by Sky Winters
“Let me see,” he told her, getting down on the ground in front of her. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at her knee as she sniffed, trying to not cry again, even though it hurt.
“There. It stopped bleeding now. You’ll be okay. Come with me down to the river and we will finish washing it off,” he told her.
“But I don’t know you,” she said. You are a stranger in the village.
“I’m Thomas!” he said with a huge toothy grin. My family brought me here to stay with my uncle because they are sick and cannot take care of me. I am sad, but I guess it is just the way life is. Anyway, now, you know me.”
“I’m Aileen,” she told him.
“Well, Aileen, now we are friends,” he told her, helping her to her feet and smiling broadly at her.
The two children walked down to the river, where Thomas carefully washed off her scraped knee. Aileen watched as his messy red hair blew all over his head. His large green eyes twinkled as he smiled at her happily. It was the first time Aileen McCarthy and Thomas Mulgrady ever met and the last time they would ever be apart, or so they would come to believe.
“Why are you crying?” Thomas asked.
“I’m just so happy,” Aileen said as he pulled out a handkerchief from his trouser pocket and dabbed at her eyes. Thirteen years had passed and still, Thomas was tending to Aileen’s tears as he had that first day when they were five years old. They had both grown into young adults and with that transition into adulthood, their love had continued to grow just as much. Anyone in the village could tell you that they had become inseparable and that they would one day marry.
“Your eyes are so blue when you cry,” he told her, admiring her beautiful face and brushing away a few strands of her flaxen hair. His hand paused for a moment on her cheek, caressing it softly.
“You want to make me cry so that you can see them this blue all the time, then?” she asked playfully.
“No. They are blue enough already. I never want to make you cry,” he told her, pulling her to him and kissing her there in the meadow. It was the same kiss he had been giving her for years now, but it always felt new. Each time he kissed her, it felt like butterflies escaping into every fiber of her being. There was a longing for Thomas that she couldn’t deny, though they had agreed to wait until they were married before having sex because that is what was proper.
Thomas was no longer the skinny little boy he had once been. He was tall and broad shouldered, his wild red hair tied into a thick braid and the beginnings of a beard beginning to tickle her face. He was beautiful to her and she loved him now as much as the first day she had met him. She had no doubt that she would love him forever.
“Let’s get you home before your father has my hide for keeping you out too long,” he told her. “I don’t even want to be on the receiving end of a tanning that man will give me if he thinks I am anything less than proper with you.”
“I wish we never had to go home. I want to just stay here together forever,” she said.
“We will, very soon, my darling Aileen. You and I will spend all of eternity together,” he told her, looking at her lovingly.
“I can’t wait!” Aileen told him, raising up on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek. He was a good six inches taller than her, towering over her as they lingered there in the meadow.
“You are going to have to, but just for a little longer until I can gain your father’s blessing,” he said.
“Let’s just run away, Thomas! We don’t have to worry with my father’s blessing. We can start our own life elsewhere,” she said.
“No. I won’t take you from your family. We will do this the right way. Your father just doesn’t like my family’s history. The rumors of their ways bother him, but I will show him that he can trust me and then he will give me your hand,” he said.
“Okay, Thomas. I love you and trust you. We will wait until you tell me the time is right,” she told him reluctantly.
“I love you, too,” he replied, kissing her again before they began making their way out of the meadow and back to the village. She felt his kiss all the way down into her toes as she leaned into him, holding on to him as if her life depended on it. Finally, he pulled away and smiled at her, taking her hand and leading her back toward their village. Aileen was so thankful for the day that Thomas had come into her life and even more thankful that they had remained together for so long after.
They spent the evening cuddling by the fire, listening to one of the chieftains tell them the latest news of the battle from which he had recently returned. Their village was full of warriors, though some of the best had disappeared over the years without explanation. It was assumed by many that they had met their fates elsewhere, but eventually, many of them would return with stories of their travels. Tonight was filled with one such warrior, the father of Thomas’s cousin, Caleb. He went on for quite a while, a riveted gathering around him as he expounded on his adventures.
Eventually, it began to get late and the fire died down, signaling that it was time to get some rest. Aileen always hated the end of the day when she had to part from Thomas. She had even tried to sneak into the hut he had taken for himself in the night and give herself to him, but he had refused to let her do so, telling her that only when they were married would he allow her to give herself to him. Aileen had felt both hurt by his rejection and overjoyed that he cared so much for her reputation. As everyone parted for bedtime, Thomas gave Aileen a light kiss on the cheek before sending her off to her parent’s hut and returning to his own.
In the wee hours of the morning, Aileen woke up with a start. Something was wrong. She could feel it. Jumping up and dressing quickly, she slipped quietly out and made her way across the village to where Thomas lived. He was gone. She told herself that he had just gone out on an early hunt, but there were no signs that he had taken anything to do so. Her heart thudded heavily against her breast as she lay across his bed and waited. She could smell him on the covers there as she lay wide awake until the dawn, waiting.
When Thomas didn’t return, she went from hut to hut in the village asking for anyone that might know where he had gone, but no one would say they knew. Perhaps they didn’t, but Aileen had a feeling some of them did know. For days, she was inconsolable. Not even her parents could comfort her.
“Aileen, honey, you have to snap out of this,” her mother told her after weeks had passed and Thomas had not returned.
“He will come back for me,” Aileen told her.
“He’s gone, Aileen. He ran off and left you behind,” her mother told her.
“No, he didn’t. He wouldn’t. Something happened,” Aileen told her.
“You are a fool, daughter. You need to stop pining for this boy and find another,” her mother said.
“That will never happen. I love Thomas . . . now, forever, always,” Aileen yelled at her, storming out. She returned to Thomas’s empty hut where she already had spent countless hours just lying in his bed, crying. His scent was fading from the covers, but he was not fading from her heart.
Rather than returning to her family hut, Aileen stayed in Thomas’s from that day on. Many of the villagers deemed her unstable, the victim of a broken heart so bad it had driven her mad, but Aileen paid them no mind. Thomas would come back for her. She was sure of it.
A year passed in the blink of the eye with no word from him, no sign of him. Aileen remained steadfast in her belief that he would come for her. Then, one day, she saw a man watching her as she washed clothes in the river nearby. He was tall and dark, foreboding looking. His clothes were fine and he never took his eyes off of her, not even when she scowled at him from where she stood.
“Who is that man?” she asked one of the girls nearby.
“Lord Robert MacAulay,” the girl replied. “I saw him looking at you. You should talk to him. I hear tell he is looking for a wife.”
“Then he’d best look at someone else,” Aileen told her. “My heart and all that surrounds it belongs to Thomas.
”
“You’re a fool, Aileen,” the girl told her, returning to her wash. Aileen shrugged, doing the same.
Aileen noticed that though Lord MacAuley had moved on to talk to some of the men of the village, he still stole glances her way from time to time. She could feel his eyes on her even when he was behind her and she found it completely unnerving. There was something dark about him, she could sense it.
“Who is that girl?” she heard him asked one of the men, though she pretended not to hear.
“Aileen? Oh, you wouldn’t be interested in her, Sir. She is quite the loon, that one,” the man told him. Aileen recognized his voice as that of Caleb, one of Thomas’s kinsmen and she had to wonder if he meant it or perhaps was keeping her out of harm’s way, because he also expected Thomas to return.
“Nothing a strong hand and a lack of tolerance for such nonsense won’t cure. She’s quite the beauty,” Lord MacAuley responded.
“Perhaps, Sir, but she is not eligible for marriage. She has a betrothed,” Caleb told him.
“That is too bad then. I quite fancy her,” he replied.
Aileen drifted away from the conversation making a mental note to thank Caleb for trying to steer the awful man away from his pursuit of her. Hopefully, he was successful in his efforts.
In the days that followed, Aileen wasn’t so sure. It seemed that Lord MacAuley was constantly looking at her whenever she was within his view. She made every effort to stay far from him, unsuccessfully.
“Hello, Aileen,” he said to her as she pulled clothes from the line by Thomas’s hut.
“Hello,” she said, being as short and unfriendly as possible so as not to encourage conversation.
“We haven’t met. I’m Lord Robert MacAuley. It is a pleasure to finally meet such a beautiful young woman,” he said with a smile that gave Eileen inexplicable chills.
“You already know my name,” Aileen replied unpleasantly. “So, no need to introduce myself.”
“You are a feisty one, I see,” he smiled. Then, leaning in closer to her, “That will make it all the more my pleasure to break you in.”
Aileen flinched as if he had slapped her, but then gathered her resolve and looked him in the eye defiantly.
“That is something you will never be doing. I am betrothed to another,” she said venomously.
“You see, I keep hearing that, but where is this intended of yours? I have seen him not once since I’ve been here,” he said knowingly.
“Thomas is away for the moment. He will be back,” she smiled.
“I don’t think so Aileen, my petal. From what I hear, he ran away and left you behind a year or more ago. It seems to me that you are waiting on someone who is not waiting on you,” he said.
“You don’t know what you are talking about! Thomas will be back. He is my true love and I will wait,” she said.
“Don’t be so sure about that,” he said with a sickening smile.
The following day, Aileen overheard Lord MacAuley, but I’m sure you are aware of her delicate state of mind,” her father was saying.
“I am not concerned with that. It is just the remnants of a broken heart. Nothing that won’t pass with time,” he told him.
“Still, she is not my only daughter. My sons are all away or lost to the reaper. I don’t feel I can let her go so lightly,” her father replied.
“I see. It is payment you seek,” Lord MacAuley told him.
“Now, that is not what I said,” her father replied.
“Perhaps not, but it is what you meant. You will find that I am a man who does not mince his words. You will also see that I can be incredibly generous in order to get what I desire,” he told her father.
“What is going on out here?” Aileen’s mother said, apparently overhearing the conversation, as well.
“Nothing you need know of, woman,” Aileen’s father replied. “Get back in the house.”
“I’ll do no such thing. My daughter is not a commodity to be bought or sold like an ox,” she said angrily.
“Our business does not concern you, woman,” Lord MacAuley roared at her.
“My daughter is of the utmost concern to me. You are not the man whose hand she seeks,” her mother replied stubbornly.
Aileen cowered around the corner. How could her father even consider bartering with such a vile man for her hand? Thank goodness her mother had intervened. Still, there was a chance she wouldn’t dissuade them.
“Do you always let your woman make your decisions for you?” Lord MacAuley was asking her father.
“Of course not, but it is her only daughter too and I’ll not be breaking her heart by letting Aileen go with you,” her father told him.
“You are a bigger fool than I imagined then,” Lord MacAuley spat back at him.
Aileen could hear Lord MacAuley’s boots stomping away and her parents arguing before they retreated back into the house. She breathed a sigh of relief and stepped around the house, only to find herself standing face to face with Lord MacAuley. Where had he come from? Hadn’t she heard him going to other way?
“I see you are a curious little thing,” he replied.
“Leave me be! I’ve already told you that I belong to another and my parents have declined your request for my hand,” she said haughtily.
“Don’t be so sure about that. I never lose a negotiation,” he said, flashing her that same unsettling smile as before.
“Perhaps that is why you cannot find a wife, Lord MacAuley. Women are not something to be traded or bought. Only love will bring you a wife who will be by your side no matter what falls,” Aileen told him.
“So sweet and foolish, you are. Women are indeed possessions and you will be mine very soon. I can give you every luxury” you can imagine. No more sleeping in the abandoned hut of a man that has forsaken you. You will have jewels, richly threaded clothing and people to serve you as you wish. You have only to submit to me,” he said
“I will never submit to you! Thomas is my only love,” she yelled at him.
“I do adore your spunk,” he laughed, turning to walk away.
Aileen was shaking as she walked away, returning to Thomas’s hut and laying down in his bed until the sun was falling from the sky. She had hoped to sleep during her rest, but instead had only stared at the ceiling, longing for Thomas.
Rising, she sat at the small table and ate an apple and a handful of nuts, all she could manage at the moment. She had begun to drop weight rapidly in Thomas’s absence and the villagers had done their best to take care of her, always bringing her portions from the meals they prepared for their families or leaving things like the apples and nuts on the table inside her hut when she was away. It was no unusual to find new items each time she returned home and she did her best to eat what her appetite would allow though she didn’t usually feel very hungry. She knew Thomas would want her to take care of herself, to be healthy when he returned to her.
“Where are you, Thomas? I need you. You’ve been gone so long and I am afraid,” she had said to the empty air around her.
Now, she returned to his bed and lay there crying until she fell asleep. Thomas came to her in her dreams, his red hair aflame in the sunshine like that first day she had met him.
“Aileen, I need you to leave here,” he told her softly, putting his hand on her cheek.
“Thomas, where have you gone? I need you to come home. I won’t leave until you come for me,” she said.
“Listen to me. You are not safe. Get out of her, Aileen. Now! I will find you. I will find you. Wherever you go, I will find you. I love you!” he said, fading before her eyes.
“Don’t go. Please don’t . . .,” she began to say, but it was too late.
It took a moment to register what was happening, but Aileen quickly realized there were hands over her mouth and hands pulling her up from the bed. She tried to scream, fighting whoever had hold of her. The laugh that cut through the darkness terrified her as she recognized the blackness of the depths from
which it rose. Lord MacAuley was taking her, snatching her away in her sleep lie the evil monster that he was.
She fought him, trying to bite and kick him, but it was no use. She was too weak and he was much larger, stronger. He made quick work of having her bound, gagged and tossed across his shoulder and then onto the back of his horse, carrying her away into the night.
It seemed that they rode for hours. She felt bruised and exhausted as her tiny frame bounced up and down on the back of the horse, her hands secured to the saddle to prevent her from jumping. She closed her eyes and sent herself far away to a place that wasn’t filled with the terror she was feeling at this moment. Her last day with Thomas unfolded in front of her, how he had kissed her in the meadow and looked at her calmed her a little as she was lead towards whatever horrors awaited her.
“Ah, we’ve arrived, my dear. Home Sweet Home!” Lord MacAuley said out of the blue.
Aileen could not speak for the cloth he had placed in her mouth. She looked forlornly up at the large castle that came into sight in the distance. It was not her home. It never would be. Her home was only with Thomas.
“You are going to love it here. I’ve already had the servants prepare your quarters. You will be most comfortable in them until we are wed and you come into my bed,” he told her.
Tears fell down Aileen’s cheeks at the thought of being forced to give herself to such a despicable man. How could she ever face Thomas when he returned having given up her innocence to another man? Truly, all was lost. Thomas had not come for her. He was never going to return. Perhaps he was dead. For all she knew, he would never forsake her like this.
“Don’t worry, I will be gentle with you and I will let you adjust to your new life while we plan a wedding fit for a King. I don’t care for such things, but it is what is expected from a man of my stature. I wouldn’t want to appear unseemly, after all,” he said, laughing in a way that made Aileen’s skin crawl.
As they entered the castle walls, Lord MacAuley took a small corridor just inside the entrance that led around and down through the tunnel. She could only assume he didn’t want anyone knowing his future bride was arriving bound and gagged. After a few minutes, they entered an underground area and he stopped the horse to remove her from the saddle before escorting her to a small room.
