“Hope,” Ailis echoed flatly later in their conversation. Beneath the table, her fingers curled into a fist. It was hard to keep feeling hope day after day knowing a battle was coming, and she would most certainly lose clan members if not her own husband.
As the night wore on, torches flickered and shadows lengthened. Ailis remained lost in thought, her eyes tracing intricate patterns of tapestries that told tales of valor and sacrifice.
“Are ye certain nothing ails ye?” Lachlan persisted.
“Naught but the weight of duty,” she confessed softly. It was an honest answer, if incomplete.
Lachlan nodded, his blue eyes searching hers for the unspoken words. “I know we’re all faced with difficulties, but I know that we can get through it if we work together.”
Ailis forced a smile, nodding in agreement. Yet as the celebration continued around her, the image of Fiona, aglow with impending motherhood, lingered in her mind—a stark reminder of the life growing inside her sister, and of the unspoken ache within her own heart.
The distant strains of a lute filled the hall, weaving a melody that danced with the flickering firelight. Ailis watched as couples twirled gracefully, their laughter mingling with the music. She excused herself from the table, needing a moment of respite from the revelry.
The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on her. She’d been thinking she needed a little frivolity, and here it was being offered, and she chose to move away from the fun the others were having.
Stepping out into the crisp night air, Ailis found herself drawn toward the courtyard. As she wandered deeper into the garden, she spotted a figure emerging from the darkness.
“Lachlan,” Ailis greeted, her voice soft yet tinged with turmoil.
He turned to face her, his expression reflecting concern. “Ailis,” he replied, closing the distance between them. “I sensed yer unease. What weighs upon yer heart? And dinnae tell me it’s naught because I know better.”
Ailis hesitated, her emotions roiling within her like a tempest threatening to break free. She met Lachlan’s gaze, the moonlight painting his features in shades of silver and shadow. “It is Fiona,” she admitted. “Her news…it fills me with a longing to have a bairn of our own. As happy as I am for her, I’m just that much disgusted that it’s not us. I know I make little sense, but it’s how I feel.”
Lachlan’s brow furrowed in understanding as he reached for her hand, his touch grounding her. “Ailis,” he soothed, “Each path we walk carries its own burdens and blessings. Fiona’s joy does not diminish what we share.”
Tears welled up in Ailis’s eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “I fear I am being selfish,” she confessed, her words heavy with the weight of unspoken fears and desires.
Lachlan brushed away her tears with a gentle thumb, his eyes filled with compassion and love. “Nay, Ailis,” he murmured, pulling her into a tender embrace. “Yer heart is as generous as it is burdened. Yer feelings are valid, and I am here to share them.”
In the solace of Lachlan’s arms, Ailis allowed herself to release the emotions she had held back for so long. The moonlight bathed them in its silvery glow, casting a tranquil aura over the whispered confidences that passed between them.
“I know not what the future holds,” Ailis confessed. “But in this moment, with ye by me side, I find solace.”
“And I will be by yer side for the rest of me days,” he vowed, resting his cheek atop her head. “And we’ll have a child, just not today. Remember they’ve been married longer than we have.”
She sighed, snuggling close to him. “I do remember. And I know it will happen. It just won’t happen soon enough for me.” She smiled a little at how silly she was being. If she was expecting as well, she wouldn’t be able to be there for her sister as she needed. And Fiona, and the new life within her, needed to be a priority, not something that caused her jealousy.
