Page 20 of Queen of the Hollow Hills

Chuckling, I watched until the men were out of sight then made my way back inside. There was work to be done.

A few daysafter Cormag left, I woke to discover a blanket of white snow had spread across the landscape. Opening theshutters, I stood at the window. The landscape all around the fort was covered in pristine white, and the sky overhead was a shade of dark blue. The last of the brown leaves fluttered on the very tips of the limbs of the trees, threatened to be pulled away by the wind at any moment. The branches were covered in pristine snow. Everything looked new, and with it came the promise of a better year.

My stomach rolled. My hand went to my belly. “Easy, little one.”

“Little ones,”a soft, feminine voice whispered.

“Little ones?”

There was no answer.

My brow furrowed. No one in my family had ever given birth to twins. But my husband’s lineage was not exactly ordinary. Was it possible? I closed my eyes, feeling the fresh breeze on my face and imagining two wild little boys chasing one another through the corridors with wooden swords. Or maybe twin girls, sisters like the Cailleach and Brigantia, riding bareback across the fields of Rigodonum and making Corva sweat with nerves.

The images made me smile.

Littlesones…

To rule the Brigantes after me.

Opening my eyes, I breathed slow and deep as I looked out at the pristine landscape. Winter had come once more, and now, all would be silent as my littleonesgrew. My thoughts drifted back to the meeting of the chieftains and Cormag’s words to Venu. Winter made angry men’s hearts grow bitter. What I didn’t know was whose heart was false.

Beware false hearts.

I closed my eyes, feeling the breeze on my face. “Thank you for your warnings, little ones of the hollow hills.”

Giving myself one more long moment of quiet, I closed the shutters and prepared for the day. Corva had been busyspending my silver. Coin had gone to Chieftain Brennan at Mydils for building. We needed new ships designed to pass to Gaul and back. This winter, we would make ready. Working in secret, the priestess had also bought me loyal men and women who would seek out a place with neighboring tribes, at roundhouses and forts, in kitchens and stables, to be my eyes and ears. Princess Alys had gone from Rigodonum very happy with the skilled orphan girl who would be her maid.

My murder of crows.

Now, to see what they would discover.

The next few weeks passed busily. I traded messengers with the other chieftains to gain their help, ensuring that the Carvetti were reasonably stocked to endure the long winter. In Rigodonum, we were prepared to settle in for the Cailleach’s cold season. When spring came again, I would renew my father’s work on the expansion of the fort.

And after a brief time away, Cormag returned looking happy and full of stories. My heart was warmed to see that the Votadini had found friendship with Chieftain Aedan.

Corva, after weeks of searching, finally returned from Mydils with the man she proposed as my tutor on all things Rome.

Standing in my workroom, I listened as the Roman, a very tall, lean, and handsome gentleman named Fabius Tiberius—or Fabius the Fabulous, as he introduced himself—stood before me, extolling his many qualities. “I have performed in all the greatest venues and am widely known as one of the finest actors in all of Rome,” he said, gesturing broadly. “My education and gift with languages surpass many senators. And I know all manner of plays with which I can pass the long winter to delight you, Queen Cartimandua. And more, I know the common tongues. And,” he added, leaning toward me as he raised his eyebrows, “all the gossip. Want to know who is bedding whom? Want to know who is plotting murder? I know it all.”

“I suspect your knowledge of such things is rather moldy, given how long you’ve been away from Rome,” I said skeptically. “And what was your crime for banishment again?”

“I must admit, I’m a bit of a scamp, great queen,” he said with a grin. “Actors. Everyone loves an actor. Let’s say I had a dalliance with the wrong senator’s wife.” Given the man’s good looks, with his curly brown hair and bright-blue eyes, which he accented with liner, I was not all that surprised.

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Then why are you still alive?”

“Oh, well, the man tried to have me murdered, of course, but my beloved Claudia paid my way out of Rome. I was trying to make my way amongst the Gauls, but they have no humor for theater at all. Your Regnenses people, where this red-robed savior found me, liked that I could juggle and dance but had no interest in the finer things. I know all thegreatestworks. I am aneducatedman. I know the writings of Plato and Aristotle and have directed and performed in plays by Plautus and Terrence. Why my beloved Claudia didn’t send me home to the beautiful island of Capri, I will never know. Perhaps she knew her husband would track me there and have me murdered,” he said, then sighed dramatically. “But here I am, grateful to have finally found a court with a refined queen who has excellent taste and more than cheese curds and ale between her ears.”

I looked to Cormag, who could not hide the confusion on his features. The Roman was so far removed from the Votadini's ways that he might as well have come from the stars themselves.

“You are an actor, sir. How do I know I can trust you?” I asked.

“You hit upon an excellent point, Queen Cartimandua. I amsotalented that you would not know I was deceiving you,” he replied, causing Corva to laugh. Fabius shot her an offended look, then continued. “The truth of the matter is, I am a banished man. I have nowhere to go, and my skillset is rather limited.Certainly, I could find a place amongst the Greeks, but,” he said, then shuddered, “Lord Bacchus sent me signs, which led me here. I have faith in him.”

“Lord Bacchus?”

“The god of wine and pleasure. He is my chief god, great queen.”

“Well, you will find little wine and only hard-won pleasure in Brigantes lands. We are a serious people. I am not sure you will be happy here.”

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