Timeless

Chapter Eleven

Chapter 11

"They came out of the mountains, from our northern border, the bastards!" Iain had been raving, pacing back and forth in front of the high table, his right shoulder quirked at an unnatural angle. It was dislocated, Shaw could tell. He'd been spitting out globs of blood every few words, his left eye was swollen shut, he was having trouble taking a deep breath, the knee on one leg was threatening to give out, as was the ankle on the other. Only his anger had kept him conscious, kept him on his feet, shouting to the rafters. "They rode into Findon Village, near the coast! They raided the farms, slaughtered everyone! Didn't even leave the damn horses alive! And that bastard from the hill, the one who attacked you, Captain Angus Fraser," he mocked with a sneer, "he said to tell you, personally, that his Laird wants to meet with you, to negotiate, and every day you refuse, he'll raze another village, another town, destroy crops, livestock, until the price is high enough."

Three days Shaw had ridden with a procession of warriors in his wake. Three days he'd bit back the fury at the Frasers' arrogance and gall, their threats against crops and sheep and cattle. To say nothing of the people, the innocent farmers and townspeople who would lose their lives and livelihoods. Shaw grumbled under his breath about greed and disregard for human life.

"So what's the deal with the Logan's and the Frasers?" Ri nudged Macbeth up so he kept pace with Shaw's stallion, Conall. "I mean, I've heard of the famous Scottish Clan Wars, but this seems kind of over the top."

"Ye spent a week pouring o'er the histories in my office. Ye still donna ken?"

"No, I don't," her voice was even, calm, despite the way he'd snapped at her. "I've only read back about five years, so I know the feud's been violent, but like I said, this seems a little extreme."

"Aye," Shaw rubbed at his jaw, trying to reign in his anger, save it for the Frasers. "T'would be the right word, I suppose." He sighed. "The Fraser Laird is called Fergus. He was my Ma's uncle, although nay much older than her. He and my Da were friends, and for some reason they dinna like each other tae begin with. Then my Ma and Da fell in love, would meet each other in the woods on the border at night. Ma got with child, Da took her tae a chapel, bound her tae him, but she insisted that she go back tae Fergus, back tae the Frasers for one more night, tae say goodbye."

"I'm guessing that didn't end well?"

"Fergus saw it as a chance tae weaken us, agreed tae let Ma go tae Da if he'd sign o'er Logan lands tae the Frasers. Ma refused, tried tae escape with her bags, he pushed her down the stairs in his anger. She was lucky she only lost the bairn. Ran outside, made it tae the forest where my Da was waiting for her, escaped into Logan lands, and Da refused tae let Fergus contact her e'er since."

"That bad, huh?"

"Fergus is a fool, selfish and greedy, but if Da had come tae him, tae ask him for her honestly instead of sneaking around behind his back, mayhap none of this would hae happened."

"Sounds like Fergus would have been angry either way. Yeah, your Dad didn't exactly make the best choices, but he was human, same as any of us. He made a mistake, but no one ever expects something like this to come of it. And anyway, Fergus sounds like a real nasty piece of work, I doubt he would have approved even if they had been open about their relationship from the beginning."

"Tae hate my family is one thing, but tae take it out on my clan, on the people depending on me for protection, what kind of –"

"He's not doing this to the people, he's doing it to you," Ri reached a hand up to his shoulder. "His men might have enjoyed the blood and the panic, and he might have as well, but him calling you out like that? That was personal. Whether he knows that hurting those people would hurt you, or he just wanted to hurt your coffers by tearing into their livelihood, he wouldn't have called you out like that if this whole thing wasn't meant to get to you. So don't let it. Keep your anger at bay, don't let him see that. These are your lands, you're in charge, so show him that. Don't let him get to you, no matter what he threatens. Because then he wins, no matter the outcome."