Chapter 7 - After the Storm

In the morning, Heledd remembered little of the night before, but her thighs were sticky with blood and seed, and the bed of flowers was flat and sad looking. Gurdilic lay naked in her arms, and she gave a little whisper of thanks that her Horned One had been him, although she understood now that if it had been some 90 year old man, it would not have made any difference. She and Gurdilic had not coupled; the Goddess and the Horned God had.

Glancing around, she saw with some shock that her own mother had fallen asleep with her arms around two boys no older than Heledd. Her mother, though she took the ritual seriously, was not a great lover of men, preferring to take women into her bed. Perhaps the God and Goddess had given her these smooth-faced boys as a consolation for her trouble?

She didn't see Rhonwen or Salenn, and was a little worried. Her movements, though slight, had stirred Gurdilic, and he sat up, bleary-eyed, glanced down at his cock, and looked at her in shock. "I…?" he started, but his voice cracked with dryness caused by the potion and howling and whatever the Horned God had done within him.

Heledd laughed. "Yes, you. You were my Horned One, and were you ever horned!"

He blushed. "I don't remember much…"

"It's alright. You shouldn't remember much. Come on, let's go down to the water and wash up," Heledd laughed. He got to his feet and offered her a hand, and they walked, still nude. At the water's edge, they were not terribly surprised to see Rhonwen and Salenn a little ways off, knee-deep in the water and laughing. The friends were soon in a four-way water fight, splashing each other, and despite the oddness of the night before and the weight of duty that Heledd felt settling over her, things were back to almost how they'd been before.

That evening, they ate together under the watchful eyes of Heledd's and Rhonwen's mothers - although they were old enough to take part in the Beltane ritual, they were not going to be allowed to participate in such activities on a regular basis yet.

"Mother, I remember something strange the Goddess said to me last night," Heledd started, but her mother looked shocked.

"She spoke to you?" asked Rhonwen's mother, and glanced at Heledd's mother.

"Is that not normal?"

"No. And whatever she told you, keep to yourself," snapped her mother, looking angry. Perhaps the Goddess never spoke to her. Giving up power was hard for her, and this may have been too much to hear.

After that, the adults had busied themselves in conversation, and the four friends huddled together and played a game of naming potion ingredients. As usual, either Rhonwen or Salenn won almost every round, laughing, until Heledd suggested the team up, boys against girls. That evened things out a lot.

In the morning, there was a flurry of activity and last-minute trading, but the festival was over and the crowd had begun to thin out. People who lived nearby wanted to hurry home, to tend farms and homes. People with greater distances waited to get on the road. Gurdilic had come with a witch who lived near him, and she was ready to leave.

Heledd and Gurdilic shared whispered goodbyes out of sight of the others. Gurdilic had kissed Rhonwen's hand warmly, and he and Salenn had hugged heartily, promising to meet up again soon and all four had promised to send messages to each other frequently. Soon they were three, and Heledd had to remind herself not to stare off to the west, toward Cornwall, where Gurdilic's family lived.

There was still business to take care of, as Heledd and her mother met with the other elders and discussed Heledd's training. Heledd felt bad, knowing she would destroy the order, as the Goddess had told her, but for now, she had work to do.

In the morning, their band left, and a few days later, Salenn's group parted ways. Before he left them, he offered Heledd a small gift, a basilisk scale on a ribbon, "a gift for the next leader of our order," he'd said. He gave Rhonwen a metal comb, saying "One day, I will give you something more beautiful," and then he leaned forward and whispered into her ear. Without a word, she puller her belt knife out, reached up and sliced a lock of her dark brown hair off and, coiling it into a ringlet, placed it in his hand.

"I'll need to find some way to keep this close to my heart forever," he said, smiling, though there was a glassy glint in his eye, and then he turned and jogged off after his group, who were already on the road.

After that, the girls had walked, hand in hand, and Heledd told Rhonwen about the Goddess' prediction. Rhonwen was quiet that day, and in the morning, when their mothers could not hear them, said "I think you and Gurdilic are the end of the old ways, and Salenn and I are the beginning of the new. You carry the ancient cup, and in the ritual, you were the chalice and he was the sword. That's the old magic."

"So, we're the tradition," said Heledd slowly, thinking about her friend's words. "My old witch blood is hearth magic and he is wild magic? But he's born of non-magical folk. Wouldn't you expect him to be a new guard?"

"Yes! But Salenn was always talking about pushing the boundaries of magic, parting ways with the old ways and finding new ways, while Gurdilic so embodies the old ways that the Horned God chose him to embody. Salenn is an inventor of spells and every time we talked alone, I felt so full of life and a desire to create and experiment. Your mother would never approve, but I think it's the way of the future."

It was Heledd's turn to be quiet, as she thought about this. Finally, linking her arm with her friend, she grinned. "As long as were always friends, I think we can do anything we want to."