by Paula Mabbel
She stood up when she heard the squelching of footsteps against the wet earth that was outside of the tent. She walked over quickly and pulled open the curtains to find that the men were returning to the camp. She scanned the crowd for the two faces that she most wanted to see and felt her heart drop into her stomach, when she realized that Henry was being carried by two other men.
She rushed over to him without a thought for herself and instantly felt tears pricking in the corner of her eyes. Henry was awake, but she could tell from the glazed over expression in his eyes that he wouldn’t be for long. His leather protectors had been stained with a deep red liquid that Martha could tell was blood. She looked at Henry’s almost limp body and found the source of the bleeding.
He had been slashed with a sword to his stomach. They accidently stumbled onto another clan’s territory, and negotiation was not an option. She could see the steady flow of blood pouring out of the cut and the panic that set into her body, as she realized that the injury was too great for any hopes of a recovery. She followed the men who were carrying him into his tent and then she knelt by his bed.
“Henry.” She said softly as tears streamed down her face in silent sorrow.
“It’s going to be alright.” Henry said, but his voice already sounded faint.
“I can’t do this without you, Henry.” Martha said and she shook her head. “Don’t you dare leave me now. I’ve been waiting for you my whole life.” She begged him, but his eyes were already starting to dim.
“Finding you was the perfect ending.” Henry choked out, as he reached out and held her hand as tightly as he could. “You can’t let this stop your happiness. I’ve seen what happiness does to your eyes and it isn’t fair to expect the world to continue without it.” He said and then he started to cough. “Don’t you worry about me; I’ll always be by your side.” He said and then his grip dropped from her hand and she realized that his chest had stopped moving.
Martha threw her arms around his still body and tried to take in its last offering of heat. She could still smell his rugged scent over the coppery smell of blood and she tried to commit it to memory. She could feel an aching in her heart start to intensify, as her tears fell quickly and her body shook with silent sobs. She was ready to leave now. She didn’t want to spend another day away from her home. She wanted to go back and find that Ross was waiting for her. She wanted to open her eyes and find that everything had just been a bad dream. She closed her eyes tightly and started to beg the fates to allow her to go back, because without Henry there was nothing that was worth staying for.
*******
Martha opened her eyes slowly and noticed the dry air that seemed to be surrounding her. She looked around the room and found that the tent walls she had grown used to seeing had been replaced by bricks and mortar. She sighed with relief, as she realized that she had managed to find a way home again.
A noise to the sound of her made her jump and she turned her head quickly. She waited for a moment, as her balance came back and her vision stopped being blurry for her fast movement. It was Ross, lying next to her. He was asleep and his gentle snores were filling the space around them with soothing noise.
“Hey.” Martha said as she gently shook his shoulder.
Ross opened one his eyes and smiled. “Hey gorgeous.” He said and then pulled her closer to him.
“When did you get home?” She asked with a confused face.
“I got in last night. We had to cut the excursion short due to the storm coming. I stumbled in last night, and you were passed out on the kitchen table.” Ross said sleepily, as he opened up his other eye and started to sit up.
“I’ve missed you.” Martha said with a grin as she snuggled her body into his for a moment.
“I’ve missed you too.” Ross said gently as he kissed the top of her head. “You must have been wearing yourself out, for you to fall asleep at the table?” He asked with curious eyes.
“I guess.” Martha said with a small shrug. “I mean I went out for a little bit yesterday.” She said because she wasn’t sure just how much she should tell him about what had happened. It wasn’t that she wanted to keep secrets from him. It was just that she was sure he would think that she had gone crazy since he had been gone.
“Well, you were sleeping like a baby, when I came in.” Ross said.
“I guess I needed some sleep.” Martha said vaguely.
“Have you been up to much since I went?” Ross asked as he stretched out his arms and then slipped out of the covers.
“No, not really.” Martha said with a shake of her head. She turned her eyes to look at Ross and found them glued to his stomach. She could feel her heart starting to race, as she took in the long, thin mark across his stomach that was in exactly the same place as Henry’s cut had been. “How did you get that?” She asked him, as she moved quickly over to his side of the bed and ran her finger down his stomach.
He looked down in confusion for a moment. “It’s just an old birthmark.” He said with a shrug. “Are you telling me that you’ve never seen it before?” He asked with surprised eyes.
“Of course I’ve seen it before.” Martha frowned playfully at him. “I guess I’ve just never gotten around to asking you were you got it from.” She said with a casual shrug.
“Well, now you know.” Ross said smiling. “Do you want a coffee?” He asked when he walked over to the bedroom door.
“A coffee sounds great.” Martha said with a smile.
She watched as Ross walked out of the room and then closed the door behind him. She could already feel a thousand questions prodding at her curiosity as she tried to work out, how he could have ended up with a mark in the same place as Henry’s.
She thought back the last moment she had shared with Henry. She thought about his last words before his hand had fallen limp and his eyes dark with emptiness. He had promised to always be by her side. Had this been what he had meant? Had he really meant it to such a degree that they were still finding each other many years after their first meeting?
Martha let herself think about the way he had made her feel. He had made her feel exactly the same as Ross did. He had managed to lift the same smiles from her tired heart. He had made her heart race a way that only Ross had ever been able to do. She closed her eyes and thought about Henry and the way he had looked deeply into her eyes. He had made her feel so sure that they were meant to be together and now, how could she ever argue with that?
She got out of bed herself and put on her dressing gown. The house was a lot warmer than the tent, but that didn’t mean that it still wasn’t a bit chilly on her legs. She padded softly downstairs and into the kitchen. She smiled, as Ross turned around and let his eyes examine her.
She loved the feeling of his eyes on her body. She loved the way that he ate her up with every look. She loved the fact that even after knowing each other for so many years, he still made her feel as though she was this best present he could have ever have been given.
“You know.” She said, as she walked into the room and sat down at the table. “I thought that this was going to be awful. I mean it has been really awful. I feel like my heart is being taken away from me every time you leave, but it’s a good thing.” Martha said thoughtfully.
“How do you work out that it’s a good thing?” Ross asked with a small frown.
“Because whenever you’re away it reminds me of just how much I love you and whenever we are together, I’m reminded of just how right this is. We wouldn’t have that if we were in each other’s lives every day. We wouldn’t have that chance to miss each other.” She explained.
“I see.” Ross said thoughtfully. “I like it.” He said with an approving nod.
“I’m glad that you do.” Martha laughed at him.
“Of course, I do.” He said with another nod. “But, you should know that I’m always by your side, even if I can’t be with you in person.” He said and Martha felt chills running down her spine.
“And
that.” She said as she stood up and walked over to him. “Is why I love you.” She finished as she pushed herself up onto her tip toes so that she could kiss his cheek gently.
*****
THE END
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Here is a FREE bonus 8000 word romance story “Child of Two Clans” by Cassandra Michaels.
Child Of Two Clans
Sophia looked down at the green dress that she was wearing. It was made out of soft cotton, but the waist was tight and allowed no room for her lungs to expand with much-needed air. She shifted a little, as she tried to get used to the sensation. She could already feel her head starting to go light with the deprivation, but she didn’t complain as her father finally came to a stop. Sophia looked out at the well-lit valley that was buzzing with the sound of music, chattering and beer mugs being smashed together. There was a delicious smell floating through the air, too. Sophia could see a roughly made grill on the far side of the valley and she was sure the smell was wild boar or hog.
“It’s beautiful,” she said a little quietly as her father watched the many dancing expressions on his daughter’s face.
“Aye, lass,” he agreed with a nod. “You should go and have some fun, before the sun comes up and calls this merriment to an end.” He gestured for Sophia to go out into the valley and explore.
She gulped as she looked between the busy crowds and her father. She had been dreaming about the day she would be old enough to come to one of these meetings. They happened every year between all the clans in the highlands and they were talked about all year, until the next one. Sophia’s father had always told her that she was too young to go, but this year he had finally relented.
“It’s much busier that I thought it would be,” she said with a nervous look.
Her father chuckled and raised his hand to her back. He brought it down with some force and Sophia found herself winded. “You’re not afraid are you, daughter?” he asked her with mischief sparkling in his eyes.
“I’m never afraid,” Sophia said as her nose wrinkled.
“So you claim, but yet, here you stand.”
Sophia huffed loudly and turned away from her father. He was winding her up on purpose. She knew that he didn’t really think that she was afraid, but that didn’t matter. Sophia had her pride and she wasn’t about to let that get stomped on. “I’ll see you in the morning, father,” she said, as she started to walk out into the busy crowds, which seemed to flow around the valley like water.
“Aye, you will, lass,” her dad called out. “If you see your brother, you tell him I’m looking for him,” he added as Sophia became just another head in the crowd.
Sophia tried to hold her own against the moving crowd, but she found it impossible. She realized that if she had any hope of getting anywhere, then she would need to follow the natural flow of people instead of fighting against it. She walked slowly behind a large woman who was stumbling from side to side.
“You look lost?” A voice said from beside her and she turned her head to see who it might belong to.
Sophia took a moment to really take in the guy standing beside her. He looked a little bit older than she was, but not much. He was tall with broad shoulders and tight muscles that seemed to ripple even when he was still. “I think everybody is lost here?” Sophia said quickly when she realized that she had been staring at him without speaking for far too long.
“Aye, lass, you might be right,” the guy said with a flicker of a smile.
“Can I help you?” Sophia asked, when he had dropped quiet but had made no effort to walk away.
“Perhaps,” the guy said with a smoldering smile. “What’s your name?” he asked her.
“Sophia,” she said quickly.
“Is that Sophia of the northern clan?” the guy asked her, and for a moment something flared up in his eyes and then disappeared quickly.
“Aye,” Sophia nodded. “And you?”
“I’m Jamie,” he said quickly.
“There must be many Jamies,” Sophia said thoughtfully, “so what clan might you be from?”
“I think that might be better left a mystery,” Jamie said with a grin, and then he reached out and took Sophia’s hands in his own.
“What are you doing?” Sophia asked him in shock.
“We’re getting out of here.” Jamie’s deep blue eyes sparkled wildly.
Sophia nodded, but she didn’t reply to him. She just followed the feeling of his hand pulling on her, as they dodged and dived between the moving crowds and then finally made it out into a spot of shadows that had been left unlit.
“Are you having fun?” Jamie asked her.
“I think so,” Sophia nodded.
“Shouldn’t you know for sure?” Jamie asked her with a bemused look.
“Well, I’ve only ever been here this once and I’ve just been dragged away from the party,” she explained. “So, I’m not sure how I’m feeling yet.”
“Good point,” Jamie said, and then he laughed. “I just thought you might want a little bit of breathing room.”
“Or you thought that you would have a better chance with me if we were alone,” Sophia said, because she wasn’t stupid and she had no intention of leading Jamie to believe that she was.
“Perhaps,” Jamie said with a small nod. “Do you think that my plan worked?” he asked her as he stepped forward and closed the distance between them.
Sophia could feel the heat from his breath as it landed on her cheeks. The sensation caused goose bumps to rise up on her skin and she rubbed her arms quickly, so that they would go back beneath the surface again. “I don’t know,” Sophia said with a little teasing in her voice. “How badly do you want it to work?”
She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, as it listened to what she was saying. She had never been so forward before. She had never snuck into the shadows with a guy before either, but this was her first adult party and she wanted to have some fun.
“Oh, so very badly,” Jamie said, his voice low and pained.
“Then I guess I’ll just have to put that to the test,” Sophia said with a small, sly smile. “If you really want me as badly as you say you do, then meet me in two days on the top of the purple hills.” With that, she walked quickly back into the crowd.
*******
Jamie walked back into his clan’s settlement and headed straight for his tent. He wasn’t sure whether anybody had seen him with Sophia the night before, but he knew that if they had, it wouldn’t be long until he found out about it. The fire in the middle of the camp was already roaring into life, as some of the early risers fed it from the great wood pile that they had spent much of the summer collecting, but Jamie refused to even look in their direction as he walked passed.
He reached his tent and pulled open the flap. He walked in without paying very much attention to his surroundings and then jumped, as a shuffling noise behind him told him that there was already somebody in the tent. “Hello?” Jamie said as he turned around and saw the clan leader sitting on the edge of his bed.
“Jamie,” the clan leader said with a serious voice.
Jamie took a moment to examine the look on the leader’s face. He was scarred from many battles fought, and his green eyes always seemed to carry an internal anger about them. Jamie was sure that he had never seen the man relax, and he was certain that relaxing was the last thing on his mind in that moment.
“What can I do for you?” Jamie asked with curious eyes. He thought back over the times that he had spoken to the leader before. He could only ever recall doing it twice and it was never a full-blown conversation, so the fact that he had been waiting in Jamie’s tent for him was putting Jamie on edge.
“You were seen last night,” the leader said without any further explanation.
&
nbsp; Jamie felt his eyes close slowly as he realized what was happening. “Aye, I spoke with Sophia of the northern clan,” he said honestly, because there was no point at all in lying.
“Aye,” the leader said, “and what did you find out from her?” he asked Jamie with furiously inquisitive eyes.
“I found out nothing other than her name and clan alliance,” Jamie said with a stiff shake of his head.
“Don’t lie to me.” The leader’s tone was full of warning.
“I speak no lies. We only spoke briefly before she left,” Jamie said.
“Did she know who you were?”
“No,” Jamie said with a small shake of his head.
“Have you arranged to meet her again?”
Jamie weighed his options. He didn’t want to tell the leader about the meeting that she set up. He didn’t want to put her in danger. “I haven’t.”
“Lies!” the leader shouted, and the fury was all the emotion left in his face. “You think that I do not know what was said?”
“She isn’t the enemy; I don’t want to see her in any harm,” Jamie said quickly because he knew of the leader’s bloodlust.
“Well then, that will work out quite nicely,” the leader said as a sick kind of enjoyment spread across his face. “Because it isn’t her we’re going to hurt. It’s you.”
Jamie tried to back out of the tent, but it was useless. The other clan members had already been informed about the leader’s plan, and they were waiting for him.
“Why are you doing this?” Jamie asked with wild eyes, as the first punch landed on his stomach and pushed all the air out of his body.
“Well, we need her to believe that we’ve turned our backs on you. We need her clan to believe that you are on their side and then, when they do, you are going to bring all of their secrets back to us. Do you understand?”
“What if I refuse?” Jamie asked as another heavy punch landed on his stomach. A splintering feeling told him that they’d cracked his ribs in the process.