“No! I completely and utterly refuse!” I cried.
Aoife, my stepmother, sighed. “Come on Fionnuala. It’s just a day out.”
“Why isn’t Dad coming?”
“Your father has business with the King you know that.”
I snorted. It was the king who had thrown this woman on us in the first place. It was the King Dearg who decided that, since our mother had died, he’d send out her sister instead.
Well I for one, was not believing it.
“Come on Finny,” said Aodh, my twin brother. He bent closer and whispered in my ear. “If we do this she might leave us alone for once.”
“Aodh, the last time we went out with her she asked the townspeople to kill us!”
Neither of them could argue with that. “I’ll leave you to get ready then.” Aoife said and left us.
Fiachra and Conn slipped into my room at that point. I was sitting with my arms folded at the end of my bed, Aodh was kneeling on the floor next to me. My two younger brothers sat down beside him.
“I’m not going.” I said.
Conn took his thumb out of his mouth. “I for one, think that she’s trying to make an effort.”
“Yeah,” said Aodh. “I mean, a day out on the lake, it sounds like fun.”
“I love the lake.” said Fiachra, lying back. “Please let us go Fionnuala.”
“No. None of us are going with that-that witch!”
“You shouldn’t say that,” said Conn, in his unnaturally sage tone. He
always was very practical for a four year old. “Her blood runs in our veins.”
“Hardly.” I said. “Our mother and her can’t have been sisters, they just
can’t.”
“She looks like us.” Fiachra said.
“So? So do a lot of people.”
“Come on Fionnuala,” said Aodh. “It can’t do us any harm.”
“Yes it can!” I cried.
“Why are you so against her?” Conn asked.
I leaned in and beckoned for them to come closer. “Mother came to me last night.” I said.
My brothers all gasped. “What did she say?” Fiachra asked.
“She said to be wary, to be careful of her sister.”
“So they are sisters you see?” said Fiachra.
I toed him. “That’s not the point. Why would Mother tell me not to go unless something bad was going to happen?”
“It was just a dream Finny,” said Aodh. “Nothing will come of it.”
“Did nobody listen to the report the townspeople gave us? She asked them to kill us!”
“And they refused, and she couldn’t do it herself. We’re not in any danger, she doesn’t intend to kill us.” said Fiachra.
“Then where was she yesterday?” I asked, knowing full well none of them would be able to answer me. None of them had seen her go out of the hall.
Aodh shrugged and Conn placed his thumb back in his mouth.
I leaned in again. “She was at the druid’s.”
None of my brothers seemed particularly shocked by this.
“She was probably just getting something for indigestion,” said Aodh. “That roast swan last night was pretty heavy.”
“What if you’re wrong?”
“I’m not.”
“But what if you are?”
“I won’t be.”
“But what if you are?”
“Stop it!” said Conn. We stopped. “If there’s one thing we don’t need, it’s you two losing your tempers.”
“So what do we do?” Aodh asked. “I think we should go.”
“Seconded.” said Fiachra.
“I vote for going. Fionnuala, you‘re overruled.”
“I’m the eldest.” I said stubbornly.
“So?” said Conn.
“So I get the casting vote.”
“That’s only if there’s a tie.” said Fiachra.
“And Aodh. I get Aodh’s vote.”
“What?” said Aodh.
“Twin thing. So that’s my vote, worth two of yours, plus Aodh’s, that’s three on two, we stay.”
Fiachra actually let out a chuckle. “No Finny.”
“Besides, your vote only really counts as half a vote in any case.” said Conn. “You’re a girl.”
“Cheeky little goat.” I said and flicked his head.
Just then Aoife put her head in the door. “Come now children,” she said, and I felt like screaming at her: I’m not a child! I’m fifteen, and so is Aodh. I would be married by now if Dad had found a suitable husband for me. Mum was only thirteen after all.
“We’re not going anywhere with you.” I said and none of my brothers protested. Now that the threat was actually in the room, they did not feel so sure.
“Why not?” she said. “Don’t you love me? Don’t you love your own mother?”
“You’re not our mother!” I said loudly.
Somehow, she turned on the waterworks. “My darling children.” There’s that word again. “I have tried so hard to please you and this is how you repay me? I know I can never replace my dear sister but I thought, maybe, in time, you would come to love me.”
“Maybe, if you stopped trying to kill us.”
Her eyes opened wide. “What?”
“We know what you asked the townspeople for.” Conn said.
“I-I-”
“Don’t lie Aoife, it doesn’t become you.” I said nastily.
“I’ve never asked anybody to kill anyone. My darling children, do you think I would be so cruel?”
“You see?” Aodh said to me. “This is just a day out.”
“Please!” said Fiachra. “We haven’t been out in so long. All we do is sit around the hall.”
“I don’t want to go.” I said simply.
“Well maybe I could just take your brothers instead.” Aoife suggested, and I could see the hint of a nasty smile on her blubbering face.
“No way.” said Conn. “That’s always our policy. We all go or none of us go.”
“Come on Finny!” Fiachra said, tugging at my hand.
“Either we go or she stands here all day bugging us to go.” said Aodh.
He had a point.
“Besides,” he whispered. “We can take her any day.”
I grinned. Aodh always made me feel better.
“Fine.” I said standing up.
Immediately, any sign of tears on Aoife’s face faded. “Well come then.”
I grabbed my cloak and fastened it, then fitted my circlet on my head. No way was I letting her forget who I was.
“Put yours on too,” I hissed to my brothers as they each went into their rooms.
“Thank you for agreeing to this Fionnuala,” said Aoife in a sickly sweet voice. “We’ll have fun.”
I grunted. “We’ll see.” I said.
Aoife bundled us all into her chariot. It was really cold, I wrapped my cloak closer around me.
“Are you really sure this is a good day for a day out on the lake?” Aodh asked Aoife.
“Oh definitely,” she said. “I love the water don’t you?”
“I like it,” said Fiachra, in the spirit of eight year olds everywhere he was always willing to go for a swim.
We couldn’t talk much since the wind whipped us hard, but not nearly as hard as Aoife whipped the horses. She really seemed eager to get there, and I was once again suspicious of her motives.
At last we stopped and I took a moment to breathe freely, now we had stopped travelling against the wind.
“Just to tell you, I am not swimming,” I said to Aodh.
“That’s alright.” he said. “Do you honestly think I’m going to be the one getting into that freezing cold lake and-”
“Come children!” said Aoife and I grinded my teeth. She waded waist deep in the water. “It’s lovely,” she said.
“She is so faking it.” said Conn.
“I want to go in,” said Fiachra, but he held back.
“Come!” she said again.
“Wait…” Aodh muttered. “She’s got something hidden behind her back.”
I saw her holding her hands back too. “I see it!” I said. “Aoife!” I called. “What are you hiding?”
“Come and see.” she said with a grin. “It’s a surprise.”
“I don’t trust her one bit.” I muttered to my brothers. “She plans to drown us I’m sure.”
“No,” says Fiachra. “She’s got a gift for us.” He ran in.
“Fiachra, get back here!” I shouted, but seeing it was no use, I sighed and ran in after him. Aodh followed. Conn began to take cautious steps down to the water’s edge.
“Come Conn!” Aoife said and she began to wade out to him, away from us. “It’s lovely.”
“I’m not so sure about this,” he said.
“What’s she got behind her back?” I said to Aodh. He shrugged.
In some deft movement, she put the object below the surface. I ducked under to look. The water was freezing, but I had to know. But she was holding it out of our vision.
Conn toed the water as Aoife rose out of it next to him. She thrust him in.
“Conn!” I screamed. He was the weakest swimmer of us all.
He floundered slightly, already out of his depth, but stayed steady until we had come level with him. I grabbed him and put my arms around him.
“Don’t go near her,” I said. “I think it’s a weapon.”
The four of us stood staring at our aunt, our stepmother.
“Leave us.” Aodh shouted beside me. “Leave us, leave our father’s halls.”
She let out a long, low laugh. “Do you really think I’ll listen to you, a mere child?”
“We’re not children!” I screamed at her.
“You’re right, you’re not,” she said and her eyes widened. “Or at least, not for much longer.”
She drew the object out from behind her back. It was a wand.
“Get under the water!” I said and we ducked.
My brothers all looked at me, the leader, for a solution. But we couldn’t hide forever. We would just have to face the consequences. I knew that her own natural magic could not be as strong as ours, perhaps the four of us could overcome her even though she held a wand.
I nodded and we all came up for breath.
“Did you really think?” she snarled. “That I was going to let your father see you everyday and remember my dear sister? Every time you are in the room, I am not. Not to him at any rate.”
“Because he doesn’t love you!” I shouted, unable to contain myself. “He only chose you because he felt that he should!”
“Stop!” she screamed. “He will learn to love me once you are not there.”
“You can’t kill us,” Conn said. “There are four of us and we have magic in our veins.”
“You’re right,” she said. “I can’t kill you. But I can make sure that you don’t bother me again!”
She raised the wand and pointed it at us.
There was no painful transformation. One minute I had arms, the next I had wings. That was it. My clothes floated around me in the water.
I looked at my brothers. I saw three swans around me, all with golden circlets on their heads.
“Change us back!” Fiachra screamed at her.
“Oh no, we couldn’t have that.”
“We can talk about this,” said Conn slowly.
“Perhaps we can. After all, we do have nine hundred years.”
“What?” I said bluntly.
“The spell will be broken when the woman from the south marries the man from the north and the bells of the new God proclaim it.”
“I’m lost,” said Aodh.
“Nine hundred years!” she called. “That will be your payment for standing between your father and I!”
“Nine hundred years. As a swan.” I muttered to myself, unable to believe it. “Change us back!” I shouted.
“No, I cannot grant you that mercy.” she paused. “I will leave you your voices. Such sweet singing. It will drive away the boredom!”
“Come back here!” I shouted and tried to wade towards her, only to realise my legs were too short. I tried to flap my wings the same way I would move my arms but I failed. She was gone on the chariot.
“You know,” said Fiachra, ever the optimist. “Learning to fly could be fun.”
I didn’t answer that.
I looked at Aodh. “I told you we shouldn’t have come out. But now, it would be a grand day out. So much fun… what could possibly go wrong?…”
That was just a bit of fun on my part. There are different retellings saying which children were the twins etc. but Fionnuala was always the eldest. Hope you like it.
