luthaiseakit | Rose and Caled

Their arrival in Heart's Deep which happened the Friday before Freedoms Picnic.

Mostly written by me, with all Caled's actions written by Andy.

A long leafy lane leads into a village street. Slowly at first the cottages appear scattered along the lane edges, but then suddenly and without warning the lane opens up into the village square. A blacksmith is hammering at the forge, two old men are sat on a bench outside what is clearly the village inn and a group of women are gossiping outside the bakery.

As Rose and Caled enter the square the women notice them first and stop talking, wide eyed with surprise. The old men outside the inn stare surreptitiously, wanting to appear above the petty village gossip, but dying to know if it’s true. Is that really shy little Rose? And who is the stranger with her, whose hand she holds so tightly?

The Blacksmith stops hammering and plunges his work into a bucket of water stood by the anvil. He turns, attracted by the silence in the square and spotting Rose and Caled he raises his eyebrows.

‘Well, well, well… Welcome back Apprentice-Healer. The Wise Woman said you’d be along, but we weren’t expecting you so soon like. *He shifts a little* ‘and who might this be, that you’ve bought back from your, ah, travels?’ He looks to Caled, as though he has no hope of Rose answering.

Rose says ‘I thank-you for your welcome, Councillor Thorne. I am very glad to be home.’ She smiles as she speaks, those who know her very well might even think she was enjoying surprising the councillor. ‘This is Warden Lance-Corporal Caledfwlch ap Brochvale Dumnonii. He was part of my patrol, and has come to visit for a while.’ She smiles up at Caled as she says this.

Caled smiles at the grand introduction and offers his right hand to the blacksmith, "but Caled will do fine. It's an honour to meet you"

There is silence for a long moment as the blacksmith takes in Caled’s furs, war paint and axe, held casually in Caled’s left hand. His expression is one of surprise and appraisal; an unreadable emotion shows in his eyes as he takes Caled’s hand and shakes it. ‘Welcome to Hearts Deep Warden Lance-Corporal. I hope you enjoy your stay, and perhaps you’ll be kind enough to regale us with some tales of your adventures when you are rested?’ His eyes flicker to Rose and he smiles, approval showing ‘You too Apprentice-Healer, though I’m sure your family are anxious to see you. The Wise Woman too’ he breaks off suddenly.

Rose turns to see what he’s looking at and with a shriek she runs across the square towards the woman walking slowly down the road. The woman looks like Rose, though with darker hair. She’s thin and tired looking, as though a long illness has worn her down. Her dress is made, unusually in this village, of black cotton and she’s carrying a small posy of flowers, roses, daisies and poppies amongst others.

When she sees Rose, the posy falls from her fingers and her expression is one of joy and disbelief, as Rose hurls herself into the woman’s arms. They hug, and just stand there, holding each other tightly. Rose’s face cannot be seen but the woman is crying, tears of joy and murmuring something.

After what feels like eternity, Rose loosens her grip and leans back a little. She seems to be talking to the woman, who glances across to Caled. She then fishes a handkerchief out of a pocket and wipes her eyes. Rose stoops and retrieves the posy before leading her back to where Caled and Councillor Thorne are standing.

‘Caled, this is my mother, Seamstress Daisy Fletcher.’ Rose then turns to her mother. ‘Mother, this is Warden Lance-Corporal Caledfwlch ap Brochvale Dumnonii. He’s part of my patrol, and has saved my life more times than I can count.’ Rose is looking slightly anxiously at her mother as she speaks.

Rose’s mother smiles radiantly at Caled, and she holds her hand out to him. ‘Anyone who looks after my Rose is welcome in my home. I’m very pleased to meet you Warden Lance-Corporal.’

Caled takes the proffered hand and bows over it. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you and I thank you for your welcome, but please, Caledfwlch will do fine, Caled even. And, as I keep having to remind your daughter,’ Caled draws a theatrical breath and darts a mischievous look at Rose ‘Apprentice-Healer-Rose-Fletcher-of-Hearts-Deep-apprentice-to-Wise-Woman-Morag-Winter-of-Hearts-Deep, my promotion to lance corporal still hasn’t been officially confirmed’

Daisy laughs and Rose smiles, blushing a little. Councillor Thorne looks over to the inn longingly, before saying ‘well, I must be getting on with my work. Perhaps I’ll be seeing you all in the evening.’ He nods to the group and then heads back into the smithy. Rose holds the posy of flowers out to her mother and Daisy smiles sadly as she takes them. ‘I need to visit Matthias. Rose why don’t you take Caledfwlch to visit Morag? I’ll go and find your father on my way back and we will meet you at Morag’s cottage.’ She smiles at Caled again ‘I am sure we will all have a lot to talk about this evening.’

Rose says ‘Yes Mother’ and slips her hand into Caled’s again. Her expression is radiant with happiness. She kisses her mother and then turns, leading Caled down a side street towards a pretty thatched cottage.

The cottage is well made, and evidently kept in very good repair. As they enter the garden gate and walk up the path a child of seven is seen weeding what appears to be a herb garden, and several teenagers are hard at work harvesting fruit trees. They wave or nod to Rose but don’t stop their work. Rose waves back, clearly more comfortable with them, than with the councillor and she leads Caled to the front door, where she stops and knocks.

The door is opened by a short woman, of about 40. She’s lean and wiry showing signs of a hard life lived well. Her hair is grey and coiled neatly around her head and she wears bracers that match Roses. She has a knowing smile on her face and enfolds Rose into a big hug, smiling over Rose’s shoulder at Caled.

‘Rose my dear... I got your letter, as did your parents. It’s so good to have you home!’ She lets go of Rose and holds her at arms length studying her critically. She seems concerned over what she sees and she shakes her head ‘you’re too thin by half child! You need feeding and I have a big pan of soup on the go, just the thing.’ She glances at Caled and smiles knowingly at him. ‘I suppose you could use soup as well my lad? You must be Caled, I’m Morag by the way’ she holds her hand out to shake. ‘Rose will probably not have told you about my dislike of titles, but I’m afraid the poor girl gets that from me, so lets just pretend we’ve done the whole formal bit and you can come inside and have a bite to eat?’

Caled shakes Morag’s hand firmly but gently and bestows a warm smile and slightly disbelieving look on her. ‘That suits me fine, good lady, what does a title really tell you about a person anyway? It’s an honour to meet you at last, after all I’ve heard of you’ Caled pauses for a moment and sniffs the air. ‘You mentioned soup?’ As he says this, he tilts his head slightly in Rose’s direction, a concerned look on his face.

Rose misses Caled’s look, but Morag does not. She holds Rose firmly by the hand and bustles them both inside sitting them at a table and whisking round the range fetching soup, fresh bread and water to drink with a brisk efficiency that would put most housewives to shame. She sits with them, but does not eat herself and watches with growing concern as Rose only manages the smallest amount of soup and bread.

‘What’s wrong Rose? You always used love chicken soup...’ Rose smiles wanly and pushes the bowl aside. ‘I’m… I’m not hungry these days really. I’m sorry Morag.’ Rose looks away guiltily. Morag pats Rose’s hand reassuringly ‘never mind my dear, why don’t you come and sit beside the fire?’

Rose nods uncertainly; all of a sudden she seems trembly and a little tearful. She rises to move towards the fire. Caled stands and moves towards her as she suddenly collapses in a faint. Morag has apparently been expecting this and competently catches her and bears her over to a sofa, with a strength that belies her small frame. She lays Rose down gently and then covers her with a patchwork blanket, tenderly stroking a few lose strands of hair out of Rose’s face. ‘Poor child, what did I send you into?’ She murmurs to Rose, seemingly forgetting Caled’s presence for a moment. Caled hovers at her shoulder, trying not to get in the way. She sighs again and then turns back to Caled. ‘So lad, it seems to be left to you, to tell me why my apprentice appears to be in a state of nervous exhaustion?’

‘It’s a long story and one I suspect I’m going to have to repeat several times in the near future, so do you mind if I wait until her parents are here, to save at least one retelling? Suffice to say, it’s been a hard nine months and Rose has been pushing herself harder than the rest of us.’

A look of extreme guilt and worry flashes across Morag’s face, but it’s gone so fast that it’s possible Caled only imagined it. She adjusts the blanket again then busies herself making a pot of tea and rearranging the furniture so that she and Caled can be within sight of Rose if she wakes and then talks of inconsequential things for a while before lapsing into contemplative silence. Caled murmurs the occasional agreement whilst sipping his tea and occasionally stroking Roses hair.

After about half an hour of this there is a knock at the door. Morag rises and wordlessly opens the door, allowing Daisy and a man who can only be Rose’s father to enter. Daisy sees Rose lying prone and screams and rushes over to her. ‘What’s happened? What’s wrong with her?’ The man’s face tightens with worry and possibly anger and he too moves towards Rose. Morag puts a reassuring hand on Daisy’s shoulder, ‘she’s just fainted is all. Can’t you see how thin she is? She’s been over doing it I’m sure. Now come and have some tea at the table and I’m sure Caled here will be able to shed a little light on the matter.’

Caled stands as Rose’s parents enter. He nods in acknowledgement to what Morag has said and lets everyone move towards the table, clearly intending to follow them. Roses father guides Daisy to the table and helps her sit, then turns back to Caled. He holds his hand out and says ‘Tomas Fletcher, Rose’s father, and, and I’m pleased to meet you. Rose’s letter was full of talk about you’ as he speaks there is a kind of measuring look on his face.

Caled shakes Tomas’s hand. ‘Pleased to meet you, Rose speaks very highly of you.’ Tomas nods then heads back to the table. Morag pours tea and gestures to Caled to sit. Caled takes a deep breath and begins describing in general terms the hardships of prison life, mainly the lack of food and the long days with not enough rest. He goes on to tell of how hard Rose worked to lessen the hardships for those around her, explaining that whilst she was not put to heavy labour, being instead made to work in the infirmary she took the time at every opportunity to see if the rest of the patrol were alright, healing injuries for them and listening to all their troubles.

Daisy, Tomas and Morag listen intently, Morag’s face betrays no hint of emotion but Daisy cries silently as Caled talks. Tomas looks grim, but gently puts his arm around his wife in an attempt to comfort her. Caled goes on to tell of the escape and of Rose’s extreme grief at the death of her very close friend Lilium. He tells of how she had seemed to recover after Lilium had been bought back, but that evidently the time on the road coupled with the extra strain of Lilium’s death has been too much for her.

At the end of this, Daisy rises and moves to Rose, sitting beside her daughter quietly. Tomas sighs and rests his head in his hands briefly before looking at Morag. ‘I lost my son; must I now lose my daughter too?’ He stands abruptly and heads outside. Morag sighs. She looks apologetically at Caled ‘excuse me please?’ Without waiting for a reply she follows Tomas out.

Rose stirs in her sleep and moves restlessly. Daisy strokes Roses hair and starts to sing a lullaby, very softly. Caled recognises it as the one Rose sang to him in prison. Rose quiets and appears to drift into a deeper sleep. Daisy sighs and dries her eyes. She doesn’t look at Caled as she says ‘that was always Rose’s favourite song, as a child…’ She shifts to face him ‘tell me… What has Rose said of our customs in Hearts Deep?’

‘Not a great deal,’ Caled shrugs. ‘We would sometimes pass time with the other prisoners talking about our various homes, as a way of taking our minds off where we were as much as anything else, but nothing that specific…’ A slight questioning tone enters his voice.

Daisy smiles, she seems aware that he’s dodging the issue and doesn’t seem to mind. ‘Did Rose tell you of Matthias? Or of how she came to be an apprentice to Morag for that matter?’ As she speaks Daisy glances out of the window to where Morag and Tomas can be seen, deep in what appears to be a heated discussion. It’s clear that she is making conversation to pass the time, and yet there seems to be a note of hesitation in her voice…

Caled gives Daisy what he hopes is a comforting look and nods slightly. After a moment of silence, he goes on. ‘Hmmm… She said why Morag wanted her to join the patrol, but no, I don’t think she ever said how she came to be her apprentice in the first place.’

Daisy has a far away look in her eyes as she tells the tale. ‘Morag was a patrolee; she left the village to go on patrol when she was 18, just like Rose did. Morag and I grew up together; she always wanted to travel though. I never did. I married Tomas about a year after she left and we settled down in the Fletchers cottage, Rose came along and life was good.’

Daisy’s expression saddens. ‘When Rose was seven Matthias was born and we thought life couldn’t get any better. We had a pretty, bubbly daughter and a beautiful baby son. I wrote to tell Morag and she wrote back with congratulations, then when he was about six months old he grew sick. There was no healer in the village at the time, and Morag was a month’s travel away. We did all that we could, and Rose was desperate to help, she scoured the woods and fields for and herbs that might have been of use but eventually the fever became to much for him and he died. We were all devastated… Tomas couldn’t believe his strong, handsome, little son was gone, I struggled with the loss of my baby and Rose… She became quieter, shyer and spent more time alone, rather than playing with the other children.’

Daisy looks away from Caled, as she speaks. ‘I wrote to tell Morag and she came home at that point. Gave up patrolling, so that Heart’s Deep could have healing. Rose wouldn’t speak to her when she arrived, refused to have anything to do with her. Then a week after Morag had returned home a group of children were at the river when one of them fell out of a boat and cracked his head. The other children were terrified, but Rose wrapped her handkerchief around his head for a bandage and ran for Morag. After Morag had healed him that was it. Rose followed her everywhere, like a little shadow. Children apply for apprenticeships in their thirteenth year, but Rose was working as Morag’s apprentice long before that. And the apprenticeship was a formality more than anything. It’s as though Rose can’t bear the thought of anyone dying, after Matthias…’ Daisy bends and gently kisses Roses forehead. ‘I would guess that’s at least part of her worries, during your time away. And her friend dying must have been more than she could bear.’

She turns to look at Caled again ‘so there you have it. All our family gossip in one neat bundle. Forgive me for springing it on you, somewhat abruptly, but I, Tomas and I that is, we’d rather you heard it from us, than anyone else in this village.’ As she speaks Daisy is watching Caled’s reaction closely, trying to gauge how what she’s just told him has affected him.

Caled sits and listens attentively, taking in all that he hears. After Daisy finishes, he sits quietly for a few moments before speaking. ‘I thank you for the courtesy, and am honoured that you feel able to share such personal matters with me.’ He makes a half bow from his seated position. ‘And yes, I suspect you’re right. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt about your daughter, it’s that she doesn’t like to feel powerless, the thought that there are some hurts she can’t heal doesn’t sit easily with her.’ He reaches over and pats Rose’s hand where it lies on top of her blanket. ‘I can only imagine the toll it’s taken on her; feeling so responsible for the wellbeing of so many people for so long… I know Ethan, the man who ran the infirmary, was concerned.’

Daisy sighs, then tries to smile. ‘Well, judging from the letter she sent us, at least she has made friends this past year, as well as suffering the hard times.’ She appears about to say more, when the door opens and Morag reappears, followed by a slightly sheepish looking Tomas. Tomas moves to stand next to Daisy who smiles up at him. He looks fondly down at her and kisses the top of her head. ‘How is she?’

Daisy shrugs lightly ‘asleep as far as I can tell.’ Morag rolls her eyes, a trifle impatiently. ‘If you all move out of the way I can check her over?’ She shoos them off and then starts examining Rose. Over her shoulder she says ‘Daisy, would you do me a favour and make a fresh pot of tea? Mint for preference. Tomas, you’re only underfoot in here, why don’t you and Caled go and look at the river or something whilst Daisy and I wake Rose up?’ To Caled she says, somewhat cryptically ‘best over with as soon as possible lad. You’ll be fine.’

Tomas sighs and mutters something that sounds suspiciously like ‘women!’ before he opens the door and gestures to Caled to come with him. Caled gets up and follows him, casting a last worried glance at Rose as he reaches the door and is ushered out by her father, who gently closes the door behind them.

He turns and heads around the cottage, following a little track of sorts through a gap in the hedge and along a field’s edge, until they come to a river, after about five minutes of walking. There is a bench by the river bank, under a willow. Tomas looks back towards the cottage, shakes his head and then sits down.

‘We’d best bide here a while, Morag’ll only get in a tizzy if we appear before she thinks we ought too.’ He looks at Caled, a touch uncomfortably ‘well now… I’m thinking there are some things the women folk think we’re needing to say to each other.’

Caled remains standing nearby and folds his arms, looking out across the river rather than directly at Rose’s father. ‘Quite possibly…’

Tomas sighs. ‘I’d not been expecting this conversation so soon, truth be told.’ He pulls a very battered letter out of his pocket and glances at it fondly. The handwriting is unmistakably Rose’s. He holds it, but does not read it. ‘Rose says you saved her life? By running off a scout who was trying to kill her?’ Tomas glances at Caled, ‘my daughter is possibly overly innocent of the world. I would guess you made sure he wouldn’t come back in a more permanent manner?’

Caled shrugs. 'There was very little choice in the matter at the time and when it comes to saving lives, I think that balance is tipped well and truly toward Rose.’

Tomas nods. ‘Rose is very determined; for all that she’s a quiet one. She’ll not let anyone die if she can help it. She also says you’re 73?’ There is the mildest hint of disbelief as he says this. Caled just nods. Tomas shakes his head ‘And you looking no older than Mistress Weaver’s oldest boy…’

Tomas looks away from Caled, staring across the river. ‘In Heart’s Deep, the custom is that the children ask their parents for approval, before they go walking with their intended. In this letter,’ he taps the letter he holds ‘Rose asks for permission. It’s an unusual way for going about it, but it’s a fairly unusual situation. Normally we’d have known you ahead of time and would probably already have made our decision. But we don’t know you. It would, however, be unfair of us to say no just because we do not know you. From what Rose has said of you, we owe you a great debt for keeping her alive.’

Tomas looks at Caled then, and holds a hand out to forestall anything he might try to say. ‘I know, you said Rose is more responsible for saving you than the other way round, but Rose has no skill with a weapon, and would have needed at least someone to keep an eye on her as she went about her work. It appears, at least from Rose’s letter that that someone was you, and I thank-you for it.’

‘Therefore I propose you stay as our guest, during your time in Heart’s Deep, and for now, our permission is granted. We can speak on this again, perhaps when we have gotten to know one another a little better?’ Tomas stands, and holds his hand out to Caled.

Caled shakes Tomas’s hand again and offers him a small bow. ‘Thank you for your consideration, I assure you, you won’t come to regret it.’ He shoots a glance back toward Morag’s cottage. ‘Do you think we’ve given them long enough?’

Tomas also glances back in the direction of the cottage. ‘Well we got sent out here to talk, and we’ve talked so I’m guessing it’s been long enough. Morag’s got an uncanny knack of judging these things, and like as not she’ll know the outcome before we’ve said anything.’ He leads the way back to the cottage, talking of inconsequential farming news.

When they enter the cottage Rose is sitting up, with the blanket folded neatly nearby and drinking tea. Daisy is sat next to her, and Morag is opposite them in a rocking chair, knitting. They are all smiling and appear relaxed, though Rose is fidgeting nervously. As Tomas and Caled enter Rose gets up and runs to her father, hugging him tightly. He hugs back and murmurs something into her ear. She leans back from the hug, to look into his face ‘really? Really, really?’ Tomas nods and smiles, squeezing her back into the hug for a moment before releasing her.

Rose hugs him tightly, then let’s go and turns to Caled. Her smile is radiant. ‘Come and sit down’ she takes his hand and leads him to the sofa, curling up next to him, and leaning against him contentedly. Morag smiles at the two couples. ‘Well now, isn’t this nice?’