Chapter 397

397 Moonshire Memories

Skye tapped into her Tank trait, and was standing in front of Peggy in the blink of an eye. They both happily cried as they embraced one another. Lucas and Lidia stood back and smiled, understanding the bond the two had.

On occasion, Lucas would feel a small stab of jealousy towards Peggy for being so loved by his daughter. But Lidia was just happy that Skye had someone that she could be nurtured by. She was very grateful to Peggy for being such a good mother figure to Skye when she couldn’t..

‘I was the one who pushed her away.. I have no right to be angry or jealous over the favor she shows Peg..’

Lucas was not as enlightened as his wife. He and Peggy had gotten into a few arguments during the months that Skye had been gone. They had all been over the lass, and how badly Lucas had neglected her.

Once they had even been bold enough to argue in front of Magnus, who had put both of them in their place..

“Lucas, you know for a Fact that your own fear prevented you from bonding with Skye! Peggy had nothin’ to do with it! Now quit being a great big bairn about it, and own up to your own follies..”

Hearing Peggy snicker, Magnus turned his attention on her; “Don’t you go actin’ like you’re a saint yourself, Peggy Stuart! How would Skye feel if she found out that you were sending reports to her Da all of these years? Betrayed? Pissed off? What do you think?”

Peggy shrunk back, knowing that her king was right. She bowed lightly to him and apologized, which seemed to amuse him a bit. Peggy was a hard woman, but an amazing person; if you could get past the cringy attitude.

Magnus had taken her into his service right after Skye and Tidas had set out, until Lucas could take her back to Moonshire. Yuletide was difficult for Peggy, and Lidia had caught her crying on more than one occasion. It was the first time that she and Skye had been apart for the holiday, and it just wasn’t the same for either of them.

As the two embraced, Tidas walked up to Lucas and Lidia with a wide grin, and extend hand; “Good ta see you two. How has my father and the kingdom faired?”

.....

Lidia curtsied, then kissed her son-in-law’s cheek before replying; “All is well, except for your Vice Commander. She’s not doing well with dealing with her future sister-in-law.”

Tidas quirked an eyebrow at his mother-in-law; “What do you mean? Since Skye was with me, I assume you mean Karena.. Why would those two be talking to each other? Let alone be having problems?”

Lucas sighed; “Because their will be a wedding ceremony for her and Lawrence soon..”

Skye whipped her head around with wide eyes; “What?! What did ya say?! Shasta and Lawrence are gettin’ married already?! When?!”

Tidas chuckled before asking; “Is Lawrence insisting on it before he has to return to Ruscovic?”

Lucas and Lidia shared a look between them that Tidas had caught before Lidia replied; “Not that we’re aware of. All we know is that Karena is trying to take over the wedding. She’s trying to dictate everything because according to what she tells Magnus: Shasta doesn’t care about it...But she does.”

Before Tidas could ask how she knew, Skye chimed in; “Aye.. Shasta doesna seem the girly type, but she’s really a softie. She’ll be wantin’ a say in her own weddin’..”

Lidia quirked an eyebrow at her daughter; “Sweetheart, did your speech become worse while you were away?”

“Aye! That’d be our doin’!” Murdoc interrupted as he walked over with three others in tow.

“Oh! Sorry fer the late introductions. This be Murdoc Campbell, he’s King of the Highlands. To his left is Amara, and ye know Petrie’s ugly mug-”

“Oi! I am choice property! Ima just picky about me tenants,” Petrie quipped in his defense.

“And who’s the other giant?” Lucas asked with a scrutinizing gaze.

Skye smiled nervously; “Ah, that be Wallace. He’s Murdoc’s personal guard, and knew...someone special to us.”

Lucas and Wallace stared each other down. They had heard of the other through Sorcha, and didn’t like her relationship to the other..

Sorcha loved Wallace as a dear friend, but nothing more. Lucas was the only man that she had ever truly loved, and they both knew it. Wallace resented Lucas for it, and Lucas didn’t like how overly fond his beloved wife was of another man.

Lucas never told Sorcha of his dislike for Wallace because he knew that she would get angry at him for it. He never accompanied her on the few trips that she had taken to the Highlands except one. For the most part, they didn’t talk aside from a few pleasantries to appease Sorcha.

It was obvious to Lucas that Wallace loved his wife, so one of the few times that they were left alone together: Lucas had told Wallace to ease off. That Sorcha had picked him, and that he would never give her up.

They had nearly come to blows that day, but pretended not to know each other for the time being. Tidas, Lidia, and Amara had caught their exchange, but didn’t say anything about it as the acting captain of the remaining Moonstone soldiers came forward..

Lucas felt terrible for the ones lost, especially Teresa and Michael. He had just sent a small wedding gift to his sister two days ago, in honor of Skye. He’d put in quite a bit of effort to get to know his people on her behalf, as well as to hear their stories about her.

“Even without their remains, I’ll cover the costs for their funerals. I couldna go to the north, but if throwin’ me money around a bit will help, then I’ll do it. But who’s gonna tell their families?”

As Lucas finished his question, Tidas took a step forward; “We have volunteers that were friends with the deceased that are willing to go and talk to the families. They’ve also been given their personal possessions to return as well..”

Tidas sighed grievously; “Many of the soldiers had bought souvenirs in the Highlands for their loved ones. Their comrades wanted to give their personal effects to their families themselves so they could explain the deceased’s motivation behind the gift..”

A moment of silence fell over the courtyard as everyone wished that those lost had found peace. The sun warmed the air and ground as thin, tiny clouds occasionally obstructed it’s view. As the soldiers started to prepare to move out, Zazzy flew by overhead.

Neither Lucas, Lidia, or Peggy could believe how big she’d gotten. Her wingspan alone left them flabbergasted. Skye and Tidas had barely noticed because they were around her so much, but she had technically gotten bigger while they were in the Highlands.

Peggy had immediately walked over, and smacked Zazzy in the arm after she had landed. Zazzy had barely felt it, but was still incredibly scared of the feisty old woman.As she started to cower at the sight of her, Peggy snapped at the legendary beast..

“YOU! Ye selfish overgrown lizard! Do ye have any idea what kind ofa bloody Lunatic Genie turned into after ye flew off?! Two Months! The man didna stop buggin’ me fer two months Straight! I know how smart ye are! Ye coulda left a note er somethin’! Do ye have Any idea how Worried we-he! He was?!”

Zazzy perked up, catching Peggy’s slip.. ‘Aww! She does love me! I knew it!’

“Of course she loves ye, ya silly bairn! She’s basically yer grandma,” Skye replied to Zazzy’s rhetorical thought.

Peggy stared at Skye with a flat expression; “Didna think that me first grandbabe would be spiky.. And cause fires.”

“Oh, come off it! Twas one time! Me parents didna mind,” Skye said before She had looked over at them: they were not amused.

As Skye and Peggy argued back and forth, Lucas and Wallace kept staring at each other until Murdoc stepped in. He mentioned bringing a few bottles of Highland whiskey with him, which caught the two’s attention right away. As the RMC members made camp, the commanders and generals headed for Moonstone Castle..

************

Amara and Lidia had hit it off very well, which surprised Skye a bit as she sipped on her shot. The batch that Murdoc had chosen was coveted for it’s strong flavor and smooth burn. Lucas himself had only tasted it twice, and it had been a gift from Murdoc both times.

As Skye savored the flavor and warm atmosphere, Tidas came up to her side, and kissed her cheek. Dinner was to be served soon, and she wanted to bathe and change into something other than a body suit and armor. They were more comfortable than her dresses, but after nearly a year of only wearing it: Skye wanted a little variety.

As she and Tidas headed back to her old room, Peggy told her about the Capital. Genie had all but driven her mad after Zazzy disappeared, but her tending to Magnus had saved her sanity. As she told them about her day-to-day tasks, they were surprised to hear Peggy confirm that the king had been in perfect health since they had left.

Skye got an uneasy feeling about it, considering she knew that Marco was the one poisoning his father.. ‘Why would he stop after we left? Why not finish the job while I was gone and couldna heal him? Makes no sense..’

Before she could become lost in her thoughts, they arrived at her room..

A flood of memories hit both Skye and Tidas as they walked in. Skye glanced across the bed, and recalled Tidas seeing her naked. Her cheeks instantly flushed as Tidas grabbed her hand and whispered; “Shouldn’t have been yellin’ about ‘nips’..”

As Skye started to laugh, Peggy sighed with a small smile on her face. The room held even more memories for her. Sweet ones of her tending to Skye as a bairn, and having wee tea parties with her as a toddler. Teaching her how to sew, and how to put out a fire without water..

Suddenly, Peggy started to laugh so hard that she had to bend over, and hold her gut. Confusion covered Skye and Tidas’ faces as they asked her what was so amusing. After she had calmed enough to speak, Peggy said; “I take back what I said earlier..”

Turning to face them, Peggy grinned as she added; “I suppose Skye’s child startin’ a fire just means that she takes after her mother..”

As Skye’s cheeks turned red, Tidas asked what the story was. Peggy explained that an incident had occurred one cold night when Skye was around four or five. She didn’t want to disturb anyone, so she went out and got her own firewood for her fire place..

“The problem was that she’d grabbed some pieces that weren’t dry in the center, so they popped more than normal. She was sleepin’ on some blankets in front of the fire place when an ember landed on one. Foolish lass was lucky she didn’t die!”

Enthralled with the story, Tidas asked; “How did she not get covered in burns?!”

Swallowing back her embarrassment, Skye added; “I woke up ta Peggy smotherin’ the fire that was burnin’ right next ta me head.”

Peggy shrugged; “Ta this day, I dinna know how I woke up in time..”

As Tidas nodded, ready to let the subject pass, a small, but deepish voice called out from nowhere; “That’s because I woke Ms. Peggy up..”