ismenin | Aetheling Six

Another great pic from Prims. Isn't it lovely?

I was lying down and reading, thinking I'd post this in the morning - but then I thought "some of my friends across the Pond might like to read it now," so here it is!

I am enjoying writing it - I hope it shows, Hugs my flist for being such great feedbackers! ;D

Thank you to

ladysunrope as always, for beta. Hugses.

Aetheling Six

There was a near full moon that night, but even so, it was not possible to ride far in the dark. When the castle was out of sight, Dom reined in and the little group stopped under a tree.

"We must sleep, we cannot go on without rest; neither can we go on without knowing where we should start searching."

Dan coughed, there was a chill wind blowing. Dom was right; they would soon succumb to the cold if they spent their nights outdoors breathing in the treacherous night air.

"We are not far from Brightstone," he said, quickly. "My father has a small estate there. It may be the cottagers will shelter us. They are not known for their loyalty to Cerdic. When they find the Aetheling is missing, they will help us."

Rufe agreed, and so did Emm. "Lead on, Dan!" Dom indicated, with more cheer than he felt, and it was not long before the first cottages were seen in the moonlight.

They rode up to the largest house, and Dan told them to dismount before he knocked on the door. A candle was seen flickering at a window as the shutters were opened. "Who is there?" A gruff voice demanded from within. "It is I, Goodman Wuffa; Danwald, son of Swidwulf. My friends and I need shelter. We are on an important mission - do let us in!"

With much grumbling the man opened the door, but when he saw Dom, his demeanour became friendlier, and more respectful. He thought to deal with younglings, but to see a well-dressed man on his threshold was a different matter.

"Come you in, good sir, and welcome!" He looked at Dan's friends. "I see you have brought the Lord Swefred's brother with you, what's your name again, young sir?"

Dan reminded the goodman of Rufe and Emm, whom he had met before, and, suddenly mindful that courtesy decreed that Dom should have been introduced first, was just about to do so when Dom forestalled him. "I am...Bernardus, a cousin of the lady Ermyngarde, and we come on a secret errand, Goodman. If you will give us aid…"

The man ushered the four into the large room where the two horses and three pigs penned in the far corner regarded the group with interest.

The goodman piled more logs on the large fire, and after lighting a few tapers about the room, indicated the stools, and begged them to be seated. He called to his wife to come down and bring the lordlings drink to warm them, and his good lady clambered down the ladder from the sleeping platform and brought them ale, bread and cheese which they ate thankfully.

"The Aetheling has been taken!" Dan blurted into speech. Dom cast him a warning look, but there was no stopping the lad now.

"What is this you say? Our Aetheling taken? How came this to be!"

Dom let Dan speak, and after the three youngsters had told their tale, he interrupted them to add his own mite to the story.

"So Dan came to Ermyngarde as a person whom he could trust as one who loves Lighe as much as he, and I, being with her at the time, er... volunteered to come in search of him. One of the other Frankish princes is missing, too - a Lord Siglandus."

The goodman cast a speculative eye at Dom who shook his head slightly. There was no need to say more, but Dan added, "The Aetheling was taken before Lando disappeared. I fear for him Goodman, that I do."

"This is not to be borne," the goodman rumbled, his huge hands clenched upon massive knees. "The Lord Lighe is the only one amongst that pack at the castle - apart from the families of these good people - who care a candle for the land or its peoples. He must be found, and those who took him called to account for it."

Emm blushed. "I do not know who took him, Goodman, but I have my suspicions about one of those involved. They must be found and punished! Lighe is...all we have!"

The goodman heaved a sigh. "He is that, Lady Emm. What may we do to aid you?"

They spoke long into the night before settling down in front of the fire with warm fur rugs to cover them, and slept till dawn when the household awoke, and the goodman took his animals outside to feed them.

The four conspirators sat by the fire and decided upon a plan of action. "I think," said Rufe, around a thick collop of bread and butter, "that we should head further inland. They must have him hidden somewhere within reach of the castle, else how could Leofric keep an eye to him?"

He stopped abruptly when he saw Emm's face. "I am sorry, Emm. I did not mean..."

She reached out a hand and gripped her friend's arm. "Never fear to say what is in your heart to me, Rufe. It is Lighe we are trying to find, here, not an ewe lost in the whin. If my brother is involved, it makes no matter. We must find Lighe."

"And the Lord Siglandus," Dan said, quietly, not looking at Dom. "All we must hope is they are being held together, wherever it may be."

Dom had not thought of this in his rush to begin searching for his cousin and Lighe. What would happen if they were not being held together? Would there be anyone else at the castle who had an interest in causing discord between Dom's father - and Cerdic? If there was, he could not see it.

The goodwife had been bustling about since daybreak and soon there were bags with fresh bread and dried meats and cheese ready for them. Together with what Horsa had given them they had enough for several days.

Then, just as they were leaving, with profound thanks for their night's rest, the goodman asked a question that had been troubling him all night.

"Why has your father not sent your brother instead of you, Lord Rufwald? It seems to me that you three are young to be sent on such a search."

Before Dom could speak, Emm was giving the answer. "He has done so, Goodman. But they have gone west, whilst we have come east. And Rufe's father thought that being young, we would not attract so much attention as the other parties of lords - he thought we might be more successful at keeping hidden."

The goodman nodded. "Yes, Lady Emm, I see it might work, too. I'll put the word about that the Aetheling is missing. It may be there are more people than old Cerdic thinks, as will want the prince found fit and well. Go in peace."

They were headed for an old fortification some miles to the north. They had discussed which way to go, and Dom, knowing nothing of the island, let the younglings thrash it out between them. In the end they decided on Eldasgard as being the nearest place likely enough to house a prisoner - perhaps two. "There are several stone buildings there. There is no point in taking someone to an insecure place if one wishes to imprison them."

No-one said aloud that it may be that Lighe had only been taken as far as the nearest well, or cliff, and dropped down to a watery death. Dom, however, at least - riding grim-faced beside Dan, with Emm on his other side and Rufe warding the rear - was very conscious of it. As for his cousin - he bit his lip, hard. They had been companions since their childhood, and bed-mates since they were both old enough to know what men could do together in bed.

He wanted Lando found. He wanted Lighe found.
Soon.

********

Lighe awoke feeling slightly better than he had the previous day. His head was a little clearer, and his bruised body, although stiff, was not causing him much pain. He gingerly tested his broken foot on the floor, and finding it bearable, walked to the door and hammered loudly upon it.

"Bring me food and ale. I am hungry!"

He looked about the room to see what had been placed there for his convenience; made use of the bucket, and noticed, with some anger, that there was no clothing there at all. The nightrobe he wore was transparent - a light lawn embroidered with flowers. He noted with disgust that it was a woman's garment. So that was what his cousin thought he would get in bed with him, was it? He was destined to suffer a disappointment, then. He would fight Leofric to retain control of his own body, if he died for it. Lighe got back into bed. He wanted no man gazing at his naked form.

To his surprise and immense displeasure it was Eafa who came to his knock. Lighe stared at the man as he would at a decaying corpse in a field.

"Traitor!" Lighe spat, and the man bowed. "As you say, my lord prince," he replied serenely.

"I hope my cousin is paying you well." Lighe fixed the man with a chilling stare, but Eafa merely laughed. "It is not the Lord Leofric who is my master, Aetheling. But this you must know."

Lighe's brow furrowed. "Not Leofric? Then who?" Enlightenment came.

His father.

"I see. Is there food? I am hungry. And I would like to wash myself and put on some decent clothing."

The man shook his head. "I can bring you a clean nightrobe, but that is all. My lord Leofric said you were to be kept abed until he returned tomorrow night. I will bring food."

Lighe thought about leaping up and overpowering the man, but quickly rejected the idea. He could hear other men talking, and knew it would only earn him a few more knocks and bruises if he attacked Eafa. He forfeited the immense satisfaction it would have given him to thrash the brute, and settled back on the bed, in seeming comfort - but his heart was raging. "Water to wash, then, and a clean gown. There is blood on this one. And the food."

Whilst he was eating he tried to think of ways he could escape. He could feign sickness perhaps, but rejected the notion on the grounds that Leofric would return and take his pleasure of him, sick or not. His cousin had no niceties, he knew. He had overheard two servant girls talking once, of his bed-habits, and it had made him feel ill. Leofric had no delicacy or scruples, no tenderness, and no thought beyond the needs of his own body.

Jumping out of the window was impossible. This one was not barred, but Lighe could see that it was at least twenty five feet from the ground and beneath it there was a cluster of jagged rocks. If he tried to jump, a broken leg might be the least of his injuries - if he survived at all.

Eafa returned with the hot water and clean robe, bowed and left. At least Leofric had ordered that Lighe should be treated with the deference due to his position. It could have been that the men here would use him rudely. Lighe had no trouble at all in failing to feel gratitude to his cousin for the small mercy.

After he had bathed, he returned to the bed, and, propped up on the pillows, gave himself up to thought. He had known the king seemed indifferent to his heir's concerns, but he had not thought his father hated him. He was so used to the king's coldness that he thought nothing of it - he treated everyone in like manner, except his wife. His father's seeming perfidy removed from his mind any thought of Leofric and what he would do to him when he returned. Lighe's heart was empty. It was no light thing for a man to contemplate the fact that his father had encompassed his murder.

********

They had failed to reach Eldasgard before nightfall. Emm had denied that she was feeling tired, but one glimpse of her drawn face was enough to make Dom stop for the night in a ruined cott that afforded some shelter for them. It had begun to rain, and Rufe had managed, against the odds, to light a fire under the partial shelter of the one remaining corner of roof on the building.

"Dan taught me," he said proudly as Dom praised his skill with the flints.

Dan laughed. "My father said a man should know how to light a fire and trap a rabbit and skin it, because one never knows, in perilous times - if there be war, or something like - where the next meal is coming from."

They all agreed to that, but Emm sniffed dolefully. "I hope you do not take that to mean that my mother must have taught me to cook, because she did not. My mother had not bothered to go inside a kitchen in her life, and my father never troubled himself with me. Perhaps he taught Leofric things - but not me."

Dom saw Dan's face pale, and remembered it was only a few days since the lad's mother had died. So he began to tell the trio some of the more disreputable tales of his youth, remembering the age of his companions and altering the adventures to suit his audience.

As they settled down to sleep, Dom lay awake, thinking. He had been surprised to find that Dan and Rufe were the same age, as Rufe was several inches taller than his friend. They were both seventeen. He had thought Dan several years younger than that, but realised that the assumption had been made solely on the boy's height and size. Dan was a small man, like Lighe.

Dom grinned inwardly. He was not a tall man himself, and was slightly annoyed that he had raced to conclusions without asking. Emm, he discovered was sixteen. He was also surprised that she was not married, but he said nothing. It was not his business to probe.

His thoughts eventually came to his cousin and to Lighe. He was far from sure that either of them would be found alive. He had no doubt that both of them were removed from the castle - or from other places - against their will. Lando, he knew, would never absent himself unannounced.

Dom sighed and turned over, banishing thoughts of the missing men from his unwilling mind. He was just sinking into slumber when he heard a stifled sound coming from the lads lying next to him. Then Rufe's voice, very quiet.

"Don't cry, Dan. Your mother, even now, sits in Valhalla with the warrior gods, listening to their tales of valour, and singing their praises into the skies."

He heard sniff, and a watery chuckle. "Mam would hate that. You would have better said that she was in the kitchens supervising the cooking of the feast, and beating the girls with a wooden spoon for curdling the custard."

Dom opened his eyes a trifle and saw Rufe lying behind Dan, his arm around his friend's waist as they settled back into sleep. He missed Lando. He missed...

The morning dawned fair. There was a slight mist, but that was not to be regarded. The sun was rising over the hill in front of them, and Dom could clearly see in the distance the abandoned settlement for which they were heading. Unfortunately there seemed no way of approaching it from this direction in secret, so they wasted half a day circling behind trees until they came within distance of the outermost buildings.

Dom's heart fell. There was no sign of life anywhere in the ruined pile of stones that had once, Dan said, been the home of fifty people.
They searched carefully, but there were no ashes from recent fires, nor evidence that horses had been stabled there.
They sat against a wall in the warm afternoon sun, and ate some food.

"Where now?" Dom asked Rufe and Emm, trying hard to keep the frustration out of his voice. Had he really expected it to be that easy?

Dan had set off to trap a few rabbits. "We must replenish our stores," he pointed out, casting a careful glance at Dom's set expression. "The food won't last forever."

That would mean they had to stay here for the night. Rabbits were not that easily come by. But Dom, looking at the food bags realised they had enough provision for, perhaps, two more days. There were four to be fed after all.

Emm was thinking. "If we set off to our right, there are more trees to provide cover, and the countryside is not so open. What do you think, Rufe?"

"We have to go forward, and there are really only two places to go. Towards the settlement at Bride or the small keep of Molston, which is right on the edge of the Stamford estate, where Lighe's father's sister Hereswith lives. They would hardly take Lighe there, would they? So near to his mother and sister? And it is known that the Lady Mirdred is fond of her children, if nothing more. So it must be Bride."

Dom thought privately that they were right. Lighe's mother was at Stamford. They would hardly keep him a prisoner there - Leofric and Cerdic were not fools, and knew full well that mothers were notoriously soft-hearted when it came to their children - especially sons. Besides, he had a feeling it had to be somewhere nearer the castle keep. Leofric would not want Lighe too near it, not too far away. Dom said so to his three companions, for Dan had just returned from setting the traps.

He sat beside Emm and joined in the discussion. "I think Dom is right. But there is no point in dismissing the places we have to travel through to get nearer to the far side of the keep. We should inspect them, at least, for signs of recent occupation. After all, we still do not know if both men are being held in the same place."

They talked through the day and when the evening came, Dom told them more stories of his adventures by the light of the flickering fire. If, for him, they brought bittersweet memories - for Lando had usually been with him on these excursions - it greatly entertained the listeners, who all dreamed of living such a bold and interesting life.

********

Lighe saw the darkness gather in with a leaden feeling in his stomach. It was true he hated Leofric, but he wished no harm to come to him. He wished no harm to any man, not the warriors he had killed in battle nor...nor his own father, whom he had wished, many times during his life, loved him, and who now, it seemed, had ordered him killed.

He was waiting for Leofric to come and claim him. His cousin was taller and much heavier than was he, and, Lighe knew, would have his way with him in the end. Lighe did not look forward to it for several reasons. He did not wish to lie with the man - Leofric disgusted him - made his skin crawl. He did not like the thought of not being in charge in bed - he had always taken men - he had never been taken. And thirdly, and most importantly, Leofric had said that Lighe would die. That he, Leofric, would kill him, after he had taken his full pleasure in his victim.

Lighe did not know how long Leofric's pleasure would last - but he had known the man all his life, and his loves and interests always had butterfly-short lives. Lighe knew his days were numbered.

It was not long afterward that he heard the horses approaching. Once the riders had entered the building Lighe heard nothing, for the stone walls were thick - as were the wooden doors - and allowed no sound through from below. He did, however, hear the footsteps on the stairs, and when the door was unbolted and Leofric came in, smiling his evil smile, Lighe was standing by the window, looking out into the dark.

The servant behind him put down the tray of food and drink and bowed his way out quickly. Leofric stood by the bed, unbuckling his overgarment, and gazing at Lighe's body, showing white through the fine lawn, with avid eyes.

"I have been thinking of you all the way here. You should be gratified that you occupy so much of my thoughts, dear Lighe."

Lighe turned and the contemptuous look in his eyes would have frozen water. "I do not think of you at all. I have far more pleasant things with which to occupy my mind than the desires of a snivelling coward who can only get what he wants by force..."

Leofric strode across the room and grabbed Lighe's arms in a fierce grip. Lighe twisted out of the man's grasp, and struck his cousin hard across the face before leaping over the bed. "Do not think you will take me so easily. I am no maiden for your despoiling."

Leofric stood on the other side of the bed and laughed. His eyes were bright with lust and excitement. "I am not averse to a little tussling before love, be it with a man or woman, coz. It makes the moment of...possession...sweeter."

As he went to move around the bed, Lighe leapt over it, and grinned fiercely. "It will be a long night, then. For I am not tired, having slept much today. It may be that you will weary of the game and leave me in peace."

Leofric sneered. "Never! I have sworn to have you, and I will do so. Your behaviour merely inflames my senses. You have much beauty, my proud young man, and none more so than when you are angered. To tame you will be an immense pleasure."

He shrugged his shoulders then sat by the table and poured two cups of mead. He held one up for Lighe, who shook his head.

"I will take nothing from your hand, you traitor. I promise you I will live, and I will denounce you and your father - and mine - before the next shire-moot, and then at the Witanagemot, for when it is next convened it shall be headed by me. It is unlawful to kill either the king or his Aetheling unless it be by an enemy in battle. You have broken the law by attempting it - all three of you - and for that you will be convicted, and removed from your places."

Leofric drank his mead. "I think not, little one," he purred. "You will not live to tell the tale. I have promised your father as much. You see, the king does not yet know of our plans - my father's and mine, I mean. We two are cunning men, much cleverer than your poor father who thinks of nothing but inheriting your vast wealth, and putting his favourite son in your place."

"But he cannot know that your brother will be dead, soon, as well as you, and it is I who will be Aetheling when my father kills yours - in an unfortunate accident of course - and becomes king in his stead. Who better? A fall down the stairs whilst drunk, or something of that sort. Easy to arrange if you are trusted implicitly by the man you intend to kill."

Lighe held on to the bed-head for support. Thrydwulf to be killed? How could this be accomplished? He was in France with Dom's father, being held safe and well in one of the king's palaces.

Lighe spoke to cover his distress. "I would have freely given the king my estates and gold if I had known he coveted them so greatly. I have discovered of late that it takes little to make a man contented if he is happy in his heart."

Lighe had moved behind a chair whilst he spoke, which gave him a little protection from the seated man. "How will you order my brother killed? Surely he is safe in Frankish hands?"

Leofric's smile was feral. "Ah! Of course you do not know. It may be I will tell you before the end, maybe not. It will add a little piquancy to the whole proceedings, knowing I have something other than your life for which you might be persuaded to beg."

"Come!" he said, putting down his cup with a snap. "I grow tired of this prevarication." He stood up and went to the door and knocked. Immediately, two men came in holding ropes.

"Tie him up. I have not got all night, as much as I would like it. I promised the king I would return by morning, and it is over two hours ride to the castle as you know well."

Lighe hit the first man with the chair, and had an eye out of the second with the broken leg of it before three more men raced up the stairs to Leofric's shouts, and capturing Lighe, tied his hands behind his back.

"Fasten him to the bed-post. He will learn to obey me before this night is over. Learn to please me, too. You - bring me a horsewhip, and the rest of you, get out!" grunted Leofric, nursing a black eye received from Lighe's flailing fists.

He stared at Lighe, who was panting with exertion, his arms and feet tied securely to the bed-post. His robe was torn, his lip blooded, a large bruise was forming on his right cheek.

Leofric moved forward and taking Lighe's chin firmly in his hands, bent and kissed him, full on the mouth. He leapt back with a howl of pain. Lighe had bitten him. He struck Lighe such a blow to the head with the butt of the whip he had just been handed, that the bound man had no time to think before the blow was upon him.

He did not feel the lash of the whip, nor Leofric's fevered hands tearing the robe from his body.

"Curse you! Wake up! I want you to look at me when I take you! I cannot...damn you! There is no pleasure for me in this. Wake up!"

Lighe heard none of this; he was in a warm, dark place, between sleeping and waking, where he felt no pain, but only saw a pair of friendly grey eyes searching for him in the gloom. He smiled at them within his head. Help would come. But whether it would come in time he did not know. The deeper dark beckoned him, and without another thought, he fell gladly into it, and thought no more.

Leofric stared at the unconscious man. He was beside himself- he wanted Lighe awake. He cursed himself for his hot temper, then undid Lighe's bonds and laid him on the bed. It maybe he would wake soon. He had a few hours before...

Eafa came rushing in. "My lord, one of the men we sent out for fresh meat has seen Swidwulf of Haxton, and a group of twelve or so armed men riding up the rise about a half hour away. We must leave! There are only five of us here, now. It is not enough, and we are not equipped for fighting..."

Leofric sliced the air with his hand silencing the babbling man. "Tell everyone to ride to our bolt-hole. I will be down in a minute. We have work to do before we leave, you and I, but we must be quick." He paused for a moment, and smiled. "I was thinking I'd kill him, but I have a better idea. Who knows that very soon I may have another opportunity to have my way with him?" He put on his clothing and drew a knife from his waistband. "If my lord of Amiens is with this group, he is destined for a surprise that will shock even him out of his complacency."

He moved towards Lighe with quiet deliberation.

Some miles away, Dom woke with a start. He had been dreaming...he did not know of what, but there had been pain, and someone searching for him in the darkness. He pulled his cloak more tightly around him, and fell back into an uneasy sleep. He would be glad when morning came.

It was just after dawn when Dom was awakened again, this time by a boot nudging him gently on the thigh. "Come on, wake up. We have much to do, my lord, if we are to find them."

Dom got to his feet, and stared at the tall, heavy set man before him. He had a familiar look. The youngsters were being woken by another man, and there were twelve or fourteen mounted - and heavily armed - men waiting nearby.

"My son, curse the silly chub, should have come to me. I admit that the recent death of my dear wife will add a sharper edge to my sword, but one cannot be thinking only of oneself in perilous times, and sharp swords are what a man needs when dealing with villains like these! Danwald!" the man yelled at his rousing son. "Get up, you cockstraw! We must go!"

Dan rubbed his eyes as he stood, but shook his head stubbornly. "No, father. I am sorry, but we must eat first. You taught me that. 'Never go hunting on an empty belly. It makes you careless,' you said. Besides, I have to collect my rabbits." He bowed to his father and Dom, and bounded off into the morning mist.

The man smiled fondly at his son's retreating form, then turned to Dom, and bowed. "I am Swidwulf of Haxton, my lord prince, Dan's father, as you may guess. Goodman Wuffa sent a man to me, for unknown to Dan I was only a couple of miles away visiting one of my holdings. I have gathered these men from two estates loyal to the Aetheling. I have sent to my own manor for my men to follow us as soon as they receive my message."

There was a short pause whilst the big man drew a flask and drank thirstily. "Cerdic is a fool if he thinks he can get away with this," he continued, his brow furrowed in distress.

"Wuffa was suspicious - he felt that Danwald had not told me of his doings. Nor had he, as you know. I have not the heart to be angered with him, I was ever fond of a man who took decisive action. And he is my only son. I am not likely to get any more..."

The man ran a big hand over his face. "We must find the Aetheling, lord - and before you go further, Dominic of Amiens, you should know the Lady Ermyngarde has no cousins, as far as we know. Dan has treated us to the whole of the castle's genealogy on his visits home."

Dom smiled at the bluff, red-faced man. "I had no time to think, man. I wished no-one to know I was here. My cousin is missing, too, as you might know. We must indeed find them both, sir. But not before breaking our fast, as Dan said. We need our strength for this task. Join us!"

And when Dan returned in triumph with six fat rabbits on a stick, he saw that his father and Dom were deep in conversation, munching as they spoke on the last of the goodwife's bread and cheese. He sat by the fire Rufe had lit, and began skinning the rabbits.