by Ria Cantrell
Kiera smiled. “I know. Isn’t she? I am so lucky to have her.”
“Is she weaned, Lass?”
Kiera thought that was an odd thing for Morag to ask her, but she was used to odd things when it came to the strange old lady.
“Yes, she is weaned.” Even saying it felt weird to Kiera.
“That’s good…aye…indeed,” Morag mumbled and Kiera wondered at the peculiar question and behavior of the woman who had seemed ancient a year ago, only to appear more frail and arthritic now.
“Come, sit by the fire, Morag and I’ll get us that tea.”
“Where is yer’ mate?”
“Derek? Oh he is out with my cousin. I expect him back at any time.”
Morag nodded and said, “He is gettin’ along well, is he? He is findin’ his feet in this era?”
Kiera smiled and answered earnestly, “Oh yes. He has completely embraced the modern and he is getting very good at some of the things he would never have dreamed existed only a year ago.”
“Good. I worried he would nay be able to live in this time but I am glad that he can since ye’ are here with him.”
“Truth be told, if he could not and needed to go back to his time, I think I would have happily followed him.”
Morag’s head lifted with sudden comprehension. Again, she murmured, “Aye, t’is good to know.”
“Morag, I have a feeling you are trying to tell me something.”
“Aye, lass. That I do. But I’d fancy that tea, first, if the offer still stands.”
“Of course. Let me get that for you. Sit and warm yourself and I’ll be right back.”
Kiera hurried down to the kitchens and she made two cups of tea and sweetened them with clover honey. She wondered what Morag had come back for. It had nearly been a year since the Old One had left her and returned to the world she had been brought from. It was still unbelievable, sometimes for Kiera to ponder the events that brought Derek and her together. Most people would never believe it. She had had a hard time making the people closest to her understand it and she, herself, struggled with the reality of it.
Now Morag was back. Kiera had mixed emotions still about the woman, even though ultimately Derek was granted a second chance at life with her. Despite the joy in her marriage to Derek, they both had suffered greatly and even though Morag was really not to blame, Kiera still held her responsible to an extent for what she had suffered. I guess, I suppose, if it wasn’t for Morag’s interference, I would not be with Derek now…but something about her being here makes me nervous.
Once Kiera had the tray of tea prepared, she made her way back up the stone steps leading to her apartments in the upper level of the castle. She set it down on the table between the two comfortable chairs before the blazing fire. Morag picked up a cup in her gnarled hands and brought it slowly up to her lips. After she had taken a few sips and felt the sweet liquid warm her, Kiera asked, “Why did you come, Morag?”
Drawing in a deep breath, she answered, “I need yer’ help, lass.”
“I am forever in your debt, Morag. What do you need me to do?”
“Before ye’ answer, lass, ye’ need to know what is at stake.”
Kiera gave a nervous little laugh and said, “Don’t make it sound so dire. I know you like to frighten me.”
“I have nay e’er wished to frighten ye’, but I have tried to show ye’ that sometimes things are more complicated than ye’ can understand. We are in trouble, lass.”
“We meaning us?”
“Nay, we meaning the MacCollum and Brandhams.”
“Brandham…the family whose daughter I resemble in that painting?”
“The same. Our Jenna is missing…well, not missing, exactly. She went off with her Uncle Rory and Aunt Brielle to a fete at a neighboring clan gathering.”
“Brielle…Derek’s Brielle? His sister?”
“Aye, the very one.”
“So if you know where Jenna is, I don’t understand the problem. She is safe with her extended family.”
“Aye, I am nay worried for her safety at the moment, else I would sense it…but the king and his royal progress deemed Campbell Keep to be the first place visited on his tour of Scotland. He has commanded that all subjects with daughters of marriageable age be presented to him.”
“I don’t think I understand. How can I help you?”
“Ye’ look enough like Jenna, that we hope to allay the king’s curiosity until she returns home.”
“Wait just a minute. Are you saying you want me to come back to your time to be Jenna’s imposter?”
“Well, to be blunt. Aye.”
Kiera shook her head and gave a nervous little laugh, “No. Morag…no…I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“I thought ye’ may say that. The situation is dire, lass. This king is unpredictable at best. We had hoped that ye’ would just be able to prevent him thinkin’ we defied his direct order.”
Kiera stood up and began to pace. “First of all, did you not tell me Jenna was married…when you left her? Why would the king wish her to be presented if she is already married?”
“I did mention that but it has nay happened yet. It had been foretold to me in a vision. She is nay married at the time I have come from.”
“But I am! I am married. I can’t be presented to a king as a marriageable subject. Besides, I am in my thirties; he will never believe I am a girl Jenna’s age.”
“Ye’ have the look of youth about ye’. Aye, I know ye’ are married, but t’is only a ruse, lass. We dunna’ wish ye’ to wed the king.”
“But, what if he wishes to marry me?”
Morag hung her head. “We think he may wish to find…courtesans more than a wife.”
“Oh, no. No way. I am not going to be a concubine for some crazy king.”
“I dunna’ think it will come to that. I think once he meets ye’ he will decide ye’ are not courtesan ilk.”
Kiera looked at Morag and shook her head. “Are you kidding me? Now you are insulting me by saying he wouldn’t like me in the first place?”
Morag sighed, “I am nay sayin’ ye’ are nay beautiful. Ye’ are. I’m sayin’ yer’ modern values will nay appeal to a man such as Richard of Bordeaux. We just need ye’ there to show we have nay disobeyed his royal decree. There is much at stake. Sir Drew is a loyal subject to the English monarchy. He must obey. Bronwyn is the daughter of a powerful laird. It would not be wise to bring the wrath of the English upon the heads of the Scots. This is nay just a matchmaking effort, my lass. T’is a fragile and tentative ploy at best.”
“I don’t think I can help you, Morag. I think I would end up making things worse instead of better.”
“Ye’ dunna’ know that, lass. Ye’ are our only hope.”
“Well, when will Jenna return?”
“After the Samhain fete at the MacDougals. It will be too late. The king arrives in a few days. He had already made the command when Jenna took to the MacCollums. She did it without permission and she snuck out on her own.”
“Well, I just don’t think Derek will want to go back to that time.”
“Derek can nay go with ye’, lass. He must nay for he has not been redeemed in that time. If he goes back he may nay be able to return to ye’ here in this time. He is still locked….”
“In the tower…,” Kiera’s voice trailed off. Derek had been locked in a cursed prison between humanity and the spirit realm for longer than she wanted to ponder. It had been her love that dispelled the curse of his stepmother. She had wanted him to suffer for misdeeds of the past and so he was neither a man nor a ghost. It was only Kiera’s gift of seeing and communicating with the spirit world that helped her to sense Derek’s presence. Hell, she hadn’t sensed him at all. She saw him, spoke with him, sat with him and fell in love with him. She felt the blush rush up her neck when she remembered the first time Derek made love to her. It was in a dream because he had not yet been granted his mortal body, but his spirit was strong; as was t
he passion that passed between them.
“I—I don’t know what to do. My child…Derek…how can I leave them?”
“Ye’ need not be gone long, lass? I can bring ye’ back here close to this verra’ time; mayhap nay this very moment, but close enough,I think.”
“Close enough? You think? Are you kidding me? Morag you are not helping to boost my confidence here.”
“Well, I have nay travelled with another often. I dunna’ know how that will hinder or help my ability to….”
“Bring me back? Are you saying there is a chance I will be stuck there, back seven hundred years in the past?”
Morag hung her head and said, “I’m sayin’ I dunna’ know. I have nay been, but ye’ are nay a Time Walker. Ye’ are a Seer; yer’ gifts are for sensing those in the spirit realm. I have nay been locked into one time. When my task is done, I go back. I dunna’ know how it works for someone who is nay a Walker.”
Kiera put her hand up to her temples. She was beginning to get a headache. “Okay, so how can you even be sure I can come back to the past with you?”
“I cannot, Lass, but I knew I had to try. If I fail and ye’ remain here, then that is the will of the Ancients. If I succeed, I believe that ye’ will nay be lost in the past. Yer’ destiny is here; with the one ye’ve saved.”
Kiera had to agree. It was true. So many things had happened that she had not thought possible. What seemed like a long time ago, Kiera remembered Morag counseling her to have faith; that the impossible was not so with the Keepers of Fate. She, herself now knew that was true, be it through the work of God or Guardian Angels or the Ancients as Morag knew them…but it was indeed so. Just the fact that Derek lived after what he had been through proved that very fact.
Even though the very thought of going back to the Middle Ages made a queasy feeling form in the pit of Kiera’s stomach, something told her it was supposed to be. The last thing she wanted was to live in a time when they didn’t even have flushing toilets, but she somehow knew that this was a journey she was destined to make.
She stopped pacing and stood in front of Morag. She said, “If I agree, when will I….”
“On the morrow.”
“That soon?”
“T’is the eve before Samhain. I fear it will be too dangerous to leave on the Feast Day. The power through the Veil is very strong on that night. After, it diminishes greatly, but on the eve of the Feast, we have a greater chance of making the journey.”
“Samhain? Halloween? It’s early springtime here. Halloween is in the fall.”
“T’is Samhain in the days I came from. It must be on the morrow.”
“That doesn’t give me a lot of time. I don’t even know how to behave in your time. I mean, I read history and all, but I have no idea how I should act. I will not know Jenna’s family. How will I learn all I need to know in just a day?”
“I will be there to aid ye’. Bronwyn and Drew will be able to guide ye’. Yer’ gifts are strong, Kiera. It will be easier than ye’ fear.”
Kiera plopped back down in the chair facing Morag. She mumbled, “Dear Jesus, Derek is going to pitch a fit.”
Morag raised one eyebrow and said, “Never ye’ mind about the lad. I will get him to see the import of this journey. He loves ye’ so much. He will nay stand in yer’ way.”
Kiera sat quietly pondering the entire situation. It was true Derek loved her more than she had ever dreamed possible. If she had ever thought she would be married to a man who had lived in a time in history that she had only read about in books, she would have believed she was heading quickly towards madness; yet here she was. Not only was she married to an Ancient Highlander, she was living her life like a dream in his castle raising their baby together. She supposed if she could have all that, anything was indeed possible. The frail human mind could not fathom things that could not easily be explained, but Kiera knew differently now.
Despite the quaking fear taking such a journey caused to course through her, Kiera had a niggling feeling of elation. She would get to meet Derek’s sister. She would tell her how Derek had changed. She would bring his love and regrets to her and set things to right. That alone would be worth pissing in a chamber pot.
Kiera had enjoyed donning the attire from Derek’s time on their wedding day; but this was no Medieval Faire. This was reality, with all the nasty things that came with the almost primitive era. Kiera was not sure she would be able to survive living in the fourteenth century. She suddenly felt very happy that she was born in a time when modern conveniences were the norm. There would be no cell phones or a way to contact her loved ones; no internet; no kindles…no electricity…no plumbing. Yet, something about the simplicity of the time called out to her. It would help her to appreciate the life that Derek had lived before they had been brought together by the unbelievable and amazing events that had transpired.
With a sigh as heavy as the whole world, Kiera said, “Alright. I will go with you. I don’t really think I can be of any help but I think I need to try.”
“Oh, Lass, aye. Thank ye’.”
“I just wish that you can guarantee that I will return to Derek.”
“If the Ancients see fit, ye’ will. I can nay think They would separate ye’ now after giving Derek back to ye’. Faith, girl. Haven’t I always told ye’ that?”
“Aye…errrr, I mean yes. You have. I am trying to be brave about it, but perhaps I am not as strong as I thought.”
Kiera certainly had not felt strong when she believed Derek was dead and gone from her. She nearly died, herself, from the sheer grief of it, but things had turned out so much better than she could have ever imagined. Perhaps, this was just the thing to strengthen Derek’s and her already solid relationship. Kiera felt in her heart that nothing could come between them now because they had stood the tide and weathered the storm; certainly not space and time.
Speaking of Derek, Kiera could hear the sounds of voices echoing through the empty corridors. It would seem that her husband and cousin had finally returned. They were laughing; that was good. Kiera hoped that Derek was in a good mood after having a couple of pints at the local pub. She honestly did not know how she would explain Morag’s plans to him and she got a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach when she imagined telling him about it.
Kiera stood back up to meet her husband, and to hopefully stall the inevitable. She heard the sound of a door closing down the hall and she assumed that Tom had gone off to bed. She checked the time and realized it was later than she had first thought. Great, time is already becoming a mystery to me and I haven’t even stepped foot outside this room yet.
Derek’s shadow cast a growing image on the dimly lit wall as he got closer to their apartments. Kiera went out to meet him and upon seeing her, he took her into his arms and kissed her deeply. She felt her legs melt to jelly as desire fled through her. He tasted of sweet ale and she loved how his lips lingered on her own. Looking up at him, she saw a smile light all the way to his eyes. God, how she loved this man! She asked, “Did you have a good time?”
“Aye. Yer’ cousin got up and sang a few tunes. He was quite the…punch of the place.”
“Hit.”
“Hit?”
Kiera giggled. “Yes, he was the hit; not punch. But good try, my love.”
“Ye’ do have some expressions, Cara.”
“So do you.” Kiera kissed him again and she felt his arm coil around her waist. He said, “Did ye’ get yer’ schoolin’ done?”
“Mmm hmm. I made a dent.”
Despite the modern slang phrases, Derek understood what she meant. With a wistful glint in his eyes, he said, “Good. T’is time to play. I’m thinkin’ ye’ need to find some enjoyment and I know just the sport to reward yer’ hard work.”
Pushing him off playfully, Kiera said, “Well, that may have to wait. We have a guest.”
“Aye, but he was tired and a bit in his cups. I daresay he willna’ be botherin’ us tonight.”
“Not To
m. We have another guest.”
Derek looked puzzled. Who would arrive at this time of night? Why only another few hours and it would be dawn. He started to get that uneasy feeling that he had in the past when one of the Ancients were around and it was a feeling he surely did not like. Nay, indeed!
Before Kiera could explain, Derek shook his head and he said, “Oh Nay. Not her. Please tell me t’is nay so.”
Kiera put her hand on the strong muscled bicep of his arm and she looked into the handsome face of her husband. Searching the depths of his eyes, she said, “She needs our help, this time. I cannot refuse her after all she has done for us.”
“Done fer us? Ye’ jest.”
“Love, you know she helped us be together. I know it was a long hard road for you, but here we are, together, in love and happy. We owe it to her to help if we can.”
Derek made a sound like hmph and Kiera knew that he still held Morag responsible for the misery he had encountered while he waited for redemption that seemed to never come. But it had come, in the end; more than they could have ever dreamed and it was by her hand and insistence to have faith that all things were possible when there was love and hope.
“Come inside. Come talk to her. She will be so happy to see you. You know she has always wanted what was best for you. She never meant to harm you. I think she believed in you long before you ever believed in yourself.”
Derek breathed out a heavy sigh. All mirth from his night at the pub was dashed and if he had been the slightest bit drunk, he had quickly sobered at the thought of seeing the Old One. The kind heart of his beautiful woman softened his resolve. It always did and so he opened his hand around hers and felt the warmth of her flesh as she slid her slender fingers into his palm. He went into the warm and cozy room they now shared and though the fire was burning in the hearth, Derek could not help but feel the chill of the unknown invade his being. She was sitting by the fire and Derek was taken aback by the frailty of the woman. It was as if she had aged a hundredfold since he last saw her nearly a year ago and his heart was moved with pity for the old meddling healer.