Chapter Nineteen; The Lady of Caer Badon.

"Where are they?" Simon asked, a little angrily. "What could possibly be taking them so long?"

Barney came down the stairs, shaking his head, obviously amused with something.

"They are both out to the world."

"In that case we'd better eat now boys." John said, handing the bowls of porridge out to them. "Will and Jane can eat together later, when they wake up."

Simon scowled tightly at that.

"How can they still be asleep?" Barney asked between mouthfuls.

"Will was certainly up until the early hours of the morning," Bran said as he entered the cottage, taking off his muddy boots.

"Oh? And why was that?" John asked.

"He was outside until after midnight." The welsh boy said, helping himself to a bowl of porridge.

"Doesn't your Da feed you?" John said, laughingly.

"He does." Bran protested. "but when you've been outside for hours herding sheep and greasing axles, you get hungry."

John held up his hands.

"I wasn't disputing that, lad."

Bran grunted and continued to eat.

"How is Jane then?" he enquired after a while.

"Asleep still." Simon said. "She seems calmer and… better than she was yesterday anyway."

"She would be." Bran muttered under his breath, so low that Barney, who was sitting next to him only just caught what he had said. "Any ideas on the telepathy she's got going on with Will?" He continued.

Barney shook his head.

"No more than yesterday. A combination of Will's blood and the power from the bracelet he gave her."

"The One." Bran finished.

"I was thinking," John's voice was soft and lilting, "of the old legend of the Lady of Caer Badon."

The boys looked at him curiously and so John related a shortened version of the tale.

"She was a pretty lass, called Juna. She lived in England, down in the south but she travelled the entire country, helping others and so on. No one rightly knew where she came from, or how old she was. One year she came to Wales and fell in love with a man at Caer Badon. For a while she settled there, bearing him a boy and girl. But her husband was killed when the children had only just grown into adults. She stayed long enough for them to have a home and then she left.

But she gave a ring to the boy and a bracelet to the girl and told them that they would protect them and in times of need, and across great distances they would be able to speak to each other." He paused slightly. "What happened to them and to her, I can't rightly say, they faded out of the legend there. But it was the bracelet and the speaking to each other that made me think of that old legend."

"What did she look like?" Bran asked cautiously.

"Neither Old nor Young, she was supposed to be one of the undying, and her power lay in a large pink ring she wore on her finger."

He stopped there, as Jane came down the stairs, wrapped tightly in a light blue towelling robe, the bracelet sparkling on her wrist. Will followed closely behind her, doing up the last few buttons on his shirt. He nodded to all of them and told Jane to sit down, while he brought their breakfast over.

He put it down in front of her, gave her a spoon and then sat beside her.

"What time is it?" He asked, as a way of diverting all the stares and the pointed looks from Bran that were coming their way.

"Ten o'clock." Bran answered, after a silence. "So, did you both sleep well last night?"

Will looked up, wondering if Bran knew about his and Jane's conversation last night. The blond boy winked at him and Will answered politely, keeping his eyes fixed upon Bran's. His gaze flickered over towards Simon, Barney and Jane who were talking in soft voices.

"Outside." He hissed and casually, leaving his bowl by the sink, the two strolled outside.

"She was watching, you know." Bran said abruptly, as soon as the door shut behind them.

"Who?"

"Jane. She was watching us as we walked out. She's a sharp one alright."

"I know." Will sighed, brushing his hair from his forehead. He wasn't sure he wanted to be discussing this with Bran.

The welsh boy leant against the fence, gently stroking the head of Pen, David Jones' he looked at Will frankly, with eyes older than his years, He didn't want to be the first one to speak, but he knew that Will wasn't particularly open about his emotions, preferring to keep them quiet inside himself. Bran had never met his family, but Will had spoken of them before, with deep affection and love colouring his voice. But when Will felt about Jane was different, Bran thought, he was becoming almost as protective of Jane as Simon and Barney were. The fair boy smirked at the comparison.

"What?" Will asked, catching sight of the smirk.

"I was just thinking that you're not going to be very popular with Simon for a while."

"Why?"

"You know how much both of them protect Jane. I'm guessing, dewin or not, he's going to be watching the pair of you very carefully. You've not been as discrete or as secretive as you think you have."

Will dropped his head, suddenly aware that his every move over the past days had been scrutinised and analysed by the brothers. Bran rested a hand on the other boy's shoulder.

"If it is any consolation," he said, "I think Barney likes you."

Will let out a small laugh.

"It isn't Barney I am worried about." He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared up at the sky, shivering slight in the cold. "Is it really that obvious?" he asked.

"It was for me, ever since last time, back at the Tree. I noticed that you always took a little more care with her. You always walked just in front of her or behind her, helping her over stiles and so on."

Will blushed, but Bran continues on mercilessly.

"And then you carried her bag out of the car and kept holding doors open for her."

"So did you!" Will protested.

"Yeah, but I don't look at her like this." He pulled an exaggerated lovelorn expression. Will punched his arm lightly.

"I do not!" He retorted.

"You do! When you think she's not looking you stare at her. And she does the same at you when she thinks no one sees. It is amazing really, as soon as you look away, she looks at you and as soon as she looks away, you look at her."

Will's face grew brighter.

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you?" Bran asked, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "She does like you Will, I'm pretty sure she is as confused as you are."

"How've you become so wise all of a sudden?" Will asked jokingly

"I've always been this way." The blond boy laughed, "You just never noticed."

Will joined him in laughter, both in relief and amusement.

John, looking out of the window smiled as he saw them acting like the boys they were. Perhaps because he was the only adult in close contact with the children, he could see how much they had matured. A bit too much, too fast, in his opinion. If another could observe them, without seeing their youthful bodies they would probably estimate their ages in the mid twenties. He sighed as his finished washing the dishes, Jane had offered to help but her brothers had instantly refused, and jumped up to do it themselves. Jane had smiled and thanked him, and them, then left the table to go upstairs and finish dressing.

Suddenly Simon and Barney sagged slightly, their smiles dimmed and they were two worried children again.

"You don't have to put on a show for her," the man said softly. "I think she might prefer it if you were worried, showing you care, like."

The bys looked up at him, tired expressions of their faces.

"You're doing well though, taking care of her." He hastened to reassure them.

Simon sighed, glancing out the window at Bran and Will who were talking earnestly and occasionally looking up at the house.

"Do you think Will likes Jane?" he asked suddenly.

John sat down again, his large hand dwarfing the mug he held.

"I know he does." He said lightly. "And he likes you and Barney here as well, just because he acts a little distant at times…"

Simon interrupted him.

"That isn't what I meant." He resumed his seat as well.

"I know, Maybe you should ask him yourself, bach. But Simon," he stopped the boy as he made to stand up and go and ask Will right away. "would it really be so bad if he did like her in that way?"

Simon shrugged.

"I don't know… I like him well enough, but for him to be my sister's boyfriend?" his face was a mixture of awkwardness, dismay and grudging approval.

"Simon," he said kindly. "The lass is old enough to make up her own mind. Let her decide."