from Chapter Two: Baraxia Perditrix Meticulosa
Siannon sat up alone in her bed with a cry, and for a few moments, she couldn’t remember where she was. The pale light of dawn cast a faint glow through the seams in the shutters. As her eyes adjusted to the dimness, she felt relieved as the familiarity of her bedchamber flowed back into her mind like a gentle wave. The vividness of the dream—the nightmare—that jolted her awake still seemed more real than her room.
In her dream, she was back in Ireland during the war, and Osric the Elder had sprinkled dragon bone on the ground to reveal the cave of the dragon. Siannon and the others stepped back as the ground rumbled beneath their feet. Fire burst up, and out of the fire, a great green dragon—Baraxia Perditrix Meticulosa, or Asha, as Siannon knew her, roared into the sky, circled around, and then dived to incinerate Osric with golden fire. She had screamed in the dream, and this was when she woke up.
She pushed open the shutters and looked upon the courtyard of the keep. Summer was nearly over, and the entire countryside below was lush and green. Dylan would soon be home from London, his latest project concluded, and her nights of sleeping alone would end. Siannon loved his creativity and imagination as a builder, and she encouraged him to accept the work in London. Building for the king was not only an honor but also an opportunity to make social connections that might benefit them and their kingdom someday. Indeed, the years after the war brought about the strengthening of old friendships and the creation of new alliances for mutual defense.
However, she missed him fiercely. Time apart from each other was rare, and neither of them grew accustomed to the separation. She had loaded the children into a carriage each month that he was away for the long ride to London. Erik, now twelve years old, was fascinated with every detail of his father’s work. Alenna, at nine years old, was more interested in the fashions of London’s noblewomen. Dylan’s flat was too small for their family during their visits, so they accepted the duke’s invitation to stay at his estate north of the city at these times. Elizabeth, their youngest daughter, born a year after the war ended, was six, and she intended to follow in her mother’s footsteps as the second lady knight in Llanfyllin—her mother, of course, being the first. While Alenna wouldn’t think of wearing anything but her best dresses, Beth dressed like a squire and tried to play and fight like one as well.
Five months of travelling to be together as a family was long enough for all of them, and Siannon caught herself, more than once, gazing at the road from the castle to the city in hopes that Dylan would appear. She looked out her window before dressing for the day when three bright flashes filled the sky, first green, then gold, and finally red. She couldn’t imagine what might have caused the strange lights. The morning sun was still fat and orange, struggling to hoist itself above the horizon. She dismissed the sight as the residue of disturbing dreams and counted it as inconsequential as the dream itself.
Although her position as Kira Macnylleth came with many responsibilities, one additional title, which she had held since her marriage began, was Captain of the Guard. This meant that after her husband, who was commander of the kimdom’s forces, she was second-in-command. Because Dylan had little interest in military affairs—with the notable exception of constructing hidden traps to surprise any future invaders—she was, for all purposes, in charge of Macnylleth’s army. While still small, the war had hardened all who survived and inspired the younger men to volunteer in service.
Siannon had turned 30 on her last birthday, and when she tied her hair back for training with her knights, a bright patch of white hair was visible at the roots above her left eyebrow. She had spent months contemplating a successor to handle the daily duties of a chief officer. Dylan’s interest in other things would enable her to oversee the forces as a whole, but she felt the pull of her children’s lives as they were growing up, and she knew that she wanted to spend more time with them. Today, however, was business as usual, so she dressed in leather breeches and boots beneath a tight-fitting tunic, a buttoned vest, and a short seafoam green jacket. She tied her hair back, noticing in the looking glass how the patch of white had expanded since the last time she looked.
Her first stop was her daughters’ room. Both girls looked identical in their beds, nothing but tousled mops of black hair sticking out of the top of their blankets. She shut their door quietly and looked in on Erik next. He was also asleep, although he would begin his squire’s service after his next birthday, at which point he would be awakened each day before dawn for a full day of work, lessons, and training. The last door down the hall was her final stop before beginning her duties for the day. She knocked softly and waited for the door to open.
“Good morning, Kira,” Gwen said with a smile as she opened the door. Gwen was Clyde’s wife and the caretaker for Siannon’s children. Their old valet, Rupert, was a beloved part of their family, but he had died two years ago, and Gwen was their only choice to replace the man they considered irreplaceable. Gwen’s oldest son, Reg, was seven, and they had another boy, Donal, who was three. Their children were all friends before Gwen was entrusted with their everyday care, so the transition to an official position was merely a formality.
“Did you sleep well?” Gwen asked.
“Not as well as I do when Dylan is home,” Siannon said.
“I miss Clyde, too,” Gwen said, “though I don’t miss his snoring.”
Siannon laughed and said, “I had a strange dream that awakened me. I was back in Ireland during the war, just before I met Asha. But this time she attacked us, and Osric was killed.”
“It’s been years since you dreamed of Asha, hasn’t it?”
“Longer than I can remember,” Siannon said. “Although I dreamt of her so often after the war it seemed I would never stop.”
“Let me go to the kitchens and bring you back a nice bowl of porridge.”
“That sounds good,” Siannon said. “Can you see if we have any blackberries left?”
“I’ll try to find some,” Gwen replied, “but I fear the children may have eaten them all yesterday. Maybe I’ll take them out to the briars to pick some more today.”
“Thank you, Gwen,” Siannon said.
“That comes at a price,” Gwen said, not sounding at all like herself. “That price is sacrifice.”
“Excuse me, what did you say?” Siannon asked.
Gwen replied, in her familiar voice, “I said it’s my pleasure, Kira. I’ll be back soon.”
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