My Highlander, My Love, Part Three:Forbidden Love, The Greatest Love Story Ever Told.

Love and War

Sofia closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath of inhalation, she still had a hard time accepting the fact that Druids, Valkyries and Fays existed. These things were not real, they were things one read in a fairy tale book! "How do you do it Yasmin?"

"Do what?" 

"How do you talk about all these things as if they are ordinary things! I mean, you and I come from a different world then them, and yet you act as if everything is normal!" 

"I've accepted it, what else can I do? We're here aren't we, and we love our men, what else can we do? I for one can not see a life without Tristan!" 

"Me too, I love Thomas more than life itself, but Yasmin we must face the fact that we will get old and die, and our men will continue life without us!"

Yasmin hadn't really considered that, the truth was she was so engrossed with the fact that Tristan adored her that it never crossed her mind that she will get old and mayhap Tristan would not be attracted to her anymore. 

Both of them were stunned to realize the awful truth and wondered why their soulmate's never discussed this with them. 

"Come on Sofia, let's go have a talk with our men!" Yasmin said, and pulled Sofia along with her back to the castle, both failed to notice Valerie walking without a chaperone on the other side of the gardens, heading towards the river. 

*************

It had been a whole week since Valerie returned to Sterlingshirg, a week of getting to know all her family members and feeling blessed. Today she walked besides the river that was banked with beautiful wild flowers. The young maiden was looking for a quiet spot where she could sit and pray. Pulling the hooded cloak over her head to keep the wind away, Valerie remembered Dora's words.

"You'll catch your death cold child, the temperature has dropped and once the sun goes down it will be even colder! Get your cloak and cover your head or you'll be in bed on the morrow with a fever!"

The young maiden did as she was told and grabbed her worn out cloak before she left the castle. 

"Don't go far, soon it will be dark and tis dangerous to be outside without a chaperone!" Dora yelled after her, but Valerie was reciting her afternoon prayers and payed no heed to what Dora was telling her. 

She walked all the way to the other side of the river, and found a huge rock to rest on. Valerie was happy that her father brought her to Sterlingshire. She loved it here, and everyone was very nice to her. Closing her eyes, she finished the rest of her prayers before she lifted herself to her feet. She was about to return back to the castle when she saw the most beautiful bunny rabbit she had ever seen hop a feet away from her behind a small bush. 

"How adorable!" She said, and chased after it. 

The rabbit dashed across the field to another bush and then another, until it was quite a distance away. Valerie followed after it not noticing that she was heading the opposite direction of Sterlingshire. When she lost site of the animal, she decided it was time to go home, but at that moment she thought she heard someone moan.

Her heart skipped a beat, as she scanned the territory all around her. Was someone following her, she thought as fear settled deep in her heart. "Who's there?" She called out, trying to hide the fear from her voice.

Again she heard someone moaning as if they were in tremendous pain. Walking towards the bushes that the sound was coming from, she stopped in her tracks when she saw someone laying on the ground stuck in an animal trap. 

"Oh my God!" The young maiden said as she ran closer to the man. 

"Help me!" The man said hoarsely, and Valerie's eyes dropped to his bleeding feet. 

The traps iron hooks were embedded inside his flesh and blood oozed out of his skin. 

Valerie's heart hammered against her chest, and she quickly dropped to her feet and tried to pull apart the trap. 

"Aaahhhhh!" Yelled the warrior, "be careful removing the hooks or I'll be crippled for life!"

"Sir calm down, you must relax yourself, do not move while I'm removing this, you will cause more damage and your leg will have to be chopped off!"

"Do you know what you are doing, slave?" He asked, as he roared with pain again.

Valerie did not correct him, she was dressed as a slave and it was easy for him to assume that she was one. "Yes I know what I am doing, I have been taught in ways of a healer, you need not worry now, please relax so I could get this thing off your feet before your circulation is cut off and you die!"

The man clamped his mouth shut and watched as the young maiden went to work. Almost an hour later, he was free of the trap but could not stand nor walk. 

"You seem sickly, I must take you to shelter immediately!" Valerie told him, 

"No! Do not take me to your Master, he will take me hostage! Please, there is a cabin not too far from here, take me there I beg of you!" He told her.

Valerie was going to protest, but it was too late, the man's head dropped to his chest and he lost consciousness. She wondered why anyone would want to take him hostage, was he a high profile man and worth a kings ransom?

Lifting herself to her feet, she grabbed his huge calloused hands and slowly pulled him in the direction he had pointed out to her. She was going to honor his wishes and prayed that she wasn't going to regret it one day, besides she thought, he was much too weak to be a threat to her, and his wounds won't heal anytime soon, so for the time being she was safe around him. 

Thank you for your votes and comments. Xoxoxxoxxoxo