Page 8 of See A Highlander (A Highlander Across Time #10)

CHAPTER 8

T om was slightly relieved to leave the castle that day. He had been helping Annie by looking after her wounds and although they weren’t bad they did need tending to. But for the first time he found touching his patient to be something of an internal conflict. As a Healer he should be able to put his passion and his work aside, but this with this woman he had a hard time doing that. He didn’t take that lightly and considered it a betrayal of his profession and his oath.

Touching her had lit something inside of him, something he wasn’t sure he wanted to acknowledge. So he was glad that he needed to restock his herbs & tonics.

He was headed into the nearest village to visit one of the shops there. His friend, Wallace, who owned the shop, was also a healer. He saw to the people of village and Tom often went to him when he needed to restock items that weren’t available in the castle gardens or surroundings.

Tom dismounted his horse and tied it to a tree in front of the shop. Wallace opened the door to greet him with a smile. He was a small man with a hunchback and a slow-moving pace of a walk, but he was always a joy to be around. Tom appreciated spending time in conversation with Wallace because he always had some knowledge to pass on to Tom.

"Ah, Tom. How are you today?” Wallace asked.

"I'm good ol' man. I've come to restock my cupboards.” Tom smiled.

"Come in for some tea and we will get you all set.”

Wallace poured a cup of tea and handed it to Tom.

“This is exceptional, Wallace, thank you.” Tom sipped the tea.

“What news from the castle do you bring?” Wallace asked.

“Not much news, I’m afraid. The same situations as always. Healing the guards as they work and train,” Tom said.

“Oh, aye. I heard a rumor about the village that you’ve had some visitors?” Wallace said. “Two young lasses?”

“Now how have you heard that? They’ve only just arrived,” Tom replied with surprise.

“You know how the guards like to visit the tavern,” Wallace chuckled. “Surprised the lasses went straight on to the castle and did not stop at the village. Nobody spoke of them passing through.” Tom sucked in a breath. This was something he hadn’t prepared for. Cameron had told him in his communications that they kept how the woman arrived a secret, but he’d never shared how they explained the women’s arrivals. “Oh, aye? I suppose they came from the other direction. I wouldn’t know though, I’ve barely spoken to them.”

“Is that so?” Wallace said, arching a brow.”

“Aye.” Tom finished his tea.

“Care for some more?” Wallace asked, eyeing the tea cup.

“Sure,” Tom replied, handing it over. He watched as Wallace lifted the cup and looked at the dregs of the tea. He sighed. “What are you doing?”

“It has been some time since I’ve read your leaves. I wanted to see if maybe your fate has changed since the last reading. Give an old man some amusement, will you?"

Wallace liked to think of himself as something of a seer, but only among those he considered his friends. No one wished to bring any kind of witch hunters into the area due to him innocently reading tea leaves and most everyone indulged him. However, the last reading Wallace had done for Tom had been fairly boring. He knew Wallace had been somewhat disappointed with what he'd seen, though he’d made it sound nice.

“Very well, though I doubt much has changed since the last time. What was it? A life of good deeds and a comfortable living? Was that not what you saw?”

“Aye, it twas…” Tom watched as the older man looked at the cup turning it here and there. Then his eyes widened, and a smile spread across his face.

“What do you see? Is it different than before? I am not entirely sure that I believe in these readings.” Tom said.

"Aye, it is different than before. Much different."

His tone worried Tom. "And?" he asked warily.

"It says that you will endure some strife."

Tom relaxed. "Of course it does. Who does not endure strife throughout a lifetime?"

“However, it seems the strife will lead to a wife,” Wallace said.

Tom paused. “You are teasing me, for you know that I’ve no plans to take a wife.”

"I am not.” Wallace gave him a serious look. “If you would learn to read the leaves, you would see so yourself,” Wallace said. “It tis right there,” he added, pointing at a particular grouping in the cup.

Tom thought it was strange that his destiny would change but he wouldn’t give it much weight. Perhaps the man was teasing him anyway.

“Well, no matter what the leaves say, I’m not ready for a wife any time soon. But whatever strife I am to go through, maybe it will be so far in the future that I will be settled by then and well off enough to take care of a wife and family."

A twinkle was in Wallace’s eye as he poured another cup for Tom. “Maybe it says a wife now because of the new arrivals?” Wallace suggested.

Tom was stunned by such an idea. He had been thinking of Annie in those terms, but didn’t dare admit it to himself. But the fact that it had changed with her arrival at the castle was intriguing to him.

“That is doubtful,” he scoffed, but he was definitely intrigued by the thought.

“You know, Tom, there are many legends and stories attached to Dunscaith Castle. When I was but a wee lad, I was told that the castle itself was built in a day by a witch name Scathach, who trained warriors. Tis said that she’s blessed those who live within its walls. So there is no need to think that you are immune from the magic of such a place. You do live within it, after all."

“That may be so, but one would have to believe in witchcraft to believe that, and we both know how dangerous such a thing to admit is,” Tom replied, finishing his second cup.

"Fine, fine, lad. Suit yourself, but mark my words, laddy, the tea leaves never lie. Give me your list, and we shall get started so that you can get back to the castle."

"Good. Thank you, Wallace,” Tom said.

"I don't want to be keeping you from your new wife,” Wallace added, tossing Tom another teasing grin.

Tom sighed and shook his head, but deep down he wondered if Wallace’s prediction was right.

Annie, up and dressed for the day, had gone to have breakfast with the other women, and then decided on a walk outside. She saw the same things that she’d seen upon her arrival with her crew the day before, but instead of ruins, it was all intact. She wondered what Mitch thought happened to her and Bella. He must be losing his mind.

Thinking about it, Annie would have given anything to watch the footage of that live stream of them going through the door and disappearing. The audience must think it was some sort of prank. By now, Mitch must have contacted the authorities for a search party. They would never be able to find them though.

Annie pushed those thoughts out of her mind because it was far too depressing.

“How are you feeling today?” Maria asked, joining her.

Annie turned around to find Maria walking toward her with a smile on her face. She was glad for her friendship especially since her husband was in charge of the magnificent place and she was sure that Maria had her own duties to attend to.

“Hey, I missed you at breakfast. I'm still trying to figure all this out,” she said.

“It’ll get better. I promise,” Maria said. “And yeah, I ate early with Cameron. I hope the others treated you well?”

“Everyone is very friendly and hospitable. I just feel out of sorts, you know? Everything I defined myself by is now gone.”

“Are you talking about job identity or something else?” Maria asked.

“I guess it is job identity. I told you that was a social media person, a vlogger. I had this video blog where I would go around to haunted places and investigate. I monetized my content, and that's how I made my money. I was pretty good at it and had a growing audience. Now, being here, there’s no electronics, no communication devices, no technology. It's very unsettling,” Annie said.

“I can understand. It was similar for me since I was very involved in my work.”

“How did you cope with it?” Annie asked.

“I guess it took me a while. I had a lot to contend with when I first arrived, plus, my skills as a detective worked in my favor. I suppose I still dabble in a bit of detective work occasionally, but it looks different in this time and place than it did back home, so I don’t exactly miss it. Not really. Plus, being married to Cameron, well, I have a lot on my place,” Maria said. “Perhaps some of what you do, like the research and looking into haunted things, will be your touchstone of a sort. We are living in a castle built by a witch who trained warriors and who is responsible for that doorway we go through.”

Annie frowned. “And how exactly is that going to work? It’s not like we’ve got the internet here.” Frustration filled Annie and her tone came out somewhat sarcastic.

Maria gave her a sympathetic look. “I know it’s frustrating to lose everything you’ve ever known, but this place, it’s special and I do think, once you give it a chance, you’ll find you like it here.”

Annie narrowed her eyes. “Or maybe you think that because you fell in love with the Laird?”

Maria giggled. “I’ll admit, falling in love with Cam helped, but it wasn’t just him. There really is something special here. Give it time, trust me. You’ll find your place. There’s a reason Scathach chose you. Eventually, you’ll see what that reason is.”

Sighing, Annie nodded. “So basically, I need to chill out.”

“Exactly. Take it one day at a time. Relax, get to know the castle and the people here and before you know it, this place will begin to feel like home to you.” Maria smiled.

“Okay. I’ll take your word for it. Thanks, Maria.”

“I’ll see you tonight at supper, there’s going to be a feast.” She laughed. “Well there’s always a feast, it just depends on the grandness of the occasion, but I think you’ll enjoy it. Tonight’s is to welcome you, so it will be grander than normal. It's basically going to be the biggest, most boisterous dinner party you have ever been to. It’ll help you let off some steam,” Maria said, grinning.

“Can't wait,” Annie said.

“I’ll see you later,” Maria commented as she started back to the castle. “And you don’t have to worry about changing for dinner, come as you are. That dress looks nice on you.”

“Thanks.” Annie smiled as she looked down at the tartan dress she wore.

After she finished her walk Annie returned to her room. She was excited about the prospect of the feast at dinner since it would keep her busy and possibly get her drunk.

With thoughts of her conversation with Maria in mind, she opened her leather bag and looked through the folder of notes she had with her on the hauntings of Dunscaith Castle. It was strange to look at them now after what had happened.

The past of Dunscaith was supposed to be a mere fantasy in her mind. But now she was living in it. She read through the pages and pages of notes and slowly came to realize that she now had direct experience of the magic of the castle and possibly a supernatural event. She grew excited realizing that maybe she could at least solve the mystery of the Dunscaith witch.

It didn't hold as much excitement as doing it for her audience, but at least she could find out the truth for herself. It would give her something to do and occupy her thoughts. It would be something to focus on and give her hope and these bizarre circumstances. Maybe if she was lucky, she could investigate to the point of figuring out how to return to her own time.

She picked up one of her precious pens and wrote down in her notes adding her own experience of going through the door. Everything that she could remember about what she saw and what she felt, she wrote down. It wasn’t that easy since she and Bella had been fighting when they went through the door. It was dark in the room before she went through the door, and she didn't remember all the details. But she went ahead and wrote down everything just as it had happened.

When she was done, she noticed that the room was darker. She had been working and without realizing how much time had passed. She walk to the window and saw that the sun was about to set. It would soon be dark. She lit the candle in the lantern and closed her notes putting them back in the bag and into a safe spot in the room.

Annie felt a little lighter now that she had put her memories on paper. It also gave her mind something to do instead of dwelling on her situation. As she turned toward the wash bowl and pitcher, there was a knock on the door. She hurried to it and opened it. “Oh, hello,” she said, seeing the young maid who’d brought her food when she’d first arrived. “Dorine, right?”

“Aye, Miss.” She smiled and bobbed a curtsey. “I’ve come to light your fire in your fireplace and to see if you be needin’ anythin’?”

“I appreciate that, thank you,” she opened the door wider, “but I don’t think I need anything else right now.”

“Alright then, Miss, I’ll jest see to the fire and get out of your way then.” Dorine hurried to the hearth and began laying logs on the grate. “I’ll check on it later, make sure it warms up your room nicely while you enjoy supper. An’ I’ll make sure you’ll have enough wood to keep it goin’ through the night.”

“Thanks, Dorine.”

Annie watched her for a moment and then went back to her task. She didn’t want to be late to the dinner. She washed her face and hands, then brushed her hair and tied it into braids. She cleaned up her room a little, said goodbye to Dorine as she left, the fire burning cheerily in the fireplace, and when the time came, she made her way down to the Dining Hall.

Annie walked in and was surprised by what she saw. She knew Maria had said it would be a boisterous dinner party, but she wasn’t expecting what was in front of her.

Rows of tables and benches were filled with the inhabitants of the castle, the guards and their families from what it looked like. At the table on the raised stage, she once again recognized a few of the women from her time enjoying drinks with some of the men, who she supposed were their husbands.

Large dishes and trays of food were being brought in from the kitchens. They were set down on the tables which were already cluttered with various amounts of roasted vegetables and roasted seafood and meat. The smells were incredible.

Off in the corner of the room, a group of musicians were playing festive music, making the room seem lively. It was very much a party type of atmosphere and Annie was in awe seeing it.

“You look surprised, lass” a deep voice said.

Annie turned to see Tom standing before her. She immediately blushed. He had this effect on her and it was a bit unsettling. His gray eyes sparkled and he had a delicious grin on his face.

“I wasn’t expecting all of this,” Annie said.

“Aye, we do enjoy a good eating and drinking. Come sit with me,” he said, gesturing toward to table on the stage.

“Thank you,” she said.

Annie sat down with Tom at the long table off to the side of the others so they could talk. She waved to some of the ladies who smiled back at her. “How does this work?” she asked, gesturing to the food. “Do we just help ourselves?”

“Aye, allow me,” he said, lifting her plate.

“Sure, thanks,” Annie replied, smiling.

He piled food onto her plate, a little bit of everything that was on offer, and then poured her some wine.

“This looks very good, thank you, Tom,” she said.

“Have you been finding your way around the castle?”

“In a way. I did enjoy a walk around the place today. Then I sat in my room working on something, but you will probably think it's strange,” she said laughing at herself.

“Lass, you’re from the future, I think we’re beyond what I think is strange at this point,” he said with a chuckle.

“I suppose you’re right.” She laughed again.

Annie enjoyed that he made light of her situation. It was relieving to her. So she confided in him about her research on the Dunscaith witch. She was surprised that he was very interested and intrigued by her interest in it.

“You know, I have heard many tales of Dunscaith and Scathach in my time. There are even rumors about its enchantments told all over the isle. Many of the locals have tales of this place and their encounters with Scathach.”

“Really? I would love to hear what you’ve learned.”

“In that case,” he said as he grabbed a decanter of wine and poured more into her glass. “You’re going to need more wine.”

She laughed. Annie was enjoying his playfulness and that to her was dangerous.