Ghis (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"After th'coronation, you take time t'find yer new normal," Brogan murmured. "An' if y'really can't make it... I'll help you find a solution."

 

[heartofcourage]

"And you'll stay for a while afterward, right? I mean, everyone can come and treat it like a vacation away from Inverness." Kate commented, hoping to entice him to stay for even a little while. "Warwixk is a good advisor but nothing beats your advice."

 

[KieranSoares]

"We'll stick around a while," Brogan nodded. "Make sure yer settling in well." He offered her a little smile. "Ye'll be okay, Kitten. I promise. It's gonna be rough on me too t'have you leave."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate nodded, standing from her seat to come and sit in her father's lap, hugging him in tightly as she buried her face against his strong shoulder. She would miss him horribly no matter if he were only a few days away.

 

[KieranSoares]

Brogan sat back, holding Kate to his chest as he had when she was small. "It's hard t'believe my little girl's grown an' about t'go face th'world... I thought it was hard enough with Annie movin' out o' the keep." He kissed her cheek.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You still have two more to spoil." Kate said as he spoke about having a hard time when Annie left to marry David. "And I expect that you will do a good job making sure that my little sisters have everything that Annie and I had."

 

[KieranSoares]

"But hopefully they end up better behaved, aye?" Brogan teased, chuckling as he rose and scooped Kate up with him as if she were still a tiny girl and light as could be. He placed her neatly in his huge chair before stepping over to his desk. "While y'were away, I arranged somethin' with Annie. Call it a birthday gift, but there's one fer Kell too." He opened a drawer to pull out an envelope with a stamp of Annie's stable's symbol on the front. It was a common document that her best horses had, recording their lineage as was common among breeders. "C'mon, love," Brogan motioned for her to follow.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Da, you bought me one of Annie's horses?" Kate asked, a little stunned that he had spent so much on a horse just for her. "And one for Kell too? That's too much."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I wanted t'make sure you had a good charger t'look after you, Kell too." Brogan took her hand and led her down to the royal stables near the courtyard gate. He walked along the row of stalls to the very end, where on one side there was a handsome black stallion with a white-striped face and white socks. He was almost as big as old Phearson had been, the result of carefully breeding hardworking draft horses with quick walkers to create a fast and strong charger built with heavy muscle and a thick coat to stand up to the harsh Scottish winters. His mane was long and beautifully groomed, and his coat was so dark it almost appeared bluish in the light. Brogan stepped up to the stall with a smile. "This is Ingvar. Annie decided t'name him after me, considerin' he's a descendant of Phearson an' he's Ferrous' cousin. An' his sister," Brogan turned to face the opposite stall where a solid black mare, slightly taller and a bit slimmer, "Eldra. Annie picked her specially for Kell. She's the quietest an' calmest, while Ingvar likes t'show off a bit." He turned back to the stallion and opened up the stall door, taking the horse's head in his hands. "Got a heart o' gold though. I've been workin' with both of 'em t'make sure they're right fer you two. They work beautifully t'gether an' they're fully trained fer everythin' from battle t'parade."

Ingvar's brown eyes were bright with life as Brogan stroked his nose, and he gladly tucked his head into Brogan's hands. Like most of Annie's best horses, he was beautifully socialized and loving of his keepers, but he would also know when it was time to be serious. After Annie had trained Ferrous, her most difficult horse, she could set just about any horse to rights.

"Ingvar's seven years old, might still grow a bit more, an' Eldra's eight," Brogan murmured, turning to let Eldra out too while Ingvar decided to investigate Kate.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Really, Da? Named after you?" Kate asked, giving her father a grin as he showed her to the charger that would be her horse. "Well, now I'll really not forget you while I'm in Edinburgh."

The horse was beautiful and lively, both things that Kate appreciated. However, what truly made her tear up was the idea that her father had put so much thought into a horse that would serve her well into her future as a queen of an entire country.

"We'll have to ride them together soon." Kate said with a smile towards him.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I've got a new steed o' my own too if ye'd like t'meet her," Brogan smiled down at Kate. "Third stall on the left. Name's Aurora." Brogan had never had a mare as his primary horse previously. It was always powerful and dangerous stallion chargers. Aurora was of a similar origin, but she had a much calmer air about her. She was as muscled and heavy as old Phearson, but instead of the dark horses Brogan usually kept, Aurora was pure white, mane and coat and tail. Her tack hanging on the wall was a beautiful blue-dyed leather with a black saddle blanket, the saddle and chest harness and bridle all studded with silvery steel. She looked like a queen in her own right, proud and tall and graceful, and gentle as any of Annie's best-socialized horses.

 

[heartofcourage]

"A white horse, Da?" Kate asked, looking back at her father in surprise. "Surely this is Ma's new horse and Annie will be bringing you another dark charger. I've never known you to want anything other than a dark horse before."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Yer Ma's got a lovely bay mare o' her own, actually, named Sable." Brogan stepped up to Aurora's stall and she slowly stuck her head out to rest in his broad hands. They were clearly already bonded very closely. "Aurora's a good lass. Already takin' care o' me like yer Ma does. I 'ad a pretty rough day while y'were gone, but still came out t'exercise th'horses. Aurora knew it, an' she wouldn' listen t'me. Took me right back t'the keep, right t'yer Ma an' I got a scolding." He chuckled and kissed the mare's forehead, smiling as she pressed her nose against his chest.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You didn't have a bad day because I was gone, did you?" Kate asked, suddenly concerned that her father was having spells of illness while she was gone.

 

[KieranSoares]

"No love, don' worry. I migh' get heartsick when yer gone, but tha' bad spell was from workin' myself past th'point of exhaustion a few too many nights in a row." Brogan sighed, stroking Aurora's mane. "Yer Ma wasn' happy, t'say th'least. Anytime I'm th'cause o' my own sickness, she gets pretty upset... It breaks 'er heart. But what else can I do? I've already given up as much o' my work t'other people as I can. An' until Rho's old enough, I can' give him much more either. It's no' tha' other people aren' capable... it's jus' tha' no one else knows how t'do some parts o' my job. But tha's why I'm teachin' Rho an' Sam both, so both can help me an' ease yer poor mother's heart worryin' about me."

 

[heartofcourage]

"She loves you." Kate said as Aurora gave Brogan a playful nudge, nickering at him as she tossed her white mane. "I can only hope that maybe Kell and I will have the same kind of romance that you and Ma have. I know things weren't always easy for you both but it looks like it was worth it."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Tha's an understatement," Brogan grinned gently to himself. "We 'ad th'roughest start imaginable... but we learned t'be friends. Then... I fell in love." Brogan turned to hug Kate close. "Yer Ma's probably th'best thing tha' ever happened t'me. She's th'reason I have everythin' I love. Even Annie. Yer Ma welcomed 'er back. An' yer Ma gave me you." He kissed Kate's forehead. No matter the circumstances of Kate's birth, Brogan had never once acted as if she were any less his child than any of her siblings.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Thank you for loving me, Da." Kate said as she hugged her father tightly, smiling as he kissed her forehead. "I love the life that you gave me here in Inverness. It makes me happy to think about all of the trouble that we got up to here in the halls of the keep."

 

[KieranSoares]

"We'll keep on gettin' up t'trouble anywhere we are. Promise," Brogan smoothed back a few strands of her red hair. "But it's gettin' a bit late fer trouble today. Go find yer Wolf an' tell 'im about Eldra. We'll all go out ridin' sometime."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate gave her father a smile as she left him alone in the stable, heading off to find her wolf. She knew that her father would keep her honest no matter where she was and what position she held.

Preparations the next day began early. Julia raised Kate from bed the moment the sun broke the sky and she had her bathed and seated in front of her vanity as soon as possible.

"I had a special gown made for you today, kitten. And your Aunt Beth is going to do your hair. She swears she can make it just as pretty as your father can." Julia explained as she leaned in and kissed Kate's forehead. "I've got your brothers working on Kell."

"Ma, this is all too much." Kate claimed, secretly pleased at everything that was happening.

 

[KieranSoares]

Chessie was the next to step in, bringing the gown from Kitty's room for them. "Here it is," she said with a bright smile, carefully draping the gorgeous royal blue gown on the edge of Kate's bed. It had a tartan sash of her family's colors and a silver belt to go over it, and beautiful flowing long sleeves that would move and drift like water as Kate moved. "I just dropped off Kell's outfit as well," Chessie smiled to Julia. "He's going to look absolutely dashing for Kate."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Ma, this is all too much." Kate said, looking at the dress that Chessie had brought in.

"Don't worry about the cost, love. We figured you could wear it for your coronation as well. And Chessie will use many of the same decorations at her wedding." Julia commented.

"He finally asked?" Kate asked, looking at Chessie with a bit of surprise on her face.

 

[KieranSoares]

"More like I demanded he marry me," Chessie grinned. "Told th'bloody man he'd better make it all legal 'r I was goin' t'tan his hide. Turns out he'd already bought a ring, I just beat 'im t'the punch."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate smiled as Chessie confessed that she had threatened her beau into proposing. She had been alone so long that Kate often worried that she wasn't truly happy. However, it seemed as if their cook had been keeping secrets from everyone.

"I will make sure that Warwick is here in his best suit for the occasion." Kate commented as Beth entered the room with Julian in her arms.

The little boy was sound asleep, as sweet as could be for his mother. Beth placed him on one of Julia's padded chairs to continue napping before she turned to her niece.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier. Julian has learned how to be demanding." Beth said.

 

[KieranSoares]

From the door, Rho poked his head in. "Ma, Da's threatening to come steal Kate himself if you don't hurry up." He had a little grin on his face. "But Kell said Kate could take all the time she wanted."