Alysa took a seat on a comfortable wooden bench to read the dismaying note again:
“Alysa,
A kingdom cannot have two rulers during a time of trouble. You have proven the people wish to follow you. I cannot relent to your destiny and I cannot watch it come to pass. Tell your people I am needed at home and have been summoned there by my father and king. Tell my friends I must be alone for a time. They will understand and accept my wishes. Do not seek me or worry over me. Let us test our love and bond by walking separate paths. We wed in haste and that changed my life completely. I need to recapture my joy of living and reclaim my prowess. For a time, forget me. Think only of defense and victory. If it is to be, we shall meet again.
Gavin”
Five
Alysa sat there a long time. She did not know where to search for Gavin. From his message, he had not even enlightened his friends to his strange departure. What would everyone think about his disappearance, even if she told the lie he had suggested in his note?
Alysa stood, went to a narrow window, and gazed outside. There was activity in every area of the inner and outer wards. So many people were present, and her responsibilities were great. Could she lead her people to victory? Could she survive without Gavin? Why had he done this horrible thing to them? Why had he changed so suddenly, so completely?
Deserted… Betrayed… The shocking and painful words echoed in her mind. She had been warned of this tormenting moment by Trosdan and in a subtle way by Gavin himself, but she had not believed it possible. Did he love her? Did he regret their marriage? Would he return?
There was a knock at her chamber door. Alysa hated to answer it and face anyone yet, but she knew she must. She opened the door to find Trosdan standing there.
The Druid High Priest remarked softly, “I sensed you needed me. The time has come, has it not?”
Alysa nodded. “Come inside, Wise One. We must talk.”
Alysa led the white-haired man to the sitting area and motioned for him to take a seat near her. Her blue eyes were bright with unshed tears and her face was pale with distress. Her voice was tinged with anger and anguish as she said, “You did not tell me I would travel alone because of my husband’s selfish betrayal. He is gone, Trosdan. I do not know where or why,” she remarked sadly.
The man did not interrupt as Alysa related Gavin’s behavior of late. She revealed his actions of last night and showed Trosdan the note he had left for her. She trusted this holy man and confided all to him. The old man read it silently, then returned his sympathetic gaze to her.
Tense, Alysa stood and moved about as she talked. “Why has fate changed him and taken him from my side? How can I win him back? I love him, Wise One, and I need him. How can I battle fierce enemies alone? What do I know of warfare and strategy?”
Trosdan smiled affectionately. “You have already proven yourself in battle, my valiant princess, as the Runes said you would. They do not lie. Did your dream not tell you what to do, and did you not follow its commands?”
Alysa looked surprised when the Druid mentioned her strange dream before the battle. Did the man see and know all things?
“Your powers are great. Believe in them, accept them, and use them. I saw his departure in my sacred chalice, but I could only prepare you for the truth. You must put aside your anger and pain, for they distract you. It is your destiny to walk this path alone; his departure could not have been halted, even had I warned you of it.”
Alysa refuted, “If I had not gone into battle as Gavin desired, he would not have left me.”
“Nay, he and the others would be dead, slain by those you slew. Our destinies are planned before our births. If we are stubborn and selfish and do not follow their leads, disaster results for us and for those we love. Do as you must, and all will be good again. You have conquered your first challenge and won your first victory. You are the sole ruler and leader of Damnonia, but the survival of all Briton kingdoms depends on you.”
“How can I believe such words?” she asked gravely.
Trosdan went to where she had halted near a window and grasped her hands. “Remember my words in the cave: You must be strong, Alysa. You must put your destiny and victory above your own desires and dreams. Your narrow path is set before you. Do not let anguish halt your journey, or all is lost. You have seen many die and suffer. If you turn away from your duty now, destruction and death will fill your land and others. Your people believe in you and will obey you without question. Their hearts have been prepared to accept difficult words and times, as has yours. You must do as Gavin said in his note, as he is being controlled and guided by his own destiny. Soon you will begin your journey. It is as it should be. You shall meet and love again, of this I am certain.”
Alysa wished she had the old man’s confidence and foresight. What if Gavin were injured or slain during their separation? What if he decided never to return to her? “I must know where he is, if he is safe and what he is doing. Mayhap there is a good reason for his behavior, one he could not reveal.”
“The Runes have not told me such things.” As he fetched his bag, the Druid suggested, “I will use the sacred chalice to see if it will respond.” Trosdan removed and placed several objects on a table. He poured a green liquid into a goblet, then chanted softly as he swirled it. Adding a sprinkle of yellow powder, the mixture sent forth wisps of blue smoke. Trosdan waved his hand back and forth over the chalice, causing the smoke to dance in the air currents and to fill his nostrils. When it ceased, he stared into the gently bubbling fluid.
Alysa waited eagerly for him to read the signs which only he could see. Her hopes were dashed when he lifted his head and shook it.
“They will not reveal such things to us. We must trust them.”
Alysa was disappointed and vexed. She said, “I must search for him, Wise One. He must listen to me.”
“Nay, if they wished us to find Prince Gavin, they would reveal his location. It is meant to be this way. That is why the gods and spirits hide him from our eyes, for he would halt you from the mission you must undertake. You have been prepared for this special moment. Your mother Ca- triona and your grandmother Giselde taught you the lan guage of your Viking people. We have practiced it for weeks, though most of the Norsemen speak the Celtic tongue. They learn from their captives so they can give orders during their raids. It is a powerful weapon which will aid your cause.”
Trosdan withdrew a small cloth bag, shook it, and tossed the sacred stones upon a table. He studied their etchings and arrangements. “Beware of a giant foe with hair that blazes as the sun. He seeks your heart and hand. He will help you fulfill your destiny, though he does not know this and does not wish it so.”
Alysa replied knowingly, “His name is Rolf. He led the attack at Daron Castle.” She repeated what Sir Teague and Thisbe had told her about the Viking leader, and of the stranger in a flowing robe.
“Yea, the man with Rolf is the Viking attiba. He is controlled by Darkness; he guides and protects Rolf. He is powerful and dangerous, Alysa. But there is another more deadly and treacherous than Rolf, and his wizard; a rival named Ulf. Beware of all three.”
“Will we battle them face-to-face?” she inquired.
Trosdan’s response was baffling. “If you follow your destiny, you will win this war with one great battle. Some of Isobail’s hirelings escaped into Logris. They know your land and can lead attacks here if we do not prevent it. The warrior you wounded has survived and escaped. He will prepare the others for your brave task.” Trosdan revealed his daring and perilous scheme.
Alysa listened carefully. If the plan worked, all would be saved without heavy bloodshed. She wondered if she was clever enough and brave enough to carry out her role in it. She went over his words from all angles. Knowing so much about the Vikings, she concluded it must be attempted, and soon. “I will do it, Wise One.”
“First, you must reveal Prince Gavin’s departure to his friends. They will be of great help while we are gone.”
“Lord Weylin is at Land’s End. He went to carry the news of Sir Bevan’s death to their friend Lord Keegan. Sheriff Dal, Sir Lann, and Sir Tragan have taken the Norse captives to Prisongate. They should return by tomorrow at midday. I will speak with them together. Until then, I will tell no one of my husband’s absence.”
“After they return and you speak, you must go to Prisongate to question and execute the Viking captives. As long as they live, they are a danger to you, your land, and our mission. They could escape or lure others here to rescue them. If but one speaks of you and the prince, our foes could guess our strength and purpose.”
“It will be as you say, Wise One,” she agreed. “Will you remain here and join my meeting with Gavin’s friends? They will be confused over his actions. They might insist on searching for him, or refuse to remain here under my command.”
“They will heed and obey your words,” Trosdan refuted. “I must return to my cave to prepare for our task, but I will return for your meeting. Worry not, my princess, for we will succeed.”
Alysa watched Trosdan pack his belongings and leave. She did not want to remain in the haunting chamber, so she dressed and went to visit the wounded men. They were glad to see her and their spirits were brightened. She chatted with each a moment or two, then left to speak with Leitis.
Alysa ordered the woman to make certain all present were fed and tended. She told the woman to serve her evening meal in her chamber, and said that Gavin would dine there with her after “his ride.”
Fortunately she did not run into Teague or Thisbe in the large castle, which consisted of four two-story wings, two lofty towers, the Great Hall and their private chambers, and a gatehouse of interlocked towers. The inner ward of lovely Malvern Castle was private, but the outer one was filled with workmen and activities, and was surrounded by a tall and thick battlement. Situated beside a river, many of the rooms boasted of picturesque views. Several villages and hamlets were within walking or riding distance, and many of their inhabitants were castle servants. The castle was strong and constructed well for defense. With its wells, orchards, vegetable gardens, and private stores, they could hold out against an enemy attack for months.
Not wanting to find herself in a situation where she would be questioned about Prince Gavin’s absence, Alysa returned to her chamber and locked the door. Soon, her meal was served. With little appetite, she barely picked over the mutton and vegetable pie and absently played with the warm bread.
She was restless and dejected. She put the food aside and strolled around the large room, stopping here and there to gaze out a window. From one, she watched the river flow, but its serenity depressed her even more. From another, she eyed the cool forest and longed to ride there, ride swiftly on Calliope’s back until the wind blew all worries from her head. How she missed Giselda, her grandmother, and needed her for comfort and advice, but the woman was far away and unknowing of her misery.
From another window, she saw smoke from chimneys which indicated villagers were preparing their meals, meals to be shared with loved ones. She leaned against the wall and gazed around the room. Prince Alric, her father, had occupied these chambers. He had lived and died here. Since her chambers in the south tower were too small for the married couple, she had had these royal chambers cleaned and refurbished for her and Gavin. Now, after only six weeks of bliss in them, she was alone, alone as Alric had been when Isobail had moved to other chambers while she plotted her treachery and evil.
“What shall I do, Father? I have been betrayed by love as you were. Must a ruler suffer so deeply for her people? Must their lives and needs always come before my own? I do not know if I am strong enough to bear this added burden. What if Trosdan is wrong this time?”
Alysa felt utterly alone. Gavin had vanished. Her parents were dead. Her grandparents were far away. Enormous responsibilities rested on her slender shoulders. She felt as if her vitality was draining away. She needed someone to help her, to hold her, to comfort her in this dire time.
“Why, my love, did you leave me?” she pondered aloud. “Was it so hard for you to accept me in your life? To let me rule my land and people? To allow me my destiny? To be myself? We had so little time together. Why did you not allow us more? We could have solved this matter together. From our first meeting, we were drawn tightly together.”
Alysa recalled what Giselde had told her about trying to cast a lovespell over her and Gavin. Had it worked, only to fade with her grandmother’s departure? Had Gavin loved her, or only been enchanted for a short time? If he had truly loved her, loved her of his own free will, he would be here with her this minute. If he did not love her, he would never return. That fear tormented her. She could not imagine life without his fiery caresses. She. possessed wealth, beauty, and royalty, and was desired by countless men. Why not by her own husband? she wondered, and allowed the imprisoned tears to flow freely.
Darkness descended upon Damnonia, and with it came silence. It was as if all living creatures were asleep, all except Princess Alysa. She lay on her bed, staring into the blackness above her. Evil was black and wicked. She longed for light and peace. She rose and lit a candle, and watched its flame glow in the large room.
“Am I truly like this candle, Trosdan? Can I chase away the evil darkness which threatens us?”
Alysa heard fluttering at one of her windows. She glanced that way and saw a bird resting on the wide sill. It dropped something and sang merrily before flying away. Alysa went to the window and lifted the discarded object. Mixed emotions consumed her. She was happy, but she was baffled. Was it a sign or a happenstance?
She inhaled the fragrance of the tiny bloom, a flower like those she had once left for Gavin in the hollow of a dying tree in the royal forest beyond the castle, an unspoken message between her and her mysterious lover. She looked in the direction where they had met, but only a dark covering could be seen. So many times she and Gavin had met secretly in that forest to talk or to make love upon a grassy bed. How wonderful and passionate those meetings had been. She longed for his safe and swift return. Could he be camping there while trying to clear his head? Nay, she decided, for she did not sense his presence nearby. Somehow she knew he was far away, and traveling farther away from her with each hour.
Alysa rested her damp cheek against the cool stone wall and gazed out the window, slipping into deep thought. She watched many destinies unfold before her mind’s eye, trying to understand her loved one’s motives and to forgive their past weaknesses. Her life had been filled with joys and sadnesses, with pains and pleasures, with victories and defeats. Love had provided the good moments, and evil the bad ones. If she was to have love and good restored to her life and land, she had to defeat evil. Was she, she mused anxiously, brave enough, clever enough to do so?
Destiny had taken control of her life long before she was born, back in a time when her great-grandparents met and fell in love. Connal, a tribal chieftain in Albany, had been taken captive by raiding Norsemen. Having proven his prowess and earned the right to survival under their barbaric laws and customs, Connal had been compelled to deceitfully join the Vikings to live to defeat them and return home.
While existing with his foes, Connal had fallen in love with Astrid, one of the two heirs to the Viking throne with ancient royal blood, and Astrid had returned that love. A hopeless union there, Connal and Astrid had fled her homeland, calling down the wrath of the Norsemen upon them and birthing a fated path for many to follow. With the other heir too young to rule, the Norsemen had sought their lost ruler with a crazed vengeance. Attacks on Albany had been numerous and bloody, but the lovers had remained safely hidden. Her grandmother Giselde had been born of that powerful but ill-fated love.
Years passed, but the crime of Connal was not forgotten, nor was the hunger for Astrid’s return. The time came when another warband sailed to Albany and brought with it a wild, sweet love for Giselde: Rurik, the other royal heir and very distant relative of Astrid. Rurik found Giselde irresistibl
e and joined her side. With his help, the Norsemen were again defeated and repelled. The Viking attiba, wizard, declared this second betrayal by a royal heir a bad omen, a curse which only the recovery of a blood heir could dispel.
A daughter was born to her grandparents, Catriona, Alysa’s mother. As a beautiful young woman, Catriona found a love of her own, Alric, the Prince of Cambria, one of the five kingdoms of Britain. Despite her parents’ misgivings and the Cambrians’ ill feelings, the lovers were wed. King Bardwyn, Alric’s father and the ruler of Cambria and Damnonia, made them regents of this principality which was separated from Cambria by water. Bardwyn had hoped the rulership would mature his son and help their people learn to accept the “mixed-blooded, barbarian” princess whom Alric had insisted on marrying, a woman whom the people feared would bring down the Vikings on them. Yet times and people were hard on her parents, and Catriona returned home to Albany for a visit.
The angered Vikings persisted with their raids and hungers. They struck again. Connal and Astrid were slain, as was Rurik, leaving only two women with royal blood. Catriona and Giselde were rescued by Prince Briac of Cumbria, a man who had loved but could not wed Catriona for • the same reasons Alric was advised against it.
After a lengthy rest and recovery at Briac’s castle, where Giselde first met Gavin at age five, Catriona returned to Damnonia and Alric, with Giselde as her servant to prevent the people’s fears and hatred and dissension. But Catriona had been away too long …
In a moment of weakness and despair, and doubting his wife’s love and return, Alric, bored and restless, guilefully had seduced Isobail, wife of a feudal lord with whom Alric was quarreling. Although Isobail never learned of Alric’s wickedness—a seduction which took place with the aid of potent drugs supplied to Alric by a sorcerer—she desired the prince as a means to obtain wealth, power, and high rank.
The Last Viking Queen Page 7