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Healing Gilvary

By Andrea Boyd

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Gwen
“Gwen, I cannot believe you are truly thinking of leaving Aisling. This is your home. Your entire family is here.”
Brianna was not usually so whiny. She had come to me in near panic once she heard the news that I was leaving. Finding me here sorting through my clothes had not helped one bit. I tossed another dress across my bed. How could I explain my need to find my own place in this world in a way that would not upset my friend?
“It sounds as if I am really needed in Gilvary.”
She took both of my hands into hers and gave me a pleading look with those big hazel eyes of hers. “But I need you here. Who is going to deliver my baby? You are the best friend I have in this world. Everything will change without you here.”
Others would think it strange that a queen would find a best friend in a lowly servant like myself. Her parents had not wanted their only child to be lonely, so they had arranged for me, the daughter to the castle’s steward, to be her early companion. I suppose we became friends while we were still too young to understand about the different classes in society.
“Things have already changed. You are married. Your husband is your best friend now, which is just as it should be. Your baby is not due for another six months. If I am not back by then, there are plenty of midwives available with more experience at child birth than me who would be more than happy to assist you.”
She turned toward the small window in my room and drew the curtain back to look out over the Moya Ocean. I knew it was a sight that gave her comfort.
“Some friend Garrett is. He gave you that letter from Reagan without consulting with me or giving any thought as to how this would affect me. He is not the same as when we were first married. I know he has every right to be broken after what his father did to him, but I never imagined it would be this hard to deal with.”
The late King Coman of Gilvary had once had great ambitions of taking over all three of the kingdoms in Kearnley. In pursuit of this dream, he had arranged to have his eldest son killed, had tried but failed to take Reagan’s life, and had captured and tortured Garrett—all in an attempt to gain control of Aisling. Only God knew what he had planned for the kingdom of Dermot.
Prince Reagan had shown up here in a frightful state after the failed attempt on his life. Being the most experienced healer in the castle, I helped to nurse him back to health. I suppose he remembered the help he had received here which prompted his request for me to come to Gilvary. I was not sure if I would be any help to his mother in her state of mental distress, but this was the opportunity I had been praying for.
Based on some of Brianna’s reaction and Garrett’s remarks, it seemed that they were not aware of the full extent of Reagan’s request. In the sealed letter that had been delivered to me, Reagan had spelled out how he not only intended for me to look after his mother, but I would be taking over as the castle healer as well. He had stated that I would be welcome to stay for as long as I liked.
I would always love Brianna, but the fact that I was friend to the queen overshadowed everything I attempted to do here in Aisling. My father did not help matters either. I loved him as well, but he still felt the need to take care of his little girl’s every need. I had turned nineteen two weeks before. This was my chance to make it on my own, to feel like an adult for a change.
“I cannot imagine anyone in that family who will not be touched by King Coman’s actions. Garrett has you to help see him through. I know it is hard right now, but it will get better. If anything, this strengthens my resolve to go. You can focus all your attention on your husband for a while and not have to feel guilty about neglecting our friendship. You have said that has been an issue for you. By the time we see each other again everything will have smoothed itself out. We can pick up right where we left off. It will be as if we never parted.”
She turned to look back at me, her hand resting on her slightly rounded belly. “So, you are definitely going then?”
“I have prayed, and I feel strongly that this is the right thing for me to do.”
“How can I argue with that?” She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath.
“Well then, whatever you need for your trip—clothes, supplies, traveling cases, and anything else you can think of—Garrett and I will take care of the expense of it. Tell your father I said so. Better yet, I will tell him myself. I want no expense spared, and I know you will try to cut corners.”
I pulled her into a hug. “I will miss you.”
“I will miss you as well, but surely you will not be long in Gilvary. You are a great healer. I am confident you will have Queen Finelle back to herself before you even have a chance to get homesick. You will be back in no time at all.”
I did not say anything in reply. I was not sure what the future held for me.
The door to the steward’s office was open, so I did not hesitate to enter. My dad sat at his desk giving instructions to his apprentice. There had been many under his tutelage over the years, but Austin Connor had stayed the longest. Austin working inside at a desk had never felt right to me. He had a warrior’s build, and in fact, that is where he had started, but his intelligence had allowed him to pursue this internship with the castle steward.
We had courted for a time with Dad’s encouragement. Austin was good looking enough with his sandy hair and blue eyes that a girl could get lost in for a while. We seemed to have a lot in common, but there was no spark. It ended when he asked me to marry him. Dad must have been disappointed, but he never questioned my decision.
To be honest, I was not sure I was the marrying type. My only desire for the moment was to concentrate on being a good healer, and that is why I was thrilled to receive Reagan’s letter. I only hated that there was no one with whom I could share my excitement. I suppose I should have felt flattered that my friends and family wanted me to stay in Aisling for the rest of my life.
I took a moment to study my dad with his head bent over the books in front of him as he spoke with his assistant. All of the Alexanders seemed to have the same light blond hair with bright blue eyes and pale skin. My dad, Einri, was no exception. He was tall and reed thin, unlike his six older brothers. They had all been warriors and were built for it as well. In fact, Eamon, the eldest of the family, was Brianna’s advisor in charge of the military and defense.
Austin was the first to notice my presence. He had never gotten over his feelings for me, and it showed every time he looked my way. Maybe he would finally be able to look elsewhere once I was gone.
I think Dad noticed the inattention of his assistant before he noticed me. He looked up into my face, and there was an unusual sadness coloring his features. The news of my leaving had arrived before me. He stood and came around the desk to give me a hug.
“I guess you have already heard that I am leaving.”
“Yes, Queen Brianna informed me a little while ago. I somehow knew you would be leaving me one day, but I had no idea it would happen so suddenly.” He held onto the hug a little longer than usual.
“Oh Dad, it is not as if you will never see me again.”
He pulled back and held me at arm’s length. “One day when you are sending your own child out into adulthood, you will understand.”
Having children of my own was another thing I could not imagine in my future, but I would not dare tell him that.
Austin cleared his throat to let us know he was still there. I imagine it was uncomfortable for him to view this somewhat intimate moment between father and daughter.
“Einri, I think I will take a break now, if that is all right with you, and give you two a chance to talk.”
He came around the desk toward me as if he wanted to give me a hug but ended up just patting my shoulder. “Gwen, hopefully we will have a chance to talk before you leave for Gilvary.”
“Maybe we will.” I did not want to encourage him, but I did not want to be rude either.
After Austin left, we took a seat across from each other in the dark gray wing-backed chairs on one side of Dad’s office. I took a good look around me. I had spent a lot of my childhood right here in this very room. Brianna had started redecorating the castle in her own airy style, but this room had not been touched and was not likely to be.
One whole wall was covered in books containing all of the accounts and castle histories from when Aisling first started out as a kingdom until present time. Besides the shelves of books and the two chairs that we now occupied, there was only the large hand-carved desk and matching chair with a smaller version of the set right next to it. The last was a later addition, necessary once Dad started taking on apprentices. There was not much in way of decoration. It was meant for a work area, but it somehow felt like home to me.
Dad leaned closer to me. “So, when do you plan to leave for Gilvary?”
I looked down at my hands clasped together in my lap. “Within the week.”
“I suppose it makes sense that you would leave so soon if Queen Finelle is in as bad of shape as I am told. I know you will do well there. I understand why you must go. Just know that I will miss you dearly.”
He placed his hand over mine causing me to look up into his dear face, and my heart broke a little. “This is a great opportunity for me. It is a chance for me to learn new things. Please understand that I am not trying to hurt you. You know I will miss you as well, and it is not as if I have never left the castle before.”
He gave me a discerning look. Yes, I had left Aisling before, but we both knew without saying that this time would be different.
“Sweetheart, I am not trying to make you feel guilty, and I am sorry if you took it that way. I know you are doing what is best, but that does not necessarily make it any easier for your old dad.”
He stood and pulled me into his arms for another hug. “You know I love you, right?”
I felt the same comfort in his words as always. “I love you as well, Dad.”
“Go on now. You must have a lot to do in preparing to leave, and I have orders from the queen to take care of. I hope you know she plans to send you off in style.”
“I know. I do not think I could stop her if I tried.”
Brianna had indeed sent me off in style. Every day for the rest of that week someone was either there for a fitting for all the clothes that had been ordered, or they were there dropping things off. It would take a herd of mules just to haul all of my new trunks and baggage to Gilvary.
The best gift I had received was my horse. Years ago I had taken up with a particular gray Arabian mare named Ghost. She had been part of the general horse population here at Aisling, but now she belonged to me.
Dad came bearing a gift of his own on my last full day in Aisling. He seemed hesitant as he looked down at the small package he held in his hand. “The queen did not leave anything for me to give in providing for your trip, but I did want you to have this before you left.”
I untied the ribbon from the box he handed me. It held a small mirror in an antique silver case, one perfect for carrying. It was embossed with the initials ARL in the center with a swirl of rose vines around the perimeter. Although I appreciated my father’s gesture, I did not immediately recognize the significance of his choice for a gift.
He tapped the initials in the center. “This was your mother’s. I believe she had inherited it from her grandmother who carried the same name.”
I knew to tread lightly here. Questions about my mother had gone unanswered in the past. Dad had never wanted to talk about her.
“I thought her name was Rosemary.”
“Actually, that was her middle name and the one she preferred. Alma Rosemary Logan was her full name, or at least it was before we were married. After she died, I decided to return to Aisling. I wanted something of hers to pass down to you. This was small enough to carry and had seemed significant to her. Actually, I believe it may have been the only thing of value she had owned.”
His few simple sentences had revealed things that had previously been unknown to me. Two things of importance—they had been married, and she was dead. He had opened up many more questions than answers. I sorted through them in my head trying to pick the most important to ask. I would probably have only one chance, if that.
“How did she die?” It was a question I felt every child had a right to know about a parent who had passed away. Apparently my father did not agree.
He looked back down at the compact still in my hand. “It is not . . . I . . . I do not want to talk about that right now. Do you have everything ready to go? Is there anything more you need?”
This was the way it had always been anytime the subject of my mother was broached. I never had the heart to press him for information he did not want to give. I think it was the look of pure hurt that always showed up on his face at these times that held me at bay. Nothing in this world would make me want to cause pain to my beloved dad.
“No, I have everything I need and then some.”
“I will be there in the morning to see you off.” He kissed my cheek and walked out the door.
I sat down on my bed and studied the compact with renewed interest. I cataloged all I knew about my mother. I had just learned that she had more of a name than just Rosemary, she had a grandmother with the same name, and she was dead. I had spent my life wondering if she had abandoned us. Oh, and I had just learned that she had been married to my father. I had not been sure about that.
I knew she had green eyes, and her hair had been a darker blond than my own. Dad had said on more than one occasion that I had her mouth. I was never quite sure what that meant. I flipped open the compact and studied my mouth in the mirror, something I had done more than once since the first time I heard it. My teeth were straight. My bottom lip was thicker than the top, and the sides of my mouth tilted down on the very edges when I was not smiling.
That was it. That was all I knew about my mother.
I tucked my newfound information away along with my keepsake and went in search of Brianna to say our farewells. I knew I would not see her again before I left. Mornings were no longer the best part of her day now that she had a child on the way.
On the day of my departure, the air was cool and crisp. I took one last look at the castle behind me as my horse plodded on toward Gilvary. The white stone structure stood in contrast to the blue sky and the even deeper blue of the ocean beneath. Soon the sound of the roaring sea along with the cries from seagulls in search of their next meal would give way to the quiet of the countryside between me and my destination.
It may be to my shame, but my thoughts did not linger for long on the home I was leaving behind, nor to the people there that I loved. I was obsessed with the adventures ahead and with the possibilities of what the future may hold. For the first time, I was heading out on a journey of my choosing, and I was excited to see where it would lead me.

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