Her Noble Destiny

by Annie L. Marshall

  Then another crash of thunder sounded and lightning struck the ground, sending vibrations throughout Jaedin’s body, locking her within an electric embrace that held her tightly to the ground. The rain poured down, soaking her through her dress. Then another bolt of lightning hit the ground just feet away from her. Jaedin trembled. Be strong, daughter. All will be well. She faintly heard in her head.

  Thud da da…thud da da…thud da da. “Jaedin, get yerself away from there!” she faintly heard in the distance. Another lightning strike hit the tree, splitting it down the center. Jaedin let out a bloodcurdling cry that was felt deep into the heart of Aiden and he grasped his chest as if he’d been run through with searing dagger. He looked up to see a funnel forming above the tree as he dismounted his horse and ran in the direction of Jaedin, all the while, calling to her.

  For a brief moment, the air grew still and Jaedin opened her eyes to see a blurry form heading in her direction. She blinked her eyes a few times and the figure came into focus. In slow motion, she saw the giant highland warrior running towards her, calling her name. The wind picked up again, and another lightning strike hit the ground and a loud clap of thunder sounded. Aiden dodged the strike and made his way to Jaedin.

  “Aiden,” she whispered as she cradled his face in her hands. “I’m…” She was interrupted as a set of transparent arms reach out of the funnel and lifted her off the ground and into the whirling of the funnel, tearing her away from any possible grasp.

  Aiden recalled all the things that Duncan had explained to him about the day that Iain and Kenna were taken and he became enraged. “Nay, Lorna! Ye may have taken Iain and Kenna, but ye willna take another from me!” He shouted as he fought to keep Jaedin with him. Dinna take her!” Aiden’s voice boomed out in anger to the Fae Queen, knowing this was her doing as he reached for Jaedin again. “Fight her, Jaedin! With all yer might, fight her!” he called out to her. “Dinna go!” he said one last time as she looked directly into his eyes. His breathing stopped as he knew she could now see him. “Yer home is with me!”

  Jaedin peered down into the pale blue eyes of the warrior who had kept her from falling into the loch when she couldn’t see. Who had taken her without question into his household and cared for her without truly knowing her. Tears erupted from her as her heart shattered. This man who had taken her into his arms and made love to her so passionately now stood outside her reach. “Forgive me,” she choked from her lips. The last thing she heard was a faint, “Jaedin, dinna go!” Jaedin looked across the tree line to see Inverlochy castle, sitting proudly on the river. Then the image kept flickering back and forth between the castle ruin and original. Lightning and wind continued to encircle her as the castle held for a moment longer then collapsed to ruins. “Aiden,” she whispered then fell into darkness, echoes in her head, dinna go, then silence.

  ChapterTwelve

  Her Noble Destiny

  Chapter Twelve

  A sharp pain stabbed into Jaedin’s arm, waking her from a deep sleep.

  “Captain Greer? Ma’am?” A male voice said as Jaedin opened her eyes. “Oh, thank God!” Parks said while he was hooking her up to an IV. “Doc, she’s coming around,” he called to the other room.

  Jaedin’s head had that familiar stabbing pain as she looked around at the inside of a metal trailer that served as the aid station and then down to her arm. “Parks, where am I?” she asked.

  “You’re at the field hospital, ma’am.” Her medic finished putting in the IV.

  “What happened?” Jaedin inquired.

  Before the medic could answer her, “Well, CPT Greer. Good to see you decided to join the living.” The field doctor joked. “Now just lay there and rest for a bit longer so we can run a few tests.”

  “Where’s Aiden?” she asked as she tried to sit up.

  “CPT Greer, please lie there and let me make sure your ok,” the doctor ordered.

  “No, I must get up and find Aiden!” she said as she began prying off the tape holding her IV in place.

  “There is no Aiden here, ma’am.” Parks looked up at the doctor and then attempted to help him restrain Jaedin. “Ma’am. Please, ma’am be still before you hurt yourself further!”

  “Dinna go!” The doctor insisted causing Jaedin to stop dead in her tracks and turn pale then looked at him.

  “What did you say?” She asked the doctor just before she lost consciousness and fell back on the bed.

  ChapterThirteen

  Her Noble Destiny

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kuwait

  Two months later

  Jaedin sat in her seat looking out the window of the airplane that was waiting on the tarmac for their turn to take off. The last couple of months were a blur as she came to grips with the fact that her time with Aiden was merely a dream that her mind gave her to cope with the horrors of war. At least that’s what the shrink told her. Her head agreed but her heart knew they were wrong.

  Jaedin leaned down and undid the laces on her boots and grabbed her iPod out of her backpack.

  Since the firefight, her equilibrium was off and as a result, she kept getting nauseated. Plus she hadn’t slept much and when she did, she dreamt of Aiden. Christ Almighty! Her subconscious had even given him a name.

  The pilot of the plane came over the intercom to announce that they had clearance and that they were going home. The entire plane erupted with boisterous cheers, however all Jaedin could do was sit there staring out the window, numb. Home. A single tear fell down her cheek as she realized that she didn’t know what home was anymore.

  Once they were airborne, the captain came over the intercom to let them know that they could now use their electronic devises.

  She put the ear buds of her iPod into her ears, leaned back, pressed play and then closed her eyes. The sound of Darren Wharton of DARE singing the lyrics to “Take Me Away” spiraled through her head and lulled her to much needed slumber.

  “…so take me away, to a world where the air is clean. Take me away, where the stars are shining bright. Take me away to where the clouds have a silver lining, my love. And castles in the sky, for you and I. For you, my love. Take me away.”

  ChapterFourteen

  Her Noble Destiny

  Chapter Fourteen

  Two months later

  After waking up early that morning and not able to go back to sleep, Jaedin rose from the bed and wrapped the quilt around her. She descended the creaky old stairs of her grandmother’s cottage and made her way to the kitchen to grab a diet soda from the fridge, and walked through the screen door to sit on the steps of the porch to watch the sun rise.

  Her decision to leave the Army had been a tough one. She was proud of the job she’d done, she just didn’t know if she could take any more deployments. Looking down at her now swelling belly, especially because she didn’t want to have to leave the child behind. A child she couldn’t remember conceiving.

  Jaedin had always focused on her career, but now she was feeling the sting of being alone. It was time to move on to another chapter of her life. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. Roses, heather, and the sea. Then she opened her eyes to gaze across the water as the reds, pinks and golds of the sun slowly rose over its waves.

  Her dreams as before were of Aiden. It had been two weeks since she’d arrived at the cottage. She had hidden inside hoping that being around all the things that she grew up with would help her to find some peace. But to no avail, she kept finding herself back to him. Perhaps she just needed to get out so she decided to take a hike up the ridge to visit the ruins of Inverlochy. She hoped by seeing the ruins, it would help her finally realize that her time with Aiden had been nothing but a dream. At least that’s what she told herself.

  Jaedin climbed the stairs to the bathroom to take a shower. After slipping out of her green and white stripped pajama pants and green tank top, she adjusted the temperature of the water, and then stepped into the tub and underneath the fall of the warm water. She stoo
d still as the heat from the water loosened up her stiff muscles then she picked up the bar of Bee and Flower brand Sandalwood soap. Inhaling deeply, she recalled the scent of the soap Aiden had brought her from the merchants. Even now, her body yearned for that man’s touch. A vivid touch that came to her through her subconscious, in nothing but a dream that kept tormenting her sleep and now it would seem, when she was awake.

  Jaedin turned off the water then wrapped herself in a towel then proceeded into the bedroom to get dressed. She chose a pair of blue denim capri pants and her favorite large emerald green tee-shirt with a beautiful woodland faery on the front. She pulled her hair back into a pony tail then grabbed her socks and Sketchers and headed downstairs to pack for her hike. She hadn’t quite resigned to wearing maternity clothing yet but knew it was coming nearer and nearer every day. And it was getting harder to tie her shoes. Thank the Almighty that warm weather was well on its way because she figured flip flops would be easier to put on.

  After making several PB&J’s, she packed her camera in her backpack along with the sandwiches, an apple, a diet cola, which she couldn’t give up, and a couple bottles of water then secured a ball cap on her head and walked out the front door.

  Spring had defiantly sprung as she hiked her way across the Scottish countryside. The grass was green and heather dotted the landscape. A gentle breeze blew past her as she continued to climb up the knoll towards Inverlochy castle. The sun was out and not a cloud in the sky giving her a gift of the perfect day to take pictures.

  After a half hour of walking, the broken stone walls of Inverlochy came into view as she reached the top of the hill. She stopped briefly to take a large drink of water and then slowly and carefully walked towards the old stones. She reached her hand out to feel the cool stones under her fingertips. Leisurely, she walked around the castle to the front, trailing her fingers along the weathered stones, feeling every bump and crevasse, every loose and missing rock. Then she stopped. She didn’t know what she expected to feel, but the old stone walls felt empty. There was nothing there but a severely run down castle.

  A single red rose bloomed from a bush that hugged the broken wall just outside the main entrance. She took out her camera and snapped a single shot then leaned down to inhale its lovely aroma. The breeze broke loose a single petal and carried it across the grass then up into the air, picking it up and tossing it over the edge. Jaedin followed it to stare down into the glen. For a moment, she lost sight of it, and then she caught sight of a slight crimson red dot of the petal land just beyond the tree line and at the foot of the old oak tree by the brook.

  Jaedin put her backpack on her back and carefully climbed down the slope into the glen towards the tree. She stood amidst a sea of ferns looking at the old oak that she had climbed during her childhood. Its leaves were brand new filled with chlorophyll of a deep shade of green and its trunk was already covered with soft, spongy moss. Though healed now, it showed the signs of being struck down the middle by lightning, making it easy for a child to climb into its large limbs. She had spent hours in that tree reading and watching the lady bugs crawl across its scarred bark. She smiled knowing her baby would get the same opportunity as she to bond with the tree.

  The sound of the brook flowing and the glimmer of the sun off its water caught her attention and she looked over to see the small waterfall coming from the river above. She walked over to the water’s edge and leaned down to feel the cold water rush past her fingers and over the rocks. She recalled a part of her dream that she and Aiden were showering together underneath the waterfall in the middle of summer and how he’d kissed her passionately as they made love while the water streamed down their bodies. She stood back up and looked back at the tree. The last time she’d seen the tree, she was being lifted into the air by the whirlwind just after a bolt of lightning had struck it down the center. Jaedin blinked a couple of times as the tree seemed to transform back and forth between young and old. She sat down next to the tree and took the other bottle of water out of her backpack and then took a drink. While watching the water fall from above, she ate one of her sandwiches and apple.

  Then in true Scottish fashion, the wind picked up with the scent of rain carried upon it. Hearing the roll of thunder in the distance, Jaedin rose to her feet and gathered her belongings.

  Jaedin lifted the camera to take one more picture before she left and a shadow caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She lowered her camera to look to her right to find nothing there. Then as she looked back at the tree, she saw a glimmer from within the knothole. She walked up to its trunk and then reached inside and withdrew an old ring. Her heart stopped as some of her memory of the dream came back. She held in her hand a gold ring with an orange colored stone set in it. She took in a deep breath. Amber.

  “Impossible,” she said aloud. As the sound of thunder brought her back to reality, she placed the ring inside her pants pocket then backed away from the tree to take another picture.

  Again, she lifted her camera and as she heard the sound of the shutter opening and closing, a crash of thunder shook the ground and a bolt of lightning struck the earth close to the tree. The camera pulsed in her hands causing her to drop it from the shock. She shook both her hands and flexed the fingers then bent down to carefully pick up the camera to inspect it. Thank the Almighty she was standing on soft ground because it didn’t seem to be damaged. The battery must have surged when the lightning hit the ground and she hoped the electrical current didn’t fry her memory card. She immediately removed the battery and placed it inside a pocket within her backpack.

  She looked back at the tree as a vision of Aiden came rushing into her head. Oh, she was certainly daft! She kept telling herself that the man didn’t exist. “Then why do I see him every time I close my eyes and feel him every time I breathe?” she said out loud as she placed her camera inside her backpack. “Damn hormones,” she said as a strong gust of wind hit her smack dab in the face momentarily taking her breath away. Finally able to breathe, she exhaled then drew in a deep breath of the sweet air into her lungs then turned away from the tree and walked back down the countryside to the cottage.

  ChapterFifteen

  Her Noble Destiny

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jaedin removed the memory card from her camera and placed it in the disk reader in her laptop. She waited a moment for the screen to pop up and then clicked on download. Then she walked into the kitchen to get herself something to drink.

  She stood looking into the bare refrigerator at the last of her diet cola, a partial jar of grape jelly, and a carrot. Then said out loud, “Looks like I need to get to the grocery store.”

  “What is a grocery store?” a very deep, sultry male brogue inquired.

  Jaedin froze and her heart stopped as she recognized the voice. She stood up then slammed the fridge door and whirled around to see a very tall and large Highland warrior standing just inside the kitchen doorway with his arms crossed, blocking most of the light from coming in.

  “What matter of garb is this yer wearin’, lass?” Aiden asked looking her up and down with a jubilant grin spread across his handsome face.

  Jaedin’s heart seemed to stop as she looked up at the man she had seen in her dreams. “Aiden?” she softly asked, afraid to speak for fear he would disappear.

  “Aye, lass. Tis me,” he answered back still smiling.

  Jaedin took the ring she’d found at the tree out of her pocket. She looked at her hand which cradled the ring then back to Aiden. A lump formed in her throat as a tear slid down her cheek. Her breathing became labored and she felt lightheaded as all her memories from her time with Aiden came crashing through the dam that held it back with great force when all that was allowed before were bits and pieces.

  “Well, dinna just stand there blubberin’ woman, come welcome yer laird for I’ve been on a long journey to find ye,” he ordered.

  “Oh, Aiden you’re here!” she exclaimed as she ran towards him and jumped up in his
awaiting arms.

  As he wrapped his arms around her he instantly noticed the fullness of her stomach. Placing her gently back on the floor, he lifted her shirt to gaze at her swollen belly. “Well now. What have we here?” he asked with a smile.

  “Looks like it would be your heir, laird MacAlister,” she answered him.

  “So it would seem, wife,” he said with amusement in his voice as his smile beamed from his face. Then he wrapped his arms around her again, placed his mouth over hers and kissed her hard and sound. “Och, lass, ye are a sight to behold.” He gathered her up into his arms.

  With tears in her eyes, “I can see you, Aiden! I can see you!” Then she began placing quick little kisses all over his face. “You’re real!”

  “Aye lass, I’m as real as ye!” He released a booming laugh as she was still kissing him. The laugh she had missed so very much.

  “Wait!” she exclaimed as she wiggled from his embrace and jumped down to the floor. “How is all this possible? How could I have been there one minute and then back here? How can you be here?” She began pacing back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room and then back. Then she stopped and looked back at Aiden who was still standing there with a large grin spread wide across his face.

  “I dinna have a care how,” he said as he took two steps and pulled her back into his arms and looked into her eyes. “I dinna have a care why.” He placed a soft kiss on her nose. “I just want to make sure we stay as one from here on out.” And then he covered her mouth with his and drew her deeper into his arms.