by Ria Cantrell
Roderick was relentless and if there was any goodness left in his brother Derek, it was soon poisoned and tainted with the evilness spawned by Roderick. Roderick’s need for the drink soon became his driving force and while to most it would render a body to babbling foolishness, to Roderick it fueled his nastiness. Aye, he was mad and he was known to be prone to rambling incoherently because of it, but it made him meaner than a snake. He wanted the MacCollums’ heads on platters, I have nay doubt about that, and above all, he wanted to see Ruiri MacCollum fall.
On that fateful day when the MacCollum men were off to Ruiri’s wedding with Caitlyn McLeod, Roderick dinna’ care how many he took down. He cared nay for the innocence of one woman nor for the babe she carried. In truth, I dunna think he ever anticipated such a windfall as the one that happened into his lap that day. He would have ne’er imagined his good luck at such a thing for in that horrible act, Ruiri was destroyed more than any cut from any sword could have inflicted on him. Death was not the worst that could have been done to Ruiri that day. Nay, Ruiri had to live with the loss of Caitlyn ever in his heart. That suffering was more than Roderick could have ever hoped for.
Even after Ruiri found love again, he carried the weight of that day upon him and no amount of healin’ would ere fix that part of him. Oh, Roderick was beside himself with joy over that unexpected outcome for the man he had deemed his mortal enemy. I think, because Ruiri and he were close to the same age, it was all the more reason to hate him the way that Roderick did.
Roderick fueled his hatred for the MacCollums, but he focused it toward Ruiri most of all. He sought ways to taunt Ruiri at every opportunity and in the end, he really wanted to cause Ruiri the most pain before he actually took Ruiri’s life; aye at least he had tried to. For ye’ see, Roderick Campbell wanted Ruiri dead and he fed the legends that had cropped up against Ruiri as the Wolf of Highlands. Only, he named Ruiri a monster, and did nay give him the merit of the honorable and admirable warrior he truly was.
Prior to his death, Roderick had captured Brielle to set a trap for Ruiri and I do think that he would have killed Ruiri, and mayhap even Brielle if not for the aid of Stephen MacDougal. Ruiri was nay going to let another innocent woman die at the hands of Roderick Campbell, and certainly not another one that he loved with all his heart. Stephen MacDougal and Ruiri had formed a budding alliance and so he followed Ruiri to Campbell to help to release Gabrielle from her evil brother’s clutches. I think Ruiri expected Roderick to fight fairly. There was nothing honorable about Roderick; certainly not the way he fought a battle. He tricked Ruiri and goaded him with taunts about both Caitlyn and about Brielle, as well. It put Ruiri slightly off his game.
It is by good chance that Stephen MacDougal fought alongside of Ruiri that day. When Roderick feigned falterin’, he really was buying himself time to nock a dart into a crossbow and aim it at Ruiri’s heart. Stephen MacDougal’s quick response sailed a dirk across the room and it landed quite brilliantly in the black heart of Roderick Campbell, sending his evil soul to the pits of hell, so mote it be!
Ye’ may think I should nay curse him so, but had he lived, the malevolent things he planned are even too horrible to think upon. I am quite certain he had every intention of fulfilling all of his twisted plans had he not ended up skewered by Stephen’s dirk. Nay, Ruiri was not the monster. I canna’ speak the same for Roderick Campbell.
Chapter Nineteen – Derek Campbell
Now, Derek Campbell was really another story. There was something about Derek Campbell that did nay speak of the same evil that ran through his brother’s veins. In fact, I dunna’ believe Derek was evil at all for I have learned that he has been capable of great love and compassion. He only needed to nurture those things instead of the spite and malice that festered in the heart of his brother. I think that sometimes the things that form the heart of a man are the things that he is missin’ the most. For Derek, I believe that the love he was denied even as a young child created a heart that would be the most bendable and one that was capable of strong love.
I must say that oddly enough, I have a special place in my heart for Derek Campbell that I can nay readily explain. Suffice it to say that I have pleaded for Derek when he was in need of a second chance. Make no mistake, for Roderick I believed that there was nay one small piece of him that was worth savin’, but for many of us, well, we all need a second chance now and again. I knew that Derek was a man who needed to fulfill his calling and so I begged a boon from the great Guardians to offer him a chance to right the wrongs of his past and to seek a destiny greater than he even thought himself capable of achieving.
Sometimes the Guardians grant such requests; I know not why. I am truly grateful that they thought to hear an old woman’s plea because it is in this consideration for Derek’s soul that I was presented with one of my most precious gifts; a gift far grander than my deepest imaginings. It was also through my supplications for Derek that I learned all things are possible with Faith and above all, with love.
As a child, Derek had a heart born for love, but his brother tried every possible trick to bind that heart from doin’ what it was meant to do. After his natural mother passed away, he really had no one to guide him. His father was lost in his own grief and in the sickness that would eventually plague Roderick. The drink was Robbie Campbell’s downfall and while he wallowed in self-pity and drunken stupors, Roderick took charge of the boy who would follow blindly in his older brother’s footsteps.
There was hope for Derek when Robbie re-married Arianne, but Roderick made sure to destroy that hope as soon as it flamed. The hope of guidance from a strong father was lost and the only person who had a chance to sway the path of destruction the Campbell brothers were headed upon was Gavin. Only, Gavin could nay prevent what time was destined to bring. Upon his death, Gavin had no more influence on the grandsons any longer and Roderick took that opportunity to reinstate himself inside the walls of Campbell Keep. He wreaked havoc on those around him, wasting the once abundant resources of the clan and bringing destruction where ere he could. Derek went along, I suppose, for it was easier to do so than to battle Roderick.
Derek also carried the deaths of both Arianne, his stepmother and Caitlyn McLeod heavily upon his soul. T’was nay Roderick’s arrow that struck down the young betrothed of Ruiri MacCollum; it was loosed by Derek’s bow and though he did nay cause the horse to throw Arianne, he did nay seek aid for her. He also chose to ignore her dying request to protect his half-sister, Gabrielle. Instead, he ran from the truth and let everyone believe that Arianne had just had an unfortunate mishap instead of reporting the malicious doings of Roderick that had been the actual cause for the woman to fall from her mount.
I think Derek did nay initially know that his arrow had found a home in the heart of Caitlyn McLeod. I truly believe now, that he had nay meant for that to be and once he learned it was by his hand, all thoughts of redemption was lost. I think he then embraced the more seamy side of life after that. He also willingly chose not to protect Gabrielle. While he may nay have ever done the physical damage to his sister, he did nay intervene when his horrid brother sought to harm her. Instead, he turned a blind eye and for that, I do fault him. He should have been a man and stood between the terrible things that Roderick dreamt up to torment his sister. Instead, it was easier for Derek to ignore it. He paid dearly for that transgression, I must tell ye’ for he heeded nay the dying request for Brielle’s protection. Och, ye’ canna’ neglect the words begged on a deathbed.
It is said that after Roderick was laid to rest, Derek confronted his sister and he even tried to remove her from the arm of Ruiri, but the brave lass finally stood up to him once and for all. With Roderick safely buried in his grave, the evil pall seemed to have been broken and with Ruiri’s undying love for Gabrielle, she found the strength to call Derek to task for the mistreatment he had allowed all the years of her young life. Admit it or nay, it ate at Derek.
I think he wished he could make amends with his sis
ter, but sometimes our own sense of conscience prevent us from the simplest act of asking for forgiveness and so Derek never gathered that needed grace. Not from Gabrielle, not from Arianne and it would seem perhaps not from Caitlyn McLeod. Ah, but the ways of the Ancients are sometimes hard to grasp and so, the soul of Caitlyn McLeod was one who sought love, light and forgiveness, to be certain. She nay wanted her beloved Ruiri to suffer because of her passing. I suppose, she carried that into the afterlife and for her benevolent nature she was rewarded. For Derek, it would take a greater learnin’ for him to find peace of mind and heart. Aye, it would take a hard path to turn his heart of stone back into the one that had been meant for love and happiness all along.
After Campbell Keep had fallen into the hands of the MacCollums by forfeit due to the death of Roderick, Derek entered into the ranks of a mercenary warrior and fought many battles; but none were as difficult as the battle he would ultimately face. Sadly, I think t’is probable that he fought without honor, as is the way with many a mercenary for their loyalties lie only with the silver that lines their purses, rather than a cause to fight for. I suppose, with no one to corrupt his soul any further, Derek set his sword arm to anyone who would lace his palm with the most coins. That is bad for a soul and heart as well, not to learn loyalty, I mean. Sometimes ye’ have to believe in something; anything.
Aye, a man has to learn to fight for something other than coin, else he’ canna’ fight for the most important things known to man. Rather Derek learned quickly that he could fight as a hired man and he could make a quick wage in a short time. The dishonorable lot that is shared by Mercenaries suited Derek just fine. If Derek had to ply his conscience with the deeds of his past, he would have had to take responsibilities for the path he had chosen. Fighting as a mercenary was easy for Derek because it also offered him an excuse to take the lower road and he did nay have to own the responsibility himself. He could aid in the forces of one raid and then fight against them in the next instance.
So in tellin’ that part of the story, ye’ may wonder why I would seek to plead for a man like Derek, but I suppose I just knew that there was goodness lying hidden in the man who had tried to reject just such a thing his entire life. I could nay say that for Roderick, but for Derek, I just saw it like a candle hidden beneath a basket, waiting to shine forth. He only needed the basket of darkness to be lifted and he would learn to foster that which he had always denied afore. So plead for his life, I did, when it seemed there was nay a ray of hope left for him. It was in his aid, that I came to believe whole heartedly in the power of the Guardians and in fact, in the One God.
Derek had gone back to Castle Campbell to seek the inheritance that was rightfully his but now his enemy’s sister and husband had taken up residence in the keep. They were working on restoring the keep to its previous glory and had lived there with their two beautiful little children for part of the year. Aye, t’was Drew and my Bronwyn who took over the task of the restorin’ of the place, the keep that had once thrived under the hands of Gavin Campbell. Derek returned from one of his mercenary actions seeking to gain back what he believed was unwittingly taken from him. In truth, it should have been his for the takin’ but because of the fight won by the MacCollum’s it had gone to the hands of his most hated enemies.
Campbell Keep was declared for Brielle MacCollum by writ of Stephen MacDougal upon the besting of Roderick, but she had had a lifetime of bad memories there. Ruiri was nay about to cause his beloved wife anymore heartache. He agreed to allow his sister to care for the place in his stead, in case Brielle ever wished to claim it. Ah, but she never did.
Derek’s whereabouts were not known and some people even thought that he may have been killed. So being the last descendent of the Great Laird, naturally the keep would have gone to Brielle. Only, Brielle wanted no part of it. She never wanted to set eyes on it again and after Roderick was laid in the cold earth, Brielle turned her back on the place and never set foot there again; well at least for many years to come. She had suffered terribly at the hands of Roderick when he had her captured to lure Ruiri into the trap, with beatings and threats of rape. I dunna’ blame her for nay wishing to take the place that was rightfully hers. Instead, Drew and Bronwyn worked to maintain the keep in the event that Brielle would want it and it afforded them a place to reside, being that they lived part of the time in England and the other in Scotland.
I was living with Bronwyn and Drew, in Campbell Keep, at the time, and found solace in my old arthritic bones in the day to day existence afforded by being surrounded by the love of this family. At this point, Bronwyn had fully embraced her call to the Old Ways and I no longer needed to encourage her to follow that path. It was a good time for me. I spent time with her, conversing and sharing some of the practices that marked people like us as witches, at times. It was nay that, really. We just believed differently than those who only followed the Christian God. Now, looking back, I think that t’was He that imparted those verra’ gifts to me and to those of us blessed with the many Gifts of the Ancients in the first place. I have seen His mercy first hand and so I canna’ think that He would have wished those same Gifts silenced in His name.
Anyway, I remember feeling a restlessness one day as I had been keeping to myself as sometimes a woman who has lived as long as I had does. I sought out the messages of the Old Ones through supplications and prayer and I felt the pull to the glade outside of the Campbell lands. It was a crisp day, despite the late spring season. It was a perfect time for me to take a walk outside and seek what the Ancients wished me to learn. When a woman as old as I am hears the call of the Ancients, I know nay to shy from it, but to allow myself to heed them. I dinna’ know then that I would be called to aid the one who had harmed the MacCollum’s; my own dearest friend’s grandson, Derek Campbell.
As I walked, leaning on the carved staff that Drew had made for me, I made my way out of the castle gates. The gates were open because we were enjoying a time of peace and prosperity. Since the castle was being restored, masons and carpenters and tradesmen of all sorts came and went to ply their hands at the repairs of the great Campbell keep. It was truly a wonder to behold.
On that day I left through the open gates and took my time down the lane toward the thick copse of trees beyond the castle walls. I could feel the pull of those who called out to me and so I trudged further. I felt something else in the breeze that day. Death! She was lying in wait and I knew that when She was of a mind to take a body, there would be naught anyone could do to prevent it.
I dinna’ feel afraid fer m’self; nay for I was already so old even I could nay remember my exact time spent on the goodly earth so if it was my time, I was prepared to take the Lady’s hand. Only, I did nay feel She waited fer’ me. Something drew my eye upward and it was then that I saw him, hidden among the leaves. They say that things happen so quickly, but in that instant it was as if the world had slowed to a snail’s pace. I saw with achingly astuteness the cracking of the branch beneath the booted feet of the warrior spying on the happenings of Castle Campbell.
I wanted to call out for him to have a care, but my voice seemed to slow into an inaudible moan. As the limb of the tree splintered, the grandson of my dearest friend plummeted to the ground below. He landed with a sickening thud and I knew in an instant that Derek Campbell lay crumpled and was as broken as the perch that had failed him in his spyin’. The healer in me wanted to ease the pain that he was sure to have felt, but there would be no amount of healin’ that I could give him now. The woman in me wept for the loss of yet another link to the people I had loved from so long ago.
Aye, Derek was a man who was not prone to honor, but he was a man who had nay fulfilled his path and he was the last male who belonged to the only other man beside Ian that I held in my heart. The man who had been like my own brother in life had been gone a long time, but this one who lay at my feet was part of him and because of that, I began to plead with the Guardians for mercy. Maybe ye’ would say Derek Campbell was
the last person that deserved any mercy, but I knew differently and I guess the Guardians did, too.
As my tears fell on the body of the lad, I begged the Ancients to intervene and hear my petitions for the soul of Derek Campbell. I felt a shift in my conscious mind and when I looked up, I saw Derek’s spirit standing amid the trees. He did nay know the broken body I laid my hands upon was his mortal shell. He supposed I was doing something dastardly to some poor sot. He knew who I was, as I was always marked with the plaid of my kin. I felt the tears drying on my face as he questioned me and accused me of terrible deeds. I knew the Guardians had heard me.
The mere presence of his spirit told me it was so. I heard the whispers of the Ancients and I knew I needed to guide him to seek the gift that would be given to him, but it was not going to be without a price. One by one, those who he had wronged in life visited him. When the apparition of Caitlyn McLeod fell upon him, I think Derek finally admitted what it meant to feel fear.
Derek was going to be offered a chance at redemption but it was going to cost him dearly. I think that he had no idea what that cost would be. In truth if he knew what was going to be required of him, I think he would have chosen to follow his brother into unhallowed hell. The Guardians had seen fit to have Derek seek a second start to find his true self-worth, but first he would have to face the hurt and heartache he had caused in his past.
Unfortunately, one of the visitors was his step mother, Arianne. That poor lost soul had nay found peace, I fear, for as I stood and watched each Ancient Being convict Derek of his misdeeds, Arianne offered no solace. Nay, she cursed him to walk the earth neither as a man nor a spirit. She cursed him to never find satisfaction and so he would have the needs of a man with the body of a spirit and he would only know want and longing; longing for food and drink, longing for rest, longing for the touch and voices of other human beings, longing for any of his needs to be fulfilled but with no way to satisfy himself.