Upheaval and Change - Tales 4

Seth approached Lady Bronwen after watching her and making sure everyone left. "Hello again Lady Bronwen. May we talk?"

"Of course McCullen. It tis a beautiful day isn't it." A winter chill was felt on the edge of the wind, but other then that, the sky shown brilliant blue and the sun was warm. The garden was full of life and beauty.

He smiled and said,"Truth be told Lady Bronwen you are the most beautiful part of it." He was being truthful and it was obvious.

"Your flattery is appreciated. I tell you, you have missed your calling. You should be a court bard." She teased.

He smirked and said,"No. That is not the life for me. Protecting you however is. I enjyo my work since i get to see the msot beautiful woman in the entire court."

"You must be blinded by something. Have you had the healer check your eyes?" She laughed lightly. "Careful McCullen, I am sure the captain of the guard has some rule about flirting with your charge."

He smirked and said,"As far as I know the captian of the gaurd is not here right now. I would hope you would not tell anyone about the truths i am telling you."

Bronwen frowned. "Why are men so full of secrets? That is the second I was asked to keep today. Perhaps it is because you should not speak so?" Her voice was light and he could not tell if she were teasing.

"Perhaps I should not, but it is better that the truth be said and one is puished. Then if one keeps the truth in and goes through life knowing they should of said the truth." he replied.

Bronwen looked at him stunned. He was serious. "McCullen.. Seth.. you just met me. You know nothing of me? What I am like? Who I am?" Bronwen didn't know what to really say. Her mother had not given her lessons on what to say when men were declaring themselves.

"I do know many things about you. I would like to get to know those things which I do not know. Will I have this honor?" He agreed with her that he did not know an incredible amount about her, but he was also serious about wanting to know more about her.

"That is not allowed?" She said, her eyes large. "I am a princess.. you are a commoner?" She didn't mean to sound conceited, but his words were shaking the very world she had been raised in.

He looked to her and said,"I believe all that one needs to do to attain nobleship is to own land is that correct?"

"I believe it is a little more then that. But I don't know what else." I know that sometimes the King grants lands for deeds and acts of courage and loyalty." She was staring at him. What had changed since she left with her sister that men were suddenly flocking to her court.

He looked to her and said,"I will do whatever it takes to make it right in the court's eyes if you are interested at all milady."

"I - I just met you. I don't.. I ... " She stammered, unsettled by this declaration. She stood up. "I have to go in." She went to move past him but he was in her way. She looked up at him, "If you will excuse me." She whispered.

He nodded and said,"I am your guard. I will allow you some time for your thought milady, but I will keep an eye on you from afar. This is my charge and I must not abandon it." "Maybe you should be assigned to another. I mean if you have feelings for me, then .. that isn't good is it?" She was staring up at him. Her eyes showed her confusion, the smell of roses seemed to float from her.

He looked into her eyes and said,"I am assigned to you. Do not worry, I will guard you just as well if not even better now." he hoped she would see his perspective.

She nodded. "I will speak to you of this later. I must think about all this. The Earl of Sanglet has offered for my hand, you know this?"

He nodded and said,"Word spreads fast milady. I thought it would be best to let you know of my feelings towads you before all hope was gone of it meaning anything. I am sorry that I have upset you."

"It is alright. I am sure that Da has talked to Sanglet now. He probably sent him packing anyways. He sees me as a child still in the nursery." This was obviously upsetting to her.

He nodded and said,"I will leave you be and I am sorry if the King sending him away makes you sad." He thought that it was upsetting her because she cared for him, which gave himself little chance, but he did not know.

She nodded. "I don't know, I am confused. If you will excuse me." She swept around him, in search of her mother.

He nodded to her and went off in another direction so he could see about becoming a noble.

Shannon waited outside the main hall, he wasn't quite sure what he was in for, he knew that the Lady Deirdre had been promoted from captain of the guard to Knight. 'I just hope that she can show me a thing or two about being a knight' he mused to himself.

Striding confidently out of the hall, the traces of a triumphant smile still lingered upon the captain's lips. She hadn't counted on the unanimous support of all the High Knights, but she definitely had to thank-

"Sir Shannon!" Smiling, truly smiling, Deirdre moved towards the other knight. "I wanted to thank you again for speaking up in the hall; I don't think the others would have if you hadn't."

"Well I cannot allow someone to be looked upon badly if it isn't the truth. Brendan may be a little hot tempered but he is a competent fighter and leader, he will come into his own but only if given the opportunity. I just hope that I did not overstep my bounds being one of the newest here." Shannon said welcoming a friendly face.

Deirdre laughed, a musical but hearty sound. "If you over stepped, dear sir, than I trod upon the regent's toes." She shrugged. "I'm sure I'll hear about it later if I did. I'm probably newer than you at being a High Knight, anyhow." Her tone was lighthearted, as if she wouldn't worry about it until someone bluntly told her she had been wrong.

"Now, I suppose we should choose a few men to accompany us," she began. "Do you have any men of your own, or shall I just choose a favored few of the castle guard?"

"All of the men that I have been training will be going to the front with Brendan I am sure they will follow him without question. So it would be better if you chose some who you know. Since I have been working on training and crafting mew weapons and armor I have made few alliances." He replied almost embarrassed to admit that he had kept to himself his short time here.

Deirdre nodded thoughtfully. Pushing back her suspicions, she frowned. "I have his name... but I am not sure where his estate lies. Do you think the castle has a map of such divisions of land?"

Shannon thought for a moment. "I am uncertain. But I do not think the carriageman that brought the ladies has left the city yet. I am sure I saw the carriage still in the city. Can we not ask Lady Catrin for his direction?"

The captain's lips turned downwards into a worried frown. "I doubt it. She was unwilling to even give us his name; I don't want her to know how close we are to finding him." Her eyebrows creased as she searched for the right words. "I don't trust her... and I don't trust this mysterious cousin of hers, either."

"Well, I suppose that we could go and find the carriageman and ask him directly. Why do I get the feeling that this person that we seek does not wish to be found?"

Deirdre shook her head in agreement. "That's exactly how I've been feeling since Lady Catrin arrived." She looked up at Shannon. "So, lead on towards the carraigeman." She held out her arm to motion that she would follow.

Shannon nodded to Deirdre and walked toward the exit of the castle. "I am still learning my way around here, I am much more comfortable in the country side. So if I take a wrong turn just direct me to the right direction."

It took the two of them about an hour to find the coachman who had brought Catrin and Rowena. He was drinking ale in a local tavern. He looked up as the two approached his table. "Ye must be the Captain Deirdre? I have been expecting ya." He said with a smile.

Deirdre's eyebrows rose until the coachman feared they would touch the ceiling. "You were awaiting me?" she asked, confounded. "Why didn't you simply look for me? And who told you to wait?"

"His lordship bid me wait until ye found me. He told me not to hide nor come forward, just let ye find me. I am to give ya escort back to the estates." The coachman kicked back the last of his ale.

Deirdre swallowed, for a moment, completely thrown off balance. She hadn't expected this at all. But this meant her suspicions may not be so off base after all.

Her eyes flickered towards Shannon, sure he had no idea what the problem may be. "When can you leave?" she asked abruptly.

"Whenever you have your things together. This is where you will find me," he said calmly.

Instinct told her to leave now, before the coachman could disappear from view, leaving them stranded. Instead, she nodded slightly and pulled Shannon aside into a dark hallway. "Everything tells me to leave now," she whispered quietly, her eyes trained on the coachman at the brighter end of the corridor. "But I have been known to make... rash decisions sometimes," she continued with a crooked smile. "What do you think?"

"I too believe we should leave now, although the coachman has orders to wait and bring us. We were instructed to find his master, so let's be on our way to his master," Shannon said with a grin.

Deirdre smiled. She had already begun to like this young man. The lack of men with her gnawed at her nervously, but she led the way back towards the coachman. "We are ready now," she said firmly, her face betraying none of the reservations she felt.

The coachman looked up suprised from his ale. "I will need to get the coach loaded. Ye be wantin your horses?"

"They wait in the stable. We rode them here." The captain's face was impassive as she eyed the coachman with cold eyes.

It was obvious that the coachman was flustered and a little unsteady from drink. "Aye, well then I will be for loadin the coach. His lordship will be wantin it back and all." He staggered to his feet and headed out the door towards the stableyard.

Shannon leaned over to Deirdre and whispered, "I hope that the horses know the way, for I fear that the man be to drunk to get us to where his master is."

Deirdre motioned for Shannon to follow her to the stableyard to with the coachman. She didn't want that man out of her sight - he was her only link to Ally... the rescuer. There was almost no room for doubt anymore, but still, she wouldn't allow herself to believe it until she saw him with her own eyes. "He will regret it if he does get lost," she muttered, her eyes flashing.

Aloud, however, she called, "How far is it to your lord's estate? How many days rations will we need?"

"Tis a week, and his lordship done paid for your grub. You just needs to come along." He harnessed his team and then worked to back them into the traces.

Deirdre turned to Shannon, pitching her voice lower so the coachman couldn't hear her. "Make sure there are enough rations for the both of us; I believe his lord was only expecting me." Her eyes flickered back towards the tavern. "I'm going to be sure a message is sent back to the castle." She moved towards the door, intending to pay the master of the house to deliver a message back to one of her guardsmen.

Bronwen found her mother resting in her rooms. She had heard through the court that her Father had turned down Sanglet but no one would tell her the truth of the matter. Now her father was in some meeting. She entered and smiled at her mother as she moved to sit on the bed.

"How are you feeling?" The question more out of habit then need to know. "Better" she said.

"It is true, did Da tell Sanglet to stay away from me?" She bit her lip, waiting for her mother's answer.

"Yes he did but then I had a little talk with the earl and I can tell you I approve of him" her eyes twinkled. Everybody in the family knew who made the truly important decisions in that marriage.

Bronwen's face lit up with a large smile. "I like him too. He is so masterful but in a kind way. But, if Da told him to stay away, how will I get to know him better?

"Because I will tell your father that I have aproved of it. Don't worry about it."

"I - What do you do when two gentlemen are making declarations to you? And, what if one of them is commen born?" Bronwen had never discussed such things with her mother before.

"Child, what are you saying? are there two men you are interested in? I do not think common birth will be such a problem in this family, your brother plans to marry one. Maybe you should talk to him about this. But for the most part, just follow your heart, don't make the decision to soon

"I don't know. I mean, I liked looking at the knights fighting and such. But they never seemed to notice me. Now, twice in one day, I have had declarations of intentions. I don't know either gentleman well enough to make decisions." Bronwen hadn't thought being courted would be so complicated.

"They did not notice you? Maybe they were afraid to show it, they did notice you, that has been going on for a few months now. You have blossomed into a beautiful young lady. But who is this second young man?" Her mother asked.

"The second is my own guard. Should he be my guard if he has feelings for me?" Bronwen was uncomfortable around him at the moment, for she was unsure of what to say.

"Again that is for you to decide, if you feel uncomfortable then tell your brother you want another guard. I am sure that Hawk will do so, but you will have to tell him the truth and are you ready to do that?"

Bronwen shook her head. "If Da got wind of that, the gates of the underworld would seem a tame place. He already accused me of leading the Earl on." She sighed.

"I think it was the other way around, wasn`t it? and I think your father realises that, anyways, don`t worry about your father, I can handle him. You just decide if you want to talk to your brother and get to know your suitors better."

Bronwen nodded. "Okay, I will. But, I think I will wait long enough for you to talk to Da." She smiled at her mother. "I am not as brave as you." She stood up and hugged Isa tightly. "Thanks mum." She sashayed out the door.

Hawk was so nervous, he knew he had to do this, but he had not seen his son since birth really,.rhys Would now be at todler who knew his grandparents as his parents. Was a fair to the boy? He shook his head, and squeezed Audreys and even harder.

They entered his mother's room. "Mother, I've come to see him." He said softly.

Isa smiled at her son. She could tell he was worried. "Good, I hoped you would soon. I think you will be most pleased with your son as will your lady." Isa smiled at Audrey. "Come, I will take you." Isa got to her feet a little more steadily then she had been, though she still looked weak. A servant moved to take her arm but Isa waved them away. "He is in the nursery."

"Mother are you sure you are strong enough?" Hawk looked at Audrey for confirmation. "We could wait a bit longer."

Audrey smiled knowingly. He was trying to find a way out of it and despite all her previous successes in thwarting him in that, he still was asking her for a bit of help. "She'll be fine," she finally replied.

"A great deal of help you are." He whispered to his lover.

The look Isa through her son, brooked no arguement. "Nay, it cannot." She took Hawk's free arm and strolled beside him. "He knows all about you. Well, as much as a young child can understand. He is a boisterous child, much as you were."

Hawk almost felt the contents of his stomach coming up as they walked through the hall. He took Audreys hand then squeezed, cold sweat was standing out on his skin. Even on the battlefield he had never being this afraid in his life. but finally they were there, the door to the nursery.

Isa opened the door. "Rhys, love, come see grandmamma." A small child ran to Isa and she knelt down to accept his hug. "Rhys, do you remember when we tell stories of father?" The little boy nodded. "This is your father, Rhys. Come say hello."

The small figure peeked around Isa with large eyes. Apparently, Hawk measured up to his vision of him for a smile split his face. "I Rhys, I big." He moved to stand before Hawk.

He did not know what to say. Hawk sank to his knees, so he was almost level with the small boy, Rhys had his curly red hair, but his mother's eyes, exactly her eyes. He did not realize that he was crying when he took the little one into his arms. "I am sorry, bach, so sorry." He now was totally overcome by tears.

"You bad? I say sorry when bad?" Rhys looked puzzled. He had never seen a man cry.

"I have been bad, my son. I have been very bad in leaving you for so long. And I am sorry, you are so beautiful, you are so like your mother." he was overcome again.

"My mum died." He said with the simplicity of a two year old.

"I know" he could not bring Himself to say more, in fact he did not know what to do next. So you looked to the women for support, tears streaming from his eyes.

Audrey mustered up a smile as best she could and knelt down next to the two. "You must miss her very much," she said. "You have been living with your grandmother and grandfather, right? I am sure they have kept you very busy."

The little boy looked at Audrey closely. He finally nodded. "I have pony?" He looked at Hawk. He had been asking for weeks but none of the family had yet given in to his constant demands. His words were clear, unlike many two year olds and it was obvious that someone spent a great deal of time with him.

Hawk looked at his son, he could not refuse the little boy anything. "Of course you can have a pony, son. But you are too little to ride it yet. You can only ride it with daddy or Grand dad."

The little boy launched himself at Hawk and wrapped his arms around his neck. He let out a scream of glee, seeing his grandmother he smiled a crooked grin. "I gets a pony." He said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, not five minutes and you are spoiled beyond repair." Isa's tone was one of teasing for her son, pleased to see her grandson take to him so well.

"He does not hate me." Hawk said in disbelief "he does not hate me. Audrey I have my son back! "He engolfed both of them in his arms.