Engin was so nervous he could not sit still. He sat on the chair, drumming on the table with his fingertips, adjusting the collar of his shirt, pushing the hair that fell into his eyes back into place. He looked up at the door every few minutes willing someone to walk through, to end his suffering.

He had spent the last few hours listening to the dreadful screams that were coming from the room where his wife and the other women were. It had been a long time since the cries of pain had ended and now there had not been a noise emitting from the room for almost half an hour. He thought there should be the squalling of a baby, the moaning of his wife anything to still his thumping heart, but all was silent.

He heard the door quielty clicking open and soft footsteps as Gena carefully maneuvered her way through it. In her arms lay a perfect little baby, its arms neatly folded over its belly. He could do nothing but stare, unable to believe that he and his wife had made this tiny creature.

He blinked for a moment and then stood up so quickly the chair almost crashed to the ground and he had to grip it in one hand to stop it from falling. The small person looked at him with wide alarmed eyes.

“Is… is he bein’ arright?”, Engin asked amazed, standing next to the table unable to cross the space between them.

“Yes… yes… he’s being just fine”, Gena chuckled softly, “except he’s bein’ a SHE”.

“A… a girl?”, he asked confused.

In his head he had been prepared for a boy, someone he could teach the ways of the farm, to go fishing with who perhaps would be just as bad as he. A boy who would inherit all this from him one day. He didn’t quite know how to respond to this unexpected news. He stood a couple of feet away from Gena and the baby, his arms hanging rigidly at his sides.

“Would yer like to be holdin’ the wee thing?”, Gena asked gently.

He thought she must be able to sense his discomfort, his terror that he might break this small, fragile thing that God has somehow seen fit to place in his big, clumsy hands. A boy would have been more durable, he thought, but maybe a girl was too delicate and he shouldn’t be allowed to hold her.

But Gena was holding her out to him. He stared at her not moving at all for fear he would scare her. He could not help but think she was drawing away from him, he body cowering back towards Gena’s. Of course she would be frightened of him. He was so big and ungainly and she, she was so very small and perfect.

“I… I don’t think I can”, he said, his voice trembling.

“Don’t yew be bein’ silly then… if I can yew can and she’s yer little’un”, Gena said in a no-nonsense voice that Engin thought she must have inherited from Hepsie.

“Here yew go… just put yer hand behind her head and she’ll be fine”.

And then suddenly there was warm baby in his arms, staring up at him with his own big brown eyes. Her head was bald apart from a few wispy strands of fair hair, the same colour as his.

“She… she looks like me”, he marvelled.

“Well I don’t know what that looks like silly, but I sure hope she isn’t looking exactly like yew… maybe she has some of her mother’s traits”, Gena smiled despite herself, looking pleased at her small joke.

Engin realised he had never spent any time with the woman, disliking her based on principle. He had always thought the worst because of the way he felt about Noah, but right at this moment he was so grateful for her presence he could have hugged her.

He held the little girl a bit closer so he could look at her face in the fading light. She began to squirm in his arms, raising a tiny hand in protest.

“What?”, he asked, directing the question to both the baby and Gena, “what’m I doin’ wrong?”.

The baby was now beginning to whimper and make distressed snuffling noises, gazing up at him in horror.

“Maybe yew should take her back now”, he said thrusting the upset baby into Gena’s arms, “she doesn’t seem to be likin’ me much”.

“What are yew doin’ to that baby of mine yew silly man”, he heard a voice call from next room.

Darina! He had been so focused on the baby he had not even asked how she had fared. Now he hastily walked towards the other room, leaving Gena to comfort the baby.

He stood awkwardly in the doorway. His wife was talking to Hepsie who had a grave expression on her face. She looked exhausted, her face pale and drawn, her red hair clinging damply to her clammy face.

He grinned stupidly unsure of what else to do.

“Are yew arright Darina?”, he turned to Hepsie his brow crinklilng into a worried expression, “Is she arright?”

Darina looked up at him and smiled wanly. He glanced at Hepsie and saw she was staring at him intensely, a severe look on her face.

“Yes she’s bein’ fine”, Hepsie answered before Darina could open her mouth, “but she’s lost a fair amount of blood and that means she’s goin’ to be needin’ lots of bedrest in the next few weeks”.

“Which means”, she continued, “yer goin’ to have to take over a lot of the housework while she takes care of the baby. And yew can start by gettin’ some firewood fer that there stove of yers. Yew don’t be wantin’ that baby girl of yers to get cold then do yew?”

“Now, I’ll be leavin yew two fer some alone time. Yew need to choose a name fer starters. We’ll get the baby cleaned up while yew rest a bit Darina”.

She gave Engin another meaningful look and carefully shut the door behind her.

Hepsie could hear Gena behind her as she cheerfully asked Darina about the dress she was making. The wheel was clicking rapidly between her deft hands and Hepsie had to admit that Darina was indeed a skilled seamstress.

Darina snapped at Gena by way of an answer and Hepsie sighed softly. Darina was always being mean to the poor girl. She thought it was some misguided form of jealousy or resentment that Gena, a blind girl had managed to do just as well as her in life. She knew Darina was one of the people who considered Gena to be a useless burden on their small society. But if she only opened her eyes a little, Hepsie thought Darina would realise that Gena worked just as hard as the rest of them, often even harder in some attempt to prove herself worthy.

She sneaked a look at Gena though she always felt a bit ashamed to do so, like she was stealing something from the girl. It was one thing to look at someone when they could meet your eye back, but to look when they could not know, that felt somehow rude. Gena’s misery at Darina’s snippy comments was written all over her pale face. One of the affects of never having been able to see herself, Gena’s moods were always easy to read. Hepsie found this endearing, Gena was so open and desperate for affection, she could not help but give it freely.

She bent over the steaming bucket, glad to plunge her cold hands into its warm depths. She had always liked washing the dishes and it was exceptionally pleasant on such a frigid winter day. She thought that Darina’s little house was a tad to cold, especially since Engin had not collected enough firewood to warm it properly.

“He had better do it soon”, she mumbled to herself. That baby wasn’t going to wait for firewood.

Hepsie and Gena had made the journey to Darina and Engin’s house in a wagon, since Gena was so far along. They were staying with her until the baby came, making the tiny house extremely cramped. Hepsie thought she would be very glad to get back to her little room on the ship with Steen.

She shifted her weight. Her ankle was aching severely with the cold. It seemed to finally be healing and she could hobble about on it now without a stick, but it was still causing her a lot of pain. She had resigned herself to the fact that she would be limping for the rest of her life.

And she thought irritably, not only was her ankle aching, but her back too. She did not know how the other two women were managing to carry the weight of their babies. Her belly had barely begun to swell and already she was beginning to feel exhausted. Maybe that was due to the little one inside her spending the majority of the night kicking, or as Steen like to call it barn-dancing. It certainly felt like it was dancing and as she had repeatedly lovingly scolded it there was not room in there for such shenanigans.

Darina heaved to her feet and began to rub her neck and back.

“I tell yew what”, she drawled, “my neck be achin’ something terrible today… and me back… don’t even get my started on that”.

Hepsie felt a little sheepish for complaining about her pain in her head. She could not imagine what she would be feeling like when she was as far along as the other women.

“Ooof… and it sure be painin’ me today… feels like the little blighter is trying to win a kickin’ competition”.

She rubbed her belly thoughtfully, with an odd expression on her face. Hepsie turned to stare out the window.

“Looks to me like we might be gettin’ some snow today then, what with those black clouds gatherin’ out there on the horizon”.

There’s lots of sticks out there perfect for firewood too, she thought to herself.

She heard a scraping noise, and then some fumbling as Darina suddenly pushed herself out from behind the spinning wheel.

“Are yew alright then there Darina”, Gena asked kindly.

“Of course I’m bein’ arright you stupid girl”, Darina spat back at her.

Hepsie was surprised by the venom in the women’s voice. She knew Darina could be mean but she was not usually so cruel.

She turned to look at her in time to see the older woman’s face contort into a grimace of pain.

“My goodness”, she cried out of breath, “I don’t think it’s supposed to be feelin’ like that”.

She cried out loudly and clutched at her large stomach.

“Hepsie!”, she almost screeched, “I think there’s bein’ something wrong with the baby… it’s painin’ me so much”.

She clenched her teeth and Hepsie could hear her breath whistling through them in ragged gasps.

A large smile spread across Hepsie’s face.

“Now yew just be breathin’ then Darina love… there’s bein’ nothin’ at all wrong with yer baby. It just wants to come and meet yew now is all”.

She wiped her hands on her apron and began to hobble across the room.

“No… No! I don’t think it should come now… I’m not sure I’m bein’ ready for it… I’m arright now… it’s not hurtin’ so much anymore… I… aaaagh!!!”

Darina leant her head back and howled as another contraction hit sending waves of pain rippling through her body.

“Of course it should be comin’ now love… it’s been bakin’ inside yew for well and truly long enough and it wants to be seeing this big ole world now”, she couldn’t help but grin wider at the thought of the first little Mhalwae baby to be born.

She turned to Gena, “Gena love… I’m going to be needin’ yer help now… how about yer go and check that the beds all ready fer Darina while I be helpin’ her into the room?”

Gena stumbled to her feet, her heavy belly pushing the table out of the way as she scrambled to help. Hepsie could see she was nervous and guessed by this she had never been present at a birth before. Hepsie thought this rather sad, that the other women back in their old home had shunned her so much she had not even been able to attend a birth. Well it was a good thing she was here so she knew what to expect when her own baby came in a couple of months.

Another shriek came from Darina who was doubled over in pain beside the spinning wheel.

She looked up pleadingly at Hepsie her hands holding her belly, her face terrified and drawn. Hepsie had seen the look before on the face of every first time mother.

“But Hepsie it hurts too much… it aaagh!!!”.

“I don’t… I don’t think I can Hepsie… maybe I’ll just be gettin’ in yer way with my fumblin’”, Gena had jumped almost a foot in the air startled by the last scream.

One hand was clasped to her chest which was rapidly rising and falling, and the other raised weakly in protest.

Hepsie wanted to laugh, stuck here with these two novices in the art of birth but she managed to suppress it. Maybe she should have asked one of the other women along. It was too late for that now. They would just have to make do.

“Yew”, she said to Darina, “Don’t yew be silly… of course ye can have this baby… and anyway… whether yew like it or not baby is comin’ so are you going to let me help yew lie down or not?”

“And yew Gena”, she said, “Yev got two hands I see so yer perfectly capable of helpin’. Now get in that room before I make yer!”

Eallair walked up the hill admiring the finished structure of the first house built on Mhalwae. It was not a big building but it would be enough to house the Rawtharn’s and his first new subject due to be born in a matter of weeks.

He could see already the soil in front of the house had been tended in preparation for a small garden perhaps. He assumed this had been done by the lady of the house. From what he could tell Engin Rawtharn was not a man who appreciated work. He hoped that Goodwife Rawtharn would turn out to be different.

He raised his hand and knocked confidently on the the carefully crafted hardwood door. It was a relief to him to have some of the peasants moving into houses, the approaching winter and the number of babies due soon were of great concern to him. The space on the ships was limited and having some of the peasants moving to houses would definitely give them more room.

He heard a small groan and movement inside, then footsteps coming towards the door. Darina opened it wide, her large belly poking first through the door-frame.

He saw a flicker of surprise cross her face and then it was replaced by an extremely wide grin. Eallair was sure that he could see almost all of the teeth in her mouth. It was nice to be welcomed like this though. He could tell Goodwife Rawtharn must be a congenial woman if she could smile so broadly at a first meeting.

“Yer Majesty!”, she cried, “Yew’ll be forgivin’ me if I don’t be curtseying fer yew won’t yer… I’m afraid if I get down I won’t be getting back up again till this here baby is being born”.

“Of course, of course”, he grinned, “we would not want that would we, then I could not ask you the favour I have come for. But first of all tell me, how is that little… or should I say big baby of your’s?”

Darina smiled again, looking down at her swollen figure. Eallair thought her smile now seemed somehow warmer. And there were definitely less teeth involved.

“Well I believe it’s being quite fine Yer Majesty, judging by the amount of kicking it be doin’”, she laughed fondly, “the little mite is gettin’ so bad these days I think it wakes up Engin with it’s kicks they’re that hard!”.

Her huge grin came back again, “But I be forgettin’ me manners Yer majesty! Would yew like to come inside this little house of mine… yew said yer had a favour to be askin’ me”.

She opened her arms wide, gesturing to the inside of her small house with obvious pride.

“Yes, yes… I will come in, thank you Goodwife”.

He gazed around the small tidy house. The floor had been neatly packed with clay and it was evident Darina swept it frequently. He spotted the object he had come to enquire about sitting in the corner, next to a barrel with a small candle burning brightly atop it.

“Can I be offerin’ yer somethin’ to drink Yer Majesty, yew can sit down while I fetch yer somethin’”.

“No, no”, he protested, “I am fine. By the looks of it you are the one who needs to be sitting Goodwife. How about we sit at the table and I tell you why I am bothering you on this fine autumn day”.

He winked at her and they went to sit at the table. Darina heaved herself into the chair, barely squeezing her enormous girth under the table.

“Now, the reason I have come, is because I have heard from some of the other folk that you have a talent that I could well make use of, and also the means to apply it”.

He turned to the left and Darina’s eyes followed his gaze to the spinning wheel that stood there, beside a chair with a basket of material and threads neatly tucked beneath.

He saw from her face that Darina was obviously confused about what he wanted.

“I’m not sure I’m completely undestandin’ Yer Majesty here. Are yew wantin’ some tapestries mended? Or perhaps a new outfit… I have not made any of these thins’. I mostly been sewin’ dresses to be honest”.

“And that”, he said triumphantly,”is precisely what I am wanting”.

“You see I have a little secret which will not be a secret for very much longer”, he winked at her conspiratorially, “the Queen will be needing very soon some larger dresses, particularly in the region of her stomach”.

He laughed heartily, “And I can tell you it is not because she has been eating too much candy”.

He saw a look of surprise and then something like gratitude mingled with glee at being the first to know of the approaching addition to the Royal family.

“And yew be wantin’ me to make a new dress fer her”, Darina said slowly.

“That is precisely what I am wanting from you Goodwife Rawtharn! I will provide the material and of course you will be payed a decent sum of money”.

He went on to describe exactly what Madlenka wanted while Darina listened intently wondering how best to exploit this opportunity.

The three men were taking a break from building and Noah had suggested today might be a good day to test out Engin’s pond. The days were becoming crisper as winter was approaching and they feared that soon the water would be frozen and the opportunity for fishing would be gone.

Engin struggled with his fishing rod. He had somehow managed to get the line tangled around his leg and was having a difficult time unwinding it. Noah had brought two rods he had made during the autumn days when it had rained too hard for work on the castle to continue.

The King had finally decided that the castle building must be put on hold. Many of the women on the island were now pregnant and there was fast approaching a time when the ships would become very cramped indeed. So he had set the men to work on building homes for the peasants, which would not take so very long. Engin and Darina were the first to have an almost finished house as their baby was due in only a few weeks.

Engin finally got himself untangled and proceeded to cast with as much momentum as he could muster.

Unfortunately, Engin was no expert fisherman, in fact he had only been fishing once before. He cast with such might that he managed to throw his entire body toward the pond, tripping and sprawling in the mud on his behind.

He heard a chuckle from Steen who was lazing on the side of the bank, content to watch the other men’s attempts at glory.

“You be trying to use yourself as bait for those them fish then are you Engin? I think they might not be finding you such a tasty morsel… they would probably be preferring them worms you attached to the line”, Steen gently teased him, grinning ear to ear.

He looked up to see Noah was also chuckling a Engin’s misfortune as he cast his line in again.

Anger rose in him, his face turning red as he stumbled to his feet and disentangled himself from the line which was now wrapped around his legs again. He would show him, he would be the one to catch a fish and then who would be laughing.

He suddenly heard a splash next to him and then Noah was reeling in a fish.

“I think he’s being just big enough to keep for the eating, what do you lads reckon?”, Noah asked.

Steen congratulated him, but Engin made no sound and sullenly threw his line in this time with a little less force. It did not matter, it was not a big fish and Engin was sure he would have a bit more luck now his line was actually in the water. It couldn’t be that hard after all if Noah could catch one.

It had only been minutes when he heard the familiar sound of reeling and the sploosh as another fish left the water.

He looked over to see Noah holding a large catfish, about twice the size of his last catch. Engin sighed in exasperation.

Noah grinned and laughed, “Here’s a more sizeable one then, look at his face, he sort of looks like you over there Engin with all your whiskers”.

“It seems like you’ve got yourself a fair little fishing pond here you have”, he said to Engin.

Engin did not reply and stared forlornly into the depths of the pool, wondering what it was he lacked and Noah had that made the fish fair jump out of the pond and into his waiting arms.

He was desperate to prove himself better than this man, as he stood there, gripping the rod so tightly that his knuckles began to turn white, a look of fierce concentration plastered across his face.

He stole a quick glance at Noah and saw to his extreme annoyance his face was a mask of relaxed calm. He looked like he was actually enjoying this, Engin thought with a surge of irritation. He would show him.

There was a distant rumble of thunder and a few drops of rain began to fall. Steen leapt to his feet, putting his hands up to feel the raindrops on them.

“I think we better get back to work, it looks like it’s going to be being a big storm and we still have to be getting a roof on that there privy of your’s otherwise your poor pregnant wife is going to have to be going in the rain”.

He may as well have been talking to himself as both men stared fixedly into the water.

Engin heard the sound of footsteps crunching behind him and turned slightly to see his extremely pregnant wife, waddling up the hill like a ship in full sail.

Here was his chance. He would impress Darina and prove himself better than Noah in one moment. As he was thinking this he heard Noah struggling beside him and then there was a monumental splash as Noah brought in the biggest fish he had ever seen. It was massive, its huge mouth opening and shutting as it fought for life. He heard Darina gasp behind him and his heart sank.

“Well Goodman Ulcar, that is by far the largest fish I have ever been seeing with these own two eyes of mine!” she exclaimed.

“I had no idea there were being such big fish in this here pond of mine”, she emphasised the last word and Engin understood where this was leading.

It seemed that Noah did also and he said graciously, “Well it will definitely be big enough to be feeding the two of you for quite some time, perhaps even the three ’specially if you be smoking a large portion of it.

He smiled generously, and Engin felt the green hand of jealousy wrap around his heart and give a sharp squeeze.

Then he looked at his mercenary wife’s face and realised she was not in fact very much impressed, although she was definitely pleased with her own cunning. He had seen her truly smile and could see this one for what it was, so brittle and false it could snap off her face at anytime.

Suddenly it fell, and a look of annoyance replaced it.

“Do you not be thinking you strong men have had enough playtime and that perhaps it is time to be putting a roof on that there privy… we are not too fond of sitting out there in the rain”, she rubbed her swollen belly fondly and with her piece said, flounced off down the hill.

”Now there ye are my fine wench”, Engin snuck up behind Darina and grabbed her firmly on the rump. He was pleased at the weight of it in his hand. He did not like small woman, but much preferred the filled out figure of Darina. Hers was the body of a real woman. Everyone could tell that he was a good husband who kept her well-fed.

“Engin! Don’t you be doing that now… right here where any eyes could be peeking in at us!!! Get your grubby paws off the likes of me”, she scowled at him, her hands on her womanly hips.

He liked this too. Within the bedroom she was completely his, she would allow him his every wish out of her desire to be a dutiful wife. But here, in public he was not supposed to touch her. It seemed like a great game to him.

“Sorry me luv… ye know I just can’t keep these hands oh mine off that fine body you be possessing there”, he felt in a much better mood now that he was with her, away from that sodding Noah and his airs and graces.

Engin couldn’t stand the man, he always knew everything about everything, but not in a showing off sort of way. Noah was a smart man underneath that thick-looking exterior of his and even if Noah had not realised it himself, Engin was smart enough to see it. He was also smart enough to see that Noah was smarter than he was, and he would do everything in his power not to let the other man ever see what an asset he would be to the King. Because Engin knew that even though he was smart, he was also lazy and this was not a quality that Noah possessed.

“Well me luverly lass… you wouldn’t believe who I just saw wif me own eyes”, Engin played up the drama of the moment by pausing dramatically, “The King hisself that’s who”. He waited for Darina’s response and he was not disappointed.

“Why Engin me luv”, she replied, her demeanour changing completely now that she wanted something from him, “You must tell yer old Darina what he said… please luv… I’m almost dyin with suspense… don’t make me wait”.

“Well… ye see, twas like this. I was hard at work up on that there hill building his fine castle, when the King hisself and that angry cousin of his the Duke, came on up the hill. I couldn’t bow cause I was holding in one of them heavy stone walls while Noah put in a wooden support”, he was getting into the theatrics of his story and began to act it out for Darina.

“And I think the King was very impressed with me work, but then he got stuck talking to that boring sod Noah. I knew he didn’t want to be talking there with him, so I entered into the conversation with a very clever idea if I do say so myself”, Engin was quite please by the effect his story was having on his wife, he knew she loved to hear anything about what the nobility was doing, and here he himself had met the actual King. It was a moment to good to be missed and he could see his wife’s breathing get faster as she anticipated what he was going to say next.

Unfortunately she interrupted him just as he was getting going, “That Noah… how could he think someone as rich an powerful as the King would want to hear him droning on about something or other”.

Engin had lost his train of thought and was feeling rather annoyed at his wife, “Anyway… I think the King was rather impressed by my clever ideas if I do say so meself”.

Darina butted in again,”Engin… I’ve got some interesting news meself I do”.

Engin could hardly believe that her news was exciting as his, but he soon found out he was wrong.

She reached down a hand to gently stroke her belly, and her face softened into the expression he only saw when she was deep in the folds of sleep, and unaware of his presence at all. During the day her face was often creased into expressions of annoyance, exasperation or anger. He did not see her like this often and it was so strange to him he was suddenly apprehensive of what she would say next.

“Engin, it’s a baby we’ll be havin, if I’m not mistaken, before the year is gone”, it had now been said and she sighed deeply. It was not her secret anymore.

Engin was so surprised at this piece of news, he could not even control his arms, “Are you sure? How do you know this thing? How can you tell?”.

Darina calmly replied, “Engin, have you not noticed that I have not bled these last months gone by, and how I been sick many of these mornings. And Engin…”, her expression turned inward again and she almost whispered, “Engin… I can feel it move”.

“Darina… you wonderful beauty you!!!”, Engin crowed, suddenly grabbing her hand and kissing it exuberantly, “Were gonna have a baby! Our very own baby! Say do you think it’s gonna be the first on this here island… I haven’t heard of any others?”

Darina had to admit that she had had the same thought herself.

“Let me feel it!”; he advanced upon her all pawing hands, “I wanta feel it movin too”.

She giggled and batted his hands away, “Engin… don’t do that… yer tickling me”.

His face grew suddenly serious.

“Darina, I don’t know if I ever told you this afore, and if I dint then I shoulda… yer a beautiful woman and I love you”, he wrapped his arms around her slightly swollen waist and buried his face in her neck.

If he had still been looking at her, he would have been blessed by one of her rare smiles, one that stretched across her entire face and lit it up like the sun after a dark storm.

And then she let him kiss her, there in the mess hall, even though someone might have seen.

Noah sat at the rickety wooden table admiring his handiwork. He had been assigned to assist in building the fortress that Eallair would rule his new kingdom from. Noah was very proud to be part of such a monumental thing. Back home he had been nothing more than a carpenter, building furniture for the wealthier amongst the lower classes. Now here he was, a lowly tradesman, taking part in something he saw as so far removed from his ordinary past life that he was utterly awed. He could see a new path for him and his beautiful Gena, each brick gleaming in the sunlight as they trod carefully along it, her hand in his.

As usual Engin was stretched out on the ground while Noah worked, soaking up the rays of sunlight and chatting about how much he didn’t like someone or other. It seemed to Noah that Engin only had unpleasant things to say about people. Noah wasn’t exactly fond of people himself having received mostly unkindness in his life, but he still did like to try and think the best of them until he was proven wrong. He had to admit, somewhat ashamedly, to himself, that he didn’t think the best of Engin. When he wasn’t spouting some venom he was slacking off from the work, which was one thing Noah certainly didn’t approve of.

Like at this very moment, which turned out to be an unfortunate choice of times for Engin, as Noah heard voices coming up the hill. He turned to look and saw the King and his cousin striding determinedly up towards the beginnings of the fortress.

Engin tried to scramble to his feet as though he had not been lazing about, but the King was there before he could make it and Noah was already bowing low before him. He had only ever seen the king from afar and he found himself more than a little awestruck.

“You may rise”, Eallair said to Noah.

“And you may rise as well”, he said with a laugh and a slight wink to Engin who had not yet managed to bow to him.

Noah was filled with admiration for this man who was so majestic and yet could joke with lowly peasants of his and Engin’s status.

His cousin Lochan looked exceedingly displeased on the other hand.

“Good to see that you were hard a work”, he said to Engin, his face a mask of distaste.

“Bah… I can’t be bothered with this today”, he flailed his hands as though to push the situation away and turned to study the beginnings of the castle.

Noah did not really know what to think of this man. He had heard that the Duke was a very great man and he knew that the King depended on him in all of his affairs. In days gone by he had been known for his kindness and his just decisions.

But to Noah he seemed bitter, like a mellow wine that had been left too long and had spoiled to vinegar. Gena had told him the gossip she had heard from the other womenfolk, that the Duchess was very ill and they had lost many babies before they had been born. If this was true, Noah felt deeply sorry for the man, and could being to understand. This kind of thing could reduce one to the state of half-living he saw before him.

Noah was startled out of his musings by the King addressing him.

“B..b..begging your pardon s..s.sir, was you talking with me?”, he was embarrassed at the sudden return of his childhood stutter. Now of all moments, he felt as though he had a small bird fluttering in his mouth hindering his speech.

“No I was talking to this lovely grey rock here… of course I was talking to you my good man”, the lively grin on Eallair’s face put Noah instantly at ease and soon they were engrossed in a conversation about the best way to structure the east tower, on which they had begun work recently.

He was too deeply involved in this discussion about architecture to notice the muscles tensing across Engin’s back as he clenched and unclenched his fists. If he could have seen Engin’s face he would have been shocked by the angry grimace that darkened his face.

Thus he was surprised when suddenly his excited explanation on the benefits of foundations of that lovely grey rock Eallair had mentioned, further supported by wooden bracing, was rudely interrupted by Engin’s rough voice.

“But yer majesty… wouldent you think that that there black rock over near them hills over there… you know that one with the shiny bits init would be better for yer castle. I think it would be much prettier for your nobility don’t you?”

The king looked confused, “I’m not sure… Engin wasn’t it. I haven’t seen this black rock that you speak of as yet, so I can not give an opinion on that, but perhaps you are right. It might be nice to have part of the castle hewn out of this black rock”.

Noah felt he must speak up out of duty to the king and also to the others who would inhabit the fortress.

“Your majesty”, he said, carefully trying to round out the vowel sounds in your as he had heard the gentry do, “I think important it is that I tell you that there black rock of Engin’s would’nt make much of a good foundation. That rock is nice but if you put your eyes up close you’d see that it’s full of them small holes you sometimes see in rock. The shiny parts will break like glass if you try and perraps your castle will fall down if we built on that”.

His duty done, the conversation continued a while longer. Noah could feel Engin’s glare boring into the side of his head but he refused to acknowledge it. Eventually the King and Lochan headed back down the hill and Noah was left alone with Engin again.

Engin wasted no time, turning to Noah, his finger pointing accusatorily at him.

“What was you thinking there… making me look so stupid fore the King like that”, his anger was so apparent Noah felt as though he could almost taste it on air between the men. “I had a good thought and you comes up and ruins it… and it was a good one too… you, you think so highly of yourself sir Noah”, his voice turned mocking, “and you are nothing. The only wench who will ha’ you is a blind one, so she don’t have to see yer ugly face when yer lying on top of her”.

Engin stormed off down the hill now, leaving Noah alone with the beginnings of the castle that he was so proud of. Noah did not understand men like Engin, he could not fathom such anger, such venom and such a wish to make others unhappy. He thought he never would.

Darina stood in the mess-tent clutching a bowl of partially eaten porridge. The menfolk had come and eaten their lunch leaving the usual mess to be cleaned up and it was her day to do it. It was a hot, muggy day and the tent was stuffy and had the distinct reek of sweaty males.

Whoever had been eating this particular bowl had obviously not enjoyed his meal and had poked at the porridge until it had ended up a congealed cold mess that she had to clean up. Looking at the globs now, and thinking about the spoon going in an out of some dirty mouth made her stomach turn.

In fact, now that she thought about it, her stomach wasn’t just turning, it was doing sommersaults. She felt bile rising in her throat and clapped a hand to her mouth, using all of her willpower to keep from throwing up.

Not here, she thought moving quickly towards the doors of the tent so none of the other women on cleaning duty would notice and out into the fresh air.

She took a couple of gulps but this was not enough to appease her roiling stomach and she found herself bolting for the nearby bushes. She knew these bushes well, she had spent the last few days becoming very well acquainted with them.

She clutched her stomach and retched violently, spattering the leaves with the morning’s breakfast. She paused for breath trying to control her body’s reponse but the sight of her vomit caused her to heave again.

She raised a trembling hand to her face to wipe away the tiny beads of sweat that were adhering to her brow, and took a deep breath. It seemed that it was over for now.

She put a hand to her chest and felt her heart racing. This was not like her, she never got ill and it couldn’t have been rotten food because it had been going on for days and days. She felt mildly nauseous most of the time now that she thought about it.

She suddenly had an idea and cursed herself for being so stupid and naive. She carefully counted back the days since she had last bled and realised it had been much longer than it should have.

A smile burst through the close confines of her face. It was rare for Darina to smile about anything, unless she were laughing at some other’s misfortune. But for a moment a smile managed to make it through. How stupid she had been. She was not a young girl anymore, she had seen other women before. She knew what was supposed to happen and yet she had doubted her own body.

Thoughtfully she rubbed her still small stomach. Yes, it must be true, everything added up. She smiled to herself, her thoughts turning inward to the small being she carried within her. She half-whispered, “You are going to do great things my little one, great things”.

Engin thought that his wife Darina was a very clever woman. He would even use the word sly when describing her but he did not consider it an insult. Back in the city before the invasion they had been struggling to make ends meet and now here they were in the same boat (literally) as lords and ladies. And even the king and queen! Yes Darina had been clever when she suggested they accompany Eallair and his other subjects to Mhalwae. They would all be starting almost from the same place here… yes they would soon have their castles but surely they would come to rely on and know the peasant-folk here which would never have happened back home. He was glad he had married Darina, others thought she was a sharp woman, greedy and a gossiper, but he saw her true worth.

Darina herself had always wanted to be great but now knowing it would never happen for her, her ambitions lay with the children she would have. Surely on a small island such as this her children might be picked to marry into nobility. And she would do everything in her power to make it happen. As she and Engin stood together looking out towards Mhalwae she was perhaps the only one who was not unnerved by the dark form rising out of the raging ocean.