Ghis (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"So, just us and Qira off somewhere nearby. The one man who never leaves our side, yet he's never intruded either." Kell smiled to himself as he rose.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Unless you think you can handle my protection all on your own. Then it would just be the two of us and Qira can have a moment to himself.” Kate said with a slight smile.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Even if I thought I could, he'd still keep within reach, maybe a half-day's ride away. He won't compromise on your safety." Kell settled in to continue looking over the reports that had been delivered.

 

[heartofcourage]

"He takes his job very seriously, that's for sure." She said with a grin as she lay down to finally rest. "Just as you do, whiling away the hours with official correspondences. I'm afraid I'll never get to see my husband again once we get back to Edinburgh when they all learn how well you work under pressure."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You'll see me. My time is yours, first and foremost. And I will make that painfully clear if need be," Kell murmured, glancing back at her once more. "It should always be in their minds that I serve you first above all."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You can say it all you like, Kell, but we both know that will be difficult. You are in a hard position. You have to balance yourself between what I want and what the people want. It will test your patience worse than anything else in your life." Kate said as she stared at the roof of their tent, thinking about the position that they found themselves in at the moment. "I don't envy you just as you don't envy me."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I serve you in order to serve the people. My job may be to ensure the safety of our kingdom... but that means making sure there is a queen to lead that kingdom. As my wife, you are more important to me than anyone else. But as Lord Protector, I'm meant to weigh your safety equally to the well-being of our people. Which is why I have Qira."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate was quiet after that, sleep finding her soon after. She wasn’t up for the mental sparring match that she typically enjoyed with Kell. Come morning, she was up and dressed before most of the rest of the camp was. She had meetings with her uncle Ashien and Henry to plot out the best route for their movements to take care of Alba.

 

[KieranSoares]

When Kate rose, Kell was still asleep, having been up a bit later than expected. But as she emerged, Qira quietly slipped to her side. It seemed he was never missing, even if he wasn't always visible.

It was not yet dawn as Kate joined some of the night guard for a meal, and Ashien, Henry, and Brogan soon joined her, leaving the others to rest and be filled in later.

"Kitten," Brogan greeted Kate softly, kissing her cheek as they made their way toward a cook's tent to get breakfast.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Da.” Kate said, returning the kiss to his cheek as the three of them walked into the mess tent, instantly served by an eager cook and his assistants.

She took a seat between her uncle and her father, glancing as Ashien started to press out various maps and correspondences that told of troop movements and just where they were heading.

 

[KieranSoares]

Ashien spent half his time eating, half sorting and adding to maps with updated information from his notes.

"Now," Henry spoke up after they'd finished most of their food. "Seeing as we'll be splitting off to north and west armies today, we need to make it clear what we're doing. Timing will be important. I refuse to parlay with Alba after all he's done, but I'm still unsure if his ally in Rothbury is truly a traitor or simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. So preferably, I'd like to surround the town with as little damage as possible. No civilians are to be touched, no torches, and keep an eye on your infantry that they don't resort to looting or bullying the common folk. A warning will be sent ahead of time, but not soon enough to give Alba a chance to escape. Each army will stay out of sight til before dawn, and charge and surround the town the moment the sun rises."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You have nothing to worry about from our troops." Kate said as Henry laid out his plans for what he wanted to happen during this mission. "Kell will oversee them personally and if there is any damage to property outside of what is usual for war, we will pay for it personally."

Kate's troops knew that she demanded perfection in everything. She wouldn't abide by a soldier stealing simply so that he might get ahead. Kell agreed with her decisions for the most part, leaving her to devise her own rules for her troops and implementing them as best as he could.

"I will say that if we find Alba first, I cannot guarantee that he will remain alive. What he did to that family was horrendous. He deserves no less than a horrible, painful death." Kate murmured, looking to Henry for his consent as Alba's lord.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I would like Alba alive if only to publicly execute him... So try, but if he refuses to surrender and poses a threat, I will not be offended if it's only his head that reaches me."

Henry looked to Ashien. "You had some notes about cavalry issues, Ashien."

"Yes... Rothbury has a reputation for defending against cavalry. Small gates to bottleneck and prevent charges, and we saw laborers placing spikes out around the walls to help discourage any organized charges and kill horses that can't stop quickly enough. And from what information one of Kell's spies supplied, we know they've been rushing the training of longbowmen, the biggest threat to our cavalry and knights."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Then those with the most training are to go first." Kate said as her uncle laid out the situation with the cavalry that they would face. "If he thinks that we will only attack with charges, he's got another think to learn."

"And we will do our best to take him alive, but know that if it isn't possible, we tried our best." Kate finally offered, knowing that her men were angry over the treatment of one of their own.

 

[KieranSoares]

"You will have far less issue with the cavalry defenses. You're taking the guerilla fighters and the Axemen," Ashien assured her. "We'll send a couple cavalry regiments with you, but we need you lot to get inside and get the gates open for the rest of us."

 

[heartofcourage]

“If opening a bloody gate is all we need to do, Kell and I can have that open in half a day on our own.” Kate said, looking towards her husband in all seriousness as her uncle leveled her with a look of slight annoyance. When she turned to glance at Ashien, the corner of her lips turned up in a impish grin.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Hell, Qira could do it alone," Kell murmured, sitting down beside Kate.

"I'd rather y'didn't," Brogan spoke up. "Especially no' when they know we're comin'."

"Anyway," Ashien continued, dismissing his troublesome niece with a half-hidden smirk. "The Axemen will be charged with getting the north and west gates open, and then the rest of the forces will flood in and take control of the town proper. From there, Alba will be trapped in the castle. If he flees south, he'll have to get through our scouts and other allies watching for him."

 

[heartofcourage]

“We won’t let him flee.” Kate said, glancing over at Kell. “Don’t worry about the south. We will have people in place for that with strict instructions to take him alive.”

It didn’t need to be said that the queen of Scotland had a vast network of shadowy characters. If they wanted to Ben hidden, they would stay that way.-

 

[KieranSoares]

"Then I think the main thing now is to organize the main army's approach," Ashien looked to Henry and the two began conversing, writing on the maps and planning side manuevers. The approach of the north army would be between Brogan and Kate. They would be quieter, faster, and hit hard before disappearing until they gained control of the gate and got inside.

 

[heartofcourage]

As Plans were being made by her uncle and Henry, Kate excused herself to fully dress in order to leave as soon as orders were given. Dressed in her matte black armor with specially made helmet, Kate was barely recognizable. She was sure that was what Kell had intended when he had commissioned the pieces. She had easy access to her claymore and added protection to her most vulnerable areas. It would take luck and skill to take down the Queen.

Just as she was buckling her last belt into place, she paused to see Boar approaching her. She didn’t say anything as he was suddenly offering an axe of her own, specially made for her size and strength.

“I can’t take that.” She said softly, looking into her uncle’s guarded dark gaze. “The Axemen are an elite group and I’ve not completed the proper training. I’ll not have you handing me things simply because I’m your niece or a queen.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"You were gonna be an Axeman," Boar muttered, tying the holster to her belt himself when she wouldn't take it. "Only reason you didn' make it was because you accepted Gale's offer. But tha' axe has uses a sword doesn't. It can cleave armor wide open, break down doors, destroy shields an' horse traps, an' it can be thrown in an emergency. I know yer a fine archer, but a thrown axe can kill a fully-armored knight on horseback if it comes t'that."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Uncle Boar." Kate said, trying to get him to stop as he personally reached to attach the axe to her belt himself.

She stopped pulling away as he successfully got a hold of her belt, holding her still as he did the quick work of making sure that the axe wasn't going anywhere. She gave a great sigh and looked at him, knowing that he saw her as his own daughter just as Durban and Ashien did as well.

"I'm repaying you every single coin that it cost to have this made." Kate grumbled softly as she finally pulled away from him and looked him in the eye. "None of you are going to pay for my weapons."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I didn' pay for it." Boar drew it from the holster to show her, and immediately it was recognizable as a Ghis-made item. While no one in the family was a dedicated blacksmith, they had all made tools and weapons now and then. Boar was perhaps the finest smith, having made all his own gear while living in Inverlochly. And this axe had his signature engraved wild boar head near the haft.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You know what I mean." Kate said softly as he showed her his handy work, the flash of his signature boar making her let out a long sigh. "I suppose there's nothing left but for me to be gracious and tell you thank you."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You don' need to," Boar muttered, replacing the axe. "Y'may take after Brogan, but you an' me are a lot alike, Kate. Can' be graceful about gifts an' compliments, more stubborn than anyone else in this bloody Clan, an' set on bein' self-sufficient an' provin' ourselves. I guess tha's my fault... Julia's blamed me fer years fer tellin' you all th'warrior stories an' gettin' you in with th'Axeman, I always encouraged you t'be a little spitfire while yer father an' Durban were a lot calmer an' more balanced. I guess what I really wanna say... Is tha' this axe is th'one you should've been given when you joined our brotherhood in th'Axemen, an' I'm proud of th'woman you've become an' this thing yer undertaking fer your people as well as Henry's."