Yseult: A Tale of Love in the Age of King Arthur Read Online Free Page B

peace. Lóegaire had decided it was time to fetch Eithne from Cruachu, where she and her younger sister were in fosterage with Ailill Molt, king of Connachta; he seemed to think the kings of Eriu would be more likely to accept a peace already made than to make peace themselves with their Bretain enemies.
    Originally, her mother and Lóegaire had not planned on bringing Yseult along, but she was fourteen years old, stubborn, and of mixed blood. Those of both Gael and Feadh Ree descent were known for their wild eye and passionate temperament.
    Yseult accompanied them to Cruachu.
    She had always wanted to see the royal seat of famous Queen Mebd, the greatest queen who had ever ruled in Eriu, and the extended complex of hill-forts and houses didn't disappoint her. Cruachu was not just one rath, it was many, spread over a larger area than any other in Eriu. Earthworks loomed on all sides as they wound their way toward the main hill-fort of the king of Connachta. The bustling atmosphere of the settlement reminded Yseult of Tara during a fair.
    When they rode through the high wooden gates between the earthen ramparts, Eithne, her sister Fedalma, Ailill Molt, and his wife Ronait were there to meet them, flanked by druids and warriors. Eithne was fourteen, marriageable age among the Gael. Marriageable or not, Lóegaire's daughter looked frightened and young. Yseult's talent for knowing was not as strong as her mother's — her own strongest power was that of calling — but she didn't have to read Eithne's mind to know that her step-sister did not want to be married across the sea to a Bretain king.
    And Yseult would not have wanted to be in her place.
    "Welcome your arrival, greatest king of the fair island of Eriu," Ailill Molt said formally to Lóegaire after they dismounted. The High King checked a frown. The words were perfectly correct, but even Yseult noticed that the other king had not added any praise of Lóegaire's exploits and excellencies as was custom when greeting an honored visitor. Perhaps Eithne's foster father didn't approve of sending her across the sea in marriage.
    Yseult wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of one hand and glanced at Lóegaire's elder daughter. She was a lovely young woman with hair the color of ripe wheat, braided formally in three plaits that reached past the tops of her thighs, each fixed with a fine silver ball. Her sister Fedalma was brighter in coloring, with hair the color of sunset and a dusting of freckles across her cheeks and nose.
    What would it be like to be forced to marry a man she had never met, far away from anyone she knew? Among the Tuatha Dé Danann, arranged marriages were frowned upon. At the same time, Yseult was well aware that her mother's two marriages had been the result of political considerations. No one had made the decision for Queen Yseult, but she had nonetheless chosen men for the good of her tuath and for the good of Eriu, going along with the dictates of her role as kingmaker.
    "Baths are being prepared for you," Eithne said quietly to the travelers, and Yseult nearly sighed in relief at her words. "But you may take refreshment first if you wish."
    Yseult was thirsty and hungry, but she wanted a bath more. It hadn't rained all week and the roads of Connachta were dusty. Her mother went with Lóegaire and Murchad to the mead hall, while Yseult, Brangwyn, Aidenn, and Gamal followed Eithne and Fedalma to the bath house.
    "Do you fight with my father's champion Murchad?" Eithne asked the two young warriors.
    Aidenn and Gamal nodded.
    "Have you ever accompanied him to the land of the Romans?" she asked.
    "We have been all over the known world with the giant Murchad," Gamal claimed in his booming voice. Gamal loved nothing better than the chance to tell a tale. But Eithne obviously wasn't interested in a good tale; she wanted information about her future home and husband.
    Aidenn gave Eithne a long look and she blushed. "Do you mean the island of the Bretain