Page 11 of My Scarred Laird
His massive stallion hooved at the ground, anxious to go for a run, and Callum was too.
He needed fresh air to run the land.
When he rode out the gates to the village beyond the walls of the keep, he nodded to a few of the people out walking, but for the most part, he just ignored everyone.
As he got further, the houses thinned out and the forest loomed ahead.
He rode his horse faster, needing the speed and the distance.
When he crested a hill after breaking through the forest, he pulled his mount to a stop and took in the view.
His keep in the distance, another keep on the far side of the valley, barely visible from his vantage point.
He knew it would take a few days at least to reach and he knew that Culloden would love it there.
He hated sending his brother away, but he knew that Culloden needed a new life.
That his brother didn’t want to be his protector forever. That he yearned to live as Laird of his own holdings and put into effect the teachings their father had instilled in them both.
Callum wished his brother well, and that one day with his marriage to the Brodie girl, both their clans would grow.
That they would survive all of the trials and troubles that came their way.
Callum gave a small salute to the keep in the far distance and hoped that he too would wed the other Brodie sister.
That he could find happiness. He prayed it would be so.
CHAPTER2
ISLAY BRODIE
Islay woke in her new bed in the clan she had snuck away to in the middle of the night.
Daracha told her she wouldn’t go with her, and Islay accepted that. Her sister wanted to stay in the keep they had grown up in, but Islay knew she was meant for more. Something else. Something that called to her soul.
Daracha hadn’t accepted her fate of being a girl born to a Laird.
Islay knew that she wouldn’t have a choice with it. She would be an obedient daughter like she always was, and for what was asked of her. Even though she wasn’t thrilled with it, she knew if her father asked her to wed someone, Islay would do so. But that wasn’t all that she wanted in life.
All Islay wanted was to heal. She learned as much as she could from her mother about the different plants, trees, and moss that grew around the keep.
She knew what plants could help take fevers down, which could make your sore throat leave or a cough to quiet.
Islay soaked up as much information as she could when her mother spoke, and they were some of her favorite memories.
When her mother got sick, Islay did all she could to try to heal the sickness that ravaged her mother's body, but her mother gently told her that her sickness wasn't one that could be healed with her remedies. Her sickness was bone-deep, and she died a few months later, crying in pain. Islay cried at her bedside, wishing she could take her pain from her.
Daracha hadn't told her in so many words that she was angry that their mother couldn't be healed, but Islay knew.
She too was angry that even with all the knowledge she had, and her mother had, she had still died in pain.
Islay threw herself into learning more and more about healing, and people came from far and wide to her doorstep to have her help them.
She did all she could for each person, though some cases were too far gone.
She would do all she could to keep them comfortable in their last moments.
It always hurt her, but death was as inevitable as everything else in this world.
