“The little man joins us!” Matthew laughed, and then his face immediately fell from the pain of heaving his chest.
“Welcome back to the world, Walter,” Jacob said.
They all lounged about in the infirmary for some time, sharing stories of their equal parts in the chaos that had delivered them from Lord Hamilton’s shadow, laughing, albeit sometimes painfully, about the torrential weather and mourning for those that they had lost. They spoke of the feast that was being prepared, in celebration of their victory, and that all the families of the hills were coming down, mingling and camping and drinking with the host of men Lord Willby had brought up from the South.
Kyle watched the bustle from the infirmary windows, his arm suspended in a rudimentary sling, the pain a constant dull throb in his shoulder. He had never seen McGowan castle so bustling, and it was strange to him to see such joy swirling about so shortly after such destruction and death. Altogether, it left him pensive as the cool air washed over him.
“May I join you?” Laila’s soft voice drifted into his ear, and he turned with a grin to see her walking his way.
“Well, what d’ye think?” he asked back, his grin breaking out into a wide smile.
“I think you look lonely,” she said, coming to stand next to him, taking his good arm in hers.
“I am just thinking,” he said back, his smile fading a bit as his eyes wandered back out to the bustle of the yard. “Of how strange this all is. Only a few days ago, we were swinging swords in the rain, and men were dying all around.”
“It is the way of the world, it seems,” Laila said, rubbing his back gently.
“Indeed,” he answered softly.
“Kyle,” she said, turning to face him squarely. “I wanted to apologize.”
“Apologize?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “That is usually me role.”
“For deceiving you,” she said, looking deeply into his eyes. “It was not right.”
“Bah,” Kyle scoffed, returning her endearing gaze. “But look what came of it.”
“You cannot be serious,” Laila laughed, crawling up to his chest.
“The past is the past,” Kyle said softly, using his good hand to brush a stray strand of hair away from her cheek. “The future is the future.”
“And what does the future hold?” Laila asked, maintaining their deep eye contact, each of them drinking in the other.
“Time will tell,” Kyle whispered. “But I should like ye tae be along for it.”
“I should like to do so,” she answered.
“I love ye,” Kyle said.
“And I you.” They kissed as light flooded into the windows and dreamed of what the future might hold.
* * *
The castle was jovial over the next few days as Kyle slowly healed, and he would often hear the ruckus of laughter echoing up from the yard and the occasional blast of piping music. It seemed as if the feast was already underway, only just carrying on day after day, waiting for Kyle and Matthew to emerge from the infirmary to explode into a proper riot of festivities, and that was precisely what happened on the fourth day.
It was a mess of people from all walks of life, spilling out of the hall into the castle’s yard, with all manner of tents and tarps stretching out into makeshift pavilions. Looking down at the yard from the castle ramparts, it looked like a crudely patched quilt that was blowing in the breeze.
The season was turning fast, and the rain and the wind were present, though largely ignored as the drunkenness of the day turned into the festival of the night. Songs were sung all around, cups were raised, and barrels were tapped dry. Candles and sconces burned bright all around the hall, and the main hearth crackled with a great fire, which gave off a dancing light that bounced all around the massive displays of food.
There was a great deal of dancing going on, and Kyle was slowly helped to his seat at the table by Domnal as he drank in the raucous environment. There was the smell of roasting meats and of freely flowing wine and ale, and all of it was intoxicating just in its own right.
“What a night,” Kyle remarked to Domnal as he finally sank down into his seat all the way, feeling the pressure of the bench travel up his torso, and he flinched a bit as it struck his shoulder.
“It is certainly something,” Domnal agreed, his face stuck with a wild grin and his eyes dancing with all the flickering lights.
“Ye made it out,” Gavin said, coming past the back of the table, his wooden mug spilling out a bit over the brim, and a few drops of ale landing on Kyle’s cheek. His face was red and puffy from all the drink, and Kyle could not help but laugh.
“And ye are still standing!” Kyle shot back.
