by Sarah Thorn
*****
It was an unusually sunny day when Laird Irving brought Eana to Muir Castle. She'd flatly refused to accompany him, so he'd picked her up and carried her. Eventually feeling faint hanging over his shoulder, she'd relented.
''I'll meet him, but I'm not promising anything,'' she'd said. Her father had laughed at her stubbornness.
When the castle door swung open, Alexander got his first glimpse of his bride to be, and he wasn't disappointed. She was as beautiful as Laurie had said. Her hair was plated in a single strand, and her eyes were highlighted with woad. Her skin was pure, without a single blemish, and her body so perfectly proportioned that it made him instantly lustful. Her eyes looked like emeralds and despite being a hugely powerful man they made him feel humble. Indeed, too beautiful to be a witch.
''I am very happy to meet you at last Eana,'' Alexander said.
Eana could hardly bring herself to look at him, but when she did, she was in awe of his physical presence. Her father was a big man and battle hardened, but Alexander was altogether different. He looked so strong, she wondered if he knew how to harness his strength when handling a delicate woman.
''I think we should leave them to it, don't you Laird Irvine?'' Laird Muir said. The two Lairds walked into the castle and left Alexander and Eana alone.
''Would you walk with me,'' he asked. She nodded and took the offer of his arm.
The castle had a small garden, for the growth of vegetables. Alexander took Eana to a seat in the corner under a tree. In the shade, it was pleasantly cool, and Eana felt herself relaxing in his company.
''Are you a shy man?'' she asked.
''No, I am certainly not shy. It wouldn't be right for the heir to the Laird of Muir to be shy.''
''I am shy,'' she pointed out. ''I'm very shy, and I find it hard to talk to people. I prefer to be alone. If we are to be married, it would be better if one of us wasn't shy.''
Alexander was taken by surprise at her honesty. ''Why do you think you are shy?''
''I keep out of the way because people don't like me. ''
He couldn't understand how people could dislike such a beautiful woman. He liked her but more, it was her raw sexual appeal that he found irresistible. ''Why would anybody dislike you? You are so beautiful, and you look as though you wouldn't harm anyone.''
''I don't really know. There are a lot of rumors about me.''
Alexander thought for a moment. This woman was no witch. It was clear that rumors were just rumors. ''When you marry me, nobody will ever say anything unpleasant to you again, and if they do, they will pay dearly for it.''
******
The marriage took place under the walls of Muir Castle, on a piece of ground the clan always used for baptisms, marriages, and funerals. The ladies of the village had decorated wooden poles with wild flowers and shrubbery, and arranged them in a large circle within which the guests sat. Eana and Alexander were married by the local minister under an arch of wild roses. Guests watched as Eana arrived, dressed in white, carrying a sprig of wild heather for luck. When Alexander turned around to see her, he was was floored by her. He'd never thought he would find such a beautiful bride, and today he was marrying the most alluring woman in all the clans of Scotland.
When Laird Irvine handed his daughter over to Alexander, he took her hand, and the power she felt exuding from him gave her the strength and confidence, to stand in front of so many people and give herself to him.
Once the marriage ceremony was complete, Alexander bent down to his new wife and whispered in her ear. ''You no longer have to be shy. You are my love, and you are able to move freely between the people without fear. They will admire you for what you are. The most beautiful woman alive.''
Afterwards, everyone gathered in the great hall for a celebratory meal and dancing. Eana and Alexander sat together on a long table at the head of the room between their parents. Eana saw a young woman sitting at a table opposite, staring at her. She seemed kind and when the dancing started, Eana got up and spoke to her. She was Alexander's cousin. and Eana discovered that she lived with Laird Muir because her parents had been slain in a terrible robbery just three years before. Her name was Davina, and Eana found her charming company. She was slender and delicate looking, and like Eana, she was strawberry blonde
''When Alexander is away fighting battles, I would like you to keep me company,'' Eana told her.
''I would like that very much,'' Davina replied.
Alexander broke their conversation when he told Eana it was time for them to dance. As everyone applauded, she took his arm and walked with him to the dance floor. He led her with an agility that belied his size, and once again Eana let herself be swept along on a wave of strength. She was so light her barely felt her as she clung to him.
Never before had Eana been the subject of so many wishes of goodwill. Either people didn't know about her, or they were hiding it because they were in awe of Alexander, and didn't want to offend such a strong man, she thought. Although she found the attention flattering, she knew that years of hurt weren't just going to disappear in one day. She decided to remain vigilant. She was proud of her new husband, and she knew she would learn to love him in time, but she was convinced that people would still view her with suspicion.
Soon Alexander had had enough of the wedding reception. He was sexually charged, and he wanted nothing more than to take his bride to his bedroom and make passionate love to her. He swept her from her feet and carried her from the hall, up the staircase, and into a large room that overlooked the rolling landscape below.
He put Eana on the floor in front of the window and stood behind her. As they took in the view, he stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. ''We will rule over this land, treat our people kindly and never let anybody take it away from us,'' he said.
''I admire your strength and purpose. I know you are loyal to the people of your clan and now to those of the Irvine Clan. It is wonderful to behold.''
He turned her to him and kissed her. As their lips locked, Eana felt a charge of pleasure surge through her. She reached up and put her arms around his neck. When he straightened, she was lifted from her feet. He put his hands onto her buttocks to support her. He wanted to take her, and the speed with which his fingers untied the back of her dress confirmed it. Soon his hands were on her naked back, rubbing her, pulling her to him. Her skin quivered at the feel of his manly hands as they explored the smoothness of her. He set her back down and in one fluid movement pulled her wedding dress down, revealing her white under dress. He put his hands into her cleavage and ripped the under-dress from her, making her gasp at the sheer power of him. Throwing the strips of material to the floor, he bent down and clamped his mouth onto a nipple. As it swelled in his mouth, his hand found her womanhood and rubbed over the soft folds. The urgency with which he wanted her thrilled her. As his hand spread her lips and played in the moisture of her vulva, she bit into his shoulder.
He picked her up, threw her onto the bed and spread her legs, wide. When he placed his mouth onto her, she screamed, and when his tongue found her clitoris, she thrust her fingernails into the material of his shirt. He continued to lick her as she gasped and moaned under him, her long smooth legs folded back onto her chest. He didn't stop, and soon she wanted to push him from her as her level of sensitivity became too much. She pushed her hand against his head, but he didn't relent. Mercifully her hypersensitivity gave way to wave after wave of pure pleasure. Her belly tightened, and her legs began to wobble uncontrollably as he rolled her tiny bud between his lips. She cried out and thrust into his mouth as her orgasm rolled over her.
When he stood up, he noticed for the first time how lovely his new wife looked post orgasm. She beamed up at him, breathless, a heap of satisfied femininity, waiting for him to lower his trousers and thrust himself into her. When he revealed himself, she cried out in fear. His member was in proportion to the rest of him, large.
'Don't hurt me,'' she gasped. He laughed at her
backhanded compliment.
''Relax, I will be gentle,'' he replied. But their respective ideas of gentle were at odds with one another, and soon Eana was clinging to him, screaming with the pain and pleasure of his heavy thrusts. She gritted her teeth and pushed back at him. As he pumped her, he started to rub her clitoris with his thumb. She opened her legs as wide as she could and came once more. Her response turned him on, and he felt his balls tighten, about to release their load into to her. Suddenly, he placed his hand on her jaw and lifted her face from the bed. ''Look at me,'' he said, ''I want you to look at me.'' As her eyes burned into his, she felt his seed flowing into her. The thought that she'd turned him on so much made her come again.
He stood above her breathing hard, his shaft still inside her. She wanted him to hold her, and her legs tightened around him and pulled him down to the bed. He slipped out of her and lay next to her warm body. She curled up into his arms and closed her eyes.
And then she felt the goosebumps.
''Wake up, wake up, Alexander.'' Eana shook her husband uncontrollably, trying to rouse him from the deep sleep he had fallen into after their lovemaking. ''Wake up,'' she said again, this time pawing at his face.
''What?'' he complained.
''You should wake up. I can feel danger. Get up and take your sword.''
He grinned at her, thinking his new wife was playing with him. When she slapped him hard on his face, he realized she wasn't. He jumped up from the bed, pulled on a pair of pants and took his sword from its place in the corner of the room. Just as he did, the door slammed open, and Bran Sutherland burst into the room carrying a long dagger and a sword. Eana closed her eyes and turned her head away as Bran dived towards her, but Alexander threw himself against Bram and knocked him to the floor at the side of the bed. Alexander jumped on top of him, but Bran threw him off towards the window. The two started to fight with their swords. Eana curled up against the headboard and put her hands over her ears to protect them from the chinking sound as the swords smashed into each other. Bran pushed Alexander back, and he had to stand on the bed. As Bran thrust his sword up, Alexander jumped to the side and off the bed. Bran's momentum carried him forward, and he landed head first on the bed next to Eana. She screamed at the sight of his hideous expression as Alexander thrust his sword into Bran's back, piecing his heart from behind, killing him instantly. Eana jumped up and ran to Alexander. She wanted to take him in her arms, but he pushed her away.
''You knew about this didn't you?''
''No,'' she shouted. ''How could you think that?''
''It's obvious: you knew, and at the last minute, got cold feet and warned me. I don't trust you any more. You nearly got me killed.''
''Alexander,'' she cried. ''No, you're wrong.''
''How else could you have known to warn me? Of course, you were in on it.''
''Alexander I have special powers. I can predict things.''
''You have what?''
''I don't know how, but I have the ability to sense danger. Strange things happen around me.''
He thought about what Laurie had told him. ''I don't believe you.''
She took hold of his arm, ''You must believe me, I have some powers.''
''Is that why people think you are a witch?'' She nodded. ''Witches should be executed,'' he said savagely. ''You will stay here in this room and not leave.''
She burst into tears as Alexander removed Bran's body from the room and locked the door behind him.
Eana was confined to her room for two weeks before anybody came to visit her. All she saw was the man that brought her food, and the woman that stood over her as she bathed. She cried herself to sleep every evening. Alexander discussed the situation with his father, and they went to see Laird Irvine. Laird Irvine told them that he knew his daughter had some special powers but that they weren't sinister and that she wasn't a witch. Alexander was angry with himself for having married her. Laurie had told him the rumors about Eana, and if he'd been more forceful, he was quite sure his father would eventually have relented.
One evening Alexander was sitting with Laurie by a fire in the castle's courtyard.
''I'm no longer interested in her. I am not convinced she isn't a witch and witches should be executed,'' Alexander told him.
''But you fell in love with her,'' Laurie pointed out.
''Yes, and I can fall out of love with her again. I'm not convinced by her attempts to deny she knew anything about the attack, and if she didn't, you have to admit her powers are quite strange.''
''I suppose so,'' Laurie smoothed his kilt over his legs and took a sip of his beer. ''But if her powers are only good, I don't know why you are so concerned.''
''We are going to war with the Sutherland Clan,'' he said, changing the subject. ''Laird Sutherland has denounced me as a common criminal for slaying his son. He's sworn revenge, and this afternoon, my father received a messenger.''
''What did he say?''
''He said that Laird Sutherland has challenged us to a battle at Cloggan Moor in a week. If we don't go, he's vowed to attack us here at the castle.''
''Then we should go and kill him,'' Laurie jumped up and brandished his sword in a gesture of defiance.
''We will. He's also challenged the Irvine Clan. We will fight alongside one another and defeat him forever.''
That evening, Davina opened the door to Eana's room. ''I'm sorry I haven't been to see you, but I was forbidden from having anything to do with you. The guards have been called away, so I sneaked in.''
''It's lovely to see you,'' Eana said hugging her new friend. ''I have been so alone. Will they kill me?''
''What? Kill you, why?''
''I'm sure Alexander thinks I'm a witch.''
''Alexander has other things to worry about now. The clan is at war with the Sutherlands. There will be a battle soon. Your father will fight alongside Laird Muir and Alexander.''
''Oh, how terrible. Laird Sutherland is a monstrous man. He's probably trying to avenge his son's death,'' Eana said.
''That's exactly what he's trying to do. I'm very afraid they will be killed.'' Davina said as she sat on the bed next to Eana.
''Help me,'' Eana said.
''I will help you in any way I can. What do you want me to do?''
''I want to go and see Laird Sutherland.''
''What? No. That's a really silly thing to do.''
''Everyone thinks I'm worthless, I might as well try and prevent the war.''
''But Eana, how do you think you can do that?''
''By offering myself to him. Laird Sutherland has wanted me killed for a long time.'' She put her hand on Davina's delicate shoulder and looked into her eyes. ''He sent his son's to kill me in the forest, and more recently, his only remaining son to kill me here in this very room. I will exchange myself in return for peace.''
''That's ridiculous, Eana, you can't do that. He'll just kill you and wage war anyway.''
''I must try. I am worthless sitting here in this room. I want to try.''
''But I will not help you to certain death.''
When Davina left, Eana began to plan her escape. She looked out of the window and tried to estimate the distance down to the ground. After her evening meal, she tied the bed clothes together and waited until it was dark. When she lowered the makeshift rope out of the window, she realized it was a few meters short of the ground. She tied one end to the bed and in the dead of night rolled out of the window and began to climb down. She'd dressed in a black skirt and black shawl which made her almost invisible against the dark wall as she inched her way down. When she reached the end of the rope, she took a deep breath and let go. When she hit the ground, she tried to roll and take some of the force out of the landing, but she felt a sharp pain as her knee buckled under her.
She got up and limped down the embankment to the place where she'd married Alexander, and across to the road that led away from the castle.
When Alexander found out that his wife had escaped, he was furious. He too
k the guards by the throat and threatened each of them with beheading.
*****
Eana held her knee and grimaced as she lay in the undergrowth below Laird Sutherland's residence. It was almost dawn, and she'd been walking for six hours to reach her goal ten miles from Muir Castle. She saw guards circling the property and a deep looking moat full of stagnant water. She would wait until daylight and then present herself. She didn't want to risk being mistaken for a male intruder in the half light of the dawn. She'd probably be killed anyway, she thought, but she wanted to speak to Laird Sutherland first.
When the sun appeared from behind the castle walls, Eana came out from under the bushes and began to walk towards the moat. A guard high up on the castle wall shouted to a colleague, and in no time, she was surrounded. When they realized it was a woman, they decided they would bring her to Laird Sutherland instead of killing her.
''Who the hell are you?'' he roared. Just like his son Angus, Laird Sutherland was fat and red-faced. He had fiery ginger hair and cold blue eyes. Sitting in the great hall in a throne-like chair, he looked huge. He was dressed in red and white tartan and held a stick with a bulbous top which made it look more like a club than a stick.
''Do you now know who I am?'' Eana was brave enough to ask.
''I do not. Why were you walking near my castle? You are not Sutherland Clan.''
''I am Eana Irvine, the woman who married Alexander Muir.''
His eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward. ''Eana Irvine. You murdered both my sons.''
''I didn't. Your sons attacked me and died because of it. If they had kept away from me, they would both have been alive today.'' Her voice echoed in the huge room. The ceiling was high and full of oak rafters from which flags of Clans the Sutherland's had extinguished hung.
Laird Sutherland nodded, and the guards that were holding her let go. Without their support, she felt her knee give way, and she stumbled forward. He stood up and took hold of her collar in his fat fist. ''Why are you here? Do you realize I will kill you?''
