Symphonies in E Minor

Chapter Twenty One: The Scots

The jagged slopes of the Trossachs make him take an immediate step back in slight fear, his hair wildly whipping into his face, his hands too cold to remove from his pockets to tuck his hair away. He should have brought some sort of a hat, and he suspects Faiz feels the same way, huddled by Ruhina as she looks daringly over the cliffs down at the iced over glens and braes.

He can barely open his eyes against the biting wind that picks up ice and snow from the weeks and weeks of harsh weather before their arrival. The wind makes it hard to breathe, but that is luckily battled with his scarf wrapped around the lower half of his face. He breathes in warm air instead of frigid air. He's relieved to see the other Scots also wrapping their scarves low on their faces.

The sun is just beginning to rise over the horizon, half of the sky still a deep blue while the other is beginning to turn a weak orange and pink hue. He shudders deeply, closing his eyes against the sudden strike of wind.

Ruhina and Faiz waddle over to him, both of them cuddling into his sides. Ruhina's head on Harry's right shoulder, Faiz's head on his left. Harry doesn't bother by pushing them away. He needs body heat as well.

It's not very comforting to see that the rest of the Scots, clad in durable leathers and trousers, aren't too ruffled by the cold. They're sitting down on the flat plains right before the dips of the cliffs. They're all Aaliyah's family or members of the same clan, though she's gone through the introductions too quickly and now he's forgotten nearly all the names.

He glances at Aaliyah once the three of them sit down. She's in a large winter coat, her dress drenched by the snow, her eyes wide and excited as she talks to her cousin. She doesn't seem cold at first glance, but when he looks at her further, he sees that she's trembling softly. His own dilemma now pushed to the back of his brain, he wishes he could remedy hers.

They decided to bring the English guests here this morning because it would be a good substitute for the Highlands. It's a lovely sight, all sharp and foggy in the horizon, and there's no way to see how deep this slope goes. Harry doesn't want to look at the bottomless pit himself, but Ruhina is murmuring to them about it. She likes these types of adventures.

They had to take boats to the mountains behind the Stirling Castle because the River Forth had been melting. Harry was wary about it as he sat in a seat and watched the men row, but Aaliyah had grinned at him and told him that everything was going to be just fine.

"Have you never gone out to sea, sassenach?" one of her cousins who sat next to her asked him curiously.

He smiled tensely. "Never have the pleasure, no."

Once Aaliyah is finished with her conversation, she spies her friends behind her and giggles as she crunches her way over to them. She sits in front of them, clasping her gloved hands together. Harry notices they're the same ones she left in his house.

"How are you all doing?"

"Wonderful," Harry says.

He can't see under her scarf but he knows she's grinning. "I can tell. Did you like the sights?"

"Yes," he says, shuddering. "We don't have many things like this in England, do we? None that I've seen anyways. We certainly don't have sunrises like this."

Aaliyah looks up at the sky. "It'll get better. Sometimes in the winter, the sky turns purple!"

Harry likes the way she says purple.

"Did you look over the cliffs?"

"We did!" Ruhina says. Aaliyah tugs her thick hood over her head some more. "Harry didn't."