Lunamae (3 page)

“It looks like she hasn’t eaten in a while,”
I noticed. My mother brushed me off.

“She’s fine. I am glad she can eat properly.
It will make our lives easier in the next few months.” My mother
pulled out a chair from the table and sat down. “Muirenn, you will
be required to teach her the necessary skills you have learned such
as needleworking when the time is right. I know you are concerned
with herbs and such and you can teach her some of those, but don’t
go too far and make sure you watch what you say. Some medicinal
herbs are well known in this area. Some are not. I would hate for
people to confuse you and think you are more than just an
interested girl getting prepared for being a wife someday. I wish I
could help teach her but I haven’t the time. Angharad says she
requires me as she trusts me more than some of the other women. She
still has problems dealing with Chieftain Leofric’s death. It
weighs heavy on her.”

“I understand Mother,” I said confidently. I
had already come to the realization earlier in the day that I would
have to help out with the training some. “Will you take Lunamae
with you to the keep sometimes, so her mother can see her?”

“Of course, Muirenn. Her mother has so much
to do that she will not be able to allocate much time to the
rearing of a child—much less than in an ordinary altram.” My mother
looked at me with her caring gaze. “I see where this is going. I
will still make time for you. Your father will make time as
well.”

“Or you could grow up. When I was your age I
was already an apprentice,” Logan fired at me. I winced from his
stinging words. He grabbed the poker again for the fire and laid it
nearby as he took a nearby log and placed it atop the others while
a few sparks whizzed out.

“You could still be one if you wanted,” I
said quietly, watching him work the fire. He scowled at me. I tried
to hold back tears. I had wanted him to get on with his life so bad
after Wortha Hill.

“Who would want an old, one-armed apprentice?
I can’t tool metal with one arm,” he retorted, recalling his
previous work before he was called to serve in battle. My mother
gave him a wary glance but didn’t interject. Instead she got up and
went into the room she shared with my father and closed the door. I
could hear them talking.

“Yes, but there are other jobs you’d only
need one to do and because of the battle many of the shopkeepers
are in need,” I said.

“Like what jobs?” he demanded. Ah! I had
gained his interest. I didn’t think he ever thought of doing
anything other than being an ironsmith. It complimented our
father’s trade as my father made the tools and the shoes themselves
for the horses at the ironsmith’s shop in addition to nailing them
on and trimming and balancing the horse’s hoof.

“You could be a candlemaker. You don’t need
two hands to dip the wick in the wax. Or you could be an
apothecary. Talfrin always is in need of help there since he’s
getting quite old in his years.” Talfrin was also very nice. I
wouldn’t have minded being his apprentice, if I was male anyway. I
was trying to think of other occupations but Logan silenced my
mind.

“Apothecary? Candlemaker? Those are not
honorable jobs,” Logan stated. “I want something worthy of my
status—and most definitely
not
a cotter.” Even though he
would fit the description of a cotter—someone old or impaired—he
didn’t want to do menial tasks no one else wanted to do. It was
demeaning.

“You could be a cordwainer. I think you could
easily do it. I’ve seen you practice with your left hand and you
are getting better. It would be easier to make new shoes than
repair old ones being a cobbler. They make good money and everyone
needs shoes. You could make more expensive ones for the maidens of
the keep. Who knows, you might even start to fancy one. A maiden, I
mean … not the shoe.” Logan cocked his head to one side and
pondered the idea for a minute or two. All the while we hadn’t even
noticed Lunamae who had decided to take an after-meal nap in front
of the fire.

“That isn’t a bad idea, little sister.” The
current cordwainer was Myrvin and he lost his apprentice in the
battle. Myrvin was too old to fight so he stayed in the village.
His shop wasn’t too far away from our house either, so Myrvin
didn’t have much walking to do (his legs worked fine). “Maybe I
should pay him a visit and ask if he is looking to replace Cedric.”
He glanced at me and took note of my watering eyes. “I’m sorry for
snapping at you. I should have held my tongue.”

“Girls my age are getting betrothed. You were
right to call me out,” I said in submission. “I’m going to have a
child to care for. It’s all going to be quite different now.”

“We are still going to be around. Remember it
always,” Logan said. I nodded and my mother returned from her room
with a crudely made crib. Father had made it for us and now it was
to be used for the new child. I think he was storing it in the
stables. I don’t know how he would have fit it in our house. As I
looked at the crib, it was obvious carpentry was not his forte.
Mother lifted the sleeping Lunamae and put her in the crib, making
sure there were adequate amounts of comforting below her, and then
wrapped her up tightly so she wouldn’t get cold in the night if the
fire burned out. I went up to my loft and flopped down on my
pallet, wondering what was in store for me over the course of
Lunamae’s fostering.

I sat the Lunamae precariously on my lap at
the table as we went over letters again. As a four-year old, she
had plenty of energy—too much at times for my liking—and I found
she would calm down if I got her situated where she couldn’t easily
run off. Nevertheless, I was determined to make sure she kept
learning as much as I could teach her, no matter the energy
level.

I had a few sticks laid out on the table as
well as some objects. I held an apple in my hand and asked her what
it was.

“Appew,” she said confidently. While she
didn’t pronounce it perfectly, I didn’t expect her to at her
age.

“What does the word ‘apple’ start with
Lunamae?” I asked her. The child looked into my eyes. She shared
the same blue color as her mother and they sparkled. She looked
down and grabbed three sticks. She formed the letter “a” and looked
back at me.

“Good girl, Luna,” I said. “How about this
one?” I held up one of Logan’s leather belts. Logan had gone into
apprenticeship with the cordwainer and he liked experimenting with
the leather so much he decided to attempt to make some belts as
well (with the help of my father attaching the metal parts).

“Bell—” Lunamae paused and pursed her lips
together. “Belt!” She grabbed some more twigs and changed the
letter than was on the table into a “b”. I looked at her
proudly.

“Mewen,” Lunamae said, calling me by name in
her childish speech.

“What is it?” I asked her.

“When is my mommy coming to see me again?” I
looked somberly at her. It had been more than a few weeks since
Angharad had the time to see her daughter. She was in negotiations
with some clans and then delivering gifts to others when weddings
took place. My own mother had been gone most days as well, keeping
Angharad company and attending to her needs. At least Lunamae was
aware of Angharad being her mother and not I. Throughout the years
I had cared for her as my mother had warned me. It wasn’t so bad.
Lunamae for the most part was well behaved (although she did enjoy
darting from the house and having me chase after her). This made
looking after her a bit easier since any trouble caused by her
would be my family’s responsibility.

“Soon, Lunamae,” I told her. “It’s almost
your birthday and you’ll be five. Do you know how much five is?”
Lunamae held up her left hand, fingers sprawled.

“I miss mommy,” she said, putting her hands
down violently on the table, a few twigs fell off as she did so. I
combed my fingers through her hair which was getting quite long.
She calmed down.

“I know. I miss them both too,” I said,
referencing my aunt and my own mother. “She loves you. That is why
you are here with family. We love you too.” Lunamae shifted
anxiously in my lap and I knew the time for learning letters was
past. I knew something which would make Lunamae happy. “Would you
like to go out and learn about herbs?” The little girl nodded
wildly and she jumped off my lap. After putting on an apron and a
couple supplies for the apron pockets, I took her by the hand and
let her out of the house, making sure to blow out any lit candles
and adjusting the fire.

The apothecary had been more than happy to
aid in both our learning, but there was only so much we could learn
within the boundaries of the moat. I was finally to the point where
venturing past the Humble Bridge also crossed my mind, but I was
terrified still of bringing a four-year old across who had been
longing for her mother. We walked toward the apothecary shop and
since it didn’t have a door (as we were all family, if someone
stole it would be very easy to find the culprit), we just walked
in. Talfrin was there to greet us. He was sorting bottles and
measuring herbs to add to empty ones.

“Good day to you Muirenn,” he said jovially.
He looked down at the angel-faced Lunamae and asked how she was
doing on this day. The child beamed.

“It’s gonna be my berfday and I get to see
mommy!” Lunamae exclaimed. Being the daughter of the clan leader,
she was looked on with sympathy most of the time. The others in the
village understood she didn’t have as much time with her birth
mother as the rest of the youngsters.

“We’ll be there to celebrate it,” Talfrin
said. He and his wife Nia, may she rest with the Creator in peace
forever, were also a part of our clan. I think I remember Father
saying he was a third uncle to me. He was probably nearing his
fiftieth season with us as his grays and wrinkles were showing and
his hair was balding, but the lines on his face were of happiness
and joy rather than sorrow and pain. The apothecary excused himself
to wash up. He came back a few minutes later with a couple of
baskets and handed one to Lunamae. She took it proudly. “Are you
both ready to learn about plants and their properties?”

“Yes Mistah Tawfurn,” Lunamae said shyly, her
arms behind her back. I nodded.

“I think you are both able to cross the
bridge today,” he said. “There are only so many plants available in
the keep’s garden, and most of those are only used for cooking. We
will have to venture out a little farther today.”

“Are you sure she’ll be fine?” I asked.

“She’ll be fine if she recited something. Has
she learned anything new?” the herbalist asked me. I thought for a
moment and realized we could go over the alphabet. I nodded and
Talfrin urged us forward. The apothecary shop was at the north end
of the village and our house was on the southern end, closer to the
Humble Bridge. As we ventured closer, we passed by the stables and
my father waved us along. We also passed by the cordwainer’s shop.
My brother was outside and knew we had frequent trips to Talfrin’s
shop. He came to greet us with a gift in store for the
apothecary.

“I thought this might be helpful to you for
customers.” Logan handed Talfrin a few leather pouches that looked
very well made. I assumed he made them since they had a small “L”
notched in the side to designate him as the creator, much like
branding a cow. “They are only prototypes. I didn’t know if you’d
like them or not so I only made a few. You can have these at no
cost. If you want more let me know and I’ll work out a good deal
with you.”

“Thank you, Logan,” Talfrin said with
authentic appreciation. “This would be a less expensive route than
the glass bottles I had been using. I never thought to use leather
even though it’s more widely available.”

The merchants from Fanarion always had
something unique, things we had never seen before when they came on
their yearly visit. Glass was one of the first new things
introduced. They were able to make it with the vast amounts of sand
they had on their beaches since they were on the coast of the Sea
of Ayreni. Sometimes they’d bring up interesting foods and drinks.
I wasn’t particularly fond of their coffee, but some of the other
women in the village were (and especially Chief Dame Angharad). The
women of Chalos, who visited even less, gave us chocolate which I
loved even more. I found if I wanted to ease the bitterness of
coffee, I could add a bit of chocolate which was sweeter. The
Chalosians made their chocolate from a cocoa plant and then added
cane sugar. Their villages were surrounded by dense and humid
forests filled with a multitude of interesting plants. I am told
those are called “jungles”. The word makes me laugh as do some of
the names of the villages. Veekah sounds more like Lunamae
mispronouncing something rather than a place where people would
live.