Highland Charm: First Fantasies

by April Holthaus

  Both dogs barking, they charged past the gatehouse, and ran with God speed into the nearby forest. Abigale grew cautious as she hurried to find the girls. The eldest girl ran from her hiding spot to find Abigale. The girl must have sensed trouble by the way the dogs were reacting.

  “There ye are. Where is yer sister?”

  “I dinnae know.”

  Both of them looked at each other as if they both realized why the dogs took off towards the forest.

  “She must be in the forest,” Abigale said.

  Panicked, they both ran from the secured walls and out into the open wilderness of the forest. Barking echoed throughout the glen, making it easy to follow the dogs. Hopeful that Lennox and Mahboon had found the girl, Abigale called out, “Wee one!” Again she called out even though she knew the girl wouldn’t answer. At least Abigale’s voice might chase away any wild animals that may be a threat. “Wee one! Come out!"

  With the eldest girl right on Abigail’s heels, they both came to a sudden stop. Marcus was bent down talking to wee one. He stood up as soon as he saw Abigale approach. He grinned and released the child. “Ye should be more careful where ye roam."

  Relieved that she had found the girl, yet alarmed to see Marcus, Abigale called out to her. “Wee one, come here lassie.” Wee one happily ran to Abigale.

  Never taking her eyes off Marcus, Abigale scooped wee one up into her arms, making sure she wasn’t hurt.

  A gut feeling told Abigale to get the girls and herself back to the safety of Black Stone. Not wanting to scare the girls, Abigale calmed her rattled nerves and took a settling breath. “Girls, get back to the castle and find Alice. Take Lennox and Mahboon with ye. ”

  Not trusting the situation, the eldest girl hesitated and gazed at Marcus with a suspicious eye. “Is everything alright, Lady Abigale?”

  Marcus stepped closer to the girl. “There’s nothing to fear, lass, but ye should do as yer told.”

  Wee one grabbed her sister’s hand as they reluctantly followed the dogs back to Black Stone.

  “The lasses look good, Abigale. Much better than the last time I saw them,” Marcus stated.

  Abigale turned her attention back to Marcus. Dark circles surrounded his eyes as if he hadn’t slept in days. A red slash lingered over his right eye. He began to walk up next to Abigale but stopped when she took a step back. With his hands on his hips, he shook his head in disbelief. “He’s turned ye against me, hasn’t he?” It was more of a statement than a question.

  Abigale pretended she hadn’t heard him. “I’m sure James is out looking for me. I should be heading back.” Abigale turned to head back to the castle until a cold rough hand grabbed her arm.

  She tried to pull her arm away from his tight grip but he pulled her closer and wasn’t letting go. “Release me right now, Marcus.” She wriggled beneath his grip.

  “Sorry lass, but ye need to come with me.”

  “If James catches ye near me he will kill ye. Please just let me go. I will nae say a word,” Abigale pleaded.

  Deep sinister laughter boomed through the forest. Marcus caught his breath long enough to reply, “Lass, he can’t kill me even if he wanted to.” He chuckled a few more times before he became very serious. “No one is looking for ye and I saw yer husband leave earlier this morn. He can no help ye now.”

  Panic prickled up her spine. What was Marcus up to? If she stalled a little longer someone would come looking for her. James was gone but Alice knew where she was. Perhaps the girls would alert a guard or Alice. She knew someone would be searching for her soon.

  “Marcus,” she said calmly, “Please release me. Ye’re hurting my arm."

  Marcus studied Abigale’s face for a moment, contemplating her request.

  “Please,” she begged.

  “Ye know, there’s something in a way that a lass begs that turns me on.” He paused. “Kiss me like ye kiss him, Abigale. Want me like ye want him.” He nuzzled his nose against her neck and breathed in deeply. “Ye smell verra pretty.”

  Abigale began to tremble. She closed her eyes and wished he would let her go. At this point, she would make a run for it. It sickened her being this close to him, for she could smell the mead on his breath, warm and stale. A tear slipped down her cheek. Where was James?

  Abigale pulled from Marcus’s grip, turned around, and looked for a way to escape, but she was cornered by five massive figures dressed in full battle armor. The pure size alone of these men would make a grown man run to his mother and hide in her skirts. They stood around her with their arms folded across their plated chests, helms covered their faces, and evil poured from their pores.

  Bile churned in her stomach and rose in her throat. Her eyes grew big and her pupils dilated as the flight or fight response warred inside her. There was no way she could fight off six huge men nor run from them. Hopefully she could talk her way out of this.

  “Marcus, what’s going on?” She eyed him directly with suspicion.

  Marcus pursued his approach on her until he stood over her looking down into her huge eyes. “My sweet Abigale--” He stopped in mid-sentence as if he warred with himself.

  Before Abigale knew what was happening, Marcus grabbed her waist and threw her over his massive shoulder. Kicking and screaming, Abigale fought hard to escape him, but it was impossible. He was too big and too powerful.

  “Put me down!” Abigale screamed and pounded her fists into his back. She wasn’t going without a fight. Doing everything in her might to escape, she bit down on his shoulder blade. Marcus grunted in pain and dropped her instantly. She fell on her back onto the hard forest floor.

  Scrambling to her feet, she didn’t make it far before she was grabbed from behind. Cold steel chilled her body as a massive armored man held a sword across her neck. One wrong move and she was sure as the heather bloomed in summer that the man who held her would slit her throat without hesitation.

  Her chest rose and fell rapidly, as Marcus approached her. “Looks like we have a feisty one here.” With the unwounded arm he slapped her hard. Stars exploded behind her eyes and her body went limp.

  Chapter 21

  Capture the princess, slay the dragon.

  Heavy eyelids begged to open as throbbing pain slammed through her. Dampness from the ground seeped through her dress and settled deep in her bones. Abigale lay motionless. Trying desperately to open her eyes, she blinked back the fog until slowly iron bars came into view causing her to panic. Faintly, she heard voices arguing in the distance. Where was she?

  As she slowly sat up, her surroundings started to spin and so did her stomach. Blood rushed to her face, increasing the throbbing in her cheek. As she tried to swallow she noticed the taste of blood in her mouth. She spat out the blood and wiped the taste away from her lips with the back of her hand. Events were slowly coming back. She remembered being in the woods with Marcus and… then it dawned on her, Marcus had hit her and knocked her unconscious. He had taken her away, but where?

  Abigale rose to her feet. Still unsteady, she fell backwards into the cold iron bars. She looked around and realized she had been locked up inside of an enclosure that looked like a bird cage. It was big enough for her to stand and nothing more. A few lit torches were hung on posts sporadically and cast shadows upon the enclosure’s fabric. A tent. She must be inside a tent, and judging by the glow of the torches it must be night.

  Feeling steadier on her feet, Abigale took a few steps to the front of the cage. She grabbed the thick iron bars and gave them a tug, testing their strength. They were solid. Two figures came into view and stood outside near the entrance of the tent. Although she couldn’t see them, their shadows indicated that they were men. Abigale strained to listen, trying to recognize the voices. Aye, she did. One of the voices belonged to Marcus but the other voice was unfamiliar.

  ~~~~~

  “Ye promised if I brought ye the princess, my sister would be returned to me. Now where is she?” Marcus said.

  “I would watch that tongue o
f yers. Ye are in no position to be giving orders.” Rickert stabbed a finger at Marcus’s chest.

  Looking at the finger then back at Rickert, Marcus had a grim feeling he had been deceived. “I want to see my sister.”

  “Sutton,” the sheriff called to his trusted second commander.

  “Aye, my lord.”

  Marcus looked at Rickert as he whispered a command to the burly man. As quick as Sutton came, he left to do his lord’s bidding.

  Placing his hands behind his back, Rickert stood in front of Marcus. “Ye should know who ye’re dealing with before ye trust them, fool. I told ye there would be a village raid. All ye had to do was tell us where to find the princess. Seems to me yer cock got the better of ye, aye?"

  “I did as you ordered, I brought ye the princess. What more is there?” Marcus was beginning to lose his patience.

  “Aye.” The foul man stepped closer until his lips were lingering over Marcus’s ear. “I want the dragon.”

  This was the moment Rickert had been waiting for, his revenge on James. Now with Abigale in his grasp, the dragon would soon come and he would get his revenge. Slay the dragon.

  Sutton, now with a wooden box in his hand, came marching up. Handing the box over to his lord, he bowed and walked away.

  “Did ye really think ye would see yer beloved sister again? Ye’re as naive as yer whore of a sister.”

  Sweat began to bead across Marcus’s forehead and his heart thundered in his chest as he looked at the box. Nay!

  Pure evil laughter belted out from the sheriff. He threw the box at Marcus’s feet. “Be proud, she put up one hell of a fight.” He then turned and started to walk away.

  The box landed with a soul-shaking thud. Its contents spilled out and a bloody heart lay in the dirt.

  Marcus bellowed a mournful cry that echoed across the night and dropped to his knees. With shaking hands, he picked up his sister’s non-beating heart and placed it back into the box. Her heart, her kind, good-natured, innocent heart. Marcus shook his head. “Nay!”

  Primal animalistic instincts suddenly exploded inside of him sending Marcus into a rage. As he stood, slowly he pulled a dirk from his boot. Sinister hooded eyes glared into Rickert’s back as if he was mentally crushing the man. “Rickert!"

  Rickert turned around only to find himself nose to nose with Marcus. Without flinching, Marcus drove his blade into Rickert’s stomach. Wide-eyed he fell to the ground, dead.

  A fool no more, Marcus stood over the dead man. He should have known better than to trust an Englishman’s word. But did he really have a choice? Nay, he did what he had to do in order to save his sister and now look where it had gotten him. He’d betrayed his clan and he'd failed his sister.

  This was James’s fault. The bloody bastard cared only about himself, Marcus seethed inside. Wronging the wrong people would be that bastard’s downfall. Burning the English garrison to death to reclaim what? His precious land? His family name? It had always been about James, hadn’t it? James created another enemy, but instead of the enemy destroying James, it destroyed Marcus.

  Good thing Marcus had a sharp mind for he knew Rickert to be a cheat, a master of trickery. But never fret, he reminded himself. His sister’s death would not be for naught. Everything became crystal clear like a cloudless sky. It had been woven into the fibers of his soul; this was what he was destined to do. All along he could hear the dragon cry, yet fate cannot be rushed, he had to wait for his destiny and his destiny would prevail tonight. Risky as it might be, he had a plan; dragon blood would be spilled tonight and a kingdom would rise again.

  ~~~~~

  Abigale’s hand flew over her mouth in shock. She had just witnessed Marcus killing a man. Terror ripped through her and frantically she began to pull at the iron bars, praying they would bend. She had to get out of here.

  The flaps of the tent flew open as Marcus’s body filled the entrance, causing her to step back towards the back of the cage.

  Marcus glanced at Abigale and said, “Ye saw me kill him, didn’t ye?”

  Abigale stood silent. The hard cold tone of his voice chilled her veins.

  “Dinnae fash yerself princess, I’m no going to kill ye.”

  “I need to know why, Marcus.” Her voice shook. “Why did ye kill that man?”

  “’Tis best ye stay quiet and don’t draw attention to yerself.”

  “Why did ye bring me here? I trusted ye and ye deceived me.”

  Marcus strode to the cage. “See lass, that’s where ye went wrong.” He rubbed his hand through his brown curly hair, as he paced back and forth in front of her. "James has made quite a few enemies. I told him so not too long ago.” He looked far away as if he was remembering that day. “I’m afraid yer husband’s brutal ways have caught up with him.”

  “I dinnae understand.”

  Marcus stopped in front of her and grabbed the iron bars, causing her to flinch. “Abigale, that bastard I killed,” he paused like he was trying to rein in his anger, “wanted to kill James for the brutal way he massacred his men when yer husband reclaimed Castle Douglas. Ye were the bait to bring James here.”

  “And ye agreed to bring me here and betray James. Why? Why would ye do such a thing?”

  Marcus looked down at the ground and shook his head. “’Tis none of yer business, it’s personal now. James will pay for what he has done to me, mark my words, princess.”

  There was no room in that blasted cage. Like a wild animal trapped, she felt the need to run, but there was nowhere to go. Capture the Princess…slay the dragon, she thought. Gradually, she put the puzzle pieces together as she recalled Marcus asking the man about his sister. Marcus had brought her here to be exchanged for his sister, hadn’t he? Oh dear God, he knew James would come for her and that’s when they would kill him. Fear pricked her skin and settled in the pit of her gut. This was a trap. She faced Marcus, "Ye don’t have to do this. James will forgive ye. Maybe he can help get yer sister back.”

  “My sister? My sister is of no concern to ye or James.”

  “But I heard ye talking to a man outside.” She motioned to the tent entrance. “She was to be returned to ye. Is she in some kind of trouble? It is why I'm here… aye? He’s holding yer sister against ye?”

  “Abigale, she’s—“

  “What?”

  Marcus said between clenched teeth, “She’s dead.”

  Abigale took a step back. “Nay, did that man—“

  “Murder her, aye. James caused her death and he will pay for it.” Every word he spoke dripped with hate.

  “Ye can no mean it.”

  “Aye Abigale.” He held her stare. “Eye for an eye.” He turned and left the tent.

  ~~~~~

  Alice raced through the great hall, her plump bosom bouncing in stride. James had returned, and barely had the time to brace himself, before Alice rushed him. “My Laird,” Alice panted. She could barely speak, she was so winded. “Lady Abigale… I’ve searched everywhere.”

  Overwhelming terror shot through him. He sensed something was wrong the moment he walked into the great hall. Normally he could feel Abigale even if she wasn’t in the room; his dragon knew his mate. He grabbed Alice’s shoulders in order to calm her down. "Lass, take a deep breath. Where is Lady Abigale?”

  “I… I do no know.” Alice started to sob.

  “What do ye mean? She was here this morn.”

  “She never returned from playing with the girls. The eldest mentioned a scary man in the woods.”

  “A man, in the woods?” Bloody hell, she had promised him she would not leave the castle walls. With his hands on his hips James started to pace. “Are ye sure?"

  “Aye.”

  “How long has she been gone?”

  “I’m no sure, my Laird”

  James fought back the urge to shake the answers out of her. “Alice, think. I need to know how long?”

  Alice couldn’t think straight. Everything began to blur.

  At that time Conall and
Effie entered the great hall. Realizing the commotion, they instantly raced over to James. “James, what’s happened?” Conall said.

  James released Alice. Effie quickly caught Alice as she collapsed into her arms.

  “Conall, find Rory. Abigale is missing,” James ordered.

  “Aye.” Conall was gone as quickly as he arrived.

  “Effie, stay here in case Abigale shows up.”

  “Aye,” Effie confirmed.

  With haste James stormed up the stairs and toward their bedchamber. Although James knew better than to believe in false hope, he still held on to it as he entered their room. The door slammed open. “Abigale!”

  Nothing. No sigh of Abigale anywhere.

  James sat down on the bed resting his head in his hands. He shook his head as if wiping away a bad dream. Doubt began to fill his mind; she couldn’t be gone. What if she had left of her own free will? Was she having second thoughts about being married to a dragon? That alone was enough to make a lass run. Nay, she wasn’t a runner. They would have talked about it; that he knew for sure. Alice mentioned a scary man in the woods. Panic pricked him like a thistle. Someone had taken his woman.

  With time being of the essence, James stood up and began to quit the room when something shiny and gray caught his eye sticking out from under the bed. Squinting his eyes to focus, he bent down and picked the object up. It was an arrow head. He turned it around and studied the arrow; his blood stained it. The arrow head was the same one that Abigale had removed from his chest. As he looked closer more information became clear. It was made out of flint. "God’s blood,” James cried out. Marcus. He was the only one who made his arrow heads out of this kind of flint. The room started to spin as he took in all this information. Marcus had tried to kill him.

  Anger like he’d never felt before pulsed through him, and his dragon stirred impatiently waiting to be released. James squeezed the arrow head until blood trickled down his hand. Indeed there was a traitor lurking around clan Douglas and he had just been found out. James cursed and threw the arrow at the stone wall with such force that it became embedded deep within the stone. "I will take the bastard’s head.”