by Simone Pond
He stroked her pale cheek. “I’ve seen all I need to see. I was taken when I saw you covered in mud, but now … there are no words, my lady.”
Deirdre took her daughter’s hand and led her to her seat. “My daughter is wise, Prince Kieran. You do not yet know her. Looks can be deceiving. Come, sit and have supper with us. You might find that Evelyn eats like a pig and thinks like a goat.”
“Mother!”
“It’s best to know such things before making such important decisions. Besides, what do you think the other mothers would do if they found out the prince just snatched you up without giving any of their daughters a chance?”
“I can do whatever I please. I’m the prince of Verubri Castle!”
Deirdre remained flatly unimpressed. “Those wenches would burn my crops and set my cottage to flames with me in it.”
The prince sat down at the table. “But you could come to live with us. As a matter of fact, I insist that you do.”
Deirdre set down a plate of goat cheese, warm bread, and lamb meat. “Your majesty … while I appreciate your generous offer, I do not want to be taken care of. I’m quite well off on my own here. The food is warm; let’s eat now.”
She bowed her head and said grace, then the three ate their supper in silence. The room was filled with the sounds of silverware clanking against the plates, chewing, and the sipping of wine. Finally the prince set down his knife.
“I have an idea,” he said.
Evelyn’s face perked up. Deirdre continued drinking her wine.
“I will tell all of Ocelum that I’ve decided to pick two May Day ladies to accompany me to Verubri Castle for a ‘trial period,’ after which I will make my choice.” He stared at Evelyn and reached for her hand.
“Oh, Prince Kieran! That’s a brilliant idea! It will appear as though you gave both women a fair chance. Then nobody can place blame or punish you, Mother.” Evelyn stared across the table, her green eyes pleading. “Don’t you agree?”
Deirdre set down her cup of wine. “I don’t suppose my vehement opposition matters?”
“My lady,” said Prince Kieran, “I know from previous experiences the depth and proportion of your stubbornness. However, do you find it fair to force the life you’ve decided for yourself upon your only daughter?”
Evelyn watched her mother’s face soften along her sharp jawline, then tears glossed over her emerald green eyes. She quietly pondered the proposition, no doubt weighing every possible outcome and each repercussion. Finally, she gave a curt nod and stood up. Supper was finished.
“You will talk to the other women, then?” Deirdre asked.
The prince stood and gave a gracious bow. “Of course, I’ll work out the details. And tomorrow I will have a carriage sent for both ladies.”
Evelyn bounced with joy … until reality sunk in that she’d be sharing a long and arduous carriage ride through the mountains and over the peak, with one of the May Day Five girls. In fact, she’d be sharing more than just a carriage ride. They’d be living together in Verubri Castle until the prince made his final decision on who he would marry.
“Who do you think you will select to join us?” asked Evelyn as nonchalantly as possible. Please don’t let it be Ciara. Please. Please. Please.
“I supposed it depends on my discussions with the mothers. Regardless of who I select, my lady, I can promise with the utmost assurance that I will do everything in my power to bring you every bit of happiness you deserve.”
“I cannot imagine being any happier than I am right now!” Evelyn sang.
Deirdre escorted Prince Kieran to the door. “Best to get about your business. Evelyn will be ready tomorrow afternoon.”
He kissed Evelyn’s hand again and hurried off to begin his discussions with the other May Day mothers.
Dusk settled over the hamlet as Evelyn and Deirdre prepared for her journey the following day.
“Thank you, Mother! I promise to come and visit at least once a month. And if I do get asked to be his wife, I will always look after you.”
Deirdre kissed her daughter’s cheek. “It’s not me I’m worried about, my love.”
“Oh, Mother. Please don’t be somber. This is all I’ve ever dreamed of. To fall in love with a handsome man and live in a castle. My destiny is coming true!
Deirdre placed a worn leather-bound book among her daughter’s items.
“What’s that?” asked Evelyn.
“It belonged to your father.”
Evelyn flipped through the parchment, looking at the illustrations of warriors slaying dragons in battle. “What is this? A book of legends?”
“I believe it to be your true destiny,” Deirdre said. “This is why I’ve always opposed you pining for some prince and why I taught you a strong work ethic and values. Though, I know this is important to you and I won’t stop you.”
“My true destiny?”
“To be a dragon slayer like your father.”
Laughter spewed from Evelyn’s lips at the mere thought of wielding a sword. “Have you seen me working in the fields or with the goats? I’m a clumsy cluck! Not a day goes by that I haven’t had some sort of an accident or mishap.”
Deirdre smiled and kissed her daughter’s forehead. “I suppose you’re right about that. But I don’t want you to forget where you came from. Promise me you won’t forget the blood that pumps through your heart and runs in your veins.”
Evelyn tucked the book into her satchel. “I’m making a solemn oath to always remember my wise and clever mother and my dragon-slayer father.”
4
The next day Evelyn woke up at dawn, bursting with excitement from the anticipation of Prince Kieran’s return with the carriage. She prepared a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage, and bread for her mother, knowing it would be a long time before she’d be able to do something like this again. She pictured the castle and its many servants. Would she miss this simple life in the hamlet, working from dawn until dusk? The endless repetition of preparing and selling goods to her neighbors as well as nearby villages?
“Never,” she whispered to herself.
“What’s that, darling?” Deirdre asked as she entered the kitchen area and sat at the table.
“I was just thinking about what my new life will be like in the castle. I wonder what it will be like to have servants.” Evelyn set the plate of food in front of her mother.
“It will be a nuisance. You won’t have a moment of privacy. And though they may seem like they’re on your side, don’t trust any of them. Their allegiance is to the prince. Not you. Don’t forget that.”
Evelyn sat across from her mother and began eating. “Have you always been so intent on precautions?”
Deirdre nodded. “After the dragon burned down my parents’ cottage with them in it, I had to become strong and learn to survive on my own. I learned quickly that there are very few people you can trust in this world. Family is about the only thing you can.”
Evelyn didn’t respond, finding her mother’s attitude far too grim for such an early hour. This is exactly why she’s so lonely, Evelyn thought. The two ate in silence and afterward they cleaned the dishes and fiddled around the kitchen.
“What time do you think he’ll come?” Evelyn asked.
“It will take at least a day’s time for one of his carriages to arrive. I’d say by evening. You might as well get some work in.”
Evelyn nodded, and though it was the last thing she wanted to do on her final day in Ocelum, she knew it would please her mother. Working in the fields would pass the time and keep her thoughts occupied as she anxiously awaited the carriage that would take her into her new life.
And so the day flew by, as Evelyn got to work planting the seeds in the freshly plowed dirt. She sang to each seed just as she did every spring, asking for blessings over the crops. Abundance had always poured down on Evelyn and Deirdre. This was probably something else that rattled the May Day Five clan. The women and their daughters tried to turn the entire
hamlet against them, and had it not been for Deirdre’s powerful wine and goat cheese, among the other high-yielding crops, Evelyn believed they would’ve been thrown out long ago.
From around the bend, she heard the giggling of girls. Immediately, she knew trouble was making its way toward her … The May Day Five approached the field, standing on the other side of the white picket fence.
“Of course this is where you’d be on this monumental day,” Ciara said. “Working your filthy fingers to the bone. After all, it’s your destiny, Eve Queen of the Goats.”
The other girls broke out into a fit of giggles. All five wore colorful dresses and yards of ribbons in their hair. Each one was beautiful in her own unique way, but Ciara was by far the most remarkable of the bunch. Her long black hair cascaded like a flowing river down her back and her alluring eyes, which were bluer than sapphires, stood out against her milky white, flawless skin. Unlike Evelyn, who was muscular and sturdy, Ciara’s frame was slender and delicate. Despite her petite size, Ciara shook the ground like an earthquake. She was a fierce and deadly force, and one that Evelyn preferred avoiding.
Evelyn rose from her crouched position, holding on to her sack of seeds. “You’ve got something on your dress.” She pointed to the brown mud stain on the skirt of Ciara’s pale blue dress.
Ciara glared down, hoisting the material closer to get a better look, then shrieked at the other girls, “Which one of you did this?! Who is trying to sabotage me? You know it won’t do you any good to stay quiet. I always find out and when I do, your punishment will be three times worse!”
The four girls inched backwards to get out of Ciara’s stream of vicious fire.
“It looks like it was an accident,” Siobhan said. The girl had been brave enough to speak up because she was currently Ciara’s “best friend” but that changed weekly.
Ciara approached her best friend and spat, “You wench! You did this!” Then she shoved Siobhan so the poor thing fell into a fresh puddle of mud, soiling the entire backside of her dainty lavender dress. Siobhan immediately broke into sobs and Ciara—the dark-haired witch—picked up a large rock and slammed it into the puddle so mud splattered all over Siobhan’s face and blond hair.
“You’re vile!” Siobhan cried out.
The other three girls ran off, avoiding Ciara’s wrath.
“Hmm,” huffed Ciara. “One less wench to distract the prince from his true love.” She glared one last time in Evelyn’s direction, then stalked off toward the main hub.
Siobhan remained in the puddle, sobbing. Evelyn went to the fence and climbed over to give the girl a hand.
“I cannot … believe … she did that …” cried Siobhan.
Evelyn muttered to herself, “On tay a lee-on le maw-dee aye-rogue shay le dar-nid.” She reached down and hoisted Siobhan up off the ground and got her to her feet.
“What was it you just said?” she asked.
“He who lies down with dogs, gets up with fleas,” said Evelyn.
“She’s evil. Just this morning she was telling me her secret plans to sabotage Rhiannon, Abi, and Saoirse.” Siobhan looked at her dress and all the light in her pale green eyes went out. “If my mother sees me like this, she’ll kill me. I’m doomed.”
Evelyn took Siobhan’s hand. “Come on.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“I’m going to help clean you up. We’re going to make sure the prince can’t see anyone else besides you,” Evelyn said.
“But …” Siobhan stood still, struck with confusion and fear. “Why in all of Galicia would you do such a thing? I’ve been nothing but terrible to you and now you want to help me?”
“Let’s just say I’d much rather see you get into that carriage than Ciara.”
They laughed as they walked around the fence and headed back to Evelyn’s cottage, where she heated up water for the tub and washed the mud out of Siobhan’s dress and laid it out in the sun to dry. Then she helped comb out her long blond locks and set them so they’d dry in perfect curls to frame her angelic face.
“What about you?” Siobhan asked.
“I’m going to wear what I wore yesterday. My mother’s yellow dress.”
“But hasn’t the prince already seen you in that garment?”
Evelyn nodded.
“You don’t seem too worried,” Siobhan said.
“Well … I’m not.” Butterflies flitted around in Evelyn’s stomach. She’d never had a special girlfriend to share secrets with before, except her mother, and the excitement of sharing something so private with Siobhan was exhilarating. But could she trust the girl? She wavered back and forth, the jitters of anticipation becoming increasingly more difficult to conceal from her new friend.
“What in Galicia’s name has gotten into you?” Siobhan asked.
“Oh, nothing,” replied Evelyn.
Siobhan frowned. Evelyn didn’t want to lose the friend she had just become acquainted with and she certainly didn’t want to lock herself away in a prison of isolation like her mother. Maybe it’d be okay to share her news?
“Well, there is one thing …” Evelyn said pensively.
“I knew it! Do tell. I promise not to say a word!”
Evelyn felt a twinge of panic rise in her chest. An instinct, a sixth sense, or some warrior-like intuition she must’ve inherited from her father shot through her entire being. She knew if she spoke the truth about Prince Kieran’s decision that Siobhan would run off and tell everyone. And the first person would most likely be her nemesis, Ciara. She decided to hold her cards close to her chest and cobbled together something not far off from the truth. “Last night Prince Kieran told me stories about Verubri Castle, and I just can’t stop thinking about the possibilities.”
Siobhan’s eyes lit up with something that resembled surprise, but quickly morphed into envy. “He told you about the castle? What else did he tell you? He shouldn’t be sharing such intimate things with someone he has no desire to select.” She stood up and snatched the ribbons from Evelyn’s hands. “That’s not fair to the rest of us.”
Evelyn breathed a sigh of relief, grateful she had made the right choice not to share her secret with the girl. She bit back her opinions regarding the lack of fairness in their hamlet and how the May Day Five had chastised her relentlessly at any opportunity. Evelyn simply took Siobhan’s hand and squeezed it tightly, coming up with a way to redirect the conversation. “Oh, it was nothing. Just small talk. Probably just felt sorry for me, knowing he wouldn’t pick me to go to the castle. Come now, don’t get ruffled. You look stunning; the other girls won’t stand a chance against you.”
Siobhan smiled. “You really think so?”
“Yes! It must be so.”
Evelyn’s thinking was more wishful than realistic, only because she loathed the idea of sharing a carriage ride with Ciara, let alone a castle. Any of the other girls would be better than Ciara. She continued fussing over Siobhan’s hair and added some color to her cheeks and lips.
When Deirdre returned to the cottage in the late afternoon, she glanced at her daughter and Siobhan, shook her head with indifference, then went to work on preparing supper. Though her mother’s blatant apathy weighed heavily on Evelyn’s heart, she knew it was better to put distance between them. It would make her departure less agonizing. Leaving her mother wouldn’t be easy, regardless of the exciting new life that awaited her in Verubri Castle.
Her mother often said, “In this life, there is always one version of hell you must choose to live with.” Evelyn had only experienced many small sacrifices throughout her life—working the fields while the other girls were pampered and put on display for all to adore—but soon she would come to know what true sacrifice meant. Would the prince be worth giving up everything for? Only the days ahead would reveal the truth.
A knock at the front door startled the girls. Deirdre set down her wooden spoon and wiped her hands on her apron before proceeding to the door. She glanced one last time at her daughter and gave a for
lorn smile of defeat. Evelyn knew this was the last thing her mother had wanted for her, but she also knew it was something she had to do for herself.
A stout man with shaggy brown hair stood in the doorway. He wore the royal colors of green and yellow and he held open a scroll and slightly bowed to Deirdre. “Good day, ma’am. I’m here to retrieve your daughter, Evelyn. There is a meeting at the center of the hamlet to announce Prince Kieran’s final decision about who will be joining him at Verubri Castle.”
Deirdre turned to Evelyn and waved her over. “It is time.”
Evelyn jumped up with elation radiating from her ivory skin. She pulled on her cloak, then took Siobhan’s hand and the girls headed toward the door to follow the prince’s messenger.
Outside, the air had cooled down and the sun was beginning to set, but Evelyn didn’t feel the chill or the breeze or anything. She felt as though she were walking on clouds.
“Evelyn,” her mother called out.
She turned around, hoping to see her mother running after her with open arms and tears streaming down her cheeks. But all she saw was Deirdre standing in the doorway, holding up Evelyn’s travel bag, which they had packed the previous day. She ran back and took the bag from her mother’s hands.
“Goodbye, Mother,” she said with an efficient sternness.
“Goodbye, daughter.”
Evelyn turned on her heel and began to stalk away, but Deirdre reached for her shoulder. “Don’t forget who you are or where you come from,” she said.
“I won’t. I promise.”
When Evelyn caught up with Siobhan and the messenger, her friend studied her suspiciously.
“Why in Galicia’s name do you have a travel bag, Evelyn?”
5
It was a perfectly legitimate question. Why would she have a travel bag if the prince hadn’t made his selection yet? Fortunately, Evelyn didn’t have to come up with an answer because they had arrived at the center of the hamlet. The other four May Day girls stood gaping at Siobhan as she strutted toward them with Evelyn in tow, shock and dismay registering on their faces.