Anise
trì.
Isle of Mull, A few hours ride to Duart Castle
May 1408
Drustan rode along the hillsides towards his home, his mind telling him to turn back and run from his duties. He didn't need to marry the Campbell girl while he was still grieving the loss of his Anise. “You must,” the voice in the back of his mind told him, “Tis yer duty to yer people.”
He came out of though when his steed reared and kicked its legs in the air, whinnying as he did so. Drustan settled the horse before dismounting and looking ahead to see what had spooked the horse.
Only several feet in front of him was what appear to be an unconscious woman, laying face down in the tall grass a book laying next to her. He noticed that as he approached the woman was wearing an Englishman's breeches and tunic.
He leaned down and went to touch her shoulder to see if she she was still alive when she gasped and sat upright. Drustan was completely taken aback at the sight of her, his heart began to pound hard in his chest as his hands began to shake, “Anise.”
She looked at him confused before a scared look came to her eyes, “Oh god!” Camaron exclaimed as she looked around at where they were at before looking back at him. It was Drustan MacLean! There was no one else it could be.
He looked exactly how she had imagined him with inky black hair and striking blue eyes, his jaw was square and strong and his voice was a deep timbre. He wore a white tunic over his muscled chest and his red, and simple boots. A sword was strapped to his side along with a pouch she assumed has money in it. “Oh my god!” Her breathing picked up rabidly as she wheezed. “This can't be happening. Oh my god. Oh shit. Oh fuck.”
Drustan knelled and watched her, his eyes wide at the words he heard coming from his loves mouth. Never had she said words such as those in public, yes in the bedroom and only because he had taught them to her but never where someone else might hear them. Then he hadn't ever expected to see her lovely face again. “Anise, my love.” He reached out his hand to touch her face and she jumped back from him, grabbing the book and using it as a shield.
“Stay away from me!” She screamed at him, swinging the book at him. He caught it and ripped it from her grasp. “Give that back!”
“Yer not dead,” he whispered as he dropped the book and grabbed her, she struggled as he pulled her to his chest and hugged her. “The Lord has given me back my heart. Anise, my love, I have missed you.”
“I'm not Anise!” she screamed at him as she struggled to get away but he held her so tightly she thought her ribs might cave into her chest. “Let me go, please.. I really need to get home.”
Drustan pushed her away from him but held onto her arms, “Ye are home, my love an' this time I willnae lose ye.” His eyes darkened with lust and he leaned in to kiss her but Camaron squeaked and turned her face away, his lips colliding with her cheek he took it as opportunity to get to her neck.
“LET GO!” She screamed at him when he began to move his way down her neck and to the collar of her shirt.
“Nay Anise.”
“I'm not Anise! I'm really not.”
He pulled back and his eyes narrowed as he searched her face, “Yer my Anise, ye look just like her.”
“But I'm not!”
“Then who are ye?”
“My name is Camaron,” she told him.
“Then ye are my Anise. Her name was also Camaron.”
Drustan hauled her against him again but this time Camaron was expecting it. “NO!” she screamed at him, lifting her knee and letting it connect with his groin. He released her and groaned as she hurried away, grabbing the book before making a run for it.
She didn't make it far before Drustan collided with her back, dragging her down to the ground, “HELP!” She screamed. “RAPE! RAPE!” She screamed in desperation as she tried to get the burly man off of her back.
“Ya cannae rape someone whose already given themselves to ye.”
“Fuck you! I haven't given myself to anyone least of all some overbearing caveman.” She snapped angrily as she continued to struggle.
Drustan grabbed her flailing arms and pulled them behind her back before standing and yanking her to her feet, “If yer not Anise then who are ye?”
“My name is Cameron Gatewood.”
“Whose clan are ye from?”
“Uh... no clan. Where I come from the only clan is your family.” She told him, trying to pull her arms free.
He looked her over, his eyes lingering on her backside which fit snugly into her man breeches, “Where do ye hail from?”
“Phoenix, Arizona. That's in America if your barbaric brain doesn't know.”
His turned her and held her hands in front of her as he asked, “Where is this America ye speak of?
Her eyes widened, “Oh my god, America hasn't been discovered yet.. God, I'm so fucked. Why the hell did that Psychic lady curse me. Oh Jesus.” She ranted as she rocked back and forth, now taking into consideration how truly fucked she was. Drustan watched bemused as she cursed and muttered to herself. “What...” she trailed off and took a deep breath before asking. “Why year is it?”
“1408. It's been a year and a month since you left me.” He told her, his eyes scanning her features.
“I am not Anise. I swear it on my mother's life.” She told him her expression completely sincere. “You're probably gonna think I'm crazy but I'm not from this time... Actually, I'm from 601 years in the future and the only reason I'm here is because some old lady who I called a fake psychic cursed me because I didn't believe her when she told me I was your reborn lover or whatever the hell Anise was to you.”
“Reborn... So you are her.”
“No, I'm not. I don't even know you. I know your name, that's about it. Drustan MacLean. Oh and you're the chief of your clan but that's probably common knowledge around here.” She rambled before shaking her head, “Back on topic. I am not Anise but I guess I look a lot like her and that some part of my soul is hers or whatever rebirth is.”
Drustan stared for a moment before he looked around and saw the setting sun, “We must make haste. The castle is nae far and I donnae care to ride at night with a woman.”
“Ride....?” Camaron trailed off before glancing over at the horse. “You expect me to get on that thing? I don't want to go anywhere with you! I just want to get my book and get back home.”
“Ye will come back with me so I can learn more about why you are not my Anise.” He stated before saying, “Tis a horse. It will not harm ye..”
“No way. Hell no. It'll probably try to eat me. And there's no carriage or buggy or trailer its pulling so there is no where to sit.”
“You will sit in front o' me as we ride the short distant to Duart..” He told her as he lead her towards the horse.
She followed reluctantly before looking back and seeing the book on the ground, “No! I have to get the book.”
Drustan looked back at the book then at her before releasing her, “Get the book but so help me if ye run I will nay just pin ye to the ground this time.”
Camaron nodded and ran back to the book, picking it up carefully as went back to Drustan who mounted the horse with ease and held a hand down to her. She handed him the book and he put it in his travel pack before she took it reluctantly and he pulled her onto the horse. Camaron reached back and gripped his bare thigh with her hands causing him to chuckle, “Afraid, Lassie?” His arms went around her, one grabbed the horse's reins and the other held onto her tightly, pressing her back against his solid chest.
“Just don't let me fall and get stepped on,” she told him before letting go of his thigh and squeezing the horse tighter with her thighs.
They rode for what seemed like forever before Camaron asked, “Are we almost there?”
“Almost.”
“Thank God. My butt feels like its about to fall off,” she stated just as she yawned.
“Yer tired?” When she nodded and tried to stifle another yawn he pulled her even closer to him. “Sleep. I will take care o' ya, Anise.”
“Camaron. Call me Camaron, please.”
In her tired state of mind she couldn't argue against it, she just leaned her head back against his shoulder and closed his eyes. Her stressed and overly tired body falling to sleep almost immediately but not before hearing him say her name.
x – x – x – x – x
They arrived at Duart castle almost an hour later and Drustan couldn't have been more happy to be home. First off, he had his Anise back even if she swore up and down that she wasn't Anise. And the fact that she had been pressed intimately against him for the last two hours, the latter of which she was asleep and unaware of her movements.
Her backside had rubbed against his manhood the whole ride causing him the greatest discomfort he had ever experienced. If it had been a year ago when Anise knew him he would have stopped the horse, laid out his tartan and taken her over and over in the rolling hills until neither of them could mount a horse again that night.
Except with the way she adamantly claimed to know nothing of him he was beginning to believe that this wasn't his Anise. Just an impostor.
He carefully dismounted the horse being of the utmost care to not let the woman fall as he pull her off and hoisted her into his arms. “Good Lord, Drustan I was beginning ta worry about you.” His uncle said from the castle's doorway. The man was English, once married to Drustan's father's sister.
“I'm fine, uncle.” Drustan told him as he briskly walked past the man, not bothering with any other words. He didn't want other people to stumble upon him carrying a girl to his bed chambers, definitely since the girl looked like his dead lover.
“Is that... Anise?” His uncle asked in confusion when he saw her red hair swinging and her pale skin. The man hurried to catch up and to get a better look at her, “It is her!” He said in exclamation before looking up at his nephew who was now hurrying through the castle corridors. “You not going to wed the Campbell girl, are you?”
“No this is not Anise,” he told his uncle. “And no, I will not marry the Campbell girl until I know why this woman is here.”
“I will follow you in your decision, dear Nephew but do not take to long discovering her intentions.” His uncle told him just as Drustan got to the door of his bedchamber. “I will let you sleep, we will discuss this more in the morn when you are fully rested.”
Drustan just nodded and entered the room he had not been in since the death of his lover. It had been cleaned and refurnished, which was expected since blood had soaked the bed and floors. He carefully set Anise, nay Camaron on his bed and looked at her in his bed.”Wake her ya fool!” his mind shouted at him, “Take what you can afore it is to late. Make her yers afore the MacDonald's take her from ya again!”
Any other time with any other woman he would have listened to his mind. He would have taken what he wanted, what he craved and let it be the end of it but now he couldn't. Not with a woman who looked like his love laying on his bed sleeping so peacefully.
No, he would take her when she wanted him to. Just like the first time but this time unlike the first he wouldn't be going away to war.
Drustan stripped out of his clothing before climbing into bed with Camaron, he covered them with the blankets and throws before turning and wrapping his strong body around hers. Except he couldn't sleep, this woman plagued his mind and wouldn't allow him the least bit of peace. His body needed hers as did his heart and mind.
“Time,” he told himself calmly. “In time ye will have what ye want..”
He smiled to himself before burying his face in her red locks, contenting himself with thinking about his Anise.
May 1408
Drustan rode along the hillsides towards his home, his mind telling him to turn back and run from his duties. He didn't need to marry the Campbell girl while he was still grieving the loss of his Anise. “You must,” the voice in the back of his mind told him, “Tis yer duty to yer people.”
He came out of though when his steed reared and kicked its legs in the air, whinnying as he did so. Drustan settled the horse before dismounting and looking ahead to see what had spooked the horse.
Only several feet in front of him was what appear to be an unconscious woman, laying face down in the tall grass a book laying next to her. He noticed that as he approached the woman was wearing an Englishman's breeches and tunic.
He leaned down and went to touch her shoulder to see if she she was still alive when she gasped and sat upright. Drustan was completely taken aback at the sight of her, his heart began to pound hard in his chest as his hands began to shake, “Anise.”
She looked at him confused before a scared look came to her eyes, “Oh god!” Camaron exclaimed as she looked around at where they were at before looking back at him. It was Drustan MacLean! There was no one else it could be.
He looked exactly how she had imagined him with inky black hair and striking blue eyes, his jaw was square and strong and his voice was a deep timbre. He wore a white tunic over his muscled chest and his red, and simple boots. A sword was strapped to his side along with a pouch she assumed has money in it. “Oh my god!” Her breathing picked up rabidly as she wheezed. “This can't be happening. Oh my god. Oh shit. Oh fuck.”
Drustan knelled and watched her, his eyes wide at the words he heard coming from his loves mouth. Never had she said words such as those in public, yes in the bedroom and only because he had taught them to her but never where someone else might hear them. Then he hadn't ever expected to see her lovely face again. “Anise, my love.” He reached out his hand to touch her face and she jumped back from him, grabbing the book and using it as a shield.
“Stay away from me!” She screamed at him, swinging the book at him. He caught it and ripped it from her grasp. “Give that back!”
“Yer not dead,” he whispered as he dropped the book and grabbed her, she struggled as he pulled her to his chest and hugged her. “The Lord has given me back my heart. Anise, my love, I have missed you.”
“I'm not Anise!” she screamed at him as she struggled to get away but he held her so tightly she thought her ribs might cave into her chest. “Let me go, please.. I really need to get home.”
Drustan pushed her away from him but held onto her arms, “Ye are home, my love an' this time I willnae lose ye.” His eyes darkened with lust and he leaned in to kiss her but Camaron squeaked and turned her face away, his lips colliding with her cheek he took it as opportunity to get to her neck.
“LET GO!” She screamed at him when he began to move his way down her neck and to the collar of her shirt.
“Nay Anise.”
“I'm not Anise! I'm really not.”
He pulled back and his eyes narrowed as he searched her face, “Yer my Anise, ye look just like her.”
“But I'm not!”
“Then who are ye?”
“My name is Camaron,” she told him.
“Then ye are my Anise. Her name was also Camaron.”
Drustan hauled her against him again but this time Camaron was expecting it. “NO!” she screamed at him, lifting her knee and letting it connect with his groin. He released her and groaned as she hurried away, grabbing the book before making a run for it.
She didn't make it far before Drustan collided with her back, dragging her down to the ground, “HELP!” She screamed. “RAPE! RAPE!” She screamed in desperation as she tried to get the burly man off of her back.
“Ya cannae rape someone whose already given themselves to ye.”
“Fuck you! I haven't given myself to anyone least of all some overbearing caveman.” She snapped angrily as she continued to struggle.
Drustan grabbed her flailing arms and pulled them behind her back before standing and yanking her to her feet, “If yer not Anise then who are ye?”
“My name is Cameron Gatewood.”
“Whose clan are ye from?”
“Uh... no clan. Where I come from the only clan is your family.” She told him, trying to pull her arms free.
He looked her over, his eyes lingering on her backside which fit snugly into her man breeches, “Where do ye hail from?”
“Phoenix, Arizona. That's in America if your barbaric brain doesn't know.”
His turned her and held her hands in front of her as he asked, “Where is this America ye speak of?
Her eyes widened, “Oh my god, America hasn't been discovered yet.. God, I'm so fucked. Why the hell did that Psychic lady curse me. Oh Jesus.” She ranted as she rocked back and forth, now taking into consideration how truly fucked she was. Drustan watched bemused as she cursed and muttered to herself. “What...” she trailed off and took a deep breath before asking. “Why year is it?”
“1408. It's been a year and a month since you left me.” He told her, his eyes scanning her features.
“I am not Anise. I swear it on my mother's life.” She told him her expression completely sincere. “You're probably gonna think I'm crazy but I'm not from this time... Actually, I'm from 601 years in the future and the only reason I'm here is because some old lady who I called a fake psychic cursed me because I didn't believe her when she told me I was your reborn lover or whatever the hell Anise was to you.”
“Reborn... So you are her.”
“No, I'm not. I don't even know you. I know your name, that's about it. Drustan MacLean. Oh and you're the chief of your clan but that's probably common knowledge around here.” She rambled before shaking her head, “Back on topic. I am not Anise but I guess I look a lot like her and that some part of my soul is hers or whatever rebirth is.”
Drustan stared for a moment before he looked around and saw the setting sun, “We must make haste. The castle is nae far and I donnae care to ride at night with a woman.”
“Ride....?” Camaron trailed off before glancing over at the horse. “You expect me to get on that thing? I don't want to go anywhere with you! I just want to get my book and get back home.”
“Ye will come back with me so I can learn more about why you are not my Anise.” He stated before saying, “Tis a horse. It will not harm ye..”
“No way. Hell no. It'll probably try to eat me. And there's no carriage or buggy or trailer its pulling so there is no where to sit.”
“You will sit in front o' me as we ride the short distant to Duart..” He told her as he lead her towards the horse.
She followed reluctantly before looking back and seeing the book on the ground, “No! I have to get the book.”
Drustan looked back at the book then at her before releasing her, “Get the book but so help me if ye run I will nay just pin ye to the ground this time.”
Camaron nodded and ran back to the book, picking it up carefully as went back to Drustan who mounted the horse with ease and held a hand down to her. She handed him the book and he put it in his travel pack before she took it reluctantly and he pulled her onto the horse. Camaron reached back and gripped his bare thigh with her hands causing him to chuckle, “Afraid, Lassie?” His arms went around her, one grabbed the horse's reins and the other held onto her tightly, pressing her back against his solid chest.
“Just don't let me fall and get stepped on,” she told him before letting go of his thigh and squeezing the horse tighter with her thighs.
They rode for what seemed like forever before Camaron asked, “Are we almost there?”
“Almost.”
“Thank God. My butt feels like its about to fall off,” she stated just as she yawned.
“Yer tired?” When she nodded and tried to stifle another yawn he pulled her even closer to him. “Sleep. I will take care o' ya, Anise.”
“Camaron. Call me Camaron, please.”
In her tired state of mind she couldn't argue against it, she just leaned her head back against his shoulder and closed his eyes. Her stressed and overly tired body falling to sleep almost immediately but not before hearing him say her name.
x – x – x – x – x
They arrived at Duart castle almost an hour later and Drustan couldn't have been more happy to be home. First off, he had his Anise back even if she swore up and down that she wasn't Anise. And the fact that she had been pressed intimately against him for the last two hours, the latter of which she was asleep and unaware of her movements.
Her backside had rubbed against his manhood the whole ride causing him the greatest discomfort he had ever experienced. If it had been a year ago when Anise knew him he would have stopped the horse, laid out his tartan and taken her over and over in the rolling hills until neither of them could mount a horse again that night.
Except with the way she adamantly claimed to know nothing of him he was beginning to believe that this wasn't his Anise. Just an impostor.
He carefully dismounted the horse being of the utmost care to not let the woman fall as he pull her off and hoisted her into his arms. “Good Lord, Drustan I was beginning ta worry about you.” His uncle said from the castle's doorway. The man was English, once married to Drustan's father's sister.
“I'm fine, uncle.” Drustan told him as he briskly walked past the man, not bothering with any other words. He didn't want other people to stumble upon him carrying a girl to his bed chambers, definitely since the girl looked like his dead lover.
“Is that... Anise?” His uncle asked in confusion when he saw her red hair swinging and her pale skin. The man hurried to catch up and to get a better look at her, “It is her!” He said in exclamation before looking up at his nephew who was now hurrying through the castle corridors. “You not going to wed the Campbell girl, are you?”
“No this is not Anise,” he told his uncle. “And no, I will not marry the Campbell girl until I know why this woman is here.”
“I will follow you in your decision, dear Nephew but do not take to long discovering her intentions.” His uncle told him just as Drustan got to the door of his bedchamber. “I will let you sleep, we will discuss this more in the morn when you are fully rested.”
Drustan just nodded and entered the room he had not been in since the death of his lover. It had been cleaned and refurnished, which was expected since blood had soaked the bed and floors. He carefully set Anise, nay Camaron on his bed and looked at her in his bed.”Wake her ya fool!” his mind shouted at him, “Take what you can afore it is to late. Make her yers afore the MacDonald's take her from ya again!”
Any other time with any other woman he would have listened to his mind. He would have taken what he wanted, what he craved and let it be the end of it but now he couldn't. Not with a woman who looked like his love laying on his bed sleeping so peacefully.
No, he would take her when she wanted him to. Just like the first time but this time unlike the first he wouldn't be going away to war.
Drustan stripped out of his clothing before climbing into bed with Camaron, he covered them with the blankets and throws before turning and wrapping his strong body around hers. Except he couldn't sleep, this woman plagued his mind and wouldn't allow him the least bit of peace. His body needed hers as did his heart and mind.
“Time,” he told himself calmly. “In time ye will have what ye want..”
He smiled to himself before burying his face in her red locks, contenting himself with thinking about his Anise.