Page 81 of The Dragon Ring

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A chorus of agreement buzzed around the watching crowd.

Dubricius blustered. “Only God can decree the next High King, God and the Council. This object is a pagan idol. It must go.”

Theodoric bent his head to Arthur’s ear. “Why don’t you try? You have as much right as any man. More than most.”

Arthur shook his head. “Not now. I’m no Cadwy to make a fool of myself. Look at him. He’s belittled himself in the eyes of his people, whatever Dubricius may say. They’ve seen him fail. His quest to become High King is over. When the time is right, I’ll know, and come back here and draw that sword from the stone. The sword is marked for me.”

And he turned on his heel and led us all out of the old forum and back to our horses at the Domus Albus. While the rest of Viroconium was still busy trying their hand at the impossible, we were riding out of the eastern gate, onto the road toward Din Cadan.

Chapter Twenty-Two

As there wasless urgency about our return journey to Din Cadan, we took our time. Each day we rode only thirty miles, which, after the headlong rush north to reach Uthyr’s deathbed, seemed easy stages. Euddolen and his family, whose safety had been promised by Cadwy, along with Morgawse and her baby, rode with us for the first ten miles in a heavy ox-drawn wagon until we reached their country estate.

Morgawse seemed to have taken to me.

“I wish you didn’t have to go back to Dumnonia,” she said, as we stood together in the outer courtyard of Euddolen’s villa, under a leaden sky. I felt awkward, because I didn’t feel the same way about her. The baby being held by Cutha, the midwife, might have been the reason for that.

“You saved my baby’s life,” Morgawse said, throwing herself into my arms and clinging on with the strength of a limpet.

I prised myself free of her, and she flung herself at Arthur. “Send Theo back as soon as you can,” she gushed. “I need him more than you do.”

Theodoric received her next enveloping hug. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Come back soon.”

It was an emotional farewell, on her part, at least. We remounted our horses, and with much waving from Morgawse, and Albina and Cloelia as well, rode out of the villa courtyard and onto the road south.

The end of the first day brought us back to the hostelry at Caer Luit Coyt, and on the second, we progressed to another small town, Alauna. The hostelry there was smaller, and, as the inhabitants found it hard to house all our warriors and horses, they were glad to see us on our way the next morning.

At the end of the third day, we stopped at a villa near the ruins of Corinium, then headed south toward Caer Baddan and the dubious hospitality of Bassus for the next night.

The weather deteriorated to depressing rain that soaked through to our very bones and made riding uncomfortable. But the five days on the road to Din Cadan allowed me to get to know Arthur better, in person instead of just in bed.

Due to my new status, Merlin no longer flanked me, and I took pride of place at the head of the column, riding side by side with my husband. He’d shrugged off his serious demeanor like an unwanted cloak. Instead, he seemed light-hearted and buoyant, even on the most miserable of days, and realization dawned on me that he was probably no older than I was.

He was an informative and interesting companion. Once he discovered I knew next to nothing about the surrounding countryside, he took great pleasure in telling me about it. An abridged version, I guessed, composed specially to entertain me, making even the longest day seem short. And the more time I spent with him, the more I liked him.

Loved him?

Did I? Could it really be love, or was he my safety net? A very personable and charming one, but a safety net, nevertheless. I couldn’t tell. If I still loved Nathan, how could I be in love with someone else? But Arthur made me laugh. He made me happy. He made me feel safe– this last being the most important to me, a stranger in a strange land. Craving the security he could give me, maybe I was guilty of mistaking that for love. But whatever it was, it felt good.

On the last day of our journey, with the sun breaking through the heavy cloud cover, the bitter wind finally died. As we left the Fosse Way to ride toward Din Cadan, I realized with a start that I would be sad when this journey ended. I no longer looked on Din Cadan as the only haven of safety. Arthur had taken its place, and when I was with him, I felt safe. But at Din Cadan, his kingly duties would separate us, leaving me alone and vulnerable again.

What bothered me the most was the fear that he might not feel the same. I couldn’t forget that goodbye kiss he’d given Tangwyn, or the loving way he’d held little Llacheu in his arms. I liked the little boy, but he and his mother were now my rivals. Which made me wonder if Arthur could ever love me in the way I wanted. He obviously desired me. In fact, he desired me every night, and I desired him. But desire wasn’t the same as love. As unsure as my own feelings were, I was doubly unsure about his.

The drizzle had cleared a couple of miles back, and the plain before us, scattered with its myriad of little farmsteads, lay grey in the late afternoon light. Smoke rose from every chimney to hang pungent in the cold air, and here and there herdsmen were driving their animals home from pasture, to pen them safely up for the night. The threat of wolves wasn’t just an idle one. The evening we’d ridden into Alauna, I’d heard them howling in the distance. As a big party of mounted horsemen, we were safe, but flocks of sheep or goats, and herds of cattle were not.

Din Cadan’s bulk rose from the plain before us, and behind it the hills rolled away into the mist. Our road wound between the fields and began its climb to the summit.

“Are you glad to be back?” I asked Arthur as we rode abreast on the narrow road, his warriors strung out behind us, the last of them still at the foot of the hill.

He smiled. “What do you think? I left them as a prince, here by my father’s grace, and I return as their king. This is all mine now. I’ve the freedom to do as I choose.”

But what would he choose?

I twisted in my saddle, but the hump of Glastonbury Tor was invisible. Instead, I looked up at the gates coming into view as we neared the summit. This was where I’d longed to get back to when we’d been on our way to Viroconium, but now, who knew?

The gates swung open to shouts of welcome from the guardsmen on the walls, and we rode underneath the gatehouse and into the fortress.

Despite the cold and the lateness of the day, every inhabitant had come out to welcome us home. We rode up the cobbled road to the Great Hall amidst a crowd of men and women, their children nearly getting under the feet of our horses. At the stables, we dismounted, and there followed a confused period where the warriors found accommodation for all the new animals. I think I’d expected Arthur, as a king now, to have a groom to look after his horse, but he knuckled down and cared for it himself. Which meant his queen had to, as well.