Camilla wants to crawl into a hole in Ch 12/Sc 5a of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee #amwriting

Graphic overlay c2016  by Kim Headlee.

The Picts—Scotland's ancient aboriginal inhabitants who likely migrated to the Highlands from India, a theory based on root language similarities—created some amazing art left behind on their standing stones.

The subjects of these etchings are varied and vast in scope.

Geometric shapes such as arcs, circles, and rods; domestic items, including combs, mirrors, tongs, cauldrons, and mirror cases; people of various social classes and occupations; wild (including boars, bears, lions, birds, and fish) and domestic animals (bulls, dogs, cats, horses, and geese); flowers; and my favorite category, mythological beasts.

Dragons, centaurs, "Nessie" (or an elephant, or a dolphin; no one is quite sure), and, yes, griffins, such as the design I've selected for the Saxon warrior-princess Camilla, shown on this page.

Camilla's glyph is adapted from a photograph of the stone designated as "Meigle 26", now located on display in the Meigle Sculptured Stone Museum of Meigle, Scotland.

In today's excerpt of Raging Sea, Camilla wishes she could climb into the hole dug for one of these monuments and then pull the stone back on top of herself.

Previous excerpts of Raging Sea 
Chapters 1–6 in Raging Sea: Reckonings

 Chapter 7: Sc 1 | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4 | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 8: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 9: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 1e |
Chapter 10: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a | Sc 3b | Sc 3c |
Chapter 11: Sc 1a |  Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 12: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4a | Sc 4b |

Raging Sea Chapter 12, Scene 5a

©2016 by Kim Headlee

All rights reserved.

In spite of the steel and leather battle-gear that covered her from the neck down, Camilla felt naked as she strode beside her father King Ælle, traversing the length of Wintaceaster Hall, flanked by King Cissa’s royal guardsmen.

It seemed as if all the West Saxon nobles’ gazes were fixed upon her, brimming with pity.

Not only had that demon-queen Guenevara killed the man she loved, Camilla’s attempt to exact revenge had failed in the most humiliating way conceivable: as an attack—a failed attack—on the wrong woman.

Her cheeks burned afresh from the memory of her father’s wrath when he had confronted Camilla about the incident, against the Dragon King’s own sister, no less. It was a miracle that Ælle hadn’t removed her from command of the Cymensora garrison, and an even bigger miracle that she’d been able to convince him to accompany her here, to request the help of King Cissa.

She and Ælle reached the platform where Cissa was seated upon his throne, and they saluted him with dips of their heads. Cissa returned the nods with one of his own and bade Ælle to state his business.

“Our business,” said her father with a brief but pointed glance at her, “involves raising an army to attack the Dragon King and his consort, Guenevara of Caledonia. We invite our royal brother-in-arms to share in what shall surely prove to be a profitable venture.”

“So.” Cissa stroked his gray beard, a grin forming. “When subterfuge fails, a direct approach is sought.”

Camilla wanted to crawl into the nearest hole to get away from the glare of that piercing gaze.

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