Page 7 of Highlander’s Dangerous Gambler

"Och! Brothers an' sisters, why cannae I trust them!" she hissed. From behind the wooden stalls, Aileen bristled. Fiona looked sharply across at the stable man. He glanced up uncertainly.

For a moment, Aileen thought the game was up and that she had been seen. But then Fiona carried on without looking at her.

"My brother is off gallivanting, and knowing him, will probably start a war. An' my wee sister, well, who kens what she's up to. But she wilnae do anything for the good o' the clan!"

The stable hand dropped his eyes, as if embarrassed. It was clear he did not know what to say. Aileen went hot all over. Indignantly, she felt herself heat up inside. How dare Fiona accuse her of such selfishness!

"I mean, she is o' marriageable age, an' all she can think about is riding an' horses!" huffed her sister. Aileen fought a very deep desire to march up to her and give her a piece of her mind!

The previous night, she and Fiona had had words. She had suggested in no uncertain terms that Aileen begin acting her age or with decorum, as she put it. Aileen did not know exactly what this meant but was certain it didn't include racing horses disguised in her teenage brother's kecks.

"Och, dinnae mind me," continued Fiona, settling herself into the riding seat. Aileen wondered where she was going at such a time. "But sometimes I think I'd be best leaving the bairn in charge than those two!"

Aileen almost chewed her lips off waiting for Fiona to mount, and then very slowly trot out of the stables, down into the yard, and to the front of the castle. She then waited longer still, allowing for her sister to parade down the entrance and out of the sentry gate.

Only when she was completely out of sight did Aileen steel herself, shrug her shoulders, and mount White Star.

Patting the white gelding fondly on the head, she smiled along as the little horse sped up into a canter. It was going to be a long ride.

She rode into the daybreak and then into the nightfall, and even then, there was further to go.

Her exhausted horse almost gave up at one point, and Aileen was forced to stop for a few hours to give both White Star and herself a chance to rest. But with the race beginning in only a few hours, Aileen did not dare to rest too long.

Setting off again at daybreak, Aileen raced for all she was worth. Across the glens and ravines of the Duncan lands and into the McLeod territories, Aileen fought tiredness just to arrive at the place where the race was happening.

Or at least, the place she thought it was. Because when she had arrived, it seemed as if she was the only person there.

Fearing that she had missed the start, Aileen cast her eyes about the forsaken landscape. All this time, ducking from passersby just in case any of them were from the Duncan clan, and now, there was not a single soul!

Wondering if she was even at the correct place, Aileen consulted her makeshift map. It was quite out of date, and now she was beginning to wonder if the crazy scribblings of her father almost a quarter of a century ago had any bearings in reality.

Folding away her map, Aileen was about to concede she was lost. With a sinking heart, she glanced around the dull landscape. It was just another dreich day in early fall; the autumnal skies were full of nothing. Suddenly, Aileen began to feel very foolish for coming here.

She was just about to move on when a cough from behind made her leap.

"Are ye lost, wee laddie?"

The man's voice made her look immediately. Adjusting the helmet back onto her head, Aileen turned around.

"I, um..."

It was hard to see properly through the visor. Something had stuck, and it took her a bit of poking about to be able to look out. But when she did, she was almost blinded by the blueness of his eyes.

"Are ye alright, lad?"

The man's voice was curious but not unkind. Aileen felt herself gawp. In front of her was a tall, dark soldier fully dressed for duty, his silver sgian-dubh slung right by his side. His deep-blue eyes regarded her carefully.

"I-I am braw, thanks," said Aileen, remembering to lower her voice. For a moment, she thought that he had seen right through her, his cool brow wrinkled, and the soldier—if that's what he was—ran his hand through his brown-black hair.

"Well, ye’re a wee bit off course," said the man genially. It was only then that she noticed he, too, was on horseback. Blinking, Aileen tried to get her eyes to work. Staring into the sky had blinded her, even on a day such as this.

"Och, am I?" asked Aileen, trying to remember to keep her voice low. "Dinnae say I have missed it?"

"Nay," said the man. He fell into an easy step beside her; together, the pair of them trotted toward the hillside. He appeared to regard her curiously. Aileen immediately flushed with panic. He suspected something. The way he was looking at her was off. "Nay, ye havenae missed it, wee lad." He smiled. "At least nae yet...just that ye’re about a mile off from the start."

"Och," Aileen was crestfallen. Suddenly she wondered if she was going to make it at all. The truth was, both she and her horse were exhausted. And that was before the race had even begun. "Where?"

She began unfurling the makeshift map, but locating it while in full armor was difficult. The leather straps made it hard to open it properly, let alone read it properly.