15. The Isle of the Blessed

"The Duchess of Cornwall, your Majesty."

"Thank you Varnum," replied Ygraine at once, setting down her quill and turning to the door in readiness.

As her visitor entered, the Queen rose smoothly from her seat and glided across the room, drawing the Duchess up from her deep curtsy. Taking the other woman's hands in her own she studied her features searchingly, smiling welcomingly to her.

"It is good to finally speak with you again Lornán," she began, gesturing to a chair opposite her own for her to be seated, "I barely spoke two sentences to you before you were whisked away to Cornwall."

Lornán stared wide eyed at the wife of her old lover and appeared unsure of how best to react to such a greeting, "You honour me ma'am," she answered at last, smoothing out the folds of her gown as she settled herself carefully, "but the pleasure of this renewed acquaintance is mine I assure you."

"Let us agree that it is an equitable meeting," the Queen rejoined gracefully, beckoning over a serving girl to fill two goblets with wine. "I trust your journey from Cornwall was uneventful?"

"It was your Majesty," confirmed the raven haired woman, inclining her head in thanks as she accepted the proffered wine, "and the rooms that you have provided here at court are most comfortable, I thank you."

"The views from that side of the castle are most spectacular," Ygraine informed her conversationally, watching Lornán calmly as the other woman played listlessly with her wine.

"Indeed they are," Lornán agreed, nodding her head briefly in concord with the Queen, "The lush forests of Camelot are a welcome change to the views from Tintagel Caslte."

"You were not contented in Cornwall?"

"In many ways, I was of course content," she replied with a sad smile, "the land itself was beautiful… but, Tintagel is so isolated…" the Duchess broke off suddenly, her eyes filling with tears as she leaned toward the Queen earnestly, "I am so grateful to be back at court my Lady."

"I wasn't aware that you had many acquaintances at court?" asked Ygraine in surprise, "I do not mean to be unkind… I simply had not heard of any associations here that would be missed in Cornwall?"

Lornán straightened herself slowly, blinking away her tears rapidly, "No ma'am but it is surprising how quickly you miss the bustle of court life," she replied hurriedly, "Besides, I am thinking also of my husband, his standing at court has suffered greatly in recent months… you must know," she added quietly, "He gave up so much when he married me."

"From what I understand of the situation, what he did was a noble thing indeed," said Ygraine kindly, "Your Father would not have you and… Camelot was…"

"No home for me," interjected the Duchess, her intonation free from bitterness, "not then."

"You have been happy with Gorlois?" Ygraine probed gently.

A sift smile grew slowly on Lornán's lips as she thought of her relationship with her husband, "He is a wonderful man indeed your Majesty," she agreed, "He has always taken great pains to care for me… even going so far as jeopardising his friendship with Uther…"

"Men are stubborn creatures," interrupted Ygraine smoothly, "And my husband is no different; their bond will grow again I am most sure of it."

Lornán drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she dwelt on these words, "Your Majesty," she began at last, tentatively broaching the thinly veiled subject of her relationship with Uther, "Please allow me to apologise for any anguish my past indiscretions may have caused you and to-"

"My dear," interjected Ygraine, placing her hand reassuringly on top of Lornán's, "I knew full well of your affair when I married Uther and I bear him no malice, so why would I you?"

"And you still agreed to marry?" asked Lornán in surprise.

"Let us not pretend that the choice of a Lady's marriage mate is always of her own choosing," she replied glibly, "But much has changed in two years Lornán and now I find myself in the happy position of loving the man my Father forced me to marry – a fact that took me by surprise as much as it did Uther I believe."

"It seems that fortune has favoured us both."

"It would seem so, would it not?" smiled the Queen pointedly, "You are a Duchess… and I am Queen."

There was no malice in Ygraine's words, simply a gentle assertion of the order of things and Lornán nodded her head graciously in acceptance, "Believe me," she replied, "I would not have it any other way."

Ygraine studied her features for a few moments, before nodding briefly, clearly satisfied that they understood each other. As she drained the last of the wine from her cup, she rose swiftly to her feet, "Will you be joining us tonight in the Great Hall?" she enquired pleasantly, "Uther is holding a feast to celebrate the recent victory at Argavenny and then all the noblemen of court are riding out to hunt Wildren."

Lornán stood and bowed her head respectfully to Ygraine, "Gorlois will of course attend but I am afraid I cannot, the journey from Tintagel has left me in much need of rest."

"I thought that you were eager to return to the bustle of court?" asked Ygraine in surprise.

A brief look of panic flashed across the eyes of the Duchess, quickly being replaced by sad regret, "That I am your Majesty," she said reassuringly, "But my carriage arrived in Camelot in the early hours of this morning and I fear I did not sleep a wink… I beg you to excuse me from the celebrations."

"Of course," said Ygraine bemusedly, nodding her head in acceptance of the dark-haired woman's parting curtsey and with that the Duchess was gone and the Queen was left alone to ponder on her strange reluctance to appear at the feast.

As the evening wore on this thought tugged at Ygraine's mind, distracting her from the festivities taking place around her. The Great Hall was a-whirl with jesters, jugglers and a whole plethora of culinary delights; but none could draw the Queen's interest.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Uther and Gorlois attempting to make idle conversation with each other and the sudden thought hit her that perhaps Lornán had not wanted to attend for fear she feel uncomfortable in the presence of the King at so public an event. As far as Ygraine was aware they had not spoken since Gorlois was given the Dukedom and even then their interaction was purely ceremonial.

Ygraine sighed deeply to herself. As re-calling Gorlois and Lornán to court had been her idea she had resolved to make Lornán feel at ease as best she could. Her intention had been for her earlier audience with the Duchess to begin to build a bridge of friendship. With the past very much in the past, of that she was now sure, she saw no reason for this not to be accomplished… and yet still Lornán would not attend the feast.

Rising to her feet, the Queen waved away the entourage that waited on her and walked briskly over to the King, smiling broadly at seeing his Majesty laughing uproariously with Gorlois over childhood reminiscences.

"Husband, I must retire I'm afraid… this revelry is all too much for me," she said, bowing her head sedately.

"So soon? Very well my love," rejoined the King, kissing his wife chastely on the hand, "I trust that you have enjoyed the celebration?"

"You have surpassed yourself my Lord," she laughed, her eyes dancing with mirth, "The talking birds were truly an amazement, Abraith is to be congratulated. When do you all depart on the hunt?"

"We shall be leaving in an hour or two," answered the King, punching Gorlois jovially on the arm, "We must show the Duke how big the beasts have grown in the last few months."

"I am told they are now three times their natural size," grinned Gorlois, "But I cannot see how that can be so, the Wildren we hunted as boys were no more than a foot in height - tell me the King exaggerates milady!"

"Oh, I wish he were," cried the Queen in genuine distress, "These wretched animals are terrorising the nocturnal creatures in the forests, not to mention the shepherds and night watchmen in the fields and villages."

"Do not trouble yourself dearest, my Knights and I shall cull the beasts and use their hides to wipe out boots."

"I will leave you to your quest," smiled Ygraine, bowing her head to her husband and accepting Gorlois' low bow before turning and exiting the great hall, her maidservant trailing meekly behind her as she went.

The raucous din of the feast fell quickly behind her as she made her way to the royal quarters. She had not gone up more than three steps of the entry way before a movement in the shadows caught her eye. There, moving swiftly between the deep arches of the market place was the outline of a figure hurrying across the flagstones. The dull red of their cloak, pulled protectively around their features, appeared a rusty brown in the light from the torches.

As the figure passed beneath the farthest sconce, they turned their head and Ygraine sucked in her breath in shock. The red cloaked figure was none other than the Duchess of Cornwall, who apparently had miraculously recovered her recent bought of exhaustion.

"Emma, there is something I must attend to," she said urgently to her maidservant in a low voice, "You are to proceed to my chambers and wait for me there, if anyone asks of my whereabouts I have gone to my bed with a head pain is that clear?"

"Yes milady," replied the girl, her eyes wide with intrigue.

"I put you under oath, do you understand?" she reiterated firmly, gripping the young girls arm to emphasis her point.

"Yes ma'am! Not a word, I promise!"

"Good girl, run along now."

Ygraine watched the frightened servant scamper up the stone steps that led to the royal sleeping chambers, waiting impatiently for her to disappear from view. When at last she was gone, the Queen looked around quickly for guards and on seeing that all was still, pulled her own ceremonial cloak around her and hurried after the raven haired woman, being careful to keep enough distance between them so as not to alert the Duchess of her presence.

In and out of the imperial residences she followed her, out of the main courtyard, passed the castle stables which were a-bustle with the imminent departure of the hunt and on toward the blacksmiths stable houses in the poorer side of town. She watched Lornán slip inside one of the stalls and begin saddling a horse, passing a few coins to the stable hand as she went.

Hugging close to the shadows, Ygraine entered the stables at the opposite end, careful to quieten her chosen horse as she approached and set about saddling him as quickly as she could. As she fastened the last of the straps in place she heard the unmistakable sound of hooves on stone pass by the wooden barred windows of the stable. Peering through the bars she saw the now familiar red-cloaked figure leading her horse quickly down the abandoned street. Realising that her horse too would make such a noise she quickly tied loose sacking around her horse's hooves, tying it off securely with some twine.

As she led her horse out of the stall and after Lonán she paused only to pick up a heavy woollen cloak left on a hook on the wall. Slipping it deftly over her shoulders and raising the hood to disguise her features she led the beast silently into the street, grateful that Lornán's activities had enabled her to enter and exit unnoticed.

Listening out for the echoing sound of Lornán's horse she was able to follow her relatively easily and as they worked their way through the streets Ygraine realised there was but one gateway out of Camelot that the Duchess could be heading for. Passing noiselessly down a side passage, the Queen led her docile horse on an adjacent route, slipping some coins of her own to a bored looking guard on sentry duty in a sleepy part of the village.

Ygraine slipped the improvised mufflers from the horses hooves then mounted the creature in one fluid movement, speeding across the open fields to the shelter of the tree-line of the surrounding woods, making her way quickly to the summit of the little hill. Sure enough, in the muted moonlight the Queen could clearly see Lornán, now also on horse-back, racing away from Camelot's walls.

"What are you up to Lornán…" muttered Ygraine to herself and she urged her steed into a gentle canter, careful not attract the attention of the rider in the distance.

On and on the Duchess rode, her apparent urgency to reach her destination making her careless in covering her tracks. Without too much trouble, Ygraine was able to make sure she never left her sight, all the while concealing herself in the shadows.

Finally, Lornán slowed her pace and trotted breathlessly up to a little jetty peaking out from between the trees at the mouth of a vast lake. Stilling her own horse in the shadows, Ygraine watched as the Duchess tied her horse to a nearby tree before making her way along the jetty and stepping down into a small boat that bobbed gently in the water. She could see no oars of any kind but seemingly without need for them, the boat surged forward in the water and soon disappeared into the inky darkness of the night.

As the minutes turned into hours, the Queen began to suspect that Lornán had taken this opportunity to escape and would not be returning at all. It was only the thought of the love that she had seen in Lornán's eyes that stopped her from returning there and then to Camelot to sound the alarm. Surely she would not abandon a husband she clearly loved… and if she would, for what? Her own people would not have her and has far as she knew she had no other affiliations in the area.

It was not until the light of dawn had long begun to bleed into the hem of the morning sky that the sound of lapping water reached Ygraine's weary ears and with a sigh of relief she saw Lornán returning. Huddled in close to her resting horse, the Queen clutched the rough material of her borrowed cloak around her, thankful for its added warmth and watched with bleary eyes as the red-cloaked figure of the Duchess disembarked from the tiny boat and hurried to untie her horse and be on her way.

In just the same way as they had come, the two women made their way back down the path toward Camelot, one serenely oblivious to the presence of the other.

As the imposing form of the castle rose up over the brow of the hill, Ygraine heard too late the sound of the hunt up ahead and before she could think of a way to avoid it, Lornán had hurtled straight into the path of the tracking dogs, her horse rising up in alarm at the snarling creatures.

"Hold!" came the bellowing cry of Sir Caradoc, instantly commanding the dogs to leave her be and return to their master.

"You there, show your face at once!" shouted Sir Leon, addressing poor Lonán sternly.

With trembling fingers she slowly complied, raising her head slowly to look at the angry circle of men that surrounded her.

"Lornán!" cried Gorlois in surprise, expecting his wife to be safely tucked up in their chambers in Camelot where he had left her before the feast.

"Whatever are you doing out here alone woman?" demanded Uther impatiently, Lornán was the last person he wanted to deal with now, especially during his precious hunt.

"I…" She stammered nervously, her eyes flicking from one judgemental face to another, "I-"

"Lornán, I concede, I concede… you are definitely the champion!" shouted Ygraine, her words cutting off the Duchess mid-sentence as she careened headlong into the fray, pulling her horse up abruptly before the King and his men, "My Lord!" she cried merrily, "How fortunate to have seen you, how was the hunt?"

"Ygraine?" said Uther, his eyes widening in shock at his wife's sudden appearance, "Where is your entourage?"

"I dismissed them," she replied blithely, smoothing her windswept hair back from her face, "The Duchess and I wished to have a morning ride together," she explained, the smile that shone out from her face not quiet reaching her eyes as she cast a veiled glare at her erstwhile companion.

"You cannot dismiss the men I assign to guard you Ygraine," fumed the King, "The land is still running with vagabonds, criminals and insurgents to the throne, it is not safe for you to travel alone outside of the castle walls!"

"Nor you Lornán," growled Gorlois, a dark frown etched deeply into his forehead.

"I apologise husband," replied Ygraine demurely, "I assure you; it was not my intention to worry you or endanger our lives in any way."

"Just be sensible my love," admonished the King, his anger dissipating at last.

"Of course my Lord," she answered, nodding with interest at the giant Wildren carcasses tied neatly onto a long pole slung between two pack-horses, "I see you were successful?"

"Of course," agreed Uther with a self-satisfied smile, his past impatience all but forgotten. "You should have seen Gorlois' face when we flushed the first beast from its hole!"

"Surprise would be too pretty a word!" goaded Sir Ector with glee, "We did warn you of their growth before the hunt you know."

"No amount of warning could ready me for that!" exclaimed Gorlois defensively, "Besides, I killed the brute regardless did I not?"

"That you did my friend," laughed Uther, "the largest of them all!"

"Do you return to the castle directly husband?" enquired Ygraine, sensing this banter could continue indefinitely.

"We shall be retuning presently," informed the King, "But first we must show the people that their forest and their feilds are safe once more from Wildren."

"Then we will leave you to your parade sire," said the Queen hurriedly, urging her horse forward briskly, "Come Lornán, I'll race you to the city gates!"

As the two woman rode toward Camelot side by side, Ygraine studied the young Duchess carefully, scrutinising her pale and agitated demeanour, "As soon as the horses are stabled, we will retire to my private chambers," she said firmly, picking up her pace, "And you can explain to me exactly what it is I have covered for."

A/N Many thanks to Mnemosyne77 for taking precious time out of her busy schedule to give me some pointers on this chapter… your opinion is gold.