by Jane Stain
“Rob, Pòl, Warrick! ‘Tis Seumas. The castle is under attack, ye ken!”
To the men’s credit, they moved quickly. One sounded the horn, which would bring the archers. The other two manned the gate. But if Seumas headed that way, the Druids would get inside along with the three of them.
He sighed. If he didn’t have lasses with him —
But the decision was taken from him.
One of the flames transformed and became a wild boar — and opened its snarling maw and charged at Sasha.
Seumas dropped Sasha’s hand and charged straight at the boar, pulling his sword from his back as he did so.
“Sasha! Run tae the gate!”
Ceithir Deug (14)
Deirdre fought her way free of Sasha’s hand so she could turn around and run back toward the trees.
“He wull protect us if we go back tae the trees, Sasha. Come with me!”
As she ran for the trees, she turned her head over her shoulder.
With her face all twisted up in anger — or fear, mayhap both — Sasha was coming. And yelling.
“Come back here! We hae tae get inside! Come back here this instant!”
Deirdre shook her head no and turned back around to watch where she was going as she ran for the trees.
Galdus was constantly talking in her head. The way he said his words was odd — like the old folks, but even more so. It was funny. And at the same time, he was sure he knew what she should do. There was no anger nor any fear in his voice. She found his presence reassuring.
“Aye, aye, tae the trees with us, lass. Tae the trees. I can keep ye safe in the trees, ye ken. Almost there. Almost there. Good lass. Good lass.”
When he was happy like this — when she was doing what he wanted — he hummed and sang to her a song she had never heard before, almost whistling rather than singing. It was catchy but odd, like everything about him.
Little did ma mother think
When ere she cradled me
What lands I was tae travel through
What death I was tae see.
At last, she was in the trees.
“Go round one o the trees, lass. Put the trees tween ye and yer pursuers sae I hae some aught tae work with, ye ken?”
She did as he said, anxiously looking out to see what was happening with the battle and cringing to see Seumas wrestling with the boar. Oh good, Sasha was still coming.
Deirdre cupped her hands around her mouth in order to be heard over the roaring flames and all the yelling.
“Sasha! Hurry up! Get tae the trees and he can protect us, remember?”
But Sasha was still using up all her anger at Deirdre.
“Lassie, I’m gaun'ae —“
Deirdre gasped.
More of the flames had turned into boars, and two of the beasts were running after Sasha. They were getting close to her.
Deirdre screamed.
“Faster,Sasha! Run!"
At the sound of Deirdre’s screaming, Sasha did start running.
Deirdre tried to send her energy to Sasha, to make her run faster. She couldn’t help but jump up and down, she was so anguished.
Galdus laughed. He found the oddest things funny.
“Nay matter how much ye jump aroond, ye willna hasten her.”
But Deirdre loved Sasha more than she loved Galdus, so she ignored him this one time. She kept calling out to her new friend — who hopefully would soon be her auntie, if Seumas and Alfred had any sense in them.
"Faster! Run faster, Sasha!"
Galdus spoke with calm certainty.
“She isna gaun'ae make it.”
The boars were almost close enough to pounce on Sasha. They would tear her limb from limb.
Deirdre burst into tears and wailed, frantically waving the strange dagger at the boars and calling him by name, wishing and never doubting he had the power to fulfill her wish.
“Make them stop, Galdus!”
She sighed with relief.
The small bushes the boars passed over reached up their meager little branches and stabbed into the monsters, making the boards bloody and tearing at them until they collapsed just behind were Sasha’s foot had been only a moment before.
Still oblivious, Sasha ran up to Deirdre. At first her face was still angry, but it softened, probably on seeing her tears.
The relief Deirdre felt on seeing her friend still alive and having escaped those ravenous beasts was so great that she dropped all the decorum she’d been striving to have since Maw had first tasked her with watching her little sister. She wrapped her arms as tight as she could around Sasha’s long skirts, clutching Galdus with both hands behind Sasha as she shook with sobs.
Sasha’s arms went around Deirdre’s shoulders, and her hands caressed Deirdre’s hair.
“Aye, ’tis all right now. I’m here. But ye should hae come when I called ye. Grown-ups give ye orders for a reason, not just tae be bossy, ye ken? Now let us go back and get inside the castle where it’s safe, and —“
All of a sudden, that terrible Brian the Druid was choking Sasha with one arm around her throat and the other over her mouth. He put his own mouth up against her neck.
“Ye need tae come along quiet like, if ye want yer death tae be painless. I canna make it quick, but I can give ye something for the pain. I dinna hae tae dae that, ye ken…”
While the nutty old Druid blethered on about his evil plans, Galdus’s odd speech came into Dierdre’s mind again.
“Well, what are ye waiting for? Stab me intae the man afore he notices ye. Go on.” He showed her a mind picture of how to grip him so that her stab would be the most effective. “Now dae it. Ye must dae it now. In only a few moments, he wull notice ye. And he doesna need ye, ye ken? Sae go on. Ye must dae it NOW.”
Just as he had shown her in the picture in her mind, she turned him so that he was facing Brian’s side – and then plunged him in.
Sasha fell down on the ground, holding her throat and gasping, her pretty and normally pale face red and full of tears and her eyes wide. But she was alive. Still alive.
Deirdre knelt and put Sasha’s head in her lap, stroking her pretty long red hair.
“Weesht. Weesht. ’Tis ower now. The danger’s gone. Ye dinna hae tae be afraid anymore. I’m sorry he hurt ye, but ye should hae come when I called ye. Ye barely escaped the boars that were running after ye, see?”
She pointed to where the boars lay in puddles of their own blood, the snapped ends of twigs still sticking out of them.
Sasha sat up, a look of panic on her face, looking all around every which way.
“We hae tae get back tae the castle, Deirdre. Ye scared Brian off, but he wull come back.” She grabbed Deirdre’s hand and pulled her up, then started running toward the gate.
Deirdre ran with her, but she gave her reassurance.
“Dinna fash, Sasha. I stabbed him with Galdus,” she held up the bloodied dagger for Sasha to see, “and he turned tae powder. His friends saw it happen and disappeared. I dinna think they wull be back. Not for a long time, anyhow.”
Galdus laughed at her jest, even if Sasha didn’t.
~*~
Two things happened at once after they all made it through the gate and closed it tightly behind them. Sasha and Seumas embraced and had one of their sticky gooey kisses. And Maw found Deirdre.
Even as she hugged her and stroked her hair, Maw scolded.
“Ye evil, wicked child! I hae been sick with fashing ower ye. Dinna ever go and leave again. Na withoot telling me. Ye had the whole toon looking aboot for ye. Mayhap I wull take the strap tae ye when we get home—”
But Sasha came forward.
“I beg of ye, Eileen, dinna strap the lass. She saved my life, ye ken.”
~*~
Now Deirdre was invited to her first grown-up feast ever.
She twirled in the new dress Maw had made for her in the time it had taken for Alfred and the guards and Tavish and Kelsey to all return home — one full day, exactly. Every
one else was already at the feasting hall, and she was dizzy with how excited she felt.
“I love it! Thank ye sae much — for the dress and for letting me go tae the feast.” She looked over where Galdus lay in the corner next to her old belt. “I wull be sae good, ye willna hae tae worry aboot me at all. I wull be just another one of the grown-ups sitting at the table with ye, I promise.”
Maw smiled at her and held her hands as she knelt in front of her and then gave her a big hug.
“I ken ye wull, my sweet lassie. Ye are getting older on me faster than I can keep up with ye. I’m sae verra proud o ye. Ye were sae brave, watching oot for Sasha’s life like that. I ken Seumas is grateful tae ye as well.”
Deirdre looked at Galdus some more over Maw’s shoulder as they hugged again. Finally, Maw went to go fetch something she needed to bring along to the castle for the feast, and Deirdre rushed over and put on her belt and tucked Galdus neatly into it.
Now that she had him for a friend, she never wanted to be without him. She could tell she would soon love him more than anyone else.
~*~
When they arrived in the grand hall, it was just like she always imagined it would be, attending one of the big feasts for the grown-ups. Everyone was laughing and toasting and telling stories of the battle that day. At the nearest table, Rob, Pòl, and Warwick all boasted of the number of boars they had shot with their arrows. Cormac and Osgar were sour-faced at having been out with Alfred and missed the whole thing.
Her mother’s friends all had their own table: Alfred, Seumas, Tavish, Kelsey, Sasha, her, and her mother. Smiles went all around the table.
Seumas looked at her very seriously and bowed his head in her direction over the table.
“I canna tell ye often enough how verra grateful I am that ye saved Sasha’s life. I shall be forever in yer debt, Deirdre.”
This was a little bit too much for her, and she giggled despite her attempt to put on her hard-earned decorum. Standing up so that she could reach across the table, she put her hand on Seumas’s hand.
“I ken ye love Sasha. Howsoever, I love her tae. I didna save her for yer sake, but for my own. I willna accept yer service. Instead, just be my friend — and hopefully my uncle.” She looked over at Alfred and giggled some more before she sat down.
Alfred smiled and nodded at her once then turned to Maw and took her hand and kissed it, and the two of them cuddled a bit in their chairs next to each other. Good. He wasn’t uncomfortable with the suggestion that his brother would be her uncle. She grinned in satisfaction, knowing her mother would be happy.
Seumas stood then and extended his hand to Sasha.
“Will ye join me in the dance?”
Sasha jumped up eagerly, wiping her mouth with a cloth.
“Aye!”
The two of them walked away together hand in hand, smiling. This made Deirdre smile too, knowing Sasha would be happy.
Simultaneously, Kelsey and Tavish jumped up and stood pointing at Deirdre, or more precisely, at Galdus.
Tavish spoke first.
“There it is. That is the sword we hae been looking for.”
“Yer right. Robert the Bruce’s sword was a wild goose chase. This is the one we need. It was sae close along.”
Tavish came around the table and reached down toward Deirdre’s lap to take Galdus away from her.
She couldn’t let them take her friend!
Feeling the tears come springing from her eyes, Deirdre held on to him tightly.
“Nay! Nay nay nay! He’s my friend. He talks tae me, and I’m keeping him! I found him! Ye canna make me give him away!”
But Maw took Deirdre by the arms and pulled her hands free from Galdus.
“I canna believe my eyes and ears, lass. How childish yer acting at yer foremaist adult feast. Now be quiet and let Tavish take the sword he’s been searching for all this time. If ye must hae a sword, Alfred will get ye one from the practice yard.”
Deirdre tried to hold on to Galdus, but Maw was stronger. She yanked him out of her belt and hands, and gave him to Tavish, who put him in his own belt. He didn’t even look happy to have her friend, just determined.
Deirdre wailed.
“If he doesna even want Galdus, why should he hae him?”
Meanwhile, Isabel — Alfred and Seumas’s mother — came over, smiling her sad smile.
“Deirdre, dear.” She reached out her hand. “Come on. Come on up tae the nursery. Ye and me and Aodh, Niall, and Sìle wull hae more fun up there together than ye could hae doon here with the grown-ups anyhow, with all their boring talk.” She smiled gently.
Deirdre wanted to be nice to the lady who had always been nice to her, so she stood up and wiped her eyes and took the lady’s hand.
But she wouldn’t look back at her maw, who had betrayed her.
Còig Deug (15)
Smiling at the people they passed by, Sasha squeezed Seumas’s elbow and spoke in the lowest voice she could manage out of the side of her mouth, confident that she wouldn’t be overheard in the noisy great hall full of music and dancing and revelry.
“The laird was anything but friendly tae me when we met in the marketplace. Are ye sure this is a good idea?”
He gave her a surprised look.
“That wasna my uncle ye met in the marketplace. That was Brian the Druid under illusion tae look like my uncle.”
That was great news if true, but she was skeptical.
“I suppose ye ken yer uncle,” was all she said.
But he nodded firmly.
“Aye, that I dae. I’m sore at myself for letting that Druid’s illusion fool me.”
They were almost to the dance set now, and Sasha steeled herself. She was still shaken from the battle, and she didn’t know if her psyche could take anymore battering, especially the kind the laird had given her at their first meeting.
They went around the last few people in the dance set and joined in, taking the hands of the people to their right and left — as well as taking each other’s hand to complete the circle.
Seumas’s hand felt warm in hers, and so reassuring. She relaxed into his touch.
And there was Laird Malcomb, directly opposite them in the set — and smiling at them jovially.
“Long time, Nephew, long time! And who is this vision of loveliness?”
Seumas gave her a knowing look and then turned back to his uncle, holding her hand up — a bit possessively, even though his uncle was dancing with a woman clearly his wife, by the way she looked at him — also possessively.
Seumas’s voice was proud.
“This is Tavish’s kinswoman Sasha. Sasha, meet my uncle, the one and only Laird Malcomb.”
It happened to be the part of the dance where they all bowed to each other, and Sasha smiled and bowed at Laird Malcomb ironically in the course of the dance.
He returned her smile, and then they had a lively ten minutes of jumping and skipping and clapping and spinning and twirling each other.
Seumas was a great dance partner. He led her with a sure hand, and she always had an indication what they would do before it came. Dancing with him was great fun, let alone dancing with a bunch of people who were all skirted — half in kilts. She had a grand old time smiling and making friends with everyone, and they all seemed happy to meet her.
When the music stopped, they smiled and bowed at everyone and moved on to the next dance set that was forming, with new people.
The musicians started playing again, a faster tune. It was still a set dance — all of them were — but this one involved lots of standing around next to each other and clapping while only one pair of dancers was active at a time.
Seumas took the opportunity to start a conversation that wouldn’t be overheard, clever fellow that he was.
“Wull now that Tavish and Kelsey hae the item they came tae get, they will be going back tae yer home. And they will be taking ye with them. I sense this will be soon. And Sasha, if they take ye with them, I will lose ye fore
ver. Nay one has telt me this, but I feel it here in my heart. Dinna go with them. Bide here with me and be my wife and an auntie tae Deirdre, Aodh, Niall, and Sìle. Be the maw o my many bairns and yers, who will be their cousins. I am begging ye tae bide with me and share my life. I love ye, Sasha.”
She had to say one thing before any time went past at all, lest there be any misunderstanding.
“I love ye too, Seumas.”
Right there on the dance floor, he held her to him in a tight embrace that was not at all clinging. It was more… Triumphant.
But she had to clear up the misunderstanding she’d caused after all.
“I canna bide here with ye though, Seumas.”
He froze for a moment, and then still holding her hand, he turned and walked with her through the halls of the castle in silence until they were out in the courtyard with the moonlight glinting off the practice swords in their bins, quite alone together. There, he turned to face her and took both of her hands in his, gazing intently into her eyes with yearning.
“Sasha, if we love each other, then we should be together. Marry me. Please. Make me the happiest man —”
The yearning in his eyes was so strong, she had to stop his pleading, had to make him understand before he went too far and felt the fool. Experience told her men didn’t take well to that, feeling like a fool. And he was too magnificent of a man to feel that way. The sight of him made her nearly drunk, the way the shadows of his muscles flexed in the torchlight whenever he moved the slightest.
She stepped up to him and put a finger over his mouth gently, at last quieting him.
“Seumas, come with me instead. Ye said it yerself, there’s naught for ye tae dae here. Howsoever, ye will be verra knowledgeable about this place in my time, more knowledgeable than anyone else on the site. Ye are an expert in this site, and in my time, that can be turned intae a livelihood — a good livelihood, better than ye can imagine. I promise. Please, let’s go back tae my time together.”
She watched his face, hoping against all hope that he would agree. She could see the fear in his eyes, the fear of the unknown. It ate at her, but what else could she do? Her own knowledge was wasted here. No, he had to come to her time. That was the best use of both of their knowledge.
