7. Preseli Hills

With a grinding crunch the bow of the longboat met the loose shingle of the shore and strong arms heaved the wooden vessel securely across the stones. Uther moved up from the stern of the little boat and leapt nimbly into the cold spray of the sea, striding quickly up the beach toward the man that approached, throwing his arms wide in greeting.

"Gorlois!" he cried warmly, grasping the man's right arm in his own and throwing his other arm around his shoulders, "It has been many months old friend."

"And yet you have reached us far sooner than we ever expected my Prince," replied Gorlois, his thick brown hair buffeted by the sea air.

"There is much yet to accomplish," said Uther, brushing aside his comments with one sweep of his arm, "Tell me, how goes my Brother's battle with the Saxons?"

"There is still no clear advantage to be held over them and his defences are being weakened every day," Gorlois reported sombrely, "I will not lie to you Uther, it does not look good."

"Then we have returned not a moment too soon, we will drive the Saxon parasite from Albion and these rocks will stand monument to our strength and unite the Druids to us," insisted the Prince heatedly, "How does your venture fair? Are the stones secured?"

"Aye," confirmed the young Knight, "All eighty Bluestone rocks that we have taken from these Preseli Hills are on their way to the Salisbury plains as we speak, along with the twenty Sarsen rocks we have had delivered to us thus far. All that remains are these last ten and the Giant's Ring shall be complete and the Henge made whole."

Uther slapped Gorlois squarely on the shoulder, "That is excellent news indeed," he said, "We must ride at once to…" The Prince's words died off as he saw Gorlois's eyes stray toward the flagship of their voyage that was anchored in the bay. Turning to see what had thus caught his attention, he saw Lonán standing at the bow of the ship, her raven black hair whipping out behind her in the strong winds, a heavy woollen cloak pulled protectively around her. As the men struggled to lower the colossal standing stone behind her onto the sturdy raft below, she was helped into a waiting longboat and she settled herself at the prow, her eyes never leaving the coast to which they were headed, as it too was lowered into the water.

"So," said Gorlois softly, "The rumours are true, you have brought yourself a bride from Éire."

Uther's confident smile faltered as he saw the judgement in his friends eyes and a dark look of defiance hung upon his features instead as he turned back towards the younger Knight, "It seems the men I sent ahead of me have loose tongues," he said bitterly.

"I would not have believed it could I not see her with my own eyes…" he replied candidly, "so your betrothal to Ygraine is ended?"

"Lonán and I are not yet wedded in the eyes of God," the Prince informed him, his voice dangerously low.

"And her Father would let her travel alone?" asked Gorlois in surprise. Uther said nothing, his face turned rigidly to the sea, his expression unreadable. "Wait…" the Knight continued as realisation struck, "Dubhán knows nothing of this does he? You have absconded together!"

"She does not travel alone," Uther replied, ignoring his friend's latter statement, "Her handmaid Brianna accompanies her."

"Do not trifle with me Uther," cried Gorlois impatiently, "Has her Father approved of this or have you kidnapped his only daughter without a band of marriage and an arranged bride price?"

"You really need me to answer you?" spat Uther angrily, "You know well enough that he is ignorant of all this."

Gorlois regarded the young Prince thoughtfully for a moment, "Have you lain with her?" he asked finally.

At once Uther surged forward, grasping the Knight by his tunic, pushing him back across the shingle in rage, "How dare you ask me such a question, you step too far Gorlois!"

Gorlois shoved the Prince roughly away from him, straightening his tunic in annoyance, "We have known each other since we were mere boys Uther," he said firmly, "Do not stand there so indignant and blush as if you were a maiden for me to offend your honour!" Uther stared at him dolefully, the anger quickly dissipating from his eyes, "I ask you again my Lord… have you lain with her?"

"I have," he mumbled quietly, his eyes downcast.

"Then you are wed in the eyes of God," replied Gorlois after a moments silence, "For she can no longer belong to her Father if you have taken her maidenhead."

"I do have some honour man!" cried Uther, the fire blazing in his eyes once more, "I intend to marry her properly as soon as we reach Camelot and gain my Brother's blessing."

"You think that your Brother will support this?"

"He must," the Prince replied simply, watching Lonán once again as her vessel slowly approached the shore. Now that the longboat had drawn closer he could see how pale her skin looked, her eyes sunken and hollow, her cheekbones sharply defined in the grey light of the English summer afternoon.

Looking past the approaching longboat, Gorlois stared thoughtfully at the fleet of ships anchored before them, each one bearing the weight of a heavy Sarsen rock. A puzzled expression passed across his features as he swiftly calculated the weight and manpower needed for each one of these heavy stones and the time that it should have taken to load them onto the ships.

"Tell me Uther," he asked with genuine interest, "just how is it you managed to load these last stones so quickly? By my calculations you are a few months ahead of schedule!"

"Lonán," he said simply, as if merely stating her name were enough to answer his question, "She posses such power Gorlois, unlike anything else in all of Éire; it was something truly wondrous… to see these giant monuments of the Earth lifted into the sky as though they were made of wool…" Uther's eyes darkened slightly and a heavy look of anxiety passed across his face, "But I fear the effort has exhausted her," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

"Her strength has not returned?" Gorlois asked in surprise, "Your journey must have taken many days; I wonder that she is not revived by now?"

Uther said nothing, the silence stretching out between them oppressively; the young Knight's eyes searching the Prince's for a sign of what may be troubling him.

"There are… complications," Uther said at last, his eyes fixed firmly on the progress of Lonán's boat.

"What is it?" he asked. Still Uther could not bring himself to explain and again the silence grew louder than the crash of the waves on the rocks around them. "Uther, as foolish as I believe your actions to have been, you well know that I have long ago sworn my loyalty to you… please… what is troubling you?"

The young Prince turned at last to face his childhood friend, his eyes glistening as he struggled to keep his emotions in check, "She is… with child," he managed at last, his voice catching as he spoke.

Gorlois's mouth formed a silent 'Oh' and his eyebrows rose high on his forehead as he digested this information.

"Lonán used her power to shift all ten of these last stones from the foot of Mount Killaraus to the waiting ships before she was aware of her condition… now she is greatly weakened and…" Uther grapsed his arm in worry, "Gorlois she fears for the childs life."

Gorlois looked at his Prince earnestly, then at the approaching figure of Lonán, supported heavily he noted by her handmaid Brianna, "Come old friend," he said gently, placing his arm supportively around Uther's neck, "It is a long journey to Camelot, let us see what fates await us when we get there…"

A/N - Well it looks like I've scared most of my reviewers away LOL... so here is a special shiny thank you to Mnemosyne77, Pink Koala and Foxie Roxie for being my absolute rocks when it comes to reviews and great feedback. You guys are awesome!