Caledonii: Birth of a Nation. (Part Three; The Coming of Age) Read online

  “That may be Ma’damar.” Calach’s grin never reached past his lips. “That may be.”

  Ma’damar turned abruptly to Morro. “So you want to marry my daughter, eh?” His voice bellowed, ringing around the hall. Morro almost stepped backwards.

  “Speak!” Ma’damar had drawn himself erect, and was almost pushing himself out of the chair and over the room to the petrified group.

  “How....” Morro’s question died on his lips.

  “How do I know? Come on lad, let’s not play games here!” Ma’damar shook his head patronizingly. “It’s a fathers right to know these things!”

  Ma’damar narrowed his gaze and spoke to Finlass directly. “An’ you can hold your tongue an’ let the islander speak for himself. “You’ve known about this before now, you should’ve told me this was going to happen.”

  “Aye Faither.”

  “Instead I have to get the story from your brother.” He inclined his head towards Conrack, standing behind his chair. “As if I needed telling, of course. The Cerone’s been sniffing around Llynn for long enough to make his intentions plain to everyone.”

  Conrack was beaming from ear to ear at his brother being put down publically.

  The exchange between Father and son seemed to give Morro a moment to gather himself, and when he again addressed Ma’damar, his voice was clear and loud.

  “Chief Ma’damar,” He began.

  “Oh it can talk can it?” The chief settled back into the large chair. “Morro, son o’ Nevish can talk. Alright then, let’s hear what clan Cerone’s got to say for itself.” He folded his arms and stared at Morro.

  “Chief Ma’damar, over the last year, I’ve visited Bar’ton a few times.” He glanced at Finlass, steadying himself. “Llynn an’ I have grown close. Very close in fact.”

  “An’ that’s something to boast about to her faither?” Ma’damar roared. He grabbed the arms of the chair and brought his weight forward. “Just how ‘close’ are you talking about?”

  Morro shuffled his feet. “Chief Ma’damar, we feel that we want to marry. To marry an’ settle down an’ raise a family.”

  “Do you now?”

  After getting the first words out, Morro seemed to settle. “We know that it’s not accepted practice to marry outside the clan, but we feel so strong when we’re together, that we think we can be happy.”

  “Oh do you now.”

  “Aye, Chief. We both do.”

  “Oh you both do, do you?” Ma’damar took a deep breath. “Finlass! Go an’ fetch the women.”

  “Aye Chief.” Finlass ran through the archway to find his mother, Tamoira standing close with Llynn and Elenin.

  “The chief wants to see Ma’ an’ Llynn.”

  Tamoira nodded.

  Finlass thought she had tears in her eyes. He followed the three women as they joined the group in the hall.

  “What does your faither Nevish say to this?” Ma’damar asked Morro, as they approached.

  “He doesn’t know yet, Chief Ma’damar.” Morro replied, “I thought that since you were the senior chief, an’ Llynn’s father, that it was only right that I should ask you first.”

  Llynn had elbowed her way through the visitors to stand by Morro’s side. She surreptitiously slipped her hand into his.

  Ma’damar smiled for the first time that morning, “I’ve seen Llynn going around like some half asleep puppy for a while now. She’s a bonny lass, but suitors have been few an’ far between.”

  “Da’!” Llynn stamped her foot.

  “Hush! Any man who’s came close to you has left damn quickly again. Maybe Morro’s proposition will be a favorable one.”

  Proposition?

  Finlass had not forseen this, he had expected a simple yes or no.

  “Proposition?” Morro asked quickly. Llynn clutched his arm tighter.

  “Aye. You’ve got a fair bit to learn my lad.” Ma’damar’s voice had taken a softer tone. “A daughter who’s not wed is two things to a Father. She is a pain in the backside, having a’ the eligable lads on their toes a’ the time, an’ bringing strangers into the clan.” Then he smiled. A dark, knowing smile which Finlass, in all his years had never seen before. “But she’s also a bargaining tool. Since winter Llynn’s been the painful part. Now it’s time to turn her into the bargain.”

  ~ ~ ~

  In the end, a bargain was struck. When the autumn turned and winter was beginning, they would feast the quarter day of Samhain with a wedding by the shores of the long loch. In the next summer, Morrow would deliver a ship to Ma’damar, the greatest ever seen, and they young Cerone had promised the use of his warriors if the Meatae ever needed help against the Romans.

  Finlass thought about the building of the ship; a great undertaking for one so young. But there was the reputation and pride of the Cerone clan at stake now, Calach was certain that Morro would not let them down. He stole a lingering look at the bride to be, as her father received congratulations from the clan, and knew that whatever price Ma’damar had asked, Morro would have paid.

  Morro and Llynn walked away, hand in hand. The others let them go without comment. It had been a long day already, and it was still only early afternoon.

  Tamoira, Finlass’ mother, put her arms round his waist. “When will you decide to marry son?”

  He rocked back into her embrace, and in the corner of his eye, saw Calach talking to Elenin. He turned quickly, and made to go to the pair, but Tamoira held on to him.

  “Your sister has chosen her man. Soon she will give the clan Cerone heirs for Nevish.”

  “Mother!”

  “Young Morro is younger than you, and he has chosen to settle.”

  The rest of the group were now converging on them.

  “But at what price?” Finlass exclaimed.

  “Who can determine worth, when the heart aches.” Tamoira let Finlass go. “Perhaps my son, you’ll feel the same about someone someday. Or perhaps you’ll have to battle wi’ seven brothers to win your loved one.”

  Calach joined them. “Maybe seven brothers will be an easier time than poor Morro had today!” He laughed, slapping Finlass hard on the back.

  “Aye, he did get a hard time from your faither!” Cam’bel said quietly.

  “No more than a faither should, Cam’bel.” Tamoira grinned. “Maybe you’ll all change when you have daughters o’ your own.”

  “Well he certainly got a deal!” Calach laughed. “He wins a great ship.”

  “Aye.” Finlass grinned. “We all know what good shipbuilders the Cerones are.”

  “Aye.” They chorused together. “The best!”

  “Is anyone hungry?” Tamoira asked, and was deafened by a louder chorus still.

  ~ ~ ~

  Winnie watched the old vendor as he put the last items back in his cart, his days trading finished. Hamble’s market square had been busy for most of the day, but now trade was slackening, there were only a few stalls still trading. The sea breeze rippled the thick covering on his cart as he tied the edges down. The thin, old man turned in alarm as Winnie tapped him on the shoulder.

  “Whaaaa!”

  “I’m sorry.” She said, stepping back as he took in her appearance. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “Just a fright, s’all.” The Norland words sounded strange in his thick southern accent. “What can I do for thee?”

  “I would ask you a few questions about the places you’ve been, s’all.” Winnie easily mimicked his speech mannerisms. “There’s a few things I need to know.”

  “I doesn’t answer questions from strangers.”

  Winnie’s shoulders slumped. She had travelled far to the south, almost to the limit of Venicone lands, just to see this man. She had to get the man to talk to her.

  “I needs to know your name first!” The old man smiled, showing the stumps of his old, decayed teeth. “Then we wouldn’t be strangers anymore. I doesn’t answer questions from strangers.”

  Winnie smiled as she gave her
name.

  The trader looked at her. “Yep, you be telling the truth at least. The name fits you.” He held out his hand. “Pearly Jak’s my name. I’ll do any kind of trading for a pearl. People in the south love pearls.”

  Winnie shook the offered hand, then pulled it free of his grasp as he held on just a fraction too long. “Questions?” She insisted.

  “Ah yes. Winnie, my love, you would ask Jak some questions.” He scratched his chin. “Questions come cheap. Doesn’t cost you a coin. Answers, however, may cost you some coin, maybe not. Would depend on the questions, and on how long the answers would take.”

  “Sounds fair.”

  “Alright then love, you ask me the questions and I’ll tell thee if I actually knows the answers. Then if I does know, you make with the coin, and I make with the answers. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  Now we’re getting somewhere!

  “Here or somewhere quiet?”

  He gave her a look that she did not entirely relish, a sneer coming over his face.

  “Here will do fine.”

  Jak pulled a sad face, then smiled again. “Suits yourself!”

  The trader pulled two stools off his cart and set them on the ground, he indicated to Winnie that she should sit on one, then sat down himself.

  “Right then love, question one?”

  Winnie pulled the stool away from the trader and sat down. He had placed them a little too close to each other for comfort.

  “You’re Iceni, aren’t you?”

  “Oh!” A saucy smile played across Jak’s lips. “I know the answer to that one! You’ll need coin.”

  “That wasn’t a question for money. I need to know that before I ask you the rest.”

  “Oh now she asks questions and wants the answers for free!”

  “Jak!” Winnie barked. “That question was not worth a coin, and you know it.”

  “Only joking Winnie, my love, only joking.”

  Winnie did not entirely like this ‘Pearly Jak’, but she had no choice. His use of her name was wearing already.

  “Iceni?”

  “Iceni, yes. All my life. Iceni, and proud. There’s not many’s of us left after the good queen had her day.”

  “Are you from the same town?”

  “Is this a coin question Winnie, my love?”

  “No Jak, I’m just establishing your credentials.”

  “Oh, ‘establishing my credentials’ are we? Maybe I should get a coin then, if you needs to see my ‘credentials’!”

  The sneer which had swept over his face unsettled her again. She pondered if that was his purpose, using his seediness to upset her, but came to no quick conclusion. By now Winnie was glad that she had seen reason earlier and wanted the meeting out in the open. Although the market square was quiet, it was nowhere near deserted.

  “Are you from the same town as the ‘good queen’?”

  “Aye, that I am. I’ve traded pearls for the good queen and for her husband before her. When they wanted pearls, they came to Pearly Jak. I was younger then, mind you.”

  Hoping that her facial expression would not give her away, she felt elated inside. This was beyond what she could have hoped for. She had the traders monitored for the last year, and when word of an old Iceni had come to her, she hoped that he would have the knowledge she was seeking.

  “Did you know the queen well? Boudicca?”

  “Ah, now Winnie. Is that a coin question, or no? You’ve come a talking with your coins mentioned, but you’ve never let me have one in my hand, even tho I’ve answered all your questions correctly so far!” He cocked his head to one side and grinned. His open hand was held steadily in front of her.

  She opened a small bag and took a small coin from within. When she placed it on his open palm he abruptly stopped grinning.

  “This is Roman!” He blurted. “And silver!”

  Pearl Jak bit down on it hard, and closely examined the head on the coin.

  “Where did you get this?”

  Winnie grinned at his question and held her hand out. “Now Pearl Jak, is that a coin question or no?” Her attempt at his accent was very convincing.

  “No.” He pocketed the coin faster than was polite. “Not a question at all really. Just wondered how a Votadin woman would have access to Roman coins is all.”

  Winnie continued. “Did you know the queen well?”

  “Well Winnie, considering that you’ve gave me a coin, I think I’ll answer the question. Queen Boudicca was my first love really.” He smiled ruefully at the shock on Winnie’s face, “Not that she saw me, you know. I did a bit of trading even then. But the queen was the sun in the life of all her people; she was just, regal, and proud. Pride did for her in the end. But that didn’t stop us all loving her.” Jak’s eyes took on a slightly glazed look, and just then, for a moment, Winnie felt the sorrow he felt for his lost queen. “It was probably our love for her done for us really. If we hadn’t loved her as much as we did, maybe more would be alive today to answer your questions.”

  “What of her children?” Winnie asked. “What became of all of them?”

  Jak’s eyes came together, furrowing his brow. “Why does you wants to know?” Then he looked at the ground and shook his head. “No. I doesn’t wants to know your reasons. You’re asking the questions and you’re paying the coin.”

  “Jak, I’m a storyteller. I’m just getting my stories right before I tell anything that’s not true.”

  The suspicion which had crossed his face was gone in an instant.

  “That’s alright then.” He smiled again, “And storytellers get well paid!” He pulled his stool closer to Winnies and glanced around them.

  “I can tell you all about the queen’s children. I knew them see; not to talk to personal like. But they came to me for some things from time to time.”

  Winnie’s heart raced.

  “Jak, she had six children didn’t she?” Testing him.

  “No lass, she had seven! Well, seven that made it through to the end with her. A couple died as babies, but they died years before the troubles. Three boys, and four girls.” Jak seemed distant for a moment. “Mayhap if it had been the other way around, she’d have been alright today. Sons to keep the line.”

  “Eldest?”

  “Eldest was Rulen; she did for herself when the Romans came that last day.”

  “What?”

  “She took her own life rather than have the same fate as her sisters. Tore her innards out with a knife.” He looked up. “Hey! Coin? I answered a coin question and no doubt!”

  “I thought I’d already paid for that question!”

  “Oh. Mayhap you did, but without coin, I might not remember as well as I used to. Memory’s going bad you see.”

  She placed another silver piece on his palm.

  “Thankee Winnie my love. I like doing business with you.”

  “Next eldest?”

  “That’d be Deenal, the eldest son. He died on campaign with his mother. They decapitated her you know. My Queen Boudicca. Took her parts to the four corners, left her head on the gates to Londinium. They had to guard it until it was picked clean by the birds, otherwise we’d have taken it back with us.” Jak looked upwards at the evening sky. For a moment, Winnie thought that was as far as he would go. “Deenal died on campaign, along with his two other brothers, and little Gawrcus was only twelve. They never stood a chance.”

  At the mention of the youngest brothers name, Winnie gasped, her pulse quickened, all her foreboding came swimming to the surface. She felt faint, but forced herself to become calm again, knowing she could not show anything to the trader. Somewhere she had heard the name ‘Gawrcus’ before.

  “The girls?” Winnie said quickly, hoping that she could get the piece of information before Jak stopped talking. She placed a third coin in his hand, which he took absent-mindedly.

  “The girls, Yes, the girls... the princesses!”

  “Yes Jak, they were princesses.”

&n
bsp; “They all died at the hands of the Romans. Never seen the act myself, but by the time I’d got back home from the wars; I took my time you see? Romans weren’t going to catch me; not Pearly Jak! By the time I’d got back, there wasn’t much left of them to identify, hanging on the walls like that. Their bodies were picked clean of flesh, bits of bone fell every day. Their bodies were guarded, they even smashed the bits that fell.”

  “All the princesses died?”

  “Yes all of them.”

  “There were no babes?” Winnie insisted. “No babes to carry the line?”

  “No none.” Jak shook his head slowly, as if returning from a trance.

  Winnie was unable to control her composure any longer.

  No babies. None to carry the line. The dream must be false then, but that is impossible.

  She realized that Jak was still speaking.

  “The line of Boudicca died with her and her daughters. Rulen, the eldest daughter was the only one to marry, and she killed herself and hers when the Romans came. I told you that already.”

  Winnies heart skipped a beat.

  “Her and hers? You never mentioned Rulen having a child.”

  Jak seemed to ignore her.

  With all her mental resolve on keeping calm, Winnie watched Jak’s face.

  “Jak!” She insisted. “You never mentioned the baby.”

  “Oh sorry Winnie love, must have been suffering from no coin at the time.”

  Winnie fished in her small sack and pulled out her last coin. She upended the sack to show Jak that it was empty. As she placed it in his hand, she folded his fingers around the piece of silver.

  “Jak.” She asked. “The baby. Boy or girl?”

  “Little girl.” He said. “Well, when I say little, I’m joking. I remember when Rulen showed her to the people, I was near the front. The baby girl was long... she was going to be a big girl.” His face went sad again. “If she’d have made it through. But Rulen killed her before she killed herself. I heard the talk from the servants. Messy it was. Blood everywhere. Folks said that Rulen must have been crazy when she killed her daughter, she made a right mess of her. Quartered the baby herself, to stop the Romans doing it.”

  “Can you remember the baby’s name?”