The Sun Goddess of Cargills Castle

by Neisha Nilsen

  I looked at Brea and she had a tear on her cheek. She quickly wiped it away when she realised I’d seen it. She nodded her thanks to me in silence. I nodded back, but I didn’t want to give anyone false hope, we hadn’t won yet. Brigid was still frozen. I saw Tunnan out the corner of my eye take to the trees, watching guard with his bow and arrow. I smiled as he disappeared. It was a nice feeling knowing there was a secret assassin in the trees ready to shoot down any enemies.

  Uar picked me up and spun me around with excitement. “Let’s free mother.”

  “Yes, let’s.” I couldn’t wait to meet her. To say I wasn’t nervous was a lie, his mother was a goddess, the lady of the sacred flame, basically the meaning of life. What was I going to say to her?

  We walked through the trees. There was no pathway to the middle of the woods as we weaved our way between tall oak trees, but I could feel her. I could feel her aura and her light. I nearly ran as I saw the clearing and Brigid. Tears streamed down my face as I bolted towards the statue. She looked astonishingly beautiful even frozen in stone. Her hands were up in the air and her head turned up towards the sky. Her long hair stood frozen in a fan around head, you could see the sadness and betrayal on her face when she’d realised that her family and friends had betrayed her and condemned her to death. Her long dress had frozen mid-air and it flew elegantly behind her, never meeting the ground again since that dreadful day.

  Zeg was already there, teleporting to her side before we got there. He sat at her feet with his bum crack showing as he leant over and held on tightly to one of her toes. I came to his side and cried. “We’re here, I’m here now. It will be alright.” I placed my hand on her foot of stone.

  I felt Uar beside me, I didn’t need to look up to know it was him, I just knew.

  “Mother, we are here, Brigid is here with your light. You are saved.” He whispered as he kissed her stony foot. He kept kneeling and reached out with both of his hands. He turned and smiled at me. He nodded towards her other foot. I followed his lead and touched it with both hands. A sudden pulse burst through my body. Uar started chanting and our bodies started to light up. I could feel the familiar tingle engulf my body, it as electrifying. Our light surged into Brigid’s feet gently cracking the stone as it went past. He kept chanting and I held on for dear life. It was starting to burn me, but I never let go. The cracking continued up her body, nothing fell, just covered her statue in hundreds of hair-line fractures, all the way up to the tips of her hair. The burning stopped and I turned to Uar. Our light had gone out. Had we failed? She was still frozen, had it not worked? I started to freak out.

  “Uar?” I asked questioningly. Wondering whether we weren’t enough to free her from her stony prison. Had she been frozen too long, were we too late.

  He smiled as he stood up. He took my hand and turned it over so the fire arrow mark on my palm was facing upwards. “It’s your turn now.”

  He didn’t need to explain, I knew. I took a couple of steps back and aimed my hand towards his mother and took the shot with my fire arrow. The stone exploded around us and I ducked as small debris flew past me. I heard a thud and saw a figure fall to the ground.

  I gasped “Brigid!”

  Uar ran towards her and picked her near lifeless body up “Mother!”

  She looked up at her son with her vivid green eyes in recognition. “Uar my son.”

  Her voice was so faint, so beautiful it echoed like when she used to talk to me. I kept my distance letting Uar gently pick her up and sit her down on a large rock. She kept touching his face and kissing his cheeks. Tears were streaming down her face. “Oh Uar my boy, you did not abandon me.”

  “No mother, I would never.”

  “Luchar?”

  Uar shook his head. She understood. Her middle son had not helped, but I had a feeling she already knew this.

  Zeg jumped on her shoulder “Oh Zeg, my dear friend.” Was all she said as Zeg kissed and hugged her neck. Zeg had tears streaming down his little brownie cheeks.

  She looked up at me and I stood completely still, inwardly freaking out. She was looking at me. The goddess was looking at me. “Thank you Brigid” she simply said as she smiled a maternal smile at me and bowed her head.

  I smiled back feeling her warmth. “You are more than welcome your goddess, um Brigid, my lady” I was all flabbergasted, I didn’t know what to call her.

  She laughed weakly at my efforts. Uar hung onto her as she sat down. She was very weak, but she was alive. She was beautiful just as I pictured her to be. Her white gown flowed around her and her glowing orange hair fell down her back. Her vivid green eyes shone out over her delicate pointy features.

  Slowly Brea came up to her and knelt down in front of her. “Mother” she whispered.

  Brigid put her hand on top of Brea’s head. “My child, thank you.” Brea nodded and stood up and walked back as the next one came up. Once everyone had greeted their goddess and Brigid had regained enough strength to walk we decided we had to go.

  “Is she okay?” I whispered to the closest person to me, which happened to be Yute. I silently cringed, waiting for the snide remark.

  He grunted at me before he answered but was surprisingly civil. “She’s weak she needs water and sun to rejuvenate her.” I could feel he was warming up to me, but still held some reservations, he must have trust issues, maybe daddy issues. I did save his life after all, was that not enough to gain his trust. “We’ll take her to the well, that will help her.”

  I nodded. Right, she needed the water from the well in the middle of town. We could do that. We might meet some resistance if we bang into any Fomorians on the way, but we could do that I was sure. She needed to get her strength back so she could defeat her husband and have her revenge and bring back the life to the Otherworld and save her people.

  I led them back to the invisible bridge again. The front of the woods and the bones of judgement were blocked with Bres’ army, this was the only way out and we were the only ones that could cross. Uar and Hagrid helped Brigid walk through the trees. She was still incredibly weak so Hagrid picked her up and carried her to quicken the pace. She’d been frozen in stone for hundreds and hundreds of years, I was surprised she was even talking.

  The wind suddenly slowed down, the air thickened as anxiety surrounded me like a blanket. Something was wrong. Uar also felt it and moved closer to his mother.

  “BRIGID!”

  I dropped to my knees as the powerful sonic boom ran through my body, Zeg’s weight left my shoulder as I fell. I knew that voice. Bres was here. The sting ran up my thighs as the impact of the ground vibrated upwards from my knees. Memories of my prison fuelled my fear of what was to come.

  Zeg teleported with his little sword directed at Bres’s left eye. Bres brushed Zeg aside like a piece of trash. I saw Zeg’s little body fly over the trees with the power of Bres’s force.

  “No!” I screamed.

  I looked up with tears welling up in my eyes. Bres’ huge powerful frame stood in front of the invisible bridge. Everyone froze. Cichol was beside him, emotionless. He wouldn’t look at me. There was a whole army behind them, lined up along the horizon of the cliff and down the bridge with their grotesque forms and red capes snapping with the wind. We were trapped, there was no way out. He must’ve followed us.

  “My WIFE! How happy I am to see you.” He boomed between clenched teeth. He relaxed and smiled when he saw how weak she was. “What? You’re not happy to see me… why that doesn’t seem very fair… because I have certainly missed YOU!” The last word he shouted as spittle sprayed out in front of him. I could see his body grow bigger with this anger.

  “Bres” I heard the goddess weakly whisper reaching out to him.

  “And my son, how good to see you again. Betrayal looks good on you” Bres spat.

  Uar tensed. Everyone was at a standstill. No one wanted to move, frightened to start something that they may not be able to finish.

  “Father” he hissed between clenched teet
h. Uar nodded in acknowledgement towards his father.

  “Oh and look who we have here.” Bres’ power pulled me up off my knees and held me in mid-air. An invisible force held me up and left my feet dangling. “It’s my little pet. Where did you go? I had such great plans for you but I must thank you for showing me another way to my wife.” He smirked evilly to me.

  I could feel Uar move closer to me as he felt his father’s threat towards me.

  “Yeah, how did those plans work out for you?” I replied with sarcasm dripping from my mouth. I was not going to show fear. He did not control me. I turned my palm up and shot out a fire arrow aimed at his head.

  He blasted it aside with a swipe of his hand. “Ha, is that…”

  “Now!” Uar shouted.

  An arrow sliced across Bres’s cheek, blood appeared as his roar filled the woods.

  I fell to the ground as Bres released me with the shock of the attack. Tunnan must’ve fired the arrow from the trees.

  All hell broke loose. The Fomorian’s moved forward, as did the Gold Belts. Tunnan’s arrows started shadowing the sun as they came flying down from the trees.

  The first Fomorian took a fire arrow to the stomach as he advanced on me. I could sense the goddess to the side of me. Uar was with her, but he was torn. Should he be protecting his mother or me.

  “Protect her!” I yelled out. “I’m fine! I’ll be okay, protect her!”

  He nodded as I turned and punched a Fomorian in the face and ran my sword up through his neck. The stink of his blood was rancid. I didn’t have time to vomit before the next assault came at me. I was knocked to the ground as Brea and a Fomorian fell on top of me. I heard the strangled scream as I stuck my knife through the side of the Fomorian.

  “Thanks” Brea breathed as she jumped up to push another one off us.

  The weight of the dead Fomorian was immense. I pushed and tried to roll him off me, but I couldn’t get him off. I knew I had more strength than this. I drew on my light and pushed him forward, he flew through the air as strength filled my body. I was literally glowing. A switch had gone off like in training at Aberline Castle. I could anticipate what was about to happen, I was lethal, I was unstoppable. I blocked out what was happening around me except for my assailants coming for me. I knew Uar would have his Mother, she’d be safe, but out of the corner of my eye I could see her suddenly disappear. Where did she go? Hagrid was close behind and realisation hit. He must be cloaking her to hide her from the battle - wise move. I knifed a Fomorian in the skull as it went for a kill blow on one of our own. I didn’t have time to check to see who it was before I was lifted off the ground and found my legs dangling in the air. Bres had me again, I couldn’t move. He turned my body to face him and lifted me high above everyone else. Gravity pulled against his power, pulling my body apart. The smile on his face was pure evil. He meant to kill me this time, I doubted I was going to get out of this alive. He dragged me forward towards him through the air near the back of the cliff where he had retreated away from the battle. Coward I thought to myself. I could see everyone fighting below me as I floated past. A Fomorian dropped to the ground as Uar chopped off his head and two more Fomorian quickly took his place. Blood squirted all over him. Why wasn’t he with his mother? I could see Uar look at me quickly, fear drained his face as he saw me floating towards his father. He ran forward, bowling whatever was in his way.

  “Brigid!” He yelled.

  Bres laughed as he dropped me on the ground in front of him. I crumpled like a sack of potatoes. Cichol stood with him, emotionless, refusing to look at me. Was he still with me?

  I turned to look at Bres.

  “You should not be alive” he spat.

  I was pushed to the side as Uar jumped over the top of me and Cichol dove in front of Bres.

  “No!” They both screamed.

  They both fell to the ground as Bres lowered his bow back down to his side.

  “No!” I screamed, I crawled to Uar. He looked up at me as I grabbed him and shook his head looking ahead of him to Cichol. I followed his stare “Hayden?” I whispered. “Hayden!” I screamed as I ran towards him. He was down and he wasn’t getting up. Blood pooled on the ground beside him as I saw the huge arrow sticking out from his chest. “What have you done?!” I screamed at Bres. “What have you done?!” I kept screaming. I scooped Hayden up in my arms and kissed his forehead as I rocked him. His eyes stayed closed. He was lifeless. “No, no, no” I kept chanting. I didn’t want to believe that he was dead, he couldn’t be dead. Not my Hayden, he was my best friend. Tears rolled down my face and my body convulsed with sadness. “Don’t leave me” I whispered against his cheek.

  Bres shook his head. “Why would he do that?” he whispered looking confused. “Why?” He looked at me with pure fury. “He hated you! Why would he DO THAT!” His words got louder until he shouted the last few words.

  His shouting was stopped by soft hands touching his face. Bres turned quickly to the owner. It was Brigid, the goddess. She was standing beside him by the edge of the cliff, her white dress blowing in the wind behind her. It looked like a scene from a movie.

  She kept her hands on his face looking up at him tenderly. “I forgive you” she whispered.

  “What?” Bres tried to pull away but Brigid held him tight not letting him go. She was still powerful even if she wasn’t running on all of her cylinders.

  “I forgive you.” She simply said again.

  Bres’s face contorted as Brigid pulled him closer towards her. He reached for his bow but Brigid pushed it away, he reached for his knife but Brigid dissolved it into crumbs. “This isn’t fair. You, you were not supposed to win, you betrayed me” he whispered. He was starting to relax under her touch.

  Brigid shushed him.

  Bres’s massive fist burst through Brigid’s power and stopped just before it met its mark. Brigid simply smiled and caressed his arm gently forcing it behind his back out of harms reach.

  “I forgive you” she repeated.

  Bres’s face softened as Brigid pulled him gently towards her to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her. “My little one” he breathed as he kissed her back. They were the only two people in the world at this moment of time. There was love there once, it was clear to see. Somewhere it had gotten twisted and spoiled along the way. Brigid wrapped one of her arms around his enormous back as she deepened the kiss. Her other hand continued to stroke the side of his face. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. They were supposed to hate each other.

  A soft glow started to engulf them. “No” Bres whispered. “What are you doing? No.” He tried to pull back as stone ran up the length of their bodies but it was too late. The goddess had tricked him. Brigid held on tight as the stone encased them both and froze them where they stood, holding each other like lovers. Then there was silence. Nothing – not even the wind blew. We all looked at the goddess and her god embraced like lovers forever in stone overlooking Black’s Bay. I held onto Hayden, wondering what the hell was going on.

  A sudden pain ran through my back, something was crawling up my back. “Get it off!” I screamed as I pulled away from Hayden. “Somethings in there, get it off!” I ripped my chest armour off to try and ease the burn.

  In the distance I could hear Uar roaring too as he ripped off his chest armour.

  Brea stopped me before I could rip off my top. “Are you okay?” She asked. Her face was muddy and bloody. One of her eyes had closed over.

  “My back, something was crawling up my back.” I pulled my top down. “It’s stopped now though.” I felt a bit foolish as everyone starred at me.

  Uar ran and hugged me tightly. He’d pulled his chest armour and cape off, I could feel the warmth of his skin and his tight muscles against me. I relaxed in his grip. “Hayden” I whispered as I looked over at his still body. The pool of dark red blood was larger now.

  He ran his hand through my hair to comfort me. “I know, I’m sorry Brigid.”

  I looked over to Hayden
lying on the ground. I knew he was dead. He hadn’t moved. My best friend was gone.

  Cichol and Uar had both tried to safe me. They both jumped in the way of Bres’ enormous arrow that was supposed to kill me and would have killed me if Cichol hadn’t taken the hit. He’d stayed true to his word. He protected me to the very end. I choked up again and I hid my head in Uar’s chest, not wanting the others to see me cry.

  The Fomorians were pulling back, one of them grabbed Hayden by the legs and started dragging him across the ground, retreating to safety. I made a move towards Hayden but Uar pushed me back to him. “He’s with his people Brigid.”

  I cried. He was right. But I was his people too. I nodded letting him know I understood.