Prescribed for Love (5 page)

Alasdair
had spent
the entire
night reviewing the witch’s book.
He had
wanted to see if the pages
offered an
y advice on h
ow to cure Ailsa, but had been left disappointed
.
T
he book only seemed to
contain the
uses of herbs and plants
,
none of which seemed promising in this case
.
He could only hope the
long night as a captive
had inspired the witch.
Unable to sleep
with the sun now
cresting
the horizon
,
Alasdair
l
eft his chamber
.

He
went to one of th
e highest
parapets of the castle
to survey his
clan’s
land; this wa
s often his habit when he
could not sleep or
needed to
mull over his thoughts
.
Looking over the rolling hills always filled his heart with pride. The
area
had fallen into disarray under his father’s leadership, but Alasdair had been working diligently to improve and mend his home.
While there was still much to be done,
many things had been rebuilt and recovered
.
Letting his gaze inspect
the outer walls
of Duart Castle
,
Alasdair
’s attention was caught
by
something
fluttering
from the window of the witch’s room.
Frowning, h
e
left his place of reflection to hasten
inside.
Before the
chamber door within moments,
Alasdair
pushed through both it and the man standing guard.

Branan
, the current guard on duty,
followe
d
him
and upon noticing the missing witch
asked
, “How did she get out?
Do ye
think she used magic?”

“Nay
, she didna
e need
magic,” replied
Alasdair
coldly.

“
How do ye ken
?” asked Branan
.
Alasdair
direct
ed the guard toward the window, “Ye are correct Laird, s
he
did
nae
need
magic
to escape
, but
I certainly hope she used it to make a new dress,”
Lifting a piece of torn black fabric
he smiled wickedly
, “
Otherwise, she will be wandering about the countryside nearly naked
.”

As Branan laughed at
his
own
joke
, Cailen
arrived
to take the next shift
.
Quickly
comprehending
the
current situation he asked
, “S
hall we follow her?”

“Nay, let her go.
Her flight only reveals there is nothing she can do for Ailsa,” replied
Alasdair
.
He paused for a brief moment to
reign in his emotions
,
“W
ell, now that ye are both free, ye can join me in the lists
.
”

***

Cat was exhausted. While
on horseback,
the
journey to the castle
had only
taken the better part of one
day, but
on
foot
it
had
t
aken
her
almost
three
.
Granted, the majority of the delay
had
been a result of Cat’s
fear of discovery
.
Worried that her kidnappers may give chase
, she
had
t
aken great
pains to avoid
the main road.
She
had
follow
ed
its path, but under the cover of the surrounding brush or trees.

By the time she reached the witch’s h
ut, her
once-beautiful shoes
were
completely
destroyed
and had given her callouses that she doubted would ever heal
.
Note to self: Next time you decide to get yourself kidnapped, make sure you are wearing sneakers and jeans
.
The state of her silk
dress
almost made her want to cry; the sleeves were r
idd
led with
tears
and snags.
She had never b
een that concerned with fashion
, but this
little black dress
had been a
symbolic
victory for her.
The ridiculously over-priced
item
had
represented
a
turning
point in Catriona’s life
, a point in which she no longer needed to pinch every penny
.
Her only consolation was that by now she was
almost
completely
un
recognizable.
If someone were to come across her now, they might mistake her for a wild yeti
.
I bet
this is how all those Big
foot rumors get started.

Catriona’s stomach
enhanced
the
impression
she was a
wild creature
when it let out a loud growl.
The
first day of her escape
she had eaten some mints she had tucked away in her bra.
Cat
had felt vindicated when she had pul
led
out the candies
. Others
had
often
been disgusted by her habit of using her bra as an extra pair of pockets,
but she had always thought they were far too convenient to not use
advantageously
.
Beginning on the second day
, Cat
had
only managed to find infrequent sources of clean water. She had seen an occasional berry
,
but was unfamiliar with the flora of the area—she did not want to risk eating something poisonous.
So at this point in time, she had not
had a significant meal since the morning of graduation.

Catriona’s
attention was redirected back to the hut as
t
antalizing smells
wafted from
the domicile.
Her legs began to move her forward under their own volition.
However
, her forward progress
stopped
when her mind took notice of
t
he emergence of an old woma
n.
The last thing
Cat
needed was to
possibly reveal herself to her
kidnappers.

The woman may have been old, but her movements were l
ithe and steady as she gathered
herbs
from her garden.
When the woman
rose
to go back inside, Cat
decided to circle the hut to see if there was anyone else within
the vicinity.
Reassured that
the woman was indeed alone
,
Cat
resolved to
approach the woman directly. After all,
this was
her
only lead
regarding her arrival
here
.
She reasoned that even if the woman had any foul intent, Cat could easily subdu
e her and escape
.
Catriona
approached
cautiously
and
knocked on the door.

“Hello? Oh good! Ye are back.
I was wondering how long it would
be until
ye
return
ed
,” greeted the witch.

“
Wait…what?
How did you know I was coming back here?
” asked a confused Catriona.

“Well, I
couldnae be sure
, but I
had
hoped.
My name is Elspeth by the wa
y,” rattled
the old woman.

“
Were you involved in
my
kidnapping?” asked Cat
.
She decided to dive right into the heart of the matter
since the woman had obviously been expecting her.

“Kidnapping?
Nay, nothing
as
terrible as that occurred,” assured Elspeth.

This statement baffled Cat.
“What do you mean?
I was brought here against my will.
How is that
not kidnapping?”

“I have most of the answers to yer questions, and I will gladly tell ye, but first let me get ye some soup.
Ye look half starved,” replied
the old woman.
Cat must have been more tired and hungry than she thought, because she
could not gather enough energy to
resist as the old woman sat her down at a table and placed a bowl of soup in front of her.
Seeing Cat warily eye the bowl
the woman
said, “Eat child, it is nae
poisoned.”
She further demonstrated her point by taking a spoonful.
Elspeth continued,
“
I have plenty of answers, but I doubt ye will want to hear them.
I must insist that ye let me fully explain before ye begin badgering me with questions.
Y
e
ken
?”
At Catriona’s nod,
the woman
commenced her explanation
,
“
The best way to begin might be to
tell ye
my family history.
For generations, my family has lived in this hut with the purpose of protecting the people of
Scotland
. While there are often skirmishes between the clans, we never take sides
—we simply lend aid where we can
.
We
have
all had one
skill or another that
has caused the
people to consider us witches.
I dinnae
necessarily agree with the description, but it is
accurate enough.
” Cat was having trouble keeping up with the old woman’s
whirlwind explanation.
“
One of my ancestors was extremely
adept at
spe
lls providing protection or aid
.
On
e
such
spell was place
d on her favorite book of he
rbs
.
This particular spell i
s actually quite fascinating—w
henever
an individual is in great need, they
can simply
ask the book for help.
If the need is determined great enough, the spe
ll will provide a solution
…even if
what is necessary
is hundreds of years away
,”
finished the witch with a knowing glance.

Cat stared at the woman waiting for her to continue. But, she realized the woman thought this explanation was enough.
“So, you’re trying to tell me I’ve trave
lled back in time?” scoffed Cat.

“Assuming ye come fro
m a year after 1412, then aye.
Now, ye promised ye
would
nae
interrupt, let me finish.
”

“But I didn’t interrupt, you…”

“
A few days ago
I found ye unconscious on top of the book,” continued the witch, not letting Cat finish her protest,
“B
ut
,
sin
ce I didna
e
wish to wake
ye,
I let ye be while I went
about my business
.
I was verra
upset to find ye gone when I returned.
I wanted to
discover
what wish ye made
that brought ye here
so I could be of help
.” The finality in this last sentence indicated that this time, Elspeth was actually done with her tale.