Embers in the Snow

Chapter 8 | The Howl of the Highlands

The grey clouds rolling in hinted at the snowstorm that was to come. Aili snapped her eyes back to the courtyard where Ewan straddled supplies on top of his horse. Aili hurried toward him, skirts rustling, "I'm coming with you," she demanded. He slowly turned from his horse, and lifted a quizzical brow at her. "Please," she added in a whisper. Ewan could see the worry in her blue eyes and understood the words she did not have the courage to say out loud.
"We have to be quick if we are to reach him before the storm hits." Aili nodded her head, pressing her plump lips tightly together. "I'm already packed." He chuckled underneath his breath. Then quickly after shouted, "Someone get her a horse!" His voice carried across the courtyard. A stable hand nearby heard Ewan's command and quickly summoned a horse for the Lady. It wasn't long after she mounted the steed the stable boy had brought to her, that the small company of MacDonald men along with one Lady departed.
          Aili kept replaying the missive over and over again as she trotted up and down the snow covered hills of the highlands. Her father was somewhere close by, yet far enough away that he could not make the rest of the journey without help. The cart carrying her dowry had succumbed to the journey in deep snow. They had tried to repair the cart but had failed. It has slowed them down to where they would not make it in time before the snow storm hit... If they did not receive reinforcements. Aili prayed she would reach her father in time.
The wind was like icy blades against her skin as she blazed across the terrain, willing her horse to keep up with Ewan's. The thought had briefly crossed her mind about her betrothed and his whereabouts. Aili was getting used to his absence. Ewan's presence was a balm that covered the wound her betrothed's absence inflicted, she found. After several hours of nothing but the sound of the horses hooves kicking up the snow, Ewan held up a hand. Despite the ache in her inner thighs and the sting on her cheeks, Aili was resolved to keep riding until she was reunited with her father. The horses needed a reprieve. Reluctantly she dismounted. A lanky lad with red hair and a sparse beard of the same hue approached her with a flask of water.
Aili, recognizing her thirst accepted the flask and pressed it against her chapped lips. It burned the back of her throat. She gagged after swallowing. "That's not water," she spewed hoarsely at the young man. "Whiskey," He amusedly informed her. "Helps keep the freeze from reaching your insides." Another one of Ewan's highland warriors called to the lanky red head with a penchant for drinking whiskey whilst horseback. He was called Jaime, she realized. When Aili realized the men were setting up tents and beginning to build a fire she panicked. She marched up to Ewan. "What are we doing?" He towered over her and that did not seem to phase her one bit, which only amused him. "We're setting up camp. The horses need rest. We need rest. The sun is beginning to set. Well continue first light." Aili huffed in frustration and impatience. Deep down she knew he was right.
          She decided to channel that energy into helping Jaime set up her tent. When Aili realized there were only three tents erected and six of them, her face fell. Jaime, reading her thoughts splayed on her face said, "We sleep in pairs for safety and warmth." This did not assuage Aili's sense of impropriety. "Who will be sharing the tent with me?" "I will." She turned on her heels to see Ewan behind her, opening the tent flap. Her cheeks began to burn redder than the fire that had sparked to life in the center of their makeshift camp. "Is that necessary?" Ewan nodded his head. "You took the unnecessary risk to come with us... We cannot afford to take anymore risks on your account." Aili winced slightly at the sting of his words.
She relented, silently, and ducked down under the flap that Ewan held open for her. It was narrow inside the tent, furs layered on top of the tarp for added padding and warmth. The wind was beginning to pick up. It howled treacherously at them, like a wolf catching scent of nearby prey. They ate their dinner inside their tents as the sun gave way to the darkness. Aili was grateful for the warm bowl of stew in her palms. Jaime's tent mate had made it for everyone. The steam of the stew warmed her frost bitten cheeks, and she savored the aromas filling the frigid air.
         Aili tried to ignore how their forearms brushed against each other as they ate their supper in silence. The tent flaps felt like they were closing in on them. She began to second guess her decision to come. Then, she remembered her father. He was all the family she had left. She would make the sacrifices necessary to make sure he would make it to MacDonald castle, even if that meant sleeping in such close proximity to her future brother in law. Away from the castle walls, propriety lost all priority. The highlands demanded practicality over all rules what was considered proper.
When they had finished their supper they both climbed underneath their own separate furs. Ewan's massive body pressed into Aili. She groaned at him. "Do you mind?" Ewan just cocked an amused grin at her. "It is not as if I can help it." Aili rolled her eyes. His body was emitting such luscious heat. It made her body shiver with relief. The wind howled louder. The freezing cold nipped at her bones. She shuddered.
Ewan slid his arm around her waist and pulled her into his rigid chest. "This is highly improper," she protested, but she did not fight back. The truth was, she was too cold, and he was too strong for her anyways. He felt amazing. He was like a simmering fire on a summers day, melting away the icy snow clawing at her skin. "I cannot get any sleep with your chattering teeth. Besides, my brother and your father would kill me if I let you freeze to death." Aili rolled her eyes. She swore a man has never made her roll her eyes so much.
"I doubt very much your brother would care, as I have seen him a total of once since my arrival." She felt Ewan's muscles tense at this statement. She gathered her assumptions were correct. Had Ewan just been trying to spare her the pain of the realization that her betrothed could not even bother to be near her? "You're wrong. He would care. You are the only thing keeping both our clans from war. He may not show it- but he cares." It was not a lie. Ewan was simply stating a half truth. How could he possibly tell her that his eldest brother was in love with her maid. Such dishonor would surely plunge both clans into another century's long feud. His clan could not afford another war, could barely afford to make it through this winter.
          With each shiver her body released, Ewan squeezed her tighter. He hated that he loved the way her soft supple curves fit perfectly against his. He hated that her hair smelled lightly of citrus and sea salt. He cursed himself. He should have never let her come with them, but how could he say no when those blue eyes shimmered with worry and panic over the well being of her father. When she did not respond he crooked his neck to see that her eyes were closed. She was sleeping. Even though his body ached for sleep he would not give in just yet.
          A few hours passed and Aili shrieked. Her eyes split open and she began to swat at a sleeping Ewan. Ewan, quickly realizing she was having another one of her nightmares, squeezed her tighter to his chest and shushed her soothingly. "It's me. Aili, it's me." She began to calm down, although her breathing was still ragged. "Ewan?" Her voice was hoarse. "You're safe," he promised her. He realized in that moment that he meant it. She must have believed he meant it too, because she drifted back to sleep as quickly as she was awakened. "You found me again." She whispered in a sleepy haze. Ewan did not understand the meaning of her words and dismissed them as mindless mumbling. Although, deep in the back of his mind, something answered out to her that she had found him too. He shoved that thought away.