here.”
“He said we must remain until there’s no danger to you and the lad. How can you dispute the wisdom of that?”
She stamped away from the window with her blue eyes blazing. “And just when will the danger be over? When Dyfrig is a man full-grown? When his damned father is dead?… All of life is fraught with peril, yet we don’t spend our time hiding safely under the bed!”
Rusgann made a helpless gesture. “You seemed content enough to stay here earlier.”
“When I believed we had no other choice. When Dyfrig was a baby who couldn’t understand the need for prudence and secrecy. But he’s four now, and wise beyond his years. He needs teachers and companions of his own age. If he’s forced to spend his entire childhood here, file:///K|/eMule/Incoming/May,%20Julian%20-%20[Bor...0-%20Boreal%20Moon%202%20
-%20Ironcrown%20Moon.html (21 of 228)2-2-2007 18:46:18
May, Julian - Boreal Moon 2 - Ironcrown Moon his spirit will be stunted—just like those tiny winter-blasted birch trees up on the tundra that never grow more than two handspans high. I can’t let that happen to my son! Surely there are better ways for Ansel to secure our safety. Why can’t we live under the protection of my brother Liscanor at Northkeep instead of in this cramped farmhouse?”
“You could ask the High Shaman that question when next he visits us. But in the end, you have to trust his judgment.”
“I used to think Ansel was my loyal friend, whose only interest was our welfare.” Maudrayne spoke in a low voice and her expression was disillusioned. “Lately I’ve come to believe he may have other reasons for keeping us confined here that have little to do with our physical safety.”
“I don’t understand.”
“When last he came, just after the ice breakup, Ansel and the sea-hag were whispering together in the kitchen, thinking that little Dyfi was napping in his cupboard-bed. You and I were mucking out the byre. The boy heard Ansel say, ‘We must make certain he remains king. He’s the only one strong enough to hold them back. Without him, we have no hope of liberating the Source.’ The boy was clever enough to remember the strange words exactly—and he asked me about them.”
Page 21
Rusgann’s brow wrinkled in puzzlement. “I suppose Ansel was speaking of High King Conrig.”
“Yes, Both Dyfrig and I threaten him—but especially me, since I know a great secret of his that would cost him his throne. Perhaps Ansel hopes to eliminate this threat by keeping us out of the way.”
“But who is it who must be held back by King Conrig? And what in Zeth’s name is the Source?”
“I know not which particular enemy Conrig’s Sovereignty must hold in check. He has so many!
As for this Source, the last time Ansel spoke of it was after I jumped from the parapet of Eagleroost Castle into Gala Bay. As he rescued me, he spoke mysteriously about what his Source would think if my unborn child and I had died in the icy water.”
“My lady, I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“From other things old Dobnelu has said, I’ve come to believe that Ansel’s Source might have something to do with the person the hag visits during her long trances. Perhaps they are even the same.”
Outside, Dyfrig was calling. “Mama! Come out! Let’s have our picnic. I’m hungry.”
Maudrayne Northkeep, who had been wife to Conrig Wincantor and Queen of Cathra, picked up the basket and headed for the door. She looked over her shoulder and said to Rusgann, “I believe that Ansel and Dobnelu and this Source may be playing some deep magical game. To them, Dyfrig and I are nothing but pawns on their arcane game-board—and so, evidently, is my former husband, the Sovereign of Blenholme. But I’ll be no one’s game-piece willingly, and neither will my son. This is the last summer we’ll spend here, Rusgann.
We’re going to escape.”
The handmaid’s mouth dropped open in consternation.
Maudrayne laughed.
“He said we must remain until there’s no danger to you and the lad. How can you dispute the wisdom of that?”
She stamped away from the window with her blue eyes blazing. “And just when will the danger be over? When Dyfrig is a man full-grown? When his damned father is dead?… All of life is fraught with peril, yet we don’t spend our time hiding safely under the bed!”
Rusgann made a helpless gesture. “You seemed content enough to stay here earlier.”
“When I believed we had no other choice. When Dyfrig was a baby who couldn’t understand the need for prudence and secrecy. But he’s four now, and wise beyond his years. He needs teachers and companions of his own age. If he’s forced to spend his entire childhood here, file:///K|/eMule/Incoming/May,%20Julian%20-%20[Bor...0-%20Boreal%20Moon%202%20
-%20Ironcrown%20Moon.html (21 of 228)2-2-2007 18:46:18
May, Julian - Boreal Moon 2 - Ironcrown Moon his spirit will be stunted—just like those tiny winter-blasted birch trees up on the tundra that never grow more than two handspans high. I can’t let that happen to my son! Surely there are better ways for Ansel to secure our safety. Why can’t we live under the protection of my brother Liscanor at Northkeep instead of in this cramped farmhouse?”
“You could ask the High Shaman that question when next he visits us. But in the end, you have to trust his judgment.”
“I used to think Ansel was my loyal friend, whose only interest was our welfare.” Maudrayne spoke in a low voice and her expression was disillusioned. “Lately I’ve come to believe he may have other reasons for keeping us confined here that have little to do with our physical safety.”
“I don’t understand.”
“When last he came, just after the ice breakup, Ansel and the sea-hag were whispering together in the kitchen, thinking that little Dyfi was napping in his cupboard-bed. You and I were mucking out the byre. The boy heard Ansel say, ‘We must make certain he remains king. He’s the only one strong enough to hold them back. Without him, we have no hope of liberating the Source.’ The boy was clever enough to remember the strange words exactly—and he asked me about them.”
Page 21
Rusgann’s brow wrinkled in puzzlement. “I suppose Ansel was speaking of High King Conrig.”
“Yes, Both Dyfrig and I threaten him—but especially me, since I know a great secret of his that would cost him his throne. Perhaps Ansel hopes to eliminate this threat by keeping us out of the way.”
“But who is it who must be held back by King Conrig? And what in Zeth’s name is the Source?”
“I know not which particular enemy Conrig’s Sovereignty must hold in check. He has so many!
As for this Source, the last time Ansel spoke of it was after I jumped from the parapet of Eagleroost Castle into Gala Bay. As he rescued me, he spoke mysteriously about what his Source would think if my unborn child and I had died in the icy water.”
“My lady, I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“From other things old Dobnelu has said, I’ve come to believe that Ansel’s Source might have something to do with the person the hag visits during her long trances. Perhaps they are even the same.”
Outside, Dyfrig was calling. “Mama! Come out! Let’s have our picnic. I’m hungry.”
Maudrayne Northkeep, who had been wife to Conrig Wincantor and Queen of Cathra, picked up the basket and headed for the door. She looked over her shoulder and said to Rusgann, “I believe that Ansel and Dobnelu and this Source may be playing some deep magical game. To them, Dyfrig and I are nothing but pawns on their arcane game-board—and so, evidently, is my former husband, the Sovereign of Blenholme. But I’ll be no one’s game-piece willingly, and neither will my son. This is the last summer we’ll spend here, Rusgann.
We’re going to escape.”
The handmaid’s mouth dropped open in consternation.
Maudrayne laughed.
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