Boudica's Daughters 5-6

5.

 

 

At dawn the great war horn was sounded. The inhabitants of the Iceni villages prepared themselves for the worst while the tribe’s warriors scrambled to their positions. At the thatched longhouse, Boudica’s guards roused the sisters. ‘Your father, king Prasutagus, is dead. The Romans are on their way. Our Queen has ordered that you must begin your punishment.’

 

They were placed in a cart and taken to a rocky cove an hour’s ride away. It was a cove that was familiar to them from many years past. Nestled on the sands beneath an isolated ridge of rock was a place known as The House of Easement. ‘Do you remember our time here, sister ?’ said Gwynned ? Siara said yes, she did remember. Cut into the red rock of a cliff, well beyond the sea to avoid the worst of in-coming tides, was a cave sheltered from view. It was here that Boudica had banished her daughters until three full phases of the moon had passed as punishment for Siara’s lovemaking with Amminus.

 

The sisters had last been here when they were girls, during that time when the moon first cast its spell, inducing the flow of blood that marked the transition to adulthood. All girls from the tribe had been sent to the House of Easement when the strange magic first touched them. They were required to cleanse their bodies and renew their spirit, to spend their days in quiet contemplation as they crossed the threshold into womanhood. The ancient priests had decreed that such girls stayed away from their families. Only when the first blooding had passed were they allowed to return to the villages and hamlets of the Iceni. But times had changed; few girls came to the hidden House of Easement now. Instead, the ritual of a girl’s first blood was decided upon by her family and the cave had since been designated as a place of punishment for those females of the tribe who had transgressed.

 

Siara and Gwynned’s escorts waited as the two princesses, wearing dresses of the harshest material and clutching their oldest cloaks around their shoulders, walked along a crooked track onto the beach. Then, satisfied that the queen’s will had been done, the escorts pulled on their reins and rode away. Siara cursed her mother for humiliating them in such a manner. In the past The House of Easement was a place where no man was allowed, be he farmer, baker, warrior or priest. It was said that any men who disregarded the sanctity of the cave would be struck down by the moon goddess in the dead of night. Now, as they stood together on the sands, Siara and Gwynned knew that any half-cut rogue or tinker-lord might be lurking inside.

 

It was mid-day when they entered the black mouth of the cave. The sound of the sea echoed within. Scattered across the sandy floor were odd remnants left by previous inhabitants – tiny carvings, shell drawings, broken wind chimes made of seaweed and washed-up bone.

 

‘Are you cold, sister ?’ said Gwynned.

 

‘Yes’ said Siara ‘I am cold.’

 

Gwynned asked: ‘What will we eat ? Will our mother make provision for us, sister ?’

 

Siara said: ‘I do not know. Our mother’s temper rises and mellows like the wind.’

 

‘Surely’ said Gwynned ‘she will see to it that we are fed, otherwise we will perish!’

 

Siara shivered. She said: ‘There is a small corridor at the rear of the cave, leading to a narrower place where wood is stored. Do you not remember ?’

 

Gwynned, despondent now, said: ‘The goddess touched me earlier than you, sister. I cannot remember all of my time here, although I am sure I was afraid.’

 

Siara edged closer to the damp rear wall. As she did so a rustling sound caused her to stop.

 

‘What is it ?’ said Gwynned.

 

‘Something resides here. Give me your knife.’

 

Gwynned did so. Siara edged forward once more. She peered into the corridor, so dark she could barely see.

 

‘Do not strike me’ came a thin voice.

 

Siara stood her ground. ‘Who are you ? Reveal yourself.’

 

The strange being rustled in the darkness. ‘I am a young girl of the Catuvellauni tribe seeking refuge in this house.’

 

Siara’s eyes adjusted; she saw the outline of a small figure crouched against the corridor’s far wall. The girl, it seemed, was very young – no more than eight or nine summers old.

 

‘I will not use my knife’ Siara told the frightened creature. ‘But you must step forward slowly, else I will strike with my fist.’

 

The girl did as she was asked until the daylight revealed her. She was small and wore a ragged jerkin and skirt. Her brown hair was long, matted with charms. Her bare feet were icy blue; her eyes dark grey.

 

Siara looked the girl over: ‘You say you are from the Catuvellauni. Why are you not with your tribe ?’

 

‘The remnants of my tribe moved West long ago’ she said. ‘I travelled to the land of the Brigantes with my uncle. Now he has perished, and I am alone.’

 

‘We are of the Iceni’ said Gwynned, standing at a short distance.

 

‘Queen Boudica!’ said the girl, suddenly enthused. ‘She is a fearsome queen. She will protect us from the Romans.’

 

‘Yes’ said Gwynned. ‘We are her children – the daughters of Boudica and King Prasutagus. Our names are Gwynned and Siara.’

 

The girl seemed uncertain of this and set herself once again into a crouching position.

 

‘How long have you been here ?’ said Siara.

 

The girl began to sieve sand through her fingers. ‘Since the winter snows, lady. Even though the moon goddess has not blessed me I have waited to be of help to any girls sent here. But none have come.’

 

‘Nor will they’ said Siara. ‘The cave is no longer dedicated to the moon goddess.’

 

‘You can help us instead’ said Gwynned. ‘We will pretend we are three sisters, not two.’

 

The girl seemed pleased. ‘Food is scarce here during daytime hours’ she said. ‘Nor is there much wood left to build a fire. Do you wish me to collect scraps from the beach ?’

 

‘I will come with you’ said Gwynned. ‘Siara will remain in the cave and call to us if any strangers are seen. Tell us your name. We must not keep secrets from one another.’

 

‘Ygerne’ said the girl who was now drawing circles in the sand with a small stick.

 

‘Come then, Ygerne – let us prepare to make ourselves warm.’

 

Gwynned and Ygerne worked quickly, returning with a haul of driftwood which they laid with the remaining logs piled in the corridor. Ygerne, clearly an expert in such things, cleared a small pit and used dried seaweed and flints to spark the fire. The three sat side by side, covered with sheepskins and pelts that Ygerne had stored outside the cave. As the fire blazed and the light began to fade the girl wanted to know if Gwynned and Siara were really princesses of the Iceni, or whether their story was a ruse. When they answered yes, they were indeed princesses, Ygerne said she thought it was strange that they had been banished from Queen Boudica’s royal house. Siara explained that a new Roman governor had arrived to speak with the queen after their father’s death; also that she had angered her mother because of her love for a handsome young warrior. Ygerne considered this, then asked Siara to describe what happened during her secret meetings with Amminus, causing Gwynned’s cheeks to turn red.

 

When darkness had fallen and the only sound they could hear was the crashing of waves a ghostly figure appeared outside the cave. Gwynned screamed but Ygerne told her she was not in any danger. It was a druidess who came past each evening to leave food and thin mead. The druidess wore a long white dress covered by a dark cloak. She was very thin and her long hair was grey. She wore many bracelets and symbols around her neck. Her face and arms were tattooed with strange shapes that only other members of that strange sect understood.

 

The druidess melted into the darkness as quickly as she had appeared. Then Ygerne collected the fish, meat, bread, and barley cakes and set it all to cook on the fire.

 

Later, when they had eaten and were lying beside the fire Ygerne asked if she could follow the two princesses wherever they might go as their servant. Gwynned, who had taken a liking to the girl, said that she could and kissed Ygerne’s forehead. Siara, feigning sleep, remained silent.

 

 

 

6.

 

 

For the first three nights Gwynned and Siara waited for the first new moon to appear. But the moon remained hidden behind clouds in the brooding night sky.

 

‘Our mother’s temper is such that she has decided upon a long, harsh punishment for us, sister’ said Gwynned, feeding the fire with driftwood. They were sitting near the mouth of the cave, listening to the gentle lap of an ebbing tide.

 

Ygerne said: ‘Is it true that Queen Boudica has the strength of twenty men ?’

 

Gwynned said ‘Our mother wears a ruby clasp to tie her cloak. The clasp has many magical powers. It can kill her enemies in an instant.’

 

Ygerne thought about this: ‘Like a fearsome eye ?’

 

‘Yes’ said Gwynned. ‘Like a fearsome eye’ and then laughed and held Ygerne in her arms.

 

Siara said nothing. Her thoughts were of Amminus – beautiful and strong and nowhere to be seen. Surely, once the new treaty with the Romans had been put in place, he would come and rescue her. Surely, he had not forgotten. And other thoughts tumbled about in her mind, concerning Boudica, Gwynned, and who would rightfully inherit the Iceni throne. Her mother had once told her about the druid prophecy, about how Gwynned was looked upon as too weak to rule. ‘But what will happen to her ?’ Siara asked. ‘Will she die ? Will the Iceni gods take her ?’ Boudica had smiled then, a smile that imparted a willing secret. ‘It is a prophecy as old as time itself’ she whispered. ‘Remember – we are all instruments of the gods, placed on earth to do their bidding. You must be bold in your actions if you wish to please them. The strongest hand to strike will always take the crown.’

 

Go to Parts 7-8 here: Boudica's Daughters 7-8 | ABCtales