Medieval 03 - Enchanted

heart.”
    Dominic winced. “Win her trust, and she will
fight just as fiercely for you.”
    “The thought appeals.”
    A rill of notes lifted from the far end of the
table where Ariane sat. The music was not quite a melody, but it
was melodic. It wasn’t a song, yet it sang of emotions
swirling beneath the cool surface of a woodland spring, making
shadows turn in the clear depths.
    Moments later the melody turned back upon itself,
reprising itself as surely as day and night turning and returning
in their ordained cycles. A clear whistle lifted to the notes,
twining around them, defining them.
    The piercing beauty of the joined notes stitched
through Ariane’s soul like silver needles. She turned to see
the source of the whistle.
    Simon.
    Ariane’s hands fumbled, then dropped to her
lap.
    “Play, nightingale,” Simon said.
“Or does my whistling displease you so much?”
    “Displease?” Ariane took a deep breath.

“Nay. It was the unexpected beauty that surprised
me.”
    Simon’s eyes widened, then narrowed at the
familiar surge of fire that came whenever he was near Ariane.
    Or even when he thought of her.
    Abruptly Simon stood up. He plucked off His
Laziness and set the grumbling cat on the warm hearth.
    “I’m going to test Skylance’s
wings,” Simon muttered.
    He yanked on his hawking gauntlet, strode to one of
the wall perches, and urged his hooded gyrfalcon from its
perch.
    “Aren’t you going to wait for
others?” Dominic asked.
    “I’m not a lord to require
attendance,” Simon said impatiently.
    “Your squire would probably appreciate a
chance to breathe the air of the fens and fells.”
    Simon glanced toward Edward, but it was Ariane who
caught and held his eye. She was watching the gyrfalcon with a
longing that she couldn’t conceal.
    Swiftly Simon went to his wife. The gyrfalcon rode
his arm with a quick grace that rivaled that of Simon himself.
    “Would you care to go hawking with me?”
Simon asked. “The falconer brought word of fat partridges on
the western side of Stone Ring.”
    “Hawking? Aye!” Ariane said, leaping to
her feet. “I grow weary of cold stone.”
    “Edward,” Simon said without looking
away from his wife. “Send to the stables for two horses. My
wife and I are going hawking.”
    “Alone, sir?” Edward asked.
    “Yes. Alone.”

11
    W hen Cassandra came into the great
hall a short time after Simon and Ariane left to go hawking, only
Dominic remained. On the table in front of him was an ancient Latin
text. He was reading it intently, obviously engrossed.
    A ripple of surprise and interest went through
Cassandra. People who could read the old manuscripts were quite
rare. She had trained Amber and Erik most carefully in such
reading, for the Learned had inherited a wealth of old writings
that required translation.
    Idly Cassandra wondered if she could induce Dominic
to learn the ancient rune language. Amber had little time for
translation now that she was the lady of Stone Ring Keep.
    Dominic nodded his head once, sharply, as though he
had reached some inner conclusion. Without looking up, he went on
to a new page of the manuscript, handling the parchment with a care
that approached reverence.
    “Good morning to you, Lord Dominic,”
Cassandra said politely. “Have you seen Erik?”
    Dominic looked up. “Good morning, Learned. I
thought Erik was with you. He didn’t breakfast in the great
hall.”
    “Do you know if he plans to return to Sea
Home soon?”
    “Yesterday during the hunt he mentioned
something about overseeing the building of Sea Home’s inner
keep before the first true cold came. He’s worried that thesnows will be early and stay for weeks upon the
ground this year. He said something about the geese coming early to
the Whispering Fen.”
    “Aye.”
    Cassandra stood for a moment as though listening to
something within her mind. Then she sighed.
    “Your man Sven,” she said.
    “Yes?”
    “Is he nearby?”
    “No. I sent him into the countryside,”
Dominic said. “Meg’s dreams grow more dire each
night.”
    A shadow went over Cassandra’s face.
    “Yes,” the Learned woman said. “I
talked to her in the garden.”
    “What of you, Learned? What do your rune
stones say when you cast them?”
    “I thought you didn’t believe in such
things.”
    “I believe in anything that will help bring
peace to this troubled land,” Dominic said bluntly.
    “You are wiser than your brother.”
    “I’ve had an