Courted Sanctuary

Chapter 4

  After the morning meal, Luitgard changed quickly into her dying clothes and grabbed the cloth she would use to protect her nose from the smell. She met Adelina and another Goddess Maid named Flora near the pile of folded linens. She deliberately avoided looking over at the work on the storehouse.

  "We need to stop by the apothecary to fetch a new brick of woad," Luitgard instructed. "Pick up the linens and follow me."

  She immediately began to walk to the apothecary while Flora and Adelina rushed to pick up the folded linens. Flora nearly dropped them in her hurry to catch up but Luitgard pretended not to notice. With her heart in such turmoil, she could not bring herself to pick on the girl.

  At the apothecary, Oda directed Luitgard and Adelina to several large bricks on a shelf and wrapped in fabric.

  "We are getting low on our supplies of woad," Oda said. "Only five bricks left. The weather has been too hot and humid for the leaves to dry and ferment just right. I hope you won't need much more."

  Luitgard shook her head. "Only a few tapestries today," she said. "We will need another brick tomorrow and some weld for dying several robes but then we should be done with it for a while."

  They said farewell to Oda and began their trek to the dying hut.

  The sun had burned the mists from the lake and the morning was already beginning to feel warmer. Part way to the shack, Luitgard felt a chill and looked up to the northwest. Light grey clouds were in the distance. She doubted there would be rain, but the warmth of the morning would likely be a false promise for the afternoon.

  When they reached the small shack, Luitgard instructed the girls to set the linens down inside and then to get several logs and kindling from the wood piled against one of the outside walls.

  Luitgard went inside. There was a large metal vat that took up most of the room. Beneath it were the remnants of the last fire they had used.

  She looked into the vat. It was a third full with the water that remained from her work of two days before. She looked for the wood buckets that should have been stacked in the corner but they were missing. Her question of where they had gone was answers when Flora came in with an arm full of logs followed by Adelina with two buckets full of kindling.

  "They were out by the wood pile," Adelina explained.

  "Thank you, Adelina," Luitgard said.

  The two girls went to the lake to fill the buckets while Luitgard grabbed a tattered broom that was leaning in the corner and began to sweep the ash out from under the vat. As she used the broom to pull the peppered and crumbling piles loose, she noticed some of the ash falling through a crack in the stone. It followed the length of the stone as it went under the grate that held up the vat. Getting on her hands and knees, she tried to look underneath to see if the stone was beginning to crumble and needed replacing. While most of the stone appeared to be intact, the crack led to a large gap that had crumbled away. The stone indeed would need replacing. Luitgard grumbled to herself as she climbed back to her feet and Adelina and Flora returned with the first of the buckets of water.

  Luitgard jammed more logs and kindling beneath the grate, hoping they would not simply fall down the hole. She did not light the fire, however, leaving that task to Adelina and Flora after they had filled the vat to Luitgard's liking. She watched as they worked, instructing them only when they made mistakes.

  When the water in the vat was very warm but not yet scalding, Luitgard covered her face and added the brick of woad before using a large branch to stir the mixture. She kept an eye on the fire to ensure the pot did not get too hot. After several more minutes, she stirred the mixture again and then dipped a finger into the warm liquid. When she withdrew it, she rubbed her fingers together and then pulled down her face covering so that she could press her finger to her tongue.

  "Do as I do," she instructed the girls.

  Each girl dipped her finger in the vat before pressing it to her tongue.

  "It is not pungent enough yet," Luitgard explained. "We will give it a few more minutes."

  She continued to stir the liquid. When the fire appeared to be growing too weak, she would beckon for Adelina or Flora to put another log on it.

  Finally, she was sure there was a slight twist in the smell. She reached in with her finger once more. When she rubbed her fingers together, they slipped nicely. When she placed a coated finger on her tongue, she nearly coughed.

  "Try once more," she said to the girls.

  They copied her motions exactly and when they placed their fingers on their tongues, they both nearly gagged. Adelina spit onto the floor.

  "Remember the difference," Luitgard explained. "It is ready now. If you want an even dye that will last, always do that test first."

  The girls nodded as they tried to recover themselves from the flavour.

  Luitgard let the girls dye the linens for the practice. When each was done, she would take them outside to dry in the trees.

  The clouds were nearly over the lake but had yet to block out the southern sun. Luitgard kept an eye on them just in case her assumptions were proving wrong and they developed into a storm.

  As she tried to secure a linen over a low lying branch, it slipped from her fingers and onto the ground. She cursed as she reached down to grab the now dirt covered blue fabric. As she moved her fingers to the corners to shake it out, she looked up.

  Half an arm's length in front of her stood the woman.

  Luitgard swallowed as she stared into the dark eyes. The woman did not move or speak. She was holding a dagger in one hand. Even from her distance, Luitgard could see the white wyvern carved into the handle. Her Dragonfather's dagger.

  Luitgard swallowed again. "What do you want?" she asked. "How did you get inside the barrier?"

  Within a blink, the woman had the flat of the blade pressed against Luitgard's cheek and her free hand tightly grasping Luitgard's chin. The soaked and dirty fabric quietly thwumped as it fell to the ground.

  Their noses were nearly touching. Luitgard's heart was trying to run away from both of them. She had never been more frightened in her life. Even if she had wanted to speak or to run, she could not while in the firm grip. As much as she and Sieglinde had called this vision a ghost, her touch was entirely solid.

  In one continuous motion, the woman moved to wrap one arm around Luitgard's shoulders even as she pressed her own cheek to Luitgard's. Then the woman lifted the dagger and pointed it to the south.

  Luitgard's ability to speak seemed to have returned. "What do you want from me?"

  The woman pressed her lips to Luitgard's ear. "Dragonfather," she whispered, the movement of her lips tickling Luitgard's flesh. "Rome," she whispered.

  A second later, Luitgard felt the pressure on her shoulders and her face lifted. She had not even had time to demand answers before the woman had disappeared. And just as before, no matter how hard she looked at the forest around her, there was no sign of the woman.

  Luitgard looked down at the sopping fabric at her feet. She blinked several times, not really caring about what she was seeing. It was not until Flora came out of the hut looking for her that she realized she should pick it up.

  The rest of the afternoon was a haze. Luitgard was unaware of most of it and the rest felt like a dream. Her chest was tight from her earlier fear and there was an empty feeling in her guts that had little to do with food.

  They finished the dying, cleaned up their work space, and headed back to the manor the in late afternoon. She had been right that the clouds were a false menace. They had since moved on and the sun revealed itself once more.

  By the time they reached the gates, her body was as tired as her mind. Adelina and Flora looked much the same.

  Any other day, she would have given them some other chore to pass the time before the evening meal but her rattled nerves were making her sympathetic. She instructed them that after they had cleaned and changed, they could spend the time as they wished. Both girls looked surprised but were smart enough not to argue. They hu
rried ahead to the manor so that they would waste none of the precious time they had been given.

  Luitgard walked the path slowly. The weight of her concerns did not allow for the gleeful bounding she had just witnessed from the two girls. She looked around at the village as she walked. The familiar activity was unable to penetrate her mind; it gave her no comfort.

  One of the Mothers of Children was scolding a small boy who had just hit one of the girls. Sieglinde's father, Kaspar, was chopping wood. As she walked closer to the manor, she saw that the storehouse had been erected. Two shirtless men were working on the final touches of the roof.

  Luitgard stopped. One of the shirtless men, broad shouldered with defined muscles glistening in the sun, was not wearing the same leggings as the other. A black robe was tied at his waist. The Dominican rubbed his arm across his forehead to remove the sweat before readjusting the thatch he had just placed.

  "Not a bad looking man when you get him out of the robes."

  Luitgard jumped. She had not noticed that Adalbern had walk up next to her. He was smiling broadly.

  "I was just surprised to see him working so hard," Luitgard reasoned. The tingling under her skin belied her words.

  Adalbern's smile did not diminish. "Of course," he said, then added, "His name's Justin," before walking towards the storehouse.

  "When you've got that thatch placed," he called up to the Dominican and the other man, "You can go find yourselves some water and bread."

  Luitgard stared at the shirtless friar. She had not realized she had not yet learned his name. As he turned back to his work, he seemed to notice her looking at him. He nodded to her. She nodded back feeling just as embarrassed as when Adalbern had snuck up on her. Staring at the ground, she hurried into the manor.

  Sieglinde was busy teaching a lesson on the moon cycles in one of the upstairs classrooms. Though Luitgard had wanted to share with her what had happened, she thought better of it and headed to her room to fetch a clean dress.

  She needed to clean herself properly and the small bowl of water in her room would be entirely insufficient. Instead, she grabbed her soap, a square of un-dyed linen, and a clean gown before hurrying outside.

  Near the edge of one of the tall alder post walls of the manor, there was a portion of shore well hidden behind several large bushes. Many of the people went there to wash when a more thorough bath was needed and it was warm enough. Though she had expected to find Adelina and Flora there as well, the spot was deserted when she arrived.

  She set her things down gently in the grass before pulling off her dying clothes. She walked into the chilly water, stopping at her ankles, then her knees, then her thighs before finally submerging her entire body.

  The water and soap washed away more than just the smell of woad. Her fear from the strange encounter flowed from her skin as well. Her mind recalled as many details as it could of the event and yet she felt entirely calm about it. It felt premature to assume the Goddess herself was trying to guide her. She had no real way of knowing who the woman was. And yet, such an assessment wrapped her in comfort.

  Luitgard stretched out in the water, being careful to stay close to shore. Further out were a line of submerged spikes that had been placed to prevent any intrusion or attack coming from the water. She let her body float as she looked up at the sky.

  She had never expected to return to Rome. She had never wanted to. What Dragonfather had shown her as a girl was enough. Stay away from the world ruled by Churches, he had warned. He had told her how they wanted nothing more than conquest and death. Now, as so many questions swirled in her mind, as it appeared the Goddess herself might even be directing her there, Luitgard wanted nothing more than to go back. She tried very hard to assure herself it had nothing to do with the hope of seeing her beloved Dragonfather again.

  Splashing near the shore caught Luitgard's attention. Flora and Adelina had already undressed and were entering the water. They were talking and giggling. Luitgard swam over and the girls fell silent.

  "Something the matter?" she asked.

  The girls shook their heads. They were still smiling but seemed nervous to share their conversation. Normally Luitgard would have pressed them on the matter. Instead, she said farewell and climbed out of the water to dry off and dress. The intrigues of Goddess Maids seemed entirely irrelevant. Hoping Sieglinde's lesson would be over, Luitgard gathered her things and returned to the manor.

  When she went to return her things to the solar, Sieglinde walked out of the lesson room, several dispersing Goddess Maids emerged behind her. She immediately joined Luitgard in the solar.

  "What's the matter?" Sieglinde asked.

  Luitgard dropped her dying dress and soap onto the chest at the end of her bed before telling her sister what had happened that morning. She left nothing out and described as much as she could. When she was finished, she said, "I think the Goddess wants me to go to Rome."

  "We have no way of knowing who this woman is," Sieglinde reasoned. "It could be a trick. Who knows what magic that priest can work."

  "He has been busy with the storehouse all day. He could not have done it," Luitgard replied, stung. She felt Sieglinde was treating her like a gullible child.

  "And what about his Church? Maybe they are behind it," she said.

  "And why would they resort to a woman? Christians hate women."

  "Not that virgin of theirs."

  Luitgard paused. "I suppose but this woman looked nothing like their Mary. She looked like a Roman Goddess. Sieglinde, please. Consider this. We ask the Goddess for guidance and protection. Maybe that is exactly what she is trying to offer us. If I do not go, it could be more dangerous for all of us than if I stay."

  "And what will the Dominican do if he returns to Rome? I know you plan to take him with you. Will he tell them about us?"

  Only a moment before, Luitgard had been feeling confident. She knew she had to go to Rome. She knew she had to go with the Dominican, that was why the Goddess had led him to their village in the first place. She knew all of that now. It was the only explanation that made any sense to her. It was the only explanation that felt right.

  But with Sieglinde's pragmatic questions, Luitgard could not deny the risks.

  Sieglinde crossed her arms over her chest. "You asked him this morning what he would do and he did not know," she said. "Until he does, I cannot concede to you leaving with him. Speak to him tonight and we will discuss his answer."

  Luitgard nodded. Her sister priestess was right.