by Rye Hart
Lady Drummond slowly raised her eyes to meet Eva's. "There is only one way, but I ken nay ask ye to pay that price..." she trailed off.
Eva didn't need Lady Drummond to voice the words in order to convey the meaning. "I can still break the curse, can't I?" Eva could feel the tears welling up, "It's my life or his -" she broke off before she could finish.
"Aye," Lady Drummond nodded. "But you would not only be saving Bhradain, but the entire kingdom from the darkness that has slowly been encroaching us."
"I'll do it," Eva nodded while tears streamed down her face.
Eva shuddered when she felt the chilling presence of the druids as they in beside her. She hadn't realized that Lady Drummond and her were not alone, but then again, she couldn't help but feel that everything that had happened to her over the past few days was meant to lead up to this moment; and with that realization, a hypnotic calm settled over her.
"Here milady," the male druid's chilling voice resonated through Eva. She felt him take her right hand and wrap her shaking fingers around the cold hilt of a dagger. Eva could barely see the glint of metal as it was reflected off of the dim lit of the fire; so bleary was her vision with tears.
"What do you need me to do?" Eva asked through muted sobs. She wished she had done more with her time with Bhradain. He would be devastated to learn what had to happen, but she knew that the strong, resilient, fearless man would know that the sacrifice she was about to make was for him and for the kingdom he loved so dearly. "I love you," she whispered to the one man who was not here with her.
"Here," the male druid guided the point of the blade until it was positioned over her heart. "The blood of a willing sacrifice," he murmured gently.
"Ok," Eva said shakily. "I am ready -"
Eva's words were broken off by a loud, frightening growl that chilled the very air in the room. The fire went out pitching the room into darkness. The room went deathly silent in response as everyone froze.
The clamor of the dagger hitting the hard stone floor set the room off as the deafening sound of battle erupted.
Eva lost sense of what was happening around her, as cries of the druids and Bhraidain's beast echoed off the walls and enveloped her. She couldn't see a thing, but she could feel the air as the whipped around her with inhuman speed. She dared not move, afraid that she would be hit.
"Enough!" Shrieked Lady Drummond as the room came ablaze with light as the fire roared back to life.
As the room was illuminated, Eva saw that Bhradan was in full beast form and had cornered the two druids. He growled, his eyes appearing feral as they darted between the trapped druids and his mother.
Only Lady Drummond no longer looked like the regal, aging queen. Instead, a striking, young, hauntingly beautiful woman stood before them.
Eva balked at the sudden change as her mind attempted to wrap around what had just happened.
"Oh stupid girl," mocked the woman. "Have ye not figured it out by now?" Her laugh was both beautiful and chilling, the fire whipped menacingly in response to its mistress. "You're not the witch here, I am."
Bhradain's beast emitted a sickening roar as his body tensed before the beastly form began to melt away. As soon as the man appeared before them, the druids took the moment to strike when he was at his most vulnerable. In a second, they had his arms bound and a chain looped through a hook in the wall and wrapped around his neck in a tight bind.
"How could ye," Bhradain spat at the new figure of Lady Drummond.
The woman tsk'd. "Oh Lord Drummond," she feigned a shocked expression, "how could ye be so rude to your mother." As she spoke, she slowly twisted the dagger that, moments earlier, Eva had thought she had dropped to the floor.
"Ye are no mother of mine," Bhradain roared once again. "I sense the evil in ye, the darkness that is within ye is the same darkness that enveloped my kingdom."
The woman eyed him with amusement. "Ye were always such a smart lad. It's too bad that you weren't my own son. But then again, we would nae be here if ye were."
"What have you done with the queen?" Bhradain roared as he strained against his chains.
"Oh stop that, I don't want ye to hurt yourself. At least not prematurely." The witch moved toward the fire and brushed her hand against the mantle as she thought upon her next words. "Your mother made the ultimate sacrifice, all those years ago, when you were just a babe," the lady spoke in a menacingly gentle voice. "Your life for hers," she said as she stared into the roaring fire.
"Murderer!" Cried Bhradain. The chain clanged as he strained against it.
"Oh Bhradain," the lady sighed. "I did not kill her directly. She was nae the strongest witch I ever thought, but she was the cleverest." The woman's voice conveyed amusement. "When I had successfully cursed ye with your beastly affliction, I thought ye mother retaliate with magic and I would easily overpower her and then destroy all of ye and finally take this kingdom for my own," she explained. "But the crafty woman gave her life to save ye, and it has been that spell that has kept me and my powers at bay for almost twenty six years." The woman placed the dagger on the mantle and moved toward where Bhradain was still chained to the wall. "Poor babe," she mocked.
All this time, Eva had remained silent. She was shocked by the revelation, but the moment that they took Bhradain her mind went into overdrive as she looked for a way to save them both. Perhaps, if I could get the dagger - Eva made an attempt to move toward the mantle.
"Not so fast dearie," the witch blocked Eva's meager attempt. "I am not done with ye yet!"
"Do nae touch her!" Bhradain cried out. In that moment, the chain and his bindings snapped and he once again was in a stand off with the two druids. Bhradain cast the witch a murderous look from where the druids blocked his path.
"But she is the final piece!" the witch mocked. "The death of someone who loved ye is what had protected ye, but the death of someone ye love will undo the enchantment," she revealed.
Bhradain froze. "It ken nae be," he breathed.
In a moment, the witch had an arm banded around Eva's throat and the cool steel of the dagger resting against it. Eva struggled against the bind, but when she felt the sharp prick of the edge of the blade she stopped.
"Never," Bhradain spoke menacingly a moment before all hell broke loose. In a second the two druids were on the ground, the blade was whipped away from Eva's neck, and Bhradain had the witch pushed against the mantle, his hand slowly closing around her throat.
"Ye are making a mistake," the witch threatened Bhradain between strained gasps for air.
"I think the tables have turned," Bhradain mocked back.
The witch began to laugh. "Oh dearie," she mocked before she raised her hand to point behind him. "Just look."
Eva felt the chilling hands of a druid grasp her arm, but before she could register what had happened, the world around her shifted and began to fade away. She watched in horror as Bhradain faded from view and the world slowly went dark.
Eva knew that she wasn't dead, as she could hear herself breathing.
At least she didn't think she was dead.
"Bhradain," she called out into the darkness, but there was no response. She knew she had failed Bhradain, that it was too late. The witch had won and there was nothing either one of them could do.
Eva shut her eyes tightly, trying to banish the pain from her heart. When she finally did open them, she was surprised by what she saw.
She was back in her room. The door was propped ajar, her hand still gripping the handle. Grief overwhelmed her and she sunk to her knees, defeated.
Eva shook her head. "I failed you Bhradain," she said, "and I'm so sorry."
Chapter Ten
In the few weeks following Eva's return, she tried her best to conceal her grief. The last think she needed was her aunt and uncle becoming concerned over her sudden change — especially since they had no idea what Eva had gone through. While time had barely passed for them, Eva had met and lost her soul mate.
At first
she felt like a zombie, just barely living. She didn't want to return to his world, didn't want to think about him, and didn’t want to acknowledge that she was the reason why he was gone.
A week had passed before Eva finally allowed her mind to start to process all that had happened. When she had returned, she must have died in that room. And if she had passed on, her death would have broken the protection curse and have left Bhradain - and his kingdom - vulnerable. That is, if she had actually died. If her time had simply been up and whatever magic had brought her there had simply returned her to this world, then perhaps there is still a chance that she could return to Bhradain and help him defeat the witch.
Eva began to spend all of her free time at the local library, reading as much material as she could gather on curses and witches. Slowly, Eva began to piece together the information she had gleaned from Bhradain's world, while taking in whatever knowledge she could find on the subject in her own.
Lady Drummond's imposter had insisted that Eva was a witch, and that was why she was able to cross into a different reality to respond to the druid summons. Eva began to do some digging into her family history and discovered that several relatives had been referred to as witches. Before her journey, Eva would have chalked up those claims as unfounded gossip. But Eva had learned that reality was not always as it seemed, and sometimes the rational answer, wasn't the right one. She took the information she gleaned on the subject and tucked it away for further consideration.
But while Eva had learned a few things about her family history, she did not find anything that might help her return to Bhradain. Slowly, Eva began to come to terms with the fact that even if Bhradain was still alive in his world, she would never be able to replicate the circumstances that had allowed her to cross the veil of worlds to be with him.
One bittersweet morning, Eva discovered that she was pregnant with Bhradain's child. While the thought of raising his child without him grieved her, she was still thankful to carry a part of him with her.
Eva knew that she could no longer rely on her aunt and uncle's generosity. Although she knew that they wouldn't consider her a burden, Eva still felt that it wouldn't be right of her to continue to rely upon them once the child was born. It was time that she moved out on her own, so she found a decent job as a receptionist and packed her bags.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" her Uncle Mark asked as he aided Eva in the move to her own apartment.
"This is something I need to do, for myself," she said. She had yet to tell any of her friends and family about her pregnancy. Eva figured she would only cause others to worry about her so until she could work up the courage to break the news she would keep things to herself.
"You are welcome to come visit anytime," Aunt Marie offered, as she placed a box of kitchen stuff on the dining room table. "Do you want us to stay and help unpack?"
"No, no," Eva waved them off. "You both have done enough and I am forever grateful," she smiled. "But I am exhausted and would like to rest," she explained.
Her aunt and uncle nodded their understanding.
"I'll go take these empty boxes to the car," Uncle Mark said as he left the small apartment.
Eva's aunt lingered a moment, "Okay honey," Aunt Marie added, "if you need anything don't hesitate to ask."
"I won't," Eva smiled.
"Come here," Marie held her arms and enveloped Eva in a tight hug. As Marie walked away, she suddenly stopped just short of the door. She turned back around and sent Eva a serious look. "And Eva, just remember, we are always here for you," she paused for the briefest moment, as if debating her next words, "and the baby." And with those final words, she left Eva alone in her new place.
Eva was determined to face her current world and all the challenges ahead of her with courage. She knew that it wouldn't be easy, but the fear of the challenge no longer intimidated her. The old Eva would have never been strong enough to be where she was right now. And although she sorely missed Bhradain, their short journey had tested Eva's strengths and taught her to put trust in her own abilities.
Chapter Eleven
Eva had been at work when the contractions had started. She had been helping one of the other admins photo copy a set of papers when all of a sudden she felt a gush of water pool at her feet.
"Sweetie," the elderly admin looked at the floor and then back at Eva, "I think your water just broke.
"Yes, I should probably get to the hospital." Eva said sarcastically as a contraction rippled through her and caused her to double over in pain. "Call an ambulance," she said through panted breaths.
"Tsk tsk," the woman teased as she made her way toward the office in search of a phone. As she walked, she started absently telling Eva about the birth of her fifth child, and how he had come so quickly that she ended up giving birth to him in a restaurant. "I gave birth during the second and third course, cleaned him up, and then returned to the table to finish by dessert," she said as she started to dial the emergency line.
"I'm sure you did," Eva said through gritted teeth. She wasn't in the mood to argue with old Mrs. Matthews about the factuality of her story, as she had a well-known tendency to exaggerate.
"Annddd," Mrs. Matthews continued, "only after I finished my dessert did I go to the hospital."
"Great story Mrs. Matthews, but is the ambulance on its way?" Eva asked desperately. Her contractions had subsided for the moment, but she knew that at any second they would return.
"I'm on the phone with them right now sweetie," she called to Eva from across the room.
At this rate, Eva feared she would never make it. Come on Eva, you are stronger than this, she encouraged herself. She gritted her teeth and set her jaw with determination. She was going to be just fine.
****
Eva looked down at the sleeping babe in her arms, her and Bhradain's little baby boy. He had a full head of thick black hair and intense brown eyes, just like his father.
"Drummond," she echoed softly, "I'll name you Drummond, after your father." She pressed a soft kiss on the baby's forehead and gently began to rock him while she hummed a lullaby.
Eva stopped humming the moment she sensed another presence in the room — a presence that caused her body to respond in an instinctual way. She didn't need to look up to know who was standing in the doorway.
"Bhradain," she gasped as she brought her eyes up to meet his with fierce intensity.
Heavy emotions played out on Bhradain's face as he looked down upon the image of Eva holding the babe.
"He's ours," she said softly.
"I ken," his voice wavered on the last word.
Eva smiled at the sound of Bhradain's heavy brogue. She had missed it greatly. "How did you … I mean, where did you?" she had so many questions, but she was too overwhelmed by the surprise to think clearly.
Bhradain walked slowly toward Eva and baby Drummond, his eyes glistening with the hint of tears. "I cannae believe he is ours," he said gruffly.
Eva nodded. Her own eyes stung with tears of joy, her mind still taking its time to fully process that Bhradain had returned to her.
Bhradain leaned closer and brushed his thumb gently against baby Drummond's cheek. "He is beautiful," Bhradain breathed. He turned his gaze back on Eva. "And ye make a radiating mother," he smiled as he spoke.
"Would you like to hold him?" Eva asked Bhradain. He looked surprised, but eager.
"Aye, I would," he said softly. He carefully lifted the sleeping baby out of Eva's arms and brought him close to his chest, cradling him gently.
Eva enjoyed the site of her intense highlander gently rocking their sleeping babe. Her heart ached with the joy of seeing him, while her mind continued to try and wrap itself around the concept that he was indeed here.
"I thought you were gone!" Eva said as she was wiping the tears from her eyes. She wasn't sure how Bhradain had returned to her, and she wanted to know what had happened to him these past few months.
Bhradain looked up from where he had been
gazing at their sleeping infant; his eyes locked with hers. "The curse is broken Eva," he said with pure happiness. "Ye broke the curse."
Eva felt even more bewildered. "But the witch said that it was too late," she added.
"Nae," Bhradain said. "Ye remember the night when little Drummond was conceived," he shot Eva a heated look. "Ye said ye were willing to pay the price to help me break the curse," he continued. "Our love and the conception of our little babe broke the witches curse and re-enforced the kingdoms protection long before we ever entered that room."
Eva's eyes widened. "But where were you all these months?" she tried to clarify.