Okay, sorry for the long wait. I was – am – in France, without internet. I have found a place with internet, so I will just post this chapter. Only Feathers of the Hawk, I am afraid, because I wanted to know what happens if I concentrate on only one story at a time, and I had more inspiration for Feathers of the Hawk.
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"It was night, or rather, evening. In the village not far from here, it was a day off work, the birthday of the former lord Skye. He had died trying to protect the village that fell under his protection. That was four years before this story. The villagers honored his memory, because he had always protected them. They never were as fond of the new lord, though you won't hear anyone admitting that." Kahu paused with a sigh. Why was it so difficult to tell Eyolf this story?
Eyolf used this period of silence to ask a question. "Not midnight? Most stories start at midnight. And is this former Lord Skye your father? I've always heard that he was the first lord of Skye Manor."
"Shut up, Eyolf. You were supposed not to interrupt. You promised."
"Sorry."
"Anyway, no. Not at midnight, but in the evening. Close by the village was a forest. The same forest, in fact, as the one we visited today, though the part we visited has no role in this story." Eyolf noted that Kahu had not answered his second question, but decided not to pursue the matter. "That particular evening, it was visited by a girl, who had come there to escape her brother, who wanted her to babysit his five-year-old son, so that he could go into the village and celebrate, preferably with the village girls. But she had refused to do so, telling him that he had to look after the boy, it was his turn. She had added a remark about how he was supposed to celebrate with his wife, instead of the other girls, which had infuriated her brother."
Eyolf interrupted again. "Could it be that this story is about you?"
"Why do you think so?"
"Most girls, especially village girls, wouldn't go against an older brother. Any brother, in fact. They would obey him."
Kahu smiled. This made it somewhat easier. "Yes. It is about me, in the period just before my fourteenth birthday. Now, may I continue?"
"Sure."
"So, I had made Niall angry. As usual. Of course, I had to leave quickly after that. By then I had trained with Are for some years, so I could control my hawk. I went to the forest, because that has always been my favorite place. When I sat there, I heard someone coming. Of course, I thought it to be Niall, so I got up. It was a girl, a few years older than me. She was fleeing her father, who was angry with her, for reasons, which she wouldn't say. Her name was Mewen {pronounce May-when}, but everyone called her May. She didn't seem to recognize me, so I told her my name was Kahu. She promptly shortened it to K. That is why I snapped when you used it." Kahu paused and drank some water. "I was quite surprised. Most people knew me as the daughter of the old Lord Skye, and if not, as the sister of the new Lord Skye, by the name my father had given me, Selene. He named all of us after things in the sky, just for the irony of it. My name means moon, Niall's cloud and Are's given name means sun, for he was the first. I guess that I should thank the gods for not being named after birds. Can you imagine, me being named Dove, or, even worse, Nightingale?"
"Why not make Niall the moon?"
Kahu sighed. "You promised, Eyolf." She cut his apologize off with a gesture. "Because the moon is female. But May did not know me. She told me she and her family had moved there only a few months ago, which explained all of it, since I had not been home since the start of the new year, Midwinter. Even back then I seldom came here – Niall and I never got along well, and when I turned out to be a shapeshifter, it only worsened. Of course, now that Luíz shifts too, he will hate me even more, if that is possible. Anyway, May and I got talking, and when we went back to the village, the two of us had become friends. I was glad to have found a new friend, because my best friend, Duysante, a wolf-shifter, had gone, even from the Academy. When we walked into the village, May's father spotted her, and after some remarks that I would not understand until later, took her away. I went home, where Niall was waiting for me. He shouted at me for not listening to him, which I ignored, and sent me back to my room. After that day, it was a while before I could see May again, but I tried to find her whenever I could. Finally, I found her, again in the forest. It was the week after my birthday, which is on Midsummer. She congratulated me, and I asked her how she knew – I hadn't told her, assuming I would see her before that day. She told me that she had asked the other villagers about me, and that they had told her. They had also said that I was the sister of Lord Skye, but it didn't bother her. I showed her my favorite places in the forest, and she told me about her life before they moved here. Apparently, they had moved before, her father was carpenter, but he had been born one of the Resande, the travellers. From that day on, we managed to see each other more often, agreeing on a day and time before we went back to the village. The year I spent travelling between my missions, the Academy and the forest, was the happiest of my life." Kahu took another sip of water and looked out of the window. Twilight covered the estate like a blanket. "Of course, both of us knew it couldn't last. A lady and a peasant girl could never be friends. Let alone more, as we were by that time." She met Eyolf's questioning gaze. "Yes, Eyolf, that is possible too. Anyway, that was the summer Niall found out. To say that he was furious is an understatement if mankind ever made one. He summoned May to the castle. I tried to dissuade her, but in vain. Said she had to face him one way or another, and that it might be best to face him immediately. I protested that it would be better to let his fury fade a little, but May argued that it might only rise if she didn't do as he had said. It would be the last time I heard her talking to me. I followed her to the castle, still trying to find a way to convince her not to do it. When she came to Niall's big hall, where he welcomes all of his guests, I had slipped into the secret passages of Skye Manor and listened to the scene that followed. It was not pretty. I don't know exactly what happened, because I had averted my eyes, but it ended with May lying on the floor, unmoving. She had had a blow to the head. I yelled at Niall, screaming that he had killed her. He yelled back, remarking that he would find a man that would still marry me, that he should have done that much earlier. He then called for a servant that would bring me to my rooms, to keep me there until he had found me a husband." Kahu saw Eyolf's shocked expression and hastened on. "As far as I know, and care, I am neither married nor engaged – in my opinion, both parties must agree before such a decision can be made. I never agreed to any request of the kind. However, let's get back to the narrative. The servant came toward me, trying to do as Niall had ordered. Before he could reach me, though, I fled, first running, and then jumping out of the open window. Don't worry," she quickly said, "it was on the second floor, I had all time in the world to shift into a hawk. I flew back to the Academy in a record time, four days or so. Today was the first time in two years that I returned. This is how everything was before I met you."
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"It was night, or rather, evening. In the village not far from here, it was a day off work, the birthday of the former lord Skye. He had died trying to protect the village that fell under his protection. That was four years before this story. The villagers honored his memory, because he had always protected them. They never were as fond of the new lord, though you won't hear anyone admitting that." Kahu paused with a sigh. Why was it so difficult to tell Eyolf this story?
Eyolf used this period of silence to ask a question. "Not midnight? Most stories start at midnight. And is this former Lord Skye your father? I've always heard that he was the first lord of Skye Manor."
"Shut up, Eyolf. You were supposed not to interrupt. You promised."
"Sorry."
"Anyway, no. Not at midnight, but in the evening. Close by the village was a forest. The same forest, in fact, as the one we visited today, though the part we visited has no role in this story." Eyolf noted that Kahu had not answered his second question, but decided not to pursue the matter. "That particular evening, it was visited by a girl, who had come there to escape her brother, who wanted her to babysit his five-year-old son, so that he could go into the village and celebrate, preferably with the village girls. But she had refused to do so, telling him that he had to look after the boy, it was his turn. She had added a remark about how he was supposed to celebrate with his wife, instead of the other girls, which had infuriated her brother."
Eyolf interrupted again. "Could it be that this story is about you?"
"Why do you think so?"
"Most girls, especially village girls, wouldn't go against an older brother. Any brother, in fact. They would obey him."
Kahu smiled. This made it somewhat easier. "Yes. It is about me, in the period just before my fourteenth birthday. Now, may I continue?"
"Sure."
"So, I had made Niall angry. As usual. Of course, I had to leave quickly after that. By then I had trained with Are for some years, so I could control my hawk. I went to the forest, because that has always been my favorite place. When I sat there, I heard someone coming. Of course, I thought it to be Niall, so I got up. It was a girl, a few years older than me. She was fleeing her father, who was angry with her, for reasons, which she wouldn't say. Her name was Mewen {pronounce May-when}, but everyone called her May. She didn't seem to recognize me, so I told her my name was Kahu. She promptly shortened it to K. That is why I snapped when you used it." Kahu paused and drank some water. "I was quite surprised. Most people knew me as the daughter of the old Lord Skye, and if not, as the sister of the new Lord Skye, by the name my father had given me, Selene. He named all of us after things in the sky, just for the irony of it. My name means moon, Niall's cloud and Are's given name means sun, for he was the first. I guess that I should thank the gods for not being named after birds. Can you imagine, me being named Dove, or, even worse, Nightingale?"
"Why not make Niall the moon?"
Kahu sighed. "You promised, Eyolf." She cut his apologize off with a gesture. "Because the moon is female. But May did not know me. She told me she and her family had moved there only a few months ago, which explained all of it, since I had not been home since the start of the new year, Midwinter. Even back then I seldom came here – Niall and I never got along well, and when I turned out to be a shapeshifter, it only worsened. Of course, now that Luíz shifts too, he will hate me even more, if that is possible. Anyway, May and I got talking, and when we went back to the village, the two of us had become friends. I was glad to have found a new friend, because my best friend, Duysante, a wolf-shifter, had gone, even from the Academy. When we walked into the village, May's father spotted her, and after some remarks that I would not understand until later, took her away. I went home, where Niall was waiting for me. He shouted at me for not listening to him, which I ignored, and sent me back to my room. After that day, it was a while before I could see May again, but I tried to find her whenever I could. Finally, I found her, again in the forest. It was the week after my birthday, which is on Midsummer. She congratulated me, and I asked her how she knew – I hadn't told her, assuming I would see her before that day. She told me that she had asked the other villagers about me, and that they had told her. They had also said that I was the sister of Lord Skye, but it didn't bother her. I showed her my favorite places in the forest, and she told me about her life before they moved here. Apparently, they had moved before, her father was carpenter, but he had been born one of the Resande, the travellers. From that day on, we managed to see each other more often, agreeing on a day and time before we went back to the village. The year I spent travelling between my missions, the Academy and the forest, was the happiest of my life." Kahu took another sip of water and looked out of the window. Twilight covered the estate like a blanket. "Of course, both of us knew it couldn't last. A lady and a peasant girl could never be friends. Let alone more, as we were by that time." She met Eyolf's questioning gaze. "Yes, Eyolf, that is possible too. Anyway, that was the summer Niall found out. To say that he was furious is an understatement if mankind ever made one. He summoned May to the castle. I tried to dissuade her, but in vain. Said she had to face him one way or another, and that it might be best to face him immediately. I protested that it would be better to let his fury fade a little, but May argued that it might only rise if she didn't do as he had said. It would be the last time I heard her talking to me. I followed her to the castle, still trying to find a way to convince her not to do it. When she came to Niall's big hall, where he welcomes all of his guests, I had slipped into the secret passages of Skye Manor and listened to the scene that followed. It was not pretty. I don't know exactly what happened, because I had averted my eyes, but it ended with May lying on the floor, unmoving. She had had a blow to the head. I yelled at Niall, screaming that he had killed her. He yelled back, remarking that he would find a man that would still marry me, that he should have done that much earlier. He then called for a servant that would bring me to my rooms, to keep me there until he had found me a husband." Kahu saw Eyolf's shocked expression and hastened on. "As far as I know, and care, I am neither married nor engaged – in my opinion, both parties must agree before such a decision can be made. I never agreed to any request of the kind. However, let's get back to the narrative. The servant came toward me, trying to do as Niall had ordered. Before he could reach me, though, I fled, first running, and then jumping out of the open window. Don't worry," she quickly said, "it was on the second floor, I had all time in the world to shift into a hawk. I flew back to the Academy in a record time, four days or so. Today was the first time in two years that I returned. This is how everything was before I met you."
Yay! It's great to finally know her whole story! :D
ReplyDeleteLoved it Jess!