Forget Me Not, My Scottish Love by Allie Palomino

Chapter Thirty

Gillyanne turned, and the look in her eyes chilled Abby.  Her eyes were mad, and beyond all semblance of reason.

“Hello, Mouse.  Took ye long enough to get here.”

Abby stood silently, waiting.

“I will take great pleasure making ye suffer.  Despite the odds that were always against me, I will at last succeed today, and,” she said, looking below to the bloodshed, “I may have already succeeded.”

“Succeeded?” Abby turned around and looked at the battle.  More and more English marched forward.  “Dear Lord,” she whispered horrified.

“Aye,” Gillyanne said, leaning forward.  “He will die.”

“So it was you!” she said through clenched teeth.  “How did you discover…?”  At Gillyanne’s smile Abby shook her head.  “Nay, I already know.  Whom did you have to spread your thighs for?  Or mayhap the question should be, how many?”

Before she could react, Gillyanne ran towards her growling.  The wind was knocked out of Abby as she hit the ground.  Her dirk flew out of her hand.  She struggled to take a breath. 

“Bitch!” Gillyanne screeched.

Gillyanne began pummeling Abby.  Abby screamed in anger and punched Gillyanne in the face.  The momentary stun it caused gave Abby the opening she needed, and she kicked Gillyanne several times before she flew off her. 

Gillyanne howled. 

“I’m going to enjoy killing ye!”  Gillyanne was slowly rising.

Abby stood up with the vigor of one uninjured, but side-stepped to catch her balance.  Anger and rage fueled her body and helped pump the blood in her veins.  She smiled.

“Come at me.  I stand here waiting.”

Gillyanne hunkered low and started charging Abby, who’d smartly placed herself in front of a tree.  At the very last minute, Abby moved to the left and Gillyanne ran head first into the hard trunk.  She fell onto the ground and didn’t move.

Abby waited a few moments, watchful, before hurrying over to Trystan.  She closed her eyes in relief as she saw him restfully sleeping.  The rain had calmed a bit.  She looked up, and saw the branches were thick with leaves. The baby was relatively dry considering the onslaught of rain.

Abby looked back at Gillyanne.  She would not be caught unaware.  Gillyanne still lay on the ground, unmoving.

Abby took Trystan, and moved him closer to the trunk where the tree offered more protection.  She held onto his small body for a moment longer, and placed him down gently.  She whimpered but hardened herself.  There was no other choice- she had to complete her mission.

Abby turned around in time to see Gillyanne rise.  She had a large gash on her forehead, where blood dripped down.  Gillyanne was breathing harshly.

“Bitch.  If it wasna for ye, I would have had Cameron.  I hate ye,” Gillyanne said in an ominous voice that shook with hatred.  “For being the traitorous fool that he was, he will die, but first, ye shall.  Yer father was right.  Ye’re nothing but a weak, stupid girl who isna worth horse’s dung.”

“My father?”

Lightning flashed.  The thunder clapped.

“Aye, yer father.  We attempted to have yer paltry marriage annulled.  I gave ye enough poison to rid ye of one bairn and prevent another one, but I couldna help myself from giving ye enough to kill ye.  Ye should have died that day, damn insipid woman that ye are.”

“My father wanted me dead?” Abby asked, surprised.  While she knew her father hated her, she had no idea that he wanted her dead.

“Nay.  Ye’re of no use to him dead, though I tried to convince him ‘twas best.  He wanted to prevent ye from conceiving.  I wrote to him when first ye arrived.  When Cameron tossed me out,” she said, her voice becoming hard, “I journeyed to yer father.”

“He beat ye?” Abby asked, sounding happy at the thought.  She gave a small laugh.  “At least he employed his great skill against someone who deserved it for once.”

Gillyanne bunched her hands at her side.  “We plotted my return to the damn castle, and it was successful.  Ye are so predictably naïve, Abigail.  But with all my efforts, I couldna prevent yer bastard’s birth.  There’s always time ye know.” 

Gillyanne smirked and looked over to Trystan.  “Babies often die young, during unfortunate occurrences.”

Abby was trembling, with her hands clenched at her sides.  “Go near my son, and I vow that I’ll pull your tongue and every one of your teeth out,” Anny spat.

“Hmmm…seems like I’ve made ye angry. But I’m the one here with the upper hand, Abigail.  What a shame, too.  Yer bastard will lose both his mother and father this day.  Maybe I’ll raise him.”

“Not while I still breathe,” Abby said, bending low.  Wanting to move the violence away from Trystan, Abby charged Gillyanne.  It caught her unaware.  Abby ran into her, and together they fell on the ground.

“You’ve taken enough from me, Gillyanne, and so help me God, today I will make you pay with your life!”

Gillyanne opened her mouth to answer but Abby filled it with her fist.  She hit Gillyanne with continuous punches.  Abby poked her eyes, and dodged one of Gillyanne’s knees.  In a last show of strength, Gillyanne flipped Abby off her.  Abby hit the ground with a thump and a groan.  She watched Gillyanne as she caught her breath.

The eyes that settled on Abby were murderous.  The hatred emanating from Gillyanne took her breath away.

“Ye’re mistaken, Mouse.  ‘Tis I who will be doing the killing today.”

Gillyanne stood as if she hadn’t a care in the world.  She counted to ten and then rushed Abby.  Abby took precious seconds to look to her left.  Finally, her hand found the dirk and she held it above her.  Gillyanne was powerless to stop the velocity of her sprint, and was impaled by the dirk.  She looked down as it embedded in her.

How appropriate it was that the dirk was planted hilt-deep into her cold, black heart.