Wild Is My Love

by Janelle Taylor

  Gavin slapped him on the back proudly and fondly. “To give you time to learn about her threat, she set Saturday to execute Orin. I am certain King Bardwyn will arrive no later than Wednesday and we will attack at dawn on Friday. Before the siege, we will sneak into the secret passage and rescue your father and Prince Alric, then open the gates for the King’s men.”

  Indeed, Keegan returned from his journey on Tuesday to say the King of Cambria and his large band would arrive by morning. Keegan had ridden ahead to report that the King and his troops were covering these last miles carefully to avoid alerting Isobail and her forces to their approach.

  Alysa and Gavin snuggled together near a small fire to the back of the cave. Each was aware that the next three days would bring about a resolution to Damnonia’s miseries, if all went favorably. But each could not help but wonder what to do if Isobail got wind of their plans or if she learned of the secret passage from Alric.

  Alysa trembled at the unknown, and Gavin cuddled her closer to him for comfort. He stroked her arm and back soothingly, and his mouth brushed against her hair. Alysa’s lips pressed kisses to his bare chest and her fingers lightly grazed his powerful shoulders. Surprisingly there was no draft or chilly dampness in the enormous cave.

  Alysa and Gavin were warm and safe and together, tonight and beyond. Their small fire gave off just enough light and heat to encase them in a romantic setting, despite their companions presence not far away. It seemed that everyone was asleep except the guard outside. The few noises that reached their ears were muffled. They were nestled together and very much in love, but no raging hunger to unite their bodies tormented them. Instead, this was a time for sharing emotions, strengths, encouragement, and solace. It was a tender moment when only soft kisses and caresses could be shared, when a gentle passion had to control them.

  Alysa shifted her head to look into Gavin’s face. Their eyes melted together as warm honey and fused for a long time. Neither spoke for a while, then they did nothing more than murmur exchanges of love. His lips drifted over her face until they lightly touched her lips. Each nibbled and played without kissing the other. Then his mouth locked with hers and they enjoyed a lengthy kiss which caused them to flame and tremble. They parted and looked at each other, smiled knowingly in caution, and cuddled to sleep. A special tranquility washed over them and bound them snugly.

  Alysa paced anxiously while Gavin and Weylin were gone to meet King Bardwyn. The Cambrian forces were to be divided into several large bands and shown where to camp while plans were made for the assault on Malvern Castle tomorrow if Princess Isobail refused to surrender. To help conceal their identities, the knights and warriors had been told to wear simple garments and to hide their shields and the King’s markings.

  Alysa knew Gavin would probably be gone for hours, and she worried about him being recognized and captured. She was also apprehensive about meeting her grandfather for the first time, and wondered how she felt about him for ignoring her existence for almost nineteen years.

  Giselde approached her and said mysteriously, “Come, my little Alysa, for there are things I must tell you before they arrive.”

  The woman looked very old and tired today, and Alysa asked if she were ill. Giselde smiled sadly and replied, “Nay, child, it is the burden of what I must tell you that weighs heavily and painfully upon me.”

  Giselde led her to the back of the cave, where Trosdan lived, studied, and worked. She told Alysa to sit on a pile of feather-stuffed pillows, then she dragged a wooden chair over and sat, gazing down into Alysa’s upturned and quizzical face.

  “I beg you, Alysa, do not interrupt until I finish,” Giselde pleaded, “for this story is hard to reveal. No matter what I tell you, hold your questions for later. You must hear everything before this tormenting tale is clear. It is not a good or pretty truth, little one, but it is long overdue. Please understand and forgive me for holding silent all these years, and forgive your parents for their mistakes and silence.”

  As Giselde appeared ready to weep, Alysa asked in panic, “What is it, Granmannie? Your clues are frightening and confusing.”

  “Promise me you will let me finish before speaking again.”

  Alysa stared at the woman and knew something awful was about to be told to her. She saw how it was torturing Giselde, and noticed how the old woman was pressing her gnarled fingers to her heart, as if it ached terribly. “I will listen and be quiet,” Alysa complied worriedly.

  Giselde began by repeating Alysa’s ancestral history to her, up to the point where Catriona miscarried and returned to Albany. “I was not Catriona’s serving woman, and that is not why I came to Damnonia with her. I am Giselde, child of Connal and Astrid, wife to Rurik, mother to Catriona. Your grandmother, my little Alysa.” When Alysa gaped at the woman and started to query that shocking claim, Giselde protested, “Nay, not yet, my child. First I must tell you why this was kept from you.”

  Giselde related the Viking attack from which Prince Briac Crisdean of Cumbria rescued her and Catriona. The woman revealed how Briac had once loved Catriona but could not marry her. Giselde told of their long stay with Briac and his father, King Crisdean. She told of how she met secretly with King Bardwyn to discuss Alric and Catriona, and explained to Alysa how and why King Bardwyn had trusted her in this matter of Isobail’s treachery. Giselde paused a while to rest and wet her mouth, and was pleased that Alysa remained still and silent.

  Giselde continued her tale to Catriona’s death and her flight into hiding. “This is the worst part,” Giselde hinted before sharing the news of Catriona’s murder by Isobail.

  “She killed my mother?” Alysa whispered with horror.

  “Yes, my little Alysa, but there is more. I know this is the worst pain you have known in your life, but hear all of it before we talk,” Giselde urged. When Alysa mastered her anguish and anger, the woman exposed the darkest moment of Alric’s life: the episode at Lord Caedmon’s that made Moran her half brother.

  “Nay, nay!” Alysa refuted in alarm. “It cannot be! You are wrong, Granmannie! Why do you speak such lies about Father?”

  “If I could spare you this pain, I would die before revealing such things. But I believe it possible that Isobail might extract this information from your father in his weakened state, and expose this truth at the right moment in order to use Moran to seize the Crown. It would be more cruel for you to find out that way than by my telling you about it now.”

  Giselde slowly continued with her revelations, leaving out very little. “Because of who I am and what I know—because my very presence, if known, would have endangered you—I had to leave the castle long ago and hide in the forest. It is also why I held silent until now. When I told Gavin everything, he—”

  “Gavin knows all of this, and he kept silent too?” Alysa asked.

  “I told him pieces here and there, but I had to expose Moran to him so he could halt you from marrying your half brother. Gavin begged me to tell you everything, and I said the right moment was today. He did not wish to wait, as he felt he was deceiving you. Yet he believed such words should come from me, not him, for he did not know the all of it. When he met with Alric, your father confessed the truth of Moran’s birth, and Alric begged Gavin to keep his dark secret from you and everyone. Gavin is a man of honor and obeyed.”

  Alysa asked more questions, until she was certain she had heard it all. She jumped up and walked around the confines of the rock chamber, halting with her back to Giselde. She went over and over this tale in her mind, trying to understand it and to forgive those involved in such deeds and secrecy. As she had suspected, Giselde and Gavin had been partnered in many things. Yet it always came back to a love for her that ruled their actions. So much seemed to fit now…

  Alysa turned and looked at Giselde, who was watching her closely. Her grandmother… Alysa walked forward and knelt before her. She smiled into Giselde’s face and pressed the gnarled hands to her cheeks and lips. “I love you, Granmannie, and I am glad you are m
y grandmother. You will return to the castle when this is over?”

  Tears left the woman’s faded blue eyes and rolled down her wrinkled cheeks. “How I have longed to tell you the truth about me so I could share your life. I so feared losing you as I lost Catriona. Soon Evil will know defeat and all will be good once more. Do you forgive me?”

  “Yes, Grandmother, I understand everything and do not blame you. Even Father was misled, and he has paid terribly for his weaknesses.”

  “Gavin is here for you, my precious-child. Love him with all your heart and cling to him forever; he is your destiny.”

  Alysa beamed with happiness. “I am glad your words are true, Granmannie.” Alysa laughed and corrected, “Grandmother.”

  The two embraced and talked a while longer until excited voices reached them and told of Gavin’s return and the arrival of Bardwyn.

  Alysa looked at Giselde and asked, “What if he does not like me?”

  Her grandmother smiled and teased, stroking her granddaughter’s hair, “How can he not love you?”

  Alysa and Giselde headed for the cave entrance and halted there while the men dismounted. Alysa studied the man of seventy who was eyeing her with sharp green eyes that belied his age. But his snowy hair did not. Alysa was amazed by King Bardwyn’s sturdy body and agility, and she was awed by his air of dignity and power. It was obvious that Bardwyn commanded himself and others easily and wisely.

  Alysa started to bend her knee to the King of Cambria and Damnonia as he reached her, but Bardwyn caught her hand and prevented it. She said nervously, “I am honored to meet you, my liege.”

  Bardwyn chuckled and teased, “Can you not call me Grandfather?”

  A blushing Alysa glanced at the laughing Giselde before she looked into King Bardwyn’s gentle eyes and said, “I am more than pleased to meet you at last, Grandfather, and I am so glad you have come to help us.” Her joy increased when the elderly man embraced her fondly.

  “Come, let us sit and talk before we must speak of wicked matters.” He took Alysa’s hand and led her inside the cave. “I was a foolish man to make an oath that kept us apart for years. I pray you will forgive my stubbornness.”

  “My grandmother explained all to me this morning,” Alysa told him, glancing at Giselde and smiling with love.

  Gavin joined them, having finished his task with the men and horses. He sat down beside Alysa and they exchanged telltale looks. His keen gaze probed hers to see how she was feeling after her talk with Giselde; he smiled when her eyes told him she was fine. Despite the presence of others, Gavin clasped her hand in his.

  King Bardwyn chuckled and remarked, “I see you have carried out several missions here, Prince Gavin. Am I right in assuming you have captured my granddaughter’s heart?”

  “When this trouble is settled, I shall ask for her hand in marriage. I love her and must have her.”

  King Bardwyn looked at Alysa and asked, “Do you feel the same, Granddaughter? Do you wish me to bind your lives this very day?”

  “Yes, Grandfather, I love him and want him.”

  “This is good,” Bardwyn announced merrily. “I shall have my priest marry you tonight. If you two agree…”

  Gavin and Alysa were astonished by Bardwyn’s suggestion. It meant they could spend tonight together. Both said, “Yes,” at the same time, then all laughed.

  Bardwyn called in one of his guards and told him to alert the priest who traveled with them about a marriage between Prince Gavin Crisdean and Princess Alysa Malvern at dusk. Afterwards, Bardwyn commanded gently, “Tell me of the treachery that abounds in my son’s land.”

  Between Gavin, Alysa, and Giselde, the startling facts came forth. The many deaths and secret meetings were discussed, as was Alysa’s abduction. Gavin revealed all he had seen, heard, and done. Alysa did the same, distressing the King over his son’s treatment and danger. None of them doubted that Isobail was controlling Alric’s illness. Afterwards, plans for the battle were made.

  “The two men who were to bring messages to me finally arrived, two days before Sir Keegan reached me. I was already preparing to ride for Damnonia. They had been robbed and beaten by common bandits. One had a broken leg and could not be left alone, so they traveled slowly but steadily, finally reaching me with their grim news.”

  “We wondered what had happened to them, sire,” Gavin said.

  When Trosdan approached, Bardwyn looked at the elderly man with the snowy beard and reverent air. He knew who the man was from his garments and possessions—a flowing white robe, a large golden neck collar indicating high rank, sandals, a wand of yew with tiny bells, and a circlet of sacred oak leaves. Clearly the man with lucid blue eyes was a Druid high priest, a member of a religious sect that had been outlawed long ago. Bardwyn recalled how Druids were known as teachers, guardians of the law and history, healers, magicians, astrologers, and figures of power and mystery.

  Gavin related Trosdan’s skills, and King Bardwyn did not appear skeptical or scornful. Gavin went on to relate Giselde’s talents to Bardwyn, whose smile indicated the King already knew about them. “I was doubtful at first, but she proved herself to me,” Gavin said, telling how Giselde had removed his tattoo as proof.

  It was past dusk by the time they concluded the lengthy meeting. The priest was waiting outside to marry Gavin and Alysa. Bardwyn said, “This is only a brief ceremony to bind you two. Later we will have a big wedding with many guests and hours of feasting. I must confess why I want you two wed tonight: once the battle is over, I shall declare Alysa as Damnonia’s ruler. It will be easier for the lords and peasants and soldiers to accept her quickly if there is a strong man, a royal prince, at her side. Can you remain here with her, Gavin?”

  Gavin and Alysa understood his motive and accepted it. Within moments they were man and wife, and they spent the night in a crowded cave. Alysa gazed at the ring on her finger which revealed her as the daughter of Rurik and Giselde, as the last Viking Queen. She reflected on the two women who had worn it before her and prayed she was worthy of it.

  Before dawn broke, Gavin and Alysa and four of Gavin’s men were to ride to the castle and slip into the secret passage. They were to stay there during the day; then they were to rescue Orin and Alric, hide them in the passage, wait for King Bardwyn’s forces to get into position during the night, and open the gates for a surprise attack at dawn the next day.

  Alysa whispered provocatively to Gavin, “If we sneak into my chamber in the castle and lock the door, we could spend all day there alone. Surely there is no reason for anyone to come there tomorrow.”

  Gavin hugged her and grinned. “What a clever woman you are, m’love. This will help me endure the next hours without being able to touch my wife. To distract myself, I shall help pass along the plans to the other camps. Rest, for we have a busy night, and day, ahead.” Before Gavin left camp, he took three men and scaled the cliff above the cave. As instructed by Trosdan, they removed several rocks, which would have fallen and created a landslide that would have slain Giselde, thwarting her premonition of her own death.

  It was an hour before the sun arose when Alysa and Gavin sneaked into her chamber at Malvern Castle to fetch the extra covers for his chilled friends, after Gavin had checked out the room for safety and locked the door. After a talk with Gavin earlier, Weylin suggested they split into two groups so everyone could get out of their wet clothes and warm up for a while. Although the men were not fooled by this ploy, Weylin led Dal, Tragan, and Lann to the better section near the dungeon to make camp for the day and night. They stripped off soaked garments and lay them aside, for they had brought along their battle garments which had been wrapped tightly in cured leather to keep them dry along with some food.

  In case they had to leave this chamber quickly, Alysa and Gavin hurriedly washed away their dirty trail to and from the secret panel. She spied the tub of unused water which had been prepared for her last week and had not been removed since her escape—unused because of Moran’s intrusion and
attack and her hasty flight. Without delay, they stripped and bathed. Alysa encircled her wet head with a cloth to thwart a chill. After cleaning away their grime, they hurried to the inviting bed and nestled beneath the covers warming their quivering flesh. Gavin whispered in her ear, “I wish I could build a fire to dry your hair m’love, but it would be rash.”

  “I know,” she replied, squirming closer to his enticing frame.

  Gavin’s last words to the men filled her mind. He had entreated them to remember who they were, why they were here, and what their victory or defeat would mean to so many people. With love and pride, she sighed peacefully and looked into his eyes. “Surely this is all a dream. How else could I be wed to you, but lying here before such an awesome battle and thinking of nothing except how much I want you?”

  Both were keenly aware they had not made love for a week, and their passions were blazing fiercely. They were married, and yet nothing seemed different between them, unless it was the intense joy that came from knowing such a fact existed.

  They began to share kisses and caresses, leisurely ones. But soon their hunger for each other gnawed at them, causing their lips and hands to work feverishly and greedily. Later they could make love slowly and tantalizingly, but for now they had to feed their fierce cravings. They came together blissfully and labored until their minds spun with sheer rapture. Ecstasy seized them, soared with them, rewarded them, and placed them on a bed of serenity to rest.

  Each time they came together it was better, richer, more binding. Yes, both decided contentedly, they were perfectly matched.

  They whispered for a time, talking about Giselde and Bardwyn, and her “father’s son.” They dozed for a while, and made love again. It was nearly dusk when Gavin suggested they dress and join the others, not wanting to take too many risks by remaining there. Besides, soon they would be unable to see in the darkness, and dared not light candles or torches which could be sighted from the battlement. Alysa agreed with him, amazed by how calmly and blissfully they had used her chamber to consummate their wedding vows.