Chapter Ten

All through the darkening evening, as they ate a subdued meal together, Lamorna barely spoke a word, not even to the twins. She tried not to seem ungrateful or angry towards Aherin who, nevertheless, must have sensed her mood for he remained awkward in her presence. She spent more time with the little one, feeding, changing him, holding him. He seemed content enough in her arms.

Then Aherin said, “All is ready; at first light, I will take you to Daroth’s village.”

Tearfully, the boys rushed to embrace Lamorna. Only then did she let her emotions show as she hugged them.

“I will care for my brother tonight,” she said to Lulie and went to sit on the matting that had been placed against the far wall for her. Sitting with her back to them and the baby beside her, she shut her ears to Lulie’s soft tears, busying herself with checking through her small bundle of clothes.

Slowly, furtively, she pulled out part of a dress – one of Reena’s dresses, one her mother had worn a lot, which was now slightly threadbare. Lamorna rubbed her cheek against it, fighting back tears as she lost herself in thoughts of her mother. She pictured Reena laughing, holding out her arms for a hug, singing as she washed, cooked... After a while, she pushed the dress back into her bundle and pulled out a shawl instead.

As Lulie ushered the boys to their room and Aherin went to sit outside, Lamorna wrapped the baby in her mother’s shawl and laid him next to her. He began to grizzle then settled when she placed her little finger in his mouth. She had to smile for it was a tickly sensation.

When Lulie came out of the boys’ room, Lamorna quickly shut her eyes for she did not want to be drawn into any conversation. A frustrated grunt escaped her as Lulie quietly tidied around the main room. When Lamorna chanced a glance, the older woman was stood holding a shirt, which she dropped on the table before joining her husband outside. Frowning, Lamorna wondered when Lulie and Aherin would retire to their bed.

Darkness closed in all around but was held back by the lamps at the door and on the table. Lamorna struggled to keep her eyes open. She thought she heard Lulie come back in...

Lamorna jolted awake. All was dark and still; she wondered how long she’d been asleep. She had to quickly hush the baby who’d been startled awake as he was still in the crook of her arm; he drifted back to sleep almost at once. She lay quietly, heart beating fast, as her eyes got used to the dark.

Getting to her feet, still cradling her brother close, she gathered up her bundle and cloak. Wishing there was some way she could let Lulie and the boys know not to worry, she crept to the door and stole out.

It was not pitch dark outside for a few torches were still burning. Even then, Lamorna found she had to force her limbs to move; she had always found the dark unsettling, imagining into existence things that were not there. She almost gave up and returned to her makeshift bed, but the memory of her final promise to her mother gave her the courage to keep walking. Towards the only person she believed would help her.

Turning her head nervously this way and that, she scurried along, infant clutched close in one arm and her bundle of clothes in the other. She was scared of somehow losing her way, scared of being discovered.

She jerked to a halt, holding her brother closer, trying to fathom the eerie sounds echoing around. It took her a while to recognise the intermittent grunting of dozing pigs. Steeling herself to continue, she wondered how something that sounded so comical during the day could seem so frightening in the dark.

She had not gone far when a warning bark made her cry out. Knowing the dogs were kept safely tethered failed to ease her anxiety as she quickened her pace. More dogs joined in the chorus and, even as she rushed on, Lamorna waited for a voice to call out, for someone to appear and stop her. But the only voice that sounded yelled at the dogs to shut their noise.

Finally, Lamorna reached the edge of the village, away from the main body of houses. Although it was much darker here, soft light spilled from the dwelling at the outskirts. Eyes fixed on the light, she hurried towards it, tripping over unseen objects.

Heart beating wildly, she knocked tentatively. Then knocked again, louder. The door gradually opened and Vanora gazed at her, seemingly not surprised but saying not a word.

“You said...” Lamorna bit her lip, her brows squeezing together. “You said I could come to you, for whatever reason.”

Still silent, Vanora stepped aside, indicating that the girl should enter. Shutting the door, she leaned against it. “Does anyone know that you have come here?”

She shook her head.

“The twins?”

“No one.”

Again, silence.

“Will you help me?” Lamorna tried to ignore the fluttering in her stomach.

“Help you do what?”

Lamorna paused. “Leave. Leave my home. To go somewhere else, where baby and I can be safe.”

Vanora raised a brow.

“You said there’s never only one answer. Going to Daroth needn’t be the only way for me to be safe.”

“Why not go alone?” said Vanora after a long silence. “You do not have to take the baby. It will be easier for you on your own, you can move faster. The priests will not harm him, you know, only turn him into one of their own.”

That was a tempting thought, to run away, alone.  But it did not matter; she knew why she could not leave without her brother. “I promised Mam. It was the last thing she asked me to do. Please...”

“What you are asking of me, if I am caught my punishment would be... most severe,” she whispered.

Lamorna groaned as her shoulders slumped forward.

“But only if I am caught.” Vanora smiled as she reached out to take the baby.

“Then... you will?”

“How can I not? But first there is much we must do to ensure we, all three of us, remain safe.”

As Vanora moved away, talking softly to the new-born, Lamorna’s gaze wandered the room. This place was not like the others in the village. For one thing, it was much smaller. Against the far wall was an open fireplace; a great pot hung over the fire with a shelf for baking bread. Bunches of herbs hung from a beam, which was attached to the ceiling. Jars of different sizes were positioned on shelves on a wall; Lamorna wondered what mysterious concoctions they held.

Apart from the main area they were in, there was only one other room. No door separated it, only a length of material hanging from the top of the doorframe to the floor. A large table, covered with myriad plants and pots, dominated the area they were in. Lamorna rested her fingertips on the pestle that sat in the largest mortar she’d ever seen. Peering in, she wondered at the greenish paste that covered the bottom of the mortar.

Vanora’s soft summons dragged Lamorna’s attention away. “We must wait until tomorrow night for you to begin your journey.”

Her eyes widened. “But the soldiers–”

“You will not be where they will see you.” She leaned closer to Lamorna. “Before we continue, are you sure of this path? It means you will never again see your home, your friends, your father–”

“Is dead,” she said.

“You cannot know that.”

“But the soldiers said we-we’ll never see Papa again.” Tears welled up in her dark eyes. “And if I don’t leave then that horrible priest will claim the baby.”

“You are a brave girl.”

“I don’t feel brave,” she said softly.

“Tonight, you rest here. Before first light, I will take you to a special hiding place known only to me. You both must stay there, as quiet as you can, until I come for you at day’s end. There are adequate supplies; I will give you water, and the preparation for his milk. To be safe it might be best if we wait another night and day before we leave. Tomorrow, the countryside will be crawling with soldiers, of that you can be sure.”

“Where will we go?” Lamorna could barely conceal her relief that Vanora would be accompanying her.

“That I will reveal to you when we leave. Now, come and rest. Do not worry about this little one; I will have him with me so you can get some sleep.”

“But how will you explain your disappearance?”

“I will show you part of the way, but I won’t be with you the whole time.”

“But you must stay with me. I can’t do this alone.” Lamorna’s voice rose along with her panic.

“Calm yourself, my girl. You won’t be alone, I promise you.”

Still unconvinced, Lamorna settled on the straw matting on the floor, watching the white-haired woman who sat on a low stool by the fire, cuddling the baby close. “Are you the White Lady?”

Vanora jerked her head back. “Where did you hear that?”

She explained about Aherin and Lulie, and what she’d overheard.

Vanora smiled as she shook her head. “No, I am not, but I believe in her, more than I believe in anything else.”

“Who is she? Why was Lulie afraid to say her name aloud even though she says she prays to her? Oh! Is she the one you serve?”

Vanora nodded; her smile faded. “She is... an ancient power, worshipped since the time of our ancestors. But now, we are no longer allowed to even say her name. At first, when the priests were newly arrived, they seemed interested in our ways, and we listened to what they had to say about their god. There was no trouble. But the priests and their masters, they are not our people. They came from elsewhere to conquer our lands. And in conquering us, they destroyed the old beliefs, the old ways. It is their way of keeping control of us. We have little choice but to obey. It is the only way to survive.”

She looked down at the sleeping infant. “There were those who continued to worship the White Lady. They were threatened, some were killed. The only safe choice was to turn from her. But many of us still uphold our faith in her, usually in hiding.”

“Why does it have to be that way?”

“That is always the way when the few crave power over the many. There is only ever room for one. And they seem to fear us, the sisters who serve our goddess.”

“The wise women?”

Vanora nodded. “They see us as a threat. They accuse us of everything bad that happens, they say the path we follow is not natural because we do not have husbands, children. They do not understand that our family is the community where we make our home. We are mother, sister, daughter to any who have need.

“They do not see that our charge is nature herself. We make sure the people follow the natural order of the seasons, of the earth. We keep the lore of nature safe, to share with those who require the knowledge.”

“What knowledge?”

“Knowing when to plant, when to harvest, the best way to care for the animals in our keeping, to heal.”

Lamorna frowned. “But men are the ones who work the fields.”

“Because they have always been busy with that work, women were left to gather the knowledge that was needed, and to share it.”

Her frown deepened. “Mam never taught me.”

Vanora shifted her position on the stool, adjusting her hold on the baby. “In ancient times, all women had the knowledge. As time passed, fewer women took the time to learn. Now, only my sisters hold the knowledge. We encourage the people to respect and work with nature. But we are told that goes against the practice of the new religion.”

They sat quietly. Lamorna stared into the fire; she felt as if she was discovering a new world, one that had been hidden from her. “Do all the priests hate us?”

Vanora shook her head. “No. There are those who are genuinely interested in our knowledge and seek it. Unfortunately, we do not have any of them here. In truth, it is not them and their god that is the problem. It is those in power, those who rule. They are the ones who make our lives so difficult.”