"I wanted tae thank ye. Really, this time," Maeve told him. "Nae just for savin' me, but for everythin' since then. For yer loyalty, yer friendship. Yer courage. I ken that none of this has been easy for ye—people cursin' the Darach name,yername?—"
"A name is a name, but me loyalty is here. With Cailean. With the rebels. With Scotland," Eoin told her. "Ye neednae worry about me."
Maeve smiled. "I ken. I ken, ye're right, of course. But I wanted tae thank ye anyway. And…well, I have a favor tae ask of ye. A big one, as it might be, but…"
"Ask it," he said immediately. "Anythin' ye want or need, and it's yers, if it's in me power."
"I just… I just want tae ken that ye're gonnae keep an eye on Breana when I'm gone, is all," Maeve said. "Can ye do that for me?"
Eoin shrugged and nodded, such a casual gesture that Maeve could see that it was simply a given to him that he would be there for her sister. She watched as his eyes sought out Breana in the crowd, and she noticed as his whole body seemed to relax, and a smile formed on his face as he spied her.
"Of course I will," he said after a moment. "I cannae think of any greater honor than makin' sure that Breana is safe. Though she needs me help less than ye think, ye ken—she's stronger than anyone understands, even if she doesnae handle a sword the way ye do."
Maeve nodded, hiding the small smile that was threatening to play on her own face. She saw the way his eyes lingered on Breana as he spoke, and she wondered—or perhaps hoped—if it wasn't a sign. A sign that, even in what seemed to be the darkest of times, something good could grow. A sign that there would always be hope.
3
Ferda left them after the first couple of miles, with promises to be in touch as soon as she could, though part of Maeve doubted that she would hear from her friend for a long time. Whatever was going on with the White Sparrows, she had the feeling that Ferda would get caught up in it—and Maeve, meanwhile, had her own story to get on with. Still, as they rode away, she could not help but wonder about the people she was leaving behind for this journey; not just Ferda, but Breana, Eoin, and the four elders back at camp, not to mention all the other rebels. There were always some twists and turns, always some reason to leave people behind.
Maeve wondered if there would ever be a time when she would be able to stop doing it, a time when she would be able to rest and be with her family and be happy. She rode close to Cailean as she had these thoughts, glad that no matter where the waves of the wild sea took them, they'd always at least have each other.
"I cannae believe that Cailean let me come on this journey!" young Dirk Bruce was declaring for the fifth time.
"Neither can I, cousin. Ye're barely out of yer swaddlin' clothes," Darren teased him. "Come, Fergus. The two of us should go scout out the road."
The two older Bruce cousins did just that, while Dirk rode closer to Maeve and Cailean.
"Me uncle, Kier, I mean, he taught me a song for the road," he told them. "Can I sing it for ye?"
Maeve laughed. "Is that how ye'd like tae pass yer time?"
"Hark, the sounds o' the roarin' sea…"Dirk started. Many of the other men picked up the tune, and soon, they were all robustly singing. Maeve didn't know the song, but she smiled as even Cailean hummed along to the music.
The joy was short-lived, though.
Soon, Darren and Fergus returned. "Quiet," Fergus hissed. "We cannae be so loud—quiet, now."
The singing abruptly stopped as Cailean raised a firm hand. "What's goin' on?" Cailean asked as Maeve looked back and forth between the grim expressions on the Bruce cousins' faces. "Did ye see someone?"
It was unsettling to see them like this. Fergus was usually taciturn, rarely letting emotion show, and Darren was usually cheerful, but now both looked equally worried and maybe even upset. Maeve didn't know what could have possibly gotten them both like this.
"Someone's watchin' us," Fergus said after a moment.
"Ye saw someone?" Maeve asked cautiously.
"No," admitted Darren, "But we ken what it is tae be watched, and there are eyes on us. Nae more songs, Cailean—it isnae safe. There's someone watchin' us."
Cailean swore loudly, then covered his own mouth, running his hand through his hair. "Fine. Fine. We'll ride on, quietly, and we'll take a different route. Whoever this is, we're gonnaeget them off our trail, but we cannae afford tae be late for this meetin'. Understood?"
Silently, Maeve and the other ten men nodded, even Dirk, who had now gone pale. They were all thinking it, she knew—thinking of the False King who still ruled over their land, of the threat that hung over all of them. The sudden jolt of a reminder that he was watching them, that no matter where they went, that threat was ever-present—it was a vivid reminder of what they were, who they were, and what they were really doing. There was no way around this. This was no gentle trip through the fields of the Highlands.
Right now, on this journey, they were fighting for their lives and the lives of everyone and everything they loved and would ever love.
There was no more singing as they continued their journey. No more talking. The twelve rebels rode together in silence, each lost in their thought. Maeve thought of her sister, who had only just regained her freedom. If they were caught on the road, or if they failed when they arrived at McKenzie clan, would Breana lose it again? Maeve could not and would not allow such a thing to happen.
The night arrived sooner than any of them would have liked, and although Cailean wanted to ride on through the night, Maeve argued that that wasn't such a good idea. "I ken ye think we're bein' followed, but it's been hours since Darren and Fergus saw or even thought they saw anythin'. And if we dinnae rest, ye'll be in nae shape tae meet with the chieftain tomorrow."
They set up camp deep in a forest, arranging for two of the twelve of them to always be awake and keeping watch. Maeveand Cailean had taken the first watch, and they'd woken again for the fourth, encouraging Dirk and his watch partner to go back to sleep.
