The Warrior's wager

by Mia Pride

  Removing her hand off Aislin’s, Elwynna frowned and wrapped her shaky hand around the mug. Her bright yellow dress and shining golden blonde locks did not fit the somber mood of the room one bit. “Nay, I cannot blame you for what you believe you saw. I can only tell you that it was, once again, Alastar being caught in an innocent position that looked horrible. He was begging me to leave. He said he needed to get you back and if you came home to find me here, you would never forgive him. I promised him I would change his dressing and leave. What you saw was me rubbing salve on his wound before I wrapped it, and what you heard was Alastar trying to convince me that I would be all right without him. And… he was right,” she beamed.

  Aislin sat up straighter, feeling like a fool twice over, and decided to keep the subject on Elwynna. “So… you and Àdhamh…” Elwynna flushed a deep shade of red and hid a smile as she stared down into the depths of her mug. “How did that happen?”

  “I had nowhere to stay and begged not to be sent back to my father. He is a terrible man and allowed men to… use me,” she whispered.

  “I am very sorry, Elwynna. Nay child should be treated that way.”

  “My thanks. Though I was gravely injured, it was blessing, for I was able to stay behind and heal. Thanks to Maggie and Àdhamh, who gave me a safe place to recover and fought to allow me to stay, I am here now… though I feel guilty, once again, that I have brought strife to your people. I feel like I am a disease. I only bring pain everywhere I go, though I try so very hard to be kind.”

  “Elwynna.” It was now Aislin’s turn to grab the other woman’s hand. “You have done naught wrong. What happened between me and Alastar is on both of our shoulders. He is a man who lived freely his entire life and is still learning how to be a proper husband. And I am a stubborn woman who never wanted to marry or fall in love in the first place. It happened so fast and scared me terribly. I had so much to lose, and when I saw him that day with you, it was easy to convince myself that I had been right to avoid love from the start. I wanted to keep my pride but all I did is destroy the one man in the world I would do aught for.”

  “Then ‘tis time you show him that.”

  “How?” Aislin asked with a resigned shrug. “I have been such a fool.”

  “We are all fools. I see now that what I felt for Alastar was a childish love for a lad who had been a large part of my life growing up. I held onto it for so long because it was the only happiness I had ever felt in my life. I admit to being devastated when he told me he had a wife he loved, but that devastation soon wore off as I spent my evenings and late nights staying up speaking with Àdhamh,” Elwynna’s voice trailed off as she said his name with reverie. “He is such a good man with a great heart and he treats me so very kindly. ‘Tis early days for us, but I know it in my heart. This is real. I am sorry I gave you trouble with Alastar and I just want to see you both happy together. I will do anything to help.”

  Aislin stopped and stared silently at Elwynna for a moment. How could she not like this woman? She was kind, honest, and, for a lass who had been so mistreated in life, she had a certain innocence to her. “What do you have in mind?” she quirked a curious red brow.

  “I am not certain just yet. Give me a day or two to think. I am so very good at schemes,” Elwynna said with a mischievous waggle of her brow.

  “And you say I am scary. Elwynna, you are terrifying. I am only grateful you will use your schemes to my benefit.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I will not allow that bastard to have her,” Àdhamh growled as he, Alastar, Tuathal, and more than a score of warriors marched toward the gate with swords, spears, bows, and shields. “I do not wish to start a war, but I cannot let him take her.”

  “I will not let him have her, I vow,” Tuathal replied calmly. “She is an innocent lass under my protection. She has a place within our tuath, correct?” Their king halted and put a hand out to stop Àdhamh in his tracks with his hand out. “You are willing to keep her within your house as your ward? Keep her safe?”

  Àdhamh cleared his throat and looked at Alastar for support. Alastar nodded and smiled encouragingly. “My king, with your permission, I would like to be more than her keeper. I would like to be her husband.”

  Tuathal’s eyes grew wide, clearly surprised by the sudden turn of events. “You have my permission,” Tuathal said with a strong pat on Àdhamh’s back that almost knocked the large warrior on his arse. Truly, sometimes their king did not know his own strength. “I will tell her father you are already married. In this way, he will have nay choice but to leave her here. Will she agree to this?”

  “Aye, I believe she will, My King.”

  “You must marry her as soon as possible, so there is nay question to my claim,” Tuathal added.

  “Nothing would make me happier,” Àdhamh beamed and as they all began to walk again, the man looked as if he was floating. Alastar smiled to himself. It was good to see his companions so happy together and he truly wished them all the best. If only he and Aislin could be so content. His happiness was short-lived as he thought about her promise to consider him. Not to keep him as her husband, but to consider him. It was more than he could ask for, all things considered, but it still bruised his heart.

  He wondered how Aislin and Elwynna fared all alone in his home and what they would discuss. This situation could either be very good or very bad for him, and he decided to look straight ahead at the iron gates and focus on the task ahead.

  As they approached, they saw Mal seated upon his brown horse surrounded by a dozen men. “Where is my daughter?” Mal barked.

  “You cannot have her,” Tuathal crossed his arms in front of him. The gates remained closed as the two leaders spoke.

  “She is my daughter! You have nay right to keep her here!”

  “But she is this man’s wife,” Tuathal said, signaling Àdhamh up to the front with him. “She has chosen to stay with us, where she is treated with respect, and she has married one of my warriors. You should be pleased. Mayhap this is the beginning of a begrudging peace?” Even Tuathal knew his words were laughable as he smirked at Mal. Peace was long gone between the two. This feud would end in blood someday, but not this day.

  “Pleased? I have lost my greatest prize!” Mal blustered. “She kept my best men satisfied! Now I will need to find more whores for our camp! You will pay me in cattle for the loss of her!”

  Àdhamh stormed up to the iron gates and clenched his fists at his side. “You are a cursed bastard and if you ever get near her again, I will slay you myself!”

  Tuathal stepped forward between his blustering warrior and the gates. “Her husband has spoken, Mal. You cannot have her. Leave now, and we can all keep our lives. Argue the point, and you will be the first to die.” When Tuathal spoke, he spoke with an eerie calm that could put the fear of death into any intelligent man, and fortunately, Mal was clever enough to know better than to argue.

  Alastar saw the smug look on Mal’s face just before he turned on his horse and rode away. The man did not care for his daughter. He wanted nothing more than to stir up trouble and continue to poke at Tuathal. War would rage, but for tonight, they were all safe. Nay doubt there would be celebrations and lots of ale in the gathering hall later. All he cared about was getting back to Aislin and using tonight’s festivities to warm her up to him even more. He would wear her down. He needed to make a grand gesture and sweep her off her feet somehow.

  “Looks like you will be a married man soon enough,” he said to Àdhamh, patting his mate on the back with a smile.

  “Aye, I cannot believe my good fortune. I only pray that she will have me.”

  “Och, she will. I could see her love for you in her eyes earlier.”

  “Mayhap now Aislin can forgive you and move on,” Àdhamh suggested.

  “I need her to accept me for the true love I offer her, not because she believes Elwynna is no longer available to me. ‘Tis not how I wish to win her back.”

  Eoin, Flynn, and
Jeoffrey walked up beside Alastar. “I could not help overhearing that you are attempting to win my sister back,” Eoin said. “Just how far are you willing to go?” her brother said with a quirked brow and mischievous grin.

  “Anything. I will do aught to make her see my true love for her.”

  Aislin’s large intimidating father stepped into Alastar’s way. He scowled, crossed his arms like a wall of stone and blocked Alastar’s path. “You wish to have my daughter? Again?”

  Alastar was not afraid of the man, but he did have the utmost respect for him. “Aye, I do.”

  “How do you plan on achieving that? From what I have seen, you are not trying hard enough.”

  Alastar crossed his own arms and squared his shoulders defensively. “I have been stuck in my cursed bed for almost a moon and she refused to go near me. I have pled my case to her, but aside from force, I cannot make her see reason.”

  “Mayhap that is your problem, lad. You are not using enough force.”

  Blinking rapidly, Alastar shook his head in confusion. “You are telling me to force myself on your daughter?” Had he heard the man correctly?

  “I am saying that she is as stubborn as her mother, and requires a lot more than wooing words to be won over. You must make a public spectacle of yourself.”

  Now Alastar was certain her father had lost his mind. Garreth grunted and stepped forward, wrapping a strong arm around Alastar’s shoulder so they could walk and talk more privately. “When I was first in love with Ceara, I made so many mistakes. I was arranged to wed her my entire life. She had grown into quite a beauty, much like our Aislin. But I was not ready to settle down and marry. I much preferred my freedom. Aislin is like me in that way. But Ceara became tired of waiting for me. She called off our marriage agreement and walked away, leaving me feeling lost and desperate to win her back, yet my pride would not allow me to beg.”

  Alastar chortled. “That is where you and I are different, for I have begged, quite profusely, to your daughter.”

  “Did it work?”

  Alastar shrugged. “I am not certain. She said she would think about it.”

  Her father grimaced and shook his head. “She is a stubborn lass. She will hold on to her resentment until you do something grand, in front of everyone, to prove you want her and only her… something that will show every other lass that you only have eyes for her.”

  “I assume you did something similar with Ceara?”

  “I became a jealous fool one night at a gathering. She was dancing with a warrior from another tuath and I did not appreciate his wandering eyes. I barged across the gathering hall with every vein popping out of my neck and carried her over my back, staking my claim on her in front of all. I took her back to my house, married her the next day, and she never left my side again.”

  With a laugh, Alastar shook his head. Somehow, he could see all that in his mind. Garreth did seem the possessive sort. “You are suggesting I carry your daughter out of the hall… over my shoulder. I do not think she will like that, and she is carrying my child. I cannot very well sling her about.”

  “Nay, I was a man out of my mind with possessive rage when I did that. It worked in my favor, but Ceara was furious. I would suggest something a bit more thought out, but still bold and very public. Stake your claim. Make all the other lads see she is yours, and all the other lassies know you are hers.” With a firm smack on the back, Garreth strode off toward his house, no doubt to be with his wife.

  Eoin stepped forward and chuckled. “Did he tell you the story of him and my mother?”

  “Aye. He did.”

  “There is wisdom in his words, Alastar. Think hard on it. My sister loves you. Make her see you will fight for her.”

  The men in her family were all mad, Alastar decided, but they did make some sense, and they were all happily married. Mayhap there was truth to their advice. He would think on it, but for now, he had to get home and make sure his love had not torn Elwynna into pieces.

  Speaking of torn pieces… “Eoin! Wait!” Alastar sprinted to catch up to Aislin’s brother. When he turned around, Alastar said, “I need to go to your home for a moment.”

  “Why is that?”

  Alastar cleared his throat and looked away as he guiltily rubbed his jaw. “I need to get something of your sister’s.”

  With a quirked brow and crossed arms, Eoin silently waited for Alastar to elaborate. He wanted to wipe the suspicious look off her brother’s face but knew he would not gain entrance without explaining. “Curse it man, I need a dress for her,” he said with irritation lacing his voice.

  “A dress? I am certain my sister was dressed when she left the house this morn.”

  “Do not ask. Just give me a cursed dress.”

  With a pointed finger in Alastar’s face, Eoin stepped up and scowled. “You are fortunate you already plan to win her back, otherwise I would be forced to kill you.”

  Her brother would kill him ten times over if he knew what Alastar had been doing to his sister earlier that day, but those details were private, for his imagination only. Just the memory had him breaking into a sweat.

  Dress in hand, he rushed home as swiftly as he could, all the while forming a plan.

  ***

  “Is he always so odd?” Elwynna asked as she helped Aislin into the random green wool dress Alastar had literally flung at her, demanding she dress and get her “sweet arse” to the gathering before shutting the door behind him and leaving them alone again. There was no other greeting and he had not even bothered to update them about Mal, but by the wide smile on his face and the command to join him in the hall, they knew a battle had been avoided and the tuath wished to celebrate.

  “Some days more than others. Today he has burned one of my dresses, then thrown another in my face. So, aye, he is capable of being quite odd. Tis why I love him so,” Aislin said with a smirk as Elwynna carefully plaited her hair for her. “He is never boring.”

  Elwynna laughed and turned Aislin toward her. “I do not know how you are so effortlessly beautiful Aislin, but I must say I do envy it.”

  Aislin snorted and rolled her eyes. “You cannot mean that, Elwynna. The moment I saw you, I knew your beauty outshone mine. I suppose ‘tis the plight of women to always envy another? Let us stop with those useless emotions and move forward as companions.” Aislin put an arm out, hoping Elwynna would clasp it in comradery, but instead the lass pulled her into a tight hug with a giggle.

  Aislin had forgotten for a moment how much more traditional Elwynna was as a woman. She probably never wore trousers, hide skin dresses, used a bow, or clasped forearms with anyone. Still, she was endearing in her own right, and Aislin laughed as she returned her hug. It was a relief to finally put her resentment for both Elwynna and Alastar in the past, where it belonged.

  “I am anxious to see Àdhamh and hear what happened with my father. Do you know what the most amazing feeling is?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye. “I felt completely safe and protected. I knew neither King Tuathal nor Àdhamh would allow my father near me. ‘Tis a most unusual feeling to have men who only care for my well-being. I feel truly blessed to have found Ráth Mór and its people. I am only sorry I caused so much trouble in the beginning.”

  Squeezing her hand, Aislin shook her head. “’Tis I who caused trouble, Elwynna, not you. I am sorry I ever made you feel otherwise.”

  “I suppose we could apologize to one another all night, or we can go find our men, aye?” Elwynna said with a wink. Hand in hand, the lassies left the house and walked together through the village in silence. Who would have ever thought she could find such peace? Now Aislin needed to find a way to correct all her errors with Alastar.

  The night had a biting chill to it, most nights had, but the cloudless sky sparkled with thousands of stars high above, and a half moon hung like a silver beacon guiding them through a blue haze. The sounds of laughter and cheering drifted on the wind before the women had even turned the corner. It did not take much to w
arrant a celebration in this tuath. Stories, ale, laughter, and comradery were not hard to come by here, but on a night such as this, when a small victory had been won simply by avoiding battle altogether, it was a certainty that the entire tuath would be ready to celebrate.

  “Growing up in war camp after war camp, ‘tis a rare treat for me to be surrounded by so much merriment and many other lassies to share it with. And knowing I will not be used by the men…” Elwynna’s voice trailed off at the disturbing memories.

  “Never again, Elwynna. None of us will ever allow that. You belong at Ráth Mór now.”

  Entering the hall, the scent of tallow smoke and ale surrounded Aislin with its pungency. It was a familiar scent, but one that always knocked her back at first. Shoulders bumped together as the crowd shifted. She knew her family would be in here, no doubt close to Tuathal and his throne in the back center of the rectangular room.

  Gripping harder onto Elwynna’s hand, she helped guide them through the crush, maneuvering the crowd with an ease gained from a lifetime growing up with huge, loud warriors and crowded halls. “Everyone is certain to be over here,” Aislin assured Elwynna when she saw a slight panic cross the lass’s face. This was a new experience for her and no doubt with her sordid past, being pressed against so many large men frightened her.

  “This is not your father’s camp,” Aislin assured the woman. “Nay man will touch you. Tuathal would kill any man who dared.” Elwynna nodded trustingly and continued to follow Aislin.

  She first spotted Freyne’s tall frame and his black hair tied back in a cue as he faced away from them. He was holding Alyson’s hand, so Aislin continued in their direction. Next, she also saw the black hair of Brennain and Flynn as they conversed over mugs of ale. Alastar had to be nearby.

  “Lin, my lass!” her father boomed and pulled her into the circle formed by her uncles Brocc and Liam, her aunts Gwynneth and Una, and her mama. “We have been searching for you!”

  Her uncles gave her strong-armed hugs and winks as her aunts and mama beamed at her with wide smiles.