The Scot

Chapter 3

Voices. Strange low murmurs. In a foreign tongue she noticed. Voices were the first thing she heard when she regained consciousness. When she opened her eyes the first thing she saw was the ceiling. It was made of stone. 'Strange' she thought. Then she saw people surrounding her. They wore similar clothing as she had seen them wear before. As soon as one of the woman saw her with opened eyes they started talking at once. She heard lots of voices but nothing discernible. It felt she was in a roller coaster ride with people screaming at any instance they got. There was soft murmurs from the women along with some exclamations, while the men spoke in low voices that seemed to resonate in the room. She stared at the people in confusion. 

The room was cloaked in the muted light of the dusk coming from the window. There were candles burning in the room. The door opened with a bang and the person who entered the room caused the people to quieten immediately. There was pin drop silence.

The man was undoubtedly the tallest man in the room. And boy was he broad. His shoulders were as broad as the Titanic. Then he turned to stare at her. Her breath hitched. All the breath left her lungs and she could only stare at the Spartan of a man in front of her. His eyes were the most beautiful she had ever seen. His hair, a dark rich brown that showed some streaks of red in the light of the room which hung around him in slight waves. He had blue gray eyes that suited him well. He had a proud, arrogant nose and a grim mouth. His lips were full and pouty.  He was frowning like he did not like what he saw. 'Beautiful' was the only word that came to her mind to describe the hulk of man. He was not the usual pretty boy kind of beautiful but he was the scarred and damaged kind of beautiful. His torso was littered with jagged large and small cuts and scars. All in all he was beautiful.

He was frowning she noticed. She heard him order everyone to leave the room. Soon the room was empty except for him and her. 

"Who are you?" He asked in a deep voice which had a burr to it. 

"Where am I? What is this place?" She asked instead.

"Who are you?" He repeated the question. She frowned at him. "You speak our tongue but your accent is not same. Who are you and where are you from?" 

 "Listen here buddy," Ariel scowled and continued, "you don't give me orders. I don't take to orders well." 

The man's eyes widened and he stared a her as if she had taken a leave of her absence. Ignoring him she tried to get up but failed miserably. She saw amusement glittering in his damn beautiful eyes. Cursing at her inability and her aching throbbing body she tried again and this time she succeeded half way. She was panting like she had run a marathon by the time she was fully in a sitting position. She turned to prop a pillow but the man had already completed the task. Huffing at his interference she braced herself against the pillow. 

"I am not in the habit of repeating myself lass so you better tell me, who are you?" 

She glared at him refusing to answer. He raised his eyebrow as if shocked at her behavior but he continued staring at her. They were in locked in a staring competition for the longest time. She was the first to realize how foolish they were acting. None of them was giving the other an inch. She realized that if she did not answer his question she would not be getting answers to her own questions.

"Ariel." She replied. "Now tell me who are you and what is this place?"

"Ariel." The name rolled off tongue and sent shivers down her spine. She berated herself at her behavior and then waited for his reply. "Where do you come from Ariel? Which clan do you come from?" 

"I answered your question and you better answer me my question. Tit for tat." 

He stared incredulously at her and then all he said was, "Tit?"

She waited for his reply but when none came she again tried, "Who are you?"

"You don't know me?" 

"Would I ask if I did?" Ariel retorted.

"I am Laird Aiden MacNiell of the MacNiell clan." 

"Where am I?" She asked another question. 

"These are the Highlands of Scotland lass." He replied with seriousness. 

"Scotland!!! How the hell am I in Scotland? Can you explain?"

"Don't you remember?"

"No I don't." She tried remembering but it hurt. It seemed like there was a black hole in her memory and it was eating up every sanity. Remembering took all of her energy and her head throbbed with a vengeance. Clutching her head at the pounding headache she groaned pitifully. Aiden immediately came to her aid. 

"Don't try to force yourself. Just relax lass. Everything will be fine. Just lie down and rest." He laid her down on the bed and she immediately closed her eyes and fell into a deep slumber despite the headache. 

Closing the door behind him Aiden walked down the stairs toward the hall of the keep. It was time for evening meal and he was hungry. When he walked in the hall all the clan's eyes were on him but no one said anything. His brother Brody approached him.

"Who is the lass? Did she say anything." He asked the questions that were sirling in the clan members' minds.

"No. All she said was her name. Nothing else."

"What is her name? Maybe we can ask around to see if any other clan member is missing. She must be from the neighboring clans."

"Ariel. Her name is Ariel. But I don't think she is from here."

"Why?" 

"When I told her that she was in Scotland she was surprised. So that explains she is not from here."

"But where is she from then?" Brody asked.

"That is what I want to know as well." Aiden replied.

(A/N) Hey sorry for the late update. But here it is. Hope you like it. Peace out