My parents were very surprised when I showed up at their front door.
"What happened?" my mother asked. I was wet, tired and hungry.
"I'd rather not talk about it." I mumbled. She held up a dry woolen mantle, which I wrapped my self in. Rain continued beating down on the thatch roof, and in one corner, a bucket sat, catching the drips.
Eleri promptly served me a bowl duck stew. Gladly I ate. Merlyn sat opposite me, a worried expression on her face. I smiled up at her after I finished my meal.
"I'm okay, I promise." I told her. She nodded, and smiled meekly. I could tell she didn't believe me. My mother stood over my shoulder and whisked the bowl away when I was finished.
My father came from the back, where he had been gutting fish. He embraced me, smelling of sea salt. I hugged him back. In a way I was glad to be home, despite the circumstances that I came home in the first place.
"Go, rest." my father whispered in my ear. Gladly I obeyed. My bed was the same as I had left it, unmade, with the quilt hanging over the footboard. Exhausted, I threw my self on the bed, and fell asleep right away.
I woke to the smell of oatmeal. Rubbing my eyes sleepily, I pulled back the curtains. My mother was slaving over the stove. I smiled at her and sat down at the table. She placed a steaming bowl of oatmeal in front of me. Then, taking off her apron, she sat down next to me.
"I'm glad your home, honey." she smiled at me. "But please, darling, why are you home so soon? Did the Queen heal that quickly?" her smile grew. "I'm so proud of you."
Ashamed I turned away. Sensing my discomfort, my mother stopped questioning me. Giving me a quick hug, she went to wake up Merlyn and Eleri, who were still sleeping.
I decided to take a walk along the shore, maybe into the woods. My father had already left, going to the market to sell his fish.
The waves crashed calmingly on the beach, the sand swishing around my feet. I sighed; thinking of my mother's face when she thought I had healed the queen. How long would it take for news of the queen's death to reach our isolated little village? Pushing that thought away, I veered off into the woods.
The morning sun shone through the branches, creating little ribbons of light. A rustle in the leaves above me startled me. I looked up.
Epona sat in the tree looking down at me.
"You're back early." she remarked, casually sliding down the tree next to me.
"The queen's dead." I stated matter of factly.
"I know." As if reading my mind she continued. "It's not your fault you know."
I looked up at her. "Not my fault?" she shook her head.
"Then why is she dead!" I cried out. "if it is not my fault, then why did she die?"
Epona brought her finger up to my lips. I fell quiet.
"Some things, my dear, are beyond your control." she told me.
"Yes and I hate it!" I announced angrily. I turned my back to her.
"I understand Redynvre." she placed a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged her off.
"How could you. You are a goddess. There is no limit to what you can do." I turned around at her and looked at her accusingly. "If you knew she was dying, why didn't you save her? Or at least wake me so I could try!"
"Even a goddess is limited in her ability. Once the queen was dying, I had no control. Death is beyond the reach of even the immortals." she sighed. "Do you still have the mirror?" she asked. I nodded mutely. "Get it."
I turned and ran towards the house. Quickly rummaging through my bag, I grabbed the mirror and ran back out.
"Redynvre?" my mother called. I ignored her and kept running.
I reached Epona, who was waiting for me.
"Show me the mirror." I pulled it out from under my dress, where I had hidden it from view. I gave it to her. She held it close to her face, and whispered a dweud y gwir into the smooth face of the mirror. Then she handed it back to me.
"Show me the truth." She said simply. I took the mirror. "Look into it." She commanded. I looked into it.
At first, my reflection stared back at me. Then the shiny surface began to cloud, and my reflection disappeared from view.
In place of my reflection, was a dark, dingy dungeon. A torch was hung on the wall, casting a faint light around. A pair of shackles hung on the wall. Hanging next to the torch was a large, gold rimmed mirror. From what I could see, it was similar to the one I held in my hand, only larger. Then Maeve entered the room. She stood in front of the mirror, and made a motion with her hands. Her lips moved, but the mirror conveyed no sound, so I did not hear what she said. Suddenly there was a blast of smoke, and a man appeared.
The man had dark black hair, and black eyes. In the torchlight, they seemed to flicker red. Maeve began talking to this strange man. Then she waved her hand and he disappeared.
Maeve left the room. The image faded, and was replaced by an image of the Queen's bedchamber. I saw myself leave. The clock on the wall showed how the mirror speeded up the time. Maeve crept in and poured a clear liquid into the Queen's cup of water, which sat on the bed stand. Then she crept away.
A lady in waiting came in, and gently poured the liquid down the queen's throat. Everyone left, and time was speeded up again, to when the Queen died. She was surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting. Maeve sat in the corner, seeming to admire her handiwork.
Then everything faded, and my reflection returned.
I looked up at Epona in horror. Maeve poisoned the Queen!
"You couldn't stop a bit of poison from killing the queen?" I asked.
Epona shook her head uselessly.
"The potion Maeve gave the Queen was no regular potion. Maeve herself is a dark goddess. In fact she is my sister." I gasped. Epona continued, "The potion given to the queen was fortified by none other than the Devil himself."
Okay a note to my reviewers. Thank you all for reviewing and please don't cease. I enjoy hearing the comments about my stories and how i can make my story better. just keep in mind that i wrote this entire story last summer, so the entire thing is written, i am just uploading it in intervals. Because of this you will not see any changes from the suggestions you make since i don't have to time to go through the story. Still continue with the constructive critisism however, because even if it won't show in this story, it may show in some of my other stories.
so review, review, review and give me your thoughts!
specific note to sophianwin: about the old inn thing. I original planned to use Tuathla as a character who would be important later, but i later decided it, but never took the chapter out. so that is that. and i love your criticism, just keep in mind my note above if you don't see changes.