by Fiona Faris
Irked by the fact that he was toying with her, she pushed his chest, forcing him to remove his hands that had been locking her in place and straighten up, looking down at her through his lashes. She hated the things his look did to her insides.
“Whatever nonsense ye are doin’, end it right now,” she scolded. Uielam gave her a very innocent look.
“I daenae understand, I am nae doin’ anythin’,” he said. “Is it truly that troublesome to stand a foot away from me? I thought there was nay attraction between us.”
Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to find something to say but was too flustered. Luckily a knock on the door gave her an excuse to move away from him.
I have never been so happy to receive a visitor in me life.
…
Uielam smirked as he watched Lilia walk towards the door desperately, obviously grateful that they had been interrupted. He had purposely approached her to test if he was right when he thought that she was attracted to him and running away.
He was looking forward to the days to come and not too bothered that she had escaped once again. She was fun to tease as always, but he had never seen her looking so flustered. He decided that he quite liked seeing her that way.
She opened the door, and Osgar walked in closely followed by his sister. He raised his brow, he had not been expecting that Flora would show up. Osgar had brought him his sword and a basket of food from the castle. He perked up immediately, going to greet his friend.
“Ah, ye truly are me best friend. How did ye ken that I would be hungry?” he asked, taking the basket and peeking inside.
“How are ye me friend? Is he causin’ ye any trouble?” Flora asked, searching her friend’s face. Lilia was still too flustered to speak, and Uielam raised his head, snorting at Flora.
“Is that truly what ye think of me? I havenae even been here for up to an hour ye ken, what could I possibly dae in that space of time to cause her trouble?” he asked.
Flora threw him a dirty look as she rubbed her hands over Lilia’s arms comfortingly.
“I for one ken that spendin’ five minutes with ye is a feat for the gods to surpass if ye dae nae annoy them to death first,” she said.
Osgar pursed his lips, clearly trying not to laugh.
“Ah, that was so well worded,” he said, causing Flora to glare at him.
“Dae ye think that ye are any better? I still have nae forgiven ye for holdin’ me estate over me as a threat. There are some things that ye just daenae dae!” She spat.
Osgar only chuckled and grinned at his sister. “I assure you, dear sister, there nae a thing that is sacred to me,” he said.
Uielam shook his head. His friend was only joking, but there were times when it indeed seemed like Osgar held nothing sacred. Flora was still upset over the fact that he has threatened to deny her an estate, but Uielam could only wonder what she would do when she found out that her brother had used her name to bribe a poor man who was in love with her.
Osgar knew a lot of people and knew a lot of things. He usually stored all of these away, waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it to his advantage. That was why Uielam knew he would be the ideal strategist someday.
Lilia finally spoke. “I am alright, Flora. He hasnae done anythin’ I couldnae handle.”
Uielam’s brows rose, and he hid a smile turning to the table and carefully retrieving his plate of food from the basket. A few moments ago, she had not looked like she could handle him.
“Nothin’ ye couldnae handle. Which means he has done somethin’ already!” Flora said.
Uielam sat down and began to eat innocently, ignoring Flora’s death glares.
“Daenae act like ye daenae notice me judgin’ ye,” she said, causing him to laugh. “I am serious, Uielam, daenae toy with me friend. Keep yer lecherous ways to yerself. If ye hurt her, it will nae be in jest. I truly will never forgive ye. So before ye act, ask yerself if ye are willin’ to lose a sister.”
The seriousness in her voice led them to all turn to her. Uielam paused mid-chew. It was not the first time that Flora had threatened to no longer have anything to do with him, but however, it was the first time she had ever said she would no longer consider him a brother with such seriousness.
He realized that he might have underestimated how vital Lilia was to Flora. It must not have been easy for her to betray the maid by accepting to be bribed to get her to allow him to stay in the cottage.
“I will dae me best,” he said before continuing with his meal.
The two women stepped out into the garden to talk, and Osgar took the other stool.
“It seems the maid is quite important to me sister,” he mused. Uielam nodded.
He agreed. “Aye, I was just thinkin’ the same thing.”
“Does this mean that ye will stop tryin’ to seduce her?” Osgar asked, although his expression said he already knew the answer to that.
“I never promised that. I only said that I will try nae to hurt her. Seduction has nae hurt anyone yet,” he said, making Osgar laugh.
“Ah, me friend. With yer antics, I am never bored,” he said, leaning forward with his elbows on the table so that he could rest his face in his hands.
“Glad to ken that I can keep ye entertained,” Uielam quipped. “So, everything is set for the plan, I suppose? I remember ye said that ye have a few things to dae before all is complete.”
Osgar sighed and tapped his face.
“Aye, it is almost done. I just have a few documents to forge to prove that the farmer is the Laird of clan Duffie’s nephew,” he said, causing Uielam’s eyes to widen.
“Why would ye need to go that far?” he asked. Osgar looked over at him as he heard the confusion in his voice.
“Oh, ye see the tournament requires documentation to prove yer identity before ye can partake. It is just to make sure that it is safe, the King might attend after all ye ken,” his friend explained.
“Ah, I see. Was this yer idea?” Uielam asked, and Osgar nodded.
“Aye, aye. I had suggested it before ye came up with this mad idea of yers,” He grumbled, making Uielam laugh.
“Ye caused problems for yerself,” he said. “Ye are truly somethin’, though. Nae many men can speak so casually of forgin’ documents. Ye really have a way to dae everythin’.”
“I will take that as a compliment,” Osgar added, making them both laugh.
Chapter Eight
The branches of the tree he was perched on were irritatingly sharp, but Shug could not complain as it had the best view of the camp the party of MacNab soldiers had made the night before.
He had laid in wait in the woods for three days for this opportunity. He ran his hand over his dark hair, checking one more time for ants as a few minutes ago, he had received a painful bite to the ear because an ant had climbed onto his head from the branch above him.
Shug was the best-paid assassin in Scotland because he always delivered. He would do whatever it took to succeed on his mission, and he had no qualms killing women and children if he was asked to.
This time his mission was simple; all he had to do was to kill the spoiled heir to the MacNab Lairdship, Uielam MacNab. He had infiltrated the clan two weeks ago, and luckily for him, The Younger was quite popular in his clan.
In a matter of days, he had already found out that Uielam MacNab was enthusiastic about jousting, although a lot of people believed he was allowed to win because of his position. At first, he had planned to enter the tournament as a competitor and kill the brat in the middle of the competition, but then he received the news that The Younger was no longer going to be participating in the tournament because he was going to the southern border to deal with a threat there.
This was good news to Shug as it meant that he did not have to go through the hassle of entering the competition. He knew that they planned to be on their way a week before the tournament, so he went ahead of them to wait on the way.
He had been following the party since the evening before, watchi
ng the leader who was wearing the armor of The Younger. He could not shake the feeling that something was not right, so he continued to watch them till that morning.
The soldiers were far too familiar with their leader. He could hear them laughing, even from where he was. He wished that he could move a little closer to listen to what they were talking about.
He was just getting ready to move when the leader took off his helmet. Shug's expression immediately crumpled into a frown. The leader was wearing The Younger's armor, but he had black hair. If he remembered correctly, and he did, the brat he was after was supposed to have blond hair.
Did that mean that he had wasted five days lying in wait and following the wrong person? He was so furious that he considered killing the imposter just to relieve stress. If not for the fact that he did not kill for free and that killing the soldier would raise unnecessary alarm, he would have done it.
If Uielam MacNab was not with the party he was supposed to be leading, then where was he exactly? Shug swore beneath his breath. If not for the fact that he had absolute trust in his skills, he would have been worried that his plan had been found out.
The most important thing was to find out why someone else was wearing the armor of The Younger. If anyone saw the party with the leader wearing a helmet, they would just assume that it was The Younger.
A thought hit him, and he paused in annoyance. He had been told that Uielam was spoiled by his father. Could it possibly be that he was too cowardly to go against the enemies, and his father had set up a soldier to pretend to be him and go into combat?
Shug closed his eyes, deeply irritated. The longer he thought about it, the more sense it made. It was not the first time he had seen such nonsense in play.
What this meant was that Uielam MacNab was still around the castle somewhere, just in hiding. So simply put, he would need to make the journey back. He glared angrily at the soldiers in the clearing who were utterly oblivious to his presence.
Calm down Shug, the quicker ye get goin', the sooner ye will find the brat. Ye can take out all yer annoyance on him when ye find him.
Soothing himself with the thought of finally dealing with his annoying mark, he stealthily made his way out of the tree and headed back to the MacNab castle.
…
Lilia opened her eyes to the soothing sounds of the early morning. She blinked and stretched her arms, forgetting for a moment where she was. She sat up and glanced at her surroundings, the events of the past night returning to her. Pressing her palms to her head, she let out a relieved sigh. She had actually survived the first night with Uielam sleeping under her roof.
She was sleeping on the floor by the fire pit in a bed made of her thickest covers, which she had wrapped around herself. The night before had been awkward, and as she had wanted to go to bed as soon as possible. It was then that she realized there was a small problem. Since her mother died, she had left all her things in the room her mums ro0m, only going there to clean.
Eventually, it had become a sort of storeroom where she kept things such as clothes she had taken from Flora that were too old for the noblewoman to wear but were her most beautiful gowns. The bedrooms in her cottage were rather small, so there was no way she could leave the dresses in her room, and they were so fine that she could not bring herself to fold them.
This meant that her mother’s room could not accommodate Uielam’s large frame as he was already complaining that her bedroom was too cramped, forcing him to lower his head when he stepped in or out. She had suggested that since her mother’s bedroom was occupied with her things, one of them could sleep on the floor by the fire pit.
Uielam had immediately agreed and made himself comfortable on her bed without even the slightest thought that he should sleep on the floor. She rolled her eyes, running her hand through her messy hair. She did not know what she was expecting. Uielam was too spoiled to have considered that he would sleep on the floor.
Luckily the night before, he’d been tired walking through the woods to her house and agreed to retire early with no mischief. Regardless of this fact, he spent every second before he fell asleep complaining about how small and uncomfortable her bed was even though Osgar had brought him several feather pillows to help him stay comfortable.
By the time he finally fell asleep, finding the perfect position for all his soft pillows that would enable him to sleep comfortably, Lilia was already quite peeved. She had only calmed down after she caught a glimpse of his face while he slept, his hair forming a golden halo around his head against his pillow. It was then that she noticed how long his lashes were as they brushed his cheeks. His face was relaxed, and he looked otherworldly beautiful.
It was his handsome face that she went to bed thinking of, so it was no surprise that she had seen him in her dreams. Waking up on the floor reminded her, however, of how selfish he was. It had not been particularly uncomfortable, but she was still irked by the fact that he deprived her of her bed so easily.
She got up and stretched again like a bird unfurling itself after the rains stopped. It had been a little strange, not sleeping in her room at first, but she had gotten used to it quickly. Her blankets were very comfortable, and she had been warm. She picked up her blanket, rolling it up and taking it to her mother's room to leave it till she needed to use it again.
Uielam was still asleep, she knew that he would be already, but passing by his room let her know that he was for sure. For someone who had complained as much as he did, he seemed awfully comfortable and well-rested. Grumbling to herself, she dropped her rolled-up blanket in her mother’s room and took her broom to begin cleaning.
She swept and dusted quickly, cleaning the fire pit while she was at it. She used oiled rags to keep her fires going, so it did not leave as much ash as wood, but she still cleaned it often to make sure ash from the pit would never dirty her home. She also took their shoes out and dusted them vigorously, especially Uielam’s, as he had been running in the forest the day before.
After she was done, she went to sweep her room where Uielam was still fast asleep. In the castle, this would never have happened as the maids always waited for him to wake before they cleaned his quarters, but this was her house, and she was not his maid. She had a routine, and she would not change it just because he was there.
He stirred as she worked, tossing and turning as he mumbled in his sleep. He looked adorable, but she rolled her eyes, not about to be swayed by his looks when she was still annoyed with him. Surprisingly he did not wake up, continuing to slumber as she finished and left the room. A part of her was disappointed that he did not wake up, irritated that he was sleeping so well.
She decided to have breakfast. The last of the bread and goats cheese would be breakfast, then as she had expected, she would need to visit the market. She frowned, realizing that she now had an extra mouth to feed.
I absolutely forgot about the fact that I would need to feed The Younger.
The day before, Osgar had brought Uielam lunch and dinner. It seemed, however, that he would not continue to do that. If he continued to bring food from the castle, it might get suspicious. It seemed Uielam would need to join her to eat the food commoners ate. She decided to buy some beans and vegetables at the market later but left half of her breakfast for him.
Since she had time left before then, she busied herself with mending her dresses. As she only had three dresses apart from the ones Flora had given her, her clothes needed mending often to help them stay wearable. It was this task that she was on when Uielam finally woke up.
“Blessed be yer mornin’, Uielam Younger. How was yer night?” She greeted him as she heard his footsteps approaching accompanied by his lazy groan. He paused as if just noticing that she was there before grunting a greeting back.
“Blessed mornin’ to ye too Lilia. It was nae the best sleep ever, but I cannae say that it was the worst. I was quite tired, after all,” he said. Her hands stilled for a moment as she processed his words, and she gritted her teeth
to keep from snapping at him and asking if he would have preferred to sleep on the floor like she did.
“I am starved,” he began, utterly oblivious to her irritation. “Ye can bring me breakfast now.”
She gave him a deadpan look. Was he telling her to serve him? It seemed he had not come to understand that they were not in the castle and that she was not his maid while under her roof.
“I left ye some breakfast on the table,” she said, continuing to sew. She heard his footsteps as he moved to the table and the dissatisfied grunt as he found the meal she had left.
“What? Is that stale bread and cheese? What sort of breakfast is that?” he asked, sounding genuinely confused. Of course, The Younger would think the bread she had brought from the castle was stale because it was two days old. In the castle, bread was baked every day, so he only ate fresh bread.
