"Mystic Knights, I would like you to meet the warriors the King of Rheged has sent to help us with our fight against Nemain." The King stood from his throne.
The Mystic Knights had gathered in the throne room at the request of King Conchobar. The new warriors had arrived that morning and he wanted them all to meet the ones who had come to Kells to help defeat Nemain.
The warriors had been facing the King, but as he spoke they turned to look at the Knights. They knew what their purpose was, but had decided on their journey to Kells to make this a more interesting task.
"I would like to present," Conchobar first laid a hand on the shoulder of a tall, dark haired man. "Caedmac."
The tall man bowed to the knights, his eyes on Princess Deirdre. He stood tall, even taller than Conchobar. His hair was blacker than the darkest night and his eyes shown blue. His skin was tanned and rough looking, obviously seeing more than one day outdoors. He was garbed in leather armours with a tabard bearing the royal symbol of Rheged.
"This is Vadrex." Conchobar announced next, laying his hand on the next man.
The one introduced as Vadrex was tall, but not as tall as his comrade. His red hair shown like fire in the light of the throne room. Dark brown eyes scanned the room, looking for a particular face, finally landing on that of Garrett. He bowed toward the Prince, who bowed in returned. As Vadrex stood tall once again, he smoothed his tabard, which also bore the royal symbol of Garrett's homeland.
"And this is Dyre." His hand now laid on the shoulder of the tall, beautiful lady that stood next to the men. She also was tall, but once again not as tall as Caedmac. She bowed to the Mystic Knights, her long, curly hair falling about her shoulder in midnight waves. Something danced in her black eyes, though none could tell what that something could have been. Her skin shone pale, much paler than Deirdre's, so pale, in fact, that it had an unusual luminescence about it. She was much the same as her fellow warriors, except that she didn't not clothe herself in a tabard, she wore instead black leathers that fit close to her lean, shapely body.
"I hope that all of you will welcome them to Kells as you have with others. These warriors shall be of great value to us in the future." Conchobar smiled at the warriors, particularly at Dyre. He knew that her beauty was unmatched in Kells, but there was something about her, something almost sinister. It must have been her eyes.
Rohan was the first to approach the group of three. "Welcome to Kells, I am Draganta." He held out his hand.
Dyre was the first to approach. "Pleasure to meet you, Draganta." Her voice was as smooth as silk as her words flowed off her lips. Lips, which Rohan noted, appeared very soft.
Rohan smiled, unsure of what to say next. His best friend rushed forward, determined to save Rohan from whatever charm this attractive woman had bestowed upon him.
"I'm Angus."
She glanced at him and smiled. "A thief?"
"Reformed thief." He corrected her.
She smiled, her white teeth shining in the sunlight. Angus thought for a moment that two of her top teeth were slightly pointed. He blinked and looked again. When he saw nothing unusual, he decided that he must have been mistaken.
Caedmac took the opportunity to approach Princess Deirdre. "Your Highness." He bowed low before her, showing knowledge of all the proper court graces.
She smiled and blushed as he reached up to take her hand in his. His softly kissed her knuckles, staring into her eyes. She felt as if this man who was unknown to her, was staring directly into her soul.
Prince Ivar stepped forward and introduced himself to the tall warrior. "I am Prince Ivar from the Moorish Kingdom of Acre." He bowed to the warrior.
Caedmac realised that this Prince Ivar was making the attempt to get his attentions away from the princess. "Acre, you say? Beautiful kingdom."
Ivar raised an eyebrow at the reference to his home. "You know it?"
As the warrior, the prince and the princess engaged in a conversation, Vadrex walked casually up to Prince Garrett.
The Prince of Rheged looked at the warrior. "Greetings Vadrex."
"Prince Garrett, your father asked me to tell you that he hopes you are well." Vadrex lied.
Garrett's face lit up at the mention of his father. "Thank you for conveying the message. When you return to Rheged, you may tell him that I am quite well."
As the prince and the red haired warrior spoke of the King of Rheged, Cathabad looked on. He was unsure of the new warriors, but he assumed that if King Conchobar felt that they could be trusted, then they could. But something still nagged at the ageing Druid. He decided to retire to his chambers for the remainder of the morning. There were things that he still wanted to take care of.
The newcomers were welcomed with open arms into Kells that day. Conchobar made it known to all in the castle that the visitors from Rheged were to be allowed full access to all that Kells had to offer.
Dyre seemed to be the most pleased with the news and immediately latched onto Angus, demanding a tour of the castle. Angus complied, grinning at Rohan as they left the throneroom.
Rohan watched them go, sensing something very odd about the beautiful woman. He came to the conclusion that her interest in Angus was what was bothering him the most. Angus never attracted the interest of the ladies, especially the important ones.
He turned his head, searching out Deirdre. He found her enthralled in a conversation with the warrior known as Caedmac and Prince Ivar. Sighing, he turned his attentions to finding Garrett, but apparently the young Rheged prince had already left.
The warrior Draganta frowned and headed to the kitchen.
"You must show me everything, Angus." Dyre smiled at the thief.
Angus was enjoying the attention that she gave him. He had never had a woman appear so interested in him before. This was his one and only chance to impress an obviously important woman. He decided that he would show her everything.
He first started with a tour of the main section of the castle, showing her all the rooms that were open to the castle inhabitants. From there he should her the main dining rooms, where he only got to eat if the King was in a good mood. The kitchens were next. While there he offered her something to eat. He was rather disappointed when she declined his offer.
*Must not be hungry*, he decided.
Next her took her to the lower levels of the castle, where the little used dungeons were. Unfortunately for Angus, he knew those dungeons all to well. He had spent more time there than anyone else in Kells. At least that was the way it felt to him.
"These dungeons seem awfully accommodating." Dyre pointed out, obvious disappointment in her voice.
"What do you mean?" Angus asked. He was rather surprised that she would say something like that. Since she was from Rheged, she knew of the treaty with Kells and that they were generally weren't harsh with their prisoners.
She reach out a gloved hand to touch a cell bar. She looked at her finger, noticing the dust. "Well, there doesn't appear to be any torture devices or anything. And from the look of it, these dungeons don't get used very often."
Angus raised an eyebrow at the thought of torture. Something as awful as that would be expected from Maeve or Nemain, more likely Nemain since Maeve had been exiled months earlier. "We wouldn't torture anyone to get information. King Conchobar is a kind and wise king."
She smiled at him. "Of course he is. But doesn't he have any means of extracting information from his prisoners?"
He nodded. "Well, yes. Usually, Cathabad would just use his true sight on them."
Dyre nodded in understanding. Slowly she smiled at the thief. "Has he ever used true sight on you?"
Angus grinned. "Yes, once. Only once."
"Why don't you tell me all about it." She smiled wickedly as she pulled him to a sitting position on a small bench.
