A Soul of Steel

by Troy A Hill

  I didn’t want to leave Penllyn, nor Gwen, even though the Witch Hunters were here. Before, I thought I had to run. Not any more. I had found a home.

  I headed toward the keep, and found a seat by the fire, across from Bleddyn's chair. The kitchen girls saw me as they set out the food for the morning meal.

  One girl walked toward me with a cup in her hands.

  “Lady Mair,” she said. “We want to … I mean, the girls and us in the kitchen…” she swallowed nervously. “Lord Cadoc told us last night about how you stepped in front of him when he was dazed, and the bear cut you instead of him. And how you fought it by yourself so Lady Gwen could pray for a miracle for Lord Penllyn…”

  “Thank you… I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name, dear.”

  “Haf, milady,” she said and dropped me a curtsey. “I was with Sawyl at the sword practice.”

  She was a larger girl, thick boned, and had a nice round face covered in freckles. Her red hair blazed in the golden light that flooded through the open doors of the keep.

  “Is Sawyl treating you well,” I asked as I set the cup of water aside.

  “Yes, milady. He has a wonderful and gentle soul inside him.” She said. “He has stopped being a bully since you started teaching him. And… well, the girls in the kitchens want me to tell you we are so glad you have come to us. You have been such a blessing. The Holy Lady does smile on Penllyn.”

  “Thank you, dear,” I said. I glanced at my embroidery project stowed where I left it on a cupboard nearby. I didn’t relish the thought of how my wounds would feel if I stood and twisted around to get it. “Would you be so kind as to get my sewing for me?”

  I sat by the hearth. The large double doors to the great hall, were open, and let even more light flood the hall.

  The warm sun, that I had missed for the last six centuries, seemed to welcome me. Back home. Here. Caer Penllyn. Despite the sombre mood of last night, the sunlight seemed to bring smiles to the people of the hill fort.

  Many of the folks from the caer stopped by and thanked me. All had heard of the battle and Lord Penllyn’s injuries. I kept my needle weaving in and out of the fabric and had made progress on the design by the time Gwen drifted into the great hall. She piled a plate with three times her normal amount of food

  “Sleep well?” I asked. Gwen settled into a chair across from me.

  “Yes,” she said and took a bite of bread before she continued. “I have not been that tired since… well, before I entered The Lady’s service,” Gwen said.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked across our mental link. Because of our connections to the goddess, we had the ability to converse with our thoughts, even across a distance.

  “Like I need to feed,” I responded with my mind. “Before you offer, The Lady sends me enough energy to keep my hunger in check. A side benefit of being liked by a goddess.”

  She laughed at that, between bites of food. Her gaze lingered on me for several seconds longer than I expected.

  “Something changed last night…” Gwen sent. Her gaze didn’t shift from my face.

  “We were too tired and distracted...” I sent.

  Another person from the keep stopped by to thank us for helping Lord Penllyn. After he drifted away for his morning meal, Gwen cocked an eyebrow at me.

  “And?”

  “You saw my wounds from the beast?” I sent. “My demon screamed for blood by the time I made it out of the cave.”

  “You didn’t know Ruadh was outside the cave?” Gwen asked.

  I filled Gwen I on how Ruadh had taken over the fight, how I had to battle my demon to keep from going back into the cave and attacking those inside.

  “Oh, dear… and all of that blood in the cave…” worry clouded her face. “But, you haven’t fed since then?”

  “A nice Lady met me in the mists and gave me two drops of her blood,”

  “Oh, dear…” Gwen sent. Her eyes went wide with surprise. “ The Lady herself… And…”

  “She asked me if I would love her people and protect them. I told her I already did and would continue. That’s when she cut her finger with a sword… a very special blade, I noticed.”

  “And she gave you her blood?”

  “Two drops,” I said and ran my finger across my lips like the goddess had. “Like you said, something changed in me after that. Her blood… opened our connection even wider. I agreed to stand and protect those I love. She called me her daughter.”

  Gwen gazed at me. I had seen that expression before, long ago, on my master, the one who had made me undead, a Child of the Night. Pride in my acceptance and abilities.

  “Around the time when Macsen, Bleddyn’s father, was killed by the old Lord Fadog… about fifteen years ago,” Gwen sent. “The Lady told me I’d welcome another sister or two. She told me the name of one.”

  I raised an eyebrow at her, certain I knew what she was about to say.

  “Welcome Maria, to The Lady of Britannia’s service,” Gwen sent. I felt a warmth settle over me. I knew The Lady, our goddess, covered us both with her love. Sisters in service to her… to the land and people of Britannia.

  33

  Recoveries

  “Is The Lady sending you enough energy to heal your wounds?” Gwen asked. I shook my head as I kept stitching.

  “Her energy helps me fight my thirst, but I don’t believe it can heal me.” I replied.

  “You are dead, after all…” Gwen sent, then grinned at me. She popped another berry into her mouth. I had told her several times I had died six hundred years ago. This was the first time she acknowledged the idea.

  “The Lady is Britain. She is the Land. She is Life,” Gwen sent. “So she can give you energy to exist, but not to heal what isn’t alive. I’ll need more time before I can feed you again. Will you be able to find someone…?”

  “As long as Ruadh agrees,” I sent, “to fill my cup for me once he arrives, I will be fine.” I hoped our friendly shifter would fill my cup. His was blood of power due to his nature as a shifter. A cup from him would equal an entire feeding from a human.

  “And if he is not willing, or delayed?”

  “Then I find another donor.” I said, my face set in determination. “No, you will not be my donor again, this soon. There are others here that I can access. You need to recover your own energy, and keep it high.”

  “You are right, dearest.” She took another bite from her food. “As much as I wish to…” She paused, and tapped her fingers on her lips. “I wish I knew who the third is?”

  “Third?”

  “Sister, disciple…” Gwen sent. She stared off, then shook her head to clear her thoughts. “When The Lady told me I could expect you, she told me she’d be calling two more. You and another to her service.”

  “Why three?” I asked.

  “The Holy Lady has three aspects, three guises, three roles,” Gwen explained. “When I first met Arthur, I was serving in her first aspect: the young flower bride.”

  “The goddess made you marry? Sounds, umm, not romantic from what you’ve said of your husband.”

  “Like Rhian and Bleddyn’s marriage, my union with Arthur was one of political union.” Her hands drifted down to her midsection and paused before she raised them again and tapped her lips. “I could never give Arthur an heir and fulfil that duty. But we still made an excellent team to protect Britain. I didn’t understand at the time I was acting as an agent of the goddess.”

  “So, young bride is the first aspect,” I sent. “What are the other two, and am I going to regret asking since I seem to be in the mix of this myself?”

  Gwen chuckled.

  “I’m currently in the second aspect,” she sent. “The wise queen, though few are aware of my past.”

  “Other than I, who?”

  “Ruadh, for one,” she sent. “He helped me as much as I helped him when we first met. He learned of my past during that time. Rhian is smart enough to have made the connection, though she is also wise
enough to keep it to herself. Bleddyn and Emlyn might have. I’d also be very surprised if our friendly abbot hasn’t figured it out.”

  “Is that altogether wise?” I asked. “You have many people just in Penllyn who know enough to bring the Witch Hunters back if they go against you.”

  “The goddess has been clear that Penllyn is where she is calling her champions for this game she must play,” Gwen added. “The Lady trusts Penllyn, and it’s ruling family, so we must too.”

  “And the third aspect? Should I even ask?”

  Gwen chuckled again.

  “Whenever the bards weave their tales of heroes of old, there is always one aspect of the goddess they tell of… either an old crone who controls power,” She looked at me as she sent that. I raised and eyebrow and frowned. I might be old, but I didn’t look a day over the twenty winters I had lived before I crossed over to become undead.

  “The other alternative is a warrioress,” she sent with a grin at me. “A woman skilled in arms that teaches a fledgling hero about combat. The hero then goes forth…”

  “And slays dragons?”

  Gwen laughed. A quiet little laugh, but it brightened her face and brought a smile to my own.

  “There is only one dragon in Britannia, and it sleeps in The Lady’s land.” Her eyes drifted again. “The bards tell tales of Arthur, gathering souls of those who are of the best character, ready to fight for Britain again. They say he will return with his army, and the dragon, to protect the land in its most dire time.”

  “Bards love a good tale,” I sent. “Dead kings, ancient armies, and a dragon. It’s not a red dragon is it?”

  “Yes,” she sent. “You’ve seen it in the gem on her sword.”

  Oh. That made sense. I didn’t want to think about a real dragon. I had the sense that dragons were not to be toyed with, and they’d not worry about whom they ate, living or undead.

  “But, if you’re now the wise Queen,” I sent, “and I’m the Warrior, who is this flower bride?”

  “I wish I knew,” she sent and tapped her lips again.

  A shadow slid into our area.

  “Rhian, how is Bleddyn doing?” I asked.

  Lady Penllyn might have slept some, but she seemed low on energy herself as she sat.

  “He is still sleeping,” she said and looked at Gwen. “When did you say he would awaken?”

  “When I tell him to,” Gwen replied. “Another day or two, dear. He’d be up and overdo if he were awake. He’s got too much of his father in him.”

  Relief settled on Rhian’s face.

  “I left an herb woman with him,” she said. “She was impressed that his wounds weren’t bleeding, but insisted that she stitch the gashes. She expected him to wake while she closed the wounds. I told her you gave him a tonic you mixed.”

  Lady Penllyn glanced at me. Her eyes drifted down to my side. I had the impression she tried to imagine the cuts under the dress and bandages.

  “Were you able to get refreshment, Mair?”

  I shook my head.

  “Where is our sword master, this morning? Did you ever speak with him?”

  A light voice from behind me laughed.

  “He’s making an inspection of the exterior of the hill’s fortifications,” Enid said as she drifted in and sat next to Lady Penllyn.

  “Isn’t that the term Emlyn uses when he sends a disrespectful guardsman on a long run around the hill?” Rhian said. Enid giggled. Rhian raised an eyebrow. I shrugged.

  “He was rather disrespectful this morning, wasn’t he, dear?” I said. Enid giggled again. Rhian sat straighter and pulled her Lady Penllyn aura of authority about her. Gwen touched my arm before Rhian replied. I relented and shared the story of what had happened. Before I got to where I had told Enid of her condition, I glanced at her.

  “Have you told your husband yet?” I asked. Enid’s cheeks turned a soft red. Evidently they had fun as they celebrated.

  “He was most excited at the news of twin babies.”

  “TWINS?” Rhian exclaimed. Several kitchen girls swivelled their heads our way.

  “Oh, dear,” Rhian said in embarrassment. “Now the entire cantref will have heard by tomorrow morn.” She looked at me. “Are you sure?”

  Gwen must have reached out with her senses.

  “Mair is correct. I sense two little ones in her womb.”

  “Congratulations, dear,” Rhian said, and pulled Enid to her feet for a hug. “Where is my son now?”

  “He grabbed a jug of mead and went to go find Emlyn.”

  “Did you tell him where our Penteulu was?” I asked.

  “He took three mugs,” Enid said, “and said he’d wait for Emlyn and Sawyl at the bottom of the road.”

  “Oh dear,” Rhian said again. “I hope I can get him to focus today. We must set plans, and with Bleddyn asleep, I’ll need his guidance. How, exactly, did you convince our Penteulu that he needed to go on a two-hour run?”

  Enid and I both giggled before I finished the tale.

  “He was the same way many years ago,” she said, “when Fadog killed their father. Emlyn danced all night, and the next day with one of his swords. He had returned from his weapons school on the continent with three blades.” Her lips curved with a sly grin. I realised it was my blade, Soul, that she spoke of.

  “We had to drag him off the field to attend the funeral mass for his father,” Rhian continued. “Emlyn was forever changed after that. That’s when he took his current name. His birth name was Neirin. After they avenged their father, he insisted we use only Emlyn. He said the old Neirin died with their father.”

  Rhian stared into the fire, then shifted her gaze back to me.

  “I’ve seen sparks of the old Neirin since you’ve joined us, Maria.” She chuckled as my face betrayed my surprise. That Rhian used my Latin name now was unusual. Folks in Penllyn didn’t use Latin except for mass.

  After that, Enid excused herself to get food and water. The kitchen girls closed in around her and peppered her with questions.

  “Not yet,” Enid’s voice drifted to us as we watched her bask in the attention of the kitchen girls. “Lady Mair said the Holy Lady had told her I would have two babies,” Most of the girls hugged the young bride, then heaped her plate high with food. Food for three, they kept saying. Rhian was correct, everyone on the hill and in the town below would know of her babies before sundown.

  “I rarely see servants and nobles hugging in other courts,” I observed.

  “Other courts are not Penllyn,” Rhian replied. “We are not nobles, but shepherds and guides for our people. Without their support, we would be just another family living off the land.”

  Gwen touched Rhian’s hand to draw her attention.

  “I will be away this afternoon,” Gwen said.

  “Cadoc told me how you travelled here. Are you going somewhere?”

  “Yes, dear. I need to spend time in The Lady’s part of the Otherworld. I regain my strength much faster there,” she explained. “My link with Mair will continue while I’m there, so let her know if you need me.”

  Rhian glanced at me.

  “Perhaps you can sit with me after lunch, Mair. I’d like company after all these events.” I promised to head to her rooms later.

  Gwen stayed with me through lunch. She loaded her plate full again. I chuckled as I worked on my embroidery. Usually she ate a small portions. She was uncharacteristically hungry, which confirmed how depleted her energy was.

  After her meal, we went to see Bleddyn again. The seamstress Rhosyn sat by his side, the dress for Enid in her lap. She whispered a greeting. Had she not feared her conversation would awaken Lord Penllyn, she would have told me all the gossip I had missed in the two days. Instead, she held up the dress so I could see the half-completed design with the sword embellishment on one side of the dress. I whispered my approval before I turned toward the bed.

  Someone had run a comb through Bleddyn’s hair. His chest fell rhythmically with his slow breaths
. Gwen pulled back the covers, and the bandages across his chest. The smell of the salve the herb women had applied on his wounds wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t pleasant. Gwen nodded her approval at their efforts, and replaced the coverings.

  Once we were out of the keep, on the path to the grove, she chuckled. “We found one way to keep Rhosyn quiet.”

  “An unfortunate way, but, she is the perfect person to sit with him,” I added. “With Rhosyn there, Rhian will have details of every single person that walks by the room by the end of the day.”

  Once we had climbed to the top of the hill, and were under the trees, out of sight of those below, Gwen wrapped her arms around my waist. She was about to speak, but I pulled her in tight for a hug.

  As she stepped back I giggled.

  “I am getting my serious look again?” Gwen asked as her cheeks reddened.

  I laughed again.

  “As I was about to say, you need to feed to heal yourself. If any opportunities arise today, please take them.”

  I kissed her again, with passion, then stepped back.

  “You know what that means for me.” It was a statement, not a question.

  “Yes, dearest.” Her hands reached out for mine. “Loving you is easy. Adjusting to what that means has been… interesting.”

  “I will do what I can,” I said as I held her eyes with my gaze. “But, you need to get your own strength back.”

  “I wanted to take you with me, on my next trip, so you can see the Otherworld and experience The Lady’s presence for yourself,” she said. “But I didn’t expect The Lady to do that herself. Nor did I expect both of us, and Bleddyn to be bedridden.”

  “I can let you know if you’re needed here.” I said. “Are you sure our link will work?”

  “Possibly. We should still be able to sense each other’s minds, but I’m not sure we’ll be able to communicate.” She paused. “Back at the lake that one day as you napped, and I was in the Otherworld, I could tell when you rose. If I feel the link activate, I will return.”