Thorne and Miranda: A Tale of Roman Brittania

Homecoming

Thorne pulled his horse up at the top of a hill and pointed. Mara reined in her own horse beside him. Steiney had paused to visit his maiden the day before and would be along for his horses when he was ready to return home again. "See the smoke?" Thorne asked. He kneed his horse to sidestep so that Miranda, seated behind him, would be able to see too.

Mara shielded her eyes with one hand. "Aye, tucked down beyond yonder hill, another few hours away." She turned her attention to Thorne's face. "Is that our destination then?"

"It is," he grinned. "Steiney's heard of no new disaster but I feel eager to find out for myself."

"Steiney calls you Ewyn," Miranda remarked from behind her husband. "Why is that, when your name is Thorne?" Trepidation warred with eagerness in her voice. Mara shot her a sympathetic glance.

Thorne nudged his horse forward at a walk. Mara followed suit with her own mount. "I shall miss this mare when Steiney comes," Mara remarked. "My war-horse was far taller but this little lass has a great heart."

"'Tis the mountains," agreed Thorne. "They breed a hardy lot in both man and beast." He grinned when his wife tightened her hold on his waist briefly. "I bear the name Thorne MacEwyn and have since my birth, My Lady. Ewyn is my title, as it was my father's before me."

His female companions thought about it for a moment. "So why is Steiney MacKenna not Kenna MacKenna?" countered Mara.

"Steiney is a son of the Clan MacKenna, but he is not the MacKenna chieftain. My clan calls me Ewyn out of respect and Steiney and his family are allies of Clan MacEwyn. If he were chieftain, I would call him Kenna MacKenna."

Miranda grinned. "Truly, you were wise to hide your high birth from the Romans, Husband. They would have made an example of you, had they known whom they'd chained as a slave."

"I am not the first of Clan MacEwyn to have been carried off by Romans," Thorne informed her drily. His tone of voice made an epithet of those who'd enslaved him.

"And here you are, returning with a Roman wife," teased Mara, having seen the hurt on Miranda's face.

Thorne missed the cue entirely. "And a sister from Roman spoils. You will be well received, Mara."

Mara sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, Brother, but what of your wife?" She gave him a pointed look.

"She is my bride. What more needs be said?" His confusion made Miranda smile, easing the tension.

"Well, we shall soon see what shall be said," grinned Mara, and kicked her horse sharply, sending the little mare into a swift trot, then an easy canter. Thorne followed suite.

The smoke turned out to be from a village rather than a holding, as Steiney's home had been. As the weary travelers crested the rise overlooking where the smoke had come from, a stout stockade fence rose to greet them. "Well, look at that," Thorne remarked casually. "They can follow orders, after all." He raised his voice, challenging the watch posted near the gate. "I am Ewyn MacEwyn of Clan MacEwyn!" he bellowed with authority. "Open the gate!"

"Ewyn MacEwyn resides within," returned the watch. "Try again, Stranger!"

"Kennan MacEwyn may reside within," Thorne countered with determination, "but he is not the Ewyn. I am Thorne MacEwyn of Clan MacEwyn, who ordered this wall built to begin with, now open the gate!" During the entire exchange, Thorne didn't halt his horse nor slow its pace but rode as if he expected the gate to open before he reached it.

"Ewyn!" The cry came from within. "The Ewyn has returned! Open the gates!" Slowly, the gates swung open and Thorne trotted his horse through them, followed by Mara. Crowds of people poured from the doorways of the high, round houses that comprised the village. Thorne didn't stop his horse but walked the animal through the throng until he'd reached his destination.