Leofric and Godiva -- Part 5
"And that summer, the evil barbarian Viking king spilled endless floods of innocent English blood upon our peaceful shores, enslaving women, biting and beating children, and defiling our holiest places. It was upon the savages' attack at Humber that King Aethelred's fearsome heart failed, and he followed the cowardly ill-advice of the Witengamot and fled England to his Queen's homeland of Normandy," Sir Hulgar intoned, his tortured eyes far away as if seeing each atrocity anew. Whether out of mortal fear, or catatonic shock, the huddled children remained motionless, breathless, and clutched their arms and legs around their vital organs waiting for the knight to continue his story.
Godgifu leaned over, her veil brushing Leofric's arm on his chair next to hers on the dias, "I can't tell you how glad I am that you offered your help in entertaining the children on Visiting Day," she murmured.
"I... I am so sorry," Leofric repeated, yet again. "He said he had a story he could tell them... how... how could I know--" he stumbled, nearly tongue-tied in a mix of horror and awe.
"Ask, dear. Or spend two minutes with the man. Either would suffice," Godgifu said through tight lips.
"Then, the savage beast cut a path paved with English flesh and blood toward London, intent upon carving out the beating heart of our homeland. The Witengamot bowed their heads to the heathen King and sent their innocent and beloved kin to be the barbarian's hostages, as proof that they would keep to their word and acknowledge ungodly monster as their king," Sir Hulgar growled.
"Oh good, I was afraid he might skip over the mutilations at Sandwich..." Godgifu whispered, pinching the bridge of her nose between her eyes.
"So... so sorry..." Leofric said, slowly turning a greenish color.
"But, God was watching!" Sir Hulgar raged, thrusting his gnarled and scarred finger in the air. "The Danish demon defiled the blessed throne of England but a few weeks, before his own horse threw him to his death, ending forever his accursed reign!" At this point, almost all the children cheered, for indeed Sir Hulgar told the tale with such verve and animation that most people would not have believed it possible from a man who spoke mostly through grunts and threatening glares.
"His kingdom, freed from the ravages of the invaders, the Witengamot restored King Aethelred to his throne... and there was much rejoicing," Sir Hulgar said, nodding at the divinely just outcome. Then, he frowned as he noticed a small hand raised over a head canted in deep thought.
"Don't do it... don't do it..." Godgifu quietly urged through clenched teeth.
"Yes?" Sir Hulgar barked to where Frederic sat with his question.
"He did it..." Godgifu sighed, her shoulders slumping.
"But... why did King Aethelred come back? The Witengamot agreed to make the Danish one king, so why wasn't his son the king, after that? Wasn't that the bargain?" Frederic asked, frowning at the discontinuity.
"The barbarian King's son was a mere youth at the time, and the Witengamot saw the chance to place God's chosen English king on the throne, once more. It came at a dear price, but one they were willing to pay," Sir Hulgar answered, his face grave.
"But what happened to the hostages, then? The kin that the Witengamot gave to the invader to back up their promise?" Frederic pressed.
"The Viking's son discarded the hostages on the beach at Sandwich, after carving off all of their noses, ears and hands," Sir Hulgar answered, gesturing to show the carving motions of the knife and making a wet ripping sound for effect, "returning the wretched victims to their families mutilated, if they even survived their terrible wounds at all. You still see some of them around... veils and gloves covering their hideous scars, forever a burden to the families that sacrificed them to free their land."
At these words, the children all turned with wide eyes to where Godgifu sat, ominously gloved and veiled.
"Uh, I can attest that Her Ladyship has all the proper body parts, having seen--" Leofric began, before receiving a swift kick from his future spouse.
"Oh, for heaven's sake," Godgifu sighed, unbuttoning her long gloves and wiggling them off her hands and displaying her whole limbs for the children's benefit. Their concerns only partly relieved, the kids remained dubious and continued staring, trying to fathom the violent secrets her veil no doubt kept hidden.
"In for a pound?" Leofric asked Godgifu, quickly glancing to Sir Hulgar who stood at the ready and glared threateningly at the assembly in the hall.
Leofric and Godiva had talked about this, about her someday shedding her veils and allowing herself to be seen as she was. Knowing he would love her and be by her side, no matter what happened, gave Godiva courage. She nodded, deciding that, if only for the sake of the children, she could do this.
"I..."Godgifu began, her mouth suddenly dry, then spoke to the assembly. "The veils, were for the comfort and tastes of my late husband, Lord Wilfred. God rest him," she said, carefully lifting her veils only enough to show the children that each ear was intact and whole. "They became a comfort to me after he died, but also a barrier between me and all of you. I believe every comfort has the potential to become a weakness that keeps us from being whole..." she said, steeling herself. "And so, I must ask your pardon, if my weaknesses have caused any of you injury... and ask your forgiveness, for hiding from you for so long," she said quietly, slowly raising the veil in front of her face.
Godgifu's cheeks flushed and people gasped as her neck, her chin, and then her lips were revealed. She paused and swallowed, screwing up her courage to raise the veil a little more... just enough to show her nose, when her entire face was suddenly revealed when Leofric decided to be helpful and took the entire covering off her and threw it to the floor.
Wide eyed and speechless, she whipped her face to him, shock clearly written upon her features. Leofric, suddenly realizing he had erred, lifted her veil from the floor and folded it clumsily before returning it to her in a haphazard bundle, but the damage had been done. Terrified, Godgifu nonetheless straightened her neck, squared her shoulders and looked out at the assembly.
Face after face staring at her, seeing her... not shielded by a translucent cloth, but bare and unadorned. She loved them all... and she had lied to them. She had held herself above them out of need, claiming a false standard that she failed to uphold. She was a fraud. She deserved to be dragged through the streets and left to die. The people of Coventry deserved so much better than her.
No one moved. No one spoke. Indeed, it seemed no one even breathed until Frederic rose from the group of children and came to stand before her. "It's nice to see your face, my Lady," he said, head still canted in thought, his eyes taking in every detail. "I don't think there has ever been a beauty like yours seen in Coventry..." he said, offering her a wildflower.
"Hear, hear!" cheered Reverend Palmer, clapping enthusiastically from the back of the room. Cheers and yells of agreement filled the hall, as applause gradually broke out amongst the assembly.
"Thank you, Frederic," she whispered, taking the flower from him with a shaking hand, she looked over the cheering assembly in bewilderment. How was this possible? Did they not recognize her? She hadn't been brazen in her appearances as the outlaw Godiva, but she had been known generally about the town.
Blushing, she stood and nodded to the assembly in thanks, "I don't understand... don't they see?" she asked, glancing at Leofric who smiled down at her.
"Of course, they see you... they've always seen you," Leofric said, looking out at the assembly. "But, as is often the case, people will see what they want to see... and I think they've been waiting to see you for quite a while."
"Do you... do you think they knew it was me? Godgifu and Godiva? All this time?"
Leofric chuckled to himself, wondering how his future wife could be so completely self-delusional as to think her unique height and build would go completely unnoticed when perfectly duplicated by a mysterious outlaw. "I think Coventry is a small village... and that these people love you," he replied.
The gathering winded down and people gradually went on about their business, taking one last look at their unmasked Lady before leaving. The boys, thrilled with their new storyteller, surrounded Sir Hulgar and pelted him with questions about Viking raids and other gory conquests, eventually pulling him from the hall to show them the proper shape and heft of a Viking battle axe.
At length, only a solitary figure remained in the hall. It was a man, extremely tall and broad, and shrouded. He kept himself to the shadows, though the hall was not brightly lit. Uneasy, Leofric watched the man gradually approach the dias. Taking care not to give the appearance of doing so, Leofric maneuvered his own body to be between the stranger and the unveiled Godgifu, at all times.
"This 'Visiting Day,'" the man's accented voice called to them as he approached closer and closer to the dias, "Is good, I think, yes? You see the eyes, and the eyes... they see you," he said, thoughtfully.
Leofric's senses sharpened, exactly as they had before going into battle, and he quickly searched the room for the others that must surely have come along with this shrouded stranger. This was not how such things were done... and the secrecy of it did not bode well.
Sensing Leofric's tension, but not understanding the cause, Godgifu took his arm and petted it, peering awkwardly around his large body to the stranger. "Hello, sir," she greeted him, "Are you new to Coventry? Welcome."
