Chapter 11

Chapter 11

To say Lachlan was upset when the sisters couldn't locate his horse would be an understatement. Jocelyn did feel bad for him. Though she had never had enough freedom to be that attached to a creature such as a horse, she could tell that Lachlan was a loner, a shadow in the night, and his horse was likely the closest he had to a friend. At the same time, she also got the feeling that part of his unhappiness was riding on the horse with her, and not just with her but in front of her so she could ensure he stayed upright and the bleeding didn't get out of control.

Lachlan looked around him and over his shoulder, wincing when he tried to turn. "So, where are we going? This is further intae the forest. A forest that isnae kenned tae have some magical healing town in the middle of it."

Aoife rode up next to them and grinned at Lachlan. "We're going tae see the wise-woman."

Deirdre clumsily rode up on the other side. "If we can find her."

"We'll find her," Jocelyn replied. "She's here. I remember from the book I gave tae our sister. She found the wise-woman so I ken it can't be far."

Lachlan blinked several times, looking at the sisters on either side of him. "We're looking for an old woman in the woods?"

"Nae just any old woman," Deirdre replied with wide magical eyes. "She's…well…she's…"

Aoife rolled her eyes. "The reason we were prisoners for so long."

"BUT," Jocelyn cut in, "also the reason why our sister was able tae escape and help us."

"Are ye talking about the story…the wolf curse?" Lachlan asked.

"It wasnae a curse," Jocelyn replied. "It was a mistake. Something that caused our father tae do horrible things, and our uncle tae do the same. The vision she saw was the poison that infects our cousin."

"Right, well hopefully after all this time she hasnae moved, or fluttered off intae stardust," Lachlan replied.

Jocelyn narrowed her eyes. She had been trying to be kind for the hours and hours they had been riding, knowing he was feisty because of pain, but she was starting to lose her patience. He thought he was so funny.

"Ye ken, while I ken almost nothing about ye, I really dinnae think ye're in a place tae go making fun of us fer our family history," Jocelyn snapped back. "It would be fine with me if ye got down and walked."

Lachlan tried to straighten, and Jocelyn could tell by the way his body stiffened that it didn't feel good at all. He cleared his throat. "I didnae mean tae offend. I was making lighter conversation. Besides, I already heard the legends, and whether they're true or nae, doesnae matter tae me. What matters is that yer cousin is a crazy person, and ye'd be good as dead by now if ye hadnae made it out of there."

"And I'm sure ye're astonished as tae how three women made it out all on our own," Jocelyn replied, rolling her eyes.

She wasn't sure why Lachlan got under her skin so badly. It wasn't like the story wasn't crazy. Had she not been part of the family, she'd have had a hard time believing it as well. There was something about him, though, something that made her crazy irritated…or anxious…or…well, Jocelyn really wasn't sure what the lump in her chest was, or what had caused the feeling.

"Hey, ye seemed tae have it all together out there in the woods," he replied. "I barely had tae lift a finger."

"I'm nae the one with the gash on me side," Jocelyn sneered back.

"Ahem," Deirdre said, trying to get their attention.

As Jocelyn and Lachlan continued to bicker, Deirdre practically yelled out in their direction. "Uh, excuse me but when the two adults 'ere are done fightin' maybe ye'd be interested in the lit cottage up ahead."

Both Jocelyn and Lachlan immediately shut up. Jocelyn peered around Lachlan, squinting at the sparkling lights in the windows of the moss-covered cottage. There were rows of plants in the gardens out front, all surrounded by a small white fence. It was nearly night and the fireflies danced wildly through the garden, twinkling like fairies. Jocelyn couldn't help but be enchanted by the place, and a little bit nervous. She had no idea if the wise-woman would know who they were, or if it was for sure her place.

Either way, she knew they had to keep going, and try to find refuge in the small cabin ahead. Jocelyn hadn't said anything, but she had felt blood dripping down onto her leg for the last several hours and knew that Lachlan was surely weaker than he portrayed. "Let's take our horses up tae the fence, and I'll need Aoife tae help me get Lachlan up there."

"I can probably make it myself," he replied.

Jocelyn ignored his comment, tired of his constant need to feel manly with them. They rode the horses up, and as they approached, Lachlan perked up. "Stormcloud! Me horse!"

Tied to the fence was Lachlan's beautiful steed. It must have wandered far off course, and wasn't able to make it back to Lachlan. It looked happy and brushed so the old woman must have been taking care of him. Jocelyn was surprised and found herself smiling with the affection with which Lachlan had called the creature's name.

Once the horses stopped at the watering, the girls hopped down from their horses and Jocelyn reached up to help Lachlan down. He rolled his eyes. "I can get it."

He swung his leg over and both of them seemed to collapse. "Alright, maybe a little help."

Aoife and Jocelyn tried to hide their smirks as they reached up and took his arms, helping him slowly down. They walked him toward the door and stopped short. Deirdre stepped in for Jocelyn, though considerably shorter, and let Lachlan lean on her as Jocelyn slowly made it toward the door.

Jocelyn was nervous, now unsure about meeting the wise-woman in person. She had never really been scared of much, pushing fear away for survival purposes. With the wise-woman, though, there was so much history, and probably more than she would really ever understand. None of that mattered now. They had to get out of the forest and to some sort of safety even if it meant into an uncomfortable place. Also their savior was about to bleed out all over the vegetables.

As Jocelyn stood there in front of the old wooden door of the cottage, she took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock. Before her fist could strike the door, though, the latch clicked and the door opened up wide. Standing there was an older woman with long silver hair pulled into a low bun. Her eyes were the most magnificent blue color that she had ever seen before and just looking into them seemed to calm Jocelyn's racing heart.

"The other three roses," the woman said, nodding. "I saw ye on the path in here and had a feelin' it was the three of ye. I heard ye had escaped the keep."

"I…I'm Jocelyn," Jocelyn said hesitantly.

The woman smiled kindly at her. "Of course ye are. Beautiful as ever." She looked around Jocelyn, her face falling. "Well ye better get that one in 'ere before he doesnae have any blood left tae save."

"Oh," Jocelyn said with a jump, knocking herself out of whatever trance she had fallen into.

Jocelyn hurried back and relieved Deirdre, finding that Lachlan was fading quickly. She glanced at Deirdre as she began to walk him toward the door with Aoife. "Grab the bags from the horses, if ye can."

"Right," Deirdre replied, holding back her impatience to see inside the old woman's home.

"Come in, right through that doorway," the old woman said, stepping to the side. "There's a bench in there where I care for those that come in for help. Lay him down there."

Jocelyn didn't have a chance to look around when she got inside. She was too busy basically dragging Lachlan across the floor with Aoife. They laid him down as gently as possible and looked down at their clothes, finding themselves covered in his blood. Jocelyn stepped aside as the old woman hurried over and began to cut away his tunic.

"I did a quick sewin' tae try tae get him here without him bleedin' tae death," Jocelyn pointed out.

"And ye most likely saved his life," the old woman replied. "Ye can call me Agatha. Now, go over there and grab me some clean cloth, one of the needles, and the string next tae it. Oh, and that small bottle of purple stuff. It's a cleanser."

"Right," Jocelyn replied, realizing she could do more than just stand there.

She hurried over and carefully gathered everything, bringing it over and setting it neatly on the small table next to the bench. Deirdre came inside and set their bags down, heading into the room just as Agatha cut the string on the wound. Immediately, her face scrunched in disgust. "Oh nae, that's a lot of blood."

Jocelyn hurried over to Aoife right outside of the room. "Why dinnae ye and Deirdre get cleaned up? I'm sure Agatha wouldnae mind if ye used some water. And change yer clothes."

"Nae at all," Agatha yelled from behind Jocelyn. "There's everything ye'll need, includin' water from the creek right in the kitchen."

Aoife nodded as Jocelyn winked at her, watching as they walked away before Jocelyn closed the door behind them. She took a deep breath and resumed her place at Agatha's side. "I'm sorry we came in this manner. We just…didnae ken where else tae go."

"Ye were always destined tae come here, me dear," Agatha replied, not looking up from what she was doing. "It's been written for a long time. I'd rather have ye here worn and tattered than in the dungeons under yer cousin's mercy."

"How do ye ken so much, livin' out here?" Jocelyn asked, suddenly realizing the inside of the cottage looked far larger than the outside, and didn't show the worn and tattered age that the outside did either.

It was curious.

"I have me ways," she replied with a chuckle. "Have ye gotten tae speak tae yer sister much? At least by letter?"

Jocelyn shrugged. "A bit, I suppose. She told me about her visit tae ye, and what ye told her about the vision and our father."

Agatha nodded, her voice sounding remorseful. "Aye. I'm sorry ye had tae find out like that. Me mistake has created a lot of pain fer many people."

Jocelyn didn't think of it that way. "What? This…this isnae yer fault. Ye were forced into receiving a vision ye werenae prepared for and then expected tae be perfect. If anything, this whole thing has been a mess created by my father and his brother. My father, I loved him so, but he lost touch with reality, and tried tae do a horrible thing even if it were fer love. Our uncle, well, he had a right tae be angry, but what he did tae us was unforgivable."

Agatha paused and eyed Jocelyn for a moment, taking a clean rag and soaking it in the bowl. "Ye're nae quite as I had pictured. Ye're…clear-headed."

"That's why I like books so much," Jocelyn replied. "When ye understand more than just what's in front of ye, the things around ye begin tae make more sense in relation tae yer own small world. There's many tae blame fer what has happened, but blame does nothing tae move forward."

Agatha squeezed the blood rag into the bowl and then dropped it in, wiping her hands on her apron. "That's very mature, especially fer a girl really outside of her father's lands fer more than a week, fer the first time in her life. Ye really are special."

Jocelyn wasn't sure she knew what that meant, but she really didn't have it in her to think about it. Glancing down at Lachlan, her eyes went wide with surprise. "Wow, ye really closed that right up."

"And it hurts," Lachlan mumbled.

Jocelyn laughed, not because it was funny, but because an overwhelming relief flooded her and she couldn't control her emotions. Lachlan gripped the table and began to sit up. Jocelyn hurried over and pushed on his back, helping him up. "I appreciate the help."

Agatha nodded, beginning to clean up. "We'll get some food in ye tae help with yer weakness."

Lachlan nodded. "Thank ye." He turned to Jocelyn. "We can wait the night and head out toward yer sister's in the mornin'."

"Oh, nay," Agatha said, not even looking over. "If ye had been just a bit later, ye might be dead. Yer in nae position tae travel right now, let alone defend anyone if they need it. You'll stay here for a couple of nights and ye'll get yer strength."

Lachlan opened his mouth to fight it but Agatha turned and shook her head. "Ye need rest, and so do these poor girls. Their sister will be there just the same. Now, hobble yerself in there tae get some food. There's a pot of stew on the fire and some plates. The girls should eat too. Jocelyn and I will clean up here."

Lachlan looked to Jocelyn for help, but she just shrugged. "Dinnae want tae tear anything swingin' a sword fer us. How's yer arm? Aoife thought it was broken."

Rolling his shoulder and squeezing his hand, he winced slightly but shook his head. "It's alright, just sore that's all. Are ye sure…"

"Go get food," Jocelyn said with a smirk.

It felt good to smile again, something she felt like she hadn't truly done in a very long time. Lachlan reached up and pushed a strand of hair from Jocelyn's face. He stared for a long moment into her eyes and then took a deep breath, grunting as he stood. "Ye might want tae get washed up too, ye look like ye live in those woods."

Jocelyn chuckled, shaking her head as Lachlan limped quietly across the room and out into the main part of the cottage. She sat there for a moment trying to understand the flutter of butterflies in her stomach. In fact, she sat there so long, she didn't even realize a smile had formed on her lips.

"The two of ye are close then?" Agatha asked, glancing over at Jocelyn.

She immediately dropped the smile and placed her hands firmly in her lap. "Oh, uh, nae. We actually just met. He was sent by me sister and her husband tae find us. He saved us from some of me cousin's men."

"But there's a light there, I see it. Just as I saw it between yer sister and her husband," Agatha pointed out.

Jocelyn stood up, beginning to gather things and help clean up. It was better than sitting there trying to avoid eye contact. "Nay…of course nae. Nay. I mean, we only just met. I'm grateful for his help, and his saving of me sisters. That's all."

Out in the cabin, Deirdre giggled loudly. Jocelyn sighed, handing Agatha the ball of linens and cloth. "I should go see tae me sisters. Surely they are tired and confused at this point. Thank ye fer letting us stay here. ye truly have saved us."

Agatha nodded. "Go eat, ye need some color back in those cheeks. If ye get bored, there are plenty of books in there."

"Thank ye," Jocelyn replied as she turned and headed out into the cottage.

The idea of reading again was tempting but as Jocelyn walked out finding her sisters telling tales of Lachlan's feats of bravery, and Lachlan himself smiling and laughing, a warmth grew in her heart. It was probably the first normal moment her and her sisters had ever had, and for some reason, Lachlan fit right in.