Peadar was right. They'd won the battle, but the war wasn’t over.
"We'll move everyone tae MacDougal Castle," Alpin said. "It's fortified, defensible, and we have supplies enough fer everyone."
"That's a full day's travel with wounded and children," Kenina pointed out.
"Then we leave now and travel fast." Alpin looked around at the villagers, at the exhausted, frightened faces. "Gather everyone. We move within the hour."
Carts were brought out for the wounded. Children were bundled into blankets. Women gathered what few possessions could be salvaged from the damaged homes.
As the sun climbed higher, they began the evacuation.
Alpin mounted his horse, then reached down and pulled Mhairi up behind him. She settled against his back, her arms wrapping around his waist, her cheek pressing against his shoulder blade.
"Comfortable?" he asked.
"As comfortable as I can be covered in blood and soot." But there was warmth in her voice.
The villagers fell into line behind them, a ragged column of survivors. Peadar rode at the rear with Kenina, keeping watch for any sign of pursuit. And slowly, painfully, they began the journey toward safety.
Alpin looked back once at the village they were leaving behind.
Smoke still rose from the ruins of the burned cottages. Bodies lay covered in the square, waiting for burial. The place looked like a battlefield.
"It'll be all right," Mhairi whispered against his back. "We'll rebuild. We'll survive."
"Aye." Alpin turned his horse toward the road ahead, toward the castle that waited for them. "We will."
The column moved slowly through the forest, following the paths Alpin knew by heart. Around them, birds were starting to sing again, oblivious to the carnage they'd left behind. The sun filtered through the trees, warm on his face.
Hours passed.
The wounded were shifted in their carts, made as comfortable as possible. Children grew restless, then quiet, then fell asleep against their mothers.
The column stretched out, moving at the pace of the slowest cart.
They rode on in silence, the forest slowly giving way to open fields. In the distance, Alpin could see the outline of MacDougal Castle, its grey stone walls solid and reassuring against the sky.
Home.
Safety.
The column moved through the gates and into the courtyard. Immediately, servants rushed forward, ready with blankets and food and water.
The wounded were carried to the healer's chambers. Children were swept up by gentle hands and taken inside.
Alpin dismounted, then helped Mhairi down.
She swayed when her feet hit the ground, exhaustion finally catching up with her.
"Easy." He caught her around the waist. "I've got ye."
"I ken ye dae." She leaned into him, letting him take her weight. "I'm just... tired."
"Then rest. Let me handle the rest of this."
But even as he said it, he knew she wouldn't. Knew she'd push herself to help until she collapsed.
Because that was who she was.
