The North (Closed)

"A nap away from all this noise would be nice," Dzana groused. Despite her brusque act, she was delicate with Sam. She lifted him into Schaller's saddle, knowing they would need to fly out of the city as the streets were too crowded to walk. She made sure Sam was secure before she turned and took off to lead the way. Schaller tilted his horn down for Fiona and once she was in the saddle too, he leapt into the air as smoothly as he could manage. They soared southward over the old forest but didn't go too far beyond the edges of the outer villages. Dzana brought them in to land along a clear area by a creek. It was shallow enough that the dragons could land in it with little issue to avoid the trees.

Once Sam was on his feet again with his crutches, he seemed much more at ease. Edinburgh had plenty of trees around the castle and in some of the less dense districts, but the wild forest was Sam's real domain. Schaller left Fiona with a gentle nuzzle before letting her and Sam be. He wandered off into the brush with Dzana to bask in the relative quiet. He would follow her lead.

"I feel like I can breathe again," Sam murmured, glancing around all the summer greenery. It was already June and the days were long and growing hotter. Sam leaned lightly on a nearby birch tree and faced Fiona with a small smile. "When we get home, I'm gonna sleep in the woods at least once a week."
 
"You always did feel the most at ease in the woods." Fiona said as she looked up at the thick canopy of leaves above their heads. "Well, there and your forge."

"We can fix grandpa's old cabin for you. We can make it anything that we want." She smiled at the thought of occupying the old cabin. "A little place just for us in the middle of the woods."
 
"It might be good to bring tha' place back to life. Someplace we can hide occasionally when the keep gets too loud." Sam leaned forward on his crutches and began slowly limping along with some effort. He was getting a little better at the unfamiliar motion. "While I was with Dzana, I had an idea. I don't know what it'll look like, but it's a sort of brace for my leg. Alex showed me the ones he recommended to Boar, but they're heavy an' ugly as sin. I'm gonna make my own. I don't wanna use these damned crutches any longer than I have to."

As if to spite him, one sunk into a spot of soft loam and Sam staggered a little. He gave a sigh and pulled it loose before continuing. "These'll be useless when it rains. An' I'll be damned if I'm gonna be stuck in a wheelchair anytime there's bad weather. It's bloody Scotland. Rains every third day."
 
"Samuel." Fiona said softly as he grumbled and spoke of the new design that he was going to make to support his shattered knee. "You are as impatient as the day is long. I have no doubt that you'll get yourself back on your feet, but you have to give it time. You said the same to me when my hip was nearly destroyed. You got me in shape without any aids. I'm sure that you will be the same."

"Love, I know you want to be about and useful. I know that this wounds you deeply, but that frustration will do nothing for you but give you grief." She said softly.
 
"I'm not rushing it," he promised her. "I won't be able to support myself even with a brace for a long time." He was a bit melancholy when he admitted that, but he shook his head in an attempt to keep it at bay. "I'm followin' Alex's orders just like I always tell you. But when I can walk with just a cane an' a brace, I'm gonna make sure it's a proper brace. If I have to deal with it the rest of my life, it needs to be something sturdy but not bulky tha' I can wear all day an' around my forge."

He looked over at her and slowed to a halt so he could reach out for her hand. "I need to keep my mind busy or I'll get lost again. We both have a bad habit of wallowing when there's nothin' to focus on."
 
Fiona took his hand and squeezed it, chuckling softly to herself. "I cannot wait for you to tell Boar that his sense of style and brace is ugly as sin." She leaned in and kissed his cheek, feeling a bit lighter since she had unburdened herself.
 
"Emma'd be grateful if I updated those monstrosities. He keeps breakin' 'em." Sam grinned to hear her laugh and gladly leaned into her kiss. Even if they'd spent much of their time healing thus far together, it felt like they'd finally started to wake up and find a bit of their old selves again. He welcomed Fiona close so he could hold her in one arm. He'd be grateful when he could stand upright without extra support again, but this was just fine for now as long as he could enjoy her company still.
 
"You know whatever happens, we'll be alright." Fiona murmured as Sam held her tightly, hugging her to him. "I just need time to work out what happened. I know we don't have the luxury of time, but it's what I need right now to open back up to everyone."
 
"Then take your time," Sam encouraged before they continued on their walk. Sam was slow but determined, but he knew when to take a break. The struggle was worth it to be out in nature with his wife.

The next two days were tense in Edinburgh to say the least. Soma struggled to come up with a means of keeping Jane safe, as well as getting Cahal back. He ordered Kell to capture the man Ruari had been speaking to. Using Ruari's notes, Kell set a trap for the mercenary under the guise of Ruari being ready to defect. With only one day left before they had to send an answer for Stila, Kell finally hauled the Galician Rider in and immediately subjected him to interrogation. They knew from Ruari that normal techniques wouldn't work, so Kell employed much more vicious treatment from the start. By late morning, he had a major report for Kate.

"Our guest's information has led us to two major revelations, including a possible leg up over Stila Oliveras. We know who our mole is, and my men were able to capture Arturo Oliveras an hour ago sneaking into the city. Stila's father and as we understand it, her mentor and someone very dear to her. As for the mole... they are in custody. And thankfully our worst fears were unfounded. It's not a member of our family." He gave her his notes which named the traitor, a Norman doctor in his thirties that Alex had trained when he was younger. "I've already started making arrangements for an execution... As soon as we get everything we can out of him."
 
"We've lost a healer that we couldn't afford to lose, my brother is limping along at a snail's pace, his wife is still dazed and far off most of the time, and we think that we've made a break thru?" Kate asked as she looked up from her pile of reports. "A castle in need of repair, a shortage of Scottish soldiers, and not enough money to put food in people's mouths. We don't have any leg up, Khelt. Fucking bastard knew what he was doing by letting that dragon come through and wreck the place and escaping back to his home base."

"She will come and she will attack and we cannot defend ourselves in these walls." Kate muttered, rubbing her hands over tired eyes before she leaned her head back against her chair. "She might even litter my uncle's body over the city for good measure."
 
Kell watched his wife struggle under the weight of the mantle back on her shoulders along with all the weight Royer had added. He wanted nothing more than to take her back to Mongolia til the danger and the war were done, but he knew no one would leave the front. Certainly not the queen.

"We have every defense at our disposal and fresh people coming. We have a prisoner Stila is deeply invested in. We have very able and willing young officers taking up the stations left by the wounded. We are in simultaneously the best and most difficult position we could be in. I can't speak for Cahal... I would trade almost anything for his safety. I worry that Abel, fragile as he is, wouldn't survive losing his brother..."

Kell sighed heavily, knowing that despite their massive advantage as far as numbers and supplies, they were faced with food shortages and important people hanging in the balance. But before he could try to find some bright side, Kate's office door swung open. Only a handful of very close people would ever walk into Kate's office without knocking, but it was not one of her relatives who walked in that morning. Decked out in his fine lamellar armor vest, gold-trimmed bracers, curved boots, and a helmet with a horsehair plume under his arm, the mighty Arslan Khan walked in with his chest puffed and his head held high. He was the oldest living ruler in the Northern Alliance at nearly eighty years old, but he still carried himself like a man half his age with just as much fire and passion. Close behind him came his fierce daughter Kjotva, former Queen of Sweden and stepmother to the current queen, Kjersten. At her side was Ulfric, the grizzled old advisor to the Queen of Norway and Vice Admiral of the North's entire combined navy under King Ivan of Denmark. It seemed the heroes and lords of old had come running to Scotland's wounded cries.

Arslan marched up to Kate's desk and placed down a golden eagle figurine that looked like it belonged on top of a banner staff. She knew it well from nearly twenty years on the steppes: his eagle standard. When it was time to go to war, he would carry his banner on an eagle-topped staff and raise it before his enemies. When they saw it, they knew death was coming from above on the backs of thousands of arrows.

"Queen Katherine Ghis of House Aleister," Arslan said formally but with a cheeky smirk, "the Gaanbatar Clan has arrived. Our bows and swords are yours. And we bring a gift to aid you, won from decades of uniting Mongolia and driving out our enemies."

At that, four Mongolian men in armor shuffled in struggling to carry a massive chest. One opened it at the Khan's behest, revealing an absolute mountain of gold. Arslan seemed to beam with pride in his little show and he gave a graceful bow despite his daughter's eye-roll.

Making eye contact with Kate and a very stunned Kell, Arslan smirked with a sense of humor and impishness most would find unbefitting of a Khan. But that was why he'd always gotten along incredibly well with the rebellious Ghis children. "How was that entrance? Flashy, no?"
 
"You have proven to me that you are truly out of your mind to have come all this way with a chest full of gold." Kate murmured as she stood from her seat to approach Arslan. "Do you know how many mercenaries and bandits there are out there between Scotland and Mongolia?"

She didn't give him time to respond before she hugged the older man tightly, glad for his forces and guidance.
 
"Let them come," Arslan laughed as he held her. "Even with you no longer at our side, we could handle a hundred each." For all his playful banter, Arslan was a careful and powerful Khan. His greatest joys and victories in the last four decades had been alongside or influenced by the Ghis.

Holding Kate at arm's length to get a good look at her, Arslan chuckled like a proud father. "Look at you, little fire." He had always called her that for her red hair and powerful personality. "The tiger is in her own den again. And you, our dearest Wolf!" He embraced Kell, earning a grateful smile from him. "Lord Protector not just in name anymore."

"He's been raving about you two since we met him in Sweden," Kjotva commented with a grin. She and Ulfric had been helping Ivan since the beginning of the new war and had seen Kate a few times since. They also greeted the couple with glad embraces.

Worn out from his long journey, Arslan dismissed his soldiers and sat down with a long sigh opposite Kate. "Now... I have heard much already from young Soma. I will go to see my favorite cubs once I catch my breath. I brought two hundred men with their bows and horses. How can I help?"
 
"If I knew, I would tell you." Kate said as she resumed her seat with a long sigh. "We are stretched thin with a war on many fronts. Right now, I think the most sensible thing would be to have your men guard our new prisoner. If we lose him, we very well might lose everything."

"Akhaa, we have much to celebrate and much to worry about. Even a chest full of gold can hardly put my mind at ease." Kate admitted to him as the rest of the group settled and refreshments were called for.
 
"At the very least, we have more means by which to order in supplies now," Kell sighed gratefully.

"What else is amiss? Beyond the obvious news we've heard," Ulfric asked.

"Then you've heard about Cahal. We have Abel but we're trying to figure out how to get Cahal back safely while not setting off an incredibly dangerous Rider."

"Ah, Oliveras," Kjotva growled with a nod. "We've had to deal with her ilk out at sea. If we can get them in ballista range, they're more manageable. But threatening her with Cahal in the balance is difficult. I see the issue."

"I want to offer her a trade. Cahal for her father. She's proven she'll switch sides as she likes. But she's too dangerous to employ. She's after one of our own and has been for a long time."

"Perhaps you are being a little too careful, my friend," Arslan suggested. "These are Galician mercenaries and Royer has Cahal, does he not? Take the gold and pay them to go home. Getting paid to do nothing is a mercenary's favorite pastime."

"That might work for all but Stila."
 
"She is her own person. I doubt that she would bat an eye if we offered her a hoard. She has her own agenda with this." Kate said as the door to her office opened and she glanced up expecting to see the kitchen staff bringing in refreshments.

Instead, Fiona stood there, a slightly confused look on her face to see so many people sitting with Kate. "I apologize." Fiona said quickly, hurrying to close the door after she had intruded.

"Did you need something, Fiona?" Kate asked, slightly concerned that she had appeared so suddenly.

"No...I...had just seen the Spanish dragon in the courtyard and wondered if...someone had been captured." She murmured.
 
Arslan stood with a bright look on his face but hesitated when Fiona seemed so unsure. Kell rose as well to offer Fiona a nod.

"Arturo Oliveras. Stila's father. The Khan just arrived and we were discussing what we might do to secure Cahal or get Stila out of our hair."

"Two hundred Mongolian bows would do it against any other Rider," Arslan sighed. "But this one is slippery." He turned back to Fiona with a fond smile. "It's good to see you, Fiona. It's been far too long."
 
Fiona stared at Arslan for a moment as if she didn't recognize him before she bowed her head towards him in respect. "You're majesty." Glancing towards Kjotva and Ulfric she gave them the same nod before she glanced towards Kell. "Markos and I will speak with him. See if he might give us some information."

With that, she excused herself and Kate glanced between everyone that was there with a sigh. "She's had....a difficult few months. If being crucified by Royer wasn't enough, she was forced to put down a great elder dragon only a few weeks ago."
 
"I'd heard," Arslan murmured. It deeply disturbed him to see Fiona look unsure of who he was. "I was told our Commander was badly injured too, and Soma and Riley were stepping up in their places. With Brogan and Shani stepping into their roles too, it seems our young firebrands got their wish." He glanced at Kate as he said that, knowing about the struggle they'd had when the Empire declared war on Poland and began pushing boundaries again. "I've also heard about young Joachim... For all the victories the North has won, it seems our beloved friends and family are paying dearly for it. That's why I'm here. This needs to end soon so everyone can rest."
 
"Fiona had to deal with Joachim as well. Honestly, if anyone had to, I'm glad it was her." Kate said softly. "When you need someone that understands so intensely the issues of a rider and who cares so deeply about them, you only need to look to Fiona. Hell, she would probably be a better queen of Scotland that I can ever hope to be."

"The children are doing their best, but we have asked so much of them in such a short time. You will be so proud of Brogan and Shani. They have lived up to the standard set forth by the great Khans." Kate murmured as food was finally brought in for them.
 
"I told you they would," Arslan reminded her with a little smile. "Through all that rebellion in your cub and Shani chasing along with him, I knew they'd manage just fine when something important came along. Even if I worried they'd run away for a while first."

"They've both been doing foolish things still," Kell added with a small smile of his own. "And it's terrifying when they get hurt. Especially lately with Shani. She nearly died in London and now she's laid up after infiltrating Wick. But Brogan's taking good care of her."

"Has that boy finally admitted he's in love with her?" Kjotva asked with a raised eyebrow. Kell laughed lightly and nodded.

"He has. And as you can imagine, Rissa has had a few long talks with him. So have I. Even with his responsibilities as a Prince and learning statecraft, he has decided love is another challenge he'd like to pursue."

"It's worth every battle." Arslan smiled at the memory of his own long marriage. His wife Freja had passed away in winter several years before after nearly sixty years together. He was still mourning, but his spirit remained bright and lively and he still lived his life as if Freja were looking after him. "It's good to know Shani will be with him still. They were always better together."
 
An hour later, Shani and Bo stood outside watching as soldiers trained. It was terrible to watch for Shani, wanting to join them but still limited by her wounds. She had promised Alex up and down that she wouldn't do anything to put herself in further danger. So, for the time being, she was watching.

She glanced towards the castle as an entourage appeared and she instantly recognized the older man with them. "Ovoo?" Shani asked in a stunned voice before she was hurrying as fast as she could towards Arslan.
 
Arslan was talking with Kjotva as they exited. But the moment he saw Shani hurrying toward him, Arslan broke away at a quick trot to meet her. He suddenly seemed thirty years younger as he bellowed with a joyful laugh and wrapped Shani up in his arms. They hadn't seen each other in almost two years by then between wars and distance.

"My darling little cub," he greeted her like she was his own blood. As far as he or his clan were concerned, she was his granddaughter. Feeling she was not only a little taller but hardened with muscle from her work, he beamed down at her with overflowing pride. He took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "My joy, I would've crossed the world just to see you..."
 
"But you didn't." Shani said with a wide grin as she was greeted by Arslan with open arms. "You came for Kate, but that's alright. She needs your help more than anyone else."

"I sent a rider your way with the coin you gave me. Did he make it?" Shani asked.
 
"It has been donated to the cause if you won't take it," he chuckled, hugging her tightly once more just to enjoy having her with him again. When Bo approached, Arslan seized him into a hug too. "Hello, little Wolf... Or should I say 'Your Majesty' now?"

Brogan laughed. " Damn right. I'm only a rank below you now, old man."
 
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