~starter~

Lady of Mercia  I can’t say that I spent a lot of time grieving when Aethelred died. He was arrogant and chauvinistic. When he lived, we shared my father’s vision for England, but Aethelred lacked the love that I felt for the people of Mercia. There was a force within me that couldn’t be quieted as the elder men anguished over who would be the next leader of Mercia. Naturally they looked through the one who had been Aethelred’s mind and heart for the years prior. Even as Mercia was more willing to notice women than Wessex there would be not grandstanding. Lord knows her mother, would quietly whisper advise to King Alfred. I was witness to that! Winter was just beginning. The funeral rituals and political meetings after the King’s death had been arduous, exhausting really, but finally the kingdom would return to normal. Normal, was it? Aethelflaed, argued with herself as she felt true sorrow for the deaths that had occurred in the transfer of power. In the end she had stepped forward. She would not see Mercia falls to the wolves. Someone had to understand land and the players. Someone had to know the past, see the future. Before she even had time to shy away from the job, she had convinced them that she was that someone. King Edward of Wessex lorded over Mercia. She had ridden with him to win …….They spoke the same language had the same goals for England and he was her brother. She would become the Lady of Mercia. In the quiet of her heart she panicked, yet truth be told, she had run the kingdom even when her husband lived. Aethelflaed was anxious, and alone. Her daughter, now in her maiden years, had only the interest of boys and games. Maybe she needed the companionship of another woman. Or maybe she just needed to busy herself with the ways of English people, their needs, wants, joys and sorrows. She moved aimlessly through the stronghold. Mayhap she would visit her mother. “Robert, ready my horse,” she asked, hoping he would have the desire to accompany her, she smiled. “Might Liam and ye go with me to Wessex? I’m not sure that will be the only destination. Mercia is safe, now. Will ye come?”. Her dark sad eyes wreaked of pity. She knew he coveted his time with his family, but then again, she knew he would be still. He smirked, just a bit, playing along with her tease. Robert had been a faithful friend, having moved to Mercia from Wessex when the Lady was wed. Now after finding wife here in Mercia, he was to be a father. Liam on the other hand was single and a Mercian by birth. “I’ll talk to Liam. I’m sure he’ll be happy to go, he gets antsy and yearns for adventure. “Thank you, Robert. I will be ready at daybreak tomorrow. I appreciate you.” She winked and disappeared above stairs. After giving Maddy, her handmaid, instruction of the travel, she retreated to the library. Like her father, she adored time alone, to read, write and reflect. Her time at the monastery school had given her the gift of literacy and learning. The large walnut desk situated beside a tall window overlooking the castle grounds, gave her private escape from others. Sometimes she gathered her thoughts about religion, community problems, and strategies of war. Other times, it was an escape from all things real. It became a portal to step into the other world poetry and literature. This evening she craved an escape. She felt free to let her heart and mind wander. Reaching for a book from a shelf against the wall and lighting a lantern, she began to read.