Elphame's Choice (Partholon #4)

Elphame's Choice (Partholon #4) Page 13

"Where did you say you found this?" Cuchulainn asked his sister as he inspected the brooch that bore the rearing mare of Clan MacCallan's crest.

"At the base of the stone steps that lead to what I think used to be the warriors' barracks."

She hadn't told Cuchulainn about the vision that had led her to the brooch, and she wasn't entirely sure why she hadn't, except that watching The MacCallan's death had been a very private experience for her.

It had anchored her to her castle's past. She loved her brother with the same fierce loyalty he felt for her, but they were different, the two of them. She revered the past and embraced the Spirit World.

Cuchulainn was a warrior who lived in the here and now. He mistrusted what he did not understand, what couldn't be bested with fists and weapons. El didn't want to hear her brother overanalyze or perhaps even reject outright what had happened to her this afternoon. She wanted to hold the past close a little longer, and that meant staying silent about her vision, and her ghostly visitor.

"This room looks wonderful," she said, pulling his attention from the brooch. And she wasn't exaggerating just to change the subject, with an open look of amazement she gazed around her. As evening approached, she and Cu had met to check on the progress of the workers. El had been pleased to note that the area south of the castle was almost totally cleared. Cuchulainn had assured her that the next night they would be camping there, instead of outside Loth Tor.

The top halves of the mighty columns that ringed the Main Courtyard had been cleaned, and the creamy beauty of their intricate carvings formed an odd contrast to the rest of them, making them appear that the restored tops had materialized out of the air. Brenna had taken a special interest in the ancient columns, and had personally been overseeing the women who were working on cleaning them. When Elphame and Cuchulainn praised the work they were doing, the little Healer had almost glowed with pleasure.

Now brother and sister were standing just inside the entrance to the kitchen, and though the activity around them was beginning to slow, Elphame could hardly believe the change that had been wrought in two days.

"'Tis good to see you, my Lady." Wynne approached Elphame and curtsied quickly. Her eyes slid appreciatively to Cuchulainn. "And you, too, warrior."

El watched Cu shift easily from concerned brother to rakish young man.

"It is always a pleasure to greet such a lovely lady, Wynne," he said.

"It's incredible what you've accomplished in so short a time." Elphame interrupted what she was afraid would be a long exchange of flirtatious remarks. "It doesn't even look like the same kitchen."

The huge hearths had been completely cleared of debris and scrubbed clean. The ovens had been emptied of rodents and dirt and the broken, fallen stones had already been replaced. Women were scrubbing the wall of cabinets and the imposing center island, as well as the stone floor.

"Wynne! We have water!" one of the cook's young assistants yelled. Elphame watched as she pumped the handle of the spigot, and water gushed into the marble sink. At first it was dark and discolored with dirt, but soon it cleared and cascaded in a sparkling river. Several nearby women cheered.

"My Lady, tomorrow evening ye will be feastin' on food prepared in MacCallan's own kitchen," Wynne said.

"That makes me very happy, Wynne."

The pretty cook smiled and curtsied before hurrying back to work.

"It sounds like it's time that Huntress started earning her keep," Cu said as they left the kitchen and made their way toward the front of the castle.

"That's where she is right now, Cu." Elphame frowned at him, exasperated at her brother's continued dislike of Brighid. "She said that she didn't like the thought of us eating up all of Loth Tor's food, so she went hunting this afternoon."

Cuchulainn grunted.

"You know, I'm amazed that you don't like her. She's a beautiful female, and you usually get along very well with beautiful females."

"Well, she knows she's gorgeous. She's too damn arrogant. And I still don't completely trust her motives," he growled.

Elphame rolled her eyes at him. "You just don't like it that she doesn't fall all over you."

Cu shrugged his shoulders. "You could be right, sister-mine. It is very unusual." He waggled his eyebrows at her, making her laugh. "But I don't want to talk about the Huntress, I want to know more about this Chieftain's brooch that miraculously fell into your possession."

They were stepping into the main courtyard and Elphame was saved from answering him by Brenna's excited voice.

"Oh, look at your fountain, Elphame!"

"Cu, it's working!" El grabbed his hand and pulled him with her to the center of the courtyard, where several women and men stood watching the fountain. Murky water tinkled from Rhiannon's urn to the surrounding basin, which was already beginning to fill, and as they watched, it cleared and caught the late afternoon sun and sparkled merrily. The room's massive columns gathered the sound of the fountain and the courtyard echoed the soothing, familiar noises of rainy days and laughing water.

"It really is wonderful, El," Cuchulainn said, sliding his arm around her shoulders and giving her a brotherly squeeze.

"Yes, I agree," Brenna said. She stood next to Elphame, smiling happily up at her, the young Healer's eyes danced with the reflection of the water.

Elphame couldn't speak. After twenty-five years of feeling frustrated about her pointless life, suddenly it was like all of her wishes were being granted. She was almost afraid to believe it - almost afraid that if she spoke the spell would be broken and it would all dissolve like mist in a dream.

Mist in a dream. The comparison brought her dream back with sharp intensity, and for a moment she felt confused and dizzy. It was a little like how she'd felt earlier that day after experiencing the vision of The MacCallan's death. She blinked hard, trying to clear her eyes and her mind. She could feel her brother's concerned gaze, but she was careful not to meet his eyes.

"I think that's enough for today," Cuchulainn said abruptly. He singled out one of the men. "Dermot, pass the word that it's time to return to Loth Tor for the night."

"Yes, my Lord." Smiling, Dermot jogged from the room.

Talking amongst themselves, the men and women in the courtyard began to disperse, stacking buckets and brushes in tidy piles and hanging wet rags from the scaffolding so that they would dry by morning, and leaving Elphame, her brother and the Healer alone at the fountain.

"Are you all right, El?" Cuchulainn asked.

"Fine," she said, recovering her voice.

"You look pale." Brenna's experienced eyes studied her carefully.

Without looking at her brother or the Healer, Elphame said, "It's just all a little overwhelming, to see what I've dreamed about coming true. Sometimes it makes me emotional."

Cuchulainn grunted. "Now you sound like a girl."

His teasing lightened her mood and she was able to grin at him. "I am a girl, Cu."

Brenna, however, wasn't dissuaded from her concern by sibling teasing. "I think you should take your brother's advice, Elphame. You've done enough for today. You need a hearty meal and a good night's rest so that you will be invigorated for tomorrow. I will brew a tea that will relax you and help to ease your sore muscles."

"I don't have - ouch!" El said when Brenna reached up and poked her shoulder blade.

"Yes, you do," the little Healer said smugly.

"You better mind her, El," Cuchulainn laughed. "She's reminding me of Mother."

"I will brew enough for you, too," Brenna told him sharply.

"How bad will it taste?" he asked. It pleased him that she was speaking to him with the same voice she used with his sister, instead of ducking her face and whispering into her shoulder.

"I am a Healer, not a cook." She gave him a disgusted look. Then she suddenly realized she was bantering with the handsome warrior. Brenna felt her face grow warm; she knew that the unscarred side of it was flushing, which would only accentuate the disfigured pink of the other side. "I need to collect the correct herbs," she said, and ducking her head she retreated from the courtyard.

Cuchulainn gazed after her. "Why does she do that?"

"You can't seriously wonder, Cu. You know why. Look at her face, and that's not all of her that's scarred, either," El said.

"I've seen her face. It didn't make me cringe or run away from her."

Elphame raised an eyebrow at her brother. What was that in his voice? "She hasn't confided in me, but my guess is that she has been treated harshly, and not just by women. I would bet that men have been very cruel to her, especially handsome men."

"If anyone treats her cruelly here, he will answer to me. The men know that." Cuchulainn's voice was flint.

Elphame raised her other eyebrow. "Really?"

"She's your friend. I will not have her treated with disrespect," Cuchulainn said, still looking in the direction in which Brenna had disappeared.

Elphame watched her brother. She had never seen him react this way to any woman outside his family.

Was he beginning to care for Brenna? Could he? Instantly, Elphame was ashamed of her thoughts. Of course Cuchulainn could care for Brenna. He was handsome and talented, but he was not shallow and careless of others. Brenna was a lovely, petite young woman who just happened to be scarred. She should not doubt that her brother was man enough to see beyond the scars.

She smiled softly at him. "Thank you for looking out for her, Cu."

"You don't have to thank me. It's the right thing to do." His sister's words made him feel uncomfortable and his voice sounded sharper than he intended. He smiled apologetically at her. "We should go. Brenna will probably be worried if we don't join her soon."

Lost in their own thoughts, brother and sister walked silently through the courtyard and the empty doorway of the castle's inner walls. As they approached the outer walls, they were joined by a stream of workers coming from different parts of the castle. They nodded respectfully to Elphame and her brother, and she was pleased that several of them greeted her by name.

"The iron for the new gate should arrive before the new moon," Cu said as they exited the castle.

Elphame stopped and looked back at her castle.

"It makes you happy just to look at it, doesn't it?" Cu asked with a smile in his voice.

His words roused her memory. "Yes, it does." She glanced at her brother. "You know what else would make me happy?"

"What?"

"Running." She breathed the word. "I haven't had a good run since before we left Mama's temple. Cu -

" she put her hand on his shoulder to keep him from interrupting " - I need to go for a run."

"You don't know this land. Where do you think you'd go? The road between the castle and the village is the only cleared area long enough to give you a decent workout."

She shook her head. No, she wouldn't run where others could see her. They were just starting to accept her. If they saw her true speed, they would probably go back to treating her like a goddess. She thought about it, studying the surrounding forest with an athlete's eye. Then she smiled.

"I'll run along the cliff. The forest ends several feet before the drop-off. It follows a fairly straight line, so I can see well far enough ahead. And anyway, all I need to avoid are the rocks, and they're large enough I can hardly miss seeing them."

"I don't know, El. I don't like the idea of you going off by yourself. Why don't you let me get my horse and I'll come with you?"

"Cuchulainn, weren't you just saying last night that you'd been mistaken about your paranoid feelings?"

She ignored her twinge of guilt at using his apology against him - especially in light of all that she'd failed to tell him. "I'll take your throwing dagger." She patted her waist where she had it securely buckled.

"There's still plenty of light. I'll be back at Loth Tor drinking Brenna's tea before the sun has set."

"I don't like it."

"Do you think I'm going to blunder off the side of the cliff?"

"No. I just don't like it," he said.

"Cu, don't be Mama."

He frowned. "I am not our mother."

She grinned at him.

Cuchulainn sighed. "Be back before the sun sets. That means in town, sitting next to me, drinking your Healer's tea - not heading in that direction or thinking about heading in that direction."

"Yes! Yes!" she said impatiently. She gave him a quick hug and brushed his cheek with a kiss. Jogging away she threw him a teasing glance over her shoulder. "Take care of Brenna till I get back."

She laughed and sped up, letting the wind swallow his terse reply.