Page 28 of Highland Prince of Darkness

Chapter Twelve

Iain walked the castle grounds until he found the man he was seeking. He wished to see his old friend, Douglas, to try again with him. He clenched his jaw as he thought about having to go back on his behavior. It wasn’t going to be easy, but Douglas did not deserved the harsh words Iain delivered. They had been so close, once. Their bond akin to that of two brothers. Iain would not have dreamed of offending Douglas. But times were different, and time away had worn down their bond.

“I thought I’d be seeing ye again,” Douglas chuckled as he placed down a shield that he’d been polishing.

“Why’s that?” Iain frowned.

“I just ken that ye cannae keep the act up forever,” he spoke with an amused smile.

“There’s nae act,” Iain sighed in frustration.

“Is that so? It must be if the Iain I used to ken is still in there.”

Iain shook his head as he tried to block off the many memories of spending time with his best friend.

“Whatever ye thought that ye ken of me, think again. I’ve changed.”

Douglas rolled his eyes at his friend’s comment, only furthering Iain’s annoyance. He was already starting to regret going to see the man that he had once been so close with.

“Why did ye come if ye won’t talk to me?” Douglas persisted.

“I came to see ye, to see how ye’ve been doing after all these years.”

Douglas abandoned what he had been doing and took a seat down on a nearby bench. Iain followed him and frowned as he looked around the rather sparse practice pitch. It was where men came to practice with one another when training for battle, and Iain remembered the many hours that he would slave away there while he worked on his skills.

“I still cannae believe that ye’re back,” Douglas smiled. His tone of voice was much softer now, “I ken, I still sometimes cannae believe it either,” Iain admitted, with a small smile playing on his lips. He knew that there was no need to be harsh with his best friend, he had always been there for him.

“What’s it like being back with May? After all this time, I’m sure that the two of ye’re inseparable?”

Iain clenched his jaw at his friend’s words. They couldn’t have been further from inseparable if they tried.

“Not exactly... anyway, I told ye that I wanted to talk about ye and yer life.” Iain managed to push down his frustration at his situation with May and kept his voice light.

“My life isn’t the most exciting thing to be discussed at this moment,” Douglas shrugged, “I work in the barracks with a lot of other men, we clean swords and shields, we help other men with training to fight… same as always.”

Iain nodded, there were always wars to be fought and that wasn’t possible without men like Douglas.

“I hear that ye have been leading men into battle? That’s quite an honor,” Douglas added and turned to his old friend.

“Aye, it’s quite a strange feeling. Ye ken that not all of the men that look to ye for guidance and leadership will nae be leaving that field of battle. It’s always hard to think that ye yerself may not come out alive, and what kind of leader would I be if I died before my men?”

“A brave one?” Douglas offered.

He had always had a much kinder heart. Douglas could sense when there were dark times and would be able to provide at least a little bit of light. Despite all of the cruel world that Iain had seen over the past six years, he was glad to be somewhere that had once felt like his home, and now to be with a friend whom he had once entrusted even his darkest secrets with.

Douglas had fought by his side, and Iain had spent most of his days with the man if he wasn’t with May. Doug had been there through it all, and every time that Iain had doubted himself, Douglas had been there to build him up.

“So ye and May?”

“I’m still very angry at her.”

“Ye ken that she couldn’t have just left her father on his own, it would have broken him. She would have been miserable if the two of ye had eloped and left.”

Iain thought about this for a while as he pursed his lips and glanced around the mud-ridden terrain in front of him. It was a thought that he had considered time and time again, but it was one that his anger was always able to overcome.

“I ken that it would have been hard, but I feel that she would have been able to get over it.”

“And what if her father had died? She would have nae way of finding out about that,” Douglas continued.