Highland Chieftain (Book 5)

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

The whole night was just one large catastrophe. As the sun kissed the land once more, Kendrick had to scrub his hands down his face trying to clear his mind of the wool of tiredness. Heading across the frosty bailey, the fires of the night before dead but smoking in the pits which they had sprang from only hours before. The weak sunlight shuttered by thick fluffy clouds, had the effect of leaving the land blanketed in soft edges and light shadows. The water trough before the stables was his first stop. The frigid water shocking him awake as he cupped it and threw it upon his face. Leaning down upon the rough trough edge and stared into the rippling water. The water droplets from his face dripping into the waves and carrying on the turmoil below that echoed the turmoil within. Sleep had evaded him and he could no longer stand the looks Cam had kept throwing him. The concern was palpable, but all he had wanted was to find Larena.

Knowing she was being cared for by Aislinn did little to ease the tension still thrumming through him from last eves events. Pushing roughly away from the trough, he wiped the stubborn droplets from his brow and cheek with a jerky movement and stormed towards the stable entrance. He needed to calm his thoughts and the only way he could think to do so was to sweep them away in the wind with a good hard ride.

The change in light had Kendrick blinking rapidly. The darkness taking a minute to get used too, causing him to pause a moment in the entrance. The dim, warm interior was a welcoming embrace that he let settle into his being as he strolled along the wide aisle down the centre of the horses. A few curiously lifting their heads in his direction before going back to their own musings. When a familiar head made itself known and tossed whilst impatient for his attention, he quickened his steps. A gentle snort greeted him as the sable beast nudged as his hand as if trying to force the petting he so wanted. "I know boy," he ruffled the mane upon the stallions head. "How about a good run?" The nodding excitement he received brought a reluctant smile to his face. "I knew you would be on side." With a solid pat on the neck, he reached out for the rope keeping the horse within his stall. A small noise caught his attention, freezing to better work out what it was and where it came from, he narrowed his eyes into the shadows.

There it was again, but he could not work out what the strange shuffling sounds belonged too. With a silent stroke to the stallions nose, reassuring the animal who had stilled when he had. Kendrick walked slowly and stealthy towards the rear corner of the stables. Reaching for his belt his fingers found it empty of his weapon. Cursing himself as he continued onward, he focused in upon the shapes hidden in the shadows. Creeping further forward, he caught a glimpse of the small body in the corner and rolled the tension from his shoulders. "What are you doing in here?" With no response, he gave the bairn time by heading to the shutters and tossing them wide, allowing a dim light to soften the shadows and allowing him to see the features on the lad before him. Crouching, Kendrick tried to make himself as unthreatening as possible. "Come on lad, why are you here all alone?" He glanced around to confirm what he knew, that his parents were nowhere near. Which was not what he would have expected of them. "Do they know where you are?" Still not a reaction, he had not even had a glance in his direction yet. The rustling noise caught his attention once more.

With a smile flittering at his lips, he crept a little closer. Pausing when a quick glance was thrown in his direction. Before the focus went unerringly back to the rustling. Trying to get something from the lad, he kept still. "Can I have a closer look?"

The wait became so long it was as Kendrick was trying to rack his brain over what else he could say that the lad finally spoke. "Aye, but don't scare them."

"I won't lad, I promise."

A tiny nod was his answer, which was only seen because he was looking so closely. Looking down in the small nest of hay, he kept his attention away from the lad now, knowing he may do better that way. "Are they yours lad?" Again the wait. He would answer or not.