The Viking Chase

Chapter 2- Claddagh

Author's Note- Thank you for the encouraging comments for chapter 1 and I would like to point out that any books that you many ask me to read I will. It just may take me a while because I have other books on the go but I promise to not forget to read it. Fair warning this chapter is short because I just wanted to intorduce some Irish traditions that will come up later on in the book. So on that note let's continue with the story.

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Caderyn's POV-

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The upstairs rooms were a mess. Bookcases, tables, beds, wardrobes and even clothes were thrown about every where as my men looked for anything valuable. Whatever was worth taking was piled high in the King's study where my second in command went through the lord's account books.

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"Morcant, have you found anything of interest." Coming to his side, I wait impatiently for his reply.

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"Nothing yet but I will soon," he answers without meeting my eyes, a sign of disrespect that only my oldest friend could get away with. He has fought beside me since we were bairns and picking fights with boys twice our size. He's the only man I would ever trust to have my back and I value his input more than my own father's.

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"Well hopefully we find something we can use before he returns but first I need your help with something." He glances up with shocked eyes but I don't bother to comment. Yes, I value his input but never have I ever admitted I needed his help with something. But this was different, I don't understand nor know this culture whereas he does.

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So, ignoring his questioning look I just hand over the locket with the unspoken question that this was where I needed his help. Slowly he takes the polished necklace from my hands and turns it this way and that. He takes many moments looking over the engravings before shoving it back into my hands. Head already down, eyes focused on the books again he brushes off the locket's importance.

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"It is nothing to concern yourself with, a simple Irish locket from mother to daughter."

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Feeling overly frustrated I snap with bad temper, "Yes I know that, you gomeral. But what does it say?"

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Sighing as if I was making his life difficult, he takes it back from me reading out loud;

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"Aoife, cuimhneamh i gcónaí a luach cairdeas, dílseacht agus thar grá.

Tá tú mo chroí, Mama"

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Raising his eyebrows with a bored air Morcant continues on to translate it for me:

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"Aoife, always remember to value friendship, loyalty and above all love.

You are my heart, Mama"

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Completely confused I look him in the eyes, silently asking him if that was it. When he nodded his head my legendary temper got the best of me.

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"THEY WASTED MONEY ON THIS NECKLACE THAT JUST HAS A RUBBISH NOTE ABOUT LOVE IN IT? WHAT THE BLODDY HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY? WASTING MONEY ON STUPID EMOTIONS LIKE LOVE THAT WAS MADE TO ENTERTAIN THE WEAK- MINDED MEN AND MAIDENS OF THIS WORLD?"

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Morcant sighs as he tries to explain the way this foolish country thinks, "The Irish are a very romantic culture with many traditions based on the heart. Look here, do you see this symbol beside the message? The heart with the crown on top and the hands holding it? Well that my friend is a claddagh and is seen throughout Ireland everywhere. Most maidens have this symbol on a ring where until they marry they wear it on the ring finger on their right hand. If the heart is facing out it means the maiden's heart is free for a man to court. If the heart is turned in then the female's heart is taken by another. On their wedding day they move the ring to the ring finger on their left hand to show that they have tied their heart to another's."

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Brows together I mumble, "If that is so then why the bloody hell is the symbol in this locket and not around the girl's finger?"

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"Claddagh symbols aren't just for rings but also symbolize more then just that one tradition. The heart is the symbol of love and the hands are for friendship. Loyalty is shown by the crown on the heart. This locket was probably made either in the blessing of the wearer having these traits in their life or to remind them to achieve these aspects." Handing the locket back to me, he continues, "Now may I get back to work or do you want to hear more senseless stories this country has?"

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"Nay, get back to work."

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Turning away from him, I walk down the hall to see how my men were making out. Shaking the strange customs of this place I became the fearsome warrior again that everyone expects. No one can know of my weakness to understand this locket or to know the girl that wore it.

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So many questions circle my mind, ones that only she can answer. I want to know why her people tell stories of love and the heart's desire. I want to know if she truly believes that this world will actually give her the things Claddagh has promised her. But most of all I wanted to know for some strange reason if she has a claddagh ring and whether or not it's turned in or out.

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Author's Note- again sorry for the length but I thought it was important to bring this up because it will be apart of the rest of the book. Sorry if it was bad but thank you for reading. To the side is the claddagh symbol and below is a glossary of the words I used:

Gomeral- fool, idiot

Bairn- baby or a child

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