Far Traveler Read Free Page A

smile from his father’s grave face.
    â€œWe hope there will be no fighting, as your aunt’s Mercian scouts have reported. Still, it is wise to expect trouble so near the Humber.”
    My mother nodded in agreement, her mouth pressed into a tight line. Æthelstan was leaning eagerly across the table. I watched him, feeling an aching emptiness grow inside me.
    â€œHe has many things to ask you, Edward,” Mother said. “Ælfwyn and I will leave you here to talk. I’ll have food sent from the kitchens. You want to go soon?”
    â€œBefore midday,” the king acknowledged. “Thank you, Æthelflæd.” He sat down in my mother’s carved council seat, and motioned for Æthelstan to seat himself, as well. They were already deep in conversation as Mother drew me from the room.
    We stepped blinking into the full sunlight. I hung my head, hoping to hide the tears that stung my eyes.
    â€œEdward is right,” Mother said softly after a moment. “Æthelstan has stayed with us beyond his fosterling years. Still, I would keep him longer, if I could.” She touched my wrist with a gentle hand. “I’m sorry, Wyn. There’s something more I need to tell you.”
    â€œWhat is it?” I asked without looking up at her. My mother stood at least a head above me—she was tall enough to pass as a man when she hid her hair beneath a helmet, and she had learned to ride and carry a sword when she was still a girl. She was always among fighting men, I reflected with growing dread, always riding off to secure the border fortresses she had built with Edward, or to meet with allies who trusted her more than the king. And now she said there was something else. More trouble along the borderlands? Perhaps the Welsh kings were restless again. Mother might ride away as soon as Æthelstan had gone!
    Mother took my arm and steered me into the shadows between the great wooden hall and the council chamber we had just left.
    â€œSoftly now,” she soothed. “Listen to me, Ælfwyn. Your uncle the king has arranged for Aldwulf, Earl of East Anglia, to visit Lunden. The earl has fought well for the king, and in King Edward’s name he holds the lands they took back from the Danes. Now the king looks to repay Aldwulf’s loyalty further, to give him an advantage of kinship.... Do you follow my meaning?”
    â€œYou’re not going away?” I asked in a small voice, and she shook her head.
    â€œNo, Wyn. Aldwulf is coming here, to Lunden. He’s coming to see you.”
    â€œMe? Why would he ...” Suddenly, I realized what Mother had been trying to say. Aldwulf was coming at the king’s behest to meet King Edward’s niece, a bride who could bind Aldwulf to the king’s own family in marriage. He was coming to take me as his wife.
    I couldn’t breathe. I jerked away, but Mother caught me and pulled me into her embrace.
    â€œWyn, don’t,” she said quietly, her strong arms holding me.
    â€œI don’t want to leave Lunden,” I choked. “I don’t want to leave you!”
    â€œI know,” she murmured, pressing her cheek against my hair, “but we will do as the king wishes. We will greet Aldwulf as our honored guest when he comes.”
    Â 
    I scarcely remember making my way to the stable, but I was standing outside Winter’s stall when Æthelstan found me. The big horse was asleep, one hoof cocked, head drooping until his soft lips touched the straw.
    â€œAnyone would think he’d been pulling a plow all morning,” my cousin said, touching my shoulder.
    â€œHas your father brought you a warhorse of your own to ride away?” I asked dully.
    â€œI ... I’m sorry to leave you, Wyn”—he faltered, letting his hand fall to his side—“but it’s right for me to go, I think. It’s time.”
    â€œAnd it’s time for me to marry, the king says,” I