****
They held the ceremony in the ruins of the old castle. The castle looked desolate and eerie. Kellan shivered as she looked over to the left to where the old cemetery was still standing. Lords and ladies had at one time lived within the castle and there were some very elaborate crypts and tombstones surrounding the grounds.
The O'Byrne didn't usually bury their dead. They honored them with fire—breaking the bond of spirit that holds fast to the flesh.
They were all wearing elaborate Druid ceremonial robes with silver symbols traveling the trim. Kellan's was of royal blue for her Air nature. Alana and Dara's robes were red representing the Fire of their natures. Rhoswen was of Earth, but her robe was white representing her name and her spiritual purity. Vevila's was also from Fire nature, but she had so much Earth in her nature that her mother had made her robe green. Kane's nature was from the Water, and Aine had made her a silver robe with black symbols in the trim. Surprisingly, baby Haley was also there and Aine had made for her a pale blue robe, representing the Air in her nature.
They looked very bright and cheery, at odds with their sadness, but to do less, would have shown dishonor to Keegan and Aine O'Byrne.
Kane looked around remembering Druantia's thin braid, only family had been invited to this ceremony, and sadly—it was a pitiful showing. Caryn's husband and sons hadn't been able to attend. There was some type of emergency going on between the steward and his renters—something to do with the new tax which had been imposed. Others had sent condolences stating similar situations.
Only two outsiders had arrived for the ceremony, their Uncle Stefan and Celeste. Kane was sad that none of the villagers had been invited to the ceremony. Here mama would have wanted that, but Aunt Caryn had firmly put her foot down about inviting them—family only! Molly would definitely feel slighted. Her and their mama had been friends since childhood, another fact that Aunt Caryn had despised.
Kane was surprised and delighted when she spotted Celeste. Celeste was wearing her own icy blue ceremonial robe. Celeste had lived at the convent for most of her life, until she deemed herself an adult and made her own way into the world. She had been born blind and apparently discarded. The priestesses at the convent loved her from the first second Druantia brought her to them.
Celeste had long white hair. It didn't look like old people's hair, not being gray or coarse. Kane liked the feel of it. It would slip through her fingers like fine silk. Celeste's eyes were eerily similar to Druantia's, being green with white pupils. Kane thought it was sad that she was blind. There was so much in life to see. She couldn't fathom what that must be like.
She had laughed secretly to herself when Aunt Caryn spotted her. Aunt Caryn should have expected Celeste would be here. She was very good friends with Glenna, their priestess. She would know about this even if Aunt Caryn hadn't invited her. So what if she wasn't family, both mama and papa were very good friends with her.
Celeste was one their mama's best friend, and Kane loved her. If she could, she would be standing beside her—not Aunt Caryn. Kane noticed the loathing between the two women and couldn't help but wonder why. Celeste just didn't make enemies, but then again, Aunt Caryn seemed incapable of making friends—even with her own nieces. Of course, Aunt Caryn thought they were beneath her regard. Kane was familiar with that tone.
Kane hadn't figured out how she felt about Uncle Stefan, yet. She had to wonder why he hadn't arrived right after their papa's death—why now? Dara and Alana had told them about what had happened to him the other night, but none of them knew him. She laughed to herself again upon remembering the shock in Aunt Caryn's eyes when she saw him arrive at the burial site. He just glared back at her without saying a word.
Maybe Aunt Caryn had expected him to perish in his wagon by the sea. They all thought she had behaved a little mental by hitting him and driving his wagon to the ocean. He would have to know it was a hoax as soon as he drove back. What was the point in all that? Just what was she expecting?
Dara nudged Kellan and linked with her. She looked over at Celeste and Stefan. Their aura's had merged and they positively glowed. Alana's eyebrows rose in question. Dara shared her sight with her as well. Alana grinned. Those two thought they were playing it so poised. Ha, no one could hide that. Alana was sure that there were others here who would see it, too.
Glenna finished her Gaelic recital. Everyone stood in silent remembrance of these two lives. The six sisters stood and held each other's hands—mentally linked for the first time. They looked up with surprise when they felt the baby Haley in their link. They hadn't given the baby much thought up until then. They were instructed by Glenna to share their fondest memories of their mama and papa. They stood in silent reverence sharing those moments, then as the oldest, Kellan lit the torch and thrust it under the scaffolding.
They all watched silently as the flame consumed their bodies. Glenna knew that the flame would burn all night. She looked up to see Druantia weeping sorrowfully in the shadows. Two very good, honorable, fun loving people were now departed from this plain.
Kane broke away and ran up to the house. She thought about going to Heidi, her beloved donkey, but found herself in the room she shared with Vevila and Rhoswen. She stubbornly set the lock and buried herself in her bed—crying.
Vevila knocked quietly on the door. Kane didn't answer.
"Do you think she's okay?" Rhoswen asked.
"Of course not," Vevila answered scathingly.
"Don't be mean," Rhoswen told her sharply, "you knew what I meant."
"I'm sorry, Rhoswen," Vevila said unhappily.
"I know," Rhoswen hugged her close. "Let's go visit the wine cellar."
"We can't do that!" Vevila said surprised.
"There's no one here to stop us!" Rhoswen told her angrily. "They left us."
"Mama would be so mad," Vevila said sadly. "Do you think they are still here?"
"Yes," Rhoswen said with firm conviction.
"Let's get the wine," Vevila took her arm. "We'll hold up in Kellan's room."
"I like that red kind they served at the Christmas dinner," Rhoswen said as they walked toward the cellar.
Kane heard them come, and then leave again. She didn't care! She stared listlessly at the ceiling.
Kellan didn't go directly back to the house. They always had a dinner after these types of ceremonies. She joined Dara and Alana, and together they walked over to the new rooms which their papa had just finished. It wasn't really finished. The rooms didn't hold any furniture. They didn't know the purpose of the rooms, but right now they worked really well to hold the dinner.
"Why do you think papa made such a smooth floor in here?" Alana asked.
"I don't know," Dara answered, "but he put a lot of work and energy into making them as such. He must have had a reason."
"He shouldn't have died!" Kellan said angrily. "He should have finished this!"
"He should not have died," Glenna overheard them. "It was not his time."
"Then why is he dead?" Kellan asked sharply.
"Because of the thoughtless acts and decisions of another," Glenna answered and then made her way over to the table where Celeste was sitting. They watched as the two hugged and kissed each other on the cheeks.
"I would hunt those fools down," Uncle Stefan startled them by saying, "if not for your mother already taking care of it."
"You seem well," Dara studied him.
"I am," he answered with a slight smile. "Thank you for your attention that night." He stared over at Aunt Caryn and frowned. "That woman swings a mean hammer. Be careful of her."
"We are," Alana assured him. "Maybe you should as well."
"Maybe I should at that," he smiled and made his way over to Celeste's and Glenna's table.
Celeste felt him. Goose bumps rose on her skin. He still had that affect on her.
"Mind if I join you?" Stefan asked them.
"Please do," Glenna told him and grinned. He grinned back.
She knew about their past and did not feel threatened. She felt a spark of excitement with the thought of the possibility of him re-entering Celeste's life. What Celeste felt—Glenna also could feel. They had been so linked since they were little. The passion, flittered both ways.
Kellan looked around with disappointment. It wasn't much of a dinner, simple fare, just food they had pulled from their own cupboards. If mama had been in charge, they would be having one hell of a party. Mama knew how to throw a party. It seemed wrong somehow that no one had managed to throw a good party for her. She promised that one day she would cater a special party just for her, and it would be one hell of a party!
"Some party," Dara said dejectedly looking over the food stuffs. She settled on some roasted chicken and a bun.
Just then they heard a ruckus from the back of the room. Alana smiled widely as Doug Haugen and his workers made their way into the room.
Julie made a beeline for their table. Julie and three other women worked for Doug, the rest were men. The work was hard and exhausting. Doug's people had to be able to work several trades or he wouldn't hire them. Julie was a favorite with the sisters. She was short and sweet. She had wild red hair which she kept at shoulder length. Her blue eyes were always warm and sparkling with hidden thoughts. She usually wore men's clothes, but no one would take her for manly. She may have been half the size of Doug's men, but no one messed with her. If she didn't break them—Doug would.
"How are you lasses managing?" She asked with concern. "Glenna sent us word. We would have been at the ceremony, but Celeste said it might be more circumspect for us to forgo it, since your aunt didn't invite the villagers—or us common workers."
"There's nothing common about you," Kellan told her and rose to get a hug. "I'm so glad you're here!"
"I see the men found the wine," Alana mentioned.
"Find it," Julie laughed, "they brought it—and it's not wine—but our finest Irish whiskey!"
"We should have brought down more food," Dara said embarrassed.
"No need," Julie told her, "watch."
Just then Della and her husband Danal brought in a basket full of pies. She was quickly followed by other renters bringing in dish after dish. The room was filling up fast. Danal stepped up to the front and brought out his fiddle. He and his brother started a wild, foot stomping jig.
"Skippy!" Dara cried happily, and patted her leg.
Alana joined her. Everyone laughed when the little dog started screaming happily at the sight of the twins. Dara happened to look up and found Aunt Caryn watching them curiously. She felt sad that her aunt no longer allowed herself to enjoy the animals. She thought it must be hard to have such a gift and be too afraid to use it.
"It is customary," Julie yelled over the fiddle and the stomping, "for the neighbors to bring food to the family with the deceased loved one, not the other way around. The best part is you get to take home all the leftovers." She was quickly snagged up for a rip stomping dance.
"The only thing missing," Aunt Caryn told them looking around disagreeably, "would be for them to sit up the deceased bodies and make pledges to them. I dare say they would do it too, if they weren't already interned."
"They would?" Dara asked interested.
"Sometimes," she told them. "If they do the wake close enough to the time of death. That meat pie sure smells good."
"We should go get our sisters," Alana said looking around. "This party has definitely livened up."
Dara looked for them and frowned. She found them. Rhoswen and Vevila were making inroads into a bottle of wine. Kane was busy punching the hell out of some type of pillowed form.
"Rhoswen and Vevila are into the wine," she told her aunt. "They're going to make themselves sick. Kane is too angry to enjoy this ruckus."
"Should we go get them?" Alana asked doubtfully.
"No," Aunt Caryn answered sadly. "Everyone has to deal with pain in their own way. Let them be."
"But they're little," Kellan disagreed.
"Not too little to know their own minds," Aunt Caryn looked at her, surprised by her concern. "I seem to remember you getting into your Grandma Tess's teas when you were around nine."
"She gave it to me," Kellan protested.
"You could have said no," Alana remembered. "Dara and I passed on that invite. You were curious."
"It won't hurt them," Aunt Caryn told her. "They will be sick tomorrow and remember for the rest of their lives—just what that felt like."
"I guess," Kellan said still feeling unsure. It just seemed that someone needed to be there for them.
"I'm getting some of that pie before it's all eaten," Aunt Caryn wandered over to the table.
"They seem to be okay," Dara told Kellan. "They are rather enjoying themselves."
Kellan nodded and glanced at the food table. She was surprised to see all that food. She'd talk to them later, she promised herself before helping herself to the feast.
The feast and party was grand, but Kellan soon found herself feeling tired and wanting to be alone. She missed her mama and papa terribly. The party just seemed to define the fact that they weren't here—would never be here again.
She made her way up to the house. She was surprised to find Rhoswen and Vevila in her room.
"Kane locked us out," Vevila explained with a slight slur.
"How much of that stuff did you drink?" Kellan asked.
"Just this much," Rhoswen held up a bottle, "and that bottle over there, last year's Christmas wine. It's really tasty. We didn't like it much at first, must be an aqui-aqured—acquired taste. Do you want some?"
"No thank you!" Kellan sighed. "If you make a mess—you get to clean it up first thing tomorrow!"
"We aren't going to spill any," Rhoswen said holding the bottle tightly to her chest.
Kellan started to say what she meant and decided to just not bother. They would find out soon enough. She picked up their mama's most recent workbook and walked out of the room. She walked over to Kane's room and knocked.
"Go away!" Kane said aggressively.
"It's me, Kellan," Kellan said through the door.
"I don't care," Kane said with pain laced words. "Go to your own room."
"Rhoswen and Vevila have taken it over," she told her, "they're drinking up the Christmas wine."
"Oh," Kane unlocked the door.
"What's going on with your hair?" Kellan asked shocked.
Kane's hair was a knotted mess. Kellan had never seen it in such disarray.
"I must have gotten it wrong somewhere," Kane cried. "Mama would just unknot it and it would be as good as before. It's the braid. I'm good at getting it up, but not so good at getting it out."
"Let me help," Kellan sat her back on the bed.
"To braid it," Kane told her. "It starts at the base of the neck and works its way upward and then back down. I'll step on it if I don't wind it upwards first."
"Have you thought about cutting it?" Kellan asked her as she started unwinding the knots.
"Never!" Kane scoffed. "Even when that brat Timothy dipped the end in the green sheep dye, I didn't cut it off. It'll fade—eventually—someday—maybe."
"I like my own hairs length just fine," Kellan told her. "Wet, it flows to the top of my thighs. I really see no reason to have it longer."
"Yes, but yours is thick, dark, and wavy." Kane informed her. "If mine was cut that short, it would be utterly boring."
"How can you say that?" Kellan asked surprised. "It's so fine. I've never seen hair like yours before."
"Huh," Kane looked at Kellan enviously.
Kane just had her hair. Kellan was utterly beautiful. Her purple eyes sparkled like gem stones. Her dark brown hair emphasized those eyes and outlined her high cheeks. People wanted to make Kellan smile. They loved to see her wide serene grin. Many a lad was already looking her way. If Kellan wasn't so strong minded, there would already be offers.
Kane noticed that she wasn't smiling now, and her eyes didn't shine. She had
never seen them so dark before. Her skin was so pale. Kane knew she needed to do better. She needed to help her sisters make it through this tragedy. It was just so hard!
Kellan relaxed as she worked on Kane's hair. It was lovely. She had never seen tresses so blond, or so soft.
"What's with the bonnet?" Kellan nodded at the bonnet sitting on the bed.
"That was Grandma Tess's," Kane answered her.
"I know that," Kellan told her gently as she felt her stiffen. "I just wondered why it was on your bed."
The bonnet was a purple, rather elaborate affair with blue and pink ribbons. It looked a little unsightly with the gaping holes cut into each side.
"That was the only time I'd ever seen mama cry." Tears welled up in Kane's eyes, "and I was the one to make her cry. I never even told her I was sorry."
"And were you," Kellan asked, "sorry, I mean."
"I was sorry that she cried," Kane answered. "Sorry that I caused her hurt, not so sorry that I re-patterned it for Heidi, though. It looked so cute on her. She liked it, too."
"I think she liked the attention you were giving her," Kellan smiled remembering the bonnet on Heidi's big head, "not so much the hat itself."
"I didn't know it was special to mama," Kane cried. "I didn't know it was the only thing she had to remember Tessie by. Mama never wore hats."
"I heard papa calming her," Kellan told her. "He mentioned that now, she would see the hat and remember her youngest daughter cutting it special for her favorite donkey. She laughed when he said that. He also said that knowing his mother as well as he did, that Tessie would be somewhere smiling about the whole thing."
"He did?" Kane asked with surprise. "He said all that?"
"He did," Kellan assured her.
"Did you notice that baby Haley was in our link?" Kane asked her. "I didn't think a baby could be in link."
"Yes," Kellan frowned. "We all felt her. If I think about her, I can still feel her. I can feel now that she is hungry—again. I'm very glad that mama called on Terah. I sure don't feel ready to take care of a baby, and when would I find time for my learning with a baby in tow."
"Aunt Caryn would take care of Haley," Kane told her.
"Are you sure?" Kellan asked her. "It seems that there are a lot of things which Aunt Caryn should be taking care of—and isn't."
"Maybe she's just messed up by mama's death," Kane suggested. "Having seven nieces suddenly thrust onto someone has got to be—well—shocking."
"Maybe," Kellan said as she finished unwinding the knots out of Kane's hair. "Now about this length…"
"Out!" Kane stood, flipping her hair around her feet and pointing at the door.
"That's gratitude," Kellan laughed as she hurried out of the room.
She made her way downstairs to read from mama's book. An hour later, she watched as Aunt Caryn made her way into the house. Kellan laughed to herself. She was absolutely hammered.
"We'll just put this stuff away," Della told her. "Shall we?"
People piled into the house making a pathway into the kitchen. Kellan felt her eyebrows raise with surprise at all the food making its way into the house.
"More came after you left," Julie told her. "There were some strange stories about up north. Do you know what's going on up there?"
"Up north," Kellan said distractedly. "We haven't heard anything about the north."
"Oh well," Julie told her. "It's probably nothing."
After they left, Kellan continued to read from her mama's book. After reading the same line for the third time, and on her forth yawn, she figured it was time for bed. She walked into her room and pulled back abruptly. The smell was appalling. Someone—or two—had been sick. She opened the window and high tailed it to borrow a bed in Kane's room. They would have to deal with it in the morning.
Kellan looked over at Kane, who was sleeping peacefully. She had a sad smile on her lips. Kellan made another promise that day. She promised that she would do anything needed to keep her sisters from harm's way.
Kellan heard the twins come in a short time later. They were giggling, probably about some boy. Kellan pitied the boy who would fall for them. He better be strong—being magic would help, too.
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