The Highlander

Chapter Thirty One

"Let go Finn! Don't push me around!" I shouted at Finn as he pulled me closer to the tent. I didn't like him pushing me around and telling me what to do. Yes that might have been what they do here but it wasn't what I believed in. I believed I had just as much rights and power in a relationship as him. Obviously he didn't.

Pushed roughly into the tent, I fell to the floor with a thud and cried out as my hip hit the ground harshly. Finn didn't seem to register this and turned to me with anger as he closed the tent opening behind him. My heart sped up with fear, more fear from when Finn had seen me wake from the dead earlier.

"What did I do to deserve this?" I demanded, bewildered by his sudden antagonism and roughness towards me.

"I was trying to help ye. I was taking you back here to safety and ye demand me to let ye go?" Finn shouted at me, I pulled away from him and crawled towards to back of the tent, "Ye don't get to tell me what to do! I am a Laird, a man! Ye will listen to me if you know what's good for ye!" With every word Finn started to drag himself closer to me, bent down and looking at me with intimidation.

"No I don't! I am a woman and I can do what I want, I don't have to listen to you!" I poked my finger at his chest and continued, "You don't get to pull me around where I want! Thank you for protecting me but you don't get to tug me to wherever you want to go!"

"If I had left ye out there who knows who else might have attacked ye!" Finn argued.

"I can protect myself very well thank you, I don't need your help!" I shouted back and Finn let out a loud laugh, tipping his head back to emphasise how ridiculous he thought my statement was. This only angered me more and my fists clenched and I pulled myself on my knees, still small and weak looking under Finn's strong frame.

A threat on my life had turned into a battle between partners.

With fury raging inside me before Finn could react my hand shot up and slapped him hard across the face. Whilst he looked at me with shock, and slight annoyance, I pulled the stupid golden band from my finger and threw it at him. He didn't try to catch it and it landed at his feet.

"You want to protect me, I get that, but what if I'm alone? I felt like I had no one when I found out the baby was gone. I relied on my self! I thought I could go to you but it was something I had to face on my own." Emotion filled me and I didn't acknowledge half of what I was saying. "I need you to understand that whether I'm with you or not I can look after myself. But you are so...so...big headed to see that! I'm not going to marry or fake marry or whatever the hell we are going anymore. You can take that ring back and my promise to wait for after the battle! I'm leaving and I swear to God if you try to follow me and make me go with you I'll kill you!" Standing up swiftly I shouldered past Finn who was stood immobile and looked back at him once before leaving the tent.

Pulling myself together and making my mind up I stormed from the tent, leaving a confused Finn behind. Striding across the field, with the early sun beating down on me, I held my head high and kept the tears in as I walked past the warriors gathered around the tent obviously listening in to our argument.

Striding fast and strong I walked into the woods, not realising how deep I had ventured in until all I could here was a symphony of birds and the crunching of leaved beneath my feet. No warriors stood around me now, only a clan of thick, cark trees with low swooping branches waiting to hit my head as I pass by.

What was I doing? I loved Finn. I wanted to be with Finn but the differences between the past and present were startlingly scary and I didn't know if I would ever be able to change my thoughts and values to those of a woman during this era.

Deciding I was too far gone to try and find my way back I kept walking forwards until there was a sudden commotion behind me and I faltered as I heard Finn's broken voice, "Rose. Gone?"

He had followed me.

A single tear fell as the realisation of my own earlier statement hit me. The baby was gone. It was only after I woke up from death that I realised that Finn's comments about me being pregnant were true but it was too late and the baby was gone. I felt an emptiness and when my hand had hovered over it I realised the warmth I had felt there before was gone.

I nodded one in reply to Finn's question, still not turning to look at him.

Arms snaked their way around my waist and a head fell on my shoulders, surprising me and I jumped slightly before recognising the warmth and smell of masculinity and wood that enveloped me.

Still standing rigid I had to fight hard not to fall into Finn's arms and find serenity in his embrace.

Lowering his lips to my ear, his nose gently brushing my hair, he whispered, "I'm sorry lass. Ye and I are so different. We were bound to butt heads one day."

I nodded in response, my silent apology for how I acted and the words spoken between us. I allowed myself to relax and forced myself to realise that we were both from different worlds and although I didn't want to I had to realise that women were treated differently here but that didn't mean that he didn't love me any less than.

"I'm sorry, everything has been too much. My life was never meant to be as dangerous and complicated as this. I was meant to grow up and get a stable job not frolic through the hills with some hot highlander." I turned so his arms know rested on my hips and I was looking up at his face.

Finn sniggered, "Ye think I'm warm?"

Laughing, my mood now much lighter and happier, I replied, "Hot means I think you are good looking, very handsome."

"Oh!" Finn's face lit up with realisation, and then something much more sly and sneaky, "So ye think I am handsome?"

"Any woman with eyes would." I replied, biting my lip.

Finn leant closer so his lips tickled my ear, "Well I think ye are a very beautiful woman. My woman."

"And you are my highlander." I replied before placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Let me do one thing." Finn asked me and I asked him, "what?"

Instead of answering Finn slung me over his shoulder, so fast I let out a shriek of fear and surprise followed by his hollow laugh.

"Put me down!" I shouted at him, the same issues from earlier coming to mind.

"Let me carry ye back like this," Finn replied and before I could ask why, as if reading my mind he continued, "I don't want the men thinking I gave into ye."

I huffed in annoyance but didn't fight as he carried me back through the forest, his hand slapping my bum every time I complained about how uncomfortable I was.

It wasn't long when we broke through the edge of the trees and into the clearing and Finn slung me back on the floor in front of the warriors, a few jeering out. I caught Finn send a sly smile their way and I held back from slapping him again. I'd let him have this one.

"If ye two are done I recall my Laird saying we were leaving." Graham interrupted us (which seemed to be a habit of his) and Finn and I pulled apart, our hands still entwined. Finn walked me over to Ares, hauling me on before leaving to sort some business with the warriors.

Alistair, on his own horse, trotted over to me until our horses with side by side. "Ye seem to have forgiven him easily, and him ye."

"Sometimes we have to make compromises. If it means that I have to take a little possessiveness now and then to be happy then I accept." I told him. Alistair's face was a dark ashen look of sadness and only slight contempt. It had been like that for a while now.

"But are the compromises always worth it?" Alistair asked.

"For him? Yes." I replied.

"Well then," Alistair's horse started to walk away, "I hope everything works out for ye."

"So do I."