Captured by the Kerrs

EesomeBeastie

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Background: the Scottish Borders in the 16th century, a land of lawlessness and skirmishes between English and Scottish noble families that barely recognise any authority, not even their own kings. Cattle raiding, burning the farms of each others’ tenants, the occasional kidnap or murder – it’s become a way of life in these ravaged borderlands.

The Scottish Kerrs and the English Collingwoods are two border families who have been at each others’ throats for generations, regardless of whether England and Scotland are officially at peace or at war. The latest incident in the tit-for-tat feuding is the kidnap of the Kerr heir, Robert, by the Collingwoods.

Name: Callum Kerr
Age: 20
Description: 5 foot 10, powerful build, unkempt red hair and stubble, grey-blue eyes and a scar across his right cheek.
Bio: middle of three sons to David Kerr, the head of the Kerr family, Callum is headstrong and active, loving nothing more than hunting, cattle rustling and raiding.

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Callum Kerr sighed and slumped back in the saddle of his sturdy borders pony as it plodded through the growing darkness. He’d watched the Collingwood pele tower from the hills for almost an hour and his worst fears had been confirmed. The guard had been doubled and the men were particularly alert. There was no way he’d be able to storm the place or sneak in either, and rescue his elder brother. It had been a fool’s errand.

He clenched his fist and brought it down, turning it aside at the last moment to hit his thigh rather than his mount. It was hardly the beast’s fault after all.

Damn those Collingwoods! That family and his own had been at loggerheads for generations, raiding each other’s cattle, occasionally burning farms on each others’ estates or ambushing and killing a minor retainer, but now they’d upped the ante by kidnapping his brother, the heir to the Kerr lands, and demanding what was almost a king’s ransom for him. They must be really strapped for cash!

Just then he heard the alert called out by his advance rider scouting the way ahead, two caws like those of a crow. He gripped his lance tighter and cautiously eased round the bend in the path, flanked by two more of his men. By the light of the half moon he spied his scout, dismounted and crouching behind a rock, gesturing towards the track two hundred paces away in the valley below.

Two figures plodded along the dirt road on ponies much like his, leading a third carrying full bags and sacks. One of the pair, an old man, looked around nervously, clutching the hilt of his sheathed sword. The other was cloaked and hooded, but looked to be a woman, and a young one at that. They were heading away from the Collingwood castle, some four miles from it already, though wherever they were bound for they'd not get there before it was completely dark. No wonder then that the man seemed jittery.

The woman’s saddle, bridle and cloak looked of very good quality. Might she be one of the Collingwood womenfolk or a close relative? But if so, what was she doing out here at this hour on a remote road with insufficient escort? Whatever, she was an opportunity: if he captured her he might be able to exchange her for his brother and avoid paying the steep ransom the Collingwoods had demanded.

With a few curt gestures he sent a pair of riders swinging round behind the hills to the far side of the small valley. Giving them five minutes to get into position he sent two more pairs off either side to cut off the track behind and ahead of man and woman before spurring his pony down the gentle slope with his remaining three men to confront them directly.

The pair could hardly miss the noise he now made, but it was too late for them to do anything – he had them boxed in.
 
Lady Alice Collingwood had taken her decision. She needed to leave and the only safe place she could go to was the convent about thirty miles away from her home.
The last unmarried of the Collingwood daughters, she was her parents' constant worry. The others had married young, while Alice had already passed her nineteenth birthday and was still with no husband.
Finally however a certain Lord Brynn had offered to wed her and had even demanded only a minimal dowry.
Because of the constant feuding with the Kerrs, the Collingwoods were spending every penny on soldiers or on repairing the damages that had been caused to them. They had no mind for their daughter and no gold to spare on her, so they had readily agreed without Alice's consent.

So the young maiden had taken the rash decision to leave and take the vows rather than be married off to a Lord that could be her father in age and who was known to have killed his previous two wifes only to be able to remarry.
It had taken the young girl weeks to prepare her escape as she had gathered the required donation to buy herself into the convent. And somehow she had managed to convince Steven, one of the retired guards to accompany her.
So in the middle of the night they had set out.

Alice was sure that this was the best hour to leave as her parents wouldnt be looking for her until morning, if they would be looking for her at all. Ever since they had managed to capture Robert Kerr, nothing else mattered but the negotiations for a ransom. As much as Alice hated the Kerr's for what they were doing to her lands, she thought that her parents had been treating the prisoner too harshly. It had been her who had brought the man food down to his cell and had made sure that he had a blanket for the night. In a way she felt guilty for leaving him at her family's mercy, but she had herself to think of now.
With her black cloak and hood pulled tightly against her, she rode slowly on her brown mare, Steven next to her.

"Stop looking so nervous, Steven. It is making me nervous as well.", she told him, noticing the way the old man was constantly glancing around, with his hand ready on his sword. "Nobody will be around at this ungodly hour."

Just as Steven was about to reply, noises and sudden movements in the dark caught them off guard.
There were riders! Right in front of them, blocking their path. When Alice turned her horse the other way, she found that there were some behind them as well. They were completely surrounded with no escape route.
Still, Alice raised her head proudly and demanded:
"Who are you and what do you want?"
Although only a woman, Alice had the pride and courage that rivaled that of her brothers.

As Callum approached her horse she noticed him instantly for who he was. Or at least what family he belonged to.
"Kerr.", she spat. "Who else would be out at this hour, raiding and attacking defenseless travelers?"
There was no doubt he had already guessed she was a Collingwood, but in the darkness he most likely had no idea what kind of prize he had really captured.
"You should let me pass or there will be trouble."
The men around her laughed. Was the lass mad? Didnt she realize that she was surrounded by armed men, while she only had an old man as a guard who would barely be able to raise his sword?
 
Callum smiled at the sheer cheek of the girl, talking to a band of armed men as if they were naughty boys who could be put in their place with a firm word.

"Aye," he replied, laconically, "maybe, or maybe no. But ah've never shied awa' from trouble onywey."

"Get hid o' her horse," he added to one of his men, and a tall rider in a green cloak grabbed the bridle and snatched the reins from her hands.

Her elderly retainer finally reacted then, but only got his sword half-way from its scabbard before the point of Callum's blade flashed out bare inches from his throat, held unwaveringly.

"Not wise," Callum chastised him. "Ye've nae chance."

He nodded to another of his riders who was coming round behind the old man and the pommel of a sword came crashing down on the back of his head, knocking him unconscious and sending him toppling from the saddle.

Callum resheathed his sword and jumped down from his pony, walking the last few steps to look up at his captive.

"Well come doon here and greet me civilised-like," he commanded her. "Lest ye want me tae haul ye off, that is. Oh, and throw back yer hood and let me see fit ah've got."

He looked up at her expentantly. He was giving her this one chance to dismount with dignity, or else he would carry out his threat and yank her down onto the muddy track.
 
They werent taking her seriously, which only caused Alice to lift her head higher, though still making sure to keep her hood in place.

For a moment however a gasp escaped her as the situation was in danger of escalating as old Steven tried to get his sword, but was quickly put into place.

Alice wanted to go and reach for him, but she was not in control of her mare any longer as another man was holding the reins which he had foced out of her delicate hands.

"I hope for you that he is not dead.", she said angrily, her eyes fixed on the Kerr who was clearly the leader of this group of brutes. And now this barbarian was walking towards her, taunting her to be civil.

"Before you speak such words you should know what they mean.", Alice pointed out, but still gracefully slid out her saddle to meet him. He stood much taller than her, but that wasnt enough to intimidate her. Well, not completely. the young maiden was scared for her life, but she refused to show it to rob them of at least a bit of their fun.

Full of pride she stepped towards Callum and took off her hood, revealing her face to him in the moonlight. Her dark black hair seemed even darker in the night as it was falling down freely, adorned only wih a simply silver headband with pearls, but her light blue eyes were shining lightly under the full moon.

"What will you do now, Kerr?", she asked, spitting his name out once more. "Will you be the brute I think that you are or will you actually show some honor?"
She was setting it all on this card, hoping that he would let her go, so that she would be finally free to go to the convent and escape all this trouble. It was simply getting too much for her. The constant feuding, the danger of going outside without a small army surrounding her and now this horrible marriage.
Her eyes met Callum's, almost challenging him. "Let me go.", she dared to demand.
 
“Ah, yer man’ll be awright,” Callum replied to her fears about her retainer. “Auld soldiers still have thick heids. He’ll live.”

“Tie him across his saddle, though.” This latter was to a pair of his men, who promptly heaved the unconscious fellow sideways across the saddle of his pony and bound his feet and wrists to the beast’s girth strap.

Whilst they did this, Callum gave the girl a good looking over. From what he could see under the cloak she had a good figure and she certainly had a pretty face, even if it was marred by the curled lip and narrowed eyes with which she scathingly regarded him. It was her hair, though, that was her crowning beauty, long and black, glistening in the moonlight, set off by a rope of pearls that would buy a good quality brigandine of steel plates if he was any judge.

He listened to her rant before answering her.

“For ah yer talk o’ manners, ye’ve nae even introduced yersel’,” he chided her, teasing. “I’m Callum Kerr, second son tae David Kerr, younger brither tae Robert, who’s bein’ held in yon keep. So excuse me if I seem uncouth, but I’m no the one wha started takin’ hostages first.”

“And fit’s your name, then?” he added. He guessed she must be a Collingwood, probably one of the daughters, though she might also be wealthy visitor. Whatever, she looked like she’d fetch a good ransom.
 
Although Alice was relieved to hear that old Steven would be alright, she was still angry, directing her infamous pout and glare at Callum.
The two seemed engaged in a verbal battle that she refused to lose at any cost.

"Pah, I have been taught not to introduce myself to anyone beneath me.", she contered proudly.
"And as for your brother, he was caught trying to burn one of our farms. Are those good manners?", she asked, poking his chest with every harsh word that crossed her lips.
She had had a few hard days and now she was letting it all out on him. Callum was lucky, or unlucky, enough to see the worst of her.
But despite her anger she was still beautiful. There was a fierceness to her that gave her a strange charm.

"He asked for yer name, lass.", one of the men behind her growled.
"But I didnt ask you to butt in.", Alice instantly scolded him, making the man reach for his blade. No woman spoke to him like this!
"Since you all seem to be oh so concerned and curious however I shall let you know. I am Lady Alice Collingwood. Daughter of Lord Fredrick Collingwood, as you might have suspected."
There was no need to lie. The men would probably read right through her.
"There, now you know. Now let me pass. I have a convent to reach.", she spoke, bold enough to even attempt to push past Callum to continue on her way.
 
“Well, well, well,” Callum mused. “Youngest of the Collingwood daughters, eh? And off tae a convent, nae less. Now at this hour, I’m thinkin’ yer folks dinna ken yer oot abroad. I’m thinkin’ yer a runaway. And I’m also thinkin’ they might pay a pretty penny fer yer return.”

He fixed her with a steady look. “So no, I’m no lettin’ ye go free. You’re comin’ wi’ me.” And then without evening pausing he barked the command, “Grab her.”

He man behind her grasped her arms hard, just above the elbows. Callum unbuckled his second belt, the one that held his dagger, and tucking the short weapon in his main sword belt he stepped up to bind her wrists.
 
Alice took a step back when he guessed the truth in an instant. He was ruining all her plans. His order for the other men to grab her sealed her fate. She could fight all she want, yet the big Scots held her arms with ease.

"No! Let me go!", Alice screamed, putting up as much of a fight as she could, but in the end she felt Callum's belt tighten around her wrists, making her whince in pain.
"Is that how you treat a Lady? No surprise that none of you Kerr boys are married."
She didnt refer to him as a man. She wouldnt give him that satisfaction.

Still, there was nothing she could do to free herself. The men helped her on to Callum's pony and he soon sat behind her, making sure that she would neither free herself nor fall off because of the constant rocking of the animal. Despite the situation, Alice had to shiver at the feeling of his rock hard body at her back, giving her warmth in the middle of the night. Yet her pride was stronger and she tried to keep as much of a distance away from him as possible.

Upon their arrival at the castle, Alice was led into a tiny chamber with a window so small that not even a small child would fit through it.
She had to think back to how her family had treated Robert and now saw even more injustice in it. Then again, Robert Kerr had been caught trying to commit a crime, while she had simply tried to escape her home. Surely that could bring no offence to the Scottish clan.

"My parents will never pay.", she told Callum as she stared at him definatly. "They didnt care much of paying my dowry, so they were ready to throw myself at the next man who would rather pay them to get my hand. You will see, they wont agree to your terms."
As much as those words were true, they hurt Alice. Knowing that her parents would not care about her safety was almost making her cry.
"Besides, they will think you robbed me of my purty anyways, making me useless as a possible bride. You can only loose."
But she would loose right along with him. She was a prisoner and the Kerrs had stripped her of all the goods that she would have used to get a place in the convent.
 
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Callum settled into the saddle behind Alice, putting his left arm around her waist and reaching past her to hold the reins with the other. His men took their cue from him and mounted up too, getting ready to ride for home.

“Gie the auld man’s pony a kick and set it fer home,” he commanded. “We’ll tak the lass’s pony wi’ us.”

One of his men slapped the retainer’s pony across the flank and it trotted off in the direction of the Collingwood tower with the unconscious soldier strapped across it.

They rode at a steady trot, the fastest they could manage on the rough track in the moonlight without risking a horse stumbling and breaking a leg. Callum held tight on to Alice and the up and down movement of the horse’s gait made her backside rub against his crotch in a most pleasant manner. He was sorely tempted to explore under her cloak but held off. Her assessment of him was already low enough without that. Then when he realised how he was thinking he mentally kicked himself. What should he care of her opinion of him?

Soon they arrived at the Collingwood pele tower, a strong thick-walled keep surrounded by a few outhouses, stables and stores.

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He left his men to see to their ponies and dragged Alice up into the tower, accompanied by one of his retainers, a cousin with whom he’d grown up and whom he trusted implicitly. They took her to an unused bed chamber, still furnished with old if serviceable chairs, a table and a small bed. She ranted on about how her family wouldn’t pay her ransom, but he ignored her. He thought they would, albeit reluctantly, when they realised the alternatives were worse.

He pushed her down into a hard chair and called forward his man.

“Hid her arms while I undo the belt,” he commanded, “then pull them round a’hint her.”

The retainer obeyed and she was pinioned to the chair with him holding her elbows together behind her back as Callum unsheathed his short dirk.

“I’ll need a wee bittie o’ yer hair tae prove tae yer family that we have ye,” he commented, lest she think he was going to slit her throat. Then he took a good handful of her beautiful black hair and cut off about six inches.

“But in case that’s no enough,” he continued, kneeling beside her to saw a strip of lace edging from her long dress.

Then he tied the belt back around her wrists, winding it through the dowels of the chair back, lashing her firmly to it.

He handed half the lock of hair and the lace strip to his retainer.

“See Davie taks this tae the Collingwoods,” he ordered. Davie was an orphan of a Collingwood woman and a Kerr man, one of the few that both families let ride their lands unmolested, a go-between for the two feuding families.

The retainer took it and left the room without a word and Callum sat himself down in a chair opposite Alice, slipping the other half of the lock of her hair into a pouch at his belt without realising he’d done it.

“So fit made ye run awa’ from yer family tae a convent, then?” he asked her.
 
Alice hated to be tied up like some criminal, but there was no way she could overcome two warriors, so she just gave herself to her fate.

When he took his knife out however, telling her that he needed a lock ofher hair, her face flashed with anger.
"Dont you even dare to touch my hair!", she said slowly, underlining each word.
Alice was not really vain, but her hair was her biggest pride. Losing even a single lock was an insult to her.
But Callum had to go even further and also ruin her dress.

"It could be anyone's hair.", she tried to argue, but in the end she knew herself that her parents would no doubt recognize it as hers. The question whether they would pay or not however still remained uncertain.

When her captor sat down across from her, Alice refused to look at him. Instead she fixed her gaze on the ground.

"What's it to you? Its not your business...", she answered, but the silence that followed started to bother her, so eventually she gave in.
"They tried to marry me off to some old man for money. That's why.", she said with distaste.
 
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Callum stared at her until she answered him, then pondered her reply. What a waste, was his first thought, the picture of an old man rutting atop her reluctant naked body flashing through his mind, her turning her face aside in disgust, trying to blot out what was happening to her. I got him strangely turned on.

“Don’t ye hae a sweetheart ye could’ve run awa’ wi?” he questioned her. “Rather than hid yersel’ awa’ frae the world forever?”

He got up and walked to her side, running a finger along her jaw.

“Don’t ye like men at a’?” he asked.
 
"Because of you Kerrs running around and causing mayhem I wasnt exactly allowed enough freedoms to find myself a sweetheart to run away with.", she replied bitterly, twisting everything so it was his fault in some way.

When he stood up and started trailing his finger along her jaw she turned her head in an attempt to bite him.

"Perhaps I just dont like you and your brute friends?", she asked in return. Alice surely wasnt some kind of fragile little maiden, but a woman with a head of her own and properly more courage than was good for her.

"Instead of asking me questions that shouldnt be interesting you, you should tell me what you intend to do with me? Keep me locked like this until my parents pay the ransom? What if they dont pay at all? I need to eat and bathe like any other human beeing. I need to brush my hair and change my gowns."
For a prisoner she surely was making a lot of demands.
Robert had been treated cruelly in their prison cell and she had been the only one to see to his basic needs. Now she expected as much kindness in return, even though Callum knew nothing of what she had done for his brother. And Alice was not about to tell him.
 
Callum stepped back sharply as she tried to bite him. He raised a hand to slap her but caught himself just in time, instead bringing it to his head and running his fingers through his unruly red hair, grasping it and causing himself pain to distract himself from the conflicting emotions she brought out in him.

Damn the lass! She was so infuriating. Trying to make everything his fault.

A voice in the back of his mind reminded him that from her viewpoint is was his fault - after all he had kidnapped her when she'd done nothing against him personally.

Then she started making demands for her personal comfort. That was the last straw.

"You're in nae position tae be makin' demands, wumman," he reminded her, his teeth clenched. "I'll be back in the mornin' and we'll see if yer mair co-operative then."

With that he stomped out leaving her bound to the chair.
 
In a way she had had it coming. Infuriating him had been inevitable, but Alice simply couldnt restrain her temper once someone got her going.

"You're in nae position tae be makin' demands, wumman. I'll be back in the mornin' and we'll see if yer mair co-operative then."

"I am in every position to make demands! I am innocent and yet treated like a prisoner!", she screamed even as he was walking towards the door. "Dont you dare walk out on me, while I am still speaking, Kerr! At least untie me before you go!!!"
But her last words were met by a closed door, which caused her to stomp her foot in frustration. It was the only thing she could do in her present position.

The night was spent in agony. The seat was uncomfortable, her wrists started to hurt after a few hours of trying to free herself in vain, and an incredible thirst made her throat feel as dry as if she hadnt had any water for days.

When the door opened the next morning she hadnt however gained any more sweetness. Instead she glared at the person who entered.
"Untie me right now. I am tired, thirsty and in need to move my limbs."
No greeting, no begging for freedom, but rather demanding things once again. But a small speck of her fragile side shone through as she asked: "Have my parents sent a message?"
 
It was dawn when Callum came back to visit his captive, followed by a serving girl with a tray bearing hot porridge and a wooden beaker of milk.

He’d barely got inside the door when Alice started her complaints about her condition. But this time he hung his head in shame as they were quite justified. It had been unfair of him to leave her like this – it was just that her sniping at him had done his head in so!

“Sorry,” he muttered, and moved behind her, starting to undo the belt that bound her wrists. He was fumbling with the tight knot when in barged a red-headed woman.

“Callum! Fit in God’s name hav ye done tae the poor lass?” she cried out loudly, rushing over and hauling him upright by his ear.

“Ma!” he cried in pain.

He towered over her but that didn’t seem to intimidate her in the least.

“Is this how I brought ye up tae treat a lady? I heard the kitchen staff bletherin’ aboot a lass ye’d hauled in as captive last night so I came tae see if ye were treatin’ her richt, and fit do I find? Her tied tae a chair all nicht! Untie her right noo ya wee shite!”

“I wiz, ma!” he replied, bent over by the ear which she still held onto. “Til ye grabbed me awa’.”

“Oh. Aye. Weel finish the job then!” she relented, letting him go.

As Callum finished undoing Alice’s bonds the short fiery woman talked to her almost non-stop.

“I may hae no say in fit the menfolk do oot there, all that raidin’ and siclike, but wi’in these four wa’s they’d better show some bloody manners! Ah’ll mak sure ye’re treated better like...”

“Ma, she wiz askin’ aboot a message frae her folks,” Callum interrupted her. “Wee Davie brocht back this note from yer father.”

He handed Alice a sheet of grubby parchment, held closed by a stamped wax seal. Automatically he reached for his dirk to hand it to her to open the letter, then paused, realising he’d just about handed a weapon to a captive! He took the letter back off her, slit the seal then handed it back to her un-opened and unread, assuming that like him she had learned at least basic reading and writing from a family chaplain.
 
At first Alice was confused when the older woman flew into the room in a rage, but in the end the entire situation made her chuckle. Having been captured by Callum she rather enjoyed seeing him being pulled by the ear. His mother was not a tall woman, yet she held as much courage and authority as the tallest of men.
For a moment Alice couldnt help comparing the woman to her own mother. Lady Marian Collingwood was a tall very thin woman who always moved slow and with dignity, never raising her voice even once. It was like comparing fire and ice.

The moment the belt was untied, Alice rubbed her wrists that carried red marks of where the belt had rubbed against her during her attempts to free herself. The letter however made her forget any pain. When he held out the dirk to her she didnt even once think about using it. Her eyes were fixed on the paper in her hand. Once he opened the seal she almost tore the message out of his hand, her eyes darting over the lines.

The first lines were adressed to the Kerrs, telling them that there would be no exchange for Robert. The lines that followed brought tears to Alice's eyes.
"An exchange is impossible for the ransoms are uneven. The heir to a castle is worth much more than a simple woman. We will free Robert Kerr for our daughter, should she still be pure, and threehundred gold."
Further negotiations seemed out of the question.
Alice's hands trembled even more and she let the paper fall to the ground. So her parents werent too eager to have her back. At least not without getting some money out of it first. And they wanted her pure! Not unharmed, but simply pure so that they could get more money by marrying her off.

God, how she hated to show weakness in front of others, especially someone she considered her enemy, but there was no way to hide the sadness that sweeped over her. And even the sob that tore from her throat was impossible to stop.
"I told you they wouldnt pay...", she just whispered.
 
Callum’s mother went to Alice the moment she began to cry, kneeling beside her and hugging the girl's head against her ample bosom.

“There, there, lass. I’m sure we’ll work somethin’ oot.” She looked up and caught her son with an impatient look, “Well laddie, don’t just stand there and gawk – fit does it say?”

Callum bent and retrieved the letter.

“They want three hunnerd marks as weel as her in, exchange for Robert, the wee shites,” he cursed. "Provided she’s returned ‘pure.’”

The Kerr matriarch raised her eyebrow at her son and he recognised the order to explain further.

“They’re gonna marry ‘er aff and she disnae want tae. That’s fit she wiz daein’ ootside when I caught her – runnin’ awa’ tae a convent.”

“My dear, ye hiv tae tell us everything,” the Kerr woman told Alice. “Who is it yer folk want tae marry ye aff tae? And why dae ye hate the idea sae bad ye ran awa’?”
 
It took Alice a few good minutes until she had cried herself out enough to speak, even though sobs still disrupted her words every few moments.

"They want to...they want to marry me of to Sir Francis Horton....He's a friend of my father's...a couple of years older than him." For a few moments there was silence as she collected herself once again.
"He came to visit my father a while back...and then he saw me too..."
She shuddered as she remembered the looks the old men had been sending her ever since he had laid eyes on her young form.
"He offered to marry me, without a dowry. Instead he was willing to pay my parents for my hand...I didnt want that. I'd rather live the miserable life of a nun instead of being this rotten rat's wife."
Her eyes wandered to the letter in Callum's hands and then back down to the floor.
"My parents insisted however. They need the coin....so I saw it fit to run away...until he caught me."
Alice sent an accusing look towards the man. "I have done nothing to upset your Clan. You should have let me go. I am useless to you now anyways."

Though now she wasnt sure how she would reach the convent. Callum's men had taken away her pony and the goods that made up the entrance fees to the convent and without a guard she would never be able to travel so far.
What was most disturbing however was that her captor didnt even look ready to let her go.

"In case you wish to know, your brother is unharmed and in best health..."
Thinking about it, his family was probably worried about their lost member and Alice considered it right to give them at least a bit of consolation.
 
As soon as Alice began to sob, Callum’s mother went to kneel by her and enfold her in a tight hug.

“There, there, we’ll work somethin’ oot,” she consoled the girl.

Callum had bridled on hearing the name of Sir Francis Horton. He was a notorious womaniser who had had a succession of serving girls and daughters of his tenants in his bed whilst still married to his previous wife, whom he had beaten half to death if rumour was true. Certainly she had looked cowed the few times she had been seen in public. Callum was no saint, but the stories of the man’s behaviour had appalled even him.

“Ye’ll marry that bag o’ shite over my deid body,” he cursed. Few youths of noble birth got to choose their own marriage partners, but he didn’t want to see this brave and bright lass have her light crushed by such a man.

But how to go about it? He could let Alice go, even escort her to the convent, but would she get to stay there? Sir Horton had serious money, enough to bribe a nunnery into rejecting a candidate. Or if that failed he could threaten them with violence. The Church was weak in these lands and remote religious communities were vulnerable, having to deal with the local great families for protection despite despising their ways. He’d not put it past Sir Francis to haul her out from a House of God by brute force, even at the risk of excommunication.

Then there was his brother to think of. Much as it pained him now he knew a little more of her circumstances, it might still be possible to use Alice as leverage to release Robert on better terms.

Without even realising he was doing it, his hand had found its way to the back of Alice’s neck as she hid in his mother’s reassuring embrace. He brushed away the sleek raven locks and stroked her nape absentmindedly as he pondered what to do.

Oh, how he wished his father was here. He’d timed the reconnaissance of the Collingwood tower for when his father was away visiting a cousin, gauging their support for any action against the Collingwoods, and he wasn’t due back until the evening. His father would be furious at him for disobeying his order not to ride out, and doubly so when he found out what Callum had done, but he’d gladly accept any punishment if it meant getting the advice of someone much wiser in the family politics and alliances of the area.
 
In that moment every embrace was welcome, even that of a Kerr. And the woman's arms were giving her the comfort she so desperately needed right now. Her own mother had never hugged her before, so now she bathed in this feeling of warmth.

Somewhere in the haze of her thoughts she heard Callum whisper “Ye’ll marry that bag o’ shite over my deid body,” and a wave of relief washed over her. Finally someone was standing up for what she wanted, or rather didnt want.

The feeling of his hand on her neck made her tense for a moment, but still in his mother's embrace it was impossible to move away. It wasnt that Alice's hated to be touched, but in her mind she still knew that Callum was her enemy, even if right now he was showing her more kindness than her own family had done for years.
Her older two sisters had married young. Their docile nature had quickly found them good husbands, while Alice's firery temper was causing trouble. At least until Lord Francis Horton had crossed her path. Then she had become the one with trouble.

"What should I do now?", she sobbed freeing herself a bit from the hug to wipe her tears. She was not the type to cry forever and even while she was a captive, she was trying to figure out what to do.
"Tell me...how long do you intend to keep me here?" How long until she would be given back into her father's hands, who would put her onto the next horse, directed towards Sir Horton's small castle?
"Can you not simply send me to the convent? Perhaps the nuns will take pity on me....and then you can use my ponies and everything I had on me to pay for Robert Kerr's release..."
She reached for the pearl band in her hair and held it out to Callum. "I am sure this is also worth something on the market."
Now she was almost trying to buy her way into freedom, so that she could be free to choose her own path. Even though there was no way for an unmarried woman with no money to make it very far.
 
Callum looked covetously at the pearl string she was offering, weighing its value for the release of his brother.

“Hiv the decency to get oot o’ her sight afore ye start totting up her possessions,” his mother admonished him.

“But we do need tae get Robert free ‘n’ a’,” he reminded her.

“Aye, weel we can discuss that whan yer father comes back,” she said, coming to the same conclusion as he had. “For the now, leave this poor lass alone tae eat her breakfast and get a bittie sleep.”

“Rest, Alice, please,” he told her. “Yer safe frae that monster Horton for the noo and we’ll no be decidin’ onything until this ev’nin’.”

With that, he took his mother’s arm and guided her out of the door, leaving her alone. The door didn’t have an external bolt, but he made sure a trusted guard was set outside it. No point risking the lass trying to run away again.
 
Waiting again. In this moment Alice wondered if all she would do in her life was wait. Wait for a husband, wait for a wedding, wait for her freedom. Why couldnt she just take action instead of constantly sitting around, looking out for something or someone.

Frustrated she stood up and kicked the chair, which turned out to be harder than she had expected. With a whince of pain she wanted to kick it again, but knew better than to hurt herself unnecessarily again.
Restless, she started pacing up and down the small room, wondering what she could do. Eventually however she sat down again and ate some of the food that had been brought and even though she had been rather hungry, the good meal did not improve her mood.


"I want to see 'er!", Rowenna wailed, stomping her foot as she stood in front of her brother. She was the youngest of the Kerr children and very similar to Alice when it came to temper and making constant demands.
"Yer said she isnae dangerous. I want to see 'er!", she repeated. She had heard of the whole issue and was dying to see one of the Collingwoods. So far she had been kept sheltered in her home and wondered if the other family even looked like normal people. In her nine year old mind they could as well have been demons or strange fae.
"The men in the hall said she looks a princess!"
Her small hand reached for Callum's big one and she looked pleadingly up to him.
"Please? I will be weel good for a few days."
 
It was early afternoon and the third time that Rowenna had pestered her elder brother to be allowed to see the captive girl. The first two times he’d put her off, saying that Alice would be tired after not sleeping last night, and she needed to rest. But Rowenna was wearing him down and surely Alice would have gotten a little sleep by now.

“Aw right, Wen,” he replied to her latest tirade. “Let’s pay her a wee visit.”

“Goodie!” Rowenna cried out, and skipped ahead of him to the door to the chamber where Alice was being held.

Callum knocked on the door, then opened it.

“Hello, Alice,” he greeted her. “This is my wee sister Rowenna. She wants tae...”

He trailed off as Rowenna pushed past him and cut in.

“She disnae look like an ogre. She’s right bonny!”

Spontaneously she sat on Alice’s lap and hugged her.

“It’s nice havin’ anither girl aroond. You boys are borin’, wi a’ yer fightin’ and stuff. Ye should keep her, an’ marry her, and hae lots o’ bairns for me tae play wi’, and never fight again!”

Callum blushed at his little sister’s forthrightness. Actually it had occurred to him too, and the idea was growing on him by the hour. Alice was beautiful and stood up for herself, even though that infuriated him sometimes. She would be a partner he could trust, if only he could make her trust him too.

The fact that she’d been the subject of his first wet dream for years, that night just past, also helped.

It still left the problem of what to do about Robert, though. Her goods and her self still seemed the only way to get his brother’s release.
 
Alice had been sitting on the chair, lost in thought when the sudden knock tore her out of her own little world. She did expect it to be Callum, but the little girl that followed was an utter surprise. Especially when she jumped on her lap and Alice's arms flew instinctively around her so that she would not fall down.

"And who said I would look like an ogre? Was it your brute of a brother?", Alice asked, not knowing anyone else who would probably be so mean to her. In her twisted version of the world, Callum had become the source of all evil.

“It’s nice havin’ anither girl aroond. You boys are borin’, wi a’ yer fightin’ and stuff. Ye should keep her, an’ marry her, and hae lots o’ bairns for me tae play wi’, and never fight again!”

Rowenna's words made Alice blush a deep crimson. How could a little child be so forward?

"I know what it's like when there are no other girls around.", she said, running her hand through Rowenna's red locks. "And I can spend some time with you if you want....but a marriage with your brother..."
She looked up at Callum for help. How to tell this little girl that it was out of the question. Alice couldnt exactly tell her everything. Children needed to see the world differently until they were ready for the cruel truth and Rowenna was still far from that age.

"Your brother and I dont know each other well enough.", she simply said.

"But ye donae need to know a mon to wed 'im.", Rowenna pointed out with a pout. "An if ye two marry, then there willnae be more fightin' and I will be allowed to play ootside again."

Alice felt more and more pity for the girl as she saw a reflection of her own self in her. Again she looked to Callum for help, mouthing a silent: "Do something."
This was his sister and she didnt want to hurt the little girl by bursting her bubble.
 
Callum was rather amused at Alice’s discomfort with his wee sister’s doggedness. Alice’s attempt to fob her off had been rather lame, really. Being allowed to choose one’s marriage partner, or even to get to know them first, was a luxury reserved for peasants. Nobles and the propertied classes married whom their parents told them too, for reasons of politics, property or power. He himself expected to be told to wed some distant cousin before much longer, to cement clan alliances or secure some succession. He thought he’d rather like getting to know Alice as his new wife, both in bed and at the hall table. It would certainly not be dull!

“Why don’t ye fetch yer dolly tae show Alice, eh?” Callum suggested to Wen, manufacturing an excuse to get her out of the room for five minutes.

“Sorry aboot that,” he said, after his sister had left. “The world’s sic a simple place whan yer that age!”

“Now did ye get some rest?” he enquired of her, genuinely concerned. “Ah see ye’ve ate yer food, and that’s gid. If ye want some fresh air mebbe we could tak a turn aboot the battlements?”
 
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