Page 80 of The Guardian's Bride
Peering over his shoulder, Rowena saw gleaming gold and silver and a long blade of shining steel. “What is this?” she asked, breathless.
He stroked a hand over the items nestled in wool and silk, a gesture of reverence. “The regalia of Scotland.”
“But—how is this here?” Sinking to her knees beside him, she gazed at the objects nestled in plaid and silk: a golden circlet with fleurs-de-lis in beaten gold attached to the band; a silver rod with a polished sphere and decorative finial; and a magnificent sword that took up the length of the narrow box.
Aedan lifted the hilt from its fabric bed. The blade was brutal and beautiful, sharp and shining, with a grip wrapped in tooled leather, and a straight cross-guard. And the pommel—
She gasped. “The stone!”
“I thought you might recognize it,” he murmured.
Set in the pommel above hilt and cross-guard was a round, polished sphere of nearly transparent crystal, held in place by silver bands etched with designs.
She touched the cool crystal with a finger. “It looks like the Rhymer’s stone!”
Aedan nodded. “When I saw your charm stone, the resemblance struck me. We need to see them together.”
She stood and plucked the crystal from her purse, holding it out to him. In the flickering light, the charm stone reflected golden sparks from the lantern light.
He got to his feet, lifting the sword from the box to hold it near the charm stone. The pommel crystal flashed golden incandescence from the lantern as well, the light shimmering within.
“Even the silver bands are similar, as if done by the same smith,” Aedan said.
“They are like twin souls, these crystals,” she said.
“Krystallos.Quartz,” he said. “The Greeks called such stoneskrystallosand thought they were chunks of ice turned to clear stone. The Saxons and Scots called themquerertz.I read that in a treatise on naturalscientia,” he explained with a little smile.
“Grandda told me the same! He would have liked you, I think. He also said his charm stone came from the faery realm, which explained its healing magic. Now I wonder—he said something about faery stones, though I did not understand at the time. Perhaps both stones came from the Otherworld. They are so much alike.”
“Could be.” He balanced the point of the sword on the floor, grasping the hilt, looking like a king himself, tall and magnificent and powerful.
“Where did this sword come from?” she asked.
“It was kept in Castle Black, but its origins are uncertain. You see, the Scottish regalia was stolen by the English and carted off to London,” he explained, “so when Bruce needed to be crowned quickly, new regalia was needed. A goldsmith crafted the crown in a hurry, ordered by the Bishop of Scone, who had hidden some things from the English—this scepter, some banners. But a crown and sword were essential for the kingmaking ceremony. When I brought my niece to Scone, I brought the sword too.”
“Why was it at Castle Black?” As she spoke, she dropped her stone into her purse.
He tilted the sword, looking down the gleaming length of the fuller that lessened the weight of the steel and channeled blood in warfare.
“It is said in our clan that this ancient sword was used by King Macbeth of long ago. He was kin to the MacDuffs, you see. After his death in a clash with Malcolm Canmore, who killed him to grab the crown—he was husband to the sainted Margaret,” he added, “a MacDuff brought the sword here. But we do not know where Macbeth got it.”
“And you brought it to Bruce. It seems so fitting.”
“Scone is the place for the regalia, but that is not safe now. Bruce entrusted these things to me. I could not leave them in the castle hall, and could not reveal to anyone that I had them. So I brought them down here.”
“Aedan,” she said, as the truth struck her, “you are truly the guardian of Scotland. A member of the guardian council, aye, but more than that, you guard the symbols of sovereignty here, hidden in this humble place.”
His fingers flexed on the hilt. “You and I know it is here. Bruce knows, but he does not know exactly where it is. I will tell him when next I have the chance.”
“But you needed to see that it was safe. That is one reason you rushed here.”
“When I heard Edward intended to forfeit Castle Black, I knew it was possible. I worried this might be found if his men explored the caves. And that would—” He shook his head.
“Be disastrous,” she supplied.
He nodded, and raised the sword, hoisting its point to the ceiling. The crystal in the pommel twinkled like a star, giving the blade a luster of power.
“They cannot have this,” he said. “This is the sword of a rightful king of Scots. It did not need to gather dust in our hall any longer. The time had come for it to be of use again.”He lowered the blade. “Macbeth was a strong and good king, revered for bringing peace and plenty to the Scots, did you know? Poets composed verses about him. I read one of those when I was at Saint Andrews. But Rowena, there is more to this than we know, with these twin stones.”
