The uneasy feeling that perhaps this clothing had belonged to her long ago gnawed at the back of her mind. Running her hands down the front of the roughly knitted fabric, she shook her head stubbornly against the idea. There had to be some other explanation…she’d know it if she’d been here before. Biting her lip to keep the tears from welling up in her eyes, Taylor hurried to finish her escape.
The fact that she couldn’t find any underwear was rather disturbing. It took a bit to get used to the sensation of being bare beneath the dress. But as she pulled the heavy cloak from its peg, she decided she’d adapt to anything rather then remain trapped within this place.
Slowly easing open the door, Taylor clutched the hooded cloak closer about her throat as a blast of icy wind ruthlessly greeted her face. Closing the door quietly behind her, Taylor paused to take in her surroundings. She had absolutely no idea where she was headed...since she had no idea where she was.
She gazed about the frozen landscape with interest. Everything was covered with a thick blanket of snow, the world somehow muffled and peaceful within its shroud of white. To the right of the doorway a path had been tromped down in the snow, leading to a smaller stone structure a few yards away. The squatting stone building reminded Taylor of a barn she’d once seen in New England, the thatched roof snugly sitting atop the walls of stone. The windows were sealed tightly with wooden shutters and the wide door to the front was firmly closed. But the warm shafts of light peeking from within; along with the smoke from the tiny chimney peeping through the thatch told Taylor that the building was definitely inhabited by either someone or something.
Taylor quickly decided against the path leading to the small outbuilding. She’d prefer not to run across any inhabitants just yet. Choosing instead to walk alongside the tower by way of a narrow path created by the slight overhang of the roughly shingled roof. Taylor sidled quickly along the wall, taking care to watch and listen for any sign of anyone else in the area. But the wintry world was white and silent, no sound at all except for the cold wind rattling through the bare limbs of the trees in the nearby wood.
Once Taylor was out of sight of the small stone barn, she headed away from the wall of the tower. Abandoning the shielded pathway, she bravely waded into the snow, breathlessly plowing her way to the trees. Just before entering the tree line, Taylor looked back to finally get a good look at the building where she’d been staying. Her eyes widened with surprise as she took in the immense size of the structure. For some reason, she’d imagined the building to be a small croft or something similar to the renovated blackhouse she’d stayed in upon the Isle of Lewis.
She was amazed as her eyes slowly climbed to the height of the twin towers, each of the stone structures quite large at the base, gradually growing narrower at the top. The two towers were connected at the base by what appeared to be a large rectangular building, which probably served as the main hall. The towers were black against the snow, the freezing rain having coated the stones with an icy glaze, sealing them against the world. There was a rather large enclosure to the rear of the structure; a great wall of even larger blocks of limestone piled high to form an outer courtyard. Taylor could just barely see several thatched rooftops past the top of the wall. She could only assume these must be more outbuildings, as she vaguely remembered Zelda’s reference to them.
As the icy wind blasted against her face, Taylor pulled the hood down further as she turned to enter the woods. The tall bare trees were silhouetted against the snow on the ground as well as the gray of the sky. As Taylor forged her way deeper into the woods, the silence of everything around her was interrupted only by the constant crunch of her footsteps through the heavy drifts.
Finding a fallen log, Taylor decided to sit for a minute, the frigid air hurting her lungs as she attempted to catch her breath. Still weakened from her traumatic passage into this strange world, Taylor pursed her lips in frustration at her diminished physical condition. “I must be in worse shape then I thought,” she said aloud, her breath fogging in the frigid air. Religiously exercising everyday and watching her diet as well, Taylor wasn’t used to having to struggle to catch her breath after a bit of physical exertion.
Taking in the serenity of the surrounding wood, Taylor found herself slowly relaxing. Shaking her head sadly, she sniffed in the cold air, feeling as though the moisture of her breath was freezing on the end of her nose.
What in the world was she going to do? What could she do? For all she knew, Quinlan, Zelda and herself might be the only inhabitants of this strange place she had come to. There had to be another way out of here…didn’t there? If she was supposed to be some descendent of some enchanted land, then where were all of these magical powers she’d always read about? She ought to be able to twitch her nose or think herself out of this place. Snorting sarcastically, she scolded herself aloud, “You, my dear, have gone absolutely nuts.”
Digging the toe of her boot deeper into the snow as she stared dejectedly at her feet, Taylor didn’t notice the slight movement at her side until she heard the crunch of the snow.
Her eyes widening with surprise, Taylor’s breath caught in her throat as she sat looking into the great golden eyes of the largest leopard she had ever seen. At least, she thought it was a leopard; either way, it had teeth and claws. Although, instead of the usually sleek ebony spotted coat, this big cat was nearly as white as the snow in which it sat. Its head cocked slightly to one side, the cat gazed at Taylor with interest, its ears perked slightly forward to catch the slightest sound that Taylor was apt to make. Taylor was terrified, frozen by her panic as well as not wishing to do anything that would perhaps trigger the leopard into making an early lunch of her shivering body.
“Well,” Taylor thought ironically to herself. “I guess this will solve any problems I had about the future.” As the cat continued watching her with its eyes half-closed in boredom, Taylor finally couldn’t stand the suspense any longer.
“If you’re going to eat me…will you please go on and get it over with,” she finally blurted, rising from her seat upon the log.
As she spoke, the cat’s eyes opened slightly wider as though grateful that Taylor had finally done something of interest. “Rowrrrr?” the big cat responded, rising from its haunches to slink closer to Taylor.
Taylor swallowed hard and squeezed her eyes shut. Maybe if she didn’t watch it’d be over more quickly. All at once she was knocked off balance into the snow, quickly curling to her side and covering her head with her hands. Maybe if she just played dead, he’d go away and leave her alone in the snow. “That’s bears, you fool!” she thought to herself.
Soon a warm raspy tongue was licking her hands, nudging them away from her face. As Taylor fearfully glanced between her trembling fingers, she realized the rumbling sound buzzing in her ears was actually the purring of the contented feline.
Removing her hands from her face, Taylor stared up into the whiskered face of the gentle cat, grimacing as the large rough tongue rasped across her cheek. Pushing away the massive white head, Taylor struggled to regain her footing and escape the industrious licking. “Are you tasting me or trying to be friends?” she complained, wiping the side of her face with the back of her hand.
The leopard butted his head against the side of her leg, again almost knocking her back down into the snow. Unable to resist his friendly overtures, Taylor soon found herself scratching the cat behind the ears and under his chin; marveling at this over-sized pussycat that she had been so sure was about to eat her.
“You are absolutely beautiful,” she murmured to the rumbling beast. “Your cousins where I came from would never be quite this friendly.”
The fear of being eaten alive fading quickly in light of the friendliness of the creature, Taylor’s aching toes soon reminded her that her feet were nearly frozen. “Well…I guess I’d better keep looking for the cairn,” she apologized sadly to the cat. “Maybe I’ll see you again sometime…since it appears I may have to be here awhile,” she no
ted with a dry humorless laugh as she patted the cat’s sleek side.
Plowing further into the woods, Taylor paused to study her surroundings. All the trees were beginning to look the same. Surely, the woods couldn’t go on forever. But with the blowing snow falling from the limbs and fresh snow now beginning to fall, Taylor glanced with uncertainty at the darkening woods around her.
“Do you know the way I should take?” she asked the leopard, patiently padding along beside her. The cat simply nuzzled his head against her leg in reply, a deep rumbling purr vibrating through her thick cloak. Taylor reached down to pat the gentle head, somehow reassured by the trusting presence of the animal. But as she continued wandering aimlessly through the deep snow, she uneasily wondered if she was walking in circles. Her numbing feet making it increasingly more difficult to walk, she stumbled and nearly sprawled across the snow. Hanging onto her cloak and the fur of the great cat, Taylor swallowed hard against the fear of spending the night in the frozen woods.
Suddenly, the great cat’s body stiffened, his head dropping low as he focused at something up ahead. Ears alert and pointing forward, rear haunches crouched and trembling to spring, the tip of the long white tail flipped excitedly in the snow, as a low growl rumbled through his body. “What is it?” Taylor asked, gently laying her hand on the powerful shoulders. “Whatever it is…I hope you’re bigger then it is,” she thought wryly to herself. The rumbling meeting her ears now was no longer the contented purr. This was a deep-throated warning growl gradually growing louder, as the leopard grew more agitated. Snarling to bare his deadly fangs, the angry beast prepared to spring.
Just before he unleashed his powerful body, the cause of the animal’s aggravation came into view. Taylor would recognize that crimson cloak anywhere, she rolled her eyes with irritation. His hood pushed back, his ancient claymore drawn; Quinlan looked like an untamed beast himself. His face reddened by the freezing wind…his ebony locks whipping wildly into his narrowed eyes; Quinlan Macleod was a formidable sight plowing through the deepening snow. Slowly moving forward as though stalking his prey, Taylor couldn’t help but feel a quickening in her body as she watched the graceful movements of the warrior slowly tracking her down.
His blue eyes locked with the golden gaze of the leopard, Quinlan spoke quietly to Taylor. “Dinna move lass…I willna’ let the beast hurt ye. Just a few more steps….and I’ll be able to strike.”
Ears flattening in anger, the great leopard roared, its voice echoing through the muffled wood like the scream of a hysterical woman. Placing her arms protectively around the neck of the animal, Taylor frowned as she shook her finger at Quinlan. “Don’t you dare hurt him! He’s sweet!”
“Sweet!” Quinlan nearly choked, his face reddening as he stared at Taylor in open-mouthed disbelief. His mouth dropping open in amazement as the leopard paused to lick Taylor’s face; he backed up a step and raised his sword as the great cat started to rush him.
“No! Now you have to be nice to him too,” Taylor scolded the great white cat, holding onto the scruff of his neck, as he drug her with him through the snow. He grudgingly obliged, sitting obediently at her side but casting Quinlan an evil glare as he flattened his ears in disgust.
“Taylor,” Quinlan started to speak and then stopped, thinking better of scolding Taylor for wandering off alone while she stood in the protective presence of her rather massive new found friend.
“What?” she asked with feigned innocence. She was definitely enjoying the fact that Quinlan was not pleased.
“Are ye ready ta’ come home and be warmed?” Quinlan finally asked, sheathing his sword and holding both hands up to show the great cat they were empty.
“Yes….I’m freezing,” Taylor replied, scratching the cat behind the ears as she hugged his furry neck. Her eyes narrowing into a suspicious glare, she pulled her hood closer about her head. “If I’m supposed to be so enchanted…why were you prepared to save me from the leopard. Or is that just another one of your lies that I was supposed to believe?”
His lips tightening as he clenched his jaw, Quinlan glared at her through the falling snow. “Ye’ve no’ been back long enough to discover all yer blessings. I thought ye might be afraid. The strange land…and an animal of that size.”
Jutting her chin proudly into the air, Taylor patted the cat on the head. Reluctantly, she dropped her eyes to the ground as she admitted with a shrug. “Well…maybe at first I was a little afraid…but just because I wasn’t sure of where I was going.”
“Well…ye could’ve asked yer wee friend there,” Quinlan observed sarcastically. “I believe it’s his screams I’ve heard echoing among the hills these past few weeks.”
As Quinlan took a few steps closer, the creature emitted another warning growl. “Taylor,” Quinlan said with exasperation, “Will ye tell the beast that I mean ye no harm?”
Hugging the huge head to her cheek, Taylor whispered into the flattened ear. As she spoke to the cat, he eyed Quinlan with disdain, but finally ceased his growling.
“What did ye tell him?” Quinlan asked, as the cat finally allowed him to walk beside Taylor.
“I told him you weren’t dangerous…but that I did appreciate his loyalty and honesty,” she replied, her words dripping with sarcasm. Taylor hadn’t forgotten Quinlan’s deception but she didn’t quite wish him dead. However, a well placed barb or two inflicted during their conversations was well deserved considering how he’d deceived her.
Eyes narrowing as he glanced down at her snapping eyes, Quinlan barely restrained himself from pulling back her hood and kissing those insolent chapped lips. Damn her to make him love her so, then not give him that love in return! Fists clenched in frustration at his side, he forced himself to smile as he controlled his voice. “I’m no danger ta’ ye at all and wouldn’t have even troubled m’self ta’ find ye. But Zelda sent me to find where ye’d gone. She was worried since ye’d been out alone for so long.” He added with forced disdain, his voice cold and emotionless. “I was merely saving her the trouble of having to hunt for yer frozen body to drag home in the mornin’.”
As Taylor glanced up quickly at the coldness of his words, Quinlan reigned in his frustration, keeping his expression completely unreadable as he plodded along at her side. A brief look of surprise flitted across her face at the aloofness in his manner. Pursing her lips, she followed along with a frown, his forced distance gnawing at her in aggravation. How was she going to make him miserable…if he no longer seemed to care?
As the warm welcoming lights of the towers came into view, a darkly cloaked figure came rushing toward them from the open door. At the warning growl of Taylor’s feline friend, the approaching figure froze in its tracks, pulling back the hood to reveal the astonished face of Zelda, her eyes rounded with wonder. “Her has found Her gift?” she whispered, great purple eyes staring at the huge snow leopard at Taylor’s side.
“Gift?” Taylor repeated, heading toward the warmth of the open door, wanting nothing more then to peel off her snow-dampened boots and spread her toes in front of the fire.
Pointing at the leopard with reverence, Zelda bowed her head in submission. “Her mother was friend ta’ all the beasts. She say the beasts would love Her as well. The great white leopard of the blackened wood has gi’en his oath ta’ protect Her.”
Kneeling beside the regal cat now sitting at her side, Taylor wrapped her arms around his muscular shoulders, pressing her face into his plush thick fur as she scratched behind his ears. “Thank you for coming to my rescue,” she whispered into his ear, her tickling breath causing him to flip it comically to one side. The great white feline responded with a purr, then butted his head against Taylor’s with an affectionate rub. Gracefully rising from the snow and sauntering back towards the woods, the great cat cast a golden glance back, roaring once in farewell as it disappeared into the darkness.
Sighing with disappointment, feeling suddenly alone as she watched her new friend retreat, Taylor turned back toward the welcoming li
ght of the open door and the warm fire within. “Do you think I’ll see him again?” she asked Zelda as she stomped the encrusted snow from her boots.
“Oh yes…most definitely…Her has found Her spirit friend. Him will always be nearby if Her should need him,” Zelda replied, pulling Taylor’s snow dampened cloak from around her shoulders to hang before the fire to dry.
Taylor jumped as Quinlan tossed a huge log into the fire, stirring the already blazing inferno into even hotter flames. “Sit ye down and warm yerself…ye’ll be lucky if ye dinna catch yer death of a cold,” he instructed gruffly.
“Thank you,” Taylor said curtly, spreading her hands to the fire. As she basked in its healing warmth, she stole a glance up at Quinlan through her lashes, eyes narrowing as she watched his every move.
Discovering that she was being totally ignored, Taylor cursed herself at the unwilling stab of disappointment shooting through her heart. As Quinlan started out the door to bring in more logs to dry, Taylor silently watched his retreating figure with mixed feelings. How should she react to him since he seemed no longer determined to mold her into his wife? Better yet…why was she so damn disappointed that he was finally leaving her alone! With a deep sigh, she shook her head as she turned to stare dejectedly into the flames. It was his own fault she’d spoken to him so harshly; he’d lied to her…brought it all on himself. Still…she couldn’t help feeling mixed emotions and a slight sense of loss at the sudden coolness replacing his once ardent attention. “He’s a liar,” she silently reminded herself. Get over it and concentrate on finding your way back home.
Zelda pushed a steaming cup of tea into Taylor’s shivering hands. “Drink now. It will warm Her inside as well as out. Then will Zelda lead Her ta’ Her bath and show Her ta’ Her bed chamber.”
Nose wrinkling in anticipation of another disgusting infusion, Taylor was pleasantly surprised at the heated brandy that met her lips. Sipping the warmed fruity alcohol slowly, Taylor felt the hot liquid flow down to her stomach, settling in a warm pool and spreading through her limbs. A half-smile of pure pleasure played across her lips as her freezing body slowly thawed inside as well as out.
Twice Upon a Soul Page 22
