Oidhche mhath- goodnight

The cry of the rooster woke Hannah up from her deep sleep. Groaning loudly, she rolled back over and tried to pull the blankets over her head to block out the light but they were quickly yanked away by the bustling maid from the day before. Her red hair was pushed into a small white cap allowing only a few stray curls to escape and frame her round face giving her an almost angelic appearance.

"Come on lass. The lads are waitin' on ye!"

The maid yanked her from the bed with a strength that surprised Hannah. She had no idea so much power sat in those lean muscles.

"Come on! Come on!"

She was forced into another corset and a long skirt. The air left her lungs as the maid pulled tighter and tighter on the strings trying to achieve lift and a small waist or so Hannah thought. A green top slid over her head and was tied neatly in the front completing the outfit. Without hesitating, the maid pushed her into a chair and combed through Hannah's hair with so much vigor that Hannah thought she was not going to have any by the end. Finally, it was over but Hannah did not have time to really take a breath as she was pushed out of the chair and down the wooden stairs to the kitchen. A small bundle was forced into her hands as she was rushed out of the kitchen.

The bright sun hit Hannah's face making it hard to see for a small time. As her vision cleared, she could see all th men sitting around the yard waiting.

"Ruadh, yer finally awake!" Camden grinned. He strode over to her but then stopped. "Dae ye ken how to ride lass?"

"Yes I can ride a horse," she remarked putting a hand on her hip as if she was daring Camden to challenge her. 

Raising an eyebrow, he turned slightly away and whistled over his shoulder. Balfour walked forward with a large black mare. "This is Toit, she is fast as the wind and gentle. Ye need not be afraid of her lass." Camden handed the reins over to her and stepped away.

"Are you not going to help a lady get on the horse?"

The men chuckled but quickly went into coughing fits when Camden looked at them with dangerous eyes that dared them to do it again. He put down his hands cupping them together to help Hannah get up and over the horse. Stepping into the cupped hands, she launched herself up and onto the saddle, but she had misjudged the amount of force she had actually needed. One second she was gliding over the saddle the next moment she was lying on the ground with her skirts up around her face. 

Someone shouted something in Gaelic which  caused a rumbling of movement as men turned away and stepped onto their horses. 

"Lass, I think it best if ye ride wi' me," Camden chuckled as he extended a hand towards Hannah. "Toit will come too. Maybe ye will ride on her when ye learn how to ride."

"I know how to ride," she mimicked him by crossing her arms over her chest, "I just misjudged the distance onto the saddle which is a very easy thing to do."

Camden just grinned and pulled her along. Jumping onto his horse he pulled her up in front of him with the strength of what many women dreamed of witnessing or feeling. It was a gentle strength but Hannah knew that given the opportunity it could become something harsher and crueler. Pushing that fact aside, she welcomed the draping of his plaid over her shoulders to ward out the chill of what she assumed to be early Autumn. With everything so green, one would assume that it was summer but the cool breeze that whistled through the trees ruffling the leaves ever so slightly. Still, Hannah welcomed the breeze since it gave her the opportunity to savor some of Camden's warmth. 

Camden kicked his heels into the side of his horse to spur it into action leading the trail of men towards the McConnell Clan lands. The men mostly talked in Gaelic leaving Hannah out of the conversation which she actually found out that she did not mind. While the jostling on the horse did not do well with her bottom, in a way, it relaxed her a bit. Refreshing is maybe how she would describe it. There were no loud roars of engines and the air lacked the heavy scent of smog in the air. What excited her the most was the beauty of the landscape. It was unmarred by mankind in the most profound way. Sure there were some buildings, but they were built with a need for necessity and not necessarily financial gain as was done during Hannah's time.

Hannah snuggled in closer to Camden. The plaid was pulled tighter around her shoulders making the bubble that enclosed her warmer. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep as the Autumn breeze blew around her.

Hannah was standing on a hill with the sun shining brightly. A multitude of different colors blossomed all around her as they lifted up their bright heads towards the vibrant, blue sky.

"Hello Hannah," a voice murmured.

Hannah whipped around  but there was no one there. It was just her standing alone on that hill, but the voice was still there as if it belonged to the wind.

"Child, you can only see me when I want you to see me. Do you know why you are here?"

"I do not know, maybe so you can dangle a carrot in front of me and then take it away with a flick of your damn wrist." Hannah was agitated but her words came out softer than she intended surprising her.

"It's a dream where sometimes things aren't what we want them to be," the voice chuckled, "I brought you here to tell you. This journey you are on will put forth things that will force you to choose. Soon, you will spend more of your life in this land than your own, but the time will come, my dear, when you have to make a choice. I hope you will be ready."

"What do you mean I will have to make a choice? And what do you mean that I will be here more than my own home? What about my dog?"

"She's being taken care of, not to worry. Heed my warning Hannah and take it to heart," the voice whispered as it slowly faded away. Hannah once again was left standing alone. The sun did not shine as brightly and the flowers slowly faded. A face flashed in front of her. Camden's mother. She was smiling as she picked up a small child. Talking lovingly to the child, she told him a story of how he would be a great Scottish laird of his own clan one day. 

Tears rolled down Hannah's face. Seeing the love in his mother's eyes was touching and knowing that she was not going to be there to see her son grow up broke her heart.

"Lass," Camden's voice cut through her dream, "Ye were wimpering like a wee child lass. Are ye alright?"

"Yes, I am fine." She wiped a stray tear from her eye. The men had stopped to water and give their horses a brief break from the long journey that still awaited them. The countryside had changed every so slightly while she had dozed in the saddle. The hills had given way to large mountains that towered over the green trees that protected the path that they were travelling. "What is this place called?"

"Loch Leven or Glen Coe, they both are the same" Camden smiled as he glanced around the at the surroundings. "The Scottish land 'tis the best land." He smiled in smug confidence which made Hannah want to giggle but she did not, instead, she just grinned stupidly.

She did have to admire the way that Camden loved his country. He was patriotic in a sense. The love for the land filled him making it hard not to love the land herself. Secretly, she admitted that the land was incredibly beautiful and that living in it would not be the end of the world. Seeing it as it was without cars took her breath away and spending time with a very attractive Highlander who loved the land was not the end of the world.

"I have never seen something so wild, so beautiful," she muttered as she looked around from the horse. Camden hopped down and pulled her off with him which forced a small squeak of surprise.

"Come on lass," he grabbed her hand dragging her behind him as they broke through trees and bushes. Hannah was sweating from exerction and the corset did not help matters in ways of breathing. Her side ached from the labored breathing but Camden did not take notice since he was so busy leading her with excitement. When he stopped, Hannah ran right into him. Camden chuckled a little bit. Stepping next to him, she gasped at the stunning beauty. It was a lake that gleamed when the sun's light danced upon it with a magical glow.

Clouds were gathering over head, but thye did not pay attention. They remained in silence until Cmaden broke it.

"Dae ye ken why the Gods sent ye?"

"To make me choos epaths. To force me to become my own person. To make me-" fall in love she wanted to say, but she was not entirely sure if it was true. Camden did not seem to notice the dropping of her last words. Instead, he gripped her gently on the shoulders forcing her to look up at him.

"I can help Ruadh."

A small smile appeared on her lips but it did not reach her eyes. "Thank you Camden." 

With a glance towards the sky, Camden turned on his heel, "We need to keep on moving Ruadh. The men are ready to leave." 

She grabbed his hand and followed him back to where the men and horses waitied for their laird to return. As once before, he helped her on to the horse with ease. A shrill whistle escaped from his beautiful mouth. The horses lept into action as their riders gave them the signal to move forward. Hannah settled once more into the saddle with the plaid resuming its gentle drape over her. The riding was hard and grueling with only a few brief stops. They ate in the saddles and when it was finally time to camp for the evening, Hannah could not help but feel relieved as she rubbed her very sore bottom. 

Loud resounding cracks greeted her as she stretched out her back. The men stared at her but then swiftly looked away as Camden approached her. He pointed to a spot where she could sleep. Unrolling the blankets, she laid down and closed her eyes. The men set up a small camp fire while the joked loudly in Gaelic. Hannah could not help but feeling a little left out not knowing what they were saying.

"Ye donna want tae ken Ruadh. It is harsh, even for my ears," he smirked as he unrolled his own blankets next to her. Hannah raised an eyebrow as if to question why he was laying next to her and not with his men. Seeing the look, he laughed a little but then stopped. "I donna want ye tae be taken or forced tae be near them. I am here tae protect ye."

Rolling her eyes, Hannah flipped over under the balankets. "Thank you."

Camden nodded. Hannah closed her eyes thinking that in any normal circumstance that this situation would be weird, but right now it was not. In fact, it was endearing almost as if he was looking out for her was a part of the shadow's twisted plan. Quickly, she shifted her mind away from that and focused on other things such as how she was going to survive without feminine hygine products when the time came or ibuprofen. 

Turning over, she stared at the outline of Camden. The scars that laced up and down his body gleamed lightly in the firelight. His muscles were toned with definition that would make any woman swoon. The one thing though that had her ultimate attention were his eyes. They held so much of his personality in them that sometimes it felt like she was looking into his soul. Camden turned his head and caught her gaze. Blushing, she rolled back over. A small chuckle came from over her shoulder, and she knew that he did not mind that she was staring at him.

"Oidhche mhath Ruadh," he whispered as he brushed her hair from her face.

Maybe, Hannah thought, Scottland, even with the lack of the gift of ibuprofen, was not going to be so bad after all.

A/N TWO UPDATES IN TWO DAYS. DANG! YAY! I AM SO PROUD! What do you think? What do you think of Hannah and Camden? Where did he get all those scars from? 

HELLO TO CAMDEN RIGHT HERE. HE IS BEAUTIFUL <3

dedicated to LerissaB for her love on this book!