Breathing hard from the steep climb, Bob said, "I think it's just a little farther. Probably just past that next crest."
Ellen stopped for a second. "Or the next or the next or the next. This place had better be good."
"Don't worry," he replied. "I'm sure you'll find it worth the climb."
Bob and Ellen were both grad students at a college over in Virginia, a couple of hundred miles distant. They were both twenty-three and had been going together since the middle of the semester last fall. Now it was late May, school was out, and they were climbing a steep trail in the West Virginia mountains on some land that Bob said was owned by his cousin's family. Or was it a second cousin? Ellen didn't remember and really didn't care. Bob had said there was something special up here but she was just happy to be done with school for a little while and to be out in the fresh air for an overnight hike.
They had driven for nearly two hours after leaving the interstate, first on a state highway, then a small asphalt road, and for the last half hour or so on a gravel road scarcely more than one lane wide. They had turned off this into a long driveway which had ended at a closed house that appeared to have been empty for quite a spell. Bob had said his cousin's (second cousin's?) Family had lived there until about six years ago when the grandfather had died and the father had moved closer to civilization - and a paying job. But they had kept the land, several hundred acres of it, even if most was nearly straight up and down. Since they had first talked about a hiking trip Bob had been mysterious about what was at the end of this climb, but assured her it would be something special.
The trail had zigzagged through forest constantly climbing higher. Ellen shrugged her shoulders to ease the pressure of the small pack and the breeze touching her sweat soaked shirt sent a shiver down her spine even though the air temperature was well into the eighties. At least her pack was light. Bob carried most of the load and had insisted they wouldn't need a tent. He had said there would be a good place to sleep but Ellen still wasn't too sure about just spreading their sleeping bags on the ground. Then she smiled to herself. At least the new sleeping bags they carried were zip together models. She and Bob had been lovers for half a year and she looked forward to spending the night with him in a sexy cocoon. "The sleeping bag won't be the only thing spread on the ground tonight," she thought and then had to stifle a laugh to avoid having to explain to Bob.
She was looking about five yards ahead of her at Bob's broad back - or more honestly, at the tight twisting muscles of his ass encased in the tight denim cutoffs when he stopped and turned back to face her. "I can see it up there." He waited until she caught up and then together they moved around a turn in the trail. Ellen stopped and stared. The woods ended and a vista suddenly opened before them. They were about sixty feet from the edge of a cliff which dropped away for several hundred feet, revealing receding ranges of forested hills with tiny valleys between them. The May sun was still high enough to send shafts of bright light into the depths, exposing meadows, trees, and streams, but almost no sign of civilization. Ellen could see one road in the distance, but no traffic at all.
But what had her staring was not nature, but a stone tower, nearly twenty-five feet tall, standing about ten yards back from the cliff edge. The tower was square, about fourteen feet on a side, and built of mortared fieldstone. A single door broke the line near the center of the near side, but no windows showed less than fifteen feet off the ground. The stone had the look of age as though the tower had stood here for centuries.
"How? What? Where did this come from?" Ellen asked in confusion.
Bob laughed at her puzzlement. "Welcome to the Hawk's Nest. I told you it would be worth it. Wait until you see the view from the top."
"Alright. I'm impressed. But where did it come from?"
Bob relented. "Originally one of my ancestors built it. About 1760 I think. He was a Scot highlander who escaped to the mainland after the rising of 1745 - Bonnie Prince Charlie and all that. In a couple of years he made his way to North America and settled back here in the mountains. We're not sure if he built the tower for defense against Indians or the King's men, but for whatever reason he created a fortress here. The wooden parts eventually rotted, but the stone stood. About thirty years ago my cousin's family rebuilt it. When we were kids we used to come up here and camp and pretend all sorts of things - Scots warlords, pirates, knights, and so on. Later we just used it as a great place to spend the night. Let's put the packs inside and I'll show you the view."
Still slightly dazed Ellen followed Bob through the heavy wood door into a single large room with timber beams in the ceiling. The room contained two beds with vinyl covered pads, a small table and three chairs. Everything but the pads was made from rustic logs and poles. Against one wall a steep flight of stone steps led upwards. They climbed the stairs which opened into a second room. This one had a narrow window on each side and two more of the beds and pads. They continued following the stairs up through this room and it finally opened through another door onto the roof. The roof was flat flagstones and surrounded by a four foot high stone wall with small holes at the base to allow rain to drain off. As Ellen followed Bob around the edge she saw that he hadn't been kidding about view. She could see for miles and nearly everything looked much as it probably had two hundred fifty years ago when the tower was first built.
She was about to say what a splendid view it was when Bob suddenly put on a stern face and demanded in a voice which promised that it would accept no compromise, "My Lady Ellen, what are you doing on my lands?"
Most girls would have been at a total loss with this sudden change. From one second to the next Bob had completely changed personalities, becoming suddenly critical and demanding. However, Ellen was not taken aback in the least and instantly replied, "It is not your land, Lord Robert. These are my family's lands, Sir. Pray tell, what are you doing here?"
The games had first started last January. Bob and Ellen had been lovers for nearly two months and spent more and more of their time together even though each still had his own apartment. Late one afternoon Bob was driving home when he saw Ellen standing on the sidewalk waiting for a bus. He pulled to the curb and tapped the horn. Ellen looked around and as he rolled down the window teasingly said, "Hey, sailor. Want a good time?"
Playing along Bob answered, "What did you have in mind, Beautiful?"