by G L Roberts
You seek his approval, Meydra answered. He is the ruler of the realm you have known as home.
“My daughter has returned and for that I am grateful,” King Thamen said. “Much has happened that I find I can neither condone nor accept. You put the princess in danger with the unnecessary trip to the loch. It would have been more prudent to avoid the men from the north and return here.”
“I could not do that,” Bryn replied. She wanted to explain but at the moment she must allow the king to air all his concerns.
“So it seems. Sir Arryn has also disappointed the court. He should have insisted that you return here and not further your journey. He should have known there may be others of the Northmen’s tribe in Alban, bent on revenge and not in the least concerned about the station of the perpetrator.”
Her father’s expression darkened. “Perpetrator? You consider the company to be guilty of a crime?”
“I do not, Brymender. Nevertheless, the Norsemen will most certainly want retribution for the deaths of their countrymen.”
“The Princess Thalynder was in no danger,” Bryn said. “Meydra was at the ready to take her from the area and return her here if need be.”
“Meydra is your dragon. Would she have reacted as quickly as you say knowing that she would be leaving you in harm’s way?”
“Of that I am most certain. Meydra was still Princess Thalynder’s companion at the time of the attack. She could not have risked harm to the princess as it would have gone against her promise to you.”
“Did you know this at the time?”
“Yes. I would not have allowed the princess to be exposed to the raiders. We held the advantage. The princess had Meydra above her and Prince Malcolm at her side.”
“You had other dragons as well?”
“Yes, Your Highness. We had the dragons of Prince Malcolm, Lady Kenna, Lothan of the Inceni, and Meydra. There was never any doubt in my mind that the princess was safe.”
King Thamen was quiet for several long moments. He relaxed his shoulders and placed his arm on the table, his hand held out for Bryn to take. “It was not only my daughter’s safety that concerned us here. We were also worried about you.”
“I was never in any danger.”
“You risked not reaching the Stones,” Brymender said.
“No, Father. Nothing could have stopped me from reaching the Stones. The dragons assured me that I would reach Staenis.”
“The dragons?” King Thamen asked.
“The dragons began speaking to me as soon as they were near enough for me to hear them. Once they were in my presence, I had no trouble speaking with them or getting them to understand me.”
Brymender took a deep breath. “You found the jewel. May we see it?”
Bryn released the king’s hand. She pushed back the hood of her cloak.
“I am the Jewel.”
King Thamen gasped at the sight of the gem fused to the crown and Bryn’s forehead. He leaned over the table and looked at the runes on the crown. “I cannot read those runes. They are of the old tongue.”
Brymender nodded. “The runes read as follows: The Heart of the Earth. The Soul of the Seas. The Daughter of the Stars.” He looked into his daughter’s eyes. “You are Athebryn now.”
“I am, Father, and I mean to unite the people.”
King Thamen cleared his throat as he continued to stare at the crown. “You are in a position to do so. However, I am concerned about what you intend to do with them.”
“What are your concerns, Your Highness?” Brymender asked. “The Druids have always been an independent people.”
“Until you desire the protection and aid of a king,” the king reminded Brymender.
Brymender frowned. “We have always repaid our debts.”
“The loss of your people from my realm will create several hardships for the rest of my subjects.” King Thamen looked out the window at the darkening sky.
“Your subjects have had the pleasure of our teachings for these past seventeen years. You have subjects that are as skilled as the Druids. Your realm will not suffer overmuch if we should decide to leave.”
Bryn could not believe what she was hearing. The men were actually discussing the Druids leaving the Realm. She glanced at King Thamen before turning to her father.
“What is going on here?” she asked.
King Thamen turned from the window to meet Bryn’s gaze. “We are discussing you laying claim over some of my subjects. There will be a mass exodus of the Druids when you call them to your side. My realm has embraced the Druids as their own. We will not be the same kingdom without the clanns.”
“We will continue to trade with the realm if that is your concern,” Brymender said.
“Enough.” Bryn stood up, her chair scraping the floor loudly. The jewel at her forehead began to glow, casting amber light into the room. “Have you not heard that Norsemen were in our country outside of winter? Have you not even the slightest concern that they may be staging a complete invasion? I have seen them here in the early summer. Is that not enough to cause a great alarm among you?”
“Yes, it is of a concern, and we grieve for the lands on the eastern coast who will feel keenly of the wrath your actions have surely incurred,” King Thamen said.
“The Norsemen were not on the coast, Your Highness. They were west of Loch Nis and they were coming to the loch from the southwest. They were a scouting party, and Heardred’s son and heir was among them. The Jarl would not have traveled this time of year if the need was not great.”
“This I had not heard,” the king replied. “That far inland is a concern. Perhaps we need to have the others here to discuss this. I would be particularly interested in hearing the account from both Sir Arryn and Prince Malcolm.”
“An accounting from all present would be wise,” Brymender agreed.
The king appeared surprised at Brymender’s suggestion. “I hardly think that Thalynder need be present. Surely she must rest.”
Bryn walked over to the door. She paused before opening it and turned to the king. “Your daughter will rule when you are gone.” The jewel flashed as she spoke. “Are you considering setting up men to rule behind her back? No. You know the worth of your daughter to her subjects and to the realm. Even now you are considering how to use her strength to find the right husband and increase your holdings. To the east, Queen Betony rules one of the largest Pict clanns whose numbers are reduced annually at the hands of the Norsemen. Still she continues to prepare for the day that others will join her to defend this country against those who wish to destroy us. You often rely on the advice of my own mother, Lady Arlendyl, in times of great need. For you to consider that the women are less than the men is beneath you.
“I, a woman, was chosen to unite the people of Alban. All the inhabitants of this island. Druids, Elves, and the lower kingdoms. If you wish a true accounting of what transpired at the loch, call the entire company to you now. If not, I ask your permission to remain the night and rest before I leave on the morrow. I mean to find a way to unite this entire country and rid our home of the bile threatening to cover us as sure as the sun rises. I will do it without your allegiance, if that is what you wish.” She opened the door and waited, expecting the king to dismiss her.
King Thamen rose from the table. He glanced once at Brymender and then approached Bryn. “I can see that you have grown, Lady Athebryn. Your father and I were waiting to see if you were strong enough to stand between us as we argued. Forgive us, but we had to be certain that you had the conviction to see this war through to the end. And as you know, the end may be many years into the future.”
“More years than you or my father will see, King Thamen, but there will be others to continue and there will be a peace for Alban. If you are done baiting me, we should find the others.”
King Thamen moved to the doorway and called to the guardsman who waited in the hall. “Ask the others of the Lady Athebryn’s company to join us in my private dining room and s
end for my attendant.”
The guard bowed his head and touched his fist to his chest.
The company supped well. All except for Bryn. The conversation, led by King Thamen, centered on the ambush at the loch. Arryn and Malcolm, with interjections by Thalynder, described the Jarl and his men and their unrestrained contempt for the people of Alban. They retold of the finding of the Pict, Rylan, who had been taken as a slave. They related the story the young man told of the many raids on his clann and the surrounding villages. Raids that persisted year after year.
King Thamen listened without comment while the tale was told. When Arryn told of Bryn’s idea to lay the ambush and to send a message to the king of the Norsemen, King Thamen nodded in agreement. When he heard Prince Malcolm talk about how Bryn spoke to the man in his own tongue, he looked long at Bryn. And when his daughter confirmed that the man was the Jarl, or Prince Heir to King Heardred, King Thamen rose and began to pace the small dining room.
He rubbed at his beard. He placed his hands on the long table, leaning closer to Bryn. “What did he do or say that led you to believe he was leading a scouting party?”
“It was nothing he said, but more the way his men reacted at finding us. They were pleased with themselves. The Jarl asked me why I was alone at the loch, so far from home.”
“How did he know you were far from home?” Brymender asked.
“I was wearing my riding boots. He could easily see the emblem of the realm.”
Arryn chuckled. “You wanted him to see the emblem.”
Bryn nodded. “I wanted him to react to it. He was more interested in doing me harm than he was in the emblem. He did, however, confirm to me his knowledge of the realm.”
“How so?” King Thamen asked.
“He called me one of the litter of Thamen’s dirty little Druids. That was enough for me to show him how dirty the little Druid could be. I goaded him into telling me where he was from and why he was in Alban so far into the year. He did not reveal much, but what he did say was enough for me to understand that his people mean to occupy Alban.”
“Occupy?” Brymender asked.
“Yes,” Malcolm replied for Bryn. “They intend to invade our land and remain for several months at a time, eventually settling their people here.” Malcolm recounted the rest of what happened at the loch, up to the point when the Jarl was killed.
“Lady Athebryn was injured by the man who slipped in while the others were fighting,” Arryn said. “When the skirmish was over, the Jarl and his men were dead.”
Brymender reached out to touch Bryn’s hand. “We understood you were injured. I am glad it was not a mortal wound.”
“Had it been, I would not be here trying to convince you that I need your armies to repel the invaders.”
“True,” King Thamen said. “I much prefer it this way.”
“It was my decision to send a message to the Norsemen. There was a good deal of debate among the company. We were at first unsure that Alban was ready to declare war. We had not even been to the Stones at this point.”
“What made you decide to go ahead with the instigation?”
“The Pict,” Malcolm replied. “The Norsemen had taken a slave. A youth, nowhere near the age of consent, had been taken as a slave to be used by the Jarl.”
The jewel in the crown softened to a pale yellow. Bryn sighed. “It was the young Pict Rylan’s story about the constant raids and the tactics being used by the raiders. Burning out the homes. Taking slaves. Murdering those they did not take with them. All this led me to my decision. In my mind, it was time to make a stand against the Norsemen. I asked Meydra and the other dragons to take the Jarl and his men to the shore. I told them they did not have to be gentle with the disposition of the bodies, only that the bodies must remain recognizable. I also asked that they set the boat on fire.”
“Pretty clear message, except that it may have been a bit extreme,” Malcolm said. “Not knowing how badly the bodies were mangled, I can only hope we do not have the Norsemen thinking that other animals or other beasts killed their men.”
“Meydra told me what she intended to do with the men,” Bryn told him. “I knew what message she would send.”
“You were in communication with Meydra before you reached the Stones?” King Thamen asked.
“Yes,” Thalynder replied for Bryn. “I gave my permission for Bryn to instruct Meydra from that moment forward. It would have been better had you told us long before now that Meydra belonged with Bryn.”
“That, my daughter, was our greatest mistake. Brymender and I agreed that we would not alter our decision to keep Bryn’s heritage and bloodline secret.”
“You believed all along that Bryn would accept this responsibility?” Arryn asked.
“We did,” Brymender replied. “It was our greatest hope, and our biggest fear.”
Bryn sighed. “We have much to discuss, and there is not enough time to mull over the how and why I got to where I am today. Let us say that my path was placed before me long before I was born. I have accepted this path and have now arrived at a crossroads. I can either unite the peoples of Alban and rid our country of the threat of these Norsemen, or I can quietly fade into the background and allow the legend to become myth. Allow the myth to die. I do not see it as a choice. I intend on fighting the Norsemen, and I welcome all who will stand at my side.”
King Thamen nodded at Malcolm. He took a step closer to Bryn. “What is your plan for those who choose not to follow you?”
Bryn frowned. “All will benefit if I am successful. Our country will be at peace and we will prosper. Even those who choose not to aid the clanns and the Picts will benefit. I will spurn no aid, I will turn away no one. Should a kingdom, or even a clann, choose not to stand shoulder to shoulder with me, I will bear them no ill will.”
“What do you want from the lower kingdoms?”
“Whatever you wish to give. Arms, soldiers, food, shelter, or just a kind word will be enough.”
“We have lingered long over this meal,” the king said. “You must be tired from your journey and all this talk. I will send someone to tend to the dragons so that you may retire. We can speak again when day breaks.”
“Do not send anyone to tend to our dragons. The riders will accompany me to the garden and we will take care of this task. Those who wish to should remain with their dragon. I assure you, the ground is as soft as goose down and you will find no better sleep than one in the dragon gardens of this realm.” She rose from the table and waited to see who followed her. The dragon riders rose and took their leave of King Thamen and Brymender. They walked past Bryn and each one nodded as she smiled at them. Bryn took Thalynder’s hand as she walked by and spoke with her quickly, “I will be out very soon. Will you sleep in the garden with me?”
“Yes.”
Once Thalynder left the room, Bryn knelt before her father and King Thamen.
“I am not certain that I can accept you kneeling before me now, Lady Athebryn.” King Thamen rose from his seat and motioned for Bryn to stand. He looked at the crown for a long moment. “I inherited my crown because I was the next in line. You were chosen for your crown long before even my forebears were born. I will aid you, Lady Athebryn of the Brae, and I will join you. You have my sword and my shield. What now is your immediate plan?”
Bryn dipped her head slightly in acknowledgment. “I thank you, King Thamen. I will remain the night. Tomorrow, I must return to Skiel. There I will meet with the representatives of the clanns. The horses we took on our journey will be waiting for me there as well. I would like to retain Pymmar for my use. The others I will return to your stables. In four days, I will convene the newly formed council. It is then that we decide what steps are necessary before we meet the enemy. Meydra will inform me when the first returning longship broaches the horizon. At that point, we will have three days before they reach the shore and find the remains of the Jarl and his men.”
The king rubbed his chin. “It will take me several
days to man my army and be ready to join you. I cannot be ready to leave on the morrow.”
“It will take Prince Malcolm several days as well. It may be best if the two realms attempt to reach the meeting place at the same time.”
“Is not the prince a member of the council?” Brymender asked.
Bryn smiled at her father. “You have been in contact with the Elf-Sisters. Yes, Prince Malcolm is a member, as is Thalynder. However, they have access to the backs of dragons. When the time comes for them to leave for Skiel, they will take to the air. The armies must ride on horseback.”
“When do you expect to have all the armies together?” King Thamen asked.
“The first Norsemen to arrive will be a small party looking for their errant Jarl. They will return to their homeland and report to Heardred what they have found. Heardred will be compelled to send his longships and his army to avenge the death of his son. Barring any heavy weather on the North Sea, I would not expect any great numbers to reach Alban before the next equinox.”
King Thamen’s brow creased in thought for a moment. “Forty days is more than enough time to bring the army to where you wish to meet.”
“I would ask that you prepare to be at Inbhir Nis where it meets the Loch Nis at the second new moon from today. The first new moon is three days hence. There is game and water and space enough for the armies to gather together.”
King Thamen gave Bryn a smile. “It will be done. We will meet thirty days hence unless we hear word otherwise. How will you be in contact with us in the lower kingdoms?”
“By way of the dragons. They will be my messengers.”
Chapter Seven
Thalynder stretched and pushed back against Bryn. She opened her eyes and found that it was still dark. She pulled Bryn’s arm tightly around her waist and sighed.
“Sleep a little longer, my Lynder,” Bryn whispered. “It will be dawn soon, and with a new day, a new journey.”