Highlander’s Winter Rose by Fiona Faris
Chapter Twenty
After being thrown into her cell the day before, Rosallyn had been struggling to stay positive, as much as she hated admitting it. Perhaps it was because of the way the giant who had hit her before had given her a grin as he locked her cell.
“I cannae wait for tomorrow, ye ken…. I am the one in charge of takin yer life,” he had said. “I look forward to seein’ yer tiny neck strangled by that huge rope… I will dream of it tonight, in fact. Dae make sure to give me a good face tomorrow. And maybe afterwards the Laird will allow me to take yer body.”
There was something seriously wrong with that man. The way that he spoke made it clear that he was sexualizing her demise. She had thought that might be the case back when he had hit her and offered to have fun with her later. He had very twisted preferences. Now he had put the image in her head of him leering at her while she choked to death. The images made her shudder in fear. That was no way to die, being hung was bad enough, but for the last thing that she would see to be that disgusting pervert enjoying her demise… She would rather commit suicide. Then again, even if she did, he had expressed his interest in her dead body. It would not help much.
Nay, dinnae think such thoughts, Maximus is goin’ to save ye. He promised that he would return did he nae? There is nay way that he would allow me to die
She guided her thoughts carefully, keeping herself in check and forcing her mind to think on positive thoughts only, so that she would not think of things like what she had just been thinking. She decided to trust Maximus and the promise he had made. Through the night, she kept waiting for the moment when Maximus would show up. She continued to imagine what it would be like when we he came to break her out.
It was because she was waiting that when she heard a man’s footsteps approaching, she hurried to the bars expectantly, hoping that it was him. However, instead of Maximus, she came face to face with a pained Boyd. Irritated that she had so obviously gotten her hopes up, she glared at him and moved away from the bars.
“Oh, I am sorry that I am nae who ye were expectin’,” he said sarcastically. Rosallyn did not reply, embarrassed that she had shown him that emotion. She went back to sit against the wall. Boyd scoffed at her.
“Dae ye really think that I want to fight ye? Right now?” he asked, sounding only moments away from tears. “How can ye still be like this with how dire yer situation is?”
Rosallyn folded her arms over her chest and stared at the far wall, ignoring him. It was not as though he came to save her, he only came to talk. She did not care to listen to him talk about how he did his best to save her. All she cared about was waiting for Maximus to come and save her.
“Wait, dinnae tell me that ye dinnae understand the severity of yer situation… Dae ye think that Maximus can help ye?” he asked. She glanced at him curious as to why he did not think that was possible.
“I cannae believe this. Now I understand why ye are actin’ like this. Ye truly dinnae ken the severity of yer situation. The Laird did this on purpose. He set yer execution for this afternoon because he kent that they wouldnae make it in time. He has announced it to the people, so that the spies in the clan would hurry to send news to Maximus, but he kens that Maximus willnae make it. Before the news will get to him, and before he can get here… Well, there just isnae enough time. Ye will already be dead by then. He did this on purpose so that when Maximus gets the news, he will hurry here. He knows that Maximus is in the Kellgan clan, and he has brought soldiers from the Ross clan borders to concentrate on the Mackay to Kellgan borders, including the path in the forest… So nay matter which way they try to attack from, the Laird is ready for them. Maximus willnae make it in time to save ye, even if he tries,” Boyd said.
Rosallyn felt her eyes widen at his words. Her heart had begun to beat harder and faster. What was he talking about? So… there was no hope of Maximus getting to her in time, and his trying to do so would mean he would be caught in Donald’s trap. No, it could not be. Did that mean that she was going to die? Dear God, she was actually going to die…
“I am sorry. I caused this. I never thought… I never thought that it would be this way… I should have ken… I dinnae ken what to dae to fix it. I dinnae ken how to save ye. What dae I dae?” Boyd was ranting. Rosallyn could barely hear him at that point. She was too busy reeling from his words. Death… It was actually going to happen, and all this time, she had been in denial… She did not want to die…
No, no, she could not break down and panic. That was what Donald wanted, and that was what that giant bastard who had hit her was looking forward to. Even if she was going to go, she could not give them the pleasure of seeing her break. Yes, that’s right… there was no need to be so scared. She would simply be going to meet her father. How could she face him if she broke down now and showed a pathetic face to her enemies?
She was thinking all these things, yet wetness was rolling down her cheeks. She touched her hand to her face in surprise, looking at the wetness on her fingers.
Am I cryin’? Why am I cryin’?
Yes, that was right. Of course she was crying. She still had people she wanted to live for, things she wanted to do… She had not gone anywhere yet, or seen anything. She had only lived in that house on the hill for the whole of her life. She had only just barely found love, and she wanted to spend more time with him… Maximus… She wanted to spend time with Maximus. Ah, she was doing what she did not want to: she was breaking down.
She wiped at her eyes furiously while Boyd began to sob.
“I didnae want any of this… I am so sorry… I am so useless. I cannae even help… What dae I dae?” he continued.
Her emotions were unstable, and so looking at him she was filled with rage. This was all his fault, yet he stood there crying. His greed had made him betray the clan, and now he was crying because things did not go his way to the end. His existence irritated her, but she said nothing because she was aware that she was not in a stable state. Lashing out at him would only serve to destroy what little composure she had left, so instead, she focused on calming herself down and thinking tranquil thoughts. She wiped her face to get rid of the stray tears that kept coming out.
They remained like that, with her preparing herself and Boyd crying outside the cell, until the soldiers came for her. The guard with the key bent over Boyd who was cryin’ and lifted him.
“I am sorry. I did the best I could by allowin’ ye to spend the final moments with her,” he said to Boyd, who was a sobbing mess, before handing him off to another soldier who took him away. The time had been useful for her. She had pulled herself together and was able to mask all her emotions as she was led to the surface.
“Take her to the square… and make sure to hurry. It is almost time, and the Laird would nae appreciate lateness,” the soldiers who brought her out told their companions. She was handed over, and they all but carried her along as her feet did not touch the ground anymore. They hurried towards the town square with her hanging between them. Ah, so it really would be a public execution. The town square was big enough for everyone in the castle town to fit. It was a wide, open space used for things, just like this, that the Laird wanted everyone to see.
Rosallyn simply stared at the ground as they hurried along. She struggled to keep her mask on, knowing that each step she took led her closer to her doom.
“Today, we bring before ye the criminal, Rosallyn Grant!” Rosallyn heard. They had reached the square, she realized, and just in time too, as Donald had begun to address the crowd. He spoke about her and how, although her name was not known, she was the daughter of the former general who had been killed in battle while fighting for the enemy. He slandered her mercilessly, much like he had done at the trial.
Rosallyn was not even bother. He was not saying anything he had not said before, and besides, she had more problems to deal with, such as holding herself together.
“And now, we bring ye the criminal, to make an example of her so that it will be known what happens to those who go against our clan and me noble rule.” He said, signaling the end of his speech. Rosallyn was then marched up onto the platform to face the crowd. It was only then that she raised her head. She looked up just in time to see Donald leaving the platform, his personal guard in tow. He was going to watch the show from somewhere else. She turned and caught sight of the giant soldier. He was dressed in all black and leered at her expectantly.
She shuddered despite herself. He was so scary. She was led to the noose, and she struggled to keep her composure. She could not see Donald, but she knew he was watching from somewhere, so she kept her pride. She could hear the heavy breathing of the giant soldier as he put the noose around her neck. It seemed he had not just been saying it the day before to make her uncomfortable. He was clearly excited.
He adjusted and checked the noose again, making sure that its knots were secure, all the while breathing heavily. He was right, the rope was big and thick. Once it tightened, it would squeeze her neck in the most unsightly manner. Her heart was beating fast, and she lowered her eyes to the wooden floor beneath her, trying to stay calm. It was then that she noticed the trap door. The platform was built in such a way that the floor could fall open, and she would drop.
She felt her eyes widen at the sight. She was standing in the middle of the trap, so if it were activated, she would go down. Despite her best efforts not to think about it, she still did. Her mind was filled with the image of her body dropping through the hole and the rope tightening around her neck so much that it would pop her eyes out of the sockets. She was scared.
Even as she counted the seconds before the floor would vanish from beneath her and her neck would snap, all that she could think about was Maximus. It was the end already. All she could hope was that he had not fallen into Donald’s trap while he tried to save her.
I should have told him that I love him...
The thought came to her mind at the same time the executioner reached for the rope that would activate the trap door.
God, please, I want to spend time with him, I cannae lose him too.
She violently blinked back her tears. She could not cry now after holding back for so long. She would stay proud till the very end. She was still thinking this when everything changed before her eyes.
It happened in a second, so quickly that she wondered if having death so close was causing her to see things.
An angel landed on the platform in front of her, booted feet making a thud and her short skirts billowing in the wind. At the same time as she landed, something landed at Rosallyn's feet, splashing blood on her ghillies. She looked down slowly and found that it was the arm of the executioner.
It took a few seconds for everyone to register what was happening. The angel stood there, a sword in each hand, blood dripping from the one in her left. Only just then realizing that he had lost an arm, the executioner let out a horrified scream, breaking the silence.
"My arm! She took me arm!" he was screeching, just as the crowd seemed to wake up as well, beginning to run and pushing against each other with screams of horror.
The executioner had gone mad. She had not thought she would ever see him so pathetic as he tried to escape. Gone was the giant man who had leered at her and laughed with a hunger in his eyes at her demise. Instead, it was a man delirious with fear, crawling on the floor in an attempt to get away from the angel.
"It hurts! It hu-"
His words were cut short as the angel spun twice and attacked with her momentum, easily removing his head. Rosallyn was awestruck. She did not know that women could move like that. What were the odds? She had just prayed, and her prayers were answered in the form of this angel.
Enemy soldiers climbed onto the platform in a bid to cut her down, but the angel was unstoppable, spinning this way and that in a graceful dance that was as beautiful as it was dangerous. She had the upper hand since she was on higher ground while they were trying to climb up to meet her. She used their lack of sure footing against them without restraint, butchering them all.
She did not miss a target, each swing of her sword a fatal hit. The enemies dropped like flies.
She is certainly an angel… an angel of death.
Rosallyn was glad that she did not come for her head but seemed to be helping her instead. She was still thinking this when she heard a second thud behind her and felt her wrists come free.
She looked behind her in surprise and tears came to her eyes when she saw Maximus. He winked at her.
"I'm sorry I am late," he said.
