Chapter 29

We spent the remainder of the morning on Market Street. The Sisters checked out many of the shops and stalls that were open, although we purchased very little. However, they enjoyed the looking. I was more interested in the shops of the various crafts that we passed. Wheelwrights, blacksmiths and coopers were in evidence as well as many other trades. Their signs, hanging from the buildings, were both interesting and finely crafted.

Later that day we walked down Fish Lane far enough to get a good view of the falls. The noise had decreased some from this morning's level when the tide started coming back in, but the flow of the river was still heavy, making the falls quite an amazing sight. We also saw Inis Saimer Island in the Estuary with a single building on it. It is purported to be where the first settlers of Ireland landed.

That evening, we dined alone with Lughaidh. After inquiring about where we had gone and what we had seen that day, he had another question.

"Have you ladies ever been to the beach?" he asked.

"Beach!?" both Sisters asked in confusion.

"There are many fine stretches of beach along the shores of the Estuary and on Donegal Bay," he assured them.

"What is beach?" Airmid asked still confused.

"A beach is where the water of a river, lake, bay, or the ocean meets the land, and there is fine sand that has been washed up and deposited there," I told them before turning back to Lughaidh. "They have never seen a beach, let alone been to one," I told him.

"There are many fine beaches in the area between Ballyshannon and Rossnewlagh. I grew up at Castle Kilbarron, the O'Clery seat south of Rossnewlagh on the coast, and spent many fine days walking along the shore at the various beaches and also along the cliffs in the area. There is the sun and the surf to enjoy. Not having been to the beach, I don't suppose that you have ever been swimming either?" he asked.

"Swimming?" both Sisters asked, again confused.

"No, they haven't been swimming. In fact the loughs are the largest bodies of water that they have seen," I told him.

"They should try wading in the surf first then, but be careful. There are currents in some places that can pull you under," he warned them before giving us directions to some of the best beaches in the area.

Sleep came very easily that night, as we had all had a very busy day. The Sisters didn't appear to need sex tonight, and we only hugged and kissed for a time. In the morning, the roar from the falls was more subdued.

After breakfast, we readied our horses and the cart before setting out using the directions that Lughaidh had given us. We went up the hill that was Main Street and then turned left onto the road leading to the Tullymore River, and the island that the river had created well before it emptied into the River Erne's Estuary west of Ballyshannon. A road on the west side of the river led down to a stretch of sandy beach.

I cast a ground ward to keep the horses in the grassy area above the beach while we went to investigate the shoreline. The Sisters soon had their sandals off to feel the sand between their toes. Their clothes followed shortly afterward, as they never were shy about getting naked. There wasn't anyone else in the area to see us so it was okay. They tried wading in the water, but soon found it colder than they liked.

They did enjoy lying on the beach and sunbathing on the blanket that we had brought with us. They didn't look too far out on the estuary, as seeing the vast stretch of water there still gave them a little trouble.

I had also brought a fishing rod and line that Lughaidh had lent me. I tried a little fishing in the estuary, but didn't have much luck. The Sisters had been lying out in the sun for some time before they began to get uncomfortable. Shortly they were calling me.

"Kell, we're turning red!" they shouted in panic. That was when I remembered that they weren't used to being out in the sun and quickly went over to them. With their fair skin, they had already started to burn -- all over, since they had no clothes on.

"We need to get you out of the sun," I told them.

"It felt so good! Why are we turning red?" they asked, not understanding.

"Because your skin isn't used to the sun's rays, and you have already gotten too much," I told them. It was uncomfortable for them to put on their robes again, but they managed it. I started a mantra and used my Green Magic to heal their burned skin, as we moved into the shade of some trees where I continued working on them.

Once they felt better, I cast the spell to access my room in my Parent's house in our Reality and transferred several bottles of suntan lotion and some cream in a blue jar to help heal their skin. These would help some in addition to the healing that I had done. I definitely enjoyed rubbing the lotion and cream all over them. So did they. We decided to call it a day after that and returned to the castle.

In our room, I repeated the healing mantras for their skin. They were both aroused from the lotion and cream that I had used on them, and needed some quick sex. It turned out that the doggie position was best with their current condition. We all had powerful orgasms. They were much better by the time that we went down to the evening meal. Lughaidh was shocked on seeing their faces and hands.

"What happened?" he asked in concern.

"They aren't used to a lot of exposure to the sun. They always wore their bonnets on the way here," I told him.

"Will they be all right?"

"Yes, I have already treated them," I told him, before we had our meal.

The Sisters didn't sleep too close to me that night, as their skin was still rather sensitive. The next day we didn't go out. We practiced the words and sentences they had learned, and we rested. They applied the cream and lotion themselves today which disappointed me, but their skin was much better and the redness was fading into a light tan.

On the second day, we went out to the beach again for a short time, as the Sisters had found the experience enjoyable. I made sure that they used plenty of suntan lotion. The following day was a Tuesday, and they wanted to see what Market Day in Ballyshannon was like.

We spent most of the day walking around looking at the items for sale in the various stalls that had been set up in the open air market near the river, and also on Market Street and around the Diamond. They even watched some of the sales of livestock at the market. They bought some trinkets and sweets in addition to sampling the smoked salmon and brown bread from several vendors. They really enjoyed themselves, and we were worn out again that night. We went to sleep after just some light hugging and kissing. Thanks to the Magic used, their burns had turned into a tan by now.

On Wednesday, we decided to try a beach further up the coast, and had soon passed the beach that we had used previously to continue on the road to Rossnowlagh which was another four miles or so up the coast. We came to a fine beach before reaching the town. There were more people on the beachs here, but we located a secluded area where the Sisters could sunbathe nude. This beach was on Atlantic itself, and the water stretched out to the horizon. The Sisters were not comfortable looking out over it, and kept their eyes on the beach.

By mid-afternoon, I had managed to catch a few fish, and the Sisters had used up the last of the suntan lotion, so we decided to return to Ballyshannon. We had gone something less than two miles and were between the villages of Coolmore and Ballure in an area of rugged cliff along the shore when we were suddenly attacked by several men who rushed out at us from the roadside underbrush.

I was taken quite by surprise, as I hadn't cast any standby wards on these trips since there had been no mention of trouble while we had been in Ballyshannon. I had barely finished casting a quick ward around my horse and myself when there was a tremendous blast of Magic Power from behind me, and all of the attackers fell to the ground unconscious. It was so strong that it had even affected me slightly inside my ward. I turned to see the Sisters sitting in the cart with the glow from the use of a huge amount of Magic Power slowly fading around them. I also saw the panicked look on their faces, and they were clutching each others hands in fright.

"Have they gone?" they asked in squeaky voices, not looking around.

"No, you managed to knock them all out somehow," I told them in amazement before casting my strongest wards around myself, and my horse. The Sisters must have felt what I was doing, as I soon felt their wards appear around themselves, the cart, and the mare. Following that I cast a freeze spell on all six of the attackers, before helping the still shaking Sisters down from the cart.

"What happened?" I asked them, still amazed.

"We panicked!" Airmid squealed, as I pulled them into my arms.

"We couldn't remember any spells!" Almha added with her face pressed against my chest.

"Whatever you did, it certainly worked! Even I felt it inside the ward that I had just completed," I told them marveling at the sheer amount of power that I had felt them use. I would make it a point not to startle them in the future. I held them until they both seemed better, and then went to look at the men who had attacked us. The Sisters were also looking at the men, and two in particular.

"We have seen those two at the market in town," Airmid told me pointing to two of the men.

"They followed us for a time, but then disappeared," Almha added.

"I think that it's time that we got back to the castle, and took these men with us. I'm sure that Lughaidh will know what to do with them," I told the Sisters. I used my Magic Beams to move all of the attackers into a pile of bodies before transferring the Sisters, the horses, and the cart plus myself back to the bawn at Ballyshannon Castle. Following that, I returned to the attack site and transferred the attackers back to the bawn also.

Our sudden appearance in the bawn had alerted the sentries on the wall walks, and at the gate. When I returned, the Sisters were explaining to one of the Guard Lieutenants that we had been attacked. The Captain of the Guard and Lughaidh soon arrived, and I explained what had happened to them. Neither of them appeared to be happy on hearing my tale. More guards were summoned, and the prisoners were secured before I removed their freeze spells.

"If you have trouble making them talk, call me," I told the Captain. "Mages and Wizards have ways of making people talk." Several of the prisoners turned pale on hearing this. They were all marched off to the gatehouse after that, and our horses and the cart were taken to the stable. We accompanied Lughaidh back to the Manor House. I took the Sisters up to our room to calm them down and have them rest for a while before I returned to talk with Lughaidh.

"Do you think that they could be more than just some highwaymen?" I asked him.

"Anything is possible here, although we haven't had much trouble with highwaymen lately."

"The twins said that they recognized two of the men from the market. They told me that the men had followed them for a time," I told him which news got his immediate attention.

"Perhaps we should question those two personally!" he told me. We found the Captain of the Guard and the prisoners on the second floor of the gate tower. His people had already worked over several of the prisoners.

"We haven't learned much," he told us, as we approached him.

"Allow me to interview the prisoners then," I asked.

"Interview?" he asked, confused.

"Yes! Do you have a small room where I can talk to them without others hearing us?" I asked.

"There are two small cells on the ground floor. Will one of them do?" the Captain asked.

"That will do nicely. I'll start with that man," I told him pointing to one of the men, but not one of the two that the Sisters had identified. One of the guards followed me down to the cell with the man that I had selected.

The cell was about seven feet square, and the guard shoved the prisoner down on the small bed frame in there.

"Thank you. You can wait outside," I told him, as it was very crowded in the small cell.

"Are you sure of that, Master?" he asked. He was a large man and had easily manhandled the prisoner.

"I will be perfectly safe," I assured him, as I raised my wards around me. He was a little startled when I tinted them a light pink so he could see them.

"Yes, Master," he acknowledged, went out, and closed the solid wood door. I immediately cast the truth spell that my Father had used in France on the prisoner. It had been right in the back of my mind, and I thought that the 'Book of Dreams' had refreshed my memory on it the previous night.