The North (Closed)

[heartofcourage]

"I tried to go see my Da this morning." She said softly as he held her tightly. "Nora, Blair, and Jane were all there. He was so...happy. I didn't have the heart to interrupt and make him cry again, so I left. They never even knew I was there. Orion saw me, but I asked he not say a word. I've never felt more cowardly about something in my life."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Oh, love..." Sam sighed softly. "He asks about you every time I see him. He wants you to be a part of it all. You have nothing t'be afraid of. Now tha' he's doing better, he's not so fragile." He drew his head back to look down at her. "I know for a fact tha' they're not there now, if you want me t'go with you to see him?" He would be her support and shield at the slightest hint that she needed him, confident in his officers and aides being able to fill in while they were at rest and planning.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona let out a soft sigh as Sam offered to go with her to see her father, the other members of her new family gone for the moment. She knew it was cruel to avoid her father, but she never wanted to hurt him, and it seemed that every time she saw him lately, he was reduced to a sobbing mess. It broke her heart and disturbed her.

"I suppose I can't hide from him, can I?" Fiona asked softly. "Alright, enough pity. We'll go see my Da."

She pulled on her cloak and had Sam help her with the clasp. Before he pulled his hands pulled away, she gently placed her hands over his own, looking him in the eyes. "I love you, eldere." She said, meaning every word.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam paused as she took his hands, then stepped in closer to press his forehead to hers. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Fiona," he spoke softly, his deep voice warm and gentle knowing how she hurt. "No matter how tough these hurdles are, I'll still be chasin' you when we're old an' grey," he promised with a fond smile. "I love you."

Pressing a kiss to her lips, he hugged her close once more for a long moment, hoping she could take some comfort in the moment and the truth of his words.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona held her husband tight, taking in some of his strength before she let him go and the duo made their way to Owen's tent. She greeted Orion with a nod as the dragon sat nearby, watching out for his rider as he had done since Owen had returned injured from Edinburgh. She always spared a few moments for the dragons, no matter how much of a hurry she was in. Opening the tent flap, she looked inside and smiled to see her father sitting upright and looking far more lucid than she'd seen him in a long time.

"Da." Fiona said as she came to his side and kissed his keep. "You're looking well."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Getting better little by little," Owen assured her softly, reaching up to place a hand on her cheek as he nuzzled his forehead against hers. "Alex has had me moving around a bit more to keep from losing too much of my strength, so I'm tired but feeling a bit better."

Sam offered a smile from the tent opening and asked, "Should I let you two be?"

"No, I actually wanted to talk to both of you," Owen replied, beckoning him in and motioning for them both to sit. Once Sam and Fiona were settled, Owen laid a hand over Fiona's. "I know you haven't spoken to Blair since Edinburgh, love, and I know she's felt terrible ever since and blames herself for all of this. I've been talking with her and while I won't speak for you, Fiona, I've made it clear that I don't blame her for wanting to meet me, or for choosing Jane's safety over mine. I imagine I would've done the same in her situation if I didn't know my father. That all said, I've asked her what she intends to do now. She may be my daughter, but Blair still needs to prove herself to the North that she's worth the risk and losses you've incurred on her behalf."

Sam looked a bit surprised at that, his brows furrowing. "Owen, she's already fightin' for us, she doesn't need-"

"It's not just for the North, Sam," Owen insisted quietly. "It's also for her. She's really been hard on herself, to the point that Jane and Nora have gotten very worried. She can't enjoy her freedom or her love. I talked to Nora about it... she told me that Blair is always hard on herself when she makes mistakes, especially when they harm others. And Nora has always found that the best way to help her out of that state is to give her a goal, a way to make up for things. So, I tried my hand at being a father to her for the first time... I listened to her worries and doubts, and I gave her an ultimatum: live forever with the guilt, or do something about it. So, she will be entering under Fiona's command officially as a mercenary, and when the war is done, I'm going to set her up as a proper warrior either with a tribe here in Scotland if the Corel and Gol Dun return, or with the Voya in Sweden. That way she can be of use and provide for her partner."

Sam looked to Fiona, a bit surprised that Owen had already had such a conversation with Blair. "I'm no' the one who decides things about the Riders, especially not mercs. That's up t'you, love."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona bowed her head as she listened to her father explain the situation with Blair, knowing that she had added to the troubles that were happening.

"What she wishes to choose is up to her in the end. Either place could use her." Fiona said softly as she glanced at Sam and then at her father. "Da, I have to admit that I said some things in Edinburgh that...were cruel. As a woman of nearly forty, I should know better, but she made me so terribly angry that it just all spilled out. I'm sure that it hasn't helped this matter and I'm sorry for that. She needed to know what it truly means to carry our family name. All of the good and the bad. The pride and the madness."

Fiona turned her bandaged hand palm up and took her father's hand in her own, squeezing it as much as she could. "I have wished for so long that you might find someone to make you happy. I have seen how much Nora has cared for you since coming here. I've also been a coward. I haven't been able to face the happy times that you've had with her and Blair. It...hurts me too much."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know that's why you've stayed away," Owen muttered softly. "At her age, you were still scraping to survive with Will and didn't have Invah or Sam or anyone else. It wasn't til you were almost twenty-two that we finally met again and you decided to give me a chance even though I didn't deserve one. To be honest, Fiona... you're my role model for how to approach Blair. If not for you accepting me back into your life, I wouldn't have made it this long and I certainly wouldn't know how to start being a father to her. And I certainly wouldn't be in a position to reconnect with Nora. It's not my 'other family,' little kit. It's our family. Your mother was and is still the love of my life, and I don't know if Nora and I will ever be what we were... but my heart healed because of you, and it has room for more alongside those I already love."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona stared at her father as he said that her eyes nearly glazed over and faraway, as if she wasn't really hearing a word that he said. The grip on his hand went slack and her shoulders slumped slightly, her entire demeanor changing in front of Owen and Sam. The crystal-clear blue was suddenly dulled and darkened. Ever so slowly, her lips started to move as she whispered something to herself. Her voice was so soft that it seemed like she was barely breathing until Owen could make out two words in a very ancient language.

"Get out."

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam and Owen both stared at Fiona for a moment, but Sam had no idea what was going on, his shoulders tensing as he saw the change come over her. Owen was transfixed on her eyes, a moment of terror coming over him as he recognized a change he'd only ever seen in himself.

"Love?" Sam asked quietly.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Run. Run..." Fiona murmured, her breath shaking in her chest as she saw before her a giant elder dragon stalking after someone or something. It was all just beyond her and out of view. "Run..."

Fiona was up and on her feet in an instant as if she could do something to stop Hesperus from doing whatever she was seeing. She was about to run from the tent when she felt the tug on her injured hand, her father still hanging on and the pain bringing her back to the present as she sat back down heavily.

 

[KieranSoares]

In an instant, despite his half-broken body and pain and the difficulty of moving at all, Owen dragged himself to the edge of the bed and pulled Fiona in, pressing his forehead to hers. The sensation of her father reaching out to her mind was electric, a fellow Caller of Reven connecting with her fully for the first time. While she'd been aware of her childrens' abilities and presences since their gifts emerged, she'd never connected with them mentally the way she did Schaller. And in an instant, she was experiencing the same with her father. Even if he had not leaned into his abilities in a long, long time, there was a grace and sureness, and immediately Fiona knew the scope of what her father could do. Each Caller had gifts from their dragon patron, but each individual cultivated their abilities differently. Fiona and Riley were immense empaths and could feel and see memory when they focused. Soma was part empath, but he was still building his skill. Owen, however, had focused most of his skills on memory and awareness, allowing him to find dragons from a long distance and to use their own memories to track them. This skill aided him as he instantly seized Fiona's most recent memory to experience it for himself. Unlike when others invaded her mind, it wasn't painful. Instead, a vibrant electric tingle ran through her spine and skull, leaving her unscathed but dazed for a few seconds in a way that was reminiscent of Reven's hypnotism.

When Owen's eyes opened, he met Fiona's gaze and held it for a long silent moment. "Hesperus," he whispered. "I remember... my father taught me about him. Markos was supposed to come speak to me while I was in Edinburgh, but I was too injured. He took one look at me and said they broke me already." He drew back slowly, his good hand still on the back of her neck where he'd taken hold to pull her in. His fingers soon lifted to brush her hair back gently. "He wanted to talk to you most of all. He said Hesperus was going to get to you first and steal his chance..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"He said I was the beginning of the end." Fiona murmured, her eyes filling with tears as the force of everything came into sharp focus while her father gently pushed her hair behind her ear. "Of what end, he didn't know. Barbarossa said I was the killer of dragons, not the savior of them. Maybe they're right..."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You're a Blackstone," Owen said softly but with determination, and for the first time, she heard him speak in that language that her blood knew. "We were there at the beginning and we will still be here in the end." It was as if she could hear someone else speaking at the same time, a feminine voice that was deep and familiar and ultimately comforting. Owen's shoulders relaxed and he leaned forward to kiss her forehead, his voice returning to normal. "You are not some harbinger of doom, little kit. You are the voice of dragons past trying to secure a future for those here now and those to come. Our family were once Arbiters who fought, died, and killed in the name of protecting who we loved. And when the first elder dragons connected with humans and werefolk, we did not change. We only expanded our hearts and minds to include our dragon soulmates and those they cared for. We are still warriors, hunters, and keepers like the people of old. Margaret Blackstone made us so."

Sam sat by silently, knowing he couldn't possibly understand what was happening or the gravity of what Owen spoke of. But he still reached out a hand to lay on Fiona's back, a silent promise that he was there with her and wasn't going to be scared away or made to think she was insane or bewitched. And Fiona could feel other presences gently checking in. Schaller, Soma, Riley, and even Andre despite how he'd been completely detached since Gia's fall. They'd all felt something sudden and terrifying from Fiona.

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley had been warming up a meal made by Jani and Dola when she felt a terrible presence come over her. She glanced towards the bedroll where Andre was sleeping, as he had been doing more and more since Gia had passed and saw him awake from the same thing. It was terrible how her mother was suffering and all they could do was support her in the only way they knew how.

"Do you think you can eat?" Riley asked Andre softly, coming close to kiss his cheek. "Jani brought by a meal from your Ma."

She saw the listless look in his eyes, the way that he looked so lost, and she sat down beside him, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "Koah, I'm trying to help. I don't know what to do for you."

 

[KieranSoares]

Andre slowly sat up as she came beside him. In the first few days after Gia's fall, he'd fallen apart completely to the point that he wouldn't speak much or eat. But since then, he'd managed to pull himself together enough to at least take care of himself with the occasional nudge from Riley, though food was still unappetizing at the best of times.

"You're already helping," he muttered to her, his voice hoarse from disuse. "I'm sorry... I'm trying not to be so useless all the time. I'm just... exhausted."

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley gently touched his cheek and nuzzled against him as he sat up, trying hard to move on as they all knew Gia would have wanted. Without him, it felt like a part of her was missing and Riley could only guess that he felt the same now that his dragon was gone.

"It's heating on the fire. I have to go attend to something." Riley said softly, kissing his cheek before she stood and donned her cloak, glancing back at her husband. "I'll be back soon. I promise. Try to eat just a small bit. It'll make your Ma happy."

With that, she left him, heading into camp to where her brother's larger tent was erected. She knew he was in his meetings and as she entered, she patiently waited next to the door for him to finish. She was much subdued, quiet, and not like the typical Riley that her family knew and loved. As soldiers and messengers exited the tent, she quietly made her way towards the great table that had maps strewn across it, pausing as Soma finished his business.

"I have the greatest favor to ask of you." She said softly. "I know that they haven't found Gia yet, but I need something of her back. Can you...write to Royer? Offer something in exchange for information? He's wasting away, Soma."

 

[KieranSoares]

As Riley made her request, Soma turned to face her for a moment. At first his expression told her he was ready to resist any kind of parley with Royer. But as she mentioned Andre's state, his eyes softened. "I hate to say it, but... we probably haven't found her because her body was likely burned and buried by other dragons," he explained quietly. "Especially if she was near Edinburgh, Royer wouldn't have left her out there just to rot in the fields."

He pulled his stationery supplies to himself from the other side of the table. "I can try, though. A scale, a grave... even knowing where she fell would be something to help give Andre closure."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I don't expect him to be kind to us or to offer us any information, but I have to try for Andre." Riley said as she came to Soma's side. "I would go myself if you would let me, but I know you wouldn't, and it would probably start a war in itself."

 

[KieranSoares]

"With Ma out and Jani still recovering, then Andre... I need you here. Nothing's happening just yet while we dig in and prepare and our allies liberate the other clans, but I need you close at hand if things go wrong. You're the only insane Rider I have active right now," he offered with a hint of a smile to tease her.

But as he began to write, a heavy thud through the ground indicative of a dragon landing made him pause. "Who the hell is landing in the middle of camp?" He asked quietly as he heard a commotion outside. Hearing a dragon snarl, he instantly bolted out of the tent with Riley to behold a lithe crimson dragon standing in a ring of Northerners who'd all grabbed their weapons the instant they'd seen her approaching. Perched up on a saddle covered in beautiful Greek designs was a human in strange, embroidered hide and wool clothing with wild, shaggy hair, no shoes, and a curious look on his face.

"Hello," he said simply to the soldiers around him despite their vicious expressions. "This is the main camp, isn't it?" His voice had an airy quality to it, his tone curious and vague like he wasn't quite in the present moment. His dark eyes were slowly scanning, but also seemed to look occasionally in a random direction like he was seeing something that wasn't there. But as his eyes fell upon Soma and Riley, he paused. "More Blackstones," he remarked to himself as if pleasantly surprised.

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley pushed her brother slightly behind her as she stepped forward, needing him out of the way and protected for the moment. He was far more valuable as the crazed man seemed to know that they were Blackstones at a glance.

“I would assume that you are Markos.” Riley called as more soldiers came to form a ring of protection. “And you are not welcome here.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"You assume correctly, though I know you must have a very dire opinion of me now," he admitted with what seemed to be a somewhat forlorn expression, but he quickly snapped out of it. "But I have not come to harm anyone, young miss. Rather, I've come to ask for help." There was absolute honesty in his detached, strange gaze. "And I think the only people who could ever hope to help me are in this camp."

"You torture our mother and let the Royers crucify her, and you think you have any right to ask for help?" Soma snarled with a viciousness none of them had ever heard from the young man.

"I will confess to all that I have done, but I will not take blame for something Ramsey Royer came up with. I was long gone from Edinburgh when the pup decided to make an example of Fiona Blackstone," Markos explained. Soma shoved past Riley, facing the crimson dragon fearlessly.

"That doesn't make you any less a part of it," Soma protested.

"It doesn't. But you're no saint either, Soma Ghis. How many people have you allowed to be tortured for information? How many brothers, fathers, sons...?" Markos leaned down slightly to get a better look at him. "We are both cogs in the war machine, young master. But that isn't why I'm here... Hesperus is coming. And if he has his way, you will have nothing but scorched earth and ash to rule over when Brennan Royer is dead."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Bullshit. He's your dragon and you have used him all this time to torture us. Why would you need our help with him?" Riley growled, pulling her dagger from her belt as her anger rose.

"Because he's done with Master Markos." Fiona said as she dismounted from Kennah's back with Sam's help, having come the moment she felt Markos drawing near.

Fiona stared up at the man who had a hand in her torture in Edinburgh, her face blank and her mind a sharp trap that would hurt him the moment that he tried to enter it. Her hands were tucked beneath her cloak, hidden from view.

"Put your weapon away, Riley." She said softly, glancing at her daughter. "He knows the score while he's here."

 

[KieranSoares]

Markos slipped down from his saddle, a fond pat given to his partner's maw as he came to stand in front of her. He was entirely unarmed as far as anyone could see, save a small utility knife on his belt. The soldiers made way for Fiona, but kept the dragon encircled. Markos now faced Soma, only some ten feet between them, but he looked past the young man to the Rider Queen.

"He showed you," Markos murmured to Fiona. "I know he showed you already that he's coming. I tried to tell him to stay... but he is coming to Royer's personal call, and has deemed me no longer of use." His eyes fell to the ground at that. "It's a great shame... I had thought we were at least friends. But it seems I have been tossed aside by both the dragon I respected, and the man who saved me."

Looking to Riley and then to Soma, Markos sighed deeply and straightened. "I do not come asking forgiveness or shelter. I committed to Royer because of what he did for me. But now that he has summoned Hesperus, he has doomed not only me, but everyone in Scotland. Royer would rather destroy it all than let it go. I know I am hated here, I am a war criminal, and you have every right to order my execution. I will submit peacefully if that's what you wish. But before I go, I would like to share all I know of Hesperus so that the Blackstone line may survive him. My line will end with me. And... I would ask you let my partner go. She would rather die with me... but I'd like her to go on."

Markos spoke of his willing submission to death as if it were a simple everyday fact in casual conversation, even smiling here and there quite pleasantly and making polite eye contact with the officers and nobles around him. "And if I may. Master Soma." He reached into his vest, making several soldiers tense, but Soma waved them back. "Something you may find useful, or at least intriguing." He offered out a small leather book. Soma didn't reach for it, instead letting one of Kell's agents approach and take it, flipping through to be sure there was no trick or trap. When the Wolf handed the book over, Soma glanced inside.

"This is a ledger," Soma murmured, flipping through a few more pages. "A trade ledger... Timber, stone, gunpowder, weapons..." He looked up at Markos in surprise. "This is everything Royer's bought to defend Edinburgh."

"I thought a strategist might find it useful to see his enemies' stocks," Markos reasoned simply with a vague little smile and a shrug. "A token to prove my honesty. You can compare it to the handwriting of Major Albert Rhine, he is in charge of the armories and supply stores."

"Check this against our existing notes," Soma said quickly to an aide nearby, tossing the book to them.

Markos looked back to Fiona, that familiar, distant stare greeting her. "Should I show myself to the executioner's block, or may we have a conversation first?" It was a genuine question with no sarcasm or bile, as if Markos expected to die at any moment and had made peace with the idea as unavoidable.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona stared at Markos as he admitted that he had been abandoned by Royer and Hesperus like a piece of trash. She glanced over her shoulder at Sam and then at Soma, clearing her throat to the both of them as Markos asked if she would kill him first or talk with him.

"We can talk in Soma's tent." She said, moving to the side and allowing him to pass in front of her. "Sam, if you could stand guard at the entrance. Markos and I have things to speak about in private."