Claymore and Dagger (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"And yet you're sitting here staring at her necklace, unable to do your work." Julia said softly. "I've raised seven children, love. I think I know what I'm talking about when it comes to matters of the heart. In spite of what you think, I believe that you might have found the one person that is as stubborn as you are. Don't give up on it so easily."

She was quiet for a moment, giving him a small smile. "Besides, your Da and I have new clothes to give to her. How about you take them to her house?"

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam sighed, standing from his desk. "I suppose." He wanted to believe he was just doing it because his mother asked him to, but he was secretly hoping he'd get a chance to properly talk to Fiona.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia gave him the packages that she and Brogan had ordered for Fiona. She had new dresses, bolts of fabric, tunics, pants, and a sturdy pair of books. Perhaps they had spent too much on her, but they genuinely cared about her well being.

Fiona had decided to stay around the cabin that day, tending to things that had fallen by the wayside when she was on the run. Will had a pile of mending that needed to be done and she sat out in the sunshine, tending to her chores.

 

[KieranSoares]

Before long, the familiar padding of drake feet reached Fiona, and a sleek emerald drake came around the corner of the street much to the wonder of passersby. On her back was none other than Samuel Ghis. There were no spare drake saddles so he'd made do with a simple saddle blanket and no bridle. Still, he handled the creature with ease, bringing her to a halt near the little cabin. She knelt down so he could slip off her back more easily, and he dropped down with a large burlap sack in hand.

As he looked up to see Fiona, he paused to take a deep breath before striding forward with faked confidence.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona was surprised to see Sam riding a drake without a saddle. Even riding Roman, he was a little unwieldy without something to hold on to. She was impressed that he seemed to have absolutely no problem.

"Where did you find her?" Fiona asked as he strode towards her with a large sack in his hand.

 

[KieranSoares]

"There were plenty of hurt and lost drakes left after we finished the Greeks... she was still in their camp, and Rho brought her to me when I woke up." Sam looked toward the serene emerald drake with some measure of affection. "I think I'll name her Kennah."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You're keeping her?" Fiona asked in surprise. "I suppose you would have to...since Dun can't out run Roman."

 

[KieranSoares]

"We're keepin' all the drakes now tha' they've got nowhere t' go," Sam said with a nod. "We're going t' give most of them to our veteran rangers an' leading knights, but plenty of the bigger ones're going t'work with some people that'll take good care of 'em. An' Annie an' David decided they might as well get into drakes now too, so they're keepin' a few. Some lost limbs 'r can't walk well anymore, though... those're goin' t'Annie too."

Then he added, "But I didn't want Kennah jus' t'catch you an' Roman. She's a sweetheart."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Silas wants a drake of his own." Fiona said, thinking about the little boy that followed her like a shadow when she was at the farm. "He fancies himself a knight one of these days. He said that he can leave the horses to Danny and he can go off and have adventures."

 

[KieranSoares]

"He might jus' get one now," Sam said with a small smile. Then he remembered the bag in his hand and he stepped forward to give it to her. "Ma went a little crazy at th'market... She wanted you t' have these. I think Da put some sewing supplies in there too." Then he reached into his chest pocket, pulling out her necklace. "And... I think it's time y'had this back."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona felt her stomach tie up in knots as Sam offered her the bag of clothing and the necklace back. She looked at both for a long moment and then glanced at the necklace again. The leather chain was more worn than she remembered, but the trinkets were still lovingly taken care of.

"Thanks." She said softly as she took the necklace and made no motion towards the bag. "They didn't have to do all of that."

 

[KieranSoares]

"They care about you," Sam told her quietly, "I've learned t'just let them do what they like... Much as I try t'act like I don' need someone t'look after me, I know everyone needs someone." He set the bag down beside her, letting her know he wasn't going to give her the option of rejecting it. "And... I think we ought to talk.... About what's going on between us."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I don't want to talk about us." Fiona said softly, unable to look him in the eye as she tied the leather back around her neck and let the necklace fall into place.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Why not?" Sam asked quietly. "All I ask is an explanation. I spent all day t'day wondering how I'd finally get up th'courage t'come talk t'you, an' it took my mother t'push me out th'door."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Because I'm not what you need, Sam." Fiona said softly, her cub blue eyes finally lifting to look at Sam. "I'd only hurt you in the long run. Nothing that I love has ever survived. I'm not even sure that I know what love is."

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam felt his heart squeeze, and he was suddenly answering her with something he'd never said even to his brother or his mother. "I don' know what it is either... Family love, yeah, but... Anyone else I ever thought I loved, I talked myself out o' caring. Always told myself my job was too important t'waste time falling in love. But my Ma caught me staring a' that necklace this morning... an' she made me realize you were an exception. Tha's why I kissed you tha' night- so I wouldn' regret no' doing it. You said it yourself. No worries, no regrets. An' I'm going t'regret it forever if I jus' push you away an' let you go like I do everything else outside my job an' my family."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I was afraid to see you again." She finally admitted. "I thought that you might blame me for everything that happened. I did something foolish, but I knew I could handle the situation better than Heather could. I didn't want her to be alone, afraid, and unable to see. If I died, then there would be people that missed me, yes, but not an entire family."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Yeah, there would be. Ashelin already liked you fer helpin' 'er friend's mother. Th'rest started t'really love you after tha' night at the loch. An' David and Annie an' their kids adore you. No' t'mention my Ma an' Da."

 

[heartofcourage]

"What about you?" The words tumbled out of Fiona's lips before she could stop them and her heart was suddenly racing at the prospect that Samuel Ghis might feel something for her beyond what she had originally thought.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam looked down, not sure how to answer her. Finally he muttered, "When I saw your note, I almos' couldn't breathe. When I got outside, Heather was already back an' I hardly waited fer th'men t'gather. And when I saw tha' cage pushed into th'water... I think I blanked an' jus' fought blindly. I don' remember th'fight up until tha' cannon exploded. When I woke up, th'first thing I asked Ma was what'd 'appened t'you."

 

[heartofcourage]

"So...what does that mean for us?" Fiona asked softly, almost afraid of the answer to that question. "Can you love a fox without a family?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I can, if you can love a too-serious man who works too much," Sam offered with one of his rare smiles.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Then...maybe we might be good for one another." Fiona said with hope in her eyes. "In time, of course. There's no need to rush."

 

[KieranSoares]

"But there's no need to be afraid to come around the keep either," Sam reminded her. "In fact, I was wonderin' if ye'd like t'join us fer dinner tonight. Will too, if 'e'd like t'come."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'll ask him." Fiona said softly as she looked towards the bag that he had placed at her side. "Maybe I'll wear something from in there."