if it's serious, we always manage to laugh at each other and enjoy ourselves. And in the war... I was more than happy to take all the blame for everything to keep her safe. I'm fairly certain that she's the one for me, if all of that means anything. It just remains to be seen whether or not she's so sure of me."

 

[heartofcourage]

Annie listened quietly as Kell told her what he was feeling and what he had lost along the way. She could understand the pain that he had gone through and just what Kate meant to him. She nodded and looked out at the loch as Sam caught the first fish. After a long stretch of silence, she let out a little sigh.

"Kate is very young. A bit naive." Annie said softly. "But when she looks at you, I know that she loves you completely. She trusts you too. That says a lot to me as to what she thinks about you."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I still don't understand why she trusts me," Kell chuckled softly. "I've done nothing to earn that trust. If anything, I've proved to her many times to avoid trusting me altogether. She still hasn't forgiven me for the stunts I pulled with the Erygonian leaders."

"Annie, look!" Rho called out, pointing to his brother's fine catch. It was a fairly big trout and Sam's chest was puffed with pride, though Rho was happy enough for both of them.

 

[heartofcourage]

"That's the largest trout I think anyone's pulled out of the loch in a while!" Annie exclaimed, winking at Ciaran and Kate as Sam's chest puffed out even further, Rho beaming under her praise as well. "See if you can't catch a few more and we'll have Chessie cook them up for dinner."

The Ghis children all worked together and had a happy time at the loch, but all wasn't well within the family. At Boar's house, the mood was tense, the news of Kayla's pregnancy had been announced to Eli and Leon and everyone sat in front of the fire trying to digest the information.

Kayla was forlorn, her head bowed as she struggled to come to terms with what had happened in her life. Emma paced the length of the room, glancing to her sons every so often as Boar kept a watchful eye out on the situation. Lucy was sound asleep in her father's arms, her dark head resting on his shoulder as she sucked on her thumb, tired from her morning playing with her cousins.

"You can't be that upset over this." Kayla said softly, looking at her brothers. "I mean, I'm old enough to make my own choices."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Y'can, but yer also still young enough to make stupid choices," Leon grunted. Eli said nothing. He didn't have much room to talk anyway. He and his wife had had Lucy when they were barely seventeen.

"Leave 'er 'lone, Leon," Eli finally muttered after a long silence. So he'd take his sister's side. "Yeah, it was probably stupid... but y'know tha' people y'love make you do stupid things, but it's no' always awful as y'seem t'think it is. If not fer love an' stupidity, y'wouldn't 'ave yer favorite niece."

Leon huffed darkly, but knew his brother had him there. Boar then looked to Kayla and asked softly, "Kay...? Did you love Gale?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Caerleon Bear." Emma warned her son softly, her voice never rising but she was telling him that he better watch himself.

Kayla glanced at her father as he asked her that. "He's still alive, Da. I do love him greatly." She said softly, knowing that he would soon die from his illness and there was nothing anyone could do for him.

"Marianne made it clear that I was to leave immediately. He doesn't even know. I think he has the right to know that he'll be a father." Kayla insisted, her voice stubborn and passionate.

"But he isn't your husband. He isn't even your betrothed. Kayla Emma Ghis, you lost the right to tell him anything when the queen sent you away." Emma insisted, looking at her daughter with a frustrated sigh. "Don't you understand? Your one night with the king has now jeopardized everything. If he knew, then others would know. His enemies become your enemies and your child would be in danger."

 

[KieranSoares]

"It's her choice who knows, Emma," Boar muttered. "If you expect 'er t'start makin' 'er own way, we can't decide things for 'er." He then looked to Kayla for what she wanted to do. He knew this entire issue was going to drive a wedge between himself and Emma, but he also knew that Kayla had to make her own decisions.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla looked between her parents and knew that this situation had caused a lot of strife between them. At least Eli had been married when Lucille had announced she was expecting. This wasn't how she had imagined her first child coming into the world.

"I'm sorry, Mummy, but he has the right to know." Kayla said softly, looking at her mother for a little bit of mercy.

Emma stared at her daughter and finally let out a long sigh, shaking her head. She thought it was a bad idea, but she bit her tongue. Boar was right. If she was going to make her own way in the world, she needed to make her own choices, whether they be right or wrong.

"Leon, tomorrow can you escort your sister into town? The baker is looking for someone to help in his shop." Emma said, glancing at her son.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Sure," Leon nodded.

"An' if that doesn't work out, Gerald's lookin' for a cook," Eli added quietly. Gerald ran a rowdy tavern, but the kitchen in the back was far from the patrons and it'd be perfectly safe for Kayla, especially with Gerald and Ria looking after her.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla let out a small sigh at the thought of working for a baker or in a tavern. It wasn't that she was against that kind of work. Simply that she had never done it before. She knew that her parents were very serious about her supporting herself, however, and she didn't have it in her to tell them otherwise.

"Kayla, set the table for lunch." Emma said, watching as her daughter rose and scurried from the room. "Boys, get washed up. It'll be ready soon."

 

[KieranSoares]

As their children left, Emma and Boar were left alone in the den. With a sigh, Boar rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It's gonna be a long nine months... E'en longer first year o' tha' baby's life."

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma sat down next to her husband, a long sigh escaping her lips. "If I had known how much trouble a daughter would be, I would never have let you convince me to have more children past the boys."

She took her husband's hand, holding it tightly in her own as she thought about how things had turned out. "I could accept Eli getting married so young. He loved that girl and she gave us a beautiful granddaughter before she passed. I worry about Leon being alone so often, but he seems happy. I don't know if my heart is ready for this though, Lynndon. She's so young and so foolish."

 

[KieranSoares]

"All we 'ave t'do is love 'er and support 'er, Emma. Some things might come along that cause trouble... but we'll be okay." He pressed a kiss to her hand and hugged her tightly against his side. "We're Ghis, Em. We migh' come out a little banged up, but we'll always make it."

 

[heartofcourage]

The next morning dawned frosty cold. Eli was gone early to work in the fields while Boar was out with the horsemen of Inverness for training. Emma was working that day to help the other women of the keep dry meat for the coming winter, which left Lucy in the care of her uncle Leon. Kayla had helped to bundle her up for the cold in her little fur boots and warm cloak.

The trio walked into town, Kayla's step heavy as she followed her brother towards the bakery. Little Lucy ran ahead, jumping in large puddles until she splashed her uncle's sturdy boots and then she would look at him with a mischievous grin on her face until he scooped her up into his strong arms.

As they stopped in front of the bakery's store, Kayla looked at the wooden door and nervously wrung her hands together. She had never had a job like this before and she wasn't sure what to expect. The baker was a tall, strong man like her brothers and father, with a serious air about him. He was in his early 30s, but had never married. She wasn't sure if she could work for him. Looking at Leon and Lucy as Lucy pointed in the window at the fresh scones that had been cooked, she cleared her throat and found her voice.

"Would...would you wait for me here, Leon?" She asked him, sounding like a frightened child.

 

[KieranSoares]

"O' course I will," Leon nodded, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Go on, love."

As she opened up the door, she caught sight of the lean, broadly-built baker. He looked like a warrior, but Kayla had heard he'd been honorably discharged. When he turned to face her, she could see why. He wore a black band that covered his left eye, and she could see a cruel scar extending down beneath it.

"Mornin'," the baker grunted, certainly not the smiling type. "What can I do fer ya?" He came to lean on the counter. With his short-sleeved tunic, she could see a large tattoo of a ravening wolf displayed on his forearm. It was a design that a particular elite group of axe-fighters tattooed themselves with in Brogan's forces. Kayla recognized it well. Her father had it tattooed across the back of his shoulders as he'd once been one of those elite men.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla stood there watching the man intently for a moment. She was incredibly nervous despite the fact that her brother and niece waited for her outside. Finally clearing her throat, she sucked in a deep breath and spoke.

"I'm Kayla Ghis. My mother thought that you might have a job open." She said softly, nervously wringing her hands beneath her cloak.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Tha' I do." He stepped around the flour-covered counter and wiped his hands with a towel hanging from his apron belt. He offered a hand out to her to shake, "Aleister MacNamara."

He studied her briefly with one intense brown eye and ran a hand back through his short, black hair. "Y'ave any experience bakin'?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Aleister." She said softly as she took his hand and shook it.

She hated the way that her skin felt cold and clammy compared to his. Her heart was beating a milr a minute as he asked her about her previous experience.

"Chessie, the cook in the keep, taught me to make a few things. Breads and scones mostly. It's been a while since I've done it though." She said softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Tha's fine." Aleister glanced over to the line of four huge stone ovens against the back wall. "C'mon over, then. I'll give ya a week 'r two t'show me what ye've got, then I'll see about makin' it permanent. 'Sides, I need someone better at talkin' t'people... Ain't too good at it." He motioned for her to follow and he handed her a brown apron that was clean aside from a couple splotches of flour. "Back room's where I prepare everythin' and let th' dough rise. Once it's done cookin', it goes on racks t'the side 'ere where th'customers can pick out what they want. Also got a window 'ere tha' people can order through." He motioned to the closed window beside the counter near the last oven.

"Nothing much else to it but t'show ya how I make everythin'," Aleister turned to Kayla. "Y'remember any recipes? I'm always lookin' fer new ones."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla listened closely to his instruction, shrugging off her cloak and placing it on a peg by the door. She glanced out at her brother and motioned for him to go on with Lucy. She would meet them at home late on when she was done.

"I know a few things. I'm not sure that it is all that good, but I promise I'm a fast learner." Kayla promised.

 

[KieranSoares]

Aleister glanced out to see who she was motioning to, but he didn't seem to really be bothered by it. He led her into the large back room where light flooded in from large windows, and a fifth, massive oven sat against the back wall along with an open hearth at its feet, currently unlit. It seemed that it was his own personal kitchen area. Against the window-less wall were towering racks with wooden slabs upon which dough was rising. The slabs had numbers carved into them so that he always knew which he'd put up first and which should come down first.

"I'll start ya out simple with rolls an' th'like," Aleister murmured, motioning her over to one end of the long counter that sat beneath the windowsills. There sat a large barrel of flour with a scoop, a few tools, and a bucket of water from the well outside that he'd fetched earlier. He pulled down a wooden bowl from the rack on the wall and took a huge scoop of flour, pouring it in and then adding water. With his skilled hands, it was mixed perfectly in a moment and he tore off a piece, showing her how to roll the dough and fold it in on itself and make sure there were no air pockets. He got a wooden slab and set the roll on it. "Now you try," he stepped out of her way.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla looked around the room in awe. She was surprised that he was able to afford all that he had in the building. She supposed that he lived there as well, but it was still impressive none the less. She followed him to the end of the long counter, paying special attention as he skillfully filled the bowl with dough and water, forming a roll within moments.

"Alright." She said softly as she sank her hands in the dough, pulling off a piece as he had and formed it to the best of her abilities.

It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't horrible. With practice she was sure that she could be ever bit as good as Aleister.