As Jack resolved in his mind on what he had to do, the gypsy’s words haunted him.
I am afraid yer fate hasnae changed, Child. Ye still deserve the horrible fate with which ye were born with. If ye desperately wish to return to yer time, then ye shall return. Yer fate was to die there anyway.
Madeline had also confirmed that medallion was cursed. How sure was he it was safe for her to return? What if the gypsy was right and her fate was to die?
Jack knew he would never let that happen. If her fate turned out real, then he would convince her to stay here and never return.
That is what he must do, and he felt strongly in his heart that it was the right decision.
19
They returned to Jack’s Castle the next day, but Isla remained tormented by the gypsy’ words. No matter how hard she tried to forget, she saw the woman in her dreams and heard her mocking laugh even while she was wide awake.
They instilled fear in her and made her wonder if returning was the right choice. Isla had watched herself die in a crowd of people and no one even noticed what had happened to her while they enjoyed the pyromancer’s show.
She was standing on the balcony of the second landing and staring at the dark skies. The stars had come out to play tonight, and she heard the waves of the leaves, and felt the breeze blow them.
“You seem lost in thought,” someone said behind her, and she turned to see Elliot. He wore his usual charming smile and stood with his hands crossed behind him.
Isla sighed and shook her head. “I just enjoy hearing my own thoughts sometimes.”
“It is good to meditate,” he told her, then closed the distance between them and stood by her side. “I find that ye make the right decisions when ye think on yer own.”
“That is true,” she agreed with a small laugh that ended on a smile. “How was yer day at the village? I am sure ye spent the day training knights to fight and saving women who need your help.”
“On the contrary, I soiled myself in dirt while huntin’ boar, then got kicked in the ass by my brother durin’ a duel. He is the best swordsman I have ever met.”
“Many boast of his skill,” Isla said. “He must truly be a hero for you all.”
Elliot nodded. “I admire my brother a lot. I want him to be happy, and it seems like you make him happy. Recently, he’s done more than just sit in council meetin’s and hunt. He’s gone ridin’, he’s enjoyed feasts and even laughed. Ye are different Isla… it is good to have ye as one of us.”
Elliot’s words made Isla’s heart soften. She lowered her gaze from him a bit, and she felt a lightness in her limbs.
“It is my first time feeling at peace anywhere too,” she told Eliot. “I feel like I belong here even though I don’t.”
Isla meant every word. Back in England, she had never really been happy even though she had everything any young woman could have dreamed of.
Her life was a perfect dream. Gentlemen sought out her hand in marriage every month, her friends begged for her attention and her father’s workers worshipped her. Isla’s life had been golden to everyone but her.
But not here.Here, no one worshipped her. Instead, they welcomed her and made her love them. Moira, Jack, Elliot… they were starting to feel like family.
But this isn’t where I am meant to be.
How is that she found this peace in a place where she really didn’t belong?
Elliot left her after a little while, and she stayed out there for a few more minutes before heading to her chamber.
Faye had prepared a bath and brought in supper. Isla cleaned up and put on her night robe before eating the sowans with mutton ham she was served. She went to bed with a heavy mind, but when thoughts of Jack slid into her thoughts, Isla was finally able to relax and sleep peacefully.
The next day, she worked with Moira on tonics for painful menstruation and helped her stitch a guard’s cut in his right arm before they went out into the garden to get more herbs.
Isla had finished preparing the tonic Moira left her to make when she heard a noise from outside. She hurried to the healing chamber’s window and looked outside to see for herself.
Some guards had gathered, someone lay on the ground, and she saw other servants rush out of the Castle’s door toward the scene.
A horse neighed close and soon Isla saw Jack jump of his saddle and make his way through the crowd. He then lifted the body from the ground and marched toward the Castle.
Isla knew they would bring the injured one to the healing chamber, and since Moira wasn’t here, she sprang into action. She arranged the bedding, smoothened it out, then cleared her worktable.