𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄 | outlander ↠ jamie fraser

5 | Familiar Faces

While I had never been hit by a train before, I imagined that what I was currently feeling was pretty close. Thankfully, that awful clanging noise had stopped. I slowly opened my eyes. Everything looked normal. I reasoned I must have fainted and been out for some time because the sun was higher in the sky than I remembered it being. I forced myself into a sitting position and glanced around for Lottie. She wasn't there. That concerned me. Where was she? Where was I? I closed my eyes and forced myself to concentrate.

I knew I was atop Craigh na Dun. The stones surrounding me confirmed that much. I had traveled here with Lottie to watch the druids' dance. I remembered Mrs. Graham and Mrs. Campbell dancing in bedsheets wielding torches. It seemed silly, but I was fairly certain I hadn't imagined that. I distinctly remembered having a laugh over it with Lottie. But where was Lottie? The only thing possible I reason was that she had gone to the automobile to fetch something for me when she saw that I had fainted.

A cool breeze seemed to come out of nowhere and I tugged the afghan tighter around my shoulders. I was surprised that with the sun up, the temperature seemed to have dropped. Very odd. But perhaps it was one of those things about Scotland I just never noticed before. I didn't want Lottie worrying about me, so I forced myself to stand. I seemed to have a short case of vertigo, so I leaned against one of the stones in the outer ring. I must have hit my head or something when I fell. I reached up and tenderly felt my head. Aside from the stray grass, there seemed to be nothing amiss. I felt no gashes or blood gushing, which was a good sign. I then patted down the rest of my body to make sure I didn't have any other injuries that might have contributed to my fainting. But I found nothing. As far as I knew Tallmadges weren't prone to fainting spells nor had I ever had one in my life before that moment. That should have been my first clue. But of course, I wouldn't realize that until later.

I pulled my satchel off my shoulder and set it on the ground for a moment. Four books made the thing awfully heavy. I rubbed the shoulder the strap had been resting on, trying to offer it some small relief before I picked the bag up again and walked in the direction of the automobile. Things looked slightly different than I remembered them being, but I reasoned that climbing in the dark accounted for all the changes I thought I was seeing. Everything looked different at night. That should have been another clue. Again, I didn't realize it at the time.

When I came to the bottom of the hill, I was more confused. I looked left and then I looked right. There was no sign of Lottie or the automobile. My first thought was that she had been so concerned for my safety that she had rushed to Inverness to get help. But that didn't make sense. Lottie had gone to medical school and she would know how to treat me. She would also know not to stray far from me. Then where could she be? My next thought was that maybe there was another trail to the top of Craigh na Dun that allowed for car access, which she used to drive to the top so that I wouldn't have to walk as far to the automobile. It was the only thing I could think of that made sense.

So, I walked back to the top of Craigh na Dun. Although, the missing sign for Craigh na Dun, should have been yet another clue.

I reached the top to find a woman with brown, curly hair setting flowers down in front of the stones. She looked like she was fighting against something. I must have stepped on a twig because there was a sudden snapping noise and the woman immediately turned to look at me.

"Lottie!" I called and raced toward her, thankful to have found her. Or at least I thought I had found her. I probably should have realized from how the woman was dressed that it wasn't my Lottie. But my brain rationalized that she could have kept a spare outfit in the automobile.

The woman's bright blue eyes widened as I approached her. Blue eyes. That struck me and stopped me in my tracks about two yards from the woman. Lottie's eyes were green, not blue. This woman's hair was darker, almost black whereas Lottie's was chocolate brown. This woman was older than Lottie. I began to notice more differences. "You're not Lottie," I said.