The days and weeks passed rather uneventfully. I gave my father no further reason to strike me and my days were spent repeating a boring routine of meals, lessons with Adair and walking around the castle in the hope that I would lose my shadow.
Unfortunately for me, he was a tall man and so I had to rush around to keep a good pace ahead of him and his long legs. He never enquired as to why we spent our time practically running through the halls to no particular destination, and I supposed that he probably didn’t care.
I often considered starting a conversation with him to relieve my boredom, but then I remembered that he worked for my father and so would report back anything I said to the King without a moment hesitation. He couldn’t be trusted.
I assumed that he reported back to the King during the night whilst I slept, as that was the only time in which he wasn’t guarding my door.
One day after lessons, I was planning a new route for us to hurry along when my shadow spoke.
“Princess, King Ferchar has requested that the full court gathers in the main courtyard.”
“Why?” I felt a twinge of nerves. I doubted this would be for fun and games.
“I am unsure Princess. I was simply told that we were to make haste once your lessons ended,” he handed me my thick outdoor cloak.
We hurried off through the halls and made our way to the largest courtyard, near the entrance to castle. As we entered I could see that all the human servants, and even some of the fairies who worked in the castle, were gathered.
My mother and father stood on the raised stone platform at the door. Mother looked pale and nervous, as she always did these days, whereas father looked as if he was having the best day of his life. He heard the door open and gestured for me to stand at his side, my shadow moving to stand behind me.
“I am sure you are all curious to know why I gathered you here this afternoon,” father said sounding very pleased with himself.
No one in the crowd responded but there was an unmistakable feeling of tension in the courtyard.
Realising nothing would be said, he gestured over to a set of small doors, one of many which led down into the prisons. A place I had never been and hoped I never would.
The doors opened and two large guards brought out a human I had never seen before. He had blonde plaited hair and I was sure he probably had a very pleasing face, beneath the cuts and bruises.
I took a deep breath to calm myself, but my heart was pounding in my chest. Something awful was going to happen and there was no way I could escape it.
The man was forced to kneel, facing the crowd in front of my father, and I hoped desperately that he had no family out there watching. No one should have to see their family member go through whatever was about to happen.
“This human was caught conspiring against my kingdom.” father shouted suddenly, making me flinch.
The crowd stayed silent but I could see growing panic on some of their faces as we all began to realise what was coming.
“This pathetic human, who goes by the name Alasdair, wanted to see me dead in the ground and this good kingdom in ruins. So, he will be paying the price for that today. As you can see, he has already been punished,” he laughed, kicking the human in the back, making him grunt in pain.
I took another shaky, not so calming, breath and tried to avoid looking at the man. I was sure that if I just found something else to focus on I could pretend this wasn’t happening.
My shadow and I would soon be back to our normal routine as if nothing had ever happened.
One of father’s guards handed him his sword and he kicked the man down onto his front, placing a foot on his back to prevent him moving. The human, Alasdair, was lying with his head near me and I fought the urge to close my eyes and run blindly away from this horror.
“Thankfully, my beautiful daughter managed to trick this human into revealing his plans and aid in his capture,” father revealed with mock pride as he readied his sword.
I flinched as he mentioned me and stared at him with undisguised confusion, why was he lying? I had never seen this man before in my life, and now everyone in the castle was going to think that he was killed because of me. I clenched my fists, feeling my breathing become more erratic, would Nieve believe this?
The thought of her hating me for causing the death of one of her people made me want to burst into tears. Father knew I hated the execution of both humans and fairies and now he was putting the blame on me. I opened my mouth to deny his accusations but at that moment he swung his heavy sword down.
With one clean cut the prisoner was dead. Human flesh, bone and muscle no match for the strength of a fairy.
I felt the sickeningly warm blood spray onto my boots and ankles, where the wind had lifted my skirts slightly, and almost added my own vomit to the mess now covering the platform.
I glanced down to see a trickle of blood running steadily towards my feet and hastily took a few steps back. I bumped into my shadow who placed a hand on my back to steady me, and prevent my retreat.
Father picked up Alasdair’s head by his bloody blonde plait and held it up high for the whole crowd to see. To my horror, he took my hand and pulled me forward, my feet sliding on the slick stones where blood was pooling around us.
I thought the sight of a trickle of my own blood had affected me, but that was nothing compared to the pool of warm sticky red which made my eyes blur and my chest feel as if the air was being choked from my body.
“This kingdom is united against human traitors. Remember that,” father shouted, throwing the head down in front of the now weeping and furious crowd.
He then turned on his heel and stormed back into the castle, my mother and their guards following him.
I could hear mumbling in the crowd as I stood frozen and I wondered what they must think of me. I could hear their angry voices and knew that they thought this was my fault.
I tried to see Nieve, but the lights dancing in front of my eyes made it difficult and I felt as if I was swaying on the spot trying to find her.
I wished that she would appear before me and take me away from this, wash the blood from me and hide me from the crowd’s anger. Hold me in her arms whilst I cried. Fix the hole in my life where she should be.
I needed her, but she did not come for me.
“Princess,” my shadow murmured behind causing me to flinch.
When it was clear to him that I had forgotten how to make my legs work, he took my shaking arm and gently pulled me back inside the castle. He kept a hold of my arm as we walked through the castle to my chambers. There was no sign of the King in the halls and I was glad. I doubted I could have looked at him without bursting into tears, vomiting on him, or both.
“Get them off,” I whispered hoarsely to Mae as I was delivered to my room, frantically pulling at my blood covered boots and socks.
The sight and feel of the blood on my hands made me feel worse and I wanted everything off. I pulled at my dress frantically, feeling tears on my face.
I could hear my breathing loud and panicked but I was trapped.
I couldn’t get away.
“Calm down.” Mae shouted sternly as she rushed to help me, ripping the dress in her hurry to free me and remove the bloodied clothes from my sight.
Once I was in nothing but my thankfully bloodless shift, not caring that the guard was still present, I ran to pour the water for washing all over my hands and legs to clean them. Rid them of human blood.
Alasdair’s blood.
Blood that the humans of Culhuinn blamed me for, all because the King lied.
I slept through the night without any more disruptions and felt much better when I finally woke up. Careful not to slip I slowly lowered myself into a bath of heated water, which we’d had to pay coin for, and instantly my aches and pains felt soothed.
The bruises on my chest now looked awful, but it was a small price to pay for my life. My knees were scraped and cut, and a dark bruise had blossomed beneath my ribs
where I’d hit the edge of the boat, before tumbling overboard into the loch. Finnian had carefully poked at the bruises and luckily none of my ribs had been broken.
After soaking in the warm water, I slowly made my way down to the inn’s main hall where food was being served. After a bowl of piping hot porridge and a mug of heather tea, I felt considerably better. I was still shaken after having had such a near death experience, but the nice long cry the previous night had helped me feel better.
I was glad to see that Glen looked less stressed and exhausted after getting a good night’s sleep, and gladder still to notice that Finnian didn’t seem to be angry anymore. I hoped he realised that we hadn’t meant to lie to him, but I didn’t bring it up again.
We had originally planned to only spend a few days in this village north of the loch, but after yesterday’s events we decided it would be best to stay until I was fully recovered. The next leg of our journey would include mountains and forests, if our map was to be trusted, and so we didn’t want to encounter anything dangerous whilst I was still injured. The fact that I was a changeling, so less fit than Glen, was problem enough.
The inn we were staying in was owned by a man called Hamish. His wife Eithrig felt sorry for me, after hearing about my fall into the loch, and stopped charging coin for the warm water to help my aches and pains. Hamish had laughed when he heard about my ordeal, but there was no malice in it.
I would have happily stayed in their inn, rather than continue our journey. It was clear just how in love they were and their happiness seemed to spread to everyone who stayed in the inn.
I had never really thought about growing older and marrying, I’d always assumed that I would be dead long before that could happen. Seeing Hamish and Eithrig together made me secretly wish for something similar. Not for the first time, I found myself hoping that the fairies would be able to stop my life from ending any time soon.
Finnian told us stories about Hamish and Eithrig. Apparently, they’d acted like enemies for years before realising that they loved each other and marrying a few days later, much to their families’ confusion. He told us stories about his childhood, spent sailing across the loch, and visiting the three loch-side villages with his da. His stories helped the days pass, and I was glad that Glen had a chance to learn whilst we were stuck in the inn.
A few days later, just as I’d gently lowered myself into the bath, the door opened and to my horror Eithrig wandered in, humming cheerfully to herself. She froze when she saw me there in the water but instead of leaving, like I thought she would, she gently closed the door and came over to help me.
I blushed furiously at revealing my naked body to a woman I had only met a few days before but I relaxed as she tutted sympathetically at my bruises and sat down beside the bath. Clearly, she was used to seeing people naked.
She used a soft cloth to help wash my back and arms, telling me about her day and the inn. Her voice was soothing and the water was working wonders. I was so relaxed I could have fallen asleep, if it wasn’t for her voice keeping me present. She paused for a moment clearly debating saying something, then bluntly asked her question.
“Are you a changeling?”
I flinched at her words, wondering how she could possibly know that about me. Changeling’s tended to be paler than others, especially when they were younger, but I wasn’t sure if Eithrig would notice. Her skin was darker than mine or Glen’s, likely because she’d moved from Finclaw or Cladanan. I’d hoped that she would simply think I was pale because my family was from Tirwood. She seemed to notice my panic and hurried to reassure me.
“I had two sisters that were changelings. You learn how to notice a changeling after spending so much time with them. I can always tell,” she explained with a sad smile.
“Do you think everyone can tell?” I asked, before realising that she had spoken about her sisters as if they had passed away. I cursed myself for being so insensitive and selfish.
“Not at all lass. I’m just good at noticing these things,” she said with a wink.
“I’m sorry about your sisters,” I mumbled.
“Thank you, but it was a long time ago now. They didn’t live past five years, sadly. Unlike you, you lucky thing,” she beamed.
I wasn’t sure I felt particularly lucky, but I smiled anyway. Her happiness was infectious and I couldn’t help but feel happier after spending time with her.
Having spent so much time with Glen and Finnian, recently, it was nice to spend some time with another woman, especially one who understood what life was like as changeling.
I found myself growing closer to Eithrig as the days passed. She revealed that she had always longed for a child, but sadly, they’d never managed to have a baby. Instead, they dedicated their time to their inn and making sure their guests had a good time.
It’s funny the way you can meet someone and within a few days you are spilling your deepest darkest secrets to them, as if you have known them your whole life. I was glad that we would get another chance to stay at the inn as we made our way home.
Glen was making a name for himself as a storyteller and every evening after we ate, he ended up telling stories to the other guests, whilst learning all he could about their myths and tales.
He had asked me every question he could think of when I told him that I was sure I had spotted the kelpies. Unfortunately, he hadn’t noticed them as he’d been too focused on not falling out of the boat and drowning, unlike me. He kept insisting that we went back down to the loch in case they came to the surface again, but we had no such luck.
He was great at telling tales though. The lack of detail, and the fact that he didn’t even see the kelpies with his own eyes, did nothing to hinder his ability to weave them into a story.
The chance to spend more time getting to know Finnian was an unexpected bonus of almost drowning to death. He introduced me to his friends in the village and his sister, Fraoch, who moved there a few years ago, with her new husband. He also helped me try new foods whilst we stayed in the village. Thankfully, I found the brown trout that swam up here edible so could eat without needing lots of drink to wash it down.
Glen continued to be something of an attraction to the locals with his stories from the south, which he loved, so there were always people eager to hear him talk. One afternoon I decided to take the opportunity to escape and have some time alone.
It was nice to walk through the markets and have time to think about everything that had happened on our journey so far. We hadn’t even left the human kingdoms yet and already, I felt changed by our experiences. I could understand now why da was so determined for us to go out and see more of the land. Homesickness crept in whenever I thought of home and my family, but tried not to dwell on it.
As I wandered through the stalls, I thought about what I would like to buy for everyone on our way home. My eyes were drawn to some smooth round stones, the seller told me they were from the very bottom of the loch, which were strung together to make jewellery. Ma would love it and I promised to return and purchase some soon.
The market was less exciting now, as we had been wandering around it all week, so I headed down to the water and found a seat on some barrels.
From there I sat and watched the different people as they worked. It was easy to see the difference between the travellers from each of the three villages. The villagers from the east all wore their thick fur cloaks and hats, whereas, the villagers from the south tended to wear layers of woollen clothes, like Glen and me. I also noticed that more of them had tattoos of the fairy symbols, like Finnian.
The villagers here in the north were a mix between the two and seemed to enjoy shaving parts of their hair into strange patterns, men and women alike.
I felt invisible sitting on the barrels, wrapped in my warm cloak and watching everyone else go about their day. I was all too aware that soon the most dangerous part of our journey would begin, so I was glad for some rest.
As I looked out across the loch, I tri
ed to imagine that I could see all the way down south to our village. The loch looked peaceful today, unlike the day of our crossing. The mountains were free from clouds and so I could make out all their harsh jagged features. Some larger waves rippling far out in the loch drew my attention as the rest of the water remained peaceful.
With a splash, something flicked out of the water for a moment before disappearing back down to the depths. I couldn’t hold back a gasp as I crept closer to the water’s edge for a closer look. The waters splashed again and, for a moment, I could see a colossal creature with a huge flat body and a neck as long and thick as a tree.
It seemed to glide along the surface for a moment, its small beady eyes surveying the shore, before sinking back down below the waves.
“There she is,” said a gruff voice beside me, making me shriek in fright.
I had been so captivated by the sight that I hadn’t even heard one of the sailors walking over the stones towards me.
“What is she?” I asked, completely flabbergasted.
“That’s our monster, beautiful she is,” the man said with a proud smile, before wandering off along the shore whistling to himself.
I watched the waves for a while longer, hoping desperately for the surface to break and reveal the monster again, but I was out of luck.
Soon my growling stomach was too loud to ignore and I headed back to the inn for a much-needed meal. I smirked as I walked, thinking of how furious Glen was going to be when he heard all about yet another creature he missed.
“You are never going anywhere without me again,” Glen complained. “I can’t keep missing out on these stories!”
I laughed, “stop leaving me then.”
“Leaving you? You’re the one who threw yourself out a boat to get away from me!”
That night they were hosting a dance and a small feast in the inn. While Hamish hated to invite in large crowds, Eithrig grasped every opportunity to celebrate and invite in the village. She confided in me that she didn’t host anywhere near as many dances as she would have liked. She unfortunately had to compromise with Hamish.
The Changeling's Journey Page 10
