Scotia's Grave

by T L Harty

  Donogal took us into one of the apartments and they were beautiful. Windows and patio doors opened up onto the courtyard.

  “At this time, I would like to excuse anyone who isn’t on the council and invite you to select and move into your apartment. There are other guardsmen here already, if you need help.”

  Donogal led us to the very end of the hallway, where a window looked out to the back of the property. If there were any houses in the area, I couldn’t see them.

  “These are your quarters, my queen,” Donogal said, with a bow. “I’ll wait out here. Only council members or those you invite are allowed.”

  We entered the quarters and had our breath taken away.

  “Nice digs,” Benni said.

  The entire second floor of the building made up my ‘quarters.’ As we all were exploring and taking in the amenities, a knock at the door made most of us jump. Macy answered the door to find Donogal, with a letter in his hand.

  “I’m sorry. This needs to go to the queen. A matter of importance, apparently.”

  Macy grabbed the letter and shut the door.

  “You’re getting mail already,” Macy said. “You’re home.”

  We laughed and sat down in the living area, looking over the back of the property.

  “We need to plan for your third ceremony and seal you as queen,” Clio said.

  “Always the buzz-kill,” remarked Ann.

  “We do need to concentrate on making sure that happens before the eclipse in August,” Tina added.

  “We have plenty of time for all that. Summer has barely begun,” Tracy said.

  “Famous last words,” Macy countered. “Look at all we’ve been through to get to this point. You never know when something will go south, do ya?”

  Macy handed me the letter that Donogal delivered. I unsealed the envelope and began to read. The conversation in the room could be heard in the background as my eyes skimmed the words. Some sort of exclamation escaped my mouth and all eyes were directed at me.

  “What is it?” Clio asked.

  “Liam says he has a claim on me for marriage and wants to be wed immediately.” I rolled my eyes. “This sweat spell is ridiculous.”

  “Can I see that?” Asked Tina. She read the letter. “If what this says is true, you have no choice.”

  “What?!” Macy shouted, as she grabbed the letter out of Tina’s hands. Everyone waited for Macy’s assessment. “He says that you’re this Scotia he’s been searching for and that all three requirements have been met.”

  “Too bad we don’t have the Book of Deidra. There is a story about this and it outlines the three requirements,” Clio shared.

  “We have the book,” Macy said. “I took it long before Bridget left us. I knew something strange was going on and I didn’t know who to trust, so I gave it to Liam for safekeeping. Apparently he read it. There’s no way he came up with this on his own.”

  “The story is old and he could have easily heard it in school or from someone in his family. If we put our heads together, we can probably remember the three requirements,” Benni said.

  “You had to know that Liam was Scotia’s match,” Tina said. “Surely, you didn’t know about him.”

  I moved to the window and looked out, wishing to be anywhere else.

  “There it ends. She didn’t know!” Macy decided.

  “I met him when I was sixteen, but had no idea. In the years that followed, I had strange visions of someone who called me ‘Scotia’ and I called him ‘my king.’ I never saw his face, but I had an inkling when we were at Danu and the guard told us the name of Liam’s quest. I still couldn’t believe it until we were at the gravesite a couple of days ago and my vision finally revealed his face.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” Clio asked, almost pleading.

  “I didn’t have faith in my visions and I couldn’t trust my instincts.” I still faced the window, crushed by my own failure and lack of trust in both the council and myself.

  Tracy snapped her fingers, trying to remember another requirement. “You have to seal your union on hallowed, Celtic lands. You didn’t make love at the gravesite, did you?”

  “No,” I replied.

  A collective sigh ran through the room.

  “You’re speaking the truth, but also holding some back,” Tina revealed.

  I turned around and felt utterly ashamed. “Begnet’s Island.”

  “What the hell! Do you tell us anything?!” Macy accused. She looked around the room, with her arms raised out at her sides, posing the question to everyone. “Well, let’s hear it. What’s the third requirement that Muriel has achieved, so we can all be ruled by a man instead of our rightful queen? Anyone?”

  “Once we were settled here, I planned to tell you everything!”

  “Waiting was certainly the right call. Things are aaaaaaall working out!” Macy snapped.

  The historian in the room came up with number three.

  “The number three has to be involved. Did you make love three times?” Tracy asked.

  “More like five or six,” I answered. The room seemed impressed and relieved.

  “You can piss me off and make me smile within the same minute!” Macy said.

  The stiffness in my shoulders relaxed, but it didn’t last long.

  “Wait a minute,” Ann said. “How many lovers have you had?”

  “Technically four, if I include Delvin.”

  “No, no,” Ann pressed. “Of lovers that you have chosen, is Liam the third?”

  Everyone in the room knew the answer and what it meant. If we were a council ruled by tradition, we could not ignore the inconvenient or disagreeable parts of our heritage. I would become Liam’s wife. A queen, destined to rule would become a queen to be ruled. The prospect horrified me.

  “We need to get Deidra back,” I said, in desperation.

  “That’s not the answer,” Clio remarked.

  “Delvin told me that his mother sees visions of Deidra and that she’s not a dark druidess. And before you say anything,” I said, pointing to Macy, “I just found out about this less than 24 hours ago.”

  “Of course she’s dark,” Ann said.

  “You’re really reaching here, Muriel,” Tracy added.

  I shook my head. “Deidra was so excited for this life, but when she learned more, she wanted no part of it and ran away. Delvin’s mother told him that Deidra knew pretending to be a dark druidess was the only way we would let her go. We need to convince her to become our queen, especially if Liam insists on pressing the marriage. I will not have an opportunity like this ruined because of my carelessness.”

  “I think you mean horniness,” Tina said.

  “That’s not helping,” Macy scolded. “How can you explain the loss of the baby?”

  “I don’t have all the answers, but I’ll find them. She’s my daughter and if I abdicate the throne, she’s next in line. Could that work?” I looked at Clio, hoping for the best.

  Clio nodded slowly, while she mulled over my suggestion. “Well, Deidra would have to go through the ceremonies, but I don’t see why not. If nothing else, she can be a figurehead and we could carry on.”

  “We must have everything in place by Lughnasadh. That is the time where we give thanks for our bounty and Danu must already reign,” Benni announced, with a great deal of urgency.

  “She’s right,” Tina agreed. “Everyone will be in Kildare to celebrate the harvest festival August first and then the eclipse on the eleventh. It’ll be a busy time.”

  “Aren’t we all overlooking the easy way out of this?” Macy asked. “Let’s kill Liam and be done with it.”

  Benni started to laugh until she realized, from the mood of the room, Macy meant business. We contemplated the idea.

  “No,” I said. “If this is the way we solve our problems, we’re not a very responsible council. We’re smarter than that.”

  “But if things don’t go as planned…” Macy said.

  I gave her the answ
er she desired.

  “Then I guess we’re not left with much of a choice.”