The Calm Before the Storm (ch5)

 

 

Chapter 5/ O’Brien

 

The tension was soaring high in Donnel’s life. He was not making any headway with the peace negotiations between his kingdom and a Norman Lord who was trying to seize Thomand out from under him. Donnel had been king for only a short while and within that time his kingdom had been chosen by many Norman barons for acquisition with King Henry’s consent. After he named himself Lord of Ireland, there was nothing anyone could do about the King sharing out land to all of his chief vassals. With little hope and withering self confidence, Donnel returned home to see his family. He knew that when he saw them it would cure his despondent frame of mind.

As he rode to the castle he was overcome with grief over the possibility that this land might not be theirs for long. He didn’t know what to tell Urlachen for he knew she would be devastated if their future in Thomand ceased to exist. Donnel wasn’t even sure where they would go.

 

 

Urlachen was notified that Donnel’s party was approaching the castle. Her heart fluttered in excitement as she made her way outside to wait for his arrival. She was very anxious to see him for it had been nearly a week since she had seen him last. As she waited patiently she enjoyed the few minutes alone without any of her ladies around. She often felt the need for quiet moments to think, but the opportunity was never there. She had been thinking lately of the conversations she had had with her sister about Aoife’s need to escape the royal life. She didn’t understand it then, but recently she had given some thought to how peaceful Aoife’s life would be once she was married to Finn, living in their little cottage on their land. Urlachen longed for tranquility and didn’t realize back then how much her husband would be away once he was king. Living life as a queen wasn’t what she thought it would be.

 

She waited a few minutes and finally saw the horses trotting towards the castle. Donnel must have seen her there for he picked up speed and rode ahead of the other men. She walked quickly towards him and when he was close enough he leapt off his horse and ran to her. Their embrace was lengthy and much needed for them both. Donnel was so happy to see her that he momentarily forgot his troubles, and for a brief moment felt joyful again.

 

 

“I have missed you.” He said to her as he swung her around. “Where are the children?”

 

“They don’t know you are home yet. I wanted us to be alone for your homecoming.” She said with a coy look. “It is so hard to be without you for so long. How long can you stay this time?”

 

Reality came pouring back into his mind as he thought about her question. He needed to tell her what was going on and decided he would tell her this evening after the children were asleep. “I don’t know. All I know is that I have missed you and I want you all to myself for now. Let’s go to the cottage.” He said as he grabbed her hand and led her away from the front of the castle.

 

The cottage was a small house built specifically for privacy. Donnel had it made long ago so they could have time away from the bustling lifestyle of the castle. It was located out of sight from the soldiers, guards, and groundskeepers. Everyone knew it was there but knew better than to bother it. Urlachen never went there without Donnel. It was their special place to be when they wanted to be completely alone. They were usually too busy with the children and the daily tasks of a royal couple to be there for long, but every now and then they managed to slip away and enjoy each other. They knew the boys would be ecstatic to see their father and wouldn’t give him a moment to himself, so it made sense to head straight for the cottage before anyone knew Donnel was home.

 

 

Once inside Donnel made a fire and Urlachen relaxed on their feather bed. It wasn’t furnished greatly, just a bench, a bookshelf, a bed and a bearskin rug placed in front of the fire. Perfect for a romantic moment or two.  

After an hour of much needed seclusion, they emerged back into the real world and went to find the children. Donnel had been tempted to tell her about the problems of the kingdom, but didn’t want to ruin their perfect time together. He would definitely tell her tonight that the kingdom was in immediate risk of being taken over by a Norman baron. She needed to prepare for it so it wouldn’t come as such a shock when it did happen. Donnel knew it was only a matter of time.

 

After spending all day and evening with Urlachen and the children, Donnel knew he would have to tell her of the situation soon. As Urlachen was laying Slaney down to sleep, he watched how lovely she was even doing something so menial. She was the most graceful woman he had ever seen and he thought to himself that she was definitely born to be a queen. He was so afraid that their impending problem would devastate her.