“I… your Wing?” Mare questioned. “This is the Lord’s Wing.”
“This is the wing for the Lord and Lady of this House and as I am my Lord’s Lady that makes it mine.” Abby spoke to him as if he was a child. “So I will ask again. Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“I am Master Woodworker Mare… my Lady.” No one missed his hesitation with her title. “I have come to make sure the rumor I heard was not true.”
“And what rumor is that Master Mare.”
“My Lady,” Cairbre interrupted her, “I will take my leave of you and see to what you have asked of me.”
“Yes of course Cairbre, please. Oh, and inform Master Paganus as well if you would.”
“Of course, my Lady.” Cairbre gave a quick bow hiding his smirk as he moved to speak to Paganus.
Navon and Morio frowned at him. Menawa and Oscosh had not informed them that the male was in the Wing.
“And what rumor is that Master Mare?” Abby asked stepped back granting Mare entrance to the Wing while drawing his attention from Cairbre and Paganus. She saw Paganus’ eyebrow shoot up before he nodded and lifting his Comm spoke quietly into it.
“The rumor that all the furnishings have been cleared out of this Wing.” He sneered at Cairbre as he passed, then entered the Wing only to freeze after just a few steps, a gargled sound escaping his throat.
“As you can see Master Mare,” Abby gestured around the room. “Not all the furnishings have been cleared out.”
“What in the name of the Goddess have you done?!!” He demanded storming deeper into the room.
“I have chosen the pieces I find most worthy.” Abby told him simply then looked back to see Paganus moving to stand behind her as Navon and Morio left closing the doors.
“Most worthy! Most worthy!” Mare’s voice went higher with each word. “These are pieces from that imbecile Cairbre’s ancestors!”
“Yes.” Abby maintained her even tone, it was something she had been taught was necessary when dealing with temper tantrums. “I believe it is. Isn’t it wonderful?”
“Wonderful?!!” Mare looked at her in disbelief.
“Yes, that they have survived for so long. It is a true testament to the skill of the craftsmen that built them that they have. Only someone truly gifted could have created such amazing pieces.”
“But… but… none of my pieces are here!”
“They’re not?” Abby turned innocent blue eyes to him. “Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure!”
“How strange… oh, wait… no it couldn’t have been.” Abby turned to Paganus. “Could it?”
“I know not of what you ask, my Lady.” Paganus told her formally.
“Those other pieces… the ones with all the slick, glossy black on them….”
“Yes. Yes. Those pieces.” Mare demanded and Abby’s attention returned to him. “What happened to them?”
“They couldn’t possibly have been the pieces you created?”
“Of course they were! Who else would make furnishing for the Lord.”
“Oh, but…”
“But what?!!!”
“They were so… hideous.” Abby whispered the word as if it would make the furnishing less so.
“Hideous!” Mare roared his head flying back at the insult.
“Well… yes…” Abby pretended not to notice Mare’s rage. “I mean they looked oily and… well evil if you want to know the truth. Then there was the finish used… it reflected everything as if the owner needed to see their own reflection constantly.”
“That was what was ordered! What was demanded! I don’t expect a female…” Mare’s sneer was cut off when he discovered Paganus’ blade at his throat.
Abby stepped back, but didn’t ask Paganus to lower his blade.
“I am Lord Ynyr’s Lady, Master Mare. He has entrusted me with seeing that this Wing and this House reflect him in the best light and that cannot be done with furnishing whose only purpose is to reflect his image. That can only be done by furnishings that reflect his values, that show he is a fit and worthy Lord and can provide comfort for those under his care. These pieces,” she gestured to what remained, “do that. What was removed did not!”
“But that was my life’s work.” Mare protested.
“Then you should have worked harder.” She told him simply. A knock on the door stopped her from saying more.
“Enter!” Abby called out knowing Paganus didn’t want her to open it and that he wouldn’t move from between her and Mare.
Navon pushed the doors open and taking in Paganus’ sword at Mare’s neck quickly moved to place Abby between his back and the wall, drawing his sword. “What is the problem here Master Paganus?!!” He demanded and Morio hearing his words, quickly entered drawing his sword too.
“This dung of Daco insulted our Lady!” Paganus told them and Mare paled as both Warriors growled threateningly at him.
“A misunderstanding, I’m sure.” Abby’s voice was muffled as it came from behind Navon’s broad back. “Wasn’t it Master Mare?”
“Yes… yes of course a misunderstanding.” Sweat started to run down Mare’s face as Paganus pressed his blade harder against his throat.
Abby pressed against Navon’s back and he allowed her to slide out from behind him. “Of course it was. You in no way meant to insinuate that since I was just a female that I wouldn’t understand what quality furnishings were. That just because I was a female that I wouldn’t know what was tasteful compared to just disgusting. And I’m sure you never meant to imply that since I was just a female that I was somehow less than you. You never meant to imply any of those things now did you Master Mare?”
“No, of course not!”
“Good I’m glad that’s cleared up. Lower your swords,” she ordered. “Now,” turning she saw Cairbre along with several other males standing in the entrance, holding doors, extremely large doors, their mouths hanging open. “Oh, wonderful!” The simple truth and joy running through Abby’s words echoed off the walls of the room and made every male want to hear it again. No one noticed the shimmer of hunaja that appeared in the stone. “You found them Cairbre!”
“Yes, my Lady, right where I had hoped.” Cairbre couldn’t believe they had still been there, both sets, it was as if the Gods had a hand in it.
“Wonderful. You can install them today?”
“I… you wish me to?” Cairbre asked.
“Yes!”
“What is going on?!!” Mare demanded his bravery returning now that there was no sword at his throat.
“What is going on is that the doors that rightfully belong to this Wing are being returned.”
“What?” Mare watched as door after door was brought in. “You went into my workshop! It’s the Master’s workshop! I will have your head for this!”
“I think not Mare.” For the first time Abby dropped his title. “For you see Mare, Cairbre was there under my orders and is going to be my Master Woodworker.”
“I am?” Cairbre asked in a hushed tone.
“Yes,” Abby hesitated. “If it is a position you wish. If you do not, I ask only that you hang those doors so that this Wing can regain some of the glory it once had and that before you leave, you would recommend someone that you feel is qualified to meet the demands I have expressed to you.”
Every male looked at her in shock, including Mare. She was asking? She was not threatening or demanding, but asking?
“It would be my honor to serve you my Lady.” Cairbre gave her a deep bow even though his joints popped and protested.
“No the honor is mine Cairbre, to have you as my Master Woodworker... it is a gift from the Goddess herself.”
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Abby stood at the far end of the Lord’s level and wanted to break out into her happy dance. No longer were those repulsive doors, created by Mare with the glaring ‘B’ on them the first thing you now saw from the other end of the room. Now there were solid doors made from th
e same gallchnó dubh as the bed frame, greeting you. They were unobtrusive, almost blending in with the mianraí dubh and Abby realized that had been their original intent all along. You can’t attack the Lord if you can’t find him. How stupid Bertos had been to have them replaced. She wondered if the entrance doors would be the same way. She would bet everything that was on the third level that they did.
Goddess she wished she could have seen both sets come down, but Navon and Morio refused to allow her to be on the second level with so many males that Ynyr had not cleared. At first they were not going to allow the males to enter at all, but after some fast talking on her part, they finally agreed as long as she stayed with them on the first level.
Now with them guarding the entrance as those doors were replaced Abby had been banished to the second level. Not that it was a hardship. It gave her time to study the room more.
While she and Lisa had talked generally about what to do with Risa’s things, Abby had forgotten to ask any direct questions on decorating such a space. She guessed she would just have to wing it, but she would start with their resting chamber. There were rugs and pillows and things up there that she could use, oh and she would need to have the bolts of material she’d caught glimpses of brought down.
Moving forward, she ran her hands over the silky feel of the doors and smiled. Oh yes, these belonged here. Pushing them open she entered the resting chamber and even though it was nearly empty, it felt welcoming. Smiling, she walked to the pile of sheets Paganus had brought and began to make her and Ynyr’s bed.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
“My Lady! What are you doing?!!” Paganus’ shout had Abby nearly falling off the bed.
“Paganus! You startled me!”
“Pardons my Lady but what do you think you are doing?”
“Um… Making the bed?”
“That is not a task you should be doing! It is mine!” Paganus immediately went to the other side of the bed, pulling on the sheet she had been struggling with.
“Show off.” Abby muttered, getting off the bed. “Just because you are bigger than me.”
“A great deal my Lady.”
“Yeah. Yeah. But that doesn’t mean I’m an invalid.”
“In…val…id...” He gave her a questioning look.
“It doesn’t mean I am helpless. I can make a bed.”
“Again, that is not one of your assigned tasks. It is mine.”
“So what are my ‘assigned’ tasks?” Abby asked, using air quotes.
“Um…” Paganus paused as he thought about it. Tornian females only had one task that was ever required of them… that of producing offspring, but he didn’t think his Lady would appreciate him telling her that.
“You are thinking offspring aren’t you Paganus?” And the darkening of his skin told her she was right. “I don’t consider that a ‘task’ Paganus, but a pleasure, especially with Ynyr…” her voice trailed off as she thought about just how much pleasure Ynyr always gave her. Paganus’ sudden coughing fit had her thumping him on the back. “Are you okay?”
“I… yes… I just never…” He trailed off.
“Talked about sex with a female?”
“NO! Of course not!”
“I see…” Abby tilted her head to the side. “Don’t you ever want to Join with one?”
“Of course I do! But there is very little chance of that.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because I am not a warrior and I am damaged!”
“You mean your arm?”
“Yes!”
“I don’t see what that has to do with anything. You are not a bad looking male,” Abby allowed her eyes to travel over him and realized he really wasn’t. He wasn’t for her, Ynyr was the only male she wanted, but that didn’t stop her from appreciating a good looking male. “You are also now the Master of the Lord’s Wing. Females will be swarming all over you.”
“I am nothing but a servant, as Master Mare said.”
“Bullshit!”
“I… what?”
“Crap? Dung? What do you call an animal’s waste product?”
“Animal’s… you mean caca?”
“Works for me. So I say it’s caca that you are just a servant.”
“My Lady…”
“Did you bring all Bertos and Risa’s meals?”
“Well no there were others.”
“Did you clean all three levels?”
“No there were other males who…”
“Then you weren’t a ‘servant’ and you most definitely aren’t one now. Once things settle down and the furnishings start to arrive from Master Cairbre, there is going to be a lot to do around here and you will be the one overseeing those that are doing it. You are now Master Paganus who is a fit and worthy male that any female would be honored to Join with.”
“I…” Paganus ducked his head, “thank you, my Lady,” he murmured quietly.
“I’m just telling you a simple truth Paganus.” Abby gently squeezed his arm before moving around the bed. “Okay, let’s get this sucker made and then you can help me on the third level.”
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Abby couldn’t believe how hungry she had been. She and Paganus had gotten a lot done. They had both been astonished at the number of bolts of material they had found. Abby felt like she could have opened up a fabric store. What she could have done with just one bolt back on Earth would have paid for her tuition. So they had hauled them down and stored them in one of the bedrooms until Abby could decide what she wanted made from them.
They had also moved down rugs to cover the floors that no longer seemed so cold. At one point Abby had gone to take a bite of her midday meal only to find it already eaten. When had she done that? Shrugging it off, she returned to the third level.
When Paganus had informed her Ynyr would not be returning to eat with her, she had dug into the meal he brought without a moment’s hesitation. It didn’t matter to her that she only knew what half of it was. It was food and she was hungry.
Now she leaned back and rubbed her stomach happily. It was the first meal she had truly enjoyed since before she had been taken from Earth. The only thing that could have made it better was if Ynyr had been eating it with her.
It had grown late and the sun already set before Abby roused herself enough to move. Just as she rose the Tornian moon rose, its light crossing the room to illuminate the newly replaced doors.
Slowly, Abby walked over to them and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. There for all to see was the blazing sword of Varick, crossing the entrance protecting those within.
“Why would anyone remove these?” Abby asked quietly carefully reaching up to touch the sword. Beneath her fingers was mianraí dubh, embedded deep into the wood just like it had been on the cameo. The moon moved on and the sword disappeared, but the feeling of safety and protection it left behind did not.
Walking over to the bed she picked up the kril she had placed on it earlier then looked towards the doors again. Yes, someone was definitely trying to tell them, something she just wasn’t sure what.
Chapter Twenty
Ynyr looked out the windows of his command center and couldn’t believe it. He had let time get away from him… again. After supervising the first training session that afternoon he now had a better understanding of the task that lay ahead of him and it was enormous.
The Goddess had smiled on him. The majority of first year trainees had only arrived just weeks before the Joining ceremony, which hopefully had prevented Bertos’ brand of ‘honor’ from infecting them. The rest though… they got worse the further along in their training they were. The warriors being the worst of them. Their blade and hand to hand skills relied more on brute strength than technique. Survival of the strongest was what they had been taught and the ones that had once been deemed Warriors were the worse. They consistently used moves meant to maim, pulling no blade. They might have lost a few males had it not been for the quick reaction of the Warriors supervis
ing.
Surprisingly, only a few had chosen to leave, Wasaki being one of them. It seemed those males that remained truly did want to be considered fit and worthy, they just didn’t know how to go about it. Ynyr would show them.
But first he needed to see to his Abby. Slamming the ledger in front of him closed, he rose. Goddess! He had left her alone for another full day! What must she think of him? Especially after he had promised they would talk. He had only meant to spend a moment reading over the daily ledgers, but there was so much he was unfamiliar with that it had taken him longer than he had thought.
His training had never included dealing with ledgers and supplies. His manno trained him as a Warrior, what he needed was provided, he never asked or worried about how.
Exiting his office, he moved down the quiet corridor to his Lady. Guarding the entrance were Navon and Morio.
“You were to take a day.”
“Yes, my Lord, but when we heard of the training we knew we needed to arrive early.”
“I… thank you. Two of Dai’s males will be relieving you?”
This time there was a pause before Navon answered. “No my Lord.”
“What do you mean ‘no’?” Ynyr demanded.
“My Lord, several Warriors from your manno’s House asked what task we had been assigned as we were not on the wall with them. When we informed them, we guarded your Wing and were now Guards for your Lady, several expressed an interest in the possibility of becoming the same.” Navon looked to Morio who nodded. “We chose two to relieve us tonight, Sunil and Saar.” He informed him quickly. “We knew you were familiar with them and with you inside the Wing with your Lady, believed it would be a good test for them.”
“Sunil and Saar?” Ynyr questioned. Navon was right, he did know these two males.
“Yes, my Lord. If that is not to your liking we can remain.”
“No, they will be fine, but make sure they understand it does not mean they are now members of my Lady’s Guard.”