My heart pounded heavily when I finally came to a stop, safe within the castle walls. I leaned against a stone wall and closed my eyes, attempting to focus on my breathing. While it seemed rather unlikely that the unknown rider was there for me, I couldn't help but think that Captain Randall had found me, which would mean that someone had betrayed me. The latter thought was the one that worried me. My mind immediately thought of Dougal. He wasn't as enamoured with me as some of the others. Then again, I suppose it might have been a disappointment to have me tag along instead of a cow.
I saw a few men run down the corridor I had just come from. They were likely going to investigate the matter of the strange rider too, which meant Jamie wouldn't be alone for long. I knew some guards stood high up on the walls of Leoch, I had seen them on my stroll with Jamie, but I couldn't help but worry about him. I didn't fully understand why. I mean, beyond fancying him, of course. While I hardly knew the man, I knew enough to know him to be kind, loyal, and incredibly stubborn. That last trait made my worry soften, almost into a smile.
After a small sigh, I muttered a prayer for Jamie's safety and continued down the corridor until I found a set of stairs. I sat down on the third stair from the bottom and smoothed my skirt. The handsome red-headed Scot wasn't the only one who was stubborn. I was going to sit on those stairs until I saw him again. Although as I sat there, I began counting all the flaws of my plan. What if Jamie came back inside through a different entrance? What if Jamie didn't come back inside? What if something happened to the castle and forced me to flee again? What if he was forced to flee and I never saw him again?
I rubbed my face in frustration. How was it I had only known this man a matter of days and I had come to care for him so much already? It was rather ridiculous. Or rather, I was ridiculous. For all I knew, he was simply flirting with me to get more information out of me. Part of me wanted to begin to pull away from him and not care quite as much. But I needed him and I knew it. He was the only person seemingly on my side here at Leoch and he didn't seem to mind so much when I made modern mistakes that made me stick out like a sore thumb. Clearly, I had some trust issues and being stranded in the 18th century hadn't changed that.
Nervously, I began to fiddle with my skirt and wiggle my feet, something my father often scolded me about as a child. Reminding myself that I was a grown woman, I reached for my cross instead and fiddled that between my fingers while asking the Lord for peace for myself and safety for Jamie.
It wasn't until I heard Jamie's laughter echo down the corridor that my worry dissipated. I wasn't sure how long I had been waiting, but to hear the sound of his voice sent my heart soaring. He was safe. He was alive. He was in good spirits. Although given that he was a stubborn man, I wouldn't know if he was unharmed until I saw him with my own eyes.
I brought myself to my feet and leaned against the stone wall with my arms folded across my chest. While my heart beckoned me to run toward Jamie, my head told me to stay and wait for him. Despite having a small crush on the man, I would not act out the schoolgirl fantasies my heart desired. I reminded myself once more that I was a grown unmarried woman in a strange time. A reminder of which my heart did not approve.
Like a hawk, I watched down the corridor until I saw the light glint off a tall man with red hair. I softly began to smile until I noticed that his gait was a bit slower and that there appeared to be a woman on his arm. The corridor was still much too dim to make out facial features, but I immediately felt my heart twinge with jealousy.
I thought I had outgrown such a quick reaction to jealousy. I tried to tell myself there was no reason for it. But my heart did not agree to relieve the slight pain there. It was a complicated thing to reason to my heart. It wasn't as if Jamie was mine to begin with. He was merely the man that had come to my rescue. Nothing more, no matter how terribly my heart longed for something else. But my heart believed none of my reasoning. It still was jealous at the sight of Jamie with another woman.
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𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄 | outlander ↠ jamie fraser
FanfictionDespite being nearly twenty-two, I had considered my life all but over before I went through the stones. My mother, father, and husband were all dead. I had nothing in my time. That was probably why I was quick to embrace the new life thrust before...
