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“It wilnae come tae that,” Maura said with fake certainty.

“Ye cannae be sure. I always thought I’d be excited at the prospect of war, but the way Da reacted, I can tell it’s nae something he wants.” A thought suddenly seemed to strike him. “There is a way for me tae fix this. I can gae tae the McGrorys myself and tell the laird exactly what happened. I can make him see that it was all my daeing and that Da haed no part of it.” His eyes gleamed as he thought he had landed upon the final solution, but Maura was filled with misgivings.

“Aye, and what happens when ye gae tae him? From what Da said, this man is nae a merciful one. Dae ye nae think it’s likely that he’ll want tae take yer life tae make up for his own son’s? What good will it dae for ye tae sacrifice yerself?” she asked.

“It might nae come tae that. He might show mercy,” Ruairi said, although his voice faltered at the thought of being executed in the name of justice. “I just want tae make things better. I want tae make up for my mistake. I want Da tae be proud of me again.” He tilted his head up, and Maura saw that his wide, dark eyes were filled with repentance and remorse. He had made a glaring error in judgment, but Maura could not hold it against him. He was still her brother, and she loved him no matter what. “Maura, please, ye are good at these things. Ye are cleverer than I shall ever be. If anyone can find a way out of this, ye can,” he said.

Maura didn’t know if she could, but she was going to try for the sake of her brother, if nothing else. The predictions of the future were grim either way. If war was declared, it would be a messy, brutal conflict, and while the Calbraith forces were strong, there were never any victors in war. Besides, her father was right that the public sentiment would likely sway with the McGrorys once the cause of war was declared, and the Calbraiths’ reputation in the land would falter. Likewise, if Niall made recompense to Wallace McGrory in the form of wealth and land, the Calbraith clan would be significantly weakened, which would also impact her as well, for she would be a less appealing wife to potential husbands. This one mistake by Ruairi, this one flash of a sword in the darkness, this one moment where his instinct and bloodlust had taken over, had wide ramifications that were difficult to predict. None of them seemed to lead to a settled clan or peace, but Maura did not stop thinking about the matter. In this way, she was like her father. In separate rooms, they mirrored each other, staring into space as the cogs of their minds turned, trying to see a way through the bleak fog.

Then, suddenly, she had it. The solution seemed so plain to her, as though it had been staring her in the face from the very beginning. It was not the most suitable solution, nor did it fill her with glee, but it seemed to be the only way peace could be maintained between the two clans while still giving the McGrorys something that would be a fair due for a lost child.

Maura told Ruairi to stay in his chambers as she went to see her father. She held her head high, even though her heart trembled. Opening the door, she walked in to see that her father’s brows were knotted in frustration. Her mother was nowhere to be seen.

“It’s kind of ye tae check on me, Maura, but I’d prefer tae be left alone. I cannae think properly when other people are around, and this problem plagues me. I cannae believe that Ruairi did something like this.”

“He was only trying tae make ye proud,” Maura said.

“Aye, well, perhaps I hae nae done such a good job of helping him understand what makes me proud,” Niall said. Maura agreed with him and wanted to say that it didn’t help when Niall praised him even after he had made a mistake, but she knew that wouldn’t help anyone feel better, so she kept those particular words to herself. Instead, she moved further into the room and wrung her hands together, fighting the strong emotions that were rising up within her.

“Actually, Da, I came here tae talk with ye about the problem. I hae been giving it some thought as well, and I think I hae come up with a solution that settles things for all parties, and most importantly, it will avoid a war between the clans.”

Niall looked up with surprise and pride in his eyes. He also looked relieved that he could share the weight of this with her.

“Well then, what solution dae ye hae?” he asked.

Maura sat down beside him and smoothed out her dress before she spoke, collecting her thoughts as she knew that once she said what she was about to say, there was no taking it back. But it wasn’t all that bad; at least this way, it was her choice.

“Ruairi wants tae gae tae the McGrorys and offer himself up tae the laird, even if it means him gaeing on trial,” Maura said.

“Aye,” Niall scoffed, “and what a farce that would be. There’s nae way a trial would be fair. Ruairi would be executed at the end of it, and I’m nae letting that happen. If that’s yer solution—”

“It’s nae,” Maura cut him off. “I just want tae tell ye that Ruairi knows he made a mistake, and he’s willing tae dae anything tae make up for it. I know he acts without thinking a lot of the time, but he is nae selfish. He cares about the clan, and I hae no doubt that he’ll make a good laird one day. But ye hae another child who can give themselves up. Da…what if ye offer me tae the clan in marriage? Ye hae been looking for a husband for me, and this will make an alliance between the clans, and peace. It will avoid any bloodshed or fighting at all.”

As soon as the word “marriage” left her lips, Niall scowled and shook his head.

“Ye are mad. If ye think that I’m gaeing tae let any child of mine gae tae the McGrorys, then ye dinnae know me at all. I would rather gae tae war than send ye there,” he said.

“But ye cannae deny that a life haes been lost, and a price must be paid. I know how important the clan is, Da, and I want tae protect it just as much as ye or Ruairi dae. If I can prevent men from dying, then I want tae use myself as a shield!”

“But ye will be throwing away yer life. The McGrorys are nae a prosperous clan, nae like the men I hae been searching for.”

“Maybe nae, but if this is the way tae protect the clan, then it’s something I’m willing tae dae. This is my choice, Da. I cannae fight in a war like Ruairi might be able tae, but that doesnae mean I cannae protect this clan or that I dinnae care about it as much as he does.”

“Of that, there is no doubt,” Niall said gently, with thoughtful words. Maura took his hands.

“I want tae dae this, Da. Please, let me help ye.” She looked into his eyes and implored him, but the man who stared back was resolute.

“I’m sorry, Maura. I appreciate the sentiment and I’m glad that ye feel sae strongly about the clan, but I’m nae about tae send either of my children tae that land. We will find another way. There haes tae be another way. Even if ye did marry intae the clan, there are no guarantees that a war would not begin,” he explained, but Maura thought it was a weak justification, and her heart sank. From what little she knew of Wallace McGrory, he was a man who respected trade and contracts. Surely a marriage to the daughter of the laird would be a good enough bargain to maintain peace, and it annoyed her that Niall was not willing to listen to her judgment in this matter. All she wanted was a little bit of agency, a little bit of autonomy in her life, but he couldn’t even give her that, even when it might mean the safety of the clan. Why was it only that men could make heroic sacrifices to protect the clan?

Maura thought about telling him all of this, but she knew her arguments would fall on deaf ears. Once her father had made his mind up about something, there was no swaying him from it, but the same was true for her as well. She was determined to help the clan no matter how much it cost her, and she wasn’t willing to see any of them harmed. So she left her father with a plan in her heart, hoping that one day he would forgive her.

5

Scone broke twigs and bracken as she thundered through the forest. The sun was low but its golden light still spread through the land. Maura kept her head low and didn’t look back towards her home, for she knew if she did, her resolve might weaken. It pained her that she could not make a proper goodbye to her family. She had always imagined that the last day she spent at home would be a joyous occasion, filled with all her favorite meals and with the opportunity to say goodbye to everyone that was important to her. She also imagined it would be filled with tears and hugs as well before she went away to begin her new life.

She never imagined it would be like this—sneaking away with Scone before anyone found out she was gone. Her father’s decision had hurt her. It seemed as though there was one rule for Ruairi and one rule for her. She had a perfectly good solution to their dilemma, but he wasn’t willing to hear it. He wasn’t willing to trust her. And now she wasn’t going to be the dutiful girl who waited for life to happen to her, who waited for decisions to be made for her. If her father valued taking risks so much, then she would take one, and hopefully, this would work out better than Ruairi’s plan.

The world of color blurred as she rode as fast as Scone could carry her. Only now did she see the wisdom in Ruairi keeping Ash fierce and lean. She thought to herself that she would feed Scone a lot less sugar in the future, if she even had a future. The road to the McGrory clan was treacherous enough considering there were bandits about, but she didn’t know what kind of reception would wait for her when she arrived, or how her proposal would be received. If Wallace was as heartless as her father seemed to think, then it was quite possible that she would be executed as fair payment, or even that she would be held hostage. These swirling doubts nagged at her mind, and she could not spend too much time thinking about them as it would only cause her to lose her focus. This was the decision she had made, and she was going to see it through to the bitter end. There was something exhilarating about taking charge of her life. The wind whipped around her as she burst through the forest, and she wondered what the spirits would think of her, if any of them did exist. She listened to the wind, straining her ears to try and hear if they whispered warnings to her, or if they wished her well.