by Mia Pride
Suddenly, she understood the truth. “My mother knew,” she whispered and looked up at Brocc. All eyes landed on her and she swallowed hard. “She knew. She told me the legend of the Three Sisters of Danu. She told me to listen and never forget that some humans were meant to be more. I never understood. And all those days she encouraged me to surround myself with nature. It was if she was helping me accept who I was all along. She insisted I marry Brocc, nay matter how much I argued to stay and care for her. She knew. How I miss her and her guidance so.” She put her head down and swallowed the choking sob that threatened to escape.
“Last Samhain, I had the strangest dream. A man came to me. He was large with black and gray streaked hair and kind hazel eyes. He looked at me as if he knew me, as if I was a very special person to him. He called me ‘mo leanbh’ and apologized for never visiting me, saying he knew not of my location. Strangely, as real as it felt, I was not afraid. I felt loved and safe in his presence. But he disappeared and I awoke from my dream. I never saw him again…”
“Una,” Ceara grabbed her hand and tears glistened in her eyes. “T’was our father, King Doran.” Ceara looked over at Gwynneth and saw her frown and nod just before she covered her face with her hands to cover her own emotions. “He came to visit us on Samhain, as well. That was the night we learned that we were sisters. T’was also the night I discovered he was my father. He raised Gwynneth, only keeping her because she was first born. It was the only fair way he could decide who to raise. He sent you and me away, swearing to visit. He knew where I was taken and came to visit often, though I never knew his true identity.”
Una felt hurt consume her. He never visited her and she wondered why just as Gwynneth looked up from her hands in time to read Una’s emotions. “Och, Una. My father loved us all so much. Losing us tore him apart. Please believe that none of us knew where you were. We had to search to locate you. My father would have come if he had known. I am most certain that, once he passed away, he used the opportunity of Samhain to cross the veil and find you. He loved you.” Gwynneth squeezed her hand and Una felt the truth in her words. She may not have known her father, but she was certain of his love. She could never blame him, for the man had lost his wife and two of his children. The legend had controlled his life as much as their own.
After a moment of silence, Una cleared her throat and tried to press forward on a positive note. “I am pleased to have finally have a family.” Her chin started to tremble as she suppressed a new wave of tears. Brocc leaned in and wiped away her tears as he kissed her forehead. “You know,” Una added with a sniffle, “Seeing both my sisters married to kings, I now know I was meant to be with Brocc all along. I was just too stubborn to see it.” That comment made every man in the room grumble and she looked at them all in confusion.
With a smirk, Ceara responded, “Apparently, our husbands are in agreement that we sisters are all terribly stubborn. Someday you will hear our own stories and understand why,” she said with a wry smile as she looked at Garreth, who was rolling his eyes playfully at his wife.
Una was much more at peace than she would have expected, feeling like so many pieces of her life came together all within one day, even the unexpected ones. “I admit to being unusually stubborn. While I cannot promise to ever change, I can promise to never challenge the truth that Brocc and I are meant to be.” She looked up at him with a smile and felt a wave of affection melt through her body as he leaned down to kiss her hair.
“Aye,” said Liam in affirmation. “Tis foretold by the legend. We knew we needed to seek a king by the name Mac Greine, and if we did, we would find the last sister. You two are destined to be, nay matter how hard you fight it.”
“Well,” Una said with a laugh as she blushed, “I am done fighting. In fact, I would marry him today if not for all the preparations to be made! Now I must lose even more time creating an appropriate dress,” she pouted.
Brocc guffawed at her words and looked at her incredulously. “Och, woman! Do you not know me at all? Would I have several dresses made for you, and neglect the most important dress of all?” He slammed his hand on the table with finality and pulled her onto his lap with a grin. “Tis done. Today, we marry.”
Una looked up at him in shock. “Today?”
“Right now.”
Chapter 20
How Una longed to see her mother and talk to her, even for just one more moment! She would tell her mother that she knew she had done her best to protect Una and now she knew why her mother had pushed her toward Brocc for so long. Her mother knew that he was her destiny. If only her mama could be here to feel the child that fluttered away happily within Una’s womb, strong like his father. If only she could be here with Una as she prepared to marry the man her mother always knew she would.
Their wedding would be a rushed affair, but nothing could make Una happier. Brocc was not only determined to marry her with all due haste, but he had secretly already prepared most of the details…just in case.
After their meeting, Una and her sisters went back to Brocc’s home to hastily prepare for the ceremony, and Brocc stayed behind with the men. Patrick was thrilled to be asked to conduct the ceremony. Una thought she saw a tear in the old druid’s eye, but she was dragged away much too quickly by her giggling sisters to know for certain.
“I have never seen anything like this before!” Ceara walked in circles inside Brocc’s home with her mouth agape. “Why, tis a floor made of wood! It must be such a luxury to not have earthen floors.”
Una balked at Ceara’s intrigue. “Do not be too impressed, sister. I, too, thought them a wonder…until it was my place to keep them clean! What I would not do for my old earthen floors with woven mats that only needed to be beat out to clean. Nay, I despise these wooden floors!” She laughed at Ceara’s incredulous face, but Una decided the story of her playing the role of Brocc’s servant would have to wait until another day.
Walking into her chamber, she opened her clothing chest and found the dress Brocc had promised she would find. It was the most beautiful soft shade of blue, like the color of the hydrangeas blooming just outside her window. It was soft thin linen that was layered underneath with a simple white layer of linen to add extra modesty to the sheer fabric.
The waist was cut high to accommodate her ever-growing abdomen and the neckline was cut high to help keep her bosom secure. The sleeves hung off her shoulders and flowed freely down past her wrists like a delicate waterfall of fabric. To finish it off was a soft yellow linen sash that tied just under her bosom.
When she was dressed and her locks had been brushed until they shined, her sisters placed a garland in her hair that they had quickly woven together with flowers from Una’s garden.
Glimmering on the shoulder of Una’s soft blue wedding dress was a startlingly red circular ruby brooch. Gwynneth explained to Una that it had belonged to their mother and was an heirloom passed down to the eldest sister of every generation. It had started with their faery ancestress, Dana, who had escaped from the Otherworld on the Eve of Beltane to live among the humans centuries ago.
This single ruby brooch was the one keepsake Dana had brought to the human world from her own. Though Gwynn had been the lucky recipient of the brooch simply because she was born within only minutes of her other two sisters, she insisted that they all take turns possessing it, as it should belong to them all and remind them of the mother who died bringing them into the world. Una looked down at the ruby twinkling in the light and she smiled at her sisters, so unsure how she had suddenly become surrounded by family, ancestral history, heirlooms, legends…and now an awaiting husband.
Isobel beamed at Una the entire time she was preparing for the ceremony. “I always knew you would be my daughter, in truth,” she proclaimed with a sniffle as she twisted strands of hair artfully and clipped the amethyst brooch just under the garland on Una’s head. “Brocc has loved you since the day you walked into our lives and now, you will be a family.” She placed her trembling hands on
Una’s slim shoulders and prompted her to turn. Moving a hand over the growing life within Una’s womb, Isobel felt a small kick and stifled a sob as her grandchild made his presence known.
Her sisters each grabbed her hand and smiled just before she walked out to meet Brocc. Suddenly, Una paused before walking out to her ceremony. Her birth mother was there in spirit through the ruby brooch, and Isobel had clasped her token of love in Una’s hair. Should not her adoptive mother be there as well?
Flashing her sisters a clever smile and signaling for them to wait a moment, Una moved with purpose down the corridor and into her chamber, looking at the dried flowers that were still hanging from the ceiling. How many times had Una sat on her bed and stared up at those flowers, thinking of her mother? Her mama had gone out of her way to save them. What better way to honor her, than by holding a dried bouquet of her flowers as she said her vows?
Una looked around her chamber, and goosebumps of anticipation covered her flesh. Once she was married, she would share a room with Brocc, and a bed, every night for the rest of her life! Seeing the flowers hanging high on the ceiling, Una found the lowest hanging bundle and reached up high, holding herself on tiptoes as carefully as she could, trying to capture the swinging bouquet in her hands. Suddenly, Una let out a squeal and collapsed to the floor.
“Una?” Gwynn yelped as she, Ceara, and Isobel ran in after her. “Are you hurt?” As they came in, they looked at her quizzically. She seemed completely unharmed.
“What is the matter, Una?” Ceara asked as she reached down to help scoop Una up off the floor. Una wordlessly opened her mouth and pointed her shaky finger up toward the bouquet on the ceiling. As the other sisters looked up, they saw, quite clearly, what had caused Una’s shock and their eyes widened at the sight. Above their heads, swinging lazily from the thatched roof, was a bouquet of fresh, vibrant flowers, standing out vividly among the other dull dried bunches of flowers around the room.
“I-I reached up to grab them and they just…did that!”
“Una! That must be part of your ability to control nature! You can restore plants! Have you done that before?” Gwynneth was giddy with excitement, squirming around and clapping her hands as if she were a child watching magic tricks performed.
“Never anything like that!” Una said as Ceara helped her to her feet. “I have never touched these since my mother dried them. They hung in our old home for years before Brocc moved them in here for me. I have only ever looked at them. I had nay idea…”
“Well, I think your mother did have an idea,” Ceara said with conviction. “That’s why she kept them all, Una!”
Una shook her head in disbelief. “Tis like she knew she could not tell me, so she found a way to show me…” Her body thrummed with the intensity of the moment. Her mother knew. She had just turned flowers that had been dried for years into flowers that were as fresh as the ones in her garden. How this ability would ever prove to be beneficial, she certainly could not know, but now, more than ever, the truth of the legend was undeniable.
Dragging her clothing chest from across the room over to where the flowers hung, she climbed up and ripped the flowers down gently by the string that attached them to the wooden beam. A sweetly scented arrangement of yellow lilies, orange daisies, and white roses were tied together with simple brown wool string around their fresh green stems. “Thank you, mama,” she whispered as she brought the flowers to her nose and smiled at her new sisters. “I am ready to get married.”
It was a chilly April afternoon with the cerulean sky stretching on as far as the eye could see. Scattered fluffy clouds floated above, moving slowly with the wind as the leaves above rustled soothingly. They chose the gardens just outside her mother’s home for their ceremony. It was the place Una had always loved most, and now she knew why. Her connection to the flowers, trees, and animals surrounding the garden had always been present, a part of her very blood.
The sweet fragrance of honeysuckle and marigolds drifted in the wind as she took her place next to Brocc, who was awaiting her with a smile that made him look so much more alive than she had seen him in many moons. The ceremony was a brief one, containing a few prayers of health and happiness for the new couple. Brocc and Una held hands and exchanged oaths of love and commitment to one another while her free hand rested upon her unborn child.
“I give ye my body, that we two might be one.” Una said with a shy smile and a stifled giggle. The evidence that she had already fulfilled this vow was quite evident by the growing bulge underneath her flowing dress and Una’s cheeks turned an alluring shade of pink as Brocc smiled proudly back, his dimple winking at her.
“I give ye my spirit, ‘til our life shall be done.” Those words on Brocc’s lips melted Una inside and she could not wait to spend forever with this wondrously handsome, strong, loyal man.
Una stared into Brocc’s hazel eyes, memorizing every gold fleck that glimmered within them as he beamed intensely back. His jet-black hair ruffled in the breeze, as did his white linen tunic that was untied at his chest. He wore a new pair of beige trousers that perfectly molded to the contours of his muscular legs and his feet were barefoot, just as Una’s were, a tradition meant to symbolize their love’s purity and closeness to nature.
The entire tuath had gathered last minute for the hastily prepared ceremony, anxious to witness the marriage of their king to the woman he had been chasing for years. As word spread that Una was one of the Sisters of Danu, everyone came pouring out of their roundhouses to view the three sisters of legend. She was not sure if her life would ever be normal again, but at least it would never be boring.
Even Collin was there in the garden to witness her marriage. A sharp stab of guilt struck her heart when she spotted him in the crowd, a look of longing and loss in his eyes as he gazed at her happily holding Brocc’s hand. He saw her make eye contact with him and he swiftly corrected his features into one of support, nodding to her with a smile. Even in her anger at his scheming, she could not find it in her heart to hate Collin. Deep down, he was a good man. Och, she would have some heated words with him when next they met. Collin would not get off so easily from his schemes with Mealla, but for now, Una was much too happy to find room in her heart for anger.
Right after their meeting with her sisters, Brocc sent two sentry guards to Mealla’s roundhouse to punish her for her misdeeds. He had planned to have her taken away to the dark and dirty cell within a secluded room behind the hall until he could decide what to do with the meddlesome lass. He could easily charge her for attempted murder, claiming she had meant to harm Una or their child, and he was tempted to do just that.
Una, however, intervened, stating that the cells were no place for a young lass and had suggested he keep her guarded within her own home, at least until they decided what to do with her after their wedding ceremony. Both agreed that she was too cunning and deceptive to be allowed to stay within the village. If it were just about them, they could handle her. But, they had a child to consider and if Mealla remained obsessively interested in Brocc, they could never rest easy. Banishment was their most likely option, but to where? They had a lot to consider still, but first, they were only interested in keeping her out of the way while they started their life together.
After the ceremony was over, the entire village celebrated with a huge feast. The whole tuath drank ale and ate roasted meats, baked bread, fresh fruit, and vegetables from the gardens while sharing stories until well into the night. Bonfires were lit all over the village and the people continued their celebrations until they had to crawl back home on their knees.
Brocc and Una celebrated until they had accepted congratulations from everyone many times over, and then decided it was time to retire to their new home. Their home; a place to start a new life and raise their child.
“My king, we have a visitor.” Brocc turned as he heard the voice of one of his warriors call to him. A man came through the crowd upon a large black horse and dismounted swiftly. He was a stout man
with bushy red hair, a long plaited beard, and rather furry brows. Brocc cocked his head at the man, noticing a slim golden band adorning his head and a pile of furs upon his shoulders. He was a king of his people, of that, Brocc was certain. But he had never seen the man in his life.
Just as Brocc stepped forward to question the stranger, he heard Liam bellow a greeting over his shoulder and charge forward. “Ewan! Greetings! What are you doing here, in Darini?” Liam slapped the man hard on his shoulder and brought him over to Una and Brocc for introductions. “Brocc, Una, this is King Ewan of Manapii. He is the man who set us in the right direction to find you, Una. It was his tuath you were first brought to as a babe by the druid who relocated you.”
“Una. What a lovely name.” Ewan picked up her hand and gently gave her a kiss across the knuckles. Brocc’s brows rose slightly, but he bit his tongue as the man spoke again. “I am sorry for intruding here, King Brocc. After Garreth and Liam left my tuath, I felt compelled to follow in their wake. Una’s story began in my tuath and I had wondered about the wee lass with brown hair and emerald eyes all these years. When these men and their wives showed up looking for her again, it was as if I was meant to come here…for some reason.”
Garreth walked up and clasped forearms with Ewan and pounded him hard on the back. “How did you find us? We were headed for Iverni when we left Manapii.”
“Och, aye. Well, you do not think me a very good warrior if you think I cannot follow a trail.” His brow quirked up and he laughed at Garreth’s embarrassed frown. “I traveled to Iverni a few days after you left, hoping you would still be there and that I could travel with you to find the last sister. However, I had just missed you. So, I followed your trail. And here I am.”