The Realm of the Sun

The Queen and the Spy

          Bright colours danced behind Eirainna's eyelids. As a crack of sun blared through the window, she found herself curled up beside Furbaide's bed. A sharp pain panged the side of her neck when she attempted to lift and straighten it quickly. Seeing the window sprung open, she wondered why she was warm. When she began to stand up, she noticed the fur blanket that had been laid over her shoulders. Niall was sleeping sitting upright in the rocking chair nearby. A little smile began to spread her lips, but her eyes wandered to her nephew again and the smile disappeared.

          She thought she imagined his head moving slowly to the side, that her hope was tricking her eyes into thinking his face had more colour and life in it than it had. Before she could think anything of it, she shook the idea from her head and the blanket from her back. The morning chill raised her skin as she folded the fur neatly.

          "Raina..."

          "Yes, Niall?" Eirainna turned to face the man in the chair who was still fast asleep. She looked to the doorway but found no one there either. A surge of fire burst in her chest as she whirled around to see Furbaide's eyes fluttering open.

          "Furbaide! Can you hear me, darling, are you all right? He's awake...he's—Niall!" she exclaimed, rushing to his side once more to feel the temperature of his forehead. Springing to his feet and shaking off the daze of sleep in a split second, Niall hurried to the bed.

          "Niall, it's gone down. His fever has passed," Eirainna cried, overwhelmed. Niall laid a skeptical hand on Furbaide's forehead. His expression shifted dramatically, the grey-gold light of the dawn filling his eyes as tears filled Eirainna's.

          "Raina," Furbaide muttered groggily, squinting to look up at her.

          "Yes, I'm here, I'm here," she nearly laughed, filled with unbridled joy. Furbaide squeezed her hand weakly in response. Niall leapt to his feet once more and pulled the velvet rope beside the bed as forcefully as he could. Before long, a young maid was at the door bowing her head in her black apron.

          "Mairí, would you tell Una to bring some fresh cloth and some porridge? Master Furbaide is much, much improved," he announced. The young girl's eyes lit up as she stood there for a moment, dumbfounded by what she had just heard. She marveled at the boy as he seemed to wake from the dead before her very eyes.

          "Yes, sir," said she, though it was barely audible for she had initially opened her mouth to express her condolences, and her voice could not register the unexpected change of news in time. Her frantic footsteps could be heard all the way down the corridor and the stairs to the servants' quarters. Niall made his way back to the patient and the princess. Eirainna looked up at him with eyes that sparkled pure gold in the fragments of morning light. If Niall had conjured any words, they fled him promptly.

          "Thank you," she whispered.

          "Milady, please..." he said, suddenly sheepish at the intensity of her gaze.

          "No. Let me thank you," she insisted, her eyes catching his as they faltered in modesty, "You saved him. You saved us." Niall tore his eyes away from her, knowing that the pure happiness that shimmered on her face at this moment was solely because of Furbaide's recovery and would soon fade. He knew better than to believe that fleeting glimmer of joy would last beyond her adrenaline.

          "You...you must try and get some rest, Milady, now that you know he's going to be all right. Una will take care of him."

          "I can assure you, he's in good hands, Milady," Una's buoyant voice filled the room and her smile competed with the sunlight, "Gracious, the boy's more colour in his face than I do—It's a miracle, an absolute miracle."