A/N- The dialogue in italics is when people are speaking in Gaelic.

Part 2

Sam soon realized there was no way she could even think of escaping. 'Barren Lands' was not a misnomer. Ailin, the leader of her captors, soon realized it was not necessary to keep her bound. There was nowhere for her to go. She didn't even know which direct the Stargate was in.

She rode pillion in front of Ailin as they rode hard across the empty plains towards the distant mountains. The sky grew increasingly dark and the weather ever colder. She had worn a lined field jacket with a hood on this mission, but it wasn't enough in the cold wind. Ailin gave her a blanket and she had wrapped it around her, covering her face as much as she could. He had returned her sunglasses and she worn them to keep the wind from stinging her eyes. She knew she must have made a bizarre sight in her Woodland camouflaged fatigues and coat with the hood synched tightly around her head with a grey blanket wrapped around her face and shoulders like a Middle Eastern woman, and the rest her face covered with her big wrap around sunglasses.

Within three days they had made it to the base of the mountains, but unfortunately the sky opened up and a heavy snow began to fall. As they struggled through a concealed pass, one of the horses slipped and broke it's leg forcing them to kill it. The snow began to fall even heavier and Sam had very real concerns that they would all die here among the mountains.

Finally another two days later, they made it through more or less intact. The weather on the other side of the mountain range was not as severe. Partway down the side of the mountain was a castle jutting out looking like something out of a fairytale. It still took nearly a day to actually get to the castle. They rode though a small city built on the mountainside surrounding it before they reached the wall of the castle.

---

The guards had alerted Seamus that his brother had returned and Alma followed her husband out to the courtyard to meet them. They watched the group dismount. A woman had been riding in front of Ailin. When he tried to help her down she pushed him away and hopped down herself all the while glaring it at him. He just smiled good naturedly at her and tugged her toward Seamus and Alma.

"What do you have there, brother?" Seamus nodded this head toward the woman.

"A wife for Himself."

Alma was too shocked to even respond. Seamus gave a strangled cough and then cleared his throat. "Oh, aye, and just where did you acquire this fair creature? The Ui Niall will not be happy if you've been out raiding."

"She came through the Stargate. I thought if Himself wasn't inclined to choose another wife from among our women then he might like an offworlder. She's a spirited lass, near bit my hand off and broke Darren's arm."

"He does like women with spirit," Seamus agreed eying the woman speculatively, while she gave him an angry indignant glare. "And she is quite comely."

"The Ui Niall doesn't want another wife," Alma told the brothers. She was disgusted with her bother-in-law for kidnapping this poor woman in the first place and her husband for even considering that Himself would take any woman, offworld or not, to wife against her will.

"He may like a mistress then," Alain told her.

She could have strangled him in that moment but she restrained herself and was gratified to see him flinched a little under her look.

"Don't glare at me so, sister. He's honored dear Fiona's memory long enough and a man has his needs."

"That may well be true. But not all men are such lecherous bastards out scouring the countryside for women to bed."

"I wasn't scouring. We just happened upon her and it seemed like a fine opportunity, so I took it."

"And when he is ready, you fool, I'm quite sure he'd like to pick his own woman, not one you snatched away from who knows where. Himself will not be happy with you and you know it."

"Alma, dearest," Seamus began. "It's not like we can take her back until after the snows anyway."

"That's true," Alain quickly agreed with his brother. "We liked to have not made it through the pass as it was."

"Perhaps she'll grow on him."

---

Sam stood watching the conversation or rather the argument. She knew they were talking about her, but couldn't understand what they were saying. They seemed to be speaking some variation of Gaelic. The woman seemed very put out that they had kidnapped Sam. Finally the woman seemed to issue something that sounded an awful lot like a curse to the two men, and pushed past them toward Sam. Her voice had a kind note to it when she addressed Sam but she didn't know what she was saying.

"I'm sorry I can't understand you ."

The woman nodded and smiled, "I'm Alma, chatelaine here."

"I'm Sam," she greeted as friendly as she could under the circumstances. This woman, Alma, could perhaps prove to be a potential ally.

"Come with me," Alma gestured her forward. "We'll get you a hot bath and food. Then you can retire for the night. It's a long hard ride from the Stargate. You must be very tired."

"It would be nice. Thank you."

Sam followed Alma through the castle. The castle and everyone in it looked like something out of some medieval epic or sword and sorcery movie. The women all wore long skirts, their hair done up in braids and frequently covered. The men generally seemed to have long, sometimes scraggly hair and beards, most wearing a leather jerkin or coat over their homespun pants and shirt.

"Alma?"

"Aye?"

"I can't marry this person they want me to marry," Sam told her. "I already have a husband back home."

She smiled and gave a chuckle, "Oh, I wouldn't worry to much about that, no matter what my daft husband and his brother might think. Himself isn't in want of a wife. He's not had eyes for any woman since poor Fiona died giving birth to his son. All his affection is bestowed on wee Sean."

"He must have loved his wife very much."

Her smiled slipped a little, "They were great friends. He blamed himself that she died there was naught he or anyone else could do. But Sean is the light of his life. He smiles for no one but that dear boy."

"He sounds like a good man," Sam said. Alma obviously thought very highly of him.

"He is. He has done a great deal for our people. And I can tell you, lass, he will not be at all happy when he hears Ailin has abducted you. He has forbidden raiding for women and slaves."

"He'll release me then?"

"Of course, but you'll have to winter with us. There's no way to safely make it back to the Stargate this time of year. He'll see you safely back home in the spring."

"And how long will that be?"

"Four or five months depending on if the winter is particularly harsh."

"Great. Why couldn't he have visited in the summer?"

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