To Capture a Captain's Heart (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"And you as well, my lord." Kayla said, taking his hand as she dropped from the saddle she had been riding on. "I wish it were under better circumstances, however."

She knew that the Khan must have been worried for his daughter. It was easy to see that a strong man like him held his family close. It was very much the way her brothers operated as well. There was nothing in the world more important than family.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Yes... I'm on my way to get Kjotva. If you're here to do the same, then we'd best get going," Arslan looked to the horizon where the village stood. "I'll tear the place apart if I have to."

"That's exactly why we're here. We have a plan, but it requires the utmost secrecy and your horde of riders raiding the village will ensure Kjotva's immediate death. We're going to wait until they bring her out and steal her away when she's on the executioner's platform."

"You think I'll wait that long and risk something happening to her?" Arslan growled suddenly. "Ulfric, you of all people should know that a man does not risk his little girl's life for anything. Don't you remember what happened with Kjersten?"

Ulfric's gaze darkened. "That was the result of improper planning by Olaf and utter lack of ability on almost everyone's part. If not for Rakkar's strategic ability, she'd be dead. You will end up being Olaf in this situation if you just charge in, and Kjotva will die if a Mongolian is seen anywhere remotely near the village. You need to get your men into the forest and out of sight, preferably in common clothes or disguises, and bring only your best if you insist on helping."

Arslan fixed Ulfric with a dark glare. Despite their friendship, it seemed they probably fought often in one another's presence. Then he looked to Kayla. "... What say you...? I'd prefer the judgement of a woman amid prideful men."

"If you valued the judgement of women, you'd have listened to me already and you wouldn't be arguing with your brother-in-arms," a deep feminine voice sounded from the group of riders, and standing out greatly from the darker-skinned, dark-haired men came a fair-skinned blonde woman who was clearly Scandinavian. She was dressed in the same nomad armor with a steppe horse, but she wore a cloak with the emblem of Sweden and an amulet with the same.

"Freja," Arslan began, but the woman lifted a hand to stop him.

"No. I've had enough of your arguing and being a stubborn ass. You're not her only parent, and where I come from, women take over when the menfolk join the ranks of children." It was easy to see where Kjotva got her commanding presence from. She looked to Ulfric and Kayla. "This lot won't trouble you. I'll have them in commoners' clothes waiting for a signal to come and help."

Arslan didn't argue again, averting his gaze from Freja as she sat high in her saddle awaiting an answer from Kayla and Ulfric. She was perfectly calm, but it was clear that an inferno raged just under the surface.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I understand your anger as a parent. I understand your want to save your daughter despite the danger that is presenting itself." Kayla said, looking between the two powerful leaders as they each stood their ground, though Arslan seemed a bit beaten by his wife's impassioned speech. "My greatest wish is to see Kjotva freed from her prison. However, we need to see that she is freed safely and without the threat of violence that we know the Rus are capable of."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Then we will follow your lead," Freja stated boldly. Shooting a glance at Arslan, she added, "All of us." It seemed that even if Arslan had refused, his clan would side with Freja. It also seemed that this conflict had driven a wedge into the husband and wife's relationship.

"We can't take in everyone right now. Your men will have to come in small groups as pilgrims and merchants like our own people did," Ulfric warned them. "Freja, Arslan, we can take you and a few of your best men in right now if you can disguise yourselves and leave your armor. You should probably only bring one weapon, but hide it."

Arslan hesitated to follow through with Ulfric's plan, but Freja immediately dismounted and a woman came to help her get her armor off. Arslan finally followed suit. Once they and a chosen warrior each were dressed in as plain clothes as they could find, they followed Kayla and Ulfric back to the village.

 

[heartofcourage]

Tension could be cut with a knife as they all started on their journey back to their base. Kayla kept glancing towards the husband and wife, each refusing to look at the other as they rode. They would all need to be on the same page when it came to rescuing Kjotva.

"I know that you don't see eye to eye on this, but what's important is your daughter's life. I think this evening you both need to have a long talk about what you want out of this. It'll do everyone a world of good." Kayla said in complete honesty.

 

[KieranSoares]

Ulfric reached back as she spoke, taking her hand to warn her not to interfere. Arslan looked to Freja but she wouldn't even glance at him. "Ulfric..." Arslan murmured. "I think the ladies ought to have a chat." Ulfric pulled his horse to a halt and slid off the saddle, then climbed up on Arslan's warrior's saddle behind the other man. All but Freja went on, leaving Kayla to speak to her.

"Cowards," Freja growled under her breath.

 

[heartofcourage]

"He's a father worried for his daughter. You can't fault him for that." Kayla said as Freja cursed under her breath. "He's willing to do anything for her. I wish my own father had been the same way She's lucky to have him."

 

[KieranSoares]

"He's a good man and a wonderful father... and the best husband I could ask for, if not better. But he's a bloody fool and would sooner get everyone killed than consider thinking." Freja looked to Kayla. "If this were all up to him, we'd have declared war and Kjotva would be dead before we even set foot in this country."

 

[heartofcourage]

"But it's not up to him." Kayla said as she glanced towards the other woman. "And it won't be up to him. This is why the Triad is successful. We all depend on one another to make the right decision that will benefit us all. We have worked hard to plan what is best for Kjotva. He'll come to see that in time, even if it doesn't give him the answers that he wants."

 

[KieranSoares]

Freja signed, her hard expression slowly softening. "He doesn't know how it breaks my heart to see him charge into danger... My attitude with him is less about Kjotva and more about the years of his reckless devotion to his family's honor and safety, especially my own. He means only to make us proud and keep us from harm... But sometimes he only ensures destruction because of it." She shook her head slowly. "You must understand, your husband being who he is. You'd best warn him now before he turns into Arslan."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'll make sure that he heeds any warning about that in the future. We haven't even begun to build our family and I think he sees the merit of spending as much time as possible with me." Kayla said softly, knowing that Freja was frustrated with her husband. "And we will make sure that your daughter comes home safely."

 

[KieranSoares]

"She will..." Freja murmured. "She has to... for much more than her family's sake. I doubt she told anyone, but... the last letter I received from her, she told me she was pregnant." There was so much more at stake with that knowledge on Freja's mind. More than having a grandchild again, more than continuing the family line. Sweden itself hung in the balance because without Kjotva, the crown had no one to go to what with it's former King having not had even distant family to speak of. If anyone, it would go to Freja herself for being a native Swede and the only direct Swedish relative to Kjotva.

If Kjotva had known she was pregnant when she first saw Kayla and Christopher a month after Sigmund and Kollr had died, she'd never shown or mentioned it. By now, she'd be nearly three months along.

 

[heartofcourage]

That news hit Kayla like a ton of bricks. She stared at Freja, knowing how important it was to bring Kjotva home. The entire country of Sweden depended on getting their queen back. She let out a long sigh, letting that information roll through her for a moment.

"I promise you that she will come back home in one peace. Then you can mother her all you like." Kayla said in a soft voice, knowing that after her troubles, all she wanted was to be in her mother's arms.

 

[KieranSoares]

"You're a good woman, Kayla Ghis," Freja told her softly. "No one could tell you to take on the troubles of the rest of the Triad when Olaf died... And no one could ever tell you to deal with the Rus or a bunch of Mongolian brutes out for blood... Bless you, dear girl." Freja leaned over to press a kiss to Kayla's cheek before nudging her horse forward to continue on to the village.

 

[heartofcourage]

Once they were in the village and back to safety, Kayla called a private meeting with Ulfric and Christopher. Sitting at the small table next to them, she relayed the information that Freja had told her, ending with the news that Kjotva was carrying the heir to the Swedish throne.

"This mission cannot fail. No matter what, I am not leaving that woman behind to die or be married to a tyrant." Kayla said in a firm tone.

 

[KieranSoares]

Christopher had grown more and more tense as she spoke, and by the time she finished speaking of Kjotva's baby, his knuckles were white as he clenched the table edge. One thing that had come of losing his own first chance at being a father was a deep-seated need to make sure no one else faced the same thing or lost a child period.

Just as Kayla finished speaking, a dark-cloaked man entered, whispered in Ulfric's ear. Ulfric sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm afraid both of those are going to happen tomorrow... Monomakh intends to marry Kjotva, consummate the marriage, and have her killed so that Sweden is legally his... If he does that, the Triad is broken and every country between Sweden and the Rus is done for when the armies go marching through to reach Malmo."

"Over my dead body," Christopher snarled. "Norway is not my home... all of Scandinavia is my home now, and I'll fight even the impossible odds against Monomakh's armies before I see my new home under Kievan control. He's going to be there tomorrow for the moment Kjotva gives in or dies. We can get her out and kill him."

"Christopher, do you have any idea what will happen if we do that?" Ulfric looked up, shocked. Christopher caught himself then, and sat back with a hand over his face.

"I'm... I'm sorry... I got carried away..."

Ulfric shook his head slowly, "It's alright... you're young, but thankfully you see reason." He rose from his seat. "We cannot kill Monomakh. Under no circumstances may he die in battle against us, or else the Triad is absolutely doomed. We must retrieve Kjotva and work out some manner of treaty, or at least gather enough allies to dissuade the Kievans from ever attacking us again."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I believe when he sees what forces are already on our side he will think twice about messing with the Triad again." Kayla said as she glanced towards her husband. "Christopher, we know what we are up against and we have to remain calm. We owe it to Kjotva and Sweden to end this in as peaceful a manner as possible."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know... I know. Just, with everything that's happened..." Christopher murmured. He blamed the strenuous journey and the worry for Kayla losing the baby, even though he didn't say it aloud. To him, it was Monomakh's fault all the way.

Ulfric laid a hand on Christopher's shoulder. "Don't worry, friend... once this is over, you'll be able to tend to more personal things. Now... I suggest you both get some rest. Tomorrow will be one of the hardest fights of your lives and we don't want to lose anyone if we can help it."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla agreed with Ulfric that they needed sleep. Christopher especially, before the stress of the situation caused him to crack. She cared what happened to him and she knew that he was still struggling with all of the troubles that had happened in such a short amount of time. She worried about him but he was stubborn enough to keep to himself until the very end.

 

[KieranSoares]

Retreating to their tents with the knowledge that they would need to be up at dawn in order to be ready in time for the noon execution- or wedding- Christopher wasted no time in retiring to their makeshift camp bed. His mind was racing like mad while he was physically exhausted. It wasn't a good matchup for a good night's sleep.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla soon joined her husband in bed, her head resting on his shoulder as she felt him struggle with stress and exhaustion. There was little she could do to help him but hold him tightly.

"Talk to me, Chris. Maybe clearing your troubles would help." She said softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"You already know my troubles, Kay," he murmured without opening his eyes. "You've been there every time another gets dropped on my shoulders."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Chris, our troubles are almost over and then we can relax." Kayla said softly, hearing the stress and strain in his voice. "We can try for a family again after this."

 

[KieranSoares]

"They're not over until everyone is settled at home and safe and we're certain Monomakh is done attacking us... How long will that take, to get a man like that to give in to peace...? Kievans aren't peaceful people and they have a long, vengeful history with their northwestern neighbors, especially Lithuania and the Triad. Then there's the attacks on Lithuania to deal with. They're an allied country..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Christopher, listen to me. All of that will resolve in time. We need to focus on what is happening here and now. If you continue to worry, you'lol find yourself in an early grave. Then where will that leave me?" Kayla asked him in a soft tone.