The King of England and Kevin MacGreagor were not friends, but they respected each other and had a word between them. The word was 'hollow' and when the Highlander received a message that included the word, he rode to the southern tip of his land and waited in the forest near a clearing.
It wasn't long before an Englishman timidly walked into the clearing with a small bundle in his arms. He was not the king and Kevin cautiously walked out to meet him. "You are on MacGreagor land."
"I should hope so." The Englishman was not brave. He was old and trembled in the company of the giant. "The king begs you to hide this child." The man's hand shook as he lifted the cloth and allowed Kevin to peek at the sleeping baby. "If you do not hide her, she will die. Her mother is already dead."
"How do I hide her? Everyone will know she is not born to us."
"What else can we do? The king trusts you and no other. He knows you will see to her safety and he knows you will give her back when the time comes." He paused. The Highlander didn't look convinced and he simply couldn't let him refuse. "You will think of a way to make your people accept her, you must."
The Englishman put the baby in the arms of the Highlander, hung a flask of goat's milk over Kevin's shoulder and quickly walked away.
Laird Kevin MacGreagor slowly lifted the wrap off the face of the child. She wasn't more than a few days old, the dusting of hair on her head was red and she was sound asleep. He couldn't help himself; he kissed the baby's soft cheek. "Aye, I will think of a way."
*
Sixteen years later…
"I hate her," Julie muttered.
They were teenage girls sitting in the middle of the meadow and they chose that place just to make sure no one could overhear them. They both wore long pleated plaids made of the same soft wool and of the same predominantly blue patchwork of color. Both MacGreagor men and women kept a length of plaid across their hearts and over one shoulder, with long white shirts underneath.
Kenna shoved a strand of blonde hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. "I hate her too. My mother says lads prefer golden hair, not red like Charlet's. And her eyes, where did she get those green eyes? Everyone knows blue eyes are better. In fact, most of our clan has blue eyes, even her parents had them."
"Maybe her mother..."