Highlander's Promise by Donna Fletcher

he hurried off.
    Cree walked over to the steps and took them up to their bedchamber slowly. His body ached from the endless ride. It was a five day journey to reach home and they had made it just shy of three days. Here at least, he could more easily protect his wife, his children, and his clan.
    He entered his bedchamber and at that moment felt he had truly come home, the large bed he shared so happily with his wife, greeting him with freshly dressed linens.
    Dawn stirred in his arms and winced when she moved.
    “You are home and safe,” he said and kissed her brow.
    She opened her eyes and looked around, wanting to make sure this was real and not a dream. She smiled happy that it was not a dream, they truly were finally home. She would sleep in her bed tonight in her husband’s arms instead of on a horse in his arms.
    “Elsa will be here shortly,” he said, lowering her to her feet, though keeping a strong arm around her waist.
    Dawn nodded, holding onto his arm, her legs not yet firm beneath her, thanks to the endless hours on the horse.
    Elsa entered with a basket on her arm, Cree having left the door open.
    Dawn could tell that he was relieved to see the woman, not that anyone else would notice. He let no one see what he felt, but she had learned to spot the small signs, a tiny crinkle at the corner of his eyes, a slight flare of his nostrils, a sudden tightness to his lips. They all told her something. At the moment, it was the slightest flare of his dark eyes. He was impatient to hear what Elsa had to say.
    “It is good that you all have returned safely,” Elsa said as she approached Dawn. Her nose wrinkled when she got closer.
    Dawn was quick to apologize for her unpleasant odor.
    “That matters not,” Cree barked. “See to her wound.”
    Dawn did not bother to scold her husband for being so sharp with Elsa. The healer understood him better than most and dealt with him better than most.
    “Help her to sit,” Elsa said to Cree. “She looks ready to collapse.”
    “She nearly did when I took her off the horse.” Cree got her to the chair and eased her down on it, then stepped away once Elsa stood beside his wife.
    Elsa gently removed the bandage from her neck.
    Dawn saw anger spark in her husband’s dark eyes when the wound was revealed.
    “I need to clean this, and then I will apply an herb mixture to the areas that are not healing as they should,” Elsa explained.
    “Why are they not healing as they should?” Cree demanded.
    “The cut is deeper in some places and if not properly tended will not heal. But it will, beginning now.”
    “Flanna walked in with a bucket of fresh water and towels that she arranged on a chest she pulled next to Elsa.
    He wondered how Flanna always seemed to know what people needed before being asked. She was an asset to the keep and a good friend to Dawn.
    Elsa turned to Cree after Flanna left. “Dawn is in good hands. Go do what you must.”
    Cree walked over to his wife and kissed her brow. “I will join you later.”
    Dawn smiled and gestured that he better or she would come find him.
    He was glad to see she had not lost her strong spirit after all she had been through. He drew an X with his finger over his chest, promising her before turning to Elsa and asking the question that had haunted him since seeing his wife’s wound. “Will it scar?”
    “I do not know. Only time will tell.”
    Cree left without saying another word and Dawn’s smile faded, knowing her husband was upset.
    Dawn gestured slowly to Elsa.
    “I believe you are right. Your self-inflicted wound is nothing to your husband’s self-inflicted suffering. And the only cure for both is time.”
    Elsa was right about her wound. Time would tell if any reminder remained of it, but Cree’s wound went much deeper. Only revenge would heal the fact that he had been unable to stop his wife from being stripped naked in front of him and that frightened Dawn.
    ~~~
    Cree found Sloan outside, busy fortifying