Aine cast a wary glance toward her kin and with her serious eyes asked an unspoken question.
“Aye, I released them from their prison and the four druid dragons as well,” Alainn hesitantly admitted.
“You did... what?” Lugh stammered.
Alainn looked from Aine to Lugh and back again as the sound of the barking and howling drew nearer. Danhoul also wore an expression of uncertainty.
“Was it wrong of me to have freed the magical beings?” Alainn suddenly felt unsure.
“I do not take quarrel with the fact you released the dragons or the hellhounds. They have done me or mine no wrong, but sure if they are freed then the Underworld will now be opened as well and the Tuatha De Dannan will have escaped and will seek certain revenge on the Fomorians.”
“The realms of the gods will again know a time of war!” Lugh revealed disparagingly.
“But the dragons informed me they will swiftly seek the end of the Fomorians so surely no there will be no need for war,” Alainn nervously suggested.
“The dragons actually spoke to you?” Lugh appeared uncertain once more.
Alainn nodded.
Aine remained deep in thought and when she spoke it sent a chill through Alainn’s body. “There are never actions without consequences,” Aine whispered.
“Am I to be kept here then to face the consequences of my actions?” Alainn forlornly asked.
“No, you may leave now.” Aine assured her. “I have removed the enchantment that has kept you bound to this realm. No harm will befall you because of your actions, for Lugh was to have been watching over you. The Council of the Gods will most assuredly desire to speak with him regarding this turn of events.”
Alainn held no loyalty or admiration for the god, but neither did she wish for him to suffer harm because of her deeds. “I do not care for Lugh to be held accountable for my misdeeds, though I admit I do not regret freeing those magnificent creatures; surely a thousand millennia is long enough to be imprisoned!”
“Aye, perhaps it is time once again to allow true and ancient magic to have free reign here in our realm!” Aine suggested. “You go now, my kin; return to your world and the quandaries you face there, leave us to deal with all that will transpire here.”
“How do I accomplish the return journey to my world?” she hesitantly questioned.
“Think of your husband; simply wish yourself back to him.”
Alainn gazed once more out the open window to notice the astonishingly beautiful splendor of the sky being filled with the crimson glow of four suns setting simultaneously. Though she’d had no say in coming to this unusual place, and she could scarcely contain her relief and excitement at being allowed to return to Killian, she knew many of the sights and experiences in this realm would forever be etched within her memory.
“And what of Danhoul?” She glanced over at the young man beside her and questioned with some concern in her voice.
“He’ll be sent back to your world in due time!”
Alainn curtsied gratefully to Aine, nodded to Lugh, and waved to Danhoul before she closed her eyes. Her thoughts went to Killian; she smiled to herself and was gone.
“Why did you simply allow her to leave?” Lugh asked.
Aine replied to Lugh, but her eyes met Danhoul’s as she spoke. “It has already been determined in the future she will be direly needed! Should we keep her here against her will, we will never be capable of ensuring she will come round to our way of thinking. She would resist us and oppose us, perhaps even lean toward the darkness in rebellious retaliation. Allow her this time with her husband, perhaps she will one day recognize her fated purpose and she will come to us of her own accord!
“Nay, ’tis most unlikely, Aine. Alainn shall never willingly choose to do your bidding, not if it takes her away from Killian, for their love is uncommonly rare!” Danhoul openly disagreed.
“But her destiny was long since decided all those years ago, as was yours! And so therefore it shall be!”
“Perhaps!” Danhoul glanced at the two gods clearly not in agreement. “Now, since it appears for the time being I remain incapable of moving through the realms by way of magic, I’ll need your assistance to return to my world.”
The goddess nodded to the young man and watched him disappear.
Chapter Nine
Alainn steadied herself upon her feet, inhaled deeply and turned to see Killian there before her. Her heart leapt with joy! His back was to her and for a moment she allowed herself this time to feel relief in her return and to revel in looking upon his appealing form. He was leaning against her horse, the brown mare she’d chosen from the stables at Castle O’Donnel. It seemed like an age had passed since then.
He ran his hand through his thick, dark brown hair and sighed deeply which was always a sign he was severely concerned. She inhaled slowly and pinched herself to make certain this was not simply a dream. She smiled at the immediate pain for it indicated she was truly here, back in her world, in her time, and with her only love.
It had seemed an insufferably long time they’d been kept apart, but by Danhoul’s assurance, she had been gone less than a day. The morning sun was now rising in the east. The sky was aglow in lovely pink tones, spreading out gloriously in promise of what wonderments the day might hold. She glanced down and observed that she was once more donned in the gown in which she’d worn when they were joined in marriage. She touched her hand to her hair and felt the flowered wreath as well. It had been one day since they’d been wed. And less than hours later they’d been forced to be separated. They’d not spent their first night together, not consummated their marriage.
She now realized she was standing before the entrance to the fairy glade; the very location where Aine had appeared and insisted Alainn must go with her until it was safe for her to return. Now that she was back she hoped Aine had been correct. Alainn prayed the goddess had truly been successful in closing and sealing many dark portals, extinguishing much of the threat. Aine had believed Alainn was in danger of being pursued with those who allied side, and the unsavory beings within the Unseelie Court, one of the many malevolent portals to hell.
Killian sighed once again and Alainn was shaken from her dismal thoughts to her much cherished reality.
She softly called his name. “Killian?”
He turned abruptly as though he’d been seared by her voice. “Alainn? Alainn, is it truly you? Am I only dreaming, seeing a vision brought forth by the urgent need of knowing you remain unharmed?”
He started toward her, clearly hesitant to touch her lest his vision be proven to be just that, one brought about by fanciful desire and need of sleep. She walked to him and he met her partway. He dubiously placed his hand upon her face and it was warm to the touch. Tears streamed down her cheeks and he softly wiped them away. His breath caught in his throat in discovering she was actually before him.
“No, ’tis me, Killian! I am no vision; I am truly here with you, my only love!”
“Ah, Lainna, how I have fretted about you, and how you might have fared after you were taken by Aine.”
Aine had told her Killian would not recall seeing her, yet clearly he remembered everything. Alainn had once put an enchantment on Killian so he would never be adversely affected by her magical abilities. Perhaps it had ensured he was unaffected by Aine’s magic as well.
Alainn would no longer dwell on Aine or Lugh or her time in the distant realm. She was here now, back with her man, and being protectively held in his strong arms. The tears of relief continued to slide down her face as she lifted her face toward him and he placed his lips upon hers. They shared a tender kiss, a kiss filled with relief and joy and jubilance at being together again. He lifted her into his arms and they walked, once more, toward the entrance to the fairy glade.
“Now, my sweet Lainna, we will finally have our time together, nothing shall keep us apart, mark my words! We’ll have our honeymoon!”
“Aye, Killian, my darlin’ husband, it shal
l be so!” She crooned as he placed his face in her sweet smelling hair and inhaled the loveliness of her scent. The horse followed as they stepped toward the portal of the glade.
“Oh, sure I’d forgotten, Killian, you’ll be disallowed to carry weapons within the glade. The fairies adamantly disapprove of violence and of the killing of any living creature.”
Killian’s eyes filled with unspoken doubt. “And where would you have me place my sword then, Alainn. It’s been accurately formed and weighted for me. I’ve trained with it for years now, I’d not care to have some unsavory type think he’d found grand fortune by discovering it and thinkin’ he’d take it for his own.”
“Aye,” she agreed and she looked toward a nearby oak tree. She spoke in a language Killian had begun to recognize as used by the druids. Soon a small doorway appeared in the tree and Killian witnessed his sword being magically removed from its sheath and capably placed within the hollow of the tree. Then, as quickly as it had opened, it closed and vanished. He shook his head yet again in appreciation of her endless abilities and smiled down at his enchanting young wife.
“I’m trustin’ you’ll be capable of returning it to me when the time comes?”
“Aye, my love, but I assure you, husband, there’ll be no time for swordplay in the next days,” she whispered and cast him a most alluring look.
“I’d be most inclined to agree, Lainna.”
He beamed down at her as they stepped through the glowing portal that led to the fairy glade with his horse obediently following behind.
As Danhoul returned to the human world he caught sight of the happy reunited pair entering the portal to the magical glade. He walked toward the portal himself. As he, too, spoke in the antiquated language of the druids, he uttered a protection spell to ensure the portal remained closed for a time, so that no one or nothing untoward could follow them inside.
The magnificence that surrounded them as they walked into the fairy glade was even more startlingly evident than Killian remembered, and this journey through the perimeter was not accompanied with unsettling sounds, only profoundly beautiful, poignant music.
Alainn watched his face closely as he gently set her to her feet.
“Why is there no wretched humming; no horridly unpleasant din this time?” he questioned.
She ecstatically threw her arms around his neck with unhidden passion and force, as though he’d uttered the most pleasing words in all of history.
“Whatever did I do to deserve that?” He smiled as he spoke.
“Besides capture my heart and create the most beautifully romantic wedding ever known, you have just proven to me you truly have no qualms about marrying me. You are content, at peace, and truly happy even with all the many quandaries we face... for if you are able to pass through the portal with no disagreeably ill effects, it is assuredly so.”
“You doubted that, Alainn, after all I have spoken to you?”
“How could I not, Killian? You are wed to a witch with unusual powers, who carries your child, whose very future is uncertain at best.”
He held her close and kissed her soft and fragrant tresses, leaning forward so he rested his chin upon her head as he spoke. “I believe we will be happy, my sweet Lainna, that the future will be kind to us for surely the past has not always been so.”
Alainn recalled the sad and sorely wounded boy whom he’d been when first they met a decade earlier. It was true he had experienced a great deal of grief and loss in his two and twenty years and she intended to do all within her power to ensure there would be no more for him. As he observed the glade he felt his heart gladden at the sights that beheld him. She sensed his awe and looked around as well.
“Aye, ’tis indescribably beautiful and magical; such enchantment is ever present during this time, from now till Samhain and beyond ’tis a glorious place.”
Killian stared intently at the beauty that surrounded them here in the glade. There were many vibrantly colored trees and flowers. Even the grass seemed to sparkle magically and, above them, the sky was aglow with magnificent colors that shone and danced unusually brightly across the sky.
Many different creatures filled the glade, so many more than when last they were here. There were the tiny colorful fairy orbs that had been present then, but in far greater numbers, and there were beautiful, unusual creatures of varying sizes and distinctly different appearances. They all seemed to come to greet them at the same time and Alainn smiled brightly at them.
They spoke to her in their peculiarly unfamiliar language and Alainn whispered. “You must speak in English or Gael for my husband should hear your kind wishes as well.”
Some looked at her with doubtful expressions as though they were incapable, but she held her hand out to them and in little time Killian was able to understand them. He chuckled softly at their many tiny high-pitched voices.
They appeared most curious to learn more about Killian and many flew near to him and stared at him with interested wide eyes. They seemed in awe of his size, his height, and his broad muscular appearance. Many of them buzzed about him and whispered to each other.
They were all clearly moved by Alainn’s beauty, for although she had been uncommonly beautiful ever since she was a young child and first began to visit the fairy glade, now she was even more captivating for her cheeks glowed with health and radiance and her eyes shone with love. Her unbound waist-length hair lustrously framed her noticeably elated face. Her wedding garment was enchantingly lovely. Some presented her with more flowers that she added to the wreath she took from her head. Killian was startled to learn that many of the fairies were much larger than he’d always imagined fairies to be.
“They’re all fairies, Alainn?” he questioned.
“All liken to fairies, for there are many varieties of magical species. There are sprites, gnomes, elves, and nymphs as well.”
Each species moved forward, spoke, or waved when their names were mentioned, so Killian might differentiate between them. Killian noted the shapes and appearances of each were vastly different. Some were remarkably lovely and others somewhat frighteningly unusual. The sizes varied much as well from the wee orbs he could surely hold in the palm of his hand to some that were nearly as tall as Alainn.
There was a rustle in the bushes behind them and when they turned toward the sound, they saw a small creature, who had clearly been eagerly watching them. He looked like a man, but perhaps a third of the size. He was a strange-looking little creature, oddly dressed in a green overcoat and a hat, but when he realized he had been spotted he shrieked and dove into the bushes.
“What was that?” Killian asked, and many of the other creatures laughed.
Alainn explained. “I believe we have just witnessed one of the wee solitary creatures. They are very curious, but completely elusive for ’tis well known they desire to keep their existence secret. They are mischievous little imps, but are said to bring good fortune. They’ve not actually been given a name yet as they are so seldom seen. The other fairies claim that this type of creature is only found in Ireland.”
“And why by God’s nails is Aine here again?” Killian whispered in his wife’s ear.
Alainn glanced in the direction he had indicated and was startled to see the Celtic god. She wondered if she’d changed her mind and had come to ensure Alainn paid for the unrest she’d caused in the realm of the gods. Aine stood there tall and proud, a magnificent female of uncommon beauty.
“You told me I couldn’t bring my weapons into the glade, Alainn?” he questioned further, though she had yet to answer his first query.
“She is permitted, for since Aine is the defender of women and all females, weapons may be a necessity wherever she roams. She is, after all, whom men and males of many species answer to for their misdeeds toward women. As you recall there are various myths and legends about her?”
“Aye, of course I know what the legends claim! And is it me she wishes to deal with this day?” Killian answered, his hand automatic
ally going to the empty scabbard on his belt.
“No, I sense it is me she has come to see, though I am uncertain I care to know the reason.”
The fairy approached and her eyes shone a deep blue to match that of Killian’s wife. He couldn’t help but see the distinct similarity.
She noticed his deep stare. “Aye, O’Brien, you have surmised your bride and I are kin!”
“I’m not daft nor on the verge of senility, Aine! I’ve not surmised it. You told me so yourself outside of the fairy glade when you took Alainn away with you. You claimed she was of fairy origin?” Killian quizzed.
Aine was clearly taken aback that Killian remembered any of what had transpired and she seemed deep in thought regarding that matter.
“Your man is uncommon, my kin, both in appearance and in ability. You must hold tight to him, for there will be many who would wish steal him from you, but equally many who would desire to take her for their own, Killian O’Brien! You are to be her guardian and protector, for never before has there been a being on earth as powerful as your new wife. During the time of her conception, all the necessary elements were in place, whether by chance or by design it still remains to be seen, but whatever the reason, she is remarkably uncommon and she may be a peril to her very own existence without you to keep her grounded.
Alainn and Killian held tight to each other as Aine issued her many words of wisdom and warning.
“Keep her close and guard her with your life if necessary. It is by no coincidence you were drawn to one another. Creatures of her kind, with her unusual levels of ability will always throughout time attract and be attracted to tall, strong, and heroic men, men who can ably protect them and men who often possess a degree of magical ability of their own. But wield your power over her wisely and carefully, O’Brien, for though I am now aware she has created a protective magical charm for you and ensured you’ll not be touched adversely by her magic, you can wound her as no one ever can or will. Treat her as a precious treasure, for if you hurt her you’ll be made to deal with me. Though I cannot be near her always nor keep her from harm’s way as I would desire, I will eventually deal harshly with all who might cause her pain or do her wrong!”
The Chieftain's Daughter Page 6