Boudicca, page 36
My cave lodge was filled with women, young and old. Wulffaed and her daughters took turns with women I did not know serving food and mulled mead, and by the end of the day I knew the name of each of them—and I, too, had taken a turn serving the strong, beautiful women of my tribe.
“Rhan!” I finally caught sight of my friend through the crowd of women. I’d looked for her at the bank of the lake but had lost her in the milling mass.
“Queen Boudicca,” she said after she’d pushed her way to where I was seated before the central hearthfire.
“There you are. Come, sit before me. I have a surprise for you.” Phaedra was behind me, working a wide-toothed comb through my damp hair, and I turned to her. “You know the pebbles on the table in my bedchamber?”
“I do, my queen.”
“Get them for me, please.” Phaedra nodded and went to do my bidding. I motioned to a short stool before me on which I’d been resting my feet. “Sit, Rhan.” The seer gave me a slanted look that was a clear question, but I simply smiled and pointed to the stool. Rhan sighed and sat before me.
“Enfys, Ceri—did you bathe your wolves?” Rhan asked with laughter in her voice.
My daughters sat on either side of me. Their wolves, now almost fully grown, lay in front of them, as close as they could get to the fire, their muzzles in their paws, looking waterlogged and miserable.
“We did!” Ceri chirped. “Mona and Sunne rolled in something very stinky and we decided it would be perfect for them to join us on Arianell’s Day.”
“Yes,” Enfys added. “Especially as Nain would not approve of our wolves making our bed pallets stinky.”
I laughed. “She certainly would not.” Phaedra returned and passed me a handful of pebbles. I leaned forward, showing them to Rhan. They were all tiny but of varying shapes. They were as black as Rhan’s eyes, and each had a hole through its center. I’d been gathering them daily when I walked along the bank of the lake and had been waiting for the right time to gift them to Rhan.
Rhan peered into my palm. “They look like miniature seer stones.”
“That’s what I thought, too.” Druids sometimes used much larger versions of the pebbles in my hand to focus and look beyond into Annwn. I was glad Rhan saw the similarities. “Turn around. I’ll braid them into your hair.”
Rhan’s cheeks flushed bright pink. She lowered her voice. “Oh, no. That wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“Of course it would.” And then I realized that she had never spent cold winter days with the women of her tribe dressing each other’s hair. Her mother had died when she was just a child. Addedomaros had not remarried, and then at fifteen Rhan had been sent to Ynys Môn to train with the Druids—I did not imagine they had this particularly homey tradition on their isle. “Rhan, my mother often dressed the hair of other women.”
“Yes, Rhan,” Ceri said, nodding. “Nain even braided Dafina’s hair.”
“When Dafina let her,” added Enfys.
“It’s appropriate. Today I’m not a queen. I am an Iceni woman.”
“Then I thank you, my qu—” Rhan caught herself and grinned. “Boudicca.”
Rhan’s blond hair was almost silver when it was wet. It dried quickly, smelling of rosemary as I combed it out and began braiding the pebbles into the ends of it so that as she walked they would clink musically together.
I was so content and warmed by the fire and the mulled mead in my constantly refilled mug that I didn’t notice how late it was until my daughters stood, yawned, and kissed me good night.
I blinked and looked around me as I finished placing the final pebble in Rhan’s hair. “When did the sun set?”
Wulffaed laughed as she walked past me carrying a tray laden with dirty dishes. “Some time ago, my queen. It is well past the dinner hour.”
“But none of the warriors came for a meal,” I said.
“Naw, they took one look at this lodge packed with women and decided to find another hearthfire for the evening,” said Briallen as she bowed to me. “’Twas a bonny day.”
“Yes, it was,” I said, smiling.
“On the morrow, then,” Briallen said. “I’ll see the bairns to their beds.” She followed the girls and their newly dry wolves from the cave.
“It was a lovely day,” said Rhan as she stood.
I snagged her wrist before she could leave. “Stay. Please. I wanted to talk with you about something.” I yawned and then laughed. “Though it is later than I thought.”
“Or you’ve had more mead than you thought,” mumbled Wulffaed. She winked at me, bowed, and then took the final tray of dirty dishes from the cave, followed by the last of her daughters. “’Tis snowing. Again. Get the fire in my chamber built up, Ravenna. The chill is . . .” Her voice trailed away as the muffling snow swallowed her.
“She’s not wrong,” I said, grinning at Rhan. Then I turned to Phaedra, who had just ducked out of my bedchamber. “It’s been a busy day, Phaedra. I can manage to put myself to bed.”
“Yes, my queen. There is more mead and some fresh bread and the herbed goat cheese you like so much in your chamber. Good night.” Phaedra bowed and then retreated to the little room I’d had sectioned off for her, as her habit of sleeping at the foot of my bed had become rather awkward the nights Maldwyn joined me there.
“Phaedra thinks of everything,” Rhan said as she followed me into my bedchamber and motioned to the pitcher of mead, two mugs, and bread and cheese placed thoughtfully beside it. “Would you like some more mead?”
“Why not?”
“Why not indeed?” Rhan grinned and poured our mead, and then unlaced the back of my dress.
I sighed in pleasure as I stepped out of it, pulled off the heavy winter chemise, and replaced it with one of my soft sleep shifts. Then I tossed a second sleep shift to Rhan, and clutching the mug of mead, I hurried into my bed and pulled the pelts up around me. “You should put that on and stay with me tonight. Unless you want to go out in that snow.”
Rhan grimaced. “I’d much rather not.” Her dark eyes sparkled. “I think I’ve had more mead than usual, too.”
“Here, turn around. I’ll untie your laces.” Rhan did so and was soon out of her Druid’s robes. She pulled on my borrowed shift and curled beside me under the pelt, shivering as she sipped mead and regained the warmth we’d lost when we’d left the hearthfire.
I felt no rush to talk. Rhan and I were used to sharing companionable silences. I thought about how nice it was to have her in my life again. I know it was selfish, but I was glad of the long winter. I would lose her after spring thawed the mountains and we defeated the Romans. I would keep my word. The sacred oaks on Ynys Môn would be replanted. The Druids’ island would thrive again under Rhan’s leadership—and she would no longer be at my side.
I shook off the sadness that followed that thought. Perhaps Rhan’s destiny would allow her to return to Tasceni. I hoped so, but I also knew even a queen must bow to the will of the gods.
“I’ve been thinking of the gods.” My voice seemed loud in the silence between us, but Rhan only nodded, leaned past me to put her empty mug on the little table beside my bed pallet, and then lay on her side facing me. When she said nothing, I continued. “I miss Andraste’s shrine and our trips to care for her and leave offerings. Do you think the goddess would approve if we created a new shrine to her here in the valley?”
Rhan’s fair brows lifted. “I believe she would. But I also believe the other tribes should be allowed to erect shrines to their patron deities as well.”
I drained the last of my mead and placed the mug beside Rhan’s before I lay on my side to face her. “That would be lovely, wouldn’t it? If our artists carved images of our patron goddesses and gods all around the valley.”
“Yes.” Rhan reached out and brushed the length of hair that had fallen across my eyes from my face. “That is a beautiful idea, Boudicca.”
I closed my eyes as she continued to caress my hair. “I’m glad you think so. We’ll have to consider the best time to gather our artists so they can begin the carvings.” I opened my eyes. Her face was very near mine. “I don’t think I tell you often enough how very glad I am that you are here with me.”
“You don’t have to say it. I know.”
I gazed into her beautiful dark eyes. She was my oldest, dearest friend. Since I’d lost my mother, Rhan was the only person left in this world who had been my companion in childhood. Love for her filled me with such intensity that I covered her hand with mine, stilling it against my cheek. I felt her draw in a breath and hold it as my gaze moved from her eyes to her lips. Had I noticed before how perfect they were? I did not think; I only felt. I leaned into Rhan and kissed her.
Rhan’s lips were like the petals on a flower—soft and sweet. Her body had gone very still and I almost pulled away, almost apologized, but then she released her breath with a trembling sigh and parted her lips, deepening our kiss.
I explored her mouth, loving the warmth of her silky tongue and the pleasure that shivered through my body to pool deep within me as we kissed. I wanted more. My hand found the curve of her waist and I pulled her closer to me so that our bodies pressed together. She was smaller than me, delicate in my arms, but there was nothing delicate about her passion. She moaned against my lips, whispering, “Yes . . . yes . . . yes . . .” Her nipples were taut against the soft shift and my mouth teased them through the gauzy fabric. Rhan arched, gasping with pleasure.
I pulled back, just far enough so that I could watch her face as my hand moved to the hem of her shift and began sliding it up. “Tell me to stop and I will,” I whispered as I caressed the smoothness of her thighs.
“Don’t ever stop,” she begged breathlessly.
The feel of her naked body against mine brought me such a wave of pleasure that it was my turn to gasp. She was hot and slick and we fitted together perfectly. I had never made love to a woman before that night, and the depth of my desire for her was an unexpected gift. I delighted in her body—in the scent and taste of her. It was so different from the pleasure I’d taken from Prasutagus or Maldwyn. Rhan’s pleasure seemed infinite, and because hers had no end, neither did mine. We brought each other to climax over and over, discovering secrets we had never shared before then. And as dawn crept into the lodge we finally slept, wrapped together as if our bodies had become one.
Chapter XXXV
Phaedra seemed completely unsurprised when she entered my bedchamber and found Rhan and me naked and entwined.
“My queen, the lead warriors have begun to arrive. Shall I tell them you are indisposed this morning?” Phaedra asked as she began tidying our discarded nightdresses and gathering the empty mugs.
“No, have Wulffaed begin serving breakfast, then return to help me dress.” Phaedra bowed and hurried from the chamber, and I turned to see Rhan watching me with inscrutable dark eyes. “Good morning,” I told her before I kissed her.
Her eyes changed then, softening with her smile. “Good morning.”
I was already standing and stepping into one of my heavy winter underdresses when Rhan sat. The pelt slipped from her shoulders to expose the plump beauty of her breasts. I went to her then and kissed each mound, lingering when she arched to meet me. A wave of desire crested over me, heavy and alluring, and I reveled in the pleasure it promised.
“Ahem.”
Rhan startled at the sound of Phaedra behind me, but I did not release her. Instead my lips moved from her breast to her lips and I kissed her lingeringly. “Later,” I whispered as she shivered.
I dressed quickly and Phaedra hastily combed my tousled hair and braided it into a single thick plait. Then, while she helped Rhan dress, I joined my lead warriors, who were already in the middle of a lively discussion about some kind of contest.
“Contest?” I asked as I sat at my usual place across from Maldwyn. I smiled and nodded to him, finding it interesting that the night I’d spent with Rhan had not diminished the attraction I felt for him. Actually, my body was extra sensitive and it was easy to imagine his rough hands on my naked hips as he slid into me.
“Aye!” Cadoc boomed. “And it is an excellent idea, my queen.”
“Aye,” agreed Abertha and Maldwyn together, though Maldwyn’s gaze on mine sparkled with more than just amusement over a contest.
Wulffaed filled my mug with rich winter beer, which I decided was a better choice than more of her heady mulled mead. I was ravenous and spooned several fried fish and a hunk of warm bread onto the wooden plate waiting for me. Around a mouthful, I said, “What is this contest you’re discussing?”
“One between the chiefs and queen.” Cadoc waggled his bushy gray brows. “We know who will win such a contest.”
I swallowed quickly. “Me?”
“Of course you!” Briallen said as she reached for another fish.
I looked at each of my lead warriors. “I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Adminius started it with his boasting,” said Wulffaed as she placed a full pitcher of beer on the table.
“Does everyone in camp know about this except me?” I asked.
“And me,” Rhan said as she sat in the space beside me, the decorative pebbles I’d braided into her hair clicking musically.
“Tribe Trinovantes has issued a challenge,” said Maldwyn. “They boast that no other chief can best Addedomaros in a contest of speed.”
“Speed? Like a horse race?” I frowned at my warriors. “The Trinovantes have the fastest horses. What makes you think I can beat him?”
Cadoc snorted a laugh. “Because young Adminius was brash enough to be baited into more than just a horse race. The challenge is now a test of battle skills as well as a footrace that concludes with a horse race, and the Trinovantes’ pup has wagered one of their prime broodmares, heavy with a foal out of Addedomaros’s own stallion, as a prize.”
I sat up straighter and grinned. “I can beat all three chiefs in a footrace.”
“As well we know,” said Abertha happily.
“You will accept the challenge?” asked Briallen.
“Of course she will!” said Cadoc. “Our queen will accept and win.”
“I’ll accept.” That morning I felt as if I could do anything. “I want that mare and her foal.”
“Aye!” Looking like an excited boy, Maldwyn rubbed his hands together gleefully at just the thought of such spectacular horseflesh.
“What prize are we wagering?” I asked.
“Does it matter? You will not lose,” said Cadoc.
“Your faith in me is appreciated, but it does matter,” I said.
“What if you wager a length of Wulffaed’s finest cloth? She is revered in all the tribes for her dye work,” said Rhan.
My gaze went to the Mother of Twenty, who seemed to swell with pride. “Wager it, my queen, though I do not plan on losing it.”
“Have Comux and Leofric accepted the challenge yet?” I asked.
“Leofric has,” said Abertha. “He has wagered one of their prize Catuvellauni bulls.”
“Comux has not answered the challenge yet,” said Cadoc, the amusement draining from his voice. “He mourns his wife and daughter.”
“When the Dobunni chief hears that Boudicca has accepted the challenge, he will, too,” said Briallen. “And that will be a good thing.”
Cadoc nodded soberly. “Comux’s camp feels heavy with sadness. Not even Arianell’s Day lifted the pall of gloom that hangs over them.”
“Though it helped,” Abertha said with a smile. “It helped the whole camp. I’ve missed those days with your mother and the other elders.”
“Yesterday was special.” As I spoke, my gaze went to Rhan and we shared an intimate smile. When I looked from her to Maldwyn I saw that he was watching us, his cheeks pink and his expression guarded. I met his gaze steadily and included him in the warmth of my smile, and saw the worry lines that creased his eyes smooth as he relaxed. “So, explain to me exactly what I must do to win this contest.”
* * *
The training field was a huge oblong area. It needed to be huge to accommodate our thousands of warriors. It was situated in the middle of the valley, the area that was least protected against the elements by the giants that framed our home. By now, the middle of winter, it took daily effort to keep the enormous field free enough of snow that the army could train, which was good. An idle army was a dangerous thing, but between plowing the training field, drilling, gathering peat, and caring for the extensive herds we’d brought with us, our warriors were being kept active and engaged.
“There is where you will begin.” Maldwyn pointed to the distant end of the field that was closest to the snow-packed entrance to the valley.
“See how they’re already building the tournament course?” Cadoc gestured to the warriors who were setting four rows of straw targets about midway in the field.
“Oh, now it’s not simply a race or a contest but a tournament?” I raised a brow at my shield.
The old warrior grinned at me. “Aye, my queen! When the Catuvellauni chief accepted the challenge, it became a tournament.”
I put my fists on my hips. “Well, one of you better explain what you’ve gotten me into.”
“Here’s what has come from Adminius and his boasting,” said Maldwyn. “The beginning is a footrace to there.” He pointed to a spot about a third of the way up the field, where the warriors were setting four rows of straw targets. “Where your chariot will be waiting. You’ll weave your chariot around six targets, striking each.”
“And you will be driving my chariot?” I asked Maldwyn.
Cadoc snorted. “No. Adminius boasted that his father was the best chariot driver of all the tribes, so each chief—”
“And our queen,” Maldwyn added.
“Of course,” Cadoc said, nodding. “Each will have to drive their own chariot and strike the six targets.”
I shrugged. “I can do that.”
“With more accuracy than Addedomaros,” added Maldwyn.
“Aye!” Cadoc agreed.
“It was foolish of Adminius to boast about something so easily disproven,” I said. “Maldwyn is by far the best chariot driver in all the tribes.”
