Children of the May (Children of the May Book 1)

Chapter Fifteen: A Soon-Broken Promise

Hilda’s gift of food was a heavy one, so we were slow on our way back down the bald hill and along the shadow of the path. The sack we found behind the hut contained early apples, late-summer strawberries, and empty waterskins. I had to tie the baby’s sling around Alisander so I could carry the food.

Though the baby was small, Alisander was only seven or eight years old, and small with it. He put a brave face on the responsibility, but Christian was a heavy weight for him to bear. The boy stumbled more than once as we went, and I often worried that he would fall on his face with the baby beneath him. The situation was not helped by his scaring at every small sound in the forest around us. He whimpered at each rustle in the branches, convinced that the beast was stalking us through the trees.

‘I-I-I-I-I-It’s alright, lad,’ I told him. ‘We’ll h-hear it before it sees us.’ Though in truth I was trying to reassure myself as much as him.

There was no sign of the monster other than the deep footprints it had left in the path as it chased Piers and Accolon. These tracks went as far as the waterfall, and then stopped abruptly with no further sign of the animal. I was thankful that we did not find another bloody mess like the one Palomina had discovered by the stream when we first encountered the beast.

I took the baby from Alisander when we reached the top of the waterfall bank, and carried Christian down. I hadn’t really looked at the baby since the hut, but I took a good look at the child now he was back in my arms. I could see no family resemblance in him, not to my sisters, or my mother or myself. I couldn’t recognise anything of Lancelot in him either, although I remembered little of the knight’s looks. I had been more stuck by his armour of shining gold than I had been by his face, and I had only seen him from the woods outside the castle by the Lake, not up close.

Once I’d carried the baby to the deserted pool below the waterfall I gave him back to Alisander, and climbed back up to fetch the food.

There was no sign of the others at the pool, which I hoped was for the best. We went on to the place where the path departed from the river, and here I filled the Hilda’s waterskins. The water made the sack terribly heavy on the final uphill stretch, but I told myself that the others would be glad of the drink when we found them. I kept telling myself that we would find them safe and well.

When we emerged from the forest the sun was setting, stretching long shadows across the plain of horses and dazzling the two of us. I put the sack down to wipe my dripping forehead.

‘I-I-I-I-I-I t-told you we’d get here,’ I said to Alisander. ‘Y-You were very b-brave. W-Well done.’

‘I was, wasn’t I,’ said the boy proudly.

 ‘Lads! You made it!’ I sighed in relief. Piers and Palomides were running towards us, squinting into the sun.

‘P-P-Piers, you made it too!’

He and Palomides came to a halt in front of us.

‘Aye, I’ve got this dark devil to thank for that,’ he said, throwing his good arm around Palomides’ shoulder. ‘You should have seen him, feller. Me and the prince, right, we were running towards the top of the waterfall with the beast snapping at our heels. Snap, snap. Growl, growl. And Accolon decides to take a bath with the ladies – so he only – right – he only jumps over the top of the falls and drops straight down into the pool. Massive splash. Sploosh. And I think, ‘Jesus, I could do with a clean too,’ so I follow him over. Bigger sploosh.’ He held out his thumb and forefinger close together. ‘I missed one of the big rocks by this much.

‘But this one –’ he hugged Palomides even tighter. The sailor looked like he was about to snap under the force of Piers’ affections. ‘This Saracen devil’s waiting at the top of the bank, with his back turned to the pool like a gentleman so he can’t see the ladies.’ He dropped his volume. ‘And also, I reckon, so as he could stop Accolon coming back for a peep if he tried it. And we hear this howl from the beast. Turns out the bloody Saracen only saw the beast coming and, cool as you like, drew his sword and let the hellcat run straight onto the point. He got that daft moggy good – right in the eye.