Leaf and Branch (New Druids Series Vol 1 & 2)

by Donald D. Allan

  "Yes, sir. We go back a few years. We attended the same advanced tactics class in ninety-six. Got along well enough, didn't we James?"

  "Well, enough, I suppose, Marcel. Except for the incident with the same girl that time."

  Brent listened to the two banter and smiled to himself. It felt good to have trusted men at his back. The strain seemed less. The road more open and inviting. James and Marcel quieted and the only sounds were the occasional bird call over the hooves of their horses.

  "Tell me," asked Brent. "How's my brother?"

  "The Knight-General is doing well, sir. He told me to tell you that he hasn't discovered anything new. That mean anything to you, sir?"

  Brent said nothing. The message meant that Frederick was still investigating the Lord Protector and hadn't discovered anything of substance. "Anything else?"

  "Yes, sir. He said to hurry back."

  "That we will, Captain."

  "Captain Marcel and I have worked together many times over the years, sir. I trust him with my life," injected James.

  "Do you now?" Brent lowered his voice. "So tell me Captain Marcel, how many of your men can you trust."

  Marcel grew quiet. The sound of the horses' hooves were loud in the morning air. Brent thought he felt a drop of rain and looked up to try and spot another. Overcast, but it shouldn't rain, he thought. Brent stole a glance at Marcel. He was seriously thinking about the question.

  "Sir, I think so. But hard to say. I can vouch for every one of them but that doesn't mean I will always be right. The Protector may have got to them. Best I can say. I will add that I would be surprised if they were against your brother, sir. Knight General Frederick Bairstow is highly admired by the Army. Much like yourself. We'll see you safe to Jaipers and then back to Munsten. My men are highly trained and motivated, sir. I can promise you if any turn out not to be working for the Army I'll see to them myself."

  "I appreciate the candidacy."

  "Sir."

  "How are things in Munsten? What's happening back home?"

  "The General is being called before the Assembly almost every day now. There's some talk in the Officer's Mess that he's being investigated. Most don't believe it."

  "What do you believe?"

  "Sir?"

  "I asked you whether or not you believe my brother is being investigated."

  "I'm not one for gossip, sir."

  "I'll take that as a yes, then. Anything else?"

  Marcel thought for a moment in silence, snorted once, and then said no.

  "What was the laugh?"

  "Just a passing memory, sir. The Archbishop has been acting strangely. He's been seen all over the castle. Sleeping."

  "Sleeping?"

  "Yes, sir," Marcel barked another laugh. "He's been found sleeping all over the castle. In corners, on benches, in the garden amongst the flowers. When he isn't sleeping he is talking to himself. The Lord Protector has placed guards on him to watch for his safety."

  "And Church services? Have they stopped?"

  Marcel looked surprised. "Church? Well, yes. They have stopped. But no one ever goes anyway."

  Brent clenched his jaw. "No, I suppose not."

  "General, sir. Are you of the Church?" asked James quietly.

  Brent sighed and reached up and grasped the medallion beneath his shirt. God, I'm tired of hiding my Faith. Give me strength. A raindrop landed on his forehead. He looked up and saw that the skies had darkened a little. Maybe it will rain, after all, he thought.

  Brent looked at James. "Yes, James. I most certainly am."

  Thirty-Six

  Jergen Waterfront, 900 A.C.

  IT WAS ALMOST three weeks before we left for the farm. I had told Nadine all I remembered from the conversation in Reeve Comlin's house all those months ago. How he had a friend who ran a farm with his wife and daughter, a daughter Nadine and I could now sense through our bond. And with Dog, too. Dog was now spending more time with Nadine than I. She had a way with him I lacked. She smiled and simply said animals had always been kind to her.

  Nadine instructed me to ask her friend to move into the house and to care for it. Nadine's new younger look could never be explained and she hid from her neighbours. She would be a stranger to them. So, I had met with her friend and, after my tense explanation of why Nadine had decided to let her move in, her friend wept and agreed. We left the house to her and her three children, two cats and a large dog. Her husband had passed away a few years before and she had been living hand to mouth. For her, the house was a huge boon. The garden would keep her family fed and with coin in their pocket.

  I spent a week showing her how to tend the garden and prune the fruit trees. Initially, she was affronted with a young man such as I teaching her but she soon relaxed and listened to what I had to say. Nadine stayed clear through all this. I passed the woman some papers Nadine had drawn up and read and explained them to her. It was notarized and gave her permission to use the home.

  With the money from the sale of herbs, we purchased a small but strong donkey and a small, two-wheeled cart. Nadine assured me the donkey was up to the task and said the donkey knew it was heading to a farm and would have open fields to enjoy. I learned how to hitch a donkey to a cart and how to balance a load in the bed. I loaded Nadine's cherished possessions into the cart and then she happily perched up on the double seat and patted the spot next to her. When I told her I preferred to walk to the farm, Nadine looked put out.

  "Why won't you sit up here with me?" she asked, her green eyes flashing.

  "I feel lazy. I need to stretch my legs. Feel the soil beneath my feet."

  "You're wearing boots, young man."

  I looked down at my new boots. They were simple and I liked them. Nadine and I had stored the black boots in our baggage. After I had shown them to her she had spent many nights examining them and the two red gems. She wouldn't tell me what she was looking for and would swat at me if I got too close. I left them with her. Hopefully, she would figure them out.

  "So I am."

  "Well?"

  "Well, what?"

  "Why won't you sit up here? Do I scare you?"

  "Yes, Nadine. You do."

  "What?" she all but screeched at me.

  I chuckled. Since Gaea had exposed our love we had laid out two bedrolls on the floor. At first, Nadine had been very reserved and shared the same fears I had. More so for her. She was still the old woman in her mind. I didn't see her as an old woman anymore. I saw the woman I loved and the woman she would be once again. I sent my love down our bond and she shuddered and melted into my arms. We were the age when most people get married and start a family. We talked about that. Nadine told me draoi marry as everyone else does. She said she didn't need marriage with the bond we shared and I agreed. That was the first night we slept together and it was wonderful. Nadine was patient with me. Once the nervousness fled, we became lost in each other through our bond and, after a fearful time, we finally separated ourselves. Afterwards, we learned how to remain within ourselves. But for a time, we had become one person. It had been frightening, to say the least, but it had also been powerful. The fear of being lost panicked us more than a little so we practised all the time to make sure it didn't happen again.

  We found, through trial and error, just how close we could become without merging again. As such as I loved it, Nadine was wearing me out. It turns out women can keep going long after a man is ready to collapse. Which is one reason why I wanted to walk on the road. I had to get in better shape and sitting so close to her in the cart would prove too much for me. Plus she was punching me in the arm more and more now. I asked her about it once.

  "It means I love you," she had said.

  "Love punching me," I had replied. Then she smiled at me and I forgave her.

  For now, I was looking up at her and could sense her ire. I could see her ire. See it looking down at me.

  "Do I scare you?"

  "No, you don't scare me, love. I just want my arm to heal
for once. Plus, I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off you."

  Nadine blushed and then leered at me. "And would that be a bad thing? The donkey knows the way. We have a whole cart here. Lots of room."

  I laughed and shook my head. "Nope, walking. Gaea said to make haste and we have lost nearly a month already. Time to get going."

  Nadine laughed and with a finger combed her long hair back over her ears. Her hair was such a bright red it flashed like fire in the sun. Freckles were popping out all over her new young face and she hated them. I thought them gorgeous and traced images with them when I had the chance. She loved when I did that and would lie still and smile her delicious smile and name what I drew. Those were the times I cherished. We spoke in those quiet times of her being the new Cill Darae, like my mother before her. Last night she admitted her reservations while lying back in bed.

  Nadine lay back with her eyes closed and murmured an appreciation. "In a way, I am the Cill Darae after your mother. It makes me sad, to be honest. She was the best of the draoi. The strongest of us all. Now I have power and I can appreciate her all the more."

  "Hmm," I said simply and traced a constellation with the freckles on her upper arm.

  "I want to be like her. As good as her. As strong as her. I don't want to fail Gaea."

  "You won't," I said and ran my finger from her upper arm over to her sun-reddened cheekbones and gently traced pictures with the dots. She smiled.

  "And how do you know, young man?"

  "Because you are the Cill Darae that has never been before. You come with the experiences of a lifetime. And with the wisdom that comes from that. Years from now you will be a legend. Mark my words."

  Nadine opened her eyes and I stared into those deep green depths.

  "I love you, Will Arbor. You're awfully fine to me, do you know that?"

  "Yes, I do, old woman."

  With a growl, she flipped me over and took charge of yet another expression of our love.

  I stood on the road looking over at Nadine sitting on the front edge of the cart. I could see the strength within her. She seemed so confident and so strong. Beneath it, and only because of the bond we shared, I knew she was worried about disappointing Gaea. I was worried about disappointing her, too. But warring within me was an anger. I wasn't convinced I could trust Gaea. She seemed to be a god of sorts but I doubted she was able to see the future. Plants and animals looked only to today. Few planned for the future and I wondered if Gaea was able to. She had put things in motion and we were all paying the price.

  Nadine looked over at me, smiled and patted the place beside her. I reached over and slapped the donkey on the ass. It brayed and started trotting, snapping the cart along in the harness. Nadine squealed and nearly fell back into the cart bed from the seat.

  "You son-of-a-bitch!" she yelled as she grasped for the reins. With a gasp, I could see she realised what she had just said and she covered her mouth with eyes open wide. I heard a muffled "Sorry!" followed by a giggle as she trundled off down the road.

  "Dog, let's go!"

  We reached the farm in eight glorious days. After so much time on the road alone and even with Dog, nothing can compare to being on the road with the woman you love. We talked and laughed and kissed and lost each other in our love. When we rode up over the last hill before the farm we stopped the cart and looked at each other across the cart bench. Without words we knew our fleeting days together alone would not return anytime soon. And would be replaced with work and potential hardship. We hugged and kissed and looked out over the vast farm.

  It was nestled in a wide valley with a small river cutting through it. It looked like a patchwork quilt undulating and meandering alongside the river. Buildings were erected at various points and Nadine explained they were silos for holding grain. She pointed out the fields to me as wheat, barley, potatoes, corn, and a few fields for grazing cattle, sheep and dairy cows. In the centre of the valley was an expansive building. You could easily make out the home. It towered over the outlying buildings. It was more than a house — it was a mansion. Beside the house were three large barns and four large paddocks. I could see a horse being trained by a person holding a rope and a long thin pole in one of those paddocks. The horse was circling around and around. Farm hands were everywhere. A dozen women were in the potato fields bent over with large baskets tied to their backs. Everywhere I looked there were people working the land and animals. It looked idyllic and busy all at the same time.

  I followed the bonds Gaea had given Nadine and I. The person with the horse was the girl. I focused on her for a moment and sensed a sharp surprise. The girl stopped turning with the horse and despite the distance, we could see her staring directly at us. I watched as she raised a hand no higher than her shoulder and gave a little wave. She dropped the rope and pole and ran inside the house.

  "That would be her," said Nadine.

  I looked up at her in the cart. "You think?"

  She smiled. "Pretty sure."

  "Okay then. Let's be about this."

  "Wait. You think we should just drive down there and say 'Hi, we're draoi and we've come to train you?' — do you?"

  "Love, we talked about this. Reeve Comlin bade me come stay with these folk. He knows them. We'll be welcome. We just need to get them to trust us first. We'll know when to bring it up."

  Nadine chewed her lip. We had had this discussion a couple of times in the past week. Now that we were on the doorstep we felt some trepidation. I had come to know Nadine a bit better lately. She poured her heart out to me. She had been alone for so long and so scared all the time. Finding me, her equal, and falling in love had burst the wall she had built to keep everyone outside her thoughts. She cried a lot. Both in happiness and sorrow. She was getting stronger every day.

  "It will be fine, Nadine. If this fellow is anything like Reeve Comlin we will be warmly welcomed. I have no fear. None. This is where Gaea bade us come. We can't question her."

  Nadine nodded and looked down at me. "This is where it all changes, you know that right?"

  "Yes. This is the place where we rebuild the draoi. We rebuild it into something good for the world. You and I. Together."

  Dog bounded up with a grouse in his jaws and dropped it beside the cart. He had been hunting aggressively all that day and we had a dozen grouse, a few braces of rabbits, and one large turkey in the cart. Dog knew we were coming to the farm and made sure we had food to offer. He was a smart dog. I got down and rubbed his head and picked up the grouse and tossed it into the cart with the others. Nadine kept her eyes on the farm.

  "She's excited and scared."

  I knew Nadine was talking about Katherine down below in the farm. I could sense her emotions as well as Nadine. I was a little better at sorting emotions out than her. Katherine wasn't exactly scared. She was apprehensive. I wasn't sure about what yet, but suspected it had to do with her father. Our powers were limited in many ways. We could sense her as a draoi and get a feel for her emotions but that was all. It was the same between Nadine and I. What I had with Dog seemed to be the exception and Nadine and I had tried to make sense of it but failed. The Manuscript said nothing of it.

  "Excited, yes. Her father hasn't accepted it yet. She is worried about him."

  "You know that, do you?"

  "Umm, yes. Pretty sure. I think."

  Nadine smiled at me and then jiggled her reins and Bill the Donkey leant forward and pulled the cart down the dirt road to the farm. "Love you, Will Arbor!" yelled my wise-ass girl.

  "You better!" I yelled back. I looked down to see Dog looking up at me. I crouched down and removed a grouse feather caught between his front teeth. "I love her almost as much as you, Dog."

  Dog licked my face and bounded after the cart nipping at the hooves of Bill. Bill kicked out a couple of times causing Nadine to cry out and curse Dog. "Dog, you stop that, you little shit! Right now, mister or I'll kick your arse all the way to the farm, do you hear me?" yelled Nadine. She had a voice that made yo
u stop and obey. Dog was no exception and he bounded off into the fields beside the road. I ran to catch up with the cart and climbed up beside Nadine. She slipped an arm around my back and pinched my butt.

  The road leading up to the farmhouse was overly wide and led us in a circle past all the buildings and paddocks before sweeping past the large double doors at the front of the house. As we trundled down the road the farm hands in the fields stopped and lifted their hats or waved kindly at us. Everyone seemed happy and content and Nadine and I waved back and called out greetings. As we approached the house we could see a small family standing on the porch: a middle-aged man and woman, and Katherine. The girl stood in front of them in work clothes and leant back into their protective embrace. She was smiling a crooked smile like she shared some truth and was about to be proven right. The man, who I assumed was the father, glared out past the floppy, wide-brimmed hat he wore. His sleeves were rolled up past the elbows and he wore dusty overalls and work boots. The hand he had placed on his daughter's shoulder was strong, dirty and worn: the hand of a man who worked the land. The woman beside him was the wife, I assumed. She was thin and frail and I knew by looking at her that she was ill. My senses flashed out and I knew at once she was dying. Consumed from within by disease. It took all her strength to stand there. She leant on her daughter for support. Her face was dark, the skin tight like a mask. I could still see the beauty there. Whatever had a hold of her was tearing her life away. I looked at Nadine with concern and she returned the look.

  Nadine stopped the cart by the porch and no one said a word. We looked back at one another and Katherine scrunched up her nose. She had a lot of freckles on her face framed by unruly long brown hair.

  "Hi," she said.

  "Hi," I said in return. "The Word is the path."