Daughter of the Waves

The Trouble Begins

Life soon settled into something resembling a normal routine. Aalith and Eilish worked at distilling herbs and other medicinal things in the little bothy overlooking the shoreline by day, while Brendan fished, and in the evening he visited them both, and sat by the fire talking. One day he bought a fiddle and began to play for them. First he played a lively air. Delighted, Eilish jumped up and began to dance a reel around the little bothy. Playfully she grabbed Aalith and began to teach her the dance. Both Aalith and Brendan marvelled at the old woman's stamina and agility. Brendan played several more reels and she danced every one and asked for more. But instead, Brendan struck up a slow, sweet note on his fiddle, and played a tune neither of the women had ever heard. As the music came to an end, Brendan was silently thrilled to see something approaching reverence in Aalith's eyes. It was several long seconds before she spoke.

"Where did you learn this song, Brendan?" The simple fact that she had used his name filled him with happiness.

Proudly, he declared "I did not learn it, I wrote it!"

Aalith's deep brown eyes widened in surprise.

"You have a rare talent for music then. Your song reminds me of the music played by the fae-gifted musician, Turlough O'Carolan."

"You heard him play?!"

"Oh yes, many's the time my people would come ashore and listen to him play."

"But he died over a hundred years ago!" Spluttered Brendan.

A slow, teasing smile curled Aalith's lips.

"Let's just say I'm older than I look!"

Caught off guard by this, as he so often was with Aalith, Brendan huffed and spluttered a little before taking up his fiddle again to play another tune. And then another. He played well into the wee small hours, and finally left to find his own bed, tired but proud and elated by Aalih's admiration.

With Aalith's presence, Eilish's small home apothecary became even more of a lifeline for the village, which had not had a doctor for many years. The marvellous upturn in the villager's health did not go unnoticed. In fact Aalith's strange arrival and her extraordinary healing ability attracted all sorts of attention, some of it good, some of it not.

Arriving one Sunday for a visit when he was not fishing, Brendan stopped quietly in the doorway for a moment to take in the sight of Aalith dressing a patient's wound. He knew the young man - Leo, the son of the blacksmith. Probably scraped his leg clambering over the most dangerous of the rocks on the beach again, he mused. Brendan marvelled as he watched her nimble fingers tend to the wounded leg, the webbing between them never hindering her at all. He was so intent on watching her that for a moment he did not see the other person in the room.

Suddenly a delighted cry rang out.

"Brendan!" He turned toward the sound and noticed for the first time a slight blonde girl of sixteen. He groaned inwardly a little at the sight of her. She was standing, eyes shining, smile wide, all her attention fixed on him, the poultice she had been making standing forgotten on the table.

"Hello Bridie." He nodded.

Aalith and Eilish are teaching me to make medicines. I'm hoping they will take me on as their apprentice!"

"That's wonderful, good for you Bridie." He said, secretly sure that her wish to be their apprentice had as much to do with the overwhelming adolescent passion she harboured for him than any interest in medicine.

The rest of his visit was spent trying to make conversation with Aalith, while attempting to fend off the flirtations of the persistent Bridie. The attentions of a love-struck girl, however, soon became unimportant, compared to that of a much bigger problem.