Highland Raven

Chapter 18

In late September, we heard the sound of hooves coming toward the coven. Madelaine’s red hair shone through the trees, most of their leaves now fallen. Uald and I had been practicing at swordplay in the coven square while Sid watched on. Dressed in riding breeches and a night shirt cut off at the waist, I was a little embarrassed to have Madelaine see me. Not to mention, I was completely soaked in sweat.

“Seems I’ve left my niece here too long already,” Madelaine said with a smile from atop her horse. “She’s a doppelganger of you!” she told Uald with a laugh.

“Even worse,” Uald said. “She’s already better than me.”

I slid the sword into its scabbard and crossed the lawn to join my aunt. I smiled at Uald’s compliment. It was an elaboration, but my daily sparring had improved a lot. I was getting good. I held Madelaine’s horse’s bridle while she dismounted. She practically leapt from her horse, catching me into a fast hug, squeezing and kissing me.

“I’ve missed you so much,” she told me.

“Me too,” I replied, kissing her cheek.

Madelaine cupped my face in her hands and studied me. “How beautiful you are.”

I smiled back at her then turned to Sid. “Madelaine, have you met Sid?” I asked, turning to Sid who had, apparently, been talking to Nadia. When I said her name, Sid ended her conversation with the invisible fairy woman, frowning at her with annoyance.

Sid smiled. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

Madelaine took Sid’s hand and smiled at her, but I saw Madelaine’s brow furrow as though she was puzzled. “Have we met before?”

Sid smiled knowingly. “No, we haven’t.” Sid then frowned and shushed Nadia. “Not now,” she whispered to her invisible companion.

Madelaine looked puzzled.

“Epona is out riding,” I said. “She should be back soon.”

Uald, also drenched in sweat, caught Madelaine up in her arms, lifting her off the ground.

Madelaine laughed loudly. “Put me down!”

Sid then fell into an argument with Nadia. The fight ended when Sid sighed loudly. “I’ll be back soon,” Sid told me then headed off into the woods.

“Come. We’ll wait for Epona,” Uald said, motioning to her little home at the back of the smithy. I tied Madelaine’s horse to a post then followed Uald inside.

Uald slid her tools into a box, wiping the table clean with her hands, then motioned for us to sit while she poured us both an ale.

“There is much to say,” Madelaine intimated with a serious look on her face. She took my hands. “Alister is dead, and I have been remarried.”

Uald slammed the mugs down angrily. Ale sloshed over the top. “They treat you like a common whore, pushing you on one man and then another.”

Madelaine looked at her with soft eyes. “It is the way of things.”

“To whom are you married?” I asked.

“To the Mormaer of Fife. He is an old man, kind and sweet, enamored with his new, young wife.”

I smiled and squeezed Madelaine’s hands. Alister was dead. My vision was true. He was dead. And I had killed him. I had released Madelaine from her pain and punished a man most deserving of punishment.

“So Fife and Lothian are now locked,” Uald grunted as she threw herself into a chair. She propped her feet up on the table and drank deeply from her mug.

Madelaine nodded.

“Who made the marriage match?” Uald asked.

“King Malcolm,” Madelaine said, “and he asked after you, Corbie.”

It took me a moment to respond to that name.

“Ah, you would no longer be Corbie, would you? What do they call you now, my sweet?”

“Cerridwen.”

Madelaine thought it over. “A dark goddess. It fits you. Your father would be proud,” she said with a smile.

The thought that my father would be proud of me made me smile, but the notion that the King was making inquiries had made my heart beat faster, and worry gripped my stomach. “What did King Malcolm ask?”

“He asked your age, your looks, your welfare, and your whereabouts.”

“He’s considering marrying her off too?” Uald hissed.

“He’s planning.”

“Did you see Duncan?”

Madelaine nodded. “He’s fair-haired and gangly. I’m not sure there is much of a mind rattling behind those eyes. His mother was always dim-witted. I don’t see any of the MacAlpin blood in the boy.”

Duncan was not the black-haired man I had seen in my cauldron, then. I had wondered, given it was known Duncan was slated to be king, if he was mystery phantom who’d haunted my visions. But if the raven-haired man wasn’t Duncan, who was he?

“I’m glad your new husband is kind,” I told Madelaine and shifted, unsure how to broach a new topic but wanting badly to interrupt the last. “Aunt, there has been an inquiry for my hand in marriage.”

“An inquiry? How? From who?”

Uald smiled smugly but lifted her mug of ale so Madelaine wouldn’t see.

“A druid…a young man who visited here. I was quite taken with him. He will be the Thane of Lochaber. He has asked that he be considered.”

“You told him who you were?” Madelaine looked alarmed.

I shook my head. “Only that I am from a noble house, like him.” I smiled as I thought about Banquo. If the marriage could be arranged, I could travel to Lochaber with Banquo after Samhain.

Madelaine smiled softly. “You are young, my dear. At your age, the flame of love can fan quickly. There are many lords who are inquiring for your hand. And many lords with titles far above Thane of Lochaber.”

I frowned at Madelaine’s words. I was young, and Banquo and I had just met, but that didn’t mean what I felt wasn’t real. “It is a noble and powerful house.”

“Ruled over by Gillacoemgain, Mormaer of Moray, who is also unwed and has begun making inquiries. I don’t know Malcolm’s plans, but there is great strife in the north. Thorfinn the Mighty, as they call him, is gaining power over the northern-most provinces but is backed by Norway. Something will be done to quell him, by war or marriage.

She took a drink and continued, “And Thorfinn fosters Lord Macbeth, your cousin Donalda’s son. With Macbeth’s father dead, at the hands of the Mormaer of Moray mind you, he too holds sway in the north. The matter is desperately convoluted.

“But what I know for sure is that Duncan, Macbeth, Thorfinn, and Gillacoemgain are all unwed. All four have a claim on the north. All four would be a strong marriage match for the daughter of Boite. And all four would rule over the Thane of Lochaber.”

“But…I love him.” It was true. I did love Banquo. He was my soulmate.

“What is his name, this druid who has charmed you?”

“Banquo.”

Madelaine looked at Uald who was smirking. “Well?”

“He is a good lad, and he is a druid. And he bears the marks of the stag god. He is well-suited for this dark goddess, and the two of them would be a stronghold for our faith. Ignore the duties of your line and follow the duties of your religion. Move Malcolm. Convince him on the match. Cerridwen is right. Lochaber is a strong province and a good ally. Perhaps the king would consider it since love is involved.”

“Malcolm is not moved by sentiment.”

“Let Malcolm take the north by force. Lochaber could stand with him and raise the isles, their ally, to Malcolm’s banner.”

Madelaine looked thoughtful. “He doesn’t know who you are? You are certain?”

I nodded.

“That helps. Malcolm has enough of the old blood in him to hear me out. He knows where you truly are. He will understand how you and this Banquo came together. I will do what I can. Lochaber has always been friendly to our line. Their Thane would want the marriage for his son, but I cannot promise anything. My Little Corbie, you must realize you are the last gem in Malcolm’s treasure chest, the last little bird he can marry off to win him an alliance. You must not get your hopes up, but I will do my best.”

I sighed heavily.

Madelaine took my hands and smiled gently at me. And I realized, for the first time in my remembrance, no ghosts lived behind her eyes. I saw no bruises anywhere on her. It was finally over. I was happy for her, but I worried for myself. Surely, Banquo and I were meant to be together. Nothing could stand in the way of such old soul magic, could it?

Epona arrived a few hours later. Madelaine shared her news with her.

“I will be moving my household to Fife. Malcolm will put someone from Alister’s line in place. I won’t be far, but when you return, you will come to Fife.”

“So the Thane of Fife has another wife,” Epona said. “His history with his brides is not good.”

“I am his fifth wife, but he is not Alister. I quizzed the household women hard on the matter. All the others died in childbirth, by accident, or in sickness. There were no questions, just misfortune. The Thane is a fat old man looking for a pretty woman to sit beside him and tell him jokes. He has done his duty in the bedroom once or twice but doesn’t seek it. He is in his gray years. He seeks a companion.”

“Speaking of? What of Tavis?” I asked.

“He is part of my household. He will accompany me to Fife.”

I smiled. I was so glad.

It was late in the evening when Madelaine finally took our leave.

“I promise you I will inquire as soon as I can on this matter with Lochaber,” she told me.

I kissed Madelaine on the cheek then buried my nose in her hair. I had missed her smell; she smelled like hyacinths and home.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too,” I replied.

Madelaine, accompanied by Uald, who would journey with her to the stream, rode out of the coven.

I sent a silent prayer out to the Goddess: let the King be swayed. Let me marry the Thane of Lochaber.

The only reply I got in return was silence.