Authors: L. M. Roth
Nolwenn knew
that Melisande continued to be concerned about little Gwenaelle’s wobble, the
difficulty she exhibited in walking. Was it possible that there was something
wrong with the child? She knew that Melisande hated anything less than
perfection, and wondered how any defect in her own daughter would affect their
relationship.
Nolwenn kept
hidden from Melisande the fact that Dirk had discovered and broken the amulet
that she had given to her as a special gift. It had been made especially for
her, and if Melisande knew of its destruction she would be furious at Nolwenn’s
carelessness. She shuddered to think how her sister-in-law might act; she
remembered when Brenus was alive how he seemed cowed at times by Melisande, and
although Nolwenn had always been treated with gentleness and courtesy she knew
the kind of temper her brother’s widow possessed.
Nolwenn was
uncertain of her own feelings regarding the destruction of the amulet. It
seemed as though a dark cloud in her life had dissipated for some reason that
she did not fathom. The sky seemed bluer, and the sound of birdsong sweeter,
since the amulet had been destroyed. She felt freer, somehow, as if a weight
had been lifted from her. But why that was she could not say.
She wished at
times that she could still summon up the foreknowledge of events that the amulet
had shown her. With its destruction came a loss of power, and she felt like a
helpless and uncertain little girl, and not the woman with a special gift that
she had with the possession of the amulet. Her friends could no longer ask her
questions that she knew the answers to, and the loss of prestige was
humiliating.
At first she
had attempted to guess when they asked questions. But as question after
question was unanswered, her friends shook their heads in bewilderment, and
then withdrew in anger. She was tempted to try to seek information in some
other way, but Dirk had broken her bowl, and it would have been too unwieldy to
slip away to use when she needed information at once. She both sighed for the
amulet and the power it had given her, and yet felt relieved at the curious
sensation of freedom that she now possessed.
And so the
days of April slipped away, and events accelerated that would culminate in the
Spring Festival.
An evening
came when Nolwenn came face to face with Yuna, out taking the evening air,
hobbling with a cane. She had grown feebler lately, and for a moment Nolwenn
felt a pang of guilt that she did not seek her out as she occasionally did in
the days before her father’s accidental poisoning. She had sat with her
sometimes when she called on her to purchase herbs for her mother for cooking,
or the occasional medicinal herbs that Judoc requested if a member of the
family was ill.
But since Yuna
had cursed Melisande, Nolwenn had been careful to avoid her.
With a start,
Nolwenn remembered that Yuna had also cursed the baby that Melisande bore. And
now little Gwenaelle walked with a limp. And she wondered if the curse had come
home to roost…
“Well, little
miss, how are you this fine evening?” Yuna inquired with a croak in her voice
and a twinkle in her eye. “You are not afraid to walk about as the sun sets, I
see.”
Nolwenn tossed
her mane of dark hair defiantly.
“I am not
afraid,” she sniffed. “I see nothing to fear: I am part of this land, and
nothing in it frightens me.”
“Ah, that’s
the spirit,” Yuna purred in a slightly softened voice. “You have the look on
you, you do. And such courage is another indicator.”
“The look of
what?’ Nolwenn asked, as a frown of genuine bewilderment creased her young
brow. “I do not know of what you speak.”
Yuna cackled
in amusement and drew closer to the girl, an action that did not greatly please
Nolwenn as Yuna’s breath smelled of something sour and the scent of her herbs
clung to her garments, particularly sage, an herb which Nolwenn could never
abide. But Yuna did not notice the girl’s aversion.
“You have the
look of a sorceress,” she intoned as she searched Nolwenn. “I’ll be bound that
you have already discovered that for yourself. I’ve heard rumors about you
among the villages lasses, I have. You have the sight: your mother never had
it, your sister never had it; but you have it.”
This
announcement was received with mixed feelings, for it stirred in Nolwenn a
desire for her amulet, which strangely enough, she had not truly desired since
its destruction. But now a fierce longing came upon her to hold it, and to
search the depths of the crystal for those visions that thrilled and awed her.
And in the same moment, she became angry with Dirk for destroying it.
“Well, I do
not see what business this is of yours, Yuna,” Nolwenn declared with an attempt
at bravado.
The truth was
that Yuna made her extremely uncomfortable and she heartily wished for nothing
more than to be rid of her presence. Yuna’s next words, however, changed her
mind completely on that account.
“It is my
business since the day I gave you a healing potion and your sister-in-law added
something poisonous to it that nearly killed your father, Nolwenn Adalbart. And
I warned you, then, and I warn you now, that one is no good, and you must stay
away from her.”
Nolwenn bit
her lip so hard in the attempt not to fume at Yuna that she drew blood. She
decided, however, that it was time to put Yuna’s suspicions regarding Melisande
to rest once and for all and have an end to the matter.
“Yuna, my
sister-in-law is a kind person who would never harm anyone. Why do you persist
in thinking she tried to poison my father? The truth is that you probably got
addled in your brain and gave me the wrong potion for Father, and that instead
of a healing potion, it was
you
that almost poisoned him!”
Yuna bristled
at this and pounded her cane down hard on the ground. She came even closer to
Nolwenn and her mouth was a tight straight line in her withered old face.
“Addled?
Addled, am I? Be careful who you call addled, my girl! For you are as bewitched
by that no good sister-in-law of yours as your brother was; and we all know
what became of him!”
Nolwenn
finally came unbridled at this charge. To speak of Brenus’ death was to touch
an open wound that she still could not bear to look at, and that someone who
was not a member of the family should force her to speak of it made her
furious.
“How dare you
bring up Brenus’ death and try to lay the blame at Melisande’s door! No one
knows how he died,
no one
! Do you understand that? He simply went
hunting in the woods as he did everyday and he, he…died. We do not know how,
but he died.”
Tears that she
tried to quench brimmed in her eyes, making them look like pools of sparkling
jet in her ashen face. She took a deep breath to steady herself, but the tears
spilled over and down her cheek. She hastily wiped them away, but not before
Yuna had noticed.
“Go on and
weep, girl, tis naught to be ashamed of! Why, it’s your father who is always
telling you to control yourself, but he is a northerner, and not one of us. We
Eirini have always let our feelings out, and don’t stifle them. Go on and weep,
I say.”
By now Nolwenn
was hiccupping with the effort to control herself, but the tears flowed and she
hiccupped and wept, as her body convulsed with her stifled emotions. At last
she ceased weeping and felt nothing, and wondered if she would ever feel
anything again. She felt old suddenly, as old as Yuna, and shuddered at the
thought.
“Sit down,”
Yuna told her, pointing to a deadened stump left from a felled tree.
Nolwenn
obliged and sat down heavily, wincing at the contact of the hard stump with her
tender backside.
Yuna found a
nearby boulder that she perched upon, and she gave Nolwenn a long stare that
made the girl feel disrobed, as if all of her defenses were down and she had
nothing to hide behind.
“About that
brother of yours,” Yuna began.
She paused
when she saw Nolwenn flinch with pain, and softened her voice before
proceeding.
“Tis no secret
that he strayed from the path in the woods, and whatever he encountered must
have frightened him to death,” Yuna stated. “But I also know that he was
unmanned by that wife of his: why all she had to do was glare at him and he
froze like a stag when it hears the hunter’s tread. Afraid of her, he was, and
with good reason, I say! For it has been many years since I saw one as evil as
that one!”
Yuna paused
and spat on the ground, and Nolwenn stiffened, preparing herself to do battle
with the old woman if she must. Yuna simply didn’t understand Melisande, as did
none of her family members. And she would not sit there and listen to criticism
of her.
She decided to
go on the attack and not be forced to listen to the old woman’s accusations.
“I have a
question for you also, Yuna: why did you curse Melisande and her baby the day
you called on her? I was there, remember? What kind of curse did you call down
on her, and why?”
A sly look
came into Yuna’s old eyes, and she seemed to see beyond Nolwenn at something
that was visible only to her.
“I cursed her
because she attempted to murder your father. Oh, don’t bristle at me, my girl,
I know she did! I know full well what herbs I put in the potion I gave you, and
I wouldn’t harm Dag Adalbart for the world. But your Melisande would; for she
hates him as I have seen few hate in my time. Consumes her it does; and it will
be the death of her if she does not let it go.
“As for the
curse I laid on her, tis only what she deserves. She attempted to snuff out the
life of another before his time, so nothing dear to her will ever fulfill its
promise. And that is all the information you need, missy! For I know you’ll go
running to your precious sister-in-law and repeat everything I have just told
you. Well, go on, I say; twill not do you any good.”
And Yuna rose
from her boulder, spat on the ground again, and left Nolwenn alone on the stump
to fume in silence.
The time for
Spring Festival had come again, and once more, Nolwenn was excluded because her
parents were not there to present her to the young men.
She inwardly
shrugged; she was in no great hurry to marry. She was sixteen now, but
considered that she had plenty of time to have children and raise them. And in
truth, there was not a young man among the villagers who had taken her eye yet.
She was relieved
that Pierrick lived in Annick and she was not subjected to his constant
presence in Leith. For already his mother Loana was determined to make a match
between them. She found herself wondering whether her own mother would be
amenable to that, especially as Judoc had always possessed a bright
intelligence and would not wish to see her daughter bound to a young man that
was so obviously slow of wit and dull of intellect.
She decided
that it was a matter for pondering later, once her parents had returned from
Valerium. She wondered how they fared, having heard only sporadic news from
them since her mother and brothers had gone to be with Dag. Brand wrote that
life in Potentus was interesting but somewhat noisy, as the sound of chariots
were heard from dawn to dusk, and it seemed that there was a procession every
time the Emperor left his Palace, which necessitated the blowing of trumpets
that all the city might know that their sovereign was among them, the better
for them to bow down and do homage.
He also wrote
of darker matters, the burning of heretics at the command of the Emperor, a
horrifying event to witness, and to listen to the screams of those tormented in
their last moments on earth was too cruel for anyone with an ounce of humanity
in them to bear. Brand truly wondered if the Emperor had any humanity at all;
for he could watch the burnings from the balcony that led off of his throne
room and then call for meat and wine. How could anyone who behaved in such a
manner possibly order others to worship Dominio, for He was love itself, and
Iacomus was the personification of evil and malice if you asked Brand!
Nolwenn read
these accounts with a growing sense of terror. To read of such atrocities was
far worse in her eyes and more to be feared, than the accounts from the
villagers of strange beings who walked about after dark. Such strange tales as
were being told these days: the sound of someone pacing back and forth in front
of the village gates, the sound of someone walking in the woods, but no one was
to be seen. Nolwenn was not alarmed at these rumors, for such was to be
expected if one lived in Eirinia, according to the older people who remembered
when such goings on were the norm.
It was her
father, so she was told, who had put an end to all of that. And Nolwenn had
been told that from the time she was a child also. Why did these things arise
now? Was it due to her father’s absence? And when he returned, would they flee
at his coming?
If the grass
was not the usual emerald green of other springs, but was indeed, tinged with a
dreary brown, it was ignored and the Festival proceeded in the customary
manner. Flowers bedecked the tresses of the village maidens, so fair that they
put their floral adornments to shame. They danced in a circle together, waiting
for the tributes from the young men to begin. There was much laughter and
blushing, each one secretly hoping that the young man of her choice would bring
her a flower as an invitation to dance.
Maelys did not
dance this year. To her younger sister, she appeared pale and drawn, as if she
had suddenly aged and merrymaking was a thing of the past for her. Indeed,
Maelys stood close to Kyrene all the evening, with Lucius and Dirk hovering in
the background. They also appeared distracted, yet alert for Nolwenn knew not
what.
Since she
could not be presented to the young men and was therefore not permitted to
dance with the young people, she drew apart from the others and went to stand
with Melisande, who had brought Gwenaelle to enjoy the spectacle. Melisande
seemed in merry spirits, laughing as she watched the dancers whirling about to
the playing of pipes and reeds. Nolwenn saw Yuna emerge from her hut, and
averted her eyes, hoping the old woman would not see her and decide to join
them. That she was capable of doing so out of pure malice Nolwenn knew, and it
would be hard not to give the old woman the rough side of her own tongue if she
tried to bait her or Melisande on this festive occasion.
Melisande also
noticed Yuna and turned her back to her slightly. She turned a smile on her
young sister-in-law and Gwenaelle suddenly reached out to Nolwenn. This
delighted her aunt, who gladly picked her up and swung her gently around. The
little girl was thrilled and giggled, begging for more. So Nolwenn repeated her
gyrations and laughed with her small niece.
When she felt
herself out of breath and growing somewhat dizzy, she stopped, and to the
pleadings of Gwenaelle she begged for mercy that she might recover. This did
not please the young tyrant, who puckered up her small mouth and screamed. When
this did not induce Nolwenn to give in to her tantrum, the little girl pulled
at her aunt’s mane of dark hair, bringing tears to Nolwenn’s eyes. She
struggled to release Gwenaelle’s grip on her hair, and the child then pulled at
the neck of her robe, tearing it and exposing Nolwenn’s neck, collarbone, and
part of her chest.
Melisande
exclaimed and grabbed the child from Nolwenn, urging her to cover herself up.
The tear was not deep, however, and Nolwenn was able to say that she was still
modestly attired. But Melisande gave her a peculiar look and drew her away from
the group of revelers.
“Hurry, you
must cover up your pendant before others see it,” she urged.
She looked
expectantly to where the pendant should hang around Nolwenn’s neck beneath her
robe; but it was not there. Melisande appeared taken aback, and gave her
sister-in-law a questioning look.
“Nolwenn,” she
whispered, “where is the amulet I gave you? I do not see it, and I wanted you
to wear it always, as a special gift from me. Where is it?”
Nolwenn froze
and a strange fear swept through her. She inadvertently glanced over at Dirk
and then back to Melisande. But Melisande had seen. Suddenly her green eyes
narrowed and their black lashes came down over them as she clamped her lips
tightly.
“Yes? I am
waiting, Nolwenn,” she said in a voice that cut through her young sister-in-law
like a dive into a pool of icy water in the middle of January.
“I, I, there
was an accident, Melisande,” she stammered helplessly.
“An accident?”
Melisande repeated in a disbelieving tone. “What
kind
of accident?”
Nolwenn felt
that her knees would give way and she would crash to the ground. Why did her
heart hammer so in her chest? Surely Melisande must be able to hear it, and
know that something was amiss!
She saw Dirk
approach out of the corner of her eye. He had noticed the incident with
Gwenaelle and saw her tear Nolwenn’s robe, and he was slowly circling Nolwenn
and Melisande from behind. An inexplicable sense of relief flooded her suddenly,
and she knew that if she needed him, Dirk would be there.
The knowledge
gave her the courage she needed to make her confession to Melisande.
“Yes, there
has been an accident, and I am afraid that as a result the amulet has been
destroyed,” she stated boldly as she looked Melisande directly in the eye.
Melisande
gasped and turned an ugly shade of bright pink, a shade that was not quite
purple, a shade that set Nolwenn’s teeth on edge and gave her warning. She
backed away slowly from her sister-in-law. But Melisande grabbed her arm and
pulled her close to her. She drew back her arm and slapped her hard across the
face.
Nolwenn felt
the air leave her lungs and she felt a pain in the pit of her stomach. The blow
stung and tears sprang to her eyes. She fought the urge to cry and faced her
sister-in-law.
“How dare you
hit me like that? I, who have never given you anything but love and
understanding! Apologize to me, Melisande: I insist on it.”
Melisande
jeered at her openly, and to Nolwenn it was as though a stranger who wore her
sister-in-law’s face stood there, mocking her and hissing at her like a viper
about to strike.
“I will treat
you any way that I choose!” Melisande spat at her. “I should have known that an
ignorant country girl like you would treat such a treasure so carelessly.
Serves me right for thinking you had grown up!”
Nolwenn was no
longer afraid: she was disgusted by the scorn she saw in Melisande’s face. The
mask of kind concern had dropped, and she would never be fooled by it again.
Too late she remembered all of the warnings from her family and even from Yuna
regarding Melisande.
“Ignorant, am
I? No, I would say that innocent is a more appropriate word. But perhaps that
is a word you do not know the meaning of, Melisande. I can see now that everyone
was right about you, everyone who warned me of you! Well, I have learned now:
you are no friend of mine.”
She turned her
back on Melisande but this only seemed to infuriate her all the more. She
pulled on Nolwenn’s hair, even as her daughter had done. Nolwenn cried out, but
Dirk was there, with Maelys right behind him.
He slapped at
Melisande’s wrist, a gesture that startled her so that she let go her hold on
Nolwenn’s hair. She whirled on Dirk with her nails out, ready to claw him, but
he twisted her hand and she cried out in pain.
“I would not
do that if I were you,” he warned. “For I am not some fine aristocratic
gentleman that would never raise his hand against a woman. I’ll slap you, I
will, and not regret it one bit. You’d best take yourself off to your hut
before I decide to do just that.”
He glared at
her with dark stormy eyes, and her own green ones had the look of a furious
feline that just been robbed of the mouse it had so patiently stalked and set a
trap for. Nolwenn drew back from her and moved close to Maelys, a move that was
not lost on Melisande.
“Hmpf!” she
huffed. “So the sisters Adalbart are reunited, are they? And for how long will
that
be, I wonder? Considering the shrewish disposition of the elder and the
insufferable stupidity of the younger, I can not see that lasting long.”
Maelys put an
arm around Nolwenn, who nestled close and hid her face against her sister’s
shoulder.
“It was only
your sorcery and deceptions that came between us at all, Melisande,” Maelys
addressed her. “And now that you are exposed for the vixen that you are, I do
not think you will be able to deceive my sister again; or any member of my
family.”
“Sorcery?”
Melisande mocked her in a silken tone. “Why, what do you mean by sorcery? I am
no witch!”
“Well, now
that is debatable,” Yuna announced as she joined them.
Melisande
rolled her eyes and turned a malicious glare on the old woman that gave Nolwenn
a tingle up her spine.
“And just what
do you mean by that remark?” she snapped.
“I mean, that
you took instruction from Enora on sorcery, before you met Brenus. You stayed
with her in Annick when you arrived here, and that is where you stayed before
you married him. I know, because she boasted about it to me when I called on
her to inquire about you, so proud she was at your aptitude for it. And I have
seen you spinning a web around this young one, hoping to pull her in, and she
so innocent that she did not even know what you were doing as I found out when
I tested her. And you know how distraught her father would be at such
practices, him who cleansed this land of the Tuadan, who have now returned at
your call, yours and Enora’s!”
Yuna spat at
Melisande, who quickly ducked out of the way of the spittle. She glanced from
her to Dirk, and then at Nolwenn, who appeared stunned at the accusation.
Indeed, Nolwenn appeared on the verge of tears, and for a moment Melisande
wavered, and did not say whatever she had been about to utter.
She contented
herself with casting a look of pure hatred on the old woman before stomping
away to her own hut.
“You are an
evil old woman, and you will be repaid for your wickedness!” she flung at her
as she stalked off.
When she had
gone, Nolwenn turned to Dirk and Maelys, hurt and bewilderment written in every
line of her young face. Maelys was overcome with tenderness and put her arms
out to her sister. Nolwenn threw herself into them and wept softly. Dirk put
his arms around both of them and held them close.
“Twill be
alright,” he soothed. “Dominio is yet in control, and He will work everything
out.”
To the
surprise of Dirk and Maelys, Niamh did not attempt to call on the gods of old
during the festival. The omission worried them, rather than reassured them that
all was as it should be among the villagers. Dirk did not miss the exchange of furtive
glances between Niamh and some of the women.
What are they
up to, I wonder? And why did they not come forward openly as they have at
previous festivals?
And he
wondered if they had come to their senses regarding their former rebellion, or
if they had merely decided to meet in secret, all the better to be unhindered
by those who gave their allegiance to Dominio?