Once Call and I have said our thanks to the Deorai, and cantered to where Call's tribe, the Cloch tribe, are setting up camp, we dismount, and tie our horses to some nearby trees. Dark is fast approaching, and soon the night will encroach us. At the center of the camp is a roaring fire, and the Cloch tribe is crowded around the blaze, some sleeping on furs, some talking quietly, others eating, and some grieving. Call picks up two bowls of broth, and leads me over to the fire, offering me one of the bowls, I smile, thanking him, my stomach grumbling at the prospect of food. i wrap myself up in furs, staring at the distant yet ethereal leap and twist of the flames, completey exhausted. "So Cori told you my family's story," Call turns to face me,
"Yes," Call nods, wrapping up in blankets next to me. His face is still streaked with sweat and dirt, his features still etched with grief. i lay my head on Call's shoulder, relaxing slightly as he wraps an arm around me, "The Deorai told me that if we beat the Vikings- if- then we would see a return of a royal family to the Fort of Kings and Queens," i remember being told something about the Dun- the short name for the Fort of Kings and Queens. Legend says that the North and South were all united under one ruling house. As far as i knew, the Dun was a legendary place.
"Where is the Dun?" Call pushes his hair back from his face,
"in Ailleacht territory- but it is abandoned, not yet derelict, a reminder of the glory of the days of old," Call smiles, "i saw it once, my father was going on a trip to visit the Ailleacht clan once, when i was very little, and he took me with him," Call pulls me closer, "The Dun stands on a hill, surrounded by ancient beech trees. There, once you have broken through the cover of the branches, you see it," his face is alight with wonder, "A tall tower reaching up into the sky, wide in berth, with windows hewn into the rock. The old flag still waves there, battered, torn, worn out by time, showing the last remnant of the days when we were one nation!" He gestures with his hands, "When I saw it I thought that it looked as though it was frozen into the landscape, time having enveloped it into the very land it was born from- a symbol of the glory of old!"
"I wish I could see this place," I sigh, fascinated by this remnant of kings,
"One day I will have to show you, once we have returned to those days with a royal leader, and a united country,"
YOU ARE READING
Sorceress
FantasyThey came at night, angry and lustful for treasure and slaves. We stood no chance. I lay in bed, completely oblivious. Then I heard the screaming. Aine O'Connell has been captured by Vikings, and forced into slavery. Then one day everything changes.
