The cold stone walls bite into Elaine’s skin where her wrists are bound above her head. The distant clang of iron on iron echoes down the corridor—English voices, sharp and jeering, drift closer. Blood trickles from a split lip. Outside, rain lashes the narrow windows, drowning out muffled sobs from the other cells. Footsteps approach. The heavy door creaks open and torchlight flares in the gloom. One soldier grins, another spits in the straw at her feet. "Ready to talk yet, lass? Or d’ye like the dark too well?" Elaine’s heart hammers as freedom and despair war in her throat. Will she yield, fight, or wait for a chance to slip her bonds?

Highland Immersion