To Capture a Captain's Heart (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"I wasn't going to leave you behind." Kayla murmured softly, her cheek pressed against his chest as he told her that Ulfric was still missing but Ashein was safe. "Are they looking for him? We can't leave him out there if he's unaccounted for."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Elhardt's sent his best men to go out looking. It's possible he was chased and he just can't return until he loses his pursuers. Last we heard, we was headed in the opposite direction from the camp."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla took in that news and knew that she would worry about Ulfric until he was found. Now that Christopher had her in his arms, she wasn't going to be allowed to go back out and search for him.

"Then we shall have to hope for the best." Kayla said softly, looking up at her husband. "I'm thankful that you're alright, though. I thought I had lost you when I didn't see you in the camp."

 

[KieranSoares]

"They told me I'd arrived just after you left. I fell a bit behind when an arrow took down my horse, but thankfully one of the Mongolians picked me up," Christopher explained as he brought her to see Ashien. He'd just woken up again, sitting in a tent as a healer tended to his shield arm that had been slashed when his buckler shattered.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Your wife is not going to be happy with you." Kayla murmured with a slight smile as she saw Ashien for the first time. "You promised to come back in one piece. I don't think this is what she had in mind."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm still in one piece, just a little nicked is all," Ashien murmured as the healer tied off the bandage. "Exhausted, though... Monomakh is one hell of a fighter." He rose to face Kayla with a sigh, "We succeeded, but at a cost. For now, we have two men confirmed dead and ten still missing along with Ulfric."

 

[heartofcourage]

"We can only hope that they are found safe. Perhaps they made it free from the troops before the fighting got too bad." Kayla said as Ashien told her that two were dead. "And those two shall be heroes. They saved the Queen and heir of Sweden."

 

[KieranSoares]

Ashien was about to speak further when shouting arose on one end of the camp, and a group of five riders came in. One of the five was doing his best to hold onto an unconscious Ulfric. Healers rushed out to get the Norwegian advisor, taking him into a tent. The rider reported five others dead and Ulfric badly hurt by a spear wound in the ribs.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla rushed to the tent that Ulfric was being treated. The man might have been out of it, but he definitely was a father figure and she was going to be there with him through the worst of it. As the healers worked, she found herself sitting on a stool and holding his hand. It was the very least she could do for the man that she adored so much.

 

[KieranSoares]

Ulfric's breathing was ragged and irregular, telling of a punctured lung, and he looked up to Kayla when she took his hand. "Kjotva...? Is she...?" He couldn't even complete a sentence without running out of breath.

 

[heartofcourage]

"She is safe with her family." Kayla said softly as she hushed her adviser to keep him from straining too much. "She will be fine with some time to heal. You, my dear friend, need a little more assistance."

 

[KieranSoares]

"And Christopher? ... Arslan, Freja...? And you...?" He struggled to even whisper, before a healer came to stop him.

"General, you need to take it easy. You could suffocate yourself," the healer warned softly but sternly.

 

[heartofcourage]

"All fine." Kayla said softly as the healer told him to rest. "Ashien has a small wound from where his armor failed, but he will be fine as well. I just just need you to be fine too."

Kayla leaned down and kissed his forehead, letting him know just how much he meant to her. He had been her steadfast supporter and the man that she could ask anything of when it came to court etiquette and matters of state. Without him at her side would be a hard blow to over come.

 

[KieranSoares]

By this point, Ulfric was gasping for breath and getting pale, so the healers prepared to operate to drain the blood from his punctured lung. For the first time ever, Kayla saw a flicker of fear in Ulfric's one dark eye. "Kayla," he rasped before the healers ushered her out. "Tell Kjersten... And Elhardt, I love them... If I..." But he could speak no further.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'll tell them all if you can't tell them yourself." Kayla promised him as he finally stopped talking, the healers taking over to drain the blood from his abused lungs. "But you're going to be able to. We have a lot of work left to do together, Ulfric. You have a lot more of life to see."

 

[KieranSoares]

When Kayla was ushered out, Ashien and Christopher were waiting for her outside for news and to bring her comfort. Chris came forward to take her hand. "How is he?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Dying." Kayla said as she took her husband's hand and squeezed it. "And scared. It'll take all of their skill to make sure that he pulls through."

She should have taken time to rest, letting her brother and her husband dote on her until news came about Ulfric. However, she knew that she couldn't leave Elhardt alone in his worry. She led the two men to the king's tent, entering as the guard allowed and sitting with him as they waited for news on his brother.

 

[KieranSoares]

Elhardt was a mess when he learned of his brother's condition, but he was silent and began writing a letter to Kjersten. If Ulfric died, Elhardt would deliver the news in person. But for now, Kjersten needed to know to be ready for that news should it come. The only relief in the entire situation was that Ulfric's tactics and sacrifice had ensured the survival of Kjotva and her unborn child.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla stayed near Elhardt, knowing that he was trying so hard to be brave and think the best about his brother. She was exhausted and found herself dozing ever so often against Christopher's shoulder as they all waited on word about Ulfric's condition. She swore that if he survived, she would reward him handsomely and make sure that he knew his worth in the Norwegian court.

 

[KieranSoares]

It wasn't until past dark that Kjotva had the strength to come join them with her parents, but they still hadn't gotten a definite answer about Ulfric as the healers were trying their best to keep him alive while mending the damage he'd suffered. Kjotva came to sit down with them at the campfire outside Elhardt's tent. Freja and Arslan sat on either side, constantly at the ready to tend to her.

"No word yet?" She asked softly, looking between her fellow rulers and Christopher.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Not yet." Kayla said softly as she lifted her head off Christopher's shoulder. "We might not know anything for a very long time. He's strong enough to pull through, though."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Stupid man... He always insists on being the one to get hurt rather than anyone else... Says it's better if it's him than royalty or innocent people... What he never seems to take into account is that half the Triad can't even function without him."

Elhardt looked to Kjotva then, "That's why he has to make it... Until the day another Ulfric Moor comes along, we need him..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"There will never be another Ulfric and when he is well again I am determined to let him know that." Kayla said, looking between Elhardt and Kjotva. "We should all let him know just how important he is to all of us."

 

[KieranSoares]

With a silent agreement, they all awaited news of Ulric's health. Each was made to go to sleep at some point, but they were woken about dawn when word came that Monomakh might know where they were, and they had to move. Ulfric was in no condition to be moved even if he was stable and resting, but there was no choice. They had to split up and meet back across the Lithuanian border in safety. Elhardt's demanded to be with his brother, but his men denied him outright. None of the ringleaders could be in the same group together lest several be caught at once. Kayla couldn't even be with Christopher for fear of the retribution either one of them would face if caught in the Kievan Rus. Christopher being a military leader and Kayla being the one who took Kjotva personally, Monomakh might slay them outright.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla was terrified at the thought of being separated from her brother and her husband as they journeyed back to Lithuania. She hadn't been without one of them in a very long time, but she tried not to let her fear show. A queen was strong and regal, even if she was silently quaking inside.

On the day that they parted, Kayla hugged her brother tightly and for as long as she was able before she turned to her husband. She didn't have the strength to talk as she kissed him and let him know just how much he meant to her.