The Choice of Bonny Aileas

Through shadowed forest glade she rode 'Midst grey and gloomy chill No single thought of safety did A moment stay her will The mist clung to her nostrils as She charged into the brush The creatures of the forest paused In terrifying hush Foreboding seeped into her bones Ghastly, from ages spent Urging her mount to breakneck speed Resolve would not relent To slow would mean downfall into A consequence of dread She knew if she but lost an inch He lover would be dead This morn she was awakened by His servant at her door And with his last breath utterance Fell bloodied to the floor It seems a tartan wearing clan Appeared in red and green ‘Tis true that a more fearful sight Is rarely ever seen Unwittingly, they’d crossed the line Into the Fraser realm It was then they were set upon In stand of noble elm So, now she raced to intercede Upon her love’s behalf To beg for mercy from the chief; That he withhold his wrath The secret she had hidden would Surely offset slaughter It was true she had been born the Fraser Chieftain’s daughter She’d fled her home ten years before With young Lord Cameron The rival clan’s incumbent heir Her lover and champion She’d not been sorry up to now For following her heart She knew the toll her love would take Right from the very start But this would be a sacrifice She'd never wished to make That for his life she would exchange Hers for the clan to take