by Rye Hart
The man's handsome face had transformed somewhere between the forest and this grassy knoll. Gone were the gentle, handsome features, and what remained was an intense feral look. He had transformed into something completely different – something almost animal like.
The man's eyes met Eva's; she sucked in her breath as the reflection looking back at her was no longer a soft brown, but a frightening red. Eva was sure that the man-turned-beast would devour her on the spot.
But instead of devouring Eva from where she sat on the grass, his expression — albeit a bit terrifying — conveyed emotions Eva was not expecting to see under the beastly features. He looked at Eva with an intense longing that ached to be satisfied, a sadness that could not be comforted, and a pain that saw no relief. Eva's heart went out to the tortured man before her. The fear evaporated, and instead was replaced by a gentle compassion that longed to ease his suffering.
Eva rose up from where he had placed her on the grass, all while continuing to hold his intense red gaze. Before she knew exactly what she was doing, she had reached her hand out to touch him. The beast didn't shy away from her as she brought her open palm to rest against his chest and settle over his heart.
Eva could feel the beating of his heart against her palm. At first it was rapid and erratic, but now it had begun to slow down. She looked up at him and was surprised that she had to crane her neck considerably just to see his face as his body had changed as well. He had grown taller, towering well over seven feet tall, his body had thickened and larger muscles had appeared in new places. Even his hair had grown longer and appeared more wild and untamed, which contributed to the intensity of his appearance. At this point, he looked more like a beast than a man.
"Who are you?" Eva asked softly, allowing her question to simmer between them.
The man opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His frustration played out on his face and resulted in him throwing his head back and emitting a chilling roar.
Eva froze; she recognized that beastly cry. It was the strange sound that she had heard back at the house, just moments before she stepped through the door. The realization was unsettling, as it meant that it was his voice that had called to her, a call she had somehow answered. She had no understanding of how she had been whisked away from her home, but she now knew that it was the reason why she was here.
"What happened to you?" she whispered.
The beast replied by coming closer to Eva and placing this head to nuzzle her palm, his rough beard scratched Eva's soft skin.
The howl of the wolves in the distance interrupted their moment and brought them both back to what was happening at the edge of the woods.
Eva followed the beast's gaze as he turned to look back at the place from where they had come. Pairs of glowing red eyes dotted the edge of the forest, revealing the location of each wolf. But the creatures would not dare break the boundary of the forest and encroach on the territory of an Alpha. They were safe from harm.
Eva could feel the predatory energy cascade off the beast's body, an imposing reminder to all living creatures that this Alpha was the most dangerous threat to ever stalk the night.
The air around the duo quieted for the briefest moment, as if the world itself was momentarily seized by terror. Then just as swiftly, everything around them erupted into chaos as all living things scurried out of the way; birds left their nests to brave the moonlit sky, and small creatures disrupted the underbrush as they sought shelter as far away as possible.
The only exception was the clustered pairs of glowing red eyes along the forest's edge. The wolves stayed, watching and waiting for the Alpha to exercise his authority.
The wolves' resistance worked, as the Alpha left Eva to pursue the defiant creatures in the woods.
Eva was a bit shocked that he would leave her standing there alone, but nonetheless she watched the magnificent creature disappear into the night.
"Now what?" she muttered to herself.
"Pssst, m’lady," a hushed voice rang through the night.
Eva quickly turned around, searching for the owner of the voice. She gasped when she saw what had been behind her the whole time. He wasn't lying when he said he had a castle.
Just a few yards away from Eva, an impressive stone fortress lay sprawled out in the clearing. Eva couldn't make out where the structure started and where it ended, it was so large. She stood gaping at the very medieval looking manse before her, any thought of the mysterious voice suddenly evaporating from her mind. That is, until it called out to her again.
"M’lady! Please!" it said with more urgency again. "We don't have much time before he returns, quickly come inside."
It was then that Eva saw the little door on the side of the wall. It was partially ajar and a knight dressed in full battle armor was peaking his head around the corner.
"Please, hurry," he motioned to her to come inside.
Eva took one final look at the forest where her mysterious beast had disappeared. She no longer saw the cluster of red eyes and figured that the night couldn't get any weirder, so she might as well see what lay inside the stone walls.
Chapter Three
"Here, take this," said a young woman as she offered Eva a wool blanket. "Ye be sopping wet!" she exclaimed.
Eva looked down at her still dripping clothes. She had almost forgotten about her near-drowning. She had been too caught up in the events of the night to worry about something as trivial as wet clothing.
"Thank you," she said as she took the blanket from the woman's extended arms. Eva offered the woman a kind smile in return.
The woman gave Eva an assessing, wary look before she backed away slightly. "Are ye a witch?" she asked blankly.
Eva was taken aback by her abrupt question. The highlander had said the same thing. "Why does everyone keep saying that?" she lamented aloud. Eva quickly realized her mistake in voicing her thoughts, as a mask of confusion spread over the young woman's face. "I'm sorry," Eva corrected. "What I meant was, I'm not a witch. I'm just a girl from Brighton."
"Brighton?" the woman echoed her words. "Ye be English?" she said in a heavy brogue.
It was at that moment that Eva realized how out of place she was. The woman — and the small crowd slowly forming behind her — were dressed in medieval clothing. The whole inside of the fortress looked like Eva had just stepped into an Arthurian storybook. Where am I? She thought for what was probably the umpteenth time that night.
"Yes," Eva nodded. "I'm English." Since her accent was decisively not Scottish, she knew she wouldn’t be able to hide anything.
The crowd erupted into a fury of chatter, their voices mixing into a clamor of different pitches and tones. Eva was only able to decipher a few words out of the excited conversation, as she could barely make out anything with their thick brogues. But from what she heard, it was pretty obvious they did not like that she wasn't one of them.
"Haud yer wheesht!" A commanding elderly woman's voice broke through the throng and instantly silenced the crowd.
Eva looked up to see an elderly woman walking toward her. The crowd parted ways as she moved through them, evidence that she commanded a great deal of respect. Her hair was pulled back into a long white braid that fell past her waist, while she was dressed in an elegant blue gown. She carried herself like a Queen, which around here, Eva suspected she was.
She came to stop before Eva, allowing time to give her a thorough once-over before choosing to speak. "Are ye the promised one?" she asked boldly. "My son has been waiting a long time," she added.
Eva blinked. Her son? "Is your son the one that changed back there?" she motioned behind the castle wall. "The one that —" she stopped the moment that she felt the woman give her a disapproving look. "I'm sorry," Eva muttered again. "I don't want to disappoint you, but I am not the one your son has been waiting for," she clarified. Eva had no idea why everyone kept acting like they were expecting her. Eva had never been in a situation like this before, which made the likelihood
of them "knowing" her, highly improbable.
The woman tilted her head at Eva, her gaze assessing her with acute sharpness. "Has he not told ye?" she asked smoothly.
"Told me what?” Eva asked in an attempt to try and follow the woman's cryptic statements and questions. Eva was too exhausted from the night's ordeal to continue this vague exchange. She desperately needed someone to finally explain to her what was going on.
"I see," the woman replied with a knowing smile. "Come," she motioned Eva to follow her and then she turned to glide away.
Eva nodded her agreement. At this point, she would have followed anyone if it meant getting some answers.
The woman guided her further into the keep. The whole time, the older woman did not once turn around to see if Eva was still following her, as if she expected Eva to follow her commands without question.
As they walked down the corridors, everyone they passed would stop what they were doing and gape at Eva. Although Eva knew that she must look a sight with her strange clothes, pond-soaked hair, and exhausted expression, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable by the amount of attention thrust upon her. She tried her best to ignore it.
"Ye will need a bath," the woman stated coldly.
Eva looked down at her clothing; she was still wet from her fall into the pond, and covered in grass and leaves from the run through the forest. "I'm sorry," she said reflexively, though she wasn’t sure what she had to apologize for.
"Nonsense, ye nae need to apologize child," the woman waved her off. She stopped before a large wooden door, pushed it open, and motioned for Eva to go inside.
"I will send my ladies maid to wait upon you," the lady of the house told Eva. "You will be presented to our people at dawn, as a way of verifying who you say you are," she added quickly
"Wait," Eva stopped her before she left. "I am not —" Eva stopped abruptly. She suddenly had the sense that it was probably best not to continue to contradict the lady of the house. Eva had the sense to realize that she had no damn clue where she was and that even her life could be at stake if she didn't comply. "I mean," she quickly added, "Thank you."
The lady nodded and left Eva alone in the room.
Although Eva had just faced the beast they were all afraid of, she couldn’t help but shake the feeling that she had walked into a lair of predators far more dangerous than the one outside.
Chapter Four
"M’lady," curtsied Gussie. She was, as Eva was informed, Lady Drummond's head maid. "Ye look beautiful!" she said as she stepped back to admire her work.
Gussie had spent most of the night helping Eva bathe and ready herself for the "presentation ceremony." Although Eva had tried her best to quiz the young maid about Laird, his beastly form, and his strange mother, Eva was unable to glean anything that might explain what was going on.
"All will be revealed at the ceremony," Gussie said excitedly. "We have been waiting a long time for the woman prophesied to break our dear Laird's curse," she said.
"And somehow everyone seems to think I am that girl?" Eva pressed.
"Of course!" Gussie stated bluntly.
Eva let out a slow sigh. She wasn't sure how she would be able to get herself out of this situation, as no one seemed to believe her.
"And the final touch," Gussie said in an airy voice as she pinned the final lock of Eva's hair in place.
"You don't think the dress and the hair are too much?" Eva asked as she peered down at the fine lace gown.
Gussie cocked her head at Eva, an expression of confusion spread across her face. "What do ye mean?" she asked curiously.
"It's just," Eva ran her hand over her wide hips and smoothed out the skirt. "I'm a bit bigger than most girls and —"
Gussie gasped. "Nae m’lady, ye are breathtaking!" she rushed closer and took Eva's hands up in her own. "Ye have the figure of a fine lady," she said earnestly. "Laird Drummond is lucky to have ye," she added.
"Thank you," Eva said softly.
I may be trapped her right now but I might as well try to fit in, Eva thought to herself.
A soft knock on the door interrupted the two girls. "M’lady," said a young squire's voice from the other side. "It is time for the ceremony."
Eva felt her chest tighten. She was still reeling from the all of the strange events and now she was suffering from a lack of sleep as Gussie had been insistent that they stay up all night to get Eva ready.
"Are ye ready?" Gussie asked with excitement in her eyes.
Eva nodded, even though she knew she was far from it.
Eva followed Gussie and the squire down the hall and back toward the inner courtyard. With each step, she felt more nervous about returning to a place where she sensed she was not welcomed. She was the outsider in a tight clan, where at least some viewed her as an intrusion. Even Gussie, whose wide-eyed innocence had been a welcome sight for Eva, acted a bit hesitant and fearful around Eva.
When they stepped outside, the bright morning light shone down in brilliant hues of red and orange. The thin dress Eva wore did nothing to protect her against the cool morning air, and as a result, a cold shiver raced down her spine. Once outside, she was led up to a platform that elevated her high above the growing crowd of clansmen. It was unsettling to say the least.
Let’s get this over with.
She saw the Lady Drummond, accompanied by two robed men with thick hoods covering their faces, standing on the corner of the platform. The lady beckoned Eva to join.
Eva felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach.
"This is where I leave ye," Gussie whispered.
Eva turned to look at the young girl, and was alarmed by the apprehension displayed on the girl's face; even Gussie didn't know what was going to happen with this "ceremony."
"Come," the lady commanded.
Eva felt her feet carry her up the stairs and onto the raised platform. She looked wildly about the crowd, searching for the face of the man that had pulled her from the water, the man they called Laird Drummond, but her search came up empty.
"As the Laird has yet to return," began the elderly lady, "we shall proceed without him." She waved at the two figures that flanked her. The one to her right moved closer and started circling Eva slowly.
"So she claims to be the one to fulfill the prophecy," he said in an eerily chilling voice.
Eva swallowed nervously. "I never claimed to be anything," she countered.
"Interesting," the second one said as she slid in step behind her counterpart, completing the circle. "But ye are the witch," pressed a female voice.
As soon as she said the word ‘witch’, the crowd erupted into a cacophony of voices. Eva knew instinctively that being labeled a witch, prophesied or not, was not making her very popular among the crowd.
"I'm not a witch!" she defended herself.
"But ye stood yer ground and commanded the beast, we all saw it," the first hooded figured argued. "No human can tame a shifter when he is in his unnatural form."
"So, because your Laird didn't eat me when he turned into a beast, you are accusing me of being a witch?" she said, trying to sound braver than she felt. She couldn't believe how ridiculous their accusations were. Of course she wasn't a witch!
"The one prophesied to break the curse is a mortal of pure heart," the second began. "You," she lifted a bony finger and pointed it directly at Eva, "How do we know if ye have a pure heart?"
Eva gaped; she had no idea how she was going to get out of this one.
"What is going on here!" roared a deep, masculine, very familiar voice.
Every head turned to see the Laird Drummond standing in the archway of the entrance to the keep, and the crowd grew silent. The sun illuminated the Laird's body from where it crept over the ridge; his very naked body, Eva observed.
The Laird stalked purposefully toward the elevated platform, and the crowd quickly parted as everyone sensed the anger rolling off him in waves.
"How dare ye put her on trial like this," he fumed.
He jumped up on the platform with an inhuman swiftness.
"Son," the elderly lady moved forward. "She is nae on trial," she waved an elegant hand in Eva's direction. "My advisers thought it would be best to have her confess her witness, to see if she indeed be the one from the prophecy," she explained.
"This does not look like a confessional," Laird Drummond pointed at the dense crowd.
Drummond's mother sniffed. "If she be true, she would have nothing to hide from the clan," she said. "My druids thought it would be best if —"
Laird Drummond cut her off. "Take yer fools out of here," he waved at the two cloaked individuals who had retreated to the edge of the platform. "I will decide what happens to my woman," he growled. As he spoke, his eyes flashed a brilliant red and his face turned menacing and feral like it had the previous night.
As if sensing the barely contained danger, the crowd began to back away.
It became obvious to Eva that the clan feared their Laird, but not for the reasons that a leader should be feared. Rather, they were afraid that at any moment, he would turn into a beast and direct his rage at them. She could sense the uncertainty and tension that the clans people carried with them regarding the master of the estate.
The elderly woman lifted her chin haughtily, turned on her heels, and escorted her two advisors off the platform without saying another word.
"And the rest of ye," Drummond commanded as he spoke to the crowd. It didn't take much encouragement to get the clan to quickly disperse.