Ashes Under Uricon (The Change Book 1) (8 page)

“All will be explained in due course. I know this is strange for you. Please believe me when I say that we are among friends. No harm will come to you – or me – while we are here.”

He held me at arm’s length. “Now, let Eluned take you down to breakfast. I will be with you as soon as I have dressed.”

It was only then that I realised he was still wearing his clothes from the journey, now worn and stiff.

“Come, my lady,” Eluned said. Taid pushed me towards her. Reluctantly I turned away. She took my hand and led me through the door, closing it behind her. I could hear the faint rumbling of deep male voices coming from somewhere downstairs. As I was led back down, the voices grew louder. We reached the hallway and turned into another door. As we entered, the singing, or chanting, stopped.

Inside the room was a long table. Unlike the one in the room where I had slept, this was highly polished and at its centre stood a container filled with flowers of many different colours and shapes. Matthew and the three men I had seen before stood at various places behind chairs placed around the table, their hands resting on the backs of the chairs. I counted five chairs on each side of the table.

“I think the appropriate greeting would be ‘bore da’, eh Non?” Matthew said, smiling as usual. “Gentlemen?”

The other men repeated, together, “Bore da.”

“Take a seat, my dear,” he said. Eluned led me to the chair next to his, pulled it out and bowed slightly as I took what I presumed was my place. Once I was seated she pushed the chair in a little, then stood behind me in silence.

At this moment the three women I had seen previously entered and took their places at the table. They were followed by Taid, now dressed in similar clothes to Matthew. As were the other men, I now realised. The women wore shifts with rope belts similar to Eluned’s and mine, each a different colour.

One of the women produced a small book from somewhere inside her shift, opened it to a marked page and began to chant,

Benedic, Domina, nos et dona tua,

quae de largitate tua sumus sumpturi,

et concede, ut illis salubriter nutriti

tibi debitum obsequium praestare valeamus.

After each line, the rest of the table, with the exception of Taid and myself, repeated the words. I stood with my mouth open, astonished. They were speaking – or chanting – DogLat. The first time I had heard it since the last time I was in Schola, now, I realised with a shock, nearly a week in the past. Although I did not recognise the words as coming from a part of the Bible that I had studied, I was able to understand much of it. They were chanting a blessing, thanking a lady for her generous gifts and promising always to be obedient to her.

When they had finished, Matthew said, “Let us be seated.” This made me feel a little embarrassed, as I was the only one who was already sitting down.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then one of the women and one of the men got up from the table and left the room. They soon returned carrying between them a large loaf on a wooden platter together with a long knife and a heavy jug. When they had placed these in the centre of the table they took their seats again. Another pair then arose and left the room, returning with ten plates, ten knives and ten wooden cups. These were distributed around the table. The other pair left the room and returned with a dish of butter and a plate of boiled eggs.

Taid and I remained seated as this strange procession took place, as did Matthew, and it was now that I realised there was an empty chair. Mererid was not present. As the last pair returned to their seats, Matthew said, “Let us eat,” and proceeded to cut a thin slice of bread from the loaf before handing it to the woman on his left. He took a small portion of butter before again passing the dish to his left. Finally, he filled his cup with what turned out to be milk from the jug. Again the jug was passed on.

I was not in the least used to such rituals as this, and I looked on hungrily as the bread and butter diminished on its journey around the table. I was sitting immediately to the right of Matthew, so was last in line for a turn. When the bread reached Taid, seated to my right, he cut a slice and passed it to me, but Matthew shook his head and gestured for him to take it back. Taid passed the loaf to me, but before I could take the knife, Eluned leaned forward and took it, cutting a slice and putting it on my plate. She followed this by spreading butter on the bread before pouring me a cup of milk. I sat doing nothing, wondering if I would be allowed to eat it.

Eluned withdrew behind me and, without waiting, I picked up the bread and took a large bite from it. I could not for the life of me work out why everything was being done for me. Eluned seemed to operate as a servant, but only for me. Why?

At this point, Mererid came in. She was carrying a large book, which she placed on the end of the table. As she opened it she looked at me and said, “This is for you, Non. You will, in time, understand why you are being treated differently. And why.” She began to read aloud. At first I did not understand a word she was saying, until it dawned on me that the language was Welsh.

Taid leaned towards me. “Ardderchog. Excellent,” he whispered.

Eventually, after the eggs had passed round the table and Mererid’s reading had finished, it appeared that breakfast was over.

“Eluned will take you for your first lesson,” Matthew announced.

“My first lesson?” I repeated, kicking myself.

“You have much to learn, my dear. And we have much to learn from your grandfather. We have no time to waste if we are to fulfil our tasks here.”

I turned to Taid. “What is he saying?” I asked him.

“We are all here for a very serious purpose, cariad. My place is with these other scholars. There is a great deal of work to be done. In a very short space of time, as Matthew suggested.”

“Your grandfather,” Matthew continued, “is the key to the success of our small venture in this place. Until you and he came, we were not sure that we could complete the task we have been given. But you are as important as he is in this. Perhaps more so. I fear there may be great danger ahead for you, and we must make sure that we prepare you for what you may find as best as we can.”

“There may be great danger?” I knew I was repeating again, but I did not care this time. “Do the Guards know we are here? Has someone informed The Apostles?”

The others in the room were now looking at each other and murmuring. Mererid spoke for the first time since she stopped reading. “As you see, my companions, she has much to learn. The Change system works thoroughly, as we know. This is how it corrupts the mind of a child. You see that the only words she associates with danger are those of the System – ‘Guards’, ‘Apostles’.”

“Mais, c’est impossible,” the woman who spoke French said. “Il est trop tard pour elle, la pauvre.”

“No, Mere Rhiannon,” Mererid said. “It is not too late. We must not accept that what needs to be done is impossible. She is strong and comes from good stock. We will succeed.”

“We must succeed,” Matthew said. “There is no question of that, Mere. Now, before we fill the child’s mind with more fearful things, let her go with Eluned to begin her work.” He looked at me, his eyes brimming with tears. “Much depends upon you, my dear. More than you could possible imagine at this stage.”

“Imagination may be the greatest stumbling block,” Taid said. “It has been eradicated from our children, Matthew. I hope that you have a method to bring it back.”

“We have a method. We have never had cause or need to use it before, but I believe that it will work. Eluned, my dear, we place her in your charge.”

Eluned came forward and took my hand. I stood up as she pulled the chair away from me. Turning me to face Matthew, she bowed slightly. It seemed that I was expected to do the same, so I did. As we left the room, the French-speaking woman cried out, “Bonne chance, ma petite. Nous vous saluons.”

Led by Eluned I returned to the room that I had left earlier that morning. She sat me at the table then turned to lock the door. My head was filled with questions, but I had no idea what to do with them. Should I ask Eluned? She sat beside me. “You are filled with much wonder, my lady. Are you not?”

“I’m not sure about wonder. More like worry. What was all that discussion in there about? Why am I in danger? I’m really, really beginning to dislike it here. The strange ritual with breakfast. The fact that you do everything for me. I think we should just go. Move on. Find somewhere else to hide. If the Guards find us here we will be punished.”

As I ranted on, Eluned sat very still, looking at me.

“And stop looking at me like that,” I exploded. “It gives me the shivers.”

She put her hand on mine. “‘She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.’ I am blessed that you are here, my lady. I am not worthy of such gifts.”

It was my turn to stare at her. She spoke in such an odd way. I wasn’t sure, but she seemed to be quoting the Bible all the time. “Why do you speak like that, Eluned?”

“The word of the Domina speaks through me, my lady. I am only her vessel.”

I had heard that word ‘Domina’ when they had spoken DogLat before breakfast. I knew it meant ‘Lady’. But what Lady was she talking about? “Who is the Domina?” I asked. “Is it Mererid?”

She laughed gently. “Domina is everywhere. And she is nowhere. She is in the air and in the earth.”

“I don’t understand,” I said, shaking my head.

She looked up to the ceiling. “‘Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain her; how much less this house that we have builded.’”

She was quoting again. “Do you know the whole of the Bible?” I said.

“What is the Bible?” she said, turning to face me once again.

I spluttered. I was sure that she had been saying things taken from the Bible, and now she was asking me what it was? “The Bible is the book. There is no other. It was given to The Apostles. We must all read, learn and understand it. How can you ask such a question?”

“You speak strangely, my lady. We must begin your lessons. Are you ready?” She smiled.

“Ready for what? What lessons can I possibly learn from you? You don’t even know what the Bible is. There are no other lessons.”

She got up from her seat and went over to the cupboard. She pulled out a drawer at the bottom of it and took out a book. She brought this to the table and laid it in front of me. “You see,” I said, “this is the Bible.” I opened it. The first page was covered in writing that was neither DogLat nor ClassLat. I could make nothing of it. I closed the book. “Is this some sort of trick? This is the sort of thing that Taid is always doing to me. We know that there is no other book than the Bible, and all other books were destroyed on the orders of The Apostles. To be found with a forbidden book is a major crime. You can’t ask me to look at this. Put it away. Better still, destroy it. Taid already has one forbidden book. That Welsh book he said was the Bible, but I know it can’t possibly be.”

Eluned moved the book so that it lay in front of her. She opened it and began to read:

Math fab Mathonwy oedd arglwydd Gwynedd a Phryderi mab Pwyll oedd arglwydd ar un cantref ar ugain yn y De. A’r rheini oedd saith cantref Dyfed, saith Morgannwg, pedwar Ceredigion a thri Ystrad Tywi. Ac yn yr amser hynny ni fyddai Math fyw os na fyddai ei draed yng nghroth morwyn, heblaw pan rwystrwyd ef gan gynnwrf rhyfel. A’r forwyn ag oedd gydag ef yr adeg hynny oedd Goewin merch Pebin o Ddôl Pebin yn Arfon.

I put my hand over the page she was reading. “Stop it! Stop it! You can’t do this. Do you know how dangerous it is to do this? They are always listening. Mererid was doing it at breakfast. Do you people not know that the Guards are always listening to us?”

She closed the book. “This is your first lesson, my lady. When you are ready, I have the honour of showing you how to scan these words. This is your story, my lady. Domina has blessed me in my task.”

“How can it be my story? It’s written in Welsh, isn’t it? And I’ve already told you, it’s a criminal offence to have that book, never mind read it. You people are making things up, aren’t you? Taid is the only person in the world who still speaks Welsh properly. And I’ve told him that the Guards are bound to hear him if he does it too much. Please, stop all this. You’re frightening me. Please stop.” Tears began to roll down my face again.

“You need not fear, my lady. Do not be troubled. Your task is indeed a heavy one. ‘
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your soul.’ We shall take refreshment.”

She got up, unlocked the door and left the room. For a moment I contemplated dashing out. Except that I had no idea where Taid was in this strange house. And I could not possibly leave without him. Soon she returned carrying the jug of milk from breakfast, together with two of the wooden cups. She sat back at the table and poured out one each.

As she did so, I was suddenly overcome with an immense feeling of fatigue. I was despondent. Had we come all this way to end up here? With a mad woman trying to make me break the law who claimed not to know about the Bible. I put my head down on the table and promptly fell asleep.

How long I slept I have never been sure. It may have been hours, it may have been days. When I awoke I was again lying in the truckle bed. The blanket which covered me felt more scratchy than before. I put my hand inside to discover that I was naked beneath it. Instinct made me pull it up under my chin. I turned over. The lamp was lit so it must have been night. I sat upright, clutching the blanket over my chest.

Eluned’s voice pierced the gloom. “You are awake, my lady?” I heard her move in her bed. Moments later she loomed over me. “What joy this brings me. You wish for refreshment?”

Barely awake, I looked into her face and nodded. “What time is it? How long did I sleep?”

“‘
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.’” she said, as I heard the door being unlocked and opened. There was no light from the hallway.