The Hill-King's Bride: an Allegory for the Modern Church

Celebration

As when Howe had been a child, Midwinter's day was a day for great celebration within the tribe. It was a day for the exchanging of gifts and of feasting, of roaring fires and torchlight everywhere. Since the valley villagers hadn't celebrated the day, Howe was thrilled with the amount of preparation and anticipation that began almost from the Winter Solstice.

Trinkets to be exchanged were put together for each family member and friend. Howe found that she had to work quite hard to have an appropriate gift for each person she regularly came into contact with. Simple items worked well for most people, but one in gift in particular had been laid on her heart and would take more time and skill than she possessed. Hesitantly, Howe approached Cade for help. Bolstered by his enthusiastic offer of assistance, Howe put her plan into motion.

At the Council of Elders one night, Howe worked up the courage to approach Yestyn with an unusual request. "Sir, may I make a tracing of your foot?" Howe asked him. It always pained her to see the halting way he was forced to make from place to place. She only hoped that her idea would work.

Yestyn smiled and looked at his wife. "Of course," Gwyn replied for her husband. She bent and removed his boot immediately so Howe could make the requested tracing on her small slate.

"What do you have in mind, Young Lady?" Yestyn enquired as he watched her work.

Howe grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry to inconvenience you; it's just a fancy I've had."

Knowing she'd been making socks for gifts, Rowen chimed in. "She's taken tracings of more feet in our house than I care to mention. Maybe there'll be a sock in it for you."

"Well now, don't you worry about me," Yestyn drawled to Howe as she replaced his boot. "Gwyn makes the best socks of anyone I know."

Howe smiled nervously. "Maybe I should ask for pointers?"

"You're doing fine, Dear," Rowen replied in encouraging tones. "Don't worry about a thing. After all, it's Midwinter's day soon." As she no doubt had hoped, the remark had everyone distracted with tales of preparations made and still more to be accomplished. Using the confusion and pandemonium, Howe slipped away and ran home to where Cade was waiting to assist her with her plan.

As they worked on Howe's idea, whenever the two of them didn't know how to proceed or needed assistance with some technical aspect, Cade always knew just who to ask. It seemed that Howe wasn't the only one that wanted to help Yestyn, because anyone Cade asked not only immediately agreed to help, they also promised secrecy lest the intended recipient of such a gift learn of it beforehand.

Finally, the appointed day arrived. As with the younger children, Howe had found it nearly impossible to sleep through the excitement that built in her abdomen and pressed on her lungs. The gifts were given with little ceremony as soon as the giver came across the recipient in the course of the day. Of course, this meant that one had to carry the gifts at all times, lest the giver come upon the recipient without the intended gift in hand.

For the 'menfolk' in Howe's life, a new pair of socks, carefully crafted to the shape and approximate size of each foot. The boys were delighted with their gift and wore the new socks down the ladder to breakfast after offering their sisters and Howe their own gifts. There were more stones for the sling that Howe kept with her on watch, a wooden whistle for 'if she wanted to get a dog', a whetstone for her knife, a carved, wooden comb for her hair.

For each of the twins and for Caron, Howe had embroidered pocket handkerchiefs. The twins were of two minds about their gifts. Olwyn pronounced the embroidered square of lightweight cotton far too beautiful for everyday use, but Bronwyn insisted on keeping hers with her. Midwinter's Day wasn't just 'everyday', she informed her sister, but Olwyn carefully tucked her gift away for safekeeping anyway, before reappearing with her gift for Howe.