The Heart of the Falcon: The Guardian Maidens Book 3

by Marilyn Foxworthy

  Gerald smiled and said, “Anne, he’s right. Village hag or not, if Ronin says she’s young and beautiful and a good mate for him, then I bet we see it’s the truth soon enough. I like the explanation that there has always been a Shaheen, and in every generation, the name gets passed on when we aren’t looking. And now, the girl has found a man worthy of her and she comes out of her hidden temple and finds happiness. On the other hand, I also like the idea that The White Falcon was a beautiful princess, but cursed to live as a hag for centuries until she could find a prince to love her in spite of her curse, and when he fell in love with her, the curse was lifted and she transformed once again into a young princess and she will arrive on a unicorn for dinner later this week.”

  Anne laughed and said, “Gerald, you and your unicorns. Ronin, he told us that he’s raising unicorns in the burro stable for the children to ride. OK, I give up. I have been a simple farm woman all my life and Adventurers, giant rats, Kobold monsters, and heroes are new to me. Next, you’ll tell me that you and your princesses are all descended from the old Elves and have magick powers. You found a lovely young girl for your house and call her Shaheen. That’s enough for me. But boy, when will you stop? Seven?”

  I said, “I stopped at one. I stopped again at two. The third one jumped me when I wasn’t looking. So did the sixth. The fourth and fifth were thrust upon me by Gerald and Jean and Lucille if I remember right. Well, in a way, Shaheen was sixth, but that isn’t important. I mean, she decided to be with me before Lucy, but Lucy and I mated first. But what I’m saying is that I stopped before we ever got started.”

  Anne laughed and said, “And what about number eight? Who will that be?”

  I laughed and said, “Oh no! I’m fine. No more.”

  Gerald said, “Unless the situation calls for it, of course. But let’s go back to the beginning. Lucy is happy now and she will stay with Ronin and the Seven Princesses. I’m glad. And neither Ronin or I will feel ashamed in the least for how it happened. It all happens the way it needs to.”

  Chapter 5 - The Meaning of Names

  I said, “Oh, do you have a custom here where when someone starts a substantially new life, because they have a new family or whatever, they take a new name?”

  Gerald said, “It’s rare, but I’ve heard of it.”

  I said, “Well, it’s common where I’m from. In fact, Dawn is the name I gave her when she was rescued. She said that her old life was dead to her and that I should give her a new name for her new life. I don’t know what her old name was. She has never told me.”

  Jean said, “That’s so kind. Dawn was so close to death and so tortured in both body and mind, it’s a kindness and an act of love to give her a new start.”

  I said, “Well, in a way, your sister is a new woman as of today. I think that you’ll see that she’s different when you see her again.”

  Jean said, “So you’ve given her a new name?”

  I said, “Well, yes. For many reasons. She was Lucille when she was with her first husband, and when she took care of Harmony and Delilah as a widow, and while…”

  Jean finished my sentence, saying, “While she was here with us, trying to be Lucille, a farmer’s wife, rather than who she really is…and while she was the teacher of women in the village, in charge and full of wisdom. So, is she different now? This is a good idea. She was so strong as a widow. In some ways, too strong to be a partner. Is that why she has a new name?”

  I said, “I think that’s why she was excited to have a new name when I told her that I was changing what she would be called. If she had balked at the idea, I would have backed down and made a joke of it, but she seemed thrilled. Especially at the name I had chosen.”

  Jean said, “And who is my dear sister now?”

  I said, “Her name is Stacy.”

  Gerald said, “Stacy? Jean and I know something of names. I suppose that you chose it for a reason? That you chose it for its meaning, not simply because it sounds pretty. Anastasia, the reborn or resurrected. And Stacy, the fruitful one? Or fruitfully reborn?”

  I said, “Yes.”

  Jean smiled and said, “Oh, that’s so perfect. Well done. I wouldn’t have thought of how perfect it would be for her to have a new name and a new life, but now that you say it, it seems obvious. Like a treasure chest opened by surprise. Stacy. I love it. What are the others? Valeera.”

  Gerald said, “Brave. Or strong, I think. Dawn is daybreak, of course. Harmony is obvious as well. Alice means what?”

  I said, “Well, I didn’t choose that name for her, but it fits. My clan would say it means Noble and Sweet. I think it fits her. Brenda would be a torch or beacon on a hill.”

  Jean said, “And Stacy we talked about already. And Shaheen is a Shining White Falcon. Will you give her a new name? If she exists, I mean.”

  I said, “I hope not. I love the name for some reason. I love saying it. Shaheen. It wasn’t her given name though. She chose it herself at some point. But I would love it if she keeps it.”

  I heard Shaheen’s voice in my head say, “Ronin, do you ever stop making us feel loved? I am so fucking your brains out as soon as I get the chance. But trust me, you’ll be awake for every second of it.”

  I laughed and said, “So that’s it.”

  Jean said, “And the opening buds of spring. That’s what April means. Alice’s daughter.”

  I said, “Thank you so much for everything. I should go. I have a lot to take care of today. Thank you so much. This certainly hasn’t been the day that I expected.”

  Gerald said, “Thank you Ronin. It’s all cleared up now. Tell Lucy, I mean Stacy, that we love her and she’s wonderful and we’re happy for you both, and that we have nothing but joy that she’s with you now.”

  Jean said, “And next time, don’t pass out so that you can show her what kind of man you are when you’re awake to take part in the lovemaking.”

  Jean and Gerald hugged me and said goodbye, and so did Anne when it was her turn. I bid them a good evening. Gerald offered to walk me at least part way back to the village, but I told him that unless we had more to talk about, that I would prefer that time alone to think about my new circumstances. He smiled and agreed that it was probably best that I have some time to myself, and I walked away with a smile on my face.

  Of course, I wasn’t alone. Shaheen was right beside me, but essentially invisible because of the cloak that she wore. We were still in sight of the farm house, and she kept it on for now. There was no real need to, since Gerald and the others now knew that Shaheen was part of my family, so if they saw her with me, it would be entirely natural. But then I remembered that Shaheen was completely nude under her cloak and that we really should wait until we were completely alone before she revealed herself. I looked forward to the revealing.

  I used the time to take a closer look at the cloak that she wore. It wasn’t easy to even look at. Somehow, I didn’t understand how, but it mimicked the terrain in a way that provided a very effective camouflage. Even standing up and walking casually through the fields like this, all I saw was what seemed to be the dirt, some plants, some hills in the distance, and a bit of the sky. But not really. What I actually saw, if I concentrated on it was a fuzzy outline of a cloak shaped object that constantly shifted with all the colors and patterns of the dirt, plants, hills, and sky. It was like a mirror that showed what was behind it rather than in front of it. I could see it, if I looked very closely, and knew exactly where to look, but it had an unsettling effect. It was as if it didn’t want me to look at it, and I didn’t want to look at it. If I hadn’t been trying to see it, my mind might have turned away from it, just to save me the discomfort. When I dropped my concentration, looking at it caused an uncomfortable nausea that encouraged me to look anywhere but directly at it.

  Shaheen and I had stayed silent as we walked away from the house, but we were out of sight of the others now.

  I said, “Shaheen, you can come out in the open now.”

  There
was a fluttering of fabric, and Shaheen’s wonderful body appeared next to me for a fraction of a second, and then she was covered up again, this time in a plain gray cloak. She had taken the garment, turned it inside out, and put it back on so quickly that I hardly got a peek at all. I was very disappointed.

  Shaheen saw the look on my face and cocked her head in thought at what might have caused me to look that way. Slowly, she opened her cloak and let it hang open from the shoulders. I had been hoping for more, but this was something at least.

  She grinned slightly and said, “Elf Boy! You actually do think I’m attractive! Well, OK, if that’s what you want,” and she pulled the cloak the rest of the way off and tossed it at me.

  She said, “Is that better?”

  I said, “Oh, very much.”

  She stopped where we were and said, “Well?” and she looked at me.

  I said, “Yes, you are very beautiful. Shaheen, your body is lovely.”

  She said, “No, don’t complement me. Take your clothes off. If you want me to know that you like how I look, you need to strip and give me your body in return.”

  I smiled and quickly pulled off my shirt, and then my pants, and stood facing her. Shaheen looked me up and down and said quickly, “Don’t touch me,” and then she turned to walk in the direction that we were headed.

  I hurried to gather my clothes and wrap them in the cloak and ran the few steps necessary to catch up to her.

  When I was at her side again, she said softly, “Ronin, have you ever seen a White Falcon?”

  I said, “No. Are there such things?”

  She said, “There are. They are very rare. Only a Huntress or Ranger might have seen one. Even most of them would never see one. Have you ever touched a falcon?”

  I said sadly, “No. I’ve never been close to one. I can’t imagine one coming and eating out of my hand or letting me touch it, even if it did. Shaheen, is that why you chose that name?”

  She said, “I chose the name because I had to. I knew that it was the right name for me when I became The White Falcon. Ronin, I want you to love me. To touch me. To hold me. To feed me from your hand and pet me. But, I’m not tame. I know that I will be. I want to be. I don’t want you to give me a new name, I want you to tame me. And I want to tame myself so that I can be with you. If you let me, I’ll work very hard to become tame. A bird is always a wild animal, but it can bond to a man if he’s very kind.”

  We walked along slowly. I didn’t know what to say.

  After a moment, she said, “Until this morning, I hadn’t shown my face for 210 years.” She was quiet and then said, “No, 216. That was when my first mate died, I took off my clothes and put on this cloak, and I was never seen again. I was naked under the cloak as a reminder to myself that I could never take off my cloak and let anyone see me. Since I was naked underneath, I kept my body, and my face hidden. It was my way of acknowledging that I had lost everything. The cloak was my way of saying that I was all alone and no one could see or touch me.

  When I felt you coming toward the village, I laughed to myself. An Elf Boy was on his way. And what if I fell in love with him and he loved me, and I could finally take off my cloak and be a woman again? It was humorous. And impossible. I was lying on my bed, meditating, and your image appeared far away. I laughed about it and went to sleep. The next night, I couldn’t help myself, and I looked for you again. And there you were. A day closer to me. In case you wonder, there are only three others that I can detect within 100 miles at least, and they are all very weak, and probably have no idea of what they are. The nearest is at least five days journey north over the mountains. But you were already strong enough that I could find you easily. The next night, I told myself that it was stupid, and that I wouldn’t bother to even see where you were, but as I lie there, unable to sleep, I did reach out to find you.

  That night, you were with another. She was weak in spirit and seemed to be dead. It was confusing. And I watched as you stayed awake and active almost all night, sleeping just a little at a time. And at one point, I watched very closely and was astounded when I saw movement that was clearly a skilled swordsman making a fatal strike. And not a clumsy novice swing with a stick, but a very elegant, very simple, very deadly and efficient killing blow. I could see it I my mind that you were in the middle of a rescue. And another of our kind was in your heart from that moment on.”

  I felt a touch as Shaheen’s hand brushed against mine and then took it in her own.

  She said, “Oh, that’s not so bad at all. Ronin, no one, not a man or woman, has touched my skin since the day I became the Falcon. Earlier, at the pools, I talked like I was very comfortable with you and wanted to touch you right away, and I did want to, but the truth is that I’m very afraid of it. Like those nights on my bed, being drawn to you and wanting to ignore my feelings and the possibilities that your arrival would reveal. Holding your hand is more than I thought possible. We will make love. I will be your wife. We will sleep in one bed. I will do all the things that the others said that they enjoy with you, but until his morning, no one had seen me, face or body, for 216 years. You were the first to see me. And now the first to touch me. I keep talking because I can’t stop. Now that I say that, until this morning, no one had really heard me talk for all those years, either. Yes, I talked to the children, Lucy and Harmony and April and Brenda’s children, but not like I did this morning, like a woman again.”

  We walked a bit more, and she said, “Ronin, this is all I can do for now. I thought that it would be easier. You can see me now. And I can touch your hand, but I can’t go farther yet. I am The White Falcon. I don’t want a new name. I want to be accepted by you for the name that I have. And you said at the farm that you do. And, besides, if we stop and make love now, it might slow you down a little for when you get home.”

  I said, “When I get home?”

  She smiled and squeezed my hand and said, “I have exceptional hearing. Didn’t you tell ‘Stacy’ to take a shower and stay naked and keep her legs spread from now till eternity? That from now on, you would feed her your cock day and night and that you would eat her pussy and tits and nothing else?”

  I said, “Oh, I kind of did tell her that, didn’t I?”

  Shaheen laughed and said, “So, let’s save it up for her for now. You can come to me later.” She paused and then said, “I mean that. Now that I have said it, I know that I mean it. When you are ready for me, come to me, and I’ll be ready for you. Ronin, I am quite a bit older than you are.”

  I said, “Are you? You don’t look it. Does it matter to you?”

  She said, “It has to. A younger girl has lived less. A widow has more life experience than a young virgin.”

  I said, “Alice and Brenda say that they were virgins when we mated.”

  Shaheen smiled and said, “Is that so? I think I see how that could be. I like that idea. And Stacy, she has a new life and a new outlook. She called you master. I bet she never called anyone that before. Her life is new, and she is a virgin in many respects as well. So, our age difference means nothing to you?”

  I said, “It means that you have wisdom that I need. But, how long will we live? I had no idea that a person could live hundreds of years. If I were 22, a woman 25 would be much older than I. But if I’m 33, and she’s 36, we’re the same age. How long will we live?”

  Shaheen laughed and said, “I honestly don’t know. I’m as old as I am and apparently don’t look any older than you or Stacy. And if we continue to grow stronger, will we age at all? I don’t know. Love keeps you young. And speaking of that, I didn’t tell Brenda everything.”

  I said, “About what?”

  She said, “Well, about elf women who do what she does now.”

  I said, “You mean about her breast milk?”

  She said, “Yeah. My clan was from very far away, but there were more of us, and there was a bit more known about us. Oh, I trained in the same sword that you did. And the same empty-hand techniques as well, I think
. I saw you strike the man in the street and kill, him with a strike of your fist. Few people in the world would make a fist exactly the way that you did. We have two Sword Monks now. And a Shadow, and a Healer, and a Huntress.”

  I exclaimed, “Falcon! Will you be with me? When we Adventure?”

  She smiled and said, “I will never let you out of my sight. I was with my first husband, deep underground, with a party of six, when he died. It was goblins. I hate goblins. I don’t feel bad about the way that he was lost. Wow, Ronin, was he more my partner than my…well, was he mostly my partner? Ronin, I love you! I loved you first! I loved you before you ever set foot here. I didn’t grow used to you and agree to mate with you so that we would have someone to share a bed with! Ronin, you are King of The Elves! I just realized how different this is.”

  I said, “What do you mean? I’m not a king. I know my father and my clan, and we’re not kings of the elves.”

  Shaheen smiled and said, “No, not like that! Not The King of All the Elves. Don’t be silly Well, I did make it sound that way. No, what I mean is, you are my King of the Elves. And Val’s, and the others. The girls have all called you master at different times, I bet. Well, maybe not Harmony, but the others, right?”

  I said, “I don’t know about all of them, but I do remember Harmony saying it. But they don’t mean…”

  She interrupted and said, “Oh, it means what it means. It means that they, no, we, love you and you rule over us as the women who love you in your house. It means that we would do anything for you. And it means that you aren’t a convenient partnership to watch my back, keep me warm, and split my loot with. Ronin, you are my King of the Elves. And I love you. I truly love you! Ronin!”