A/N: First and foremost, Thank you to my amazing betas, Ninmesarra and prettyflour! You guys rock and always make my story much better. ;-)

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, my name isn't Stephenie Meyer and therefore, I make no money off of the Twilight works- but I wouldn't be opposed to her sharing :-D

~*HR*~

The dinner hour found the keep covered in darkness. The black of the sky promised rain during the night. There were no stars- the only light that was found was being cast by the torches that lined the wall. The soldiers on the wall kept their eyes peeled for trouble. They could not afford to allow the enemy that was within the walls to take the first step.

The main hall was loud. Men were eating, drinking and talking. The laird had ordered his female relatives to their rooms for the evening. Bella knew what was going to happen. Edward had alerted to the plan so that she wouldn't be surprised. Emmett and Jacob were standing guard at the door of the keep. No one was allowed in or out for the rest of the night.

The visiting clans each had several men in and out of the keep and its walls. The laird of Cullshire had also positioned several men outside of the keep for the night. The plan was to take no prisoners. They had no room for them and Edward didn't have the stomach for executions, and that was what every person in the MacDougald's clan that was present in Cullshire deserved. How they could stand by and allow the laird there to continue in his depravity was beyond the MacCullens. It was sick and wrong.

Edward glanced around, ensuring that his men were ready to leap to action. It was almost time to rid the world of some evil devils. The tables were cleared of the remainder of the dinner and the ale began to flow freely.

"So, ye devil, MacDougald. I hear ye have a taste for the young, eh?" Edward demanded of him.

MacDougald's eyes widened at the accusation, "Here now. Ye ken that is an enormous accusation to be making. What's this about?"

"We've had a lass staying with us for a while now. I believe ye ken her well, as ye stole her childhood from her. Rosalie?"

Edward caught the tell-tale sign as MacDougald's eyes widened with shock. It was too late for him to deny it. With a sharp whistle, his men stormed out of their seats and off the benches scattered around. Giving a loud battle cry that sounded more like a roar, Emmett launched into battle. The Piersons and MacCullens fought the MacDougald's man to man, hand to hand, sword to sword.

Edward leapt from his chair, his claidhmor swinging in a wide arc, quickly dispatching two of the enemy. He was quickly set upon by another and the MacDougald laird tried to maneuver his way out of the fray and closer to the door.

Emmett kept his eyes on the men opposing him, but still watched the rival laird to make sure he didn't escape. Taking advantage of a defensive block, he stuck his dirk in the neck of the enemy. The body dropped with a thud to the ground. He spun around to help Jacob as he had three men that wanted to go down in history as felling the notorious Black. Emmett parried and thrust with his new opponent trying to gain the upper hand. It was obvious that Emmett's new opponent had a lot of skill. Their deadly dance continued until Emmett finally saw his opening. The other man was growing tired. His sword arm dropped a bit and his shield wasn't poised quite right. It was all the invitation Emmett needed to stab his sword upwards and into the blackguard's stone cold heart.

He'd no sooner kicked the man away than Emmett caught sight of the MacDougald laird rushing down the keep stairwell and into the bailey. It was deserted, but it didn't make Emmett feel any better. He wanted to rid the world of this devil. No one of his villainy should be allowed to live. He jumped from the stairs to land in the bailey and take off at a sprint to catch him. Emmett reached the stable door and threw it open in time to scare the stallion that MacDougald had mounted bareback to try and escape. The horse reared and threw MacDougald to the ground.

Emmett kicked him in the ass, demanding that he get up and fight. He was not going to be allowed to flee the MacCullen keep alive. MacDougald sprang up and threw dirt in Emmett's eyes. Blinking furiously, Emmett tried to dispel it. MacDougald managed to get a good swing in with his sword and had Emmett not moved slightly, it wouldn't have been a wee nick to the arm, but rather could have taken his arm completely off. Blood poured from his sword arm, but Emmett just tossed his sword to the other arm, closed his eyes and focused on the training Carlisle had given him and Edward as children. He listened intently, waiting for MacDougald to make a sound. It was the feel of the wind of a swing that alerted Emmett to the fact MacDougald had swung out at him again with his claidhmor. He managed to block it with his sword, but it wasn't long before there was another swing at him, this one nicking his calf. Emmett could feel the blood trickling from his wounds. He blinked furiously, finally dispelling enough of the dirt from his eyes to see.

It couldn't have been better timing. Emmett ducked quickly, narrowly missing having his head separated from his body. The battle raged on between the two. They were both equally matched. The MacDougald laird might be old, but he kept himself in shape by practicing with his mercenaries and soldiers. Emmett swung his sword and managed to graze MacDougald's side. The laird was momentarily stunned, allowing Emmett to strike again. He rained down blow after blow, finally gaining an advantage. MacDougald dropped his sword arm slightly, and Emmett plunged his sword into his black heart.

Emmett wiped his sword off on MacDougald's jupon and stood straight. The battle within the keep was done. The gates raised and the Piersons and MacCullens that were inside rushed out to see what damage had been done to the troops outside. They stopped just outside the keep. Glancing around, Edward, Emmett and Jacob clapped each other on the back. The battle was over. The losses were few. The Piersons were paid in fine wines and a feast, while a contingent of the MacCullens set out into the forest to track down Rosalie.

~*HR*~

The bitch wouldn't stop spewing her venomous accusations. "First Bella had my lover killed. MacGuillicuddy ne'er did anything to her, but that blasted laird had him killed. So I tried to kill her. But ye could nae leave weel enough alone now could ye? Ye had to go sticking ye're nose where it dinnae belong. Ye nosy bitch. I heard ye had managed to escape the MacDougald's so I went to him and told him I kenned where ye were. He is supposed to help me get rid o' ye all. Ye're gonna get what ye deserve, ye whore of Satan!"

Rosalie had reached her breaking point. She doubled up her fist and punched Victoria in the eye. The woman stumbled back into the fireplace before landing on her butt with a thud, her skirts around her knees. "James! Ye can nae let her get away with that! Do something!" Victoria ordered her lackey.

Though she'd braced herself for it her head still spun and her lip still cracked when his fist met her face. She spit the blood from her mouth in his eye when he bent down to leer at her. His hand came back across her face in the most painful backhand she'd ever been dealt.

She glared at Victoria, who sat laughing. James helped the red-headed witch up and she kissed him passionately. The two looked back at Rose. "Ye ken, she is verra pretty. Mayhaps we could have some fun with her afore MacDougald takes her away," James said.

The thought caused a shiver of fear to ghost over Rosalie. She knew what they wanted. They would have to kill her first. She was done letting people abuse her body and take their pleasure whenever and however. Death would be less painful.

Victoria considered it. "Weel, we best nay. Do ye ken what the MacDougald would do to us if we did?"

The evil laugh that erupted from James sounded throughout the cabin. "Do ye think I care about that fat lout?" he asked.

"Ye mean to tell me, ye actually like his bitch? Ye can nae touch her if ye e'er want to touch me again."

Pondering the thought in his mind, James sighed. "Then I shall behave myself, but ye're going to owe me. I will nae be easy. Denying me what I want gets ye punished, dinnae ye ken?"

Victoria purred at the thought and Rosalie thought she might be sick. Thankfully Rosalie still wasn't tied up. She was waiting for the perfect opportunity to grab the small dirk hidden in her braid and kill Victoria. This insane woman needed to be sent to hell.

~*HR*~

Emmett led the small party of soldiers. Jacob rode close beside him. They began their trek at the hidden door that led into the tunnels of the keep. There were still tracks of men and horses headed north and the group followed them until they reached a clearing after just thirty minutes of slow riding. They hid themselves amongst the brush and glanced around. There were only five men outside, but they couldn't be sure how many awaited them within the cottage. Emmett dispatched four of his quietest men to make a circuit around the clearing to rid the enemy of those that watched for an approach within the forest.

An owl hoot sounded in the clearing three times, alerting the men with Emmett that the others were taken care of. Emmett and Jacob slipped up on the two men closest to them. With a quick and fierce punch to the jaw, both men were knocked unconscious. Emmett motioned to his other men to gather the other three and tie them up. One decided to fight, but Liam and Ewan made quick work of him. The other four were marched or dragged to a tree and tied together. They'd not be going anywhere anytime soon.

The cottage had one window. Emmett peeked over the sill and counted three men and a woman inside with Rosalie. The woman had slapped Rosalie in response to something Rose had said. He gave the signal to Jacob, and he knocked quickly on the door.

The man that answered saw no one there so he stepped out. Jacob was able to grab him in a choke hold and render him unconscious. When there was no sound heard, another man came to the door. He stuck his head out and was surprised to find the end of a sword held at his nose. He quickly threw his hands into the air in surrender. Liam jerked his arm hard and pulled him to the group of captives and tied him up as well.

Emmett stepped into the cottage. His heart broke at the sight of Rosalie's bloody lip and bruised cheek. He was going to make whoever had done that to her pay. Slowly and painfully. They would pay.

Victoria's sharp gasp split the sudden silence, "Emmett?" Rosalie smiled at the sight of him. Her savior had arrived. The cold fury in his eyes was a sight to behold.

~*HR*~

A/N: So, it's a little shorter than some chapters in this story, but I didn't want to go too gory with this. Sometimes less is more right? So… did you enjoy the battle? I'm dying to know what you think! ;)

And on a side note, you should check out the Show Me Your Patriotism Contest here. The profile is SMYPContest. The stories are anonymous and linked on the prof page. Voting commences Aug. 5 and ends the 12th :)

Thanks for reading!