46. Cheered

With Eileen and Liam gone and our camp all packed up, our little caravan set out on the long trip back home to castle Brádaigh. Two soldiers took the lead, including the one carrying Maeve's pennant.

Then Maeve, Siobhan, Kelly and I were sort of loosely grouped together, followed by more soldiers, then the servants and pack horses.

I took another look back at Duma Dé as we set out.

I could see the little points of light flitting around where our camp had been, and more of them dancing about at the top of the hill where the events unfolded last night.

"Some fae still believe the legends and myths, about places like that." Siobhan said quietly. She was looking back at the hill, same as me. "If the stories are true, then the Gods themselves witnessed the events last night."

Something in her tone made me realize, Siobhan was probably one of the fae she was referring to. She didn't outright say it, but I was certain she was among those who held on to the old beliefs about the legends, the myths, and the Gods.

The captain turned towards me and with respect in her voice she said, "Lady Tegan, you stood last night before the Gods and between two commanders and their troops, and you demanded peace. You ordered friend and foe alike to stand down and cease their fighting, and through your command of magic, you brought an end to the battle."

She paused a moment, then stated "I have no doubt tales will be told on both sides for years to come, that the spirit of Taralynn Brádaigh lives on within you."

I felt my cheeks going red and I didn't really know how to respond to that.

Eventually I sort of mumbled to her, "I'm no hero Siobhan. I just couldn't stand seeing anyone else get hurt." I blushed a little brighter and admitted quietly "I was so nervous, when the whole thing was over I collapsed and threw up..."

Siobhan gave me a knowing smile and replied quietly, "I know you did, m'lady. But you waited until the field was clear, so neither ally nor enemy saw you do it. That's more than I can say for my first taste of combat."

That caught me off-guard, I didn't know what to say or how to respond.

Kelly spoke up, saving me from the awkward silence. "So if the Gods were watching, does that mean they heard Tegan declare herself 'Tegan Vale of Clann Brádaigh'?"

The captain nodded, "Yes, and that is how Eileen addressed Lady Tegan. It's probably how she'll be described as people tell the stories. I don't dare speak for Lady Maeve, but I would not be surprised if that was made Lady Tegan's official name here among the fae."

Of course Maeve was right there next to us all, listening to the conversation. She was silent for a few moments then spoke quietly, as if talking to herself "As the head of Clann Brádaigh, I think I could see myself adding the surname Vale to the clann register."

Then she looked to me and said "Captain Siobhan is right, Tegan. You've done well, and word will spread of your bravery, your honour, and your mastery of magic."

I was still blushing, but I sighed quietly as that sank in. I knew it was a mixed blessing. Some would be impressed, others would probably want to challenge me or something.

We all wound up riding quietly after that, each of us absorbed in our own thoughts.

Both Kelly and I were pretty good at riding by now, or at least we could handle our horses just fine at the pace our group was moving. I doubted either of us could cope with charging or galloping or whatever.

That evening when we stopped to make camp, Maeve had Siobhan take charge of the pair of us, so we could start learning the ins and outs of camping. Our first lesson involved taking care of the horses.

It wasn't the least bit glamorous, but the two servants we wound up assisting were patient and taught us what to do. By the end of it we both had a better appreciation of the work involved, and also for the animals themselves. In the morning we had a very quick breakfast before we were sent back to work, once again helping to get the horses ready for the day's journey.

It was hard work, but I honestly appreciated it. It helped me forget about the confrontation with Eileen, and I think it helped the others to see I was just a normal person. I brushed and watered horses just like them, I got sweaty and struggled to carry saddles and had no clue how to hook up a bridle. It let me put aside all the 'legend of Taralynn' stuff and just be me for a while.

That pretty much set the pattern for the week. Every evening Kelly and I were assigned a new task to help in setting camp, and in the morning we had the same job to learn how to break camp. Our route was the reverse of our voyage out, as we retraced our path back to the south and west towards Maeve's estate and castle. After the rocky hilly terrain we were back into the dense forest, and after a few days of that the woods gave way to the rolling grassy hills.

In addition to the lessons we received in mornings and evenings, both Maeve and Siobhan continued teaching me and Kelly things throughout the day.

They'd point out various things of interest as we rode past, like what plants were safe to forage, what wasn't, or what had other uses. Or they'd tell us about certain dangers to avoid, what things to look for. What made a place safe to set up camp, what sorts of areas to steer clear of.

It helped pass the time, and it was kind of fascinating in a way. It was the sort of life that neither of us city kids from Earth had any knowledge of before. And of course it also strengthened the bond between myself and Maeve.

I realized I'd lost count of the days when we found ourselves riding into the village north of the castle. I hadn't expected that for another day or two. As before, the people came out to wave and greet their Lady. Maeve smiled and waved back, and Kelly and me did the same.

Not long after that, the castle spires came into view, then the rest of it as we came over a small hill.

Even though I had no intention of staying there, seeing it made me very happy. The thought of a bath and some clean, comfortable clothes was very exciting. I glanced at my girlfriend and saw Kelly was grinning too. I was sure she was thinking the same thing as me.

As we got closer, I realized there were people atop the castle wall waving and cheering.

I frowned as I asked Siobhan, "How do they know to cheer? They have no idea how things went."

The captain smiled, "The lookouts atop the towers will have seen how many of us are returning. Our number is down by one, but they knew Liam wasn't meant to come back, so they know we haven't lost anyone."

She gestured to the soldier carrying Maeve's pennant, "Our standard bearer is holding Lady Maeve's pennant high and proud, that suggests things went well. And now that we're close enough, they can see the smiles on our faces, they know we bring good news."

I smiled, "Thank you Siobhan. That makes perfect sense."

The gates opened wide as our group rode into the courtyard, and there were dozens of soldiers and servants there to welcome us back and take care of the horses and things. Connor was there too of course, to officially welcome us all home.

As we dismounted, he and Maeve exchanged a long affectionate hug. Then he asked, "Shall I instruct the staff to arrange a feast tonight?"

Siobhan was already taking charge of the troops, while servants were moving to tend the horses and everything. Kelly and I stood together and tried to keep out of the way.

Maeve glanced at us and looked around at the activity in the courtyard.

It was late afternoon, and to be honest the last thing I wanted right now was a big fancy party. I could feel our room calling me, with its bath and its big comfy bed.

"Not tonight, Connor." Maeve decided. "Tonight let us all rest. Tomorrow, we'll celebrate." She raised her voice slightly so everyone around could hear, "Tomorrow, all will join us in a feast, to celebrate the truce!"

There was a bit of a cheer, then everyone got back to work.

Me and Kelly had an arm around each other, as we made our way into the castle and up to our little suite. We peeled off our travel clothes, then squeezed into the funny little bath together.

It had been a surprise when we first moved in to our rooms here several weeks ago, but there was actual plumbing in the castle. At least important guests like us had plumbing, I suspected it was a rare luxury.

Rather than hot and cold water there was just one tap and it was always kind of luke-warm, but it beat washing yourself with a bowl full of ice-cold water and a rag. And after nearly three weeks on the road, even this primitive tub felt a little bit like heaven.

We took our time getting clean, and maybe fooled around a little while we helped wash three weeks of dirt and sweat and horse smell off each other. We were both too tired for anything serious though. It was like we had several weeks of accumulated weariness that we'd been ignoring while we travelled, and now that we were home and able to relax it all caught up.

I don't even remember if we had dinner, the rest of the afternoon was a bit of a soft quiet blur of comfort and relaxation. I know the two of us were in bed even before the sun set, and I don't think I've ever slept so soundly as I did that night.

We stayed in bed late into mid-morning, then had servants bring us a nice breakfast. By now Kelly was an expert at using that healing spell, she'd been doing it every other day for weeks on the road. The whole thing had simply become routine for us. She had a sip of juice, then ran her hands over my leg and worked the spell, then had a bite of pastry, all without batting an eye.

Around mid-afternoon we had an unexpected visit from a couple servants. They brought us some new clothes and informed us that Lady Maeve had requested we wear these outfits to dinner tonight. And they told us dinner would commence at sunset, in the dining hall. So we were to be there ahead of time.

Kelly thanked them and shooed them out, then we inspected our outfits. They were a pair of fancy gowns. Kelly's was emerald green with dark blue trim and accents. Mine was in the Brádaigh colours, light blue with purple trim and accents.

"I guess we shouldn't complain too much," I sighed. "I mean, it's supposed to be a big celebration, it makes sense they want us all fancied up."

She slipped an arm around me and smiled "I'm sure we can manage it for one night. If not, you can pretend your leg's acting up and we'll excuse ourselves and sneak back here."

I giggled, "Good idea!"

We relaxed some more through the rest of the afternoon, but eventually we had to get ourselves dressed and ready for the big dinner. Both Kelly and me were pleasantly surprised to find these new gowns weren't as tight and uncomfortable as the other fancy clothes we'd worn here. It seemed like the dressmaker had been told to cut us some slack, literally.

Not only were our new gowns quite comfortable, they both looked stunning. I even tried to do something with my hair, despite the lack of modern hair-care products. Instead of my usual chaotic bob, I brushed it into something I thought was vaguely stylish. Of course Kelly looked gorgeous as always.

And finally with about twenty minutes to go before sunset, we made our way down to the dining hall together.

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