Sionnach (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"Da, I'm not saying that you're too old for a suicide mission, but...you have a lot of people that depend on you. No matter how you wish you could be a simple blacksmith, you're not. You're a king. You're a husband. You're my father. Tati still needs you even if Soma and I have gone off on our own. You have far more to lose than anyone." Riley said as he held her tightly. "The Rider Queen needs you most of all. I don't think you going off after her is the wisest decision."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I've thought over all tha'," Sam muttered. "But I've always believed tha' if you want something done, you don' make other people do it for you if you can help it." Sam looked down at Riley for a long moment. "I do have a lot t'lose... all targets fer people like Oliveras. Which is why she needs t'be put down an' I need t'be there t'make sure it's done."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Just give me some time to think before you go off and do this." Riley said as she gave her Da a small smile. "I'm not saying no. I just...I need a few moments. I'm not as quick on my feet as you when it comes to things like this."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Trust me, it's not quick. I've been thinkin' about this since Tonder," Sam murmured, kissing her forehead before glancing toward the doorway. "Much as I want t'stay with yer Ma today... I have work t'do. Soma too. We need t'figure out what th'hell Royer's got to do with Oliveras."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Andre and I will watch her while you're gone." Riley said softly. "You go and take care of what you need to. She'll never be alone. I promise."

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam offered a weak, but kind smile then, reaching out to brush Riley's fur back fondly and touch her cheek. "You may be a troublemaker... but yer a good woman, Riley. An' I'm glad yer getting closer with yer Ma. She's been waiting a long time t'be friends with you." He kissed her forehead before stepping past, conviction in his step as he headed out to find Kell and confront young Royer.

Kell had told Kate of the potential connection between Finn's father's ascension and Stila Oliveras, knowing she'd want to be informed of who had taken her rightful throne and how. Finn was not locked away like a prisoner, but was essentially under a form of house arrest, relegated to a small section of the building with his men with the explanation that things were dangerous and there were some questions arising that needed answering.

Sam arrived as Kell was telling Qira off for showing up to work, the Panther still not healed from his injuries before and obviously ill. Kate and Rissa were both present as Qira stood expressionless before Kell, the Wolf growling at him for being an idiot, and how trying to take up guard duty while sick was a one-way track to another security breach.

"This is the last time I'll say it, Qira," Kell growled darkly. "Go. I know you're worried, I know you don't trust anyone else to do your job, and I know you want to help me. But you're useless in this state, and you'll only be sick longer if you keep pushing yourself. Get the hell out of my office before I have you arrested for insubordination like a common soldier."

Qira's brows furrowed slightly, but there was no other emotion til Sam spoke up. "Qira." All eyes turned to him, and Sam stepped up to pat his shoulder. "If you insist on bein' useful, settle into th'parlor next t'Fiona's room. Tha' way you can keep an eye out an' rest too."

Qira simply sighed quietly, and stepped away. Kell watched him til he was out of sight before letting out his own sigh. "Bloody stubborn cat. No wonder he fits into this damned family so well." Turning his gaze to Sam, he straightened. "I assume you're here for Royer."

"I want t'know if what Oliveras said was true," Sam said simply. "An' I want t'know what Royer's father really did t'get Edinburgh under 'is control."

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley watched her father leave the room and she let out a long, slow breath that she wasn't aware that she was holding. She snapped into action quickly, knowing that she didn't have much time while her father was preoccupied. She tried to act normal as she went through the halls, exiting the keep and searching immediately for Invah.

The dragon was curled up and dozing by the time that she was located. Riley's heart was hammering in her chest as she gently cleared her throat to get her attention.

"I don't have much time and I need to get back to Ma, but I need an answer from you. Did you know about my Da's plans to go to Spain?" Riley asked as she looked at the dragon that was like her grandmother.

 

[KieranSoares]

Invah opened one eye as Riley blurted out her question in a rush. Slowly, she lifted her head and gave a small, grave nod. "I did. He's been thinking about it for a long while, even before Oliveras attacked your mother. I was worried this would bring it back to the forefront."

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley went quiet for a long time as Invah admitted that she had known for a while about this suicide mission. "If you have ever loved me or my mother, I'm begging you to keep him from going. Fake an injury or refuse. He is walking into something that I don't think he understands."

"I will do anything, Invah. I mean it." She murmured, desperation in her voice as she stared at the dragon.

 

[KieranSoares]

"And I'm not sure you understand that this needs to be done, little kit... and I think Samuel can do it." She sighed, clearly not liking the idea either. "Oliveras terrorizes whoever she pleases. Especially your Andre. And now she's beginning to strike out at people we can't afford to be laid low, for the sake of the North. But if you have a better idea, I'm open to it."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm not saying that it doesn't need to be done, but he's not the one to do it." Riley said as Invah tried to stand up for Sam's position in all of this. "You are the one that can stop him. She would kill him without a thought and that would kill this family. There would be no return to Scotland. I'm not going to let my family wither and die because of that."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Then who else, Riley?" Invah asked softly. "He won't risk others, you know him. And if it weren't for the state your mother is in, they would go together as they always have. Your father was a lawman in his younger days, and while he has grown softer and kinder, he never let go of his belief in justice, and he always held that if a punishment was due, the one choosing the punishment should also be the executioner. He wouldn't hand this job off to anyone else if he could help it. It's too serious and too dangerous."

"Invah?" A familiar, deep voice called. Looking up, Invah saw Schaller approaching, looking tense and serious. "Invah, we need to talk. Sam has-" He paused as he saw Riley. "... Little kit. I don't mean to interrupt, but it's serious."

"What's he done now? He hasn't asked you to go with him instead, has he?" Invah questioned worriedly, rising to face the dragon who was like her brother.

"What? Go where?" Schaller's brow raised, but Invah shook her head.

"What is it?"

"Sam has spoken with Royer. The boy has admitted his father didn't just 'earn' the throne in Edinburgh. Oliveras helped him stir up a rebellion amongst the common folk. A number of nobles were captured and imprisoned or killed. Oliveras and Royer's father even assassinated a few personally. He took power by terrifying the nobility into bowing to him, and it sounds like he's starting to exploit the common folks' loyalty to him to remove more nobility and place his own family members in power as governors and officers."

"He's cemented himself as an absolute ruler with no one to challenge his claims..." Invah murmured. "What of the other kingdoms and the clans?"

"He's fighting with any clan that won't bow or allow itself to be annexed into his kingdom. And he's preparing to declare war on the current holders of England who have been chipping away at the border. Ireland is fending off naval skirmishes- the main isle is testing their defenses, seeing if they can be breached. They remain independent and strong under Sarah's family's rule for now. But on the main isle... the only truly independent clans left are those around Inverness and northward."

"Does Soma know about this yet? Does he have any ideas?"

"He's working on it. I think we're beginning to put some of our original plans back into motion... But Soma wants to focus in on Edinburgh from Trondheim, rather than the multi-pronged assault. There's already so many fronts the Imperial rebels are fighting each other on, we can add just Ireland and Norway's pressure and divide and conquer, Soma thinks."

"Has Sam spoken to you about his plans for Spain?"

Schaller glanced toward Riley worriedly, and back to Invah. "No... what's he planning?" He looked back to Riley again. "... No. No, he's not trying to get revenge... Is he?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"He wants justice for Ma." Riley said simply, afraid and angry at her father's reckless plans. "He wants justice for everyone. I just know that...Stila would kill him with glee."

She let out a long sigh and deflated slightly. Her mate was terrified of Stila. She couldn't take him with her to Spain if she went. She was stuck in the most terrible of positions.

"He asked me to go as his support. I told him I had to think about it." Riley felt like crying in the overwhelming misery that she felt, but she swallowed that down and forced it away. "I can't let him go. I just can't."

 

[KieranSoares]

"He won't be going," Schaller said firmly. "Fiona needs him, and Oliveras will come to us again."

"That's his fear exactly," Invah sighed. "That Oliveras will strike us again. And she won't be so merciful as to trade her prey for a high-profile prisoner again. As long as we have Andre and she's involved with any of our enemies, she'll keep coming back. And she's already proven she can find ways around Kell despite his best efforts. Not to mention she killed a handful of his best men in Tonder. Any slip-up, anyone out alone, and she'll strike."

Schaller snorted in annoyance, knowing Invah was right. But for perhaps the first time, he turned to Riley for her opinion. "Sam can't go... you're right. He may have Soma and the Riders and family to take up all of his work if something goes wrong... but losing that leadership, that patriarch, is unthinkable right now. And your mother would never forgive any of us if we knew about this and let him go... What do you want to do instead, little kit?"

Both dragons looked down at her, Schaller's gaze more confident as he added, "I'll drag him back to Norway if I have to. If Soma's early plans stick, we'll all be going back to invade via the North Sea, and we can't do that without Sam heading the armies and Fiona heading the aerial forces. Not to mention, Kjersten will be heading the navy and will need Sam close to coordinate properly. But Sam is right about Oliveras... she's a loose end we can't let go free. She has the ability to unravel everything with a few well-placed kills. And I fear that if he doesn't kill her, she'll find and kill him eventually anyway."

"Riley isn't going either," Invah warned with a growl.

"I trust her judgement on this, Invah. She's young, but she's not a little girl. She's a proven warrior and Rider, and she has family and her mate's safety riding on this." It was perhaps the most confidence in Riley that Schaller had ever spoken of, and it took even Invah by surprise.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm not as quick thinking about these things as Soma is." Riley said, suddenly put on the spot as Schaller put his complete trust in her. "I just know that Da cannot go. Period. I know that Stila is only powerful when she is on her own turf. Maybe what it will take is drawing her out in the open and making her think that she has the upper hand. If she's too far away from her own lands, there's less of a chance that she'll get help from someone that she knows."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I think you're right. This may be something Soma could help with. Or we may simply have to wait for her to appear again, and follow her." Schaller looked back to Invah again. "But Sam isn't going."

"If you won't take him and I won't, and Gaiann can't... I imagine Sam has no other real options. He would have to go through Jani or Ezra to go with their partners, and almost no one else is as adept or as familiar with Sam."

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley was quiet as Invah spoke and she let out a long sigh. "I'll make sure that he can't go. Don't worry about that. In the mean time, I'll speak to Soma and figure out just what I should do. I'm not good at planning like he and Ma are."

She looked up at Schaller, still a little confused that he was putting so much faith in her at the moment. "What has changed that you're willing to put aside years of animosity to trust me right now?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I put that aside before now," Schaller snorted. "When you proved you grew up and could be logical and responsible when needed. But also you've realized what you have to protect and what you've got to lose now. I will trust a woman with loyalties over a stubborn, rebellious girl any day."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm still stubborn and rebellious. Just in a different way now." Riley said as Schaller explained his position. "I'll go and make some plans. You both just keep my Da grounded."

She gave each of them a nod and turned to go about her business. The entire keep was in an uproar as news of what had happened spread among the various networks and channels. The different countries and factions had gathered in groups to see how this news would affect them. Riley quietly moved through them, on a mission before her Da got out of his own meetings.

She slipped into her parents' rooms, pausing to see that Fiona was asleep while Andre quietly worked on something besides the bed. She gave him a small smile as she slipped into the other room and found Qira sitting there.

"I need to ask something of you," Riley said softly in his native tongue.

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira was sitting in an armchair, left in the blankets Rissa had wrapped him in. He didn't look well, but he was dutifully keeping an ear out around him and watching the window to the outside. As Riley entered, he was already looking at the door, having heard her coming. He sat forward, golden eyes focused on her. "What is it, little kit?" He questioned in quiet Erygonian.

 

[heartofcourage]

"How much would you charge me for a private job?" Riley asked as Qira's attention snapped to her the instant she stepped into the room. "I don't need anyone killed or anything. I just need...someone stopped from making something happen."

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira stared at her for a long moment before murmuring, "I haven't taken private jobs from anyone but your parents in a long time... I don't charge family, if the cause is worth the effort. What do you need?"

 

[heartofcourage]

“I need you to stop my Da from going to Spain. At any cost.” Riley said, her heart hammering in her chest. “The dragons have agreed with me but I know he would find other ways to go. That’s why I need your help.”

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira's brows furrowed at her request, immediately concerned at the implications of her request. "The fool," he murmured. "I'm not in a condition to stop him... Much as I hate to admit it. But I have people at the ready to help make sure he doesn't go anywhere. And Bo and Shani will see to that as well. I think the last thing any of us want is to lose him, if only for your mother's sake."

 

[heartofcourage]

“I feel like I’m committing treason.” Riley murmured. “Working against him makes me feel terrible.”