2

Over the next few days; Gwenhwyfar Moonshard was put to work around the manor or in town, Cora and Alice were kept distracted with visits from other nobles. Lady Corwin was keeping her nieces separated from their friend and treated Gwen as little more than a slave with work from sun up and sun down.

Gwen was given a cot to sleep on but end up sleeping in the same bed with Alice or Cora and by sunrise; a maid enters the chamber, wakes the girl up and gives her a servant uniform to wear. Gwen would change into the uniform, put her mask and veil on, and led to the kitchen where she helps make breakfast.

She helps serves the household than is allowed to break her fast before she is led to her next chore. Gwen helps clean the manor, wash the laundry and mend any clothes; than she serves tea and lunch to Lady Corwin, Cora, Alice and any visiting friends of Corwin.

Edward and William Corwin would be out on the town or spending time with their Mother and cousins. Some of the maids had warned Gwen that Masters Corwin were notorious troublemakers and no matter what troubles they cause; Wilhelmina's sons were well protected.

Cora and Alice have heard of their cousins' reputation, and they did not want neither men near their Gwen. But their Aunt ran the house and the sisters pray that their cousins will leave Gwen alone.

But prayers were in vain for it wasn't long until Gwenhwyfar ran into the brothers on separate occasions and they discovered the girls' secret…

The first incident took place when Gwen was assigned to work in the stables; mucking out and cleaning the stables, and attending to the horses. She wore secondhand hand-me-down men clothes that made working in the stables easier and the mask with the veil had some use.

The horses, dogs and cats took an instant liking to Gwen as if they knew her forever, and in some cases animals knew who Gwen was. She did the work well; the stalls were thoroughly clean with manipulation of the Elements and fresh hay laid out.

Blankets were mended, saddles were cleaned to look new, bridles were cleaned and polished; Gwen even fed the horses a mixture of oats, diced carrots and diced apples. She finished her stable chores in time for a break where a mother cat led Gwen to a loft and show off her litter of newborn kittens.

It was also where William Corwin found her as she was leaving the loft after visiting the cats. Gwen was surprised to see the young Corwin brother as she came down the ladder from the loft.

"Master Corwin;" said Gwen out of respect once she was on the ground, and, making sure her mask and veil was in place.

"Gwenhwyfar Moonshard, my Uncle's ward and cousins' constant companion;" said William as he looked Gwen up and down, "the mask may hide your face but the clothes say differently on your body!"

Gwen silently cursed; the men's clothes maybe secondhand and hand-me-downs, but they did hug her body in such a way to show her womanly assets. She made to move around the man but he quickly got in her path and shoved her into the shadows.

"Now…now…let's not be rude here, lass;" said William as he brought forth a lamp, "I just want to see your face under that pretty mask!"

"I advise against it, good sir;" Gwen hastily said as she looked around for an exit or help. "I was disfigured in a fire when I was young and survived, your Uncle and cousins were the only ones who showed me kindness!"

"Still…I intend to look and your body might compensate your looks;" said young Corwin as he moved quickly and knocked the mask with veil off.

Garnet hair rose and fell around her shoulders as William Corwin's blue eyes stared into eyes like the night sky with twin Suns at the heart. Before any words could be said; the second son of Wilhelmina Corwin felt the wind knocked out of him, crumbled to the floor and the last thing he sees before losing consciousness was a flash of gold fire followed by a dark red cat running as it carried the mask and veil away.

The second incident happened in the gardens three weeks later; Gwenhwyfar was insuring the flowers were healthy. She was humming a song and the plants around her reacted as they leaned towards the masked girl.

Gwen had her hands buried in the soil and allowed her energy to seep deep, and spread as she boosted the lander's fertility. This is how Edward Corwin found her and with him were his prized wolfdogs that he planned to breed.

The wolfdogs left their Master's side and nuzzled Gwen's side; startling her slightly but she was soon laughing as the wolfdogs began acting like puppies around her. Gwen was soon laying on the ground with one wolfdog laying with its head on her stomach and the other was also laying at her side with its head on her shoulder.

"I should feel insulted that my hounds abandoned me but I don't;" came the older Corwin's voice.

Gwenhwyfar was surprised as she moved to get up only to have her mask and veil knocked off by one of the wolfdogs.

"My brother wasn't kidding when he spoke about seeing an angel beneath the mask;" said Edward in slight awe as he crouched before Gwen.

Gwen managed to get to her feet and the two wolfdogs flanked her like guards, alert and ready to spring to her defense. To the elder son of Lady Corwin; the Moonshard girl looked like a Pagan Goddess but the clothes she wore ruined the image slightly.

The older Corwin whistled and snapped his fingers for the wolfdogs to come to him, but neither dog moved from Gwenhwyfar's side and this made the man frown. Gwen retrieved her mask and veil; she put the veil on to cover and hide her hair while keeping the mask up.

"Who are you?" Edward asked as he gazed at the young woman before him.

"I am a being of fire and nature;" answered Gwen mysteriously, "I've died and was reborn from the ashes, I am the personification of nature and the fertility of the land!"

Then Gwen covered her face with her mask, turned and walked away; the two wolfdogs kept Edward Corwin from following until she was out of sight. The older Corwin became confused when his dogs began acting normal and returned to his side with affection.

But something had changed between the Corwin brothers; both lusted after Gwenhwyfar Moonshard, both wanted her for a wife or lover and neither brother was backing down. They began arguing over who is more worthy to claim Gwen as his own and the arguments soon turned to physical fighting as punches were exchanged.