The Highlander

Chapter Three

Rosaline

My head hurt. It was the first thing I noticed. A throbbing pain banged from the inside of my skull with every beat of my heart. I felt like I had banged my head on a concrete wall for an hour non stop.

The fire was burning around me. I couldn’t see, couldn’t hear. All I could do was burn.

Memories flooded back to me, shocking me and scaring me. The hazy images filled my head.

The fire got louder and louder till my ears started ringing. I opened my eyes. Fire was everywhere. I was on my back staring at the tips of the red flames snap at the sky. Under me the ground felt coarse and hard. I tried sitting up but my muscles groaned in pain. 

Finally, I heaved myself off the floor and walked unsteadily on my feet looking all around me. Fire was everywhere. Hut looking houses were burning and crumbling to the ground. I tried running away from the fire but the burning house beside me let out a crack as the wooden structure came crumbling to the ground.

I screamed and ran straight ahead before something beside me burst into flames, causing billowing black smoke to blow in my direction, blocking my throat, cutting off my air supply.

I couldn’t breathe. I passed out.

My heart beat faster as the memories flowed faster in my mind, creating dark horrible images.

Someone was holding me, carrying me. I felt them run for a while till the sound of the flames quietened down, so they were a hum in the distance. I felt them hover over me, their eyes on my body before two strong hands were one my body, throttling me, throwing me side to side. The force was strong enough to awake me from my deathly slumber.

I awoke with a start my eyes travelling all around me looking for danger. A man, a handsome man, was knelt in front of me.  His hair was short and dark, his eyes grey but in the right shadow they could have been mistaken for black.

I panicked in fear and started to crawl and turn away but he grabbed my hips and yanked me back. I struggled in his arms as he spoke. I ignored his words as I tried to climb out his lap.

When he said no harm would come to me I stopped. I was tired scared and afraid. The emotions were boiling inside me and came bursting out in tears. The man reached down, I flinched slightly, and wiped the tears from my face.

His touch was scary yet comforting. I looked at him in the eyes as the orange glow from the fire reflected on his face. There was no mistaking this man was handsome, yet the beauty also held danger. I suspected that if you didn’t know this man, you would be afraid from one look.

He was asking my name. I panicked. What was my name? I couldn’t remember. My breathing sped up, my heart pounded in my chest, and I passed out for a second time.

I felt something cold on my face; someone was patting my face with a scratchy cloth. I moaned and turned away, but they only grabbed my chin lightly and continued scrubbing my face and neck. I protested, turning away again and they let me, moving the cloth to my chest.

They cleaned below my neck before slowly inching downward, cleaning the tips of my breasts. I tried turning my body away. The cloth disappeared and I felt the cold cloth on my arms. They cleaned them before turning their attention to my legs, washing the backs and fronts and all around, even my feet. I realised my shoes were gone. I also realised that the weight of my hoped earrings were gone.

They then went on to clean my thighs. Their touch with the cloth was soft and gentle as if knowing I would panic and turn away. I let them be, lying softly on my back.