The Queen of Rosefield

Chapter 2

     A week later the Master Swordsman rode slowly into his village with the young wet nurse and baby following on the old pack mare.  There was no one out the the single dirt street and all of the houses looked dark and empty in the early night.  None of the dogs were barking at their approach and that sent a chill down the back of the swordsman.  He halted his mount and turned to look at the young woman as she held the daughter of his best friend and king.

    "You stay here in the shadows and wait.  I don't like the way the village looks or sounds.  It's to quiet."  He said and drew his sword as he waited for the woman to hide in the darker shadows.  He rode slowly toward his shop with every nerve in his body tense.  He still saw no sign of anyone until a large shadow moved at the side of the swords shop.  "Who goes there beside the swords shop?"  He challenged and the large shadow stopped moving.

    "It's Mark, Master Swordsman."  Came the voice of the big man.

    "Why is the village dark?  I've seen no lights on in any house.  Where are the people?"  He asked as Mark walked closer to him.

    "They're at your home.  Gwen is on her deathbed."  Mark said and reached out to take the reins of the Master Swordsman's mount.  "We've been keeping watch over her since yesterday and she has faded to the point that we don't believe she'll make it through the night."  The young man said.

    "Go to the edge of the village where I left my pack horses.  There is a young woman with a babe hiding in the darkest place.  Bring them to my house."  He said as he swung from the back of the stallion he rode.  He hurried toward his house and didn't look back at the big man that slowly walked into the dark street in search of the woman.

    As the Master Swordsman made his way into his house, he could barely move.  "Out of my way.  Move."  He pushed and shoved through the throng of people to reach the room he shared with his wife.  "Let me through."  He said again as and the people gathered inside his home slowly parted.  He walked into he room that he shared with his wife and saw the women of the village gathered around the bed where his pale wife lay.  He saw their looks of woe an shook his head at them.  He couldn't believe that his wife of fifteen years was about to die.  "Leave."  He said when the women began to notice that he was in the room.  "Let me be with my wife."  He said and the women slowly left the room.

    "Jonathon."  Gwen whispered in a weak voice.  "You made it home.  You came back to me."  She whispered and held out a pale hand.  "Come, take my hand."  She said and her eyes were filled with tears as he sat beside her and held her hand.  "Oh how I wish I had been able to give you a child to call your own."  She said and smiled softly.

    "Don't worry about that."  He said and gently stroked her face.  "I have had you in my life and I'm thankful that you have put up with me for all these years."

    "But I didn't give you your son."  She said and tears flowed freely from her eyes.  "I know you wanted a son to carry on after you, and I've failed you.  Everyone said so, and I can't have any children anymore."  She began crying harder as her husband tried to comfort her.  "I've failed you.  I've failed to give you a child of your own as any good wife should."

    "Don't worry about that."  He said and gently stroked her face and leaned down to kiss her brow.  "I've had you in my life and I'm thankful that you have put up with me for all these years.  You're no failure to me."  He told her softly.

    "But I didn't give you your son."  Gwen said and tears flowed freely from her eyes.  "I know you wanted a son to carry on after you were gone and I've failed you Jonathon.  I've failed to give you a child of your own."  She wailed and began to thrash in the bed.

    "That doesn't matter to me Gwen."  He said in a harder voice as he tried to get her to understand his love for her.  He didn't care what the other women were telling her, he knew how he felt.  "As long as I have you in my life, that's all that matters to me.  I love you Gwen and nothing will or can keep me from loving you."  He said and shook her gently to try and get her to think about the words he told her.

    Gwen's eyes slowly left the face of her husband and stopped at someone who stood behind him and he slowly turned and saw the young woman holding the baby.  He let Gwen's arms loose and stood so he could face the woman and take the baby from her arms.  She would wait for the Master Swordsman to hand the child back to her when he was ready for her to take it back.

"Jonathon, who is that woman?  What have you done while you were away?"  Gwen asked and the sound of her voice made the Master Swordsman's heart ache with pain.

    Slowly he turned back to his wife and looked down at her stricken face before he looked at the tiny bundle in his arms.  He gently uncovered the babies face before he sat back down beside his wife.  "I have brought you a child my love."  he said and placed the baby in Gwen's arms.  "Her name is Malana and she is a wonderful gift from the king."  He said and saw the shock on his wife's face as she looked upon the tine face of Malana.  "She is our daughter Gwen.  She may not be of our bodies, but she is our daughter of the heart."  The Master Swordsman said and his voice broke as he looked into his wife's eyes.

    "I don't understand.  Why would the king give us a child?"  She wanted to know and shook her head.

    "Because she is his daughter."  Jonathon said and leaned closer to her.  "There is now four of us who know who she really is.  You can tell no one who her real parents are."  He whispered as he gently stroked the tiny face of the baby.

    "Why did the king give you his daughter?  He should have kept her."  Gwen said with passion and held Malana closer.

    "My dear Gwen, the queen died giving birth to the future king.  King Charles knew how much we longed for a child of our own and he wished for this beautiful child to grow up with two loving parents.  You cannot die on me and leave me to raise our daughter by myself.  You have to live and raise her with me."  He said with as much passion in his voice as he could manage.

    "And the young woman there.  Who is she?"  Gwen wanted to know as she nodded toward the woman still standing in the door to the room.

    "She is the wet nurse I found."  He said and motioned for her to come closer.

    Gwen looked up at the young woman and studied her for a few moments before she spoke.  "You are not this childs true mother?"

    "No Mistress."  She said and looked into Gwen's eyes.  "Your husband found me grieving for my own babe that had died and took me to Rosewood.  The king himself, he placed the babe into my arms and told me to nurse her for you and the Master for as long as you said."  She told Gwen and knelt beside the bed.  "I am your servant for as long as I am needed, only don't go and die on the babe.  She's lost one mother a few days ago, she doesn't need to loose another.  She needs a mother to love her and to teach her to be a woman Mistress."

    Gwen drew back into her pillow as she looked at the stricken face of the young woman.  She could see the truth that was in her eyes as she spoke, just as it had been with her own husband.  "I won't die than."  She said and looked upon the babe in her arms again.  "I'll be the mother of this child."  She said and smiled as Malana opened her eyes and looked at her.

    "And a good mother you'll be."  The young woman said with a smile.

    "And the child's name again?  What did you say her name was?"  Gwen asked as she began to count the tiny fingers and toes of the babe.

    "Her name is Malana."  The Master Swordsman said as he saw that life was returning to his beautiful Gwen.

    "And who was it that named her?"  She wanted to know again.

    "It was the king himself."  The young woman said.  "He gave her the name when he handed her into my arms."

    "Malana."  Gwen said and smiled.  "You are my beautiful Malana."  She said and kissed the dark hair upon the head of the babe.  "And I am your Mother."  She turned the baby so she faced Jonathon.  "And this big rascal is your Father."  She said and tears flowed from her eyes once more as she looked at her husband and then the woman.  "And you, you're her nurse so you shall be called Nurse by us and by Malana."  She said and began to openly weep over the baby.

    "I'll show Nurse to another room so she may get settled in."  The Master Swordsman said and ushered the young woman from the room and to another a few feet away.  "You'll stay in the room so you'll be able to tend to Malana when you're needed at night.  Later on she'll share this room with you for as long as you wish to remain in our household."

    "But Master, I don't expect to live with you always."  The nurse said in protest.

    "If you decide to leave us, we'll surly miss you."  He told her and placed his hand upon her shoulder.  "This is your home now."

    "Thank you."  She said and looked at the room she would be sleeping in and smiled.  "This is a lot nicer than what I'm used to."  

    "Put your past behind you Nurse and look forward to the future."  He told her before he turned back to his own room.