The North (Closed)

[heartofcourage]

Hooking the lantern to her belt, she descended into the tunnel behind her Da, pausing only when he helped her with the final few ladder rungs. Opening the shudders on the lantern, she held it aloft and illuminated everything around them. The stone walls were holding, a bit damp and mold forming on the walls, but still structurally sound. When she felt her Da's hand on her back, she stepped forward and led the way. They walked in silence, pausing only occasionally when a sound would alert them, but there seemed to be little danger. Riley paused as they got closer to the castle's entrance, her sensitive ears picking up the sounds of an angry conversation. Her ears flicked forward, and she frowned, glancing behind her to look up at her father.

"I hear two voices." She whispered. "A man and a woman."

Quietly, she continued, stopping again only when the tunnel met a dead end and the voices were much stronger. She handed the lantern off to Sam and leaned against what was most likely the sealed entrance to Edinburgh Castle, listening intently.

"So, you have nothing to say?" The woman on the other side said, her thick French accent burning with a silent anger. "Dammit, Ramsey, you swore you would protect me!"

"Ramsey. And...his mistress?" Riley whispered again to inform Sam.

Delphine Trembley had been with Ramsey through thick and thin, her love for him genuine. Without station or title, she had little to offer him by way of marriage and had been relegated to the dirty little secret that everyone at court knew about. She was a proud woman, hiding her pain of rejection and scandal from everyone at court. With chestnut brown hair and large blue eyes, she was one of the most striking women at Brennan Royer's court.

"Do you know how embarrassing it is to be called in front of your father?" Delphine raged on her lover, her fists ball at her side and her gaze blazing with fury as Ramsey seemed so indifferent. "Your father and that bastard of a lord from Orkney? Questioned about what we do, if I'm pregnant, how much it would cost for me to go away? You swore to me that if your wife didn't come back, you would take care of the situation. Yet, I'm called and questioned like a common whore by the both of them."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You think I wanted that old bastard to do this?" Ramsey growled quietly. "The day I can stop my father from doing anything he pleases is the day Hell freezes over. I tried, but he digs into my business constantly and he never allows me to have anything to myself. Ever since Jane left, he's been a fucking nightmare, telling me how much of a failure I am and how she'd be better on the throne than me. I was supposed to be the second son, Delphine! I was supposed to be free to do whatever while Finn ran things and took my father's place!"

Ramsey had been chafing under the pressure of his unwanted position since Finn had formally defected, and it was starting to come out in the form of anger as it grew to be too much. Being compared to his own runaway wife was especially insulting.

Sam leaned in beside Riley, listening closely. He hoped that if the woman left, they could break in and grab Ramsey with little issue.

 

[heartofcourage]

“So what will it be then, Ramsey? Am I to simply grin and bear the scrutiny and whispers? He’ll banish me. That’s what he said. He’ll banish me back to France and hope that your wife forgives you.” Delphine muttered. “As if the fucking Lord of Orkney doesn’t have a mistress of his own. He sat there, acting so righteous because it’s his daughter that wears your ring.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"What do you want me to do? Defy them? I may keep my title, but I'll be cut off entirely and then how would I take care of you?"

Stepping in close, Ramsey took Delphine by the arms. "I don't want this. I didn't want any of this. And now I'm a laughingstock because my fucking wife ran off! Everyone knows it was Blair. It was a goddamned woman- a were and a fucking dragon-lover- that stole my wife away and now everyone thinks I'm some spineless little princeling! How the hell am I supposed to help you when Jane left me in this position of complete disgrace?! I want to, Del! God knows I'd have chosen you if things were different. At this point, all I can do is support you financially until my father gets himself killed. I don't know what else to do."

 

[heartofcourage]

“And you obsess over it. You obsess over money and title and power. You obsess over the woman who didn’t want to be married to you because she ran off. If you had any integrity, you would stand up for me, Ramsey.” Delphine countered. “I have been with you when you were nothing and I asked for nothing because I loved you. Why can you not say the same to your father?”

 

[KieranSoares]

Ramsey's grip tightened as he glared at her, but she could see genuine fear growing in his sharp gaze. "Because that man would sooner have me assassinated than let me bring him dishonor. And he sees your presence as a stain on our family name. He would rather have a third son to replace me, Del. I'm expendable. So either we do as he says, or you end up back in France anyway with no one and nothing to support you at all. Unless you want to try talking to that mad bastard yourself, and see how fast you end up in a noose."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Do you hear yourself?” Delphine asked, wondering if Ramsey had truly lost his mind in the stress of the oncoming war. “Do you truly think that he would ever replace you or have you killed?”

Riley glanced over at her Da and pulled back from the portal slightly. “I can take her by surprise. You can go for him.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"He absolutely would. Look how easily he replaced his pride and joy, the fucking golden child!" Ramsey roared. Finn had been a lifelong looming shadow over him, always the favorite.

Sam gave Riley a nod, moving up to the false wall and finding the latch before extinguishing the lantern. He dared to lift the latch slowly, letting the door crack open ever so slightly. It swung inward toward the fighting couple, so Sam put his shoulder against it, but held it still til they were ready as he put one eye to the tiny crack in the door. His free hand dug into his satchel, pulling a pair of shackles he'd wrapped in cloth to avoid them clinking and clattering together. He kept them, knowing Ramsey was going to be more dangerous, but he pulled off his sword belt to hand to Riley to use as a binding as well.

"Brennan Royer isn't a man to be trifled with," Ramsey tried to explain to Delphine. "He killed Mateo Emile to take this throne. He destroyed a handful of clans to get them under his boot. You think he won't do away with a troublesome son? He didn't mind discarding his first child when she wasn't the son he wanted!"

Sam slammed into the door and burst out, cutting off Ramsey's yelp of shock by barreling him into a wall so hard that a loud crack sounded through the room and the prince could only gasp in pain. So stunned and overcome with the pain of a broken shoulder, Ramsey couldn't hold firm when Sam kicked the back of his knee to force him down. It was only once he was on his belly that Ramsey started to fight. He managed to get on his hands and knees, about to scream for help. But his head was at the perfect height for Sam's boot to smash him across the face and render him unconscious.

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley was quick behind her father, tackling Delphine as soon as Ramsey was out of the way. She had Delphine on the ground in an instant, the woman barely putting up a fight as she bound her hands behind her back with thick leather. Riley pressed her knee into her back, glancing up as Ramsey was subdued with a vicious kick to the face that rendered him unconscious.

"No...no, no." Delphine whimpered; her eyes wide as she realized just what was happening. "Monsieur, please, let him go. Please. He's all that I have."

"Shut up." Riley growled. "He never listened when other's begged for their lives."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Keep quiet and he might last the night," Sam told her firmly, leveling a hard glare at the woman. Even if she was innocent, he couldn't give her the benefit of kindness at the moment. "Riley, get her on her feet. If she struggles, do whatever you need t'keep her quiet."

Sam took a moment to relight their lantern before he scooped Ramsey up, throwing him over his shoulders. "Let's go." Pushing the door open again for Riley, Sam let her lead with Delphine so that the woman couldn't flee back into the castle.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Walk." Riley muttered, giving Delphine a small push as she kept a hand on the bindings, following behind as her father led the way with a battered and bleeding Ramsey over his shoulders.

Delphine did as she was told, terrified that perhaps Ramsey was right, and his father was vindictive enough to have them both killed.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam kept looking back occasionally as they went. While he'd taken care to reseal the entrance, he was ready to drop Ramsey and prioritize Riley if things went wrong.

When they began climbing up out of the tunnel and back into the little chapel back room, they could hear more voices in the main room. It seemed more of the inhabitants had returned from work for the evening. Sam cursed quietly to himself as he set Ramsey aside, hoping he'd avoid more people seeing them. "I'll hold them here," Sam told Riley softly. "We need to get them out quietly. A wagon 'r somethin' where I can hide him especially. Or... Maybe we could sneak them out to the port and do a fast pickup with yer partner if you can call him in," he offered, knowing Riley was the far better sneak and would know which was the more reliable option. He also avoided using names aloud, having realized Delphine didn't know who they were. He wanted to keep it that way til they were beyond the city.

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley considered their options and knew that picking them up from the bay would be incredibly difficult and risky, but would be the best option. There was no way that they were going to make it out of the city with Ramsey Royer otherwise. She pulled on Delphine's bindings and directed the woman to sit where Sam could keep an eye on her, but far enough away that Ramsey couldn't help her if he woke.

"Give me two hours at the most." Riley said as she turned to slip out the door to try and make out of the city to gather Marth.

Delphine wept in fear, glancing up at Sam and then over at Ramsey. His face was already covered in blood and swelling from the brutal kick, and she wondered if she was in for the same kind of treatment.

"I don't have much to my own name, but...I can give you what you want." Delphine murmured, her voice shaking and timid. "Just please let us go. We will leave Scotland. I swear."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Don't start," Sam growled quietly at Delphine as he pulled an old chair over to the door and sat against it. "You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. You cooperate, and you'll be fine. Ramsey's already sealed his fate."

Sam glanced down at Ramsey occasionally, making sure the man was still breathing and not in danger of slipping away. Sitting back in his seat, Sam sighed and looked at Delphine again. "What's your name? You're clearly not from here." It was the first hint she'd been given that they weren't just assassins.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Delphine Tremblay." She whispered, the hairs on her arms standing up as she started to realize that this man wasn't one of Brennan's inner circle. "I'm from Avignon. Or I was. I cannot go back."

She noticed a wedding band on the man's hand and wondered if she might be able to appeal to his sense of duty as a husband. "You're married. You have to understand that I would do anything for him. I would trade places if you would allow it. He's all that I have in this world."

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam stared at Delphine for a long moment, silently wondering how she could stick with a man like Ramsey. "I am married. And I do understand." He leaned forward, holding her gaze unblinkingly as he said in a low, dark tone," I would've liked to trade places with my wife when Ramsey crucified her. Every time she's struggled t'do basic tasks, every time she's dealt with nightmares, I've wished I traded myself fer her father instead o' her."

 

[heartofcourage]

The fear that filled her chest in that moment was palpable, her eyes wide with fright as she finally realized that she was looking at Samuel Ghis. She couldn't look him in the eye for very long, lowering her gaze to her lap as a fresh wave of tears came. She knew that she wasn't going to save Ramsey and that life as she had known it was over.

"He wasn't always like this." She murmured. "His mother and father poisoned him against those like your wife a long time ago. I've never been able to change his mind on the matter, but he wasn't always cruel."

When she looked up once more, she let out a shaky breath. "Monsieur, the king has already made it clear that I am not welcome here any longer. I have no home. If you take him, I beg that you kill me quickly. If the king finds me, he'll do much worse to me than what was done to your wife."

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam's hard expression didn't falter, but he couldn't help the pity he felt. "A person can hate my wife or werefolk or whoever all they like. But crucifying a person is somethin' few are capable of doing, much less happily like Ramsey did t'my wife. But his mistakes don' have to destroy your life, an' Brennan Royer's reach isn't so long anymore. Cooperate with us an' I can guarantee you safety. My wife will have th' final word on Ramsey's life, but not til I'm done with 'im."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I ask for a parley with Finnegan Royer then." Delphine quickly said. "I will cooperate with you if you can promise me that."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I believe I can arrange tha'. We'll call him in from his post," Sam said with a nod. Finn had been helping the Northern Alliance regularly with his connections and his knowledge of how Brennan Royer's court and military functioned, giving Soma an edge in skirmishes and cutting off supply lines. Finn himself had been in several smaller battles securing the rest of southern Scotland, proving that his father had intended to raise a competent warlord. It had all turned against Brennan now as his son liberated small formerly-free clans that had been Kate's allies in the old days.

Sam looked Delphine over, quietly considering his next words. "... We overheard some of your conversation. Why does Royer have a problem with you being around exactly? Not often I hear of kings like tha' caring about their sons' mistresses. Is this because Jane's gone?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"The Lord of Orkney wants no competition for control." Delphine muttered. "No bastards to kill, no mistresses to clean up after, nothing to threaten his line of succession when his daughter finally has a son by Ramsey. As long as His Majesty puts faith in what Orkney says, this court is a very dangerous place for me. I'm not good enough for him, not in the eyes of the Scottish court. It doesn't matter that I grew alongside them both. I'm French by birth. I'm a bastard by birth. When Orkney discovered that my mother, God rest her soul, had been raped by a Crusader and left to raise me on her own...that was it. He poisoned His Majesty against her and had her burned as a witch. Ramsey and I were ten, Finnegan twelve, and I had to watch to show my loyalty or else I would have the same fate...I might still before this night is over."

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam sighed heavily, quietly considering how they'd have to deal with Orkney and Jane's family. He'd talked to Blair about it once to gauge how Jane felt about her family, but it was something left aside til after Hesperus was put down. "Miss Tremblay, I'm afraid this might actually be the best thing that could've happened to you in this bloody war... Because the Royers were never going to hold this kingdom, and all that nonsense about succession won't matter anyway. We'll discuss details when we return, but I will tell you now that as long as you don't cause trouble, you have nothing to fear. The North doesn't just leave a trail of destruction an' abandon people to rebuild alone when we go to war. And as Commander, I don' want or need to hurt people like you. Keep quiet an' do as you're told for now, an' I'll see you safely to Finn."

Sam had always been deeply dedicated to the Northern ideals of mercy and common wellbeing. Even if they did deal in subterfuge and darker matters where needed like any alliances or countries at war, they never left innocents to suffer if they could help it, and never sought to harm those undeserving.

As Sam gave her the deal, Ramsey began to stir slowly. "Jesus Christ," he muttered as the pain hit him and he made to sit up, only to find his hands bound behind his back. Glancing up through a swelling eye, the blood trickling down from his nose starting to slow, Ramsey grew pale to see Sam staring at him in the dim lantern light. It was cast in such a way that Sam looked absolutely menacing, green eyes fiery with hate as he regarded the younger man. Ramsey finally managed to sit himself up against a wall, staring at Sam silently as his heart raced. Seeing Delphine out of the corner of his eye, Ramsey swallowed hard realizing she hadn't gotten away to get help and no one likely even knew they were missing yet.

"Evenin', Ramsey," Sam rumbled darkly, but Ramsey didn't reply, too afraid to speak and dig a deeper grave. "Good lad. Keep it quiet." For as gentle of a man Sam could be, his presence radiated absolute murder in that moment on the level of what Conrad von Morden had once faced. And Ramsey, knowing exactly who he was facing, was white as a sheet and silent as ordered. Never before had Delphine seen him so afraid of anyone, not even his own father.

 

[heartofcourage]

Delphine watched as Ramsey came to and cowered. She had never seen him so frightened in her life, not even when he was standing up to Brennan when he knew he would be punished. "Ramsey..." She whispered. "Désolé, mon amour..."

Outside, Riley had easily made it past the city walls, slipping over the stone and avoiding the gates. It was much easier than having to explain herself on the way out. She was near silent as she walked in the shadows until she made it to the woods that surrounded the city. She immediately started to reach out to Marth with her mind, letting him know that they needed to meet.

 

[KieranSoares]

Marth's mind immediately opened up as Riley reached out, and it was only some twenty minutes before she saw a dark shadow pass overhead, using his black scales against a fairly clear night sky to remain undetected. When he was ready to land, Marth dove down and pulled up at the last second to avoid being out in sentries' sight lines too long. He managed to find an open enough spot within the forest to land, and quickly knelt for Riley to board when she came to his side. "I assume everything's going okay," he murmured. "Where are we picking them up?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"They have some wicked weapons inside of the city, so I would like to avoid it at all costs. Da is going to meet us on the docks, I would assume near where he's hidden at the moment. I had him give me two hours' time. That means that we still have an hour before we meet." Riley explained, needing to keep Marth out of the way of the anti-dragon weapons that lined the walls of the castle.