It was an odd feeling, for a warrior like him so used to going either with other of his kin or by himself, to be following a slip of a girl as they quietly crept through the hallways of Kincaid Castle. Aided only by the light of the full moon that shone outside the window, they had carefully slipped in the backdoor, and then proceeded to follow Amhuinn's lead up a stairwell, and down two hallways before she led them to what appeared to Hammond to be a servant's staircase. He knew a few of his men wondered if he was insane, that he was trusting and helping this new girl they've barely known for more then a month. Yet he knew in his heart of hearts that Amhuinn meant no harm, for if she did, she would not have bothered helping so many of his kin, nor would she seem so earnest to regain Adair back in their care.
"Is this the hallway the lad is in, lass?" Connor hissed from his right. Amhuinn paused her steps, her gaze swiveling around as if assessing.
"It should be, from what Tristan showed me earlier." her response came, as they crept closer to her. With two men left to guard the entrance, and two more to guard the hallway downstairs, they were now left with a handful of them following. Amhuinn was amazed at the swift silence they managed to move despite each warrior carrying their own weapon and having their heavy leather armor on. "That room."
Hammond had expected to see guards heavily around the door, yet when he looked in the direction Amhuinn pointed, he only saw a heavy oak wrought door, which was reinforced with a golden lock. "He doesna guard the boy?"
"He probably thinks the boy doesna have the courage to leave. Nae matter, tis a good thing fer us." Connor muttered, as he ran up to the door. Just as Hammond and the rest of the men following came after Connor, the first-in-command swung his heavy claymore down, effectively breaking the lock with a crash, and causing the door to swing open.
"Connor! Why did ye do that! The whole castle would've heard that!" Hammond immediately hissed, when the sound reverberated around the building.
"I saw that." Connor responded matter-of-factly. When he pointed out the window, it was clear why the dark-haired fighter had compromised their silence for a swift opening. Two dozen men came running up the pathway towards the castle. Already, the two men they had left at the doorway were engaging in battle with the oncoming Kincaid soldiers. While they did not number many, two dozen against two was still a formidable number.
"Tristan, bring the rest of them down to give assistance. Prevent the Kincaids from coming up as much as possible!" Hammond spurred into action immediately. As Tristan did as his laird commanded, Hammond grabbed Amhuinn by her arm and pushed her in the room. "Go and get Adair. We'll wait."
"And be quick aboot it." Connor added.
Amhuinn's heart had started racing the moment she had spotted the Kincaid soldiers. She recognized the plaid colors, for she had spent the first two years of her escape avoiding them. The sight of them made her palms sweat and her throat get clogged up. Her fingers had gripped themselves into fists when Hammond grabbed her and pushed her in. The moment the doors closed behind them however, she felt the silence fall, and then it was as if she was in a vacuum when her eyes fell on wide-eyed Adair sitting cross-legged on his huge bed.
"A-Adair?" Amhuinn asked, a tentative tone she cringed at. He did not reply, appearing to look at her carefully. Somehow though, the wary and distrustful look no longer lingered in his eyes, and instead the four-year old merely looked at her curiously. Taking that as a good sign, she approached him as one would approach a skittish creature, a wary smile on her lips. "Do ye like it here? I... I've been worried, tis all."
"Why?" he finally asked, in a tiny voice.
"I'm yer mither, of course I'll be worried, lad." Amhuinn replied with a soft smile. "If tis yer want ter continue staying here, ye can. But... Yer all alone here, are ye not?"
Adair appeared thoughtful, his grip on his sheets loosening. The silence felt like forever, before he finally spoke. "I dinna think my fither likes me verra much. He always seems ter have other's."
"Do ye want ter play, Adair? Uncle Tristan told me ye seem ter spend all yer time in the room when ye are back here." By then, she was two steps away from the bed, and her voice turned coaxing as she spoke. "Ye dinna seem happy. I really dinna want ter see ye this way."
Adair was beginning to bite his lip by then, and the bottom lip had begun to quiver when Amhuinn's voice broke as she spoke. Glassy eyes made Amhuinn's chest ache as he spoke. "Fither says I shouldna be ootside. He says I cause him too much trouble. I... I dinna have anyone ter play with here. The servant's are scared of fither, and what he'll do if they... I..." As Adair trailed off, a tear slipped out of his clear blue eyes. No longer able to bear just standing by as she watched reality sink in to the young four-year old's mind, Amhuinn rushed forward and gathered Adair in her arms. "Nae, son. I willna let ye stay under this roof any longer. Come back with us, would ye? Uncle Tamhas almost risked his life getting ye oot fer me."
"I miss my friends. Cal and Ewan and..." Adair sobbed. A balm of joy wrapped around Amhuinn's heart when she felt his small arms go around her shoulders, burying his head in her neck. "Mrs. O'Leary baked the best scones, e'en if she always scolds us. But she always makes sure we're well. Tristan is always around us when we work, and-"
Suddenly, Adair's tirade was punctuated when a loud yell outside the door was followed by the clash of steel against steel, signifying the fight had been brought all the way up to the room. Finding herself worried for the MacKenzie's, Amhuinn pulled back and peered into Adair's tear-filled eyes, wiping the remaining tears and smiling reassuringly at the young blond. "Hush, let's return now shall we, lad? The MacKenzie's are all waiting fer us ootside. Let's not keep them waiting, shall we?"
Adair nodded. With his consent, Amhuinn picked him up and tucked him against her hip, happy to feel the weight of her son close to her as she made her way to the door. Pressing her ear against the door, the tendrils of worry in her heart grew when she heard obvious sounds of fighting just outside of the door. Tightening her hold on Adair, who now gripped the front of her shirt, she turned to him with a determined face. "Tis dangerous oot there, but ye are a brave boy, are ye not? Laird MacKenzie is going ter need oor help in getting us all oot. Can ye do that?"
For a second, it appeared that Adair might be too scared. When he looked back at his room however, the young boy knew the alternative was staying, and after he had a taste of life in the MacKenzie Keep, life in Kincaid Castle was too bleak for him to want to continue staying. Besides, after his taste of the care one could get from the woman who was her mother, what Dougal MacCallan gave him was not something he still wanted. He wanted to leave, and Adair was willing to do whatever it takes to get out of the Castle.
"I can." he replied, and a sense of joy he's never felt before sparked in his chest when he saw a proud smile on Amhuinn's face.
"Then let's go."
The moment she opened the door, Amhuinn had to duck as a sword came down and embedded itself in the wall behind her. The sound of steel against steel resounding throughout the hallway had Adair tightening his grip on her. The next thing she knew, Amhuinn found herself being snatched up and pushed behind a broad figure she quickly recognized as Hammond. "Great, I was aboot to come and get ye. Is the lad okay?"
"He's fine. Let's get oot of here." she responded.
"That's the best thing I've heard in days." Connor replied, as he moved to stand next to Hammond. Amhuinn watched as they fended off assailants as one. The human barrier around her and Adair grew wider as more and more of the MacKenzie men came to join them, moving as quick as they could down the stairwell. The whole time, Amhuinn couldn't help but wonder where was Dougal MacCallan.
The next thing she knew, Amhuinn wished she never wondered that in the first place. The moment they got to the first floor into the great hall of the castle, a loud voice vibrated across the halls, a baritone she knew and hated all too well. "Amhuinn Kincaid! Ye dare show yer face back here, ye traitorous bitch."
The whole hall froze, as Dougal MacCallan in his breeches and tunic along with a pinched look on his face glared at Amhuinn from the main entrance of the hall. Amhuinn's arms tightened again around Adair, but she found it gratifying that the young boy merely peered at his father, but made no move or struggle to go towards him. Buoyed by Adair's choice of her, for the first time in four years, Amhuinn spoke up against the one who had started her nightmare in the first place. "If anyone is traitorous around here, MacCallan, tis ye. Ye ruined Laird Fergus's lands and used the Kincaid's as yer slave. Ye are no laird ter me. Ye are but a useless rake."
Watching Amhuinn's defiant response, a part of Hammond swelled in pride. Here was the minx he often saw hidden behind the skittish nature that Hammond suspected Amhuinn only developed after Dougal's callous treatment of her. But now with fire in her eyes, the blue eyes looked like the ocean in a storm, especially with the way she protectively held Adair away from who he suspected was Dougal MacCallan. When he looked closer, Hammond could recognize the sandy haired laird as the half-naked man he had stumbled upon the first time they had been here, and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Instinctively, he moved to stand closer to Amhuinn as the other approached.
Apparently noticing Hammond's movements, Dougal MacCallan paused, and then sneered. "Ye found yerself another willing tup, bitch?"
Hammond bristled, and Amhuinn closed Adair's ears as he snapped in return. "Mistress Amhuinn has requested my help in regaining her son, as is right. No child should grow up under the care of a tyrant as ye."
"And ye are?" Dougal sneered
"Hammond MacKenzie, Laird of the MacKenzie clan. And ye are are a shame to all Highland clans. It disgusts me to even call ye a laird, MacCallan."
Instantly, Dougal's temper flared. "Ye think of yerself better then me, Laird MacKenzie?" he challenged in a tone that dared a fight. Hammond had never backed down from a fight, and he wasn't about to start now. Motioning for Connor to come forward, he nudged Amhuinn towards his first-in-command. "Dinna move from Connor, Ammi. Connor, take Ammi out as soon as ye can."
With that, Hammond turned with a determined look. Dougal MacCallan smirked when he met the challenge, snatching a claymore from one of his soldiers and holding it with both hands. "Then, shall we see what the MacKenzie laird is made from?"
Amhuinn watched wide eyed as the two clashed in the middle of the great hall. The soldiers from either side watched on, each wary about the other. The MacKenzie's flanked around Amhuinn and Adair, whilst the Kincaid men seemed to be a little more listless despite holding their claymore's. From what she saw, while Hammond and Dougal appeared to be evenly matched, their personalities showed in their fight. Where Dougal was rashed and hard-hitting, Hammond was more cautious, defensive but very wary on where he struck. He seemed to watch more then he struck, while Dougal drove forward with no thought.
She's barely watched them for five minutes when she felt another nudge on her shoulder. Connor was now on her side, tugging at her shirt which Adair was clinging to. "Move, now. Follow Isaac."
Following Connor's direction with her eyes, Amhuinn saw Isaac inching towards the door. She raised a brow at Connor, who nodded and motioned in the same direction. Hesitation flared within her, as she glanced back at Hammond who had locked claymores with Dougal. Could she leave him? Should she?
"Let's go Mistress. The laird wouldnae want ye to be hurt." Isaac hissed, waving his palm earnestly.
With one last look back at Hammond, Amhuinn made her decision. She held Adair tightly against her and dashed out the door, just as a loud crash fell to the floor. A cry went up, but Amhuinn was caught by Isaac just as she wanted to look back. Tristan shielded her view, effectively pushing her out of the castle and onto a waiting horse. Once next to the horse, the two MacKenzie men wasted no time pushing Amhuinn on the horse, with Tristan getting on and spurring the mare to movement.
"Wait! What abo-" she protested, her words lost in the wind.
"Nae worry mistress, the laird kens what he's doing." Tristan warned, pushing forward. Even through the roar of the wind rushing past her ears when their steed picked up to a full gallop, Amhuinn could faintly hear the roar as the men's fight broke out once Dougal MacCallan realized Amhuinn had been whisked away.
The next thing you knew, the sound of hooves thundered around her as the rest of the MacKenzie's caught up with them. "Faster Tristan, faster!" Hammond yelled over the rushing wind. Amhuinn looked across, and for a brief moment she got the joy of knowing he was alright when the next thing she knew, Hammond jerked forward with a cry that she saw more then heard.
In her panic, she wanted to lunge for him and almost fell off the horse had Tristan not catch her just in time. She quickly looked to the back, seeking for the source of Hammond's reaction. Her eyes fell on a single arrow embedded in his upper shoulder. Crimson blood was already beginning to stain his tunic, for the arrow had managed to find its mark just between the links of the leather armor they wore.
"Nae, bring her away Tristan. Stay with him Ammi, and dinna turn back nae matter what ye see or here, go!" Hammond shouted over the wind. Switching his claymore to the hand holding his reins, Hammond raised his palm and slapped the rump of the mare Tristan and Amhuinn who still held Adair wore.
The combined weight of the two adults and one child proved heavy for the mare, but the shock of Hammond's hit made the equine jolt forward.
For Hammond however, the brief switch of hands he had done to give them a boost forward costed him, for as they surged forward, the last thing Amhuinn saw was the Kincaid's closing ranks around Hammond.