Ghis (closed)

[heartofcourage]

Kate let out a sigh and gave him a nod, knowing that him telling her that was a very important step. "I love you, Khelt. I want to grow old with you and bear your children."

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell glanced over, letting out a deep sigh, wrapping an arm around her. "You're worth the difficulty, but you just never let up." He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Get use to it. We have another 50 years of this, at the very least." Kate muttered as he pressed a kiss to her forehead and she grinned up at her husband. "I promise to calm down as I age....just a little bit at least."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Just be a little more reasonable when I tell you I love you," he murmured, laying his head against her own.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Just a tiny bit." Kate said as he pressed his broad head against hers, holding her tightly. "The slightest amount I can muster."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Mhm... Go on, I have dishes to finish. Do something useful," he turned it back on her, giving her a nuzzle before returning to his task.

 

[heartofcourage]

It was quiet in Edinburgh when Kate and Kell returned to the city. There was no fanfare, no guards, just the both of them riding their horses through the gates and back towards the castle. Kate would wave every so often when someone greeted her, but for the most part, she was her same stoic self when out in public.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell sat tall in the saddle, ever the unflinching Lord Protector out in public beside his Queen. When they reached the castle courtyard, Warwick emerged to meet them, Qira behind him standing in the doorway.

"Well, it's about time," Warwick chuckled as Kate and Kell approached. "We were expecting you yesterday."

 

[heartofcourage]

"We hit rain on the shore when we set out." Kate said as Warwick teased them about being so late. "And it seems the lord protector refuses to let me put myself in any danger."

She glanced from Warwick to Qira, giving the panther a small smile. "I hope you weren't too bored around here without me to look after."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I had a small vacation of my own," Qira answered softly in Erygonian, though to look at him he seemed entirely unchanged, still calm and stoic and quiet.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Really? Where did you go?" Kate asked, stunned that Qira had dropped his guard enough to go on a vacation like she and Kell had.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Not far," he assured her.

"What, is it some secret?" Kell chuckled as he dismounted from his horse.

"I have not decided yet."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate stared at Qira as he said that, tilting her head to the side as she tried to figure out why he was being so secretive all of the sudden. However, she decided to let him have his secrets and gave him a nod, stepping past him and Warwick and into the castle.

"I don't see Rissa. Did she finally get enough of the entire charade?" Kate asked Warwick, looking towards the older man with a raised eyebrow.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Not at all. In fact, she is in her newly-furnished office across from mine, working away." Warwick smiled knowingly back to Qira then, and chuckled, "She had some time away as well to get her affairs in order." He wouldn't give away secrets, but he knew well that Qira and Rissa had gone away and returned together.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I see." Kate said as diplomatically as possible. "Well, I suppose I have my own stack of papers to look into. I should get to work."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Not too much, I promise. I wanted you to be able to relax after your journey home." Warwick paused in the main hall. "In the meantime, I promised dinner to Marianne. If you need me, we'll be around her apartments."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Show her a good time, Warwick." Kate called after him as he started to walk away, watching the hitch in his gait that had nothing to do with his cane and fake leg. "I swear he'll never admit how much Marianne means to him."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don't expect him to," Kell chuckled softly, heading for their own apartments to put his things away. He also began preparing a bath, needing one after their travels.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate watched as Kell left on his own, heading for their private rooms to bathe and prepare himself for a full slate of work. Kate glanced over at Qira as they stood there alone for the first time in over a week.

"You look well rested. I'm glad that you managed to do something that made you happy while we were gone." Kate said as she started off towards her own offices, knowing that the dark panther would follow as he always did.

 

[KieranSoares]

"And you managed the same I hope," he murmured, falling into step with her. Normally if she seemed uninterested in company, he'd keep his distance and simply be a lookout. But when she wanted to chat, he had no qualms about being out in the open beside her.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, I rediscovered why I married my husband, if that's what you wish to know. And we didn't murder one another, so I guess it was a good time away." Kate said with a shrug as if it were all simple like that. "And I learned a few things about him that I had never known before."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Anything I do not know?" Qira glanced over with a light smile, knowing they often shared secrets separate from Kell just to annoy him. However, Qira rarely smiled so easily. He seemed more relaxed, more willing to talk.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate paused at her office door, looking over at Qira as he seemed so at ease with himself on a way that he never had before. It was curious to say the least, but Kate said nothing about it as she gave him a small shrug of her shoulders.

“My husband isn’t a very enegmatic man. Of course he has secrets you don’t know about.” She said with a slight smile. “But I’m sure you’ll find out in time.”

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira nodded, stepping into her office with her. "Warwick and Rissa have managed to keep your work from building up, even with Rissa taking time at home."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Hmmm...." Kate said as soon as he mentioned Rissa, her answer very calm and calculated. "Well, that was nice of the both of them."

She had decided that she wouldn't openly hate Rissa in front of Kell. He had made it clear that he did admire the woman and she wouldn't do anything that put their relationship at risk.