nice work !! ',..,'

Thanks!

I could have sworn I already responded to this! I'm such a scatterbrain these days. Anyway, I'm really glad you like this story and thank you for giving it a read. I know it's pretty light on the action, and I really should have put something more in there. But the main reason I wrote it was because I did want to play with Fiachra and Deirdre some more, and get more of a handle on their particular relationship. I keep thinking that, if not for the fact that she's almost twice his age, and still quite loyal to Connor, the two of them would make a pretty good couple. As it is, though, I think they're still going to make really good friends as they do have more in common than you might first think.

I did want to keep the story as light as I could. In spite of all the sadness, they both have people who love them and will look after them. As Deirdre said, she can't begin to replace Fiachra's mother, and neither of them would really want her to try. But there's still something of a bond between them, and he's got loyal sisters in Niamh and Ciara as well, so his life is still full of life and hope.

I don't know if any of that makes sense. But I think I'm beginning to figure them out a bit more. Thanks again for reading, and for all the kind comments!

I think this is beautifully done -- and actually I think it works at least in part because it's a reflective chapter more than a hectic one. It's always nice to read about Fiachra, whose personality I really do like, and Deirdre is such a wonderful character that when she appears you know you're never going to be bored. The setting of a graveyard was perfect, since that's such a fitting place for contemplation, as well as a reasonable place for characters to meet.

For me, Deirdre's description of her search for vengeance on the man who hurt her sister was the highlight of the chapter, reminding us just how terrifying she can be while simultaneously showing her -- in her reaction to the crippled raider's daughter -- to be much more than just a ruthless warrior. I've said this before, but I really do think Deirdre is a tremendously well realised character, a complex and awkward (in several senses of the word) person in the way that real people are.

Aw, well thank you. I'm really glad you liked it so much. I've grown quite fond of Fiachra, myself. He started out as very much a background character, but he's grown to be every bit as important as any of the others, so I've really wanted to start fleshing him out some more. I'm particularly interested in exploring more of his family through his perspective, both his relationship to his sister and, maybe more importantly, to his mother and to his twin sister that he lost.

As for Deirdre, I'm really flattered! I've done my best to make her an interesting character, and I really think it's her flaws that help make her so interesting, at least to me. I'm really glad that she seems like much more than just a warrior. I think what attracts me to Deirdre as a character is her constant struggle between this way of life she has chosen, and her desire to be seen as a decent person and even a good mother. She's rather pessimistic at times, and she has a terrible temper, as you saw in Oseille, but she also values things like mercy and compassion, and in the case of the raider's daughter, she has a real soft spot for children.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading and all the lovely comments. It means a lot!