Authors: Samantha Forest
She suddenly became dizzy and put a hand to her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Elijah looking at her concerned.
“Emily? What’s wrong?” he asked.
“It’s nothing,” she answered quickly. “I...I suppose riding so quickly after all these years doesn’t quite agree with me.”
“Perhaps we should get you down,” Elijah said. “We can let the horses graze here and give you a chance to rest.”
“Thank you,” Emily said. “I think that would be best.”
He dismounted from his saddle and then helped Emily out of hers. Despite her stomach causing troubles, as well as her dizziness, she could not help but thrill at the feeling of his arms wrapped around her waist.
He helped her move to the tree where she leaned against the trunk and sunk down to the ground.
Elijah settled down by her side, pulling his knees up to his chest.
“It is beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked.
“It is,” Emily agreed readily.
“I didn’t think it would be,” Elijah told her. “When Pa took us away from Kentucky, I was certain I would hate this place. Since I’d been born we’d settled, or tried to settle in more places than I dare to count.”
Emily remembered her father telling her this. Her own Pa had told her that Elijah’s father was a wandering man. A man who would never be satisfied where he was.
“But, when we got here,” Elijah continued. “When I saw the mountains and the green grass and all the space, I realized that this was our place. We were like the Israelites wandering around in the desert. We’d finally found the land of milk and honey.”
Even though her stomach was still churning, and even though her head was spinning, she could still not deny the beauty of the land Elijah was showing her.
“It’s sad really,” she said carefully against the bubbling of her stomach. “To think that, at one time, the whole country looked like this.”
Elijah gave a small chuckle.
“Don’t worry,” he answered. “I have a feeling that God will always find a way to give us places like this. No matter what we do to stop him.”
Emily opened her mouth to tell him that she hoped he was right. But, a sharp cough came up instead. The churning in her stomach continued without ceasing, and before she could stop it, she had turned her head as her sick was poured all over the trunk of the tree.
“Emily!” Elijah said rushing towards her. He grasped her shoulders and moved the hair that had fallen away from her face.
Emily shook her head. She wanted to speak and give him some kind of excuse for her illness, but she did not want to take the chance.
Soon, Elijah had taken hold of her waist again and was helping her to stand.
“We’ll get you back to the house,” he said. “You can ride with me.”
Emily could do nothing but nod as he lifted her into his saddle. She closed her eyes and leaned against Elijah’s strong frame as she felt the horse beginning to move gently, but quickly back to the house.
***
Emily did not realize how much time had passed when she opened her eyes to find herself in her own room. She heard voices issuing from just outside the door:
“Ben,” Elijah’s voice said. “Go into town quickly and fetch the doctor.”
“Yes, sir,” Ben’s high, young voice answered.
As soon as he did, Emily began to feel a panic settle in her stomach which had nothing to do with her illness.
When the doctor came, he would examine her. He would discover her secret, and Elijah would know that she had lied to him. What would happen? Surely, he would be more upset at her dishonesty than he would be by her secret.
Even if Elijah decided not to go through with their marriage, she wanted him to hear the truth from her. She owed him at least that much.
Her mind had only just been made up when she heard the door creak open and Elijah stepped in.
“Emily,” he said quickly moving to her side and taking her hand in his. “Don’t worry. The doctor’s on his way.”
“Elijah,” she said. She knew she had to tell him quickly before she lost her nerve. “There is something you must know before the doctor arrives.”
As Emily revealed the entire, shameful story, she did not look at Elijah. She could not bear to see disgust or hurt in her eyes at the news of her betrayal.
When her tale was finished, she felt her face red with shame. Her eyes were still focused on the floor. Indeed, they did not lift until she heard a bright laugh come from Elijah’s direction. In surprise, she lifted her eyes to look at him.
He was smiling at her as though she had just given him a wonderful gift.
“Emily, you silly woman,” he said. “Why on earth would you try and hide this from me?”
“No one would want to marry a woman who was carrying another man’s child,” she answered. She thought that explanation would have been obvious and was still shocked by Elijah’s response.
“Why not?” Elijah asked. “This is more than I ever could have dreamed!” When Emily looked at him, confused and more than a little shocked, he squeezed her hand once again and explained: “I will have a wife and child all at once. I must be the luckiest man alive.”
“And...you don’t care that the child will not truly be yours?” she asked still reeling from Elijah’s unexpected reaction.
“I will make this child mine,” Elijah told her gently, a wide smile still spread across his face. “The same way we will make this place our home. It does not matter how this child began life. It is where life will take him that matters.”
With that, Emily’s heart began to beat wildly as her face broke out into a smile that mirrored Elijah’s.
He let out a small chuckle once more before gently cupping her face and leaning towards her. As Elijah’s lips met hers, Emily could not help but thank God for giving her an answer to her prayer. After years of wandering, she finally found her true home, here in the land of milk and honey.
*****
THE END
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My Sc
ottish Protector
by Samantha Forest
Although Moira knew it was only a dream, it did not stop the experience from being something less than an absolute nightmare. If anything, the fact that it was not real only made things worse. She could do nothing to stop it.
As it always was in these dreams, she was frozen in place, just as she had been that day. Her blue eyes were the only part of her able to freely move. And all they could see through a tiny opening was a giant hulking monster rising up through the crushed doorway. Its teeth were long, razor-sharp daggers; its roar felt as loud as an avalanche, and its eyes… its red eyes. Moira would never forget the look in those bloodthirsty globes as it rushed towards her parents.
Her father had been the first to perish. The brave, headstrong man was never one to back down from a fight; much less allow his wife and child to be harmed. But unlike every other time, this was not a battle he would walk away from. With an effortless swipe from its paw, the growling bear’s strength sent the man straight across the small roundhouse. He landed in a crumpled heap; his once strong face was now smeared with dark blood. Moira tried to plead with him to get up, but like every other night, her voice was silent.
Her mother, just as much a warrior as her father, stood next to protect her child. Armed only with a small spear, she rushed at the beast, screaming in rage almost as loudly as the bear was roaring. The last thing Moira saw of her was a flurry of fiery red hair. Then everything went dark. All that the little girl could hear was the husky breathing as the bear tried to tear open her hiding place.
The two locks on the small chest began to snap. And Moira knew it would only be moments before she shared the fate of her parents…
***
“Moira! Moira wake up!” A familiar voice cried.
Feeling the sensation of someone shaking her, Moira instinctively grabbed a bone knife from under her pillow. Her gaze still blurred, she started to attack the figure.
“Moira!” the person yelled loudly
Now fully awake, the young woman gasped as she immediately dropped the knife. “I am so sorry, Erskina. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Shaking her head, the old woman merely sighed. Embracing the shaking girl, she said, “Now, now. You forget I raised five warriors. I would not have lasted very long if I couldn’t dodge an attack once in a while.” Picking up the knife, Erskina added, “Besides, it is you that I am worried for.”
Avoiding her gaze, Moira got up to look outside the small window. “It was nothing. Just another dream.”
“That nightmare again?” Erskina asked worriedly. “They have been growing more common.” When Moira merely shrugged, she warned, “Moira, this is not a matter to take lightly. Dreams mean something. And perhaps… it means it is time to put the past behind you.”
“You mean I should forget that a monster took my entire family from me? That I was forced to watch helpless as my parents were devoured by that beast?!” Moira asked, slamming her fist onto the wooden wall of the house.
“The hate you hold is consuming you. Can you not see that?” Erskina asked, holding onto Moira’s arm. “Please, look at yourself. You have not eaten or slept well in months.”
“I will eat and sleep once I get rid of them all,” she replied, her tone becoming a deep growl.
Knowing that her words would do nothing to sway her, Erskina simply moved to pick up a comb. With a weak smile she said, “Alright. Well at least let me fix that bird’s nest you call hair.”
Sighing, Moira sat down on her bed as she allowed the old woman to brush her frazzled, ginger hair into a neat braid. She knew the Erskina was only looking out for her best interest, but there was no way that anyone could ever hope to understand her malice towards the creatures that killed her parents. Still, Moira owed the woman more than she could ever repay. After all, no one else had been able to raise her like Erskina had.
“I love you, Erskina,” Moira whispered. “I’m sorry.”
“I love you, too, Dear,” she replied, giving her a small kiss on the head. With a small shove, Erskina, scolded, “Now go. The daylight’s burning, and I believe you have somewhere to be.”
Snapping her head up, Moira rushed to grab her hunting gear and ran out the door.
Ivar is going to be furious at me. I told him we’d start at dawn. Damn it, Erskina, you kept me late on purpose.
***
Her surrogate mother had never truly warmed up to her childhood friend. But Moira could never quite understand the reason why. And as the young woman made her way up the Beinn Nibheis mountainside, a grin began to grow on her freckled face as she anticipated their day together. Panting, she finally arrived at the usual clearing were they began their hunt.
“Took you long enough, Moira,” a tanned man said indignantly, crossing his arms. “I was sure that you had just gone off without me.”
“Of course I would never start without you, Ivar,” she replied with a smirk. Giving him a playful punch on the shoulder, Moira added, “Who else would I use as human bait?”
Rolling his brown eyes, he ignored the comment and continued onto the trail. “So, what is the real reason you were late?”
Moira hesitated to answer, but after all they had been through, she knew he was the person who understood the most. “I had that… dream again. And Erskina tried to keep me from coming. She says my hunting is what’s making it worse.”
Ivar scoffed. “Making it worse? I’d say you’ve become an even greater warrior ever since we’ve started. It may not be my place to say, but a few bad dreams are worth getting justice.”
Nodding in agreement, Moira smiled. As usual, Ivar was the most supportive of her endeavors. Who would have guessed that the scrawny boy that had given her a wilted flower ten years ago would have become her greatest ally?
Her nostalgic thoughts were interrupted, however, as the two came across the tell-tale signs of a bear trail. Deep claw marks were razed the bark of a broad pine, and an unmistakable musk permeated the area.
One of you is here,
Moira thought, her mouth breaking into a malicious grin.
Taking out her bow and arrow, she narrowed her eyes.
And I’m coming for you.
***
“I can’t believe we lost the trail!” Moira shouted, slamming her fist into the trunk of a nearby tree. “We were so close to finding it!”
Ivar placed a hand on her shoulder. “Calm down, Moira. It’s not your fault it started raining. Now let’s just get to Chief Dùghlas, he wants to talk about the raiders near the border.”