Ghis (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"We will be in the parlor off the dining hall," the assassin said with a nod before slipping away.

Qira looked back to Hannah. "Was there anyone who got away, or anyone who might still be alive?"

"My eldest brother went with that officer. He promised his cooperation for our safety- i don't know what they wanted from him. Then as soon as he was away from the castle, they... They pinned father to the wall... And-"

"Quiet now," Qira murmured softly as the girl's tears began to flow freely again. "You don't need to think of that right now. We will see you to your mother, and with luck, your brother will be along soon as well."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate stayed for a few moments longer until she saw that she wouldn't get anywhere else with the younger girl. It was too traumatic for her to tell them what they needed to know and Kate left her in the hands of Qira. She had to gather herself briefly in the war room before she went to the parlor. This would be her first major interrogation and, even though Kell would be there, she was still incredibly nervous of the outcome. A lot was riding on her shoulders at the moment.

 

[KieranSoares]

When Kate opened the door to the parlor, all the furniture had been pushed back and lined up, and some of her higher-ranking men sat watching with steely expressions as Kell stood staring, emotionless, at a bloodied man before him. He was bound to a dining chair, his wrists tied to the wooden arms and his ankles to the front legs. It seemed that upon capturing him, his left arm and some ribs had been broken and there was a nasty cut across his face, likely from the edge of a shield. He was human, dressed in a simple tunic and trousers. The rest of his clothes, shoes, and a fairly nice set of leather armor, had been set off to the side.

In Kell's hand hung a few pieces of paper, and in the other, a knife. While this would be Kate's first interrogation, Kell and his father and grandfather had all once had grisly reputations when their jobs required not killing, but the extraction of information. When they were short on time or angry, interrogation might become torture.

 

[heartofcourage]

When Kate entered the room, attention suddenly shifted towards her. She paid it no mind, moving to stand beside Kell as the stared at the man in front of her. He had already been through hell and would likely go through further hell before everything was said and done. She didn't even look at her husband, crossing her arms over her chest as she considered what she was going to ask the man who's head hung as he panted.

"I will ask you three questions, all of which I expect the truth. If any of these men gathered believe that you have lied, I will allow them to do as they see fit." Kate said as she considered her words carefully. "I wish to know who you work for. I wish to know why this place was attacked. I wish to know why Castor was killed in such a brutal way."

She was quiet for a moment after that, letting the words hang in the air between everyone before she started again. "If you answer truthfully, you will live. It might be in a prison for a very long time, but you will live. If you lie, I promise that you will only be here for a short amount of time."

 

[KieranSoares]

The stranger opened one eye, the other swollen shut with the cut and bruising on his face. He looked Kate up and down, and his face showed only scorn and even a bit of amusement. "Piss off, highlander," he muttered in a northern English accent.

Kell, silent and focused, quietly stepped behind the man and faced Kate. Handing the papers and blade off to one of his men, he placed his hands on the captive's shoulders lightly, making the stranger tense slightly. "That's no way to speak to a lady, my friend," Kell murmured, his fingers tightening on the man's shoulders ever so slightly.

"And you can fuck off with her, mongrel," the captive snarled. "Where I come from, we wear hides like yours for coats."

 

[heartofcourage]

"And where I come from, we allow those that have been hunted for their pelts to extract the justice they see fit." Kate said calmly as Kell tightened his grip on the man's shoulders. "And trust me, there are a lot of them in my service. They would love the chance to teach you a lesson in a private room. Shall I call them in or will you give me the answers that I want?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"Your monsters don't scare me, girl." The man sat back, holding his head high. "I'm not afraid to die."

"Who said you would die?" Kell murmured, but to the man's credit, he didn't show any fear.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I simply said you wouldn't live long. They'll make sure you live...until you're begging to die." Kate said with a shrug of her shoulders, glancing up at Kell before she turned her back to him. "At your leave, Lord Protector. Do as you wish."

 

[KieranSoares]

"We'll see if we can change his mind," Kell said with a nod. The moment she left the room, there was a loud crash and a yelp of pain from the room, no doubt the beginning of the captive's long, long day.

In the war room, a few captains had come to report. There hadn't been many men left in the city outside deserting mercenaries, and a good number had been killed when they refused to surrender. A few had bee brought in for interrogations, but it was a royal guardsman who brought evidence that reinforced what Hannah Castor had said. He had located a lost tabard bearing the seal of Baron Alba.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate was uneasy as evidence was presented that the Lord of Alba was behind this. She didn't want to believe that two men that had been close with one another could have so suddenly turned and attacked with the least provocation. She didn't want a war to break out and she knew very well that they might be looking at that if an answer couldn't be found.

 

[KieranSoares]

"The Baron of Alba is among the holdouts of the northern English Lords. A large group of Barons and their vassals have been acting independently of King Henry, and Alba is among a neutral few who hasn't chosen a side, seemingly til now. The group is full of Lords who demand land and more control over England, and are pushing for war with Scotland to take it over like the Romans before them," an officer explained to Kate. She had known of this rebellion-in-waiting for most of her life as Henry fought to maintain control of his Homeland. It was the source of most English-Scottish conflicts, but never the will of the English throne.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I would like a rider heading to London within the hour. I will be writing King Henry a letter." Kate murmured, knowing that she had no say in what happened to Alba, but she was within her rights to demand that the English king do something to a Lord of his own that had attacked a Lord of her own.

 

[KieranSoares]

"He will be ready and waiting at your command," the officer said with a quick nod before going to arrange the messenger.

It was about an hour before Kell emerged, stoic as ever while Qira entered the room to continue his business. "I think Qira's better equipped for this," Kell murmured as he joined Kate's side. "For a man who doesn't talk much, he has a gift for getting others to open up."

 

[heartofcourage]

“If this isn’t Alba, it’s a perfect frame up.” Kate murmured as she finished drafting her letter to King Henry, sealing the message with her wax seal before she passed it along to thenkessenger who was waiting for her patiently. “We can’t attack an English lord without evidence. We can, however, protect our border with Alba.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"It may be prudent to also warn the northern lords who are friendly with us. Chester especially, seeing as Maxwell is family. Who knows if the barons or Alba himself might consider them traitors. But I'll send word up and down the border. Most of our lords are already aware of the dangers of the barons, but this... I would hate for a border war to break out." Kell sighed, leaning down to take a sheet of parchment to make a few notes. "I'm worried about what some of the small Clan Kings who have land on the border might do. Your father owns a fort along the west side, so we might get some help there."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate considered that for a long moment, leaning back in her seat. She didn’t want to lead Scotland into a border war so soon after taking the throne. It didn’t feel good to be backed into this situation. However, this was her job as the queen. She was supposed to protect and defend those that couldn’t do it themselves.

“Send guards to the border then. We’ll close it down until we get answers. And see who is willing to raise arms if we need them.” Kate said softly, looking up at her husband as she considered everything that was happening. “But leave my Da out of this for now. I don’t want Inverness drawn into this battle if we can help it.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"We have enough force behind us and Henry has enough behind him to make any conflict a short one," Kell assured her. "But we'll avoid it as best we can. We only have Alba to worry about at the moment."

 

[heartofcourage]

"We just have to hope that we all agree on the outcome." Kate said as she heard further noises coming from the door where their captive was being questioned. "He's a lost cause. Perhaps it's best if we put him out of his misery."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'd hate to spoil their fun. He let slip some interesting details about some wanted mercenaries and Hunters." Kell glanced to the door. "They know when to end it."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate nodded, knowing that torture was a necessary evil sometimes. She also trusted Kell to not let things get out of hand and put a stop to things when they needed to end. She worked late into the afternoon on letters, sending them to the lords that lived along the border with Alba and those that might have dealings with him. She explained the situation as best she could without giving away too much information.

She ate a late dinner with a few of her guards before she mounted her horse to go on a tour of the surrounding area. She wanted to see how the people had been effected and how best she could serve them as they sought to rebuild their lives.

 

[KieranSoares]

The enclosed town in the motte-and-bailey of Fort Pax had suffered some fire damage and it seemed every other home had been raided. Anyone who'd stood up against the mercenaries had been incapacitated with broken limbs or knocked out, but there were a few people who'd died of whatever beating they'd been given. Like true bandits, Alba's forces had looted, pillaged, and raped their way through the inner town. It was actually the outer villages to the east and west that had fared best. There were few reports of injuries and only a few fires from men who'd tossed torches onto roofs just for the fun of it. And after seeing the mayhem in the fort town, many townspeople had gone to hide in the villages.

It was all a matter of rebuilding for the people of Paxton. Any other hurts they had suffered would only ease with time. At the very least, their food stores and farmland had been untouched. The mercenaries had not had enough time to ruin or steal much of it beyond eating from the stores themselves.

A message in return to Kate came the very next morning, from the nearest neighbor to Paxton who was only a half-day away. A knight who his own small estate, Sir Charles Stanwick who lived just on the other side of the border and served the English crown, had answered a warning message Kell had sent out. Kell knew the knight to be a good friend to many of the Scottish border lords, and a fine sergeant who could help organize Paxton's defenses again. With much of Paxton's small military and its lord dead, the town needed a chaperone of sorts to keep things organized til someone new could take the helm. Kell also wanted to make it clear to the people of Paxton that it was not the English crown that had ordered their destruction, but a rebel who wasn't on either side.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate was exhausted come the morning meal. She had spent a good portion of the evening unable to sleep as she and Kell continued to send letters off to anyone whom they thought might be able to help them. She had caught a small nap, no more than an hour, before they were woken for breakfast. That day she would leave statecraft to her husband. She was intending to roll up her sleeves and help those that needed a helping hand in getting their lives back together.

"Invite Sir Stanwick here as a guest of the Scottish crown." Kate said after Kell had read the letter aloud to her while she ate. "And we will talk about the possibility of him guarding Paxton in person."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm sure the people here would rather have a Scottish stand-in, but there just aren't any close at hand with the ability or experience." Kell laid the letter aside. "Having Stanwick will at least prove the two thrones aren't entering war. Though why no one has gotten it through their thick skulls that Marianne's family and yours have always been friends with Henry, is beyond me."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Because they see me as nothing but Scottish trash. A bastard that was simply lucky enough to be raised by Brogan Ghis." Kate said with a shrug of her shoulders, glancing to Kell as she said those words. "What they don't realize is that it doesn't bother me. I know who I am and it doesn't matter who my birth father was."

 

[KieranSoares]

"In a world of men who put more stock in heraldry and their dead predecessors than their own children, they expect you to be ashamed and do the world a favor by being a housewife and no more," Kell muttered, staring down at the table somewhat darkly. "It won't matter in the end. They'll be left behind as we continue moving forward." Glancing over to meet her gaze, he added, "I've been told Lord Castor was one of the good ones... His comrades and friends will be devastated, but they'll appreciate your being so swift and firm in your retaliation. And if it does come to a fight with these rebel barons, we'll be sure to have Castor's friends on our side."