LOCH MORAR, SCOTLAND
The Past
Luckily, for me, the men were pretty much passed out, and took little notice of me when I came inside. Shakily, I set their bags on the table and before anyone could say anything to me about what took me so long, I headed up the stairs.
It wasn’t that I necessarily wanted to go and see Gavin right now, but I also did not want to be down in the hall with the men. In the end, I decided to take a seat out in the hall, outside of Gavin’s room until I could settle my overwrought nerves, or assuage my guilt. Neither looked to be a likely outcome though. At least not anytime soon.
Leaning back against the wall, I tucked my legs up under my gown, and touched my tender lips.
♦
Clarion thought about leaving, heading off to the woods, but since the rain had not let up; he only made it as far as another building near the perimeter of the walls.
Now, huddled in that very same building, this one used for making swords and such, he closed his eyes and slipped off into a twilight sleep where he dreamt of a beauty with fathomless amber eyes. Her name was Paige.
♦
It was the wee hours of the morning before Gavin moved from the chair in front of the fire. Standing, he placed his hands on the back of the chair until he felt he could stand of his own accord, wondering why he still felt so poorly. And in spite of what he told Muir about the lass, he couldn’t help wondering where she was.
Not that he truly cared, he told himself.
Shuffling forward towards the door of his room, it took some time getting there, as all things seemed to take lately. By the time he made it to his destination, he was in a temper, not at anyone in particular but more at his own helplessness.
Taking a breath, he wondered if he should just go back to his bed and have a lie down when a strange noise cut through his musings, coming from right outside his door. Not having a weapon, he was warier than he normally would have been, and pressed his back against the wall right inside the door, but when he heard no other noise after a moment or two; he decided he must have been hearing things.
Leaning around the corner, he let his eyes adjust to the dimness in the hall, but regardless of what he thought he heard earlier, no one seemed to be about. His eyes slid down the shadows of the hall to the floor, and that is when he spotted the lass. She was leaning back against the wall, not a foot from him.
The noise he heard was coming from her and in spite of himself, not to mention, his poor mood, he felt his lips lifting into a small but bemused smile.
Why the lass was outside his door on the floor was not something he cared to ponder. Neither was the strange warmness he felt at seeing her, thusly settling inside his innards. In spite of this, he turned away from her and the door, making his way back to his bed. At the last minute, he grabbed one of the furs off the top and shuffled back to his door.
Careful, not to wake her, he laid the blanket over the top of her legs and around her side.
Satisfied she would not catch a chill; he shuffled back to his bed and climbed inside. It took a long time for him to find sleep but in the end, he too succumbed and drifted off into a dreamless slumber.