"Christopher," he whispered.
"What?"
"Me name is Christopher," he explained. "It's what me late mother called me when she took us away from the Campbells, and it is how me family kens me. I can be Murdoch in front of them as I must, but I cannae in front of ye. Ye make me feel too alive tae pretend tae be a lad who stopped existing decades ago."
Morag's throat ached and a tear ran down her cheek. Murdoch—no, Christopher—wiped it away with his thumb.
"I'm sorry about so many things, Morag. I'm sorry for how I diminished ye when I first met ye, and the antagonism I've shown ye in front of others since. I never meant a word of it. It was all part of Murdoch's act, but I cannae be him in front of ye. How could I? Murdoch Campbell is a heartless mask, and ye—ye make me heart feel so full."
Christopher shook his head.
"Ye're so brave and strong, even without fightin'. Of course I'll teach ye if that's what ye want and need, but Morag, ye're smarter than anyone else in this Keep, and under yer own mask, ye're kinder as well. I've seen it, nae matter how much ye try tae deny it. Ye're willin' tae take risks, ye're a quick thinker and a natural strategist, and yecare.Ye're amazin' in a way I dinnae think ye can fully understand, but I see ye."
For the first time in her entire life, Morag believed it. She had never felt seen, not really, but she believed that Christopher understood her in a way nobody else ever had. He had given her his name—not the one bestowed upon him by a cruel birth father, but histruename, gifted to him by his mother and nurtured by a family who adored him—and by doing so, he had finally allowed her to see him too.
He leaned closer, and for a heart-stopping second, she thought he was going to kiss her. She yearned for it as much as she feared it and what it would mean. But instead, he pressed his lips gently against her forehead, pulling her into a quick but reassuring hug, before stepping back.
"Now," he said. "Pick up yer sword. We've a lot of work ahead."
The restof the night passed in a blur. There was no single moment that Morag could pinpoint, but she would fondly remember it for a long time, perhaps for the rest of her life, as one of the best nights of her life. The tension between them had scattered to the winds, and the two who sparred and talked and quietly laughed together under the stars in their hidden courtyard did so with a new lease on life. Morag told him stories of her mother and father and the few bright spots that had shone in her life, and in turn he told her many more tales of his brother and sisters and family.
The more he spoke, the more she regretted letting her pride and caution sabotage her chance to get to know and befriend Elsie what felt like a whole lifetime ago. Part of her, quiet but daring, wondered if she might get another chance before this was all over.
There were two Morags. There was the one she had been molded into for her whole life, the one who her father had beaten and berated and shone until she was perfect and obedient, the one who saw the world only through cold, distant eyes and sarcastic insults. And now, she had discovered another, one who had sprung from a once-dormant seed she had not even known existed, a bursting blossom that now thrived in the light of Christopher's sun.
There was the Morag she had been, yes, but now she knew the Morag shewantedto be, and there was no turning back.
They never kissed nor even embraced again that night, but the intimacy of the time they spent together was beyond anything Morag had ever known was possible. The truths they shared, the smiles they exchanged, and the trust that forgedbetween them as they sparred revealed a part of both their souls that had been locked away for far, far too long.
Morag hadn't known it was possible to feel this close to another person, to take in so much of them that you wanted nothing more than to give them all of yourself. Now that she had, she knew that there was nobody else she would ever trust this way.
Neither of them spoke of what was happening between them, though she was sure that they both felt it. Morag was not ready to examine this new feeling or what it might mean. She wasn't yet prepared to face how everything was going to change. But every time she met his eyes or his fingers brushed against hers, Morag knew at last what it felt like to be safe, even as danger unfolded before her more strongly than ever.
It was still a little before sunrise by the time her already-raw hands were screaming in protest too much to continue. The wounds were bleeding once more, and they ached, but she barely noticed until Christopher suggested they stop. When they did, they sat together on a stone bench and he held her hands in his, gently cleaning and rebandaging them until they felt better than they ever had despite the pain.
"Thank you," she whispered when he was done.
"Thank you," he replied.
She did not ask what he meant.
Neither one of them wanted this moment to end, just sitting together hand in hand in this secret place, but when the first birdsong cut through the rising dawn, Morag knew it was time to go. Reluctantly, she stood, not yet dropping his hand.
"I have to get back tae me room before I'm missed," she explained. "Mary checks on me every mornin', and nae doubt me father will be by as well."
"I understand," he replied. "Take care of yerself. I will see ye this evenin', as well."
She smiled and turned to go, pulling away at last. She'd only taken a few steps away, though, before she turned back to look at him once more.
"Promise me ye willnae do anythin' daft while I'm gone."
Christopher grinned. "I never make promises I cannae keep."
Morag stuck out her tongue, then giggled at her own unexpected childish reaction. "Be serious. I need ye tae promise me that ye'll nae do anythin' too stupid while I'm nae around, Christopher."
The way he shivered when she said his real name made her own body shudder with delight. His grin softened into a genuine smile. "Only if ye promise tae come back."
"I guess we'll both see if we keep those promises tonight, then," she teased, and then, with one final look, she hurried inside, her mind and heart fuller than they'd ever been in her life.
