A Highlander's Promise

The Rescue

Her cry surprised MacLachlan's horse and it jerked nervously.

As it did so, she ran right past him, however, another man came to block her path. It was the red headed man who was the Laird's advisor. She dodged left and dove straight towards a bush, she crawled out and was about to make a run for it when another man grabbed her arm.

His grip was tight and not in the least bit wanting to let go.

As she struggled from his grip, she on the ground and him bending over her, Aodh went to aid her but another man came to intervene that blocked his path.

"I do not want to start a fight but you leave me no choice," Aodh said, and with that the man had fallen to ground from the impact of his punch.

Leora continued to struggle as Ian tried to contemplate the best way to reach them so he could free her of the man's hand.

MacAlister, Maon and a few other men went to block the other men from proceeding past them onto their property as well as to block them from reaching the young girl.

Fionn and Ian exchanged looks again once more and rushed towards the direction of the lass in distress.

The elder kicked the abusive man in the behind as the younger shoved the man's hands away from reaching any closer to the girl as he fell to the ground.

Ian scooped Leora into his arms and carried her off to safety behind his clan members while Fionn had given the man another lovely kick to the groin.

Now that she was safe, she noticed that the group of men who aided her was now pointing their hunting arrows at the MacLachlans.

MacLachlan knew that they were equal in number and could properly fight, however this was their land and they had the advantage as well, since they had more weapons from the hunt than his own men.

The MacAlisters had come out with the intention of killing and bringing back meat and he surely didn't want it to be his.

MacLachlan kept debating whether to retaliate or flee. Was this chit worth the lives of his men?

He didn't care about that, but he did need them to protect him if anything occurred further on their journey home.

This was worth his pride.

In less than the span of a few days the same girl who had ridiculed him twice in front of his own people had damaged his pride. He didn't want to let her go.

He wanted to put her down into place and show her she could not have such power over him.

He didn't know if there were other MacAlisters still waiting further in the forest and if a fight broke out they surely would rush to aid their fellow kinsmen.

He surely wasn't going to risk his life for this wench.

"Take her if you please," MacLachlan spoke in Gaelic, but continued in English, "Don't think this is the end of us you inane wench. I will come back for you. It might take a long time, but I want you to anticipate it, because I always keep my word."

The MacAlisters looked with puzzled looks as to why he suddenly switched to English but continued their focus on him.

And with that he left along with his men, scurrying as fast as they could.

Only was it until after the last man had disappeared in the distance did the MacAlister men lower their bows and arrows.

They now moved their attention towards the young girl who had just been breathless from the scene that had just occurred.

"Are you alright?" Fionn had asked in Gaelic.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" MacAlister asked, too, in Gaelic.

Trying to decipher what they were saying from the expressions on their faces she inferred they were asking about her well-being.

She tried to nod that she was alright, but as she raised her hand to accept Aodh's outstretched one, she remembered the pain that the man had inflicted upon her moments earlier.

Grimacing, her armed felt frail and instead of meeting his it fell back to the ground.

Aodh helped her up and put her arm over his shoulder to support her, she felt weak and exhausted on her own feet again.

Knowing that she was out of danger's reach her mind now focused on the tensed pain her body was in.

She had refused food and water during the time she had been held against her will and her body was running merely on a few hours of sleep.

Struggling against the MacLachlan man strained the last bit of energy she had left.

As she leaned on Aodh she had collapsed onto him.

MacAlister helped him get her onto Maon's horse and Maon had seated her in front of him.

"Let's head back. I think we've caught enough to bring back to the keep today," MacAlister told his men.

"Aye indeed, we didn't catch a boar, but neither one of us expected catching a lass," Fionn whispered to Ian.

As the men headed towards the keep, they debated what it meant to bring her back with them and now where they stood with the MacLachlans.

"If she was of anything special then they would have fought for her," Maon said.

"Aye, she is definitely not one of their own. Even if she was they would not stoop so low as to bind one of their own females," Aodh responded.

"You don't know the disgusting deeds those men do, but I do agree that she is not one of theirs, because they wouldn't have let her go so easily," MacAlister voiced.

"Well, if she isn't one of their own, who is she? And what did she possibly do to have the bastard tie her up so?" Fionn asked.

"Do you think she's dangerous?" Ian asked.

"Nay, for this girl is too weak to put up any fight," Maon said.

"Still, it bothers me that we don't know who she is, what if she is an enemy?" Fionn asked.

"We don't have Scottish enemies, lad, until maybe now," MacAlister said contemplating if he made the right decision and putting his people at risk in the future.

"You understood what the laird said in English, right? About him coming back for her and all. Do you think he will?" Ian asked.

"Let him try trespassing on our land and he will face the blades of our men if he tries to," Aodh said.

"But don't you think it was off how he suddenly switched to English when he directed his speech to the lass?" Fionn, yet again asking.

"You think she's English?" another man of their group asked.

"Aye, probably," Moan said.

"Do you think she'll be as bad as an English?" Ian asked.

"There's only one way to find out," MacAlister said, "let's wait until she regains consciousness."

And the men continued to ride back to the keep.