The Raven (closed)

[KieranSoares]

Boar let his lips skim over her neck, murmuring lazily, "Mhmmm... I love ya too..." He laid at her side, his broad hand resting across her belly as he simply enjoyed her skin. He tended to do that quite a lot, even when they weren't doing anything intimate at all.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Leave it to you, Lynndon, to be the man to get me pregnant when everyone said that it couldn't be done." She murmured softly as her hand covered his own and she kissed her husband gently. "I love you every moment for it too...even when I feel like harming you when things get too difficult."

 

[KieranSoares]

"It's a good thing I'm a tough ol' warrior, then. I can take a beating if y'feel like it," he chuckled softly. "An' y'oughta know, us Ghis boys're pretty good at gettin' our wives pregnant, so y'best be careful." He buried his face against her neck and shoulder with a smile. "I promised you a family, love. An' Boar Ghis ain' no liar."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Who says you're going to be allowed to touch me when this little one comes along?" Emma asked sweetly as he kissed her neck. "Just think, Boar. The king of Inverness with a bonny little lad toddling after him. It'll be what everyone has wanted for so long."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Y'know y'can't resist me fer long," Boar grinned and sighed happily. "That is, if y'have a little lad. If not, I'll 'ave a little girl t'spoil an' ye'll get a break from me fer a while." He sat up beside her, fixing his trousers before he took her hand and kissed it. "I'd love a little girl."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Boar, a king needs an heir. Little boys should be what you dream about." Emma said as she sat up and started to lace her gown back into place. "Little girls have no place in a court."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Sure they do. On their Da's lap, makin' everyone who's bein' too serious smile a little more," Boar insisted with a smile. "Same fer a young lad, tagging 'longside 'is Ma while she keeps 'er stubborn ol' ox of a husband in line. But if we 'ave a lass, I want 'er t'look like you more'n anything, tha' way th'world'll get t'see yer beauty fer a long time t'come after I've stolen you away, ey?"

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma smile slightly as her husband helped her back to her feet. She kissed him gently, looking into his dark gaze as he looked down at her with an expression that was so over the moon that it warmed her heart.

"Thank you for being a good husband, Boar." She said sincerely, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"'Ard not t'be with a lovely lass like you fer a wife," Boar pressed another kiss to her lips before they set off once more. When they finally did arrive, Emma finally came to meet the giant that was Boar's older brother. But she'd heard his eldest sibling was even larger. They'd both expected him to be dark and brooding, but he looked quite content, and the reason seemed to be the woman who was holding his arm.

The brothers embraced and Boar helped Emma down from the carriage after she'd reminded him amid his excitement to be home that she was waiting.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma watched the scene at Inverness with the eyes of a hawk. The man that they met was not the same broken brother that Boar talked about. The woman that stood next to his side was beautiful and she seemed to make Brogan happy.

Emma squeezed Boar's hand tightly, her worry at the situation showing through as she glanced up at him. Perhaps this would be a harder then she thought.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Welcome 'ome," Brogan spoke kindly to his younger brother. "An' you too, Emma. Welcome t'Inverness."

Inverness was a beautiful and small Scottish town that was fortified by short stone walls all around, but no real gates or towers stood anywhere. Still, it was better than Inverlochly's simple wooden fences that were really only a bordering tool rather than fortifications. The Keep was twice the size though its upper floor was chiefly a library and then an outdoor roof space. Boar's keep was two floors as well, but the entire building was narrower. Not to mention, Brogan's keep was enclosed in a walled courtyard, likely so that the people of the town could flee inside for safety if needed.

Brogan himself was an impressive man. Though Boar was equally-heavily muscled, Brogan had about a four inch height advantage and looked more powerful altogether, especially with the great Claymore on his back. Boar preferred a battleaxe, which he currently had in a holster on his hip as it had been for the duration of their trip. But difference that Emma really noticed was how entirely warlike Brogan looked, even so calm and peaceful at the moment. Boar had an air of kindness about him, but Brogan exuded an aura of absolute control over his situation with no room for mistakes or too much softness. Boar had told her that he'd been that way since his first wife's death, but he wasn't as stern and dark as they'd expected in to be.

"An' who's this pretty lass?" Boar smiled to the new woman, greeting her with a kiss to the cheek.

"M'new wife, Julia of Chester."

"Ah, English lass, aye?" Boar chuckled at his older brother's eye-roll. The four made their way inside where Julia had put together a welcoming banquet for them. She seemed intent on making a good impression on her new family, and she did a fine job of it. The next person Emma met was the widely-famed Katherine Lucina Ghis, the 'Lady of Skye' as many had called her since the days of her late, cruel husband Tamblin. Boar had never said anything about his father, so Emma only knew of him from common stories.

Kitty, as she was called, looked like she could break any moment. She was pale, thin, and trembled visibly, but she welcomed her son with the tightest hug she could muster. It was no more than a tiny squeeze, even to Emma when Kitty was introduced to her.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma stood by silently as Boar fawned over his mother. The woman looked like a stiff breeze would blow her down at any moment. Kitty laughed gleefully as Boar hugged her tightly, her eyes watery with happy tears at seeing her dear son. Then, all attention turned on Emma and she stepped forward to hug the woman as well.

"It is very nice to meet you, Kitty." Emma said as she took a step away and was surprised as the woman's hands were instantly on her belly.

She tried not to cringe. It was still so new that she wasn't sure how to react when people pressed their hands to her stomach to feel the baby.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kitty, of course, peppered Boar with questions about why this was the first time she'd met Emma, why hadn't the wedding been a proper family affair and so on and so forth. Boar simply explained that they didn't want a big fuss and that their wedding had been a sort of spur-of-the-moment event. Kitty simply rolled her eyes at him, but let it go. They sat down to a lovely meal, but soon music began to play and the men enjoyed a Highland dance before welcoming their wives, daughters, sisters, mothers, and any other women to dance with them. Brogan swept Julia onto the floor with ease. Boar welcomed Emma and he tried his best for her, but he wasn't much of a dancer when it came to pairs.

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma let her husband try and dance with her until he stepped heavily on her toes. She yelped and looked up at him with a dark glare that told him her patience and that day were starting to weigh heavily on her. She was tired, cranky, needing to rest.

 

[KieranSoares]

Boar sighed and gently scooped her up off her feet, "I'm sorry love... I'm no good a' waltzin'." He'd tried to learn for her sake, but it seemed that beyond riverdance and Highland step, he had two left feet. He retired with her to what had once been his room in the keep. It was much like the rest of the keep, 'Spartan' as Julia would describe it, sparsely decorated but kept neat and clean. He sat Emma on the edge of the bed before joining her side.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I thought you said your brother was in a depression." Emma said suddenly, looking at her husband with a glare. "That man isn't anything like how you described."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I didn' know 'e was gettin' married. 'E mentioned tha' th'Lord o' Chester offered 'is daughter in return for a peace treaty but... it's no' like Brogan t'accept somethin' like that." Boar ran a hand back through his hair. "She's certainly a lovely lass, though... I'm glad 'e's not so lost anymore..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Boar." Emma said, looking at her husband like he had lost his mind. "All of our plans center on the fact that your brother is a miserable man who shouldn't be on the throne. The man that I just met is certainly anything but that."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Emma," Boar met her with a stern gaze. "Y'can't actually want family t'be miserable, can ya? 'E's my brother fer God's sake. I want 'im t'be happy. If tha' means I'm no' a king, then I'll gladly make tha' tradeoff." That was one of the things Emma always had to work out of him; his care for his family versus title and power.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Then why did we come here, Boar? Why did we leave Inverlochly if not to show your mother that you are the more capable ruler?" Emma said, standing from his side and staring down at him as if he had lost his mind.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Can' we just visit family an' be happy?" He asked her quietly as he looked up at her. "Y'said y'wanted a family... mine's more'n willing t'have ya." He had a point there, but he had always thought a little too small for her tastes.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Lynndon..." Emma warned, knowing that it would be difficult to keep his eyes forward when he was around his family. "I'll only be happy when we are on the throne of Inverness. We talked about this."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Then maybe we should go 'ome," Boar sighed, rising to step past her. He laid his axe and belts aside on a dresser. "We did talk about it... but I told you I love my family. I want 'em t'be happy. Brogan's on 'is way t'bein' happy again."

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma watched her husband with her hands on her hips, a sigh leaving her lips as he suddenly lost his spine for the entire endeavor. She watched him closely for a long moment before she made her way towards him. Looping her arms around her neck, she leaned in and kissed him gently.

"Perhaps." Emma said softly, another kiss that was deepening passionately. "Or we could stay here a while longer just to make sure."

 

[KieranSoares]

Boar was instantly caught in her web, and the more she kissed him, the more he was tangled into her poisonous strands. At her soft suggestion, he murmured a quiet answer, "I'm... sure we could... jus' in case..." She had that effect on him when she seduced him. He couldn't say no to her when all she had to do was stoke up his own lust to get him to change his mind. He loved her to death, but he also lusted after her almost as much.