It was a new day and Justin awakened with a renewed sense of peace. The sun shone down upon him from the east as he emerged from his Grandmother's home and met up with Ethan as they both ascended the hill towards the practice arena.

"Recovered already, have you? You amaze me, Justin. Any other man might have kept to his bed for a week, simply to garner their lady's care." Ethan laughed.

Justin smiled to himself, thinking just how far off the mark his friend was. His man...yes, he would gain more attention from his man by pressing on despite the small injuries. Yet, he couldn't exactly tell Ethan this. Instead he shrugged. "I was tended to quite well yesterday." It was certainly the truth, he rationalized as his mind began to wander back to Brian's lips, tongue, fingers, all moving at once over and under and inside of his body. The music of their moans and sighs mingled with that of the nightingale and crickets.

"Your Melanie hardly had time to learn of the incident. I'm sure she'll be wanting to check on you today, all the same." Ethan said, pulling him out of the memories he had begun to lose himself within.

Caught up short by the mention of Melanie, Justin felt a pang of regret and confusion. What was he to do about the woman? He cared about her greatly. As a friend, if nothing more. But he loved Brian and Justin wasn't sure that it was in him to continue courting Melanie when he knew in his heart that he could never be truly happy with her. Not after the times he had spent with Brian. And those few moments of pure joy, serenity and perfection were worth more than a lifetime of doing the dutiful thing.

As the men began their usual morning tasks of checking their training equipment, Brian came galloping into the arena upon his stallion and called for their attention. "We all know what happened yesterday. I will not have it happen again. Which, for the lot of you, means that full armor will be worn during duels. Practice duels as well. I've been lax about this rule. But no more. Henceforth - if you wield a weapon, you'll protect yourself. Even if it's from one another."

After saying his piece, he shot a fleeting glance at Justin, seeming surprised as well as pleased with his presence, and turned the horse around, leaving the men in Benjamin's hands for the balance of the morning. Justin sighed dreamily. Brian would be making his rounds, checking on the villagers. Making sure that things were running as they should be. And he would know all of commoners' names. He would remember each person as well as he knew his own blood. And this was the reason that the people had taken to him so quickly. Justin's grandmother had told him of the respect that McKinnon had earned from the beginning. For Brian had the heart that so many lords lacked and though rough around the edges, kindness still radiated from within the man.

Justin was jarred from his thoughts as one of the men bumped into him and Justin turned to see that he had backed himself into a sparring match. "Sorry!" he cried, moving quickly out of the path of destruction. "This love will be the death of me," he muttered to himself absently.

When Brian finally returned to the men, he took his time going to each man and speaking with him about technique and using the most force with the smallest amount of effort. Justin tensed as he felt McKinnon approach him. As a result, the extremely out of practice Ethan, who had been sloppily swinging away, caught him off his guard and landed a solid blow across Justin's armor-clad arm.

"What the hell was that, Winterberry?" Brian asked, sounding quite a bit more amused than angered.

Justin shook his head. "I...I lost focus, sir."

"I should say so," McKinnon agreed and moved to stand behind him. "I also noticed that your technique is a bit off."

Justin swallowed hard as he felt the man press against his back. Though the armor covered him, Brian's warmth still reached his skin and he had to stop himself from closing his eyes and leaning back into the man's strong presence. Then his lord's words penetrated his mind. "You really think my technique is off?" he asked quietly, as Brian gripped the sword, his hands covering Justin's own.

"No. Of course not. But I saw you and I had to have my arms around you. It's been far too long since I touched you."

The younger man stifled a giggle. "Twas only last night, milord." He allowed Brian to move his arms so that they moved the sword together, Ethan watching the blade intently, as it casually sliced through the air with perfect form.

"Last night might have been ages ago, for all the memory I have of it."

"You have no memory of it?"

"Ah...alas my mind has every detail engraved upon it. As does my heart. Yet my hands, my arms....my body aches for you as though it has been denied for years instead of mere hours."

Justin pulled away from the circle of Brian's arms and turned toward the man, holding the blade between them, both looking as though inspecting the weapon. "Tonight then?"

Brian looked up, their eyes meeting and holding. "Aye. Tonight," he whispered.

"Lord McKinnon..." One of the men called out.

The moment over, Brian turned away. "Yes, Graham?" he asked, sounding a bit put off.

"It's Lady Lindsay, sir."

"What of her?" Worry edged Brian's words and a feeling of dread hit Justin squarely in his chest. Something...something bad was going to happen. He could feel it.

"She's asking for you. At the wall there," Graham pointed towards the slight figure, standing against the tall stone wall.

Justin wanted to stop him. Beg Brian not to go to her. He couldn't explain the feeling, but worry gnawed at his insides until he could scarcely breathe.

Seeing that Justin had been released from McKinnon's impromptu lesson, Ethan tapped Justin upon the shoulder with the flat side of his blade. "Shall we go again? Work on your technique?" he asked, sounding a bit too eager for Justin's current mood.

What was he to do? He couldn't exactly keep Brian from his wife.

"Come along. I could have taken your head by now, slug."

Justin's head whipped around at the insult. "Slug? Take that back, CUR!" The friends laughed and began to battle once again, Justin momentarily distracted from his concerns.

***

"This changes nothing," Lindsay said, panting as they broke apart. Brian had all but attacked her as they entered his chamber, so happy was he with the news.

"What? How do you mean?" he asked, kissing her again.

She sighed. "I want you to honor our agreement."

"Agreement?"

She pushed him away from her and crossed the room to sit upon the stood beside the fire. "Our agreement. I shall continue to stay in my own chamber."

"Yes, of course."

"And I shall take a lover."

Brian was in front of her in an instant, his teeth bared in anger. His previous joy vanished. "WHAT?"

"I carry your child, Brian. Yet am I not still a woman? Do not fret. I will not put the child at risk," she rubbed her flat tummy and Brian's eyes followed the movement, still in awe that his child was now growing within his wife. She had been so excited when her women had determined that she was indeed with child. She had told him that she nearly ran the entire length of the lands to get to him quickly. And when she had told him, standing there upon the steps leading to the holdings, he had picked her up and carried her to his room. What a gift she was giving him. His own piece of immortality.

But now...now she was asking the impossible. "I won't allow this, Lindsay." He shook his head firmly. "You will not take a lover to your bed now."

"Of course, not to my bed. I shall simply have a...companion for now. Surely you cannot deny me that. We agreed, Brian. We are to be equal in this. You said as much!"

Brian rubbed his forehead thoughtfully. He had not expected this at all. "Lindsay, I will not bargain with you on this. I am your husband and I have been very generous towards you so far. Too generous I should think." It was true. What husband would allow their wife of but a year to take on a lover? But now she was to have their child. He would have to be much more firm about these things. "You'll have OUR child. When he or she is old enough and does not require constant attention, then...and only then, will you be allowed to take on a lover - companion - whatever the hell you wish to call it.

She looked up at him, a look of determination upon her face. "I will not take a lover at all, then."

He sighed, thankful that she hadn't put up more of a fight. "Thank y-"

"But in doing so...I insist you give up your own." Lindsay shrugged, upon seeing Brian glower at her. "I know you have taken a mistress. I've been told that you no longer jump from bed to bed. Whoever the girl may be, give her up and we shall be on equal ground once again."

"This is not up for negotiation."

"Oh, but it is. Everything is manageable. We were both sold into this marriage. And you promised me that you would not allow either of us to regret our situations. You frolicking with your paramour while I sit here, miserable, swollen and alone...doesn't sound like a good situation to me. Don't make me regret this." She began rubbing her stomach again, absently.

Brian gritted his teeth and turned away from his wife, moving towards the door. He detested having his own words used against him. "No," he whispered back to her. "No regrets."

***

Darkness was upon the land and Justin's excitement and dread began to grow at once, the two feelings warring within him.

Stealthily, he made his way towards the edge of the forest, taking care not to be seen. As he drew nearer to the trees, a quick flash of light crossed his path and he stopped, crouching down low to the ground and surveying his surroundings. Nothing could be seen as being out of place, but a second later the light flashed across his face and he realized that the source was just beyond the first line of trees. And he had no doubt of whom the culprit might be.

"Luther," he called out in a loud whisper. "Show yourself."

Soon, he heard the loud thump of boots as someone dropped to the ground and Luther's tall figure appeared before him looming in the dark edges of the forest. "Justin," he nodded in greeting.

"What has happened, Luther?" It had been his experience that his father did not send his most trusted man to pay simple visits. Something was obviously amiss. "My father has sent you? Is he well?"

"Yes, your father fares well. It is for you, dear boy, that he worries."

Justin lifted his head and scowled at the man towering over him. "Why have you come here, Luther?" he asked, growing suspicious.

Luther ignored his question and Justin felt as though the man was staring right through him. As though Justin wasn't the same boy that Luther had been like a second father to. "Your father is very interested to know of your progress with McKinnon."

Justin's heart began to race. He had to chose his words carefully, knowing that angering the man before him could be quite dangerous no matter who he was. "You may tell my father that I can do no more to help his cause. McKinnon's trust...is not so easily won."

"But we have it on good account that you have indeed won his trust, young one."

The younger man had to hold his breath in his lungs to keep from cursing aloud. There was no way they could know. He would have known if there were spies. He had been taught well to look for the tell-tale signs of intruders. But...if he had been so engrossed in studying Brian. Or...being studied BY Brian... Could his father know? God help them all if he did. For he knew exactly what Joseph was capable of and to go against him meant slow death.

"I believe your sources were remiss, Luther. McKinnon allows me to stay here simply because Lindsay insists I'm loyal. And he knows he would be foolish to give up my skill with the sword." Justin said, amazed that his own voice hadn't betrayed him and wavered under the outrageous lie.

Luther stared at him levelly, giving nothing of his thoughts away. Finally he cast a glance back towards the trees, where his horse still waited for him. "Justin," the man began, sounding more like the gentle man that Justin had known before they had both become pawns for his father's games. "You do remember the promise you gave to your father, do you not?"

Justin closed his eyes, the memory blazing like fire across his mind's eye. "I do."

"Your father...he'll not allow you to break that promise."

"But McKinnon, he-"

"Finish the task, Justin."

The task... That's all Brian was to them. All he was meant to be to him, too. But Justin believed that nothing happened by chance. He was meant to be there. In that place, in that time, at his lover's side. It was his new lot in life. And nothing, not even his father would move him from his place.

Standing tall and proud, Justin faced off with the seasoned warrior that stood a foot taller than he. "No."

The man's dark eyebrows shot up in surprise. "No?" He then frowned, more with worry than with anger. "Reconsider."

This was his final chance. If he denied the command again, Luther would have no choice but to take action. But his mind was set and his heart was swelling within his chest, filling him with the strength of ten men. "Tell my father...I am no longer his to command."

With a stiff nod and a sad smile, Luther put his hand upon Justin's head and turned away, mounting his horse and leaving in silence.

Justin watched the horse carry the man quickly away, holding to the shadows as he went.

***

Quickly descending the stairs, Melanie entered the kitchen and sighed tiredly as she climbed onto a stool in the corner. The day seemed to stretch onward as if it might never end. Lindsay had been ordering her about all afternoon and she could take little more. She wondered if Brian would give her leave to return to Scotland. Even the censure of her clan for leaving her position to return would be better than having to bear Lindsay's recent disposition.

"What are you doing, child?" The rather large woman asked, smiling kindly at Melanie as she worked the paste that would make their bread. "Shouldn't you be with milady? Not running you into the ground is she?"

"That she is. It would seem that she has suddenly developed a liking to ordering me about."

The cook laughed jovially. "M'dear, you are a servant. Tis what we're built for. Being ordered about." The older woman glanced at Melanie out of the side of her vision. "Perhaps lady Lindsay's condition has a might something to do it."

Melanie shook her head. "What condition?" Obviously the woman knew not of what she spoke. If something was wrong with Lindsay, Melanie was sure to know about it.

"Have ya not heard, love? She's with child."

The young woman gasped and her hands flew to her stomach, suddenly feeling uneasy. "She...is to be a mother?"

"That she is. And I would stake my life on that being that cause of her moods. So never you mind about it. Just smile and nod and do as she asks. Keep her in the right of things. She'll need you, I should think."

Melanie nodded, only half listening to the woman. "Now...are ya needing something? Or where you only wanting to lose yourself for a moment?"

"Oh. Lady Lindsay... She has asked for a bit of broth to...calm her stomach." The meaning of it all hit Melanie and she felt heartsick. Gathering the broth as well as a bit of wine, Melanie stiffly climbed the stairs back to Lindsay's chamber.

She was going to serve the lady and then she would get all the answers that she deserved.

***

As Brian entered the clearing, the first thing he noticed was his lover's near-naked form lounging upon the bank. His shirt spread on the ground beneath him and his breeches undone, just waiting to be removed. He couldn't help but admire his love from afar. He could spend days...possibly up to years, listing the beauties, inside and out, that Justin possessed. Though he did not want to mar the perfect scene before him, Brian could hold himself back no longer.

"Have you been waiting long?"

At the sound of his lover's voice, Justin's head shot up and he smiled softly at Brian. "Not at all."

"No? I am quite late. Had you not noticed?"

Justin sighed. "In all honesty...my mind has been elsewhere."

"You've heard the news then?" Brian asked, hoping that his nervousness did not show.

"News? I have heard of no news. Has something happened?"

Brian nodded and circled Justin slowly until he stood directly in front of him. "I should say so."

"What?" He noticed Brian's grimace and the unexplainable fear that he had felt before, hit him once again. "What is it Brian? Is something wrong?"

The man did not answer him. He simply smiled and announced, "Lindsay is pregnant with my child."

Justin was taken aback. And he pulled his knees up to his chest, hugging them to him in a gesture of uncertainty. "That is...wonderful milord."

Brian hesitated for a moment, but knew nothing good would come from putting off the inevitable. "Lindsay has asked something of me."

"W-What?" Justin asked, swallowing with great difficulty.

"She has asked...that I give up my mistress."

The word gave Justin pause. He snorted at the indirect insult. "And you - you would give up your...mistress tonight?"

"Justin," he began slowly, not knowing what to do. What to say.

"Do not do this."

"I promised Lindsay," he said in way of explanation. "I promised her..."

"I knew it. I had a feeling... Something bad was to happen." The younger man muttered aloud to himself.

"The baby, though," Brian replied, his voice full of awe and excitement. "That is a blessing. Not something to cause anger or upset."

"And I rejoice the news, Brian. I shall go and embrace your wife and congratulate her as I have always known that she secretly longed to be a mother. I shall look upon your son or daughter in love and kinship, giving my own life for theirs, if need be. But I shall not be happy that you will give me up to be a father. And you must not ask it of me. I can only regret this choice, that is not even my own." Justin dropped his eyes to the ground. "And never has been."

Brian chewed lightly upon his bottom lip, turning Justin's words over and over again in his mind. It always came back to regrets. It did not matter how much one tried not to, there were always regrets to be had. "Do not regret this. For my love was real and will always be real."

"Aye. But it shall not be mine."

With a hint of sadness in his voice, Brian knelt and gathered Justin into his arms. "I...love you. And I shall love you all the days of my life." He pulled back and braced Justin's face between his hands. "I cannot give you up completely. How could I deny myself? It would be as though I denied my body food and water. No. I will always be yours, my heart. Nothing will change that."

Justin looked deeply into Brian's eyes and saw the war raging within the man. He had promised Lindsay...to no longer hold his ‘mistress', but who was Justin to ask Brian to break his word. "I...please go, Brian. Go to your wife. Tell her that you have done away with your...paramour. And live your life happily. I shall not bother you on the matter any further."

Brian read the sincerity in the words. He felt Justin's body tense in a supreme effort to hold himself back. It pained him deeply to know that his lover was going to suffer. All because he had promised Lindsay that they should have no...

And then a thought occurred to him. "I will not leave you."

Justin sniffled quietly and looked away, unable to meet Brian's eyes. "You must."

"No."

"You promised Lindsay..."

"I promised Lindsay that this marriage would not bring about regrets for either of us. And...to give you up - that would be the greatest regret of my life."

The blonde head finally made the slow journey upwards so that their eyes met and held. Brian saw the remnants of tears and he knew he could not be making a mistake in this. "Do not break your word. It would mean dishonor and I will not let my name bring any more dishonor to your house."

"Justin," Brian said firmly, causing the boy to stiffen within his arms. "Am I your lord?"

Justin nodded, words escaping him underneath Brian's penetrating gaze. "And...you did promise me once, that you were my humble and loyal subject? That you would do as I commanded. Did you not?"

The younger man smiled and a faint blush colored his cheeks. "I did."

"Then you WILL meet me here. Tomorrow. And for every night hereafter."

Again, Justin looked deep within Brian, judging the honesty in the command. But all he saw was Brian's love shining brightly in the darkness. The love that was surely reflected in his own eyes. "Yes...milord."

***

As Brian trudged up the stairs and into his chamber, he fell onto the bed, fully clothed, much too tired to bother with undressing again. One day...perhaps he would see to Justin moving into the next chamber. So that the night may not end by the water. He wondered what it might be like to wake with the blonde man in his bed, in his arms. Perhaps...when his child was old enough, he might allow himself to bring Justin closer, as he was sure Lindsay was still set upon the idea of having her own...companion.

As he turned onto his side, curling into a comfortable position, he felt something tickling his ear.

Sitting up, he instantly spotted the lock of blonde hair protruding from a folded sheet of parchment. Tentatively, he broke the wax seal on the paper and scanned the letter with due haste. "DAMMIT!" he growled, crushing the letter in his fist.

It took no time at all for one of his men to rush into the room, his bellow acting as a call to battle. "Sir?" The young man questioned from the doorway.

Brian was already up, pacing the length of the room. "Gather the men together in the courtyard."

"Now, sir?"

"YES! Now!" Brian looked the young soldier in the eye. "Winterberry. The bastard's men have taken my wife!"

To Be Continued...