by Fiona Faris
The clansmen and women had also done much to comfort the Chieftain’s family during this difficult season. They had held a feast in honor of James, had called for his name to be known for its greatness and the fact that he had rescued his kin so selflessly.
And even still, in the midst of that, there was the pain of the fact that everyone knew James had been a spoilt lad. All knew that he was rarely wise and frequently out for himself. Whatever his reputation had been, it was as if he had become a new human altogether in that the memory of him was something to be honored and spoken highly of.
Siusan was glad for it. She was relieved that no matter how her brother had behaved, he would still have his name in a position of pride.
She hoped only that her parents would think the same of her once she was gone. And she hoped that they would manage to survive whatever decision they made against the Campbells.
Siusan still wondered whether or not she and Uilleam would be a part of the plan for what remained ahead, but she sensed that he was coming upon his own ideas and would divulge with her in time.
It was strange that there had been no attack since the rescue of Shona and Siusan. Was it possible that the Campbells had given up? Would they now be safe?
Or were they simply biding their time and regrouping? That was the way of Highlanders, after all. Even a man like Cailean would be unlikely to settle for being beaten. Siusan was not looking forward to his day of reckoning, but she was more concerned about Uilleam and her father’s safety.
Siusan wondered if she might convince them both to be gone for a season.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The road to Meggernie’s ruins
The next day
“Aye, lad, you need a guard with you,” Angus insisted, ignoring Uilleam’s resistance.
Uilleam finally sighed. “If you wish it…”
“I do. I’ll not have you going off on your own. If I could spare the men, I would send you with a full army, but you know as well as I that we canna do that it just now. It’s been quiet of late. Too quiet. Whatever Neil Campbell has planned, he’s taking his time with it,” Angus mused aloud.
Uilleam and Alpin, his guard, set out an hour later with all they would need for a few days’ journey. Aware that the trip would not be a happy one, they intended to keep it brief, and if possible, no more than a day.
Arriving at Meggernie, the sight that came before Uilleam and Alpin was nothing short of horrific. Neither of them could have quite anticipated the vision of the rubble, but for Uilleam, it was beyond the worst of his imaginings.
When he dismounted from the steed, mouth wide open in desperation and anguish, Alpin as well jumped down and followed him through the chunks of stone and the weeds that were starting to grow up around them.
Uilleam seemed unable to speak or think as if all of his nightmares had not prepared him to actually see his home destroyed like this. He couldn’t be blamed, it was a horrible sight to behold, and no man should have to see the grave of so many that he cared about.
Feeling the temptation to dig through the rubble, Uilleam pushed the thoughts away. Whatever remained, he didn’t want to see it. He didn’t wish to see men he cared for rotting away beneath the stones.
There was a stench of death still in the air, and the occasional bone was seen jutting through piles of stone, picked clean by birds or wild beasts. The tomb was wide open to the world, and any who passed by would merely see the destruction and shame of Meggernie, home of the MacGregors.
It was no wonder that the whole of the clan had dispersed or died. Although they saw the tartans of the Campbells in places, evidencing the loss on both sides, it was clear that the MacGregors, small in number though they already were, suffered the greater loss.
“Uilleam Mor,” Alpin began, uncertain if they ought to leave quickly.
It was not good to linger here among so much death. Uilleam wouldn’t speak, and Alpin could not convince him to. His grief was too powerful. He would not last long here among all of this pain and shock.
“Alpin…” he finally began, turning to him as if he might speak. But only his mouth drooped further, and he nodded that it was time to move on.
“Uilleam Mor…you have seen enough,” Alpin told him with compassion in his eyes.
But whatever the future held, Uilleam knew that he would find a reason to fight again. He would work hard to bring the MacGregor clan back together he would not let his people down. He was their new chieftain, and that meant more to him than a lost battle.
The knowledge that his father was in there somewhere, that was the thing that brought the most pain, but Uilleam tried to focus on what the future held. He considered the father he might be someday, perhaps then he would manage to recover from some of the pain of having seen the remnants of this battle.
“Uilleam Mor, we must leave,” Alpin urged again.
“I know. I know we must, and yet pulling myself away from here, leaving when I know how wretched the battle truly was? It is not an easy thing to simply leave. It is not an easy thing to try and forget. My faither is in there. My friends. My brothers in the clan and my kin. It is not an easy thing at all to leave them to this,” he explained, finally allowing himself to speak.
“I cannae imagine the pain of seeing this. I understand that the loss of anyone makes everything seem worthless. But you have to remember that you fought hard and you rescued many. I understand that our clan isna the MacGregors, but we are still men of the same blood,” Alpin reminded him. Uilleam sensed that the guard, randomly appointed to him, was uncomfortable, but trying his best to support.
Having a stranger come alongside him for this occasion was difficult. Uilleam wished it had been Siusan, although it would not have been safe. But still, he was thankful for Alpin and the fact that the guard was trying.
But perhaps it wasn’t the same. The fact that he saved those of another clan without being here for his might affect him. But Uilleam knew that whether he was willing to confess it or not, it was a good thing he had not been at the battle.
If he had been, he would have perished along with the rest. Then there would have been no one remaining to bring his clan back together. He was the chieftain now, and that was worth something.
“Right then, on we go,” Uilleam finally decided.
Within hours of setting out to return to Clyth Castle, the two men crested upon a hill. From there, they were able to see far and wide. But the sight that reached Uilleam’s eyes was one of horror.
In a tight voice, a voice that echoed every dying scream of Meggernie and every battle thrill he had ever experienced, Uilleam warned Alpin.
“The Campbells are coming.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Glen Orchy
Later that day
“Uilleam, what is it?” Angus asked, unnerved by the speed and intensity with which the MacGregor was coming towards him.
“Angus Mor, they are coming. We saw them. As we journeyed back from Meggernie. An army of the Campbells is headed this way. They will be here by nightfall,” Uilleam said in a rush of air.
Angus looked at him with momentarily wide eyes that then settled into resignation.
“I knew the time would come,” Angus sighed.
Then, all at once, Angus changed his behavior entirely and became the Chief that Uilleam knew him to be.
“Lads! Ready yourselves for battle. You ken what to do. We’ve planned and spoken, but now it is time to act. We’ll not let those Campbell buggers stop us from ruling our own lands. On you go! That’s it!” he instructed as men around him rushed off to prepare and spread the word that the battle would soon begin.
Uilleam left Angus, having made plans of what his duty would be, and went to find Siusan. When he saw her in the courtyard, he rushed beside her.
“Is it true? Are they coming?” she asked him with fear in her eyes.
“Ay, lass, they’re coming. But we have a short time. Come with me, come to the gardens,” Uilleam urged, seei
ng that they were too in the open in the courtyard.
Siusan followed him, with their hands grasped together, into the gardens outside of the castle. When they had gone deep into a wall of rose bushes, Uilleam finally slowed his pace and turned to face her.
“Lass, we don’t ken what’s to come. There’s no telling, and it’s very likely that we’ll not all make it. Soon they’ll have you sent off with the other lassies for safe keeping with your mum. But for now, will you give me those blooming lips of yours?” Uilleam insisted, not waiting for Siusan to answer before he met her with his own.
Their kiss was strong and sweet. Uilleam didn’t know if he or any of the men of the small Gunn army would survive the battle. But he knew that he would make every effort. He knew that this was all for Siusan. And he knew that she was worth it.
They took their time in the gardens, enjoying the feel of one another in this hidden place. Uilleam pulled Siusan down to the ground and rolled on top of her, brushing his lips along her neck and to her earlobe.
Siusan gave a sigh of satisfaction while Uilleam stroked her arm.
“What do you think, lass? Here and now?” he prodded, wiggling his eyebrows. He almost made a joke about it being the last chance they might ever have to make love, but Uilleam stopped himself, knowing that it would only hurt Siusan to think of. Besides, he saw in her eyes that she already knew well that he could very easily die that day.
“Or perhaps we could run off and be far away from here when we do. What do you think? We could run. We don’t have to stay,” she said with a note of hope in her voice. The words that came from Siusan were unrealistic, and Uilleam saw that she knew it, that even Siusan did not believe them to be possible.
But she asked for it anyway. Desperate to be rid of all thoughts of death and horror, she could dream of a world in which she and Uilleam were far from the battle.
He gave her a sad little smile as if he were trying to consider it. But Siusan replied by bringing her lips back to his. And for what could have been the last time, Siusan pulled Uilleam close between her legs, and they indulged in their desires for one another until both had reached the satisfied exhaustion that brought with it a peace found nowhere else.
“Well lass, if anything does happen to me, I’m quite certain that would bring me back to life,” Uilleam teased as he lay beside her. Siusan rolled her head and glared at him for even suggesting that some harm might befall him.
But finally, Uilleam sighed and sat up.
“It’s time, lass. You ought to go join the women. You ken I’ll come for you as soon as I’m able. Wherever you may end up at the end of this night, I’ll come and find you if I can,” Uilleam promised.
Siusan nodded, and Uilleam helped her to stand.
They both redressed and with a final kiss, Siusan left the garden.
A horn blew in the quiet to alert the small clan to the fact that the enemy was approaching. All took their places and waited, listening to the sound of a thousand soldiers, a hundred on horseback, closing in.
“Uilleam Mor, it is an honor to fight beside a MacGregor,” Angus said from atop his steed.
“Angus Mor, I am glad to fight alongside the Clan Gunn. And after tonight, our alliance shall always be fixed as such,” Uilleam committed.
The sound was growing louder, and the smaller clan tried to remain firm despite the air of tension and the knowledge that the battle was already lost.
“I wish we’d finished it at Kylguhurne,” Angus lamented.
“You and me both. But it’s come here, and we’ll make sure it ends tonight for the benefit of us all. Worry not, Angus Mor,” Uilleam said, taking in a deep breath.
Then, from just beyond the meadow, something like a shadow began to appear over the grass. The fading light caused it to appear as if an ethereal presence had arrived.
But Uilleam knew the truth. It was them. The Campbells were there.
It remained quiet as the army filtered onto the land surrounding Clyth Castle. Only the sound of their feet on the earth echoed in the night air. And riding to the front, as if cowardice were not a part of him, Cailean Campbell emerged.
“Angus Gunn! I give you one chance. Honor your promise. Give me my property. Make your whore-child my wife and give me the useless body of Uilleam MacGregor. Save your clan. Spare them. That is my only demand,” Cailean declared.
From the lowest balcony, hovering just above the courtyard, Angus looked down upon Cailean.
“And why would I give my daughter to a man who calls her such? Why should I trust you, Cailean Campbell, to honor your word at any time given all that you’ve done?” Angus asked in reply.
“Because it is the only solution that will leave the rest of your clan alive, Angus Mor. There is precious little hope should you not do as I command,” Cailean swore.
“If I should give you my daughter and the body of her husband, I ken well what you will give to us in return. You will not leave our lands to our own peace. Rather you will overrun us. You will claim unity, and you will take all that we have for your own. I would not agree to this even if I had precious little hope in your words,” Angus replied.
Cailean roared in anger and retreated within the first line of his troops.
“Àrd-Choille!” Uilleam Mor cried in reply. “Royal is my race!”
“Àrd-Choille!” came the echo from the Clan Gunn.
The cry brought Uilleam a sudden surge of confidence. He knew all that his clan had done to protect themselves and to defend their lands. Here he was, fighting on behalf of another clan for the same thing. But he was not a Gunn. He was a MacGregor. And he was proud to be one.
The Campbells surged forward, ready to strike. In reply, the hidden soldiers of the Gunns poured out from places the Campbells had not expected. Although they were small in number, they were deep in strategy.
From the ground, traps sprung, where doors hidden within the earth brought soldiers onto land to meet with their foes, landing them in the middle of the battle where they could cut down the unsuspecting enemy.
Uilleam and Angus ran down the stairs and through the front to join the forces of the dragoons who had dismounted into the fray of battle.
Then, in another act of surprise, a second wave surprised the Campbells when they flooded from behind Clyth’s walls.
But Uilleam still saw Cailean atop his horse. He was in the thick, surrounded by his own soldiers who remained at his side to protect him. A wicked grin was spread across his face.
It gave Uilleam another surge of strength, and he grabbed the reigns of the nearest abandoned mount before swinging himself up to the back of the steed. Uilleam rode forward, urging the horse into a swift run straight for Cailean. Along the way, the beast trampled any soldier who failed to get out of the way, and none were able to cut him down.
Cailean’s grin seemed to change entirely to a look of panic.
“Cut him down!” he ordered in a hasty shout.
One man came at Uilleam with sword drawn, ready to cut the legs of the horse, but Uilleam thrust his own sword out, and the man’s arm was severed before it ever came down.
Cailean was coming close within reach, and Uilleam knew that if he failed to stop his mount, he would come crashing into his enemy.
With a swift thought and no attention to the consequence, Uilleam thrust his left leg over the back of the beast and leaped off from his mount, tucking his body for the roll when he hit the ground hard.
The breath was knocked from his lungs as anticipated, but he had just long enough to recover when he looked up and saw that there had been success in his plan.
The horse crashed into Cailean’s mount, and man and steed were knocked over. Uilleam groaned as he got to his feet and saw that a few of the guards surrounding Cailean had been knocked down in the chaos.
As for Cailean, he was trapped under the body of his horse. Uilleam hobbled over in a rush and was grateful when the Gunn soldiers noticed and rushed in to fight back any who might be preparing to do ba
ttle with the MacGregor.
“So this is how you would kill me?” Cailean asked breathlessly, looking up at Uilleam.
“Not a chance. There’s no victory in that,” Uilleam replied. He helped the horse in its efforts to regain its legs. Soon it was up and running off.
“Now, stand and I’ll be ready to kill you,” Uilleam said, instructing Cailean.
“You don’t seem to be in great shape yourself, just now,” Cailean mocked, although it was clear he was still in agony. Uilleam guessed he had a couple of broken bones from the force of the horse landing on him. Certainly, a rib or two had been cracked.
“No, indeed, that jump took a lot out of me,” Uilleam said. “But not so much as killing you will return.”