Daughter of the Lake

“I awoke to the blinding sun and the heat if the hard earth beneath me. This is so not Wales, I thought. I cracked open my eyes, hoping that it was just the remnants of a dream, but I was forced to close them again thanks to the light. Trying again, I opened my eyes and sat up just as a shadow passed over me, providing some relief.
“And what do we have here?” asked a gruff voice from behind. I tried to turn and see who was behind me, but strong arms roughly pulled me up.
“You are not going anywhere, you will fetch a high price.” the man who had grabbed me said in my ear.
I finally got a chance to see who my captures were when they spun me around. They were seven olive skinned men with dark hair and eyes, dressed in old Egyptian style clothes. This seemed really odd, but I had other things to be worried about at the time.
“Who are you?” I demanded.
“She can speak our language well.” Said the man closest to me; I guessed he was their leader. “That will make her easier to get rid of.”
“I said who are you? And where am I?” I demanded again, now trying to fight back the panic I could feel rising in my chest. That earned me a slap.
“You will learn to speak when spoken to. But, you are two and a half days ride from the great city of Memphis. My name is Abasi.” said their leader.
Memphis, I thought, Hold on, Memphis! You must be kidding me. I can’t be in Egypt!
“Now, it is time to go.” Abasi signalled to one of the other men to help me onto a horse.
I knew better than to run. There was no point, where would I go? I was in the middle of the deserts of Egypt. I had never been there but I knew a lot about the place. I was really interested in mythology, so I had read stories and really wanted to go there. Even if I did know where I was it would still be suicide to go running off into the desert with the nearest city over two days away and no water.
Once I was up, the man then proceeded to tie my hands onto the saddle in front of me. It was only then that I noticed that there was a boy a few years younger than me similarly bound. He had dark hair and eyes with sun bronzed skin. He looked tired, battered and utterly hopeless. We set off when the men had all mounted their own horses. We formed a rough pack with Abasi at the head, a rider either side of me, the boy behind with the same, and two men behind.
We travelled until mid-day, and then broke for food and water. After that, we continued riding until we were forced to stop due to lack of light. Then the men put up tents; four smaller ones and a large one were both me and the other boy were supposed to sleep. Once inside the tent, our hands were unbound, but the man tied two pieces of rope to the centre poll, then to the left foot of both me and the boy. They would be no chance of escaping.
We sat on different sides of the tent for most of the time, until food was brought with new clothes for me. When I looked at them, I found a calf length cotton tunic, a loose brown sleeveless belted top and leather sandals. The man left and I saw the boy turn around to give me some privacy.
“I’m Eirwen.” I said to the boy when I had nearly finished changing. A moment later, I added “You can turn around now.”
“I am Ottah. You can speak Nubian?” He replied.
“No, I can only speak English, French, Latin, Italian and Welsh.”
“But, you are speaking it now.” Ottah insisted. After a pause he asked “Where are you from, and what kind of a name in Eirwen?” he asked, pronouncing my name with some difficulty.
“I’m from Britain. It’s an island far across the sea to the north. Eirwen means as white as snow.” I replied. “Hold on, do you mean to say that they don’t speak Nubian?”
“No they don’t”
“Good…” I said. After a pause, I asked, “How old are you Ottah, and how long have you been with them?”
“I have seen 12 summers and I was taken four days ago. They have not yet found the price they want.”
“Ottah, I need you to listen to me. I don’t know what is going on, but some strange things have happened to me in the past day. I have friends that will be looking for me, but there are others looking for me as well. The bad people are the reason I’m here. I don’t know how, but when I was trying to get away from them, I ended up here.
“Here’s where I need you to pay attention. I am going to contact my friends. Don’t ask me how I will do it or how I know they will get the message, because I don’t know. I will tell them that I am on my way to Memphis and ask them to come and find me. I will also tell them about you so that you can go home. But, something tells me that I might not be here when they arrive. So, I will need you to tell them where I went. Will you do that to me?” I asked.
“Yes, I will. How will I know it is them, and not these bad people?” He asked.
“You just will.” I replied, stifling a yawn. “We should sleep. Good night, Ottah.”
“Good night,” He replied. With that, we both curled up and tried to sleep.

The following day brought the city into view on the horizon. The amount of riding that they were doing gave me enough time to think. I mean, I had been given a lot to think about over the last two days.
Start with what you know, I thought. So what did I know?
Merriman was my first port of call. I had seen him once in the morning, and then again that night. But, what had he, and the other people, been doing on that hill? And what about the brooch he had given me? And, I could have sworn that he had called me something?
Then there was that man on the horse. A man dressed all in black with piercing blue eyes that seemed to look inside you. I was sure that the man on the hill and the man in my dreams were the same person. But how was that possible, it was just a dream, right?
Next, how I had gotten here. I remembered falling from behind the man in black, then nothing. How on earth had I changed continents in the space of 2 hours! Then there was an aching feeling that there was more to it than that. I looked city in the distance. Then it hit me. She had studied Ancient Egypt for the past 7 years, and only now did I realise that the buildings were from that era. I had gone back in time! That was impossible!
Ok, I thought, I think I should stop there. Perhaps I should just concentrate on getting back home.
I knew that I had to send a message to someone, and the only person I could think of was Merriman. To me it would be impossible to send a message across thousands of miles and years. But I had even said the previous night that I could do it. But the question was how? How could I send a message?! I sat there with the constant motion of the horse under me and for the life of me I could not think of a way.
Then I thought, I don’t need to think of an answer, I just need to think. That was the solution; I could send the SOS using my thoughts. But, what if it was sent to the wrong person? I would just have to risk it, I had no other choice. So, I set to work. I would think of my message, and also think of Merriman. He would know what to do. That was another mystery to add to my list.

That evening, I found myself in the same position as the previous night. At least there was not as much tension as before.
“I have sent a message to my friends. It’s probably best if you don’t ask how, I’m not exactly sure myself.” I said as soon as she was sure they wouldn’t be over heard.
“Ok, what is the message that you would like me to give your friends?” Ottah asked.
“I would like you to tell them that I was with you, describe the person that bought me, and where I was taken. Before you do that, I have told my friends that I will teach you a phrase so that they know who you are. Can you do that?”
“Yes, I think that will be easy.”
“Ok. I would need you to say ‘Rwyf yn ffrind I eich ffrind, ac mae gen i neges i chi.’ They will reply with ‘Rwyf yn ffrind i eich ffrind, beth yw eich neges?’ Have you got that?”
“I think so, can you repeat it?”
So we spent most of the night with me teaching Ottah what he had to say, how to pronounce it and what to listen for. Once sleep got the better of us, we lay down and slept with the phrase still ringing in our heads. But, I could have sworn that I heard laughter as my eyelids finally closed.

The next day brought our group to the edge of the city. There we sent up camp, which I did not expect. I was really expecting to be taken down from the horse to enter the city on foot and to then be sold in a market. Well, obviously not.
“I have business in the city; you will stay here until I return. By then I might have a buyer for you.” Abasi said, grinning at me. With that he left us in the tent.
“I hope he never comes back.” I said as soon as he was out of earshot.
“May the gods curse him and his buyers.” Ottah agreed.
From there, I continued with the previous days lessons. Ottah was a fast learner and he seemed to have a knack for languages. As it stood, I hoped that by that night he would be able to speak the phrase and recognise it with out prompt.
At around mid-day, I was untied. Then my hands were bound in front of me and I was led out of the tent. Abasi had returned. But, he was accompanied by a woman. The usual black hair was platted, and she had brown eyes. She was wearing a turquoise tunic with turquoise necklaces and earnings. In her right hand she carried a wooden staff. I quickly identified that it was made from sycamore, although I did not know how I knew that.
“Neith…?” The woman whispered so quietly that I doubted the woman had even said it.
“This is the girl I was talking about. What do you think of her?” Abasi said as if she hadn’t said anything, making me doubt myself even more.
“She will do. Although, her hands look as if she has never done a days work in her life.” The woman said, but somehow it did not sound unkind to me. Actually, if I had been watching a film I would have laughed because I knew exactly what she was doing. She was trying not to show interest to get the price down. “How much are you asking?”
“50 pieces of gold”
“Do you really expect the Temple of Neith to pay you that much!? No, is the answer. Now, if you had said 20…”
“I will take no less than 45. She is exotic, just look at her hair. I have never seen one with hair like gold. And her eyes, the deepest olive around. She is also intelligent; she seems able to speak Egyptian and Nubian, as well as another foreign tongue. No, 20 is too little. Come back tomorrow, we will still be here, although she may not.”
“Hold on, let me talk to her first, to prove if your claims are true. Only then will I consider raising my offer.”
The woman finally turned to face me. “I’m Acenith. What is your name child?” she asked kindly.
“Eirwen,” I replied.
“Eirwen… Where are you from?” she asked
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” I said.
“Well, you do speak very good Egyptian. How about Nubian?” I only vaguely registered the change in her voice as she appeared to change languages.
“Yes, I can. I can also speak five other languages, read, write, sing and play the flute and harp.”
“Well, Abasi, it appears you were correct. Now, I will take this back to the others from the temple and return to you later.” Acenith said, turning to leave. “I will be back at sunrise with my decision.
“I cannot promise the girl will still be here, but I will see you then.” Abasi called as Acenith had already left.

The rest of the day was uneventful and I passed the time talking with Ottah or teaching him. I found out that his mother was Nubian, while his father was from Sais in the Nile Delta. That was why he could speak both Egyptian and Nubian. His father had apparently died a few months ago of the fever and Ottah had been forced to leave for Memphis in order to earn some money. On the way he had been attacked by bandits and left for dead in the middle of the dessert with no water. That was when Abasi and his slavers had come across him.
A few hours before sunset, the two of us heard a commotion in the camp. It would seem that we had a visitor. Sure enough, I was taken out of the tent again. But, it was not for Acenith, but a man. He had long auburn hair and bright blue eyes. He wore a black cloak over an un-dyed linen tunic.
“Yes, that one will do.” He said
“That will be 50 pieces of gold.” Abasi said, but he was startled to see the man hand over the money without comment.
I was starting to feel uneasy; I did not like this man one bit. He seemed too keen to have me. Then I remembered those eyes, those piercing blue eyes. It was him. The man from my dreams, the man whose fault it was I was here in the first place. That was all I needed; I lost all hope of Merriman saving me. And there I was so sure that I would be found the next day.
The man grabbed me and pulled me towards a black stallion. If I had needed anymore proof, there it was. He lifted me onto the horse, and then hoisted himself up behind me.
“You won’t be pulling anymore stunts like that again.” He whispered in my ear before spurring the horse forward and off into the night.