The Ballad of Rosamunde Read Online Free PDF Page B

his dream of kissing
Rosamunde, and in truth, he did not want to do so. The dream had
lifted the shadow from his heart, made him feel that there might be
some purpose to his life even without his partner by his side.
    “You are fair pleased with yourself
tonight,” his sister said as she set an ale before him. She smiled
and propped her hands on her hips to regard him. “A conquest was it
then?”
    Padraig laughed for the first time in a long
time. “Naught but a dream, but ‘twas a fine one.”
    “I wager it must have been,” she said, her
smile teasing. “You dreamed then of a lady?”
    “None other than the Faerie queen,” Padraig
agreed amiably. “And she gave to me a token.”
    His sister sobered. “Did she then?” Her
wariness reminded Padraig strongly of their mother.
    “A ring with the power to make a man
invisible to others.” Padraig chuckled at the whimsy of it all,
then reached into his pocket to show her the stone. He thought she
would be amused by the evidence of his drunken dream, but when he
pulled the gift from his pocket, it had become a golden ring
again.
    Padraig stared at it on his palm and blinked
in wonder. “But a moment ago, it was a stone,” he whispered.
    His sister caught her breath and took a step
back. “A Faerie gem.” She crossed herself quickly. “Mind your step,
Padraig. A man does not easily elude the favor of the Faerie
queen.”
    Padraig barely heard her warning. He knew
all the tales of the fey, courtesy of his mother. He simply could
not believe that the ring had changed twice.
    But then, if it was fey, the charm
upon it would hold for the night and not the day. He stood and,
leaving his ale, looked out the door of the tavern. Sure enough,
the sun had set completely and twilight, that time so potent for
the fey, had fallen.
    He gazed at the circle of gold. What if his
dream had been true? What if this ring truly did have the power Una
had stated? What if he could reclaim Rosamunde from the realm of
the fey?
    What if his dream of that kiss had answered
his question – what was Rosamunde’s honest desire? Did she wish for
him as well as freedom?
    But before he dared entering the Faerie
mound, before he dared to abduct a women destined for the High King
of Faerie’s bed, Padraig would be sure of the ring’s powers.
    He left a coin for the ale, having no taste
for it any longer. He strode out into the streets of Galway,
slipped down an alleyway, then donned the ring.
    To his astonishment, when he stepped back
into the crowded thoroughfare, a man walked right into him,
frowning at the obstacle he could feel but not see.
    Padraig spent an hour testing the ring’s
abilities, but it was clear that no human eye could discern his
presence.
    Next he would check it among the fey. He
borrowed a horse and rode like a madman to the stone circle where
he had heard Una sing the night before.

    *

    “ Thus Rosamunde’s lover true
    Did meet the Faerie queen.
    Thus he gained the magical ring
    That let him pass unseen.
    And so it was that he did choose
    To witness his lady’s plight.
    He held his breath and donned the ring
    At the Faerie sid that night.”

    “ He saw his lady Rosamunde
    All garbed in white and gold.
    Her hair was braided thick with jewels,
    A star was on her brow.
    Her girdle was of finest silk,
    Her shoes of purple leather.
    So radiant was her countenance
    He’d never seen her measure.”

    *

    Rosamunde was displeased.
    To be sure, the court was fine enough, and
the hospitality was generous. She had been assigned some two dozen
ladies in waiting who cared more for the careful plaiting of her
hair than she ever could have done. She liked the splendid fabrics,
the jewels and the evident wealth.
    She did not like that she had been unable to
escape Darg, much less the creature’s hoot of triumph when Finvarra
had removed the red cord. The spriggan had disappeared so quickly
that it might not have ever been.
    She did not miss the vile creature.
    Finvarra was a