Branded by a Warrior (21 page)

His greatest nightmare came true before his eyes as he watched Elisabeth crumble to the ground.
”Elisabeth!” he shouted, r
unning to her side
. H
e
quickly
checked her
pulse;
she was still alive but refused to wake. Shaking her and screaming her name, Elisabeth didn’t respond. Running back to the bed he grabbed a blanket and covered his naked wife as he quickly turned to throw on clothes.
Swinging the door wide, hi
s
wolfhounds ran int
o the room,
both of them
began
circling
Elisabeth as she lay on the ground
unresponsive.
Screaming for his brother, Broderick left the door open and returned to her side, pleading with her to live.

Within seconds Broderick heard Kendrix running up the stairs.

“Good God what happened?”
Kendrix asked as he rushed into the room to see Elisabeth on the floor.

“She’s been poisoned Kendrix, she took a drink from that pitcher only moments ago. She will not wake up and her pulse is slowing. Go fetch Rhona and Caitriona quickly, I
have no clue what she swall
owed!
”

“Good God,” n
odding, Kendrix took off in a sprint down the stairs in search of help for Elisabeth.

Upstairs Broderick held her tightly in his arms and whispered into her ear, “Please don’t leave me Lis, I just found you woman. Ye cannae leave me yet lass, our path doesn’t end here woman. You will come b
ack to me. I love you Elisabeth
MacMillan, I will find who did this to you my love. Stay with me Lis, I
need
you!
”

Hearing a commotion coming up the stairs he knew the elderly women we
re
on their way, both skilled with poisons and antidotes.
Kendrix must not have had to search far for the women.

First through the door was Rhona, running
over to Broderick she
dropped to her knees and felt Elisabeth’s head and then placed her ear over her heart. Caitriona scurried in
afterward;
she picked up the
tainted
pewter cup and
pitcher, smelling them for signs of the cause. “Hemlock, a strong dose at that,” Caitriona stated, sitting down the objects she walked over to Elisabeth and hovered her hand over the lass, as was her way.

Broderick looked at Rhona, “Who had access to this room Rhona? Who would want her or I dead? Either one of us could have
taken a drink from that pitcher!
”

Shaking her head
Rhona began to cry as she knelt next to Elisabeth
, “We were in this room together all day, we drank from it earlier, even little Isobel. It had to happen while after we left for the wed
ding
!
”

At the door Kendrix had reappeared and added, “It could be anyone Brother, anyone could have slipped away easily during the celebration and entered your room. Your hounds were with you all day, the room was unguarded, and the question isn’t who had access to the room. Nay, the question is, who wants one or both of you dead?”

By the fire Caitriona mixed herbs from her pouches that were strung along her belt into a pot on the fire. Stirring them she added a few more
items
before pouring the contents into a clean mug. “Once this cools, you’ll want to try to get her to swallow small doses every hour until she awakes. The hemlock is a
viscous
poison, it will not le
ave her body
easily my L
aird,” Caitriona explained as she gathered her t
hings.

Broderick looked at Kendrix and Rhona, “You two, see what you can find out. Tis winter, hemlock would be hard to find unless our supplies or
Caitriona’s
supplies were sto
len
.
”

The old healer spoke u
p, “My herbs are under lock my Laird, and only I hold the key to my supplies
, nothing looked amiss this morning.”

Nodding at her foresight to protect the valuable and dangerous herbs he dismissed the three so they co
uld investigate the poisoning. Sending the three off to investigate he picked up his bride and carried her back to bed, pleading with her to fight the toxic poison that coursed through her veins.

The next three days were torture.

Unlike her first
stay here, she had no nightmares, no movement, nothing. She was dead still for three days.
The entire clan
had heard
of her
poisoning
, aghast that something would happen to their beloved Laird’s new wife, the entire clan searched for an answer.
Broderick refused to leave her side; he had considered it entirely his fault she was in this position. It was his responsibility to keep her safe and he failed. Someone wanted to see her
dead;
even now he wasn’t entirely convinced she was going to make it. There had been no visual improvement in the past three days; she simply
lay
dead to the world.

Elisabeth’s eyes fluttered as she woke in the dead of night,
nauseous and weak she reached
out for her husband
. Touching his warm skin she moaned as her stomach rolled in pain, her head began to pound as she turned towards her sleeping husband.

“Broderick?” she whispered,
her throat was so dry she barely could speak
.

The sound of her sweet voice brought him out of his sleep, feeling her upon his chest he wrapped his arms around her.

“Elisabeth, my God woman, you had me so worried
!
”

“What happened Broderick
, why do I feel like this?”

“You were poisoned,
the morning after our wedding you woke up and took a drink from the pitcher
.
You have been
dead to the world for three days,” he explained as he gathered her in his arms and pulled her on top of him and held her tightly.

“Poisoned? Why?” she asked, confused why anyone would do such a thing.

“Hemlock, Caitriona confirmed the mixture days ago after it happened. Rhona confirmed that you ladies had been drinking out of the pitcher the morning of the wedding with no ill effects. The water had to be tainted while we were away celebrating our wedding, with the hounds at our side and everyone celebrating downstairs, gaining access to our rooms would be easy enough.”

“But you could have drank that water too,” she stated, trying to let the fog clear in her head.

“Aye, we still haven’t found the person responsible, nor do we know if the intent was for both of us, or one of us,” he explained, slightly ashamed he and Kendrix hadn’t found the p
erson who almost took her life, “How do you feel?” he asked as he rubbed her back.

“Foggy, my head hurts and my belly aches,” she admitted, she remembered long ago her promise to never lie to him, even about any weakness or sickness she may encounter. Omissions were weighted like lies to him.

“To be expected, Caitriona has made you more medicine to counter the hemlock you drank, you should keep taking it until all of your aliments are gone, the poison still lingers in y
our small body
.
”

Kendrix and Broderick were sure that the mixture was made to kill only Elisabeth, the dose wasn’t high enough to kill a man of his size, but a small woman would have easily fallen ill to the concoction.
He had intentionally kept that information from her, he knew he should tell her but something inside of him refused to admit someone was trying to kill his wife.

“Broderick?”

“Yes my love?”

“Once I am back on my feet, can I please train with you and your men? I have a feeling this war between us and Kincaid is far from over, I want to be as prepared as possible. I used to train with Duncan and his men daily, that is why I was so skilled. I haven’t trained in
well over a month, please Broderick, it would mean the world to me?”

Closing his eyes, he ran his hand up her back and into
her silky hair, sighing deeply he knew her point was valid. With the letter Kincaid had written demanding her return, he knew it was only a matter of time before the war would escalate.
Kincaid knew she was alive, he knew she was here.
How Kincaid knew she was alive was still a mystery, only those behind MacMillan walls had known. The Drummond men that attacked Elisabeth and Kendrix by the creek had all been killed by Elisabeth’s hand, none had escaped to inform their laird. Broderick and Kendrix started to suspect a spy was living inside their walls; it very well could be the same person who poisoned his wife.

Resigning himself to the fact that he married
The Warrior Queen of Scotland
, that she had the same need as he did to train and defend those she cared about
,
he agreed, “Aye Elisabeth, once you are well you can start training with us daily. I’ll let Kendrix
and the men know to expect you
.
”
He had no va
lid reason to deny her request, as much as he wanted to keep her from battle, he knew it was only for his own selfish reasons.
He could not, would not and simply did not want her to change at all. She was who she was because of being a warrior. She would go down in history, and he refused to extinguish her bright flame. The queen was ready to prepare for war.

“Thank you B
roderick, I will make you proud
.
”

“Woman, you make me proud every single day,” he admitted as he heard her yawn in the darkness, daylight was still hou
rs away, “Go back to sleep lass
.
” 

The next morning Broderick woke first, slowly detangling himself from his wife’s embrace he slipped out of bed and dressed for the day. Taking the hounds outside for their mor
ning run he visited the kitchen
first to inform Rhona that Elisabeth had awoken last night, and to check on her this morning.
He knew Old Rhona loved Elisabeth like her
own child;
the old hen was beside herself with worry.

Walking outside in the brisk winter morning, Kendrix and his warriors were running through their morning drills with precision. Letting his hounds run, he watched his
younger
brother order the skilled warriors.
Joining the men, he walked up to Kendrix who stood at the front of the
bailey
ordering his men. “She awoke last night, still a little sick from the poison, but she is out of danger now,” Broderick explained as they watched the men.

“I am happy to hear that Brother, would you care to explain the scowl on your face if your lovely wife has finally awoken?” Kendrix grinned as he asked, then shouted out to the men for the next drill.

Running his hands through his long hair he turned to look at his younger brother, “She has asked permission to come train with us, she knows the war isn’t over. I haven’t even told her about Kincaid’s missive or the fact that we believe the poison was intended for only her, yet, sh
e has a urge to prepare for war
.
”

“We knew it would only be a matter of time Brother, she
is
the warrior queen,” smiling at Broderick, Kendrix slapped his brother on the shoulder and continued, “Would you like to address the men now before she appears?”

Nodding, it was a perfe
ct time to address his warriors while she still lay upstairs safely in bed.
Whistling loudly, the warriors stopped practicing and turned their attention to the MacMillan br
other
s who stood at
the front, gathering closer the warriors
sheathed their swords and awaited their Laird.

“MacMillan warriors, I fear a war brews silently behind our backs. Laird Kincaid’s threat lingers, we know it is only a matter of time before the threat becomes real. You are all aware of Elisabeth’s poisoning, this morning she finally broke free from the effects
of the poison, she will recover
.
”

The men before him cheered at the news of their beloved queen’s recovery, holding up his hand to silence them, Broderick continued, “She has asked to train with you, our warrior queen knows all too well the battle ahead of us. You are to treat her with the same respect you always do, she is skilled and deadly, but just like us, in need of daily training to hone her skills. I expect your full cooperation, if anyone isn’t comfortable fighting next to
my wife, feel free to leave now
. I will not stand for anyone disrespecting her.
” Looking
amongst
the crowd, not one warrior moved. They were well aware of her reputation, and well aware of how she had saved Kendrix’s life in the woods. None of them were ashamed to train or fight next to such a skilled warrior, even if she was a woman.
Standing before his warriors he gave one final order, “If Kendrix or I are ever unable to lead you, Elisabeth is next in
command. Am I clear?” his voice commanded across the bailey.

A resounding “Aye” was
shouted by all present; their L
aird’s command was law.

Kendrix leaned over
to his brother and asked, “Are ye going to tell Elisabeth of her promotion in the army?”

Chuckling, he shook his head, “Not yet Kendrix, otherwise she’d be out here within the hour training with poison s
till coursing through her veins
, I’ll tell her…eventually.
”

Staying with the men, Broderick drilled with the warriors for hours
, due to Elisabeth’s illness, he had not left his room in days. Eventually once the warriors were done, he returned
to the keep to check on his wife. Entering the warm castle with his hounds following closely behind
him as
he bounded up the stairs arriving at his door, swinging it open slowly.

Conn and Isla lumbered through the doorway and ran directly to their mistress who sat before the fireplace brushing her hair.

He watched from the doorway as she turned to look at him, her skin looked healthy and flush once more, her sweet voice was a welcome sound.

“Hello husband, I feel much better this morning. Rhona made me eat until my belly was full, I had a wonderful
bath and feel like a new woman
.
”

Crossing the room he walked up to the chair and leaned down to kiss her sweet mouth,
“Hello wife,” he whispered between kisses as he picked her up and then sat back down, placing her in his lap. Running his hand
through her shiny hair he spoke softly,
“I spoke with Kendrix and the warriors this morning, you are welcome to join traini
ng when you feel you are ready
.
”

Popping up from his chest, she smiled brightly at
him,
“Thank you Broderick, I will go down with you tomorrow morning
.” Kissing him softly she whispered against his mouth, “but right now, I
need
you.”

Pulling her chemise over her head he ran his hand
s up over her bare skin, “Your
w
ish is my command.”

Pulling his shirt and plaid off easily,
Elisabeth straddl
ed her husband, moaning as she entered her. Letting her head fall back, she
her up and down upon his throbbing shaft, overcome with emotions she bit her lip as Broderick buried his face in her bouncing breasts as he held her tight.

Screaming his name as he pounded into her, he
swung
her so she was facing away from him; still inside
her
he wrapped his hands around her trim waist and watched her bob up and down upon him.

Looking over her shoulder at her husband, she purred, “Do you like what you see my lord?”

Flexing into her deep he caused her to moan his nam
e as he replied, “Aye my queen
.
”