Highlander’s Winter Rose by Fiona Faris
Chapter Ten
Rosallyn had walked away from the farmer's house with tears in her eyes. She was not sure why she was crying this time. Was it still her injuries? No, she was numb already and could not feel the pain anymore. So, what was it? Even as she asked, she knew the answer. She missed him. She was not ready to say goodbye.
Somehow, she had found comfort in the midst of their troubles, and now she had been thrown into the true anxieties of war. The enemies who had killed her father were in the village. One of them might even have been at the house. She had been brave when Maximus was around, all of her fear being for him and none for herself as she knew that if they found him, that would be the end, for all of them.
Now that he was gone, she felt true fear. She was scared for herself. That soldier had grabbed her roughly enough to break her bones. They had left without much trouble because they were hoping to find something, but things could have been much worse for her. They were clearly not honest men, seeing as they did not care that she was a woman and treated her so roughly.
They knew that she was alone in the house… And this time, if she returned home, she would truly be alone. What would she do if they returned for her? She had never felt so unsafe in her life.
“So ye are a noble’s mistake hidden away in the mountains… Ye poor pretty thing, left out here to rot.”
The memory of the soldier’s words made her shudder in horror, a chill crawling up her spine and making her wrap her arms around herself as goosebumps broke out on her skin. She could still smell his dirty breath as he leaned into her face to speak, his filthy gaze eating her up. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. No, there was no way she could return to the house alone.
She decided to go down to the monastery. She had sent the soldiers there after all, so it was somewhat her responsibility to make sure nothing was wrong. She stumbled down the path until she made it to the monastery. Dawn was rising, and she could see better now that there was some light. She stopped in horror as she saw what was going on.
Soldiers were dragging injured men out of the monastery and lining them up on the ground. The healers who were trying to stop them were held in vice grips just as she had been. The injured screamed in pain as they were moved without consideration for their wounds, and the healers who had spent so much time and effort to help them cried along with them, begging the soldiers to stop.
Her feet were moving before she even knew what she was doing, and she was running towards a soldier who was dragging a man with a broken arm by his injured arm.
“Leave him alone, ye bastard!” she heard herself scream as she leapt through the air, using the force of her run to push the soldier who had turned at the sound of her voice square in the chest. She saw the shock on his face for a brief moment before she touched him, and he went flying back, his grip on the injured man loosening as he was shoved away, landing with a sickening thud against the monastery wall. Time stood still for a moment as everyone stared at her, stunned by the strange woman who had suddenly jumped into the scene and taken out a soldier.
“Rosallyn!” one of the healers who recognized her exclaimed, and shook everyone out of their surprise. Two soldiers left the healers they were holding and rushed over to grab her by the arms and force her to her knees. She was not going down without a fight, however, as she screamed and kicked, pulling against their holds, despite the fact that it hurt her already injured arm.
The other soldiers laughed as they watched the two struggle with her. Something had snapped inside of her. Her rage drove her actions, and she continued to fight. She despised her helplessness, the way that she had been unable to do anything and was tossed around like a rag doll when the soldiers came to her house. If she had been a son, then she would have learned to fight from her father. She would have been a warrior that could be of use to Maximus in getting back the Lairdship. She would be able to run through all of these cowards attacking the village and get revenge on those who killed her father.
“Are ye two really bein’ defied by a woman right now?” one of the soldiers mocked. She kicked even harder, snarling when she recognized his voice. He was the one who had come up to her house and treated her so roughly.
“Why nae come and get her yerself? Ye dae nae understand; she is like an animal,” the soldier on her right grumbled. Another soldier came forward in an attempt to join them in holding her down, and she leapt up with a scream, kicking him right in the face with her dusty foot. He stumbled back after the impact, a dusty footprint on his face and blood streaming out of his nose.
“Oi! She broke me nose! This crazy woman broke me nose!” he yelled angrily. The soldiers around all laughed at him as he glared at her maliciously. Seemingly having enough, the soldier she was already acquainted with stepped forward. She made to kick him as well, but he grabbed her leg easily in one hand and flung it back down before burying his fist in her belly with vicious intent.
She doubled over on his fist, spittle pouring out of her mouth, along with all the energy in her body. She fell to her knees limply after that, her eyes rolling aimlessly in her head as she struggled not to pass out. He had hit her as though she was a man. He stood over her with a wicked grin on his face, grabbing her jaw and forcing her to look up at him.
“Ye see that? That is how ye tame an animal,” he said to the soldier who had complained. The two holding her stared at him with terror in their eyes. It seemed no one had expected him to hit her like that, as even the healers and the patients had quieted down and were watching in horror. He looked down at her again, and she saw recognition spark in his eyes.
“Oi, dae I nae ken ye? Ah… ye are the noble bastard that lives in the big house on the hill, are ye nae?” he asked as though they were friends. He laughed, a sound that gave her chills.
“Ye ken, that makes a lot of sense now. I remember ye said yer grandmother was here. I see where ye get yer energy from,” he said, turning her head so that she could see her grandmother on the ground behind the group of soldiers who were holding the healers hostage. Her grandmother did not seem to be conscious. “I was beginnin’ to wonder what it was they feed the women around here when ye came runnin’ through like a cyclone. The old lady attacked too, ye see, came at me with her cane. Ye are just like her. She was nae that strong though, she went down with only one slap.”
Rosallyn was seeing red. She began to scream, straining against his grip on her jaw and trying to pull out of the hold of the other two soldiers. The man chuckled deeply as tears formed in her eyes.
“Ah yes, ye are much stronger. Perhaps because ye are young. One hit is nae enough to put ye down,” he said, leering at her again. He squatted so that he was at face level with her and let go of her jaw. “Ye ken, since ye are so lively, I ken a way that we can help ye get rid of all that excess energy. What dae ye think?”
All the fire in her blood turned to ice, and she froze as he gave her a knowing look, reaching out slowly, deliberately, for her neck. She was terrified, and he could tell, she saw the excitement in his eyes as he gobbled up her fear. She shut her eyes, fully expecting the worst when a voice cut in suddenly.
“Stop!” it said. She turned at the same time as her tormentor, the both of them looking at the figure that was approaching on horseback, only dismounting once he was close enough to their group. The sun was behind his head, so she could not see his face, but from the way that none of them attacked him, it seemed that he was on their side. Her tormentor got to his feet, leaving her alone.
“Ah, I did nae think that ye would want to be involved, General. I thought ye said ye will only watch from afar,” her tormentor said. Now that he was no longer holding her jaw or addressing her, Rosallyn had lost the strength to hold her head up. Her stomach hurt, and she felt like throwing up. Her head drooped limply, and she struggled to take deep breaths.
From the way her tormentor spoke, she could tell that the man who had cut in was indeed on the enemy’s side, although her tormentor did not seem happy about the fact that he was a General, since he stressed the word way too much. She had grasped all this, but she did not really care who the new General was, he was an enemy, and that was all she knew, so she looked away, having lost interest in the conversation.
“Aye, I was, but that is enough. The escapee soldiers and the former Commander are obviously nae here. There is nay need to waste time in this village any longer,” the General said. Her tormentor snorted at that, but said nothing as the other soldiers released the healers they were holding. Now free, the healers rushed to their patient’s sides, looking them over and helping those who could stand up back into the monastery.
One of the healers rushed to her grandmother’s side, and the General addressed her.
“Ye should take care of her immediately. She is old, so that hit might have hurt her more than normal. We are being lenient today, but spread this to all the villagers. This clan is nay longer under the Lairdship of Joseph Mackay and his heirs. They are all dead, and any who swear allegiance to them will be arrested or executed as the new Laird sees fit. The Laird of this clan is Donald Ross, and ye should all turn yer loyalty to him.”
The healer was shaking beneath his gaze, and she nodded fearfully after he spoke. Her tormentor watched all this with a blank expression, then he sighed and grabbed her by the jaw again, yanking her head up.
“Oi General, what dae I dae with this one. She caused a lot of trouble and injured two of our soldiers. We can nae let her go, so I am goin’ to arrest her,” he said. She whimpered in terror, knowing that she would not be safe once she was left alone with him. The General glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes and for a moment their gazes met.
“Leave her, she is mine. I will arrest her meself,” he said. Her tormentor grunted in dissatisfaction and let her go again.
“Tch, ye are never any fun,” he grumbled before going over to heft the soldier she had attacked off the ground where he lay unconscious after hitting his head. “Ye dobber, got hit by a woman and passed out. Ye should be ashamed,” he said, insulting the man even as he carried him away. The two soldiers holding unto her arms released her, and she fell down limply. She fully expected to hit the ground, but instead, she fell against a strong arm which wrapped around her waist.
She was not sure when, but the General had come to squat beside her and was now holding her up. Her vision was swimming and what little strength she had left was seeping away. She could not even raise her head to look at his face.
“Can ye stand?” he asked, his voice kind as he spoke close to her ear in a familiar way that made her irritated.
“Who the hell are ye?” she slurred as he helped her to her feet, but she did not get to hear his answer as she passed out the next moment.
