Chapter 1 #2
The older sister considered that for a moment, then shook her head. "I suppose I cannae. Ye're right, this is a war—and if there's a chance that ye're in danger, or anyone else I've come tae care about, then I ken I willnae hesitate tae enter the fray."
Placing her hand gently on Breana's arm, Maeve said, "I ken. And that's why I need ye tae be bolder with the trainin'. It doesnae need tae be the throwin' knives; keep the dagger I gave ye on ye, and we'll find ye another weapon for bigger fights."
Breana took out the dagger that Maeve had gifted her a week before, examining it. It was a pretty thing with an encrusted pearl handle, a little too elegant for Maeve's tastes but perfect for Breana. Twirling it in her hand, Breana said, "It's a lovely gift."
"Hold it like this," Maeve advised, positioning her sister's hand delicately over the handle. "And point it like this. It's—"
"Oh!" Breana exclaimed. Her hand loosened, and the dagger fell with a soft thump onto the grass below them. She turned and ran off without a word.
Bewildered, Maeve scooped up the little weapon and turned to see what had so distracted her sister. The confusion faded a moment later as she saw Breana throw her arms around a figure who had just entered through the courtyard gates.
Maeve grinned as she recognized Eoin, her close friend and ally, who had returned from his most recent mission accompanied by several scouts and a group of others who Maeve did not know.
She signaled to Cailean, and the two of them left the others to their training and headed over to meet with Eoin.
By the time they reached him, Breana had released him from her embrace, but Maeve hid a secret smile as she noticed that Breana's hand still lingered in Eoin's. She wondered if her sister even realized it.
"Eoin," she greeted warmly. "It's good tae see ye in one piece."
"More or less," he replied with a wink and a grin. He nodded to Cailean. "Yer Majesty."
"Och, dinnae ye start that," Cailean warned, but it was clear from his expression that he was pleased to see Eoin too. "How did it go? Who are all these people?"
Eoin paused for a second, then said, "Refugees, Cailean. They're on the run from the False King. We kent we couldnae leave them tae their fate, so we brought them here."
Maeve and Cailean exchanged glances. They, of course, would welcome these people as warmly as they could, but they worried about how their arrival would be viewed by the rest of the people already here at Bruce Castle.
Their resources were already so strained.
More mouths to feed, especially those of the sick or the old or the very young like many of this group seemed to be, were the last things that they needed.
"We're happy tae welcome ye, each and every one," Maeve assured the nervous gathered group, because there was nothing else she could say. She was happy to have them here. She was just scared that they were going to fail them.
Cailean called over a few of the warriors and asked them to take the new refugees inside to find them some food and warmth. Maeve knew that there would be muttering as the group moved through the castle, but she hoped that there would be no outright hostility.
She turned back to Eoin and the scouts and blinked as she recognized a familiar face amongst them, one which she had not seen in several months and had partly been fearing she would never see again.
"Ferda!" she exclaimed, her own poise forgotten as she hurried toward her friend. "Ye're here! Ye're all right!"
Ferda grinned and stepped out of the group.
One of her arms was bound in a sling, but she hugged Maeve with the other, then pulled back, looking her up and down.
"Ye're lookin' queenly, me friend," she said.
"I'm sorry I wasnae here for yer handfastin'.
I kent it was only a matter of time. I hope me cousins havenae been annoyin' ye both too much. "
"They've been sendin' us half tae madness, especially Darren," Cailean replied with a little laugh. He, too, approached, and gave Ferda a quick, friendly hug. "It's good tae see ye back amongst us."
"I wouldnae be if it werenae for Eoin," Ferda admitted. She nodded down at her arm. "This could have been much worse than just a broken arm. I was attacked on me way back, and, well…" She shook her head. "They're merciless, these people we're up against."
Breana squeezed Eoin's hand. "Thank God ye were there."
Eoin shook his head. "Ferda was the brave one. She was hurryin' back with the message and came across the refugees. She was fightin' tae protect them. It was just luck that me and the other scouts happened tae come across them."
"Ye've both done wonders," Maeve assured him. "Thank ye. All of ye."
Cailean was shifting from foot to foot, uncharacteristically nervous. "I… Ferda, may I ask ye a question? Are ye well enough?"
"It's just a broken arm," Ferda insisted, though her expression took on a much grimmer tone that Maeve was not used to seeing there. "I've much tae report, Cailean, but… I dinnae ken that it's much ye'll want tae hear."
"Ye went lookin' for the White Sparrows. Did ye–did ye find them? Did ye find their base?" Cailean asked. He sounded so nervous, so hopeful, that Maeve had to reach out and take his hand. "Our usual contacts have gone quiet, and we need tae find… I mean, there could be someone…"
"I went lookin' for Ann. She's the Sparrow I ken best, and we had a standin' agreement tae meet in a certain place," Ferda said.
"I intended tae ask her for more information from there, but—" She stopped, glancing left and right.
"I think… I think this conversation is best taken inside.
Me uncle and the other councilmen should hear what's happened. "
Alarm shot through Maeve at the words. Cheerful, talkative Ferda was never the type to equivocate around her speech, and if she wanted to call an official meeting, whatever was about to happen was going to change their world again—and Maeve had the feeling that it wouldn't be in a good way.
"Lady McKenzie is here with the council now," Maeve reminded Cailean. "Should we finish up with trainin' then call them together afterward?"
"If I may…" Ferda interrupted, chewing on her lip in an uncharacteristically nervous way. "I dinnae think that this should wait. I think we should interrupt them. Now."
Maeve and Cailean looked at each other once more, and Maeve saw the fear and uncertainty hiding behind her beloved's eyes. Yes, something huge was coming.
But they both knew there was no running away. Not now.
Cailean turned and went back to the training group and exchanged a few words with them.
He returned with Darren at his side a moment later, and the rest of those who had been training in both Cailean and Maeve's groups dispersed to the rest of their duties in the castle.
Darren hugged his cousin, a rare moment where the two were not good-naturedly bickering, obviously just relieved to see that she was alive.
The rest of the scouts who had come with Eoin left too at Maeve's instructions, leaving Darren, Eoin, Maeve, Cailean, Breana, and Ferda standing there on the brink of whatever was about to happen next.
"Let's go, then," Cailean said, his voice tired but determined. "And hear this news."
And the small group walked inside the castle toward the next step of their destiny.