notyetlegend | → IC CONTACT FOR eachdraidh

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.

If only my mother saw it that way.

[She's a little flattered by the sudden interest, really. Hearing someone rapt with so much fascination is a little embarrassing.]

We had a fight shortly after. [There's a lot of guilt in the tone of her voice here.] I tore her tapestry with a sword an' she threw my bow into th' fire. We were both too stubborn an' prideful to admit either of us was wrong. [Merida sighs a little.] I left an' fled th' castle on Angus until we came to th' stone circle.

Edited 2015-01-11 11:06 (UTC)

Oh...

[That sounds a little familiar, and it tore her heart a little to hear something so sad come between mother and daughter.]

I am sorry... mothers and daughters should always know each other's hearts. Did she not see yours? It is so alive and vibrant, I cannot imagine how.

I used to think that sometimes she couldn't see me at all. Not me as I am but th' me she wanted me to be. Someone like her full of grace an' wisdom who was ready to take over as Queen.

[She clears her throat, suddenly finding it a bit clogged as her accent thickened.]

I wasn't ready at all. It's not that I'm avert to gettin' married or takin' over eventually, I just...wasn't ready at th' time. [She pauses.] I guess that's why I chose to court Cu here. Because it was my choice an' I could experience somethin' for myself, th' freedom that came with makin' that choice. An' he doesn't expect me to be anythin' less than who I am.

[There's a small silence as Grainne thinks on that, feeling her heart twist painfully.]

A parent always wishes to help their child and worry for them, sometimes they can miss what their child really needs.

[Her voice softens then, becoming gentle.]

Are you sure you are courting him for the right reasons, Merida? Forgive me for asking... it is your choice, but if it were anything else I would not. You must think of these things, not to answer me, but for yourself. It deals in the heart and I do not wish to see you hurt. [She pauses.] Or having to run from an army for a year to learn.

[Then, her words are more thoughtful and almost to herself.]

I wonder if it is not too late...

[She makes a small noise in the back of her throat, clearing it again.]

I thought about it, a lot, once I realised what he was doin' an' what I was feelin'. I talked to a lot of people to help come to th' decision, get their opinions. I know they're probably selfish reasons, but I want this. If we can't go home until the war's over, are we expected to hold out for someone who might love us when we return, just because it's tradition? What if I don't get to go home? I'd not have lived a full life. [Merida tilts her head, offering her some questions.] What if you were alone here? Would you choose someone else, eventually, if Diarmuid wasn't around?

[She pauses here.]

Too late for what?

Then you are wiser than I. You will make the greatest of leaders for your clan.

[But her eyes grow misty and her voice distance.]

If I were alone, without my kin or husband... I would still not choose another, even if it meant I spent the rest of my life alone.

...How did the story end, Merida?

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