Lunamae Read Online Free PDF Page B

first floor and then wandered around to find Lunamae who I
assumed was with her mother. I found my own mother while
searching.
    “How is Talfrin doing?” she asked me. She was
carrying a basket of sewing equipment and held some bolts of fabric
under her arm. I shrugged.
    “I took the arrow out and put a bandage on
it. He wants me to sew it up later.”
    “I am sure you can handle it,” my mother
stated, a little too unsurprised. I pretended not to notice.
    “Where is Lunamae?” I wondered, diverting the
subject. My mother pointed to outside the keep.
    “She is with Angharad in the cook house. They
are discussing what kind of cake to make for the birthday party
tomorrow. I’ll be up in the sewing room if you need me. I have been
given the task of making Lunamae a new dress.” She left to go up
the stairs and I headed to the cook house. I don’t often have a
need to go there since it services just the keep, but everyone in
the village had at one point in time been able to smell the scents
of freshly made foods wafting out into the air. It was particularly
evident in the summer months when fire smoke didn’t pollute the
fragrances. The house was a short walk from the keep as the staff
needed to be able to quickly deliver. It was separate from the keep
because of the risk of fire. The fires of the cook house, it
seemed, never stopped burning. Sure enough, Lunamae was there, in
her mother’s arms no less. After a few more minutes of discussion,
the chief dame said her goodbyes and left Lunamae to my charge. I
took her back to the house and prepared her for the party the next
day.

    Lunamae woke me up from my pleasant sleep.
She was practically bouncing off the walls of the house, announcing
at the top of her lungs she was five. I let her shout for a bit as
I slowly got myself out of bed. At my age, birthdays were a
constant reminder I was growing older and unmarried. Those my age
were already having children of their own. To me, it seemed,
Lunamae was much like my child since I raised her from a babe.
    “I’m coming, birthday girl,” I said groggily.
I found a comb and brushed out my hair. I hadn’t paid much
attention to it in recent years. The brown I used to have was
turning into auburn and getting to be quite tangled as well. The
spring air helped with all the rains we had. I pulled on a linen
shift and then found a clean wool overdress. Once I had put those
two on, I finished with a belt around my waist after first looping
my herb pouch through it. I found my shoes in the corner of the
loft. They had been made by my brother Logan, his branding evident
on the heel. I heard the sound of the bodhrán and fiddle
and some pipes and realized that Angharad had requested a parade to
pick up Lunamae at our house to take her to the keep. Lunamae heard
the music and stuck her head out the window.
    “I see mommy!” she yelled. I walked down the
loft, noticing Lunamae was wearing the new dress my mother had
made. My mother had the door shut to her room and I realized she
must have spent the whole night working on it.
    “She’s got too much energy,” Logan said. I
turned and noticed him in the cooking area of the house, sipping on
what appeared to be hot tea. “I didn’t realize it was so hard
getting a child dressed in the morning.”
    “You did it with one arm?” I asked surprised
and Logan turned up his mouth in a quirky grin.
    “I had to keep reminding her to stay calm or
she would rip her dress. She was excited to wear it so she obeyed
for the most part. I didn’t want to wake you after the day you had
yesterday.” Logan took a sip of his tea and walked over to me. “Do
you think you can endure eight more years?”
    “Heh,” I said, not amused. Truly, I longed
for male companionship and friends. It was tiring to care for a
child by one’s self. I couldn’t do anything with people my own age
and I didn’t have time to court either. I was a bit surprised
requests weren’t being sent by other clans