Rosaline
Sitting on a horse with Graham was not as near as much fun as sitting on Ares with Finn. For one, I sat in front of Finn, resting my back on him and could relax as we journeyed for miles and miles but with Graham he forced me to sit behind him, for protection, he said. And then there was the smell. I didn't know if it was Graham or horse. Or maybe it was both.
As I watched Finn enter the ring of dark warriors a knot of fear and worry formed deep in my gut which only tightened at the sight of the army on the other side of the gate.
My fists clenched the back of Grahams stained shirt as I forced myself to stay in place as I watched the large intimidating gates close behind Finlay, entrapping him. I felt the same feeling I felt every time Finn was thrust into a dangerous situation. I felt scared, worried, trapped in a cage of insanity wondering if this would be the last time I saw him. Every second I wondered if it would be the last time I saw him. Finn belonged to a dangerous world. One were violence was a common occurrence every day.
"What now?" I asked Graham.
"Now we wait." He said, with a soft sigh.
We waited two hours in the cold. I had long abandoned Graham's horse and sought refuge in a tavern a long side many of the warriors much to Graham's disapproval.
The tavern itself, the name of which was in Gaelic so I was unable to read it, was much smaller on the inside compared to the large look of the outside. I pinned this down to the many large, round bodies occupying every bench and corner, making the room grown smaller and smaller with each new arrival.
Large benches and tables occupied the centre with large wooden tankards spilling over with beer soaking the tabletops. Deep tummy-rumbling laughter rose from the corner of the room as old friends seemed to me sharing old stories while from one table a fight had broken out between two men. Silver coins were sent flying across the room, large men diving over one another to pick up what fallen coins they could, even more fights breaking out amongst the scavengers.
All action stopped as we entered the tavern.
The brawl commenced, the laughter ceased, even the beer halted swishing.
I suddenly missed Graham's protective stance, wishing he was stood in front of me now, my protector and bodyguard.
The highlanders in front of me dragged themselves from the floor, standing tall and emitting an aura of intimidation which rolled off them in tsunami waves. I was starting to think that all Scottish highlanders were over six foot as I seemed to be constantly surrounded by the tallest men in Scotland. There was a mattering of gingers and blonde throughout the room with a handful of brunette scattered amongst them. All brandished some sort of weapon at their side whether it be a sword, dagger or axe, they all glinted in the shattered sunlight hinting at how recently they'd been sharpened.
Another sign that the men of the McCain clan were preparing for war.
"Blair, my boy?" one of the older, rougher men stepped forwards with a leather patch veering his left eye and a sharp sword strapped to his right hip.
Blair stepped out from behind me and the sibling instinct to catch his arm and prevent him from leaving sparked inside of me. These strange foreign men were still a danger to us till Finlay returned from conversing with the Laird McCain.
But I held my palms flat against my thighs as Blair glided past me and into the welcoming embrace of the older man. The stranger thumped Blair's back with is meaty paw, nearly sending Blair flying forwards as they both chucked deeply as they conversed rough Gaelic which I interpreted as a welcoming. Though I wasn't certain as the man around me, out of respect I assumed, spoke English to me. Gaelic was as foreign to me as Chinese or Spanish.
"'Tis good to see ye again lad!" the man's voice boomed across the tavern filling every inch with its warm, enveloping tone. I relaxed slightly at the friendly tone, aware we weren't in much danger from this man. Though I could not speak for the thirty other men staring at the reunion in the centre of the room.
"Aye uncle, I have missed ye, as has Meg." Blair said, a bright smile stayed plastered on his face as he stared up at the man, now revealed to be his uncle.
I hadn't thought about any family Blair might have had beyond his sister. I remembered how he told me he came to fight as his mother and father had died when he was younger and he needed to earn a living for his sister. I hoped now he had been reunited with his uncle something could be done to stop him from fighting. He was so young. But only a couple of years younger than me, I had to remind myself. I was young too yet I had let myself be caught up in this war and with its warriors also.
"Ye are with the McCall clan aye?" the man asked.
"Aye, these are merely a handful of the warriors. The rest wait outside for our Laird to return." Blair replied. "I was accompanying Lady McCall." Blair gestured to me and his uncle stepped towards me, his heavy feet nearly tripping him up.
"My Lady, 'tis an honour."
"Actually it's not Lady McCall- just Rose." I rushed out, my cheeks tinting pink with embarrassment. I shot a dirty look at Blair.
"Nay but soon to be I suspect. She's engaged to Laird McCall." Blair said, though his words did little to recover any composer for me.
"She is English?" Blair's uncle turned to him. Blair nodded one, "Aye uncle Cadell, we found her, without a clan and near dead at one of the villages McKenzie men burnt. The Laird revived her."
"I'm sure a lass like her revives many things in a man." One highlander called out from the corner of the tavern, smashing tankards with a few men next to him as he drank past his laughter.
My cheeks, not to my surprise, turned redder as I wished I had my hood pulled over my head so I could hide from the lusty and curious stares of all those around me. My fingernails stabbed through my dress and into my thigh as I tried to prevent myself from shouting back at the man, reminding myself of the customs I had learnt from this century. The main one being that women were inferior.
"Oh shut up Calan, ye are only jealous the Laird McCall has someone to warm his bed and all ye have is the whore from down the path."
The room erupted with laughter and Calan threw down his tankard and stormed across the room I assumed towards Cadell, but as he shouldered past Blair and his uncle I realised he was headed towards someone else.
I tried to back into the McCall warriors behind me for protection but the drunken man reached me before I could stagger back a single step as he rough fingers curled around my forearms.
"Nay, I see a prettier whore over here to warm my bed. What do ye think lass? I'm sure what the Laird don't know won't hurt him-"
I slapped him hard across the face.
And he slapped me twice as hard.
I fell to the floor with a clatter and a bang, sending a couple of tankards of beer to the floor as my arms flailed around me as a tumbled down.
My cheek smashed against the wooden floor hard, a deafening crack emitting as pain inflicted across my face.
I nearly broke out in tears but tried to hold my composure and settled for a shocked scream instead.
I heard movement flurry around me and just as I turned into the arms enveloping me in their protective cage. I looked up, through my fingers plastered on my face to see Blair looking at me worryingly.
"Lass, where are ye hurt?" he asked hastily turning my face in his hands, despite me trying to push him away. "Ah! Lass ye have quite the bruise, but ye are as bonnie as ever."
I didn't smile despite Blair's efforts to cheer me up but instead hastily brushed him away as I stood up, to see the brawl occupying the floor of the tavern.
Men, from both the McCall and McCain clans, held onto the semi-drunk Calan who swayed in their grip, blood dripping from his nose and a few scratches on his face. A flurry of words in Gaelic, I could take a wild but confident guess at them being blasphemous or swearing (maybe both), rushed from his mouth as he attempted to wipe the blood starting to drip into his eye. But the men held his arms firmly away from him, so I was left to watch the blood drip on his eye, causing him to jerk and shake his head.
"Ye don't hurt out Laird's lass, ye hear me?" one McCall warrior stepped forwards, jerking Calan's head up with his fist before landing a swift blow on his nose. A loud crack was heard as blood streamed from his nostrils and down his chin, dribbling onto the floor.
Many more men took turns hitting, punching and kicking Calan as he grunted and screamed and writhed in pain. Even as his feet fell from under him the men still kept him up so they could still inflict another few rounds of violence on him.
I thought if they were to continue for a few moments longer then Calan would surely die. Questions rose to mind about whether he deserved death for what he did...for a few spoken words and a slap. Yes it was wrong, but yes I stuck him first. I came to the conclusion no one deserved death for a pity fight. It wasn't even something worth considering.
As Cadell rose his fist to strike Calan on the face I rushed forwards, nearly sending Blair knocking to the floor, and threw myself in front of Calan.
"You will not hit him once more." I spoke with forced confidence and determination. My voice was low and hard with finality.
"Lass he needs to be punished."
"And if ye punish him once more he will surely die." I argued back, Cadell's face contorting with frustration.
"He cannot go unpunished." Cadell reinforced, his fists clenching at his sides rather than raised above his head.
"Has he not been punished enough?" I questioned.
"Nay, he has not." A new voice came from the doorway and the warriors parted like waves to let the two dominating figures stride into the room.
The first, the one who spoke, was draped in rich furs, his cloak made entirely from one deep brown fur I could only guess was from a large bear, maybe one he killed himself, I thought. His hair was a dark ginger; a matching thick beard smothered his face. His steel grey eyes stared at me and I felt pinned to the spot, as if I was the one being accused of some crime.
The second wore simpler clothes. A shirt and jacket with a cloak around their shoulders and sword strapped to their side. His summer blonde hair and electric blue eyes drew me to him. The second man was my mine.
"Ye don't attack the betrothed of a Laird Calan. This is one stunt too far lad. Yer punishment will be at dawn tomorrow. Take him to the cells for now." Laird McCain ordered and the two men holding him swiftly took him away, kicking and screaming.
"What will happen to him?" I wondered. I should have been delighted he was paying for hitting me but I felt a need to prevent any further punishment and stop this barbaric crime before further violence infected my life.
"That's none of yer concern lass." Finn said sharply. I was taken aback by his tone and choice of words. "Lass" he called me, like I was just another girl on the street, or whore in his bed.
A stern look found itself on my face as I crossed my arms.
"Aye my Lady. Ye need to be getting to the castle now. Yer Laird and I have made an agreement. We will fight together." Laird McCain announced.
The warriors around me cheered with raw excitement and delight as they smashed tankards together and drank happily to our new alliance.
"We'll leave in two days time. But not without one last celebration of course." Finn said, a smile on his face as he addressed his warriors.
"And what are we celebrating?" I questioned him, my bitterness at his attitude towards me was slightly evident in my tone. Only someone who knew me well would have noticed it straight away. Finn did.
Just as Laird McCain began to answer me the smile slipped of Finlay's face and I diverted my attention to the other laird as he replied, "well I couldn't let my new ally go to war without the reassurance no other lad would snatch up his bride while he was away."
"What?" the question was unnecessary. I knew what he meant. But as the faint whisper escaped my lips realisation hit me hard and I felt myself sway slightly where I stood.
"Aye lass," Laird McCain smiled at me, one of those smiles where you couldn't decipher if it was genuine or not.
I swallowed nervously as he continued, "ye will be having yer wedding on the morrow."
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So who is excited for the next chapter?!?
Depending on the length (cause i've gotta get a bit of punishment for Calan in there and some *spoiler* tension/argument between Rose and Finn) the WEDDING will be the next chapter (most likely) or the one after it! EEK! It's what we've all been waiting for, the ultimate Rosinn moment!
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