Ghis (closed)

[heartofcourage]

Kate stared at him for a long moment as he admitted that he had been too young when his first children had been born. She let out a soft sigh at those words, her hand resting against his cheek.

"Kell, you have a say in any children that we think about bringing into this world. If the thought makes you uncomfortable, I need you to tell me." She said softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"If we waited for me to be absolutely certain, we'd never have children," Kell admitted quietly.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate was quiet for a long time after that, knowing that Kell had his own demons that he needed to deal with. She let out a sigh, the wheels in her head turning as she mulled all of that over.

"Then we make a promise. After a few years, we will not do anything to stop a child from coming. If it happens, it happens. If not, we will still be happy together." Kate said softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I suppose that would work," Kell nodded, speaking more to himself than anything. When his golden eyes met hers again, he sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't let that come out every time you mention a family."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You were traumatized. I'll never hold it against you." She said as he seemed so down. "I'm not the only one in this marriage, Kell. Your opinion and feelings matters too."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I just don't want to take any chances away from you. There are so many things you haven't experienced yet."

 

[heartofcourage]

“You talk as if you’re elderly. You’re not that much older than me, love.” Kate said with a small laugh.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I may not be, but I've lived a hell of a lot of life in my few extra years, in a very different way from you. So I'm a bit... cautious."

 

[heartofcourage]

"While I wish that my husband would be a little more bold when it came to planning our future, I can appreciate a cautious approach. I just don't want it to hold you back from doing what you wish to do." Kate said as he explained that the little bit of life that he had lived had been horrendous.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm best at following your lead most of the time, love. I know when to take over." Kell curled a little more securely around her.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate let herself relax with her husband again, simply being with him in a quiet moment. That was very rare and she was going to enjoy the moment for what it was worth.

"I still need to think about a lady in waiting. I haven't the foggiest idea of who I should choose." Kate said softly, admitting that small insecurity to him.

 

[KieranSoares]

"There's no rush. You may not even know her yet," Kell suggested, lying still against her side.

 

[heartofcourage]

That evening after they had emerged from their rooms, Kate had made plans with her father. The next morning, the two of them and a small retinue of guards rode from the castle for the woods for a hunting trip. Kate felt lighter as she rode with her father, a smile on her face that nothing could wipe away. Hunting with him was one of the greatest joys in her life.

 

[KieranSoares]

The guards with them were two from Edinburgh, and then Cole and one of his men from Inverness, but they let Brogan and Kate have the lead and time to themselves. As they left the city limits on the main road west, Kate saw an image of her father she'd known often as a little girl. Dressed in light leather for boar hunting, a sturdy tunic and trousers, with a fur cloak about his shoulders ruffled by the wind, he sat high in the saddle of his charger. He truly seemed like the giant among men, the powerful and proud king Kate had looked up to and followed. He wasn't the ailing, aging Lord of Inverness in that moment, he was the powerhouse who'd carried Kate on his shoulders and wielded a giant Claymore in one hand.

As they entered the woods and sought the edges of the old growth forest, Brogan took a moment to string his bow and place his quiver within easy reach on the saddle. Most people hunted board with dogs and spears, but Brogan had always felt it was unfair to both the dogs for how often they were hurt, and to the boar who hardly stood a chance.

"We'll try fer a boar fer a while, then dismount an' try fer deer if tha' fails," Brogan suggested to the group, knowing it was really up to Kate.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Uncle Boar is going to be upset that we left without him." Kate said as she took care of her own weapons, her new leather gloves creaking as she worked to string her bow and check the fletching on her arrows.

Her Ma had ordered her a new hunting outfit along with the rest of her new clothing for Edinburgh. Her tunic was simple grey and her trousers made with leather pieces to protect her legs in case of attack by a wild animal. Her cape was the softest wool, dyed in the colors of the Ghis family. She wore a thin silver circlet on her brow, but her hair was loose and wild, falling about her in the way that it had ever since she was a little girl.

 

[KieranSoares]

"He'll 'ave t'get over it. This is my time with my little girl," Brogan smiled warmly to his daughter, pride clear in his eyes. Slinging his bow over his back and adjusting the placement of his claymore on the saddle, he looked out into the woods for a long moment before looking to their guardsmen. "Spread out, but stay within sight. Don' go too far into th'old growth."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You say he'll get over it, but he's more libel to pummel you." Kate said with a chuckle as she soon had her own bow slung over her shoulder, directing her horse into the underbrush to look out for a boar.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Boar 'asn' been able t'beat me since I was smaller'n him. I'd like t'see 'im try." Brogan guided his charger forward, following advice he'd gotten from some of the guardsmen that the wild boars liked to scavenge the edge of the old growth. Within twenty minutes, Brogan spotted fresh tracks and sent the three guardsmen ahead to try to force a boar in their direction, while Cole remained with Kate and Brogan.

"Stay out o' the open, don' want t'get the horses hit by a charging boar," Brogan warned quietly, listening closely in the distance for the other riders. They would sound a bugle if a boar was coming.

 

[heartofcourage]

"We don't want anyone to be hit by a charging boar." Kate said as she sat on her horse beside her father, waiting patiently for the sound of the bugle.

 

[KieranSoares]

Brogan chuckled to himself, "Don' want a repeat o' the time you got run over by a pig." He'd taken her with him when she was eight years old to a farm on the town outskirts. He and her uncles were helping build a barn while she and a couple cousins played together, and she managed to nearly get trampled by pigs on their way to their trough.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I will forever blame Eli, Leon, and Gabriel for that." Kate said, giving her father a grin as she thought back on that day.

They had been playing with the various farm animals. She had fallen in love with some of the rabbits that were kept in hutches by the farmer and she hadn't noticed that the boys had stirred up the pigs until they were running wild. Had her Uncle Durban not seen the event and plucked her up, she would have been seriously injured.

"I've never seen Uncle Boar so angry as he was that day. To their credit, Eli and Leon never backed away from their punishment."

 

[KieranSoares]

"And Gabriel managed to get out of it by volunteerin' to round the pigs back up with 'is dog." Brogan's smile grew a touch bittersweet. "You went everywhere with me when you were little. Even when there wasn' anythin' fun t'do."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, maybe Ashelin or Heather will take over that role." Kate said with a smile towards her Da. "It was better following you than doing lessons with Ma."

Kate had never really seen eye to eye with her mother. She adored Julia, but she wasn't the little lady that Julia had dreamed about. From the moment that she had learned to talk, her favorite thing was to say no to her Ma when she tried to make her wear dresses or comb her hair. She never knew just how much of a saint her mother was for patching up her small wounds and scrapes without a word. The only time that she wanted to be babied was when she was ill and those times had created some cherished memories for her.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I always 'ad t'cover fer you, y'know. Always insisted y'were still learnin', jus' out in th'real world instead o' books. Meant y'learned Lunar an' Erygonian more easily, people knew you, an' y'knew how t'work hard early. She gave up eventually on th'grounds tha' I made sure you got plenty o'reading, writing, an' numbers in."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Not well, I have to say. I'm still hopeless with numbers." Kate said as the sharp sound of a bugle sounded through the woods.