notyetlegend | → IC CONTACT FOR eachdraidh

[Grainne almost wants her to, but thinking about it...]

Anything I can learn is important. There is much to be said of who tells the story, and who passed it on. If you wish to skip all of the who's son is who and the long history of someone who only is mentioned a few times, I would not blame you. I already know those. That might shave a few hours off. [She smiles slightly, poking a little at the traditions.]

[There's a slight giggle from her end.]

I can't say my mother told me a simple version. [Still, she had to ask] Was Fionn really that lazy that he sent Oisin an' Diorriang to ask your father for your hand?

[The sound of cloth shifting fills the locket as Grainne gets comfortable and considers the question.]

Ah, not lazy. If there is one thing that man is, it is not lazy. Cormac and Fionn had been feuding off and on for the last few years before that, and stubbornly assheaded as men can be, neither could let it go so easily. It was an uneasy peace 'tween them. He sent Oisin and the druid to act on his behalf, and politics being what they are, emissaries were acceptable. It showed he was willing to work to make a peace, even if that peace meant himself had to be away to work for it.

Of course it created all sorts of confusion. I thought they meant I was to wed Oisin. I would have even taken Oscar over Fionn, even as a second wife and my status could have gotten me so much more than that.

[Merida purses her lips together, humming a little in thought.]

If th' lords hadn't have had sons, I would've had to marry them instead. [She makes a small noise just thinking about it.] One of them's old enough to be my grandfather. I don't think even bein' second wife would've gotten me to do anythin' different like I did it.

[She leans her head on her hand.]

Fionn asked you riddles an' although you answered everythin' perfectly, you decided you didn't like him an' wouldn't go through with th' marriage. It's about then that there's a commotion in th' courtyard as dogs fight over table scraps, an' you follow to see what's goin' on an' catch sight of Diarmuid.

[Grainne nods, listening with rapt attention until the pause.]

There is so much more to it than that. Fionn was insulting with his praise... I remember hearing the dogs snarling.

[Then she sighs softly.]

And seeing a man who looked more lonely than I could imagine amongst his own friends and kin.

[So it was the loneliness for you too, huh? That's all she can think of when she hears that, though she doesn't say it. A noise makes its way out instead, understanding in tone.]

You fell in love instantly, didn't you?

Aye. Some call it the spot's work, but I think it was more than that. He had the same mark as Ailill on his soul.

What happens next, Merida?

You told your maid to get a cup an' send it filled with drink to Fionn an' every other member of th' Fianna except Oisin, Oscar, Diarmuid, Caoilte an' th' druid. You drugged it with an enchanted sleep an' everyone who drank fell to it's enchantments.

[It's at this point that she forgets she's talking to Grainne entirely, switching tenses, talking as though to someone else.]

Once she knew everyone was asleep, Grainne went to Oisin to ask him to take her out of Teamhair. He refused, stating he would not betray Fionn. She next went to Oscar, who also refused. When she went to Diarmuid, it was too much, an' she begged him to save her from the marriage she now detested. Though she kissed him passionately after asking him to run away with her to show him she meant it, when he too refused, she put a geis on him that every one of the people who had drunk from her cup would die that night if he did not take her with him. She left then, an' Diarmuid asked his friends what to do; they told him to follow Grainne because it wasn't his fault for his bonds, but Grainne's.

Edited 2015-01-09 10:12 (UTC)

[Hearing it spoken thus, Grainne becomes quiet, listening, not wishing to disturb Merida's trance-like storytelling.]

It wasn't his fault, but Grainne's...

[It was true, but it also sounded like Oscar. She could never do anything to please that one, even after all was said and done.]

There was no real geis...

[She pauses then, listening to Grainne.]

There wasn't?

[She smiles sadly, looking at Merida with a regretful, shamed manner.]

No. I can cast geises, that is true, but Diarmuid only thought there was. I didn't have the heart to sentence my father and brothers to a true death that night in Tara. Even old Fionn, as much as I disliked him then.

If he waited 'til morning, the deception would have been found out, and my disappearance known right away. They would have tracked me and brought me back, where there was only one choice to be made after they asked me why. I would have been made Fionn's wife, and after seeing Diarmuid...

[She trails off, but the meaning is clear. He would always be within reach, but she forever barred from touching him, because she would be a lord's wife.]

Edited 2015-01-09 10:36 (UTC)

[She makes a noise that sounded like 'I knew it'. Whoever had passed the tale on and down for generations wouldn't have known. She then clears her throat, deciding Grainne deserves an explanation for her words.]

My mother an' I used to have arguments over whether or not you'd actually cast th' geis. I was always of th' impression that you hadn't.

[The sad look is gone for a moment, and fades into surprise. People had arguments whether she did or not? It definitely feels a little bit strange...]

Well, do not go telling him, I was very desperate and he will likely be very angry with me. There is enough troubling him I do not wish to have him worry about something that happened so long ago. I cause him enough grief.

Of course I won't tell him.

[She can certainly understand the reasons, and she's become better at keeping secrets. It still makes her stomach twinge at the thought, but it's for the best.]

Thank you.

[She brightens up a little after that, feeling grateful and warmth for the girl. They had only known each other for a short time, but she already felt as close to her as the girls on the homestead.]

What else does the story say?

Uh, hmm...

[If there was one thing that Merida liked about being in the Drabwurld, it was the people that she got to meet and the friends she got to make, even if they were on the supposed 'other side'. What did come next? She went back over what she'd just said, then hummed.]

Th' two fled into th' countryside, but it wasn't long before Fionn an' th' Fianna woke up an' were on their trail in order to avenge Diarmuid's 'betrayal' of Fionn. Th' first encounter occurred when th' two stopped in th' woods an' Diarmuid built a small fort with seven doors. Aengus Og, Diarmuid's foster father, realized their danger an' came to spirit them away. Diarmuid refused to leave that way, but asked him to take Grainne away with him, an' he would follow. After Aengus left, Diarmuid went to each door an' asked who was behind it, until he found where Fionn was, opened th' door an' vaulted over Fionn an' his hired men an' landed on the other side, an' left th' woods.

[Grainne sighs softly, nodding. She remembers the fear she felt while the warriors came close, and how strong and brave Diarmuid always looked. How pained and worried he was... that was probably the first time she felt a pang of regret at what she did, and worried how things were going so wrong so quickly.]

Diarmuid's pride as a knight would not let him take the easy way out. I did not wish to leave him, but Aengus was very kind to me and soothed my worries.

[She certainly understood that. Her pride was what had come between her and her mother, she understood that now having been here for three months, and her talk with Diarmuid after the fear dogs had made her see that. It wasn't always an easy thing to handle.]

It sounds like he was very approvin' of th' two of you as a couple though.

I suppose he was. I think he knew how I felt about Diarmuid, and he was quite worried at what would happen to the both of us if we were caught.

[Those memories were a little more faded, since they were so brief and fleeting.]

It was hard to admit for a long time, but I think Diarmuid himself didn't approve until well into the year we were running. It was one of the most difficult times in my life.

I think I know how he felt. I still don't feel right about leavin' th' manor, but I'm makin' th' best choices I can right now given everythin' that's going on.

[Merida's voice is as gentle as she can make it.]

I'm sure he felt th' same way, but it got easier over time to feel comfortable with his decision.

Edited 2015-01-11 08:31 (UTC)

I did not feel happy about leaving Teamhair myself, but I had few other recourses to take and I thought he saw those things that appealed to him in me. I often wonder about that, but I am too afraid to ask.

[She hesitates a moment, as if she feels very unsure what she says next.]

Merida, have you been told since you were young you would one day marry?

Aye.

[There's a small sigh in her voice.]

Ever since I was young, I knew mum was trainin' me to become Queen one day. I knew what that meant, that that meant takin' over th' homestead an' marryin' someone. I thought I'd have a choice over whether I did that or not but...a month or so after my sixteenth, she told me th' lords were bringin' their sons as suitors for my betrothal.

And there were no others to offer? Were they such that you could not refuse all of them?

[Grainne's voice is both curious and surprised. Three for a princess of Merida's rank and beauty? There should be dozens.]

Have things changed so much in your time...

We're not aligned with any other clans in th' area. Those three lords were th' only ones who came to my father's aid when th' northern invaders came. He might be their king but...there are others who do not claim him.

[She rubs the back of her neck.]

I refused them. I didn't want any part in any choice I couldn't make, but mum wouldn't have any of it. She made me go through with th' presentation an' th' games. So I took up th' challenge myself for my own hand an' beat all three of them.

The politics of kingdoms. So many to quarrel amongst themselves. It is good your father had allies against the north men, but a princess should be courted by many, enemy and ally alike, so she has her choice of men...

[Merida's story is fascinating, and Grainne's eyes spark with interest and admiration.]

Oh, Merida, what a smart lass you are. You gained your freedom in such a way they could do naught but improve themselves and give insult to no one.

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