Hidden Jewel (Heartfire Series) (6 page)

Druid Princess

Thanks for springin' me.”  Ailill's voice was rusty after too many weeks of enforced silence; her gaze slid up, and up, coming to rest on the face above her shoulder. She noted the chiseled lines of strong bones beneath deeply tanned flesh, the flash of white teeth below a humorous glint in velvet-black eyes before her gaze was drawn down to the arms wrapped comfortably about her waist. Tiernan had changed much in the year since last she'd seen him, just after her twelfth birthday. He looked like a man now; tall and braw, his long limbs filled out with beautifully sculpted muscle. It had been such a shock, though, being grabbed from behind by a veritable giant early this morning as she left the forest that had been her home for two full years. Bound and gagged, her small self thrown none too gently across the back of a roan horse, she'd fought her abductor as hard as she was able, meting out a few well placed kicks, one good head-butt to the man's chin before he'd finally removed the cloth bag from her head and shown himself; as they were now, his dark eyes had been brimming with laughter.

“
Aren't ye pleased with my rescue?” Tiernan asked, his tone mock innocence.

“
If I had wanted the life scairt out o' me, then aye. It just so happens that I didn't need rescuing this time, however. I am through training with the Ancients and was to head home today.”

“
I ken it, Abby,” he said quietly, noting a lost look in the deeply shadowed eyes at the sound of her name, one of far too many things she'd relinquished two years ago, albeit temporarily, when she'd first joined with the ancient Druidic sect. “I wanted yer release from the Order to be most memorable, is all.” Placing a spontaneous kiss atop her fiery head, he flashed a sad smile. “Besides that, I've been missin' you. I couldn't wait for yer birthday this year.”

“
Nor could I, Tiernan.” Her smile was bright as a flame, cheeks flushed with warmth at his admission. “Which is why I chose to leave when I had every right to stay.” There was pride in her voice, drawing a smile from the lad that she'd not seen in too long.

“
Aye, we've been kept up to date on ye, wee lass. With MacDuff, it has been almost an obsession these last two years. Arch-Druid... quite an accomplishment. Everyone is verra proud o' our wee Princess.”

“
And you, Tiernan? Are ye proud, too?” Her gaze was hooded when she met his eyes, a stiffness in her bearing he'd never seen before. It was as if she awaited his approval. The thought made him distinctly uncomfortable.

“
I have always been proud of you, Abby.
Always
.” He was so serious, so emphatic in his answer. On impulse, Ailill turned, raised her arms, wrapping them so tightly about his chest that it took his breath away. She felt so good in his arms, so right. He was struck temporarily dumb with the proof of how much she meant to him.

“
I've missed you, too, lad... so very much.” Her whisper made his heart pound, his feet and hands feel suddenly tingly. When her stomach rumbled insistently against his own, breaking a sudden tension that had begun to flare up between them, Tiernan laughed aloud, reined in their shared mount beside a small burn, pleased with himself for thinking to rescue his wee lass; and to pack a picnic lunch so early this morn.

“
Are the long robes a requirement now that yer the highest ranking Druid?”

Tiernan's dark eyes slid over the shapeless robe Ailill had worked so hard to earn. His displeasure in not being able to actually
look
at his favorite lass was obvious in his tone and she turned at the sound, one brow lifted in surprise.

“
Ye were there when I relinquished all, including my name, Tiernan. I own naught but a couple robes, until I have a chance to see what Brenna has in the way o' ready-made clothes, aye?”

“
Well, and how do I know ye haven't gotten fat in the past year?” He argued, though his eyes gleamed, crinkling up ever so slightly at the corners as he forced himself not to smile. “Not that I actually believe that ye would. Get fat, I mean. It's just that, well... mphmm, it has been almost an entire year since we swam in the surf at
Inbhir Nàrann
. And that was the verra last time I saw ye in a plaidy
or
yer birthday suit.”

Her look of blatant outrage was too funny; he could not have held back the laughter bubbling up to the surface had he wanted to.

“
I've eaten naught but plants and berries for two years!” she yelled over his rude chuckling. “I've likely
lost
weight! I'm still a bitty wee thing and
you've
grown into a giant from dining on all those fine meals o' meat and tatties whilst living in luxury amongst the good people o' Heartfire Keep!”

He didn't notice the effect of his ribbing until Ailill turned away, shoulders slumped. His laughter faded to still silence when she suddenly ran into the forest, her movements quite obviously hindered by the long lengths of dark blue cloth. Within seconds, he was right on her heels, reaching out to clasp her small form to his chest, his arms fairly squeezing the breath from her lungs as she unexpectedly burst into tears. He'd not held her like that in years; not since she was a homesick wean of four, crying for the loss of the parents left on the opposite side of a vast and empty sea.

“
Wheesht, lass. Don't cry,” he husked softly, his own throat feeling like it was closing up on him, sympathetic to a young girl's tears as he sat on a nearby log and cradled her on his lap. “Dinna cry,
mo
gealbhan
. I am here for ye now and I willna leave ye to loneliness nor hunger again. My honor is my word, and ye have that everafter. Shh... shh.” Leaning back to look at her, Tiernan gently wiped her eyes with a clean hankie, surprised by the depths of emotion he could feel in the girl. “Was it truly so bad, after I left?” he wondered aloud, holding her to him as if he could change what already was by sheer will.

“
Not so very bad,” Ailill answered truthfully, her voice shaky. “Twas lonely after you left the Order, Tiernan. So terribly lonely. The only way to keep myself from dwelling on it was to work hard, to carry out all they set before me and excel until there was naught left to learn. I didn't want to outrank everyone else, it was an accident. I had no one after you were gone and it fair drove me mad.” Accepting the handkerchief he offered, she turned away to wipe her nose. “I'm sorry for crying like a bairn. How young you must think me, how uncontrolled no matter my titles and accomplishments.”

“
I'm the one who should apologize, Abby. I shouldn't have made fun after all yer hard work. It was uncalled for and I am sorry.” Abashed, he looked away from her searching gaze. “I'm sorry for a great many things,
leannan
. Too many to explain just now.” Suddenly evasive in the face of her openly suspicious look, he stood, holding her across his chest like a babe. “I had the forethought to bring us a picnic lunch and, as long as yer allowed to eat it, the main staples are meat and tatties.” Her interest was certainly piqued by that lofty comment. Her eyes sparkled like star sapphires and she suddenly looked ravenous. “How does beef pasties sound? And cool, creamy milk?”

When he mentioned scones for desert, Ailill's smile easily outshone the watery sun peeking  overhead.

It was a quiet homecoming, the duo slipping in through a bolthole at the back of the keep long after darkness had fallen, moving through the grounds like a pair of shadows, stealthy and silent until they reached the home of  Heartfire Keep's head sempstress. At the request of the wee Princess, with Tiernan only too happy to agree, the young woman was sworn to secrecy about their arrival, only told to have a package delivered to the lad's room first thing in the morning, after she and Ailill had disappeared for a good half hour, and he left alone to ponder just what caused lassies to giggle so much when lads weren't around.

When they reached Tiernan's rooms, at last, Ailill was so tired that he found himself holding her up. Her small body still swathed in the shapeless garment, he bundled the girl into bed, crawled in beside her and, holding her in his arms for the first time in nearly a year, fell instantly to sleep.

She woke slowly, surprised to find herself surrounded by solid walls, a ceiling that did not move and rustle in the breeze. The warmth beside her drew her eye and Ailill turned soundlessly, raising up on an elbow to watch the lad she knew so well. His breaths were even, slow and steady with deep slumber; she knew he'd not slept so soundly in many long months, her own sleep fitful for the very same reason. They'd shared a bed nearly every night for six years before she'd gone to train with the Order. Innocent, no different than siblings in all that time, she sensed a change in him. For one,  Tiernan had never made such a big deal about her body; never shown such open curiosity in how she might look after time spent apart. Then again, up 'til two years ago, they'd not spent time apart and even when she'd first gone to live amongst the Order, Tiernan had chosen to join, as well, after just a few days. Though well spent, his time had come and gone too quickly, while hers had only just begun. Ailill was simply destined for much more, and the experience had been worthwhile.

But oh! how she had missed that lad! Life amongst a sect of Ancients proved utterly lonely to a small lass used to living at the heart of a group of boisterous warriors-in-training. Too strict, too quiet; too different. She'd changed as well... more than she cared to let on. But it was a different sort of change she'd undergone, no less physical than this new, older lad; no, she'd changed in every aspect, grown into all that she was supposed to become, what had been written in the histories. She had much reason to be proud of herself, she knew.

And it seemed that all Tiernan cared about on her first day back in the
normal
world was whether she might have gotten fat? No, it had to be more than the fact that he could not look upon his brawny wee lass, see the changes a full year had wrought. He had no idea what it had been like, how hard she had worked to keep her body in top physical form despite the obvious displeasure her daily routine had brought from the others, who'd rather she sit about and meditate all day long. No, he had no idea what to expect, and it must have bothered him; enough that he would speak and act not like her best friend, but more like a regular boy might act. But Tiernan MacDuff was not, had never been, a regular boy. His changes were quite evident, his body that of a young man, his features, even. He looked like a statue, sculpted of burnished bronze, the hard lines of his newer, older face no longer hidden by youth. Although... peering closely, Ailill could still see the boy beneath the chiseled surface of mortal flesh; bare from the waist up, she took careful note of the surprising breadth of his muscles, eyed the smooth skin, upon which she itched to etch ancient symbols, to embellish with precious metals. Aye, she could picture that with ease. As she watched, a smile curved his smooth, almost plump lips; even his dreamwalks were happier with the sure knowledge that she was back for good. Smiling in return, soon grinning like a fool as she glanced about, hungrily seeking the familiar surroundings of home, she could not help feeling a pang of regret when the expected tap came on the outer door.

Careful not to wake the lad as she moved, Ailill stood, paused just long enough for her tiny feet to luxuriate in the softness of the rabbit-skin rug sewn across the floor, her toes curling with the soft, pleasurable sensation. At another light tap, she quietly shut the bedroom door, tiptoed across the room and opened the outer door a crack, only to find her nose nearly planted in a bare and totally masculine chest.

“
Declan.”

“
Princess.”

With a muffled giggle, Ailill was whisked off her feet, spun about the hallway with dizzying speed by her elder cousin.

“
Put me down!” she cried, breathless, utterly happy for the first time in too long. Then again, her second favorite lad in all the land usually had that effect. “I dinna wish to wake yon prince too soon.”