The Swordswoman - Books 1-3

Chapter 1-1

There had always been the ocean. It surrounded her, stretching as far as the hazed horizon in three directions: north, west and south. To the east, on a clear day, she could see a faint blue line that Mother had told her was another place called the Mainland of Alba. Someday, she promised herself, she would go to that other land and see what was there. Someday: but not today. Today was an ordinary day, a day for milking the cow, tending the hens and scouring the shore to see what gifts the sea had brought. She looked again, seeing the rough grassland and patches of heather dotted with the lichen-stained rocks that lay scattered all over Dachaigh, her home island.

High above, the blue abyss of the sky was cool with the promise of coming spring, fresh as the ever-mobile sea, decorated with frisky clouds blown by the ever-present breeze.

Melcorka mounted a grassy knoll and her gaze, as so often before, wandered to the east. Over there, on that side of the island, was the f*******n Cave. It had been a temptation ever since Mother had banned her from even going close, and she had ventured there on three occasions. Each time, her mother had caught her before she got to the entrance.

"Some day," she promised herself, "someday I will see what is inside the cave and find out why it is forbidden." But not today; today, other more urgent matters demanded her attention.

Lifting her skirt, Melcorka ran across the belt of sweet Machar grass that bordered the beach. There was usually some treasure to pick up: a strangely shaped shell or a length of driftwood that was invaluable on this nearly treeless island, or perhaps a strange fruit with a husky skin. As usual, she ran fast, enjoying the sensation of the wind in her hair and the shifting crunch of the shingle beneath her bare feet when she reached the beach. A shower of cool rain washed her face, seabirds swooped and screamed overhead, and the long sea-breakers exploded in a rhythmic frenzy around her. Life was good; life was as it had always been and always would be.

MacharMelcorka stopped and frowned: that mound was new. It was on the high tide mark, with waves breaking silver around the oval lump of dark-green seaweed. It was no seal, no strayed animal of any sort; it was long and dark, with a drag mark where something had hauled itself out of the sea and up to the edge of the shingle. Now it lay there unmoving on her beach. For a second, Melcorka hesitated; she knew, somehow, that whatever this was, it would change her life. Then she stepped forward, slowly, lifted a stone to use as a weapon and approached the mound.

"Hello?" Melcorka heard the nervousness in her voice. She tried again. "Hello?" A gust of wind whipped her words away. She took one step forward and then another. The mound was longer than her, the length of a fully grown man. She bent toward it and dragged away one of the trailing strands of seaweed. There was more underneath, and then more again. Melcorka worked on, uncoiling the seaweed until what lay beneath was visible.

It"s only a man, Melcorka thought, as she stepped back. It"s a n***d man, lying on his face. She had a second look to ascertain if the man was fully n***d, looked again out of interest"s sake and came cautiously closer. "Are you still alive?"

It"s only a manIt"s a n***d man, lying on his faceWhen the man did not answer, Melcorka reached down and shook his shoulder. There was no response, so she tried again with more force. "You crawled from the sea, n***d man, so you were alive when you arrived here."

A sudden thought struck her, and she checked his feet and hands. They were all equipped with fingers and toes. "So you"re not a merman," she told the silent body, "so what are you? Who are you?" She ran her eyes over him. "You"re well-made, whoever you are, and scarred." She noticed the long, healed wound that ran across the side of his ribs. "Mother will know what to do with you."

Lifting her skirt above her knees, Melcorka ran back home across the shingle and Machar, glancing over her shoulder to ensure that her discovery had not risen and run away. She ran through the open door. Her mother, Bearnas, was busy at the table.

Machar"Mother! There"s a man on the beach. He might be dead, but he may be alive. Come and see him." She widened her eyes and lowered her voice. "He"s n***d, Mother. He"s all naked."

Bearnas looked up from the cheese she had been making. "Take me," she said, touching the broken pewter cross that swung on its leather thong around her neck. Although her voice was soft as always, there was no disguising the disquiet in her eyes.

A couple of small crabs scuttled sideways as Bearnas approached the body. She looked down and pursed her lips at his scar. "Help me take him to the house," she said.

"He"s all n***d," Melcorka pointed out. "All of him."

Her mother gave a small smile. "So are you, under your clothes," she reminded her daughter. "The sight of a n***d man will not hurt you. Now, take one of his arms."

"He"s heavy," Melcorka said.

"We"ll manage," Bearnas told her. "Now, lift!"

Melcorka glanced down at the man as they lifted him, felt the colour rush to her face and quickly looked away. The man"s trailing feet left a drag-mark in the sand and rattled the shingle as they hauled him home. "Who do you think he is, Mother?" she asked, when at last they lurched across the cottage threshold.

"He is a man," Bearnas said, "and a warrior by the look of him." She glanced down at his body. "He is well-muscled, but not muscle-bound like a stone mason or a farmer. He is lean and smooth and supple." When she looked again, Melcorka thought she saw a gleam of interest in her eyes. "That scar is too straight to be an accident. That is a sword s***h, sure as death."

"How do you know that, Mother? Have you seen a sword s***h before?" Melcorka helped her mother place the warrior onto her bed. He lay there, face-up, unconscious, salt-stained and with sand embedded in various parts of his body. "He"s quite handsome, I suppose." Melcorka could not control the direction of her gaze. What she saw was less embarrassing this time, and just as interesting.

"Do you think him handsome, Melcorka?" There was a smile in her mother"s eyes. "Well, just you keep your mind on other things. Have you no chores to do?"

"Yes, Mother." Melcorka did not leave the room.

"Be off with you then," Bearnas said.

"But I want to watch and see who he is…" Melcorka"s protest ended abruptly as her mother swung a well- practised hand. "I"m going, Mother, I"m going!"

It was two days before the castaway awoke. Two days during which Melcorka checked on him every hour and most of the population of the island just chanced to be passing and casually enquired about the n***d man Melcorka had found. For those two days, Melcorka"s household was the talk of Dachaigh. After the man had awakened, Melcorka"s household became the centrepiece of the community.

"We"ve seen nothing like this since the old days," Granny Rowan told Melcorka, as she perched on the three-legged stool beside the fire. "Not since the days when your mother was a young woman, not much older than you are now."

"What happened then?" Melcorka folded her skirt and balanced on the edge of the wooden bench that was already occupied by two men. "Mother never tells me anything about the old days."

"Best wait and ask her then." Granny Rowan nodded her head, so her grey hair bounced. "It"s not my place to tell you anything that your mother doesn"t want to share." She lowered her voice. "I heard you found him first."

"Yes, Granny Rowan," Melcorka agreed in a hushed whisper.

Granny Rowan glanced over to Bearnas. Her wink highlighted the wrinkles that Melcorka thought looked like the rings of a newly cut tree. "What did you think? A n***d man all to yourself… What did you do? Where did you look? What did you see?" Her cackle followed Melcorka as she fled to the other room in the house, where a crowd was gathered around the stranger, all discussing his provenance.

"Definitely a warrior." Oengus waggled his grey beard. "Look at the muscles on him, all toned to perfection." He poked at the man"s stomach with a stubby finger.

"I was looking at them," Aele, his wife said with a smile and a sidelong look at Fino, her friend. They exchanged glances and laughed together at some secret memory.

Adeon, the potter, grinned and sipped at his horn of mead. "Look at me, if you wish," he said and posed to show his sagging physique at its unimpressive best.

"Maybe twenty years ago." Fino laughed again. "Or thirty!"

"More like forty," Aele said, and everybody laughed.

Melcorka was first to hear the groan. "Listen," she said, but adults who are talking do not heed the words of a girl of twenty. The man moaned again. "Listen!" Melcorka spoke louder than before. "He"s waking up!" She took hold of Bearnas" arm. "Mother!"

ListenThe castaway groaned again and jerked upright in the bed. He looked around at the assembled, staring people. "Where am I?" he asked. "Where is this place?" His voice was hoarse.

As every adult began to babble an answer, Bearnas clapped her hands. "Silence!" she commanded. "This is my house, and I alone will speak!"

There was instant silence save for the stranger. He looked directly at Bearnas. "Are you the queen here?"

"No, I am no queen. I am only the woman of the house." Bearnas knelt beside the bed. "My daughter found you on the beach two days past. We do not know who you are or how you came to be here." She gestured to Melcorka. "Bring water for our guest."

"I am Baetan." The man swallowed from the beaker Melcorka held to his lips. Pushing her away, Baetan tried to rise, winced, and bobbed his head in greeting. "Well met, woman of the house. Please bring me the head of this place."

"There is no head of this place. We do not need such things."

"What is your name, woman of the house?" Baetan sat up higher. His light blue eyes darted from face to face in that crowded room.

"I am Bearnas," Melcorka"s mother said.

"Bearnas. That means bringer of victory. It is not a name for a farmer, or a woman." Baetan slid out of bed, swayed and grabbed hold of the wall for support.

"It is the name I have," Bearnas told him calmly, "and you bring shame to my house by standing n***d in front of my guests."

Melcorka suddenly realised that she was not the only female in the room who stared at Baetan"s body. She felt the colour rush to her face as she looked away.

The man paid no heed to Bearnas" strictures as he straightened up and faced her. "I have heard that name. I know that name." He took a deep breath. "Are you related to the Bearnas? The Bearnas of the Cenel Bearnas?" Baetan"s voice was now strong.

theBearnas glanced at Melcorka before she replied, "I am that woman."

"You are not how I imagined," Baetan said.

"I am how I am and who I am." Bearnas" reply was cryptic.

"Then it is you I have come to see." The man pushed himself away from the wall. "I have a message for you."

"Speak your message," Bearnas said.