A Life Unbegun

[Lady Liliana Campbell]

December 14th
Evening

Since the taking of Aodhan it seemed a cloud hung over Griffin Castle. His lack of presence was keenly felt. It was as though a beacon, bright and warm, had been taken and the castle itself left in a growing darkness. The missing laughter, as Mother and Son walked down the hall, was yearned for. Something to dim the darkness and heal their Duchess. To give a Mother back her heart.

The Duchess remained strong, outwardly, though those close to her knew of the grief felt inside. Her heart was slowly fading away and that did not bode well. It could be most unfortunate for those of Skye. To see their Duchess, strong and bright, slowly slip away. Though Bess was remaining strong to not give into their enemies...sometimes to give in, even a little, would not spell doom. She needed to, somehow, feel again and to show it. Yet, those of her family, blood or otherwise, knew that impossible until Aodhan was returned to her embrace.

Days passed, the winter growing colder, seeping through cracks in stone to add more of a chill within, as the search for the missing Prince went on. Other messengers came, decrees being signed, as talk of war grew. It would come sooner, instead of later, and those women who had men that would be going off tried to remain unyielding. A woman of Skye did not sob like a babe at talk of her man going off to fight. There was pride to be taken in it. They would be fighting for Skye, for their land, for what all those upon its soil believed in, and that was an honor. A woman was to be courageous, to watch her man go off, and to be as a beacon calling them home when it was over.

Liliana understood all of this, knew her place as Kendrew's wife, and on the outside...only a smile was worn. At night she loved him, when not too tired, as if every moment was their last and during the day went about her duties. She did her best to be a rock for those of Griffin Castle. Whenever a servant would be caught walking alone, she'd give them a firm tonguelashing, or if one was seen to falter, to allow sorrow in, she'd be a soothing balm. Liliana did not allow exhaustion to affect her days. No more did she sleep in, no more did she take naps, and sometimes only rested if told to.

In her mind, Liliana was trying to keep her thoughts off of what was to come. She mended Kendrew's clothing, made sure that he ate well, and prepared to send him away. To watch him go off to fight, to wonder if he'd return home, and to wait for him. She didn't want to, but she would. Never would she ask him not to, especially now that Maubrey had dared to take Aodhan. Stress and fears were pushed down deep, buried inside her heart, to not be let out. She had not time to think upon those thoughts. Exhaustion grew as each day became a new one and at night Liliana fell into bed before even removing her clothing. She assumed it was Kendrew who did that, for she'd awake to find herself out of them and snug under a blanket, when he came to find sleep as well.

Now, as she walked the halls, evening coming upon the land, Liliana's chocolate eyes checked each room or passage thoroughly. Along with her was one of the castle servants, Aimlee, who'd recently lost her Aunt to the hand of Maubrey. The young woman, though clearly still grieving, was quiet and polite. Though she was known to be a flirt, Liliana liked her and enjoyed her company, and had been working to give her more duties to keep herself busy. With her Aunt's recent demise and Aodhan, who was also her charge when Aida was not able to take care of him, missing she had not known what to do.

"Lady Campbell," At hearing her name, Liliana turned and raised a brow that had the young Aimlee laughing,"Liliana."

Nodding, she took another step and gave a smile to a passing soldier. "What is it, Aimlee?"

"Should ye not be resting? We know of..your condition..." Liliana didn't say a word, as those within the castle knowing was necessary,"and ye have not been taking care of yerself. Lord Campbell would not wish for you to tire yourself so..."

"I will rest after our rounds. I just want to make sure all is we-well.." That last word came out in a bit of a gasp, Liliana pausing in her movements, as Aimlee hurried to her side. Seeing the obvious panic in the young girl's gaze, she patted her arm gently,"It is nothing. Perhaps we should rest a moment." The sharp pain had been a surprise. Liliana had been feeling a bit more drained and had noticed a bit of bleeding earlier.

Yet, she had not said anything. It had not been anything major and she'd planned to see Aislin on the morrow concerning it. Now though there was the experience of sharp cramps, like knives being repeatedly thrust into her, as she leaned against the wall. Something was not right. What was happening? Each second that passed the cramps increased and her legs felt like giving out. It was Aimlee's panicked voice that drew chocolate eyes to the floor beneath her feet,"Oh God, ye be bleedin'!" Chocolate eyes, filled with pain, widened now as fear set in.

"No, no, no, no..." The whispered chant came weakly as she shook her head, ebony braid swaying wildly.

"Aimlee...go...get..." Liliana didn't get another word out as she cried out in pain, biting down her bottom lip and clenching her hands into fists at her side. Aimlee wasn't about to leave her though and so sent up a holler that had feet pounding down the corridor. Two of the guards, thinking trouble was afoot, came upon both women. Liliana by this point was sitting on the floor, blood clearly seen by their eyes, while Aimlee held her hand. "Help me...a bed...her chambers..."

Aimlee was young and did not know what was happening, but another servant, Aileen, did. Coming upon them when hearing the scream, worried something may have happened to Aimlee, she stared at the sight of Liliana. The Lady Campbell was sobbing hysterically now, confused and frightened and in pain,"Wh-what...wha-what..." A question unable to be finished as she whimpered and clenched Aimlee's hand tighter.

"You take the Lady Campbell to her chambers. Aimlee get hot water and rags, and bring them there. Do not go alone. Have Lillian come with..." Aimlee nodded, running off to do as told while one guard lifted Liliana as gently as possible into his arms.

Turning to the other guard, Aileen whispered, waiting until Liliana was sufficiently out of hearing,"Fetch the Duchess and the healer, Aislin, and...Kendrew. Tell him that his wife needs him. Him before the Duchess...and the healer before either..."

Nodding, the man hurried off, and Aileen hurried to follow after Liliana and the guard carrying her. Stopping two chamber maids, she ordered,"Clean the blood off the floor." Hopefully they would have it all cleaned before Kendrew came through, but...who knew.

----

In her chambers, Liliana laid in bed, biting her lip and trying not to cry out. The pain had not subsided yet and Aileen feared it would not for a bit longer. The bleeding was still going. Aimlee patted Liliana's face with a cool cloth periodically, the woman's cries of what was happening breaking the young woman's heart, while Aileen worked to clean up the blood as much as possible. Hopefully, someone would come first. Aileen did not want to tell this poor woman what she feared was happening...

[Sir Kendrew Campbell]

Kendrew: A heavy snowfall blanketed the castle in a layer of frost that made men step slower lest they fall. Great care was taken for both mortal and beast to see them warmed, whole, safe. As the maelstrom blew beyond the thick, impentrable gates in heaven God rued himself for a chronic scene of sorrowful irony that played out inside. Elements were thrwarted but nature still found a way to creep past and claim what it wanted. His name had been called many days. From where the faithful knight had emerged or what his business had been were not said. On a mum mouth with a thin, tight line the secret remained. Mud coated an inch worth's of space on the boots he wore, dust and dank water covered his tunic and the hard leather worn over. In this he had been for hours with only the desire to be made clean, fed, and in the arms of his beloved to wish what he had seen away. Nothing works as we desire it, though.Often we are victims of circumstance. "A wash bowl, n' clean things. Can not go before m'wife this way." The command followed with the quick footed boy who brought the worn man what he sough. Hard soap made of goose fat and ashes broke through the thick layers of filth to find the man underneath. Water was splashed over his face and fel murky into the bowl. "Take these things, n' have them cleaned and returned to m'chambers no later than the next watch, m'boots and my leather." Meditation. As the veteran knight cleaned his weapons he felt a holy sense of being restored as the devil's work was made no more. Little did he know that the devil was in the details......"My lord! There is a woman calling for you on a matter with your wife, it is urgent, they have sought ye ought for an hour and more now..." Sheathing the sword in the scabbard, he put the belt around his waist. Next, his hand had been on his pike when they called for him. Why was it that he did not let it go? As if it were a part of him it remained in now bare hands as he ran in the footsteps of the boy to see what had happened. (d)
*

Liliana: Ominous silence, busy activity, and weeping. Had not such sounds been heard just recently within these halls? That it boded ill was not hard to figure out. Inside the room, upon the bed, the Lady Campbell weeped from pain. Every so often the sound of her voice rising, demanding answers, was heard, and yet none came. Instead the sounds that followed was gentle, comforting whispers, generally of nonsense, to try to ease her worry. Aimlee and Aileen waited, doing their best, for those requested to come. It was Lillian who would encounter Rosalind, walking toward the Campbell chambers with two maids, arms loaded with hot water, rags, and clean bedclothing. "Lady Rosalind!" Relief was heavy in her aging voice,"Come with me. Liliana...she..." Shaking her head, unsure what to say, she knocked upon the door and it was opened by Aileen. The inside daunting, for the sight of blood greeted them,"she...bleeds..." [d]


Rosalind: Rosalind followed the lady, though as she grew closer to Liliana's room, evidence of what had happened became terrifyingly clear. Had another breech been made upon the castle, she would have never traversed the corridors unimpeded. But she would not even think the word until she saw for herself. She would think nothing but prayers as her hand slid into her pocket and found her rosary, where she anxiously fingered one bead after another, words of Latin such a constant stream in her mind, it seemed absurd to hear any other language upon her arrival. She saw no sign yet of Kendrew, and so rushed to Liliana's side. She lightly swept the woman's pained brow with a damp cloth. "It is all right, my dearest," she whispered in French. "Kendrew is on his way." Rosalind did not know much of matters of the body -- she could make no assurances, but she could hold Liliana's hand. She could make the woman as comfortable as she was able. And she could make quick, fierce orders that would not dare to be disobeyed for anything stained with blood to be removed from the room immediately, and burned. *

b]Kendrew[/b]: The poor boy was left following three steps to every one of Kendrew's long strides as he tore across the courtyard like a force of nature. One utterance of her name sent him with only a single goal in mind: to get to her, to mend what was wrong. Had she became too strained? Did anything else happen to Beathag or the other ladies that saddened her? For an instant his mind thought of the unborn child and the fears, uttered between them but never in his wildest dreams would his worst image look as it did when he came upon the hall with a trail of blood. He looked infront of him, a deep, scarlet red. Omnious and sanquine patches clumsy as she had stumbled. Steps more brought him to the room where it began. Crumbled sheets, ruined fur rugs all stained with blood. He had seen many battle scenes but of all things that marked him the most were the happenings of Aberdeen and Dumfrieshire - slowly, oh so slowly it began to pale in comparison. This was not the blood of an enemy, but that of his wife! "Christ.." said a man who never took often the name of the Savior in vain pursuits uttered. The cold's stain of flush faded and the sweat on his brow chilled as his skin became cold . When he turned around the messenger boy called for the guards on duty to come. His summoned master looked like walking death. "Liliana...Liliana!" He began to run - for the chambers - for her - to be a mortal attempting to prevent a fate he dreaded. (d)

Liliana: A breech, though tragic, was not near as devastating as what was taking place. Those within the room feared what it would do. Lillian seen women completely lose themselves, fade away, after such a loss. She knew what was happening, but did not speak of it to the woman suffering upon the bed. "Has any heard from a healer?" Aileen gave a negative shake of her head, taking the bedclothes to help where needed, and Lillian approached Rosalind's side. Leaning close, she whispered,"The babe...it leaves her body. I want a healer to tell her..." She feared the denial that could rage within. Stepping away, motioning for Aimlee to help her clean up some. Liliana's hand reached for Rosalind's, grasping it tightly, as tear-filled chocolate eyes locked on her face,"Wh-where...is he..." She wanted Kendrew...[d]


Kendrew: Where that it was a breech he would have known what to do. This proved how small the mind of a man could become when faced with matters of life or loss, with mysteries that God betrothed to women for safe keeping. He knew that to see blood meant injury, that prolific amounts depicted battle. From one person? It meant what he could not stand to be true. Questions of how, why, and when pervaded the forefront of his mind as he continued to run, pike in hand. Why had he picked up the pole arm, why had he not let it go when the messenger called? "Liliana?" His voice almost became a whisper with each step closer to the room where this morning they awoke. He held her, put a hand over the still small, tiny sign that there could be hope. If it was gone - this he would mourn, but if God took her too...had he? They had not yet cleaned up the path of blood at the door. Closed were the structures, and when the chamber maid opened it, the first thing she would see would be the pole arm sharking...and the man holding it hardly standing. (d)

Lucius: After the day's "adventures" Lucius sighed softly, and glanced over his shoulder to Kendrew as the man, dusted himself off. One by one, Lucius pulled the leather gloves from his hands, and after that, he flexed his fingers as they were freed from their restraints. Gloves were tucked over the belt about his waist, holding the Brigandine about his waist and keeping the scabbard at his side. With the gloves tucked securely, as they were not of service anymore, dark eyes turned to the messenger that came running for Kendrew, shouting something about his wife..his wife! Lucius' eyes widened, and in the blink of an eye, Kendrew was gone. Running for the room his wife was in and had been in. Lucius, frowning, took off after Kendrew, his knight, following as close as he could, but it seemed God had given the man wings and bore him swiftly to his wife. Lucius felt his feet sliding and skidding a bit in his haste, but a hand to the wall stopped him from falling over. His other hand held the hilt of his sword, keeping it from moving about too much and hindering his run. He did not stop until he saw Kendrew come to a swift hault before the door of his room, where he instantly tried to slow down. Standing behind his knight, looking over his shoulder, he too saw the bloody sheets, and his dark eyes widened all the more, before a quick glance to Kendrew was given. A physician.. she needed a physician! ``I'll get a physician!`` He said, and before another word could be said, Lucius was off, running down the stairs, two at a time, nearly tripping. Once he reached the bottom, Lucius glanced around, before noticing...Aislin! He heard of her! Physician! Suddenly changing his course, Lucius turned and went flying toward the tall healer, slamming on the breaks and sliding a bit into her. His hand grabbed her arm to steady both her and himself, as his chest was heaving. ``Sir Kendrew's wife...blood...need a physician!!`` He huffed out, gasping for air.

Rosalind: "He will be here soon. Soon," she whispered, blinking back her tears as she reached into her pocket to find the rosary. She pressed the beads between their shared grasp. It was something solid, warmed by Rosalind's own hand, beads of jet that Scots believed a charm against evil. She would not leave Lili's side even to hear news of arrivals. She held Lili's hand and wiped the woman's brow once again with the cool water. Through every gasp of pain, Rosalind's heart tore a little more. Though Rosalind held the rosary, it was not Rosalind who began the prayer. Anabella had entered the room to oversee preparations for the healer, mostly by pointing out which furnishings were beyond salvation. Her voice was soft, but it rang in the muffled silence of Liliana's room. "Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae." Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.... *

Liliana: The shouts of Kendrew were not unheard by those within the chamber. Aileen opened the door not even moments after, eyes locking on the sight of Kendrew, and she did not speak a word. Stepping aside, to let him, she was silent. It would be Lillian who stepped forward, sorrow in her eyes,"We await the healer." How did she tell him what she suspected? No, no, it'd be better for the healer too. They would deny it, surely, and the pain..Lillian could not imagine what they would feel. She'd seen the bloom of happiness in both Liliana and Kendrew, and it broke her heart that she might see it be taken away. On the bed, Lilianna held tighter to Rosalind's hand, focusing on the feel ofthe Rosary. [d]

Kendrew: "Do not wait. FIND the healer, ANY healer." He found his voice and made it roll like thunder that struck on Lilian. It was not that he did not value her, only in that what he had seen had already changed his life forever. The scar of it would be in his wife's womb and etched across his mind, heart, and hollowed eyes. The heavy clatter of the pike to the stone floor was loud and echoing, it made Aileen recoil as now the empty hands sought only one thing. Reaching out, he found his wife's faces burning with fever. All the same he brought his mouth to kiss the burning face, taking up her other hand. "Liliana. Liliana.....Christ, my God. My God..." If one was happy, so was the other.Liliana's twists of pain made him double over the side of her he kept. Was eating the apple of Eden so terrible that women were condemned to a curse such as this? The blood leaving her body was the same as the liquid vacating his face, throat and hands. Where she was feverish, he was in a cold sweat, and stark white. Prayers to Mary to intercede, To Christ, to God himself....but he could utter them naught. His mouth became dry as he watched her rock with pain. (d)

Aislin: Aislin and Eamonn had yet to return to Eohmark for war was coming and Eamonn would have much to plan here with the other leaders. Luck and perhaps fate to those who bore it and believed in it, would have Aislin moving inside the castle, sheding the thick cloak with fur that Eamonn had given to her long ago. Already, a servant followed behind her, asking if she could take her cloak as shorter legs hurried to follow Aislin's quick stride. `` Nay, ah have arms and can keep it for now. Thank ye. Ye may go about your duties, ah am going to speak to the duchess. `` Or so she believed. In an instant, that would change as she heard the sounds of quick footsteps and turned about the corner to see a young lad who looked very fimilar, nearly stumbling and sliding down the steps in a hurry. Both full brows rose upwards as he looked to her and she became his goal suddenly, to the point that he ran into her, making them both have to step about before her cloak was grasp and arms crossed each other to hold on to the other. Liliana? Blood? ``Calm, take a breath and show me the way.`` They would make haste, moving back up the stairs; Aislin thankful she was nearly as tall as the lad which helped her keep up with his quick steps. When they were close enough, Aislin looked upon the stone floor, seeing the trail of blood that seemed to paint a grusome path towards the room where Liliana was. As soon as she entered, the clock was tossed to the closest chair and she moved beyond the other people, pushing them from the way, not caring to be gentle yet not a woman strong enough to toss someone aside. Around the other side of the bed she would go. `` Room, please. How long has she been like this? Someone, spare and give me quick and short information of what happened.`` Cool hands from the weather outside, pressed beyond Kendrew's, not pulling him from touching his wife yet as she felt Liliana's chest and neck, then moved lower.

Lucius: And Lucius would run about this entire maze of a castle looking, shouting for anyone to find him a physician fast. He had only been in the castle a handful of times, he feared it would take him too long to find someone, but by the grace of God, Aislin was there. He had heard rumours of her gifted hands and medical skills, and she was a physician, which was who he sought. Holding onto her to not only brace her but stop himself, Lucius clung to her until both were somewhat steady. Calm? How could he be calm knowing that Kendrew's wife could die? But, he took a deep breath, trying to slow his rapidly pacing heart. It did little good, for he nodded quickly, and the moment she said 'show methe way', he was off, running toward the stairs and taking them two or sometimes three at a time with his long legs. Making it to the top, Aislin seemed to know where to go, without his help even, as he glanced over his shoulder once to see she was hot on his heels. Good. Sliding into the room, Lucius stepped inside and out of the doorway, glancing to see Aislin coming in right after. Swallowing hard and looking up Kendrew sorrowfully, Lucius stood back against the wall near the door, in cause he was needed to rush and gather something..anything..not to mention stay out of the healer's way

Rosalind: The prayer continued once again, until the Latin words were voiced by more than one. When the healer entered, those not attached to either of Liliana's hands and had heeded the healer's entrance backed quickly up to the walls or departed at once to carry out their orders. Rosalind had no idea what anyone in the hall would think of a blood-soaked rug rolled up and hoisted on the shoulders of two maids, but the linens tossed into a basket and carried briskly toward the nearest hearth were telling. Rosalind repeated what Lillian had told her, looking between the recently arrived Kendrew and a woman she had yet to officially meet, but had heard of as being exceptionally tall. And skilled. She lived in the court where physical appearances and talent were often one and the same. "The handmaid tells me it came on suddenly. She has been bleeding heavily for two hours." Recounting the words did not make Liliana's prognosis any less grim to Rosalind. She slid another bead between their fingers, and with her free hand, gently wiped Liliana's brow again with the damp cloth before returning it to the dish on the night stand. "Is there aught you might do for the pain, my lady? She suffers greatly." Rosalind returned her gaze to Liliana's eyes and smiled gently, reporting the obvious in soft French, "The healer is here now, sweetest." *

Liliana: Sound of Kendrew's voice, his presence near, soothed Liliana only a little. The comfort of him and Rosalind was much needed, and when Aislin came in chocolate eyes locked on her. The woman had a way about her that Liliana admired. Aimlee, hearing Rosalind's words, spoke up as she was leaving with some dirty rags,"We were making rounds to check the passages. She...seemed well...and then the pain started..." Shaking her head, remembering the fear, she allowed Lillian to usher her out of the room. It was Liliana who spoke up next in a weak voice,"I-I...saw blood this morning...wa-was going to come see you tomorrow..." [d]

Kendrew: "This morning.." He whispered in silence after she said it. Why had she not told him? It struck him then like the weight of an anvil dropped on his chest that she had kept her silence for the sake of being no worry, no burden. For the same reasons he adopted that justified all the things he feared would break her heart. Now it was his that cracked..sealing his eyes for a second before they locked on Aislin. What more could be said that hadn't already? The knowledge belonged to the women for he didn't know the injury began this morning. He had bid her good morn, kissed her, and began his own duties. Once, he told his wife that to serve in the Aberdeen Household brought with it a power, but with that power they all paid some price. Do what ye must, this is my wife... his eyes spoke when mouth failed as he took to moving his hand through his hair. For an instant he looked to Lucius. Good, loyal, strong Lucius who found Aislin and brought her hence. God had given him enough blessings to give thanks for in their own mass, but if he could but author text it would read: Forgive me, for I have harmed and do not deserve them.. She was too good for this world, and all he spoke of was the thing that she feared and swallowed. The look Kendrew war superceded the look at the mention of Dumfries. (d)


Aislin: Aislin knew that Liliana was pregnant, due to Bess' words not long ago about why herself and her maidens could not more to Eohmark. Pulling back any covers that may have been placed on her form. Shifting, she allowed the other two to remain at Liliana's top end while Aislin shifted to move at the end of the bed. `` Hot water, nearly boiling, clothes both dry and damp. `` Looking up towards the other maidens, she sighed. `` Do nay damp her anymore. Too much cold on her flesh could heighten the fever. `` Looking to Kendrew, then Rosalind, Aislin's face was held blank as it normally was. Not a feeling inside lingered, even though she respect these people. Ah can nay make her sleep, for it be a risk we should nay take. Ah be sorry for the pain Liliana, but ah need ye awake to tell me what ye be feeling. `` As soon as the maidens brought hot water, Aislin did not hestitate to push away any material that lingered about Liliana's form, exposing her to most if not all about the room. Her womanhood and inner thighs were stained with the blood of her body, not giving much hope to the results and outcome. Looking to the maiden, Aislin rolled her tunic's sleeves upwards, making sure they were secure as she pressed a knee to the edge of the bed. Hands were pressed into the hot water, making her hiss as she scrubbed hard, over the wrist and up the forearms to clean her own sweat from her skin. `` Liliana, ah must feel within ye, it will be painful, aye?`` Moving her hands about from the bowl, steam rose from them as she moved them towards Liliana's womanhood and leaned over, lowering her head as she ignored the smell of iron from so much blood about and pressed her right hand along the soft and swollen folds, beyond hairs and blood to find the entrance of her womb. Aislin could have used tools, but that would only risk infection. Pressing her fingers inside first, she stretched Liliana, trying to be careful. With her hand being slender, it was easier to press more then four fingers inside and feel about the walls of Liliana's inner area. `` Can ye feel my hand or are ye numb?`` Either way,t he answer would come soon.

Lucius: Lips pressed themselves together as he stood there, unsure what to do, for it was not hard to tell the maiden was in great pain, but why? Had she fallen and cut herself? Lucius did not understand, but listened, or tried to, in order to decipher what happened. Dark eyes lifted to Kendrew, worried about his master and knight, for he could not even imagine what the man must be thinking or going through right now knowing there was nothing that he could do to easy and comfort his knight. Lucius knew nothing of miscarriages, but, he was going to find out for certain now. Boiling water, Lucius watched as maidens ran about, getting hot water in basins, dry and wet rags for the woman, and heading back toward the healer. She had to be awake for what? Did she cut herself on her thigh? Lucius did not understand until Aislin exposed Liliana's lower end, which made his eyes widen, not expecting it, but...seeing so much blood. His stomach twisted and the urge to throw up rushed up and made him gag silently, turning his eyes away quickly. No, not here. Lucius closed his eyes tightly as he leaned over, hair falling in his face, thankfully, as he fought his body's urge to vomit at the sight of..a most unnatural thing. But Aislin's words made his eyes snap open. She was going to stick her hand in there?! Oh Lord help her. Still hunched over, a dry heave came, the lump heavy in his throat. Never before had he seen a woman bare...any part..and now..that was an image that would haunt him for a great many times

Rosalind: Rosalind fell silent as Aislin took charge, happily relinquishing any control over the room and focusing solely upon Liliana. Her heart was with the lady who had come to be her closest friend, who knew one of the deepest secrets of Rosalind's heart, and had protected it with fierce courage. Liliana had a strength that Rosalind envied greatly. It was within the woman's heart, one that had been given freely to the man sitting across from Rosalind on the other side of the bed. To God, she did not know what Kendrew felt, nor did she wish to ever find out. Men had chosen, one way or the other, horrific ways to injure, maim, and kill one another in acts of war since Man's exile from Eden. But never had anyone bargained for the pain of losing a child before it ever had a chance to live. *

Liliana: Nodding, biting down on her lip, Liliana did not argue Aislin's wish not to give her anything for the pain. She trusted the healer's judgement in the matter. To say that she wasn't thrilled with the idea of having her private parts view would be an understatement, but she did not say a word. Instead chocolate eyes focused on Kendrew's gaze, trying to remain brave, as that hand slid inside her. A gasp drew from her lips, the uncomfortable feeling, like someone pinching or poking a bruise, clearing up the answer to that question. "I..d-do..." Nodding her head, taking a breath, she squeezed Kendrew's hand tighter. [d]

Kendrew: He caressed the long, dark strands that only a pair of days ago twined up in his hands when they climbed the stairway to heaven on the love they made. How ignorant they were, blissful in the knowledge that love could take shape. Now it was being forced out, and the fall from grace was almost too much to bare. How could she still look at him with the eyes of determination when he was sick? The exposure of the wound was her gaping femine essence made to a hole to be pillaged and explored. Watching the healer's hand vanish inside of the blood was nothing like he could compare to himself in the same act. It was akin to watching his wife be violated. Dying and violated. The child was making a bloody entrance too soon. Metallic, pungent odor mingled with the copper of blood. Is this why men did not oft view child birth? To think, they went away to battles while women stayed home and bore a war inside of the body. Forcing his mouth shut he swallowed the air back down to his belly that held bile. Is this what sons visited upon mothers? Strands of sweat soaked hair dangled cold and clammy to stick to his skin. (d)

Aislin: Already Aislin could feel the gore of Liliana's insides coming out, pressing along her hand as she felt the swollen tissue that lay inside her, the body flexed and tightened about her fingers, trying to protect Liliana frominvasion. There was too much and Aislin had felt the signs before. Surely, Liliana was no stranger to know what this was? The blow need not be delivered yet. Looking over her shoulder with her hand still mostly inside Liliana, she found the lad leaning over. His use, was not yet complete, for he could run where others would walk. ``Lad, ah need ye to run to the Infirmary, ask for a man named Roac and tell him ah need me flat tools. Run. `` Turning back to those who gave Liliana comfort, Aislin could only be blunt in this manner. Already she was pulling out what tissue she could. Much like a woman's cycle, there were bits of clotted blood that clung to Aislin, to which she wiped in a cloth by her side. `` Ah do nay think the baby has survived. Ye body is cleaning itself Liliana. Ah be sorry, but ah must help it, or ye will die of infection. ``

Lucius: How could Kendrew even bear such a thing? Lucius had no idea, but he admired the man for the steeling of nervs there. Just the thought of Aislin pushing her hand...there made his stomach twist angrily as he leaned against the wall, trying to breath and not let what wanted to come out. Still doubled over, one hand holding his stomach, Aislin's voice caught his attention once more, and it was hard to lift his eyes and tilt his head to look at her. Her hand was still in there! And he caught a glimpse of it. Frowning, he blinked, and when she told him to run to the infirmary, he was silently grateful. Roac. Flat tools. After that, he was gone, rushing out of the room quickly, rounding the corner and running down the stairs on shakey legs, still somewhat shaken from such a sight. To the infirmary he dashed as fast as he could, nearly falling a few times, but he managed to keep steady feet as he all but bursted into the infirmary, calling desperately for a man name Roac. Aislin's tools, the flat ones, were grabbed, and taking the leather roll with her tools inside, Lucius thanked him faintly before running right back to the chaotic room. Dashing back in, Lucius could smell the scent of blood, and that paired with the caught sight of Aislin's bloody hand and the still exposed hole was enough to make his stomach flip that time. Grimacing, Lucius approach, and a shaky hand offered the physician her tools. Unable to breath a word, Dark eyes turned to Kendrew, glancing upon his master, before the squire started for his post by the door...one he was favouring.

Rosalind: Another bead for another silent Ave Maria, pushed between Liliana's hand and her own, the metal linking the jet now hot to the touch. At the healer's pronouncement, she bowed her head. The prayer was not utterly in vain; the child was lost, but the mother had a chance. She glanced about the room to recall the faces gathered. In the coming days, she imagined it would be helpful to know those who had come to the lady's aid in whatever way they could. Those who cared for Liliana, Kendrew, and their lost babe were not few in number. There was very little heartening today save that fact. *

Liliana: Ah do nay think the baby has survived. Those words came like a physical blow. The child that had brought such hope, such happiness, to their lives. Liliana had not thought to be able to and then to find out...she'd been both frightened and excited. Even now she could recall telling him, his reaction, and lying upon this very bed with his hand upon her stomach. They had spoken, both filled with awe and a profound...happiness, of the child and of their future. Now that child...was gone. Liliana's cry was heartfelt, tears slipping down her cheek, but she did not speak against Aislin's words. If it needed done, then so be it. [d]

Kendrew "Sae long as m'wife remains." Mouth ran off what the mind recited on instinct and not with thought. The man clung to the febble points of comprehension because it was all he had. Children could be made again but his wife could not be refashioned from death. On the matter there was nothing more to say. Capturing her hand in his he kissed it and held it fast. Her head was brought against his shoulder as he knelt at her bedside, feeling the hot sorrow of her tears on his skin as he shook. His eye was to the door where Lucius was and on the wall beyond. A point where the light played in the crevice's deepest point. A place where one felt nothing but numbness and used it to seal a form together. (d)

Aislin: Aislin did not wait, she was already clearing what blood she could, moving her hand around the area and a damp, warm cloth to clean Liliana up as much as she could to better see. Aislin was a mother and understood the hurt that would come of it. Liliana's cries banged on a emotionless mind, making a tingle of something poke there before it was wiped away like a drop of sweat. Aislin did not wish to feel, so she turned herself off, as she had to many times when those close to her were dying and in need of her hand. Kendrew's words, had been what Aislin was thinking, so in turn, he gave the rightful permission to remove what she could. When Lucius came forward, Aislin turned and grabbed the wrapped tools with both hands, bloodied and with no hesitation. Aislinw as fast to unwrap them and clean them in the hot water that was waiting. Few tools flat and made of steel, curves in a way to enter the body and scrap. So she would begin with skill and care to remove the gore that was inside, careful of the woman's womb. Upon the third stroke, she found the cause of such heart ache laying at the middle of her scraper. Pausing, she placed the tool on a cloth and wrapped it carefully, reaching for another tool to finish her work. There was no need to see that unless it was asked. As a maiden reached for it, Aislin shifted her head. `` Leave it be. `` Her tone was firmfor she did not want that discovered yet. When she felt Liliana was clean, she asked maidens to prepare a tea and use only the herbs she instructed. Liliana needed liquids within her body and things to help fight the fever. Aislin took care in wiping Liliana clean, making sure the woman would have nothing linger if she could help it, before requesting that Liliana be lifted with care and the sheets changed again. The tool, was taken off to the side by Aislin herself and the remains of a babe, no biger then a snow pea was carefully removed and placed in a cloth alone, before wrapped again with care so Aislin could clean her tools. She was debating on telling them.. but better her then someone else. `` Ye babe is present. Ye can see it or nay. `` Some women wanted to see it, to feel the connection or lose it. Men, often did not. Aislin would not be the one to walk it to them, should they want, a handmaiden could.

Lucius: One woman had the Rosary out and was praying for the knight and his wife, and Lucius could not help but wonder how she could sit so close and not make a movement at the sight. Such nerves he wished he had, and already was trying to compose himself for Kendrew's sake. Still..he could not watch. Eyes glanced to the tool that Aislin first pulled, which looked like some oddly shaped flattened spoon, and before she could utilize it, Lucius looked away. It was hard to paint his face with a stoic expression, for it had to be painful..it looked painful. Swallowing hard again, forcing that rising lump back down, brown eyes drifted to Kendrew. Hands grabbed the ends of the plum cloak he wore over his shoulders, and pulled it about himself, his eyes lowering to the floor as Aislin finished her task of helping Liliana and cleaning the blood. It wasn't until Aislin moved to the side that his eyes lifted and followed the legendary healer. What did she have? Her tool? It wasn't until she said the baby, that Lucius froze. The baby...was...there? So small? Unable to blink, wide eyes stared at the cloth folded, where he guessed their baby rested...dead.It was not even his child, and his heart lurched in his chest, going out to the knight and lady. Bowing his chin, Lucius stared at the floor. At such a young age, Lucius had seen much. He had seen choas and gore on the battlefield, cruelty of captors as a prisoner, and now..the death of a baby that was no bigger than the tip of his little finger. Little rest would he get this night

Rosalind: Because Rosalind could not watch did not mean she had a heart of stone. She closed her eyes, but the sounds were worse than the sight, and what it inspired in her mind turned her hands cold and clammy. Though her stomach churned, she opened her eyes and looked quietly across Liliana's face. She would not dare to look across to where the baby was, so small and defenseless, ripped from the safety of its mother's womb -- by what? It was madness to even begin wondering the whys of an impossibly tragic event. *

Liliana: To be quiet when one wanted to scream was not easy. Liliana gritted her teeth, pressed her face into Kendrew's shoulder, as Aislin went to work. Though the pain was not stabbing, it was unpleasant and she refused to put more on her husband. There was also the fact that what was happening...did not matter much. Liliana's pain at losing a child, so new and yearned for, far outweighed it. She did not make any noise, though tears still made trails down her cheek,and when it was done she barely moved her face. Lifted, dirtied bedclothes removed and clean replaced, Liliana was cleaned up by the maids. Looking at Kendrew, wondering what he was feeling, a sense of guilt bloomed within. The first of many feelings to come. It was Aislin's words about the child, it being there, that had chocolate eyes moving in that general direction. Did she want to? Could she bare that? For a moment she battled over the decision, butcould not bare the thought of seeing what had been the child she'd dreamt of..."N-no...I...don't want to..." Shaking her head, chocolate eyes wide in her pale face, a shaking hand pushed damp ebony hair out of her face and she accepted the tea given to her. [d]

Kendrew: "No." The knight was near set to forebidding the small portion of a child be displayed. It was enough that his wife had been laid out bare before what seemed the known world. Amidst the h the handmaidens he would not have her suffer the humilitation he knew must have been there that he wished he could set her free of, nor would their looks of sympathy mangle with a human curiosity. "Have a priest consecrate the have a priest...consecrate. Let the child gae in the churchyard soil..'pon where my brother is." He couldn't even say the words remains or former portions..Closing his eyes, what he felt was locked in a cloud set to pour open. Kissing her face gently, he whispered, "I love ye, n' all will be set right. Sae help me, I swear to the God we believe in. I will be back, goin' to set the watch at the door..nothin' will disturb your healin'.." He touched her face, looking into her eyes before bringing her forehead to his. Finding the strength to stand he found voice enough to speak to the maids, "Thank you..for stayin' with her..sae long. I ask you nay talk about this before us, please in the future, n' have the others do the same.." He gave a cant of head to Aislin, his eyes catching a glimpse of the tools and the cloth that held ..."Ah'm..setting the watch.." He knelt down, picked up his pole arm, and shut the door behind him. "Lucius..." What do you say, in thanks or command, at all? The lad had done more than he need ever do to serve him. He had seen more than he ever need see. Both Campbells near the end. Loss and growth. It had been a long, long year. Beyond the world of hurt lay more to prod the still fresh wounds. A man waited with word in hand, and in passing it made it to white hands. A pair of words struck hard as he uttered, "Mary..." Mary Campbell, wife of Roric, was dead. Killed by the those that saw their name as no coincidence, and now his brother's children had neither their father nor mother. Of his own mother and sister, they broke their silence at last in writing. Fearing they would burden him, they spoke little and signaled less..but now could do nothing less. The pole arm dug hard into the stone but seemed not to work. One hand to the wall he began to fall back and slide down (d)

Beloved Souls: Aisilin would leave the burying to the hand maidens, or burning if the campbells believed in such. In Eohmark, most if not all the men and woman believed in the old ways and were burned upon a bed of branches as a ceremony, to honor them. Aislin was utter silence as she waited for their answers. Both said no and Aislin looked to the maiden when Kendrew spoke of his wishes. She watched as the maiden carefully picked up the cloth as if the babe were alive and moved from the room with it. Aislin stayed, cleaning her arms and hands though blood did not escape her tunic about the sleeves and front. When the tea came, Aislin took it to Liliana and offered it to her. `` Ye must drink all of this for the fever. Ye are to remain in this bed for no shorter then four days passing aye? Ye body will heal itself. `` Her voice was flat, holding back tone for what she needed was someone who was better with emotions then Aislin. She was not going to leave until the fever had left Liliana's body. Looking to one of the maids, she spoke over her shoulder. `` Tell the Lord Marshal where ah be. But as Lord Campbell said, do nay say why. Just tell him I be needed for a illness. ``

Lucius Lucius could not even begin to understand his knight now. So much the man had to endure, both outside the home...and now within. How his heart must ache terribly..another worry to labour his mind and heart. If there was something he could do..Lucius would do it in a heartbeat. For the longest, Lucius was silent, his eyes drarting to Kendrew as the man gave his wife much needed tenderness. Lucius half expected the man to be glued to Liliana's side, but instead he rose, and addressed the issue about watch. The squire blinked, and frowned a bit. He didn't understand...how could he so quickly have need to focus on such a thing? After all that? Lucius turned his eyes to Liliana, but could not" bring himself to hold her gaze long. His heart sank in sympathy and sorrow for the woman. He...could not even imagine. Even looking at her made his heart ache. Turning on boot heels, Lucius followed Kendrew out, and as the man closed the door behind him, his eyes turned to his knight and budding friend. ``Aye, my Lord?`` He replied, waiting for something..anything at this point, but all he received was the word 'Mary'. Mary? Arching a brow, Lucius quickly was at his side and slid down the wall with him, hands gripping his arm. What to say? What could you say after...that? Swallowing hard and taking a deep breath, lips parted. ``Sir...I will take your watch...what you need...what your wife needs...is love. Go to her, sir..`` The Roman said softly, and gently, his hand reached for the pike.

Rosalind: With Lillian's help, they gingerly shifted Liliana enough to slide another pillow behind her head, bolstering her just high enough that she might take the tea without threat of choking. The maid fed it to Liliana as she would take it. Rosalind turned to the healer at last and listened to the directions. At last, she turned to Liliana, with a spare bit of dry cloth mopping the moisture beading on her brow, dabbing at the tears that flowed down her cheeks. She leaned close to Liliana's ear, and in a mellow alto, murmured French words meant not to offer promise, but real help. "I heard of a man once," she began, "who fell into a hole. The sides were so steep and the hole so deep, he knew not how to climb out. He begged a passing priest for help, but he could only write a prayer and continue onward. He begged the aid of a passing soldier, but the walls merely crumbled and cast dirt upon his person. But just then, when all seemed dark and night was growing near, he heard the voice of a friend high above. He said, 'Will you aid me, brother?' And the friend, without thought, jumped into the hole. 'Oh, brother, what have you done? How will you help me from this place?' The man was angry and confused, but the friend only smiled in the dark. 'My brother, I have been down here before. I know the way out.'" She placed a gentle kiss upon Liliana's brow. If Liliana wished for Rosalind to remain, it was a simple matter of requesting more pillows be brought into the room. If not, she could hardly take offense, for she would remain in a chair outside the door. But it was warmer within than without, and she hoped she might remain where she was, with the exception of leaving Kendrew with his wife. *

Liliana: That Kendrew left the room, even for such a plausible reason, hurt her. In a mind dealing with sorrow and the loss of a child before it was even born, Liliana feared that now her husband could not bear to be near her. Was he ashamed? Had she failed him? Drinking the tea quietly, listening to Aislin, she gave a feeble smile and whispered,"Th-thank you..." That it'd been Aislin who'd done this, who'd helped, was a relief. She did not think she could have bared another doing it. Those within were friends, even the young Lucius, and there presence offered some comfort. Listening to Rosalind's words, tears pooling in chocolate eyes, she closed them briefly at the kiss to the brow,"Stay, please..." Liliana feared being alone right now. Even just being in the chamber was tough and she yearned to asked to be moved, but was too sore to do so. Instead, finishing the tea, a yawn escaped her. "I think...I should rest..." [d]

Kendrew: "The watch...for the door..not..not I...to do it but tae find the men.." Voice stammered over the words sputtered over his mouth, clumsy and empty. His hands were like ice to touch and the tremors infected every muscle to jolt thelimbs in unending cycles. "Aye, aye. You set it tonight, Lucius...I..move. I can't move." His brow knit together to become one thing, leaping, trembling and twisted. Hazel eyes welled with water and before he could utter another word the phenomenon of emotion made tears spilled down his cheeks uncontrolled. He felt this, and froze. Blinking, he could neither control or end it, his body had ceased to listen to him, and for a brief while the gates of his mindwere not closed off. "Mah brother is dead...m'men...are growin' fewer....n' few. Aberdeen n' Dumfries appear...before...m'eyes. E'ery day and night." The confessions were muted, mangled. "Bitter. it makes me. I...talk of it..with her..is that why..there was so much...blood. Her cries. Mah wife, m'sweet,n' good wife. I thought, she was goin' to....but...Mary did. M'brother's wife. Now she be gone n' m'kindred will only come forth now. Why whould they nay trust me.afore. What scared them, so? Someone..did..but in this..I failed them. I have..tae rise..." He looked up to Lucius and said, "But I can nay" He grit his teeth as his breath quickened and his eyes turned to green glass (d

Aislin: Aislin gave a nod, looking to Liliana and making sure she had her fill of the tea. Finally, eyes passed to Rosalind. She was trusted enough as a friend to be here, so when Aislin could not be present, she was going to leave some information with her. Waitinf for Liliana to get comfortable, she looked to Rosalind and spoke. `` Ah am going to leave a few herbs with ye, as well as some direction in case her fever flares once more. Do nay let her move from bed until after four days have passed. Her womb must heal, even if she be feeling better, be firm. She may still bleed, but that is normal. Anything else, ye call straight for me. Ah'll be in Turas lan for a while. `` Maybe she would have to stay in the castle to be closer. if so, she would let Rosalind know.

Lucius: Lucius knew not what to say, save that had it been his wife that experienced something like that...he would want nothing more than to be by her side, to comfort her, and offer love in the time of sorrow. The love was there, he could see it with his own eyes. Why did Kendrew seek to leave? Kneeling beside the man, his hand gripping the same spear that he did, Lucius waited for Kendrew to move...however, the unexpected happened: Kendrew broke down. Lucius' eyes widened a bit, before he stared at the man, sadly. His brother was dead, his men were dying one by one in those passages. Lucius did not understand, but even so, he tried to listen. Frowning a bit, Lucius released the pike Kendrew still held. ``I know not, my Lord..some things in life do make us bitter..`` He agreed, for now, after the news his father gave to him, Lucius found himself...bitter toward a once thought of saint, and wary of many women. Life.. could be cruel. Very. Fingers undid the leather bracer around his wrist and forearm. ``But my Lord..think not of them now. You did not fail. Not yet. You can rise...there is much you have overcome..I know you can rise..`` Lucius replied, before lifting his arm and offering his sleeve to help Kendrew dry his eyes and what tears fell. ``I will help you, sir..come...we will rise together..`` Though, he could not lift Kendrew alone..he was too broad of a man.

Rosalind: It seemed as soon as Liliana was made comfortable, the woman fell asleep. Rosalind shifted as pillows were brought in, and an extra stool that she might prop up her leg if it grew weary, but for now, both feet remaind firmly planted on the floor. When Aislin approached, Rosalind lifted her head. Her clear hazel eyes rested on the tall healer. "I will let you know if aught changes. I shall take care of her." Rosalind nodded. It was difficult to understand much at the moment, but in grief, clarity had always triumphed for her. She had seen enough of grief to understand her own reactions, which in itself, was not something to take pride in. Though she may be accused of coolness, the look in her eyes was too wearied to be denied. "Thank you, and whatever guided you to arrive when you did, my lady. We were blessed to have you available to Liliana." *

Kendrew: "Help me..please.." He whispered, taking hold of his squire. Legs felt like two pieces of solid oak refusing to be pushed or pulled. He stumbled on rising, wincing as the tightness in his chest prohibited a deep breath. The lungs spasmed, shuttering the chest in concave as the pike was dug into the stones to move him forward. "Lucius, I will..not..let ye die.Mark tha'. " He nodded with severity to punctuate the action. Dedicated to a fault, it was evident that at the loss of his brother he lost apart of himself that he would not pull up for fear it would never be comprehended. His woes, his sorrows, his deepest aches went unspoken while the lot on the surface was all that was revealed and thought enough. The year - the season - the present, was eating away at him so much that it broke him down to tears. A grown man did not cry, or at least before others, but he couldn' t help it or many things anymore. Remembering himself to a point, his utterance of "Thank you" was sincere, if not vunerable. Putting his hand to the door it opened again as if the watch were set, though the upright man who lef twas replaced by the man who leaned on his weapon. Tears moved down his face as he went through the actions of leaning his pike against the wall. He need only look at the sleeping form of his wife to be moved to such tears that he turned his head from view. Slipping into the bed, he merely held her, lightly, yet determined nothing would break or take her, not even the wind. (d)[/font]

[Sir Kendrew Campbell]

The Story of a Life, Untold - Part I.

Note - When reading this, and the following passages, the writing is done in the following following perspectives of third and first. They are broken apart, so that you, the reader, see what the knight is telling his wife and what you, the reader, are learning of at that given moment. There will be things that Kendrew does not know or things he only knows vaguely of.

Liliana was quiet. Her sleep was deep with no movement, and he did not know if she heard the words he said. Snow fell in thick, unforgiving plots that built up on the windowpane. Frosted glass hazed the world just like pain hazed his eyes. A great man knew no sleep. Riddled with worry, infected with heartache, he found his only comfort in speaking to his sleeping wife. If any heard him they made no mention of it. Only the close were allowed into their chambers. Only the close may have heard him speak of what he knew.

" I am the third man with my name, why only the third, who knows. M'mother said I was named for a good man, as was m'father and his before him. All I know of best of all is earth..and making things grow.."

-.-.-.-

The life of Kendrew began as a story that was simple: "Once, a child was born. He was a boy-child, the eldest, and the first." Expectation and anticipation came with him from the birth passage out to the world. He was not born like a babe of legend, from the moon, stirred in a cauldron. From a mother's womb and a father's loins to live in the village of Dumfries, in the Dumfrieshire of Scotland. He was not as wild as a Highlander, nor had the concerns or elegance of the Lowland clans. It was here nor there really. His mother was a farm wife, his father a farmer, and he the son of good people who were the salt of the Lord's earth.

Kendrew Laren was the third to bare such a name, first his grandfather, his father, and now he. It was said that the name became a tradition in honor of favorite to the chieftain of the highest Campbell families. This man would bring piece between one end of the family and the next, he companioned the chieftains to hunt for boar, and lived a life that saw him leave a legacy of four sons and five daughters to his honorable credit. He had a house in Argyll in the shadow of the chieftain's castle that was high but not higher than the walls, for want to not outdo the glory of his Laird. People talk and stories change. Some say his house was magnificent while others touted that he was too humble to live in a house at all! He took only praise but no treasures. A smile but no mantles for his merit. Either begger-priest or warrior-at-arms, his name was good enough to bestow three times.

The sire of the knight never told his son that he had ever been more or less than a farmer. From one plot of land to a place of acerage he grew. Once he had no more than a garden, a barn with a lame horse, a cow, and three coppers in his pocket. By the time he bore his son he had a home with five rooms, a large barn, acerage, and was preparing to by for himself two horses to put towards the plow. How he came into possesion of his good fortune is as much a story as any, and this is how it went:

Kendrew Laren mac Campell was the second to hold the name as his own. He was wrapped in the colors of his sirname and baptized in God's house. Of all the Campbell seats to be born in, God saw fit to give him the glory of Argyll to craft a shadow that went behind his high stone height. His father was a man who could through marriage and blood claimed relation to members of Clan MacLeod on the Isle of Skye, and other households of Campbell repute, such as those from Lochaber. He was of the sort who's family had once been servitors, the educated members of a chief's household, who followed the bride to her new home and became members of the new clan. His father, a man of the land, tamed the wild rough patches of unforgiving rocks. Healthy things grew in the earth where salt-water lochs ruined plain root. Truly, his father was a man with the touch of Eden in his fingers. Because of this he was given ample land near Argyll. Placed close to Castle Inveraray, after the building of his home he took a bride that the chieftain chose for him. His wife came from Dumfries, born and reared a woman of good Christian quality to children of the Lorne lot who swore fealty to Campbell. This made them of the clan by oath. At the wedding it was said the bride blushed in such a way as to turn the loch the shade of a rose. People say many things. But it was agreed that one could not find a better pair.

Such an arranged match brought much joy to him, and when his first son was born it is said that the Tanist came with swatches of tartan for his craddle, white lace for his christening gown, and the wishes of many.

He knew many things, but the magnitude of favoritism shown toward his father by others was not readily discussed.

-.-.-.-

My father spoke to me often o' being a good man, a simple man:

"Humility will keep ye heart open n' free of envy, jealousy, and vice," he was once told by his father, "Your mother n' I would rather give our children the food of heaven than' the gluttony of this world. Remember this and you will want for nothin'."

-.-.-

In this, his father was proven right. To care nothing for the glory of man and all of God gives one the finest of what life may offer. It is appreciated, but never taken for granted.

He knew that his grandfather, and father, and the men before each had gone to the service of kith or king. As with all first born sons he learned both his father's trade along with the skill of arms he had to give him. A sword of course was there to learn. To ride served both the warrior and the farmer off to fair, but the truest mark was with the shield and spear.

-.-.-.-

This is why we are pikemen..:

"Once there was no money for steel, so a father could not give his son a sword to take to war. He had no money for neither horse, saddle, n' garb to array him, so he would walk in plain clothes. What he could give him was a shield that had been in the family for years. It was old, worn, and he was mocked for keeping it. All he could do was to fashion his son a staff, and with this, offer a spear as a weapon. For this, too, he was mocked. They called him ole legion man, like the sort that stood guard on the wall. But with only these things, he amazed his company of fellow men, and made a name for himself. We may be the last sort of spearmen but the spear is another name now: pike. The staff has an axe on it, scythes, crooks. The old is new again."

-.-.-.-

He was a young boy of only ten years old, he went on the road to follow the warriors of the king armed with the knowledge that went with the spear in his hand. His father had found a way to make it so that the tip could be taken out, so he put it in his pocket. He followed his father in company and then traveled without him when the man was injured too greatly to go to war anymore. With his two hands, this staff, and the bit of sharp on the end he made use of himself delivering the messages of great men and poor men alike. Trapped once between dead men and the enemy, he had only a banner's broken point to defend himself with. He was eleven, perhaps twelve. On finding the men slaughtered, the arriving company watched as the boy slew the two men who wanted to kill him for the contents of his pouch.

Among that company was a friend of his father. Henceforth, he traveled then with that company so that he was watched over when the eyes of kin could not. The man was simply called Henry. It was Henry who saw that between home and company, he was educated to be of use. If he would deliver the messages, he ought know how to read them. If he held parchment, to write letters and numbers. The mind of his pupil was adept, and in time he found both sons of Kendrew the II in his tutelage. Kendrew, the third, and his brother younger by a year, Roric. With company familiar he saw Kendrew open from the quiet, shy boy to a laughing youth who was scolded for the tricks he played while those who punished him laughed behind their hands of the boys who galavanted on stolen sorrel mares, grew to romance girls in many a village, and did excellent in battle.

Roric was a fine soldier, cool, with a sophistication his brother didn't have. It was established at the young age that Roric charmed a woman to the bed with pretty words while Kendrew charmed them with merely his own presence. Be they shy or robust, the young men were of use to the front. A credit to their father's legacy, no two finer footman could be found. Be it with pike or polearm, it was an extension of strength. By Bannockburn, both were made into knights.

-.-.-.-

"What it was like to see the King Bruce at Bannockburn field? Liliana, if Mary appeared before you, if all you admired follow after, how could ye not fall to your knee and thank God that you lived to see such a sight? Then, we fought for our freedom, poor and broken, and emerged, whole, and knowing that our people was a free people. It mattered not what others thought. Oh no. Roric n' I smiled as the sword was tipped over us by the knights we'd saved, and then by the King who demanded the honor."

-.-.-.-

To be continued

[Sir Kendrew Campbell]

The Story of a Life, Untold - II.

The day of his knighting ceremony, Kendrew Campbell was twenty-five years old. He had beeon of service since he was ten and so saw in fifteen years a dream come to be that he never realized he had. Secretly, though wondering long at it, becoming a knight was not something he vyed for. He as a footmen, and good at it. His skills triumphed even those of his brother, and he was extolled for it. His virtues were honorable in spades but war does not give a man fifteen years to think so much as in all that time he acted so that he might live all fifteen years from that moment till this. His brother knelt one man over. The person between them was no matter as each brother still saw his companion smile in the glint of the king's sword. In 1314, two brothers who were little more than yeomen's children became Knights of Scotland as it suited The Bruce to have it so.

-.-.-.-

Kendrew watched her sleep. He did not know how long it had been. Oh, he had his ways to keep measure of time. A length of sun or strip of shadow, the feel of the air all told him more than the gongs of the hour did on the tower in the city. The quality of light in the room, too, mattered little as all that seemed to worth his attention lay in silent repose in his arms. The wool tunic bunched beneath her body, and he did not bother to smooth his attire.

"Now a knight, but nay less what I was before. Only now there was a mantle for m'arms, a sword in my hands. The horse I had purchased with near two year's worth of ages was made as spry as you ever could see, n' m'brother and I were each given one from the stables of the King's own Marshall. Roric was proud of his horse as was I, and what did we do? Why, we road them out to the fine cities in the South and even down to the first villages over the border to England. We paid coin for drink, food, and women. Roric was insatiable, where as I had but three, m'thinks. If it offends yer eyes, my wife, forgive me. A simple man yes, but nay a gelding was I..so. Well, Roric was tossed hence out of a home for bedding a man's virgin betrothed, so twas time to go home. We presented our horses to our father, gave my mother and sisters new cloak and dress each. We helped sow the crop, and in that time we remedied m'brother's ways for a time by giving him a wife. Mary Rebecca was a woman for whom a bell tolls to remember her in honor. Mary Rebecca, like m'brother, is gone now...but this is when they lived."

-.-.-.-.-

In Dumfries, there was a hamlet where a small joining of houses were built, and in them resided the family of another farmer. Having made his fortune as a second born son, and all his own had come to live with him, they built a house upon a plot of land to reside there. Mary Rebecca was the third child of the father, himself a second child, and her mother, a fourth and youngest. Her father had four elder sons and three daughters, of which of these girls she was the last. In this her prospects for marriage relied souly on a man who could afford her without the addition of so grand a dowery, nor could she wed before her other sisters lest it give the family a sense of shame.

Kendrew walked beside the hamlet often with his father, the senior. The two farmer fathers would take drinks with their eldest men in tow, and it was in the hopes of arranging a match for his steady, good first son that the second was given a bride by happenstance. He had no desire to marry among the hamlet women but would look them over for the respect of his father and insistance of his mother. In doing so, he noticed many qualities in Mary Rebecca that were similiar to that of his own brother. The youngest, and the fairest, she had no shortage of suitors but was unmarriagable due to being "unruly" when in truth she merely expressed her unhappiness. She bore a similiarity to Roric by way of her incredible mind, and in seeing how the two could talk, jest, and the effect to make him mild and calm, he insisted his brother have the right to wed before him. His brother was twenty four, the bride fifteen, and for a time they were happy.

War does things. No matter how good, kind, or witty his bride was as the years wore on Roric had an appetite for the untainable that he could not quench. "I married her because it pleased me to do so, in pleasin' our father. I love her, yet not as I ought. So brother, what is worse. To live in the way a husband ought with her and lie, or be dishonest in vow but honest in m'self?" They argued often over the matter, but in a way did love one another. Mary bore him two children. Roric loved them, and Kendrew, too, took joy in the life they brought. It was because of these two gifts and her steadfast patience and friendship that they led a life, Roric and Mary, unusual but with no less respect.

"M'brother was a rake. Still, we loved him no less for it. He was a good man in that he cared for his children, reared them, and them along with Mary wanted for nothing. He gave her a fine home in which to reside and two servants to help her with the chores. This is rare for farm folk, but he claimed she was worth each coin spent."

His sister Lara would marry well and end up going to reside for some years in the land of Normandy. As best he could, Kendrew would travel towards every year and half to sojourn with them a number of months. He would, when given leave to do so, go home, too, and sit often with Mary Rebecca while the children played. If ever a man lived that loved every member of his family it was him. There was a place in his heart that wished for the things his brother recieved with ease but thought that a man who sowed more war will than crops ought not, or would not, wed. So the first born son would inherit the home he was born in, the farmland around it, and when the time was right would return home to live his days in ease.

"It was not tha' I did not wish to marry, no, only that it did not seem to be within m'reach so it wasn't to be dwelled on. I had m'share of dalliances with painted women, but the need did not rise up often. Liliana, in that time I did not marry for she whom I would have married were it possible was already so. Once, before Bannockburn became the field of battle, it was where a some men took their rest. Some clanswomen and travelers came down to offer us food, drink, and such things. Roric looked up from his whetting stone work and noticed two fine women, with intent to stare longer than he should. He asked of one and I of the other, but for once I spoke loudest! "The one with the gold in her hair.." but he tells me she is married, sae I say, "Does she have a sister? God is good, m'brother..." and for once a wish o' mine at that age did come to pass, for the sister was not married. Little good it would prove to do me. Och, women fuddle m'tongue. They always have. She was good, n'virtuous, n' never have met such in a woman who was o' the older ways. M'mother would have fainted to know tha' but did in time, come to love her when I took her hence to meet her as she traveled by our way with her people. Her name was Moyra nic Aberdeen, n' she went on to marry and and lose her life in childbirth. I had known her for many years, and Beathag does nay remember. Now I know why, and it is cruel wot was done. But she was good to me, too, but it was Moira. I loved her, Liliana. A part of me that is young always will. She bore me no ill will any of m'days."

-.-.-.-.-

In his lifetime, beyond the ken of his heartspace, he has only ever loved two women. Liliana Campbell is the dream he never thought to know come to life, and it was Moyra who told him it was possible. Life did not mate them, but it bonded them as fast friends. He traveled often to her, spoke well of her husband, and as if she were his own sister made sure that the daughter she had already had enough to begin her dowry. He knew that she was the daughter of both Scotts and Dragonship folk, and marveled at the knowledge she humbly spoke of. The harp her sister played was admittedly better than her own, and closer to the talent of their mother, but he still loved her best for the lullabies she played. Her death effected him deeply and closed off even further the possiblity he would ever marry for many years.

[Lady Liliana Campbell]

Kendrew's words, his presence, was a comfort that could not be described to Liliana. She heard every word, though spoke on none, as she allowed him to soothe her mind. The sorrow roaring inside her was hard to calm and sleep was a sweet blessing. It came often, wrapping its gentle arms around her, and took away the pain of reality. A reality where Kendrew and her had lost their child. Deep inside Liliana had begun to want that child so very badly. In dreams she could imagine touching its tiny hand, watching Kendrew play with it, and being a family. Sometimes it was a boy and others a girl. And then, other times, there were two of them. One of each.

Now, there was to be none.

The fever disappeared within a day or two, a good sign indeed, and the bleeding had stopped shortly after Aislin's handiwork. She slept, resting and staying in bed, as directed and rarely found herself without some sort of company. Though Liliana did not talk much. Mostly, when awake, chocolate eyes were constantly focused on a wall or the fire. It was as though she had no motivation to do anything...

And she didn't, truthfully.

In her mind she raged, blaming herself for every bit of it, and spoke not a word aloud. If only she'd eaten and taken better care of herself. Not sleeping, not eating, worrying constantly...all of it was her fault. Sitting there, for once alone, though not for long she was sure, Liliana picked up a book from her bedside and tossed it, hard, at the wall. The loud THUD it made in the room echoed for a bit after and tears, sobs of pain, followed from the exhausted soul upon the bed.

Liliana had been through much in her young life. She had thought the pain of loss would not occur after marrying Kendrew. He had brought a light into her world and when returned to her after Aberdeen, things had seemed to look up. Especially when she'd found out about the child. It was as though fate had released it's cruel gasp to allow her a chance at more happiness...and then it'd ripped it away.

The cup used for drinking followed and the bowl of soup that had been brought to her earlier. Liliana was angry and hurting, and her grief was making her want to hit something. The wall would suffice. Noise would be heard outside the room from any walking by or whoever was coming to sit with her.

"Why...why...why..." That single word repeated, demanding an answer that was likely not to come...

[Sir Kendrew Campbell]

"Just the chance that maybe, we'll find, better days."


Kendrew: A man stood in a hall of a castle on a winter's day studying the tapestries. He had seen them more times than he could count, but each time he looked that them with renewed interest he was given the unknown to consider. In representation of old face, a place more recent than others but still old was beneath his fingers. If the woman he looked at were real, than the hair under his hand would be thick auburn. A boy, too, had the same, and no more than the age of the Aodhan was he here. Not a scholar or a man of great opinion, what Kendrew derived was more based on what his eyes told him. What he had seen. "I know who the lady is, so this must be ye, as a lad."

Caldean: Caldean didn't understand how himself as a boy mattered to the history of this place. Still, he hardly fathomed the role his quiet mother had taken in a high and sordid history of politics, family, and untimely death. "Aye, sae tha' it would be. M'Lady Mother, me. N' there is Beatha, Brycean, Moira. M'father is in a few images 'ere, tae. I can't tell ye how unsettling this all is, m'lord." The stone opened up in the King's Way to reveal a man too determined to die. How do you live with the weight of this, though. So both of them kept company. Both tried to understand the other.

Kendrew: "For that I am sorry. There is naught to be done of it, but to look at it, n' live on. This is your family now, n' it is hard, but not so bad. Our lots are similar. I dun nay fathom Campbell matters. No, I lie. I do now. I just dun nay like them in the least.." (d)

Liliana: Wandering the halls, not alone, as always, was the Lady Campbell and family. She oft wandered the halls now in the company of Kendrew's Mother, talking of women matters or in companionable silence. Liliana had not had a mother or a female presence about aside from her sister, in her younger years, and briefly Adira, in her older to offer comfort, love, or advice. She had to admit that it felt delightful. The woman soothed fears and worries quite easily. "This castle is so...large...that sometimes I still get turned about in them." Laughing softly, chocolate eyes looked around to make sure they were going in the right direction. To see Kendrew. (d}

Kendrew: The sound of man's laughter was hearty against the delicate songs of what the women lent to the world. Caldean had made a novel joke on how names befuddle the lot of them, and they should all only have one. Couldn't it be a church edict? Slapping his hand against the man's shoulder, the other fellow did the same only for each to be a jovial sight when the Lady Campbell looked up. Follow their laugh! Listen around bends. This was the easiest way to locate anything in the wide, strange architecture of Griffin Castle. "Aye, lad! Though the way things are goin perhaps we should only be shorter still. Shall I be Ken then?"

Caldean:"Aye, Ah'll be Cal. We'll gae tae the tavern n' nay one will know!"

Kendrew: To drink an ale in any sort o' peace is askin' for a piece tae much!"

Caldean:"Hope ye were nay prayin' tae the one called Mary. Tis a matter o' men."

Kendrew:"Ha!" Weeks had gone by, and the Lord Guardian hadn't so much a smile for but a breath. Only now both sides were supported high on the heels of humor.

Dona Campbell: Mother Campbell, Dona,muttered, "Two mules brayin' in the barn after the farmer's gone away. Ye wouldn't fancy a pair o' asses could talk." Beneath the soft parchment of eyelid lowering a wink was given. Her hair may be peppered with long strands of steel and white, but her wits were sharp. (d)

Liliana: The game was afoot, so to speak. Feet moved along at a quicker pace, though not too quick so to accomodate the age of her companion, as Liliana felt a bit giddy. It was his own laughter that made her smile widen and such joy was a sight not often seen of late. Coming around the corner, tempering her pace a bit, Liliana raised a brow and looked at Mother Campbell with a grin,"Indeed, one would not. Especially as we women must see they get attired properly." Biting back a laugh, her smile still wide and eyes sparkled, she looked at Kendrew. (d)

Dona: Dona stayed a step back behind Liliana on custom of looking about, not dallying. "Now dun worry o'er me. Don't ye do it. I can keep up tae ye spry steps, m'girl. Strength happens on a farm ye ken." She could still pitch hay, bend over to gather wheat, and tend the animals. An acre was nothing to walk across if a wagon was a luxury. This life as it was had become a luxury that Dona would have never imagined in her wildest imaginings. Oh certainly, her boys had left home. Done right and well by themselves. Money was plentiful from their sendings and they wanted for nothing, but this was by no means the country. "Mm. M'son has married a fine philly. Lovely, good 'earted, n' spry, too! M'hope is girl he will nay bore you to death."

Kendrew: For his part, Kendrew did his best to remain interesting and alive during their marriage! His years mattered little in Liliana's company. To be frank, little else mattered at all! "Look there, women." No doubt the women would laugh over that later, much as the men did so freely now. Ceasing in his revels, he went to pay salutations to his mother and wife (d)

Liliana: Even now Liliana could recall the bothersome talk of the two women who'd helped her get prepared on her wedding day. Dona's words reminded her of those women, making her laugh softly, though now she did not blush at such wordsor even get shocked. Being compared to a horse should have been an insult, but...it was not. They were lovely creatures. "Oh, I do try not to let him dull me to tears. Sometimes though..." Shaking her head, sighing softly, Lilianatried to pull off the pitiful look and failed at the words of the men. Laughing softly, she let her husband greet his Mother first, as was proper, though was eager for her turn as well. (d)

Kendrew: "Kendrew! There is matter to have with ye now, yer wife is young and spry. Do nay become an old man afore your time and make her eyes water just for want of something to do." Firm, controlled tone and a shake of fingers at him made him only chuckle as he kissed her cheek, "Aye Mumma. I will nay bore m'bride. Such sage advise ye give." Next was the turn of his Lady Wife, who remained proper but he yearned to take in his arms! It was a rare moment when laughter could be held instead of sorrow in the palms of their hands. "Hello, wife." He said plain, simple. Loving. Opening his body out, he drew the man who had been his company inward. "M'lord, Caldean, this is m'mother, Dona Campbell, and my wife, Liliana." --

Caldean: When Kendrew parted from him, the distance between the family and himself felt infinite, if only for a few feet that it was. Remaining with a smile to his face he remembered a time in his life as tender as this. He took hand to closed fist, pressing it to his chest and affording a bow as men of service did. He intended to be that - to fight for what was worthwhile for it was his fight now. Still, it did not mean he didn't yearn for the people that had gone before him. His mother was only an image on windows and walls now, a still form in stone case. Half of his generation had long since become funerary ash. "A pleasure tae meet the family of m'savior." (d)

Liliana: Such proper behavior, a proper greeting, was enough to drive Liliana a bit insane. She wished to greet her husband the way a wife should, to hold him in her arms, but did not more than smile warmly and nod her head,"Your Mother is a wise woman. Now I see where you get it." Turning her attention to the man who was now introduced, yet had been left to stand outside their familial circle, she curtsied slightly,"A pleasure to meet you, m'lord." Liliana did not recall having seen this man around, though something about him was...familiar, and yet she was just as polite and friendly. She did not want him, a friend of Kendrew's, to feel not included. (d)

Caldean: "Yer wife n' mother are lovely women. Campbells must gae through great pains tae lock up their women at night," He grinned and found that Kendrew's mother did much the same. What was one to expect? Great expections from recent risen dead? His thick brown hair swayed unbound infront of his face. Still, his eyes were not undeterred to see all through sea-green orbs who's jewels were set in a regal face of the reigning household. "I should nay keep you from yer kith. There is another tha' may wish similar company. Can nay keep leaving 'er to the company of idiots tha' be called nobles round 'ere. M'ladies.." He bowed once more. "M'sister has need o' her younger brother tae lighten her mood a wee bit."

Kendrew: "She'll be in her personal place, library or in the East Wing." Two places that housed one key person were the instructions Caldean considered as he plotted a course through the confusing length and breadth of the castle. In his exit ,Kendrew considered to himself, "He looks a'much like the old Harper n' the Heir.." Lady Campbell had no reason to ponder these things. Bah, wasn't there enough! Roric and Kylie were children in need of distraction and opportunities to open their world again, and Laura, her daughter, was but only one pair of hands. The children missed their mother, Mary, and their father had been dead for sometime now. She slipped to considering this and the possibility of land of her own to plant on while viewing the same tapestries that intrigued so many. For her, it was only the colors. The pictures, and no semblance to the past. Yet for Kendrew, suddenly the past became everything. It was the key to the future, a key that he could not lose! Bringing his arm around the waist of his wife, he pulled her gently to him inspite of himself (d)

Liliana: Two places that any in service to the Duchess knew well were hers. Liliana offered a nod of farewell, a smile, and glanced to Kendrew with raised brow. As if to ask, what secrets have now been unearthed, my love? Such was her way of late, to have heard much and yet missed more. Her aim was to start paying attention to the life going on around her and to become, and remain, part of it. The living must continue to live and let the dead be at rest. Such a thought was easier to think than to do, but...she had to. For her family. Aye, hers. Not just Kendrew's anymore. Allowing herself to unresistingly against his side, letting his body support her weight, she smiled softly,"The family grows yet more. Perhaps such brings hope in troubling times." Simple words, yet ones to encompass more than just the appearance of Bess's brother. It was meant to address their own woes as well. (d)

Kendrew: "From yer lips tae God's ear. Still, tis a true thing. M'mother brings smile to our faces, the children are returnin'with color. My brother's son is hearty n' his daughter is a pearl. M'sister speaks quite fond of you, too. What magic you used to ensare my heart has taken hold of them." He pressed his lips to her temple. From the sword, the other hand slipped until it was able to lock with the other at her waist. Parting both hands only to rub at the cloth on her hips, he looked to where it was she looked in order to try and see as she did. "There are many questions, still tae find. Tha' is what it means to grow a family too. To seek, to find. Sometimes tis nay always easy but there is a reason for it..as it is." On the latter he spoke of the Aberdeens and those that came to be family with them. Each time the family grew, it was by heartache and things never uttered. Truths that could never be said by those the living wished could say them. When his mother ambled toward her not so distant chambers to see to the others of the family, he could speak more freely. "When I was below, I found two livin' amongst all the dead. Caldean is of Aberdeen, n' he has a nephew with him, Adair. He is Eamonn's, Beathag's, and Caldean's nephew, the son of their dead brother, Brycean.Caldean is Beathag's younger brother, n' bound by blood n' way, he may as well beh Eamonn's too. Maubrey got his hands 'pon them." (d)

Liliana: "Your family has helped in the process of healing my heart, as have you. I find it hard to think maudlin thoughts when surrounded by such love." Liliana was reassuring him that though part of her still ached from their loss, she was getting better. Her own arms snaked around his waist, hands clasping at the other side, just above the hilt of his sword, as she listened to him. "Aman came to see me. His words...his presence...brought comfort I could not have expected. They have helped much." The man who saved her life from the cold waters held a place in her heart as well. Though Kendrew's part was larger as he'd saved her in many more ways and healed wounds that had long ate at her soul. "I have come to accept that there is a reason for it all. A test, perhaps, that God has chosen to give us and I will not fail. I will live, Kendrew, that I promise you." There was strength in her words, in the lines of her face, as she smiled at her husband and then falling silent she listened. Maubrey. Once again that man had brought pain to Bess and Adam's family. "Will he never be stopped?" (d)

Kendrew"There's naught maudlin about you, lass. Love is a gift. It is good to hear ye happy.." He looked down on her to see the truth of the assurance. Color where once was snow on her cheeks. Light in her eyes when it had gone dark. The colors in Kendrew's world had drained when life in his wife's body had gone away to leave a barren, sad woman whom he did not know would mend. From her own lips she said that life would take over her sadness. One had but to look and see it had. "Ah. I've feared tha' m'duty worried ye n' I left ye with too large a burden to carry. I worry for you, and will do what e'er you ask to make life good." He had instructed staff to his wife and family : specifically so that she would not be alone in tending their whims or needs. For all he could do, it was what he couldn't that disturbed him most. At the mention of Maubrey he nodded, "Aye," recalling the last battle at Fieldren Fields, and the starved, frozen madmen unleashed from the passages gave him pause, "Tis almost done. Soon, twill come to bare." Liliana and he both shared a fated destiny: to be saved from the sea. Aman-un-Din was a man to be thanked if his infinite wisdom had room to mend her in all that he had to do. Like others in service, time of repose was rare. Quiet was doubted, and today was a day of ensured ease to be adjusted too. His hands trecked gently up her back, rubbing slow, methodical circles. "Twill come to bare" (d)

Liliana: "It is good to be happy..." Liliana meant that more than anything. She had let her sorrow take over and take her to a place that had not been visited since falling in love with Kendrew. This man had saved her in ways others: would never know or fully understand. "Your duty worries me as it worries any other whose loved one goes to fight in this war. I will worry, Kendrew, for I love you dearly. Yet, is not that my lot?" At one time, Liliana had found such a lot hard to bear. Now though there was no censure, no sorrow, but acceptance. She would worry, but inside she was vastly proud of her noble husband. Nodding softly, decided to turn talk away from Maubrey, she murmured,"Ihave considered approaching the Lady High Scholar on the matter of the children's education." (d)

Kendrew: "Ye think they'll be apt tae lesson? They are nay fool's children at all, n' Roric takes tae a few things with the other lads. Maybe somethin' will give him a footin' in his life. Better one than his father or I e'er dreamed of." He was proud of his wife, taking a concern for their niece and nephews upbringing, their well-being. "After the war is past, I will turn tae findin' the family a fittin' home. Land is my due now, n' we may take a place fer ourselves nay far from here, but open enough fer the lad n' lass. Country children dun nay dae well in walls. M'mother n' Lara will be wishin' land tae tend, n' ye wish a place tae make bread, iffn I remember," Plans for a better life would dawn a good day when Kendrew could stand on the threshold of his own land again. Was he so on par with the likes of the Lord Marshall or even the Lord General, to seek the same? For the first time in their meeting he turned her for a taste of the sweetness on her lips that coated words. "Sae ye'll have it, come spring." (d)

Liliana "I do think they will. Even if not it would give them something to do. They have lost a Mother, love, and I know well how it feels to lose a dear parent. Having family around does seem to help them," That was something Liliana was not familiar with,"yet I think they still could use more to take their minds from it. It will also, as you've said, give them a better footing. I want to give them both an education that will allow them more options than they know what to do with in life." Liliana had grown close to her niece and nephew. Even they were a healing balm like no other. Talk of land, of a home to call their own, had not been discussed since the night laying in bed when she'd held their child inside and yet it did not bring sorrow now. Only joy and hope. "I would much like that..." Returning his kiss, her whisper matched his own,"Come spring..." A promise, signed in love, made by both in a way. (d)