THE KING'S DAUGHTER - Chapter Eight (The Gift)
Keevan could not meet the inquisitive eyes of his mother, nor the speculative gaze of Auld Nana. He kept his eyes downcast as he began to speak in a pleading tone. “I know I hae been gone for many years, Mam, and I hae missed ye so verra much. I know ye love me, and will honor my request, for I learned honor at yer knee. I want ye both to promise that ye willna get angry at what I am going to tell ye. Aye, tae answer yer question, the Abbess has chosen a maid for me tae wed. Her name is Caitlan Dundonald, an’ tae be truthful, she shall be here within a few days.”
In unison, Auld Nana and Kaila each punched one of his arms, causing him to yelp in surprise at their attack. Then, standing up to her full height of five foot two, Kaila, as angry as a wet hen, gave her long-lost son a rather large chunk of her mind. She began pacing in front of the hearth, stopping every now and again to rest her fists on her hips, point at her son or hack into a small wool square she held in her clenched fist.
“Your lass is tae be here within the week? Are ye daft, lad? Is she tae stay here, wi us? I hae only one spare bed space, an’ I can tell ye now, you are nae goin’ tae be sharin’ it until after the union is blessed.” Kaila pointed and wagged her finger so vigorously that Keevan thought it was going to become dislodged somehow and hit him in the head. He winced just in case, as his mother continued on her tirade. “Where are ye ta be getting married at? There hasna been a priest here for about thirty years! Who will marry ye? Did the Abbess think of that before sending your chit?” Overwrought with her exertions, Kaila coughed and hacked and sat down, while Auld Nana tended to her, handing Kaila a clean rag to muffle the cough. When the silence came like a lull during a fierce thunder storm, Keevan heaved a deep sigh and spoke.
“That isna what I dinna want ye tae get mad at.” He spoke so low, the women were not sure that they heard him correctly.
“Ye mean tae tell me there is more?” Kaila’s faded blond locks had come undone from the bun she wore, only to spill across her shoulders and down her back. She fairly hummed with incredulous maternal outrage and illness.
Kaila did not intend to make him feel like a callow youth, but how else was he to explain his plight? Auld Nana remained silent, but never removed her sympathetic eyes from the young man’s face. Keevan wondered what kinds of thoughts were housed behind those sensitive eyes. “Rumor has come that the French King shall be going back tae the Holy Lands on another Crusade, an’ I plan on joinin’ him.” He held his head high as he finished the sentence, looking into the face of his mother, trying to judge her reaction before more words flew out of her mouth on their own accord. The hush that followed was deafening. Kaila was stunned into making a fish-out-of-water face.
Auld Nana just shook her head in disbelief or a silent plea for him to change his mind, he knew not. Mid-shake, Auld Nana turned to face Kaila, who had grasped her chest and fell backwards in her seat as his words took hold.
The Holy Land. The place where prophets were born and soldiers of every major religion fought in what was the bloodiest pissin’ contest. Her son wanted to die like so many others in the desert’s sweltering heat. Following a foreign King, the very same no less, who was captured in the last Crusade and held prisoner until his people could ransom him back to the throne of France. Was getting into Heaven so important that he would forsake his mother and bride-to-be?
Keevan looked to Auld Nana for guidance and reassurance. He got neither. Her eyes turned the color of frozen violets caught in a late-March snowstorm. She was not pleased. While he locked eyes with Auld Nana, Kaila spoke.
“My son, ye wound me more than yer father did by going off on that raid. Why do ye wish to lead a path to folly? Ye tell us that ye are ta wed, but how long will ye linger before tramping off ta Jerusalem?" She paused, readying herself for the coughing attack she thought was coming. "If yer wife becomes a mother, ye will be casting yer child a fatherless fate, like yer own.”
Auld Nana spoke, her voice thick with emotion. “I canna say that I am pleased wi’ yer choice. But yer Mam is correct. Ye marry yer lass fer how long before you leave? Are ye going to make arrangements fer yer family if you die in Saracen lands? If ye leave, ‘tis certain ye willna return. Yer body will lie rotting in a desert, or if ye are lucky and well liked, ye may get a quick burial. Yer soul may be in Heaven, but yer body will never return to Scotland. If that is what ye wish, then go.”
“What is it ye women have against a man wantin’ to fight for what he believes in?” Frustration was evident in his question.
Auld Nana touched his arm in a gesture of supplication. “Laddie, it is nae like that, and yer a fool fer thinkin’ so. It hasna sunk into that thick skull of yers that yer mam has missed ye for the last fifteen years. Ye have but just arrived this night and ye are telling us that ye are wantin to march off into the desert after ye wed a puir lass and try to get her wi’ bairn. How can ye be so cruel?” The tears flowed freely down Auld Nana’s face.
“It will take at least three years to ready an expedition to the Holy Land. I will live here, with my wife, and God willing, my children. I hae chosen to do this for Almighty God, and all of you be damned!” Very well, so be it. He was done with the pretty pleading, tired of trying to explain his actions to those who just couldn’t accept what was in his heart.
Kaila’s eyes widened at the blunt tone Keevan used. Why he did not merely look older, he now had a man’s temper, and it looked to be roused at the moment. Her bairn was all grown up.
“Ye know Mam, I imagine life wi’ out me or Da to be hard fer ye. But life wi’ out my Mother was difficult. Lady Munro was kind, but no replacement for the woman who birthed me. I am asking you to promise on yer Mothers’ love for me that when I travel to Jerusalem, you will watch and guide my bride and children. Or will ye hold a grudge for your son’s impertinent disposition?” His hands were resting firmly on his slim hips as he looked from his mother to Auld Nana. His scowl looked almost comical, although it was not meant to be.
A smile threatened to burst forth from Auld Nana's stoic face. Kaila followed suit, unable to look up at her son without bursting into laughter. Noticing their aversion to looking into his eyes, Keevan demanded to know what was so bloody funny.
“My son, what a fine man ye have grown into. If yer Da was alive, he would be verra proud of ye, and the honor ye bring tae this house.” Sobering up, Kaila continued. “Aye. Go on yer adventures, for Nana and I will watch over yer lass.” Keevan looked to Auld Nana as she nodded her agreement. “Ye better nae get killed, or I will go questing myself tae bring yer stinkin’ bones back tae Scotland. Ye understand me? I lost yer Da during one of his ‘manly’ pursuits. Dinna follow his steps!”
Keevan looked ashamed, but knew that since his mother and Auld Nana had promised to watch over his soon-to-be family, he felt oddly assured. Reaching out and grasping his mother’s worn and calloused hands, he brought them to his heart as he knelt on one knee. In a rough voice, he spoke. “Ye know verra well that I canna make such a promise, for ‘tis certain that the infidels willna honor such a request. The best I can do at the moment would be the promise that I shall cherish every moment I have in Scotland before the French King heralds that the Eighth Crusade has begun.”
Kaila sighed deeply with resignation. She had just regained her single child, only to bear the knowledge that she would shortly be losing her son to something much more dangerous than a fostership to a minor lord a few miles away.
Undoubtedly, Keevan would die with an infidel’s scimitar buried deep in his back. The only saving thought that roamed the wide expanse of Kaila’s mind was that she was to shortly become a mother in law and hopefully, grandmother a few times over. Aye, she would greet Caitlan Dundonald as a daughter and relish spoiling her grandchildren. The best she could hope for would be the safe and timely return of Keevan.
One could hope.
The next day, the children were clinging to Auld Nana’s apron strings, begging to know what was going to happen next. Adults tried to be subtle in their interest of the tale. To them all she said but one word.
"Tonight."
Thank you for reading! If you’d like more of the story, help yourself to the rest of the posted chapters: