Blood Feud [COMPLETED]

CHAPTER NINE ☀︎

Her tranquillity stumped him, and then he understood all at once, 'You unbarred the door last night, didn't you? You allowed me to escape.'

She smiled. It was not happy, 'I'm a hostage in these lands too, it can feel like that oftentimes. I wouldn't stop you from going, or blame you for that matter."

A pang in his heart at what she said and what he did, "You could come with me."

Her eyes became brighter, they were filled with tears, 'I could. I would love that.'

She did not, of course. He dressed and took an idle exit, lingering for more kisses. Eventually, he left to fulfil his duties, obligations to the Valkyrie and his imprisoned family. Tara stayed because of family bonds and duties bigger than herself.

But both knew that if they could choose, they would choose one another.

 ✦✦✦ ✝︎✞✟ ✧ ✝︎✞✟ ✦✦✦  

Her brothers startled chatter woke her up. The sun blanched her closed eyelids white, she angled her face away from it. A cunning plan formed in her mind to dupe her family.

"Tara?"

She kept her eyes closed as long as possible until their heads blotted out the sun and she began to hear whispers of her naked body.

She lurched forward, interrupting their concerned conversations. Her eyes flung open and centred on Cuán, the first person she saw. She grabbed him, nails piercing skin, crying, "I know it!"

They quieted, confused by her strange demeanor.

"Your blood-letting cuts,' Cuán traced his fingers over her cheeks. There was no sting from a fresh cut. 'They're gone, what in the world..?"

All questions about the Rut were gone, dying on their lips as matrimony came second to prophesy.

Druid Ernmas was on hand, of course, pale face pulled taut over thin skin, his veins in a spider's web peaking through, 'What did the concoction show you?'

'We must use the earthshaker,' She kept her eyes frantically darting here there and everywhere, so she looked like she was having a vision. 

Finally, all her time watching druid prophesies came in handy.

'I saw a great fortress surrounding our lands. A huge earth mound and ditches, walls, devised and designed by our hostage, constructed in days. Our Clann could not match its strength or how quickly it was built for generations to come. Our ancestors tell me no Blood in our Clann will be born with the ability to manipulate earth for generations.'

Cuán piped up, 'You saw the powers of unborn Blood children?!"

The druid smiled, thin-lipped. 'Very wise, queen Tara. We must use the hostage-"

'He will be a tool of the Connacta," She was thankful for the blanket thrown over her nude body but remained ram-rod straight, gazing distantly and delighting in ignoring the druid. 'We will use his power to construct our final defensive works for Connacht-- as set forth by our predecessors, a huge wall along our territorial lines from mount Nephin to Lough Conn."

Cuán's eyes glinted, a smile gracing his lips, 'Wise words, mo rí.'

She ignored him, 'We will complete the fortifications decreed by Dorcha the Dark King a thousand years ago.' She forced her voice to take a prophetic tone she mimicked off the druids, 'The earth wielder was sent to Erenn for a purpose; to construct for us what our ancestors spoke of. We could not do it without his power.'