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The guard laughed as he blocked. Leaning forwards, he whispered, “I am more of a MacBean than ye.”
Aindreas roared, moving his sword faster. The mud was slowing him down, but the rain was dissipating, and the sun was rising in the distance, taking it with it all the shadows of the night. The clouds hung low, tainted in reds and golds as Aindreas fought against the guard.
“Give it up, Aindreas,” he spat while lunging forwards. “Yer nothing, just like me.”
Aindreas scoffed while dodging his attack. “I am nothing like ye,” said Aindreas while spinning around and stabbing his sword through his opponent’s stomach.
The guard gasped, his eyes widening in alarm as he stared at Aindreas before sliding towards the blade sticking through him. The sword in his grasp dropped to the ground. Aindreas pulled his sword back, tilting his head to the side while he watched the guard stumble backward. The rain had stopped entirely. The sun had turned the sky a faint blue tinged with red. The guard coughed, sputtering up blood while he dropped to his knees. A soft smile graced his face as he toppled over, staring lifelessly up at the early morning sky.
“Blair!” Aindreas shouted, running towards his aunt, who was now straddling the lass.
“Let me go!” Blair screamed, struggling against Alisa, who was attempting to get her hands on Blair’s neck.
Blair’s hands were no longer bound. The ropes laid at the side. She fought against Alisa, yet her feet were still struggling against the ropes binding them together.
“Never!!” Alisa shouted while laughing. Her greying hair was no longer in its neat plait. She stared down at Blair with crazed eyes as she smacked her arms. “I will never let ye go! Ye deserve yer fate! Ye deserve—“
“Get off her,” Aindreas shouted as he came upon the women, grabbing his aunt by her shoulders and dragging her off Blair. Aindreas quickly unbound Blair’s legs, hissing as he moved yet ignoring the pain in his arm.
Alisa gasped, stumbling through the glass and landing on her bottom. Her cloak was soaked from the rain. Her hair was matted to her face. Tears dripped from her bloodshot eyes as she stared up at Aindreas, and for once, he noticed how frail and thin she was. Her eyes sunk into her gaunt face, appearing dark from lack of sleep. She struggled to stand yet kept slipping in the mud until finally, she remained on the ground, scowling up at Aindreas.
“How dare ye,” she hissed in a rasping, gravelly voice, sounding as if she had been screaming and shouting for hours. “How dare ye help her!” She pointed a trembling finger at Blair.
Aindreas wrapped an arm around Blair’s waist while she clung to him, trembling in his arms. “How dare I?” Aindreas said, his voice barely above a whisper. “How dare ye! How could ye harm Blair? How could ye take her from her home and nearly kill her?”
Alisa chuckled bitterly while tears streamed down her cheeks. “Do ye know what she is? Do ye know who she belongs to?”
Aindreas nodded. “Aye, I know.”
Alisa scoffed. “Ye know nothing.” She craned her head to the side. “How is it she gets to be the lady of the castle after everything that man put my sister through?”
Aindreas’s eyes widened, yet he said nothing.
“How is it that man gets to keep his child after breaking my sister’s heart over and over again, year after year. It’s bad enough, she was forced to take the likes of ye in, but he gets to keep his bastard child, as well?” Alisa shook her head. “It’s not fair,” she muttered while punching the ground. “It’s not fair!” she screamed.
Aindreas shook his head. “My father is dead,” he said softly. “He has already paid for his crimes.”
Alisa smiled cruelly. “It’s not enough. He deserves to suffer while he lies in the ground. He deserves to watch his only heir die by my hand.”
Aindreas turned to Blair, her fear-filled eyes staring up at him. “Blair has done nothing wrong.”
“She was born!” Alisa shouted. “She was born while my sister suffered from her barrenness.”
“That is still not her doing, Aunt,” said Aindreas while slowly stepping towards her.
Blair remained rooted where she stood, not following him as he held out his hand for his aunt to take. “I, too, was angry with him,” said Aindreas while Alisa turned away from his outstretched hand. “But I have learned to forgive him for his faults. Ye should, too. Hate will get ye nowhere.”
Alisa spat, her spittle landing on his hand. “I would rather live out my days in exile!” she shouted while kicking away from him. She rolled onto her stomach, crawling towards her horse. Aindreas watched her leave, unable to stop her. He understood the hate taking hold of her heart. It was the hate he had felt for his father for many years. Yet, now he had learned to accept his father.
He grabbed Blair, pulling her towards him while watching Alisa mount her horse, riding it into the distance, knowing deep down it would be the last he ever saw of the woman who had shared his mother’s face.
