![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
The Mistress of the Shadowland, Second Book, The next Chapter
Hey hey! Time for a new chapter, right? I hope you'll enjoy it! ♥
If you like, tell me your thoughts about it.
That would make me really happy. Thank you for reading.
“I wonder if they'll leave the house again today, do you think?” Conall looked questioningly at his wife standing next to him, an amused grin on his full lips. He winced while laughing as Eleri shook her head and slapped his upper arm reprovingly.
“Ouch!”
“Shhh, don't say that!” the half-elf admonished her still grinning spouse, who was leaning against the chicken enclosure with his arms crossed in front of him, his gaze still directed towards the old fisherman's house.
“Why shouldn't I do that? We all know it was their first night together. They can hardly leave each other when they are among us, what do you think happened last night? We don't have to be extremely clever to put one and one together.”
“Gods, Connall, I know that,” Eleri replied in a whisper, rolling her eyes. “But you shouldn't make fun of it.”
“I'm not,” the half-elf replied in a serious voice. “But perhaps Doran would like to be in his own house eating breakfast?”
They both looked to the older fisherman, who was carrying Elyan in his arms and walking along the enclosure of goats, accompanied by Brin and Yarrow, who was next to his pack, tail wagging and head held high.
“If you're so keen to help Doran get breakfast, then you can do it!” Eleri replied and threw the food on the floor for the chickens, which clucked loudly.
“Me? That's women's work, my love!” Conall replied with a laugh and skillfully dodged his wife's next playful blow before grabbing her hips and pulling her close with a cocky sparkle in his eyes.
“I can think of far more pleasant things to do than prepare breakfast,” he whispered in a sensual voice and stole a passionate kiss from his wife. Eleri would have loved to give in, but she broke away from her husband's warm lips and shook her head apologetically.
“As much as I would like to share my camp with you now, my love, I must decline for the time being. The day is coming up and the work won't do itself,” she replied, stroking his cheek gently with her thumb. Before she could pull her hand away, however, Conall grabbed her wrist and pressed his lips to her fingertips.
“Tonight?” he murmured, looking at her longingly from under his long dark lashes.
Eleri had to laugh. “It seems Trálír's longing for his beloved is contagious. He doesn't seem to be the only one on this farm who can't keep his hands off his wife!”
At that moment, Conall and she noticed the door of the old house open and Trálír and Anwyn entered the courtyard. The half-elf gave Eleri a quick kiss and then reached for the bucket of food for the chickens.
“I'll take care of feeding the animals then. Now that we're all awake, we can finally finally get some breakfast before a long and busy day awaits us.”
Eleri nodded and smiled slightly as she watched Trálír and Anwyn out of the corner of her eye. Both stood just a step apart, their hands clasped together, their eyes locked.
Anwyn smiled gently when she listened to Trálír's words and a slight blush colored her cheeks as a wide smile spread across her face.
They seem so happy, the half-elf thought, noticing the blissful glow Anwyn gave off while her body was clad in a simple beige linen dress. But she was filled with such happiness and deepest contentment that even queens from distant realms could become jealous of her love for Trálír.
Eleri knew from previous conversations that Anwyn always felt insecure about her appearance or status, but Trálír's love had given her so much security and support that she no longer felt worthless in the presence of other inhabitants of the Blackwaterlands. This and the knowledge of how much she had grown as a person over the last few years. Whether she had stood up for her father and his rights or when she had started to dedicate herself to the art of healing andtreating wounds. Her self-confidence grew as more and more humans and half-elves sought her advice and help.
But it was only last month that Anwyn had confessed to her, red-faced and stammering, that Eleri's appearance had unsettled her from the first moment the two women had met. In the presence of the beautiful half-elf who had been living with them on the farm for more than two years now, she felt ugly and perceived herself as colorless, insignificant.
Eleri listened to Anwyn's words in shock because the half-elf had never seen herself the way she described her friend.
Tall, noble-looking, her eyes as blue as a cloudless sky on a warm sunny day, softly shaped lips that were always the color of the rowan fruit, a light pink, and her long, wavy hair the color of ripe honey that fell down her back like liquid silk.
As Eleri listened to Anwyn's words, she was so deeply touched and moved that she reached for her hands and confessed that she, too, had the same feelings. In the eyes of the forest or high elves, she was worthless as a half-elf and not beautiful to look at. Only Conall's love gave Eleri the feeling of being of value, of being loved. This and her existence as a mother, for Brin and Elyan were the most precious things in her life and she would do anything to protect her children.
However, Eleri herself had often wished in her life that she had been born human, for the open hatred and loathing of the elves had made her childhood and youth a living nightmare.
So both women found in the love and devotion of their partners and the experiences they had had in the past the security to see themselves for what they were. Young women, of innate beauty, with a nature full of love and empathy, lovable with every fiber of their consciousness. It didn't matter to Trálír or Conall what race you were, whether your hair was too wild or too long, whether your skin was flecked with freckles or split by a scar.
When the two women realized how much they resembled each other, how much they had the same insecurities and fears over the years, they began to laugh and promised not to pay any more attention to it.
And when Eleri saw that Anwyn was wearing her curly hair down her back like a wild waterfall, she smiled knowingly.
Trálír leaned down to Anwyn and kissed her tenderly goodbye, while Eleri watched as she closed her eyelids in rapture.
The half-elf looked to the right at her husband, who was still leaning against the enclosure and still had his eyes fixed on the two lovers.
“You shouldn't stare at them like that, Conall, it's rude,” Eleri admonished him in a low voice and he looked at her, the expression on his face almost melancholy.
“They're so sweet together,” he replied. “So in love with each other. And it pains me to know that they won't have a future together.”
Eleri shook her head as she heard Conall's words.
“You don't know that,” she replied, but there was sadness in her voice and the knowledge that her husband was right. “Maybe... maybe they'll get their chance? Perhaps there's some path they can take? We shouldn't just give up hope for better times, should we?”
Conall looked at his wife for a long time before choosing his next words carefully.
“I wish there was just a hint of hope, Eleri. But you and I have been in the ruler's service long enough to know what he thinks of the humans and us half-elves. Although the human inhabitants of these lands are even less in his favor than we are. He will never allow Trálír to take Anwyn as his wife. This situation now, where the two of them can meet and spend time together, is the pinnacle of their relationship. Even if Trálír the Elder were to give up his throne for whatever reason and his son becomes ruler, it will take decades if not centuries. Anwyn is human, there will be no happiness for either of them.”
Eleri sighed sadly.
“I don't like to give up hope, Conall. I want to believe that there will be a happy ending for the two of them.”
There was a soft smile on Conall's lips as he tenderly took her hand in his.
Both half-elves stood leaning against the wooden fence of the enclosure and looked at Anwyn and Trálír, who were kissing once more.
Trálír reluctantly broke away from Anwyn's warm, soft lips and tenderly stroked a few locks of hair from her forehead before reaching for her hands and interlacing his fingers with hers. He leaned down to her once more, gave her a long, gentle kiss and then took two steps back.
He looked at Conall and Eleri with a thankful smile on his lips, raised his hand in farewell and then left the courtyard. Anwyn stood looking after him for a moment before sighing happily and turning towards the two half-elves.
“Let's get breakfast ready together,” Eleri called out and beckoned Anwyn over to her, who also greeted her with a raised hand and walked towards her friend.
“And you can finally take care of the chickens,” she added and kissed Conall tenderly on the cheek.
After a tasty breakfast of fried bread, eggs, bacon and a loaf of cheese, Doran and Conall said goodbye to their loved ones and left the house. Anwyn overheard them talking to each other as they walked together towards the beach, empty nets and baskets in their hands for the desirable rich catch they hoped to find in the sea.
Anwyn straightened up and reached for the kettle of water hanging over the hearth.
“Do you think the amount of hot water will be enough to warm it up a little with the spring water? It would be more pleasant to use it to wash the laundry and clean the dishes, wouldn't it?” Anwyn asked and looked at Eleri, who gently placed her youngest son on the campside in front of her. Beaming, he looked up at his mother and stretched out his little hands in her direction.
Brin was still sitting at the table, eating a hand-sized piece of cheese while dangling his legs over the edge of the chair. Yarrow sat at his feet, his head held high, hoping the boy would share the cheese with him.
“The water from the cauldron will do,” Eleri replied, reaching to the end of the camp and picking up a large cloth which she then placed next to Elyan. “Use the water when you clean the laundry, Anwyn. Cold water will do for the dirty dishes I will take care of. Once I've done that, I'll help you with the laundry.”
With a gentle smile, the half-elf bent down, took her son in her arms and gave him a tender kiss on the head. Elyan squeaked happily and tried to reach into his mother's hair, but she was quicker and placed in the middle of the cloth.
Anwyn nodded and then cleared her throat sheepishly as she asked her friend, “I don't feel comfortable asking because this is part of my work routine, but the haddock...?”
Eleri's laughter sounded as bright as a bell as she leaned forward and draped both ends of the sling over her shoulders. “Conall kept his promise and we were able to process the haddock faster than we thought. Without hearing your next words, I know you feel guilty that you spent the evening differently than you thought, don't you?” The look Eleri gave Anwyn over her shoulder sparkled with amusement and the young woman bit her lower lip in embarrassment.
“But don't worry about that, Anwyn. I was happy to make this suggestion to you and processing the fish was no great challenge for us now. Even if he likes to avoid it, Conall knows very well that the work of a fisherman is not just about time at sea. If you take care of every single fish, you only make his job easier,” she said, gently reaching for Elyan and pulling him lovingly to her chest. ”It won't hurt him if he does something other than just pulling the fish out of the water every now and then. And besides, I know that you and Trálír hardly have a chance to see each other for more than a few hours when he can. You shouldn't have let the chance to spend the night here pass you by. And besides, Conall and I could also enjoy our time together without the children.” Eleri smiled.
“Thank you,” Anwyn murmured, embarrassed, and watched as her friend reached under her child's buttocks with her right hand.
“Wait a moment, let me help you.”
Anwyn took three steps forward until she was standing behind her and reached for the two ends of the cloth, which she passed forward around Eleri's upper body, crossing them under Elyan's buttocks and under his legs and then back onto his back. With a skillful grip, Anwyn knotted the strips.
“Done,” she said and Eleri turned around with a grateful smile on her lips. She stroked Elyan's brown hair with her right hand.
“You don't have to thank me, Anwyn. We know how in love you are with each other and there are times you wish for time alone, maybe even in your own home and not in some clearing in the woods or hidden away in the stables. Even your father agreed with my suggestion.”
Anwyn looked at Eleri with wide eyes. “He ... then he wasn't upset and didn't say a word about Tralir and I spending the night together?” she asked, frowning, and her friend shook her head.
“No, Anwyn. When we left him, Elyan sat on his lap and listened to his words as he told a story about little evil gnomes and a young knight. Brin never took his eyes off him for a moment.”
Eleri laughed. “And when we came back, the boys were lying with your father at the campsite, all sleeping peacefully. I don't think he was upset, Anwyn. He seems to have accepted Trailir a long time ago and lately started to like him even more. He knows of the high elf's deep feelings for you and how much you love him. I often see the two of them standing together, exchanging words and ideas, many a smile on their faces. Do not give credence to your doubts and fears. Your father has already given you his blessing.”
“To be honest, your words sound so strange to me,” Anwyn replied quietly, her eyes clouding over as she remembered a time when her father had been strictly against the high elf and her feelings for him. “When Trálír came into my life, my father was not a great friend of his presence and let him feel it. So much so that Trálír decided to leave me. It wasn't the only reason why he left, but my father's behavior definitely contributed to it. And even though I have forgiven him, it still pains me to think about it.”
“But Tralir has returned to you, hasn't he?” Eleri's voice was full of compassion and she reached for Anwyn's hands, looking at her with teary eyes. Her throat tightened as she tried to stifle the sobs that were rising.
“Sometimes we don't make the right choices in our lives, Anwyn. It's painful, it leaves scars and it can't be undone. I'm sure Trálír would give anything to take back the step he took. But our existence doesn't always give us the opportunity to do so. The only hope he had was to come back and show you that the decision he had made was the wrong one and that he deeply regretted it. You gave him and yourself, albeit with a wounded heart, the chance of a new beginning. And you now know that all his words to you are true, that his love for you is unbroken. Your father too has also seen that his prejudices and his rejection of Trálír are based on the experiences he has had in the past. Now he too has been given a new opportunity, namely to get to know Trálír better. And he sees how serious his feelings for you are.”
Eleri gave the young woman a gentle smile. “Don't give in to the pain that lies in your past, dearest friend.”
A single tear gathered in the corner of Anwyn's eye and slid slowly down her cheek, wetting her freckled skin. Anwyn released her hands from Eleri's grip and quickly wiped the tear from her face, a grateful smile on her lips.
“And now, let me put the dirty dishes in the wicker basket and you can take the laundry,” Eleri suggested and Anwyn took a deep breath to pull herself together, to stop thinking about the pain this memory of Trálír's decision had caused her and to concentrate on her daily work. She heard Eleri call for Brin and together they collected dishes and cutlery while Anwyn decided to go behind the boys' camp and picking up the laundry. She stepped past Eleri with the pile of laundry in her arms, walked to her house and entered by pushing the door handle down with her elbow.
Anwyn placed the pile of laundry on her bed, found a large canvas sack, filled it with her father's laundry and collected her own, which she also placed inside.
The next step was to go back to Conall and Eleri's house and pour the hot water from the kettle into a bucket, not forgetting the suds of wood ash, animal fat and lavender. She would use the flat wooden board she had stored at the well to knock out the worst of the dirt.
With the sack of used laundry in one hand and the bucket of hot water in the other, Anwyn walked behind Eleri, Brin and the excitedly barking Yarrow across the courtyard towards the spring.
With a smile on her lips, she listened to Brin talk at length about his last dream, which was about little gnomes who wanted to steal his chickens.
Those chickens certainly seem to be important to him, Anwyn thought with an amused grin. After leaving the house and farm behind them, the small group turned right and walked along a small earthy path between tall grasses and bushes to the spring.
Eleri and she had stored some wooden tubs next to the collection of stones from which the spring water had been flowing for thousands of years and had carved a path through the terrain so that they could use them in their daily work.
Perhaps I should ask Trálír if he could build a small hut here where we could store our things? Anwyn thought and put the linen sack and the water bucket down on the ground.
As Eleri carried her son across her chest, Anwyn reached for the wooden tubs, filled them with water and placed them on the edge of the bank. She poured the still very warm water into her tub, which was then mixed with the cool spring water to a pleasant temperature.
She reached into the garment bag, pulled out the first shirt and placed it on a flat stone to knock out the worst of the dirt. She did the same with every other item of clothing while Eleri and Brin cleaned the used dishes and cutlery together. When she had beaten out all the garments, Anwyn got down on her knees and began to soak them in the tub.
Eleri then took the wet clothes from her, placed them in her tub and began to wash them with the soapy water after she had poured the old water to the side and refilled it with new water. While both women went about their work in silence, Eleri suddenly straightened up after a while and undid the straps of her sling. Anwyn looked up at her curiously.
“I can clean the laundry better with the little guy lying here on the blanket in the sun and his older brother looking after him, can't I Brin?” she explained and unwrapped her youngest son from the sling, who was calmly sucking on his fist. Some saliva dripped from his mouth onto Eleri's light blue overdress, which she wore over a dark brown robe, but didn't seem to bother her. Anwyn wiped her hands on her dress to dry them and took the child from her friend. With a soft smile, she held Elyan in her arms, who looked up at her with wide eyes and reached into her curls.
“A child looks good on you, Anwyn,” Eleri remarked as she laid the sling on the meadow, which was immediately taken up by Yarrow and her big son. She smiled.
If you like, tell me your thoughts about it.
That would make me really happy. Thank you for reading.
“I wonder if they'll leave the house again today, do you think?” Conall looked questioningly at his wife standing next to him, an amused grin on his full lips. He winced while laughing as Eleri shook her head and slapped his upper arm reprovingly.
“Ouch!”
“Shhh, don't say that!” the half-elf admonished her still grinning spouse, who was leaning against the chicken enclosure with his arms crossed in front of him, his gaze still directed towards the old fisherman's house.
“Why shouldn't I do that? We all know it was their first night together. They can hardly leave each other when they are among us, what do you think happened last night? We don't have to be extremely clever to put one and one together.”
“Gods, Connall, I know that,” Eleri replied in a whisper, rolling her eyes. “But you shouldn't make fun of it.”
“I'm not,” the half-elf replied in a serious voice. “But perhaps Doran would like to be in his own house eating breakfast?”
They both looked to the older fisherman, who was carrying Elyan in his arms and walking along the enclosure of goats, accompanied by Brin and Yarrow, who was next to his pack, tail wagging and head held high.
“If you're so keen to help Doran get breakfast, then you can do it!” Eleri replied and threw the food on the floor for the chickens, which clucked loudly.
“Me? That's women's work, my love!” Conall replied with a laugh and skillfully dodged his wife's next playful blow before grabbing her hips and pulling her close with a cocky sparkle in his eyes.
“I can think of far more pleasant things to do than prepare breakfast,” he whispered in a sensual voice and stole a passionate kiss from his wife. Eleri would have loved to give in, but she broke away from her husband's warm lips and shook her head apologetically.
“As much as I would like to share my camp with you now, my love, I must decline for the time being. The day is coming up and the work won't do itself,” she replied, stroking his cheek gently with her thumb. Before she could pull her hand away, however, Conall grabbed her wrist and pressed his lips to her fingertips.
“Tonight?” he murmured, looking at her longingly from under his long dark lashes.
Eleri had to laugh. “It seems Trálír's longing for his beloved is contagious. He doesn't seem to be the only one on this farm who can't keep his hands off his wife!”
At that moment, Conall and she noticed the door of the old house open and Trálír and Anwyn entered the courtyard. The half-elf gave Eleri a quick kiss and then reached for the bucket of food for the chickens.
“I'll take care of feeding the animals then. Now that we're all awake, we can finally finally get some breakfast before a long and busy day awaits us.”
Eleri nodded and smiled slightly as she watched Trálír and Anwyn out of the corner of her eye. Both stood just a step apart, their hands clasped together, their eyes locked.
Anwyn smiled gently when she listened to Trálír's words and a slight blush colored her cheeks as a wide smile spread across her face.
They seem so happy, the half-elf thought, noticing the blissful glow Anwyn gave off while her body was clad in a simple beige linen dress. But she was filled with such happiness and deepest contentment that even queens from distant realms could become jealous of her love for Trálír.
Eleri knew from previous conversations that Anwyn always felt insecure about her appearance or status, but Trálír's love had given her so much security and support that she no longer felt worthless in the presence of other inhabitants of the Blackwaterlands. This and the knowledge of how much she had grown as a person over the last few years. Whether she had stood up for her father and his rights or when she had started to dedicate herself to the art of healing andtreating wounds. Her self-confidence grew as more and more humans and half-elves sought her advice and help.
But it was only last month that Anwyn had confessed to her, red-faced and stammering, that Eleri's appearance had unsettled her from the first moment the two women had met. In the presence of the beautiful half-elf who had been living with them on the farm for more than two years now, she felt ugly and perceived herself as colorless, insignificant.
Eleri listened to Anwyn's words in shock because the half-elf had never seen herself the way she described her friend.
Tall, noble-looking, her eyes as blue as a cloudless sky on a warm sunny day, softly shaped lips that were always the color of the rowan fruit, a light pink, and her long, wavy hair the color of ripe honey that fell down her back like liquid silk.
As Eleri listened to Anwyn's words, she was so deeply touched and moved that she reached for her hands and confessed that she, too, had the same feelings. In the eyes of the forest or high elves, she was worthless as a half-elf and not beautiful to look at. Only Conall's love gave Eleri the feeling of being of value, of being loved. This and her existence as a mother, for Brin and Elyan were the most precious things in her life and she would do anything to protect her children.
However, Eleri herself had often wished in her life that she had been born human, for the open hatred and loathing of the elves had made her childhood and youth a living nightmare.
So both women found in the love and devotion of their partners and the experiences they had had in the past the security to see themselves for what they were. Young women, of innate beauty, with a nature full of love and empathy, lovable with every fiber of their consciousness. It didn't matter to Trálír or Conall what race you were, whether your hair was too wild or too long, whether your skin was flecked with freckles or split by a scar.
When the two women realized how much they resembled each other, how much they had the same insecurities and fears over the years, they began to laugh and promised not to pay any more attention to it.
And when Eleri saw that Anwyn was wearing her curly hair down her back like a wild waterfall, she smiled knowingly.
Trálír leaned down to Anwyn and kissed her tenderly goodbye, while Eleri watched as she closed her eyelids in rapture.
The half-elf looked to the right at her husband, who was still leaning against the enclosure and still had his eyes fixed on the two lovers.
“You shouldn't stare at them like that, Conall, it's rude,” Eleri admonished him in a low voice and he looked at her, the expression on his face almost melancholy.
“They're so sweet together,” he replied. “So in love with each other. And it pains me to know that they won't have a future together.”
Eleri shook her head as she heard Conall's words.
“You don't know that,” she replied, but there was sadness in her voice and the knowledge that her husband was right. “Maybe... maybe they'll get their chance? Perhaps there's some path they can take? We shouldn't just give up hope for better times, should we?”
Conall looked at his wife for a long time before choosing his next words carefully.
“I wish there was just a hint of hope, Eleri. But you and I have been in the ruler's service long enough to know what he thinks of the humans and us half-elves. Although the human inhabitants of these lands are even less in his favor than we are. He will never allow Trálír to take Anwyn as his wife. This situation now, where the two of them can meet and spend time together, is the pinnacle of their relationship. Even if Trálír the Elder were to give up his throne for whatever reason and his son becomes ruler, it will take decades if not centuries. Anwyn is human, there will be no happiness for either of them.”
Eleri sighed sadly.
“I don't like to give up hope, Conall. I want to believe that there will be a happy ending for the two of them.”
There was a soft smile on Conall's lips as he tenderly took her hand in his.
Both half-elves stood leaning against the wooden fence of the enclosure and looked at Anwyn and Trálír, who were kissing once more.
Trálír reluctantly broke away from Anwyn's warm, soft lips and tenderly stroked a few locks of hair from her forehead before reaching for her hands and interlacing his fingers with hers. He leaned down to her once more, gave her a long, gentle kiss and then took two steps back.
He looked at Conall and Eleri with a thankful smile on his lips, raised his hand in farewell and then left the courtyard. Anwyn stood looking after him for a moment before sighing happily and turning towards the two half-elves.
“Let's get breakfast ready together,” Eleri called out and beckoned Anwyn over to her, who also greeted her with a raised hand and walked towards her friend.
“And you can finally take care of the chickens,” she added and kissed Conall tenderly on the cheek.
After a tasty breakfast of fried bread, eggs, bacon and a loaf of cheese, Doran and Conall said goodbye to their loved ones and left the house. Anwyn overheard them talking to each other as they walked together towards the beach, empty nets and baskets in their hands for the desirable rich catch they hoped to find in the sea.
Anwyn straightened up and reached for the kettle of water hanging over the hearth.
“Do you think the amount of hot water will be enough to warm it up a little with the spring water? It would be more pleasant to use it to wash the laundry and clean the dishes, wouldn't it?” Anwyn asked and looked at Eleri, who gently placed her youngest son on the campside in front of her. Beaming, he looked up at his mother and stretched out his little hands in her direction.
Brin was still sitting at the table, eating a hand-sized piece of cheese while dangling his legs over the edge of the chair. Yarrow sat at his feet, his head held high, hoping the boy would share the cheese with him.
“The water from the cauldron will do,” Eleri replied, reaching to the end of the camp and picking up a large cloth which she then placed next to Elyan. “Use the water when you clean the laundry, Anwyn. Cold water will do for the dirty dishes I will take care of. Once I've done that, I'll help you with the laundry.”
With a gentle smile, the half-elf bent down, took her son in her arms and gave him a tender kiss on the head. Elyan squeaked happily and tried to reach into his mother's hair, but she was quicker and placed in the middle of the cloth.
Anwyn nodded and then cleared her throat sheepishly as she asked her friend, “I don't feel comfortable asking because this is part of my work routine, but the haddock...?”
Eleri's laughter sounded as bright as a bell as she leaned forward and draped both ends of the sling over her shoulders. “Conall kept his promise and we were able to process the haddock faster than we thought. Without hearing your next words, I know you feel guilty that you spent the evening differently than you thought, don't you?” The look Eleri gave Anwyn over her shoulder sparkled with amusement and the young woman bit her lower lip in embarrassment.
“But don't worry about that, Anwyn. I was happy to make this suggestion to you and processing the fish was no great challenge for us now. Even if he likes to avoid it, Conall knows very well that the work of a fisherman is not just about time at sea. If you take care of every single fish, you only make his job easier,” she said, gently reaching for Elyan and pulling him lovingly to her chest. ”It won't hurt him if he does something other than just pulling the fish out of the water every now and then. And besides, I know that you and Trálír hardly have a chance to see each other for more than a few hours when he can. You shouldn't have let the chance to spend the night here pass you by. And besides, Conall and I could also enjoy our time together without the children.” Eleri smiled.
“Thank you,” Anwyn murmured, embarrassed, and watched as her friend reached under her child's buttocks with her right hand.
“Wait a moment, let me help you.”
Anwyn took three steps forward until she was standing behind her and reached for the two ends of the cloth, which she passed forward around Eleri's upper body, crossing them under Elyan's buttocks and under his legs and then back onto his back. With a skillful grip, Anwyn knotted the strips.
“Done,” she said and Eleri turned around with a grateful smile on her lips. She stroked Elyan's brown hair with her right hand.
“You don't have to thank me, Anwyn. We know how in love you are with each other and there are times you wish for time alone, maybe even in your own home and not in some clearing in the woods or hidden away in the stables. Even your father agreed with my suggestion.”
Anwyn looked at Eleri with wide eyes. “He ... then he wasn't upset and didn't say a word about Tralir and I spending the night together?” she asked, frowning, and her friend shook her head.
“No, Anwyn. When we left him, Elyan sat on his lap and listened to his words as he told a story about little evil gnomes and a young knight. Brin never took his eyes off him for a moment.”
Eleri laughed. “And when we came back, the boys were lying with your father at the campsite, all sleeping peacefully. I don't think he was upset, Anwyn. He seems to have accepted Trailir a long time ago and lately started to like him even more. He knows of the high elf's deep feelings for you and how much you love him. I often see the two of them standing together, exchanging words and ideas, many a smile on their faces. Do not give credence to your doubts and fears. Your father has already given you his blessing.”
“To be honest, your words sound so strange to me,” Anwyn replied quietly, her eyes clouding over as she remembered a time when her father had been strictly against the high elf and her feelings for him. “When Trálír came into my life, my father was not a great friend of his presence and let him feel it. So much so that Trálír decided to leave me. It wasn't the only reason why he left, but my father's behavior definitely contributed to it. And even though I have forgiven him, it still pains me to think about it.”
“But Tralir has returned to you, hasn't he?” Eleri's voice was full of compassion and she reached for Anwyn's hands, looking at her with teary eyes. Her throat tightened as she tried to stifle the sobs that were rising.
“Sometimes we don't make the right choices in our lives, Anwyn. It's painful, it leaves scars and it can't be undone. I'm sure Trálír would give anything to take back the step he took. But our existence doesn't always give us the opportunity to do so. The only hope he had was to come back and show you that the decision he had made was the wrong one and that he deeply regretted it. You gave him and yourself, albeit with a wounded heart, the chance of a new beginning. And you now know that all his words to you are true, that his love for you is unbroken. Your father too has also seen that his prejudices and his rejection of Trálír are based on the experiences he has had in the past. Now he too has been given a new opportunity, namely to get to know Trálír better. And he sees how serious his feelings for you are.”
Eleri gave the young woman a gentle smile. “Don't give in to the pain that lies in your past, dearest friend.”
A single tear gathered in the corner of Anwyn's eye and slid slowly down her cheek, wetting her freckled skin. Anwyn released her hands from Eleri's grip and quickly wiped the tear from her face, a grateful smile on her lips.
“And now, let me put the dirty dishes in the wicker basket and you can take the laundry,” Eleri suggested and Anwyn took a deep breath to pull herself together, to stop thinking about the pain this memory of Trálír's decision had caused her and to concentrate on her daily work. She heard Eleri call for Brin and together they collected dishes and cutlery while Anwyn decided to go behind the boys' camp and picking up the laundry. She stepped past Eleri with the pile of laundry in her arms, walked to her house and entered by pushing the door handle down with her elbow.
Anwyn placed the pile of laundry on her bed, found a large canvas sack, filled it with her father's laundry and collected her own, which she also placed inside.
The next step was to go back to Conall and Eleri's house and pour the hot water from the kettle into a bucket, not forgetting the suds of wood ash, animal fat and lavender. She would use the flat wooden board she had stored at the well to knock out the worst of the dirt.
With the sack of used laundry in one hand and the bucket of hot water in the other, Anwyn walked behind Eleri, Brin and the excitedly barking Yarrow across the courtyard towards the spring.
With a smile on her lips, she listened to Brin talk at length about his last dream, which was about little gnomes who wanted to steal his chickens.
Those chickens certainly seem to be important to him, Anwyn thought with an amused grin. After leaving the house and farm behind them, the small group turned right and walked along a small earthy path between tall grasses and bushes to the spring.
Eleri and she had stored some wooden tubs next to the collection of stones from which the spring water had been flowing for thousands of years and had carved a path through the terrain so that they could use them in their daily work.
Perhaps I should ask Trálír if he could build a small hut here where we could store our things? Anwyn thought and put the linen sack and the water bucket down on the ground.
As Eleri carried her son across her chest, Anwyn reached for the wooden tubs, filled them with water and placed them on the edge of the bank. She poured the still very warm water into her tub, which was then mixed with the cool spring water to a pleasant temperature.
She reached into the garment bag, pulled out the first shirt and placed it on a flat stone to knock out the worst of the dirt. She did the same with every other item of clothing while Eleri and Brin cleaned the used dishes and cutlery together. When she had beaten out all the garments, Anwyn got down on her knees and began to soak them in the tub.
Eleri then took the wet clothes from her, placed them in her tub and began to wash them with the soapy water after she had poured the old water to the side and refilled it with new water. While both women went about their work in silence, Eleri suddenly straightened up after a while and undid the straps of her sling. Anwyn looked up at her curiously.
“I can clean the laundry better with the little guy lying here on the blanket in the sun and his older brother looking after him, can't I Brin?” she explained and unwrapped her youngest son from the sling, who was calmly sucking on his fist. Some saliva dripped from his mouth onto Eleri's light blue overdress, which she wore over a dark brown robe, but didn't seem to bother her. Anwyn wiped her hands on her dress to dry them and took the child from her friend. With a soft smile, she held Elyan in her arms, who looked up at her with wide eyes and reached into her curls.
“A child looks good on you, Anwyn,” Eleri remarked as she laid the sling on the meadow, which was immediately taken up by Yarrow and her big son. She smiled.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject