Chapter 16

Rowan was shaking her shoulder gently and saying her name but Rhiannon didn't want to wake up. She was too tired. “Come Love. You have to wake up,” he said to her. “I let you sleep through breakfast. You need to dress quickly and eat.”

“Okay, Okay,” Rhiannon mumbled struggling towards wakefulness. “I'm just so tired. I didn't think that I would start feeling it so soon.”

“You've been through a lot, and you drained yourself badly when you healed me. I'm sure that those must be contributing factors. And . . . Maybe we should have waited.” He had a slightly guilty look on his face but also a tender smile that told her that even if he thought that it may have been prudent to wait, that he wouldn't have wanted to.

“I know that you don't mean that,” she smiled.

“No, I don't. I'm glad of everything that I have with you. I'm glad of everything that we get to experience together, good timing or not. I would rather love you and know you fully, even if the future is uncertain, than hold back out of fear or prudence, no matter what anyone else thinks. I've spent a good portion of my life being responsible for others and always keeping my head. I don't want to keep my head around you, although I'm learning to strike a balance.” He smiled and she smiled back. “Come on,” he said taking her hands and pulling her up. “There is hot water for you to wash up and there's breakfast in the sitting room. The council meeting shouldn't be so exhausting today. We'll have lunch on time and maybe you can rest for a while this afternoon.”

She nodded and swung her legs down over the edge of the bed so that the tips of her toes just touched the floor. She slid off and headed for the bathroom. Once she was dressed, this time in a pale silk embroidered dress in the softest shade of whispering dawn, simultaneously rich, glowing and ethereal with a scooping neckline and sleeves that fluttered, she sat at the little table in the sitting room and ate jam and biscuits with hazelnut butter and drank fresh milk while Rowan caught her up on the events of that morning. The council had reconvened late the night before and had unanimously agreed to support a revolution. They had also met for a brief pre-breakfast talk and had the day's agenda outlined. The Fay, it seemed, acted decisively once they had their minds made up. Rowan, who was in uniform this morning, had met with his men and they were ready to do what they had to. All that was left was to meet with the Fay council.

Rhiannon felt like a fallen leaf trapped in a rushing current headed for a cliff. Helpless. Useless. Impotent. She struggled against the feeling like one would struggle against well tied bindings while lying on the tracks of an onrushing train. Uselessly. But Rowan was looking at her and talking so she tried to focus on what he was saying, “I know that you know it has to be this way. I know that you know . . . that if we're going to make this country over anew that I'll have to maintain my position as Captain. I can't step down just when all of this change is afoot, especially because of us. It would be seen as cowardice and the truth is that I don't trust anyone else to be able to do what I've been able to accomplish with my Fay abilities and connections. If the Fay and Human armies are fighting together . . . I know that I don't need to say it. I'm like you. I'm from both worlds. It has to be this way. But if we can unite this kingdom, then I can win this war for you.”

The train hit. Rhiannon closed her eyes tightly and squeezed her lips together until the storm passed and she could speak without bursting into tears, “I know my love. I know. You don't need to tell me.” And he didn't need to, but it was said none the less.

When Rhiannon and Rowan arrived at the council hall everyone was already assembled, including Rowan's men. When Rhiannon walked in they all stood. Each of the thirteen Council members that represented each of the thirteen strongholds rose and waited for her to be seated. It was going to take her a long time to get used to this kind of thing. She lowered herself to her chair and her heart pounded and her hands were sweating. She didn't want to be there. She wished for home. For Fenna. For Rowan to be there with her. But she wasn't at home. Or was she? Everyone was looking at her. She took a deep breath and then addressed the room in general. “Good morning,” she said, unable to think of anything better to say and unsure of what the protocol was.

“Good morning it is.” It came from Stone Keeper who forged ahead without ceremony, “Before we get down to the business of where our allegiance lies, we would like to ask you where, exactly, does your allegiance lie?” The question was of course directed at Rhiannon.

She looked around the room, at the people seated around the table with their eyes trained expectantly on her. She had been expecting that someone, at some point, would ask her this and she was glad that she had her answer ready. “That is not a clear cut question, so I won't give you a clear cut answer,” she realized, as she spoke, that this was a very Fay thing to say. “As the heir to the Fay throne my allegiance is to my father Lugh. As the rightful Queen of the Human realm my responsibility is to my people. However, as the future Queen of a united Nova Britannia, I believe that it will be imperative to create a land where everyone can live lives of peace, dignity, and relative freedom. You must understand though, that this is something that I have never had, even in the relative obscurity of the other world. I will never know it unless we succeed, but I believe that it is a worthwhile cause.”

She'd said it quietly and very seriously so that they had to lean forward and pay attention to each word. They weren't elegant words but Rhiannon knew that they were the right words and she watched as Stone Keeper looked around at the other council members who were nodding their approval. The old Fairy smiled. “This is an answer that pleases us. We have little choice in the matter but before we swore our allegiance to you we wanted, at the very least, to hear what you would say.” Stone Keeper rose and bowed to Rhiannon, “You have our support.”

Rhiannon inclined her head to the council, “Thank you.” Again, not elegant words. Nothing profuse or flowery. Simple words, but she meant them, and they could tell.

It was Lugh who spoke up at this point, “The truth is that we have little choice.” He looked at Rhiannon, “Our hand has been forced and your appearance at this time is fortuitous. The desecration of our grove was an act of war on the part of the exiled prince and we cannot ignore it or the fact that he was attempting to create conflict between ourselves and King Liam. It would be folly to alienate an ally, and at this point it is in our favour to have a strong united Nova Britannia. If we do not unite and make a stand there is a good chance that Seamus will win the war and if he does he will drive us out of our homes and kill us while we flee. He has an army massing on the northern border that outnumbers our own fighting force. But we have maintained a position of political neutrality for long enough.”

“The council agrees. What do you propose we do?” Rhiannon found herself put on the spot. Stone Keeper had directed the question to her which annoyed Rhiannon, as they all knew that she had been in this world only a matter of weeks and in the stronghold only a matter of days. Not only that but Lugh was still king. She suspected that this was, again, an attempt to sound her out. A test. “As you all know I was not raised in this world and I do not, as of yet, understand its subtleties. But my husband was born here. He has spent half of his life in the human court and seems to have the respect of this one as well. Years of his life have been devoted to fighting the exiled prince. He is already the Captain of the King's army. If anyone is competent to lead a victory against my uncle,” she swallowed the thick feeling in her throat, “it is him.”

Rhiannon felt like she was handing Rowan a bomb. She knew that this was the only choice. She knew that even if she hadn't been Sulamith's lost child, and he could have left her behind at his family home without her presence there putting the rest of his family in danger—for she realized now that had been what he'd meant when he said that he had reservations about leaving her there—that Rowan would still have ridden away from her at the head of the army. But somehow, now, being all tangled up in it made it all feel that much worse. But Rowan was expecting the job, and even before their short horrible conversation that morning, she had realized that to keep the military in line, to avoid the possibility of a coup, they didn't have a choice. She turned to him. “My love,” she whispered as softly as she could, really just mouthing the words.

He nodded. “I know,” he whispered back, then looked down for the briefest moment.

The green man with the slim antlers and the strange eyes, Fern was his name, addressed Rowan. “I suppose the question is then, do you have a plan?”

Rowan stood and smiled and Rhiannon understood that even though he was in some ways, a reluctant hero, he was, none the less, in his element. “Liam would step down from the throne in favour of Rhiannon without hesitation, of this I am certain. He loved his mother and he would respect Sulamith's wishes on this. The trick will be to show the people that Rhiannon has the support that she needs to keep them safe, to avoid a revolt, and to secure the castle against Seamus' supporters.”

“And how do you propose to accomplish this?” Fern asked dubiously.

“With a little espionage, an army of 2000 Fay knights, and the Angels.”

“Angels?” The word was spoken around the room with incredulity, doubt, and confusion.

Stone Keeper raised her eyebrows, smiled, and rolled her stone from hand to hand, “I think that we are intrigued. You had better explain.”

Rowan nodded. “Willingly,” he said, and then began, “As many of you know my grandmother is the head of the human council and that, when combined with my own position, means that I have a certain amount of support at court. What I propose to do is send Thaylum, Cole, and Brian back to the King's City along with Gwydion and Nessa who will remain in hiding. They will ensure that the castle is secure in time for my return. No accurate information will make it to Seamus during this period, Gwydion's spies will see to it, and the people who would support Seamus rather than a half Fay Queen will be removed through,” he paused, “various methods. My men understand what needs to be done and they know who they can trust. They will have seven days but the task is far from impossible. In seven days’ time Rhiannon and I will ride to the King's City with the aforementioned two thousand fay knights. Lugh has assured me that it can be arranged, and this is where the Angels come in.” He paused and looked around the room for a moment, making sure that everyone was with him before continuing, “We don't want this to look like a Fay take-over, so we need something more, something to awe the people of the city with and to show the council that a united kingdom is our best hope at accomplishing peace, and I know that arriving in the city with Sulamith's lost child and the Angels will send this message.”

“How will you find the Angels and convince them?” Lugh asked. “It has been years since anybody has seen them.”

Rowan turned to Gwydion, “I think that you had better explain this part.”

Gwydion sat quietly for a moment before beginning. “According to the knowledge of the Druids, the angels retreated into the mountains just after the plague wars. Many of our people had already left the old country by the time this happened, but a small group of Druids stayed behind for a time. The information that they brought with them when they arrived here was incomplete, but the implication was that the angels retreated because they thought that Humanity would be better off without them. They felt that they had misused their power and that what they had done to stop the plague wars had brought shame upon them. But, apparently, long before the plague wars they lived amongst us peacefully. They had been gradually withdrawing for some time but we don't know why. Many years ago, I met an angel and tried to question him about it. He became very angry with me and all he said was that if we ever found out why they had left us, that we would hate them forever, then he flew away. But something tells me that they might be willing to help us now.” Gwydion reached down and brought a piece of cloth up to the table. He unfolded the cloth. Inside were three feathers, each longer than Rhiannon's arm, all variegated crimson and gold. “I found found this one outside of my cottage,” he lifted one of the feathers, “just after Rhiannon had left for the stronghold. I found this one outside of her bedroom here, and I found this third feather outside of the council hall yesterday afternoon.” Gwydion's eyes twinkled. “Ladies and Gentlemen. I think our Queen has a guardian angel.”