Deirdre never wanted to be a mother, but she loved her daughter, and raised her as best she could. But she was terrified of things she didn't understand and as Ciara grew older, Deirdre began to take refuge in her duties as General of the Cearnach army more often.
The day Ciara turned twelve, everything changed. Cearnach lost the war, and an enemy army was on the march only a few miles away from the city itself. Fearing a prolonged siege, Deirdre put Ciara on the fastest horse in the kingdom and sent her away at a gallop. Ciara set out with instructions to settle in a neutral village in the middle of the island, and to wait until Deirdre came to get her.
Nine years later, Ciara was settled comfortably in her new home and she would have been happy enough for this life she had built to last the rest of her days. But late that last summer, war came again. War parties clashed outside the gates, and the first person to be injured in the war was Ciara, whose shoulder was laid open by a glancing arrow as she rode out to stop them. Deirdre, now a mercenary soldier, and the leader of one of the war parties, left the fighting to rescue her daughter and take Ciara to safety. Ciara is furious with her mother for abandoning her, and for leading soldiers to her front door. But anger soon turns to forgiveness and tears of relief as they embrace, Deirdre reassuring her daughter that she really is back.
luthiennightwolf
