by Fiona Faris
Cailean pushed himself up to his elbows. Seeming as though he was about to give up, Uilleam took a step forward. But Cailean gave him a hateful glare and managed to push himself to his knees before slowly coming to a standing position. He grasped his sword and raised it painfully.
“Uilleam MacGregor, you can keep your whore,” Cailean spat before letting out a cry and bringing the sword down in a blow.
Uilleam twisted to the right, and his left arm was slashed, but before he allowed himself to recognize the pain, he thrust his own claymore forward and into Cailean’s belly.
A moan of agony and blood came from Cailean’s lips, and he seemed frozen in place.
Uilleam twisted the sword, and Cailean slid backward from the blade into a lifeless body with no hate left to give.
Uilleam stood strong and tall, aware that he had finally done the thing he had been longing for.
Cailean Campbell, the man responsible for the death of his father and of James, was finally dead.
And as the Campbell army began to realize they were defeated, the retreat was swift. Soon, the Gunns were shouting about their victory in great loud cries of triumph.
The battle was over. But there were still so many questions.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Glen Orchy
Two days later
Siusan and Uilleam made their way to her father’s chambers in the castle. Knocking on the door, her father’s voice called for them to enter and Siusan pushed through with Uilleam behind her.
“Lass, I am glad to see you. Uilleam Mor,” he greeted, acknowledging that the man was now the leader of the MacGregor clan. Angus moved into a more presentable situation for receiving guests and allowed Siusan and Uilleam his full attention.
“How did ye sleep?” Siusan asked softly, noting that her mother was not in the room, but hoping it simply meant that she was bathing or getting some lunch.
“Well, Siusan. As well as could be under the circumstances,” he confessed.
Siusan understood his response to be honest and mean that he had slept very poorly compared to a night in which he had not recently lost his only son.
“Ay, then we slept the same,” Siusan replied halfheartedly.
“What brings you both to my chambers?” Angus asked with false enthusiasm. He had been far from jovial of late but was still trying to put on airs for the sake of his family whom he knew was having as difficult a time as he.
Siusan and Uilleam looked at one another, and she proceeded.
“Uilleam and I have the intention to seek refuge away from here. With another sect of the MacGregor clan. They are far in the north, beyond Rannoch. It seems the wisest course to us as we will be out of the reach of the Campbell’s. I imagine they will seek to find those responsible for killing the beloved son of their Laird and I do no’ wish fer us tae be here when they arrive again,” Siusan explained.
Angus looked at her with a pained expression. Siusan saw that he knew she was right, that it was best if she got away as quickly as she was able. But he had lost his son, and the idea of losing her as well was more than he could reasonably bear. Angus had anticipated this, but that made it no easier than it would have been had she taken him completely by surprise in her statement.
“I do not wish to leave you,” she continued desperately. “If I believed there to be any other course, a course in which I could remain here and be safe, in which I would not have to leave you and mother, I would take it. I would rather be with both of you than anywhere else in all the world. But I have little choice it would seem now. After all, it was Uilleam who took Cailean’s life. They know that. They will most likely come for us.”
Siusan had thought this over many times. Whether the Campbells chose to forgive the Gunns or not, whether they formed an alliance or not, Siusan would never be safe from them. Uilleam was hated by them and for good reason. Even she could not blame them for it.
“I know, lass. I understand, and you’re right. But it doesn’t make it easy on a faither to have to say goodbye to his daughter for reasons such as these. It doesn’t make it easy having to let you go. I lost my son, and now I am to lose you as well? That is far too great a burden for an old man to bear,” Angus said with a sigh. He was not trying to make it more difficult on his daughter, but he could scarcely take any more.
“I am sorry, faither,” Siusan cried. Seeing his hurt was a great and terrible burden. But this was how things had to be now.
“The Campbell’s have won the feud,” Angus began. “They have won, and now their power is increasing. They have a greater hold on the land with every passing day. Soon the rest of us will be swallowed up by them.”
Angus groaned in frustration. It was the reality they were all coming to know, but that didn’t make it any less painful. The enemy which had taken his father and the brother of his wife was only increasing in their power. They were becoming too great, and it was a wretched thing to accept.
“Seeing as how they have defeated us, I shall have to make my way to Inveraray,” Angus decided.
Siusan looked at him with confusion. “Inveraray? But why? Why would you go there now? After all that has happened?”
“I must, Siusan. I will have to take the oath. I must join the allegiance to Neil Campbell. I have no other choice in the matter now, have I?” he asked.
“Of course you do!” she exclaimed.
“Siusan…” her father said gently, staying her with a raise of his hand. “I have no choice but to take the oath of allegiance. The Gunn and all the clans here around us in Glen Orchy will have little other choice. We will, from today on, be merely another remnant of the grand and mighty Campbells. Sad though it is, it must be done.”
Angus’ voice was terribly decided, and it seemed to wear away at Siusan just to hear it. Knowing her father was giving in, that he was accepting this to be his only option remaining, was worse than she could have imagined.
“It’s ironic, you know,” Angus said.
Siusan and Uilleam, who had remained quiet, listened intently.
“It is ironic that this is what was to come about anyway. The original plan we had, your marriage to Cailean, would have joined us to their clan. I suppose in many ways the only thing that made the result any different is that so many lives that could have been here will not be now. My son. Your father. And countless guards, soldiers, and able-bodied men. Lost.”
Siusan was unsure if her father was blaming her or simply reasoning his thoughts. She tried to push away the guilt and shame she was feeling, aware that it was entirely her fault if it was all brought down to that point. If she had only been willing to wed Cailean when the original plan had come about, none of this would have happened.
If she had sacrificed herself for the safety of everyone else, then everyone else would be free.
It seemed that Uilleam sensed these thoughts in her and he rested a hand on her in comfort. He had been quiet in the time since James passed and Siusan felt that he was trying to honor her and allow her to grieve in any way she needed to. She appreciated the respect but also wondered how long it would be until she could have him back.
She missed his gruff humor and hungry body. Siusan made a note in her mind that she would have to tell him this later, tell him how she desired him to return to his normal self and treat her as he always had rather than being so gentle and tender with her during this time.
“Anyway,” Angus said with a sigh. “I think I might go down and eat something. I will see you both before you leave, I trust?”
“Ay, faither. We will leave in the morning,” Siusan replied.
“Right then. Safety to you both. I suppose if there is any consolation in all of this, I can be relieved that at least the Campbell’s were unable to claim the prize of Glen Orchy…” he said, looking at his daughter.
Angus exited the room, not seeming to care anymore that his daughter and her husband would be left alone in it. Siusan thought about his words. She was the prize of Glen Orchy. She felt li
ke less of a prize and more of a shame.
Uilleam and Siusan began to pack some of her things from her room in preparations for the travel they would endure on the way north to find the other Gunns.
The next morning, as Siusan and Uilleam readied to set out on their journey, her parents both stood outside the gates of Clyth Castle to see them off. Uilleam mounted his horse, which carried a good deal of supplies, and Siusan gave each of her parents a tight hug.
“Be safe, lass. Don’t let this man get you into any trouble. He’s reckless, but I do believe that he will protect you as best he can,” her father said, holding her close.
“We will be safe, faither. I promise you,” Siusan said.
When she embraced her mother, Shona was filled with emotion.
“I’ve lost my son, and now I’m losing my daughter as well. I’m proud of you, lass. I’m proud of you for making the difficult choice because you know it is the wise one. And I agree with your faither that this man will keep you safe. Should he ever fail to do so, you know that you can come back here and your faither and I will be waiting,” she laughed.
None of them had any doubts about Uilleam’s ability or willingness to keep Siusan safe at all costs.
“Should you ever need me, I will be north, but once we have settled, I will write to you. I will ensure that you know where I’m at. And then you can come and find me. You can come any time and visit without a word in advance. We will miss you both terribly,” Siusan told them with emotion.
Despite all the time she had spent in angst over her parents and how they behaved with her, how she had felt suffocated by their decisions concerning her, it was difficult to now say farewell. It was difficult to know that this was truly the end of her time with them. All was coming to a close, and she could only hope and pray that time and life might bring them all together once more in the future at some point.
For now, however, Siusan had to simply push aside her sadness and the feelings of loss she felt at leaving. Whatever lay ahead had to be better than what she was leaving behind. A life with Uilleam would be worth it, and that was, perhaps, the only thing that mattered.
“Angus Mor,” Uilleam called down from his mount. “Thank you for all of your assistance and your service to my clan. Thank you for allowing me to wed your daughter. And thank you for being an ally when I needed one most.”
Angus nodded in acknowledgment, needing to say nothing beyond what Uilleam already knew.
“And Shona, the bonnie mother of my wife, I am glad you are home safe. And I am thankful for the daughter that you raised and have made my wife. I wish you all the best and as Siusan says, know that you would be welcomed in our home at any time. We hope to see you both,” he added.
Siusan smiled with pride that Uilleam was being so polite and showing such gracious manners to her parents. He had changed so much, but whenever they were alone, she still had that gruff highlander that she knew and loved.
Knowing the goodbyes were over, and they had drawn it out long enough, Siusan and Uilleam moved forward with only a final call from her father to her husband.
“And Uilleam Mor, take care of her. Take care of the Prize.”
Epilogue
Loch Eireachd
Three months later
“Are you alright, lass?” Uilleam asked as Siusan emerged, wiping her mouth on a towel. She looked positively drained of all energy, and he felt sad for her agony, but also relieved that it was not a burden he himself had to bear.
“My stomach is empty if that’s what you’d like to know,” she replied dryly. Uilleam was not entirely surprised. She had eaten very little, and Siusan had been vomiting of late. There was no question that her stomach was empty now.
Uilleam tried to refrain from laughing. He had been working very diligently to treat her better and not laugh at the struggles Siusan was facing these days. Manners had been one of the few promises he had made to Siusan, and even that was merely a promise to attempt to be better. He never said that he would become perfect right away.
“Empty now?” he asked, on the cusp of bursting into laughter.
“Don’t laugh, fool,” she complained, collapsing on to the bed as if her body could not handle the struggle of standing.
“My deepest apologies,” Uilleam said solemnly as if he really meant it. Siusan could see quite clearly that Uilleam was less than apologetic for how amusing he found her illness.
“You did this to me, you know,” she grumbled, rubbing a hand along her belly where it had not yet started to show.
“Indeed I did, and I’m proud of it. Thanks to me, you’ll be holding a bairn in your arms not seven months from now,” he smiled proudly, flashing those teeth that always made Siusan grin.
This time she simply threw a small pillow that didn’t make it very far. She was too weak to be even remotely threatening no matter how she wished to appear so.
“Are you not supposed to be cultivating your manners?” she accused. “You promised me that you would behave better these days and said that one of your favorite parts of being married to me was that you might be made to behave better. All you are doing now is proving how I have failed in my work on your behalf,” Siusan moaned.
“Ay, and until you’ve made a silk purse from a sow’s ear, I’m not likely to change either. I told you that you’d have no luck at making that purse,” Uilleam teased.
Siusan merely glanced at him bitterly before forcefully lurching forward and, with a look of horror, ran back to the bucket that had been her companion in the previous few weeks.
Uilleam honestly did feel compassion for her, but he knew that it was better for her to have something to rage at him about as needed. When her nausea was this bad, he had a choice of comforting her or giving her reason to be angry. He knew Siusan well enough to know that being angry was a better fit.
But at the same time, she had truly been working on her temper. Siusan had made great strides in the past few months to be content and satisfied in their modest castle, right in the southern end of Loch Eireachd.
She seemed resolved to make the best of it and was throwing fewer tantrums in the adjustment.
Uilleam knew that Siusan missed the relative luxuries of Castle Clyth and also was sad that her parents had not yet come to visit them, but being here and expecting their first child was excitement enough for the both of them, and they could be at peace knowing that very soon, they would have a family started.
Siusan returned to the room and gave an agonized sigh.
“I hope this child understands how I’ve suffered for it,” she groaned.
“I will be sure to never let the bairn forget,” Uilleam teased.
Siusan nodded, and he felt himself soften a bit. He got up from the chair he had been in and came to sit beside her on the bed with his legs stretched out. He brought her head to his lap and allowed Siusan to rest from her nausea.
“What can I do to make it better?” he asked.
Siusan was quiet for a moment, contemplating.
“Tell me what is to come. Tell me of our future and of this child. Give me reason to hope,” she laughed. It wasn’t that she lacked excitement for the birth of their first child, but Siusan was struggling deeply with the effects of early pregnancy. She knew that it would be worth it, but having reminders of the beautiful child to come certainly helped and it had become something of a game for her to play in her mind.
Uilleam smiled. It was an excellent idea.
“Well. I suppose if we have a daughter, we must call her Shona. And if we have a son? Hmm…Iain James?” he suggested.
Uilleam looked down and saw a small smile on Siusan’s face. She consented to the names he had chosen and was evidently honored that he would bring light to her own family with them.
“And what else?” Siusan prodded.
“Well, our children shall always live in a time of peace, and there will never be war of any kind. They will be safe and happy. Iain James will be a skilled fighter with no one to fight
, and Shona will be allowed to wed whomever she pleases and may take our suggestions as just that,” Uilleam continued.
He was enjoying the thoughts of their future just as Siusan was and realized that this was helpful for him as well. In the midst of all of the chaos of trying to rebuild a clan, this provided a semblance of peace that he, too, required.
“Go on. I do like your version of our future,” Siusan said.
“Well, you and I will live for quite a long time. And, of course, Iain James and Shona will have many siblings. And we will go to visit your parents as often as we are able to spare the time. Our castle will be furnished beautifully, and soon we will have a thriving clan that is spoken of throughout the Highlands as one of the mightiest clans there is. We will be respected, but not feared. We will be strong, but we will use that strength to be bearers of peace,” he said decidedly.
