Freedom [part 2]

I walked down the path, basket in my arms. I'm staring at the ground, watching my feet. I suddenly here a shout. I quickly glance up, and see the soldiers returning. I freeze for a moment, unsure what to feel. I pray for your return. I have prayed for your return everyday. I have prayed for your safety. I hope my prayers have been heard...

I woke suddenly. Sweat dripped of my face. The sun was bright today, makes a change from the rain. Ellie walked in and looked at me.

‘Jesus…,’ she said, making a cross on her chest, ‘you look like you’ve see a ghost,’ she told me, her heavy accent filling her voice.

‘Aye, I think I may have,’ I replied getting up.

‘You want some water?’ she asked. I nodded. She smiled and walked out my house. I ran my fingers through my hair. I slowly slid off my bed and grabbed my dress. I was putting it on, when Ellie returned. She had a bowl of fresh water. I took it and thanked her. She sensed the sadness in my voice.

‘Did you have that dream again?’ she asked, softly. I nodded, ‘He’ll come back,’ she told me whilst patting my shoulder. I hung my head.

The day was normal. I took the rag dresses to the market and sold them. I returned and gave the money to my parents. They were the ones who made the dresses, well, my mother was, my father was a farmer. I then took the vegetables that my father grew to the market as well and sold them. I only gave half that money to them, the rest I kept.

That afternoon, the rain came back on. I sighed. I sat outside my house, sewing the usual rags together. I heard the sound of horse’s hoofs coming. I looked up but saw no one. They kept coming closer. I put my rags down and got up. I could still see nothing, but the sound was getting louder and closer. I walked out into the rain. I searched but I could still find no one or a horse. Suddenly out of nowhere, I felt hands go around my waist and pull me upwards. I screamed. I was placed on a horse.

‘Shh, it’s me,’ a gentle voice told me. I stopped screaming and looked at the man’s face. It was the dead woman’s lover. I laughed. This was another dream. The lover was away at war. I touched the lover’s face. He felt so real. He was cold because of the rain, but his body was warm against mine. He smiled. His eyes were a deep green and they almost pulled you into them. I felt his lips on mine. This was a dream, but I don’t remember falling asleep. He stopped kissing me and smiled.

‘This is a dream?’ I asked.

‘Aye, it is,’ he whispered. I nodded and placed my head under his chin. Hurt ran through me. I didn’t want it to be a dream, I wanted it to be real, I wanted him to be real and with me.

‘You have to wake up, Lillian,’ he whispered to me.

‘I don’t want to wake up,’ I told him.

‘I don’t want you to wake up either, but you have to. Lillian,’ he told me.

‘No,’ I sighed.

‘Lillian… Lillian,’ he said, but his voice was fading softly into a woman’s voice. It suddenly went dark, ‘Lillian!’ Ellie shouted, shaking me. I opened my eyes. I looked around, startled, ‘I thought you’d never wake up!’ she told me.

‘Sorry, I was having a… never mind. What do you want?’ I asked.

‘Come quickly, we must leave. The English have come. They are really angry, killing everyone they see. Come!’ she told me yanking at my arm. I was suddenly wide-awake. I quickly got up from my seat and ran. Ellie ran beside me. We ran into the trees. We heard shouts behind us. I looked over my shoulder and saw five English soldiers running after us.

‘Run Ellie!’ I ordered. We ran faster. An arrow flew past my eyes, narrowly missing me. I screamed. I ran into the woods and tried to hide behind every tree. Ellie just kept running, fear blinding her.

‘Ellie!’ I cried. I feared her life, as well as my own, ‘Ellie!’ I cried one last time, scared that the English would hear. She turned, looked me straight in the eye, and then an arrow hit her in the neck. I jumped and covered my mouth, so as not to scream. I felt tears running down my face. I was shaking, scared. The English soldiers ran right past me, not seeing my hiding place. They stood over Ellie’s body. They started talking to each other, but I could only hear the pounding in my ears. One of them picked up Ellie’s body and flung her over his shoulder. Another gave orders, pointing in two directions. I quickly but silently crept down low and behind a bush. I sat and hugged my body. I was still shaking. One of the soldiers walked past me, Ellie’s body over his shoulder. I looked at her face, she store back, her dead eyes still open.

‘I’m sorry…’ I whispered. It almost seemed as if she smiled, but it was just my imagination.

I sat behind the bush for hours, too scared to move. The sun slowly began to rise. The soldiers had been gone for hours, yet I wanted to make sure. I slowly got up from my hiding place and checked for the soldiers. They were gone. I ran back to the village. The soldiers had burnt it down. I fell to my knees and began to cry. Bodies of my family and friends lay around me, all of them dead and burnt. I lay on the ground and didn’t move. I was filthy but I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything or anyone. I would have to leave my village and look for a new home. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay were I had lived for generations.

As the sun slowly began to set, I got up and began walking east. I didn’t know where I was going or what I would find. I wasn’t sure if I would be killed by soldiers or found by fellow Scots. I was scared but I denied it. I had to be strong.

I walked for miles. My legs were aching. I was hungry and thirsty. I began yawning. The sun was rising again. I watched the beautiful sun rise. It made the sky a deep red. Little did I know that the lover was watching the same sky…

I came to the outskirts of a village. Passing people looked at me in wonder. I was tired, starved and dehydrated. I didn’t think I would make one last step, so instead, I collapsed. I heard villagers running to my side. I could feel being carried but then everything went black.

A wet cloth went to my forehead. I shivered at its coldness. I see two women staring down at me. I quickly sit up.

‘It’s okay, your safe,’ they tell me, ‘Where have you come from?’ they ask me, their accent a tiny bit different from mine. I sit back down, remembering.

‘It doesn’t matter anymore. My village was destroyed by the English,’ I told them.

‘I’m sorry,’ they both said. I nodded. What if the English came here? I had to warn these people.

‘You might be in serious danger. The English are going to every village and destroying it. This village could be next,’ I warned them. The exchanged looks of worry. One of them ran off, probably to find the person in charge. I closed my eyes and began o fall asleep again.

I awoke. I heard a scream. I quickly sat up. I saw flames and felt the heat in my face. I ran out the house and saw the sight. My face screwed up in horror. The English had come. They were still here, slaughtering innocent people and burning everything. I quickly turned and fled. I was unsure where I was going, but I searched for woodland. I couldn’t see one anywhere. This was Scotland, where was the woods? Suddenly I felt a huge pain in my back. I fell to my knees and onto my stomach. I saw a horse run past me, and then turn, coming back for me. I knew this was it. I closed my eyes and readied myself for the pain. I heard a yell, no, loads of yells. I looked up and saw Scots running towards the English. Hundreds, no thousands of Scots running towards the English, weapons raised in their hands. I smiled. I quickly got to my feet and ran to safety. The English were out numbered. I watch the Scots massacre them all. I then ran to help the wounded villagers. I ripped the hem of my dress and pressed it to bleeding wounds. I helped pass around the water. Suddenly cheering sounded. All the women who were helping looked up and saw the Scots cheering. We had won. I stood and began to join in with the cheering.

I washed the dead body. I felt a great sorrow come over me. Suddenly a woman came in and whispered to me.

‘There’s a man waiting outside, he wants to speak to you,’ she said then smiled and me. I nodded and handed her the cloth. I walked out side. The flames were out now and the bodies were gone. Only one pile of bodies burned, that was the English soldiers bodies. I glared at it then turned to look for the man. I saw him. He was walking over to me. My heart stopped. His smile was wide across his face. I smiled back. I suddenly began running towards him. He ran towards me. We both stopped a metre away from each other. I looked at his face, and he looked at mine. He had dried blood on his skin, small wounds, nothing serious. His long, heavy sword hung behind him. He took a step towards me. I opened my mouth to say something. He kissed me before I could say anything. I froze, unsure what to do. His tongue was exploring my mouth. I began to kiss him back. His arms went around me, and I ran my fingers through his long tangled hair. How I longed to be tangled in him. How I longed for this moment for so long. How much I loved him.