The North (Closed)

[heartofcourage]

"You're always an absolute idiot." Jane said with a small grin as she leaned in and captured Blair's lips with her own, sighing at the sweet kiss.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Yeah, but I'm your idiot now," Blair murmured when their lips parted briefly. If it hadn't been obvious before that the smaller blonde was completely enamored, it was certainly obvious then by the way she looked up at Jane and leaned into her warmth with little thought for anything else once her attention had been captured. "I love you," she whispered with a giddy little grin.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Go and eat, you bloody fool." Jane murmured, giving Blair a silly grin. "You're useless to me if you get sick from not taking care of yourself."

 

[KieranSoares]

Blair sighed dramatically, only leaving after one last kiss. "Fine, fine..." Settling back into her seat, she continued on with her late meal. But in between scarfing everything down, a sudden smirk came to her face. "So when- not if, but when- the Ghis are back in charge, where do you want me to build you a house?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, I can't return to Orkney. Maybe if my father is dead, but not any time soon. I doubt you would want to return there anyway." Jane said as she took a seat to relax, pondering what Blair had asked. "Where do you think your mother will end up? Will she go with Owen?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I hope she does. For both their sakes." Blair shrugged slightly. "She and I have been each other's whole world for so long, and I can see they still love each other in how he treats her and how she takes care of him. It'd be nice for her to join the Voya with him, or maybe they'll settle with the people who come back here like the Corel and Gol Dun. She'll have a hard time letting go of me, I know, even if the distance is made so much smaller by flight."

Looking over to Jane, Blair asked, "What about your Ma? I'm game to kidnap her anytime and get her set up someplace peaceful. Or since Kate will be Queen again, that means your Da either has to swear fealty or step down if he doesn't want to be considered a war criminal for helping Royer. Kate might put your Ma in charge in Orkney either as a Clan Queen or a Baroness, knowing how benevolent she is."

 

[heartofcourage]

"My Ma will want to stay close to my brother." Jane said, knowing that her mother cared greatly for her elder brother, not that she blamed her as all. Aadan has wanted nothing more than to be a knight. He has worked so hard to be chivalrous and kind, everything that my father isn't. I could see her going back to Orkney and building something for Aadan when he's ready."

"I suppose you would want to get to know Fiona. Staying in Inverness might be the best for us." Jane finally admitted, knowing that Blair had a lot to learn from her older sister.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I can fly anywhere anytime. I want you to end up somewhere that's good for you," Blair insisted. "Even if that means we wander around a while til you find it. Being a Rider means I can work just about anywhere in the Northern Alliance and support you. You've spent so long pleasing other people that I think it's high time someone did the same for you." There was a resolute stubbornness to Blair's tone. It had earned her plenty of teasing from the other Riders, saying if they hadn't known she was a Blackstone, they found out the moment she opened her mouth.

 

[heartofcourage]

"And if I know you, you aren't going to accept no for an answer." Jane murmured. "Even if we spend every last coin that we have to our names and have to live in poverty."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I sure won't. But I'll also make sure you never go hungry," Blair promised. "I'm used to hard work and tough times, and I'm probably a better hunter than anything else. We might not be rich, but we'll be comfortable if I have anything to say about it."

 

[heartofcourage]

Jane chuckled and knew that Blair was truly and hopelessly in love. If Blair could move the earth for her, she would do it. She just wished that she hadn't been so bound to her duty as her father's daughter to be married to Ramsey in the first place. It was something that the both of them would have to reckon with in the near future.

As the two women connected and relaxed, the camp became quiet. Those working on the dragon scale steel broke for the evening, taking a break from the back breaking labor. When Fiona next woke, she noticed that Sam had come to bed, the soft sounds of his breathing filling the darkness. She let out a soft sigh, turning to look at him in what little light she could see through the walls of their tent. She knew he was full of anxiety and full of fear for them all. She reached out and tucked her arm around his neck, pressing her forehead against his cheek.

"My love." She whispered softly. "My life. My mate. I wish I could take this all away from you."

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam had been laying there in the dark and silence for nearly an hour since everyone else had gone to their own tents. His armor wasn't in its usual place packed away neatly. He'd laid it all out in order, ready to be put on at a moment's notice. He hadn't even changed into bed clothes, only putting aside his belt and boots so he could be ready if Hesperus came early. But when Fiona reached out to him, he naturally turned toward her and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face against her neck. "Don' worry about me... I'm here t'support you," he murmured. "I can fall apart after."

 

[heartofcourage]

“I thought you were sleeping.” She murmured, noticing that he was still dressed and ready for anything. “You’ll burn yourself out with this tension.”

“If you don’t wish to sleep, I could try on my armor. Give you something useful to focus on.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"You need rest too," Sam murmured, taking a deep breath and pulling back a little to meet her eyes in the darkness. His fingers came up to trail through her white-blonde hair. Even if it was dim, his eyes had adjusted to the dark and he had long since memorized her face.

Changing the subject a bit for the sake of his sanity, Sam told her quietly, "Should've seen the little army o' people I had here helpin' me... Ground through around half of what I think I'll need. Put Riley in charge o' the shield with Schaller. An' I poured a few test bars t'compare them to Margaret's blades tomorrow. We're well on our way. All you need t'do is sleep, eat, an' train."

 

[heartofcourage]

"...As you already mentioned." Fiona said as he stroked his fingers through her hair in that familiar, soothing motion that he had been doing for twenty years.

He described the scene that had been happening while she slept, much more lucid this time to understand. Everyone had a vested interest in making sure that she was successful, so it made sense that they had come to help in any way they could. But, she didn't want to think about that right that moment. She was weary of thinking about Hesperus or the Royers.

"I adore you, Samuel." Fiona murmured, leaning in to kiss her husband properly for the first time since she had been taken prisoner in Edinburgh.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam's broad arms pulled her in tight, seeking comfort in her affection. Her love and appreciation was often what settled his mind in their most stressful times. "An' I love you, darlin'. No place I'd rather be than beside you." He let himself sink into her kiss and her embrace, trying to put everything else out of his mind for a moment.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona melted against him as he pulled her in tightly. She sighed as their kiss deepened and she sought the affection that they hadn't shared in so long. Her fingers moved to the ties of his tunic and then to the buckles at his trousers, seeking to touch his bare skin.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam didn't hesitate to help her, leaning into her welcome. Soon his shirt was dropped to one side of their cot and her nightgown followed. Pulling her tightly to his bare chest, Sam's lips pressed to her throat and he rolled to lay her back against the sheets and pillows. He wanted nothing more than to lose himself in loving her and to pretend the world outside didn't exist for a while. Maybe if he wore himself out making love to her, he could sleep.

"I've missed this..." Sam admitted softly as his lips trailed along her collarbone and she could feel his fingers trace down her thigh. As he passed over her breasts and belly, he spared a kiss to her tattoo. It was his quiet way of letting her know he hadn't forgotten her Fox either.

 

[heartofcourage]

Sam was a passionate lover when he had a mission in mind or a want to forget everything. As he pressed her to the sheets of their cot, she let out a sigh and squirmed underneath him. He admitted that he had missed those moments and she let out a small chuckle, perhaps the first joyful noise that she had made since she had been held captive. He brought her incredible joy and she hoped that he knew that.

Her hands moved through his hair, whimpering as he kissed her belly and tattoo, and his hands gripped the skin of her thighs so tightly. "Eldere...I'm not going anywhere. I swear."

 

[KieranSoares]

"No you aren't," Sam muttered. "One day soon, we're gonna go back to our keep an' our tree. You said we'd go home an' I'm gonna see you proved right."

Slipping down further, he kept hold of one of her hands while the other skimmed over her folds and soon his tongue joined in, content to please her before anything else. His cool, focused, and commanding persona in public hid just how passionate a man Samuel Ghis really was, but Fiona knew that side of him like no one else ever had or ever would again.

 

[heartofcourage]

The stoic Rider queen was completely under Samuel Ghis' control as he focused his attentions on her. She relaxed and let him take over, giving up control to him as she sighed and squirmed. Her fingers gripped his scalp, her body relaxed and like jelly. It made everything that she had endured worth it.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam took his time, his fingers curling into her body and massaging her most sensitive flesh in time with his tongue circling her clit. When he felt tension build in her core, he backed off and sat back on his knees, tossing his dark hair to one side.

"C'mere, darlin'," he whispered, his broad hands wrapping around her thighs to pull her in til she could feel his arousal
through his half-unbuttoned trousers. One hand lifted to her fox tattoo and he gave her a gentle smile. "Come out an' play, my love."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona whined as Sam teased and tortured her sweetly, coaxing her to the peak and then pulling away. She gasped as his hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her tightly against his groin, letting her feel his intense arousal as he grinned down at her in the darkness and softly growled for her fox to come out and play.

"She's...pretty beaten down..." Fiona murmured softly, admitting to him that she hadn't been connected to her fox in so long.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Then let me take care o' you both." Sam didn't push for her to summon up energy she didn't have. Instead, he encouraged her to lay back and relax and let him do the work. He finished unbuttoning his trousers and took his time sinking slowly into her core with a comfortable, easy rhythm. Even in the dark, she could see the gentle smile he gave her, assuring her that she was in good hands.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona let out a soft cry as he sank into her, pinning her to the cot as he appeased them both with a slow and easy rhythm. As much as she trusted her husband and as much as she wanted him in that moment, she couldn't relax. Staring into his gentle gaze reminded her of her torture. She furrowed her brow and raised a hand to cup his cheek, panting as they moved together, but she couldn't shake the image in her mind.

She was staring up at a jail guard through water, bound and helpless as they held her beneath the surface to get the answers that she so stubbornly refused to give. Her lungs burned and she had just started to thrash against her shackles when she felt someone snake their hand beneath her trousers and grasp her intimately. It startled her into gulping in great amounts of water, her entire body thrashing to get free from the intrusion.

Pushing against Sam's chest, Fiona soon had them situated so that she was in his lap, her arms around his neck in a more intimate position. She kissed him fiercely, her own hips taking up the rhythm that they both needed.