And knelt upon his knee.
“Mother, come Mother, come riddle to me
Come riddle it all in one
And tell me whether to marry Fair Ellender
Or bring the Brown Girl home?”
It was as if Lady Freya was asking him that particular question. She was obviously the “Fair Ellender” in his life, and the woman he had yet to choose, the one with the darker hair, not fair headed as was Lady Freya, was the Brown Girl. He was sorry Duncan had requested the song. It was as if a knife had sliced into Aaran’s heart, and he could no longer breathe.
Meanwhile, Lady Freya continued her song.
“The Brown Girl gives you houses and land
Fair Ellender, she has none.
And there I charge you, take success
And bring the Brown Girl home.”
Aaran noted tears had formed in Lady Freya’s eyes, and he heartily wished he could change things for both of them.
He dressed himself all in his best
His merry men all in white
And every town he passed through
They took him for a knight.
He went till he came to Fair Ellender’s court
So loudly twirled at the pin.
There was none so ready as fair Ellender herself
To let Lord Thomas in.
Lady Freya’s gaze shifted to meet his, and it was as if the others in the room disappeared. In an effort to force the tension from his body, Aaran clenched and unclenched his hands in a poor attempt at hiding his anguish behind a well-rehearsed bland expression that fooled no one, including him.
“Bad news, bad news, Lord Thomas,” she said.
“Bad news you bring to me.
You’ve come to ask me to your wedding,
When I thought your bride to be.”
She turned around and dressed in white,
Her sisters dressed in green,
And every town they rode through
They took her for some queen.
With her fair coloring and red hair, Freya could be Elizabeth I, the warrior queen, who some believed was the inspiration forthe ballad, and the idea both frightened and pleased Aaran at the same time. He was seeing Lady Freya in an all-new light.
