It STARTED WITH A KISS

Chapter 49The battle

Agneta could not see beyond what was in front of her for Brawn had blocked her vision of Ian.  But she did hear a sudden commotion as guttural screams came from all corners of the hall. As much as she would have wanted to run to Ian's side she was prevented by the angry men that surrounded her and Brwan, swords ready to attack. She and Brawn stood back to back pensively, reaching for the blade which she had tucked around her waist she pulled it free .
"Do ye still remember what da had taught ye?" Lyle/Brawn asked.
"Aye" she replied.
"Now would be the best time to use that skill."
She had never been good with the sword but her father had taught her how defend herself with a blade. He told her where te aim in case she was in danger but having lost practice she knew she would be rusty. She did not need to tell Lyle however she would have to rely on her need to survive so she may reach Ian.
As the men approached slowly her hand tightened on the blade until one of them lunged at Lyle/ Brawn but the man had been clumsy and was easily dispatched. As soon as the rest saw this they inched back looking at each other warily when suddenly the remaining five lunged at once. She ducked hear a man's cry as Lyle tackled him. One of them tried to grab her but she managed to cut his hand making him Yelp in pain.
The remaining three attacked Lyle at once as she moved away from them she finally caught a glimpse of Ian, he was standing with his sword in hand. Three men in black kilts seemed to be protecting him when one of them removed his helmet and she saw Guy. Relief flooded her as she saw Guy deftly maneuver his blade against men that tried to attack Ian.
She wanted to run to Ian but instead found herself being held by her waist. She tried to break free slashing her knife at her attacker only to discover it was Ross Macalister.
"I've come te help ye, stay yer blade" Ross shouted above the uproar.
They both turned to see that Brawn/ Lyle was locked in combat with other wariors.
"I must go te him" she told Ross pointing toward Ian.
"Leave him te finish this Agneta. Tis between the Hawk and the MacTaggart te end this. Come away where would be less dangerous. I promise not te hurt ye." Ross said sincerely.
She looked into his face and saw that he meant what he said. Suddenly there were a hoard of wariors in the hall. Many of them wore kilts from different clans. As Ross lead her away from the fray he started to clear a path for them by fighting off the Hawk's men. He was careful not to engage the other wariors.
Practicality made her to follow his lead but her eyes kept straying on Ian who was facing the Hawk with determination. She realized then Ross was right, this was Ian's fight and he had to end it once and for all. She watched with baited breath as they both prepared to fight. They were speaking words she could not hear for the battle raged around them.
Ian pointed his sword toward the Hawk, the man he once knew to be Ruark. They had fostered together with the Sutherlands once and had promised to have each other's backs. But at that moment he faced his enemy, the one man who would see all that was his destroyed and he wondered at that.
"Ye didna have te do this Ruark, you were my brother in arms. Why would ye choose te betray me?"Ian said calmly but he was far from it. It took all of his will not to plunge his sword into the Ruark's black heart but he needed to understand this betrayal starting with his relationship with Morvane. It broke his heart to realize that it was his friend who seduced Morvane and for what purpose? If there was any affection between them in the past he had never witnessed this.
The Hawk eyed Ian without remorse, his own sword unsheathed ready to do battle. "Betray ye?!" Ruark's harsh laughter was gruturral "Ye speak of betrayal when it was ye who betrayed me."
"Ye'll have te refresh my memory fer I doona ken what ye mean?" Ian's jaw started to tick from holding his anger in check.
"Ye took her from me. Ye kenned I cared fer her and yet ye decided Twas te be a choice. She woulda been mine had ye not interfered."
Ian remained composed "I never took Morvane from ye, had she confessed that her heart belonged te ye I would never have gone after her. "
"Ye never gave her a chance te tell ye the truth. She only went after ye because she expected ye would be laird some day and she would be in this fancy demense. She never expected her life would be a harsh struggle!" The Hawk spat.
Ian knew in his heart that Ruark was lying to him. He had been honest with Morvane from the start of their relationship. She knew what to expect when she accepted his marriage proposal. What transpired after their marriage was a different matter. How could Ruark have known Morvane's true sentiments regarding her life at Nairn had they not crossed paths?
"So this was all about yer unrequited love!" Ian was livid. He took a step toward Ruark started to circle him.
Despite the battle that was raging around them both men eyes each other with intense hate it singed through the air.
"Unrequited ye say!" Ruark scoffed "She ran into my arms as soon as she had the chance."Ruark boasted.
Ian reeled back as if he had been slapped in the face. Although Morvane had admitted she had lain with another man she had never divulged his name. Finding out the truth was a bitter pill to swallow.
"And fer that ye have consigned yer fate" Ian retorted before he charged aiming his sword at the man's chest. It was an impulsive move clouded by anger . Ruark deflected the blow and brought his sword down. Soon the two of them were engaged in combat their swords clashing fiercely .
Guy saw the two men grasping Willa were immediately distracted by the battle, he took his chance and engaged them both. They immediately released Willa. She scrambled away from them trusting Guy to finish them off. Once released she looked about spying a discarded sword on the floor. She picked it up immediately and took her place beside Guy who was busy finishing off the second man after felling the first. As soon as the second man was felled she ran into Guy's arms.
"What took ye so long?" She asked with relief.
"We had to gather forces. The Laird MacInnes and the Menzies joined us on the way here. Are ye alright?"he held her close
"Aye, they did not harm me or Agneta."
" Where is the mistress?"
Willa pulled back turning toward the fray "I saw her with Brawn" she pointed to a warior in black kilt fighting like a raging bull. He was slaughtering the men that surrounded him but Agneta was nowhere in sight. As son as Brawn felled the last target he ran toward the front of the keep.
"She isna with him" Guy remarked turning back to Willa "We must find her" he told her, grabbing her hand they raced passed the battle trying to keep Brawn in sight.
Ian was locked in a fierce fight with Ruark both of them exhibiting skill and strength.
"Ye keen she wanted te leave ye and come with me." The Hawk taunted.
"Which only means she wanted te stay. Tell me Ruark are ye sure she wanted ye or did ye forced her?" Ian retorted back, his fury had reached a point of no return.
The hawk delivered a hard blow almost knocking Ian "Is that what she said?" He laughed harshly "there was no force in our coupling. If ye need te ken, she begged me , pleaded with me te take her.  She had enough of ye and yer neglect.  She wanted te be loved and ye let. Her down!"
"Then why did ye not come fer her when she was with child? We're ye such a coward ye did not stand te face my wrath?!"
"Arg!"
They fought hard, neither one of them giving in. Ian toyed with the fight waiting until he found an opening. He could send Ruark weakening as his blows grew less forceful. Finally the opening came when Ruark deflected his blow, Ian drove the blade down his right torso slicing through the flesh. But Ruark bounced back and hit Ian on his arm almost knocking his sword. Finally he did succeed in knocking his sword and Ian was left defenseless. Ruark gave a smirk before bringing down his sword on Ian's neck but he ducked and rolled down, grabbing the blade in his boot he drove it into Ruark's stomach and that was what fianlly felled him.
He dropped onto his knees giving Ian the opening to retrieve his sword. He lifted the blade and with one single trust sliced the Hwk's head from his body. The head rolled to his feet, the empty eyes of his enemy staring back at him. Ian lifted the head and turned to the hall seeing the men fighting fiercely.
He lifted the head and yelled "Yer leader is dead! Cease nod throw yer weapons!"
He waited as the men in black kilts turned their attention to him. With their leader gone the battle was over. They threw their sow reds to the ground.