The water felt cool and fresh against my feet, making me sigh. Who would have thought, I wondered as I kicked up water, that I would travel back in time and put my toes into Loch Ness? I giggled and opened my eyes. All of the soldiers were staring at me. I stopped and looked at them with curiosity.
"What? Have I done something wrong?" They continued to stare at me as I stood ankle deep in the loch. I took each one of their faces in and noticed some were a bit white. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
I was so busy staring at the soldiers I didn't notice Tilda rise and point over my shoulder at the loch. I turned around wondering what they were looking at, and gasped. Right before I screamed and scrambled back onto the shore.
There was a long neck slowly rising out of the loch a goodly distance from us. It rose slowly and from where I sat shaking and shrieking on the sand it looked enormous. The head was small, and for some reason that surprised me. I don't know if I had expected Nessie to have a big head or what, but the smallness of it shocked me. It was hardly wider than the neck and the only reason I knew it was the head, was because it was angled abruptly from the neck and flat.
It seemed to look about itself once its head and neck were fully out of the water. I watched in morbid fascination, my mouth hanging open. It turned is small yet massive head and looked directly at us. "Milady, you must quit yer screaming!" The hushed whisper came from one of the soldiers at my back.
I shut my mouth quickly and squeezed my lips shut to if only for me to know I wasn't screaming anymore. Thoughts raced through my mind. I tried to grasp them, but they fleeted before I could fully understand what they were. Is it real? I thought it was a legend. The thoughts came slowly to realization and held.
Was it going to eat us?
The thought made me want to start screaming again. Fortunately, it looked off toward the eastern portion of the lake and dove beneath it. I was shaking uncontrollably and could not take my eyes from the loch.
Had that been real? Was Nessie real?
"Saints above, your shaking!" I hardly felt Tilda's ministrations before I was lifted up by one of the soldiers and placed on a horse.
"This place is unholy." He declared in his deep rumbling voice. "We're leaving." I knew, although my thoughts were flowing a bit wildly, that I was in shock and needed to calm down. I forced a deep breath and tried to center my thoughts.
I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay...
I glanced up at the soldier and gave my best half hearted smile. "I am all right now." He gave me a skeptical look and didn't move. "I am all right now." I said forcing myself to believe it so he would believe it as well. He still looked a bit skeptical but only nodded.
He left me on the horse and went to help Tilda clean up the picnic. She'd had it almost completely cleaned up when he started to help. Tilda glanced up, a surprised look on her face, and then she blushed and looked back at the mess.
I smiled my first genuine smile. So this is the guy, I thought. He was handsome I supposed. Tall, his nose slightly crooked, as if it had been broken numerous times. Dark and rich chestnut hair and brown eyes. I grinned at Tilda. She could have made worse choices. I tried vainly to remember his name and failed. Damn.
When everything was finally packed up, the soldiers mounted and the mystery soldier that obviously liked Tilda, helped her to mount. I grinned at her, and when she caught my look, she blushed and looked away.
We turned around and headed back toward the keep. I was not looking forward to the ride. I was suddenly very much missing cars with comfortable leather seats. The horse bounced me along, and I held on as best I could. Damn horses. Someone should start inventing a car right now.
We entered the wood without speaking. One of the soldiers a head of me in the line was whistling a wonderful Highland ballad. I knew it was that, because Cien hummed it himself and Tilda said it was his favorite song.
I was suddenly tired, and I had no idea why. I yawned into my hand and shook my head, trying to make my drooping eyelids stop drooping. I was half asleep when they attacked.
