Claymore and Dagger (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"Invah wants to see if her husband is still alive and visit her children." Fiona said as the meal was served. "Will hasn't asked to go, but I imagine I'll be gone a while. I want to see if my Ma's family is still around...and if they even want to see me."

 

[KieranSoares]

"D' you know where you'll find them? Anyone's name?" Sam asked, suddenly quite interested.

 

[heartofcourage]

"My Ma's name was Tatiana. Her Da was named Oleg. Olegsson, I believe." Fiona said, sounding uncertain as she talked about her mother's side of the family. "They were all foxes."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Well, if they're Scandinavian, then each generation takes their chosen parent's name... So your Ma was Olegsdottir. You'd have been Owensdottir or Tatianasdottir if your father was Scandinavian too. But if y' go introducin' yourself as the daughter of Tatiana, daughter of Oleg, y'might find people who know your line."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I don't even know if they would want to see me." Fiona said softly, the lovely dinner that Chessie had prepared looking less appetizing as she thought about her family. "My grandpa disowned my Ma. He never wanted to see her again after she mated with my father. He was disappointed in her choices and decided that he needed to be tough."

 

[KieranSoares]

"If there's anything I know about families, it's that a real family doesn' blame the children fer the parents' problems an' trouble. But he'll never know if y'don't try," Sam encouraged.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I suppose. The trip is for Invah first, though. That's why I'm going." Fiona insisted as everyone around them helped themselves to healthy portions of the meal.

Even Will seemed at ease with Kayla and Aleister, settling with the family to get away from the suspicious Leon. Lucy did her best to charm her uncle out of his bad mood, but she knew that only Dazu could really get him back to his normal self.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Be sure t'enjoy it for yerself too," Sam reminded with a small smile. "Scandinavia's one o' the most beautiful places in th'world.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You've been?" Fiona asked, glancing towards Sam as he gave her a small smile. "Well, of course you've been. Your aunt is the queen of Norway."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I've been fer more than jus' visiting her. I spent six months on a border guard detail during an upset when Novgorod tried to threaten the Triad for the second time. I sailed with a Swedish fleet t'learn how t'be an admiral in case I ever needed t'know in an emergency 'r had t'join England's fleet t'hold off France an' Spain. An' I took a month-long hike from Malmo up the mountain coast when I was sixteen."

 

[heartofcourage]

"My grandpa took me to Skye once." Fiona said, giving Sam a smile. "That's about as far away from Inverness as I've gotten."

"Are you going to kiss her?" Ashelin asked from beside her brother, giggling at the look that he shot her. "Don't look at me like that, Sam. You should kiss her. She looks pretty tonight."

Fiona blushed furiously at the suggestion, looking at Sam with a bewildered glance.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Ash," Sam sighed, standing up and shooing her away to go sit with their parents. "Quit bein' a pest. Yer worse than Rho." He sat back down shaking his head. "Sorry," he muttered to Fiona. "She likes you an' she thinks she's a matchmaker like Gran."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Everyone in your family likes to fancy themselves a matchmaker." Fiona said dryly as Sam tried to smooth over things after his sister had been there to stick her nose into their business.

She was quiet after that, finally sampling the food that Chessie had worked so hard on that day. It was delicious and Fiona found herself relaxing, daring to reach for Sam's hand under the table where no one else would see.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam was secretly a little nervous about holding her hand even where no one could see, but he still opened his hand to her and offered his support in the overwhelming situation. He loved his family but he'd never liked a chaotic crowd either.

 

[heartofcourage]

The party seemed to reach a crescendo when Mako arrived. The chocolate brown wolf was still vibrant and energetic, one of the best couriers that Scotland had. He delivered important letters and parcels for his uncle Brogan, perferring to run from place to place instead of taking a horse like many of his other coworkers did.

He had boundless energy as he danced with his cousins, his aunts, his sisters, his mother. He called for another song when the musicians went to stop.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Mako, give 'em a rest, lad," Brogan chuckled. "Sam, c'mere an' play one las' song fer Mako an' Selena."

"Da..." Sam muttered, suddenly embarrassed as a musician offered his vielle fiddle to Sam. "It's been years..."

"Yer Ma would love it," Brogan encouraged, welcoming Julia to his side to dance. Sam had once dreamed of becoming a bard and leaving his serious life behind, but that dream had died in the face of his very important task as Rho's protector. Sam had nearly mastered the lute and fiddle, but had dropped them after becoming a general.

But finally, Sam left Fiona's side and took up the fiddle and played a few practice notes before beginning a slow, lovely song called the Ashoken Farewell, one of his favorites to play for his mother.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona listened as Sam played a familiar song, one that her grandfather had hummed frequently when he was in a good mood. She watched as the king and queen of Inverness danced together, graceful and in love. Others were joining in, a last dance before the party ended.

Fiona stood from her spot and made her way towards Sam, gathering her courage to join in. Her voice was soft but melodic as she sang with him, her cub blue eyes meeting his emerald gaze as she gave him a small, shy smile.

"The sun is sinking low in the sky above Ashokan. The pines and the willows know soon we will part. There's a whisper in the wind of promises unspoken, And a love that will always remain in my heart."

 

[KieranSoares]

When Sam drew the bow over the final note, the room fell quiet as everyone returned to their own family and couples retired. He returned the vielle to the musician and thanked him quietly before coming back to take Fiona's hand. He welcomed her out to the empty garden where the night air cooled them from the warm hall.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You play beautifully." Fiona said as he guided her out into the garden and the cool night air. "It's a pity you don't do it more often."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I always had too much work t'do t'keep practicing. I still love it, but I gave my vielle t'Jan a long time ago." He then offered a smile. "Yer voice reminds me o' my Aunt Kayla's. She doesn' sing often, but she will fer her children an' she did fer us here when we were kids."

 

[heartofcourage]

"It just so happened you picked a song that I knew." She said with a shrug of her shoulders as if to say that what she had done wasn't a big deal. "One of my grandfather's favorites. He always sang it when he had a good day writing or he was in a particularly good mood."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I never knew it 'ad words fer th'tune. Only ever 'eard it on an instrument. My usual warmup song was Londonderry Air. My Ma always hums it."

 

[heartofcourage]

"The things that you pick up when living with a poet." Fiona said as she took a seat on a smooth stone bench, letting out a long sigh. "We had two good years together without the fear that my Da would come and ruin things. He took me to places that I could have only imagined, writing the entire time as if he knew that his time was short."

Fiona was always sad when she thought about her grandfather. She wished that they had more time, but it wasn't meant to be. No one knew the real story, except Will and he had been sworn to secrecy.

"I woke up one morning and he was gone. His heart had simply stopped in his sleep." Fiona said softly. "I was twelve. I found out that there was no money left. He had used it all to keep my father out of trouble and we had always lived simply. I had no idea that we were poor and he never spoke of his troubles to me."

"You asked me if I had his books. No." She lowered her gaze towards the tips of the new slippers that she wore. "He sold every copy to friends in order to keep food on our table. The only thing that I had left was his book of hand written works and this key."

She showed Sam the necklace, the small key dangling from the leather strand. "I always thought that it went to the cabin, but it didn't. He always told me to keep it on me though. Maybe one day I'll figure it out."

"There was nowhere for me to go after he died. He had some friends that tried to look after me, but they were all elderly. They couldn't take care of a young woman. So, I started spending more and more time on my own. I grew my own vegetables for a while before my plot was torn up by a passing traveler. Then...when the hunger got too bad...I stole."

"It's funny. I always remember that apple. It was bruised and slightly rotten, but I still took it from the stall in the market. I could almost hear my grandpa's voice in my head, too. He would have been so disappointed in me." Fiona's voice was filled with guilt as the story tumbled forth. "He always called me his 'little kit'. I could hear it clear as day in my head. 'Little kit...why?' I cried for days after I ate that apple."

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam settled beside Fiona as she spoke, and when she began to tell him about the apple she'd stolen, his arm wrapped about her shoulders. "I don't think 'e'd be angry... maybe a little disappointed, but I think 'e'd 'ave been more worried than anythin'... Jus' like my parents when I work too much an' miss things... But you don' have t'do those things anymore. It'll jus' be a bad memory soon."

He took her hand gingerly. "I... have a gift for you. An' before y'say I shouldn' spend money on you, I want y'to know it's something I know you really ought t'have. It's essential fer you."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Sam, no." Fiona said, shaking her head as he took her hand and told her that he had a present for her. "I don't know how many more "gifts" I can take from you and your family."