LOCH MORAR, SCOTLAND
The Past
Paige thought she was going to be sick. She could hear them and the them she was talking about was Gavin and the whore taking pleasure from one another. There was no mistaking those sounds.
Stuck outside since after supper, Paige leaned back against the door and tried to block out the awful sounds coming from the open window while Gavin and his dirty slut were doing God only knew what with each other.
Shutting her eyes, she kept waiting for the pain to come but she felt nothing.
She was numb.
Who knew, maybe it would come later.
She hoped not.
She hoped she stayed numb.
In fact, Paige hoped she would forget about it altogether but unfortunately as her mind conjured images to match the sounds wafting out his window, she doubted that would be happening.
Now, with nothing but darkness surrounding her, Paige thought they were through but unfortunately her torment was not at an end because she was once again forced to listen to that dirty whore with her man.
The only thing that kept her from losing what little restraint she had left was the absence of hearing Gavin calling out with his own orgasm.
Paige was so angry, and tired, and lonely, and desperate, and sick, and so many other things, that she couldn’t keep track of them all, nor did she think she really wanted to. And to top it all off, she had no way to get back inside even if she wanted to, which at present, she did not.
Instead, Paige I let her head fall back against the wood and thumped it repeatedly as she mentally pulled out her party gear and threw herself one hell of a pity party.
Paige thought about all the time she had spent with Gavin and even though she tried hard not too, she kept seeing him in the throes of passion with that skanky slut. It made her sick.
The sound of a twig snapping pulled her mind from her pity party and back to the present.
A few fireflies intermittently dotted the landscape with specks of light. Pressing back as far as she could, Paige patted the ground for a weapon. Of course, as usual, there wasn’t anything around, save for a rock that was more of a pebble. Not to mention, it would really do no good against an assailant or beast.
Not making a noise, she gripped her pebble tighter, hoping like hell whatever she heard in the darkness would go the other way.
Shivering from the cold or fear, Paige wasn’t sure which, she tried to keep her eyes open, to stay alert. But as more time passed, and with nothing coming out of the darkness to get her, she had a hard time staying awake.
♦
Long after the lass had gone silent, Clarion stepped out of his hiding place within the branches of the tree. Swiftly, he made his way across the yard to where he knew she was seated.
He was going to leave her there, but instead he found himself sitting down next to her. As she shivered at his side, he put his arm around her and pulled her close. Immediately, she snuggled closer to his warmth and laid her head against his chest. Settling his chin on top of her head, he wrapped his arms around her, and held her close.
The wind and the creatures of the night closed in on them both, whispering a sweet lullaby until Clarion too, drifted off to sleep.
♦
A high keening ringing of metal clashing against metal is what finally woke Paige the following morning. If you could call it morning, since the sun had yet to make an appearance. However, it was considerably lighter than when she had drifted off. Rubbing the crick in her neck, she stood up and although she was sore, she was glad she could see and that she was still in one piece.
Paige had my doubts that she would make it through the night without being dragged off by some foul creature. But surprisingly, other than being a bit sore, she had slept rather soundly and even though it was a brisk cool morning, she had not felt the cold at all.
Brushing off her skirts, Paige straightened back up and looked around the area. It didn’t seem nearly as daunting now as it had when it was dark, although remnants of early morning mist still clung to the Earth, giving off a slight eerie vibe.
A small rabbit swished its tale back and forth as it happily hopped by and disappeared underneath the low hanging branches of a tree.
On the off chance the door was now unlocked, Paige grabbed the handle.
“Dang it.” The door was still locked tight. Stifling a yawn, and rubbing her arms, she walked around the edge of the castle and made her way to the courtyard.
She gave the ‘death tree’ in the middle, a wide berth as another bout of clashing metal rang out.
Instead of going inside, Paige followed the sound and made my way past the low outer wall to the path that led to an open field where she knew the men trained.
The last time she was here, she had tried to come and watch the men, (mostly Gavin) on a regular basis. On the way down, she passed several wildflowers. Stopping, she pulled Gavin’s dagger from her boot, and cut the tough stems of (Queen Anne’s Lace, Golden Rod and others, just like she would have done back home.
By this time, the sun was beginning to make an appearance and the reddish-orange hues of early morning light stretched out across the horizon. Holding the bundle of flowers, Paige leaned down and slid Gavin’s dagger back in her boot.
Another low wall lifted upward on either side of the path and once she walked through, the field where the men were training opened up before her. As it always did, her breath caught as she watched Gavin train with Callum and Muir simultaneously. Off to the left, Graham and Alec’s swords clashed but their training did not seem nearly as rigorous.
Without taking her eyes off the scene, she placed her hand on the wall, set her flowers down, and climbed up. Feet dangling, Paige watched the men, (mostly Gavin) as they trained and I tried to figure out what she would do now.
♦
Jillian threw the furs off the bed, searching for the dagger of the Grey Clan. Morag was insistent that she retrieve it before the next full moon but try as she might she was unable to find it anywhere.
After going downstairs and making a mess of the lower floor, she was now back inside Gavin’s chamber. Using the handle of a spoon, she tried to pry the lock open on his trunk, which was the only place she had not looked. A few times, it did enter her mind that the other girl may have taken it but discarded that thought almost immediately because she didn’t give her that much credit. She was an idiot as far as Jillian was concerned and besides, there was no way she would know the dagger held any power.
As for last night and her moment of weakness with Gavin, she tried not to think about it overmuch. In fact, each time he popped into her mind, and the way he had made her scream in pleasure, she replaced his face and actions with Broderick.
The more she did this, the more certain she was about leaving this place for good. She couldn’t help but wonder where Broderick was though, or if he even missed her. In the end, she decided she did not need either man. Once she found the dagger, she would go back to the cabin in the woods. And once Morag had the dagger, her own debt would be paid and then she could leave and make a new life for herself elsewhere.