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Murdina shook her head, and she reached out for the key, holding it up to the sunlight which came through the library windows. The key glinted, reflecting the light, and she turned it this way and that before giving a sudden start of exclamation.
“I think… I think I know what tis’–I am certain,” she said, trying desperately to remember why she should think so.
The markings were that of a knot, a Celtic symbol of sorts, one she knew she had seen before but could not for the life of her think where.
“Are you certain?” Kin asked, excitement rising in his voice.
“Tis’… Aoife,” she gasped, and she nodded, a broad smile coming over her face.
“Aoife?” he asked, and Murdina nodded.
“My sister, aye. She lies buried… outside of the graveyard, but the graves are close by, and this symbol is to be found on one of them; I know it. A man from the north killed many years ago in battle but buried here–I know where to look,” she said, and she dashed off across the library and swiftly climbed one of the ladders leading to the upper gallery.
Apart from the sparring ring, the library was Murdina’s favorite place in the whole castle. It was here she would come to escape the nonsense of her sisters or her father’s overbearing control. As children, her mother would read to her and Aoife in the bay window, which looked out across the mull towards the sea, and it was here she felt closest to her memory and that of her sister. She knew every inch of the library, and while the books were in disarray, she rarely had trouble finding what she wanted.
“What have you found?” Kin called up to her, and Murdina pulled a volume triumphantly from the shelf and held it up for him to see.
“Tis’ a book on the rituals of the Gaelic peoples of the north–the island of Mull, to be precise. That markin’ is the same as on the grave of that poor man, tis’ why I recognized it. Look, here tis’ on the page,” she said, and she climbed down the ladder and brought the book to the table.
Kin was watching her in fascination, and she hurriedly flicked through the pages before giving a triumphant exclamation.
“There it is,” Kin said, pointing to the picture of the knot under which was written an inscription.
“The rune knot, a symbol of ancient rebirth, a symbol of resurrection,” she read out loud, and Kin placed the key next to the picture for comparison.
“The very same,” he said, and Murdina looked up at him and smiled.
“I knew I had seen the symbol before,” Murdina replied, hoping the realization might raise fresh memories for him–memories of why he carried such a key and the purpose of his mission.
“Mull–an island I do not think I have visited before,” Kin said, furrowing his brow.
Murdina knew nothing of the island, only that it lay some distance to the north and was a wild and lonely place, sparsely populated, a place of exile or escape.
“Nor have I. But if this key is to fit any lock, then perhaps there lies the answer,” she replied.
He nodded, placing his hand on hers, which still rested on the open volume, gazing into her eyes with a smile playing over his lips.
“I am grateful to you. The mists of memory are clearing again–Mull is the place, I am certain of it,” he said, and she smiled back at him, a slight blush coming over her face at his touch.
“What will ye dae now?” she asked, and he sighed.
“I must go there–it seems the most reasonable course of action. Though I doubt your father will allow me to simply leave without question,” he replied.
Murdina thought for a moment, his hand still resting on hers. His closeness, his touch, the way he made her feel–it seemed strange but pleasant, too. She had been taken by surprise, but perhaps she should not have been, given how her feelings were growing. She had not doubted the truth of what Kin had told her–even if common sense suggested she should. She liked him–not only for his handsome looks but for how he had born his trials with dignity and now seemed determined to carry out his mission, whatever it may be. He was brave, courageous in the face of danger, and Murdina could not help but admire him.
“Daenae forget what I said about escapin’ the castle,” Murdina reminded him, and he nodded, his eyes still fixed unfailingly to her gaze.
“I have not forgotten if it is what you wish,” he replied.
“Tis’ what I wish, aye, but there is another matter, too. Now I have done a favor for ye, tis’ time ye did a favor for me. Spar with me tonight after dark,” she said, and he smiled.
“I should like that–though I should not like to be caught,” he replied.
“Then we shall meet in here–nay one comes to the library save for me. This was my mother’s domain, and my father has little time for it–I think it upsets him to come here,” she said, picturing her mother’s kindly face, a thought which brought a lump to her throat for she missed her dearly.
Without her mother and Aoife, Murdina had felt increasingly alone, her two younger sisters so caught up in their own silly ways that increasingly she had no time for them. But encountering Kin had brought her back to the possibility of happiness–the hope of escape, a secret partner to spar with, and, as he removed his hand from hers and straightened up, she smiled at him, wondering what the night would bring.
“You have given me much to think about, Murdina,” he said, just as footsteps could be heard on the gallery outside the library door.
“I am to take ye back to yer chambers, Kin,” Cillian said as he opened the door.
Murdina now closed the volume of Gaelic history, and Kin now replaced the key in his pocket, their moment of intimacy at an end.
“Then ye had best take him, Cillian. We wouldnae want my father angry now, would we?” Murdina replied, glancing at Kin, and smiling.
As she followed them from the library, the thought of the touch of his hand against hers lingered in her mind, and she was surprised to find herself desiring it again. He turned to her again, giving her a knowing look, and she gave a curt nod, imagining the moment when later they would meet.
“And ye are wanted in the great hall, too, Murdina,” Cillian called back, oblivious, it seemed, to what had passed between Murdina and Kin, a secret both would keep for the benefit of themselves and one another…
