by Barbara Bard
But that was all in the past now. She could not possibly escape, her legs and hands were tied. All she could think about was what her future holds for her. The pain, the anguish that lied ahead for her. Sarah could feel the tears in her throat, she tried very hard to fight it.
Her ravaged mind turned through many possibilities as the silver moon hung high in the sky. She did not know if death or a dungeon would be a worse fate. At least if she was executed the suffering would be over quickly, and she could be with her parents once more. If she were thrown in a dungeon she would have to suffer for the rest of her life, until her body eventually gave up anyway.
The only other punishment she could take was being exiled. She could recover from that, even though it meant she would be on her own again. Just like she was when her parents had died.
It was doubtful that she would find anyone like Lord Brambly to take her in, but at the least she hoped she would be able to forge a life for herself. Maybe even find a man that loved her and settle down with him. That seemed to be the best-case scenario.
The only other possibility remaining to her was that the ruse would actually work and Lord Flynn would never discover that she wasn't, in fact, Rosemary Brambly. It didn't seem possible that that could actually happen though, and the fear stabbed at her mind.
All night long she twisted and turned, imagining being in a dingy dungeon, laying against cold, hard rock with water dripping down. Dressed in rags, she would be torn from the world and given no chance to live a life of her own. She had hoped at some stage to have a family, to find a nice young man and be married. It would be a humble life, but one that she could cherish and call her own.
Instead, she would be forgotten.
There had to be a way out.
In the middle of the night, Sarah awoke and looked at the sky, where she gazed out at the silver moon. The night sky was black, with stars dotted around. It looked entirely beautiful. The night was still and quiet. No cricket chirping, no rustling of the leaves just stillness. Sarah let out a quiet cry.
“Where are you, Rosemary?” she whispered, hoping that her words would be carried on the wind. Silent tears trickled down her face. Rosemary had always been a source of strength to Sarah. Without her, Sarah didn't know what to do or how to act.
Looking at the sky, Sarah wondered what Rosemary would do in this situation. Rosemary had always had more courage than her. She would most likely by now have deceived the guards and sneaked away in the cloak of night.
Sarah thought about it, but she couldn't bring herself to do anything like that. Undoubtedly something would go wrong and the ruse would be discovered. No, her best chance was to stay there for the time being and pray as hard as she can that someone came to her rescue.
If not, then her only hope was that Lord Brambly would show her mercy and identify her as Rosemary.
If Lord Flynn found out that she was not Rosemary, he would have her killed. She would never get the chance of seeing Rosemary, if she were not dead herself. And Drew… she said his name in a whisper, hoping the wind would carry her voice to him. She would never see him again, the stranger that gave her that tingling sensation all over her body. She let more tears flow, they are all she had now.
Sleep eventually came upon her.
When she awoke, she felt as though she had not slept at all. Her eyes were tired, her head ached, and all she wanted was for all these to end, no matter how it ended. She was tired of the lies and deceit she was tired of running.
The men had taken turns watching her, so she would not run. It felt like all she was really good at is running but now she had nowhere to run to.
“Good morning love, it’s time for us to get going. I am sure Lord Flynn would be so happy to see you. I cannot say the same about you though, with all those tears you where shedding during the night.”
He flashed a smile at her as he moved towards. He took her arms in his and pulled her up from where she laid.
“You should cheer up; worse fate awaits you in the hands of love Flynn.”
Sarah pulled back from his grasp with a look of fear on her face.
“Don’t frighten the poor girl. She is already scared; you don’t have to be cruel. Pack up the things, we move now.”
With that, they left the camp and started to move towards the battlefield. Sarah walked ahead of the men, while they walked behind in case she tried to run. Sarah thought of how she could escape, but nothing came to her mind.
As they moved, the, men said nothing to her or to each other. She was left alone with her thought. Sarah’s mind wandered to so many places. By now the Highlander would have returned to the battlefield to continuing fighting in the war alongside his brother.
An idea finally struck her. She would pretend she needed to relieve herself in the bushes. Hopefully the men wouldn’t be so cruel as to follow her into the bushes. From there she would run away and pray the guards did not notice in time until she was ahead of them.
Sarah began to cry and these made the men stop in their track.
“What is wrong now love, you need to save those tears for when we return you to Lord Flynn,” the loud guard said as he chuckled
“I need to relieve myself. I thought I could hold it till when we reach the battlefield but I fear that I will soil myself. It will be kind of you, if you let me go into the bushes and ease myself”, Sarah said in between sobs.
The men looked at each other for a moment. Finally, the quiet one finally spoke. “You will go to the bush over there, he will follow you to make sure you don’t escape,” he said all these while still looking at the partner.
The loud one took Sarah by the hands and began to drag her towards the bush. When they had gotten far enough, he let go of her hands and stood there staring at her.
Sarah looked up at him with teary eyes. “If you will kind enough to let me do this in private. Let me keep whatever is left of my dignity,” Sarah asked as the tears rolled down her face.
The man untied her hands and pointed to where she should go and watched her go deep into the bush.
When she got to the spot the man had pointed out for her, and he had his back, Sarah immediately took to her heels and started screaming at the top of her voice.
Chapter 16
Drew had woken up at first light. He didn’t sleep much, as he was anxious to see his brother and his fellow countrymen. He was eager to return to the battlefield and kill as many English warriors he laid his eyes on.
Drew laid awake for a while thinking about the English lass. He could not tear his thoughts away from her. He hoped she was safe and had found a small village, where she could start her life all over again.
Drew slowly brought himself up from where he slept almost without any pain. He should be able to ride his horse without any discomfort.
In two days’ time, he should be ready to return to the battle ground. He decided to go to the stream and shower and also to feed his horse and get him enough to drink.
Drew stood up and started walking towards the stream. Drew’s mind continuously drifted towards Sarah. He pictured her face, her beautiful blue eyes, her perfectly carved nose, and her full lips. He thought about her body. The way her breast rose and fell as she took each breath.
Drew was deep in these thoughts when he heard a bristling in the bushes. He was always on high alert; it was necessary for a man of his nature.
Then the bristling turned into the voice of a girl running and screaming for help. Drew stood up immediately and reached for his sword. He started moving quietly towards where the screams where coming from.
When Drew got close enough, he saw two men running after a young lass. He could not see her face but the mane of her golden hair reminded Drew of Sarah.
Drew jumped out of the bush he was hiding in, with his sword in his hands. His sudden appearance startled the two guards and the girl. They all stood there like they had seen a ghost.
Drew recognized them as English soldiers and before they should open t
heir mouth to speak, he started wielding his sword. The English guards brought out their weapons almost immediately and started to attack Drew. He didn’t know if he was strong enough to start fighting again, much less of fighting two soldiers at once.
But the hatred he had for the English welled up inside him as he attacked the two soldiers. Sarah stood there, paralyzed.
“Who are you? Why are you hiding in the bush? Put down your sword now and we would let you live.”
“Let the girl go and I will consider letting you leave with your neck on your hand, Drew said as his sword came clashing down on one of the men’s sword.”
“We don’t want any trouble, said the loud one as he staggered back at the weight of Drew’s blow on him. We are just returning something that Lord Flynn is missing and if you let us go now, we promise not to hurt you.”
The quiet one came rushing at him, wielding his sword high in the wind. Drew saw him coming at him, slipped to the ground and used his sword to cut him on the leg.
The man held his leg as he screamed out in pain. The blood came flowing out in trickles. He struggled to get back to his feet but he could not.
By now Drew and the loud one were already engaged in a duel.
“What is the missing item you need to return to Lord Flynn? Is it the girl? Why is she so important to lord Flynn?” Drew asked as the blade of their sword met each other and released sparks of fire in the air.
Although Drew was a good swordsman, the English soldier was also skilled. Their blade came crashing down on each other as they sent sparks into the air. Drew met every thrust and every jab with equal amount of strength.
Sarah watched with wide eyes as the men tried to kill one another.
After what seemed like a long time, the injured soldier got up on his feet, despite the pain etched on his face. He took his sword and was about to strike Drew. Sarah saw what was about to happen and in the heat of the moment, took a rock lying at her feet and hit the English soldier at the back of his head.
He immediately dropped to the ground like a sack of wheat.
When the loud one saw what had happened to his partner, he lost his balance for a moment and Drew took the opportunity to strike him. He struck the soldier on his neck. Blood started gushing out like a stream. Drew pushed his sword deeper in to his neck until he saw that he was dead.
***
Sarah stood there like she was paralyzed. Her hands were trembling and the hair on her body was standing on end. She didn’t know where she got the courage to hit the man with a rock. Maybe it was the fear of going back to meet Lord Flynn or the thought of Drew dying, whatever it was, it gave Sarah the strength and courage to save her own life. This was something Rosemary would do, not her.
Sarah stood and watched without moving while Drew dragged the bodies into the forest. She never thought she would see him again. She thought by now he would have returned to the battle field. He had saved her life; she would forever be in his debt.
When he was done taking care of the bodies, he started moving towards her. When he had covered the distance between them and they were face to face, he tilted her head up, looked into her eyes for a brief moment and took her into his arms. Sarah stood there sobbing into his shoulder. After what seemed like a long time, she broke free from his embrace and took a step back.
“I thought I would never see you again. By now I thought you would have returned to the battle ground to fight alongside your brother. You saved my life. If not for you, I would have been in Lord Flynn’s custody by now. I cannot imagine the horrid things he had planned for me when he captured me. The cruelty I would have endured if not for you. Thanks for saving my life, I am forever in your debt,” Sarah said as she tried to control her tears.
He scanned her from head to toe with his eyes. When he was done, he came closer again and took her hands into his. Sarah thought he was going to take her into his arms when he started blurting out questions at her
“Were you hurt? Where and when did they find you? Why did you leave without telling me?” he asked these questions all at once and Sarah did not know the one she would answer first.
Sarah motioned for them to sit down. They both bent down and sat on the grass wet with morning dew.
“I am not hurt. There is a bounty on my head and the instruction is that I must not be harmed. Lord Flynn does not want anyone hurting me except him”, Sarah said in a calmer voice.
“The day I left you, I had been journeying all morning and I was growing weary. I decided to stop and look for what to eat and also take along with me on my remaining journey. I saw a place I could camp, so I decided to rest my head for a while. I must have been very tired because when I woke up, the sky was already dark. I heard two men arguing in the woods. I thought I could get away before they saw me. I tried to tiptoe as quietly as I could. I had almost gotten away, when I stepped on a twig and it snapped. They found me and recognized me immediately. They captured me and tied up my arms and legs”, Sarah explained to Drew as she fought hard to hold back the tears that threatened to come rushing out.
He let her catch her breath and hold back the tears that was already rising in her eyes. Sarah cleaned the tears that had escaped and were already trickling down her face.
She calmed herself and continued talking. “I didn’t tell you I was leaving because I was scared my feelings would betray me. I would look into your eyes and I wouldn’t be able to leave again. I ran away from Lord Flynn and I was scared that he would find me. I could not bear being his wife. What I feel for you is not right. I am an English girl and you are a Highlander. Our people hate one another. Your people would not approve of you marrying an English girl. There is nothing we can do…” before she could finish what she was saying, he kept his hands on the back of her neck and planted his lips oh hers.
Sarah felt the world twirl. His touch had that effect on her. She let herself melt into his arms as his fingers grazed her neck and her naked back.
Nobody had ever made her feel this way before. She didn’t imagine that she should feel this way about a Highlander, not after everything she heard about them and what they did to her parents. She should not allow herself feel this way but she could not bear to tear herself away from his embrace.
Sarah returned his kiss just as fiercely as he had kissed her. She could feel her thighs getting moist. It felt strange to be in his arms but she wanted to stay there. He moved his hands to the rope that held her dress together and started to loosen the knot. Sarah realizing what was about to happen immediately broke free from his embrace and averted her gaze to the floor.
“I would like to go to the river and wash myself up, it has been days since I cleaned up. If you don’t mind, I would meet you back at the camp when I am done”, Sarah said as she stood up and started walking towards the stream. She heard him stand up also and walking towards the camp.
When Sarah got to the stream, she undid the ropes holding her dress and let it fall to the ground. She kept her legs into the water and started to wash herself. She should not be feeling this way towards a Highlander. She also couldn’t return to the battlefield with him and risk Lord Flynn capturing her again. She had never been so conflicted in her entire life.
Sarah looked at her legs and all the injury she had sustained since she escaped. She just wanted a place she could start her life all over again. Now with her feelings for the Highlander, everything had become complicated. She didn’t think she could bear leave him again.
Sarah washed up her entire body and her hair, all the while thinking about what she would do but still could not come to a conclusion. When she was done, she stood under the sun to dry off her body and let her hair drain. When she was dry enough, Sarah took her dress off the grass and slipped right back into it.
She headed towards where their camp still stood, undecided about what she would do about the Highlander and her feelings for him. She decided that she was going to follow him to the battle ground to finish the war with his brother. When the war
was over, she would continue her search for a small village where she could start her life again.
When Sarah got to the camp, she saw that he had gone hunting for what they would eat and had already set it out by the fire he made to keep them warm. Sarah sat by the fire, and placed her hands over it. She looked to the direction in which he was sitting and turned her gaze to him.
“Thank you so much for saving my life earlier. If not for you, I would be Lord Flynn’s prisoner by now. He would have unleashed all manner of cruelty on me. I owe my life to you.” She looked away and placed her hands over the fire again.
He stood up and started walking toward the fire. Sarah noticed that he stood up without any pain or discomfort. His wound would be almost healed by now.
When he got to the fire, he came to her side and sat next to her. He took one of her hands in his and covered it with his other hand. He started tracing the back of her hands with his fingertips.