Courted Sanctuary

Chapter 2

  Though Luitgard and Sieglinde had both rested, neither of them had slept. They did not talk either. They both lay on their backs, staring at the wooden beams supporting the roof.

  The morning had taken far too long to come as it was, so they did not delay in rising and dressing as soon as the first light of the sun peaked through the shutter gaps.

  Once dressed, Luitgard opened the shutters and looked up at the sky. A wisp of cloud coiled making it look very much like a wyvern. The reminder of the dragon both comforted and saddened her.

  They agreed that Sieglinde would stand watch over the village with Adalbern while Luitgard helped the priestesses check the barrier. She had made the decision while the Dominican's words echoed in her head in the middle of the night. The barrier was too important. She had to see for herself.

  She and Sieglinde finalized the plan for the barrier: what would be needed, if anything; how the task would be handled; how the groups would signal impending trouble; and what would happen if the groups never returned. They were so thorough that by the time they entered the Great Hall the priestesses and Goddess Maids, including the three tardy girls from the day before, were standing dutifully at the tables and awaiting the morning meal.

  "We will not have morning ritual today," Luitgard called as she walked to the entrance. "Grab what food you can carry without hindrance for that is the only food you will get until we know that barrier is flawless."

  The priestesses looked at each other in confusion. There had been much out of the ordinary happening. This would be the first time they did not have a morning ritual and breakfast. Luitgard knew some of them would be disgruntled when their shock dissipated. It could not be helped. Some days even nutrition and routine were not important.

  The women grabbed rolls and chunks of cheese as they scrambled to follow Luitgard, who had not slowed for them. She was already at the doors and had swung them open before the last of the girls had comprehended what was happening.

  She walked briskly to the gates where Adalbern was already waiting with the dozen men assigned to the task. He had not been exaggerating. Every last man had dark circles under his eyes. They looked too tired to be mutinous. Humbert, who was among them, held a thin pole as long as his own height and appeared to be using it for support.

  "These are the men who can still stand upright," Adalbern explained.

  She gestured at Humbert with her chin. "And him?" she asked.

  "Insisted," Adalbern replied. "He refused to let Anselm take the risk so long as Lara's pregnant."

  Looking over the sleepy contingent once more, she felt her fear strengthen. They were not a warring people, no matter how they had trained the men.

  "Perhaps we will need to add endurance and sleep deprivation to their training from now on," she suggested.

  Now, several of the men did look mutinous. Adalbern nodded firmly in agreement. "Very right," he said; the pragmatic man as always.

  Luitgard did not like putting them through so much but she knew how harsh the Church could be to those who did not bow to it. Forcing discomfort upon them seemed a small price for their safety.

  The men's anger was short-lived anyway as Sieglinde arrived with arms full of fresh rolls. She handed the first to Humbert.

  "Divide them into four groups of three," Luitgard instructed Adalbern. As he did so, she turned to her priestesses and picked a goddess maid, a mother, and a crone for each group. She then paired the trios of women with trios of men until there were four groups of six. She then sent one group to inspect the barrier of the North, one to the East, and another to the West. Those not tending the barrier were to keep watch over the village.

  She joined the group that would be inspecting the South, the direction from which the friar had arrived. The men in that group were Humbert and two brothers named Dieter and Burkhard. They were only a couple of years older than Humbert but much shorter and both blonde with blue eyes. The women were comprised of Adelina, a Goddess Maid; Hiltraud, a Mother of Healing; and Oda, Crone of the Apothecary.

  Adelina was twelve years old but small for her age. She had dark blond hair and green eyes. Hiltraud was shorter than Luitgard, though by very little. Her hair was a shade darker than Adelina's and her eyes were blue. Oda was the oldest of the Mintharch people. She had great wisdom, being only one of two still alive who remembered life amongst Christians before the founding of the village. Due to decades of being hunched over a mortar and pestle, she had a pronounced hump. She could not move quickly but her talents with the energies made her contribution essential for their task of checking the barrier. All the women in the group had some form of blood relation but none of it was recognized. Theirs was a matrilineal society and all their connections to Oda were through the men. Despite Oda's sprawling bloodline, only five people alive claimed her as a relation; Sieglinde being one of them. She was Oda's great granddaughter.

  Before Luitgard allowed the groups to set on their way, she sent Oda to fetch four pots of their protective herb blend. Several minutes later, Oda returned with pots full of a mixture of powdered chamomile, holly, and mistletoe and handed one to each of the other crones.

  When they were set, the drawbridge was lowered and the small groups scattered in their respective directions. Luitgard lead her group to the South, with Humbert keeping stride with her.

  The day was beginning to warm noticeably by the time Luitgard's group had made it through the brush to the edge of the barrier.

  The three priestesses immediately went to work. They followed the markers in intervals of three paces along the perimeter of the barrier. They stopped at each one and checked that they were still where they were meant to be. There were charms secured to grasses, woad-dyed prayer cloths tied to tree branches, rune-carved stakes that had been hammered into the ground, and−at the exact cardinal direction−a small, weathered statue.

  The stone of the figure was mostly covered in moss and dirt. The winds had spent years beating the surface so that it was pockmarked and the features were no longer clearly visible. It had once looked like a squatting, naked woman, her arms wrapped around her legs, her hands resting on her ankles. As Luitgard stared at it, she thought it now looked as those the woman's head grew out of the tops of her knees. In fact, it looked more like a troll than a woman.

  The tinkle of a bell broke her focus from the statue. She looked up to see Oda shuffling along the line of charms, ringing a small golden bell as she passed each one. Luitgard let out a long breath. It was a good sign. The woman had found nothing wrong yet.

  She looked around at the three men that had joined them. Unlike the women, they were not looking at the barrier. Their eyes were flicking through the brush beyond it, trying to watch for danger.

  "Humbert," she said. "I intend to check each charm myself. Stay here and call me if you see anything strange."

  He nodded.

  She then followed the other women in checking each charm. The goddess maid checked that the physical charms remained. The mother scattered the powdered herbs as she walked from each charm to the next, placing an extra sprinkle over the charms themselves. Luitgard and the crone checked to see that the physical trinkets were indeed still charms. At each one, Luitgard rested her hand upon the object and closed her eyes as she tried to block out anything that would distract her. She searched for the familiar tingle in her hand. Within seconds it materialized and she withdrew her hand to continue to the next marker.

  It took her longer to check each one than it did the others. Sometimes it was because she had trouble focusing, sometimes because she wanted to double or triple check a marker. As the sun crossed the sky, the others were far ahead of her. She could still see them working their way through the vegetation but would have had to yell for them to hear her call.

  She came to the next marker, a small gold bell, and wrapped her hand around it. She closed her eyes and felt for its power. As with all the others, it was intact. A warm breeze blew through her hair sending a chill down her spi
ne. When she took in a deep breath with her eyes still closed, she noticed a sweet smell. It was much like a sweet flower but not one she had ever encountered.

  She opened her eyes to look for the source, hoping that maybe she could harvest a few and test their properties for elixirs but standing several feet before her was a dark-haired woman with deep brown eyes. She was wearing a long dress the kind of which Luitgard had only seen upon the ancient statues of Rome.

  Luitgard blinked and the woman before her was gone. She looked around, hoping to see where the woman went, not convinced she would see anything at all.

  Her fingers fell from the tiny bell. First the Dominican arrived and then she was starting to see ghosts.

  It took several minutes of steady breathing for Luitgard to calm her mind enough to continue. She was not sure if this strange woman's presence was evidence that the barrier was indeed flawed in some way, or if it was the Goddess herself offering protection and comfort.

  Luitgard moved her right foot in front of her, following it with her left. She had to focus upon the pattern to get herself to the next marker. She placed her hand upon the knot of the small blue ribbon and closed her eyes, trying to force out all thoughts and emotions that did not come from the marker itself.

  The barrier was large enough that checking it took the entire morning and part of the afternoon. When they returned to the statue, Luitgard stood before it. The weathered lump looked nothing like the woman she had seen. The comparison did little to sort her thoughts. She crouched down and placed both hands upon the top of the head and closed her eyes.

  "Mother, may your strength and your wisdom continue to keep us safe. Stand guard as our protector always," she said before standing and turning to the others. "Let us return. I would like to hear what the others have discovered."

  The group walked back to the village but their progress was slower than it had been that morning. The women's feet were tired from their work and Humbert looked as though his spirit had left his body that now walked empty upon the earth.

  It was only an hour before the evening meal by the time they returned. The East and West groups had also returned but the North group had not yet made it back. Luitgard had hoped to know immediately of all the results but the North was the farthest walk from the village gates as it required walking around the western side of the lake to reach. She could understand that they would be the last, even if her impatience to know the truth growled angrily inside her chest. After ordering Humbert to bed, she gathered the women into the hall of the manor.

  "What can you tell me?" she asked.

  Each woman reported exactly what she had seen in the south. The barrier was untouched and as strong as it had always been. She thanked them for their help and dismissed them, feeling no more reassured than she had that morning. The image of the strange woman was still burned into her mind.

  This woman and the Dominican had to be connected. Otherwise the events of the last day and a half made no sense. He should not be able to see them. He should not have been able to get close to the manor. If those checking the North reported the same, and she was quite sure they would as the friar had come from the South, then she could not blame a failure in the barrier. The only clue left was the strange woman.

  She looked over to the curtains that hid the Dominican's sleeping space. Could there have been something about him that had allowed it to happen? She shook her head. It must be the woman; perhaps the Goddess herself had let him into their world. But why would she ever have done that?

  "Are you alright?"

  Luitgard turned to see Sieglinde just emerging from the staircase. She nodded to her fellow priestess. She was too confused about the woman to mention her to Sieglinde. She needed a few more hours of churning it over in her head before she was ready to share her experience.

  "Have you thought more about what you plan to do with him?" Sieglinde asked as she stopped by Luitgard's side.

  Luitgard looked back at the curtains.

  "Whatever you decide," Sieglinde said, "It is clear things will not be the same around here."

  Luitgard nodded.

  Sieglinde walked to the doors of the hall. She opened one just enough to walk through and paused.

  "Luitgard, the others have returned," she called back.

  Luitgard quickly followed her to the door, which Sieglinde opened wide.

  The three women were walking towards the manor looking exactly as the others had. Their shoulders slumped with exhaustion but their faces did not show significant worry.

  As Luitgard watched them approach, she realized she wanted them to have found something amiss. She wanted a simple answer to their problem. She wanted it to be easily fixed so that they could return to normal life.

  "What did you find?" she called to them.

  Gerhild, the crone of the group and a twig of a woman with grey hair and large jowls, looked up. "Nothing, my priestess," she said. "Every marker was exactly as it should have been. The northern barrier is intact."

  Luitgard's heart sank but she smiled at the women. "Thank you, you may clean yourselves before the evening meal. You have kept us safe," she said with a smile. None of her words came from her heart. Her mouth moved out of duty and habit.

  When they had gone to their homes to clean themselves, her mind returned to the Dominican and the woman. As she had no idea who the woman was or how to contact her, there was only one option left her.

  Taking a deep breath, she walked across the hall and pushed through the curtains near the kitchen.

  The Dominican was lying in the alcove in the wall. She could see that he was not asleep. His eyes were focused upon the stones above him; his hands clasped over his stomach.

  "Now that you have found nothing," he said not moving to look at her, "Will you let me go?"

  "I already told you that would not be possible," she said. "Our defenses are whole. The question of how you came here now lies with you. How did you find us?"

  "You already know that I simply stumbled upon your people," he replied.

  He was still not moving but she saw his fingers tense.

  "Who are you?" she asked.

  "You already know," he said. "Did we not have this conversation last night?"

  She scoffed.

  One of the kitchen girls pushed through the curtains, nearly knocking into her as she headed for the kitchens.

  "I am so sorry, my priestess!" The girl squeaked.

  Luitgard waved her away. "Hurry away now, Ann, and I will say nothing of it," she said.

  "Anna," the girl whispered before doing as she was told and escaping through the door into the kitchens.

  Lowering her voice, Luitgard returned to her conversation with the Dominican. "I hardly think you evading my questions could be considered a conversation. How did you learn of the name you called me? How did you get here? If you do not start answering me, I might just kill you out of frustration."

  He turned his head just enough to look at her. "And God will send you to Hell for it," he said.

  She crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at him. "Do you think your god would welcome me even if I did not?" she asked. "Do you think I would accept such an offer even if he did? Your ways are not our ways, Dominican."

  He looked back at the stones above him. "I set out in search of the truth God would have me know," he said. "Finding a village of pagans was not what I was hoping he would show me."

  "I thought your kind loved pagans," she said. "You love to seek them out. You love to convert them. You love to kill them."

  "I have never killed," he said sharply.

  She scoffed again. "Your church has and that is close enough."

  When he said nothing, she walked over to the wall by his feet and rested her shoulder against it.

  "Perhaps your god has a better sense of humour than you do," she reasoned. "Perhaps we are the truth he wanted you to see."

  "Or the truth the Church wanted me to see," he said. There was an edge of bitt
erness to his tone that made her uncomfortable. Her shoulders felt as though the blood was rushing from them into the tips of her fingers.

  "The Church should have no idea we exist," she said. "We would not still be alive if they knew about us being here."

  His hands fell loosely to his sides and he let out a large breath. After another moment, he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sleeping space to rest his feet on the floor. He stared at the space between them for another moment before looking up at her. He looked right into her eyes.

  "I did not believe you existed," he said, "But if I were to return to tell them what I have found, I doubt they would be surprised."

  "Tell me why," she said. She was firm but at that moment she felt sorry for him. Had he been an unknowing tool of the Church? Had his life been sacrificed so easily by the same institution to which he had devoted himself?

  "They sent me here," he said. "They told me to travel this way to find the truth of God. When I had found it, I was to return to them and share what I had learned."

  As terrifying as it was that the Church might be looking for her people, what he said did not sound right. There had to have been more. Sending some priest into the Spreewald would not have resulted in them being found and she was sure the Church knew it. There had been many who had travelled the area without ever penetrating their protections.

  "Why you?" she asked.

  He stared at her for a moment. His body was still. "I don't know," he said.

  "And they are the ones that gave you the name you used last night?" she asked.

  He shook his head.

  "Then where did you learn it?" she pressed.

  He looked back at the floor. "Only an old mentor," he said.

  Her body tensed once more. She had thought they were finally making progress, that he was finally willing to open up to her. As quickly as he had begun to share openly, he shut his thoughts away again.

  "This information changes nothing, you realize," she said finally. "You will have to remain in the village. We cannot risk you telling them about us. We will feed you and house you but you will be required to help with the chores and to keep your religion to yourself."

  He nodded without looking at her.

  "You may continue to sleep here and eat in the hall for now," she said. "However, it is unusual for men to eat in this hall and sleep in the manor. We will try to make other arrangements for you but it might take a few days."

  He nodded again.

  "I will see you at the evening meal," she said in farewell before turning and walking back through the curtains. He said nothing in reply.

  Later that night, Luitgard stared at the large beams holding the roof over her bed. They were cast in shadow but she had been staring so long at them, that she could see their outlines clearly.

  The evening meal had been uneventful. The word had quickly spread that the barrier was intact and this had calmed all the Goddess Maids and priestesses greatly. Despite the Dominican's presence, the women seemed to feel the news about the barrier meant life was normal once more. Luitgard wished she could feel the same but she knew denial was the least effective protection.

  "Are you ever going to tell me what has you so bothered?" Sieglinde called quietly from her bed.

  Luitgard was jolted by her voice. She had not been aware that Sieglinde was awake. "You don't think the Dominican is enough to be worried about?" she asked without looking over.

  She heard the creaking of the bed and the rustling of the blanket as Sieglinde turned over. When her friend spoke again, her voice was clearer and sounded closer. "Despite our good news today, you were very distant at the evening meal. You have become so trapped in your own thoughts that the only one who hasn't noticed is you."

  Luitgard sighed. "I have noticed," she said. "But you are right. There is something else."

  She then described exactly what had happened along the southern barrier. When she was finished, she waited for Sieglinde to say something.

  "Have you had visions of this kind before?" she asked finally.

  "I might have glimpsed her on the wall yesterday," Luitgard replied, "But I cannot be sure of that."

  "And when you were a child?" Sieglinde pressed.

  Luitgard's mind flashed back to the statues of Rome. A particularly beautiful bronze angel with arms outstretched in welcome stood out in her mind. There were similarities. "I never saw ghosts or visions," she said. "But there are many statues in Rome that looked like her. Perhaps my stress has simply resurrected old memories."

  "You say that as if such a thought is comforting," Sieglinde said.

  Luitgard was confused. "Should it not be?" she asked. "It would simplify matters."

  "Except that the Dominican called you by a name that also resurrected old memories."

  Luitgard had to admit that she had never considered the situation that way. "Do you think this all has something to do with when Dragonfather took me to Rome?"

  "I think it would be foolish to think otherwise," Sieglinde replied. "If nothing else, it means that trip did not end when you two returned home."

  Luitgard's body went cold. "If you are right," she said. "Then there is only one thing I can do to resolve this."

  "What is that?" Sieglinde asked.

  "Go back to Rome."

  Sieglinde sat up in her bed. It creaked and groaned under her movements. "Have you lost your mind? That is the last thing you need to do. You could be killed if you returned to Rome without Dragonfather."

  "I would take the Dominican with me," Luitgard reasoned.

  "And that is an even more insane idea than you going alone. The Church will recognize him and if they deliberately sent him to find us, they will know who you are and know they were right."

  "What if they already know they are right?"

  "Then they would have sent an army by now. Think this through, Luitgard. Keeping that man here and letting this remain a mystery would be far safer than what you are proposing."

  "And what of Dragonfather? What ever happened to him? Maybe he is alive. Maybe he is in Rome. Maybe they are torturing him right now to get information from him. How do you think they knew to send that man here in the first place?"

  Their words had become so heated that they had been near yelling but with Luitgard's last question, the room felt ear-piercingly silent.

  After a moment, Sieglinde whispered, "Think about what you are suggesting. Even if your grandfather did not die when he disappeared, he would be nearly 80 years old by now. He would be a frail man. Even if they had captured him, even if that is how they learned where to find us, he would have died under torture."

  "You do not know that," Luitgard said, realizing as her words came out that she sounded like a spoiled child.

  "I know he would never want you to risk the safety of our people to save a life that would have been near its end anyway." Sieglinde's voice was soft with compassion and she spoke with reason, but Luitgard could not find any part within herself that agreed. She needed to know what was going on or she would never feel confidence in their safety again. She needed to find Dragonfather and her only clue to his whereabouts was Rome. Somehow she needed to get back there, whether Sieglinde consented or not.