The Sea and the Stars - Chapter 1

The Sea and the Stars

Chapter 1

The sun had not yet risen when she left the small hut she shared with her brother and walked out to the field where the horse was quietly grazing. She knew the area so well, every tussock of grass and granite boulder, which she did not fall over in the dim dawn light. She could make out the pale, ghostly grey shape of Steren, her brother's horse. The horse turned to look at her immediately, hearing her soft footsteps in the long grass. She walked over to the mare and crouched down in front of her. Steren lowered her head and she placed her hands on either side of the animal's head, resting her forehead against the course mane. Softly, she whispered ancient words, prayers to Epona, the goddess of horses, and words of courage, strength and hope, believing that this might aid the animal, and her brother, in what was to come.

She kissed the creature's forehead and stood up, patting her strong neck. She turned and walked back through the dew drenched grass to find her brother. He was awake when she came through the door, packing up some food and a skin of water. He turned to look at her with a sad expression on his face, which he immediately covered up by smiling at her. He had pulled his old cloak over the top of his clothes. He wore no armour and the only protection that he had was a leather tunic which he wore over a tattered shirt. Most men had never been warriors or had ever fought battles. They were farmers and the only fights they had ever been involved in were arguments over land or women. He had been given a spear but had no other weapons. He didn't stand a chance of surviving against an army of heavily armoured Roman soldiers.

"When are you going?" she asked him

"Soon. Talan is coming here and then we will ride to meet the others at dawn" he replied. He sounded so calm that she almost believed that he was not scared and that he had been doing this sort of thing his whole life.

"How can you be so calm? You could be dead in a few days and I will never see you again." She regretted her words immediately but she felt angry, sad and sick with worry.

"At least then I would have died knowing that I had done all I could to protect my home, my king and you. Maybe everything will be for nothing but I cannot sit and wait for the Romans to take away everything that I believe in. They would ruin us, Kensa, and they would destroy Kernow" he replied. He sounded so passionate and he believed so strongly that this was what the Gods wanted them to do that, perhaps, this alone could be enough for them to win the battle.

Both brother and sister turned and walked outside into the cold, autumn air. Kensa put the tack onto the horse whilst Cadan picked up his last few belongings and tied it onto the animal's back. When she had finished what she was doing she left Steren to graze and walked a few paces back to her brother.

"You know that I have to do this" he said. She glanced back up at him but could not bear his strong gaze which seemed to look straight through her eyes into her soul.

"Yes, I know you do" she replied.

"We will be together again, my sister" he said, gently. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. He pulled her close to him and kissed her hair. Talan, Cadan's friend, rode towards them.

"Are you ready, Cadan?" he asked.

"Yes" Cadan replied letting go of his sister and jumping onto his horse's back.

"Good bye, Kensa" he said, his voice sounded low and quiet.

"Be safe, dear brother" she whispered as she watched him canter away.

The next few moons passed slowly. It was as though everything; the people, animals, the earth herself, were waiting for news of their loved ones. The weather was mild for the time of year; the sun did not shine and the rain did not come. The grey clouds dimmed all the colours of the grass, sky and turned the sea to a steely grey. The women had to tend to their land and animals as well as their homes and children.

Kensa sat beside the fire; her long cloak pulled around her shoulders to keep out the cold, winter air. Her face looked tired and thinner than usual through lack of food. Her long, dark hair hung loose about her face. All of the people in the village gathered together in the evenings. In the past it would have been a happy gathering with people dancing, singing and telling tales but now it was mainly for protection. The people did not feel safe alone at night any more.

"Dydh da, Kensa" the voice of the young boy said, rousing Kensa from her thoughts.

"Hello Jowan." She looked at the small child sitting on the log beside her. He was thin and his clothing was made out of worn, course material. He was holding a piece of meat in one hand.

"Jowan, where is your mother?"

"Looking after the baby," he said, chewing on his meat. Jowan's mother was Kensa's cousin, Mellyrn. They had grown up together and were about the same age. However, Mellyrn was now married and had 5 children, the oldest being Jowan who had been born six summers ago and the youngest was born on the night of the new moon. Now that Mellyrn's husband had gone, she had to look after all the children and their home by herself. Kensa pulled her cloak around Jowan's shivering shoulders to keep him warm.

"Aunt Kensa? Who is that man?" Jowan's small voice asked from under the cloak.

"Which man?" Kensa asked, surprised at the boy's question for there were no men, except the very old, left in the village.

"Over there, by the woods. See, he's coming over here." Kensa turned to look in the direction that the child was pointing in. There was a dark figure carrying a lantern. It was too dark to see him properly but she could just make out his face in the firelight. The other people in the group had noticed the man now as well and were all looking and talking amongst each other. Some people were scared, worried that he had come to kill them all. Others hoped that it was one of their husbands, returning from battle. However, he didn't appear to be carrying any weapons and it was very unusual for one warrior to travel alone.

"Who are you?" shouted an old man. He was too old to fight now and so had been left behind to protect the women.

"I have not come to harm you" the stranger shouted back. He did not speak their language and he had a strange accent but it was similar enough for them all to understand.

The man walked quicker to them, holding out his hands so that they could see he carried no weapons. The villagers stood up and gathered together, pushing the children behind them for protection.

The man approached them and stood a few paces away. He pushed the hood away from his face. He looked very different from any man the villagers had seen before. He was tall with pale skin, light, straw coloured hair and blue-grey eyes.

"Where are you from and what do you want?" the old man asked.

"Far away and I wish to escape the Romans" he replied. Everybody looked at each other, unsure whether they could trust this man. It was very rare that outsiders ever came to this village.

"I understand that you do not trust me but, I promise, I will not harm you." His face remained blank, but Kensa saw, in his eyes, a light that showed his broken heart. The old man nodded his head at the stranger.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, still not fully trusting the younger man but feeling that he must do something to help him. The stranger smiled and nodded. He moved forwards and sat down on a log beside the fire whilst a woman warily passed a piece of meat and a cup of water to him. Kensa sat on the other side of the fire with Jowan still seated next to her. She stared at the flames and the man on the other side of them.

..............

* Dydh da - Good day

I'm not sure whether to keep going or give up with this so I'd love to know what you think! Just to give you an idea, this story is set in Britain during Celtic times. It is nowhere near finished and there are loads of things that I will change but I hope you enjoy it anyway!! Let me know what you think :)