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Authors: David Kearns
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ancient blankets heaped in a corner. She shook them out, filling the room with dust and dead insects, then folded them into a rough bed shape on the floor.
Nefyn eventually returned, dragging a sack behind him. Out of this he took what looked like a block of wood and a strip of leather which he placed on the table before me. Then he tipped the sack near the fireplace and out fell a small pile of twigs and broken branches.
“Tomorrow you may make a fire. The Expected One will eat now. Then we sleep. It grows late.” All this spoken directly to Eluned.
“Eat what?” I asked.
“Cheese and meat. Good food.” He shrugged his shoulders.
I looked at the two objects before me on the table. This was supposed to be ‘meat and cheese’? I picked up the ‘cheese’ and dropped it back on the table. It landed with a heavy clunk. The ‘meat’ I didn’t bother to touch. “And this is what he calls food?” I asked Eluned, adopting his habit of ignoring the person addressed.
“Best that you sleep, my lady,” she said. “Tomorrow I will make a fire and seek other food. Please take the blanket I have laid out for you.”
I looked in horror at the blankets she had laid on the floor. Still hungry, still cold, finally I whispered to Eluned that I needed to relieve myself. He obviously heard me as he pointed at the curtain in the corner which I had not noticed before. I have already described its contents to you. Needless to say, I tried to sleep that night with an empty, aching stomach and a full bladder. Sleep evaded me.
Thus nearly three weeks had passed since that first, terrible night. In that time, I had forced myself to grow as accustomed as possible to the living conditions we had no choice but to endure. I had also managed to persuade Nefyn to talk to me, which made a considerable difference, particularly as he had obviously read many books and was very knowledgeable. My efforts to persuade him to spend more time above ground seemed to be working, if very slowly. Eluned, as I have said, refused point blank to join us.
I heard her stirring. I sat up, ready to face yet another dreary day.
Chapter 18
Of course, Eluned had not been idle these past days. She was incapable of sitting around doing nothing. She had explored every nook and cranny of the Room, discovering a hidden cupboard of sorts behind Nefyn’s bed. She had also found another, smaller, room off the tunnel. Here she had found red terracotta bowls and plates, some odd-looking little objects that Nefyn informed us were Roman oil lamps, a metal object that she had placed over the fire on which she could heat the bowls, and, best of all, a wooden box filled with candles.
Nefyn was convinced that all these things had lain undiscovered in that room since the time of the Romans, and he eagerly showed Eluned some pictures in one of his old books that certainly did look like the things she had found. Best of all, of course, were the candles, because it meant that at last there was enough light to read in the Room.
Eluned also seemed to quickly establish a relationship with Nefyn that meant he did whatever she told him. As a consequence, he disappeared for long periods on most days, coming back with several sacks full of wood, some dead animals and birds, such as rabbits and pigeons, and, most surprisingly, piles of the red vegetable I knew as the root of the beet. With a roaring fire burning, Eluned soon cooked up a good stew that was the best food I had eaten in many days. Even Nefyn had to admit that this was better than his ‘cheese and meat’. After grumbling about being sent out the first couple of times, he soon changed his tune when he discovered what she could do with the things he brought back.
I tend to think that it was because his belly was more full than it had been for years that he finally agreed to come outside and talk to me. This only happened when we were out of Eluned’s earshot, because he was conscious that she would
Nefyn eventually returned, dragging a sack behind him. Out of this he took what looked like a block of wood and a strip of leather which he placed on the table before me. Then he tipped the sack near the fireplace and out fell a small pile of twigs and broken branches.
“Tomorrow you may make a fire. The Expected One will eat now. Then we sleep. It grows late.” All this spoken directly to Eluned.
“Eat what?” I asked.
“Cheese and meat. Good food.” He shrugged his shoulders.
I looked at the two objects before me on the table. This was supposed to be ‘meat and cheese’? I picked up the ‘cheese’ and dropped it back on the table. It landed with a heavy clunk. The ‘meat’ I didn’t bother to touch. “And this is what he calls food?” I asked Eluned, adopting his habit of ignoring the person addressed.
“Best that you sleep, my lady,” she said. “Tomorrow I will make a fire and seek other food. Please take the blanket I have laid out for you.”
I looked in horror at the blankets she had laid on the floor. Still hungry, still cold, finally I whispered to Eluned that I needed to relieve myself. He obviously heard me as he pointed at the curtain in the corner which I had not noticed before. I have already described its contents to you. Needless to say, I tried to sleep that night with an empty, aching stomach and a full bladder. Sleep evaded me.
Thus nearly three weeks had passed since that first, terrible night. In that time, I had forced myself to grow as accustomed as possible to the living conditions we had no choice but to endure. I had also managed to persuade Nefyn to talk to me, which made a considerable difference, particularly as he had obviously read many books and was very knowledgeable. My efforts to persuade him to spend more time above ground seemed to be working, if very slowly. Eluned, as I have said, refused point blank to join us.
I heard her stirring. I sat up, ready to face yet another dreary day.
Chapter 18
Of course, Eluned had not been idle these past days. She was incapable of sitting around doing nothing. She had explored every nook and cranny of the Room, discovering a hidden cupboard of sorts behind Nefyn’s bed. She had also found another, smaller, room off the tunnel. Here she had found red terracotta bowls and plates, some odd-looking little objects that Nefyn informed us were Roman oil lamps, a metal object that she had placed over the fire on which she could heat the bowls, and, best of all, a wooden box filled with candles.
Nefyn was convinced that all these things had lain undiscovered in that room since the time of the Romans, and he eagerly showed Eluned some pictures in one of his old books that certainly did look like the things she had found. Best of all, of course, were the candles, because it meant that at last there was enough light to read in the Room.
Eluned also seemed to quickly establish a relationship with Nefyn that meant he did whatever she told him. As a consequence, he disappeared for long periods on most days, coming back with several sacks full of wood, some dead animals and birds, such as rabbits and pigeons, and, most surprisingly, piles of the red vegetable I knew as the root of the beet. With a roaring fire burning, Eluned soon cooked up a good stew that was the best food I had eaten in many days. Even Nefyn had to admit that this was better than his ‘cheese and meat’. After grumbling about being sent out the first couple of times, he soon changed his tune when he discovered what she could do with the things he brought back.
I tend to think that it was because his belly was more full than it had been for years that he finally agreed to come outside and talk to me. This only happened when we were out of Eluned’s earshot, because he was conscious that she would
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