Chapter Twenty-Six
–Tavish–
IHAD NEVER seen anything so beautiful or utterly enchanting as Ellie when she joined me beneath our elm with half her hair intricately braided and the other half flowing around her shoulders, wearing a dress she had made for this special day, only in another life.
Having no need for a fur cloak even in the blustery wind, thanks to her dragon blood, she was a vision in pink as the entire clan gathered around from far and wide, as well as many Sutherlands who chose to join us on our special day.
“If it doesnae bother ye too much, Uncle Tavish,” wee Marjorie said as she stepped forward from where she stood with Blaze, Storm, Adlin, Kenneth, Evan and our immediate family, curtsied, and held up two bits of plaids, “’tis Aunt Ellie’s wish that ye wrap yer wrists upon yer vows with both the MacLeod and Sutherland colors, to unify us on this special day. ”
“I would like nothing more,” I said without hesitation.
And so it was done soon after, as the sun sank into the sea and ignited the sky in a brilliant shade of pink.
Ellie and I wrapped our wrists and finally, at last, became husband and wife to many cheers, before I pulled her into my arms and kissed her soundly, and then we started back for our castle.
Or so we tried, until the wind whipped up, swirling the snow in pink until everything, mystically faded away, leaving only family and those closest to the pact alone with us.
Ellie slowed and whispered, “It’s the Hereafter.”
When she turned back and gazed at our tree, the others did too, and the ethereal scene we witnessed at Sutherland Castle unfolded beneath it.
“Mom,” Ellie whispered. A tear trickled down her cheek as Marjorie Sutherland held Elowyn’s head in her lap, weeping over her in another life.
“My love,” Malcolm said here and now, his voice rough with emotion.
Ellie and her sisters stepped nearer to the memory, all of them desperate to be close to her again, if only in a memory, because everyone now understood the immense sacrifice she had made.
Not just in giving up her precious daughters, but knowing the vast power of the spell she had to cast to protect them would ultimately take her life.
Yet in the end, she decided her life was worth the sacrifice if it meant freeing so many from this horrific pact, making her the true hero of this story in every sense of the word.
Seeming to hear Malcolm despite being in the Hereafter and nothing more than a spirit caught in another time and place, Marjorie lifted her head and looked at him, blinking away tears, her heart in her eyes. “Malcolm?”
“Aye, lass,” Grant Hamilton said, appearing beside Marjorie, having been absent thus far. He rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Do ye remember it all now, Marjorie? Do ye see them? Remember them?” He looked at the ring she had just slid on her finger. “Do ye remember the ring?”
She inhaled deeply as if caught in some sort of dream before the tragic scene faded, and she stood alone beside Grant, gazing at us all with such love that I wasn’t surprised to see tears trickling down Ellie's sisters’ faces, too.
More tears still when Aspen’s and Hazel’s mothers appeared among the trees behind her, looking at them with just as much love before they faded away.
“Aye, I remember the ring,” Marjorie answered Grant softly, looking at Willow.
“And ye’ve worn it well, my lass, but ‘tis not yer time nor yer sisters to pass into the Hereafter.
‘Tis time for a long, loving life with yer fated mates and wee bairns.” Her tender gaze encompassed each and every one of us.
“I love ye, my kin, and will be here waiting for ye someday. Until then, fare well and love each other always...”
She trailed off and faded away, but not before Grant slipped his hand into hers, there for her as she faded into the Hereafter, where no one could see her except me and Ellie. Her eyes held Ellie's. “Thank ye, my bonnie daughter, for carrying so much of the burden.”
“And thank you for saving a perfect stranger from a rival clan because you believed in love,” Ellie whispered, hoarse with emotion. “Above all, thank you for leading me back to my one true love.”
Their eyes lingered on each other for another moment before Marjorie and Grant turned and walked into the mystical woodland hand in hand, and everything returned to normal.
Yet I knew as I looked at the others, they had seen what I had through my mind's eye because our dragons were connected, and there wasn’t a dry eye to be found.
There was, however, certainty in Willow’s eyes as she pulled their mother’s ring off her finger and crouched in front of wee Marjorie.
“Given you are the true witch who descends from the Sutherland sorcerer, your grandmother would like you to wear her ring. If you’re willing to accept it, wear it in good health, and know it will protect you wherever life may take you. ”
Marjorie blinked back tears, seeming to understand the enormity of making it hers. She looked at Blaze questioningly, as if he were the only one who knew whether she should welcome this commitment, because it would be one neither could truly understand at their young age.
Or so most would assume.
“Aye, my friend,” Blaze said softly, if not sadly, withdrawing the Viking dagger. “As I, too, have my own path to walk.” He shook his head. “I cannot say if our paths will lead back to each other, but this is the way...our hope if ye choose to accept it.”
“Of course I do,” Marjorie said softly without hesitation. “Always.”
“Aye, then.” He held out his cupped palm to Willow. “If ye’re willing to part with it?”
Willow blinked back more tears and nodded, giving the ring to him before he turned to Marjorie.
“May this forever keep ye strong, my friend,” he said solemnly, sliding it onto her finger, only for it to mystically resize. He met her eyes and smiled, despite the same sadness in his eyes that was in hers. “Strong until we meet again someday.”
“I would like nothing more,” she whispered as the boy once again became a grey wolf pup. His gaze lingered on hers for a long moment before he trotted off into the sunset with the Viking blade in his mouth, before vanishing altogether.
Where we thought Marjorie would be distraught afterward, it seemed the ring showed her something we couldn’t see. Though sadness lingered in her eyes, so too did genuine happiness as she looked at everyone and wondered what the evening’s festivities would entail.
So it was then that we headed back to MacLeod Castle and straight into a Happily Ever After For All because the wicked witch and her evil son were no more.
Peace had at last settled over the land.
Powerful children would be born of dragon and witch blood, not separating the MacLeods and Sutherlands, but making them true allied Scots in every sense of the word, who would continue rallying for king and country far into the future.
Dragonly Scots who had leant magic and strength lost to the history books.
After all, history would unfold as it should, and Scotland would become the Scotland we know and love today.
And Ellie and her Scot of Hereafter?
We lived into old age alongside our kin, loving every precious moment. Not just that, but adoring our wee witchy dragonly bairns and then their bairns born into a future far brighter than we ever dared dream.