Highlander Unchained (Highlander Trilogy 1)

by Donna Fletcher

  Annoyance plagued Sloan’s usual pleasant countenance and Cree suspected he was not going to be pleased with the news.

  “We cannot find Colum or Goddard.”

  Cree was not happy. He had lain awake last night thinking of how he was going to make both men pay for what they had done to Dawn. He thirsted for revenge and he would not be satisfied until that thirst was quenched.

  “Send a group of men to scour the surrounding woods. If they have not found them by nightfall tell them to return. He is probably on his way to Gerwan, his feudal lord, to deliver the news and gather troops.

  Sloan grinned. “Will the news have reached Gerwan by then?”

  “It will have and Colum will no longer be of use to him.”

  “Colum will seek revenge against you.”

  “I am counting on it,” Cree said. “Now see to the injured and before nightfall I want the villagers gathered here in front of the keep.”

  “Has Turbett arrived yet?”

  Sloan laughed. “The men argued over who would go fetch him.”

  “I expected no less from them. It is another victorious battle and Turbett will prepare a scrumptious feast for all to celebrate.”

  Sloan nodded slowly. “That he will, though it will not be just another victorious battle we celebrate. It will finally be having a permanent home that we celebrate.”

  A shout to Sloan had him running and Cree standing on the steps of the keep alone. This was his now, hard won and a longtime coming. But he and his men had earned it and they would protect their new home with their lives. No one would take it away from them; no one could. The King had decreed it.

  He cast an anxious glance over the village to see if his men had returned with Dawn yet. She was nowhere in sight and so he turned and entered the keep wondering how he would stop himself from taking the silent one to his bed tonight.

  ~~~

  Lila would not stop asking about Paul as the warrior carried her out of the woods. Dawn reassured her over and over that he was fine and being tended to by Cree’s healer. And still she questioned until a pain gripped her and she cried out.

  Dawn pointed toward Lila’s cottage as they neared it.

  The large man shook his head. “Cree ordered her to be brought to the keep and you to be brought directly to him.”

  “Paul is at the keep. I want to—” Lila screamed and the warrior carrying her stumbled but never let go of her. “The baby,” she cried out her hands going to her rounded stomach.

  Dawn rushed to Lila’s cottage and the warriors did as she had hoped; they followed after her. She was ever so grateful that the cottage suffered no damage during the battle. She hurried inside and yanked the blanket down to the bottom of the bed and gestured for the warrior to place her there.

  “We must go to the keep,” he insisted and turned assuming Dawn would follow.

  Lila cried out again. “The baby is coming.”

  The warrior sped to the bed, placed Lila on it, and hurried over to the two other warriors who had entered. They whispered amongst themselves

  “Please bring my husband to me,” Lila called out to them.

  Dawn walked over to them and shooed them toward the door.

  The large one protested. “We are to remain with you until we can get you to the keep.”

  Dawn shook her head and shooed them again forcing two out. The big one wouldn’t budge until Lila let out another earth-shattering scream.

  “I will be right outside,” he said and hurried out closing the door behind him.

  Dawn rolled up her one sleeve and returned to Lila’s side ready to help her friend.

  ~~~

  Paul entered the cottage a short time later supported by two warriors. Dawn was quick to move a chair by the bed so that Paul would be close by his wife and the warriors eased him down on it.

  The large warrior had followed them in and motioned to Dawn. You are to come with me now. The healer will be here shortly to help birth the babe.

  Dawn shook her head, her hands motioning and the warrior scratching his head.

  “Dawn says she is staying here and helping her friend,” Paul said.

  “Cree has ordered her return to the keep,” the large man explained.

  Dawn shook her head and waved her hands signifying that she was not going anywhere.

  The large warrior shook his head and scratched his graying beard. “You have no choice, lassie, and he stepped toward her.

  Dawn grabbed the broom resting against the fireplace and swung it at the guard.

  “She’s warning you to stay away from her,” Paul said. “Can you let her stay until the babe is born and then she will go with you?”

  Dawn nodded vigorously.

  “It is not my choice.”

  The healer entered the cottage the same time that Lila let out another blood-curdling scream and Dawn foolishly let down her guard. The large warrior lunged grabbing the broom and tossing it aside as his other hand grabbed for her. With a tight grip on her arm he dragged her to the door.

  Lila screamed at him to let her go that she needed her there with her. The healer, an older woman as round as she was short, attempted to assure her that she would help her and all would be well. Lila would hear none of it; she continued to cry out to Dawn.

  Paul pleaded with the warrior to let Dawn stay but he paid no heed to the pleas. He dragged Dawn out of the cottage. She fought him every step of the way but try as she might his grip was too strong for her to break.

  Once he got her in the Great Hall Cree’s voice rang out trembling the rafters.

  “Dawn, cease your struggles.”

  She stilled and turned to face him and her heart hammered in her chest. He was more imposing and more handsome in full light and it sent her knees trembling. Whatever did he want with her? And did she truly want to find out?

  She wanted to run but where? As much as she wanted to return to Lila, she dare not for fear that her friends would suffer for her disobedience. She was trapped, always trapped and she could do nothing but face her fate.

  “Come here,” Cree ordered.

  She walked over to him and as much as she wished to walk with her chin high, she kept her head bowed in respect and out of fear of punishment.

  “Look at me,” he snapped.

  She raised her head.

  “You are safe now. You have nothing to fear.”

  Did she believe him? Did he truly mean her no harm?

  “I gave you my word and I will keep it. I will let no harm come to you.”

  She nodded and placed her hand to her chest in a show of appreciation. She then anxiously pointed toward the door and then herself and back to the door again.

  “You want permission to leave.”

  She nodded vigorously and rocked her folded arms as if she held a babe.”

  “I forgot. You’re friend has birthed the babe?”

  Dawn shook her head.

  “You want to be there when she does.”

  Another vigorous nod.

  “Go, but return later. I wish to speak with you.”

  She nodded apprehensively, bowed her head, then turned and hurried out of the keep.”

  Sloan walked over to Cree. “Do you truly wish to speak with her or ease the ache of lust?”

  “Watch your tongue, Sloan, or I’ll cut it from your mouth.”

  “I think not. You have never punished anyone for speaking the truth.”

  Sloan walked off to tend to his duties and Cree silently cursed him.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Dawn smiled at her friends and their newborn son. Lila had delivered Thomas not long after she had returned to the cottage. Elsa, the healer, had done a fine job of calming Lila and delivering the babe with more ease than Dawn had thought possible.

  The babe was swaddled in a soft wool blanket his mum had made and slept contentedly in her arms. He had full cheeks and a few sprouts of red hair on the top of his head and he was the most beautiful babe that Dawn had ever seen.<
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  “Elsa tells us that Cree will treat the villagers well and that we will not be sorry that he is our new lord,” Lila said with a smile.

  “It is true,” Elsa said. “He is the new lord of this land and he will do right by the people. Speak truthfully to him and do your fair share and you will have a good life under his leadership.”

  “He will explain to all at the gathering in front of the keep not long from now,” Paul said. “Lila will be excused from attending since she just gave birth but I must attend.”

  Dawn didn’t wait for him to ask, she motioned that they would go together.

  Paul gave an appreciative nod and turned his attention on the babe who was yawning.

  “Let us talk. I am curious about your loss of voice,” Elsa said slipping her arm around Dawn’s and moving her along right out the door.

  Dawn shivered when Elsa closed the door. She understood that this time was for Paul and Lila and their newborn, so why did she suddenly feel left out?

  “There’s a good place,” Elsa said pointing to a bench on the far side of Lila’s garden.

  Dawn followed along recalling how she and Lila had often worked in the garden together. And how Paul had built the bench from a fallen tree branch he had found in the woods. It was sturdy enough, though he would have been sturdier if Paul had been permitted to cut down a tree instead of picking from the decaying ones on the ground. But the villagers were not allowed to cut the trees or hunt the animals. The woods, and all in it, belonged to their feudal lord Roland Gerwan the Earl of Carrick.

  Elsa sat, the bench creaking under her ample weight. “So you have been without a voice since you were born?”

  Dawn nodded.

  “You made not a sound when you were born? Not a cry, grunt or groan?”

  Dawn shook her head. Elsa looked perplexed as most people did.

  “Usually, at least in my experience, a voiceless person can still manage a grunt or a groan. Never have I known someone to be completely voiceless. It is quite odd. How do you manage to speak with others?”

  Dawn held up her hands and then snatched up a stick off the ground and did a quick drawing of the cottage.

  Elsa smiled, her full cheeks plumping. “Amazing. Your drawing helps you to communicate. You are talented.”

  Dawn gave a nod of thanks.

  “I wish there was something I could do to help you. But I fear that since you were born voiceless, there is nothing that can be done. It was simply meant to be.”

  Dawn had never thought, hoped, or prayed that one day she would suddenly start speaking. She had accepted her lot a long time ago. This was who she was, a voiceless person, not that she could not make herself heard, though she had learned that silence had its own rewards.

  “I look forward to getting to know you and I would be pleased to have you visit my cottage as soon as I am settled in,” Elsa said.

  Dawn pointed to the cottage and back at Elsa, and then shrugged.

  Elsa smiled again, though Dawn realized it was simply an extension of the warm smile that she seemed to constantly wear.

  “I understand you perfectly,” Elsa said with joy. “You want to know where my cottage will be.”

  Dawn nodded fearful that perhaps someone would be forced to give their home to Elsa.

  “Cree will find a suitable and an unoccupied one for me and make repairs if necessary. He will want me to make a place available to all who require healing.”

  Dawn tapped her chest, pointed at the cottage, and then all around.

  “You do make it easy to understand you. Yes, available to everyone, villagers and warriors alike. I am here to serve the ill and needy.”

  Dawn wondered if her words would prove true. Colum had his healer serve him and his warriors. No villager had dared approach the healer for help. They relied on the older women in the village who had some knowledge of healing.

  “I would love to sit and talk with you more but a brief reprise is all I can spare. I must go and see how the wounded do and if anyone else needs me.” Elsa stood. “And I’m sure your friends are wondering where you are. Lila would not stop worrying about you. She was frantic for your safety. It was only when I reassured her that Cree protected the weak and afflicted that she finally calmed. We will talk soon, Dawn.” And with that she walked off at a brisk pace.

  Dawn remained on the bench. She had thought Cree an unfeeling soul and yet he had not been cruel to her. He had not caused her harm. Were the tales about him just that... tales? He certainly had to have done something to have people fear him so badly or where would the rumors have come from?

  She was curious to hear what Cree would have to say to the villagers and she would not have long to wait since Cree’s warriors were walking through the village herding the people toward the keep. A warrior waved her toward him and she stood and hurried to the cottage door and gave a knock.

  Paul opened the door his finger pressed to his lips. Then in a whisper said, “Mum and babe just fell asleep though—”

  Dawn tugged on his arm and Paul hurried the door closed behind him after catching sight of the warrior making his way toward them. Dawn slipped her arm around his shoulder to lend him support. He was pale and obviously in pain and no doubt had not wanted to leave his wife and newborn son but he, like her, knew they had no choice.

  The warrior halted his approach when he saw that Dawn helped Paul and returned to herding the crowd that was growing larger as more and more villagers joined the others in walking to the keep. Everyone searched the crowd for family and friends to see who had survived. Some husbands just now were reuniting with their wives and crying children found their tearful parents.

  Dawn looked about for Old Mary, not many bothered with her and Dawn feared she may not have survived. She did spot Flanna, though did not catch her eye. She appeared dazed and unsure as did many in the crowd.

  A poke to her arm had her turning quickly and she smiled down at Old Mary smiling back up at her.

  The old woman poked her again. “Changes come; good changes.”

  With that she made her way through the crowd toward the front, her steps sprier than Dawn had ever seen. She was pleased that the old woman was hopeful but she was more pragmatic. What would happen when their feudal lord Roland Gerwan was told of the attack? Would he send his warriors to retake the keep and reclaim his land? Were more battles on the horizon? Would there be more suffering?

  “I hope Elsa is right and our lot will improve with Cree as our leader,” Paul said.

  Dawn heard the doubt creep into his words and understood. The liegeman that had overseen the village before Colum arrived had been old and had not driven the people hard. Life had been fairly good. Everyone in the village had seen to doing their share and had shared when necessary. Upon that liegeman’s death the Earl of Carrick sent Colum to oversee his land and life had changed and not for the better. Now it would change again but how was the question on everyone’s minds.

  “Elsa is such a generous woman. She’s returning to the cottage later to check on Lila and the babe and she says that she will bring food for us.”

  Dawn felt a catch in her stomach. She had planned on preparing a meal tonight for her friends and having some time with them. She was aching to hold the newborn and get a chance to talk with Lila.

  “Silence!” the rough shout stilled everyone instantly and the tall man with the golden hair whose voice had echoed over the crowd stepped back behind Cree.

  Her stomach didn’t have a chance to settle seeing Cree standing on the top step of the keep. He was a sight to behold; broad and tall and as handsome as he was imposing. His dark eyes roamed the crowd slowly as if committing every face to memory. Some shivered while others looked away and mothers shoved their children behind them fearful that the devil himself was marking each and every one of them.

  “Listen well for I will not repeat myself,” Cree said his voice strong and echoing out across the crowd. “This land now belongs to me. I am your new feudal lord and
the title Earl of Carrick will soon be mine as decreed by the King.”

  Grasps and whispers circled the crowd.

  “Silence!” Cree yelled. “Work and keep a truthful tongue to me and I will see that you have a good life with food aplenty. You will be able to hunt the forest for food not only for me but for yourselves as well. You will bring your complaints to me and I will deal with them fairly... but my word is law and I will have no one protest it. I will see not only this land prosper but the people as well. Pledge your fealty to me and I will see you kept safe, if not... gather your things and leave now, you are free to go.”

  The villagers mumbled among themselves, many wondering if they could trust a man they thought evil.

  “For those who stay,” Cree called out, “we celebrate. There will be food, drink and merry making for tomorrow we forge a new life together.”

  Several villagers cheered, which led to more cheers until it seemed as if everyone cheered... even Paul joined in. Dawn, of course, could not, but if she could she did not know if she would. Cree was a puzzle to her. He had not raided the village leaving destruction in his path as the tales claim he always did. Women had not been brutalized and children had not been harmed. It seemed that it had been Colum’s warriors who had suffered the most. But then Cree claimed this land as his, and he would not want to destroy it or the people that would tend it for him. And why would the King decree this land as belonging to Cree?

  As the crowd began to disperse smiles replaced frowns and laughter could be heard. Cree had dispelled their fears and worries and even invited them to celebrate in the new life he offered. Why wouldn’t they accept his terms? What would they have if they packed their meager belongings and left?

  Dawn once again assisted Paul as they returned to his cottage.

  “Don’t expect he’ll want the likes of you now that he has a choice of who will warm his bed.”

  Dawn didn’t need to turn and look behind her to know who made the comment. Dorrie’s voice was distinct and always resonated with self-importance.