The Seer's Child

Dead Weight

Authors note-  If you didn't heed the warning at the end of the previous chapter, I will warn you that this chapter does depict scenes of violence which could be distressing.

Name pronunciation-

Beathan- Bay-un

Don't say I didn't warn you... hope you enjoy!

Scotland- 804 AD

"Tully, come back!" Aedan shouted as he rushed to catch up, but Tualla didn't break stride. She kept going, determined to pursue whatever this compulsion was.

Breathless, Aedan finally caught up. "Tully, it's not safe."

"I need to go," she said without slowing down.

"You don't need to do anything."

"That fire wasn't an accident. They were attacked." 

"Exactly," Aedan said, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her round to face him. "They could still be there." 

"Then we may be able to see who's responsible." She tried to shake him off, but his grip tightened the more she fought.

"What has gotten into you?" he growled. "You can't go." 

"You don't understand," Tualla said, becoming desperate. The urge inside her grew, gnawing away at her. Too strong to overpower, she stopped fighting Aedan and tried a different approach. "There's something bigger at play. I'm supposed to see this… this is what my mother foretold, the conflict she saw, and I'm supposed to end it."

"You won't be able to end anything if you're dead." 

Tualla stared at Dunlaid hill, smoke still funneling from the top as it called to her. "You of all people should understand the burden. Your whole life has been about preparing you to become the next Ceann-Tighe. Your father even sent you away so you could learn to become a warrior. Mine hasn't been much different." Her face softened but her eyes remained fierce. "I've been brought up to believe I have some big role in this life. As a child, I imagined that I'd become some great warrior queen like Boudicca. As I grow older, I feel the weight. Sometimes it's suffocating. I don't want to spend my life worrying about something that hasn't come to pass yet. I'm not sure I want this burden." 

Aedan's grip on her relaxed and his blue eyes lightened. She placed her hand over his as she pressed. "I need to know." 

Letting out a groan, Aedan looked up at the sky. "Gods give me strength!" He shook his head and sighed as he turned to Tualla. "You'll be the death of me. We'll go, but I have some rules. If we see anyone at all, we get out of there. And most important, you do exactly as I say. Agreed?" 

A huge smile broke out across Tualla's face. "Agreed!" 

***

Through the dense smoky fog, Tualla could make out the charred remains of the fort. Ash flitted on the breeze, falling down on them like grey flakes of snow. A heavy silence permeated around them, almost as if the landscape mourned the loss.

An acrid smell hung in the air, growing stronger as they neared the hilltop, so pungent, Tualla almost gagged and had to cover her nose with her arm. "What is that smell?" 

"I know what it is." Aedan's face paled, and he stopped, seeming reluctant to continue. "If we go on, I can't protect you from what you'll see. I've seen enough to know what's happened here but I understand if you need to see for yourself."