Age of Faith

Episode 2

There is only one way to enter Wulfen Castle. He has to make himself a man. Annyn looked down at her figure where she stood among the wood leaves. And frowning. Instead, he had to make himself a man, because it was a boy handled by Baron Wulfrith—page who aspired to be a bodyguard, a bodyguard who aspired to be a knight.

Since he was too small to disguise himself as a bodyguard, a single page would be his, but only long enough to convince Jonas to be fine. Still haunted by a premonition, though it has now been four days since it has dug up a dark place inside her, he dropped his head back onto the tree where he was sheltering and squinted into the sunlight that found little resistance in the last leaves of autumn.

If only her mother had lived to provide comfort, but it had been eight years since Miss Elena died. Eight years since Annyn learned her touch. The sound of a bang indicating that a clever rabbit had come out of the bushes, Annyn gripped her bow tighter and slowly inched around the tree as her brother had taught her.

Even though that messy little boy had yet to fully appear, he would soon appear. He flung his head to clean the hair from his eyebrows, raised his bow, and pulled the arrow stuck to his cheek. The rabbit raised his twitching nose. Patience. Annyn heard Jonas from two summers ago. Will he hear her voice again? Yes, he will see it when he travels to Wulfen Castle where he completes his escort training with the mighty Baron Wulfrith, a man who is said to have a great influence over the earl from whom he holds his land. Annyn frowned as she pondered on the name of Wulfrith which reminded her of the growling wolf, her imagination made clearer by the terrible anger that the man was said to have had.

Since before William of Normandy conquered England, the Wulfrith family has been known to England through France for training boys to be men, especially those considered to be very lacking. Although Jonas' letters speak little of the training, all know it mercilessly. The rabbit is moving forward. Holding it! Jonas' voice, almost real enough to fan his cheek, made him smile, breaking the mud that had been smeared on his face just like his brother had also taught him.

He closed his eyes. Thirteen months since he left for Wulfen. Thirteen months in training with the dreaded Wulfrith who does not allow women into his walls. Thirteen months to make Jonas a man worthy to be the baron king Aillil who will be the heir of Uncle Artur. The rabbit broke. Annyn flinched, shocking the creature to the point of jumping from the bushes. Follow, follow, follow! He swung the tip of the arrow in front of the rabbit and released it. With a shriek that made him frown as he did every time he cut down one of the God creatures, the rabbit collapsed on a stretch of muddy foliage.

Meat on the table, Annyn said to herself as she walked to where her prey lay. No matter he soiled his hose and tunic, he knelt beside him. "God," he said, hoping to hasten him to heaven even though Father Cornelius said there was no such place for animals.

But what does one who does not know how to smile know about the abode of God? He lifted the rabbit and pulled his arrow free. Satisfied to find the tip and the fur intact, he wiped his tunic stalk and thrust an arrow into its tube. He stands. A catch of good size. Not that Uncle Artur would approve him bringing meat to the table.

But he will, and if he is in a hurry, it can be served at lunch. He draped a bow on his shoulder and ran. If only Jonas was here, it made me try hard to match his longer strides. If only he had called out a mockery from behind his shoulder. If only he had gone out of sight just to pounce on me. Lord, I do not know what I would do if— He put aside his worries by reminding that, soon, he will get the certainty he is looking for. Tonight too she will cut her disheveled black hair, put on the clothes Jonas wore as a courtyard, and leave it under a dark cover. In less than a penny a night, he can steal to Wulfen Castle, find his brother, and return to Ailil.

As for Uncle Artur... He stopped at the edge of the forest and gazed at Lillia Castle across the open grassland. His disappearance would send fear through his uncle, but if he told him what he meant, he would not allow it. He stepped on the damp ground. If he wants to send a letter to Wulfen to find out how Jonas's fate is, this effort of his is unnecessary. However, every time he asked his uncle, he teased that he was too worried.

The movement on the suspension bridge caught Annyn's attention. A visitor? A messenger from Wulfen? Could it be that Jonas is once again coming back because of deliberate behavior? He squinted at the standard being flown by a passing rider under the raised and gasped portcullis. It belongs to Wulfrit! Although the people on the wall usually called out to Annyn and mocked her frightening appearance, her name did not make people talk when she approached the suspension bridge.

Ignoring his doubts, he stopped to look for the bearded Rowan who, as the guard captain, must be at the gate. He didn't, but William. He pushed the rabbit high. "Other times, pig!" He's not smiling. “Nona, hurry to donjon. Baron Wul—” “I know! My sister's back?” He shifted his eyes. "Aye, Lady Annyn, your sister's back." So, the famous Baron Wulfrith can't rule Jonas' life either.

She would probably have laughed if it wasn't a bad sign that her brother's training would have stopped. Despite being kind-hearted, he has been returned three times by the barons who could no more direct him than his uncle who has lived with him and Annyn for the past ten years. So, until Uncle Artur sent Jonas to Wulfen Castle, brothers and sisters were more often together than apart. They will be together soon. Secretly thanking God for giving her what she asked for, she darted down the gate and onto the outside bailey, passing the castle people who were staring at her with something other than disapproval. Telling himself that his flesh was goosebumps in the cold, he entered the inner bailey where half a dozen horses stood in front of the donjon, among them Jonas's palfrey. And a cart. As he approached, the bodyguard in control of a large white destrier looked around. Surprise first reassembles his narrow face, then belittles.

"Stop, you!" He didn't need a mirror to know that he looked more like a stable boy than a woman, but rather than letting him mistake him for a tendency to do so, he said, "It was Lady Annyn you greeted, Squire." The humiliation returned to shock, and her sleepy green eyes widened even further when she saw the rabbit. "Woman?" As if he was being hit, he looked to the side.