Highlander´s Enemy: A Historical Scottish Romance Novel

by Matie Cole

  But food... now, that was something that she was going to need for sure. Once she left the safety of her home, there was no telling how long it would be before she could get her hands on something to eat again. The cooks had always liked her anyway, she reasoned that they would want to help her on her journey... although once they heard what she was supposed to have done, that would likely change.

  It hurt Maisie to know that she could never return, that no one here would want her to, that her life was going to change forever more. Although she was glad to be the one in control of that. It was much better for her to run away from anything that she had ever known than to leave her fate in Lauren’s hands.

  She had never liked Lauren, but she never knew how evil she could be. She never assumed that her stepmother and Ray would be killers. That her father’s second marriage would land him dead. She regretted every moment that she spent silent, allowing Lauren to get away with murder.

  Tears streamed painfully down her face as she finally filled up her bag with enough food to at least survive for a while because she could not help being sad that everything was coming to an end. She hated that Lauren had destroyed absolutely everything for her in such a short space of time. She might have been married to her father for over a year, but that was not a long time to shred her life to pieces.

  Maisie continued to cry as she reached the front door and she slid outside, finally making her escape. The outside world offered her comfort from Lauren’s accusation, but not from anything else. This was her finally saying goodbye to her family and her life, not knowing if she would survive.

  “I love you,” she whispered to her father. “I do not want to leave you, but I must.”

  As she finally took off and ran towards the forest, towards the unknown, she was glad to have her mother’s medallion with her. At least that was a little bit of home coming with her. Maisie needed that to remind her always of where she came from and why she had to keep on running always.

  “I have no idea where I will end up,” she commented to herself as she raced through the trees. “I do not even know if this will lead me anywhere. But I have to keep on moving. I have no choice.”

  She glanced backwards, seeing her home for one final time before it vanished into nothingness forever, and then Maisie focused on the forwards. That was where she had to keep focused now, where she was always going to have to look to survive. As she walked, she tried to plan out the perfect new life for herself, something that she would like. Things that she would need. A home, to keep her sheltered, a job to give her money so that she could keep on going, friends, maybe, a love life of her own. All the things that she had never been forced to worry about until now, because she did not need to survive, only live.

  “Who am I going to be?” she wondered as she continued to move. “I cannot be Lady Maisie Ferguson anymore. I will have to go on to become someone new. Someone who is not known for killing her father.”

  Nothing was ever going to be the same for Maisie, everything would change, but as long as she was the one in control of everything that happened to her, then all would be fine. She would never give up control.

  “Miss?” The morning light brought with it a cruel shake to Maisie’s shoulder, dragging her from her sleep. “Miss, are you alright? I am afraid that I must ask you to move for you are in my way...”

  “Hmphgh,” Maisie grumbled as she forced her eyes open. It was too light to be her bedroom, too painful to be her bed. What on earth had happened while she was dreaming? “Sorry, I...”

  All of a sudden, it hit her all at once like a ton of bricks. Her father’s murder, Lauren’s accusation, the fact that she had run away from home and at some point during the night had curled up into a ball at the nearest town she could find because the exhaustion had gotten too much for her. It seemed that during that time she had fallen asleep only to be woken up in a brand new situation.

  “Oh... I am sorry.” Maisie scurried backwards, trying to curl herself up even more so that she wouldn’t be in the way of anyone. “I did not mean... I am in a bit of a situation... I am sorry.”

  The woman bent down to meet Maisie’s eyes. Maisie was surprised to see someone looking at her as if she cared. This was a stranger with more sympathy for her than Lauren could ever muster and she did not even know the precarious situation in which she found herself.

  “Oh dear, you are in a terrible state, my dear. I think it best you come with me,” the woman declared. “I will not leave you here knowing that you are struggling with something. It does not feel right.”

  “You... you will help me?” Maisie staggered to her feet, so surprised to have found someone nice. “Thank you.” Perhaps running away was not going to be such a terrifying situation after all. “Thank you so much.”

  The woman took Maisie’s arm and half carried her in the direction in which she was going, all while tugging a trailer filled with food items behind her. Maisie had no idea who this woman was or what she was doing, but she was happy to find out. Right now, she needed kindness more than ever.

  “This is my home,” the woman finally declared as she led Maisie inside. “Feel free to undress and change or do whatever it is you need to do. I will make the pair of us something hot to drink.”

  Maisie glanced down at her outfit. She was far more scruffy than she would have liked so she figured it time to change into her spare clothing already. She hoped that this kind stranger would eventually lead her to some water where she could wash everything as best as she could herself, something that she would have to learn as the time came, so that she could start to make a better impression on people.

  “You know, that is an interesting medallion,” the woman commented as Maisie took it off while she changed. “It looks like it has come from a very fine family. How did you come across it?”

  Maisie did not answer. She could not reveal her true identity for fear of people having already heard the rumors about her and despising her for it. Instead, she made some sort of mumbling sound, but said nothing. She knew from this moment, that wearing it so obviously around her neck was not going to work anymore though. Not if she wanted to remain hidden from prying eyes.

  So, as she dressed herself quickly, she hid the medallion, tucking it deep inside her sock, and back into her boot. She did not enjoy hiding her mother away, but it was for the best to keep her safe.

  “Here is the drink.” The woman handed it to her, and Maisie immediately found herself intoxicated by the smell. It was unlike anything that she had ever been given to drink before. “I hope you enjoy it. Please, as we drink, tell me more about yourself. I would love to be able to help you as much as I can.”

  Maisie wanted to open up to her new friend, but she was confused about how much she should share. She did not know how much it was alright to reveal about herself. She had grown up too sheltered and this stranger was filled with street smarts, that much was obvious to Maisie instantly.

  “Well, my name is Maisie,” she started as she glugged back a whole lot of the drink, she had become thirstier than she knew. And the drink was good. Better tasting than she expected. “And I have traveled far. I had to get away from my home, it was no longer viable for me to stay there...”

  “And the medallion?” The stranger was suspiciously interested in the medallion.

  “It is not valuable or anything like that,” Maisie giggled awkwardly. “My father simply made it for me when I was young...” She was still too tired. Maybe even a little dizzy. “To... to make me feel like a princess...”

  “And yet it looks so precious.” The woman was coming closer to Maisie now, but she was struggling to keep her eyes open so she could not work out why. “As does the food you have stashed in your bag. I spotted that right away. You have what I need, so unfortunately, I need to...”

  And that was the moment that Maisie felt a blinding pain to the right side of her head. One that came more than one time. It was too many times for words, the pain felt like it was shattering her brai
n, destroying the whole of her body, so she could not stop the world from going black.

  The first friend that she had made since running away was killing her, and there was nothing that she could do to stop it.