Lass' Valor (The Pith Trilogy) (2 page)

“Be
quiet and I won’t hurt ye.”

Bonnie
was so scared, butterflies fluttered in her tummy. She couldn’t get free from
the man’s grip, twisting she watched the castle moving away. Tears streamed
from her fear-stricken eyes and she whimpered against the hand that covered her
mouth. How she wished she had listened to her papa and had stayed in the tent
with Emma. All she could think was that papa was going to be very angry when he
returned and found her gone.

Cheshire,
England

July
1221

Bright
wild flowers speckled the green fields that lay beyond Kaitlin Stanhope’s home.
Fifty men protected the small fief, but the modest home didn’t attract
attention by passing knights. Twelve flags flew, bearing the family’s coat of
arms and that of its overlord, Aldwyn de Guylet’s insignia. Cheshire’s
brilliant sunshine made for a glorious day. Various makeshift tents nestled
between trees, where a caravan of travelers occupied the land with Kate’s
permission. With her father gone, she willingly let the travelers camp on her
land, because none would gainsay her.

She
stepped around a group of acrobats who practiced for the night’s performance.
Variegated meals cooked on open pots and caldrons, filling the air with
enticing aromas that caused her stomach to grumble. An animal performer, with
his head wrapped neatly in a white cloth, pulled the rope surrounding an
enormous bird. She’d never seen such a creature, with its overlong neck and
broad beak. The performer offered to let the children ride on its feathered
back. She’d been told the animal was called an ostrich and came from a faraway
land in the west. Kate had witnessed many unusual sights in the village, but
nothing compared to the animals the visitors brought. The bright hues of the
tent she sought came into sight, and she hurried inside.

“Madam
Serena? Madam, are you in here?” Kate pulled aside a brightly fashioned curtain
inside the tent and entered the personal area of her longtime friend. The
scents of rosemary and incense drifted throughout the confines inside.

“Darling,
so good to see ye. Come, sit, Kate.” Madam Serena waved her hand over a table
laden with all the tools of her trade: cauldrons, spheres, daggers, sand,
candles, and herbs. She even used cards with pictures depicting kings, queens,
knights, jesters, and such, in determining the lives who sought her wise
guidance.

Kate
smiled at the aged woman. “I’ve seen the vision again.”

Madam
smiled in return and placed a clear sphere on the table. “It does my heart good
to know that the spirits use ye. My old Gaelic Grandma used to say that about
me.” Madam Serena cackled. “Tell me of your vision, darling, while I look at my
ball. Mayhap I can answer you this time.”

“The
dark-haired warrior floated like a ghost in the night, Madam, but I wasn’t afraid.
He frowned, seemingly at me, yet I sensed that he was trying to tell me
something. Do ye think this has anything to do with my father?”

Madam
shook her head. “Ah, the vision is a sign from the spirits, but alas, it is not
about your father. Go on, continue.”

Kate
nodded. “I couldn’t make him out completely, but he appeared to be a mighty
warrior. His stance suggested he was fierce and strong. Yet, I felt serene and
the vision comforted me. Will he reveal himself to me?”

Madam
Serena’s dark eyebrows furrowed. “Oh, dear, this is quite distressing.”

“What?”
Kate sat forward. “What is it?”

“It
involves a child. You will come to know the warrior when ye meet the child.”

“How
will that happen?” Kate became confused. “I know no children.”

“You
must tell me more, continue.” Madam pushed back locks of her long graying hair,
took a handful of wrinkled linen to reposition her garment, and leaned back.

“I
sat in my circle and had just placed my candles, when the vision came. He has
dark hair, dark as night, and light eyes, blue, or perhaps gray. He seemed
unearthly. The vision cleared before it faded and I sensed he wasn’t pleased
with me.”

Serena’s
eyes twinkled. “I hold, darling, that this man will cause ye much grief, but
don’t despair, it seems to be well meaning, perhaps ‘tis kismet. I don’t sense
anything else about your vision, Kate.”

“I
thank ye for trying. I don’t understand why this vision comes to me. It has for
so long, since my father left. That is why I assumed the vision has to do with
my father.”

“All
shall be revealed when ye meet the child. Now tell me, have you heard news of
your father recently?”

Kate
sighed with despair. “Nay, he’s been gone almost four years now, and still no
word since his letter last year. I worry so. Can you see anything?”

Madam
placed her hands above her eyes then glanced down into the glass sphere. After
a few minutes of reflection, she spoke. “I sense doom, there’s evil lurking
around your father’s spirit. I am sorry, Kate, but I don’t believe your father
lives. He’s been gone for quite some time.”

“How
was he killed?”

Madam
looked sadly at the globe. “Beware the friend with the black heart.”

“What
does that mean?”

“It,
too, shall come to ye.”

“Madam,
you’re being evasive, ‘tis unlike ye not to reveal the truth. Please, don’t
hold back, I can handle the truth.”

“Greed,
he was killed for greed. Your father will not return from the strange land.”

Kate’s
lower lip trembled, hearing that. “I have sensed that as well, and shall miss
him. We had a lovely last day together, I shall always remember it.”

“Tell
me of it.”

“I
had just put away my herbs when he came to tell me of the missive from Aldwyn.
Our overlord requested he leave at once for the excursion to Egypt. He was to
relieve the knights … He called me his fairy and we talked of my marrying. I
tried to tell him that I didn’t desire to leave our home or him, but he
wouldn’t listen and made me promise to write him with my choice. Of course, we
both knew that I wouldn’t.”

Madam
Serena looked at her with her dark eyes, and smoothed Kate’s flaxen hair with a
touch of her hand. She sighed. “Kate, I shall not see ye again. You will embark
on a somber mission, and I shan’t be here when you return.”

“Where
are you going? What kind of mission am I going on?”

“Your
questions shall be answered when ye meet the child, and you will know where to
go. Your life will forever be changed. I shall miss ye, darling.”

“I
will miss you, too, Madam.” Kate placed her hand upon Madam’s wrinkled hand and
gently squeezed it. “I thank ye for your guidance these past years. I have
learned much from you. You’ve been a wonderful teacher.”

“I
packed a trunk full of objects, take and use them.”

“Oh,
Madam, your lovely things, I cannot, please, take them back.” She sensed
sadness in Madam’s dark-brown eyes.

“You
need the objects more than I.” Serena scratched her silver-streaked raven hair.
“I am leaving the area to visit my brother.”

“But
you never travel.”

“I
fear my age won’t allow me to continue as I am. I will retire from advising
these good people, and shan’t return.”

“How
will we ever get along without ye?”

“They
will survive, just as you will.” Madam rose. “Go now, and remember all I have foretold.
Here.” Madam handed the small trunk to her.

Kate
placed the trunk aside and hugged Madam fiercely. Afterward, she turned, picked
up the trunk and went through the curtain. She glanced back at the tent,
knowing she would miss her good friend, but Madam had aged and needed rest.
Kate’s grandmother had been Madam’s childhood friend, and she’d made Madam
promise to show her the ways of their ancestors. Kate was glad Madam would
retire, but she seemed immortal to her, having enlightened people for many
years, even before Kate had been born.

Kate
reached the manor and went to her chamber. She placed the chest beside her door
and lit a candle. Once she erected a circle in the center of the room, she
readied for her morning ritual. She sat inside the circle, holding a shining
golden goblet high—an offering to the Goddess. Candles sat around her, with
four others outside the rope pointed to the cardinal directions: north, south,
east, and west. She meditated with her eyes closed, concentrating on the
silence with her cat curled into a ball beside her.

She
hoped the vision would come again. It had haunted her since she’d turned four
and ten, coming to her time and again. If Madam Serena’s prophecy came true,
she would meet the vision in the flesh. Yet, the vision didn’t come while she
prayed.

Each
morning, the same prayers and queries crossed her lips. She prayed her father
would return safely and that she would meet the warrior. She appealed to the
gentle spirits to guide her in her choice of husband, yet she worried that
whoever was chosen as her guardian, would select someone unsuitable. Her father
had said he would take her to court when he returned, but now that wouldn’t
happen.

Kate
receded deeper within herself, chanting the Celtic prayers taught to her by her
mother, grandmother, and Madam Serena.

After
a time, she opened her eyes to find her beloved nurse standing at the door.
Lolly’s frail figure was barely noticeable as thin as she was. She wore her
silver hair knotted at her nape and those startling green eyes often reflected
motherly adoration. Something was wrong, Kate could sense it, and upon closer
inspection, Lolly’s face seemed downcast.

“Lolly,
what brings ye here?”

“Good
morn, my girl, I must speak with ye, but if you are busy, I shall return
later.”

“Nay,
do come in. You’re always welcome here, you know that. Come inside and sit with
me. You work too hard. I told ye to have others see to the chores. We should
take care of you.”

“Bah,
I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. ‘Tis not fare tidings I bring. Manik
has returned with news of your father.”

A
sudden chill made Kate shiver. “Oh, dear, come and sit next to me, Lolly. I
know he has not brought good tidings.” She went to her pallet and waited for
Lolly to join her.

Lolly
took her hand. “Dear sweet girl, I fear you’ll become distraught when I tell ye—”

“I
know my father is dead. Go on, tell me the news, I am prepared to hear it.”

Lolly
took a deep breath. “Perhaps I should read ye the missives he gave to Manik,
ere he died.” She opened a scroll written in Lord Hawk’s hand and read:

“Dearest
fairy, I’ve been on this excursion for years, yet I tire of fighting the
heathens and destroying their homes. My heart is heavy. Death surrounds me,
likewise I fear for my own. We’ve made progress and moved our forces along the
river. This morning, my regiment was chased by a score of soldiers into the
jungle. I only tell you this because we retreated to a cave hidden behind
strange looking trees. We crawled on our knees into the cavern and once inside,
we were able to stand. I lit a torch, but couldn’t see much. The walls were wet
with slime, and emitted a sulfuric smell.
”

Lolly
stopped reading and looked at Kate.

“Oh,
goodness, Lolly, that sounds horrible. Pray, continue.”

“Creatures
hung on the ceiling above us; red eyes glowed in the darkest part of the cave.
All I could see was blackness. I’m sorry to say this, fairy, but I thought I
entered hell for all the sins I have committed. We followed rugged corridors
and didn’t know which direction to take. We went into the bowels of obscurity
and stopped at a dead end. Worry not, but I received a wound on my leg. I leaned
against the wall for support and knocked something loose. When I lifted the
strange object, it gleamed in the torchlight. I didn’t have time to view it,
and shoved the object in my pouch.”

Kate
interrupted, “What do you think it was, Lolly?”

“I
know not, let me continue.” She lifted the parchment closer to her eyes.

“A
guard found a way for us to leave the cave. We crawled through a hole in the
rock. When we reached the outside, we were in a jungle of sorts, not lush with
green, but enough to give us cover. We ran back to camp and I had my leg tended
to by the camp healer, and remembered the object. I pulled it from my pouch and
studied it. It was a medallion with a strange spider-like symbol on the front.
I flipped it over and found a smooth surface of the back. There was a hole on
the back and I pried it open. Inside, I found a map with unusual writings and
symbols, but I couldn’t read the heathen’s language. How fortunate am I to have
found it. Your loving father, HS.
”

Kate
stood and turned to Lolly. “What do ye think the object is? Do you deem it
caused my father’s death? What did Manik say?”

“I
know not. Manik said he would come to see ye after you read the letters. There
is only one more. Shall I read it to ye?”

“Aye,
please.” Kate took her place again next to Lolly.

“My
sweet fairy, I write with such discontent. Richard de Morris, my comrade,
became interested in my find. He has threatened to take the medallion. I should
never have confided in him, and now I regret showing it to him. He has attached
himself to finding it and claims we shall be rich men. I just want to return
home to ye, and don’t know what will happen. I refuse to give Richard the
medallion. If anything should happen to me, Katie, I warn ye. Beware the friend
with the black heart. I hope to be home with you soon, HS.”