Chapter 118: 117. Embarked

After dinner, me and the twins joined my mother in her sitting room. Mom summoned seneschal Owen and had him go and fetch captain Siobhan.

I knew she wouldn't be sending the captain with us, Siobhan's primary responsibility was to keep the clann leader safe. So she stayed at the castle with my mother, or when mom travelled Siobhan accompanied her. But as guard captain, Siobhan would know who would be best suited to accompany the three of us on this trip. Though I assumed Lieutenant Gaelen would be one of the soldiers assigned to us.

We didn't have to wait long, it was only a minute or two before the captain entered the sitting room with Owen.

Siobhan looked startled to see Kelly and Keira and I. That surprised me, I figured mom would have at least told her guard captain the three of us were here. But it seemed only Owen had been entrusted with that knowledge.

The captain quickly got over her shock and bowed, "M'lady, you wished to see me?"

Mother dismissed Owen then addressed Siobhan, "Three young members of our clann have expressed an interest in making a pilgrimage to Duma Dé. Circumstances require they travel incognito, but their inexperience also demands that they are accompanied. I would like you to find a small number of volunteers who can be trusted with this delicate task."

The captain glanced at me and the twins then looked back at my mother. There was something in her expression I couldn't quite place. For a moment I wondered if she was going to refuse, or suggest mom hand us over to the knights. Maybe that's why she hadn't been told earlier of our return. Except I couldn't believe Siobhan would have loyalties to anyone above my mother. Not even the king.

When she did finally respond, what she said surprised us all. Especially my mom.

"M'lady, with all due respect I wish to volunteer for this assignment myself. And I already have in mind two others who I know will be eager to make the trek, and who I know to be completely loyal and trustworthy."

My mother stared at her captain for a few moments before she finally said "I won't be going on this trip, Siobhan. My duties require my presence here at the castle. And even if I could take time away, my condition makes it unwise for me to go on such a journey."

Siobhan bowed her head slightly "I understand m'lady. Nonetheless I would very much like to accompany your, er, pilgrims on their quest."

Me and the twins exchanged a glance. I wasn't really sure what this was about, but I thought back to when we travelled to the Duma five and a half years ago. I got the impression back then that Siobhan believed in the legends. I realized maybe she just wanted to visit Duma Dé again herself, maybe it would be a pilgrimage for her too.

Mom finally came to a decision. She stated "Very well Siobhan. You are relieved of your duties, and Gaelen will be promoted to captain. Your journey begins tomorrow at dawn, so I suggest you go and make your preparations immediately."

"Thank you m'lady," Siobhan bowed then turned and hurried out to get started.

I stared at my mom, "Did you just fire her? What just happened?"

My mother actually looked a little uncertain about the situation herself. She replied quietly, "Let us say, Siobhan offered her resignation and I've granted her a leave of absence. Whether that becomes permanent or not remains to be seen."

She added, "Before you ask, I have no idea what her reasons are. Whether she's decided her loyalties lie with you rather than me, or if there's something about the Duma which is calling her. Whatever it is, she obviously feels strong enough about it to want to abandon her duties here. And to be honest, you won't find anyone more capable than her to accompany you on this voyage."

"So what should we do now?" Kelly asked. It wasn't clear if she was talking to me or to our clann leader.

Mom answered, "I suggest you return to your room and sleep well. Come back here at dawn to see me. By then Siobhan and I will have figured out how to get you all out of the castle unseen so you may start your journey."

• • • • •

It wasn't a bad night, but it wasn't a great one. The three of us made the most of what would be our last night in the big comfortable bed for at least a few weeks. And that in turn helped us all relax and sleep better when we were done.

In the morning we were all up just before sunrise. We dressed in our Earth travel clothes again. Black jeans, hiking boots, t-shirts, black jackets. And we had our backpacks all packed up and ready again.

I refreshed the anti-scrying spells on the three of us once more, I'd been keeping them going the whole time we'd been here. By the time they wore off later today we'd be well clear of the castle, and I figured it would be relatively safe after that. Even if someone did detect me or the twins, we wouldn't be anywhere they could easily reach us, and neither my parents or the rest of our clannmates would be involved.

With all our gear packed and ready, the three of us teleported back to my mother's private chambers.

My parents were both up and waiting for us.

I greeted them both, "Good morning mom, dad. What's the plan?"

"Good morning Tegan, Kelly, Keira," mom replied. "Siobhan is making the final preparations as we speak. Right now, there is time for us all to have breakfast together."

She led us into the dining room where the meal was already waiting for us.

Once we were all seated and eating, my mother started to fill us in on the details. "When we're finished eating, the three of you will teleport to the meadow in the south forest. Captain Galen has cleared out most of the garrison, leaving only a handful of trusted soldiers there for today. Siobhan and the others will be waiting for you there. They already have all the supplies ready, and horses. So you can set out immediately from there."

She added, "You'll have to go past the castle, but I suggest you give it a wide berth. I'm sure Siobhan will pick the safest route."

Kelly asked, "How many will be accompanying us?"

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"Only three," my mom replied. "Sending a column of soldiers and bearers would attract too much attention. Siobhan assures me the two she's picked are capable and loyal. And we don't really expect you to run into any opposition. As you and Tegan know, this trip is mostly through wilderness. You will have to use glamours to conceal your identities when you pass through the village, and if you encounter anyone else on the way."

"I guess we're going to get a crash course in travelling light and camping rough," I commented.

My mother nodded, "Yes Tegan. I hope you haven't forgotten everything you learned on your first journey to Duma Dé, but this will be a different experience. You'll all be expected to work. I'm sure Siobhan and the others will teach you what you need to know, but they will expect you all to pull your own weight."

That didn't bother me, I'd expected as much and would have wanted to help even if there were servants or bearers to take care of everything.

Kelly and Keira both nodded as well, they weren't put off by the prospect of doing some work.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Soon enough we were finished, and me and my girlfriends were ready to go. I hugged and kissed my mom and dad and bid them both farewell. Mom looked worried, dad looked hopeful.

Then we got our weapons and our backpacks and everything, and finally the three of us teleported ourselves out of the castle.

The garrison in the south forest was quiet, but the meadow was a little busy. Siobhan was there along with another man and a woman, and with them were eight horses.

Six of the horses were set up with saddles and riding tackle, the other two were already loaded with packs and gear.

"Good morning," Siobhan greeted me and the twins. She gestured towards the young man, "That's Padraig. And she's Laoise," she nodded towards the woman. "And of course we all know who you three are. We can talk more once we're away from the castle and the farms. For now just bear in mind that on this trip there's no titles, no ranks. We're all civilians, pilgrims, travelling to Duma Dé for personal spiritual reasons. If anyone tries to talk with us, let me handle it."

The man looked familiar to me but I couldn't quite place him. I assumed he was one of mom's soldiers, and I'd probably met him before on one of my earlier visits. He looked young, probably somewhere around two hundred. Or in human terms, in his early twenties. He also looked strong and capable. He was a few inches shorter than the tall amazonian ex-captain, with short brown hair and broad shoulders.

The woman was tall and slim. She had short black hair. She actually looked a little like Siobhan, and I wondered if she was related. She was a little younger than the ex-captain, I'd guess her age at about three hundred to three-fifty. In human terms that would put her at about mid- to late-twenties. She looked very fit as well, but I was sure I'd never seen her before. If she was one of my mother's guards, she'd been assigned somewhere else.

Siobhan was somewhere past her fourth century. In human terms she looked to be in her early thirties. She was the tallest of our group of course, and in excellent shape as always.

All three of them were dressed in typical travelling clothes. None had any insignia, and for the first time I'd be riding without someone carrying a Brádaigh pennant in front of me.

Everyone except Laoise was armed with a sword, and all six of us had knives on our belts. Me and the twins had our bows from Earth, Siobhan and the young man had fae longbows. Laoise didn't have a bow, but I noticed one of the horses had a loaded crossbow and a quiver of bolts hanging from its tackle on either side of the saddle, I figured that was hers.

Me and the twins said a quick and quiet hello to Padraig and Laoise, then I looked back at Siobhan and asked "I take it you want to get us going immediately?"

"Yes," she replied. "The sooner the better."

Siobhan and Padraig helped me and the twins load our backpacks onto one of the pack horses, then Siobhan helped me up on my horse while the others mounted up as well.

I noticed Laoise was leading both of the pack-horses, lengths of rope connected their bridles to the back of her saddle. Between the lack of a sword, the crossbow rather than a normal bow, and her leading the pack horses, I figured she might be serving as a bearer or something on this trip. Though the way she carried herself she seemed more like a soldier than a servant.

Siobhan took the lead and had me alongside her. Then Kelly and Keira followed us, and Padraig and Laoise were at the back, with the packhorses behind them.

It was about ninety minutes past sunrise as we set out away from the garrison, heading north back towards the castle.

None of us spoke for now as we rode north through the woods. Before we emerged from the forest I glanced back at the twins and suggested quietly, "Glamours, to be safe while we're in view here."

While it was unlikely anyone would recognize our faces at this distance, I knew our hair stood out. One short girl with bright violet hair and two tall girls with fiery red hair was a bit of a giveaway.

All three of us cast glamours on ourselves, disguising our appearances and hiding our Earth clothes. So when our little group emerged from the forest, we were all just typical fae civilians. I was still short but my hair was brown and my appearance different. Kelly and Keira had blonde hair and nondescript appearances.

Despite our disguises, Siobhan had us turn to the east to give the castle a wide berth as we went around it.

The former-captain had us moving at a good pace. Not a gallop, but it was no gentle walk either. I hadn't had much time in the saddle over the past few years and I knew my behind would be sore tonight. Siobhan actually had us speed up when we neared the village, and we wound up going through almost at a gallop. Nobody waved, nobody even really looked at us.

I got the feeling having six fae come thundering through on horseback with weapons in full view was something the locals knew had nothing to do with them. Like the less they knew about whatever we were up to, the better.

Our pace slowed a little about fifteen minutes after we passed the village and farmland. As we reached the rolling grassy hills, Siobhan finally let us slow to a calm pace. Me and the twins also let our glamours drop now that we were past all the people we expected to see on this trip.

The ride continued in near silence though, until we came across that little stream running in the dip between two of the rolling hills.

Siobhan brought her horse to a halt and looked at the rest of us, "Ok folks, this is where we're stopping for the night."

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