A Love to Discover (Loving in the Highlands 2)
The warriors look down on the ground, feeling ashamed. They realize their mistake and do not say anything.
'We were deceived by Murgan,' finally the oldest warrior speaks. 'He told us that the girls were at court preparing their trousseau, and that Megan was eager to become his wife. He told us that by marrying Megan, he would become our new Laird and the owner of the land. He said that we had to obey him, as after marriage he would legally own everything here. He threatened us that if we did not obey him, he would retaliate after the marriage. We made the mistake of believing him.'
'We knew that something was wrong, because the girls never showed up,' another warrior says. 'We were thinking about them and getting worried. We knew that something was going on but we did not know what to do or how to start the investigation without raising Murgan's suspicion.'
'We realized that something was terribly wrong when his men brought Elsie here tied and gagged with a piece of cloth,' the third one says. 'Why would he do that if everything was fine?'
I feel my head starting to boil. My beautiful Elsie, tied and gagged?
'Who were those men? Who brought Elsie, tied and gagged?' I ask, trying to maintain my calm posture.
'His own men,' the oldest warrior replies. 'Apparently, he did not trust us for that mission. He knew that we knew the girls and would never harm them. So, he brought his own men who we do not know. They are his men, and will do anything that he says.'
'When we saw you sneaking in, we had a feeling that this has to do something with Elsie being kidnapped, so we decided to investigate,' the second warrior says.
'Now we were determined to do something for sure,' the oldest adds. 'Even though, you were dressed up as a peasant, you looked too strong and big for a peasant – apparently you were just disguised. We could tell that you might have the answer to all our questions.'
'Tell me, what happened to Elsie! Where is she now?' I am impatient.
'Murgan took Elsie by force and locked her in the dungeon until she agreed to be his wife,' the third warrior says. 'He wants to marry her, but she refuses. He is in rage and does not know how to convince her, so he is going to marry her by force in the end. All that he is looking for is to become the legal owner of these lands.'
'I know about his plans, the filthy old man,' I say in rage. 'He treated my Elsie so badly! I will rescue her and kill Murgan! Yes, I am going to kill him!'
'You are a strong and experienced warrior,' the oldest one says. 'We are going to follow you and go after you. We want to be your warriors. We also want to see Murgan dead. He is cruel and terrible.'
'Yes, we need someone as self-confident as you, and you have a big experience commanding warriors and attacking castles, as you are an experienced warrior. We want to come with you,' the second warrior says.
'It is still evening,' I say, pacing back and forth in the barn. 'My plan is to attack when it is nighttime, and everyone is asleep.'
'Yes. And what is the plan of the attack? What are we going to do?' One of the warriors asks.
'We are going to kill everyone who has supported Murgan, of course,' I say fiercely. 'And then, when there is no one left, we will go to the dungeon and get Elsie out of there.'
The warriors nod in agreement.
I take my warrior clothes out of the bag and change my clothes. Then I take out my sword and hold it readily. I am ready for the fight.
It is almost night time. The sky gets darker and darker, while we wait in the barn in silence. I plan inside my head the entire action, step by step. I can already imagine me taking Elsie out of the dungeon, hugging her and telling her that it was the first and last time that I have left her alone. The warriors sit on the small piles of hay and look at me, waiting for my order to start the attack.
I look at the sky – a bit more, and it will be really dark, exactly the time that I want the attack to begin.
'Get ready,' I tell them and walk towards the exit of the barn. They follow me. 'We are going to go around the castle and kill Murgan's men,' I add, informing them for the last time what we are going to do.
'We are always ready,' the say in unison, as we get out of the barn.
It is dark outside. Only the moon casts faint light from the sky. The surroundings are dark, except for the small lantern on the wall of the castle where the entrance is. I notice shadows of people who are lined along the walls of the castle, one by one. They are rather far from one another, which is a good thing – we will not let the others know when we kill someone.