a blind girls sad story

It was the eve of the summer solstice’s banquet and a half lit, rainy night, at the Castle home of Ewan Temes, and Aislin his only child could not be found. The servants were running swiftly about the house looking for their Lords blind daughter. No one thought to look outside, for who would go out on such a night, but Aislin was out in the courtyard reveling in the happiness that the rain drops brought to her sightless body. Arms outstretched to the heavens she sang to herself. She was yet a child but in the blackened night she seemed neither Child nor woman, but more of an apparition, a dream and that is how young Kian McFadden saw her.

Standing not three score feet from him, he held his horse’s reins in his one hand and his hat in the other. He had come from his father’s house for the banquet. He had called at the front gaits, but with the hubbub about finding the lords daughter, his calls remained unanswered. So he had let himself in at the back courtyard gate, and was about to remount his horse and ride the rest of the way to the stables, when he had seen her, standing, dancing in the rain. His horse nickered softly and Aislin stopped dancing, she turned, and Kian would have sworn she had seen him if he hadn’t known she was blind, and stared right at him, her sightless eyes nevertheless searching the blackness in front of her. She called out.

“Who are yee? Aither? Is that yee aither?” she took a few half steps away from him. Leaving his horse Kian closed the distance between them, calling out for her to stay where she was.

“Kian! Is that yee Kian?” her voice seemed relieved.

“ aye ‘tis me Ais’n, but what’re yee doing’ out in this rain?” he took gentle hold of her hands and led her up to the main courtyard door, and into the main hall of the castle, calling all the while for the master of the house.

The House keeper ran from dining hall, where she had been looking, when she heard the shouts. She was breathing hard when she found the two Youths in the main hall, both of them dripping wet.

“Aislin Miare Temes! We’ve been about the Whole castle a’ lookin’ for yee, and now look at yee dripping muddy water all along me cleanly scrubbed floors. Oh, yee’ll be a hearing from yer aither about this ‘un.” The housekeeper, Kelly O’Shauncy’s face was red by the time she finished, and she took a long needed breath, as she looked thankfully at Kian.

“Why Kian, we weren’t expecting yee till t’morrow, but thank the Lord yee came when yee did, or none of us would o’ found her till morning, and by then she’d be dead in this weather.” The house keeper called for blankets, for the young ones, and a stable boy, to put a way the young lord’s horse.

Kian was long in bed, when he heard the lord Temes visit Aislin’s chambers; there was some whispering and a little crying, but nothing out of the normal for a father scolding a naughty child. A short time after the crying had stopped the lord Temes’ candle light passed Kian’s door. After a few moments Kian was almost a sleep, but a little knock at his door woke him completely, he looked at the door, but no light from a candle illuminated the floor. He rose from his bed and walked with his bare feet on the cold stone floor, until he reached the door. He pulled it open and in the light from the dying fire her saw it was Aislin with tears trailing down her cheeks. She did not look at him but went strait to his bed, pulled the sheets up to her chin and fell asleep.

Kian a little drowsy but not unused to this, closed his door and went back to his bed.

He made certain that Aislin was well covered, then lay down and turned to watch her sleep.

“She’s a sweet child. The boy thought to himself as he drifted slowly back to sleep.

Kian was two years older than Aislin, who would celebrate her tenth birthday on the morrow.

Kian woke to Aislin curled around him, and her long, thin fingers tangled in his hair. He was used to it, they had been raised as brother and sister, when her mother died she was two years old and had come to live with his family for a few years. He did not understand that at their age it would be considered improper to be sleeping in even the same room, they had been doing it for years and no one had told them not to. He woke her by untangling himself from her grasp.

Aislin sat up and yawned loudly, stretching her thin arms above her head. Kian had already undressed and was washing in the water basin, when she silently tiptoed back to her room, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Aislin dressed quietly and efficiently, Kian’s mother had taught Aislin to dress herself when she was six, so that she would not have to rely on anyone for her necessities when she went back to her father’s house.

Kian guided her down the stairs and into the dinning room, although she really needed no help. On her second birthday she and her mother had taken the carriage to town when the carriage tipped over, Blinding Aislin and killing her mother. That was when Aislin had become a big part of Kian’s life.

When they entered the breakfast dinning room a great shout erupted.

“Happy tenth birthday Aislin!” Aislin’s close family and half the house staff where waiting for her in the room. Aislin sat at the head of the table, with Kian to her right and her father to her left. Ewan Temes whispered in his daughter’s ear.
“Happy birthday! My girl is ten years old.” She shied slightly away from him, but a smile stayed on her face, her blind green eyes looked at the spot where Kian sat.

Throughout the birthday breakfast Aislin was handed all sorts of Presents, from rich neighbors to family members to poor servants, who had scraped together what they could to buy the special girl a gift.

After breakfast Kian and Aislin went into the courtyard, where the morning sun had dried up the previous nights attempts at flooding.

They spent the rest of the morning running about the inner courtyard playing little games and stopping to enjoy the warm early summer’s sun.

When lunch rolled around they were called in to the castle to watch, or listen to, in Aislin’s case, the summer solstice’s yearly ritual of putting out the castle’s main fire, though the kitchen fires would be kept up, but the rest of the house would spend the summer long without a fire in any hearth.

A great feast was held that night, all of the winters leftover stores were eaten, and a few jugs of last summers ale was brought out for the ‘tasting’. A ritual that included the downing of seven pints of ale, in the quickest time, the winner sat at the head table with the lord of the house. The lord Temes of course could not participate in such events, being the host of such a large party, and preferred to sit at the head table and watch all the crazy things people would do.

It was nearly midnight and Kian and Aislin had snuck off to the castles only tower, to watch the sun set.

“Aislin, me aither is sending me away at the end of summer, to the high Kings court.”

Aislin said nothing, but laid her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat.

“Will yee come back for the winter?” her voice broke a little.

“nay, Ais’in, I’ll be gone, for five strait years. Not ain me own maither will be a seeing me, unless she comes to court herself.

At this point tears filled both Kian and Aislin’s eyes. They both sat down in the light cast by the towers west facing window. Aislin cried quietly until Kian nudged her softly.

“The sun ‘as set now Ais’in, we best be getting to bed. And don’t worry I’ll be with yee the rest of the summer.” With that Aislin calmed down, and they walked down the tower steps and back to their rooms.

The rest of the summer seemed to the children, to never end. They had gone on many picnics and secret outings, and played many games in the confined rooms of the castle, but now, the dreaded day lay but 24 hours away.

Kian rose from his bed, Aislin had come again last night, as she had every night, tears dripping down off her chin, dreading the thought of his leaving.

She was still asleep and curled into the ball she had formed when Kian flung the blankets off in the middle of the very hot night.

Kian took his time dressing quietly so as not to wake Aislin. Both dreading and cherishing his last day with her, his only friend. They were both their parents only children and he, being a Dukes son, had never been allowed to play with the servants children. Finally he finished his morning routine and resolved to wake Aislin. He leaned over to the far side of the bed to nudge her shoulder, when the door opened. He jerked his head toward the door, startled, and pulled back impulsively from Aislin.

Ewan Temes Stood in the doorway eyeing the two youths, Kian standing and Aislin, His daughter, lying asleep in the bed. Unreasonable anger seared through his veins. Aislin was his and his alone! He opened his mouth to speak but quelled the burning words, and stifled his anger. He could give nothing away, especially to Kian, the dukes son! If anyone could take Aislin away from him, Kian could. And if Kian had known the source of that look of enraged jealousy on the lord’s face, he most surely would have taken Aislin away that very day. But the lord Temes recovered quickly and placed a plastic smile on his face.

“ ah, lord Kian, so this is where Aislin has been disappearing to!” he chuckled hollowly.

“ I was beginning to worry about her nighttime disappearances. But I know she is safe with you.” He cleared his throat, walked further into the room and closed the door behind him.

“ I came to tell you, you father sent a post this morning requesting you leave tonight instead of early next morn, he expressed a wish to see you before you headed to the high court.” As he spoke he handed the young lord a note penned in the dukes hand and the broken wax seal revealing the dukes mark.

“ the note was addressed to myself, but your father requested I show it to you, as he assumed you would object unless given proof of such a wish.” Ewan watched Kian’s face change from surprise, to worry, back to surprise, to rebellion and finally, resigned obedience.

Chapter 2

When Ewan left, Kian sat moping on the edge of his bed. His father could be so demanding. He looked over his shoulder at Aislin, who had begun stirring, and sighed.

“She’s my only friend, when I go who will protect her? That was my job.” He mumbled half to himself and half to God.

“Ais’in?” his loud voice shattered her fragile sleep and she grunted a reply.

“ I have to leave tonight, Me Aither sent a post.” He grabbed her by the shoulders. “Ais’in? Are yee hearing me? This is our last day together.” She began to cry very quietly, and the boy folded her into his arms, willing his eyes to stay dry. A burning sensation coursed through his muscles and a fire raged in his chest. How dare his father take him away from here! How dare he, the King could find some other companion! He would stay with Aislin.

“Quick Ais’in, get dressed.” He said standing her up on her feet.

“ and meet me back here, where going on a secret adventure!”