Page 16 of Highland Spirit

“Alana, there ye are,” said Kirstine, hurrying across the courtyard as fast as she could in her pregnant state as Alana exited the castle. “The storm is gettin’ worse,” she told her, pulling the hood of her cloak up over her head.

“Aye,” answered Alana. “Did Finn manage to get all the sheep into the barn?” Even though the sheep were smuggled and Alana hated that fact, some of them were kept on the isle for them to consume. Without them, they would starve. She had to be a part of this deceit because their lives depended on it.

“Nay. He’s no’ back yet and I’m worried,” answered her sister. “That’s why I called for ye. Ever since Osla and her children left the isle, Finn has been tendin’ the sheep, but it is too much for one boy to do alone.”

“I agree,” said Alana.

“I’m goin’ to go out there and help him.” Kirstine started for the stable to get her horse.

“Nay,” answered Alana, running after her. Kirstine wasn’t the best rider to begin with, and Alana didn’t want her on a horse this far along in her pregnancy. For her to go out in a storm would only give Alana one more thing to worry about. “I’ll go. Ye stay here with Isobel and Faither. Take Isobel to Faither’s bedside with ye and make certain she doesna disappear again, like she has a habit of doin’ lately.”

“Are ye sure?” asked Kirstine, almost being pushed over by a big puff of wind.

“We both ken ye are in no condition to be on a horse let alone out in a storm. I am twice as guid of a rider than ye anyway. Plus, I dinna think ye can get a sheep to listen to ye if yer life depended on it.”

“I ken ye’re right,” answered Kirstine with a giggle. It was so good to see her smile again. It reminded Alana of their days growing up in the clan. Kirstine was such a happy child. But now, she never had cause to smile anymore. “I’m better suited for sewin’ and skills inside the keep. Or possibly tendin’ to the sick, like Faither.”

Alana had never been one to be content with doing the chores of a lady. Neither did she have the patience or skills to be a healer. She liked the rugged Highlands and always felt comfortable in the wilderness and around animals of all kinds.

“I’ll help Finn secure the flock and be back in no time at all. Now go and watch over Isobel and Faither please. We’ll have to ride out the storm alone since I’m sure Diarmad and his men willna be able to sail back in this weather.”

“Guid,” said her sister, with hatred showing in her eyes. “I hope Diarmad and the others are swept out to sea and never return!”

Alana felt the same way, but she had to be strong for her sister. “Dinna say that, Kirstine. For the bairn’s sake. After all, no matter how much we hate the man, he is still the faither of yer unborn child.”

Kirstine rubbed her belly, bit her bottom lip to keep from crying, and nodded slowly. “Ye are right, Sister. I will be strong. For my bairn.”

“We’ll get through this, Kirstine. I promise ye that we will. I will find a way for our lives to be guid again. But for now, we just need to concern ourselves with gettin’ through the storm.”

“All right. Be careful,” Kirstine called out from behind her as Alana made her way to the stable and collected her horse. She didn’t want to waste time with a saddle, so she rode the horse bareback across the drawbridge and up the cliff to where the sheep often grazed.

By the time she got to the field, the snow was mixed with slushy rain and was coming down twice as hard. She could barely see the hand in front of her face.

“Finn! Finn, are ye out here?” she called out, seeing a shadow ahead of her.

“Alana, I canna get the last three sheep into the stable,” Finn called out through the storm. The boy battled the wind, climbing higher on the steep rocks. It was too dangerous and Alana became frightened for him. “They went higher instead and now they’re stuck there.”

“God’s eyes,” she said, directing her horse up the cliff, not really sure how to get the sheep secure so they wouldn’t get injured or sick in the storm. “Go back to the barn, Finn. I’ll get them. Be ready to open the gate,” she told the boy.

“Aye,” said Finn, running through the snow. He was on foot and she figured his horse was tied up inside the shelter.

As Alana got closer to the sheep, her horse started to slip. She began to slip as well and regretted not saddling the horse after all. She figured if she could get high enough, she’d come up behind the sheep and scare them down the cliff and right into the pen. Easier said than done. The storm was nasty and it fought against her. Before she knew what happened, her horse slipped and she slid, falling to the ground and hitting her head on the hard, frozen ground.

Her vision blurred – or was it just that it was too hard to see through the snow? She was no longer sure. Her head ached and she thought she heard the barking of a dog in the distance, even though there were no dogs on the isle. Then, just before her eyes closed and she fell into an unconscious state, she swore she saw Ethan MacKeefe’s face as he leaned over her body.

* * *

“God’s toes, it really is Alana,” said Ethan, leaning over the girl he’d seen fall from the horse.

“What’s happenin’?” shouted Caleb, climbing the rocks behind him.

“Leave my sister alone,” came the shout of a boy from behind them.

Ethan spun around, by nature drawing his sword.

“Dinna hurt me!” The boy held his hands high over his head in surrender and took a step backward. “Ethan?” he asked, looking at him closer. “Is that ye?”

Suddenly, Ethan realized the boy had called Alana his sister. He remembered Alana’s siblings, Kirstine and Finn. But when he knew them, Finn was just a child.