Sounds drifted through the castle of men and women feasting in the Grand Hall and even though Muriel had barely eaten anything for hours, she wasn’t tempted to join them. Her family and she had had a shaky past, and now as she was getting older and becoming a woman of her own, she had found herself disagreeing with them on many occasions.
Muriel smiled pleasantly as she passed the guards and made her way down one of the darkened corridors. She would climb the staircase at the end of it and ascend to the second floor where her bed chamber was waiting. Her nurse and confidant Elizabeth would be waiting for her, with no doubt a lecture and a warm bath. And even though a telling off was the last thing she needed, she would let Elizabeth go ahead and scold her anyway. She didn’t have the energy for a fight.
She pushed open the door to her bed chamber and the flicker of flames from the open fire danced around the room and licked an orange glow lightly up the stone walls. She closed the door silently behind her and Elizabeth startled from her resting place, a chair at the side of the hearth.
“Lady Calder,” she tutted, “The sun fell hours ago.”
Muriel nodded shyly and shrugged.
“Father’s already lectured me Elizabeth,” she said with disdain, “Please don’t make me feel any worse.”
Elizabeth got to her feet and put her hands on her hips.
“What the wild folk without clans wouldn’t do to a maiden like you if they got their hands on you out there,” she said icily, “You have no idea what lurks beyond our castle walls.”
“I know,” Muriel said, “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”
She crossed the room to her bed and lay down across it. Even though Elizabeth could be as tough on her as her parents, she was still glad to have her around and looking out for her. She always returned to a warm room and a freshly made up bed and she was waited on hand and foot. Muriel stretched her arms up high above her head and then rolled onto her side, propping her head up on her hand.
“They’re preparing for something,” Muriel said suggestively, “Have you heard anything?”
Elizabeth was busy folding linens and she pretended as if she hadn’t caught what Muriel was saying.
“Elizabeth?” Muriel prompted her again, “Do you know what’s coming to Cawdor?”
The maid shook her head as if Muriel was speaking nonsense and laughed.
“There are dangers lurking in every corner of the world,” she said, “Why would you think this place is any different?”
“What do you mean?” Muriel was confused. She was just hoping that for once, someone would give her a straight answer.
“I mean, it’s always been this way,” Elizabeth smiled at her warmly, “It’s just now you are old enough to notice… don’t worry yourself about it. You father has protected this castle since the day he was born and he will continue to until the day he dies.”
Elizabeth moved to the corner of the room and began to fill the bath tub with large urns of water she had warming on the fire.
“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Muriel whispered, but she was sure she was the only one to hear.
Muriel loved her mother and father, but they had never been close and their relationship had been tested many times. Muriel was a headstrong woman, she knew what she wanted out of life and she had fought for her right to live the way she pleased from a young age. After being denied at all costs, and kept amongst the confines of the castle, she had eventually accepted her fate. As the only daughter of Lord Calder, she would be wed to a rival family to strengthen bonds and forge alliances. With each passing day, Muriel could sense that her time was running out and that one morning she would wake up and her mother would sit her down and tell her that a date had been set and a suitor had been decided. Now she was nineteen, it seemed even more possible to happen at any moment. She was of an age where most girls had already been married and born several children. Her father had held out on her own marriage to ensure that Muriel was used as effectively as possible and the most powerful family was found. She hated that her only place in life was to breed with the son of another Lord and carry on a line of clans that she had been desperate to escape. Muriel knew deep in her heart that she was worth more than this, and even though she had accepted her fate… she would never give up hope that somewhere out there, there would be something or someone to save her.
“Here Lassie,” Elizabeth said as she helped Muriel to her feet and pulled her long smock dress off over her head. “You’re bitten with cold, get into the bath and get warm.”
Muriel had been so busy thinking about her future and of what her father and brothers were doing in the forest she had barely even noticed that her fingers were white with cold and she was shivering all over.
As she stepped into the bath and slid down into the warm water she breathed a sigh of relief. It felt good to be safe in her own personal space and as she washed her plump legs and arms with the oil scented water she smiled and tried to banish the negative thoughts that had plagued her all day. Even though she wasn’t heading in the direction she had dreamed of, she was lucky beyond words, and she would be thankful for all she had been given in life so far.
“Maybe I should take a trip down to the Grand Hall afterwards,” she said to Elizabeth, “I should see mother and eat something before bed.”
Elizabeth smiled and nodded her head as she hurried to find her an appropriate smock to wear, and Muriel looked up at the small window high in the castle wall. In the dark night she could see the glow of stars twinkling down on them and she wished with all her heart that she could have been out there underneath them.