by Sherry Ewing
“Is it just me, or does it seem like ages since we’ve really sat and talked?” she asked them. Then Brie gave a muffled laughed. “What?”
“You’ve been naughty, sis,” Brianna replied with a smirk that said they all knew what had happened with Riorden and her. “Well…what are you waiting for? Spill the beans. I’m dying to know how he was.”
“Good grief, Brie, hush up, or you’ll embarrass Katie in front of Lady Amiria and Lady Lynet,” Juliana cautioned.
Amiria’s mirth bubbled forth. “Do not hold back on my account. I am married, after all.”
Lynet turned a lovely shade of pink and silently continued on with her task.
Their heads turned as one to Katherine and she regaled them with memories of her night with Riorden. She heard a collective sigh and could only imagine the dreamy expression her face held, since she felt as though she had laid her soul bare before them.
“It was that good, huh?” Emily asked, almost in envy, as she turned toward Brianna. “Maybe staying a virgin isn’t as cracked up as we’d thought it’d be.”
Brianna squeezed Emily’s hand. “Don’t be silly, Em. We both know, neither of us would dare what Katie has done before a ring was placed on our fingers.”
“Ugh...you make me sound like some horrible person with no values,” Katherine muttered in embarrassment.
Juliana passed the baby off to her mother and reached for Katherine’s hand. “No one thinks of you like that, Katie. We’ve just had time to talk while you’ve been…umm…occupied and have come to the awful realization you’ll want to stay here with Riorden, that’s all.”
Katherine stared into the faces of her dearest friends in the world, who all looked as if they were about to cry their eyes out. She opened her mouth to say something, anything that could change the situation, but before she could do so, the dam burst on whatever had been holding Danior’s temper in check.
The women watched in horror when he leapt over Gavin to reach Tiernan. Bodies went flying in every direction as Dristan tried to haul the men apart. Aiden pulled Royce from the fray and pushed the boy into Emily’s arms before turning to aid Dristan. And Katherine suddenly found her arms filled with a crying infant before Amiria pulled a dagger from her boot.
“Enough,” Amiria cried out with an abundance of ferocity. The men ceased their foolishness as she thrust her dagger in front of those who had dared to disrupt the room.
“I will say this but once, so you had best listen to my words. This is my home, and my children are in this chamber. Try something like that again, and I will see to it myself you are dispatched from Berwyck. If you are missing a few vital parts whilst you leave, so be it. ’Twill make little difference to me. Do I make myself clear?”
Dristan came to her and she shoved her dirk back into her boot with a huff of righteous indignation. He kissed her lips before she returned to her chair and began quieting her child.
Dristan chuckled at her quick transformation. “My dragoness has a bit of fire in her when it comes to protecting our children. You would be wise to heed her words. Settle your grievances with one another in the lists, where things of this nature belong.”
Danior and Tiernan both mumbled their apologies, but still kept a wary eye on one another.
The men came over to where the women now sat, and Katherine watched in amusement as each knight came to either sit or stand next to his lady. Obviously, much had occurred that she was not completely aware of, when it came to the affection evident with Juliana and Brianna towards the men who clasped their hands. Love was definitely in the air, and she saw she wasn’t the only one who had found it.
She felt the warmth of Riorden’s hands begin to knead her neck as if he already knew she was stiff from last evening’s exertion. It had a soothing effect as she began to listen to the conversation surrounding her and the dilemma that continued to trouble the group.
“We have gone round and round in our ponderings for a solution and still end up in the same place,” Riorden exclaimed in frustration. “I do not see how Danior can keep his head where it belongs, if Tiernan is allowed his freedom.”
“I would really like to keep my pate attached to my shoulders, thank you very much,” Danior muttered, clearly annoyed.
“You won’t take Tiernan to the king,” Emily protested.
“Easy now, lass,” Tiernan said in a calming voice. “I willna see this upset ye.”
“And I won’t allow Danior’s head to be severed and placed on some pike outside a keep! I’m rather fond of its current location,” Juliana cried out and pushed herself into Danior’s arms. Her sobs became muffled as Danior tried to soothe her, to no avail.
“Again,” Dristan said, “back full circle.”
Brianna stood up and began stretching after sitting so long. “Why don’t they just go back to Bamburgh and travel back to the future,” she suggested with a yawn as she sat back down in her chair. “That solves everyone’s problem, including Juliana and Emily’s, who really aren’t all that cut out for such primitive living conditions. No offense intended, of course.”
Katherine listened to Brie’s words in amazement. A look of astonishment splashed across everyone’s face, showing her they all wondered why no one had thought of the idea before.
Gavin leaned over and quickly kissed Brianna’s lips. “You are brilliant, my lady.”
“Well, it really doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out, you know,” she declared with a smile.”
“What is this ‘rocket’ you speak of?’ he asked puzzled.
“I’ll tell you about that, and more, later,” she whispered, reaching up and touching his cheek.
Everyone began speaking at once until the chamber was a mass of confusing conversations that, once again, grew in volume. Those from the twelfth century began asking those from the twenty-first how exactly they had been thrown back in time. They wanted details in order to, hopefully, ensure such a miracle could be repeated, or perhaps reversed.
“You just ran down the passageway and stairs holding hands?” Patrick asked in awe.
Katherine nodded. “Riorden had just left his chamber, and I made to follow him,” she began. “He looked so real that day. I still can feel the despair of my hand going through him, since he was just a ghost to my eyes. We were so close to each other, and yet more than eight hundred years kept us apart,” she whispered, with a tear in her eye.
Riorden gently wiped away the moisture from her cheek. “I had gone to the chapel to pray for her soul. God heard my prayers and answered them in a way that will forever humble us,” he said, in reverence.
“Remarkable,” Dristan muttered and walked over to his desk where the women’s future gear was displayed for his pleasure. “You will stay with him, Katherine?”
All eyes turned and waited for her answer. “Yes, my Lord Dristan, for you see, I love him.”
“You would give all these modern wonders up just for him?” Aiden questioned as he came to stand next to his brother-in-law, gazing at the marvels before him.
“They’re but things, Aiden, and sometimes, something so material is nothing compared to what matters the most in your heart,” Katherine proclaimed, and her lips were brushed with Riorden’s warm ones. Her heart flipped while she stared into his eyes. “I will never leave you,” she whispered.
“And what of you, Lady Brianna,” Dristan asked, already knowing the answer. “Will you also stay, and make your home here in the past?”
“In the past or the present, I suppose time is irrelevant, and it’s all a matter of how we now perceive things, isn’t it? Besides, we’ve already talked about it, Gavin and I,” she answered simply as she took his hand. “I’m staying, too.”
Dristan clapped his hands. “Then a double wedding it shall be.”
Katherine looked at him in surprise. “Excuse me, my lord?”
Dristan strode across the floor, clapped his hand down on Riorden’s shoulder, and then took her arm, ushering her over to the tabl
e. “You have my protection, but I fear you must wed, and soon, afore I do my friend there some injury he cannot recover from for taking liberties with my ward. The same holds true for Brianna.”
“I see,” Katherine answered quietly.
“You have objections that I rush things afore you leave so I may ensure you are settled?”
“Of course not, my lord.”
“Good. Lynet has agreed to work on your gowns, since Amiria is not so nimble with needle and thread,” Dristan replied with a laugh at his wife’s furious expression. He held up his hands, as if holding off her anger. “Well, ’tis true is it not?”
“Where is my sword?” Amiria threatened.
“Later, my love,” Dristan ordered. He went back to his desk and lifted a pen to make markings on a piece of spiral note paper. “You realize, all this must be destroyed, so no one would ever come across something so damaging.”
Katherine nodded and picked up her cellphone, feeling technology slipping easily through her fingers. No more driving her car, no more Saturday white chocolate mocha coffee, no more laptop to write her latest story, no more indoor plumbing.
“Lady Katherine…” Dristan prodded with a knowing smile.
“Huh?” She looked at him in puzzlement, since she had become lost in thought.
“I asked if ’twould be worth it.”
Katherine immediately sought Riorden, and the same intense look passed between them that spoke more than any answer she could have given. Riorden came and took her hand, bringing it to his lips as if he had read her mind. She returned her attention back to the group and began to explain the modern wonders of the twenty-first century to those souls from the past who gathered around her.
At one point, she felt Riorden’s hand upon the small of her back, and she looked at her devilishly handsome knight again from the corner of her sparkling, love filled eyes. Smiling, she knew without any doubt in her mind that Riorden would ensure she never regretted her decision to stay with him. She would gladly make any sacrifice, so long as she could remain forever by his side.
Yes, she thought. He is, indeed, worth it.
Chapter 29
A warm breeze blew in from the ocean, leaving a salty tang on the lips of the four women who sat on the sandy beach. Each lady was lost in her own troubled thoughts while they all held hands, savoring the feel of a sisterly bond that even time could not destroy. Although the sun was relatively warm, and Patrick’s laughter rang out while he romped into the waves crashing onto the shore, the women remained somber and silent. It was a testament to the overwhelming feeling of sadness they knew was inevitable with their impending parting.
“Are you sure, Katie?” Juliana said in her softest voice that squeaked with unshed tears.
“I’m sure.”
“But what if you change your mind?” Emily prompted, hope ringing in her voice that Katherine would come back with them.
“I won’t. My place is now here with Riorden,” Katherine stated with conviction.
“How will we know that you are, or were, happy?” Juliana asked.
Katherine finally turned her gaze from the ocean and looked upon her friends as tears fell down her cheeks. “You’ll know,” she said with the faintest hint of an elusive smile. “Somehow, I’ll find a way to let you both know that Brie and I never regretted the choice we made.”
Katherine wiped her face with the back of her sleeve and sighed heavily. One would have thought she’d be ecstatic, knowing by tomorrow she’d be married to Riorden. Inside, she was of course, but the thought of losing two of her closest friends certainly put a damper on the festivities.
“Do you really think it will work again, Katie? Are you sure they’ll make it back to our future?” Brianna asked hesitantly.
Katherine closed her eyes and felt a peace settle around her heart. “They’ll make it.”
“How can you be so confident?” Emily demanded bitterly.
Katherine shrugged her shoulders, for how could she truly explain it. “I just am.”
“Damn it, Katie! You’re just full of short little answers today, aren’t you?” Emily snapped. “I certainly hope you’re right. I’d hate to get thrown back into a worse time period than the one we’re in right now. You have no idea what I wouldn’t give for a hot shower.”
Juliana reached over and gave Emily a hug. “Calm down, Em. Everything will be alright, and we’ll have Danior and Tiernan with us. How difficult can it be to give time a little nudge?”
“You’re kidding, right? Going back to Bamburgh to try to slip forward into time, taking two medieval knights with us, is like asking karma to come and kick us in our asses,” Emily retorted in a shout. “It’s that whole damn fabric-of-time thing I always warn us about. We’re changing history, for God sake! Does no one ever listen to me?”
“You need to chillax and enjoy the day, Em,” Brianna said, trying to defuse Emily’s anger. “Just think about all the firsthand knowledge you’ll have when you get back to pour into your latest novel.”
“Ugh! Easy for you to say, Brie. You’re not the one traveling through time again.”
Katherine shielded her eyes from the sun and saw Tiernan and Danior hacking away at each other as they practiced their sword technique. “Tiernan,” she called out loudly, watching in satisfaction when he sheathed his weapon and came to stand before them.
“Aye, Lady Katherine?” Tiernan inquired. His sleeves were rolled up, displaying the strength of his arms, and he had a grin plastered on his face, showing how much he had been enjoying his training.
“Emily is freaking out and−”
“What?” he asked with furrowed brows.
“She’s nervous,” Katherine clarified. “Would you do me a favor?”
“Anything, milady.”
“Go take my friend down the strand a ways and kiss her senseless. If she tries to give you any more grief, then kiss her again until she forgets what had her so upset,” Katherine said, trying to hide her laugh.
“With pleasure, Lady Katherine,” Tiernan said. He grasped Emily firmly in hand and towed her down the beach. They couldn’t hear Emily’s words, but they could tell they were obviously heated when her balled fist rose up and she began shaking it towards them. True to his promise, they watched in amusement as Tiernan grabbed Emily and kissed her. It placated her only a moment before she continued her tirade. He repeated the gesture. She looked as if she may have calmed slightly, but then threw up her hands. This time, Tiernan took her completely into his arms and began kissing her once more. Apparently, the third time was the charm, for the women saw Tiernan finally had their friend speechless.
Katherine returned her attention to the sea and felt the calming effect that always came over her whenever she watched its waves crash into the shoreline. Without taking her gaze from the ocean, she at last spoke to Brianna. “So, my dear little sister, are you sure you wish to postpone your own wedding and not get married tomorrow, as well?”
Brianna smiled brightly. “Tomorrow should be your special day, Katie. If it wasn’t for you and Riorden seeing each other as ghosts, then none of this would have been possible. Besides, Gavin wishes to be married in Warkworth’s chapel. Since he’s not Lord Dristan’s vassal, the lord really has no say on where we should marry.”
“That couldn’t have gone over well with the Devil’s Dragon,” Juliana replied, with a slight shudder. “Have you seen that man fight?”
Brianna shrugged. “Gavin assured him that nothing of an…umm…intimate nature would happen between us until we were wed. He made Gavin prove his worth out in the lists.” She gave a short laugh. “I think Gavin is still hurting in places he didn’t even know existed, since he told me he had never trained as hard as he did that afternoon.”
“I guess that’s settled, then,” Katherine declared and saw the eagerness on her friends’ faces. She laughed for the first time that day. “Oh go on, you two. Obviously my sparkling conversation is not quite up to par today, and I can see where you�
��d rather be.”
Juliana leaned over and kissed Katherine’s cheek, and the two women practically flew in the direction of their men. They took them by the arm and headed in different directions on the beach.
Katherine had a sense of déjà vu as she now sat there alone on the sand with her toes peeking out between the small white and tan granules beneath her feet. The past week had been hectic with fittings for her wedding dress, but more important was the need for speed. Riorden had been summoned back to Bamburgh at the request of an angry king, demanding why he wasn’t at Warkworth. Their journey may have fit in with the long range plans of getting everyone back to Bamburgh, but it would have been nice to be able to enjoy this time while at Berwyck before they wed.
She looked up from ruminating about her concerns for the future, and this time, she knew she wasn’t dreaming as her own knight came to stand before her with Dristan at his side.
“May we have speech with you, Katherine, and invade your musings?” inquired Dristan politely.
“Is it okay if we walk?” she asked.
Riorden held out his arm and she gladly took it, along with Dristan’s, and the three of them causally strolled for several minutes. Katherine halted her steps and suddenly turned to look back in the direction of Berwyck Castle.
To say the castle was an impressive sight would be as if saying the Grand Canyon was nothing but a large hole in the ground. It sat high above on the mountaintop with the forest just far enough away that there would never be any question of an army invading Dristan’s domain unseen. The curtain wall reached down to the seashore, but only a fool would try to navigate the rocky cliff it was perched upon.
Katherine closed her eyes, and a modern day image loomed before her eyes of the devastation awaiting, not only Berwyck, but Warkworth, as well.
Tears flooded her eyes as she turned back toward the two men. “It seems as though I do a lot of crying these days.”