A Warrior's Heart

by Laurel O'Donnell

  “Sweetcakes?” Coira looked up in surprise, realizing she hadn’t seen the dog since they’d returned. “Where is she?”

  “She’s gone,” explained Jack.

  “Gone?” asked Lance. “Where did she go?”

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” Jack sighed and held up his hands. “I tried to keep her in the courtyard as you’d instructed, but the dog wouldn’t stay. She ended up running out the gate just before it started to rain.”

  “Sweetcakes is out in this storm?” Coira ran to the window and threw open the shutter. She scanned the courtyard below but didn’t see the dog anywhere. “I need to find her.” She turned to go, jumping in surprise as it thundered again.

  “Nay, you’re not going anywhere.” Lance stepped in front of her. “It’s just a dog that used to be a stray. It’ll come back when it’s good and ready. If not, we’ll search for it in the morning light after the rain lets up.”

  “Ye care only about yerself!” cried Coira.

  “Coira, that’s not true. What do you want? Do you want me to find the dog? I said I’d search for it in the morning.”

  “Nay, I dinna want anythin’ from ye. Ye are my enemy now.” Tears flowed down her cheeks as she pushed past him and ran from the room.

  “Now you did it, you fool,” snapped Zara, taking off after Coira.

  Lance collapsed atop a chair, dragging a hand through his wet hair. His clothes dripped and a puddle of water pooled beneath him. “Did you have to tell us about the dog right now?” he asked his squire.

  “I suppose it could have waited.” Jack walked over and closed the shutter to keep out the rain. “But I know how much Coira cares for Sweetcakes and thought I should let her know immediately that the dog ran away.”

  “It’s just a damned hound, Squire. What does it matter?”

  “My lord?” Jack turned around and cocked his head. “I thought you’d want to make your wife happy by finding the dog.”

  “The last time I tried to make my wife happy is what got me into this mess in the first place.”

  “I don’t understand.” Jack went over and poked at the fire with an iron rod.

  “I thought it would mean something to Coira to live in a castle and have a husband who owned land as well. I wanted her to be proud to be my wife. That’s the reason I did what I did.”

  “But Lady Coira doesn’t seem to care about living in a castle,” Jack told him.

  “I know that now. However, the damage has been done.” Lance stared into the flames, thinking of how angry his uncle would be when he found out he’d been deceived. “Sir Philip will most likely return from his trip tomorrow sometime. And when he finds no stone hidden where I told him it would be, there will be a battle between us over the castle.”

  “What are you going to do, my lord?”

  “What can I do?” Lance stood up and slogged his way to the door, his shoes squeaking with water with every step he took. “Saddle our horses, Squire, we’ve got a dog to find.”

  “But what about Sir Philip?” asked Jack, running after him. “What if he returns while we’re away?”

  “I know how long it takes to get to the River Annan and back. He won’t return at least until late tomorrow sometime. By then, hopefully I’ll have an answer about what to do.”

  “Are you going to fight him for the castle?” asked Jack.

  “I can’t answer that right now,” Lance told him. “Now let’s get a move on, because we have a dog to find before my wife calls me the enemy again.”

  Chapter 11

  Coira spent the night in Zara’s room, where she had cried herself to sleep. It wasn’t until she heard shouting from the courtyard that she awoke.

  “What is it, Zara?” She sat up in bed. “Has Lance returned?” She found out from the stable boy that Lance and Jack went out in the middle of the storm to look for the dog. At first, she was happy. But after hours of a severe storm and they still hadn’t returned, she started to worry.

  “I don’t know,” said Zara, sitting up as well. They shared the bed, but Coira wished she was sharing the bed with her husband instead.

  “It’s got to be him. He must have found the dog.” She hurriedly dressed and pushed on her shoes and headed for the door.

  “Where are you going in the middle of the night?” asked Zara.

  “I have to see him, Zara. I need to tell him that I’m sorry for deceivin’ him.”

  “Now is a fine time to think of that.” Zara swung her legs over the side of the bed and yawned. “Perhaps, if you could have told him before he left, none of the problems between you would matter.”

  “I was angry,” said Coira, grabbing a cloak from a hook and throwing it around her shoulders. “But I had time to think. Lance said it was a knight’s dream to own a castle. I think I now understand his decision.”

  “It still doesn’t make it right,” said Zara.

  “Nay, it doesna. But I deceived him, too, and that wasna right either. I feel bad that Lance left in a storm to find Sweetcakes. But that tells me that he does care about me after all. I have to go to him, Zara.” Coira turned and ran down the corridor, heading out to the courtyard. She had worried for Lance’s safety and was happy that he’d returned.

  She ran out the door of the keep, calling out his name. “Lance? Lance, ye’ve returned.”

  “Well, look at what we have here.” The voice of Sir Philip stopped her dead in her tracks. She looked up to see his angry face staring down at her from his steed. The wagon with the cages on the back was right behind him. All her fears came crashing down on her at once. She backed away slowly. “You told your husband a lie, wench.” He dismounted and reached out and grabbed her by the hair.

  “Ow! Leave me be.” She struggled against his hold.

  “No one is going to lie to me and get away with it.”

  “I dinna ken what ye mean.”

  “You told your husband the Stone of Destiny was where the River Annan and the Evan Waters meet. However, on my way there I met up with one of my brother’s men who knew the truth. That was the last hiding place of the stone, but it’s been moved. Now, tell me, where is it?” He gripped her hair tighter, causing her to bend over in pain.

  “I dinna ken,” she shouted. “Only the MadMen MacKeefe ken where they hid the stone.”

  “I don’t believe you. Now tell me where it is or I will get it out of you, however I have to.”

  “Lance willna let ye get away with this,” shouted Coira.

  Philip chuckled. “He’s not going to come to your rescue because I heard he’s out looking for a mutt.”

  Coira felt sick to her stomach and now regretted ever making such a big fuss about the missing dog. If she hadn’t, Lance would be there now to protect her and to defend his castle.

  “What’s going on down there?” shouted a sentry from the battlements.

  “Men, take care of the guards before they alert everyone we’re here,” commanded Philip.

  “Aye, my lord,” said his men, taking off at a run.

  “Tell me the truth, wench, or you’re going back in there where you belong.” Philip dragged her over to the wagon and shoved her face in front of the bars of the cage that had, at one time, been her prison.

  “Nay, please. I dinna ken where the stone is hidden.”

  “Leave her alone,” shouted Zara, running across the courtyard to try to help her. Coira heard fighting from the battlements, with shouting and the sound of clashing swords.

  “Get the old crone,” commanded Philip. “And put them both in these hanging cages until the wench tells us the truth.”

  “Aye, milord,” said several of Philip’s soldiers, hauling the cages from the back of the cart.

  “Nay!” cried Coira, being dragged by Sir Philip over to the cages. “Please, I dinna want to go in the cage.” Thunder crashed overhead and the sky opened up again, with rain pouring down.

  “Get the ropes and hang the baskets. One night out in this storm and I’
m sure the girl will start spilling her secrets come morning.”

  Coira fought them but still ended up in the cage. As they used the ropes and pulleys to hang the cages in the courtyard, Coira felt her knees wobble and give way beneath her.

  “Be strong, Child,” Zara shouted from the other cage. Coira felt sick as the wind blew the cage back and forth and the rain pelted down so hard she was sure it was daggers sticking into her body. All hope vanished as her past came to life once again. She closed her eyes and trembled, being transported back to six years earlier when her life hung in the balance.

  “Effie, I’m scared,” Coira told her sister, swinging back and forth in the wind, holding on to the bars of her cage. A crow settled itself atop her cage, reaching its beak through the bars, just waiting to be able to peck her eyes from her body as soon as she was dead and shriveled from the sun. Coira screamed and hid her face in her hands.

  “Be strong,” she heard Effie tell her. But Coira had always been sickly and weak. Effie was the strong one, not her.

  “Be strong,” Zara told her again. “Lance will be back soon, and he will protect you.”

  Coira uncovered her eyes and looked down at the ground. Philip and the guards were heading to the keep. Some of Lance’s soldiers ran out and they all started fighting.

  “It’s over, Zara. I’m goin’ to die in this cage after all.”

  “Take hold of your thoughts and have faith,” Zara commanded. “Lance will save you. But you’ve got to believe.”

  “I believe,” said Coira, squeezing her eyes closed tight, thinking about Lance and the intimate times they’d shared together. He told her he wanted the castle for her and so that she’d be happy. He didn’t know about her past at the time. “I believe,” she said again as the cold rain pelted against her skin. Her body shook. “I b-believe,” she repeated, thinking about Effie and how badly she wanted to see her sister again. Coira didn’t want to die before she had the chance to be an aunt to Effie’s baby. This couldn’t be the end. She refused to believe it. Then she thought about how much Lance must love her to go out in the storm in the middle of the night to look for her dog. Aye, he loved her, she decided, or he would never do such a thing. And now, she realized that she loved him, too.

  The sound of a barking dog caused her to open her eyes. She glanced down to the courtyard to see Sweetcakes leading the way and Lance and Jack riding in right behind her.

  “Lance,” she said, feeling frightened for him that he was riding right into what could be a very deadly battle. “Lance,” she cried out, gripping the bars of the cage. She had to warn him.

  Lance rode into the courtyard, swearing he heard Coira calling out to him.

  “Did you hear that, Squire?”

  “Hear what?” asked Jack. “Lord Lance, something isn’t right. I don’t see the sentries on the wall.”

  “Nay, and I see something else that makes me furious!” Lance directed his horse into a run as he made his way in the dark to the far side of the courtyard where, to his horror, he found Coira and Zara hanging in cages. “Coira,” he called out, drawing his sword. “Coira, are you all right?”

  “Behind ye, Lance,” she shouted as Sir Philip came at him with his sword drawn.

  “Lance,” sneered Philip. “It seems you lied to me, and I don’t take kindly to being treated that way.”

  “You bastard!” spat Lance. “How about the way you are treating my wife? I will not let you get away with this. Men, attack!” shouted Lance, going for Philip. Philip reached up and pulled Jack off his horse, mounting the steed to go after Lance.

  “Nay, Lance. Dinna fight,” called Coira, but it was too late. Lance would not let anyone put his wife in a cage and live to tell about it. Uncle or not, Sir Philip had to die.

  Shouting and the clashing of swords filled the courtyard as one of Lance’s guards rang the bell and alerted the rest of the men that they were under attack.

  “How could you do this?” Lance growled, swiping at Philip from atop his horse. Their swords met with the clash of metal against metal ringing through the night.

  “I’ve had a change of mind,” said Philip. “I want you gone now.”

  “I’m not leaving without Coira, or at all for that matter.”

  “Coira will be my wife now,” snarled Philip. “I will keep her like a bird in a cage. When she finally sings, I’ll get the Stone of Destiny, gain the king’s favor, and have a wife and castle, too.”

  “Over my dead body,” yelled Lance.

  “My feelings exactly.”

  Coira watched in horror as the battle below her took place. She felt so helpless being trapped in the cage and didn’t want to see Lance go to his death while she watched from above.

  “Zara, we’ve got to help Lance,” she said, holding on to the bars, the cage swinging in the wind as the rain continued to fall.

  “He’s a knight, Coira. He can handle himself.”

  “But I have a bad feelin’. Like I am goin’ to lose him.”

  “Mayhap we can get out of these cages after all.” Zara reached into her boot and pulled out a dagger.

  “Where did ye get that?” asked Coira.

  “This is where being a gypsy my entire life comes in handy. We’ve been known to have a light touch on occasion. I stole it from the guard that locked me in here.” Zara fussed with the tip of the dagger in the lock but couldn’t open the cage. “Now I wish I would have paid more attention to the lesson on picking locks.”

  “Here. Let me try.” Coira held her hand out through the bars. “Throw it.”

  “It’s too far,” said Zara. “Swing your cage closer, and mayhap we can reach through the bars so you don’t drop it.”

  They swung their cages, coming closer and closer together. Finally, they touched, and Coira reached through the bars and took the dagger from Zara.

  “Hurry,” said Zara. “Philip has managed to unhorse Lance. He is on the ground.”

  “Nay!” Coira fiddled with the lock, but she couldn’t open the door either. To her horror, she saw Lance and Philip fighting, and Sweetcakes barking at Lance’s heels. The dog got underfoot, and Lance fell. Philip was able to knock the sword from Lance’s hand.

  “Sorry to have to do this, Lance, but I can’t let you have everything that should be mine.” He lunged for Lance. Coira could see Lance’s sword was too far away for him to reach it. She had to do something, and there was only one way she could help right now from her position right above Philip. She looked at the blade in her hand and, without thinking twice, she reached through the bars and flung the dagger at Philip.

  Lance rolled out of the way of Philip’s sword, managing to grab his blade and lift it up above his head. However, Philip didn’t continue to come for him. Instead, his uncle dropped his sword and blood sputtered from his mouth. Lance jumped to a standing position just as Philip fell face down at his feet with a dagger embedded in his back.

  He scanned the area but saw no one that could have come to his rescue. Then he heard the voice of an angel from above him.

  “Lance?” asked Coira. “Are ye all right?”

  “Coira,” he said, staring up into the eyes of the woman he loved. “Did you do that?” He nodded to Philip, dead on the ground.

  “I am sorry I killed yer uncle, but I didna want ye to die.”

  Lance smiled and held his hand above his head, calling off the battle. When Philip’s men realized he was dead, they left quickly.

  “Jack, give me a hand,” Lance called out, running over to the ropes that held the cages in the air. He and Jack lowered them to the ground. Then Lance used his blade to break open the locks. He ripped open the door and dropped his sword, pulling Coira into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. “By the rood, Coira, I never want to see you in this position again.”

  “Lance, I love ye,” she told him, looking up with newfound confidence in her eyes. “I ken now that I never need to be afeard again as long as I am with ye.”

  “Coira, I am so
sorry I deceived you. I was only thinking about myself after all.”

  “It doesna matter since I deceived ye, too.”

  “I will sell Liddel Castle instead of my manor. We will live at the manor from now on, so you don’t ever have to deal with the dark memories again that this place holds for you.”

  “Nay,” said Coira, looking over at the cages and shaking her head. “We will stay here. After all, it is every man’s wish to have his own castle, and I willna try to keep that from ye.”

  “But why would you want to do that?” asked Lance. “After all, you were a prisoner here twice now.”

  “I decided that my past no longer matters. Instead, I am goin’ to face my fears and look to the future from this day on. I want to have a celebration, and invite the MacKeefes and the MacDuffs if ye dinna mind.”

  “I don’t mind at all,” he said, kissing her on the head. “They are your family. I would like to know them better. But tell me, what will we be celebrating?”

  Coira glanced over to the iron cages once again. “We will be celebratin’ the fact I am no longer a prisoner of my fears and emotions. And there is just one other thing I want to do at the celebration that will help me to release my past.”

  Chapter 12

  A sennight later

  “Stand back, Effie, and keep the bairn’s head covered,” said Coira.

  The day had finally come when the MacKeefes and the MacDuffs all joined together along with Lance and his knights at Liddel Castle. Everyone crowded around the bonfire in the middle of the courtyard. Next to it was a pile of iron rubble.

  Coira gripped the wooden handle of the axe and swung it hard at the remains of the two cages. The men had destroyed her former prison, and now she wanted her chance to demolish the bad memories of her past as well.

  “Coira, that’s heavy. Let me do it,” offered Lance, reaching out for the axe.

  “Nay. I want to do this,” she told him. “I need to prove to myself as well as my sister that I am strong now.” She brought the axe down on the wooden platform of the cage, but didn’t have the muscles to remove it from the wood.