Highlander Unchained (Highlander Trilogy 1)

by Donna Fletcher

  “Why else?” Colum laughed. “He thinks her dumb like most, incapable of communicating.”

  Goddard nodded agreeing.

  “You’ve done well,” Colum said. “Now go get more food and get back to him and find out more.”

  Dawn didn’t hesitate; she hurried out of the room to the kitchen. All movement and sound stopped as soon as she entered.

  “Get back to your chores or I’ll see the lazy lot of you punished,” Flanna threatened and everyone did as she said. She then walked with Dawn outside.

  There was a nip in the air. Soon the last of the harvest would be picked, the ground turned for winter, which would be upon them soon enough. Why Dawn should be thinking on mundane things she did not know. Life was no longer mundane; life was vastly different and she doubted it would ever be the same.

  “Are you all right?” Flanna asked.

  Dawn nodded and her hands moved letting Flanna know that she needed more food. She also wanted to let Flanna know that she wanted to wash up but thankfully the woman was perceptive.

  “You’ll want to wash up before returning to him.”

  Dawn smiled and tapped her chest. Those familiar with her gestures knew it meant she was grateful.

  Flanna grabbed her hand. “Are you sure you’re all right? I saw—” Her eyes filled with tears, though she didn’t let one fall. “He’s powerfully built. Are you sure he didn’t hurt you?”

  She could tell Flanna the truth but odd as it seemed, it would be better to let things remain as they were. Otherwise gossiping tongues would be wagging about how the mighty warrior Cree wouldn’t waste his seed on her. She would be ridiculed even more.

  She cupped both hands and with palms down ran one over the other.

  Flanna confirmed she understood with a nod. “It’s over.”

  Dawn smiled.

  Flanna shook her head sadly. “It’s only just begun.”

  Dawn walked to her small cottage, keeping her head down and avoiding glancing at anyone. She heard the whispers, the chortling, though she was surprised when Old Mary grabbed her arm and stopped her.

  “They should all be grateful to you. You saved them from his wrath.”

  Dawn watched Old Mary hobble away and wasn’t sure if it was Colum or Cree’s wrath she meant.

  She continued to her cottage and wasn’t surprised to see Lila waiting in her doorway. As soon as Drawn was a few feet from her, Lila spread her arms wide and Dawn hurried into them. Lila ushered Dawn inside and the two cried together.

  When their tears were spent, Lila sat dawn down at the table and fixed a hot brew for them both and they talked.

  “Did he hurt you?” Lila asked as if she would kill Cree if he had.

  Dawn shook her head and motioned that she was fine.

  “I wished your first time could have been different and with someone you loved.”

  How did she make Lila understand that that was never meant to be? No matter how much she wished for it or her friend wished for it, it was not something she would ever have. And it was best she accepted it and continue to survive. And that meant not lingering on something that could not be changed.

  Dawn motioned that she desperately needed to wash and Lila hurried to set a pot of water to heat. Within the hour she was freshly washed and wished she had a change of clothes since the scent of Cree was strong on her garments.

  Lila had talked the whole time, though Dawn had expressed a gestured or two regarding the babe Lila carried. It wouldn’t be long now and she wanted to make certain her friend was feeling well. She, herself, may never have children, but Lila’s children would be like having her own and that pleased her.

  Dawn walked Lila to her cottage two doors down. Lila was a spinner and a fine one at that. She worked daily on her spindle and distaff in her cottage producing the fine yarn that Colum traded with the aristocracy, leaving the villagers to wear threadbare garments. Lila had made sure to keep the scraps and from them had made several garments for her unborn babe.

  They were just a couple of feet from Lila’s cottage when the village alarm bell tolled sending fear through the villagers. Men, women, and children began rushing about, the dire warning continuing to clang ominously.

  Lila shouted, “Look.”

  Everyone followed her pointing finger to see smoke rising in the cloudy sky and they all ran toward it.

  The prison hut was on fire, the flames growing out of control.

  Dawn stared in shock and disbelief. What had happened? Was Cree inside?

  Lila huddled beside her and they watched as John, the guard shouted at the men who had formed a bucket brigade, Paul being one of them.

  “Faster,” John screamed.

  The men did their best to rush the pails down the line more rapidly, but it didn’t matter. Flames engulfed the small hut and in minutes it collapsed sending tendrils of fire and sparks spiraling into the air.

  John ordered the women to join the men and Dawn pushed Lila away when she went to follow her. She pointed to a spot by one of the cottages where Lila could watch but not be seen and shoved her toward it. Lila didn’t argue she went.

  They couldn’t let the fire spread. They had to extinguish ever last ember or chance losing other buildings. The whole village could go up in flames if they didn’t stomp out what remained of the fire. It took hours of hard work, but every last spark was finally snuffed out. Men and women let their buckets drop from blistered hands and aching limbs. Husbands and wives hugged each other in relief and children clung to their parents’ legs as the all headed to their individual cottages.

  “Stay where you are,” John shouted.

  Everyone froze and Dawn saw that Paul sent a warning look to Lila to stay put and not show herself.

  “The prisoner has escaped. Your liege lord and his warriors have gone after him and will return victorious. Now get to your duties.”

  Exhausted from their ordeal, their bodies too tired to move, they inched along to their perspective chores knowing that John would report those who refused to obey. And Colum would show no mercy upon his return, especially if Cree could not be found.

  Paul took Dawn by the arm and ushered her over to Lila, then hurried both women away and didn’t stop until they reached the relative safety of his and Lila’s cottage.

  He turned to Dawn. “I will walk you to the kitchen, and then later I will come and walk you home. Don’t go anywhere alone.”

  Dawn knew why Paul warned her not to venture anywhere by herself. He worried that some would blame her for Cree’s escape and see that she suffer for it. Though he probably worried more, just as she did, that Colum would blame her and punish her, and his punishment would be far worse.

  Flanna was waiting outside the kitchen door for her and Paul stopped a distance away and waited until she reached Flanna, then he turned and ran off to hurry to the fields.

  “In the kitchen and stay there,” Flanna ordered obviously thinking the same as Paul.

  Dawn didn’t argue. She’d keep to herself and tended to her duties; she preferred it that way. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried over Cree’s escape. Would Colum somehow blame her? Would he punish her? And what of Cree? If escape was so easy for him why had he waited? Why hadn’t he escaped his first day here?

  Something nagged at her, but she couldn’t quite catch hold of it. She lost herself in her work not wanting to think of what might happen. All the while that nagging bit of something jabbed at her.

  Night came but Colum and his warriors had not returned. Paul came for her as he said he would and he tried to convince her to spend the night with him and Lila. But Dawn wanted time alone and insisted she would be fine, he was not to worry.

  She made herself a hot brew, slipped out of her clothes and into her night dress and dropped down on her sleeping pallet. She was exhausted and though she fought to remain awake and see if she could discover what it was that she nagged in the recesses of her mind, she couldn’t. She fell asleep as soon as her head rested
on the pillow.

  The next morning she popped up in bed and realized what had plagued her. It was the drawing Cree had made in the dirt. She recognized the area and she realized that the drawing had been a plan of attack and she, not realizing it, had helped him strengthen his forces’ positions to attack the Village Dowel.

  She jumped out of bed and dressed quickly. She wasn’t sure what to do. Would anyone believe her? They would want to know why she hadn’t said something sooner. She wanted to protect her village, but she feared no one would pay heed to her warning. And yet if she didn’t, what would be the consequences?

  Would there be anything left once Cree got finished with the village? What of Lila, Paul, and their unborn baby? She had to at least warn them. She opened the cottage door and stood staring. Villagers were rushing past with worried expressions.

  Was Colum returning? Had he recaptured Cree? Were her worries over or were they just beginning?

  She followed along with the crowd, Lila and Paul joining her when she reached their cottage. The villagers lined the entrance waiting to greet their liege lord but this time he was not returning the victorious hero. Colum and his warriors looked worn and defeated.

  Silence followed the troop, not a word was whispered, not a sound heard. Dawn feared that Colum would lay blame on someone and that someone could well be her.

  Colum halted and glared at the sea of faces, many turning away in fear. “You’re a worthless lot. Get to your chores now.”

  Everyone scurried off keeping their distance from Colum as he and his men traveled on to the keep. They all knew someone would suffer for this and many an eye turned on Dawn and whispers followed her as she walked along with Paul and Lila.

  Paul could not walk with her to the kitchen. He had to leave with the other men who worked in the field. But he urged her to be careful and warned his wife that she had the babe to worry about, fearful that she would do something foolish in defending her friend.

  Dawn was nearly to the kitchen when she heard the first scream. She turned and her blood ran cold. Charging down the hill was a troop of warriors their faces streaked red and as they reached the bottom they were joined by two other troops charging in from the right and left.

  And in the lead rode Cree.

  Chapter Twelve

  Dawn’s first thought was of Lila. The workers in the field would have been the first to spot the approaching warriors. Paul could have had time to get to his wife. She prayed that he did as she ran to find her friends.

  She made her way through the madness, ducking, bobbing, and jumping to stay out of the way of the battling warriors. Even in her haste it was easy to see that Colum’s men were no match for Cree’s warriors. It would not be long before Cree claimed victory and with it lives.

  Children cried, women screamed, knowing what was waiting for them. Once Colum’s men were conquered the true horror would begin for the villagers. She wanted to tell them to run and hide in the woods but would it do any good? Would Cree send his men to search for them? And where would they go from there?

  Dawn finally spotted Lila on the side of a cottage. She was kneeling on the ground crouched over something and Dawn sped to her side. She dropped down beside her friend, her heart pounding when she saw that it was Paul on the ground and he was wounded.

  “He’s hurt badly,” Lila cried.

  “Forget me, help Lila, the babe is coming,” Paul said with such fear that it sent a shiver through Dawn.

  She looked to her friend.

  “I will not leave my husband,” she insisted and then doubled over in pain.

  Dawn took stock of the situation. Paul had suffered a leg wound that was still bleeding. She tore a piece off the hem of her skirt and wrapped his leg. It wasn’t enough to stop the bleeding so she ripped off another piece of her skirt, and one of her sleeves and wrapped both around the wound. Blood seeped through but not as fast as before.

  Lila went to do the same, but Dawn stopped her and patted her stomach letting her know she would need it for the babe.

  “Get her out of here,” Paul insisted.

  “No, I won’t leave you,” Lila cried.

  The chaos in the village grew worse, the clang of swords, the moans of the injured, the screams of the dying shivered Dawn down to the bone. Paul was right... this was no place for Lila to be with the babe coming.

  Dawn took charge. She motioned to Lila that she would get her to the safety of the woods and then return for Paul. Lila wanted Paul to go with them, but Dawn argued with exaggerated motions that it could prove fatal to them all. Then she held up three spread fingers and snapped them close together reminding Lila of something the three had long ago agreed to.

  Lila shed more tears. “We made a pact when we were young to always help each other no matter what.”

  Dawn crossed her chest with her finger.

  Lila nodded. “You promise to help Paul and you have never broken a promise to me.”

  It was Dawn’s turn to nod and she helped Lila to stand. Dawn then bent down and shifted her shoulder beneath Paul’s and with a strength born of determination dragged him closer to the side of the cottage where he’d be less noticed. She then motioned to Paul that she’d be back for him soon and the three would then hide in the woods and help Lila with the birthing.

  Paul tried to argue but Dawn dismissed him with a wave of her hand, then pressed a finger to Lila’s mouth warning her to remain silent and took off with her, Dawn’s arm around her waist to help move her along.

  Once Dawn found a spot in the woods, Lila grabbed her arm and with labored breathing said, “Please, Dawn, bring him safely to me.”

  Dawn squeezed her friend’s shoulder and nodded.

  She took off again not wanting to leave Lila alone too long and needing to get to Paul before it was too late. She didn’t know where she found the courage to keep going in spite of her fear, though fear had become a constant companion of hers lately. She had come to know it well. It had clung tightly to her from the first moment she had laid eyes on Cree. He was not a man to trust or to care for. Why then was she relieved that he had not died?

  The battle had worsened. More of Colum’s men lay wounded, dead or dying. The stench of blood and death hung heavily in the air and she knew the end was near. Cree would claim victory over the Village Dowell this day.

  She hurried to where she had left Paul, weaving, bobbing, and jumping to avoid the battling warriors. She finally reached Paul and with a bit of a struggle she got him up. He leaned heavily on her, his wound painful and making it difficult for him to walk.

  They shuffled along and several oaths ran through Dawn’s head. She was unable to take the easy path to the woods that she had with Lila. The battling warriors had blocked it and so she had to make her way around it.

  Paul grew heavier with every step, but she kept hold of his weight and when there was a break in the fighting she hurried him as best as she could across the center of the village giving her a direct path between the safety of two buildings and to the woods beyond.

  Unfortunately, the pain had worn Paul out and he staggered weighing down more heavily one her. She stumbled and fought to regain her balance and for a moment she feared he would propel them both to the ground landing on top of her.

  Just as she got him steady, she spotted a lone rider baring down on them... it was Cree and fury blazed in his eyes.

  Dawn did not think twice, she dropped Paul to the ground and threw her body over him.

  Seconds later she was yanked off him with such force that it made her head spin and then she heard Paul cry out, “Please no, Dawn is helping me.”

  The point of Cree’s sword stopped within inches of Paul’s chest and Cree looked to Dawn to confirm Paul’s plea and she nodded. He then pointed to her ripped sleeve and tunic. “Who did this to you?”

  She tapped her chest and looked to Paul who hurried to explain that she had used the torn pieces to wrap his wounded leg. He then continued detailing what had happened and the w
hole time that he did, Cree never let go of her. And while Cree listened to Paul’s plea for mercy and help for his wife who was about to give birth, several of Cree’s warriors formed a protective circle around them.

  Cree finally ordered Paul to be silent. He then turned to one of his men. Take this man to the keep for the healer to look after.” He looked to three other warriors and ordered, “Take this woman and let her lead you to her friend in the woods and bring them both to the keep as well.”

  When he released Dawn he said to the three warriors, “This one hears clearly enough, but she has no voice to protect herself, let no harm come to her. And make sure she is returned directly to me.”

  The three nodded and then formed a protective wall around Dawn, and she found herself running to keep pace with them as she pointed the way.

  Cree mounted his horse and glanced around. The battle was near over, his warriors tending to the last of Colum’s men who were quickly laying down their swords. As usual he was victorious. It had been an easy battle as he had thought it would be, Colum’s men no match for his skilled warriors. They had fought brave and hard as always, though the stakes were much higher this time... for them all.

  He watched as some women huddled in fear over their injured men while others ran wildly with babes in their arms, where he did not know for there was nowhere for them to go. He could understand their fear, it had griped him when he had seen what he thought was a warrior attacking Dawn.

  He had known it could not be one of his, death waited for any who dared to disobey his orders and rape was something he would not tolerate. Rage like none he had ever known before rushed through him when he spotted Dawn’s ripped garments, and he was ready to kill the man who had attacked her with one swift blow.

  Pride quickly replaced anger when Paul explained what had happened. That Dawn would put herself in danger to help her friends spoke generously of her nature. She was a good person and he was pleased to see that she was safe, and he intended to see she remained so.

  A wave from his most trusted warrior Sloan caught his attention and he rode to where he stood on the keep steps to join him. As soon as Cree dismounted his stallion one of his warrior’s was there to tend the animal.