Erin McGuinness // An Outlander Fanfiction

Prologue

I stare at my brother blankly. I'm trying so hard to comprehend what he had just told me. "When do ye leave?" I ask, my throat catching. Liam looks down. "Liam. When do ye leave?" I growl. "In three days." He barely whispers. I stand up and nod.

"How am I going to know if yer dead or alive? What about Seanmháthair?" 

I was shaking. Liam had just told me he was going on a ship over to Scotland to fight against the Red Coats at Culloden. My head was spinning. When I was three years old and Liam only seven, our parents were tragically killed in a shipwreck. Now at fifteen, I risk loosing my big brother too. Our Seanmháthair had brought us up since, but now she was ill and close to death. To say I was terrified is an understatement.

"Erin, yer the strongest lass I know. Ye can do this. I'll talk you through the rent collections and we have the animals for food. Ye know how to hunt too, far better than most of the lads around here." Liam pulls at me so I am facing him.

A lump forms in my throat. "I can't do it without you though."

"Yes, ye can love." 

He plants kiss on my forehead and pulls me in for a cuddle. We stand there for a moment, both thinking it could possibly be one of our last moments together. 

"Is anyone else from the village going too?" I whisper, pulling away from him. Liam's face whitens slightly. I touch his arm, "Liam?" My voice shakes. 

"All of the lads over eighteen." Liam gulps. My knees wobble, "That means-" He nods as I choke on my words. I rush over the wall and grab my shawl, wrapping it around my shoulders. "I have to go and see him." I rush, tears running down my face. I push open the door, it slamming shut behind me.

I was nearly at the gate when Liam's voice stopped me. "Erin, he's already gone. He couldn't-" Liam stops taking a breath. I turn and look at him, my eyes flaring. "He couldn't what?" I scream. "He couldn't say goodbye." 

And just like that, I felt as though someone had harshly punched me in the stomach. My knees gave way beneath me and I collapsed onto the ground like I'd been winded. My ears were ringing and I could barely hear Liam over my sobs. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." He said over and over as he held me in his arms whilst I cried into his chest.

* Seanmháthair is Grandmother in Irish