“I am glad for you, Alainn! Truly, I am.”
The kitchen was as always an undoubtedly bustling location and with so many guests remaining in the castle and present for the games and celebrations, Alainn noted there was little time to keep Cook detained. He glanced over at the herb-chamber that bordered the kitchen.
“I think the physician will be most pleased to see you. He’s been made to deal with a lot of drunken clansmen who’ve been at each other with both fists and swords. The rainy weather and the lengthy time together has left the men all a bit edgy, I think. Now that the bouts have begun again, everyone will now find somethin’ to do with their time.”
“Aye, I hope the ground is not too wet for the challenges,” she said to Cook, but in her mind she was already summoning a warm wind to dry the ground and ensure fewer injuries. She’d promised Killian she’d not use her powers, but surely this was not a magical feat anyone could possibly link to her.
When she went to check in on Thomas O’Donaugh, she found he was indeed in an uncommonly displeased mood.
“Finally, you’ve decided to come to my aid. I might have used your assistance in the past days. Where have you kept yourself hidden? I hope you were up to something important or interesting at the very least?”
She smiled at him and at his deep uncharacteristic frown. “Sure it was most important to me, and I’d thank you to keep it from traveling to the chieftain’s ears just yet. I’ll tell you straight where I’ve been. I spent my time away with my husband!”
“You were wed?” he questioned disbelievingly. “I thought you didn’t end up marrying the farmer? Was I misinformed?”
“No, I did not marry the farmer.” She smiled, suddenly giddy at being able to finally relate that she was a married woman.
“Then who?” he asked as he casually wiped the blood from one of his tools.
“I cannot say.” She smiled again, enjoying the suspense she was causing.
“Well, sure you must tell me now! Shall I guess? It was the chieftain’s nephew, wasn’t it? I haven’t seen him around these past days either.”
“Aye, it is Killian I am wed to!” She confirmed the man’s suspicions and held up her right hand to reveal the ring. “But, again, you must not allow the earl to learn of this until tomorrow evening. Please tell me you will not speak of this to anyone.”
“Aye, sure I’ve no reason to tell him.”
She assisted the man in readying the supplies that might be necessary in dealing with wounds from the bouts, all the while silently praying Killian would not be a recipient or require any medical healing. For the time being, there was little for her to do in the herb chamber and unable to keep her mind from Killian’s challenges she was antsy and unsettled.
The physician noticed as she nervously rearranged the vials and repositioned the bandages over and over again.
“Oh, be gone with you, then, Alainn, for sure you can’t keep still for but a moment at any rate. In this state you’re likely to be a detriment to anyone needing healing. I’m certain I could send someone to find you should I need your assistance.” He good-naturedly smiled as he sent her off.
Alainn next went to see the state of her herb garden and was surprised to find it well tended. She was uncertain who might have been in the garden especially since it had been raining for the past few days, but she got her answer soon enough for when she knelt down to begin gardening she saw her mother walking her way, her skirts caked with the mud from kneeling upon the ground.
“You are back then from your romantic time in the glade?” She smiled at her daughter.
“Aye, only just this morning. I thank you for tending to the herb garden in my stead.”
Her mother nodded to her. “It was much appreciated to be back within this garden, it has been some time!”
She glanced around at the garden she tended with Morag from the time she was a child. “Where is it you have been staying these days?”
“Lady Siobhan has been kind enough to allow me to stay in Morag’s chambers, the same chamber where you have always stayed, where I spent my youth and many memories have come to me from days long since passed.”
“And is there no longer a price upon your head, have the guards been instructed to show mercy after all these years?”
“Lady Siobhan has spoken to the captain, his guards, and the chieftain’s army. They have been informed I am being employed to create a means to end the curse, so I am no longer in danger of being killed upon sight. The chieftain is still unaware I have been within the castle, for I have kept well-distanced from him, but Siobhan has assured me, she will not see me harmed.”
“She is a good woman, an empathetic person!” Alainn commented.
“Aye, as was her brother,” Mara added.
“I am now going to speak with the village priest to see if he might allow me to look through the records. I pray there is evidence that will confirm your legal and binding marriage to my father, for then the O’Briens will surely believe I am the daughter of a noble. If I am accepted as such then it will do much to undo the curse.”
The older woman’s eyes held a serious and doubtful gaze. “I would not count on it, Alainn. I am certain any documentation would have been long since destroyed. But if you wish to search, then so be it. And I have yet to inform you of the location of your father’s druid amulet for that, too, may prove the deep connection between Tiege and me. For from the time we learned I carried you, he was insistent you, as a druid child, must bear an amulet of their father’s clan.”
“Aye, tell me then where within the dungeon I might find the amulet,” Alainn asked with dubiousness in her voice.
“ ’Tis in the southernmost corner; ’tis hidden behind the thirteenth stone, the number chosen often by those who possess magical abilities. It is often used in spells and enchantments.”
“Aye, I know that to be truth and I certainly am well aware of the relevance of the number thirteen, but surely there must be a dozen different ways to determine what could be considered the thirteenth stone. You must explain it in greater detail than that, for I have never ventured down deep within the dungeon. I only made it partway down the steps last time I attempted it.”
“Aye, well it’s not a place you’d desire to be, I assure you. But, from the stairwell, it is in the sixth chamber to the right, ’tis the thirteenth stone to the left of the doorway and the thirteenth stone from the ground. And you will know it when you touch it for it was charmed with a protection spell, it will surely glow when you are present, and grow warm upon your touch. Once your hands touch the stone, it can be easily taken from the wall, and only you can remove the amulet behind the stone.”
“Aye, I will try to find a way to get into the dungeon. Perhaps after the games are concluded and after Killian speaks to his uncle, I will be simply allowed to search the dungeon.”
“You do not sound entirely certain of that, Alainn?”
“I do not trust his uncle, and I fear he will not accept our marriage any more than his father accepted yours.”
“Pray to whatever god you choose, that is not proven to be so, daughter!”
Chapter Eighteen
Leafing through the many dusty volumes in the church cellar, Alainn finally came upon the documents that would have been signed around the time of her parent’s marriage. The kind village priest had been most helpful as he had also looked through many bound booklets until he was called back upstairs by one of his assistants.
The cellar was dark and damp. She inhaled the scent of the dank air as she held a candle as close as she dared to try to make out the many faded scrawls. When she located the exact page where the entry should be, she was disheartened yet not surprised to learn a page had been torn from the weathered volume. It was as she’d surmised; the priest and the previous chieftain had left no evidence that could confirm her parents had ever been wed.
Well, she had certainly expected as much and the legitimacy of the marriage or of her being born a legitimate
O’Rorke was surely not as important as now being declared an O’Rorke. If she found the other portion of the amulet which had belonged to her father, she felt Hugh O’Brien would believe she was a daughter to Teige O’Rorke. She prayed it would be enough, for if he believed her to be of noble lineage and she was accepted as nobility, surely it would be a means to end the curse.
The priest glanced over at her when she came up from the cellar and entered the abbey.
He spoke in his always kind and pleasant manner. “Were you able to find anything of relevance, Alainn, anything at all that might assist you in your quest of proving your parents were wed?”
“No, it was not to be so, Father, and in truth I was not overly hopeful the document would exist at any rate, but I needed to know for certain and I do thank you for your assistance”
“Sorry I am, you didn’t find what you were searching for. I will pray some other form of proof will present itself. I must tell you I was most pleased to perform the ceremony when you and Killian were wed, Alainn.” He smiled as he looked at her. “I believe your union shall be happy and blessed!”
She returned the warm exchange, but soon her expression turned to one of seriousness. “Father, do you believe when people possess unusual, unexplained abilities that they are born of evil?”
His gentle eyes filled with a solemn quality as he thoughtfully responded. “Do you speak of your own abilities to do magical healing?” he queried.
“I suppose they are the abilities most in question.” She did not attempt to conceal her powers for clearly the man already knew some of what she was capable of.
“I have known you your entire life. I have never sensed anything untoward or evil about you, child!” He gently rested his hand upon her head and then shook his own. “Sure, I do not believe you are evil, Alainn, and, in truth, perhaps your abilities stem from the Lord God Almighty. You have a most angelic disposition about you in dealing with young children, the elderly, the destitute, and the ailing. I sense the warmth and goodness within your heart, the natural empathy, unfailing compassion and unquestionable caring. And sure, you have saved as many souls as I with your various healing abilities. How am I to question but that those powers are heaven sent?”
“You hold a much contrary opinion to the chieftain’s priest or of many men of God, I fear, Father Michael!”
“Aye, well I do not believe the chieftain’s priest is to be trusted entirely. I sense an uncommon coldness, perhaps even an unholy darkness, about the man and I always have. We have been at odds since I came to the abbey. Unfortunately, many within the church are overly quick to point a finger at anyone who dares to reveal diversity. I cannot claim to know why men of the church or otherwise choose to declare any differences from the accepted, any unusual qualities and differing abilities as a harbinger of evil when so very many signs are perhaps given of and to angels and deities.
Man is surely too quick to condemn and seems more willing to hang on to long-believed superstitious nonsense. Why must it be assumed diversity is wrong, or that magic is of a dark origin or that those who possess the knowledge or means to affect others in a benevolent manner are somehow associated with evil and must be ridiculed and punished? We have clearly not learned so very much from our past wrongdoings and misdeeds in all these centuries.”
Alainn shook her head unable to answer the man’s man queries, observations, and obvious uncertainties. She was oddly both comforted and disheartened by their conversation.
As she made her way back to toward the castle she was pleased to see Danhoul by the castle gate. She had not spoken to him since their time in the realm of the gods. She had many questions to ask of him and much to discuss, but there seemed to be a huge amount of people about the courtyard and the castle grounds. The crowd was boisterous and bustling, so she knew their conversation would most certainly need to be curt. She smiled as he approached.
“I am much relieved to see you were safely returned to our world!” she began, trying to be heard above the din of the courtyard, but not wishing to be overheard while speaking of such unusual topics.
“Aye, and you and your husband have taken leave from the fairy glade so that he might partake in the clansmen’s games?” Danhoul, too, had difficulty making himself heard.
“Aye.” She sighed wistfully, as though wishing she were back within the magical glade.
There were surely few locations where they might hold a private discussion, and Danhoul appeared to have information he longed to relay to her. Although they were capable of speaking through telepathy, that, too may well attract attention if they stood together staring at each other but not speaking. She finally led him to a small alleyway outside the healing chamber so their conversation would be kept secretive.
“Ramla has come to me once more, Alainn, as he did in the graveyard. He has spoken yet again of a dark entity or perhaps several dark beings, who insist on preventing you from speaking to the old healer, Morag. Although Aine has closed many portals, I sense there remains an unusually dark presence in our midst. Keep your wits about you and rely upon your powers of instinct to keep you safe!”
Alainn shivered, now unnerved by his revelations, and she glanced around suspiciously at the many shadows cast by the lanterns near the stone wall. She placed her hand to the charmed amulet that hung from her neck.
“Stay within lighted locations when you are able, Alainn. I intend to search the area surrounding the castle and nearest the graveyards to see what might be done to learn more of the dark demon, how to locate it, and how to alleviate its threat to you.”
“I am most grateful to you for that, but you must promise me you’ll be wise and cautious also, Danhoul. I would not care to have the guilt of your death upon my head as well.”
“You needn’t bear unwarranted guilt regarding Ramla. He was providing assistance willingly to a friend with akin abilities; he bears you no ill will because of his death. He has spoken to me of such and wishes to convey that message to you. And I am to be your guardian, so I will do what I can to protect you and see you safe. You must not question that.”
“But you’ve admitted to me your young age? How can you be assigned such a perilous task?” She quizzed.
“Aye, and you are but one year my elder and have saved the lives of countless many and possess abilities never before witnessed. As I’ve aforementioned, age is not but a number to those who must do what they will to protect others... I learned that as a soldier in the kern, the Irish army, but ’tis true of being a guardian or a magical healer, as well, I would suggest!” He smiled at her with sincere assurance.
His smile and his words eased her in an odd manner, and his light blue eyes held such an unusually familiar quality. She stared deeply into those eyes and attempted to hear his thoughts. He knew immediately what she was doing and became uneasy.
“Have we met before, Danhoul Calhoun, for I’ve never felt such an indescribably unusual connection to someone I scarcely know?”
He looked away from her as though wanting to conceal something, but his words were put forth in a manner of jest. “Not in this life, Alainn O’Brien... sure it must have been in another!”
“Be wise and cautious, Danhoul!” She repeated but she stared after him long after they parted ways.
Back in the herb chamber, Alainn brushed the dust from her garments, wiped her hands on her frock, and considered what she might do next. She had promised Killian she would not use her powers and she must remain true to her word. Yet she was much at odds within herself, for she distinctly longed to conjure the spirit of Morag, but knew it was impossible to attempt it in light of all Danhoul had warned of. Surely it would be unwise at any rate with dark forces ensuring they could not make contact. She momentarily attempted to summon the image of the missing portion of Tiege O’Rorke’s amulet. Her head throbbed most fiercely whenever she dwelled upon any of those quandaries.
She held tight to the sprig of thyme in her hand and longed to have Morag back beside her in the herb
chamber as in times gone by. How she missed the old healer who had been a mother to her all those years. She sensed well enough something dark kept Morag’s spirit from coming to her. Killian had both spoken to her of the unusual and unsettling occurrence in the graveyard with the spirits of Ainna and Ramla.
Both Killian and Danhoul said Ramla had assured them Morag would continue in her attempts to reach Alainn, but that, too, caused a deep fearfulness within her at what malevolence the old woman’s spirit may be facing in attempt to aid her. The woman deserved a time of peace after her passing. She had lived a very long life and earned this time of eternal rest.
Alainn was hoping to find a way to distract herself from her many various woes and pass time quickly while Killian was occupied in his bouts. She’d heard, through the castle’s servants, both Killian and Riley had won their morning challenges, and that Hugh O’Brien was well pleased about the O’Brien’s top position in the tournament. Now it only remained to be seen who would be named sole champion.
She heard the drums rumble and the pipes playing, which surely indicated the challenges between Riley and Killian was about to begin. First there would be jousting, then spear and darts, and lastly the broadsword. They were evenly matched in nearly all events, but Killian was usually dominant with the sword. Both jousting and sword involved a certain amount of danger and little room for error. She trusted Riley would not mortally wound Killian, but it was often not intentional when dealing with such dangerous weaponry. And on the morrow, there were still three challenges Killian must face. Alainn shook her head and, using the strategy Killian had done by his mother’s wise advisement, she envisioned a large blue dragon, but smiled to herself as she clearly recalled the image of not one, but four dragons from her memory.
Alainn eventually settled on returning to Cook’s cottage. Perhaps it would dispel her discontent and agitation. Spending time with Molly and Margaret, who were as close to family as she could claim, always left her feeling at ease. The busy household with so many young and active children would if nothing else, be a most welcome distraction. She was so untypically nervous and edgy she couldn’t seem to keep her mind on any one task at any rate.
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