Ancient History Part 1

They were in the midst of building another great monument to Her greatness. Most of the stones had been raised into the circle now, only a few more to go, and this sacred place would be ready for worship. Cal ran his fingers through his hair and ordered a break in the work. The builders rested everywhere within the circle passing around water and food. Cal glanced up and out over the horizon. The endless grassy fields stretched as far as the eye could see under the clear blue sky. This new monument would be visible for miles around. Cal hoped it would please Her.

"Milord, the new strangers, have set up camp not far from Sarum." a fearful servant informed Cal.

"Have they shown any aggression towards towards the people working there?" Cal asked.

"No, milord, but it makes the workers very uneasy. These strangers do not look friendly."

"We will wait and see. I do not want to start a war with anyone if I don't have to." Cal decided.

"Other strangers have come to our shores before and they eventually blended into our own people peacefully."

His horse strolled leisurely through the land. He was not leading the Wild Hunt until tonight. He took in the breadth and beauty of the rich land about him. Briton was truly one of the richest lands in the world and the most peaceful. There was no leader. There were many different nomadic tribes that roamed the land. They rarely made permanent settlements. Only shrines to the Old Ways were stationary. The different tribes were united in a common goal to live with the land. And the land peacefully accepted them.

Idath, Lord of Death, approached a river and allowed his horse to stop and take a drink. His eyes followed the singing birds as they flew past him. Suddenly, he noticed a woman sitting in the sun on the banks of the river not far from him. He curiously approached her as quietly as possible. He closed the distance between them and noticed she had her eyes shut and seemed to be deep in thought.

She wore a turquoise blue dress and was currently barefoot. Her porcelain skin skin seemed to glitter strangely in the sunlight. The wind blew through her long raven-colored hair as he moved closer, enchanted by her beauty. He was a foot from her when she open her eyes and looked at him. Her emerald green eyes seemed to pierce him right through to the back of his skull so intense was her stare. "Milady, I am so sorry to interrupt. But I was curious as to what you were doing?" He held out his hand.

She looked at him a moment longer and then took his hand and he helped her to her feet. "I was only enjoying the beauty of today." her melodic voice spoke.

Idath thought he could hear the sound of wind chimes behind her words. "And you, Lord of Death, what are you doing here? The Wild Hunt is not until tonight." she questioned, eyebrow raised.

"I was only passing through and decided to stop to admire the scenery." Idath bravely pulled her closer to him than was appropriate.

"I see." she pulled herself out his grasp. "That's lovely. But Beltaine starts tomorrow, not today." And she vanished.

Idath smiled.

Cal laughed as one of the younger ones tripped during the dance. The children spun around and around the may pole as his servant poured more wine into his goblet. There had been laughter, singing, and dancing all day. It was the summer solstice. A special day to celebrate another turning of the wheel of the year. Cal glanced over at their Queen seated nearby. She had flowers braided in her hair and was surrounded by some brave children who had dared to get close and speak to her.

Her laughter rang in the air from time to time, pure and clean and joyful. She had been pleased with the monument at Sarum. Though that was no surprise really, She was almost always pleased with them. They could do no wrong as far She was concerned. They loved her.

Soon the sun had set, the children went to bed, and the adults began to wander away in groups of two or three. She wandered away from the celebrations by herself into the night. "Milady.."

She turned and found Idath standing behind her. She smiled lazily. He pulled her close. "My queen, My love, Mab..."

The made love together, all night, on the ground in a field of flowers.