Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Owen looked at Sweeney to make sure he had heard the sound as well and he had not imagined it. And when he saw the man looking alert, he knew he should be worried.
He listened closely for the sound and noticed that Sweeney was doing the same, and as the commotion grew closer, Owen could distinguish the sound of horses and male voices, so he quickly got up.
Now, as Owen remembered the contents of the letter the scout had sent him, he wondered if that which he had dreaded was finally happening.
He got up, approached one of the stable's windows, and peeked out. He chose a window that would conceal him from the view of those outside. It was late out with only the moonlight and the torches of the armed men approaching were bright in the night as they fought with the castle guards.
The guards at the gate fought to defend the castle, staving off the men and cutting their access, but Owen knew they could not hold them for long.
They were outnumbered, and the men kept pouring in from the shadow of the night.
Owen felt his heart drop. This was why he had run away to the monastery and tried to find William Dodd before the man could figure out who he was.
Owen had known that if the man knew who he was, he would come for him and his family.
Now, many years after the incident that had caused him to run, Owen was finally facing the repercussions of his actions.
Owen told Sweeney to follow him for safety and rushed back into the castle to find his weapon.
A part of him wished he had stayed back at the monastery, where no one would call him out for his crimes, and everyone had a bit of anonymity to them.
He thought of his family still sleeping inside without knowing the trouble they had facing them.
He had brought problems to them without wishing to.
He knew Rory had told him he was not wrong about what had happened that day and that the men who had tried to assault an innocent girl were the ones who should have to face the consequences.
A part of him believed it even, but he still could not forgive himself for the trouble he brought his family, no matter what Rory said.
Owen noticed a shadow running down the hall and realized it was his brother, Rory, with a guard behind him, breathing heavily. Thank God, he's awake. With all the thoughts running through his mind, it had not occurred to him to wake his brother and inform him of what was going on.
"Defend the gates, dae nae let them get close or step in," Rory shouted instructions from the window to some guards still inside the castle walls as he prepared for battle, sword in hand. His brother had noticed him amid all the commotion happening.
"Sweeney, it seems me secrets have finally caught up with me," he said resignedly.
He had known that this day would come, but he was unprepared for when it did.
He watched as his brother drew out his sword from its sheath before running into the crowd with some of their men going with him.
Owen watched the guards slash and swing, piercing into flesh to stop anyone who got too close.
He turned back to Sweeney. The old man appeared exhausted and horrified, and although Owen knew Sweeney had witnessed his share of battles, the man was probably ready to put it all behind him and live a peaceful life now that he was old.
"Ye should find a secured location and hide, Sweeney. I dae nae want anything tae happen tae ye," he said, and turned to leave when he was stopped by a hand on his arm.
"I ken ye think it is what ye have done that has led to this, but I ken that ye are a good lad and ye would nae bring trouble tae yer family if ye did nae think it was for a worthy cause.
So dae nae plague yerself so with worry.
" Sweeney reached up and warmly tapped him on the cheek before he walked away hurriedly, probably to check if the women were safe.
As Owen watched him go, he was once again grateful to have people who cared for him and did not judge him for his actions.
Spurred by Sweeney's words and a desire to defend his family and Charlotte from the hands of William Dodd, Owen stepped out of his place in the dark behind the window and went into fight mode.
He would not hide himself in shame and regret.
Instead, he would fight until he could no longer lift a finger or until William Dodd and his men had been defeated.
He would not let him hurt any member of his family and he would never allow him to take Charlotte from under his care.
Owen had a servant fetch him a sword as he prepared for battle. He could hear footsteps running around the castle as some guards tasked with staying behind and protecting the women, servants and their children ushered them into hiding. Owen sighed. This was supposed to be a quiet night.
He grabbed his blade from the servant and rushed out into battle, where he located his brother, who was fighting off a few men at once, and rushed to him.
Owen swung at the men, his sword slashing at one of them and piercing the other before he even had time to react.
His brother grinned at him, and Owen suddenly felt lighter.
This was the first time in a long time that they were fighting together and although the circumstances were not ideal, it brought back memories.
Owen fought off a soldier that was rushing towards him.
He hit him on the head with the butt of his sword and pierced another with it.
He kicked the man away from him and slashed at another.
Owen and Rory quickly cleared out the men who surrounded them.
He looked at the battlefield. There were bodies lying motionless on the floor and others who were injured, groaning in pain, both from the castle's guards and William Dodd's men.
He watched as even more men poured in from the trees.
Owen did not know how long they had been fighting, but he had tired.
At the start of the fight, he had swung his sword swiftly and without problems, but the longer the battle lasted, the more pressure he felt on his side. He could feel the wound ache and he wished that this would be over soon.
Just as he thought he heard an arrow swish past his ear, Owen watched in shock as a guard dropped dead. So far, they had only encountered men who fought with just swords. But now that they were shooting arrows at them, they would be wiped out if nothing was done soon.
"Get some guards up the gate and have them be ready with the arrows immediately," he heard his brother yell. They retreated a little, their swords at the ready and their eyes at alert for any movement from the darkness.
Soon, arrows flew heavily from the castle grounds in retaliation.
He focused his attention on the fight at hand just in time to block a sword attack.
Owen cut at the man wildly until he dropped in front of him.
He had lost Rory in the crowd after the arrows were shot but he was not worried.
He knew very well how skilled his brother was in swordsmanship; it was the guards that worried him.
They had been fighting for a long time and while they were skilled themselves, William Dodd's men were also quite good and the numbers were in their favor.
Owen did not know why, but knowing this annoyed him.
Dodd was not a man who cared for justice.
All he did was find ways to get what he wanted without caring whom he hurt.
He had done that years ago when he tried to assault Charlotte; he had done that recently when he tried to marry her despite all he had done to her.
Why would he choose to torment her in that manner when she had done nothing to deserve his mistreatment of her?
Even right now, William Dodd was still only after his personal satisfaction by sending his men to the Elliott castle to kill him and possibly kidnap Charlotte.
Owen grunted when a sword sliced across his thigh.
He had been distracted by his thoughts and had lost focus on the fight, yet he evaded the slash of the sword and rammed into the man, killing him.
He rolled out of the way just as a sword came down on him.
His brother, Rory, came into sight, disposing of the man quickly before he could cause any damage.
"Ye got yerself in a bit of a bind, aye?" he grinned, reaching his hand out to help him. Owen grinned in return and clasped his brother's hands, allowing himself to be pulled up.
"Thank ye, Rory," Owen clapped his brother on the back before proceeding back into fighting.
As he ran, he felt his sides ache even worse after the fall, but he knew he could not slow down, not yet, not when he knew that everyone else was fighting for their lives for a problem he had caused.
Owen swung his sword continuously. He flinched when he was cut by a blade again, but he continued fighting.
There was too much at stake for him not to fight with all he had.
Not for the first time, Owen felt incredibly guilty. He had caused all of this. He had brought death and disaster to his family. I must keep going. I cannae let them win, nae after all they have done tae help. Where was Hamish? It was becoming increasingly clear that they would not arrive on time.
What would happen to his family if they lost? His mother and Margaret were in there. He knew Rory would go mad with rage if anything were to happen to them. There was also Charlotte to think about.
Owen felt nauseous when he was slashed once again.
He closed his eyes as he staggered. Nay, nay, now is nae the time tae pass out.
Owen did not know what would happen to him if he did, but that did not matter in that moment.
There was only one thing that was important, and that was to protect his family.
"Owen!" he heard a voice call out his name. "Owen!" he heard the voice call out once again.
Owen had thought he was imagining it when he heard her voice calling out his name the first time. He turned and looked around, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from and there she was, Charlotte, shouting his name, a look in her eyes that he could not understand.
He looked at her, trying to make sense of what she wanted, but he could not get past his worry.
What was she doing outside? She was supposed to be in hiding with the others.
Why had Margaret and his mother let her leave their sight?
Owen knew Charlotte was quite strong-willed so he could not very well blame his mother and sister-in-law for not stopping her from leaving, but where had the guard been?
Had he left them to join the battle instead of staying with them like he had been ordered to?
"Owen!" he focused on her voice. Something was wrong, but he did not know what it was.
Had something happened in the house? Had any of their enemies found a way to get in and hurt someone?
So many thoughts flashed through his head, none of them especially pleasant.
He watched as she waved her hands. Was she trying to warn him about something?
She pointed behind him just as Owen felt a presence at his back. Yet, he was too late.
Owen felt a pain in his head just as his world went dark.