Page 19 of Boudicca
I woke slowly. Rhan warmed the bed beside me, and the sound of her deep, even breathing brought back the many mornings we’d
woken together as girls after spinning tales of our futures so late that we’d fallen asleep without meaning to, so that those
tales became dreams, and then those dreams—at least my dreams—had become reality.
I watched Rhan sleep and wondered what it was she had wished for and why she wouldn’t tell me. Sometimes it seemed as if there
had never been a gap in our friendship—that I still knew her as well as I had when we were girls—but that was impossible.
This Rhan was a Druid. A trained seer. An adult who had lived more than a decade without me. Perhaps I would truly come to
know this Rhan as well as my childhood friend. I hoped so.
Her eyes opened and met mine. She blinked several times and then sat up, looking around the bedchamber as if she didn’t recognize
it.
“It seems some childhood habits are easy to fall back into,” I said with a grin as I stretched and groaned at the soreness
in my muscles.
She yawned and brushed her hair back from her face. “I assume you didn’t mean for me to move into your bedchamber when you
asked if I would make the lodge my home.”
I shrugged and sat up, groaning again. “I thought that you might choose one of the girls’ rooms as they seem to have taken
up permanent residence together in Mother’s chamber, but if the past can predict the future, this will not be the last time
we talk ourselves to sleep.”
Phaedra peeked her head through the thick blanket that served as door to my chamber.
“Oh, good. There you are, Phaedra. Have one of Wulffaed’s daughters send for my lead warriors. They can break their fast with me as we discuss the business of the day.”
Phaedra bowed and left, and I realized that she’d not spent the night on her usual pallet at the end of my bed, where she’d
slept since the day Prasutagus died.
“I must be healing,” I said more to myself than Rhan, but the seer responded with a soft laugh.
“You are, and that is obvious, but I do not believe Phaedra slept outside your chamber last night because of that.”
Before I could say anything more, Phaedra returned and began going through my wardrobe, readying my clothes.
“Phaedra, I will be drilling with the warriors daily, so I’ll need my riding leathers.” I paused and considered how filthy
my clothes and I had been by the end of practice yesterday and added, “I believe I will need more leathers.”
Phaedra nodded. “Yes, my queen. I thought as much and already spoke to the Mother of Twenty. You shall have more suitable
clothes soon.”
“Well done, Phaedra.” I turned to Rhan. “From today on I would like you to break your fast with me as well.”
Rhan bowed her head slightly. “As you ask, so will I do, Queen Boudicca,” she said formally. “I shall retrieve my own things,
choose one of the bedchambers not currently in use, and then join you—if that is agreeable.”
“Of course. And thank you, Iceni seer,” I added just as formally.
Our eyes met just before she left the chamber and we shared a secret grin that harkened back to our girlhood. Rhan made me
feel young and filled with energy, even though my sore muscles were reminding me I was no longer a girl.
By the time I was dressed and entered the lodge’s great room, Cadoc, Maldwyn, and Abertha had arrived. I could hear the voices of my daughters coming from the rear of the lodge, and as Wulffaed placed bannock, cheese, and thick slices of ham on the main table for us, she told me, “My queen, your daughters have already broken their fasts and are feeding the pups. Again. Seems they must eat often enough that your girls got very little sleep last night.”
“It is good for them to be busy. As our horse master said yesterday, helping the pups to heal will also help them recover.”
I smiled at Maldwyn, who sat up a little straighter, though his cheeks did flush. I was beginning to understand that he would
rather keep to the background, though his sharp gaze missed little. “Maldwyn, I will drill with the chariot as well as the
sword and bow every morning until midday.”
“You are a quick study, my queen. You shall be ready to lead us into battle,” said the horse master.
Cadoc grunted and spoke around a mouthful of pork. “How long do we have before the warriors should be ready to bring vengeance
to Camulodunum and the Roman scum trespassing there?”
“We must attack before harvest. That is when Decianus said he will return to steal from us—what Rome calls taxes.” Rhan joined
us then and sat at the place I’d left open beside me. I turned to the seer. “As harvest approaches we will ask Andraste to
send sign to show us when the time is favorable to strike.” I looked to Cadoc. “But all of our plans will fail if we do not
have enough warriors.”
The old shield snorted. “We will have enough warriors, my queen.”
Abertha nodded. “It has only been but days and already our numbers swell to over twenty thousand.”
I felt a thrill chase down my spine at her words. “Twenty thousand! All Iceni?”
“All Iceni,” said Cadoc. “And more join every day. I estimate if only the Iceni answer your call we will have nearly one hundred
thousand warriors by harvest.”
“We cannot possibly keep that number hidden here,” I said.
“No, we cannot,” agreed Cadoc. “And without Iceni warriors to work the fields, the crops will not be harvested. We know that
must be done early this year to sustain us for the winter.”
“I have thought on this,” said Abertha. “My queen, what say you about sending the warriors home after they have been fully
armed?”
“And trained,” added Maldwyn.
I considered as I chewed a bite of bannock. “It is wise. Cadoc, you, Abertha, and Maldwyn will judge their readiness. When
you believe a group of warriors is prepared, they should return to their villages until they are called for in the fall.”
“May I speak, my queen?” asked Rhan.
“Freely,” I told her.
“Perhaps one warrior chosen from each group should remain in Tasceni. Then when it is time to take our vengeance to the Romans,
those warriors will return to their villages to recall their people to us, ready for battle.”
“Yes. That idea has merit. This”—I swept my hand before me, taking in each of my advisors—“is how I shall begin each day.
Cadoc, I will need updates on our numbers. Abertha, you will advise me on our armament and food stocks. Maldwyn, you are in
charge of my training. Rhan, keep me advised of Andraste’s signs and omens.” I looked from one to another as I continued.
“Always speak truth to me. There must be no dissent among us if we are to gain victory against Rome. You see”—I leaned forward—“Rome
believes we are so barbaric, so ignorant, that we cannot unite and become the single-minded, living weapon we must be to defeat
them.”
“Rome is wrong,” said Cadoc.
“Aye,” said Abertha.
“They do not know us,” added Maldwyn.
“They believe our passion and pride are weaknesses,” said Rhan.
“They are not,” I said firmly. “And that is a lesson I look forward to teaching Catus Decianus in exchange for the failed one he attempted to teach me.”
My warriors pounded the table with their fists in agreement.
***
That day a pattern was set that we followed like a wagon wheel in a grooved path. My warriors, my seer, and I met every morning just after dawn. As more and more Iceni flooded into the village, my lead warriors set up a training and armament system where each group of new volunteers was evaluated, drilled, and armed. When Cadoc, Abertha, and Maldwyn were in agreement that the group was ready, they were sent back to their village after choosing one warrior to remain in Tasceni—a warrior they would watch for when the call came to return.
I drilled with Maldwyn on the open field, surrounded by my people. The sounds of warriors training beside me became music
for my spirit and I realized quite soon that though my anger simmered and waited to boil, I was also content, even happy.
Tasceni was filled with faith—in me, in our righteous cause, and in our goddess. We were of a single mind, and within that
mind the word victory echoed over and over.
***
“Good morn! Training today will be interesting , my queen.” Cadoc had a glint in his eyes that bespoke mischief as he broke his fast.
It was the tenth morning since we’d begun my daily training ritual, and over a steaming mug of morning herbs, Maldwyn had
just informed me that this was the day I finally graduated from battling unmoving straw targets to real warriors. I glanced
from my horse master to Cadoc, and then from Abertha to Rhan. I looked forward to our dawn meal, where I began each day learning
how the pulse of the Iceni beat. We’d grown accustomed to one another. I knew them so much better already. Cadoc loved to
jest and his bawdy sense of humor often had me laughing during drills. Abertha’s wits were incredibly sharp. When there was
a problem on the training field, it was to her I looked for the solution. Maldwyn was quiet and rather shy, but he observed
everything and seemed to remember even the slightest detail from the training field. We’d become so at ease in one another’s
company that they were comfortable jesting with me—and at that moment the four of them were grinning at me as if I had just
missed one of their jests.
“What?” My gaze returned to the old shield. “Do you not think I’m ready to take on warriors instead of straw men?”
“Oh, that is not it at all,” said Cadoc quickly, a grin still lifting his lips.
When he didn’t elaborate, I looked to Maldwyn, who moved his shoulders restlessly. “There was a downpour last night.”
I frowned at him. “Yes. What does that have to do with our training today? The rain ended before dawn. The sky is clear.”
Cadoc chuckled as Maldwyn answered me. “The sky is clear, but the field will be soaked and slick.”
“It has been unusually dry lately,” said Abertha after she’d swallowed a hunk of cheese. “You haven’t trained in the rain.”
“Or in its aftermath,” added Cadoc.
My gaze found Rhan, who was trying unsuccessfully to hide a smile. “Should I be worried?”
“Absolutely,” Rhan said as my lead warriors snorted laughter.
“Mama?” Ceri asked.
I turned as my daughters approached the table with Briallen shadowing them. Their wolf pups were growing remarkably fast and
were fat and gregarious. They trotted after the girls, waddling like toddlers.
“Yes, little dove?”
Ceri lifted her chin, suddenly reminding me very much of my mother. “We would like to train with you.”
Surprise had me looking from her to Enfys, who nodded firmly. “Yes, Mama. We must fight, and fight well.”
Enfys was right. All Iceni drilled with practice weapons from the time they were very young. Those who showed talent for the
sword or spear, bow or horse and chariot, continued their training and became warriors. My daughters, as the children of a
tribal chief, had practiced with wooden swords, were proficient with the bow—even little Ceri—and, of course, they rode well.
But they needed more. It wouldn’t have saved them from what the Romans did to them, but perhaps it could in the future. One
well-aimed sword or spear thrust, especially from someone Roman soldiers would not consider a threat, could be the difference
between survival and death, even on the periphery of a battle.
“Briallen and Abertha, I give you the charge of training my daughters for war,” I said formally.
The two warrior women bowed.
“And Cadoc,” Ceri said quickly.
“Cadoc?” Instead of looking at Ceri, my gaze focused on Enfys.
My eldest child nodded somberly. “Yes, Mama. If we can come even close to besting the shield, we will be safe.”
Before I could respond, Cadoc stood and walked slowly to stand before the girls. Then he knelt on one knee and looked from
Ceri to Enfys as he said, “It would be my honor to train the royal daughters.”
“Thank you, Shield.” Enfys sounded decades older than the thirteen namedays she’d known.
“Yes. Thank you, Cadoc.” Ceri attempted to sound likewise older than her years, but she was unable to hide her dimpled, little-girl
smile.
I had to swallow several times before I could speak. “Cadoc will also drill with my daughters.” When the old shield stood,
I met his gaze and bowed my head to him in gratitude. As he walked past me, fatherlike, he patted my shoulder.