April Holthaus - The MacKinnon Clan 01 (11 page)

“Will ye meet me in the upstairs chamber, my lady?”

“Aye,” she said and walked away towards the stairs.

Watching her walk away made Rory sigh. He thought it was cute the way she sauntered off, huffing and puffing. It made him smile. This wee hellcat of his excited him. Anxiously, he dashed up the stairs behind her.

“What is Dunakin like?” she inquired.

“Are ye worried ye will no’ be happy there?”

“Nay, it’s just besides my grandfather’s, I’ve ne’er really travelled anywhere else,” she said giving him a sad look.

“I promise ye will like it. Dunakin is a massive structure, and can look quite intimidating to outsiders, but my mother has added a womanly touch to the inside making it feel like home. It is built up on a hill a short ways from the village. On the east side of the castle lays Loch Alsh. Many ships and vessels pass through the loch to reach the mainland but we dinna get visitors verra often as we have no port.”

“I heard that the northern Highlands are beautiful.”

“Aye, but no’ as beautiful as ye.”

Rory walked over and stood in front of Annella. He leaned down and planted a soft kiss upon her lips. Eager for his touch, Annella stood on her toes lifting herself closer to him pressing her lips harder to his. She parted her lips as did Rory, only this time it was Annella who bravely swept her tongue inside his mouth tasting his sweetness. Rory rubbed his hands along her sides feeling the curves of her waist and hips. Pressing his hips to hers, he grunted feeling the desire he had for her.

But Rory wanted to bed her properly. He wanted to be married first. Softly biting her lower lip, he slowly pulled away.  

“Have my mother help ye pack yer things. I can send someone later to get what ye need that we can no’ take on the horses. I will see ye in the morning.”

Feeling hazy from the kiss that caused her lack of breathing, Annella smiled and nodded and turned in for the night.

After finishing off the last bite of his oatcake, Rory helped Annella onto her horse. Once the rest of the group was mounted, Rory jumped onto his saddle and grabbed the reins. With Annella riding next to his mother in the middle of the riders, Rory took the lead and kicked Torran into a fast sprint.

Rory knew that in normal conditions it would take him two days ride to ride back to his lands but traveling with women especially with Annella still recovering from her injuries, they would have to add an extra day. Some of the terrain would be rough and he wasn’t sure whether or not the women would sufficiently ride in the mountains. They would have to significantly slow down or he would have to find another route with a more stable path for the horses.

If anything happened to Annella, he would not forgive himself. He glanced over his shoulder to see how she fared and gave her a reassuring smile. She sat on top of her horse with such pride and proficiency. Her reddish hair loosened from its braid and fluttered around her head like wild fire.

Glimpsing over at Ewan who was riding at his left flank, he noticed a wide grin plastered on his face.

“What are ye so happy about?”

“Just waiting for ye to tell me that I told ye so.” Ewan looked towards Annella’s direction and then back to Rory.

Looking at him with cold eyes, Rory replied, “Ye just wait until ye find a lass who tangles up yer thoughts and chains ye down to a marriage contract.”

“Ha. There is no’ a lass in all of Scotland who can tame me,” Ewan said and raced his horse to pass Rory’s.

Traveling deeper into the northern Highlands vast mountain ranges, the cool September wind blew through the valley. Cooler than normal this time of year, Rory became concerned with the fog that seem to fall upon them. Riding in the fog would make their travel much more difficult.

As they entered into the forest, the fog had become dense and blocked out the sun causing poor visibility. Slowing their pace, they cautiously moved their horses into a tighter formation and trotted through the mass of trees. 

“I’m no’ liking the looks of this,” Colin called out.

“Aye. It feels as if there are eyes in these woods,” Ewan agreed.

Rory adjusted himself on his saddle and placed his hand on the hilt of this sword. He too, did not like the look or feel of his surroundings. The Highlands were known to harbor thieves and highwaymen and with such little food and coin that he carried, he couldn’t risk their goods to be stolen by low life swine. 

“Stay close and guard the women,” he said to his men. “Ewan, ye and I will ride ahead.”

“Aye,” his men answered back.

Rory pulled out his sword and carefully observed the sounds around him. It was quiet, too quiet. The wind had died and the leaves had stilled to an eerie silence. Looking around, he scanned the perimeter. Rory was about to give the all clear, just before he heard the sound of a twig breaking under a man’s foot.
Someone’s here
. He held up his fist to halt the riders.

“Men, spread out. Angus, stay here wit the women,” he whispered so the uninvited guests would not be able to pinpoint their location.

“Please dinna go,” Annella uttered to him with uneasiness.  

“It will be fine, lass.” Rory winked at her and looked at Angus, “Watch o’er them.”

“Aye, my laird.”

As the men scattered, Annella watched Rory turn his horse around and trot into the thick fog. She swung her bow around and grabbed an arrow from the quiver strapped to her back and notched it in place. Moving her head from side to side, she readied herself for danger.

She took one glance over to Lady Kenna who was holding onto her reins so tight that she could see her knuckles turning white. She gave her a brief smile and drew her attention back towards the trees.

Please be safe, Rory
. She sent up a few more prayers as she, Angus and Lady Kenna huddled their horses together. Angus moved his in front of them and held out his sword. For such a young lad, he was very brave, Annella thought. Angus had become a very good friend to her. He was always kind and helpful. It was apparent that one day he would become a great warrior and would help lead Rory’s army. She was glad that he was here protecting her, but she wished Rory had stayed. She couldn’t fathom the possibility of him getting hurt.

She wondered who these men hiding in the woods were. Could Stewart and his men have already caught up to them, or per chance just common highwaymen looking to steal loot from travelers? All she could hope for was the lesser of two evils.

Chapter 11

Without warning, an arrow brushed through Annella hair.
What the devil?
Turning around, she saw a long feather tipped arrow lodged deep in the tree directly behind her. She looked over to Lady Kenna as both women’s eyes were wide and jaws were dropped open by the surprise.

“They are o’er here.” Annella heard someone call out from a distance in the fog. She heard the sound of swords clanging together but could not see where they were coming from. It was as if the sound echoed off the surrounding trees. Squinting her eyes, she could see a figure approaching towards their small group.  As the mass grew larger, she grasped that the man charging towards her was not part of their traveling party. He had his claymore held high above his head and was coming right for them. She pulled back her bow string and released her arrow, embedding it into the man’s throat.

Angus looked over at her in shock, impressed by her skill and said, “Nicely done, my lady.”

“I did nay intend to kill the mon. Just render him useless for ye to attack.”

She had never killed a man before and was astonished that she didn’t break down from the remorse. She had always wanted to be a wee warrior but proved herself as a great adversary.

Notching another bow in place, she peeked over to Angus whose sword was held high and gave her a reassuring grin. Looking around the fog anticipating another attack, she suddenly heard a loud thud and for a moment Annella’s heart skipped a beat as her body instinctively shuddered in place. She turned her head towards the sound and locked onto Angus’s eyes. The smile on his face slowly faded.

She saw his head drop down to look at his chest as her eyes followed. In disbelief, she saw the end of an arrow implanted in his chest. Angus instantly dropped his sword and slowly began to lean to the side. Annella threw her arms out to cling onto his shirt to steady him on top of the horse.

“Annella, quickly, we have to get him down from his horse,” Lady Kenna instructed.

Lady Kenna jumped down in between the horses allowing them to block any further danger and held her hands up to hold onto Angus’ waist while Annella climbed down off her horse. Both women used all of their strength to help Angus down.

“Be careful,” Annella said as she held his arms while Lady Kenna grabbed his legs and together, they slowly placed him down on the ground.

Looking at Lady Kenna she asked, “Is there anything ye can do?”

“I dinna ken. The arrow looks to be embedded in his heart.”

She tore his
leine
shirt away from the protruding arrow to examine his wound.

Quietly Lady Kenna lowered her head and said, “I…I’m afraid it is in God’s hands. I can no’ help this lad. Even if I tried to cauterize his wound, I believe there is damage to his heart.”

With tears falling from her cheeks, Annella held his hand. His breaths became more and more unsteady. “It’s ok, Angus. I’m here. Ye can no’ die,” Annella muttered and wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve.

“I…I…die w…wit honor, my lady,” he stammered.

Annella knew that death was inevitable and that Highlanders’ valued honor above all else. Wanting to acknowledge his bravery and valor, she sadly agreed, “Aye, Angus…wit honor.”

Gazing deep into the man’s eyes, she saw the color begin to fade. His eyes began to roll back and his hand went limp in hers.

“Nay, nay. Angus…Angus,” Annella said shaking his upper body in attempt to wake him back up.

Never had she seen life taken from this world in this manner before. To see the soul leave the body while lying in her lap was an overpowering ordeal.

Lady Kenna came up from behind her and Annella buried face inside her soft embrace. After a few moments, Annella heard the sound of rustling leaves and she bolted up and grabbed her bow pointing it in the direction of the commotion. Ewan and Colin came into view.

“Whoa, my lady. It is just us,” Ewan said raising his hand guarding himself from her attack. “What’s wrong?”

“Angus,” she cried out.

They looked beyond the horses and saw Angus’ body lying on the ground. Both men ran over to where he laid and kneeled down before him.

Looking around, Annella began to panic. “Where is Rory? Ewan, where is he?”

“I’m here, my lady,” his voice came from a few yards away.

Annella turned around to see Rory a few feet away returning his sword to its sheath. She ran into his arms.
Thank God
. Rory stood back to look at her and saw her tear-stained face.

“It’s alright, Love, I’m fine. We killed the bandits following us. They were no’ the English and I dinna believe they were Stewart’s men either. Probably just some local thieves trying to…”

Cutting him off in mid-sentence, she shook her head to correct him, “Nay, it’s no’ that. It’s Angus.” She moved to the side clearing his view so that he could see everyone gathering over by the horses.

Rory ran over and saw Angus’s dead body lying on the ground. He put his hand on Colin’s shoulder and bowed his head. Colin had been good friends with Angus.

“We will have to bury the lad. We are still two days ride out and wit the English and Stewart trailing us, we can no’ take him wit us. We will take his sword and his cross medallion to his father. And we will mark his grave.” Rory’s voice was low and full of sorrow over the loss of his squire.

The rest of the men gathered around to give their final goodbyes and blessings and walked away to find materials needed to dig a grave.

The day was already getting late and Rory had decided to set up camp a few yards away. Most of the men went out to hunt for their meal while the others quietly set up the tents. Annella could sense the mourning each of them felt. Angus had become a part of their family, this small band of warriors. Being the youngest, he was the most spirited and easiest one to poke fun at when the men would jest. But he was equal in size and his skill was well respected.

“My lady, the tent is set up for ye and my mother. I feel it is safer to have ye two together. We will have several guards on watch tonight,” Rory said as he came to sit down next to her.

She could see it in his eyes, the regret he felt. She wanted nothing more than to be with him tonight and be held safe in his arms but she knew that he needed to know that she was safe and agreed that it was the best idea.

“Aye, my laird,” Annella said as she got up and walked with Lady Kenna over to her tent to go to sleep.

“I ken that look in yer eyes, cousin,” Ewan said as he sat next to Rory.

“Aye. I’m worried. We still have a lot of land to cover and are now less one person,” Rory said fiddling and carving into the log he was sitting on with his dagger.

“We will get to Dunakin before the English or Laird Stewart reaches us. They will be foolish to attack us then wit our full army behind us. Dinna feel blame for Angus’ death. He was a good mon and did his duty. I have been meaning to ask ye. If Wallace recruits again, I would like yer blessing to join him on my own. Ye will be married soon and have a clan to lead and Colin can manage helping ye lead the men. I am only a warrior. I have no’ a home of my own or wife to leave behind.”

Rory looked at him wanting to deny his request for his blessing but he knew that Ewan would go whether he liked it or not.

“Ewan, ye have a home. Always will. But aye, I would give ye yer blessing but only on one condition. After ye are done ye get yer ugly arse back home to us or yer mother and father would be the death of me for letting ye leave in the first place.” Rory punched him in the arm and both men smiled in amusement.