Page 16 of Highlander the Conqueror

Sky’s smile grew as she shook her head. “I was not born with it. I acquired it through my years of observation, and it is not strange knowledge. It is there for anyone to learn if they simply watch and listen.”

“Some would consider it evil, the work of the devil.”

“If it were the work of the devil, would he not want to see the poor animal suffer and die?”

“That is a reasonable observation to consider.”

“Something else to consider… my affliction is the reason for my ability to understand animals more than most. My two sisters were my only friends. No one in the clan allowed their children to come near me. I realized soon enough that none of the other children would play with my sisters if I was around and I did not think that was fair. So, I would go into the woods and explore, and the animals began to make friends with me, not caring about my mismatched eye color. They showed me what others did not… kindness.”

He felt the need to remind her. “I am not kind.”

“I do not believe that. Kindness is a decision left to the person and the given situation.”

“Like a warrior who cannot pause to think of being kind when someone is about to run a sword through him,” Slayer reasoned.

Her smile faded and sadness surfaced in her eyes. “Aye, battle knows no kindness.”

“But a lass with mismatched eyes, through no fault of hers, is no reason to treat her unkindly.”

Her soft smile returned. “The young ones did not care. A young lad talked with me one day when I was alone drawing with a stick in the dirt. He asked what was wrong with my eyes. I told him I was born that way and he shrugged and began to draw in the dirt with me. It was not until his mum pulled him away and told him my eyes were evil and he was not to play with me that his opinion of me changed.” She sighed. “I may look different than others but that does not mean I am. I hurt and feel pain just like anyone else, but no one sees that or even bothers to look. They judge me simply because I look different from them and, therefore, will have nothing to do with me.”

He could only imagine the pain and ridicule she had suffered for her difference, and it caused him an unsettling pain in his heart. It was not fair. Either was the reason his father had chosen Sky for Warrand to wed. He had not spoken the truth when Sky had asked why a marriage was arranged between her and Warrand. His father had told him. He wanted to find a wife for Warrand who would not consume him with desire or one he could not possibly lose his heart to. He claimed that wives were more a hinderance than a benefit. He assumed Warrand would have no interest in a woman with two different colored eyes, nor would he find any passion with her. It was a cruel decision for both Sky and Warrand.

He now better understood why she possessed a gentle manner and why she kept to herself, and it hadn’t been by choice. Just as he had had no choice but to train endlessly as a warrior and join the Gallowglass as his father had demanded. He’d been raised to protect his brother and the clan. His father had gotten what he wanted from him. It was his only thought, only mission. It raged in him with a fierceness that made some think him insane. Even his father had seemed fearful of him at times. But Slayer had done whatever was necessary to honor his father’s word and see that Warrand would safely inherit the title and responsibility of Clan Ravinsher once their father was gone. No one ever expected it would be Slayer who claimed the title, least of all him.

“You are pensive. Lost in your thoughts?” she asked of his silence.

“Aye,” was all he said.

“Sometimes a good place to be and other times not so much.”

“Very true,” Slayer said and realized he had never held an interesting conversation with a woman until now with Sky.

He had had no time for women. They served a need and that was all and there were plenty of women who sought out Gallowglass warriors. They were free with their offerings, so he never lacked a female when in need of one. He found, to his surprise, he very much enjoyed talking with Sky. He also realized that she was far kinder than any person he had ever met, and it did not sit well with him that he was keeping the truth from her as to why he rescued her. He needed to tell her.

“I will clean and cook the fish,” he said, concerned she might lose her appetite once he revealed the truth.

“I can clean and cook the fish, if you’d like.”

“You know how to do both?” he asked, thinking that her family had sheltered Sky far too much for her to know how to do simple tasks.

“Aye. I asked Cook to teach me, worried that one day I may need such knowledge.” She chuckled. “And that day has come. I will be able to feed myself while you are gone.”

“I will clean the fish. You can cook it,” he said abruptly and walked away from her.

Sky wondered what she said that caused him to get annoyed. But she refused to allow herself to worry over it. The day, so far, had been the best in weeks, and with the squirrel making friends so easily with her today, and Slayer soon to take his leave, she knew she would enjoy her time here. She entered the cottage to prepare a few wild onions to cook with the trout as Dea, the clan cook, had taught her to do.

It was not long before they sat down to eat.

“You did well,” Slayer said, not used to offering compliments but the trout had been tastier than he expected.

“Dea, our cook, was kind enough to teach me when no one was around or else no one would have eaten the food if they knew I helped prepare it.” Sky could not keep the sadness from her eyes. “I caught her one day dropping the food I made into the scrap bin for the animals. She begged me not to tell my da that she would not do it again and she would continue to teach me as my da had ordered her to do.”

Slayer would have punished the woman for what she had done to Sky, and he had to fight to keep the anger out of his voice. “Your da punished her for what she did, didn’t he?”

Sky shook her head. “I did not tell him. I understood Dea’s fear. If anyone learned that she was feeding them food I made, they would never speak to her again and my da would have had no choice but to remove her from the kitchen. That was not fair to her. I learned a bit more from her, then stopped the lessons. I cooked some when the kitchen was empty and shared my fare with the forest animals. They enjoyed it.”

“You are far more understanding and kinder than most. How you can sustain such a kind nature when you have been treated so unkindly puzzles me,” Slayer said, perplexed and annoyed at how much she had been made to suffer.

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