SEALing The Victory

by B. Angelica Ellmoor

  “What else is there to do child?” Her father said. “I cannot ask my men to walk into the battle if I know for sure that they will never walk out again. I have to protect them. I have to make sure that I bring them home and back to their families.”

  “You can do that without forcing me to wed someone I don’t love.” Abi said desperately.

  “I’m afraid, daughter that this is the only option left.” Her father said. “I’m not giving you any choice in the matter anyway. I am your father and the leader of this clan and you will do as I say.” He said.

  “You can’t do this.” Abi said, shaking her head.

  “It has already been agreed.” Her father replied quickly. “You are to marry Alistair at dusk tomorrow evening and our clans will fight side by side in the war.” He explained.

  “You can’t force me to do this.” Abi said quickly. She was angry. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest and her tongue waiting, poised to snap back to whatever her father had to say.

  “Abi, I’m not asking you to do this for me. I’m asking you to do this for the men outside of this tent, who have come here to fight for their freedom. I need you to do this for them. I need you to make a sacrifice, so that their sacrifice isn’t their lives. Can’t you do that?” He asked her with pleading eyes.

  Abi didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. She had been ready to argue back to nearly anything that he had to say, but she couldn’t argue back to that. The clan would one day be her responsibility and if she was ever going to lead them, then she had to put their happiness before her own.

  “Aye, I can do that.” Abi said, as the defeat flooded to her eyes and she dropped them to the floor.

  “You have a good heart, Abi.” Her father said warmly.

  “Well, then it’s a deep shame that it will never feel love.” Abi said bitterly and then she turned to leave the tent before her father could say anything else to her. She could feel the eyes of the two strangers on her, as she made her way across the camp and back to her tent, but refused to look at them. She was too angry. She was too sad.

  *******

  Abi spent the rest of the day in her tent and refused to come out, until the roar of conversation had died down and she was sure that most of the clan had retired to their tents. She pulled open the door in her tent and looked out into the darkening scene. The fire was almost at the point of being purely embers, but they were burning brightly enough to see that she would be totally alone if she went out.

  She had been wrestling her with her thoughts and emotions all day. She knew what had to be done was for the best of her clan. She knew that as their future leader, she couldn’t be selfish in her choices, but that didn’t stop the numbing feeling that was spreading through her. She’d always had this dream about falling in love and marrying because of that. She had always figured that she would meet someone one day and she would just know, but obviously she had been wrong.

  She sighed with frustration and sat down on one of the stones that had been brought over for use as a stool. She had no choice, she had to do it. It didn’t matter how sad it made her. It didn’t matter how unappealing the red haired man had been to her, she had to do what was best for the many.

  “You look upset Abi.” A woman’s voice called out from behind her.

  Abi jumped. She had thought that she had been all alone and she hadn’t heard anybody approach. “Hello?” She called out into the darkness as she tried to find the person who had just spoken.

  “What’s on your mind?” The voice said again and this time it was right next to her.

  Abi’s head spun round and she found herself staring at an elderly woman whom she had never seen before. She looked like a gypsy with tattered clothes and a wild look in her eyes. “Can I help you?” Abi asked her, as she tried to gauge whether she was a threat.

  “I doubt it.” The woman laughed madly. “But I think I can help you.”

  “Is that so?” Abi asked the clearly deranged woman.

  “I would think so.” The woman said.

  “And how do you propose on helping me?” Abi asked her curiously.

  “I think I can save you from marrying the wrong man.” The old woman cooed.

  “What do you know of my marriage?” Abi asked her suspiciously. The news of her quickly impending marriage hadn’t been announced yet, so there was no reason for the woman to know about it.

  “I know about a lot of things.” The woman said mysteriously. “For instance I know you’re only getting married to protect your clan.” She said as an example.

  “So, you were listening to my conversation earlier?” Abi said as her temper flared.

  “Not at all. Like I said, I know things.” The woman said with a small smile.

  Abi frowned at her, but she didn’t walk away. There was something about the woman that was intriguing to her and she wanted to know what that was. “What advice do you have then?” She asked her a little impatiently.

  “I have no advice girl.” The woman said quickly. “I only have a story to tell you.” She said with a smile and then she sat down on the stone beside Abi and looked into the fire. “There is a legend around here of a great warrior who had led his clan to many victories without ever losing a man to death’s icy grip. He was feared in many lands and because of this, his clan rested in safety for many years before finally someone decided to upset the balance.

  His clan went to war, but this time it was different. The night before the war, the warrior found out that his wife had been leading a secret life. She had been feeding information to those that wanted to invade their clan, so that her life would be spared when they did. The warrior was heartbroken by her betrayal. He went into the war the next day, but he had been defeated before his foot touched the soil of the battle ground. He watched all his men die and when finally someone swung a sword at him, he did nothing to stop it.” The woman took a breath.

  “So, he died?” Abi asked her with surprise because that wasn’t where she thought the story was going.

  “Not exactly.” The woman said with a twinkle in her eyes. “It was said that when the sword struck him, he turned into stone. That’s because his heart had been so broken he was no longer a man and therefore impossible to kill.” She said with a warm smile.

  “And how does that help me?” Abi asked her with a small frown because she couldn’t understand what the woman was trying to tell her.

  “Well, they say that if a woman goes to his statue and is true with her intentions to protect, then he will wake up from his long stone sleep.” The woman said.

  “So, I’m meant to assume this legend is real and that some great warrior is waiting to be awoken somewhere out there in the highlands?” Abi asked with a look of disbelief across her face.

  “Well, what other choice do you have lassie?” The old woman asked her. “You can either believe or you can marry a man you do not love. What will it be?”

  “And how do you suppose I’d even find the statue?” Abi asked humoring her.

  “I think that if you go out looking, then it will find you.” The woman said croakily.

  Abi watched as the woman slowly stood up and then started to walk away. “Is that it?” Abi called out into the darkness after her.

  “I’m sure it is.” The woman called back, but she didn’t stop walking.

  ******

  Abi walked back to her tent in silence. She could still hear the woman’s voice, though, playing through her thoughts as she pulled back the door and walked into her space. Could she have been telling the truth? Could such a warrior exist and was there any way of finding him, before it was too late and she had to marry the man who was nothing more than a stranger to her?

  She looked around the tent, as she tried to formulate an idea. The woman had said that the statue would find her, but that she still had to go out and look. Where should she look? How long should she spend looking, before she could admit to herself that it had been a fool’s errand and nothing more? Could
she even take the risk and leave her clan in peril, just so that she might save her heart from a life without love?

  She found herself on her feet and pacing. The marriage was only hours away. If she was to leave on her quest then she needed to do it at that moment, otherwise it would be too late. She thought about going and speaking with her father. She thought about trying to explain the legend to him and gaining his support, but she knew that the dream was far flung and that he would only stop her from leaving if he knew about her plans.

  She sighed as she realized she had no choice but to go out and look. She had to at least try and find another solution to their problem without it being a lifetime of unhappiness for her. She pulled on a thick robe and walked back out into the night. It had darkened even more since she had been out and not even the embers were helping to light her way. The night’s sky was clouded over and the moon was hidden away.

  She looked back over to where she knew her father’s tent was and then she walked out into the openness of the night. The clan hadn’t been in the area long, but Abi had already taken a long walk of the surrounding area, so that she would know the ground for when the time came. She picked her way through the darkness without too much of a problem and headed in no direction in particular.

  She could already feel her back starting to ache as it cried out for sleep, but she told it that there would be plenty of time for that once the war was over and won. She could still hear the woman’s voice in her mind and she let it lead her path, as she padded softly through the grass and broken branches of the trees.

  She stopped when she heard a branch break. The noise rang out into the otherwise silent night and seemed to echo around her. The sound had been close, but she hadn’t been able to tell whether it had been from a person or animal. She stood perfectly still as she listened out into the night. Her eyes were no good; it was too dark even after they’d had time to adjust.

  “Is someone there?” She called out when no further noise followed. No one replied and she started to walk slowly in the direction of where the noise had come from. She could feel her ears staying alert to even the slightest of sounds that didn’t belong to her, and she breathed deeply to make sure that any foreign smells wouldn’t pass her by.

  There was nothing though. She walked to where she was sure she had heard the noise come from and there was nothing there at all. She turned and started to walk back in the direction from which she had come, and she stopped when another branch broke under foot. “Is somebody there?” She called out again and she tried to keep the spooked feeling out of her tone.

  There was no response and she forced herself to put it down to some kind of animal that was obviously sniffing about. She looked up at the sky and noticed a pinkish tone shining through the inky blue. She had been out for longer than she had thought and the dawn was just starting to break through the darkness.

  She carried on walking away from the camp, though. The rising sun was only a reminder that her time was short and she knew if she didn’t find the warrior before the day completely broke, then she would have to return and accept her fate. She pushed her legs harder, as they burned with resistance. She needed to cover more ground. She needed to look harder.

  She let her eyes dash around the rolling hills and meadows of flowers, as she tried to find the statue. She stopped as the stupidity of her quest finally sank in. She was looking for something that wasn’t real. She believed in it because she wasn’t willing to accept the reality of the situation. She had probably made the old woman up in a dream or something, she told herself as she turned back around and started walking in the direction of her clan’s camp.

  She felt defeated and her shoulders hung low, as she retraced the steps that she had taken. She reached the point that had spooked her the night before and she stopped again. She looked at the ground for any signs of footsteps, but there weren’t any. There weren’t any human steps or animals that she could track. She frowned as she noticed the broken branch and then she looked up and couldn’t believe her eyes.

  She blinked hard. She was sure that she was going mad. She reached out her hand, half expecting it to go right through, but she felt the resistance of the cold stone. It was the statue. It had to be. It was of a man whose six pack seemed etched in by the gods. He looked brave too with deeply furrowed eyebrows.

  She stood back and looked at it. She couldn’t believe that she had found it, but now she had, she realized she didn’t have a clue about how to bring him back to life.

  *******

  Abi walked all the way around the statue and then stopped at the front. It looked like it had been made out of marble, but she couldn’t deny the lifelike look in his eyes. She ran her hands across the smooth face of the statue and then dropped them to her side. The woman hadn’t told her anything about how to bring him to life, except that he would if her intentions were pure.

  Were her intentions not pure? Was that the problem? She screwed her face up with frustration and stared at the statue with all her might. She could feel herself willing it to move, willing it to come to life, but it just stood there looking like a statue. She wondered for a moment whether it had all been some great trick on the woman’s part, but how could she have made the statue appear as it did?

  “You will wake up now.” Abi said in a shaky voice. “You need to wake up now.” She tried after the first words hadn’t helped. “Please wake up now?” She practically begged as she sat down at the feet of the statue. She could feel tears forcing their way out of her eyes and down her cheeks and she made no effort to stop the flow.

  She was frustrated and angry. She wanted to help her clan in any way that she could, but she didn’t want to lose her own freedom doing it. The first tear fell from her cheek and soared down to the foot of the statue. It was quickly followed by a rainfall of them, as they showed no sign of slowing down.

  “You’re getting my foot wet.” A deep voice said from behind her.

  She jumped, as she felt something move from underneath her and her head span round to see what it was. She blinked and then she blinked again. The statue had gone and in its place stood a man who shared many of the same features. “I’m sorry.” She sniffled as she tried to catch up with what was happening.

  “Don’t worry about it.” He chuckled and then he crouched down, so that he was at her level. “What’s your name?” He asked her when she had finished sniffling and had forced the tears to subside.

  “I’m Abi.” She said quickly. “And you’re the stone broken warrior?” She asked him.

  “Well, I’m at least a broken warrior.” He said with a smile filled with pain.

  “I was told about you. I mean, you’re a legend.” Abi stumbled on her words.

  “That’s always a nice thing to hear.” He said cockily.

  Abi didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t expected to get this far on her quest. She hadn’t put any thought at all into what she would do if the legend had turned out to be true. “I came to you for help.” She settled on finally.

  “Help with what?” He asked her curiously.

  “The legend says that if you heart is true, then you’d wake up and you’d help me with my clan.” She said. “We’re going to war and we have no chance of winning without you.” She explained.

  “Have you not the help of other clans?” He asked her with a look of pity.

  “We have the help of one, but under the condition that I marry him.” She said bitterly.

  “Then you should marry that man, so that your clan will succeed.” The broken warrior said sternly.

  “How can I ever rule a free clan if I have imprisoned myself?” Abi asked him. “How can I expect my people to be free when my own heart cannot? My clan was built on the freedom for people to choose what they wanted from life. What example do I set if I chain myself down?”

  “You are against the marriage then?” He asked her thoughtfully.

  “I am against the marriage only whilst there is hope of help elsewhere. If you
chose to not to help me then I have no choice. I must ensure the lives of my people, even at the cost of my own life.” She said.

  “That is a very noble thing to do.” He said and then paused. “I will help you.” He said with a small nod.

  “You will help?” Abi asked him with excitement in her voice.

  “If you speak the truth then I was always destined to help you, otherwise I would have never of broken out of my stone prison.” The warrior said simply.

  “Can I ask what your real name is?” Abi said, as she stood up and brushed off the dirt that had settled across her dark blue cotton dress.

  “Gregory.” He replied without any hesitation.

  “Is it true that you never lost a man in battle?” She asked him with curious eyes.

  “Until the last battle, yes.” He said and then his eyes seemed to go foggy, as his voice grew distant.

  Abi could tell from the flashes of pain in his eyes that he was reliving the last moments of his final battle. “I’m sorry that your wife betrayed you.” She said tenderly.

  “As am I.” Gregory said with a wince. “That doesn’t matter anymore though. I am sure she is long gone if I have become but a legend.” He said as he turned his face up to the sky that had started to turn light blue.

  “We need to hurry back.” Abi said as she realized that the camp would already be awake by now.

  “Just show me the way.” Gregory said with a smile and a small bow.

  Abi nodded curtly and turned in the direction of the camp and started to walk. “Do you think that you will be enough to lead us into victory?” She asked him, as they walked over the long fields that stood between them and the campsite.

  “I know that for you, bonnie lass, I will try.” He said with a warm smile, which reassured Abi’s heart that she was doing the right thing.

  *******

  Abi and Gregory walked for some time in silence. Abi was unsure about how she should break it. She didn’t want to seem intrusive, but all her mind was offering her were questions. She stopped when she realized that Gregory had a few footsteps behind her and she turned to look at him.