What Does the Kingdom of Aisling Look Like?

What is the Kingdom of Aisling like?

*Contains excerpts from the book, Securing Aisling*

The country of Kearnley is divided into three kingdoms—all named after the three brothers who conquered this small country hundreds of years before. There is Dermot in the mountains of the North. The arid Gilvary lies in the middle of Kearnley. And Aisling(pronounced Ashling) covers the Southern coast.

The castle of Aisling is built into a cliff overlooking the Moya Ocean and is home to Queen Brianna Reiner, ruler of the kingdom. She loves her home and spends a good deal of her leisurely time on her private balcony looking out at the ocean.

*I stepped out on the balcony for a few minutes just to view my favorite scene. It was one of my rituals before heading out on a long trip. I looked out over the calm Moya Ocean. The tide was out, revealing the jagged rocks that made this part of the coast unfit for ships to drop anchor. It was a perfect defense for three sides of the Aisling castle. The front of the castle was defendable by a wall that rounded out from one shore to the other.

I could tell by the angle of the sun that it was well past time for leaving, but I still took a few minutes to watch sea birds dive in between the rocks catching up small sea life that was suddenly exposed. At this time of day the cries from the birds could finally overcome the usual roar from the ocean. I inhaled one last breath of salt-misted air before making my way through my bedchamber and then my sitting room to leave.*

During the course of the story, Brianna marries one of the princes from the neighboring kingdom of Gilvary. Here are his thoughts on his new home, but if you want to know who XXXXX is, you will have to read the book! J

*We were ambling through the town of Aisling headed toward the castle by noon on the ninth of June. Summer was well on its way here. My last visit to this kingdom had been over six years ago and in the dead of winter. Other than the change in the season, everything was just as I remembered.

I looked ahead to my new home. It was made up of white stone, and where Gilvary’s castle was a combination of squared off additions, this one was more rounded. It looked more like a grouping of towers. I remembered from my last visit that it looked taller from the back than the front since part of the castle had been attached to the cliff facing the sea.

From this view you could see the sparkling blue waters of the Moya Ocean in the background. Unlike Gilvary, there was a profusion of trees and plants everywhere. The foliage here seemed to be greener than could be found anywhere else in Kearnley. Everything seemed more alive in Aisling. The waves crashing the shore, the congregation of sea birds, and the constantly blowing wind all made up a symphony of sounds.*

So, what was it like for the now married Brianna to spend time with her husband in the home that she adored?

*We spent the rest of the day exploring. We started out with a tour through the castle. We made a game of stealing kisses from each other without getting caught by the servants. It was all the enticement I needed to show him every secret passage that I knew about. Gwen and I had searched every inch of this castle when we were younger, but it was nothing like the giddy pleasure I felt while introducing my husband to his new home.

After dinner we made a brief visit through the stables and barracks. I introduced each warrior to their new king. Most congratulated us on our marriage and welcomed him to the kingdom, but judging by the looks on some of their faces, a few may have been skeptical about their new ruler. I was not worried. XXXXX would eventually win them over.

We then took a stroll through the maze-like gardens beside the castle. There were interesting nooks between the hedgerows with private places to sit and talk and maybe steal a kiss or two in the warmth of the early summer sun. The roar of the ocean could still be heard, but the garden blocked out most of the wind.

That afternoon we took a walk hand in hand along the beach until sunset. I marveled at the fact that the same things I had spent a lifetime experiencing, seemed like new when shared with XXXXX. It was as if my life had started over the day we said our vows.*

Of course, Aisling is not a real place. It only exists in my head, but I hope to convey Brianna’s story in a way so that Aisling will reside in your mind as well.

#castle #SecuringAisling #ChristianFiction #Romance #AndreaBoyd