Page 59 of The Changeling

I tied a knot in the other end of the cord, then passed it to the wetnurse. ‘I take her pain and give to you, so that her suffering will cease.’

I pressed the cord between the queen’s parted legs. At the central point, I tied a quick slipknot, chanting, ‘All pain and anguish is here fixed, so the babe may be born in peace.’

Gripping the end of the ribbon tightly, the queen pushed down with all her might. The wetnurse screamed in agony and pulled back hard on the cord, which sprang taut and quivering between them.

As if drawn by the cord into the world, a tiny grey baby slithered out from between the queen’s legs and onto the bed. He was fully encased within a slippery transparent material, like a thick wet veil.

‘God in heaven!’ the midwife exclaimed. ‘He’s born with his caul intact.’

Mary began to weep. ‘It’s a boy? A little prince?’

‘Indeed it is, your Grace. A very little prince. The tiniest child I’ve ever seen.’ The midwife carefully cut the veil away from the baby’s face. Water gushed all over the bed. She peeled away the membrane and hung it over the towel rail. ‘I’ve never seen one of these before. It means he shallna die by drowning.’

The baby lay as if dead, but the midwife rubbed him vigorously with a linen towel. ‘Come now, my princeling, breathe for me. Your mother is waiting to meet you. Take a breath, let me hear you scream.’

A fretful wail sounded. All the women gasped, hugging each other. Expertly the midwife wrapped the child up so all that could be seen of him was his scrunched-up face.

‘I shall call him James,’ Mary whispered, taking him into her arms. ‘My son, my prince.’

When she had held him a few moments, the baby was taken from her and given to the wetnurse to feed. Mistress Gowland and the other chamberers worked to make the queen clean and comfortable. Everyone looked at me sideways.

‘We speak of this to no-one,’ the midwife said briskly. ‘Men dinna need to ken what happens in the birthing chamber. They ken naught of women’s ways. The queen was lucky to have a cunning woman here, and the wee laddie too. Mind what I say! No’ a word!’

She looked so fierce, the women all nodded. The queen held out a thin hand to me. ‘Thank you, Caitlín.’

I let her press my hand, and then withdrew.

Stupid, stupid, I told myself. Someone will tell and then they will call me a witch. How could I be so stupid?

But the queen lived, and her son too. I could not be sorry.

Bells clanged through the town, and drunken songs drifted up from the Grassmarket. Everyone was celebrating the prince’s birth. I was so tired I could scarcely keep to my feet. Slowly I went back to my room, untied the tapestry so it hung over the window, crawled into bed, and fell deep into sleep.

I was woken much later by the sound of low growling. It was dark within my chamber, but as my eyes adjusted I could make out the faint shape of the window, moonlight seeping in past the tapestry. Carlin was on her feet, looking towards the window, one paw lifted.

‘What is it, hinny?’ I whispered.

Her deep growl rumbled on. I had never heard her make such a noise. It frightened me. I looked towards the window. Beyond, the wall plunged hundreds of feet. Nobody could be there.

‘All is well,’ I whispered, as much to convince myself as the dog. I lit a candle, my hands shaking so much I could scarcely strike a spark from my flint, then crept over to the window and drew back the curtain. ‘See? Naught is there.’

For a moment all I could see was my own pale face, my eyes great pools of darkness. Then subtly the planes of my face rearranged themselves, as I had feared they would, and my mother’s eyes gazed directly into mine.

Even though I had been expecting her, I gasped and flinched. Carlin began to bark.

Rue, it is time for us to take our revenge on this mortal queen, my mother whispered, deep in my mind. Quieten your dog or I shall.

Calling Carlin to me, I put my arms about her neck, hugging her to me. She kept growling, so low I could barely hear it, though her thin body reverberated.

The mortal queen’s son is dead, my mother said. No-one yet knows. They all sleep and he lies stiff and cold in his cradle. You must take up his body and dispose of it.

I gasped, and covered my mouth with my hand.

Take your birthing cord and lower it down to me. I shall tie it to the crib of my own son, newly born this morning. He is your brother, and shall be king of this land. Your task is to draw him up, substitute him for the dead babe, and make sure none shall know.

I shook my head.

Rue, this I command you to do. You are my daughter and shall inherit my crown and rule the faery realm, and my son shall inherit her crown and rule the mortal realm, and at last avenge the betrayal that saw us lose everything.