CHAPTER EIGHT
It has been several days since I stood on this very rooftop and came face-to-face with Laird Pherson, the handsome Scottish Laird.
I could barely speak as he charged up the stairs and walked toward me. His hair was a mass of straight, shiny strands that seemingly came alive as they floated on the breeze. His hair is black and thick as I thought it would be.
I walk back to the edge of the roof that overlooks a small courtyard below. Then I smile when I hear the sounds of children laughing below, and the next instant, mamas are calling their children home because of the setting sun.
It is days such as this, when I am alone, after evading Malek and the rest of my guards, that I come out to the city as the sun is setting to watch my people as they wind down their day and for me to be alone with my thoughts.
If it were not for the two warriors who came into the city that waited in hiding one evening to try and carry Wakali off, I would not have to have such a heavy guard. But Wakali quickly defended himself and subdued them both. He set them straight to the cheers of some of our people who heard the commotion and came to offer help. Those two warriors still sit in the palace Tribal Hall jail. Wakali, Tara, and I would be as we were, free to go about the city unattended, had that threat not occurred.
Until word comes from their leader explaining why two of his warriors were caught in our city, attempting to kidnap my brother, the future heir of our kingdom, my father and mother will not relent on us having no less than five escorts wherever we go, and the offenders will remain in our jail.
Wakali, Tara, and I have adjusted to the added guards, but not so for our mother. Our father has given Mama three extra guards to her number of five; not only that, but Baba goes with Mama whenever she goes out to tend to the needs of the elderly and shut-ins or down to the marketplace to buy her favorite tea.
I walk back to the side of the roof that overlooks the palace. I will not stay long. I look around and grip the hilt of my sword, which sits on my hip, and scour the area a second time. The sounds and sights of the rooftop occupants around me who have come to the above sanctuaries to light candles reach me, and I see some others sitting and talking.
My hood is covering my head and rises up over my nose and mouth. No longer am I in my royal robes from earlier that show my station as a princess of the royal house of Akachi. Now I wear my garb of black britches, with a long, black over-dress with long sleeves and a collar made to use as a hood and a covering for my face. This garment is light, airy, and blends into the dark night.
With my sword in hand, I snuck out of the palace, taking my chamber balcony to climb down a mighty tree that has served me well in the past. I began sneaking out of the palace cycles before, when the lights of the city and the festivals, which we were not allowed to go to either, proved more exciting than sitting with Wakali and Tara.
Once on the ground and below my chambers, I had to climb down each wall until I got to the courtyard below the palace, then crawl among the bushes along the curtain wall until I used the key to the rose gate.
I stand here on this roof and inhale the sweet air. The air smells of lavender candles from a nearby roof garden. I love coming here, to this home. It is clustered among others, so it is easy to watch and hear those around me going about their lives, hopefully, in peace.
I look toward the east and think of Shamira. How I miss my mountain home. Shamira is my province to the east. I came into my province just four cycles prior. I am to guard my country’s province to the east. If need be, I will lead my forces there against any invaders. The same tribe that tried to kidnap Wakali is from a tribe days outside of Adebowale borders. That is why Tara and Uncle’s forces to the south are always on alert. To take the next king will throw our family and country into an uproar, and we will return that insult in kind, if need be.
Shamira is the second oldest and largest province in my father’s kingdom. Second to Masego, this capital city. I treasure Shamira. A beautiful oasis in the mountains. Shamira is a walled city with outlining suburbs and farms.
I look around once more. He will not come. I thought to see whether Laird Pherson would venture out this night at the docks. I have heard the sound of an instrument being played and saw a few of his clan walking around their ship in the harbor.
I’ve walked from the market along the rooftops to this roof, to where I and Laird Teagan first both stood together. I had hoped that he would revisit his steps and return here as I have, but there is no hope of that now.
I get up on the ledge, and keeping my gaze cast downward, I walk along the ledge. Below and along the city, lights are being lit up and down the lanes now. Tiny lights start to glow, bringing the city alive at night. The children will be tucked away so that their parents can play. Some go upon their rooftops; others go to the square to meet for sweet coffee and cakes, leaving their children with their parents as the cycle starts again.
I giggle aloud when a firefly gets too close to the space between my eyes, tickling me.
“That is the sweetest sound I have e’er heard thus far.”
That voice. I slowly turn around, but I see no one; instantly, my hand is on the hilt of my sword. Then I stare
wide-eyed when from the shadows from the stairs, the man himself, Laird Pherson steps out into view.
My next breath comes out in a slow trail. I stare at the handsome Laird. I feel my cheeks and neck becoming
warm in a flush. I am thankful that my face is partially covered.
He starts toward me in slow strides, his hands out near his sides with the palms facing me. “Ye kin see, I
have nay weapon. Ye kin take yer hand from yer hilt. I no’ e’er harm or hurt ye,” he promises, stopping feet from me.
He does not have to affirm that he will not hurt me. The day we met, I did not feel anything that would give me concern that anything would be amiss with this man. He is a man of truth from what Tara has told Baba about him, his cousin, and his clansmen.
“How… How did you get up here? The door to the roof is locked from below.” I stare at him in shock and relief. He is here. He came back.
This home and three others are what my father calls “safe havens” for his family, if ever we are in need of an immediate safe structure. We also use these same homes for those who need temporary shelter until permanent arrangements are found for them.
I smile behind the fabric of my garb and take my hand from my hilt. “I do not fear you, Laird Pherson,” I say and jump down from the ledge. I stay in the place I landed; I am enthralled by him. I look back up at the man, staring openly, hoping he cannot see my eyes shrouded by my hood.
It is not easy, but nor is it hard to understand his Scottish brogue. I could listen to him talk for hours, days…forever. It is his accent, among his other attributes, that I find intriguing about him. He is not like my countrymen, and that is one of the reasons why I think I favor this Scottish Laird. He is not of my kind.
As in one of the tales my mother used to tell us about those who will one day be our help-meets, Yahuah will show us the way to the one who has been picked by him for each of us. When we meet them, we will know.
It is as if Yahuah is giving me his promise fulfilled. I look at Laird Pherson with fascination; he is surrounded by earthly lights, which brought his handsome features to light when he stepped out into the moon’s brightness. Now, several fireflies circle around his dark head. None are touching him, but they orbit his head and face.
I smile again.
As if he does not know that the fireflies are garnering him with earthly lights, he just stands and stares at me, and I feel as though he is appreciating me, as I am him. Bold.
He shows a sly smile. “Good, I dinnae want ye tae be leery of me,” he says and then puts his hand near where his heart should be and bows slightly. “Mi lady.”
I nod. “Laird Pherson.”
We both stand facing the other. I don’t know about him, but I can almost hear the sound of my heart beating in my ears. “How did you get up here?” I ask again.
He comes another step closer now, standing a few feet away. “Now we both have secrets, dinnae we?”
I know what of he speaks. The day we first met, on this roof, I was dressed as I am now, and when his attention was elsewhere, I made my escape. I don’t think I could have walked away from him on my own if I’d stayed for very long, so I ran before much more between us was said, especially in front of Malek and the others.
I ran along the rooftops of the city until I came to the park at the base of the mountain, then got up on my horse and rode with haste to the palace doors. Once inside the palace, I walked straight away to my chambers,
pushed all my handmaidens out, walked into my wardrobe, sat at my table, took out the bracelet that Ali had stolen and that Ali had given to me, and simply stared at it.
Then I lay upon my bed for hours and stared at that bracelet while thinking of Laird Pherson. Ali had given the jewelry to the one he loves and admires; that is a lot for little Ali to say, so he showed how he felt about me, especially for a boy of eleven who lost his mother, and at one point, shut all those who love him out. That show of affection was a big step toward the return of the Ali whom we know and love.
“I do not know you well enough to hold a secret from you,” I say, knowing that doesn’t make any sense, but I am at a loss of words.
“Ah. But ye do have secrets. Care tae tell me of one? Who are ye, lady?” he inquires, taking another step.
The sound of his voice sends my emotions into a spin. His deep voice with his Scottish brogue is music to my ears. I love to hear him speak. He cares not that he sounds different. To me, we are right where we want to be.
“Don’t we all?” I ask, not really wanting to ask a question. I just don’t know what else to say.
“Aye.” He stares at me intently as if trying to imagine what I look like behind my hood and covering. “Mi lady… We do.” He takes another step.
“Laird…”
“Mi name…is Teagan. Ye will use mi formal name,” he demands.
That is too forward to me. I didn’t know what to expect, coming here these past few nights. I have never had
such intimate talk with a man. “This all is too forward for me. It’s not ladylike of me to be so familiar with you. I barely know you.”
He nods. “Ah, so ye are a noble lady?”
I say nothing. I move to the side along the edge, all the while looking at him. I need to get a little distance from him.
He doesn’t move his body, but his eyes follow me. “We both ken ye are nay ordinary woman. The fact that ye are here alone tells me that ye do as ye please.”
That makes me smile. He’s very observant. If he only knew that everywhere I go, without being a sneak, I am followed by my guards. Even at my gem, which is the name I call Shamira, I am constantly guarded. I know there are those who are there under my father’s direct order to serve as his ever-present eye.
He takes another step. “Why do ye come here, lady? Who do ye come here tae meet?”
I sense a hint of possessiveness in his tone. For some reason, that makes me happy. He looks at me as if he knows that I have come here in the hopes of seeing him.
Since that day in the marketplace, when I first saw him, and before he resided at the Sands Palace, I would walk into the Grand Ballroom in the palace, sit on the balcony that overlooks the sea, and stare down at the little small figure that is his ship and wonder what he was doing at that moment.
I turn around to face the city, and as I knew he would, he comes to stand alongside me, joining me in my watch. I close my eyes for a second, and when I slightly reopen them, I stare out the side of my eye to see him staring at me. In the past, such forward behavior from one of the many young and some old men who attend to my father in his Hall would cause me to be sick to my stomach, but I don’t feel that way with him.
Instead of bile rolling up in my stomach by such a look, as would be the case if received from one of the court hangers-on, I feel a calmness, a stillness in my Spirit. I am content with Laird Pherson. At peace.
“Answer me…please,” he orders. A stern yet polite command.
That command, however polite, rattles me inwardly because no one but my father and mother have ever talked to me in such a manner. I continue to meet his stare. Our gaze is intense. Not even Malek commands and stares me down in such a way.
I turn toward Laird Pherson as he steps closer, which puts him directly in front of me so that I have to look way up to meet his beautiful blue eyes.
I clear my throat. “I… I think the city looks beautiful from up here at night. I decided to come back to see.” “By yerself?”
“Ayea. I am on my post in this part of the city.”
“So ye are a palace guard?” he asks.
“Ayea.” I had not thought of that. “Ayea, I am.”
He looks down at my garb. “But ye dinnae wear the garments of the royal palace guards.”
I look down at myself. I am not a good liar. I blame that fact on my parents. Baba and Mama kept us from
court intrigue as children and in our coming of age. Our tutors and guards were given strict orders to keep any and all away from us during our early cycles spent outside of our close family.
My parents do not take kindly to lying. We were afraid to lie, not so much because of our parents but of the scriptures that says, lying is an abomination to Yahuah.
I clear my throat a second time. “I… I thought…” I look away from him to peer up at the moon. “The city looks so beautiful from here at night. I can see the entire city from here, so I decided to come back to see…the city…from here.” I look at him to see how he reacts to my half-truth.
“Tae see the city or tae see someone, lady?”
I half-whisper, “The city.”
“How did ye ken the door tae this house was locked?”
There is no hope for it. “My family still owns this house. I come here sometimes after we moved.” “Why did yer family move?”
I look down.
“Please, when ye talk tae me, look me in the eyes.”
Somehow, I sense that his politeness is not normally part of his character. I look at him; wrong move. As I take in the sincerity on his face, I realize that he seems to really want to know about me. He doesn’t know who I am or my station. He wants to know about Uhisani.
“My father was given an opportunity he couldn’t say no to” is all I say, which is the truth. But just in case, I say a quick prayer in my head of repentance. “Now, it’s your turn. Laird…”
“Teagan.”
“…Teagan. Why are you here, and how did you get up here?” I’m still curious to know how he got to the rooftop if the door to the roof is locked from the inside.
Now he smiles. The two rows of white teeth are bright against his sun-kissed skin. “Ye are right. I have seen ye for the past few days here.” He stares as if waiting for another explanation and sits on the edge of the roof. Even sitting, he is taller than me.
I’m shocked. He’s been watching me? He knows how to glide over the rooftops?
“You saw me? Were you following me?” I ask and step back to add a bit of theatrics to my forced reaction. Truth is, I’m more flattered than appalled. I just hope I didn’t pick my nose or let air out of my robes while he was observing me.
“Aye.” He gets up, turns, and nods in the direction behind this house, which separates both houses by a small courtyard. “From there.”
I look in the direction he refers, then back at him. I’ve jumped from that rooftop before, but there is a barrel sitting near the edge to push off from.
“You jumped that?” I ask. I have no knowledge of whether they glide over the roofs in Scotland.
“Nay, lady. I’ve but stood in the shadows….” He points below. “Down there, between that tree and that dwelling.”
I tilt my head. Now it’s getting uncomfortable. “Why were you watching me?” I ask and rest my hand on the hilt of my sword.
He smiles. He doesn’t hesitate. “Aye, lady. I but watched ye acause I wanted tae see ye again, and it seems, despite of what ye claim, ye have wanted tae see someone here tae. Care tae tell me who?”
Now I am on defense. “What business is it of yours, Laird Pherson?” I withdraw a few steps, mindful to keep my hand on my hilt. It did not occur to me that he may be in league with our enemies.
Instead of taking in my reaction and reacting in kind, he turns and puts his hands on his narrow waist with a focused look as if he is trying to put my face to memory. He tilts his head slightly again. “I would ask ye the same. Ye are no’ here for the view…”
“This house belongs—”
“Aye, I ken this home belongs tae ye, but ye were no’ here three nights just tae look ou’ at the city, and ye dinnae wear the garb of a guard but of a warrior. Ye were here lookin’ for someone yerself. Who?”
My hand leaves the hilt of my sword, and as him, I place my hands on my hips. “As I’ve told you…”
“Aye. I hear what ye have told me. I just think that is no’ the full truth,” he says and begins to circle me.
“You tell me why are you here, on my family’s rooftop.” I try to divert all talk from any question of why I’m here.
I don’t know why I am a bit upset that he has come to watch me. What can I say? I have been watching for him to show, and he did. I just didn’t know he was there. I think, I’m upset he did not make himself known to me.
He stops, stands directly in front of me, and leans in inches from my face. “Acause, I have been lookin’ for ye.”
I stare in shock. He actually said that. He didn’t lie or cover his explanation with flowery words like the court hangers-on do.
“Me,” I sigh behind my mask.
“Aye, mi lady. Ye,” he says and leans back. “I dinnae mean tae offend.”
That statement gives me a second of confusion. I quickly shake that off from my spirit. I can’t help but blink
several times, which reminds me of the reaction the ladies of the court have when a courtier gives them a compliment.
I feel sweat run down the sides of my face. I am thankful that I have my head covered, but the evening’s slight breeze does nothing to cool me.
I see the sincerity on his face. His handsomeness is marred by his furrowed forehead.
“You did not offend, Laird Pherson. It is I, I think, that have offended you.”
For twenty days, I have carried around this want to meet him face to face. I have thought of him daily. I go to
bed at night after saying a prayer to Yahuah to keep him safe, thinking of Laird Teagan.
From what Tara said after visiting the Sand Palace and talking to the warriors of the Pherson Clan, Teagan
Pherson is a revered warrior and respected by all in his clan, especially his cousins, Cillian and Ramsey. Unfortunately, Tara gathered little information about Teagan Pherson, and more of her information on the scarred warrior, Ramsey Pherson.
I fold my arms across the front of me and turn from Laird Pherson; I can feel him standing close to my back. I next look out over the city, trying to get my beating heart under control by taking slow deep breaths and releasing them slowly.
I dare not turn around to face Laird Pherson. He is very observant. I do not want him to see the look in my eyes. It may give me away because I have, though still unspoken, given my heart to Laird Pherson.
“You have not offended me.” I turn to him and meet his stare. “As I’ve said, I come to this house because it belongs to my family.”
“Again, why have ye come these past three nights?” he presses. Dare I tell him the truth? Dare I dream where there is no hope? “I came to…”
From where I stand, I’m facing him, though I am positioned slightly to his left. Behind him, I see a tiny flicker. I step around him and walk to the ledge facing the palace. After blinking several times to clear my eyes to make sure I am seeing what I know I’m looking at, I notice a second flicker; a light has been lit in a window at the highest point in the palace.
Without hesitation, I step back several feet, then run to the edge of the roof and jump left onto another home next to where Laird Pherson is standing. I run along the rooftop and leap, repeating the same motions from roof to roof.
Behind me, I hear, “I will find ye, lady!”
I land on a rooftop, pull my hood down from my head, and uncover my mouth to breathe in fresh air as I continue to run and glide along the rooves of the city. Some rooftops are occupied; others are not. I continue on, not bothering to apologize for my intrusion, so focused am I on getting back to the palace and discovering the reason for the two fire lights.
Finally, I stop, swing over a ledge, slide down a bright yellow drape, jump to the ground, and without hesitating, I untether my horse, swing onto her saddle, and charge home.