Branded By a Warrior (16 page)

She
and Broderick had not settled on a date to get married, neither
was
in a rush, and the castle was so busy with activity that it was hard to even see to their normal chores and duties.
She knew they wouldn’t be able to live in sin forever; the elders would w
ant them married before spring. She had been spending the past weeks getting to know all about her future husband, learning what pleased him or what upset him. She was learning his limits just as he was learning hers.

Waking up a bit too late, Elisabeth was saddened to see Broderick had already left their room for the morning.
Taking her time she dressed for the day and
walked
down into the keep
in search of Old Rhona
and her lovely
tarts.
Elisabeth noticed the absence of Isobel who normally met
her at the bottom of the stairs each morning.
Scanning the keep she frowned as she worried about the little blonde girl.

Wearing Broderick’s sable fur around her,
Elisabeth
started walking to the kitchens when she
saw Isobel
slumped against the castle door
crying.
Worried, she quickly crossed the keep,
“What is wrong lass?” K
neeling beside her she moved Isobel’s hands away from her face.

Sniffling
, “I think I left my mother’s necklace by the c
reek, I cannot find it anywhere
.
I was there with Da the other day
, tis the only thing I have of hers and I lost it!
”

Rubb
ing Isobel’s back she hugged the child
and stood up, holding out a hand
she declared
, “
Shall we go
find your D
a, maybe he’ll let us ride outside of t
he castle to the creek my swee
t
, I’ll help you search for it love.
”

Smiling up at Elisabeth, Isobel
took her hand and they head out into the courtyard in search of Kendrix.
The snow had fallen overnight, covering the castle grounds in glittering snow and ice, the sun attempted to peek through the thick clouds as they walked to the stables.
The warriors had just finished their drills, the sound of the blacksmith’s hammer rung out as they walked past him. The bailey was alive with activity this fine morning, searching for Broderick and Kendrix; Elisabeth scanned the large bailey and found neither brother.

Refusing to give up, she assured the sniffling lass beside her they’d find her father and continued on towards the stables
.

Hearing Kendrix’s
voice, the two walked towards him at the end of the stables. Elisabeth hailed to him and quickly explained
Isobel’s dilemma, “Can you ride us out there so we may
look? She’s quite upset Kendrix
.
”

Looking down at his blonde daughter’s swollen
eyes, he looked up at Elisabeth.
“Have you asked Broderick?”
H
e asked, crossing his arms.

“Nae, I haven’t seen him since I found Isobel. How far
of a ride is it to the creek?” S
he
questioned
, she had yet to set foot outside the walls of the castle
since she’d been brought here. The idea of riding a horse made her yearn for a good outing.

Looking across the yard for his brother, he answered, as he scanned
for Broderick
,
“Quarter hour there, not
a
far
ride at all
.
”
Kendrix signaled a nearby stable hand and ordered him,
“Saddle my
horse
and L
ady Elisabeth’s stallion please
.
”
Running his hand
through his hair, he looked over at Elisabeth, “I’ll go make a quick round to see if I can f
ind him, go ahead and get ready
.
Isobel will ride with me on my horse, the snow is too deep for her pony this time of year.
” With that he walked away and went in search of his
absent brother
.
Elisabeth and Isobel prepared for their expedition outside of the highly protected walls of Castle MacMillan.

Kendrix appeared
empty handed a half hour later.
“
I
can’t
find the man anywhere, we’ll go and I’ll notify the gua
rds in case he finds us missing
.
Tis such a short ride, we should be back before he appears.
”

Mounting his horse, he signaled for Isobel to join him in his saddle. Elisabeth
easily mounted her
brother’s w
arhorse, and situated herself for the
ride. The excitement of riding
and seeing outside the walls made her giddy. Never before had she been this restricted in all her life, yes, her injury was still very sore and painful but she wanted nothing more than to feel t
he wind in her hair once again.

“
Kendrix, do you have a spare sword? I dislike the idea of
going out of the walls unarmed.” Sh
e asked as they walked their horses to the drawbridge.

Ordering the drawbridge lowered, he looked over at her and asked knowingly, “Why hasn’t my brother seen you fitted for a sword Elisabeth?”

Watching the massive wooden drawbridge lower, she heard Kendrix tell the tower guard where they were headed. Waking their tall horses across the lowered drawbridge she admitted
in a hushed tone
, “Bec
ause he doesn’t think I’m ready
.
”

“Surely you can’t ask me to defy his wishes Elisabeth,
even if I agree with you
.” H
e chuckled as they cleared the bridge, signaling for
the guards to lift the drawbridge back up
. “You’ll convince him soon enough, I think he knows it’s only a matter of time before yo
u order your own weapons forged
.
”

“You c
an have my sword Aunt Elisabeth.
” Isobel offered happily as she sat in her father’s saddle and listened to
the conversation, holding her wooden short sword out with pride.

Since the announcement of her impending marriage to Broderick, Isobel had insisted upon calli
ng her Aunt Elisabeth. It warmed her heart to see how easily Isobel accepted her into the family.
For five years, Isobel only knew her father and Broderick as her family; she had no mother, no grandmother. The only constant female in her life had been Old Rhona, and the elder loved the child as her own. It was a bittersweet reminder of how fragile life was, how quickly lives were taken from all o
f them. Isobel’s mother had died during
childbirth
, leaving Kendrix without a wife, and Isobel without a mother.

“Keep your sword my sweet
, Uncle Broderick will
get me a sword
…
eventually.” S
he smiled at the innocent child
who
happily
rode with her
father beside her. The sun broke from the clouds and rare sunlight warmed their faces as they galloped away from the mammoth castle behind them.
It felt incredible to be back in the saddle; Duncan’s horse was now hers, a magnificent beast indeed.

Smiling into the wind, the chilly Highland air whipped through her hair as she rode beside Kendrix and Isobel towards the creek in search of Isobel’s treasured locket.

***

Broderick was walking up from the cellars when t
he loud noise of the drawbridge
lowering and raising up again
could be heard
. It drew
his attention
;
curious
,
he made his
way out to th
e battlements. Increasing his pace, he
walked
out of the castle
towards the drawbri
dge tower in search of answers, his wolfhounds by his side.
Crossing the bailey he looked around for Kendrix as he came up
to the front gate.

Calling up to his g
uard in the tower, “Who left?” H
e
questioned his senior guard.

“Kendrix,
Isobel with L
ady
Elisabeth
bound for the creek. Miss Isobel left something there. Kendrix
looked for you before they left my Laird but you could not be found.” T
he guard called back down.

Nodding to his man, “Alert me when they return, I’ll
be in the stabl
es.” H
e ordered, the ride to the creek wasn’t far and Elisabeth’s health had never been better.
Jealous he didn’t get to take his future wife on her first horseback ride, he marched back to the stables, debating if he should join them.

He could not be found because Siobhan had once again found him and cried at his feet, the damn woman was trying her best to lure him. So far she had tried several tactics, none of which were successful. Once again the bitch had taken up time he would have rather devoted to Elisabeth, now she and Kendrix were galloping through the countryside together. It should have been him beside her today, not his brother.

He worried about her, she had no weapon, and they took no guards with them.
Calling to the stable hands he ordered his horse brought around, fetching his own saddle he tried not to overreact to the situation.
Aye, he was jealous, but something nagged at his brain.

***

In the snowy woods, the two horses and their riders easily navigated the thin trails that led down to the creek at the base of the
mountain, high in the air a hawk
sounded. 

Elisabeth and Kendrix’s attention was captured at the sound of the predatory bird soaring above them
when
an
arrow
flew right past Kendrix’s face landing in a tree to the right of him.
Elisabeth watched in horror as t
hree more arrows
flew from the woods directly at them.
She watched helplessly as Kendrix turned his horse to protect Isobel. An arrow buried deep
in his shoulder, throwing
him and Isobel from the saddle into the snow.

Jumping off her horse she ran over to them as the enemy rode down fast towards them, “Get her out of here Elisabeth!” Kendrix ordered as he pulled
the arrow
from
his own shoulder and pulled out
his sword.

Picking up the sobbing lass, she ran ove
r to her stallion and placed Isobel
on the saddle, “Look at me Isobel,
Aunt Elisabeth needs your help.
I need you to ride as fast as you can back t
o Uncle Broderick, go my pet! Go, do not stop for anything my child
!
” Slapping the horse’s rear she s
ent the small child off on the
massive stallion bound for the castle.
She knew Duncan’s ho
rse would carry the lass safely
and swiftly back to the castle without throwing her.
There was no way she was going to leave Kendrix to fend for himself.

Watchin
g Isobel
fly through the woods
on the stallion
, Elisabeth
quickly turned her attention back to Kendrix
. Picking up her skirts she ran through the deep snow back to his side. He struggled to stand, k
n
eeling beside him she watched as
four
warriors on chestnut horses
were
nearly upon them.
Quickly assessing the situation, she knew
Kendrix’s wo
un
d was enough to disable him from fighting hand to han
d combat with the oncoming men
by himself
. Moving quickly she leaned over him and pulled
his longbow
off his shoulder
along with his
quiver full of arrows. Notching
an arrow
,
Elisabeth focused as the Douglas warriors were advancing on them rapidly.

“Elisabeth, it’s strung for a man lass, there is no way you’re strong enough to pull it b
ack, get on my horse and go!” Kendrix
ordered gruffly.

“Don’t tell me what
I can’t do Kendrix, stuff it!” S
he bit out as she focused.

Inhaling a large breath
as she
pulled back the tightly strung longbow as the first rider approached, the pain in her shoulder raged through her as she let her first arrow loose, flying directly into the eye
of the rider. Dropping him dead, instantly.