The North (Closed)

[KieranSoares]

"I understand, love," Sam murmured. Any anger he'd felt toward her was brief, and quickly redirected toward their enemies.

"Nora's been looking after Uka while we've been fighting," Soma told his mother softly. "Alex thinks he'll be okay now that we have you back. And Ma... I think you already know, but Schaller was hurt pretty badly. He and Riley tore open the wall for us and he crashed. But we've got him taken care of too, thankfully it wasn't anything life-threatening. But I think it's fair to say you two are out for a while."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona closed her eyes for a long moment, almost long enough for Soma and Sam to wonder if she had drifted off. When she opened them again, she glanced over at her son and reached out to gently touch his hand.

"Excuse us for a moment, love." She said softly, giving him a weak smile. "There are a few things that your father and I need to talk about."

 

[KieranSoares]

Soma nodded, rising to kiss her cheek before he stepped out into the cold. Sam pushed back his long hair and sat on the edge of the bed beside Fiona, giving her his full attention. "Yeah, love?" He asked quietly, a hand still on her arm.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm sorry that I put you in this position, love." Fiona said softly, looking up at Sam as he seemed so calm. "I betrayed your trust in me and all the promises that I've made since the start of this war. Andre told me that I needed to be selfish now because soon I wouldn't have the chance, but I've been selfish. I did this for selfish reasons."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You didn't do anything I wouldn't have done for my parents," Sam assured her quietly. "I was mad for a bit, yes... but if I was still mad, I'd be a hypocrite. An' I hardly count givin' yourself up fer your Da as selfish."

Sam leaned in to place his forehead gently against hers. "You've always taken on the burdens of others, love... Because you know you've been through hell an' you wanna spare everyone else. I hate it when you do it... but I know I do it too. It's just how we are and it's how we take care of our people."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I won't break." She said as Sam seemed to hesitate in touching her. "I survived the rack and everything else they threw at me. You won't break me, Sam."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Fucking bastards," Sam growled under his breath. Still careful of her, he wrapped her up in his arms and let her lean against him. "I'm no' gonna give them the satisfaction of death in battle... They're gonna live with their mistakes fer decades in a Siberian prison if I 'ave anything to say about it."

Sam couldn't help a small hitch in his throat as he considered how his wife had been tortured. And while he found torture and revenge distasteful to say the least, he was also disturbed by the fact that when it came to Brennan and Ramsey Royer, he wasn't so averse anymore to giving them a taste of their own medicine.

 

[heartofcourage]

"They are well protected in Edinburgh. Perhaps more than we know." Fiona murmured as Sam pulled her close and held her tightly in his arms. "If we were to charge in now, we would certainly lose. We need to be cautious."

She was tired of talking war for the moment, wrapping her arms around her husband's neck despite the pain and leaning her forehead against his throat. "Will I be able to use my sword again?" She asked him softly, everything that had happened the night before hazy.

 

[KieranSoares]

"If you'd been there any longer, y'might not be able to. But Alex was pretty confident he set everything that was broken an' everythin' else was just flesh wounds. It's gonna take some work t'get your strength an' mobility back, but... Gods, Fiona, either they're goddamned incompetent, or you've got Lady Luck at yer beckon call." He buried his face against her white-blonde hair, knowing just how lucky they were that she would recover.

"Alex thinks you're done fer a good long while. Probably not as long as it took t'get you back t'normal after what happened to your leg, but a while. Schaller needs a good long break too after what he's been through, so I might need you t'keep him from getting too morose." Sam offered a half-hearted smile at that, but he was deeply wounded at his family's many hurts recently. "But I do have some good news for you. Jani an' Avfairn have been cleared fer light duty. Sounds like they're both gonna make a full recovery. So you can rest assured knowin' that someone'll be back at the front bein' a reckless, stubborn fool for you again soon."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona leaned back from Sam as he mentioned them being incompetent. "Their caller knows how to torture for maximum effect. I'm sure that he's endured it many times himself to know how to be able to do it without serious damage. He's both dangerous and... sympathetic. He loves dragons more than anyone else in the world. If he's ever captured, I want to know first."

"The rest of it...I think they were more concerned about the storm coming in to do a good job of putting someone on the post." She said, thinking about the nails being driven into her hands. "It was turning cold and they didn't give a shit as to what young Royer had to say. They wanted to get warm and have a meal. They did the fastest job they could."

She paused when she was speaking, a faraway look coming over her features as she was taken back to those moments. She could hear her own screams of pain, the way that they echoed off the stone walls of the castle and then returned to them. No one cared or else they were too scared to say anything. No one cared...

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam's fingers brushed back through her hair as she went silent, recognizing the faraway look that sometimes came over his uncles and father and other scarred veterans.

"Y'should've seen Soma these last couple days," Sam murmured, trying to turn the subject. "The wall was one hell of a challenge, an' I'm sure if not for Schaller an' Riley, we wouldn't have gotten through. But Soma put everything he had into this. Reminded me of you, tha' fire an' determination. That lad's always been more Blackstone than Ghis."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona closed her eyes as she felt Sam's fingers brush through her hair, seeking to soothe her mind away from the darkness that was closing in. When he spoke of Soma and Riley and how they had made him proud during the taking of the wall, she glanced towards him and shook her head.

"I'd rather they be Ghis." She murmured softly. "Being a Blackstone is nothing but a curse. This family has given me everything I ever wanted in my life. Look at me right now: bruised and battered and no one has even batted an eye. Your uncles have been here, your father, anyone that carries the name has come to see that I'm alright in person."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Oh, love..." Sam sighed, but he didn't want to get into a disagreement at that moment. Instead, he simply held her and murmured, "We love you. All of us. We fought like hell for you, an' we're gonna see you home soon. I don't think it's even hit most of us tha' were on Scottish soil now."

At the same moment, Kell had just returned to Kate's side in Soma's war tent. After leaving his mother's side, the young man immediately dived back into his work. With his aunt's home next to reclaim, he was involving her in every step of his planning and sharing what they'd learned from Jane, Blair, and Andre.

"Andre told us the side gate for the kitchen workers is still there," Soma murmured to Kate, showing her a map he'd made from a few piecemeal blueprints and from scouts' notes. "Andre said the lock was fairly simple. If they don't reinforce it by the time we get there, it'd be a perfect way in for some agents to do what they did in London and open the doors for us."

Kell laid a small packet of reports down on the table as he stepped up, watching as Soma immediately rifled through them and pulled out a few sheets. The rest were left to his aides.

"Uncle Kell, what are your plans for the Royers if they're captured alive?" Soma asked as he skimmed over a page.

"That will be up to Kate and Fiona, I think," Kell answered calmly, though it was clear he was still tense and angry about what had happened to Fiona. "The rest of us are far too bloodthirsty right now to make clear-headed decisions."

"Me too," Soma muttered, setting the pages aside before looking back to his aunt. "If my opinion means anything... I wouldn't mind Ramsey having a taste of his own medicine. But I also know that's barbaric and we don't need to stoop to that level."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Soma, you'll find that the Ghis, in spite of our reputations, have the capacity to be blood thirsty and vengeful." Kate said as she glanced over at her nephew. "When it serves us."

Kate pushed herself up from her chair, coming to Soma's side and reaching out to take his chin, forcing him to look up at her. "You have always been the softest spoken among us. It's alright to feel that fire for the men that did this to your mother. She gave herself up to them peacefully and was treated like a monster. If you wish to return that mercy to them, then it's your right to feel that way."

 

[KieranSoares]

When Kate met Soma's gaze, she could see a familiar, dark man looking back at her. She could see her brother in his younger days, her father and his brothers as they charged into battle, even a hint of Julia on days when she exercised her full power as queen in her youth.

"I don't want to be a monster," Soma told his aunt. "But that was my mother. And I wouldn't mind one bit of Ramsey Royer was nailed to a cross and left to rot for the rest of his days. Even better if we could make sure that would be a long, long time."

Soma had always been gentle, loving, and understanding. But this was simply too far for him to even consider mercy. "It's not just what he did to her physically, Aunt Kate. It's the trauma she's going to have to deal with for the rest of her life. And that's not even counting all the other horrible shit these people have done."

 

[heartofcourage]

"And how do you counter the things that we have done?" Kate asked him, speaking as a fellow leader that was offering him advice and a chance to think about his future path. "Kell had tortured his fair share of enemies for information. Shall we prepare to be treated the same way as your mother? Royer is a brutal ruler, much like my grandfather was. He believes that the way to control the masses is through brute strength. We believe that the common people are just as important as the overinflated lord, but we have also done terrible things to get here."

 

[KieranSoares]

Soma's gaze went to the floor, knowing he was responsible for plenty of harm done to the common people. They had tried their best to spare the innocent, but they couldn't protect those caught in the middle of fights, those whose homes were destroyed, those whose livelihoods would be ruined by war, and many others besides.

"There isn't an easy answer to any of that," Soma answered wisely. "The best we can do is better than those before us, and try to compensate losses and support those who need to get back on their feet. We will always be the villains to someone. Ma sheltered me from a lot of it, but as I got older she didn't hide how some people treated her and our family, either for being outsiders or for having lost to the Empire. Even now, those people won't forgive or support us even if we get them home. But that shouldn't dissuade us from doing our best for those who still need us."

 

[heartofcourage]

"As long as you hold those convictions to be true, I think you'll make an excellent king." Kate said with a soft smile. "However, you overwork yourself, which is a common trait in this family. Don't burn out before your time, Soma."

She straightened herself and looked over at Kell. "When the Royers are captured, I will pay a handsome bounty for them to be taken alive. Not like what happened to Hess. I want them alive and hearty. Pass that information out among your agents."

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell nodded, briefly stepping out to relay the order. Soma took a seat at the map table, brushing papers aside and leaning heavily on the surface. "How does it feel to be back in Scotland?" He asked his aunt after a moment of silence. "If all goes well... I think you'll be walking into that castle within a month at most. A couple weeks if things aren't too rough."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You can feel it in your bones." Kate said with a smile towards her nephew. "You can smell it in the air. There's just something about being here that you can't quite describe. I suppose we can forgive you all for being born abroad and welcome you home just the same."

Kate took a seat across from Soma, steepling her fingers as she regarded him. "I have no doubt in your abilities, love. I would rather have no one else at the helm than you. However, after having found such an obstacle here at the wall, I think that we need to rethink things. We can dig in here in Scotland, consider what our resources are, and get our forces back to full strength."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I've been considering a few things," Soma said with a nod. "Royer spent a lot of time subduing the independent clans that used to support you. I think it'd be a nice gift to them for you to hand their independence back. Glasgow would be the first on the list. King Gallus is long gone, but his grandchildren are still there. A few other southern clans would probably be glad to see you too."

Pointing out several of the clans along the south part of Scotland, Soma continued, "We can wrap up and around to the west and cut Edinburgh off like we did London, but this time we'll be able to have the navy in closer in the bay and blockading the harbor. Royer has a lot more modern weapons, though. We have to be extremely careful of those... I don't think we'll be able to use the dragons til late in the siege."

Turning back to Glasgow, Soma offered Kate a letter they'd received a month prior. It was from Gallus's grandson by the same name, pledging his alliance to Kate as the rightful king of his clan. If she could free them, he promised his full might to her. "Prince Gallus was forced to bow to Royer or lose everything. But he was able to gain a lot of knowledge that we can use against Royer. Namely, his expertise in siege engines. We don't have too many engineers or siege experts. And with Edinburgh so heavily defended, we could use his advice. It may be best to skirt around the city and gather allies and cut off trade first before we take the fight to Royer himself."

 

[heartofcourage]

"If we can contact my uncles in Wick, we can cut them off on multiple sides. Without supplies, we would start a slow strangling of the city." Kate said, considering a siege to get Royer under control. "We can try diplomacy in a few weeks and see if the Royers might see our side of things, but I would doubt they would be willing to meet."

 

[KieranSoares]

"If they refuse, then they'll have to deal with your husband. And Uncle Kell doesn't take very kindly to people messing with the women of this family in particular." Soma offered her what little they had about Wick. It seemed that Royer was making a concerted effort to keep Wick and other Northern-friendly clans cut off. Messengers kept being intercepted and few letters ever got back from Cahal and Abel.

"We know Abel's managing to keep the peace for now. But he's having to work hard to convince Royer that they aren't turning against him in your favor. Chester had to do the same with Hess til we were able to liberate them," Soma explained. "But my main concern is Cahal. He's essentially under house arrest right now for conspiring against Royer. I'm worried for his safety when we start to push further north."

 

[heartofcourage]

"With the focus on Royer's stolen bride and Fiona, it might be time for me to visit Wick." Kate said, looking over at Soma. "Their energy would be focus elsewhere. I could slip in and out with Kell's help and see things firsthand."

 

[KieranSoares]

Soma hesitated to answer her idea, immediately nervous at the idea of her being caught. Because if Fiona had been treated so cruelly, Kate would get worse as the person directly challenging Royer's power as High King of Scotland. "I'm not sure... but at the same time, I think it's something worth doing. They won't expect you to go there this soon. But you need Qira and Kell both for that. One to clear the way and one to watch your back. Any less and I wouldn't dare let you go."