Chereads / Riders of the Storm / Chapter 4 - Princess Medb II

Chapter 4 - Princess Medb II

At one point in time, she had been young and naive. A time in which she believed in all those stories about parents sacrificing everything for their child. That was a long time ago when she was craving the attention of others, an innocent child who knew no better.

Her father, King Cathal was always busy with matters of war and state, rarely having time for her. He was always at the outskirts of the Kingdom of Éire and later on, in the newly annexed territories on the mainland. There were but a few times, no more than a few months each time in which he was in Réalta. At a younger age, she had looked forward to those moments, just for the single moment when she could simply look upon her father. Even ignoring the fact that instead of spending time with her, he would spend his time locked in his chambers or in the War Room, Medb had just been happy to have him close by.

That had all changed after the incident when everything around her came crashing down. The moment when her mother died and her entire world changed.

King Cathal had always been distant, but after her mother's death, she would not say that he noticed her, but he began to teach her things. He would dismiss her tutors and teach her himself, everything from matters of state to politics and even controversially teaching her how to wage war. He had not been kind or forgiving in his studies, King Cathal had always expected perfection and allowed very little room for error.

Having just lost her mother, Medb had ignored the abusiveness of their relationship at the time. For years she was dragged from war camp to war camp, continuing to study under her father while being exposed to the horrors of war.

'Perhaps I should thank him for that, after all, his actions have moulded me into who I am today.' Despite trying to make light of her past, Medb couldn't remove the deep frown from her face as she exited the throne room, especially not when she saw who was walking towards her.

They were a small group, just a handful of men and women walking towards her. There were around four armed guards, clad in a lighter armour to the palace guards, though with a surcoat denoting the county of Gaillimh. The surcoat itself was split left to right into two colours, burgundy red and white. In the middle lay the crest of Gaillimh, a gold boat with a shield of red emblazoned with a golden lion upon the mast.

There were also two further ind individuals, nobles this time. The taller of the two was a well-built and strong man, clad in the colours of the province of Gaillimh. His black hair was sleeked back and he walked with a calm gait, both hands clasped behind his back.

The other was a young woman, a few years older than Medb herself. Her blue dress was long and flowing. Head held high and a look of barely contained disgust as she looked around at the peasants and guards that passed her by.

And at the front, leading them all was the woman Medb felt a flood of repugnance for. To call her beautiful would be an understatement, she was hauntingly so with long flowing black hair that seemed to shine in the light. Hidden beneath what Medb considered to be garish makeup was a strikingly beautiful face that was set upon an equally desirable lithe, slender body that moved rhythmically and seductively in every way. Her body, like her face, was also adorned with clothes that fit in a way unbecoming to a lady of her status, unfortunately, the clothes and makeup reflected her character more than the frame beneath.

Feeling her lips curl into a mocking smile, Medb moved forwards stopping directly in front of the group. Her handmaidens, each of whom had waited patiently outside the throne room hurrying to fall into step behind her. "Mother, what a pleasant surprise to see you here."

As soon as the word, "mother" passed her lips, Medb was rewarded with a look of irritation that came across Queen Fiona's face.

But Medb was far from done, turning to face the young woman beside her. "And a good day to you, Lady Madigan." She addressed the young Countess of Luimneach. "Lord Cadman." Her attention then turned to the Earl of Gaillimh.

"What are you doing here?" Queen Fiona snapped out angrily and Medb turned to the Queen with a smile that she knew would only fuel Fiona's rage.

"I thought that would be quite obvious, mother," Medb replied dismissively. "But if you are not aware then that is not my problem. Perhaps you should take it up with his Excellency. Ask him why he did not deign to inform you of our meeting."

Madigan moved forwards, her eyes narrowed in outrage at her tone. "You are speaking to the Queen of Éire, show some respect."

Medb's smile drained from her face, gaze flickering to Lord Cadman whose hand had dropped to the handle of his blade, the guards behind him shifting. They then turned to Queen Fiona who smirked viscously and Medb could just tell that violence was her preferred option.

'Unfortunately for her, I do not bother with fighting. Nor would I enter a fight I have no chance of winning. ' As she turned away from Lord Cadman and Queen Fiona, Medb didn't turn fully and instead looked to Lady Madigan out of the corner of her eye. "Perhaps, you should remember to whom you are speaking to. Mother may be Queen, but that's only because Queen Aislinn passed away giving birth to Diarmaid. Otherwise, she'd just be another Baron's daughter and nothing more."

The reminder of the previous Queen served to enrage Fiona, her face twisting into a disgusting, grotesque scowl which only amused Medb greatly, the smile she gave only taunted Fiona.

Ever the calm headed man, Cadman cleared his throat, a subtle reminder of where exactly they were and who they were surrounded by. Throughout the course of their standoff, the palace guards that had wandered the corridors had stopped, more than a few surrounding them.

"Perhaps this is a conversation to be had elsewhere," Cadman muttered lowly, gaze carefully considering all the guards surrounding them. Medb could admire him for that, a calm headed man and able to analyse the situation carefully. Unfortunately, he was much like many men, ruled by their lower head. Such a shame really, a talented and skilled warrior that just couldn't say no to a beautiful woman.

"Yes, why don't we take this conversation elsewhere?" There was a look from all of them, especially Fiona, all of them questioning why she was agreeing to continue. Medb could understand the confusion, after all, she had the perfect opportunity to avoid a continued confrontation.

"Very well." Imperiously, Fiona stuck her nose up into the air. Turning on her heel and stalking down the corridor, her entourage rushing to follow behind her allowing Medb to stroll along, hardly in any rush. As per their duties, her handmaidens stuck behind her, but the knights of Gaillimh formed up around both slowly parting groups.

With her hands clasped in front of her, Medb kept an amicable smile upon her face, nodding her head in greeting to the various servants and guards that crossed her path. A stark difference from Fiona who dismissed every single person that passed her by. Madigan, ever the follower copied her while Cadman at least had the decency to greet captains of the palace guard, marked out by the fur lining their cape and the long plume of black hair trailing from the back of their helmet.

As they passed through the front entrance, turning up the stairs, Medb paused and many others paused when they heard a shout. All turned to see the large metal doors of the Pálás an tSolias being blown up by the powerful winds of the storm raging outside. Rain streamed in and Medb heard her handmaidens scream out in fright when it struck them, scrambling up the stairs to avoid it. But even as Medb felt the rain soaking her clothes, she remained standing, looking to the various carriages outside. Servants struggled against the wind, carrying boxes filled with various clothes and gifts. Lord Cadman himself rushed down the stairs, bellowing orders to those still stood in shock by the sudden event.

Yet as the servants and guards scrambled around to close the door, Medb noticed one man just leaning against the wall. He was clad in a tattered cloak that at one point could have been expensive, though considering the various holes decorating it, was nothing more than a mess now. He was tall, yet lean and muscular, sharp blue eyes sparkling with amusement as he watched the servants and guards scramble to bring order back to the palace entrance. His brown hair was messy, pulled back into a loose ponytail that fell down over the front of his shoulder.

Medb recognised him instantly and her fingers clenched tightly as she squashed the urge to frown. 'I see so that's him? Truly father, you are making things far more difficult than they need to be.' Quickly turning away from the man, Medb continued her stroll upstairs where Fiona stood waiting impatiently.

"What were you looking at?" Fiona questioned, having come to a stop upon noticing Mebds absence.

"Nothing to concern yourself with, mother." Medb dismissed, brushing past her and taking the lead this time as they made their way down the many corridors of the palace. Eventually, they came to a stop outside of the Princess' room, Medb refusing to enter anywhere with Fiona that she didn't know personally. The palace was a large place and filled with lots of rooms, many of which she didn't see the inside of fully, servants quarters and the likes. Places that she was not forbidden from entering, but due to personal paranoia, refused to enter all the same.

But when she had been younger, she had entered many rooms, some that she did not have permission to enter, yet did so anyway, getting away with such actions due to her position. In recent times, however, after her return to the palace a few years ago, followed soon after, by the marriage between King Cathal and Fiona, Medb no longer acted in the same way. She had not been the same upon returning to the palace, nor had the sour relationship between her and her stepmother made Medb feel any safer in the strange place she had once called home.

Pushing open the door, Medb stepped inside, holding it open for Fiona before blocking the entrance. Madigan herself having attempted to follow them inside was left standing awkwardly outside. "You are dismissed for now," Medb told her handmaidens, completely ignoring the angry flush growing upon Madigan's cheeks. "Yes, can I help you?"

"I-I..."

Medb rose a delicate brow in questioning. "Lady Madigan, kindly take yourself elsewhere. Mother and I are having a private conversation." Then to add insult to injury, Medb closed the door directly into Madigan's face, the runes inscribed upon them glowing and once again cutting off all sound from the corridor.

"How cruel of you to treat an old friend like that." Fiona mocked, taking a moment to pick up the golden encased mirror. Almost as soon as her hands touched it, Medb quickly snatched it from her hands, a reflexive action that revealed more than Medb would have liked, something the Queen picked up on.

"That was a long time ago. Madigan and I are no longer the people we used to be."

Turning away, Fiona crossed the room and took a seat at the little table a few paces directly across from the four-poster bed. Medb herself traced the edges of the mirror she clutched tightly in her hand, pausing over the areas where the paint was peeling to reveal rough wood. Memories of a simpler and happier time passed through her mind. The tight grip on the mirror held for a moment longer before relaxing, Medb gently placed the mirror upon the cupboard before moving to take a seat on the spare chair across from the older woman.

"Perhaps," Fiona murmured mysteriously. "''Twas not long ago that you two were inseparable, that was before his Excellency took you with him to the battlefield. Alas, you were young and never the same again."

"Please, mother, do not pretend to know who I was at that time. Back then you were just a Barons daughter with no suitable match. If I had met you before that time you were so beneath my notice that I do not deign to remember it. But look at you now, from a Barons daughter to the Queen of the Éire, it seems everything has worked out for you perfectly." Medb said, fingers tapping rhythmically against the wood of the table. "So allow me to impart a little advice upon you; stop."

"Stop?" Fiona chuckled, amused by her words. "Stop what exactly?"

Medb scoffed. "Your attempts at being coy are not convincing in the slightest." Checking her nails slightly, Medb turned to her with a smile. "You've been gathering the Lords of Éire to your side for many years now. Inviting them to your chambers and no doubt offering your body to them in return for loyalty. But you don't have enough, at most you have less than a third of the lords but how loyal are they? I wonder if they would remain loyal if they knew that you were no better than a common whore, just far more expensive, I certainly don't believe they would."

Her words sparked the anger within Fiona who slammed her hand on the table. "You dare speak to me in such a way?! I am the Queen of Éire!" Fiona screeched as she rose to her feet.

"Exactly the reason why I am telling you to stop with your schemes. If you continue on as you are now, eventually the novelty of fucking the Queen will wear off and the Lords will abandon you. That is if they were ever loyal to you in the first place, who knows there might be a few foolish Lords who convinced themselves that out of the all the nobles you invite to your bedchambers that they are the special ones." Medb let out a brief sarcastic laugh to show how little she thought of such a thing. "There are some foolish men in the world who might believe such a thing, but I can assure you that your schemes will fail."

Fiona gritted her teeth, knuckles whitening as she clenched her fists and the veins on her temple flared. Yet Medb was far from worried, certainly as the Queen, Fiona was provided many advantages that many others never were, however, she was only a secondary Queen and one that had failed repeatedly in her duty as a wife. Medb on the other hand was the favoured daughter of King Cathal and also soon to be married to the King of Cymru, Rhodri. Fiona would be a fool to so much as raise a hand to strike her let alone follow through with such an action.

"Please sit down mother, you are embarrassing yourself." Medb indicated to the seat with one hand and with great reluctance, Fiona did so. "I honestly find your scheming amusing, even if you're not very good at it. Sex is a tool and quite frankly, you have overplayed that hand and now you find yourself in a difficult situation. Considering you only have a third of the lords in your faction, you're not much of a threat. I can assure you that if you go ahead with your little coup as you seem to be set on doing, Killian and his forces alone will be enough to put an end to you. So I suggest that you stop and reconsider your option."

"You seem to know a great deal of my plans, but how much do you really know?" Fiona questioned and Medb almost pitied her for how out of her depth she was.

Instead of answering, however, Medb chose to remain silent, and Fiona quickly realised that she had no intention of answering. Once again, Fiona's fingers curled into a fist in an attempt to withhold the urge to strike Medb for her insolence.

Releasing a drawn-out sigh of frustration, Fiona leaned back into her chair and looked out across the room. Medb herself leaned forwards and rested both arms on the table, hands clasped together. "I don't want you dead mother I want you to continue these schemes of yours, it'll be a good experience for Diarmaid. He's young and naïve, if he is to be King he will need to learn to not blindly trust those around him."

"You would expose him to danger?" Fiona asked disbelievingly. "You expect me to believe that? What is your real aim?"

Medb tutted at her simple question. "You ask the right questions, just not in the right way and it's why you will always lose. And you're right, I have no problem with exposing Diarmaid to danger. If he dies, he dies, that is the nature of the world in which we live. And if he lives, he will be stronger for it."

"So this is who you really are?" Fiona questioned and after a moment, began laughing. "Well now isn't this a shock. I wonder how Diarmaid would feel if I told him who you really are?"

"By all means, do so?" Medb replied simply and Fiona paused, looking upon her cautiously. "Ask yourself, mother, is the person I am right now, just another act? Or am I being truthful? And if I am being truthful, who would believe you?" Medb's smile widened while Fiona's drained from her face as she realised the truth. "You can leave now."

Fiona was on her feet and walking out before she even realised she had been dismissed so effectively by Medb. Yet the anger she felt at Medb's words were tempered by the reminder of how easily she had been handled by the young Princess and so, fighting the urge to turn and teach the girl a lesson, simply left without a word.

Medb didn't even turn to watch her leave, continuing to look out across the room in silence. Yet her ears were sharp, picking up the noise of heels clacking against the stone floor, the sound of the door opening filling the once silent room with the bustling of the castle before it closed behind Queen Fiona. In response, silence returned to the room, and Medb remained seated staring at where Fiona had once sat. Time ticked by slowly, yet Medb was used to such things, enjoyed them in fact.

Times like these provided her with the opportunity to think, consolidate her thoughts and secure her plans for the future. There was a tendency to believe that by doing nothing, one was preparing to fail. That was not always the case, it was best to recognise one's limit and never overreach. In doing so, this impatience could cause more problems than necessary and Medb would not fail, not when she was so close.

As time continued to pass, eventually she reached out and at that moment, a golden chalice was placed in her hand followed by the pouring of wine into it. Once filled, Medb took the glass and raised it to her lips, quenching the thirst that had begun to grip her after the battle of words with Fiona. Placing it back down on the table, Medb turned her head to look at the kneeling figure upon the ground.

They were clad head to toe in a long black cloak with a hood pulled over its head clouding their face in shadow. They had no distinguishable features, hiding everything that could possibly identify the figure as a man or woman.. "What do you have for me, Scáth?" Medb asked gently and the figure rose their heads, even then the shadows covering their face did no fully subside, only revealing an angular jaw.

"After your dismissal of Lady Madigan, she attempted to send a message to someone." Medb extended her hand and Scáth rummaged within his cloak, handing the open letter to her. For a few moments, Medb read over the contents of the letter before hovering it above the candle that lay on the centre of the table. "It's contents are quite troubling, if it is true, then Queen Fiona has much more powerful backers than we initially thought."

"It changes nothing," Medb responded rubbing her fingers to get rid of the embers of the letter. "Queen Fiona has overplayed her hand and if it is true that Donal is alive, then all it will accomplish is thrusting Éire into civil war. Making it the perfect opportunity."

Scáth bowed their head. "Of course, your Excellency."

"But in the meantime, we must focus on our current problems; my handmaidens."

"Such a pity. They are so young, and they are gifts from the Queen."

Medb frowned, lips twisting in disgust. "Which is precisely why I want them dead. They're nothing more than street urchins and they're spies on top of that. I want them eliminated before I arrive in Cymru."

"And I am just like them, what makes me any different?"

"As for what makes you different." Medb reached out, her finger tilting Scáths face up, this time revealing dry, pale lips. "You are mine and they are not." She then withdrew her hand and turned away with a frown. "We also have a problem. The Hero, Cú Chulainn is amongst my escort."

This got a reaction from Scáth, their body tensing and a light gasp escaping from their lips. "That is...that is not good news. The preparations I made did not take into account that a Hero would be amongst your escort. From our reports as well, Cú should still be on the frontlines in the county of Sir Benfro. How is it that he is here without any of us being aware of his disappearance? It doesn't make sense."

"That's precisely why my father did it," Medb answered, biting the nail of her thumb in thought. "He no doubt has an Athraitheoir Craicinn in his service. He certainly kept that close to his chest. Damn him!"

"An Athraitheoir Craicinn? They're very rare, even amongst Druid kind. What do we do now? Our plans will not work against a Hero." They inquired and Medb hesitated for a moment, her mind whirling as she attempted to consider all possibilities. The information that King Cathal had told her about Cú being amongst her escort was only revealed in her meeting with him in the throne room.

Despite the predicament it put her in, Medb couldn't help but admire Cathal for his actions. Anyone that attempted to assassinate her would have the perfect opportunity on the journey from the city of Réalta to the capital city of Cymru, Seren. Therefore keeping the illusion that the Heroes of Éire were still on the frontlines all the while secretly ferrying one back to the palace in order to act as her escort. By keeping this secret it would mean any and all assassination attempts would not have prepared for the arrival of a Hero and therefore would be doomed to fail.

It just so happened that she too was one of those affected by his plan.

"No, we continue with the plan, just hire more."

"Your Excellency, please that is too dangerous. If we hire too many then we will not be able to control all their actions like we wanted to. It will place you in far more danger than we initially wanted." Scáth warned.

Medb stood up. "Sacrifices have to be made. Besides, Cú Chulainn is by far the strongest of the three Heroes despite his disposition, I have confidence that he will be able to deal with most of them. It will be your job to ensure that if he cannot, that I am kept safe. Will that be too difficult?"

"No, it will not," Scáth vowed, bowing their head further before melting away into the ground.