Claymore and Dagger (closed)

[KieranSoares]

Will brought tankards of cider to the den, drawn from a small barrel he'd saved up to buy from the Erygonians who were the finest brewers in the region. "Kayla does a lot more than that," Will added quietly.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona glanced towards Will as he mentioned that Kayla did more than that. "What does that mean?" She asked him with a curious tone as Julia politely accepted the tankard that was offered to her.

 

[KieranSoares]

"She welcomes me over all the time to spend time with her family. Lynn's almost become like a little brother. It's kind of nice, you know? No one other than you has ever treated me like family."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Kayla is a kind soul." Julia said with a smile as she looked at Will. "Aleister is very protective of her, which tells me that he trusts you to come into their space."

Julia knew that the baker was very loving towards Lynndon and Jamie. He treated both boys equally and never made mention to the fact that Lynndon wasn't his son.

 

[KieranSoares]

"She always asks about you, Fi. Whether you're eating and if you're safe," Will muttered.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Too many people out there worry about me. They shouldn't." Fiona murmured, drawing a laugh from Julia as she did so.

"You sound like my husband when he was younger. He didn't want anyone to care about him because he thought it was a waste of time." Julia commented, looking between Will and Fiona. "How will you know about joy if you don't let people care?"

Julia stayed a while longer, talking to the both of them before she left back for home. Fiona warmed the meal that had been brought and then served both herself and Will. As they ate in silence, Fiona pushed a wrapped package across the table to him.

"I know that I won our bet on the dragon, but I think you still deserve this." Fiona said softly, watching as he unwrapped the knife that she had bought him.

 

[KieranSoares]

As he pulled the pristine Erygonian blade from its leather sheathe, Will's eyes grew wide. "Fiona... You didn't have to. This must've been so expensive..."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona said nothing as Will's eyes grew wide at her gift. She simply ate her meal and let him look over the blade with wide eyes.

"I think you should go live with the MacNamara's. They would give you so much more than I could, Will." Fiona said after thinking over the issue for a few moments.

 

[KieranSoares]

"What? No, this is my home." Will fixed her with a somewhat hurt gaze. "And I'm finally in a position where I can help you. Why would you want me to leave?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Because I don't need your help, Will." Fiona said softly. "And Invah wants to go find her husband. I don't know how much longer I will stay around here. I don't know that there is anything for me here in Inverness anymore."

She let out a long sigh, what had happened at the loch weighing heavily on her. "So many died for me. You don't need that hanging over you. The MacNamara's are good people who can give you a good name."

 

[KieranSoares]

"They didn't die just for you, Fiona," Will told her with some fire in his voice. "They died to protect their own people and Invah. If those Greeks were willing to take a Princess and accuse people of witchcraft, who knows what else they might've done to people here if they had their way. And they tried to hunt werefolk while they were here. Us rangers were protecting the werefolk villages night and day, even initiates like me. It wasn't for you."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You're just as stubborn as me." Fiona said softly. "Nothing I say is going to convince you otherwise."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Nothing," Will confirmed. "And you can't just leave, either. It's okay if you go visit family, but you can't leave forever. We have friends here. And I don't want you to be alone again, just like I don't want to be alone."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Will..." Fiona murmured softly, stopping when she saw the stubborn look in his eyes. "I promise I won't go anywhere without telling you first. How about that?"

She was quiet a moment longer as she thought about the situation. She had no idea that Will depended on her that much or that he wanted to keep her around.

"So...do you think you'll use that knife much?" She was trying to bring the conversation back around to him and leave the topic of herself alone.

 

[KieranSoares]

Will knew she was changing the subject, but he let it go for the moment. "All the time. My old knife is really brittle and the tip broke off a while ago. I should probably just get rid of it."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Keep it. That way you remember where you came from." She said with a slight smile as she reached for the necklace that she usually wore around her throat. "That's why I have this..."

She paused when she came up empty, panicking slightly as she remembered that she had left it on Sam's desk at the keep. Her hand came away empty and she felt slightly sick knowing that she would have to go see him to get it back.

"My necklace. It has things that remind me of my grandpa, my dad, and my Ma." Fiona said softly. "Even though I don't want to remember my Da, it's always good to think about him from time to time."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Where is it? Did you lose it?" Will asked worriedly. He knew the necklace was her one constant possession. She'd had it since before he'd met her.

 

[heartofcourage]

"No." Fiona said softly, unable to look Will in the eye. "I left it for Sam in case I didn't come back. It's on his desk."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You should really go see him soon. Especially if you're going to leave with Invah," Will murmured, taking their dishes to wash them and leave her be with her conflicting thoughts.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona nodded, knowing that she was acting like a coward. She let out a sigh and rose from her seat to retire back to her room. She couldn't hide forever from Samuel Ghis, but she knew that she could do her best. He might be upset with her for what had happened. He might still want to bring her in to face a trial. It was all within his rights to do that but she was conflicted. She liked Sam but she knew that she wasn't right for him. He needed someone to love him and she was scared to do that. It all served to make Fiona feel jumbled inside.

 

[KieranSoares]

By the next day, Sam had finally woken, and only two days later, he insisted on at least doing paperwork so he wasn't just laying around doing nothing. When he sat down at his desk, he saw Fiona's note where he'd left it, and he opened up the top drawer of the desk to pull out the necklace where he'd hidden it for safekeeping even in his rush to get to her in time that day.

He was staring at it, the chain wrapped around his fingers despite a broken hand, when Julia came in to check on him.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia entered with a pot of tea and mug for him, healing herbs that would help him get back on his feet. "Chessie and Heather made you a scone with blueberries." She murmured as she sat the tray down beside her son and paused when she saw him staring at the necklace in his hand.

"Where did you get that, love?" Julia asked him as she pulled up a seat and sat down at his side. "It's in rough shape."

 

[KieranSoares]

"It's Fiona's," he murmured without taking his eyes off it. "She left it th' day she went t' get Heather. Wanted me t'keep it safe in case she died."

He finally set it down and looked at his desk piled with papers, and tried to shake off the gloomy haze that had settled over him. "I 'aven't even started..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Go see her, Sam." Julia said softly, taking his large hand in her own and holding it. "The look in your eyes when you think about her breaks my heart, love."

 

[KieranSoares]

"We 'ad one moment, Ma. One moment doesn' mean I suddenly found th'love of my life. Probably jus' some puppy love like with Gallus' daughter..." he sighed. Perhaps the reason he'd fallen out of love with King Gallus' daughter as a teenager was because he'd convinced himself of the very same thing- that it was just puppy love and nothing serious.