Cuinn and Eavyn

2/14/05

The wind was howling past our ears and pulled at our cloths as we stood on the ridge. The sun had just slipped below the mountains and the air was growing more crisp by the minute. Beside me, Cuinn had just finished carving a circle around us, into the soft dirt. He touched my elbow softly, drawing my attention back to him, and then instructed me to sit across from him.
Between us, Cuinn spread his hands out, placing his palms down. He began chanting in a strange tongue under his breath. A single blue flame began to glow beneath his hands, which bloomed into a small fire that flickered in the wind and gave off an unnatural orange glow.
"Eavyn, take my hands."
His hands were large and warm in mine.
His voice was low and deep, his eyes closed and his brow was furrowed with concentration. He gripped my hands tightly, as though I might pull or be pulled away at any moment. Between us, the fire grew larger until its golden flames were licking at our wrists, yet it did not burn us. Around us the wind’s howls grew even stronger, as though the elements were protesting what we were doing. My heart was beating like a frightened hummingbird and my skin broke out into gooseflesh. The air inside our circle had become stale and a wave of claustrophobia washed over me.
Cuinn's voice was raising with emotion and intensity, while the fire grew larger still, now engulfing our arms and slowly spreading toward our knees. I could feel its heat, like a slow burn across my flesh.
His chin came up and Cuinn looked as though he were speaking to the sky above us. His blue-grey eyes reflected the last bit of daylight turning them a deep silver color. Suddenly the fire leaped up and fully engulfed us!
I tried to scream, but no sound came out! I felt like I was being smothered! Cuinn squeezed my hands until I could feel my pulse in my fingertips. I squeezed my eyes closed and prayed to whatever power might be listening that it would all be over soon! It seemed like the world around me was being pulled apart. Then there was only silence.
It took me a moment to adjust to the change, but slowly my body began to register warmth and cold again. There was a slight breeze and I could fill my lungs with precious cool air once more.
"Eavyn, you can open your eyes." Cuinn’s voice was barely a whisper and seemed to come to my ears from far away. Very slowly I peeked out from the lashes of first one eye and then the other. The fire was gone and I could breathe normally again. We were still sitting on the edge of the ridge, had I imagined the last terrifying moments?
"What happened? Did it work?" I asked.
"It worked." He said. His eyes had regained their usually blue-grey color. "Um you can let go now."
I realized that now it was I who was gripping his hands for dear life.
"Oh, sorry." I let go of his hands, leaving small white impressions from my fingers.
"Welcome to Beaccan." He said quietly as he looked around, smiling to himself. Then his eyes came back and met mine. "Welcome home, Eavyn!"

Home.
It looked just like home, but I could feel a difference in the land and in the air. It was nothing I could quite put my finger on, just a subtle difference. It was nearly dark and the sky had turned a deep violet color. To the west some orange and pink could still be seen, but was fading fast. Across from me Cuinn had fallen into shadow, but I could still make out his sharp features. His tall lanky frame and the dark hair he kept cut close to his head. The nearly full moon seemed to be rising over his shoulder and the soft glow turned him into a silhouette before my eyes. I took a breath and held it.
"So now what do we do?" I asked, my voice was barely audible in my own ears.

It hadn’t quite been a month since Cuinn had appeared on our doorstep. He'd been dressed strangely, and spoke with an accent that I couldn’t quite place. My first impression of him had been that he was drop dead gorgeous! But of course, being only seventeen, that was my first impression of most young men. He'd bowed deeply and addressed me as milady, which had made me blush. He'd then introduced himself as Cuinn of Beaccan and that he'd come to escort me home.
My mother had come up behind me and when she heard him she had dropped the picture frame she'd been fixing. The glass shattered, much like my handle on the world as I had known it from that point on.

"There is a cottage nearby, " Cuinn said, as he stood up slowly and offered his hand to help me to my feet. "It will be full dark by the time we get there, but it will be a safe place to rest for the night."

A safe place.
Once upon a time I'd felt safe in the knowledge that the world around me was just as it appeared to be, but Cuinn had changed that.
After my mother had broken the frame, Cuinn had immediately knelt to pick up the glass shards. My mother just stood there with her hands to her mouth looking horrified while I looked from one and then to the other, as if I were at a tennis match.
Finally my mother knelt down and touched his hand, "Leave it." she'd said. "And come inside. We all need to talk."

It was a long walk back down the ridge, especially in the dark. Neither of us spoke and my thoughts were quickly absorbed with my first meeting with Cuinn. It seemed a lifetime ago, but had it only been a few short weeks?

We'd all been seated in the livingroom when my mother spoke those words that no one ever wants to hear. "Eavyn, there's something I have to tell you."
My stomach clenched and the hair at the base of my neck prickled up, sending a shiver over my body. I'd tried to joke, to break that awful feeling of dread that had enveloped us.
"I knew it," my lips curled into a wry smile. "Im adopted aren’t I?"
My mothers eyes widened and her lips grew thin. When she answered me it was not at all what I had expected to hear. "Actually yes, in a way you are." My jaw dropped open, "Oh." Suddenly I remembered the can of soda in my lap and I took a drink. "I was only kidding when I asked."
"Eavy, Im so sorry. Im doing a terrible job of this! I knew someday I'd have to tell you, and now that its here," her voice trailed off and she wiped at her eyes in frustration. "Now I don’t even know where to start."
I looked to my left where the boy, Cuinn, sat. His face was impossible to read and his blue grey eyes watched me intently. He couldn’t be any more then in his early twenties, but those eyes seemed ageless. I shuddered and looked back at my mother, whom had composed herself some. "Well, you'd better start from the beginning I suppose."
I really didn’t want her to explain anything. I wanted to get up and leave and for that day to have never come. I was so confused I didn’t even know what to think. What the hell had happened, who was Cuinn and why had he come? He just sat there staring at me, silent as a tomb.
Another shudder coursed through me and I drew my attention back to my mother. Her face, which was normally youthful perfection, was pale and drawn. Suddenly every micro wrinkle around her eyes and mouth were clearly visible. I sat back into my own chair and waited.
"Well, to start at the beginning we have to go back a very long way." her voice was very quiet and her eyes were unfocused, as if seeing something none of us could. "I was born in a place called Beaccan. It’s a..." she waved her hands before her, "Its in a time parallel to our own. I know that sounds like a movie, but its what it is. A duplicate of our time, but different. Magic is real there, like the kind in books. There are wizards and magicians. I was raised in a family of magic users and if I would have stayed I would have been trained in the arts and likely would have been employed as a wise woman for the king and queen."
My mother shook her head and looked at me, "I know this sounds horribly unreal to you, I don’t know how better to explain it. Anyway, I had a vision when I was very young. I dreamed of your father and I knew that my place was here with him, instead of in my own time. So when I turned sixteen I crossed the Vale and I’ve been here since. We were never able to have children of our own and we wanted a child desperately! Then my sister came to me in a vision and told me about you."
I sat quietly and listened, torn between not being able to believe a word of what I was being told, yet believing it because it was my mother who was telling me. All the while Cuinn sat and watched us.
"There had been a terrible war." my mother went on. "Beaccan had been taken in a surprise attack by the neighboring land of Guall and our King and Queen had fled into hiding. Everything was chaos."


Beaccan- sixteen years earlier

There was a quick rap at the door of the old cottage, where Rike and his wife and child were in hiding. Rike quickly jumped up and rapped back in code. The code was answered with another series of raps and Rike opened the door quickly letting the outsider in.
"Ah, Prin! What news have you?"
The short man sighed loudly, "None that is good, Im afraid!" He glanced in the direction of Rike’s wife, Salla. "And how is the wee one this day?"
Salla shrugged, "She sleeps mostly, which is fortunate for us." Her daughter lay in a small crude cradle she had been given, while they stayed in the cottage.
Prin came toward the child and leaned over. "May I see?"
Salla nodded and gently unswaddled the sleeping child, to show the pink mark on the side just under her collar bone, in the shape of a dragon blowing flames. Its tail curled under it. At first look it looked more like a blotchy circle, But the detail was unmistakable upon closer look.
Prin smiled at Salla, " She is going to be a beauty when she grows up. No doubt like her mother."
Salla gave him a small worried smile. She could help but add, If she grows up.
Prin turned his attention back to Rike, "Why don’t you accompany me for a walk."
Rike glanced at his wife, who nodded for him to go on, and followed Prin outside.
"We don’t have much time do we?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
Prin shook his head, "Im afraid not, milord. Kier's men have been spotted only a half day's ride from here. They are searching every cottage, Craig, and cobblestone for the two of you and the babe."
Rike ran a hand over his short beard and exhaled loudly through his nose. "So what are we to do?"
"If I may, milord, I know of a woman who might be able to help you." Prin's normally pinched face, looked even more so. "She's a wizard in her own right and she told me there may be a place where the babe would be safe. She can open a Vale between two worlds and she told me that there is a couple oh the other side, her sister Actually, who would care for Eavyn until she was grown. She would be safe there."
Rike glared at the small man, wanting to punch him in the stomach for even considering such an outlandish idea! How could he even think of separating Salla and himself from their child! However, he was running out of options and time. He and Salla could hide much more effectively without Eavyn. Keir's men were looking for the child more then they were looking for them. He stroked his beard again, his brown drawn.
He cursed the mark his daughter bore! Such a silly birthmark it was! He cursed Keir more for believing in the superstitious tale even more!
The one who bares the dragons mark will hold control over such beasts, to bring them back to existence and cleanse the lands of evil impurities.
The bastard Kier had suddenly taken the old myth as threat, when news that his enemy's daughter was born bearing such a mark. They'd attacked in the dead of night without the slightest hint of warning and brought the great city of Llyr to her knees before the sun had fully risen.
"Milord?" Prin asked.
Rike sighed, "I suppose there is no other choice."


The next morning found them all outside the cottage just after dawn. Rike stood behind his wife, with his hands on her shoulders. Prin stood off to the side with the woman, Guennola, whom he'd brought to the cottage just before daybreak. The tension in the air could have been cut with a knife.
"There isn’t time, we must begin." Guennola said. Along the way to meet with the king and queen, Prin and Guennola had caught sight of a small group of soldiers heading toward the cottage.
Guennola was an older woman. Most of her hair had gone white, with the exception of some streaks of brown around her face. She had an air of authority that radiated from her, which commanded obedience.
Salla tensed under Rike’s hands and she held the tightly swaddled bundle closer to her chest. It had been a long night for the both of them. She had not taken the news her husband had brought well, not that Rike could blame her. They'd fought most of the night, and when they hadn’t argued, she'd wept inconsolably. When Prin arrived with Guennola she'd been cold and distant. Now she watched as the woman chanted to the heavens as she drew a circle in the earth around herself. She stopped just short of enclosing herself inside the circle and looked at Salla. Their eyes met, and neither spoke. Guennola’s eyes were such a pale blue they looked nearly white and her gaze bored into Salla’s own. She hesitated a moment and then took three deliberate steps toward Guennola.
Salla looked down at her sleeping daughter and bent to kiss her cheek, whispering into her ear for the Gods to keep her safe until they could be brought together again. Tears were brimming in her eyes and she looked at the woman, willing her to understand the anguish she felt right then. She held the bundle out and Guennola deftly cradled the baby in her arm and finished the circle. Her face was drawn but otherwise expressionless. She walked to the center of the circle and resumed her chanting.
The wind picked up and began blowing fiercely around Rike, Salla and Prin. Yet the air inside the circle seemed calm.
A spark ignited at Guennola’s feet and Salla watched as it grew into small blaze which crept up her legs to her waist until she and the child were fully engulfed! She could still hear the woman chanting, as the yellow and orange flames swirled around her. There was a blinding flash of light, which make Salla jump, and they were gone.
Everything was still and unnaturally still. There were no marks or signs that they had ever been there at all! Rike walked to his wife and touched her shoulder. He bent to give her some kind of comfort, but she jerked from his touch and turned away from him. She wrapped her arms around herself and fought off the tears that stung her eyes and the lump that rose in her throat.
“Salla please, this pains me as much as it dose you.” Rike told her gently. His own voice was horse with emotion, and his chest felt tight from her rejection.
The tears that had been brimming in her eyes, spilled over her cheeks and Salla ran toward the cottage slamming the door behind her. The first thing she encountered was the crude wooden cradle that her only child had slept in just moments before. It was a solid and heavy piece of furniture, but she grabbed it and tossed it at the wall, as if it were nothing! Sobs tore out of her throat in short guttural gasps and she began tearing at her gown. The silk had once been well made and elaborate, as any queen’s wardrobe should be, but was now tattered and stained from travel. She tossed the garment at the cradle and pulled on one of her husbands tunics and a pair of trousers. She pulled her golden hair down from its neat bun, then tied it at the nape of her neck with a leather thong instead.
The cottage’s door opened and Rike stood frozen in the doorway as she turned and faced him. His soft chestnut eyes were as red rimmed as her’s and they just stood looking at each other for several moments. Salla broke her gaze first and pushed past him. She half ran to where the horses were tethered and threw herself onto the back of her husbands Bay. Without so much of a glance back, she kicked him into a gallop and headed away from the cottage.
“Salla! Wait!” She heard her husbands cries behind her, but ignored them. She didn’t know where she was going, or if she even planned to come back, but she had to get away.

Beaccan - Present Day

It was fully dark when we finally arrived at the small cottage. It was run down and didn’t look like anyone had lived there in years! Cuinn had to kick the door in, since it hadn’t been opened in so long, and once inside we were greeted with inches of dust covering everything!
I coughed and began to feel around the room to find a window to open, hoping that getting a little air circulating would help. Meanwhile, Cuinn had found a candle and was in the process of trying to get it lit.
The room came to life as the candle flicked and then began to burn steadily. It was a small cottage, with only the one room. There was a hearth in the back and a table, which looked like it might collapse with the weight of a feather, under one of the windows by the door. Across the room, where Cuinn had found the candle, was a bed. The sheets were moth eaten and rumpled, and I could see bits of straw sticking out from around the frame where the matrice had been ripped.
“Im going out to find some wood, so that we can start a fire.” Cuinn said, more to himself then to me. I’d grown used to how quiet he was, and how he still acted shy around me, even after having known each other for nearly a month.
“We can burn that table there, if you cant find anything.” I suggested, pointing at the lopsided table under the window.
His face glowed in the candle light, turning his eyes from a pale blue, to a golden color. His short dark hair fell into shadow and he looked very foreboding.
He nodded, glancing at the table, and headed for the door.
Left alone, I took another look around the room. It was filthy from disuse, covered in dust and cobwebs. A shudder ran through me, there’s probably spiders too!
Behind the door, I found a badly neglected broom and started by sweeping. Figured I might as well do something constructive while Cuinn was out hunting firewood. Once the floor was cleared of the worst of the dust and debris I set to work clearing away the webs from the windows. This was harder to accomplish, since ever few moments I’d let out a squeak and begin to beat at the small black body’s that would scurry across the wall or floor. One dropped onto my shoulder, and nearly sent me into hysterics.
Imagine Cuinn’s surprise to find me jumping up and down in the middle of the room, as though in the middle of some kind of epileptic fit! He’d dropped the wood he’d gathered and ran toward me.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” His eyes were wild with concern.
“Spider!!” I gasped, still twitching. “A spider dropped on me!”
His mouth twitched a little at the corners and he held me by the shoulders, “ Hold still.” He moved my hair off my shoulders and patted down my back and shoulders. Then he turned his attention to the floor.
“There he is.” He took the candle to get a better look. Sure enough there was a very squashed spider just where I’d been jumping around. “I think you got ‘im.” His voice was filled with mirth and he was grinning. His teeth flashing white in the darkness.
I just glared at him, not finding it all that amusing.
“Why don’t you start the fire, and I’ll finish getting rid of the webs.” Cuinn suggested, a hit of smile still on his lips.
I was happy to give up that particular chore, and began picking up the small bundle of sticks that had been scattered by the door. I didn’t have much practice with building fires, but couldn’t imagine the sticks would be much better then starter kindling, I thought as I placed them inside the sooty hearth. I’d stuck a small notebook into my back pocket and used some of the paper to stuff under the sticks, to start the fire. Then pulled my lighter from my pocket and lit the paper. It didn’t take long for the sticks to catch and begin to burn.
I spread my hands out, letting the small fire warm my chilled hands. Behind me, Cuinn was stomping on something, which I assumed was another nasty spider.
“We’ll need more wood, why don’t you break up that table. The sticks you brought in wont last for very long.” I said, enjoying the warmth on my face and arms. Until then I hadn’t noticed how cold it had gotten.
Cuinn grunted, but I could hear him dragging the table outside. Despite its rickety appearance, it was quite hard to dismantle. There were several loud cracks and thumps from outside, before he returned with the table in pieces.
I laid two thick table legs on top of the fire and sat back, dusting my hands together. The cottage was now bathed in the warm fire light, which gave it a cozy feel.
Cuinn sat down next to me. He’d brought his pack with him and was digging through it. He produced two wrapped sandwiches my mother had made us before we left. He handed one to me and began unwrapping the other for himself. They were peanut butter and jelly, something we’d decided would keep the longest. The jelly had soaked through the bread but I was suddenly famished and devoured it in a matter of bites!
“So where do we go from here?” I asked, my mouth full of sticky peanut butter.
Cuinn popped the last bite into his mouth and wiped his hands on his pants. “We’ll stay the night here, and then tomorrow we’ll head north. I have relatives who live a days walk from here. We’ll be able to get horses there and then we’ll make our way across Beaccan to Epona, where you’re parents have been since their lands were taken over. From there we’ll go to the coastal city of Ula.”
Cuinn pulled a water bottle out of his pack and took a long drink, before handing it to me.
“So how long will this take?” I asked after drinking my fill.
“Hard to say.” Cuinn shrugged. “Weeks most likely.”
My stomach knotted. I wanted to see my parents, I didn’t want to travel for weeks or more. The thought of calling people I’d never known my parents still felt strange to me. Yet that was the whole reason I’d agreed to come. I loved the parents who had raised me and nothing would ever replace them in my heart, but I’d been forced to accept the fact that they weren’t my real parents. When my father had come home from work, he’d admitted that what my mother had told me was true.
I gave the bottle back to Cuinn and folded my arms around my knee’s. The fire had grown into a warm blaze now, and the chill of the night was quickly leaving the room.
Cuinn put the water bottle back into his pack and leaned back on his elbows turning his head to look at me. He had the most intense gaze I’d ever seen. Even when I couldn’t see him looking in my direction, I could feel his eyes. Slowly I turned my head and looked back at him. His face was shadowed in dark stubble, since he hadn’t shaved since early that morning. His hair was rumpled and stuck up, giving him a handsome, rugged look. My heart beat heavy in my chest, he really was very nice to look at!
“Eavyn?” he asked softly.
“Yes?”
“I wanted to tell you that it is my honor to be the one bringing you back!” He nodded, as though it were a small bow.

We opted to sleep on the floor that night, before the fire. Who knew what creatures had made the straw of the bed their home. With my pack under my head and my light jacket over me as a blanket it wasn’t long before I’d fallen into a deep sleep. Before the blissfulness of sleep had taken me, however, my thoughts had wandered of my last days at home.

The weeks at home had passed quickly. I’d thrown myself into whatever chores or errands would keep me away from the house, family and away from Cuinn, with his ever watchful gaze. At every chance when he’d caught me alone, he’d questioned me upon my decision to go with him back to Beaccon. So I’d put as much distance between us as I could, to avoid his questions and prods. My parents were just as anxious to hear what my final decision would be, although they were more lenient with letting me alone to think. Often I found myself driving out to my thinking spot, near a ravine. Out there I would sit on the tailgate of my pickup and chain smoke, while waiting for the answer to come to me.
One afternoon, after a long day of avoiding everyone, I’d gone out to my spot only to find Cuinn there. Waiting for me.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I’d asked him, angry at him for following me!
“We need to talk.” He’d told me, in his dry even tone. “You cant avoid me, or you’re decision, any longer.”
I walked to the back of the pickup and put down the tailgate, hopping up to sit. Cuinn joined me, rocking the truck only slightly with his added weight. He watched me intently as I dug my pack of cigarets out of my jacket, and fumbled to pull one out. My heart was pounding in my chest and I dropped my lighter, while trying to light the stupid thing. I finally got the end of the cigaret lit and breathed the tobacco deeply into my lungs, holding it there for a moment before exhaling. All the while, Cuinn’s intense gaze never leaving me.
“I haven’t decided yet.” I told him, looking down at my lap and flicking the ash to the ground. Watching it catch the light breeze and swirl away.
“I gathered that.” He said. “I thought perhaps we could talk a bit. Im sure you must have some questions.”
I chuckled dryly under my breath. Sure I had questions... but I didn’t even know where to start. I took another drag.
“So what happens if I decide to go with you? A war? Death?” I shook my head, “Doesn’t sound all that appealing if you ask me. Why should I go back?” I’d hesitated before adding the ‘back’.
Cuinn sighed and leaned forward a little, looking down at the ground. “There is also you’re parents. You’re mother. She’s never forgotten you. It was she who sent me here to find you.”
I softened a little, “What is she like?” My voice came out little more then a whisper. I’d hardly thought of anything besides my real parents, since finding out about them. Guilt stabbed at me, I loved the people I’d thought were my parents. How could I ever feel the same way about perfect strangers... yet I did, even though I’d never met them.
“You look like her.” Cuinn said, his gaze fixed on me again. That strange grey blue look that seemed to go straight through me. “You’re hair is more of a golden color, but the shape of you’re face is hers. You’re eyes are the same as well. Almost a violet blue. You have your fathers profile, however. The same straight nose, and the way you jut your chin out when you’re angry, he dose that also.”
I turned and looked at Cuinn, meeting his eyes. “Do I have any siblings?”
“Ah, yes. A sister, just over a year younger. Her name is Aine, she looks remarkably like you, but with her mothers softer features. Her hair is nearly the same color as your’s, but her eyes are brown like you’re Da’s.” he smiled. “You have a brother as well. Bryant is the split image of you’re father. His hair is brown, like his, but he has blue eyes like you. He is just turned ten years, but promises to be a great warrior.”
I took another drag from my cigaret and tossed it to the ground. I suddenly felt homesick for a place I’d never known existed until a few weeks before. I still felt torn. I couldn’t leave this place, it was the only home I’d ever known.
Cuinn and I sat on the tailgate and talked until it had gone full dark, before we finally drove home. That night I dreamed of Beaccon, or how I imagined it to be. I could see my parents and my sister and brother. They were waiting for me on a hillside, calling for me to come home. My mother wept, and my father looked stricken, but stood rigid, with his chin thrust out, trying to be strong for his family.
I woke with tears dried on my cheeks. I’d made my decision.

The next morning I was stiff, from sleeping on the hard floor. I sat up and stretched, trying to loosen the knot that had formed between my shoulders during the night. I was all alone, Cuinn had woken before me and there was no sign of him inside the cabin. The fire had died, and the early morning was chilly. Slowly I stood and stretched some more, arching my back with my arms above my head and then bending at the waist and touching the floor. My back popped and groaned in protest, but slowly the rigidness faded. Gooseflesh prickled my arms and I wrapped my jacket around my shoulders before going outside.
The sun was just peeking up over the mountains, and mist covered the ground outside the cottage. It was a very picturesque scene, like something you saw in a painting or on post cards. I shivered in the early morning air and went back inside the cabin where I got the fire going again.
The chill was just starting to leave me when Cuinn returned, carrying three quail-like birds... all plucked and gutted. My stomach rumbled loudly when I saw the meat, and I laughed self consciously. I put some more wood onto the fire, while Cuinn found some small branches to skewer the meat on for roasting.
After we’d eaten, and were pleasantly full, we started off across the valley toward Cuinn’s relatives.



We’d been walking for the entire day, with only short breaks for water or to step behind a bush or tree along the way. My feet and calves ached and all I could think about was laying down on something soft, although I’d be just as happy with something flat, so that I could sleep for a week or more!
Most of the trip had been quiet, although we talked off and on. Cuinn had spent a good part of his childhood with his cousins and he pointed out landmarks or climbing tree’s that he remembered. He told me stories of he and his cousins getting into some kind of mischief, which usually resulted in getting clocked by his uncle.
It was getting late, and I suddenly realized that I wasn’t homesick nor had I even thought of the parents I’d left behind for most of the day! I was enjoying the walk through the lightly wooded countryside with Cuinn. I looked forward to meeting his aunt, uncle and cousins. Then it would be more traveling, and I would finally meet my birth parents. Guilt gnawed at the pit of my stomach, but I tired to squash those feelings. I would return, I’d promised them before I left. Once I’d found my parents, I’d come back! Even if it was just to visit. Perhaps when everything settled down I’d come back for good. But that was too far in my future to even speculate at.
I let my thoughts drift to the future. What would happen when I found my parents? Would our meeting be awkward, or would they welcome me with open arms? What of after? My mother had told me that the birthmark I bore had meant something. My brows creased, as I tried to remember.
‘The one who bares the dragons mark will hold control over such beasts, to bring them back to existence and cleanse the lands of evil impurities.’
Im sure that it was some kind of metaphor, but just the same my hand self consciously came up to rest on the spot just below my collar bone.
“Cuinn?” I asked suddenly. We’d been walking in our own thoughts for quite some time now, and my voice startled him out of his own deep thinking.
“Hmm?” The sound was short and his head came up and then turned to find me next to him, as though he’d forgotten I was even there.
“What did you do? I mean, before you were sent to find me?”
“Oh.” He bent to pick a hand full of purple flowers, without breaking stride. “Well, like most lads I was taught the sword from the time I was able to lift one. Archery too, and whatever other weapon you can think of. When I was 10, I think, I began training with the Guard.”
He picked all the little heads off the flowers and scattered them as he talked, occasionally looking over at me, while he spoke.
“I’d been in hiding until then, with my family or staying with my cousins. We had to be careful then, not to draw any kind of attention to ourselves. Guall’s wolves were everywhere.” He wrinkled his nose as if he smelled something rancid. “They’d take any excuse to cause trouble. One day they came to our door. My Da, Ma and I all lived on a simple farm and the soldiers came knocking, saying we owed them taxes but that they’d just take it out of our crops.
Of course my Da would have none of that. Saying we owed them nothing. There was a great fight, just my Da against four soldiers. My Ma held me in the bedroom and wouldn’t let me go out to help him. They killed him.” His voice was so quiet, I almost didn’t catch what he’d said.
“Oh no,” I gasped. “Cuinn, Im so sorry. That is just terrible!”
Cuinn shrugged, “Ma and I went to live with my Aunt and Uncle, but she became sick shortly after and by the end of winter she was dead too.”
My heart felt cold, here I had two sets of parents and he had none. Both the people who had loved him taken violently and prematurely from him.
“My uncle sent my oldest cousin Alan and I to Ula, where Rike, you’re father, was raising a new army. When I was sixteen or so it was discovered that I had The Gift, as well, so I was trained in the Art’s along with the blade.”


It was nearly full dark when we finally came into sight of the two story house belonging to Cuinns uncle and aunt. The windows glowed warmly and we could smell chimney smoke from a mile or more away. They’d been expecting us and we were greeted warmly by the large family which resided inside the house.
“Now, do call me Auntie Meave.” Said the rather round woman, hugging me fiercely. “And my husband here is Blane.”
Where the woman was found and supple, her husband was tall and lanky, but they both smiled warmly and seemed thrilled to meet me and to welcome Cuinn back into the family.
Cuinn must have had at least a dozen cousins, aged from mid twenties to toddlers! I smiled warmly as I was passed from person to person for hugs and welcomes, while Cuinn received the same treatment. We were then promptly sat down at a table where food was heaped onto pewter plates and pushed before us. Cool ale was poured and all the while the cheerful babble of questions.
Yes, I’d had a pleasant journey... No, no problems at all.... Yes, I found Cuinn’s company to be quite enjoyable, followed by a deep blush from both of us, which in turn had Auntie Meave laughing heartily.
I’d made my way through about half the plate of food before my eye lids began to droop uncontrollably and I began to catch myself nodding off. The chatter of voices began to dim as I found myself slipping closer and closer to sleep. Until I’d sat down, I hadn’t realized just how exhausted I was!
“Oh look, the poor dear!” I heard Auntie Meave sigh from far off. “She’s fallen asleep at her seat.”
Moments later I was roused with a weightless feeling, only to realize that Cuinn had lifted me and was carrying me up the stairs. My cheek rested against his shoulder and I was too tired to even protest!
Setting me on the edge of the bed, Cuinn helped me out of my jacket and then bent to take off my shoes and socks before tucking me under the quilts. The bed was very soft, and the blankets warm and smelled sweet and clean. I was fast asleep before he even reached the door to leave.



The sun woke me the next morning. It was coming through the window, hitting me directly. I rolled over, drawing the quilt up over my head trying to grasp a few more minutes of sleep. I could hear the daily activities of the house drifting up to me from below. Aunty Meave’s boisterous voice cut through the quiet morning along with the sound of the children.
I rolled onto my back and stretched, enjoying the warm sleepy feeling. The smell of food hit me then and my stomach rumbled loudly. As if on que there was light knock on the door.
I sat up and smoothed my hair down, “Um, yes? Come in.” My voice was cracked with sleep, and my mouth felt dry.
The door opened to reveal one of Cuinn’s young cousins. A small boned blond girl who was maybe twelve.
“Good morning, Miss Eavyn. Did I wake you?” She asked, peeking into the room.
“No, not at all.” I smiled at her. “I was just getting ready to get up.”
She pushed the door open the rest of the way and walked in carrying a steaming pitcher and basin, which she placed on the dressing table across the room. “Ma thought you might like to wash before you come down to breakfast.” She told me, setting out some toiletries.
“Thank you, ah, its Lynet right?”
The girl smiled and nodded. “I’ll bring you up some clean clothes shortly. Ma is just finishing hemming one of my sister Moyas old dresses.”
I looked over young Lynet, who wore a simple homespun dress. I wasn’t overly keen on wearing a similar garment, but wasn’t about to question my hostess’s kindness. Besides, I’d been wearing the same clothes for two days and they were getting pretty filthy.
I thanked Lynet again as she left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Standing up, I stretched again and went to the window. Outside the younger children were chasing each other in the yard below, while I could see others walking about or doing various chores around the property. I poured some of the cooling water into the basin and took up the wash cloth Lynet had left me. There was also a small bar of soap that smelled faintly of wild flowers.
Stripping down to my bare essentials, I started with my face and began to wash. The water was warm and the soap made my skin feel soft and wonderfully clean. I was nearly finished when Aunty Meave came in carrying an arm load of fabric, which I assumed must be Moyas old dress.
She chattered cheerfully, while she shed me of the last of my clothes and pulled a crisp linen shift over my head. It had a large, and quite low, neckline and the sleeves were long and straight. There wasn’t much shape to the gown, and I felt like I was wearing a small tent. Over the shift, went another dress. This was made of a much heavier homespun fabric. I guessed it must be wool. It was a dark shade of blue and was sleeveless, with laces that went up the bodice, to give it shape.
Aunty Meave, was very no nonsense about dressing me. She smoothed the over dress down over my frame and then went to work tightening the laces at the front. The tight bodice took over the roll of bra, and pushed just a show of cleavage up and out of the dress.
“Ah, now just look at you.” She smiled. “I knew my Moyas was just about your size! An’ don’t you just look a sight in that gown!”
She handed me a pair of thick stockings and some leather slipper-type shoes. “You put those on while I do up you’re hair proper.” She instructed me.
When she finished, she produced a small hand held mirror from her apron and handed it to me. “Have a look.” She beamed at me proudly.
She’d scooped up the sides of my hair and tied them back with a silk ribbon, the same deep blue as the dress. I looked like I’d just stepped out of the middle ages, but couldn’t but admire the girl in the reflection.
“Now, come on down. I’ve saved you some breakfast.”

After a very filling breakfast I was let loose to wander as I would around the house and grounds. The sun was climbing toward noon and already the day promised to be a warm one. I sat on the steps of the porch for awhile and watched the children playing. I couldn’t help but smile watching them chase each other and squeal with glee. When the children took their games to another part of the yard I stood and just wandered around. Pausing to look at flowers or whatever happened to catch my eye. I was walking past a large barn when I caught sight of Cuinn. He was sitting, with his back to the barn, restraining his bow.
“Hey.” I called out, waving at him.
Cuinn looked up and the ghost of a smile showed on his face. “How did you sleep?” he asked.
“Like the dead!” I grinned, and stretched my arms over my head, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my shoulders. “Sorry for passing out on you last night.”
“Think nothing of it. I was dozing off myself.” He chucked, and the smile grew a little. “I hope my cousins didn’t wake you. They are like birds, up before the sun!”
“Oh,
nah. I’ve never been good at sleeping in, even when I want to!” I shrugged.
I noticed that Cuinn had also donned some fresh clothing. Instead of the jeans and t-shirt he’d borrowed during his stay in my own time, now he wore a cream colored homespun tunic over worn leather breeches.
“So how long will we stay here?” I asked, and sat down next to him.
Cuinn turned to look at me, “Tired of my family already are you?” He chuckled, and smiled.
“Oh, no! Nothing like that.” I replied quickly, “Actually I was thinking how much I was enjoying it here. I’ve never known a large family or brothers or sisters. I like the noise of this place.”
“I feel the same way.” He nodded. “It was just me, growing up, and I always looked forward to our visit’s with my Aunty and Uncle, and of course my cousins.”
We lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few moments, before Cuinn spoke again.
“Have you ever used a bow?” He asked.
“ A few times. They had archery in school, and at the summer camp I went to when I was younger.” I eyed the bow cautiously. “I can hit the target, but Im afraid that is about it.”
“Well, that’s not a bad start.” he told me with a wry smile, getting to his feet. “When I first learned, I was a danger to anything that wasn’t a target.” He chuckled, “I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn!”
Cuinn helped me to my feet and I laughed with him. “Well Im pretty sure I can hit that at least.”
A few yards before us, there was a straw stuffed target, with a single painted mark in the center. Cuinn handed me the bow and then an arrow. “Have a go at it then.” He said, and stepped behind me.
The bow was heavy in my hand, and I tested the tautness of the string. It was stiff, but not too much so. With a glance behind me, I knocked the arrow and pulled back. Sighting down the length of my arm, I aimed for the bulls-eye. I made sure to tuck my elbow in, remembering the sting when I hadn’t once, and let go.
There was a satisfying thunk, as the arrow hit its mark. Well, sort of. I was a good foot from the bulls-eye but, true to my word, I’d hit the target at least!
“Good!” Cuinn said, and applauded. I grinned and curtsied.
“Now, lets try again. This time I want you to do exactly as I tell you. You’ve got good form, but you flinch when you release, which is why you’re arrow was off its mark.”
I knocked another arrow, and Cuinn stood behind me, tweaking my posture and talking softly into my ear.
“Now, relax... and release.” He said.
Thunk!
This time the arrow landed just inside the bulls-eyes. I whooped in delight and Cuinn clapped me on the back.
“Now remember how that felt, and do it again.” He told me.
For the rest of the morning I practiced with Cuinn gently coaching me. By the time we were summoned for lunch, I was hitting bulls-eyes most often then not. My neck and shoulders were tight from strain, but I felt great.
“I think you have a talent for archery, Milady.” He grinned at me, as we walked toward the house.
Cuinn hadn’t called me Milady since he’d arrived at my home. In fact it was rare that he ever referred to me by name at all. A shiver ran through me and I smiled at him. I liked it when he called me that, it felt like a pet name. Made me feel that I was perhaps special enough to him to be given a pet name.
My cheeks flushed and I looked down at the ground, suddenly shy of him. It was hard to not feel attracted to him, especially since we’d been traveling together so closely, and had a long journey ahead. But it was best to not to succumb to infatuation, after all, once we arrived at my parents we’d separate and I’d most likely never see him again.
I shook my head to rid myself of those thoughts, as we came to the house and I was more then happy to let the busy house distract me.