Chapter 11- The final chapter
I am now a forty year old mother of two children. I sit back in my wooden chair, reliving what seems so very long ago, no being able to write what came next. Words are only one element in explaining your feelings, and they don't always flow into the hearts of the readers. I doubt that my words can ever comprehend the journey I have been through; and they certainly can't tell all my emotions. I can only hope that maybe, just maybe, someone will come across this and relive it through my eyes, understanding my spirit and soul.
My hand shakes as I write the conclusion to this epic tale of courage. How can I conclude it when my life has not yet come to an end? Very well. This is not the conclusion to my life, but the final chapter to a special part of it. Closing my eyes, I remember the battle.
Sweat poured from the faces of my companions, whom I have come to love. I watched with teary eyes as Hamish through Wallace's sword into the air. A roar rose up from the crowd of Scotsmen, as we charged the English with fury. "For you, William," I whispered to the wind. Raising my sword, I, too, attacked my enemy. It was raining blood the second we collided into each other. Screams filled the air as swords, arrows, axes, and anything else sharp flooded into the chests of men. Death had surrounded me once again.
Suddenly my eyes turned to see a familiar face fall to the ground. "Hudson!" I screamed, but could not get to him as soldiers rushed me left and right. My breath quickened as rage filled inside my heart. I swung violently at anything with two legs. Blood flung in my face, but there was no time to wipe it away. I had learned once before that battles were a horrible deed, but this one needed to be won. For my sake. For Wallace's sake. For the sake of my country.
I stole my eyes away from the enemy for a moment, watching intensely as my king, Robert the Bruce, high on his horse, burn a flag he had stolen from the English. He waved it around, yelling out words I could not hear. It seemed for a moment that everyone had stopped for a moment to look upon this, as a symbol that we would defeat and conquer.
"Retreat!". I heard that voice and desperately searched for its owner. An English soldier. The English were retreating. My stomach flew up in knots, and my eyesight became blurred. I knew at that very moment that it was all over. My whole life had been waiting for this. Flashes searched before my eyes, of my life as a soldier fighting for the freedom of my country. Of the friendships I had made along the way; of the love of my life. The English were defeated. Wallace's dream had finally come true.
Opening my eyes, I am now back in my room. My son William is playing in the fields, running free from tyranny. My husband is off hunting for supper. The baby Isabella is crying because she has to burp. I see now, that one man's vision has caused all this. No more fear, no more hiding, no more bloodshed. My life is peaceful.
Queen Isabella is happily reigning in the land of England, with her daughter by her side. My king made an alliance with her that has been in effect for more than fifteen years. Prince Edward died shortly after the battle from the Black Plague, a most unfortunate matter.
It seems that only happiness should be in my heart, but that is not so. I lost many friends during the hard years in Wallace's army. They did not die in vein though, and they live on through me. I close my eyes once more.
"Jeremy??" I called violently. "Jeremy?"
"Maura?" A whisper, but heard none the less. I search the fog filled field, listening for that voice that warms my heart.
"Jeremy I do not see you!" I was scared. The battle was over, but the fog was so thick that anything could pop out.
"I'm here." Another whisper. I frightfully look down, to find my horror come true. There he was. A man I loved with the deepest part of my soul, lying on the ground. Tears stung my eyes as I knelt before him.
Taking his hand in mine, I could only shake my head.
He looked up at me, his eyes glazed over. "Remember that night that we sat and just stared at the stars? It was the best night of my life."
I knew where he was going with this. "Oh no you don't. Don't start talking crazy talk, Jeremy. Come on, I'll get you out of here." I proceeded to pick up his body, which fell limp on my back.
I walked a little ways, out of the field and laid him against a tree, my body hurting and exhausted. "Ye've gained a little weight, boy. I think a diet is in store for ye."
This caused a smile, weak but still present. "it's been a long journey we've had, ain't it?"
I nodded. "That it has. And I wouldn't have traded it for anything."
"Neither would I, lass. Neither would I."
He died in my arms that very moment, before I could even utter the words, "I love you." Freedom had a price. It cost me everything I held dearly, so that I could start anew. For years I wondered, why me? Why did I not die on that battlefield that day. What made me so different? But then I remember something William Wallace once told me. "Some of us will walk away from all this. Those are the people that will tell the story of how their parents fought for their children's freedom, and won. They will tell the young ones of every single man they knew that died fighting for the lives of Scotland's offspring. You will be one of those people Maura."
If only I had known then what those words actually meant. I will tell them, William. I will tell them my story, of how I fought alongside you….for freedom….for life.