[Discontinued] the love of the earth || Outlander

ii. culloden

CHAPTER TWO
↳ culloden

━━ ◦ 16 April 1746 ◦ ━━

Jamie led Claire in the opposite direction of the men running off to Culloden Moore ready to fight for their country, claire kept glancing at her husband as they quickly walked away extremely confused at what was happening. "Where are we going?" she asked

"Red Jamie won't get far, but you, I can save you and I will" they started to speed up

"Well we can leave, together, now" Claire tried to stop him from walking "We could sail somewhere, anywhere," she said desperate, the ginger stopped walking

"This country is roused and the ports are closed," Jamie said glancing around before meeting her eyes "I'm no' afraid to die, Sassenach. A musket ball, maybe a blade. it's better than the hangman's noose or the wrath of the Mackenzies, I'm a dead man already, so I choose battlefield" They set off walking again but Claire didn't want to

"No, then I will stay here with you," She said aggressively trying to stop him from pulling her along

"No, no you won't," Jamie said not stopping

"At the witch trial, if I'd have gone to the stake with Geillis" Jamie finally stopped walking "Would you have left me?" claire basically yelled

"Left you?" he questioned in disbelief "I would have gone to the stake with you, to hell and beyond if it had gone to that, but I wasn't carrying your child" Claire looked at him, she didn't know how he knew she was pregnant

"You can't know that, it's much too soon. it-"

"Oh, Sassenach, you have never been a day late in your courses in-in all the time since ye first took me to yer bed, but it's been two months now"

"You kept track?" Jamie nodded "In the middle of this bloody war, you kept track?" Claire was in total disbelief at her husband's actions

"Aye, how long have you known" Jamie put his hand on her stomach

"Not long"

"This child, This one, will be one of the long things left of me. Now we must go claire, so I beg you, Claire"

She shook her head "No, no I can't leave you,"

"You heard me give my word to Rupert, and you made me a promise to spare Randall's life. you promised that if it came to this ye would go back through the stone, Back home"

"But you are my home" Claire desperately tried to reason

"And you are mine" Jamie agreed "But this home is lost, and now you and the bairn, you must go to a safe place" Jamie grabbed a horse "To a man, a man that could care for you both"

"No, no what about faith?" she asked as Jamie got on a horse "We can't just leave her i-"

"Claire there's no time," Jamie cut her off holding out his hand for her to get on the white horse, Claire took a second realising she had no choice, so she jumped on the horse and they rode away back to Craigh Na Dun.