The Knight (14 page)

“So, my dear Naida, here I am two years later and what do I have to show for the efforts of my ancestors? I can be found, day after day, sitting, staring at a faery girl and losing myself entirely.”

He laughed loudly at his little joke and then looked up to see her gazing at his face as if she could drink in his every expression, taste the very words which escaped his lips. She seemed enraptured by his narrative; even a little taken aback.

“Your family is great, Rhys. How can you be so humble when your ancestors are kings of entire countries and your matriarchs are the bearers of queens? Do you have a title as well?” she gushed.

Rhys’ cheeks were fiery with embarrassment.

“No, Naida, I do not have a title, neither does my father. My grandfather may have been the closest to holding a title. He was named “ab Tywysog,” son of the prince, by his father because he could never name him “ab Wledig,” son of the ruler. He took the Saxon tradition of establishing a family name so that he and his children would never lose their royal tie although it was an illegitimate claim. However, you are right when you say our women bore queens. Because of my grandmother Caretena, I may have relatives in every royal court from Paris to the Black Sea.”

“Is your grandmother still alive?”

“No, she isn’t. Caretena died four years ago in Lyon.”

“What about your father’s mother, Irelli?”

“She is well; she lives with my parents and my sisters at Kenilwurt.”

He sighed again but she knew exactly why he did.

“Do you miss them, Rhys? Your family and your home?”

He paused and shrugged, his gaze went over the surface of the pond. A longing sigh escaped his lips.

“No matter what you say, you are longing for your home, Rhys,” Naida said. “You should make a point to get north and get back home again soon.”

“You may be right, I have missed my family. I remember the day I left home so clearly, my mother and my grandfather presented me with gifts as was customary. My mother gave me an entire set of brand new tack for my jousting pony. It has the traditional blue and white of the Gascogne duchy and bears the emblems of both Gascoigne and Worwick on the reins and blankets. Included with these items were a jousting shield and a horse’s head armor. The gift filled a large cedar box which the pages added carefully to the load on the wagon which was accompanying me. My grandfather and grandmother stepped forward and presented me with another wooden box which was smaller than my mother’s. In it was two full sets of formal clothing complete with new hose, jerkins, cloaks, shirts and shoes. There were several velvet bags with precious jewelry inside them. My grandfather gave the box to the pages while Irelli came to give me her blessing.

“I bowed as she touched the top of my head and as I hugged her, she whispered to me saying,
You will meet many lovely and worthy women in Avalon, Rhys. Keep your propriety and look with an unbiased eye, maybe you will find our
“dame petite de la maison”
while you are there. Even though your father thinks that you would be lucky to find a wife at Avalon; never you forget that it would be the luckiest maid in all Britain who finds herself on your arm.
” A deep blush colored his cheeks as he recalled his grandmother’s frank words. Naida seized the opportunity to tease him.

Before she could, he raised his eyes to see her face and found the expression that he was looking for. She was staring at him with wide eyes and had the sincerest look of adoration on her face.

***

He cackled to himself as he sat before the small fire he had built in the woods.

It was the middle of the night and he had been awake for most of it. Finding the boy had been easy, but getting in and out of the camp had been another matter altogether. It had not been possible to anticipate that the boy would still have had such a large retinue of men with him. He didn’t think he could have done it without his magic. The opening spell had gotten him into the camp itself and the sleeping spell had ensured that not a man or a hound woke up to discover him there. He had used his heightened sense of smell to identify the boy’s tent and slipped inside undetected.

A stroke of luck had the letters he meant to retrieve sticking out of the pocket of a satchel hanging over the chair in front of the brazier, but the sight of the empty cot gave him pause. Where was the boy? But it did not matter once he had the parchment in his hands and with the task complete, he left the camp silently on deft feet and ran for the cover of the woods. Now as he looked over the parchment, he smiled. The letters confirmed everything and he now knew he was on the right track but one letter revealed a new fact. The boy had a lover, a faery from Eon called Naida and this changed the entire game. He would have to deliver the news immediately.

***

In the morning, Rhys dressed and went out into the camp to find his uncle, father and all their men were going to the abbey at nearby Nun’s Eaton to say mass. He and Richard joined them.

All through the prayers, Rhys tried to remember the last time he had been to mass but he couldn’t recall. It must have been before he went to Avalon since there were no churches there. Morgana and her sisters encouraged a more neutral existence for the people in Avalon. It had always been that way. They did not concern themselves with anything that went against the rule of nature and left the strife and affairs of religion and politics to the men of Earth. She had the chaplain grace each meal, consecrate marriages and deliver the last rites and burial rituals of those who desired it and she did not mind the making of the sign of the cross but if one desired to pray, one did so at the
prie-dieu
in the privacy of one’s own chambers. Rhys had never been inclined to use his.

The mass was beautiful. A choir of boys sang from an overhead gallery, filling the cathedral with airy hymns of praise. After the Holy Communion, Rhys left the chapel and sat outside in the weak sun until the mass was over. As he sat on the stone bench, he reached into his satchel to retrieve the letters and read them again. He felt for them but they were not there. Startled, he opened the bag and tipped it upside down and searched the contents. Nothing. Panicking, he jumped up and ran back to the camp to search for them.

After half an hour of looking, Rhys could not find his letters anywhere. He sat on the cot in the tent and hurriedly scribbled a note to Erasmus.

Dearest friend, Erasmus,

I hope that you are well and that all is as it should be in Avalon. I received your letter as well as Naida’s yesterday in Bedworth but I find that they have mysteriously vanished from my satchel this morning as I ready to depart from Nun’s Eaton for Leicester.

They were my greatest consolation for the next portion of this journey when I will be on my own and I find I have lost the strength they imparted to me.

Your avid pupil,

Rhys, at Nun’s Eaton.

Chapter Eight

Eon

The Hall of Light was busy with dusting, washing and scrubbing.

Winged faeries cleaned the glass ceiling of the atrium until it shone like cut crystal and the floors and walls were receiving the same meticulous treatment. Others wiped the few remaining leaves of the Lifetree free of dust and tilled up the soil at its roots with the gentlest care. It seemed that since Queen Mab had the vision of
Nestaron
, the tree was shedding its leaves at an increasing rate. The ceremonial furniture was being brought in, the gilded chairs cast reflected light in every direction. Mab usually had only one chair in the room. She alone came into the presence of the Lifetree, outside of scheduled ceremonial events. She felt a kind of peace there that she could find nowhere else in the four worlds and the visions that came to her in that room were sacred to her.

When everyone had finished, Titania locked the doors behind them and went to join the queen in the Throne Room. She took up her sentinel’s position, standing slightly behind the throne to the queen’s right. Mab sat on the large ivory throne with her back straight and her hands clasped demurely on her lap. She was in audience with the
Thavron Vuin
. The elders had already updated her on the construction progress on the new residences near the Temple of the Sky and she was now hearing and resolving their disputes. She was exhausted, but only those closest to her would have seen it. Titania motioned to the nearest steward to bring a cup of wine. She stepped forward and offered the cup; the queen gratefully took it and drank. Titania knew she had to end the session, it was improper for the queen to deny the audience of the clan elders but Titania was not bound by such rules. Her concerns were for the queen and the queen needed to rest.

“Elders,” Titania suddenly interrupted. “Although the issues left to be raised are of great importance, the queen cannot hear any more today.”

As if on cue, Mab stood and began to leave the room amid an outbreak of agitated murmurs. She ignored them all and proceeded through the doors and into the adjoining privy chamber.

“Please disperse, sirs,” Titania announced. “This session shall resume tomorrow morning after the fast has been broken.”

Inside the private rooms, she brought another cup of wine for Mab and took a seat beside her. She took the queen’s free hand and lightly massaged the fingers, palm and then the wrist. Instinctively, Mab put the cup down and offered that hand to Titania to massage as well. It was a ritual of theirs, Titania’s way of showing her stewardship to the queen.

“The dreams come every night now, Titania,” Mab said softly, “and today they began to occur as visions in broad daylight.”

“You are weary, Mab. Did you have a vision while you were with the
Thavron Vuin
?”

She nodded and sighed, lifting her right hand and resting her forehead in her palm.

“He was standing in front of the Lifetree, radiating light. It was blinding to behold.”

“There is nothing worrying about that,” Titania reassured her.

Mab continued as if she had not heard her.

“He planted the branch, then turned to me with outstretched arms and I ran to him. He held me close and then knelt before me. Tears were streaming down his cheeks by then and as I stepped back from him, black soldiers invaded the room and he was attacked. I could not see who his attackers were.”

“Was there an unusual weapon used in this attack?”

“That is the most worrisome part, Titania.” Mab paused to breathe and sigh again. “It was a crystal arrow that shot him straight in the heart but when I turned in the direction it had come from, all I could see was a dark cloud rumbling with lightning and thunder engulfing the archer, then everything vanished.”

“This is distressing news, Mab, the premonition may have profound meaning. I think it is work for the Mages; let them tell us what it means.”

“I do not need the Mages to tell me what I already know, Titania,” Mab said softly, her head in her hands as she slowly shook it from side to side. “He knows that I have dreamt of
Nestaron
and He knows, without a doubt in His mind, that the boy is
Lhûgernil
. He has somehow found the evidence and He is convinced; therefore I am convinced of it.”

“If the Last One is coming and He already knows of him, then the boy is in grave danger.”

“That is true and the important question now is; what are we going to do about it?” Revived by her new purpose, Queen Mab stood and began to pace the room briskly. “Our mistake was to take these visions too lightly, Titania,” she said. “Where we have delayed, He has acted. Where we were indifferent, He was indignant and now He has set a plot in motion to find the Last One and destroy him at all costs.”

“What will we do, my queen?” Titania asked dutifully.

“The only thing we can. We must summon the Elders, we have to plan what we will do. Tell Master Pendrake to ring the bell and call them into my privy chamber immediately.”

She stood up without waiting for a response. She gathered her skirts around her ankle and moved swiftly to the door. Pausing, she turned to face Titania again and suddenly dropped the fabric from her hands.

“You realize this will mean war, Priestess?” she said. “Are you ready to fight His armies again after the passing of so many millennia?”

“I am, Your Highness,” Titania answered.

“I know this,” she replied, and walked from the room without another word.

Titania sat staring after her, then she turned to the handmaid and told her to call Master Pendrake to her immediately.

Chapter Nine

Earth

“Grandmother, my lady mother has asked that you pardon her for being late to tea,” Glynnis announced as she led her sisters into the library to join Irelli. “Her audience with the Head Housekeeper has gone longer than she anticipated.”

“Oh, thank you for that, Glynnis, my dear,” Irelli responded without taking her eyes from the book she was reading. “Should we wait, girls?”

“Yes, my lady,” Aelwyd and Cadwynn chimed in unison.

At the sound of their chorused voices, Irelli laughed out loud. She made a musical sound with it as clear as bells ringing throughout the room. Glynnis loved to hear her grandmother laugh; secretly, she wished she would laugh more often. But since Rhys had left Kenilwurt to live in Avalon with Aunt Morgana and her sisters, she had laughed less and less with the passing of each year. His recent visit had revitalized her and she went all around the estate singing and laughing again.

A few years ago, Glynnis would have been bitter to see her brother’s absence take such a profound effect on her mother and grandmother, but she was older now and she understood their loss; in fact, it was true that she shared it. She had come to know what they had all known for years before; Rhys was special. No one could say what it was about him, he just was and when he was gone a dark, dull cloud took his place and emptied a constant drizzle of melancholy over the entire household. Even Grandfather was different; he had grown quiet and Anlawdd was not a man known for silence.

She was happy that he had come home to them, even for such a short time. In her heart, Glynnis knew that soon he would be back at Kenilwurt for good and with her own departure and that of her sisters looming, she was glad that Rhys would be there to grant the elders some solace.

“Good afternoon, my Lady Mother, my dear daughters,” Mucuruna said as she entered the room. “You have waited for me; how kind of you all.”

“Daughter, welcome,” Irelli said in response. “Please, bless the meal and let us begin.”

Mucuruna recited the short standard prayer and lifted the teapot from the table before Cadwynn could reach it. She frowned, but her mother inclined her head toward the side board and she immediately went to retrieve the first tray and her sisters followed. The meal went quickly and silently and soon Mucuruna excused the girls from the room.

“Governess Rhia is waiting for you in the morning room with your sewing lessons,” she said sternly. “I would like you three to finish those shirts and shifts in time for almsgiving next Sunday.”

“Yes, Lady Mother,” they said as one.

They all curtsied respectfully and left the room, closing the door behind them.

“Another cup of tea, Lady Mother?” Mucuruna asked Irelli.

The older woman did not reply, she just held out her cup to be filled. She was gazing out the window at the first truly blue sky they had seen all summer.

“Beautiful, is it not?” Mucuruna said, as she stood up and walked over to the window seat.

“Aye, it is. In the old country, we had days like this all summer long, but here they are too rare.”

“Why am I here, Irelli? Why have you detained me? Surely it was not to contemplate the weather.”

Irelli smiled and placed her cup silently down on the table.

“No child, it was not to speak of the weather.”

“So what then?”

“Tell me what you have been seeing, Mucuruna. I know the visions have been with you since before Rhys arrived home. In fact, you barely managed to stop yourself from predicting the arrival of Caradoc’s messenger with the news that he was chosen as Arthur’s surrogate and was to be knighted.”

Mucuruna looked at her with dismayed eyes. She shook her head slowly but Irelli continued.

“The others may not have noticed these things, dear, but I knew all along.”

Mucuruna sighed and still said nothing in reply to the older woman’s confrontations. She would never admit this to anyone; it was too dangerous to acknowledge it. Only her son knew of her dreams, when it had seemed important she had shared them with him.

‘You have nothing to fear from me, my daughter. We are similar, you and I. For centuries, the healing powers possessed by the members of my family were thought of as witchcraft. Some of them lost their lives for it, but that did not stop it being passed down through the generations.”

She paused to sip her tea and grimaced at the taste of it and returned the cup to the table. Mucuruna instinctively stood up and fetched the kettle from the brazier. She poured the steaming liquid into a fresh tea pot and spooned the tea leaves into it. Slowly she stirred, then poured and returned to her seat in the window. After a long pause, she spoke.

“I did see the rider from Vreichvras,” she said. “I saw him crest that eastern hill with the rising sun at his back and the rays cast a green halo around him the same shade as Rhys’ eyes.

“But my dreams have always had an affinity to Rhys and it seems he arrived from Avalon with them loaded in his saddlebags because they have come every night since then and they become more and more incomprehensible.”

“I see you walking through this house with a permanent look of perplexity,” Irelli interjected. “Is it because of the dreams?”

“Yes, my lady, I can no longer decipher their meanings and they follow me into my waking hours and bother me constantly.”

“Tell me what you have seen, Mucuruna,” Irelli encouraged. “It may be that you are too close to these premonitions to understand their meaning.”

“My Lady,” she started. “The night before Rhys’ arrival at Kenilwurt, I woke in the night and told Gwallawc that he would reach here the next day about an hour after midday. He looked at me bewildered then went back to sleep but I had seen it clearly in my sleep.

“I saw a wide clearing in a deep, thick forest and there was a stream-fed pond there with beautiful flowers all around it, a lovely waterfall was descending a cliff and flowing into the pond. He sat by its edge, looking into the water and I walked up behind him, peering over his shoulder to look into the water too. When I looked, I saw his reflection clearly. My son’s handsome face was serene but also full of longing. The sun was directly overhead and he said to me,
I’ll have an hour’s ride more to get to you now.

“Then I searched for my own face beside his and I did not see it. Instead, I saw the pale, pretty face of a girl with golden hair and violet eyes staring back at me. I studied her image for a time, noticing her delicate features and exquisite braids, but then I caught sight of the circlet she wore. It framed her brow and held her hair down neatly over the crown of her head. She looked regal in it and it seemed important so I studied it longer.

“It was silver and gleaming brightly. The design was of three branches covered with thorns and interwoven intricately into a never ending circle, but where the ends met in the middle of her forehead a large bright amethyst was set in it, completing the pattern. The rich color of the purple stone illuminated her eyes, making them dance and glow in the light. At that moment, she reached out to me and from the surface of the water I saw her arm rising out of the pond to clasp my hand. As I stretched out my hand to grasp hers, my eyes went to my own amethyst on my finger and when I looked at the water again, the vision had vanished and I woke up.

“On Rhys’ first night at home, I dreamt of the girl for a second time. She was kneeling in our kitchen garden gathering herbs. Before I could address her, she stood and faced me. Again, her skin was like milk, her hair was loose and waist length as a maiden would wear it. It was like spun gold in the sunlight and I remember those piercing violet eyes. Then she offered me what she held in her hands. It was a bouquet of lavender, sage and thistles.

“The morning he woke from his sickness, I confronted Rhys before we went in to break our fast and his reaction was somewhat guarded. It told me that what I had seen had much truth in it. Of course, he denied all knowledge of it. Now the vision of this girl comes to me by day, Irelli. Yesterday, I am sure I saw her running over the west field towards the fish ponds and today, I saw her standing in the parlor looking out the window.”

Irelli smiled and took Mucuruna’s hands in hers. She softly ran her thumbs over the backs of them trying to soothe the woman. She knew that Mucuruna worried for nothing but she was in awe of her divination skills. Without effort, these powerful dreams had come to her as easily as the herds find their way along the hillside and back into the barns at night. Irelli knew that the signs were good and she would interpret them for Mucuruna.

“Well, one thing is certain. Whoever she may be, she is your future daughter-in-law, Mucuruna, and she will be with us soon. That is why you see her apparition already in Kenilwurt and why you saw her image in the water instead of yours. She offered you lavender in your vision to show that when she arrives you will find satisfaction with her, thistles to confirm her beauty and virtue and the sage to prove she will be a blessing to this house.

“The forest glen and the beautiful pond somehow depicts her homeland, where she lives now and she reached to you from the water to show she is leaving it to join you. Her circlet of branches is a mystery to me though; I do not know what it means. But because it was a significant part of what you saw, I do not want to discredit it. Maybe if I could see the design myself, it would mean something.”

Irelli dropped Mucuruna’s hands and stood up. She put her thumb and her forefinger to her forehead and began to pace the room, deep in thought.

Then she added, “The amethyst is a sign that she is important. Purple is the color of royalty, though I doubt she is of royal blood. She is from an important family, established in their homeland and with a long history and background; wealthy too.”

Mucuruna stood and walked quietly to sit at her writing desk. She placed a fresh piece of parchment on it and thought for a long time before lifting the quill from its pot. Tentatively, she dipped the nib in the ink and put it to the paper making a light oblong shape. She paused to look at it for a while and then the strokes came feverishly from her pen onto the paper. When she was finished, she stood, curtsied to her mother-in-law and left the room without a word.

Irelli went over to the desk and lifted the parchment. There for all eyes to see was a drawing of Naida with the silver circlet on her head just as she had appeared in Mucuruna’s dreams. Irelli’s eyes widened as she looked at it. The design was northern and clearly druid. The girl’s hair cascaded down around her face and as Irelli was admiring the pretty face, she noticed something that Mucuruna had not. Just below the rim of the crown were the tiny tips of two slightly pointed ears, sticking out from under the smooth tresses.

Irelli took the paper from the desk and quickly threw it on the fire in the hearth.