Shadows at the Dawn - Part 21
I think on that night, I finally forgave my mother fully. Neither of us could ever forget all that happened when Marshant died, but the wound between us that had merely scarred over earlier wasn't quite as bad after that. We never saw each other all together like that again, life has a tendency to get in the way sometimes, and we were all kept rather busy.
We would finally see Remmus and Pluto married the next year, and we were only a year away from Husel and Laraunt's marriage as well. Our house filled again a few months after Remmus and Pluto returned, as Queen Serenity had finally convinced King Saturn that it was indeed a good idea to bring little Hura to us to further her training. I don't know what she did, or how she managed it, but I knew that once Serenity had made up her mind, there was no way to change it. Maybe it was the queen part, but it was so much like mother acted at times I didn't think that was all of it. And I suppose that a Queen feels she is a mother to all around her in a way.
With all that we had to look forward to, the fragments had other ideas I guess, and that year also saw the first of many that would come where the attacks were ever more aggressive, and our lines were slowly pushed back. Neighbor stood with neighbor, and when a smaller clan's stronghold was destroyed, we welcomed them into our own homes. Because all we had then were each other, and if we hoped to survive, we would need that unity.
"And who do we have here?" Master Zilbrach found himself once again at Clan Centurious, back to train another warrior - even if it was a little different this time around.
"My name is Hura."
"And what am I to be teaching you?" the "retired" blade master trainer asked.
"Her weapon is a glaive, so staff work would be a good base." Zeeda supplied.
Zeeda had called in a favor. As much as she wanted to be there, and she would be helping whenever she could, too much was happening for her to be little Hura's sole trainer. And she had thought no one else better for the job than her own trainer, Master Zilbrach. He had of course reminded her that he was old, retired and cranky - and she had just laughed and told him that would be perfect as his student was a very determined eight year old girl. That had intrigued him enough to bring him over for a visit, and Hura had wasted no time in getting him wrapped around her little finger.
It had taken a bit of convincing with King Saturn - who had finally told them to call him by his given name, Sastur, when he grew tired of all the 'milords' and such being thrown his way good naturedly - when Zeeda had told him of her initial plans for Hura's arms training. He was not sure he wanted Hura to worry about such at her age, but Zeeda had informed him that before she had ever had to worry about mastering her power to create shields, she had learned how to control a weapon and everything after that had become second nature. And since the Silence Glaive would be in her hands whenever she made the transformation into the protector of Saturn, it made perfect sense she know how to use it properly - because you could not always rely on having time for an energy attack.
Laraunt would be Hura's main sparring partner, as Zeeda knew it would be rather hard for the girl to start out against her - no matter how much she held back. Clan Capartha had fallen to a rather nasty attack, and with the impending marriage, it had only made sense that they come to Clan Centurious. A second slightly smaller clan house was under construction (they could only extend the environmental shield so much), and the barracks and compound were being enlarged along with new houses in the village to help get their new neighbors settled. Though Zeeda knew they would prefer their ancestral grounds, the entire area had been lost and no one knew when it could again be reclaimed - if ever.
Clan Centurious was not the only one taking on extra people. Many of the smaller outlying clans had suffered the same fate. They joined with their neighbors, and some had even banded together and were rebuilding new strongholds together. Their losses were not overly large yet, but all had the feeling it would get worse before it ever got better. The map room and the com room were in a constant state of activity now, with weekly updates from Wensel when they thought they discovered something new on the larger map on the Moon.
King Pluto had nothing new to report on the shadow voices filling the halls of time, though they were growing a bit more agitated at times. They had so far exhausted all the research in both realms, and still had nothing to show for it. The message was not getting any clearer, and they grudgingly admitted defeat for the moment. He knew he could not press Zeeda for much more, as they had their hands full with more immediate concerns - he just wished he knew what was going on.
Having Clan Capartha join them did give one major benefit - it meant those of Clan Centurious could attend Remmus' wedding without having to worry that someone stayed behind. Kullah was the only one unable to join them, but they did steal Toreenal for a few days instead. Zeeda had spent the entire week before they were scheduled to leave making sure all would work well between their legions and those of Clan Capartha. Lord Lurent had laughed at her worry, saying he suspected that Commander Harper could most likely run things without any of them there. He had even gone so far as to request the help of a few of their elite centurions to help whip his own troops into better shape.
Commander Harper took an instant liking to the second clan lord, and between the two of them, and Lord Lurent's own Commander Yurie, they had things running smoother than anyone would have guessed.
"Would you stop fidgeting?" Pluto gave Remmus an exasperated look. "They'll be here soon."
"Sorry, I don't know why I'm so nervous. Not like I've never seen my family before."
"True, but you've never been married before," she teased.
"And you have?" he replied with a grin.
"You're sure Zeeda will be okay standing up with me?" Pluto asked - she was his sister after all - and they all knew Zeeda's love for dresses.
"Of course she will. I know she already considers you her sister, so I don't see why not."
"As long as both sides are even."
"Well, you'll have Zeeda, Uranus, and Neptune. And I'll have Lienta, Husel...crap."
"We're one man short now that Kullah can't come."
"The only other people I know are your father and King Saturn. You have any cousins I don't know about?"
"No. Oh, I can't ask any of the girls not to be there."
"Well, Toreenal is coming."
"That wouldn't look right."
"Wait a minute, wasn't Uranus on your case about making her wear a dress? She's worse than my sister. Why don't we pair her with Neptune?"
"That might work, that gives us two couples - then who else?"
"Husel and Laraunt or Toreenal."
"Husel and Laraunt should work."
"Now, " Remmus said, pulling her into his arms. "Are we done with last minute crisis?"
"Light, I hope so." She said, giving him a kiss. "Now, you welcome your family, I need to go make Uranus happy with me again...and hope we can get all the clothing finished in two days."
Pluto was once again back in her friend's good graces when she announced the change in plans to Uranus. It amazed her sometimes how much the stubborn blond princess was like Zeeda - the two of them had too many things in common. Though she was wise enough to keep such thoughts to herself. She still had no idea how she was going to convince Zeeda that a dress for one day would not be such a bad thing...and she fully expected to pay for it at some point in the future if she did manage it. Hopefully Zornah would be able to help.
"You want me to what?" Zeeda looked at her like she had sprouted a second head.
"It's just for the ceremony, and dinner and dance afterwards - just one day." Pluto pleaded. This was worse than when she had first wrangled Uranus into it.
"You know I'll find some way to return the favor, right?" Zeeda said with an evil grin.
"I expected such," Pluto replied with a resigned sigh.
"I suppose we should get the fitting done then."
Laraunt had just shaken her head, trying not to laugh. They would be making history in more ways than one. And everyone was sworn to secrecy that Lienta would not find out until the day of the ceremony if possible. A feat that was not all that hard, as the men and the women were kept relatively separated, and very busy in the two days leading up to the wedding. And so in a flurry of activity, the palace on Pluto never slept in those two days.
Things were looking like they would go off without a hitch, until Kalah came pounding on the door of the chamber the ladies were getting ready in.
"Zeeda! It's an emergency!" Kalah shouted.
"Who died?" she asked, sticking her head out the door.
"We've all tried to help - Remmus can't call his armor," he whispered.
"You're joking right?"
"No, we need your help, please."
"Just a second."
Zeeda closed the door and turned to the rest.
"Apparently, Remmus is beyond nervous. Help me out of this dress so I can go rescue him and not spoil the surprise."
A maid rushed over and helped her out of the gown Pluto had talked her into. It was not all that bad Zeeda had grudgingly admitted, as it was a simple floor length thing that clung to upper curves and went straight down without any big full flouncy skirts. She hurriedly threw on a pair of pants and a loose tunic and joined her father in the hall.
"We don't have much time."
"I know, and I have to put the surprise back on still, so let's get this over with."
The two of them rushed through halls to the other side of the palace to where Remmus waited with the rest of his party.
"Clear the room please." Zeeda demanded, not paying attention to anyone but the nervous wreck of her brother.
"Oh, thank the darkness...Zee...I can't..."
"Silence!"
Remmus snapped to attention, just like when they were younger, trembling slightly with nerves still.
"You're a warrior of the Clan Centurious! This is unacceptable. Close your eyes, deep breath, and think!"
Eyes closed, Remmus took a deep shuddering breath and concentrated with all his might on his armor and what it looked like.
"Open your eyes." Zeeda said gently. "And for darkness sake, breathe!"
Remmus let out the breath he had been holding, taking another gulp of air before he opened one eye and peeked down to see himself standing in his armor. Relief flooded through him, and he looked back at his sister with a sheepish grin.
"Thanks sis."
"You're welcome," she said, giving him a hug. "Now, just relax. Everything will be fine. And now I have to go get ready again. You still haven't told Lienta, right?"
"My lips are sealed." Remmus grinned at her.
"Good."
Zeeda rushed out of the room and back to the room where the dress was waiting for her. And she still had to let them fuss with her hair! She was very glad clan weddings were simpler affairs.
"Is everything okay?" Pluto asked as she entered the room, looking slightly worried.
"Everything is fine. The idiot got himself so worked up he couldn't call his armor." She laughed as she stripped and stepped into the waiting gown. "And now the hair I guess."