Child of the Kindred, page 65
part #2 of The Rienfield Chronicles Series
“I hope you were not too hard on her Caleb. The poor child was just exhausted,” Queen Alana continued, while King Fergus grinned over at Caleb, amused by his son’s growing annoyance.
Caleb rolled his eyes and shook his head at his mother’s entire demeanour.
“No, not at all Mother. I gave her a spanking and sent her to bed. Her brother and Imagin are up with her, and they are sleeping by now I am sure,” Caleb answered, his voice full of sarcasm.
“Did you really find that necessary?” his mother asked in an irritated tone.
“Yes, I most certainly did. Tell me, when we were Orrie’s her age, if Aiden or I would have put on that little show of temper and disrespect in front of everyone, would you have allowed us to get away with it?” Caleb asked her incredulously.
“Well of course not! You both knew better,” Queen Alana answered defensively.
“Fine! Now Oriel knows better as well,” Caleb retorted back.
Queen Alana rolled her eyes, and taking another sip of her wine, sighed and shook her head. Laurel continued to laugh at Caleb and the Queen’s exchange. Caleb looked over smiling roguishly at her.
“Stop laughing. It is not funny,” he said to her, in a soft voice.
“It is quite amusing,” Laurel answered, laughing more vivaciously at this point.
Caleb leant closer to her, his face only inches apart from hers. Smiling wickedly at her, her eyes grew wide at his expression, her shoulders shaking from her laughing.
“Perhaps I should take you upstairs and teach you a lesson as well,” Caleb whispered to her.
“Perhaps you should,” Laurel whispered back, still laughing.
Caleb raised his eyebrows in surprise at her comment, as he began laughing at her reply.
“We should go upstairs anyways, Caleb. Will not Aiden and the others be coming to our room soon?” Laurel asked, her voice beginning to calm down from her mirth.
Caleb sighed and bowed his head for a moment, then looked up at her with an impatient smile.
“Mo ghra, are you quite serious about all that nonsense? Do you really want all those hooligans in our room tonight? Once there, it will be impossible to get them to leave,” Caleb remarked, his voice sounding annoyed once again.
“But it is tradition,” Laurel smiled at him, reaching over and caressing his face.
“Yes, a grand tradition of stupidity,” Caleb smirked at her. “Are you not tired from all this socialising today?” Caleb asked her, sounding a bit concerned.
“No. It will be fun,” Laurel said giggling. “If we do not go along with it everyone will be disappointed,” Laurel added, smiling at him.
“I do not care,” Caleb said brusquely.
“Well, I care. Come, Sire, let us go upstairs and ready ourselves for their arrival,” Laurel said smiling, and leaning over, kissed him softly on the lips.
“You mo stor, are a horribly spoilt little brat. You are quite aware, I cannot say no to you when you are like this,” he said, smiling at her.
“Yes, I am, on both counts. You were the one, however, who said that you would spoil me quite often,” Laurel said, smiling at him lovingly.
“Yes, I did at that. Very well mo stor. I did give you fair warning, they will not leave our room anytime soon, if at all. I was hoping to talk you out of this silliness, so I did not have blankets and sleeping mats brought in,” Caleb said with a wry grin, as he stood up and took her hand.
“Where are all those things kept?” Laurel asked him still smiling.
“In a closet just outside of the kitchen,” Caleb answered.
“Then they can just go and get them themselves later,” Laurel replied with a self-satisfied smile.
“Fine, I give up trying to convince you not to do this,” Caleb smirked shaking his head.
They went over to say goodnight to Caleb’s parents, who were both thoroughly amused by the exchange they had enjoyed watching.
Laurel giggled again at their expressions and kissed them both goodnight, Caleb leant down and kissed his mother on the cheek.
“Goodnight, my darlings, have a lovely evening,” Queen Alana replied, as she watched them turn to go upstairs. “I feel, Fergus, this has been one of the most enjoyable Family Gatherings so far,” she said to her husband, as he lovingly kissed her hand.
“I completely agree with you mo ghra,” King Fergus said, smiling at her adoringly.
The two, night sentries turned and looked at each other uncertainly. They were close, they could hear the approaching footsteps moving slowly, crunching the frozen snow under their feet.
“I hear them. What should we do?” the new, younger sentry whispered uncertainly.
“It is too late. There is nothing we can do,” the older sentry answered in a defeated tone.
At any moment the ambush would begin, and the sentries knew they were helpless to stop it. The first of the frozen missiles flew through the air, landing at the sentries’ feet, falling harmlessly, their targets untouched. The two sentries glanced at each other once again, smiling in relief, but that relief was short-lived. Suddenly and without warning, the onslaught began, swiftly and without mercy. All that could be heard after the attack was cruel and raucous laughter, and footsteps quickly running away. The sentries stood there, still in shock from the assault by the myriad of snowballs thrown at them. They turned and looked at each other again, seeing that they were both covered in snow.
“Every season. They do this, every season,” the older of the two bemoaned.
“I am going to make a request to transfer to storehouse duty next season,” the new sentry complained.
The group continued laughing as they ran around to the back of the Lodge, where the blazing fire waited for them. The high, leaping flames a welcome site, as they were all now cold from their snowball assault on the sentries and each other.
“Alright everyone, let us warm up a bit before we begin our game of Hunt and Find. Who has the straws?” Aiden asked the rowdy group of young people.
“I am not going to be the Hunter again,” Midhir spoke up, a tall and burly built young man, of eighteen seasons.
“Well if you would stop drawing the short straws you would not be, you great twit,” Rian replied to him rudely, causing the others to laugh.
“I have the straws,” Ione spoke up, coming over and standing in the middle of the group.
“Wait, where is Owain? He and Tulla went to get Imagin, are they back yet?” Aiden asked, looking around.
Everyone looked about but found they had not yet returned.
“We will give them a few more minutes then. Now, remember, Marina has never played this game, so she will not be drawing straws,” Aiden said, looking fondly at Marina, as he held her hand tightly.
“Oh, that is alright Aiden, I do not mind taking my turn,” Marina said softly, her cheeks flush from the cold and excitement of the evening’s festivities.
“No love, this is your first time. If you are picked as the Hunter you do not know the area enough to search for everyone in the dark,” Aiden said to her warmly.
“Besides that Marina, we all hope Aiden is finally picked to be Hunter this season. He always gets away with it,” Bebhinn replied, smirking at Aiden, then sticking her tongue out at him.
“Well if I am picked, I will be looking for you first. So be prepared, to have me shove your fresh little self in the nearest snow bank. Which reminds me, I have been told by our glorious leader, if we bring snowballs into his room this season, he will beat any and all senseless. So my question is, who is willing to take the beating for the sake of the greater good?” Aiden asked, smiling deviously.
Everyone began to laugh at Aiden’s question, especially Marina, who was completely surprised and delighted by the family’s rowdy behaviour.
“I will do it Aiden,” Addis answered, raising his hand and stepping forward.
“Good man, Addis, I knew I could count on you again,” Aiden replied, hitting him on the back.
“What has Addis just volunteered for?” Owain asked, as he, Tulla and Imagin suddenly arrived.
“For taking the beating that Caleb threatened to give to the one that brings snowballs into his room,” Aiden answered with a wry grin.
“You are a far braver man than I am Addis, and you have my respect,” Owain said with mock awe and humility, as Tulla giggled at the conversation.
“Thank you for your support my good fellow,” Addis answered back, pretending to be honoured.
“Yes, songs will be written concerning your sacrifice, Addis. Though I dare say, they will be short and most likely forgotten soon after. Now, moving on, we need to explain the rules of the game as we have four newcomers to our group, Imagin, Aineilis, Tulla and Marina. So Ione, if you would be so kind as to explain the rules to these dear ladies,” Aiden said, smiling at Marina again.
“The rules of Hunt and Find are as follows. The Hunter is chosen by a draw of straws of hay, whoever draws the shortest straw, is the Hunter. The Hunter then closes his or her eyes and counts to fifty while the rest run off and try to find a good place to hide. Then, he or she attempts to find all who are hiding. You cannot hide in a group, you must all hide individually, as this gives the Hunter less of an advantage. Once the Hunter finds you, you must return to this spot and wait for the others to be found,” Ione explained, beginning to arrange the straws to be drawn.
“So we come back here because it is easier to find?” Marina asked.
“Yes dear. That and so we do not freeze to death waiting for the others to be found,” Ione said wryly as the others laughed at her remark.
“Alright then, let us begin to draw straws. And out of respect for my dear Bebhinn’s snide remark, I shall draw first,” Aiden spoke up.
He stood in front of Ione and drew the first straw and to his surprise saw that it was very short.
“I see that you have finally drawn the shortest straw Aiden,” Ione said in a mocking tone, grinning coyly at him. “Well, seeing as you have the shortest straw we no longer need these,” Ione said, as she moved to throw the rest of the straws into the fire “Hold on a moment,” Aiden said, holding her arm. “We shall see. Owain you draw next,” Aiden directed.
Owain stepped forward and drew the next straw and saw it was also very short. He began to laugh at the implication. Rose and Violet also stepped forward to draw, and they too pulled out short straws. Everyone started to laugh as they realised what Ione had done. Aiden smirked at her, shaking his head.
“Fine, it seems I need to be the adult here, so I will concede to be the Hunter. With the exception of Imagin, Aineilis, and Tulla because this is their first season with our group, and Marina, because I prefer her more than any of you, I find you all petty and annoying,” Aiden said with mock spite.
The group only laughed harder at his comment, and then they all dispersed to find hiding places, as Aiden closed his eyes and began counting loudly. Marina found herself unable to move as Aiden would not release her hand, and she started to giggle. Ione stepped up to her, and punched Aiden soundly on the arm, causing him to yell out eight, louder than he had been, letting go of Marina’s hand, and cursing under his breath. Ione and Marina giggled and ran off as Aiden resumed counting. Ione held Marina's hand for a moment, helping her to find her way in the dark. The moons were not yet full, and it was a bit cloudy, so it was darker than it should have been to see. Ione directed Marina to hide behind a large ancient tree, reminding her to keep quiet, Ione then disappeared into the night. Marina stood behind the tree, her back leaning against it. She was excited and nervous at the same time, to be out in the still, cold, darkness. She was finally beginning to sleep through the night, without some sort of unpleasant dream waking her. She was happy to see her brother and sister adjusting to their new life. Though saddened that Caleb had spanked Jamison for going into the forest yet again, to bring back a marneut. She was, however, grateful and appreciated he had taken on the role as adopted father to her siblings and not leaving them behind in Gwenlais. The fact that Caleb had also allowed Jamison to keep his pet marneut at the stables showed her how much he cared for her brother. She found her new family loving and compassionate, and to her amusement, quite boisterous. Aiden’s growing affection for her, gave Marina a sense of peace and exhilaration, especially at his formally announcing their courtship. She was jarred from her thoughts, by the approaching sound of snow crunching underfoot. She held her breath for an instant, pressing herself closer against the massive tree. Marina peeked around the trunk to look about but saw no one. As she turned to look in the opposite direction, suddenly a tall figure stood in front of her. She almost cried out, but a hand went quickly to her mouth to silence her cry.
“It seems that I have found you,” a familiar voice spoke, softly.
Marina let out a deep sigh of relief as Aiden took his hand away.
“Oh Aiden, you scared me,” she whispered.
“So sorry mo ghra, it was not my intention. I am, however, quite happy you are the first one I have found,” Aiden murmured, with obvious amusement.
He placed his hand up to her face to adjust the scarf she was wearing.
“Should I not go back to the fire now?” she giggled to him.
“In a moment. If the rest all have to wait a bit for me to find them, some will just give up, and walk back to the fire on their own,” Aiden said smiling charmingly. “I have been waiting to do this for some time now,” he whispered enticingly, as he leant down and kissed her tenderly on her lips.
Bringing up both hands to gently hold her face, Aiden began to kiss her more deeply. As she closed her eyes, Marina placed her hands on his waist, feeling a deep warmth slowly course through her body with each kiss. Then without warning, Aiden let out a muffled groan of surprise, as he took his mouth from hers and turned to see several of the cousins laughing and throwing snowballs at him. The girls let out shrieks of mock terror at his expression, as they ran in the direction of the fire.
“Oh, you will all pay when I catch you! Do not bother running you ninnies, I know where you are going!” Aiden yelled to them, taking Marina’s hand he began to run carefully, for her sake, back to the fire.
As they quickly made their way back to the fire, the group of girls, began to throw snowballs at Aiden once again. One of the snowballs found its mark, but it ended up hitting Marina in the face, she gasped in shock and pain.
All the girls gasped in alarm all at once, Aiden then yelled at them to stop, as he held Marina to him and began to wipe the snow from her face.
“Now look what you have done! Who threw that?” Aiden inquired angrily.
“I am so sorry,” Aineilis cried, as she and the other girls ran up to Marina.
“I did not mean it Marina, please forgive me. I was trying to hit Aiden,” the young girl pleaded, beginning to cry as she took Marina’s hand.
“Yes, well, that makes it all better, does it not?” Aiden asked in a scolding tone.
Aineilis began to sob pitifully as she was one of the youngest, and very sensitive. Caleb would tease by saying, all you would have to do to make her behave, was look at her crossly for a moment. Marina began to recover from her shock of the snowball, and held the young girl to her, feeling sorry for her pitiful crying.
“It is alright Aineilis, I am fine, I was only surprised,” Marina murmured.
“Look what you have done Aiden, you made her cry, Marina is not angry,” Bebhinn scolded Aiden, frowning at him.
“You are beginning to sound like Caleb!” Imagin scolded as well, rubbing Aineilis on her back.
Aiden looked at them all with surprise and disdain, as he looked over at Marina, who began to laugh silently at the turn of events.
“I am about to start acting like Caleb if you all continue with this attitude,” Aiden said, still scolding them.
Hearing the ruckus at the fire, the rest of the group began to emerge from their hiding places, Ione walked up to the girls, a concerned look on her face. Kerrie then took Aineilis in her arms, giving Aiden a sad and disappointed look.
“Do not look at me like that. Are we all forgetting that Aineilis hit Marina in the face with a snowball?” Aiden asked in an exasperated tone.
His comment sent Aineilis into another spasm of tears and pitiful sobbing, which caused all the girls except Marina and Tulla, to begin chiding him all at once. Aiden rolled his eyes upward in frustration, shaking his head. The two boys, along with Rian and Marina, could not help themselves from laughing at his predicament. Tulla and Owain just grinned at each other, as Owain wrapped his arm around her, noticing Tulla beginning to shiver.
“I think we all need to head back to the Lodge now, my poor Bride is not used to the cold,” Owain remarked with concern, as Tulla looked up at him, smiling lovingly.
“Yes, I agree, we need to head back to the Lodge before I end giving all these ninnies a real reason to be angry,” Aiden said in an annoyed voice, once more taking Marina’s hand.
“See, he is becoming all grumpy like Caleb,” Bebhinn addressed the girls.
“If I hear one more snide remark, there will be a few more girls crying,” Aiden said threatening, turning to look at them sternly.
All the girls then began to snicker and giggle at his annoyance, as they made their way back to the Lodge.
Caleb knelt down, adding more wood to the fire in their room, when Laurel walked up to him, gently caressing the back of his neck. He looked up and smiled at her adoringly, noticing she had changed into her nightgown and robe. Signs of her growing belly were now showing as she had just entered her fifth month. Caleb gently caressed her stomach and kissed it lovingly. He then stood up and taking Laurel in his arms, kissed her passionately. When he felt her body melt into his, he pulled away slightly to talk to her.
“I still do not understand why you would want those silly creatures in our room when we could be busy with more pleasant and entertaining activities,” he said in a soft, ardent voice, tucking her hair behind her ear.
