Caradoc of the North Wind - By Allan Frewin Jones Page 0,13
rough for her, and we can always carry her over the more uneven ground.’
So it was agreed, and a cradle of wood and tied cloaks was constructed and Linette was laid sleeping upon it, wrapped all around with furs.
While they were doing their best to make the ailing girl comfortable, Angor came over and looked dispassionately down at her. ‘Will she live, do you think?’ he asked.
Branwen glared at him. ‘She will.’
Angor eyed her with a curling lip. ‘Let us hope so,’ he said. ‘For otherwise she will slow us down when speed is of the essence.’ His eyes glittered. ‘You say there are many Saxon hordes between here and Pengwern?’
‘Raiding parties range far and wide, yes,’ said Branwen.
‘Then she is a burden that could drag us to our doom,’ insisted Angor. ‘Some of us should ride ahead with the princesses. Their safety should be uppermost in your mind, Branwen of the Dead Gods.’
‘And who would lead this speedy party, old man?’ growled Dera. ‘You, for instance?’
‘Do you not understand how vital it is that Lady Meredith gets safely to Pengwern?’ Angor snarled. ‘Do you not want to see the king and Prince Llew reconciled by the marriage of their children, thus uniting Powys against the shared enemy?’
Branwen looked into his battle-scarred face. For once, Angor seemed to be speaking from the heart. She knew well enough what was at stake here. It had taken long months of delicate negotiations to come to this point. Even while the fighting between the king’s forces and the soldiers of Prince Llew had been at its most ferocious, counsellors and highborn lords on both sides had been working to bring the damaging conflict to an end through the marriage of Llew’s daughter Meredith to Drustan, son of King Cynon. Once the vows had been spoken and the two families united, Prince Llew would swear again his allegiance to the king of Powys, and together they would turn to face the Saxon invasion. In time, the children of this marriage would be the rulers of Powys while Brython remained a free land. Messengers had sped to and fro across the mountains with documents to bind the accord. Now all that remained was for Prince Llew to deliver his daughter safe to the king’s court in Pengwern and for the wedding ceremony to take place.
All had been well, until a breathless and exhausted rider had come tumbling into Pengwern with the news that the princesses’ party had been trapped by Saxons in the mountains. Thus had the Gwyn Braw been dispatched to their rescue.
And so the threads of all these great events had wound down to this point – to Branwen facing Angor across the injured body of a loved comrade, and having to weigh Meredith’s safety against Linette’s life.
She could see many eyes upon her, waiting for her to speak.
‘I will not split my forces in two, Angor ap Pellyn,’ she said. ‘If we encounter Saxons in the wild and we are united, we’ll have more chance of fighting them off. Divided, all may be lost.’
‘Then let me ride ahead alone and with all speed,’ said Angor, and Branwen could tell from his face and tone that he was testing her. ‘I will arrive at Pengwern ahead of you and warn them of your coming. I will ask Cynon to send men to your aid – riders to meet you on the road and see you safe to journey’s end.’
She noted that he did not say ‘King Cynon’. Still only ‘Cynon’, as though he did not yet acknowledge the man’s overlordship.
She shook her head. ‘The clear paths to the east are lost under a cubit of snow. Alone you would never find your way to Pengwern – and I will not sacrifice one of my own to be your guide.’ She stared resolutely into his face. ‘I have decided. We travel as one, and Linette ap Cledwyn will travel with us.’
‘A fool’s decision,’ Angor said. ‘A weak decision! But often the squalling of an infant shouts down the wise voice of an elder. So be it; I shall have the princesses make ready. Their deaths will be upon your head.’ As he turned away from her, she saw a flicker of malice come and go in his eyes, like the flashing blade of a knife. She wondered how far he would go to bring her down. She hoped she would not need to find out.
After the stifling warmth of the fire-lit cave, the outside