STF

Earth - An Unexpected Meeting

Posted June 2, 2021, 8:46 a.m. by Civilian Kenzo B'tren-Hyrushi (Governor) (James Sinclair)

Posted by Civilian Ragna Idun McKenzie (Future Citizen) in Earth - An Unexpected Meeting

Posted by Civilian Kenzo B’tren-Hyrushi (Governor) in Earth - An Unexpected Meeting

Posted by Civilian Ragna Idun McKenzie (Future Citizen) in Earth - An Unexpected Meeting
Posted by… suppressed (11) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Ragna swallowed a large gulp of tea. “Well it actually has to do with that letter, and some other papers I was directed to deliver to you. I called and was directed to the clan Marshal, who promptly told me where I could send myself and my papers and hung up on me. After a week of trying to call back and no one taking my call, I showed up at the gate. The gardener told me that you were gone but I could speak to the game Warden. He drove me here. I ended up getting caught in the storm. We,” Ragna took another sip of her tea, “shared a meal, I warmed myself by his fire, and we shared his bed. I wore his colors,” she glanced over the door where Seamus’s claymore and her sword still hung, ” I held his steel in my hands and I gave him my blade.” She didn’t mention being ill. “There was a misunderstanding on my part. I returned to my family. Seamus came and brought me home.”
Ragna McKenzie

Tara read as Ragna spoke. When Ragna finished Tara, still reading (or perhaps re-reading), said “That boy always did prefer the old ways. Can’t say that I fault him for that. Sometimes I think this whole universe would be better off with less technology and more face to face dealings. For instance…” and she gestured to the letter. “I will say I applaud your sister’s decorum. Please extend my thanks when you next speak with her.” and she folded the letter and put it back in the envelope and then tucked that away in her coat.

Ragna nodded, “Of course, Lady McKenzie, thank you.” Her face softened a moment, “It is not my place,” and here she grinned because though she wasn’t being rude, she was sticking her nose where it may not be wanted, “but there is no one quite like my sister Revna. She is a kind soul. Even when she was young she was always making peace among people.” Her eyes got very far away and she downed the tea. “Mike brought her back to us, and for that I will forever be in his debt.”

“Now then, Ragna McKenzie… you will tell me all about yourself, up to and including how you became my grandson’s wife in detail. While I am aware of the old traditions and how they can be interpreted; my dear Seamus is not one to give his heart away freely, nor is one to do so blindly. So tell me about the moment you knew you loved him and knew that he loved you. And be warned… when he returns, I will ask him the same. If the two do not align…” and she sipped her tea, “… well, let us reserve grandmotherly threats for those who need them, shall we? Now… tell me.”

Lady Tara

Ragna got up and refilled her tea cup and offered to refill Tara’s as well. “I am the third daughter of Cuyler and Helka Edman. My two older sisters are twins. They are out traveling the stars, but that is something I have never been interested in. I help my father and Uncle in our family meadery which supplies most of our clan income. I love brewing and attended the Scandinavian School of Brewing when I was in high school. I earned my degree in archeology and history in college. I have worked with the national historical society of Norway for many many years. I spent a great deal of time as a child exploring old ruins and recreating their stories. I am the clan herald, historian, archivist. Not because I have to be, but because I love the work.” She took more of the mint and ginger tea and less of the honey this time. “I am an 8 time live blade world champion, and with my sisters have won several boat races. I love to sail and spend weeks on end at sea with my Uncle.”

Ragna sipped the tea ordering her thoughts. “I think perhaps our stories shall not line up, but that doesn’t make my tale any less true. As I said, it starts with that letter and several papers I was instructed to deliver to you.” She motioned to her bag still holding said documents. Ragna began to tell her story, from calling and speaking to Seamus, only knowing him as the clan Marshall who accused her of attempting to ‘serve’ the clan legal papers and hung up on her. The following week of trying to contact someone yet again and failing. Showing up at the gate and being taken to see the Game Warden, and finding Seamus. “I can say I was…” Ragna’s mouth twitched, “overwhelmed I think is the word. It’s not often I meet some one who is so much taller than myself. He explained that is comm was out and was very polite, invited me and offered to listen.” She continued the story explaining about the storm and her sudden departure. She explained about her headaches, the migraines, and that she had left because she knew she had to get back so she could get her medicine, even if that meant being soaked through after an 8 mile walk, but Angus had other ideas. That she’d been given no alternative but to allow Seamus to care for her. She told her about their conversation both personal and official, about giving Seamus her sword and what little she remembered of the night through the haze and pain. Ragna left no detail out about the next day either. “What you must understand is that when I have these headaches it can take several days sometimes for me to…be myself again. I knew when I gave him my sword what I was doing, what it meant, and that I meant it without a doubt. But I was confused from the migraine, and when it was suddenly gone, when he kissed me it left me…disoriented. I left, going out into the storm. He came after me and he tried to explain it to me, but I misunderstood. I thought....” Ragna breathed deeply, “I thought he rejected me, my sword, returning it to me, and I left. His rejection, or what I thought was his rejection, broke my heart. That’s when I knew, without doubt or confusion I loved him with all I am. I knew it before, but I was…fuzzy headed. And I knew without doubt that he loved me, when he threw me over his shoulder and carried me off.” And then she proceeded to give Tara all of those details as well.
Ragna McKenzie

Tara listened and sipped her tea, and when Ragna finished she looked at her and set her cup aside and folded her hands on the table in front of her. Her green eyes bore into Ragna with a look that showed with no uncertainty that she was a force to be reckoned with, but also a woman of extreme wisdom and patience. “So I take it you know the story, then. Being the herald, historian, and archivist; I’m sure you know this isn’t the first intermingling of our peoples?”

Lady Tara

Ragna nodded her head. “No it is not. I discovered this as part of a side project for my sister. I remembered the story but didn’t know it was McKenzie clan in the story.” She picked up her satchel and removed the PaDD scrolling through finding the information on Faelon and Amalie. “It’s their marriage certificate, and the new crest and legal documentation that Amalie before stepping down took the McKenzie clan as her own. The document states Faelon did the same, but I would need to find the McKenzie copy of the document. Amalie stepped down as Chief when her son was old enough to take over. She left Edman land to return here to him. And I mean here to this house. Seamus showed me. Their crest is etched into the foundation stones. I can carbon date the stones as scientific and historical evidence of union. When I told Seamus only he and I knew. Now, after I returned home, I told my Da and now you. He will honor it. Whatever you need, even without Mike and Revna’s wedding. There were several more marriages from that event as well.” And Ragna pulled up several more marriage certificates of other Edmans from the boats.
Ragna McKenzie

Lady Tara looked at Ragna and said “Faelon and Amalie. Roderick and Bridgette. Devon and Hildegard. And I’m sure a few that don’t come to mind at the moment. And now Revna and Michael… and Seamus and Ragna. Hmmm… I wonder…” and she stared at Ragna and picked up her tea and sipped it.

“I wonder as to the ‘why’ our two clans are so randy for each other?” and she grinned and sipped her tea.

Lady Tara

Ragna blinked, there were more…no wonder her Da laughed when she told him. He must have known, but why didn’t he say? And she should have searched more, but she’d been more focused on delivering Revna’s letter than on the details of clan co-history. She started to sip her drink, and didn’t quite spit out her tea. That would be beyond rude. “Um…well my sister Runa would probably say there was some amulet or some such wandering around, or that the gods themselves have a hand in it.” She looked at image of the story of Faelon and Amalie, then thinking about Revna and Mike and then her and Seamus. “I think that also begs the question, one why it’s always McKenzie boys and Edman girls. Can you tell me Lady McKenzie did Roderick and Devon issue bets or ‘deals’ to their ladies too?”
Ragna McKenzie

“Oh no, dear girl. Not always Edman girls and McKenzie boys… although that is the majority. No no… Roderick Edman and Bridgette McKenzie are part of that… well… let’s just call it for what it is; a tradition. If the oral traditions are to be believed Roderick wagered her that he could lift five bales of hay with one hand; and if he did she had to serve him for a year and a day. She agreed… he put the bales on a lift under block and tackle and drew the line with one hand. They married six weeks into her ‘servitude’.” and sipped her tea.

Lady Tara

Ragna sat back and sipped her tea slowly, inhaling the scent on the steam. She set the cup down and placed her hands in her lap and looked up the rafters and closed her eyes briefly, seeing the whole thing come to life before her eyes, and then she began to laugh. “That…that sounds like something my sister Runa would do. There is always some twist to it, some subtlety, or fine piece of logic. To date she hasn’t lost a wager. Or if she has no one’s telling.” She laughed for a bit longer before taking a deep breath. She didn’t even bother to apologize, it was too funny. And there was a sense of Fate to it all. She had no doubt at all about that now. Oh Seamus had asked her about it, and it had all come together for her while she was still on Uncle Oddvar’s boat.

She sat forward arms crossed, forearms on the table and asked very seriously. “Tell me Lady McKenzie, what do we do with this information? I tried to explain to Seamus the impact of having the full force of the Edman clan at your disposal, but he wouldn’t listen. Called me daft, said I wasn’t listening, and there was more to problem than I knew. So, please, tell me what I’m missing, so I can help my sister and the man she’s given her heart and soul to.”
Ragna McKenzie

Tara sipped her tea and looked at the young woman. Finally seeming to decide something, she set the tea aside and said “Seamus is correct, there is more to the problem than you know. And you are correct as well. Having the Edman’s as close allies is a monumental change in the way this game must be played… but what you are missing, child, is the fact the game must be played regardless. Right now, yes, the McKenzies could call on Edman aid and we could put up a united front and on and on. But perceptions must also be maintained. Calling on your family for aid will make us appear weak to the Lord High Marshall. If we appear weak, it plays into the machinations of some of my children and grandchildren. That will, in turn, give them yet more leverage to oust me and put one of those slimy, narcissistic ne’er-do-wells in charge. And as I am sure Seamus has told you… that would be the end of Clan McKenzie. And that I will not allow. Not now, not ever.”

Lady Tara

Ragna, as Seamus had learned was hot headed and had a temper, but she was also well educated, fiercely loyal, and understood the value of well considered tactics.
She wouldn’t be a world champion swordswoman otherwise. She was quiet, thinking, “If we were in Norway I know what we would do, but though some laws are similar, we are not in Norway. Seamus told me that they will bog the clan into bankruptcy with law suits, and then sell lands off to continue to pay for it. He also told me they have threatened you and your clan if you so much as think about Mike. Revna told me Mike has tried to abdicate his position, and you won’t let him. So we are stuck, yes? He can’t step away and he can’t come home. A play has to be made, even a subtle one. And perhaps asking the Edmans for support seems weak, but what if we simply filled the ranks of the clan? We are not a separate clan we are one.” Ragna sipped her tea, “I think perhaps my father would be a better person to speak with.”
Ragna McKenzie

“No, we are not in Norway. And as much as it would be convenient to say so, we are not truly one clan. Allied? Perhaps. Historically aligned? Without a doubt. But we are still separate clans under separate banners. And right now the two factions in the McKenzies are at a point of mutually assured destruction. They can’t push me out without losing everything in the process. I can’t name a successor without giving them the ammunition to destroy the clan. Neither side can move without both sides losing. So until someone makes a misstep significant enough… we are at a stalemate.”

Lady Tara

Ragna tapped a finger to her lips, “What about mutual heirs? Descendants of those couples? That could, without directly requesting aid of Clan Edman, legally offer you their support, take their place as clan? Would that make a difference at all, or only create more problems? It is common, for us, that people find their heritage and come and request formal recognition as a member of the clan with no rank or position, just family.” She tapped her finger to her lips again, “What about money? From what Seamus says wealth is all they care about. Can their access to money be restricted? Only a certain amount a month, or it requires your signature to remove the funds they want? Without money then they can’t pay the courts…” Then she waved her hand as if to brush it all away, “I’m talking myself in circles. I’m sorry Lady McKenzie, I’m a historian not a politician. I can find you precedence, but I’m afraid unless you want to go with very old laws…”

She stared at Tara a long moment, licked her lower lip and then bit it still contemplating. “Please don’t take offense to this. You are at a stalemate and as things stand it can stay that way for a long time. But…well, the reality is, you won’t live forever. What happens when you aren’t here anymore? The clan descends into chaos, and is absorbed into other clans and disappears.” She sipped the last of her tea, “What is this ammunition specifically, naming a successor, would give them?
Ragna McKenzie

Tara regarded her for a moment and then said “So what has Seamus told you about his cousin Michael?”

Lady Tara

Ragna got up, getting water in a mug. “More tea or something else, Lady McKenzie?”

“Michael’s father was your oldest son. And I won’t use the words Seamus used, but he was…he didn’t care for his wife or his child. Mike finally had enough and laid his father out,” there was a small tone of pride, maybe, “but his mother wouldn’t leave with him. Then his father killed his mother and then himself. Seamus had a lot to say about that too. I’m sure my sister, Revna, could explain it, how and why it happened that way. You were boarding a transport to go get him when your other son Willam stopped you, and you were forced to go after your grandson or protect the thousands of clansmen under your care.” There was anger and distaste there, but Tara being an astute woman would realize it was at the circumstances and not the people themselves. “Michael McKenzie is a very famous musician. Known for both his punk rock band, but also a highly sought after song writer for any genre you can imagine. His fortune, according to all public records, is well managed. He owns an even more extremely successful chain of bars. Oh and on his mother’s side, I found out on my own, his great great great great grandmother won the Federation Nobel Peace prize for their work in saving orphans, and has a very successful charity, that right now is held in trust because they can’t find Mike after the death of his parents. I’m sure there is something I’m missing.”

Ragna McKenzie

Tara’s face blanched when the mention of Willam was made, and there was an unspoken sadness when Ragna mentioned having to choose between Michael and the Clan. “And there is the ammunition. If Michael were to take over as Chieftain, they would hound his name forever with dispersions and comparisons to his father. His credibility and his judgment would be continuously questioned; and his life made more miserable than his childhood ever was. No… I cannot and will not do that to him. He’s suffered enough.”

Lady Tara

Ragna blinked and reminded herself to think over her words before she spoke because what she just heard was absurd in the circular illogic of it. Not that she could be accused of always being logical. At the risk of being rebuked by the vet proper lady in front of her, she reached over and squeezed her hand briefly. “Lady McKenzie, I don’t think you really can stop that. It’s going to happen, now or when he becomes chief after you. You won’t let Mike abdicate so his life is going to be exposed. And you know what they will find? A good, honorable, loyal man. A man that knows how to treat others, a man that is loving, charismatic, and inspires the same in others. They will find that no part of his life is like his father’s. Mike knows what it is to be in the public eye. And I know this about him because I’ve talked to Revna and I trust her. I know, I can see it on your face the need to protect him.” All this talk reminded her if something Revna always told her. “And right now my sister, Revna, would tell us something very important. We are trying to make decisions about their lives without including them. And I think, no matter how much we want to protect them, love them, help them, give them the best life, we can’t do any of that without including them. Mike has to be allowed to make that choice for himself.”
Ragna McKenzie ‘See I listen…sometimes’

Tara looked at Ragna and reached out and took her hand. “Dear one… he has made that choice. Several times in fact. And I want to be able to respect that… but doing immediately puts Willam’s son as next in line. As I cannot allow that, I have to keep the idea of Michael as a possibility alive.” and she squeezed Ragna’s hand and the let go and leaned back.

Her dander was up as her Da would put it. She liked Tara, but what she just heard tweaked her temper. It sounded like Tara didn’t care what Mike wanted for himself, he was a pawn. And she simply could not accept, after what Seamus told her and the way she talked about Mike, that.

Chuckling, she then said “Perhaps we will be fortunate and he and your sister will have a child before I am gone. Then our problems are solved.” and she sighed and shrugged.

Lady Tara

Ragna’s eyes flashed and she hissed in a breath, heat flooded her and she very deliberately laid her palms flat against her thighs and breathed. Decorum, station, clan chief be d@#+Ed. She spoke quietly, not raising her voice at all, which was a feat. “I very much hope I misunderstand you. You are willing to put a child, a baby, as yet not conceived, at the mercy of these cousins. To be compared to Mike’s father, the unworthiness your children and grandchildren perceive Mike to be, but you won’t let a grown man speak for himself? You would feed this child to the wolves at your door? Or perhaps use it as a shield at the very least? Because that’s what it sounds like.” She liked Tara, she did, and she didn’t want to fight with Seamus’s family, and so she was willing to hear Tara out. It was a measure of how much she lived Seamus that she wasn’t flying off the handle, or screaming like a banshee.
Ragna McKenzie

Tara’s face went stone. Her eyes flashed as brilliantly as Ragna’s; and even though she spoke with a calm, even tone; there was a razor’s edge clear and bright with every word.

“Child… you have sense enough to not raise your voice to me, which shows you have some sense at all… I suggest you use that right now; lest this meeting go in decidedly different fashion than it has up to this point. Now think before you speak, and listen to those who have lived and learned hard lessons… a child born of Michael and your sister does not have Michael’s father’s legacy to contend with, now do they? No. Michael was an adolescent when his father did what he did, so his child born now would be so far removed from that tragedy as to be immune to comparisons. Indeed, such would only serve to make a fool of whomever did so publicly. And for you to think I would throw a babe such as that to the mercies of those who would harm it is insulting and demeaning to me at its core. I will chalk that misstep on your part up to youth and passions not yet tempered by experience. But know this, Ragna… if you ever open your mouth and insult me like that again, I will show you exactly why age and experience overcome youth and exuberance every time, your blade championships be damned.” and she stared at Ragna for a long moment before blinking and returning to her previous state of calm.

“Now…” and she took a breath and leaned back in her chair slightly, “… refill our teas and we can continue to discuss the future. Or, if you prefer, I can adjourn to the house and you can simply tell Seamus to call me when he returns. As this is your home, I will defer to your wishes.”

Lady Tara

Ragna saw red. Her Da was going to kill her. Seamus…she had no idea what he was going to do. She stood but even she was unsure what she was going to do. She walked away from the table, refilled the kettle, set it to the fire and reminded herself to breathe. Ragna was not impressed by Tara’s little show. She gave herself time to make sure her voice was measured and thoughtful. She didn’t want to hurt Seamus and hurting Tara would hurt him. But she wouldn’t be cowed by a woman who was too afraid to do what must be done. “You speak in circles, Lady McKenzie. First you, and Seamus too, tell me that these ‘cousins’ have no care for how things should be or truth or legalities. That it doesn’t matter that Mike is not his father. That all they care about is power and wealth. And now you want me to believe that they would accept and leave alone a child of Mike and Revna’s simply because it would be 1 generation removed? A child that would block their access to power and wealth? As you said only a fool would do so, but then only a fool makes a child pay for the sins of the parent. They are all fools the lot of them, and they will do it because they currently are getting away with it. And they will teach those same misvalues to their children.”

She placed tea into both cups and poured water into each but did not resume her own seat. Instead she reached up to the rafters taking down several of the dried herbs and setting them on a cutting board. With a practiced, delicate hand she began making mixtures to replace the tea they had used. “You said the game must be played, and that it will be played. So wait, wait for Mike and Revna to have a baby, but if the game isn’t finished by the time that child is born, assuming Revna would even want a child, that child will become a player in that game.” Then she turned and looked at her, her calm having returned. “My blade championships have no bearing here. I would never, but I won’t take insult at your words. You don’t know me. You see a child, instead of a woman who would be your friend, nor a Lady of title in her own right. You see youth and foolishness, where there is only fierce protectiveness. I am not at odds with you, Lady McKenzie. This,” she waved around the house, “is your land, your house, but even if it weren’t, you would always be welcome here. You are Seamus’s grandmother, you are our family, and though we may not always see eye-to-eye there is nothing more important than family and clan.” What Ragna didn’t say was she thought Tara should turn that highborn stuck up ire on her children and grandchildren and clean her house. She turned back to the tea mixtures, opening the jars and mixing the fresh with what was already there. Then she meticulously went through each of the other jars examining them for freshness and making new mixtures for the ones that had gone stale.
Ragna McKenzie

“And what you have failed to see is that my comment about a child was hyperbole and an attempt at levity. Perhaps a poor one on my part, then.” Tara stood up and said “Thank you for the tea, Ragna. I look forward to enjoying your company again when things are not perhaps so… tense.” and she simply turned and went to the door. Ahe opened in the face of a startled Seamus who looked at her in surprise and said “Seanmhair! Hello! Did… um… I think we should talk.” Tara patted his bearded cheek and said “Dinner tonight at the house. You and your bride. She is quite pleasant.” and Tara stepped outside. There was a reflection of blue lights on Seamus’s face, and then he blinked and looked inside at Ragna.

“Um… what the hell just happened?” he asked, still in shock.

Seamus

“You ran into your grandmother as she was leaving,” Ragna finished with the last of the teas and then poured him a mug of water and set it on the table. Ragna wasn’t sure if that ended well or not. The house wasn’t burning and she didn’t have a knife in her gut. And Last McKenzie wanted to spend time with her again....maybe to kill her then??? Dinner, with her, that meant ....regalia....she sighed. Ragna wondered which god she’d angered this time. Of course it was her so there was a long list. Ragna was quiet as she took the used tea cups and began to clean them.
Ragna MxKenzie

Seamus stood in the doorway, a pheasant in his hand already cleaned and dressed, and looked at Ragna… then to where Tara had been… the back to Ragna. He took a breath, then went inside and shut the door. He set the bird on the cutting board by the sink, washed his hands, dried them, then put them on his wife’s shoulders and gently turned her to face him.

“Ragna.. lass… what happened? Neither you nae Lady Tara are the kind ta speak like that. Wha’ happened? An how cannae help ya, my love?”

Seamus ‘Let’s Try This Patience Thing’ McKenzie

Gods she loved the way he said her name. She blinked up at him. “We need a lock on the door, Angus is broken. She walked in while I was naked, I thought it was you, and said things…I made her tea and we talked. Interesting history our clans have…I gave her Revna’s letter, she grilled me in fine minute detail about us. She intends to do the same to you later. I have been warned if our stories don’t line up I shall face severe repercussions. We talked about Mike and Revna, and the problems there. I told her she should talk to my father. I also suggested that Mike, and maybe Revna, should be included in these discussions and decisions since the affect their lives. That we should not make choices for them. She said Mike made his choice clear but she had to keep the idea of him going.” She was probably about to make him mad. “Then she said if Mike and Revna would hurry up and have a baby it would fix everything.” There was no hiding the anger the thought brought. It would be a toss up if Seamus knew her well enough or not to know it anger born of protectiveness and love and not just hot-headedness. “I lost my temper. I asked, I did not tell, I asked her to explain because it sounded like she was suggesting letting their child be thrown into the fray. She got insulted. I don’t care. It was poor taste and classless to even exaggerate such a thing. She asked for more tea, I made it. She said she would go to the house or stay it was up to me. I told her to stay, she’s family and is always welcome even if we don’t agree.”
Ragna McKinzie

Seamus hugged her to him and said “Ok… easy. I can see why ya got angry…” and he just held her for a minute. When he finally separated himself from her, he pulled out a chair and said “Sit, love…” and he pulled off the kettle, made two teas, set the kettle back, and then pulled a bottle from the cabinet and added a splash of whiskey to each. He set them down on the table and sat himself.

“So… somethin’ about her that ya need to know. She is a good woman. One of the two best I have ever known.” and he winked at her. “But she never… and I mean never… makes children a target for anything. Hell, lass… thats what all a’ dis is about. She sheltered Michael as a kid and now its biting her in tha ass. So if she made a crack about Michael and Revna having a kid? That’s all it was… a crack. And the fact that she felt comfortable enough around to even try and joke speaks volumes. Besides love… this is a sh!+e situation… we gotta find what small reasons we can to try and laugh, otherwise we’ll never find our way outta it.”

Seamus


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