To Capture a Captain's Heart (closed)

[heartofcourage]

Kayla paused in pulling on a fresh set of undergarments when Helga mentioned that they wanted to pull down the flag of Olaf. She thought about that for a long moment before she finally nodded and turned towards her dressing maid.

"If it's what they want, then I will allow them to do that." She said softly, moving to step into the heavy gown that was made especially for the event.

 

[KieranSoares]

"They want you and Christopher and Ulfric to design it," Helga nodded. "But honestly, it's really you whose banner they want, not anyone else's. You've already made some fine changes and displaced some people who didn't deserve the power they had, and the people are hopeful, more than they ever were under the Sigurdsson line."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I've had enough turmoil in my life." Kayla said as she stood still so Helga could lace the dress. "First with my father, and then with Olaf, and now with my marriage. I refuse to let anyone else feel as helpless and scared as I was."

Once the dress was in place, Kayla sat at her vanity so that Helga could start on her hair. Her long black hair was piled high to support her crown. Looking into the mirror as Helga worked to pin the heavy crown into place, she could see images of her mother when she was younger.

When she looked into her features, she didn't see her father at all. In fact, she could barely remember what he looked like. She remembered that he had dark eyes and large, strong hands. He had never smiled around her, unlike her mother who smiled all the time. She supposed that not being able to remember the brutal man was a good thing.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I remember Old Tamblin," Helga nodded slowly. "He was promising as a young man, very driven and his cruel father's pride and joy. He wasn't unkind at first, though he didn't go out of his way to be generous. A common sort of man, really. But after he failed in his first three battles against Lochlan O'Hennessey, his father shunned him."

Kayla had never known her grandfather or the story of why Tamblin had been so. She was the only Ghis sibling who didn't know the story, simply because her mother and brothers and sister wanted to shelter her.

"From what I heard, Tamblin was demoted by his father and forced to take a long leave. In that time, he was about eighteen, and he took that time to marry your mother, young as she was. It wasn't till after Durban was born that he went back to battle. When his general failed, he was blamed, so he killed the old man out of spite and anger. After that, he was never the same. Never did a good word reach Norway about Tamblin from that time on."

 

[heartofcourage]

"He never smiled. I pity a man who never had a reason to smile." Kayla said softly as she thought more about him. "He had the world but he threw it all away. He beat my Ma. He beat all my siblings. He never laid a hand in me though. I think he was too afraid of what the others would have done if he did."

 

[KieranSoares]

"After seeing your brothers and sister... I'm not surprised. If Durban and Brogan were half their size and strength by the time you and your twin were born, I can understand he'd be afraid. Durban and Brogan must have been... sixteen and twelve or so. Durban at least would have been a force to reckon with. He was, even if he did lose when he finally challenged Tamblin when you were five. He left Tamblin without the use of one arm and one eye. Many of us here believe that Durban made the difference between Brogan's victory or death against Tamblin later. If I remember correctly, Tamblin couldn't carry a shield, and he couldn't see Brogan's blade coming from one side."

Helga then shook her head, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be talking about such things. The world is much better now with you and your brother at the helms of Inverness and Norway."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I suppose it is." Kayla said softly as the last pin was put into place and Helga placed an emerald necklace at her through an earrings on her ears. A cape of ermine was placed on her shoulders and she was finished. "Do I look like the queen of Norway?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"You look like a woman fit to lead a nation. Once you finish dallying about with the old men who think they're in charge, that is," she chuckled and kissed Kayla's cheek. "Sweet girl... it's hard to believe a young lady like you commands a country of Vikings. Tough old things, they are."

"Come now, or you'll be late," Helga opened up the door for her.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla smiled as Helga kissed her cheek. It made her miss her mother so much, she thought to herself. Perhaps when the day was over, she would write her weekly letter to her mother and ask her to visit soon.

As the door was opened and she stepped into the hallway, she paused to take a look at Christopher in his General's uniform. He looked so handsome, but to her, he would always be her sweet captain. She smiled at him, taking his offered arm to be led away.

 

[KieranSoares]

They entered the Parliament Council room to find axes and swords drawn, and Jarjaan Sedgerickssen and his wife in the center of it all, held at the blade points. When the door opened, the head of the council whom Kayla had met on her first day, Olgrim Aethelwulfssen, came forward.

"Your Majesty, I apologize for the scene before you... but we finally have the evidence we need, and testimonies, to put away the Archduke who has stood against you." He handed over a paper to Christopher. Christopher studied it with interest, his eyes glancing to Marla and Jarjaan a few times.

Then, Christopher came into his own as Lord Protector, giving Kayla's arm over to Ulfric as he came to stand beside them, and he drew his blade, striding confidently through a part in the circle to face the Archduke and his wife. "Archduke Jarjaan Sedgerickssen, Lady Marla Sedgerickssen, by the power given me by the people of Norway and their Queen, I am placing you under arrest with the absolute maximum security that the Trondheim prison can offer. You will not be allowed contact with anyone but one another until a trial by the Council and Queen is put in place, at which time you will be questioned and charged accordingly by the Queen herself or whomever she charges with your fate."

"You can't do this! We've done nothing!" Jarjaan growled, and Christopher lifted the paper once more.

"I beg to differ... aside from my own experience with your treachery, you are to face charges of multiple assassination attempts on multiple lords, ladies, and the Queen not limited to employing assassins, bounty hunters, and failed poisoning, high treason in the form of betrayal, embezzlement, and various other acts of lawlessness and a massive debt owed to several businesses across Norway and Denmark. Your wife will share these all as she aided you. All of this information is supplied and signed by over three-hundred people including civillians, nobles, spies, and King Elhardt himself."

Christopher folded the paper away, his blade poised if Jarjaan attempted to flee. "I suggest you both keep quiet from here on out, unless you wish for more doubt and evidence to come against you." Shackles were brought in, and Christopher personally escorted the two away with several guards, but not before kissing Kayla's cheek on his way.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla looked around at the commotion, startled to see Jarjaan and Marla held at the point of the guards' swords. She said nothing as Olgrim explained what happened and she allowed Christopher to step forward and take over the situation. She simply watch them go, giving Christopher a smile as he took them out of the room.

She turned back to those assembled and took in a deep breath. "Now, shall we get on with our duties?" She asked them.

 

[KieranSoares]

The men of the council looked at her, bewildered at her calm, but they all returned to their seats and the remaining guards took up their positions at the door and near their lords. It was Olgrim who began at Kayla's command, speaking of old business that they'd taken care of since Kayla's arrival. Other Jarls, as lords were called in Denmark and Norway, presented their current plans and issues to be discussed and dealt with. Most were a simple matter of granting money from the treasury for repairs or new buildings, or in Jarl Harlo Rakkar's case, an increase of military presence. It seemed his people were unwilling to follow Kayla as she was not only an unproven leader, but she was a woman. They were old-fashioned and believed that at the very least, she should be a trained shieldmaiden.

"They will no longer follow Jarl Rakkar's lead, Your Ladyship," the Jarl's translator spoke for him as he knew no English. "They are threatening revolt. And as Jarl Rakkar's people are some of the most fearsome Vikings and warriors in Norway, this is cause for great alarm to our neighbors under Jarls Gojaan and Othor."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla listened to the issue at hand and thought on it silently for a moment. "They believe that I am untrained? On the contrary, I have been trained very well. I have simply never had the chance to pick up a sword."

"My father's reputation has made it to Noway, that much I know for certain. My brothers and my sister made certain that I knew how to defend myself against any threat that came my way. We learned well from my father's rule what an irresponsible leader can do."

 

[KieranSoares]

"But how are we to prove this to them?" The translator asked after relaying her words to the Jarl. "They are stubborn people, and demand proof. That may be a threat to your life, milady."

"If they doubt our Queen, let them come. We will prove our loyalty and belief in her and defend her honor with the axe if need be," another Jarl called Haakon Eron growled. He was one of the more warlike in the council, and fiercely loyal to Ulfric and therefore Kayla too.

"We cannot declare war on our own brothers, Haakon," Olgrim stated softly. "If we fight our own, what will the rest of our people think?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"If they doubt me, then I shall go to them and prove it. Surely there is a test that they can put me through that will suffice everyone." Kayla said, looking calmly about the room at each man as the translator talked.

 

[KieranSoares]

"The only test they want is a true fight, a duel," Ulfric murmured. "They don't believe any man or woman who has not killed an opponent in battle should be a leader."

Then Jarl Rakkar spoke to his translator, and the man looked to Kayla, "Jarl Rakkar has volunteered to be your opponent, milady..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I will not kill anyone." Kayla said firmly. "There has been far too much bloodshed in this country as it is. What will me killing one of my own citizens prove?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"Then what will we do?" Olgrim looked up to her. It seemed they were caught, until Ulfric offered an idea.

"Bring a few well-respected members of Jarl Rakkar's estate here. Perhaps if they meet their Queen and understand her, they can sway the others' opinions. We cannot ask them to simply accept her without question, nor can we ask her to kill for their respect."

The translator repeated this to Rakkar, and the man nodded, speaking quietly to the man. The translator looked up again, "He says it's a good idea, but that he will also still offer himself in a non-lethal duel if the Queen wishes to prove her prowess to his people. It may help if they see she can fight."

 

[heartofcourage]

"We will make plans for the occasion." Kayla said diplomatically, trying to think about what would happen when she faced one of her supporters in a duel. She didn't like the idea, but if it meant peace in her country, she had no choice.

 

[KieranSoares]

Rakkar nodded bowing his head to her when his translator repeated her words in Norwegian, and when the man sat down, Christopher stepped in.

"If there is no other business...?" Olgrim looked around the room, and Christopher stepped forward.

"I hate to bring more trouble," Christopher sighed. "But Sedgerickssen has divulged some troubling information that I'd previously though was only a minor upset..."

"The Loyalists, yes. They are troubling... and I myself am awaiting their reaction to Sedgerickssen's arrest and whatever his sentence will be when it falls upon him," Ulfric stepped to Christopher's side. "For those of you who have not realized it yet... there is an alliance calling themselves the Loyalists. They exist in Wick in Northern Scotland and here in Norway, and they are devoted to to goal of 'bringing honor back to the royal houses' by putting close partners of their former kings on the thrones. In Wick, they aim to put Hiram Ledger on the throne, though currently Arland Wick's mother and half-brother Abel Dunland are taking very good care of it. Here, they have two candidates. Jarjaan Sedgerickssen, and myself."

That caused a stir among the Jarls, but Ulfric raised his hands to calm them. "Please believe me when I say I have no interest in the throne. If I ever did, it was for the sake of the people when we fell into uncertainty at Olaf Sigurdssen's death. But seeing our Queen, I know Norway is in good hands. I will only ever be a Regent."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla sat quietly, listening to Ulfric as he put more troubles before the rest of the Jarls. She trusted Ulfric with her life and would defend his position in her court to her dying breath if she had to.

"I promise all of you that I will fight any threat that comes to destroy the peace of Norway. I do not want a fight. You have been through far too much. We must continue to focus on bringing relief to those who need it." Kayla said softly, knowing that she would have the support of each person gathered.

 

[KieranSoares]

"We will be ready to defend, but not so set on a battle to ignore the needs of the people," Olgrim nodded and the other Jarls agreed. "Olaf's rule has taken a harsh toll on our lands, and we have not been hale and whole since before the War of 1066 when our King Harald Hardrada died fighting King William. It was a foolish grab for land when Hardrada could not support the lands he already owned. But we must abandon the darker past. If there is no more to discuss, I suggest we all get back to our lands and estates and set them to rights."

With a simple closing, most of the Jarls dispersed after giving personal goodbyes to Kayla and Christopher and Ulfric. Christopher escorted them all out and soon, Kayla was left alone with Ulfric, who seemed to be lost in thought, his intense eye examining the courtyard beyond the large back window. "We are at a dangerous crossroads, Kayla..." Ulfric murmured when all had fallen silent. "I have been given countless, rich offers to head the Loyalists instead of Sedgerickssen. And I have been given many more in exchange for your death and your husband's... Every one of them from a man who wants to be king through me, a faceless monarch so that if things go wrong, it is my head under the axe and not theirs. Every one of them, I have arrested quietly, and at least half have seen the executioner's block depending on how hard they tried to remove you... I've kept this quiet so not to frighten you... but you deserve to know. You haven't even been here half a year, and another half could be difficult if something is not done."

 

[heartofcourage]

"This is not a duty I wish you to go through alone, Ulfric. It is too dangerous." Kayla said softly as she came to Ulfric's side. "Things were rough when I first came, but I wish to offer you anything you need to make your job easier."

 

[KieranSoares]

"There's nothing you can give me to make it any easier, Kayla. The fact is that the world is dangerous for a Queen, especially when she rules alone. The world still thinks women are weak and easily defeated, and as long as they see you as such, you are in danger. All I can do is raise a shield against them with Christopher's help, but there are many that I command that he does not, and they are your greatest defense when soldiers and warriors fail." Of course, he meant his spies and assassins and secret bodyguards that were always there to defend her, but Kayla would almost never see them. If she did, she wouldn't know they were her guardians.

"I will protect you with all I have, and believe me when I say I have much more than you will ever see, some things that might even warrant my death for their use, but I will take those risks for the defense of the first ruler Norway has had any belief in since before the turn of the millennium."

 

[heartofcourage]

"And I trust you with my life, Ulfric. I know that you will do what is right for the good of this country." Kayla said with a smile, wrapping her dear adviser in a tight hug. "You are a good man. I know that if anything were to happen to me, you would lead this country perfectly."

Pulling away from Ulfric with a smile still on her lips, Kayla let out a little sigh. "I insist that you have lunch with Christopher and I. Helga wants it to be a celebration of sorts." She didn't need to say any more as to why they were celebrating. It was apparent that she and Christopher had finally entered into marriage as a united pair.