Ghis (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"We won't be too long. Whether we gear up for battle or not, we'll have to go back to gather our forces and get things in order. And I doubt Lady Evelyn needs to worry about royalty and excess military in her estate. I'll separate her from it all as much as possible unless she insists on participating."

Kell kissed his wife's cheek. "We should get an answer from Henry sometime tomorrow if he sent the rider back immediately. And if Alba hasn't answered by now, he's not going to."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Your grandfather was taking the message personally.” Kate said softly as Kell kissed her cheek and promised they would go home soon enough. “If they openly attack, I will not spare anyone. I can’t afford to do that.”

Kate turned in her husband’s arms and looked into his amber eyes. “I didn’t expect our first year of marriage to be like this, Kell. I’m sorry.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Don't apologize. It could've been this year, or ten years down the line. We have our whole lives to make the most of our time. And... maybe it's better that we have some things to deal with now. The sooner we prove your competence, the better, right? It's a real shame the lives lost... but we can pull something positive from all of this if we play our cards right, for both ourselves and for England."

 

[heartofcourage]

“There’s been no time to be young, in love, and stupid.” Kate groused as Kell tried his hardest to encourage her for their future. “I know we have all the time in the world, but we only have one first year. When we start adding more duties, more wars, more responsibilities, children...that’s all gone.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Only if you let it go, Kate." Kell met her gaze with a sudden seriousness. "There are things we can do to keep a personal life. But none of it's going to happen if you just give up without trying."

 

[heartofcourage]

“I’m not giving up on us, Kell. I’m just struggling. How can I want you so badly in a place that has just seen such tragedy? What kind of depraved human am I?” She asked him, a look of guilt crossing her features as she confessed that to him.

 

[KieranSoares]

"It isn't depravity, Kate. You're misunderstanding love and a need for comfort for a lack of empathy. I'll bet you just about anything that there are plenty of other people who want the same after this tragedy. It's one of the few comforts we have in bad times."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate knew she was very young, even compared to Kell who was only slightly older than herself. There was a lot to learn about life. She was a newly wed, still in love with her husband and wanting to explore, but bound by an incredible duty that she felt chafed by at times. They had made the decision that the public would simply see a united front when she wanted to hold him. It would only get better in time as she grew and matured.

“Just hold me.” Kate mumbled, leaning her head into her husband’s strong chest and simply enjoying his presence before he was pulled away for other business.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell gladly wrapped Kate up in his arms, as if trying to create a protective shell around her. "I'm yours for a while. No one should need me for now." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and settled there with her.

 

[heartofcourage]

Spending most of the evening with her husband, Kate felt better as the time wore on. They would have more evenings like that one, made possible by Kell as Kate worked her hardest to steer her country. Far flung lords were asking questions of her by letter, sending in missive after missive and expecting her to reply.

A few night's later, well after Kate and Kell had retired, Kate was dimly aware as Kell rose from bed. She stirred, opening her eyes to watch him speak with someone through the cracked door before he turned to dress. Nothing was said between the both of them as he was soon out the door after a kiss to her cheek.

It was only a short while after she had settled back into slumber when she felt someone pull the bed sheets up over her shoulders. It made her bristle. It wouldn't have been Kell. Instead, she opened her eyes and looked up into the amber gaze of the elder Khelt.

"You're back already?" Kate asked softly, still slightly confused and asleep.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I am," Khelt murmured. "And I'm going to be looking after you for tonight. Your two guardians have some new responsibilities." He knelt at the bedside, his golden eyes still visible in the dark while the rest of his form seemed to meld with the shadows in Kate's still-sleepy vision. "And you ought to rest a little easier knowing England has not betrayed you. Though none of your messages had reached him, King Henry was aware of the attack here and already geared for retaliation. In fact, I'd dare say he was waiting for me."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Why are you guarding me? What are Kell and Qira doing?" Kate asked, pushing herself up on one elbow as Khelt settled himself into a chair by the fire, his amber eyes glowing in the near darkness of the room. "Is Henry on his way then? I would hate to leave Alba to his own devices for much longer."

 

[KieranSoares]

Khelt lifted a hand to motion for Kate to pause. "They're organizing the defenses. Alba and his allies are aware of your interference and we're worried he might try something. Henry was getting ready to march on Carlisle when I left. He won't be coming here til he secures the town from Alba and cuts off his income."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate sat up in bed with a long sigh, a hand raking through her mess of wild curls. She was fully awake then, thinking about the task that they had at hand.

"Then I suppose I should be ready for the inevitable fight and a possible secret attack." Kate murmured as she looked towards where Kell had carefully laid out her own personal weaponry. "He won't scare me, Khelt. I'm not a simpering woman who will simply cower the moment he sends someone after me."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don't expect you will. But regardless, courage doesn't stop an assassin." Khelt seemed utterly calm as always, though he was surely armed to the fangs with hidden blades and other such tools of his trade. "If you can't sleep anymore, come sit with me a while." He rose to begin stoking the coals of the fire with new logs.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Between yourself and my husband, this kingdom will start to wonder why I have dark circles beneath my eyes.” Kate said as she pulled herself from bed and wrapped herself in her robe. “He keeps me up worrying half the time and you just come in the middle of the night.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Conflict doesn't wait for sunrise, my dear," Khelt reminded with the slightest hint of a smile. "And you can sleep all you like. I won't disturb you any more."

 

[heartofcourage]

“You give me news from an fellow ruler and casually mention that there might be an attack on me and you want me to sleep?” Kate asked as she stared at the old wolf, watching as the slightest of smirks crossed his features. “You enjoy it too much. Goading me into getting riled up.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"An old man has to have his fun sometime. If I were still working by contract, I'd be all business. Blame it on Emily, she's relaxed me a bit." He motioned her over to sit across from him as the fire took the logs and a warm glow filled the room. He settled back into his chair, meeting her gaze once more with those calm golden eyes. "So you haven't strangled my grandson yet. That's a good sign."

 

[heartofcourage]

“I wouldn’t have gotten this far without your grandson.” Kate said in all sincerity. “I love him more than I think he even realizes.”

Kate could be completely open and honest with her grandfather-in-law. He wouldn’t hold anything against her.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I imagine he wouldn't have gotten far after losing Mary if not for you," Khelt spoke bluntly. "She was all he really had to keep him normal... Or as normal as an Aleister assassin can be. I think if you and your family hadn't taken him in, he would be long dead. By what means... I can imagine a few scenarios, all of them grim to say the least. He'd either be dead in a ditch or a trophy for a competitor. And half my line would've ended with him."

 

[heartofcourage]

He worries about the bounty on my head. I’m sure he’s reminded of his wife and cubs.” Kate said softly. “He doesn’t take threats to me or my family lightly. He truly is a member of our family and they all need love him like he’s their son.”

Kate settled back in her seat and let out a soft sigh. “I worry that he’ll get tired of it though. Especially when we decide to try and add a cub to the mix. He might not think any of this is worth it at that point.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Kell has never known anything but working for terrible people and killing for money, save the short time he had his first wife and his little girls, and of course the time he spent with Mary and his mother. The only positive outside contact he's had aside from all of them was with your Panther, and with me. And even then, we were all supposed to kill each other. Being in a position like this... a protector, not a paid killer, it's exactly what Kell wanted to be if he ever got out of our business. He doesn't talk about it much... but all Kell wanted once he lost his little family was to stop killing for money, and start defending and actually standing for something. He followed you because you put the possibility in front of him, to defend you from his previous employer while you made a difference. And then he fell in love with your family and turned in his blades for a shield- metaphorically of course. He is still an assassin, a killer, and a very real danger, just like me. Just like Qira. Just like all of his hidden people. But we're all assassins with a cause now, and that makes us more dangerous to our enemies than ever before. We, and Kell, all have something worth fighting and dying for. Each of us may have a different specific reason... but if you boil it all down, we are all killers in service to the common good. And that is all Kell needs for now. That, and you."

 

[heartofcourage]

“I don’t think I’m what he needs sometimes. I’m headstrong and stubborn. I wake up most mornings a holy terror, but he never says anything about it. I try to be more than I am for him. He deserves someone calm and collected, more mature.” Kate had no idea why she was saying all of this, but it was impossible to stop the words from tumbling forth.

"I guess every newly wed, no matter high born or low, has those doubts." Kate murmured, looking at Khelt as he regarded her with that same serene gaze that he always had. "I never expected to be the queen of an entire nation. I just assumed that I would rule Inverness, be a lesser queen, and spend a beautiful life at home with my wolf. This has all been a wake up call and we've tried our best. He wants to take me back home and he's promised that if this becomes too much, he'll do just that. I'm too stubborn to back down."

 

[KieranSoares]

"He has purpose with your family and with you. He wouldn't mind a bit what you chose to do with your future, as long as you're content. Lord Protector, bodyguard, dangerously protective husband... He doesn't care about titles. And he likes your temper most times. It clashes well with his usual stoicism. He likes the idea that you're the force to be reckoned with, and he's the quiet blade at your side."

Khelt sat forward, resting his arms on his knees. "And don't think of yourself as immature, Kate. You're very young, in a very unfamiliar circumstance that few people with your lack of years and experience ever end up in. However, I'll let you in on a little secret... No one knows how to be a monarch. Every country and hold is very different. Your father could never have truly prepared you. He knows how to manage a certain group of people in a certain place, how to support farmers and a lumber industry in the highlands. You, however, are managing a wide range of places from valley to mountain, from seaside to landlocked, and rural to urban. You have more people by far, each group with their own circumstances. And most differently of all, you and your house are new to Scotland's throne. Brogan has a long, trustworthy line to lean on and follow for their examples, and he was a hero when he took the throne for removing one of the two worst Kings Inverness ever had. He had a territory -vosskner reputation to cover up his lack of experience while he learned. You have no such thing. You're fighting an uphill battle. A woman of only eighteen from a Clan, married to an infamous Wolf assassin, taking over a High Throne after the end of its ruling line. Gale may have left a son, but the ruling line died with him. People are unsure how to cope with essentially a stranger taking his place, especially the Lords. Now, all that said... The common folk are alright with you. It's the men in power that want to pick a fight. Many view themselves as more legitimate choices for Gale's successor, related or not. And many see you and your Clan's ideals and your upbringing as a threat to their goals. Most went unchecked after Gale's death while Marianne struggled to cope. Now that there's a new and active ruler, they're annoyed and threatened. And you have done nothing wrong."