Page 56 of The Falcon Laird
“And I am the queen who teaches the warriors to fight,” Michaelmas said. She grabbed a long stick and stood alongside Patrick.
“What!” Will cried out in dismay.
“Ancient warrior queens taught boys to fight,” Michaelmas said. “Ask my mother. She is a harper, and knows all the old stories and songs.”
Christian, kneeling before an open chest containing Henry’s old garments, glanced up. “It was an old practice by the Celts,” she replied. The boys groaned.
“But I already know how to fight,” William said.
Robbie lay down on the ground and began to snore loudly.
“What are you doing?” Patrick asked.
“I’m a knight,” Robbie said, “and King Arthur sleeps under the hill with all his men, they do say, and someday he will rise again and fight a battle when the enchantment ends.”
“Aye! King Arthur’s knights!” Will cried, then Patrick, and finally Michaelmas, all stretching out with Robbie. Then, at a signal from Patrick, they leaped up and began a mock fight.
“Hold, you lot!” Moira called from another part of the chamber. “Do not destroy Lady Christian’s storage room. And put down those sticks, you will hurt each other for sure.”
“If you sit quietly,” Christian told them, “I will tell you a story while I fold these things. Do you want to hear more of King Arthur, who sleeps with his knights under an enchanted hill?”
“We want to hear the tale about Kilglassie,” Robbie said. Christian gestured, and the children scrambled to sit near her.
“Long and long ago,” she began, “generations past, when the priests came new to Scotland and thedaoine sìth, the wee people of peace, lived side by side with the Scots, there lived a king called Arthur.”
“And Merlin, his wizard!” Robbie yelled.
“Aye, now hush, Robert Macnab, you need not shout,” she said. As she spoke, she folded clothing to reserve for Gavin—black woolen hosen, a dark brown tunic, and more. “And Merlin, the king’s wise adviser was there too. King Arthur had many brave knights who pledged to serve him unto their deaths. The time came when Arthur called for his knights to ride north with him to the land of the Scots to do battle with warriors there. They stayed a night with the laird of Kilglassie, a friend to Arthur, in the ancient fortress that was first built upon this very rock.”
“Did they sleep here?” Robbie asked. The children looked around the torchlit storage chamber in wonder, eyes wide.
“They slept in the finest rooms in the fortress. But first, the laird of Kilglassie served a great feast, with the finest beef and mutton, the best heather ale, with many fine foods. And they listened to harp music played by the fair folk, the Faery ilk, who lived in peace with the people of Kilglassie.”
As she spoke, Christian lifted out a blue tunic embroidered in gold trim that would look fine on Gavin. She folded and laid it aside, then continued. Robbie, squirming, stilled when she looked at him.
“The next day, in reward for such hospitality, Merlin gave a wondrous treasure to the laird, a gift he had created with magic. Merlin told the laird this treasure had great significance for Scotland. But oneban-sìtheach, a wee lady of the fair folk, had fallen in love with Arthur. She was angry that he was leaving Kilglassie, so she used her magic to make another spell.”
“What did she do?” Will asked, while Michaelmas sat forward, gazing up at her mother.
“She hid Merlin’s gift away, deep in the heart of the castle, and said it would not be found until Scotland found its bravest king.”
“She wanted King Arthur to return to Scotland and beg to know where it was,” Patrick said, “but he was too busy fightin’ the Picts. That is what they called the tribes,” he added knowingly.
“What did the laird do?” Will asked. “Did he take his broadsword and cut off the wee lady’s head?”
Michaelmas glanced at him in disgust. “Thedaoine sìthmust be treated well or bad luck follows.”
“The laird searched, but never found the treasure,” Christian continued, closing the lid of the chest. “And King Arthur had troubles of his own and no time to return to Kilglassie. So Merlin sent white doves to guard the treasure. But because the bravest king of Scots did not arrive, the doves could not find the way to it either. To this day, the wild doves fly near Kilglassie, looking for its heart.”
“They are in the towers now,” Robbie said. “Still looking.”
“Only one piece has ever been seen, and that is the pendant Merlin gave to the daughter of that laird.” Christian would not show them the pendant, only patting her chest where it lay hidden on its thin leather ribbon. “It is all that is left of Merlin’s treasure,” she said. “And Merlin appointed a keeper of the pendant who would guard the legend,” she continued. “The firstwas the daughter of the laird of Kilglassie. Since then, the castle has passed along the female line whenever it could. But Merlin’s gift to the laird has never been found.”
“Why not?” Patrick asked.
Christian shrugged. “It may be truly gone.”
“But if we looked every day, very hard, we could find it?” Will asked.
