Anise

Drustan rode into the courtyard as two dead bodies were carried out of the front door and laid onto the ground. "Wha' happened?" He asked as he dismounted his horse.

"The keep was attacked, they were taken by surprise." One of the other Campbell men said.

"How were ten o' yer men taken by surprise?" Drustan asked, "How did the bastards even get inta the keep? If ya were positioned where ya should be on the walls ya would have seen 'em comin'."

The man glared, "Yer woman only asked fer two men ta stay at the keep and the rest ta ride forward ta ya."

Drustan growled, "I will tan that lasses backside," he stopped into the keep. "CAMERON!" He called for her, there was no way she would have slept through a small battle going on inside the keep. "Get yer arse down here!"

When she didn't come yelling at him from the stairs he decided he would go to her. They'd probably yell at each other, cursing and the like, but he fully intended that the argument that would ensue would end on their bed.

He was halfway up the steps when Murray started to come down, he was pale and the bottom of the plaid, as well as his knees and front of his calves had blood on them.

"Drustan," his friend said, stopping in front of him so he could go no farther. "We need ta talk."

"Aye, but firs' I intent ta beat the backside of my wee hellcat."

Murray shook his head, sadness coming to his eyes, "She didnae make it."

Ice filled Drustan's veins before he whispered in denial, "Nay, yer jestin'."

He just shook again, "In my arms, Drustan. The lass died in my arms and she is gone."

Drustan listened to no more and pushed past his friend, running towards his bedchamber. He almost slipped on a puddle of blood that was in front of the garter robe door but caught himself on the wall. The door to the chamber had been left open and without entering he saw a dirk laying by a pool of fresh blood and his tartan laying on the floor.

His heart seemed to stop beating in his chest and his throat ached as he held back the sob that tried to force its way free. "She wished fer me ta tell ya she loved ya and t'was her fault 'cause she didnae listen ta ya."

"Where is her body?"

"I donnae know."

Drustan whirled around, grabbing his friend by his shirt and slammed him into the wall. "Ya held her while she died! WHERE IS SHE?"

"I donnae know! The winds came and her body vanished, I donnae know where she is!"

Something came to him, a conversation Cameron and he had about how she had come here from her home. How winds had carried her from one time to another. She was back in her time, dead while he was here mourning her with no body to bury. It was then he decided that fate was cruel – giving him love again and then taking away on a whim. He released his grip on his friend roughly before asking in a cold, clipped tone, "Did ya catch the MacDonalds?"

"Aye, all are dead but Douglas himself. Locked away in the dungeon awaiten yer pushinment." Murray said quietly, "She didnae want ya ta mourn her death like Anise's, Drustan. That lass loved ya and she would nay o' wanted ya ta carry her cross forever."

"I will do wha' damned well pleases me," he growled. "I am going to slaughter that bastard and then find a way to bring my Cameron back ta me."

July 2009

As Cameron began to wake, it felt like she was pulling herself through half dried cement. Her body sluggish as she clawed her way through layers of grogginess. She flinched when she opened her eyes and was greeted by bright florescent above her head and the annoying sound of her own heartbeat on a monitor.

As she woke more and more she became aware of a tube down her throat and the proverbial car parked on her chest. Gasping, she felt around the bed for the call button not being able to find it as she flailed around, her heart racing. The machines that were attached to her making erratic beeps as she struggled and tried to call for Drustan, choking herself as she tried to speak around the tube.

Her door came open and two nurses rushed in, "Calm down, sweetheart." One soothed, rushing to her. "You'll tear all those stitches your doctor put in." The other nurse had gone to her IV and added something to it with a syringe causing her head to fog up and her eyes to become heavy, her body floating on air again. "There ya go. You rest a bit more and when you wake up, you won't have that tube anymore and you'll be a little more comfortable."

The words seemed farther and farther away as she seemed to float into this narcotic induced unconsciousness she would have welcomed on her sleepless nights. She wasn't sure how long she was out for but she was pulled back into consciousness to someone saying her name over and over.

Groaning she opened her eyes, her vision blurry but she was immediately aware that the tube was out of her throat. "I'm Dr. Wright. How're you feeling?" A doctor asked. The doctor was an aging man, probably her fathers age with graying hair and brown eyes, when she didn't answer he asked again, "How are you feeling? Can you talk?"

"Where am I?" She asked, her voice rough as she looked around slowly.

"You're at Wilbur C. Price Hospital in Tucson. Do you know what happened to you?" He asked.

"I..." Her mind reeled. She was back in her time and didn't know how to explain that she'd gone back in time and gotten stabbed by a vengeful enemy without them putting her under again and sending her off to the loony bin. "I don't remember," she stated slowly, weighing each word carefully.

"You were found off the 10, you'd been beaten and stabbed and from my understanding you've been missing for awhile." Dr. Wright then added, "How about I send your family in. They've been waiting ever since you woke up earlier today."

Cameron nodded and watched her doctor leave. It took less than a minute for her mother to rush in, tears in her eyes. "Oh baby, I'm so sorry." Her mother was at her side in an instant, smoothing her hair out of her face, kissing her forehead. "We shouldn't have left you. Your dad and I are moving back and you're going to live with us."

"Mom... really, I'm fine." She lied, looking to her dad. "Tell her she's not being reasonable. This could happen to anyone."

Her father shook his head, "It was my idea. What happened to you, Cam? You were gone for over a month, your apartment had been trashed and not even Diana knew where you were."

"I... don't remember," she lied again.

"You don't remember how you were found in a ditch, bleeding to death?" He asked, almost hysterically as he slowly sat on the end of her bed.

"Don't force her, John. She's been through something traumatic and horrible and you're just going to make it worse." Her mother snapped. "My baby will remember when she's ready." Her mother then went back to stroking her hair. "Just know, me and your father are here for you sweetie and we're sorry if it seemed like we were to busy for you before but that's come to an end. Your father and I will be spending so much time with you now you'll be sick of us!"

Cameron couldn't help but feel sadness at her mother's words. She had her mother and father here for her but back in his time Drustan didn't have anyone and as a tear fell from her eyes at the thought. Her mother instantly reacted. "Are you okay? Are you hurting? Should I get the nurse?"

"No... I'm fine." Another lie to add onto all the others, she felt she'd be telling everyone she was fine for the rest of her life when she knew she would never be fine again. "I just... I need to rest a bit more."