Una sat there with her twisted foot in her hand. She couldn't turn her head to see where Gareth had run to. She could only hear the sound of him rustling through the brush to retrieve Gwen and the Mercian soldier's horse. Una sat quietly. Her cheeks still feel flushed. Was it from Gareth, or was sickness setting in? Frey, Yvar, and Una traveled through Autumn's cold rains with little to no warmth.
Una could hear the horses walking back. Gareth approached in front of Una and squatted down, peering into her dark emerald eyes.
"I see what happened now. It's a miracle that you didn't impale yourself on all these broken branches and rocks!" He said, pulling on Gwen's reins.
"Thank you, my lord," Una said, having trouble looking up as the pain is growing stronger.
"You have a bit of an accent, and you are not wearing your veil. Where are you from?" He asked, walking over to the other horse he had pulled behind Gwen.
"Snowdon," Una said honestly.
"Snowdon!?" He walked back and looked down at Una.
Una couldn't turn her head. She just looked at the tall riding boots he had on. The leather was a lighter tan than her own boots. They had strange metal clasps instead of leather laces like Una's had.
"Yes, from the north in Snowdonia, in the mountains," Una said, biting her lip.
"You're a Celt, then!" He exclaimed.
Una couldn't tell if he was scared or intrigued. All Una knew is that people either loved or despised her kingdom. She knew that Mercia would gut Una from mouth to rear if they could, but Wessex was a gray area. Idris, their king, had always been on Una's side, however, but that is not to say that the people feel the same toward her. Sion already said that she was perceived as a monster and demon queen. Other rumors were that she was trapped in the mountains, or she was a helpless damsel. Either one made Una squirm, thinking that people believed such tall tales.
"Yes, and you're an Anglo," Una said back with a smile, laughing, but a surge of pain went through her, and she winced.
"Is your neck hurt, me lady?" He asked softly, bending down again and picking up Una's boots.
"Yes, it's hard to move without a sting," Una replied.
"Well then, riding back won't be kind to you." He said, standing up again.
She watched his legs move away toward Gwen to put her boots up.
"Quite a horse you've got here. Are you a Noble lady?" Gareth asked Una.
Una knew she shouldn't have used her saddle, but it was so comfortable than the other riding saddles.
"To a degree, yes I am," Una said, not wanting to lie.
"I could tell, the craftsmanship of your bridle and saddle compared to the other horse. So why did you steal this other horse?" Gareth said, walking back over to Una.
Una froze. She couldn't think of what to say. It was evident that Gareth was very knowledgeable to Una's detriment.
"I didn't steal him. Some Mercian soldiers beat my friend senseless and killed my other friend's horse. He abandoned us, so we were only left with one horse, so I took this one as a reparation."
"Did your friend kill some of these soldier's first? There is blood all over the horse and all over your reins?"
He was cornering Una, perhaps because she was a Celt from the mountains of the north.
"No, it was me, and I killed only one man after he tried to slice me through," Una said.
Gareth said nothing but walked over to Una and held out his hand.
"I will help pull you up, but there is no promise that you won't feel your neck burn." He said.
Una took his hand and put all her weight on her unhurt leg, and pulled herself up. She felt the back of her neck twist and shocked her with pain, but she showed no emotion. He held her hand while she balanced on one leg.
"Thank you," Una said, looking straight ahead, but only could see Gareth's elaborate cloak pins holding his cloak in two places at each collarbone.
"Now is the hard part." He said, loosening the stirrup with one hand to lower it down.
"I will lift you. Stay balanced." He said, releasing Una's hand and mounting Gwen.
Like the good-tempered and old horse Gwen was, she didn't budge. Una couldn't see, but Gareth bent down, reaching with both arms for Una. He took his foot out of the stirrup and balanced on the other.
"Now hop up and put your foot in the stirrup. I'll catch up. Just jump up." He insisted.
Una took a deep breath and hopped up. Like Gareth promised, he caught her arms and pulled her up to the stirrup where she put her foot in.
"Good. Now stay there and hold on to the saddle." He said to Una as he reached back and grabbed the other horse's reins tied to Gwen.
The horse came up, and Gareth slid back where he was balancing on the other stirrup. Then, he put his other foot in the other's horse stirrup.
"Now, I'm going to release out of this stirrup, and you hold on as tight as you can since the saddle will slide to the side. I will get on this horse as quickly as possible, and you reach up and grab my hand. Okay?" He demanded.
"Okay," Una said nervously, but she knew that Gareth knew what he was doing.
"Hold!" He shouted as he hopped over on the other horse, and Una immediately began to slide back as the saddle turned with her weight.
"I got you!" He said, reaching over and grabbing Una's hand.
"Okay, slide over!" He demanded as he pulled ever harder, and Una was lifted out of the stirrup and was on her stomach on her saddle.
"Ugg!" Una shouted as her neck twisted, but she was able to sit upright in the saddle finally.
"Thank you, thank you so much!" Una said, breathing heavy.
Gareth grabbed the reins out of Una's hands and pulled them in front of him, where he tied it to his saddle now.
"Hold on, and try not to lock your neck. It will hurt worse if you are too rigid and we hit a bump. This ride will be bumpy." He said.
He rode in front of Una, and she watched as his shiny dark hair glistened in the forest light. He was maneuvering the horse through the thicket, paying particular attention that the horses don't get split by another tree.
"So, the Celtic woman from the north. What brings you here, don't you know it is rather dangerous of your kind to me meandering into Anglican lands?" He laughed, turning around to look at Una.
"I am well aware. However, I am on a mission to head north to Northumbria."
Gareth looked back and laughed.
"Well, I don't mean to be rude, but I think you took a wrong turn and have been heading south this entire time. You're in Wessex, you know." He grinned.
"I had to get my friend some help." Una gulped, wondering if Frey was still hanging on for dear life.
"God was on your side then, fair lady." He grinned back at Una.
Una didn't want to correct him since she didn't worship his God, but she knew her place, and the time was not now. She was in their land now and had to tread lightly even though she was on good terms with King Idris, ruler of Wessex.
"I suppose so, I had prayed earlier for guidance and wisdom, and here I am," Una said.
"Who are you, noble lady?" Gareth said, looking back, peering inquisitively at Una.
Una hesitated at first, but she knew sooner or later that the truth would surface. All she wanted was a smooth transition out of here. Losing Yvar and now Frey has put a tremendous strain on the trip north, and perhaps this was God's will, but certainly not Una's.
"I am Una Elisedd, of Snowdonia," Una replied.
Gareth reared his horse to a halt, forcing Gwen to a short shop as well. A dull pain filled her neck as she tried to balance and not be slung forward or to the side.
"I recognize this name as being linked to the legendary queen. Are you she who they say is brutal and yet holds the highest benevolence?"
Una tried to read Gareth. His facial cues were neutral. He definitely was a noble. You couldn't see through him. He was a stone, but one must be like a stone to not have their emotions used against them.
"I am," Una said softly.
Gareth immediately looked down and to the side, avoiding the gaze of Una. He felt embarrassed he had not seen it sooner. The Elisedd royal crest was engraved into her saddle, but he thought Una was merely a noblewoman of the court, not a queen. Nothing alerted him to show that Una was even remotely related to royalty. He did find her to have more flesh on her bones than a normal woman, but being from the northern mountains, you were not likely to be famished and weak as they were in Mercia. She was taller too, but he thought that was only from the Danes and Welsh interbreeding. He knew of the Elisedd royals to be a formidable group. They were able to fend off Viking attacks and Mercian armies with ease. He knew he could not fight Una. She was the stronger one of the two even though she appeared as an average woman, but she was anything but.
"Forgive me for not knowing my place." He said, bowing on his horse.
"Oh, there is no need!" Una said, waving her hand back and forth.
"You have been so very kind to your cousins and me." Una smiled with a twist of pain in her teeth.
"Forgive me for the asking again, Queen Una, but what brings you here to Wessex? Do you seek my father?" He asked, nudging his horse forward through the thick woods.
"I am not here to wage war again with the Mercians. I am here to take my friend back north. So, you are Gareth, I presume?" Una asked, knowing that he was.
"So, my cousins told you already. My father talks about you. He has a new story each time someone mentions the queen in the north mount." He said, averting his gaze with roses in his cheeks.
"What does he say?" Una asked.
"You ate a bear's liver once." He said with a grin.
"A raw one at that!" His dimples deepened as he laughed harder.
"Oh, no!" Una said with a slight smile.
"I must say, I cannot see a woman of your sweet nature doing something so barbaric." He insisted as they approached a clearing through the woods.
"I was desperate and grew impatient when they were gutting the poor thing. I actually sliced off a piece and ate it." Una added.
Una remembered that she was having her moon blood during that time, so she craved the tannins of iron so intensely. Even though she was covered in Mercian blood from head to toe, she still found the taste of raw liver appetizing.
"I can't say I blame you. He said his army was eating boot leather for sustenance by the end of the battle."
"That was our greatest one yet," Una added.
"Yes, it was. Without it, we would have never won back the lands we had lost." He said.
"I, too, our people was pleased," Una said.
"You know, you may not remember me, but we've met before," Gareth said.
"Oh?" Una tried desperately to remember such a handsome face, but the entire army wore identical silver helmets covering half of their face and nose.
"I gave you the positions of the Mercian army, closing in from the east flank," Gareth said softly.
Una couldn't recall Gareth exactly, but she did remember being informed of the Mercian's position.
"Truth be told, I thought you were Eurion at first. You both have the same tinge of fire in your hair. It was when you spoke to me that really thwarted me. If I may be so blunt as to say that I found it disturbing that you sounded so calm when we were being cornered."
Una smiled and remembered Eurion. Her elder brother took up battles until she was eighteen when she lost him to the north region, occupied by the Vikings and Danes.
"I couldn't instill fear in my soldiers. I was petrified, and it took a tremendous toll on my mental state to keep in control of myself without panicking." Una admitted.
"Then I remembered that it's an insult to be afraid of the Mercians. It was as if a group of squirrels decided to corner a wolf into its den." Una added.
"That's an interesting look at it," Gareth said as they walked out of the woods and into a gleaming field of gold.
A sizeable rounded castle was nestled into the valley, surrounded by amber hills and grazing sheep and horses in the distance.
"Gods," Una whispered to herself.
The castle was immense, much larger than her own. There was a creek running by with a large mill, and she could see a few smith shops and stables.
"If only my father knew you were here, what he would do to be here." He laughed.
"How is Idris, your father doing?" Una asked.
"Truth be told, not well. He has been terribly sick and has been growing weaker day by day. That is why I am here now, to talk with our family on the matters of his will and assets." He said softly.
"I am so sorry to hear such unfortunate news. May I be of any service during this time?" Una said, worried as she rode up next to him.
"It has happened so fast. I am not sure what to do. The other Kings and lords have not been notified yet. He is a crucial component in trade elements since we exist in the middle in the great land of Bryttania. If my father dies, well, we haven't even discussed what will become of us, this land, these people. I fear war will ensue again after trades fall." He said solemnly.
"Forgive me for the asking, but what illness does your father have? He seems too young to have any such ailment." Una said.
"My father has lived forty summers, well longer than his father before him and forty years longer than his brothers," Gareth said.
"He has many more seasons to live through. My great grandfather was told to have lived well beyond eighty." Una said.
"Your people are safe though, from disease and pestilences that reap us young and stay with us till we are old. My father said that nearly half of our children born this past winter have already perished. Soon my father will join them." Gareth said in a quiet tone.
"I wish I could see him," Una begged.
"No, he is gravely ill. His throat has swollen like a bladder around his throat, and he is cold to the touch. He hasn't had a drink or eaten. His heart will eventually give out. If only he had not bought those new slaves. They're the ones that gave this horrible illness." He said.
"I can tell you this because you're a queen, but I am not fit to be a King. I don't want my father to die because I am terrified of becoming the ruler over Wessex." Gareth said softly.
"You cannot stop what your God wills. If it is meant to be so, your father will perish, but that is your destiny if it is true." Una said, trying to look over, but her neck twisted in pain.
"I suppose you are right. This is in God's hands now. I shouldn't worry, but if the time does pass where my father is taken up to be with our Lord in heaven, I should like to ask you for your guidance." Gareth said a bit more brightly.
"It would be an honor, though I know Idris, and I know he has set you up for success even as a child. He told me stories about you when we were together."
Una didn't say it, but Idris even once proposed that Una and Gareth should wed to establish a union between their kingdoms. But as Una is now, she couldn't accept such an offer, not until she had the head of the Dane who killed her father on a spike outside her castle. Her duty was to her sword, not her king husband.
"I assure you I have never eaten a raw bear liver if he tried to tell you that I did," Gareth said to lighten the mood.
"It's actually not as bad as it would seem. It's a bit peppery and bitter, though." Una laughed.
"He only spoke highly of you, and from what he had said, you are ready," Una said honestly.
"Ready?" Gareth sounded frightened.
"You will be a worthy king." Una insisted.
"I couldn't possibly be a good king. I can't even kill." Gareth said.
"You're much too modest. Idris told me how stealthy you are on the battlefront." Una looked at the ripples in the approaching creek ahead of them.
"Queen Una, I have never killed any man. I have only incapacitated them."
"You may call me Una. I honestly don't like to be called a queen. And like you, I never thought I would rise to the rank of being the leader of my people and kingdom. It is a tremendous responsibility but remembers that you wouldn't have been born into a royal line if you were not capable of being such." Una said.
"Hmm...You don't like to be called queen? I'd say, Una, I've only known you for a span of very few moments, and I feel as though you are a close mentor of mine. Perhaps it is you who is being too modest of the things my father has told me of you." He smiled.
"Well, in that regard, I can tell you that humility and humbleness are very noble traits to have. Don't waste them on empty things like your self-worth. You already know you are more than capable. It's the first step that is the hardest, the step into the unknown. Human's greatest fear is of the unknown, so if you can conquer that, you can conquer anything, be it kingdoms, lands, and perhaps yourself."
There was a long silence.
"You know, Una, I'm starting to think that perhaps God has sent me you in that regard," Gareth said softly.