Claimed by a Highland Knight: Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance

by Fiona Faris

  He unwrapped the reins from his hand and allowed the horse to drink.

  "Uielam Younger…," one of the soldiers greeted him, his voice shaky, causing the rest to snap out of their shock and welcome him as well. He gave them a glacial look.

  "Uielam Younger? Are ye sure that is the title ye refer to me by? Ye are sure that it is nae Uielam the spoiled, or Uielam the brat?" he asked sarcastically. The soldiers looked as though their eyes would fall from their sockets.

  "Younger, please forgive this disrespect…,"Commander Carlow began to say, but Uielam only raised his hand to silence him.

  "Ye will nae have to partake in the practice today. In fact, ye will never have to partake in any other jousting activity. I also think ye will dae well at infantry from now on," he said with finality in his words. Commander Carlow could only blink as though he had been slapped.

  "I am certain that I will find plenty of opponents among yer companions here." Uielam continued, looking over all the men who seemed to wish the ground would open up to swallow them.

  "Which one of ye was it that meant to shove me off me high horse?" he asked casually, rubbing his horse's neck as it raised its head, done with drinking.

  A soldier stepped forward, saluting him awkwardly.

  "’Twas me, Uielam Younger," he said. Uielam looked him over with a bored expression. He looked to be roughly his age and build, although slightly shorter and slightly broader. Uielam nodded, satisfied.

  "Alright, ye will get yer chance today. Ye believe that ye have been letting me win dae ye nae? Then today, I want ye to face me seriously. If ye daenae win against me, ye shall be stripped of yer soldiership,” he said.

  All of the soldiers were still in shock as he turned, leading his horse away. When he was angry, he became a frightening person. His mind was calm, and his sight was clear. His moves and decisions were precise, and they were not forgiving.

  This was the way it was as he faced his opponent, lance in hand, calm like still water atop his horse. The signal was given, and he kicked his horse into an instant gallop. He could see his opponent clearly as though he were the only thing that existed.

  They reached each other, and Uielam did not move to strike. Instead, he leaned back, lying flat against his horse and allowing his opponent's lance to sail over his prone body. It only took a second, and he raised himself just as swiftly, turning his horse for the next ride.

  The first time had only been to see how his opponent moved. The soldier was swift, but nowhere near enough to consider himself his opponent. This time, he went in with the full intention to win.

  He kicked his horse again, and they were off, moving swiftly towards each other. Once again, as they approached each other, the soldier was aiming for his head. A cold smile settled on Uielam's features, and he grabbed the soldier's lance, pulling him forward with it and using this momentum to jab his own lance in the space between his opponent’s helmet and chest piece. In the same move, he released his opponent's lance just as his own broke.

  As expected, the soldier went down quickly. Landing in the dust of his horse's wake with a heavy thud. He would not be able to continue, Uielam knew from the desperate coughs he let out as he removed his helmet and raced for the stream.

  Uielam followed him with his eyes; he had won, but he was not satisfied. He was furious. It was just one man he had proven himself to, and that man could still tell others that he had just been letting him win despite the order not to. The others had seen him defeat his opponent, but unless he bested them as well, they would never acknowledge him.

  He got off his horse and headed over to Miller. He had lost interest in practice for the day. Fuming he handed over the reins to Miller and removed his helmet, wiping sweat off his brow.

  "I am finished for today,” he said, shoving the helmet into Miller's hands and making the young man whimper. He frowned, his squire's cowardliness annoying in the wake of his anger.

  "What are ye whimpering for? Ye are so easily frightened," he began but stopped himself. He knew better than to take his anger out on Miller. The boy did not deserve it, and he did not have the heart to do it, especially since he knew how soft Miller was. He was trying to make him more confident, not make him withdraw entirely into his shell. He sighed heavily and patted the young man's shoulder.

  "Come to the castle later today, and I will gift ye a few gold coins. Ye have been workin’ really hard these days, and ye deserve some credit."

  With that, he trudged off, heading back to the castle, all plans of impressing Lilia gone from his mind and replaced with thoughts of how to prove himself to all those that doubted him.

  Chapter Two

  The hallways were empty as Lilia McGrath made her way back to her room in the castle after visiting the wash house. Her hair was still damp and was wetting her dress as she walked, but it did not bother her much. She was not of noble birth, but she took extra care to wash like the nobles did. Never would she be caught with greasy hair or dirt-covered skin.

  Her mother had been a wet-nurse for an English noblewoman when she was a little girl and had taught her the ways of the noble. The noble do not slouch, and the noble do not stain themselves when they eat. The nobles do not talk too loudly, and the nobles wash thoroughly. If one did not do all of these things, they would be looked at like animals.

  The last thing her mother wanted was for Lilia to ever be looked at like an animal. The woman who had hired her mother had not treated her with dignity at all. It was another noblewoman who had even cared to ask what their story was and had given them enough gold to make it back to the Highlands and get a house.

  Her mother had not lived very long, but she had made sure that she taught Lilia everything about how to behave like the noble so that she would not be treated as less than them. By the time Lilia was fifteen, she had lost her mother and came to work as a maid for the Laird. She was picked despite being so young because she was the cleanest and the most reserved.

  By the time she joined the castle, she found that all the maids her age were children of those who already worked there. She was the only one who was alone. Despite them all being servants in the castle, she was the only one who took the time every week to bathe and wash. The others rarely used the wash house despite it being there for the servants of the castle.

  Lilia quite enjoyed bathing. At first, it had only been because she missed her mother, and bathing made her remember her mother’s voice. However, over the years, it had faded to becoming an activity that she simply enjoyed because it allowed her to think clearly.

  She certainly had been doing a lot of thinking in the bath this time. She would never admit it to anyone, but her mind was filled with thoughts of Uielam MacNab, the son of the Laird. His was a popular name, especially among young women, and even more so among the maids in the castle.

  It was not unique for a young woman to be thinking of him, and this was one reason why Lilia would never admit it. Uielam was so handsome that it was ridiculous. No one could deny that fact.

  He was also a notorious flirt. He flirted with every woman; it seemed in his nature to turn on the charm when a woman was near. It was one of the reasons why most young men disliked him. He stole the interest of every woman once he was around.

  Lilia had been infatuated with him from the moment she had seen him. It had been instant, and it had terrified her. She had been irritated with herself for reacting to a simple smile and annoyed with him for smiling like that in the first place.

  Her reaction that day had inadvertently led to him noticing her. He was a very persistent man—she came to understand that quite quickly. Every time he saw her, he addressed her directly, taking the time to flirt with her and tease her, hoping to make her crumble.

  Once, when they were younger, he even attempted to sing. As perfect as he might have been in everything else, it turned out that he was the worst singer in the world. It had somehow been even more charming than if he had been good at it, since, despite how horrible his voice was,
he continued to sing and did so even more flamboyantly.

  It was the one time he had made her crack as she had laughed to her heart’s content. To dissuade him from thinking he had won, however, she had composed herself when he began to flirt with her and had given him a deadpan response of, “If ye think that ye will woo a woman with a voice like that, then ye are much mistaken. That was more comedy than romance, and although I dae thank ye for the laugh, I would ask that ye never dae it again. It is nae becomin’ for The Younger to disgrace himself so.”

  He had been satisfied enough that she had laughed even a little bit and did not care in the slightest that he had sounded stupid. He also was never deterred, no matter how uninterested she seemed. Instead, he continued, even more determined. As they grew older, she avoided him even more as her body began to betray her along with her heart.

  Luckily, being older also meant that Uielam had more women to choose from, so the attention he gave her was more fleeting although it never entirely ceased. She knew that what drew him to her was her constant rejection of him. If she let her true feelings show, he would be bored with her immediately.

  She could not bear that feeling of being discarded, so she would never give him the pleasure of knowing how she felt. Flora Abernathy had met her only three years ago, happening to be present when she turned away Uielam’s flirting. The young noblewoman had befriended her by force.

  Flora was surprisingly interested; she hugged her and dramatically declared her a goddess for making Uielam put in that much effort for a woman. She had blushed, not knowing how to handle Flora, and the noblewoman had laughed mischievously before pulling her to walk arm in arm to her carriage, declaring that they were going for lunch at her house.

  She decided that she liked Flora. For a noblewoman, the girl was very humble and full of fun. She did not treat Lilia like a maid at all, but like a friend. The young woman was a very mischievous Lilia had learned this early as the entire ride to her house that day had been filled with inappropriate jokes and innuendos that made Lilia’s jaw drop.

  She had found herself laughing at some point, and Flora had been pleased. She had asked that Lilia come to visit her of her own accord someday, despite the difference in their status. Lilia had known that she would not be doing any visiting, but still, it was nice that she was offered. Since then, they had become friends, and every time Flora visited the castle, she took Lilia with her wherever she went.

  The Younger had purposely walked past them in the lists earlier that day. It seemed he was looking for an excuse to show her his prowess at jousting. What he did not know was that she had seen most of his matches. Whenever he had a match against someone he had not dueled before, Lilia did her best to attend.

  Uielam was very skilled at the sport. It did not miss her ears that most believed he was only allowed to win because he was the Laird's only son and heir. However, she had eyes, and she could see how good he was, despite what people said.

  Lilia had been fully expecting it when Uielam made a show of taking his horse to the stream, just to wink at her. She had expected that he would show off as much as possible once the games began, but immediately when he began, she knew she was wrong.

  Lilia had seen Uielam joust several times. He usually had his helmet off till the last minute, winking and waving at his admirers in the crowd. She had expected he would direct this behavior at her this time. Instead, Uielam came out with his helmet already on.

  He was cold and focused. She could feel the shift in his behavior all the way from where she stood. Even Flora noticed the tension in the air, although she simply took it to be Uielam taking things too far. Something had to have happened beforehand because both men seemed way too serious for a simple practice joust.

  It had ended quickly with Uielam the victor as expected, but she could see he had derived no joy from it. What surprised her the most was the way he left. Flora had not seemed to notice that there was anything wrong and, in fact, she was glad that she did not have to watch him prance around like a peacock.

  They left after the practice matches were over, but Lilia had been unable to focus as she could not help but worry about Uielam. Flora was fuming at how flirtatious and pompous he was when he winked, and how his match was way too intense for practice. Lilia was upset as well, but it was mostly at herself for being disappointed that he did not direct any antics her way.

  It was true that he was sometimes arrogant and behaved like an overtly pampered brat, but he was not a bad person and put fun before almost all else. To see him so serious was worrisome for her.

  She was still thinking this when she turned the corner and came face to face with Uielam. His brows were furrowed, and he seemed deep in thought. They both froze in their tracks when their gazes met, and Uielam's eyes lit up like he just remembered something long forgotten.

  "Lilia!" he exclaimed, pausing in his tracks. She frowned; he had indeed forgotten all about her. She lowered herself into a curtsey.

  "Uielam The Younger," She said, staring at his feet. She was irrationally upset that he had not remembered her. Of course, she was not important enough for him to remember her, even though she eluded him, she was still just a maid.

  "Lilia, ye are lovely as ever…" he said, immediately slipping into a charming mode. She narrowed her eyes, resisting the urge to smack him upside the head. She did not want his flirting, what she wanted was an apology. She knew she had no right to demand an apology, however, as he had nothing wrong. It was her own fault that she was interested in his antics.

  "Thank ye Uielam Younger," she said deadpan. He gave her a huge grin, unfazed. He looked her over, noting her wet hair.

  “Did ye bathe?” he asked. She narrowed her eyes at him, not sure she wanted to answer that. What was he thinking? She knew him better than to think he would do anything uncouth if he knew that she liked to bathe, but the fact that he sounded so surprised annoyed her. She nodded.

  “Aye, I did. Is that a problem?” She asked. He reached out and touched a strand of her hair suddenly, making her shiver and step back.

  "Ye truly are a strange one,” he mused, allowing her hair to slip from his fingers as she stepped back.

  “I saw ye at me joustin' practice today. I was pleased to see that Flora brought ye,” he began. "I dae apologize that I couldnae entertain ye while ye were there. Unfortunately, something came up."

  She knew that something had come up. She was also slightly appeased by the fact that he did apologize, although it was his arrogance that led him to do so. Of course, he believed that she wanted to see him, not that he was wrong, but he could never know that. She gave a polite bow.

  "There is nae need to apologize, Younger,” she said. He smiled.

  "What did ye think of me match?" he asked, leaning against the wall.

  "It was interesting, Younger. I can see why nobles enjoy such sport," she said politely.

  Her eyes had a faraway look in them, and he seemed hesitant to ask his next question.

  "Dae ye think that I am good at it? Or dae ye think I won because the soldier let me,” he asked. He tried to seem nonchalant, but Lilia could see that he was earnest.

  Was that what had happened?

  Her heart softened. It made a lot of sense now. If he had heard people say that, of course, he would be upset and lost in thought. She wanted to comfort and assure him, but she could not let him see her true feelings. He was probably asking her because he trusted that she would be honest and not care about his feelings if she told the truth.

  "In me opinion Uielam Younger, ye are very skilled at joustin'. I believe everyone who saw ye today would attest to yer athleticism and strength," She assured him. When he smiled and looked at his feet, she allowed herself a small smile before feigning a scowl and continuing.

  "Ye must ken this for a fact, dae ye think it is charmin' to make me admit yer prowess? What next? Will ye ask me if ye are handsome?" She asked as though she did not catch on to how much he needed assurance and was simply scoldin
g him.

  Uielam did not disappoint as he stepped closer to her, wiggling his eyebrows and making her stomach clench.

  "Am I handsome, Lilia, or dae people just tell me that I am?" he asked teasingly.

  Despite her heart pounding at his grin, Lilia rolled her eyes and stepped to the side, avoiding him.

  "That would be enough Younger, ye already ken that ye are,” she said.

  With that, she scurried off, fighting her smile as she heard him laugh.

  Chapter Three

  The rising sun met Uielam already awake and standing at his balcony in his robe, staring into the colorful horizon and making him squint as the light hit his face. He had woken early that morning and had stood there for thirty minutes, lost in thought.

  The events of the day before continued to play in his head, making him more and more annoyed. He could not stand the thought of people looking down on him. He needed to prove himself, not because their opinions mattered but because having people doubt him besmirched his ability. He was way too talented for that.