My eyes stare coldly into Murgan's eyes, which are gradually getting more and more scared from my voice and my cold gaze. His warriors also look frightened. I notice that even my own warriors are frightened and look at me with pride. They really think that I am a strong adversary. Everyone is petrified.
Slowly, almost unnoticeably, Murgan retreats into the shadows, trying to save himself from getting killed. His warriors, on the other hand, come forward, baring their swords.
'Get them!' I shout to my warriors, while I take Elsie a bit far from there, where there is no one and it is safe.
I put her to the ground and look into her eyes.
'Stay safe here, my sunshine, and wait for me,' I tell her. 'Do not do anything, just try to stay safe. Do not go anywhere. Stay here and wait for me.' I desperately hope that she will not get into any harm while I am away from her.
'You are a warrior, Calem,' she says me softly. 'I know that you must go now. I cannot tell you not to go because you have things to get done.' She looks into my eyes. 'Calem, I know what you are going to do. Please be careful. Please come back to me again. I do not want to lose you.'
She hugs me tightly, and when our cheeks brush together, she slowly moves her head towards my face, and our lips meet in a warm kiss. The sweet taste of her lips makes me close my eyes for a moment and feel the moment as eternity.
I hug her tightly and leave her under the walls of the castle, hoping that she will not go away on her own. I return to my warriors that I left with Murgan and his men. To my surprise and joy, I see that my warriors have killed two of Murgan's men, and the others have run away together with Murgan.
'Protect Elsie with your life until I return, as I am leaving my heart in your hands,' I tell the oldest warrior, instructing him to go and stand with Elsie, never letting any kind of harm getting near her. When I see with my eyes that she is safe, I go to look for Murgan. My warriors say that he has run towards the entrance of the castle.
I enter the castle and look around. Someone is hiding behind the wall in the hallway. It is dimly lit, but I can see clearly that someone is hiding.
'Come out, you coward!' I call, and get behind the wall myself.
Murgan jumps up, startled. He does not know where to go – there is noise outside in the courtyard, as people are cheering my victory with killing some of his men.
'The head! The head!' They are shouting. Obviously, they want me to show them Murgan's head. He can't go out, and he can't go anywhere inside the castle, as I am standing right next to him.
The doors of the castle open and a few warriors enter. I do not know them – they are Murgan's warriors. As I get ready to fight them, Murgan smiles and commands them:
'Kill this warrior!'
I keep my sword ready, moving closer to the newcomers, but then something else happens. The warriors shake their heads and turn on my side.
'We will never harm this warrior who is fair,' they say. 'We are here to protect him and to kill you!'
Murgan's face distorts, as he realizes what is going on in reality. He has no allies left. His eyes dart to the sides, as he is frantically looking for some solution in this situation.
'You are just a filthy monkey!' Murgan calls to me. 'You are dirty and disgusting! Go where you have come from. Clean my castle from your presence.'
I slowly start approaching him, looking at him menacingly. He looks at me, and his eyes get filled with fear.
'You… are… a… monster,' he says, stammering, as he starts shaking with fear.
'I am,' I say, my voice sounding like a thunder again. 'And you will pay for everything.'
Murgan is sure now that he has no chance of living. The moment that I reach him and stand in front of him, he throws his sword onto the ground and surrenders.
I hesitate for a second. My first impulse is to kill him right here and now. But my honor prevents me from doing it. I cannot kill someone who has surrendered to me and is not armed.
'You will rot in the dungeon,' I tell him, 'just like you wanted Elsie to stay there. You will live the rest of your life in the dungeon, getting only bread and water.'
I turn to face the warriors.
'Take him away, down to the dungeon,' I tell them. They nod and start towards Murgan, but my instincts tell me to act quickly and to look back, holding my sword ready. Murgan is in the process of attacking me, holding a sgian dubh, as he wants to stab me in the back with it. In a fraction of a second, I stick my sword into him. He drops down dead.