“Why is it so hot in here?” Ronin asked Lachlan.
“This can only mean one thing: someone is being heated tae death,” Lachlan informed him, and Ronin suddenly felt sick to the stomach.What if it was Edna?he thought, panic rising to his chest. He couldn't imagine anything bad happening to Edna and began frantically looking around. The majority of the cells in the prison were empty, but some contained men who stared at Ronin with lifeless eyes.
Just then, his gaze was drawn to two guards standing outside a prison cell. Ronin approached it and noticed an old woman on the ground with a huge stove alight with burning flames next to her. Herealized right away that she was the woman who was being cooked to death. Ronin moved closer to her, knowing full well that the guards hadn't noticed him. As he approached her, he noticed she was mouthing something, her words barely audible..
“Ronin, Ronin, Ronin…” she murmured. Ronin was shocked. He had no idea who the woman was, so why was she saying his name like a chant? He did not even know why she was being burned alive but he knew he needed to find out before it was too late.
“Turn around you two,” Ronin shouted, making sure the guards heard him above the roar of the flames. The guards immediately turned around and Ronin surveyed them from head to toe. He did not recognize them. They were shocked to see him and immediately looked down.
“Yes, milaird,” one of them said; his voice small.
“Why is she being heated to death?” Ronin shouted; knowing perfectly well that he sounded angry. He felt ready to kill these men. What could be the crimes of a woman so old be? He knew these guards would not do such a thing until and unless his mother ordered it. He couldn’t even imagine anyone, least of all his mother, being so barbaric.
“She is a criminal, milaird,” the other guard said as a way of justification.
“Turn off the stove this instant,” Ronin ordered. The guard dashed towards the flames and reduced the intensity of the large stove until the flames were extinguished. Ronin felt the temperature drop immediately. Lachlan appeared behind him. “Lachlan, you keep an eye on these two while I talk to the woman.”
“I am here,” Lachlan assured him. Ronin approached the locked prison cell and used the keys in the slot to unlock the door. He walked into the cell. Hebrought the woman a glass of water from the pail kept just inside the cell because she was breathing heavily. Her condition appeared to improve significantly after she drank the water.
“Son, thank ye for saving me. I need yer help tae reach Ronin, the laird’s son. Take me tae him before these people try tae kill me again,” the woman said and Ronin once again wondered what she needed with him. He was curious and worried since the woman seemed desperate to meet with him. This only meant that whatever the matter was, it was important.
“I am Ronin. You can tell me whatever it is you wish to tell me,” Ronin assured her and helped her sit up against the wall. He noticed her face brighten as soon as he told her who he was. The expression was enough to let him know that she was only here to see him. He once again wondered where Edna was.
“If ye truly are Ronin, show me the mole on yer right arm,” she commanded in order to confirm his identity. Ronin rolled up his right sleeve at once and presented the birthmark to her like a trophy. He could never have imagined doing that but then again, the situation he was in was beyond his realm of understanding.
“I promise you, I am Ronin. You can tell me anything,” Ronin assured her once more and placed an affectionate hand on her shoulder after she had inspected the mark.
“I recognize that birthmark. Son, if it were up tae me, I would have come tae ye ten years ago, but the situation was out of my hands. Back then ye were too young to understand anything anyway, and soon after, I heard that ye had been sent away tae study in some foreign land. When I heard about the murders happening and that ye were back, I knew that I had to come to ye, or else everything would continue tae be wrong.”
When she mentioned the murders, Ronin sat up straighter. He knew whatever she needed to tell him was important, but he couldn't have imagined it was about the murders that were taking place right now. What did this old lady know about it all? What exactly were these secrets that linked him to the murders?
“What is it?” he asked; trying to stay as patient with the old woman as he possibly could.
“Ronin, I wanted tae tell ye that ye are not the laird’s real son,” she said and Ronin sighed deeply. He already knew this. His mother had revealed this to him only yesterday and it had ruined his life. He stood up from the ground and paced around the cell.
“I already know this. Mother told me yesterday that she had an affair, and I was born to her from that man. It was the reason my father murdered him,” Ronin replied; once again feeling the anger and pain fill him.
“That is what Mara told ye?” the old woman asked confusedly.
“Yes!” Ronin said out loud.
“She lied tae ye,” the old woman murmured ever so softly. Ronin stopped pacing and turned to look at her, his eyes wide.
“What do you mean?”
“Mara lied tae ye if she told ye that ye were her son. Ye are neither her son, nor the laird’s son. Ye are not the heir to the lairdship,” the old woman told him and Ronin sat down on the ground, stunned. If he was not the son of the parents he had known all his life, who was he and how had he ended up as the heir to the lairdship in this castle.
“None of this is making sense to me,” Ronin finally said; holding his head in confusion.
“I will explain everything tae ye. Mara gave birth tae two sons before yer birth and both of them were born dead. This worried her a lot, for it was her job tae provide an heir for the laird. When she gave birth a third time, the baby born was not a boy at all. It was a girl. The girl was not crying, and I told Mara that she too might die within a few hours. I was her midwife. Mara gave me money and asked me tae exchange the child with some other child, preferably a boy. It was her luck that the same night another child was born to a guard of the castle, and it was a boy indeed.”
Ronin sat down on the ground, unable to process everything that had happened. He had no idea where to begin to comprehend this. This was all too much for him to understand. The only thing this meant was that he was not Edna's brother, and the two of them were not blood relatives. After that revelation, Ronin's heart felt at ease, and he felt slightly calmer. The stress that had overcome him began to fade, and he was able to concentrate more. He didn't mind that he wasn't the legitimate heir to the lairdship. He'd never cared about the lairdship anyway. He cared about Edna, and this news meant he could be with her.
“Do you know who my real parents are?” Ronin asked. He knew he might never even meet them or reveal this truth to anyone but he still wanted to know their identity.
“I dinnae ken if ye ken these people or not. Their names are Duncan and Freya,” the midwife answered and Ronin stared at her with wide eyes.
“Did they ever have any other children other than me?”