'Go away! I need to have my meeting with my daughter.'

'Sir. You need to finish your breakfast. You have to take your medication,' his nurse was assertive.

Just then Grisell entered her father's quarters, followed by two helpers from the kitchen, bringing the Chief's breakfast for her to enjoy with her parent. Grisell heard the argument between patient and nurse.

'Father. Good morning.'

'Send her away, so we can have our meeting!'

'Look Father. I am taking my breakfast as well. So, we can have our meeting as we breakfast. I'll ask Nurse to leave, on condition you eat.'

'Okay,' he grumbled, directing a glacial scowl at his poor nurse.

Grisell nodded at Nurse, and she left the room. She served some fruit on a plate, cut them to edible pieces and offered the plate to her parent. It was some of his favourite fruit, so she was delighted when he did justice to the fruit. Grisell drew her makeshift table closer to his bed, so they could talk. She enjoyed the juicy home-grown fruit as she conversed with Udny.

'Some oats Father?' She put a little in a bowl for him.

'Okay,' he nodded again. 'Tell me about our purse? Do we have sufficient money for the new ship?'

'Oh yes Father,' Grisell smiled happily. 'Our trading ship returned with plenty of surplus funds. I have even allocated generously for new building projects. We are in a very comfortable financial position Father.'

'When will the ship be delivered?' He asked, slowly finishing his porridge?

'We should receive delivery in twelve months. If our trade ship does three more trips, like the last one, we will pay in full, upon delivery.'

'Well done child,' he smiled one of his rare smiles. 'I incorrectly thought you would focus only on domestic matters like attending to the needs of our women and children; but I am observing that you have delegated that effectively and you are focusing on the most strategic matters a successful leader gives his attention to.'

'Or her attention,' she corrected.'

'Yes. Yes. Lady Chief. I hear you are replenishing our supply of arms and vigorously mending our border walls.'
(And thank our benevolent neighbour for mediation of the ammunition purchase)

'Now who is spying on me?' She served herself some eggs and sausages.

'The nurse,' he deflected.

Grisell laughed. The nurse would hardly know the first thing of what Grisell was doing as leader. 'Father you are too harsh with Nurse. I want you to get stronger, so please be kind to her.'

'Fine...fine,' he mumbled, handing her his empty porridge bowl.

'Anything else from the hot meal tray?' Grisell pointed to the cooked food. She was quite happy with the breakfast he'd consumed.

'Maybe at lunch time,' he tapped his stomach. 'I can't hold much down.'

Just then Nurse, returned and eyed the empty plates of her patient and smiled delightedly.

'You can return at supper time,' he grumbled to his nurse.

'Father!'

He slid lower under his blankets and held his hands out for his medication.

'I will see you later Father,' she kissed his cheek.

'On my command, you ten, to my right,' Grisell pointed. 'Uncle Gadd, your twenty, descend from the left,' she quietly ordered. 'The rest, follow me.' She unsheathed her sword and led her soldiers, advancing towards the hundred or so of Macedon pirates who have come to seek retribution for Grisell blowing up one of their ships. It was two in the morning. She had been awakened by guards, informing her they were under attack. Intelligence relayed to her that about a hundred or more Macedon pirates were approaching, climbing up to their camp site. They had not disembarked at their port directly by ship, but clearly, they had covertly positioned themselves near enough and was about to lead an offensive against the Dalmahoy in the dark of night.

Thankfully, Dalmahoy had the advantage of elevation. They could view down, to any approaching attack from the sea itself or the beach. Boldly now, Grisell advanced from the front, to meet the Macedon head on. Her teams from the left and right would augment her attack, she hoped, providing the element of surprise. She nudged Finn, pointing to about six men just below some trees, approaching them. Grisell waited patiently for the moment to pounce on their attackers. She raised her hand, signalling to her soldiers to strike and all hell broke loose.

She raised her sword and lashed out. She was being attacked by three persons. She wielded her sword deftly. They were pretty nifty with their swords and knives, but she held her own. With clinical precision, she deftly severed off the right arm of one of them. She aimed the handle of her sword brutally on another. She was certain his kneecap was permanently destroyed. She ducked and swerved to her left, when she heard the movements behind her. Somebody's sword was poised high, ready to fatally injure her. She stepped to the left and immediately positioned herself to the right. With both hands clutching her sword and with exactness decapitated the head of the man, who had that very intention for her. She swung around three hundred and sixty degrees and pounded out at two more advancing towards her. Her sword pierced into the abdomen of a pirate. With lightning speed, she removed her sword and lurched it through the heart of another.

For a split second she looked around at her soldiers, they were holding their own nicely. She looked with pride at Finn, fiercely destroying the enemy. His sword was moving with lightning speed, as he ensured his person was not attacked. About ten more pirates appeared from nowhere. She and Finn regrouped. They stood back to back, measuring the enemy. Grisell yelled out loudly, hoisted herself in the air and just allowed her sword to pierce and plunder at will. There were many fatalities on the pirates' side on the ground. She lost count after decapitating the head of the eighth pirate. Many more were writhing on the floor with severed arms; ankles, limbs. She was taking no prisoners. She pierced her sword pitilessly into the heart of every pirate who was grounded. It was either her life or theirs, and her people still required their leader.

Grisell looked below, and saw more of her men, exchanging blows, punches and knife attacks with many more pirates. All the males of her tribe over sixteen were on duty tonight.

More than a hundred were around the perimeter of the residential section of their land, protecting their women, children and property. The hardened soldiers were with her, in fierce battle against the most toughened pirates. It seemed the pirates attacking her team, knew, she was the prize that needed to be eliminated. They charged a sustained bout at her mercilessly. On her own now, she was under attack from four men.

They came at her from all sides. She was agile, quick and moved with super speed, but one of the pirates found purchase, as she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She ignored it and continued fighting.

'Chief, you're bleeding,' Finn hissed under his breath.

'If I die, carry my body home Finn, but whilst I still have breath, we fight to the death. Let's go!' She moved forward on her knee, plunging her sword and three victims fell to the floor. She winced from excruciating pain, realising that she was losing a fair amount of blood. She was relieved to see her augmented teams were now close beside her. Collectively the Dalmahoy soldiers had destroyed more than seventy percent of the pirate force. Finn refused to leave her side. He was beside her fighting toe to toe, facing each enemy soldier with her, head on. At the back of her mind, Grisell was mentally counting her own casualties. She had seen a few of hers on the ground. Some were seriously wounded, one or two fatally.

Her ear picked up commotion down at the beach. It was foggy. No moon out tonight. Visibility extremely poor, but she could see the silhouettes of familiar sights. Eskine on his horse, valiantly leading his own men in an aggressive front against the pirates.

He came!

Technically the beach was a 'free zone.' Meaning both tribes had equal access to the beach. But somehow, by unspoken agreement, each tribe did not encroach on the other's space on the beach.

She could not see much, but could tell Eskine and his army of men were on horsebacks. The pirates were falling like flies. After two hours of sustained attack, Grisell could count more of her men standing and more pirates, lifeless on the ground. Her Generals leading both teams, came to flank her. The remaining pirates were a mere handful now.

'Take no prisoners! Put every single one of them to death,' she yelled to her team.

They shrieked out a war cry and went on the offensive, lashing and fatally piercing every last one of the remaining pirates. Grisell could feel like she was about to pass out, still she commanded her body to stand and lead.

'None are standing,' one of her generals announced. 'We have defeated every last one of them, except the few on the beach.' He peered below. Seems they went after the DeMartino as well,' the general pondered.

Grisell scrutinised her men with a cursory eye. Besides the casualties she had counted; Gadd had a nasty gash across his right thigh. Every man was displaying a scar from the event of the night. Finn's left hand had a rip down his shirt. That was going to hurt by morning. He was limping too. 'Take all our men home,' she murmured, 'every one of them,' she emphasised, in a haze to one of her generals. She commanded another to oversee the collection of all the pirates. 'Incinerate the lot of them in one mass pit,' she ordered.

She staggered back to camp, Finn by her side, limping on. Senior guards surrounded her protectively. She refused any assistance. Somebody shouted their victory motto. Everyone at camp shouted with joy, dancing and raising their fists victoriously. Medical assistants rushed to her side. She waved her hand. 'Uncle Gadd has a nasty gash on his leg,' she pointed. 'And I think Finn is about to pass out, somebody see to him quickly.'

She went to the medical tent to treat her wound. Her heart ached for the fatalities she endured. She filled warm water in a bowl. Rinsed her wound with an antiseptic solution. She scratched in the cupboard. There was normally an abundance of aloe vera paste for treating penetration wounds from bullets or knives. Barely able to stand, she found the jar, opened it and applied a liberal amount across her abdomen. Just then Teasag rushed in, wanting to assist her.

'Good Lord, Chief! That is one nasty cut. You need to go to the hospital tent.'

'No. I am fine Teasag. Just help me bandage it,' she mumbled. Can I have some water please.'

Teasag moved with quiet efficiency. She fed Grisell some cold water. And as Grisell stood, she ran a bandage round and round her waist, to keep infection out of her wound.

'Is Finn and Uncle Gadd okay? Have they been treated?'

'Yes Chief. Every one is being taken care off She was concerned about Grisell's wound. It seemed very close to the portal vein. But if her Chief was standing and talking coherently, perhaps the Gods had protected her this night.

'I've lost a few men,' Grisell sobbed.

'We know there are always casualties Chief. You are a good leader. Don't punish yourself. But now, I must get you to bed. You need to rest. You lost a wee bit of blood.'

'Yes.' Grisell murmured softly. She would love to just be on her bed now and she would welcome sleep.

Teasag signalled two male attendants to assist her to Grisell's quarters. She thanked them, then dismissed them. She undressed Grisell. Wiped her down with a warm cloth. Thankfully, the bleeding was contained. Grisell was murmuring incoherently. She was also burning up.

'Water please,' Grisell requested.

Teasag added some lemon juice and honey to the cup and fed it to Grisell. Thankfully she thirstily gulped it all down.

'That's a good girl Chief. I'm right here. Try to rest. I'm not leaving your side.'

Teasag was not sure if Grisell had heard anything she'd spoken. She was out, but her body continued to burn up. She wiped her down with fresh water and a damp cloth.

There was hustling and bustling outside and loud noises. Teasag looked up and saw the former chief, the elderly Blane attempting to enter, with two guards assisting him on his feet.

'Sir!' Teasag covered Grisell up, protecting her modesty. She had not dressed her again because of her high temperature.

'How is she? How is my daughter?' He demanded.

The guards assisted him to a chair. But he was shoving them away, wanting to see for himself that his child was still alive.

'She is going to be well sir. She has a nasty cut on her stomach, but it's going to heal. I just need her temperature to go down a bit.'

Udny requested the chair to be moved closer to her bed. He pressed the back of his palm to her forehead. She was breathing quietly. Her skin colour was normal, just her face was clammy. He took the cloth from Teasag's hand and wiped down her face. Teasag was surprised at this gentleness from the former chief. The old man was mostly critical, overbearing and fussy. He'd never demonstrated this show of parental concern before.

Teasag nursed Grisell until the early morning hours; and fed her copious amounts of honey and lemon water. Surprisingly the old man stubbornly refused to leave Grisell's bedside.

It was about six in the morning, when Grisell moaned and groaned and clutched her abdomen. She looked around hazily.

'Wh___ what happened,' she groaned painfully, clutching her abdomen.

Teasag winced, feeling her pain.

'You're injured, from the attack last night,' her father stated.

'Father! What are you doing here? You need to be in bed!'

'Ssh. Just rest,' he murmured comfortingly.

Grisell looked about and saw a very tired looking Teasag standing behind her father.
Oh dear, had she been waiting on me the entire night?

'It's a good thing your fever's broken,' Teasag beamed happily.

'Thank you Teasag. Father you must go and lie down!'

'He's been at your side the entire night Chief!'

'What! Father I insist you go rest!'

'How do you feel?' He questioned.

'I lost some men, father.' She bravely tried not to sob.

'It was expected child. You did very well. You won that battle. That is what the clan is celebrating this morning; even whilst we mourn our losses. How do you feel?'' He touched her shoulder gently.

'Very hungry.'

He laughed happily. 'Very good. Now I will go to my quarters.'

'Thank you, Father. Now nurse is going to have my head, for you being out of bed.'

'She will do no such thing. I will deal with her!'

Grisell tried to smile. It took too much effort. Teasag signalled to the guards who assisted Udny back to his bed.

'I need the bathroom,' Grisell pleaded.

'You shouldn't. Let me bring the pan.'

'No. Please I need to ___.'

Grisell wanted to walk. Wanted to test herself. God knew, if her tummy was going to resist screamingly, but she had to try.

'Please help me up,' Grisell implored.

It was a humongous effort. Her abdomen hurt like hell. With painstaking effort, she made it to the bathroom. She washed herself, requested clean clothes. Teasag re-dressed her wound with fresh bandages. It wasn't a very long gash, but it went a bit deep. It looked ugly and was rather painful.

'How is Uncle Gadd and Finn?'

'They were both here to see you earlier. You were still asleep. They're walking and doing well.'

'That's good. Anybody else with serious injuries?'

'There are two or three in the hospital tent Chief, but everybody is fine. None with broken limbs or serious injuries.'

Grisell smelt the aroma of chicken broth. She was ravenous. She ate slowly and finished the entire bowl and refused a second helping.

She was pleasantly surprised when a messenger arrived from the DeMartino tribe. Their chief wished to know of the state of injuries of the Dalmahoy and if he could offer any assistance. Grisell's heart sang with joy. She responded with thanks and relayed the statistics and injuries they had sustained.

That evening Finn arrived to visit with her. He brought her a bunch of wild flowers. She wanted to laugh but it hurt like hell. He stayed for a few hours taking supper with her. Gadd also visited. He looked well, or he was hiding his injury with bravado.

Finn visited her every day for lunch and supper. He conveyed all the happenings around the camp. All was well. Life was carrying on within the camp. Gadd had more soldiers doing rigorous training regimes. No male from age sixteen was spared. All were summoned to a four-hour training session from five until nine each morning.

Some four days later, Grisell felt a little stronger. She walked around outside her quarters. She continued to take lunch and supper with Finn each day. She summoned three or four different Board Members each day to give her daily briefings. Iona gave her a full account of their finances and records of spending and forth coming expenditure.

'Chief, you think you can manage a walk?' Finn asked her the next morning after breakfast.

'I think I can manage that Finn? Where we going?'

'Just getting some sun,' he smiled. He held out his arm to assist her.

'Thank you. I can manage,' she declined.

They walked around the gardens. Finn was telling her about the agriculture and the new school building and he was asking if the training arena could be extended. Grisell shrugged, wanting more time to think that through.

'Chief, I'd like to ask a question?'

If he was expecting her to allocate more money for a new project, she was going to say no.

'Ask,' she invited.

'Will you marry me?'

'What!'

That came from nowhere.
What the hell!
It was the last topic she'd ever expected Finn to broach. He was the same age as her. They got along well. In fact, from the days of their youth, they seemed to be kindred spirits.

'Finn___ I'm sorry. I don't feel that way about you.'

She wanted a man to stand up to her, to challenge her. She wanted Eskine.

'I wish you would have said "yes" Chief. I care about you a lot.'

'Thank you, Finn, but I am sorry.'

'It's okay Chief. I will continue to serve you.'

Grisell continued to walk each day. As she got stronger, she took longer walks in the morning after breakfast and again just before supper. She was healing nicely and feeling fitter. It helped the healing process too, that she was physically in excellent shape, strong and exercising long walks. Frequently she took meals with her parent. They were getting along nicely. It was a week later, that she dared to walk to a familiar spot, hoping to see a familiar face.

'Grisell! I wondered when I would ever see you again.'

'How did you know I'd come by today?' She asked.

'I didn't. But I walk here every morning and every night, hoping to find you here.'

'She threw her arms around him. 'I missed you Eskine. I missed you so much.' She threw caution to the wind and kissed him.

He groaned huskily, crushing her body against his. Only when she hissed in pain did he step back with concern.

'What is wrong?' He asked, his eyes filled with alarm.

She clutched her abdomen, wincing. 'I have a wound from the Macedon incident,' she murmured.

'But I enquired. You didn't say?'

'Thank you,' she smiled. 'And as you can see, I am on my feet.'

'Can I see?' he questioned.

'Eskine ___ no!'

He laughed softly. 'Please?'

She inhaled heavily, then lifted her shirt. His eyes fell to her bandaged abdomen. He touched it gently. She placed her palm over his.

'I hope you're on a full diet of protein, fats and vitamins,' he questioned.

She nodded. 'I am being taken care off very well,' she smiled. 'And by the way, thank you for coming to our assistance.'

He shrugged. 'I am sure you will be swords blazing and returning the favour, if I am being attacked.'

She laughed and clutched her stomach. 'Don't,' she whispered it hurts to laugh.'

'Sorry,' he grinned. 'I am so delighted to see you again.'

She smiled. Her palms caressed his face gently. 'Me too,' she whispered and pressed her lips to his. He deepened the kiss, unable to resist. He was gentle, making sure not to hurt her. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. His lips pressed soft kisses to her neck. His tongue traced a path from her neck to her ear.

'Eskine___ you do things to me,' she whispered hesitantly

'Like you do to me Grisell. God, I need to make love with you.'

'Where do you envision such an act will take place?' she questioned.

He laughed. 'I don't know. Hell, all I know is I need to have you.'

'Are you making love to other women, when I'm not with you?'

'No.' He groaned. 'You have bewitched me. I think you've put a spell on me. I find no other woman desirable!'

'Who would have thought,' she teased.

'Don't mock me woman! I am a man being tortured.'

'I must head back,' she whispered, 'before they come looking for me. I'm being watched like a hawk, in case I drop dead.' She gave him a half smile.

'How did you manage to evade your security now?'

'I told them, I don't need protection. That I am not venturing too far away.'

'Will you come back tomorrow evening?' He requested.

'About this time,' she nodded. 'I don't want to risk tripping or falling at night.'

'Okay,' he kissed her one last time. 'Don't be late tomorrow,' he smiled.

She hugged him and departed, happy that she'd seen him, kissed him, been in his arms, and she was eagerly looking forward to this time tomorrow.

Grisel returned to her quarters, to take a nap before supper. She was happy and feeling good and so looking forward to tomorrow; but all of that was shattered by the wailing of Teasag and howling of some women as Gadd burst into her room. She clutched her chest anxiously.

'Is my father okay?'

Gadd nodded. Shook his head and hesitated.

'What is it! Did my father become very ill?'

'It's Finn,' Gadd murmured.

'Finn? What about Finn. I was with him around lunch time.'

'He ___ was working on the boundary wall. He ___ lost his balance. He fell. His neck___.

'No! No!' Grisell screamed. She sobbed. Her hands closed over her face. No!' she sobbed into her hands. 'Not Finn. Oh Finn. Oh God No.'

Gadd stepped forward. His hands gently on her shoulders. She looked up. Shook her head repeatedly, sobbing helplessly.

'I am so sorry Grisell. I verified it myself. Finn is no longer with us.'

Grisell cried inconsolably. 'He's so young. He had so many plans, so much he wanted to do. You know he cared deeply for me.'

'I know. I know.' Gadd whispered. 'That is why I wanted to be the one to tell you. I am so, so sorry. I shall make all the necessary plans. Do not worry about anything,' Gadd offered soothingly.

'Thank you,' she whispered and Gadd departed.

Gadd was in his office, awaiting a report from one of his most trusted men. He rubbed his hands gleefully.

'May I enter Sir?'

'Come in, Alfie,' Gadd announced.

'All done.' Alfie Fingal grinned.

'You made it look like an accident? Nobody will suspect you pushed that twit Finn, to his death?'

                                                                                  -end chapter 8-