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Amonth later...
Erik McGregor rode through the woods, following the well-beaten path that would lead him to his destination. The weather was turning ominous as the afternoon wore on, and he wanted to get to the McGregor keep before the skies opened and drenched him.
He didn’t want to be on this journey. He wanted to be on his homeland, training with his fellow warriors before trying out some of the new swords that had been commissioned in the recent days.
As the laird’s second-in-command, Erik’s day was never lacking. If he wasn’t working with his own warriors, he was consulting with Kaiden, the current McGregor laird, on what needed to be the focus of the clan.
After a few years of battles that had decimated many clans around them, it was imperative to have a good, solid plan for the future. In order for the clans to survive new generations, new threats, the plan had to be well thought out, or the clans would not thrive against their stronger foes.
Part of Kaiden’s responsibilities up until a month ago was the McPherson clan. Erik had helped his laird defeat the clan and had overtaken them when their laird was killed in a bloody battle that brought about loss on both sides. Rather than decimate the clan, Kaiden had decided to allow them to remain a clan, and the hunt for a new leader began.
A new Lady of the keep had taken over a month ago, and Erik was now making his way there, so that he could visit with her and ensure that she didn’t need anything from their clan.
Kaiden had wanted to go, but his wife was pregnant, and Erik knew that Kaiden was fiercely protective over his wife. Erik was glad to see his laird and his friend finally find the happiness he needed in his life with Ferra. There had been a time when Erik had watched his friend waste away, having been bedridden due to a festering wound, and he had been afraid that he would be burying him far before his time.
Now everything seemed to be falling into place with the McGregor clan. The clan was thriving, the laird happy, and after this visit, they would move away from the McPherson clan, leaving them to forge their own path to the next generation.
The horse plodded on, and Erik let the reins lay loosely in his hand. It was rare now that bandits accosted anyone on this path with the warriors that now patrolled the woods. It was a mix of McGregor and McPherson warriors, especially since both sides had sustained heavy loss in the battle that had changed the face of the clans forever. Erik had sent some of his best warriors to help train the new clan warriors for the McPherson clan, as well as overseeing his own.
Soon, they would be separated, and he knew that the new Lady was more about the peace between the clans and the bonds they had formed than she was about picking up where the last laird had left off.
It was going to be a time of peace once more, and for someone who had always been a warrior, Erik wasn’t so certain he was going to enjoy it. No, he didn’t want to see innocent Scots die.
He just wished for a spar every now and again.
Erik rolled his shoulders, eyeing the sky once more. He would do anything for Kaiden. Kaiden had given him his opportunity to become a warrior with the second-in-command position he held.
Erik owed everything to his laird, so when he asked this of him, Erik couldn’t deny the request. It had been Kaiden that had taken a gutter Scot like him, beaten by his father and taught to do horrid things by his mother, and put him with the warriors. Erik had learned the skills quickly, not wanting to go back to his former life, and quickly had become the person that Kaiden could depend on.
When Kaiden had asked him to become his second-in-command, Erik had balked at the idea at first. He wanted to continue to be a warrior, using his sword to defend his laird and the clan that had treated him favorably.
Though, he didn’t feel much like a warrior these days. Being a consort to other clans hadn’t been something he had anticipated, and Erik was tired of smiling and providing assurance to those that looked to the McGregor clan for help.
He didn’t mind helping, he just didn’t want to be the one that played nice all the time.
The sound of rustling nearby caught Erik’s attention, and he slowed the horse, drawing the dagger that he tucked in the waistband of his breeks. His sword was strapped to his back, and he preferred not to remove it unless warranted.
The dagger would be sufficient enough.
Nudging the horse to the left, Erik followed the sound, the hooves crunching the leaves underneath them. The wind whistled through the trees, warning him of the storm, but he pressed on, curious to know what had drawn his attention.
“Bloody hell!”
The feminine voice was filled with anger, and Erik couldn’t help but smirk. Whoever it was, they were quite angry, but there was no way he could leave them out there alone without finding out if they were truly in need.
The trees parted, and Erik found himself in a small clearing with a crumbling stone hut. The roof had collapsed, and one of the walls looked as if it was barely standing, but that wasn’t the most interesting thing about what he was seeing.
There was a female, hanging by her feet, from the nearby tree. Erik looked at her tall, lean body, the way her braid dangled mere inches off the ground. He could see that she couldn’t quite reach the rope snaked around her ankles, and with each movement, she only made herself swing precariously in the air.
Erik dismounted and walked over to her, tapping the dagger against his thigh.
“I didnae know ye trapped people in these parts.”
She moved until she was staring at him, albeit upside down, and he was struck by her loveliness. There was a long scar that ran the length of her face but didn’t distract from her vivid green eyes nor the smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose.
“Let me down!” she yelled, waving her arms. “Please!”
