Defiance (The Priestess Trilogy) (11 page)

His eyes snapped open and he
leaned towards her,
reaching a hand out to smooth back her hair from her forehead
. “Shhh…
Shiovra
,” he replied. “You should not try to get up yet, but I imagine that you have
found that out yourself.”

Shiovra
turned her attention back to the gently sway of the tree branches. The sunlight flickering through the dance of the leaves was in stark contrast to the dreams of battle she had before waking. “Such a dark foretelling…”

“What do you mean
?”
questioned
Daire
beside her.

A sad smile crossed
Shiovra
’s lips
. “Nothing,” she replied
, glancing at him
. “Do not worry.”

Daire
’s eyes narrowed on her, but he did not press her further. “You could do for a good rest, cousin.”

She could not deny the truth to his words. “Aye. That I could
,” she whispered, then started coughing.

“Here,” said
Daire
, helping her to sit before reaching
for
a clay bowl of milky water that sat
beside him, handing it to her. “This will help bring back your strength.”

She smelled the infusio
n
and then
drank it, w
elcoming it’s warm, though bitter taste
.
Shiovra
was far too familiar with the herbal drink.

Daire
w
as silent, merely watched her
.

“Where have yo
ur companions gone?”
Shiovra
asked
, breaking the silence.

“They made sure your wounds were tended to,
and then
continued on their way to take care of the rest
,” he replied. “As we should continue on ours.
Árdal was only the first. There will be others hunting you
, now that you have been seen
.
”
Daire
looked down at
his hands. “Forgive me. I had not intended for you to be hurt
.
I promised myself that when I took you away from Rúnda, that I would protect you myself.
” He
sighed and
looked back up at her.
“The storm has passed, and midday
approaches swiftly. We shall continue until nightfall, then make camp.”

Shiovra
nodded. The time to
turn back was gone
. She made her choice to defy her mentor and leave Rúnda. All that remained was to face the brother she had turned her back on and be the priestess that Tara was in need of.

Daire
offered her a warm grin and rose
to his feet. “I am going to get us some water. Stay here. I’ll be back.”

Shiovra
nodded and watched him disappear into the trees. Slowly, she
forced her body to stand
, wincing slightly
at the stabbing pain in her side
. She
looked down to find that bandages had been wrapped over her clothing and she knew her wound would need to be more
carefully tended to. Hearing a soft rustle behind her, she
turned to see
Daire
returning
.

“Shall we continue on to Tara?”
he asked.

Shiovra
nodded. “Aye.”

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Shiovra
sat in a tree, looking off in the distance towards
the
Tara. The sight brought back a flood of memories
and remained an impressive even after her ten year absence
.
It could easily been seen why every High Chieftain of
Éire chose the village for his home.

The
village of Tara stretched far and consisted of
the
high fort
and
two smaller
ringforts
. T
he
high fort
stood at the
summit of a
hill
and was
enclosed by a circular
earth bank
surrounded by a stur
dy wooden wall
.
Within
, small cottages with clay daub walls and thick thatch roofs lay scattered around the main cottage where the chieftain and his kin resided. The main cottage itself was circled by a fence
made of woven hazel
sitting atop a raised
banks
; another fence, linked to the first, stood around
the Stone of Destiny
.
N
orth of th
e main cottage
,
nestled along
the
outer
wall
,
was a small passage tomb known as Mound of Ho
stages. Further
north,
just outside the bounds of the
high fort
was the long, narrow building known a
s the Banqueting House. W
e
st of the hall, past the small
ring
-
forts, were the Sloping Trenches.

Shiovra
felt both the warmth of fond memories as well as apprehension when looking upon her childhood home
.
Ten years was a long time to have been away. Ten years to have not seen her brother. She knew he would be angry with her and she loathed the thought
of having to face him
.

“
Shiovra
!”
The voice invaded her thoughts, pulling her from internal battle
. “
Shiovra
!”

She
looked down at
Daire
.

H
e
r cousin stood beneath the tree, shielding
his eyes from the sun
as
he peered up at her
. “
Come down, we…
”

“No,
I wish to tarry a bit longer
” she repl
ied, her apprehension getting the better of her. The way she figured it, the longer she sat in the tree, the longer she was able to put off her reunion with Mahon
.

“Cousin.
”

Daire
’s voice
was much closer now, his breath warming her ear
.

A startled cry escaped
Shiovra
’s lips and she
nearly
went
tumbling from the branch she
had chosen to perch upon. She
reached for the closest thing at hand to steady herself, which happened to be, most unfortunately,
Daire
’s tunic.

Daire
,
clearly not expecting th
e response he had just received, reflexively
clung
to the trunk of the tree
.

They sat unmoving for several moments, each trying to calm the beating of their heart.

Shiovra
took deep breaths, forcing herself to calm.
“Don’t startle me like that, Daire!” she scolded, when she deemed she was composed enough to release him.

“I was the one startled!” he shot back
, straightening his tunic
. He
exhaled and shook his head. “Did you not hear me when I said I was coming up?
”

She looked away. “No…”

Daire
was quiet a moment, then asked,
“What troubles you?”

“Mahon…” she whispered before meeting his eyes. “I fear he will not be happy to see me.
”

Daire
offered her a gentle smile. “Perhaps at first,” he began. “He has had ten years to be a
ngry that you chose to leave and train to be High Priestess. But, just as the seasons come to pass, so shall his anger.” In a childish gesture, he reached his hand over to poke her lightly on the nose. “You may be the High Priestess of Tara, charged with the duty of protecting this village and her people, but you will always be his
sister.
”

She
couldn’t help but smile in turn.

Daire
chuckled lightly and turned his attention to Tara. “Home.”

Shiovra
nodded and sighed
. “Even after all this time, it feels as if I have never le
ft. To me, not matter where I am, Tara will always be my home
,” she said.

“It will not be quite the same, cousin,” replied
Daire
. “You are no long just
sister
to Mahon and kin to Ainmire. You are
the
Túath
H
igh Priestess
of Tara
,
and so shall you be known for the rest of your life
.” He
reached a hand out
and gently touch
ed
her arm
, fingers lingering on the
twisting and curling pattern marking her skin.

Shiovra
looked down at his hand, following the path her fingers took as they grazed the pattern of her markings.

“Marked…t
o be forever known not
only by all the Túath clan
, but by the Neimidh, Fir Bolg, Fomorii and…even the Mil
idh, for the rest of your life…
”
Daire
moved his hand to her chin, tilting
her face up to look him
in the eyes
. “
Was this the right choice
?”

Shiovra
could see a touch of
regret in her cousin’s eyes.
She was unsure whether he felt so over her choice of becoming the High Priestess, or the mere fact that soon she would be known and hunted by many. To feel regret was not an option in her eyes. Though she was but a child when she made the choice to train for High Priestess, she would never take back that decision.
And when prompted if she had made the right choice, the answer was quite simply
, “
Yes
.
”

A sad s
mile crossed
Daire
’s
lips
. “Come, let us continue o
n to Tara.” He pulled away from her
. “Mahon will be happy to see you.”

Shiovra
watched as he began to climb down the tree. She knew that Mahon had not been the only one she hurt that
day
ten years ago when she left with Réa
lta. It was written clearly across
Daire
’s face
and weighed heavily in his voice
. And though she could not change the past, s
he could try and ensure a less p
ainful future
for those around her
.

Climbing
down the tree, she followed
Daire
quietly
down a well worn
path towards the village
.

The walls of the fort rose high above their heads, and the wooden ga
teways stood wide open
,
welcoming them
. They gained attention quickly as they made their way through the village
, many of the villagers pausing in their work to watch as
Shiovra
and
Daire
passed by.

Shiovra
met each curious gaze with a soft smile and nod.
It was an odd feeling for the priestess. There were many faces she did not recognize anymore. Many faces who would soon be relying on her to serve as their High Priestess.

One of which was a
small child, a girl of perhaps five years of age,
who
left her mother’s side and ran, giggling, towards
Shiovra
. Stopping before the priestess, she grinned and held a
single
flower up to her. “For you!” the girl exclaimed excitedly.

Smiling,
Shiovra
accepted the flower and gave the girl a gentle pat on the head. “I thank you.”

Delighted, the girl squealed and ran back to her mother.

A small laugh passed her lips as she watched the girl’s enthusiasm.
Shiovra
could only hope that she would not let the child,
or
the rest of her people down.

Daire
’s voice interrupted her thoughts, “Come.” Ta
king hold of her
arm gently, h
e led her i
nto the Banqueting House, a place where feasts and celebrations were held, and where a weary traveler could rest and eat.