Dragon of the Island (18 page)

The jangle of Paithu’s bridle as the mare
shook off the tormenting flies startled Aurora awake. She had
barely dozed, but it seemed she dreamed. Marcus’s name was on her
lips, as if she had just been with him. This was the sort of place
he would have enjoyed, she thought as she began to throw pebbles
idly into the water. An important man like Maelgwn would never take
time to linger on this peaceful shore. Aurora felt the bitter sting
of tears in her eyes.

Her tears blurred her vision, and Aurora
looked out onto the water, staring unseeingly at the scum of petals
and insects that coated the oily surface. She gasped in surprise
when she caught sight of a large, creamy white bird floating into
the inlet. It was a swan—as silvery white as a summer
cloud—followed by her smoky gray cygnets. Aurora held her breath,
entranced by the scene of grace and tenderness.

“I thought I would find you here,” a voice
said from behind her.

Aurora was so startled, she jumped. Then she
turned to smile at Elwyn’s familiar tanned face.

“How did you know I would be here?” she
asked, still a little breathless with surprise.

“You admired this lake when we first came to
the valley, and I guessed you might come here. Gwenaseth sent me to
find you.”

“I told her that it wasn’t necessary to take
you away from your other responsibilities.”

“I don’t mind, and Maelgwn told me to look
after you.” Elwyn’s eyes were grave and admiring, and Aurora pulled
her glance away with difficulty.

“Look,” she said, pointing to the swan and
her brood. “Are they not beautiful?”

“And I had not the presence of mind to bring
my bow.”

“You would not!” Aurora whirled to face him
again. “They are so beautiful; how could you want to kill
them?”

“They are beautiful, but they make fine
eating, too,” Elwyn said with the glimmer of a smile. “I can see
you are from a place where food is plentiful, or you would not be
so quick to dismiss an easy meal. But no...” he continued more
seriously. “I would not kill a female with young. Now the cob—I
would not hesitate to pursue him for the supper table.”

“It’s strange that females are held cheaply
among men, when they are so valued among animals,” Aurora
mused.

“Cheaply is a poor choice of word,” said
Elwyn. “At least for a woman like you. I’m sure Maelgwn would fight
very hard to keep you, and clearly your father set great store by
his youngest daughter.”

“Women are hardly considered important by
the Cymru,” Aurora said irritably. “We are left behind, forgotten,
while men do the important things.”

“I hardly think ‘forgotten’ is fitting
either. I’m sure Maelgwn thinks of you while he is away, and I... I
could never hope to forget you.”

Aurora blushed at his compliment, suddenly
uncomfortable. She had not been fishing for kind words, and she
hoped he didn’t think so. She took a stick and began to dig in the
soft gravel on the shoreline.

“I don’t wonder that you wish to linger
here,” Elwyn said with a soft sigh of satisfaction. “It’s so
peaceful, and except for the mountains all around us, it must
remind you of the gentle landscape of the lowlands.”

“I had almost forgotten the mountains. I am
not used to them yet, they seem somehow to crowd me.”

“You will grow used to them in time,” Elwyn
answered. “Come, let us walk awhile; our horses will wait for
us.”

Aurora put her sandals on, and then, because
the shore was slippery, took the arm that Elwyn reached out to
steady her with. They didn’t speak as they walked. It was as if
they both wanted nothing to interrupt the dreamlike quality of the
day.

They walked back to the marshy edge of the
lake. When Elwyn made a move to lead her to drier ground, Aurora
let her arm slip out of his. “I want to pick some of those,” she
said, motioning toward a clump of purple flowers blooming among the
reeds. She took off her sandals and stepped gingerly on the marshy
ground, holding her dress up to her knees.

“Be careful,” Elwyn warned.

The lake edge was slicker than she thought,
and Aurora stepped awkwardly on the slimy surface. All at once, a
blackbird, surprised to find danger so close, flew up, calling out
an angry alert. The sudden motion surprised Aurora, and she lost
her balance and slipped into the water with a little cry.

“Aurora!” Elwyn called as he waded in after
her, shoes and all.

“I am all right,” Aurora said, laughing.
“Oh, look at you!” She laughed helplessly at the sight of Elwyn
standing knee deep in the muddy water.

“Here, let me help you,” he said, reaching
out to her. Aurora grasped his hand and stood up carefully. Then
she began to slip again, almost dragging Elwyn down. Her eyes were
full of playful mirth, and Elwyn thought for a moment that she
meant to pull him in.

“Oh no, you don’t!” he cried, scooping her
up in his arms. Aurora giggled happily as Elwyn sloshed through the
water toward the dry ground. She glanced tentatively at Elwyn’s
face, now so close to hers. How different his face was from
Maelgwn’s. It was still as smooth and soft as a boy’s. She could
see the flecks of gold in his hazel eyes. What beautiful children
he will have with Gwenaseth, she thought, babies with eyes of gold
and green.

Elwyn dare not glance down at the radiant
face watching him. He concentrated on his footing, but his heart
pounded unnaturally and when he finally put Aurora down, his hands
were trembling.

“There,” he said at last, releasing her. “I
hope you are satisfied. You’ve ruined my shoes as well as your
dress.”

“It is an old dress,” Aurora answered.
“Anyway, was it not a small price to pay to make your queen
smile?”

“Queen! You look more like a dirty village
girl fishing barefoot in the river!” Elwyn answered gaily. He could
not believe the bold, teasing tone he was using. There was
something about Aurora that made him feel so comfortable, so at
ease, he completely forgot she was the king’s wife.

Aurora did not seem to mind his jesting. Her
cheeks were flushed with pleasure, and she smiled broadly at him.
For a moment, Elwyn could scarcely take his eyes away. They dwelt
lingeringly on the delicate bones of her face, the haunting blue
eyes and the irresistible curve of her lips.

It was Aurora who broke the trance with a
cracked whisper. “We must be getting back.” Then more lightly she
added, “While I have no one who awaits me, Gwenaseth will be
impatient for her beloved Elwyn to return.”

Without speaking, they walked back to their
horses. The same somber mood infected them both. They could sense
danger in their friendship. As enjoyable as this quiet afternoon
had been, they dare not do it again.

The next day, Aurora dressed to go riding
again. It was overcast, and the valley seemed bleaker and more
desolate. Aurora glanced at the dull, opaque sky and decided to
take her cloak. It would most certainly rain before the day was
over.

As she left the fortress and guided the
horse down the hill, Aurora felt the familiar ache of homesickness.
Still, she was determined to go riding alone. The special time she
had spent with Elwyn the day before made her uneasy. She suspected
that Maelgwn was a fiercely possessive man. He might not be pleased
by her friendship with one of his men.

She set her course for the nearer lake and
took her time following the track by the river, pausing to admire
scattered bunches of flowers releasing pollen and scent into the
breeze. The trees in the valley reminded her of her father’s
orchards, so spicy rich in the fall, sweet and fragrant in the
spring. How much she missed her home—the sight of white stones in
the sun, the urgent buzz of the black and yellow bees, the fruity,
hypnotic odor of ripening apricots and pears. Here there was no
orchard and nothing that could be called a garden either.

When Aurora reached the lake, she was
disappointed by how different it seemed from the day before. The
water was a cold grayish-blue, and the cry of the gulls sounded
lonesome. Impulsively, she turned away from the water and headed
toward the spill of forest on the west edge of the valley. Full of
curiosity, she entered the tangle of vegetation. This was a
different sort of forest than that of the lowlands. Much of it was
made up of thick, dense oaks. The rocky ground was cushioned
everywhere with damp, blackish mosses, and the echo of running
water was never far away. The sound seemed to come from
underground, a vague, uncanny gurgle that reminded her of spirits
whispering beneath the earth.

Aurora continued into the forest, searching
for the waterfall that Gwenaseth had mentioned. The overgrown trees
let in little light, and Aurora’s eyes struggled to adjust to the
dim environment. She felt a tingle of apprehension. The strange
sense of bewitchment was back. She had felt it when she first
entered the mountains. The oak was sacred to the druids, and here
the ancient giant trees seemed to be everywhere. Aurora thought of
the blood sacrifices of the druids and shivered. Had human blood
been spilled in these dank shrouded groves?

Aurora’s dread weighed so heavily upon her
that she finally decided to turn back. She guided the horse in a
circle, trying to return to the pathway she had just taken. The
damp leaves left no mark of her passing, and Aurora was not sure of
the trail. She rode along, growing more and more frightened by the
eerie stillness and the twisting, confusing pathway. For a moment
she thought someone was following her, but when she turned back to
look, she saw no one.

Her apprehension must have spooked the
horse, for when a small frightened creature hurried in front of
them across the darkness of the forest floor, Paithu shied
away.

“It is all right, girl,” Aurora whispered
soothingly, patting the mare’s neck.

But Aurora was not sure. The hair on the
back of her neck prickled strangely and her heart was beating fast.
She dismounted for a moment to lead the horse over a fallen log
that was crusted with ancient lichen and moss, and she heard
something more than the rustle of her sandals on damp leaves. She
turned back the way she had come and gasped. Esylt stood a few
paces away, staring at her.

For a moment Aurora could not find her
voice. Coming face to face with her enemy in this dark, spooky
place unnerved her. She wondered how long Esylt had been following
her.

“What are you doing here?” Aurora asked when
her nerves had steadied.

“What are
you
doing trespassing on
the king’s lands?” Esylt retorted. Even in the shadows of the
forest, her face shone pale against the dark of her hair and the
blue blaze of her eyes.

Aurora grew angry. “I am the queen!” she
answered hotly. “By rights these lands are mine, too.”

“Queen!” Esylt spat out the word
contemptuously, her full mouth twisting in scorn. “You are no more
than my brother’s slut. I hope you please him well.”

“He would not wish to hear you speak so of
me.”

“Ah, and would he wish to know that his wife
spends her time in the arms of one of his officers while he is
away?”

Aurora sucked in her breath and answered in
a low, frightened voice. “How can you say such a thing? Elwyn is
only a friend. He is completely loyal to Maelgwn.”

“And you... are you completely loyal to
Maelgwn?” Esylt asked with a mocking laugh. “No. I daresay if you
could find a way out of this marriage, you would take it. My
brother is a fool.” Her face brightened with the threat of malice.
“Would you like me to tell him what kind of fool he is? Would you
like me to tell him exactly how you spend your time when he is
away?”

“There is nothing to tell,” Aurora answered
as calmly as she could. “Elwyn and I have shared nothing other than
friendship, and Elwyn will tell Maelgwn that himself.”

“Aye, Elwyn is betrothed to Lady Gwenaseth,
whose father rules the rich lands along the coast. It would be
awkward for him if everyone at Caer Eryri knew of his lack of
loyalty to Maelgwn.”

“No one would believe it. Gwenaseth herself
sent Elwyn after me.”

“No one?” Esylt looked at Aurora
consideringly. “I think there are many at Caer Eryri who would like
to believe the worst of you. They might well think both Gwenaseth
and Elwyn were protecting you.”

Aurora tried to shake off her rising panic.
Esylt was twisting things so wickedly. She could not understand why
this woman hated her so much.

“What do you want from me? Why are you
threatening me?”

Esylt moved toward her slowly, until Aurora
had backed into Paithu and had nowhere to go. Her sister-in-law’s
blue eyes glittered like ice, and Aurora found she could not look
away.

“Want from you?” Esylt asked haughtily. “I
want nothing from you... except to have you away from Caer Eryri
and out of my brother’s life.”

“I... it’s not up to me,” Aurora answered
haltingly. “That is between Maelgwn and my father. The peace
between our two lands depends on this marriage.”

“Peace! Do you think I care about peace? If
Maelgwn had any sense he would have burned Viroconium to the ground
and killed all of you!”

Aurora flinched, keenly aware of the hatred,
the madness that flowed from Esylt’s eyes to hers. She was deathly
afraid of her sister-in-law. She did not want to fight with Esylt,
but only get away.

Esylt seemed to have spent her anger. She
gave Aurora one last cold, hostile look and then turned away,
disappearing into the forest as quickly as she had come.

Aurora stood frozen for a moment, sweating
and breathing hard. Never had she faced such raw hatred, and it
made her almost ill. She tried frantically to sort out her
thoughts. What should she do? She wanted to tell Maelgwn of Esylt’s
threats, but a shadowy fear held her back. Would he believe her, or
would Esylt’s clever insinuations about Elwyn make him too angry to
listen?