“I will ready the pies. You and Annie can make and pass out the drinks.”
Lara walked back into the dining room and looked around at the men sitting talking in low voices at the table. Aodhan looked really upset as he was talking with Scanlon. Time to lighten the mood.
“Who would like hot chocolate and pie?” Lara heard all of them men say “I would”.
“There is mint, raspberry and regular hot chocolate and cherry and apple pie.”
“Can I have fries with that?” Kedryn asked and Lara let out a laugh, took their orders and walked back into the kitchen.
“Do you think she got all of that?” Scanlon asked.
“Worked her way through college as a waitress. She’ll get it right.” Kedryn said wondering if they even knew what a waitress was or college. Oh well, he thought.
“I believe we should get settled by the fire.” Eion said as he scooted his chair back and stood up from the table.
He walked through the kitchen and to an overstuffed chair by the huge granite fireplace. There was a hodgepodge of seating around it and the others took their places around Eion. Shortly after Lara and Annie passed out the hot chocolate and Shanna gave everyone a piece of pie. Lara looked at the décor and realized that even though the furniture didn’t match it went. It was just like the little sitting area in the cottage around the fireplace.
“Your sister’s style is exceptional. I’d love to meet her and talk design some day.” Lara said.
“Absolutely. Shall we start?” Shanna asked.
“I believe that since it is Annie’s first time hearing a tale from me that it would be only fair to let her decide which tale I should spin.” Eion said as he helped Annie up who was struggling to jump onto his lap.
“Badbsheba and Illian! Badbsheba and Illian!” Annie said.
Eion fluffed Annie’s hair. “Badbsheba and Illian it is.” Eion looked at Carrick. “I will leave the battle and seedier details of the story out. It makes it more interesting however considering the young ears I will make it as child friendly as I can.”
Eion heard the little girl let out a dramatic sigh. “I never get to hear the good stuff!”
“When you get older I will tell you the whole of the tale.” Eion laughed.
“Oh . . . ok.” Annie said dramatically.
“Good. Let me see how well I can spin this without the juicy details. It’s getting late and I know we all are exhausted.” Eion said as he looked down at Annie who let out a loud large yawn. She grinned at the frown he gave her.
“Pleeeaaaasssse. I am not that tired yet.” Annie said.
Eion patted her head and started his tale.
“This is a tale of love and intrigue. The shortened version I am afraid to say of Badbsheba and Illian.” Eion said as he took a sip of hot chocolate.
“Many moons ago, a beautiful child was born to one of the noble houses of Istrian. The babe was born of fiery red hair, porcelain features and striking emerald green eyes. Much to everyone’s disbelief the mother, Lady Ceara Ronan, bestowed her with the name of Badb. She was proud to tell anyone that she encountered that the babe may even be the war goddess reborn. Her husband quieted her crazy talk about that. To gush over a child is one thing on the other hand to claim that child is a goddess would wind her up in the dungeon with the rest of the loons. However, to calm her husband’s nerves, Lady Ceara added the mythical fairly queens name to her beautiful child’s name. Badbsheba was now the child’s name except for when the mother was alone with the child she quietly called her by her birth given name Badb.”
Eion paused and shifted Annie in his arms. He picked up his hot chocolate, took a sip and continued on.
“The war goddess Badb, who could sense when her name was called in worship or otherwise, had felt her name repeatedly come from the town of Istrian. This got her interest since not many had been to her temple in the glen to worship in years. She disguised herself as a feeble woman traveler and let herself be led to the manor house of the Ronan family where she felt her name. Badb was greeted by the Lady of the house who glanced at the stormy sky and to the old woman. After taking a closer look at the old woman she decided that she would cause no trouble and offered her food and shelter for the night.”
“As they supped Badb visited with the mother and child noting that the father was not there. She inquired as to why and was informed that the Lord of the house was away on business. As Badb held the babe in her arms she looked at her in wonder. The child was indeed the most beautiful she had seen. Badb advised to the mother that she should not take in any strangers while her husband was gone and the Lady looked at her with a slight uneasiness in her eyes. The old woman told her not to worry she meant no harm and was just concerned for her and the lovely child. Badb quietly mumbled some words and blessed the child due to the kindness Badbsheba’s mother had shown her.”
“After supper they sat by the fire drinking tea discussing meager events around the town. Before heading off to bed Lady Ceara’s tongue loosened and she ignored her husband’s warnings of lunacy. She told the old woman that she had dared to ignore the warnings of her husband and townsfolk. She quietly revealed that she was proud to say that she defied all tradition and myth and named the child after a war goddess. The old woman told her that she understood and that she was certain that the war goddess would not be offended by having her name being part of such a beautiful child.”
“In the morning Badb said her farewell to Lady Ceara and kissed the child goodbye. She left with a sparkle of amusement in her eye. No one had before dared name a child after a goddess for fear that the family or child would be struck down.”
“To the thrill of the mother, instead of wrath, Badb instilled strength, intelligence and love into the child. To avoid questions and disdain from her two sisters Badb told them that it was nothing. A mere experiment to pass the time between wars. Her two sisters had indiscretions that they would rather not have brought up so they let this little insignificant dabbling pass by unnoticed.”
“When the child was one year before the age to be married off, Badb had asked a favor of Sheba the fairy queen. She asked her to have some of her followers scour the earth looking for a perfect mate for the child. After months of frustration one of the fairies found such a boy in Wickleary, a town just nearby Istrian.”
“The Queen Fairy Sheba arranged a meeting between Badbsheba and Illian. The goddess couldn’t have been more pleased with herself. Sheba arranged that both Badbsheba and Illian would be in the glen near the war goddess’s temple the very next day. The two met and fell in love right away.”
Annie let out a giggle and he patted her head.
“The boy who fell in love with Badbsheba was Illian O’Leary. Unfortunately for them she overlooked that each family had a long history of skirmishes and intrigue. Both Badbsheba and Illian had to be very careful not to be found out. It was when Illian was told that his father had arranged a marriage to one of the local noble girls he came up with the plan to run off and get married in another town far away.”
Kedryn looked over at his mom and mouthed “Romeo and Juliet” making Lara grin from ear to ear. Eion stopped at the distraction and narrowed his eyes at Kedryn. He let out a laugh as Kedryn looked at him in wide eyed innocence.
“As I was saying.” Eion said.
“It came to pass that Illian’s father, Lord O’Leary, overheard Illian telling a friend about his plan to marry another while out saddling his horse in the stables. Lord O’Leary was furious and decided not to confront Illian right away. He came up with a plan and paid a couple of burly serfs that farmed his land to grab his son when he reached the stables the night he planned to leave and lock him in the wine cellar. He arranged it that one of their servants would go to Badbsheba and tell her that he changed his mind and did not love her.”
“Now the war goddess had kept a close eye on the happenings around Illian and Badbsheba and even visited the Ronan estate from time to time. She knew of Illian’s fathers plans and was frustrat
ed knowing that her sisters would strongly disapprove with her interfering with mere mortals. If they felt her do so they both would gang up and stop her. Badb decided on an alternate method and sent the Fairy Queen to help Badbsheba and Illian out. The goddess told the queen that Badbsheba’s and Illian’s love was the purest she had seen in centuries and couldn’t stand by and let it fall to ruin.”
“Before the tiny queen reached the girl the servant had told her about Illian’s plans to marry the other girl and he didn’t love her. Badbsheba was distraught and fled to her room grabbing a jewel encrusted dagger from under her bed. As she was ready to end her life she felt the dagger being lifted out of her hands and it floated away from her. Badbsheba saw one of the most beautiful and tiniest of creatures she had ever seen. The fairy queen introduced herself and told Badbsheba in her little bell of a voice that Illian had been locked in a cellar and that she must get to him before it was too late.”
“Badbsheba ran to the stables and grabbed her horse and sent it into run as she followed the Fairy Queen’s light. As they grew close to the O’Leary estate Badbsheba stopped her horse and tethered it to a nearby tree. She tip toed through the forest with the queen directly in front of her and after a few heart pounding minutes she reached the wine cellar.”
Eion stopped with his tale and looked down at Annie to make sure she was still awake. Her eyes were drooping as she fought to hold them open.
“It looks as if our little miss is close to falling asleep. I believe I will end this story as quickly as possible. Those who have not heard the tale before deserve to at least know its end.” Eion said as he looked at Kedryn and Lara.
“Badbsheba and the little Queen forced their way into the wine cellar and found Illian sprawled out on the floor of the wine cellar barely breathing with wine flasks all around him. It appeared that Illian tried to drown himself in wine by drinking as much as he could. However, he was a light weight and ended up passing out on the floor. Badbsheba had immediately run to his side placing his head in her lap. Shaking her head the fairy used her powers to sober him up and he woke in Badbsheba’s arms.”
“Badbsheba and Illian gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes. The fairy fluttered over the pair impatiently finally getting their attention. She told them that Badb has a plan and they must do whatever it takes to get both of their families to meet in the small glen just outside of the city where Badb’s temple of worship was. The couple was to stand at the foot of the statue of the war goddess in front of the fountain and profess their love for each other. Illian expressed his concern that both sides would most likely start a riot and kill them both.”
“The Fairy Queen assured them to trust in Badb and have faith in their love. She questioned them both if either of them doubted their love. Both shook their heads no. Sheba ordered them both to get up, clean up and to leave the cellar. As Illian hurried off the Fairy Queen yelled after him. Dress in your best young man! She also informed Badbsheba she was to dress in the palest blue dress she could find. Then flew off to the glen.”
Eion let out a huge yawn. “Apologies. This isn’t my best night for stories tired as I am.”
“No worries. We are all exhausted.” Kedryn said.
“I will skip over the bickering of the families and get to the good part, the ending.” Eion said.
“Badbsheba and Illian met in the glen. She had put on a pale blue ball gown that she had bought to wear to the next coronation ball. They both stood and faced everyone and both at the same time declared their love for each other. As the crowd was about to protest Badbsheba and Illian turned to each other and kissed. It was the most passionate and pure kiss anyone had ever seen and the war goddess blessed the moment. A bright bluish white light surrounded the couple and fell like feathers over the crowd. Any animosity that was felt by both sides slowly flowed away. Illian’s father and mother came up to them and greeted their soon to be daughter-in-law with much love as did Badbsheba’s mother and father. The feud between the two families fell away and they all lived happily ever after. The End.”
“That ended much better than Romeo and Juliet.” Lara said giving Kedryn a knowing grin.
“Romeo and Juliet?” Aodhan asked
“A tragic love story from my realm. I’ll tell it to you sometime. I’d love to hear the whole version of this story though.” Lara said.
“I believe we have a copy of the whole tale in our library in Quenith. I will have a servant pull it for you to read.” Aodhan said as he absently pushed a strand behind her ear.
Shortly after finishing up their pie Annie lay fast asleep on Eion’s lap. Shanna picked her up. Lara leaned to the side and watched her walk past the fireplace into a small hallway that led to a wide and winding staircase that she hadn’t noticed before. As Shanna was putting Annie to bed Lara sat around listing to the conversation around her not really paying attention to anything until she heard Eion bring up Bevin. She listened trying not to look too interested.
“I am surprised that you are betrothed. How did your father talk you into that one? It was not by your choice I am assuming.” Eion said as he looked at the annoyed look on Aodhan’s face.
“Bevin is how much younger than you?” Scanlon teased.
Aodhan glared at him and glanced Lara’s way. He sat forward on the cushioned bench he was sitting on and stretched his arms out in front of him. He stole a quick glance at Lara.
“It was not my choice. Not Bevin’s either. She was pretty upset I heard she tore her whole bedroom up. She has had her eye on someone else for some time now.”
“I think it was me.” Scanlon said laughing and added “When I heard you were betrothed to Bevin, I was breakin’ myself laughing. You might as well be marrying your sister. If you had one.” Scanlon ducked as Aodhan reached over to smack him on the back of the head.
“What was Blaine thinking?” Eion asked
“Father thought that if I married one of the Milesian noble’s daughter’s that a truce could be agreed upon with himself and Tormey and the strain between the two territories would be lessened. That’s politics for you. I went along with for father’s sake since I had not found anyone who had won my heart. I suppose I just gave up.” Aodhan said still giving Scanlon an annoyed look.
Scanlon raised his arms palms up as if giving him a peace offering and gave Aodhan the most innocent look he could muster up.
“What did Orla think about this?” Eion asked.
“Mother was not too thrilled at first. She has been giving me grief for years about getting married. She says she is not growing any younger and would like some grandchildren. She supported my father and his plan in the end.”
Eion grinned at that and decided to change the subject. He turned the conversation over to Scanlon. “How are the negotiations going with Liam?”
“When I had left camp runners had been already sent out to Liam’s camp but had not returned yet. I guess we will find out when we get there tomorrow.” Scanlon said.
Lara looked at Kedryn as he yawned and watched as it became contagious with the men around her. She yawned herself and stood.
“I think it’s time for bed boys. We have a big day tomorrow.”
Lara bid everyone good night and headed out the front door taking the small cobblestone path that led around the garden and back to the cottage. Kedryn followed her out with Scanlon, Aodhan and Eion behind him. He heard footsteps walking away on the dirt and hit the cobblestone path. He glanced over to see Aodhan catch up to his mom before she got to the cottage door.
Kedryn overheard Aodhan ask his mom. “Lara, can I have a word?” and watched his mom as she eyed Aodhan suspiciously. He heard her say “Ok” and he watched as she turned and walked into the cottage followed by Aodhan.
Kedryn paused for a second and Scanlon stepped up beside him. Scanlon followed his eyes and looked at the worry on Kedryn’s face. He clapped him on the shoulder.
“Do not worry about your mother. Aodhan is ever the gentlemen. That is probably why he�
��s not married.” He joked.
“I suppose mom’s a big girl. She will deal with Aodhan how she thinks best. I just don’t want to see her get hurt again. She’s been through way too much.”
Eion looked at them both and yawned. “Orla always thought you would never get married Scanlon. She said you were the rascal of the group.”
“I was the first to get married and then Devlyn.” he said.
“Who ended up winning yours and Devlyn’s heart?” Eion asked as he stopped them before the barrack door.
“Serina O’Connell caught my heart.” Scanlon said as he grinned at the thought of his wife and couldn’t wait to see her again. His face turned to a frown as his thought of Devlyn.
“Caitlyn O’Riley caught Devlyn’s. She was a nice enough girl. I think he was settling. You know as well as I do that Devlyn has always been way too competitive. It was mainly just with Aodhan. I never thought he’d do it with me.”
“Now what did Devlyn do? Not another practical joke. Was it?” Eion asked and Scanlon let out a small laugh.
“Nothing like that. He tried to set his wedding date before mine and Serina’s. Caitlyn and Serina were best friends and caught onto what he was doing. Caitlyn told Devlyn she wouldn’t have her marriage turned into a competition. She talked Devlyn into having their wedding later in the year.”
Eion looked at Scanlon’s face and realized he used the past tense with Caitlyn. “Why the long face? What happened?”
“Caitlyn was riding to town one day and her horse got spooked. She fell off and was killed. Serina was devastated. She was supposed to ride into town with her and decided to stay at home. I never thought Devlyn would ever get over it. Then Fand showed up.”
Eion let out a yawn. “I am sorry to hear about Caitlyn. I dislike leaving a story unfinished although I believe we should head to bed.” Eion glanced at the cottage. “Do not fret about your mother. We are all grown up’s here. Even you.” He winked at Kedryn as they said their good nights before heading off to bed.
At the cottage Lara stepped through the door with Aodhan following close behind her. She walked over to the fireplace to warm her hands and heard the click of the door as Aodhan shut it. Annoyed she pushed some hair behind her ear.
Celtic Rain (The Battle Raven Series) Page 18