To quote one of my favorite authors, "Well, I'm back." Even though it has been so long that I hate to even think exactly how long, I've always planned to finish this story. A lot of RL complications and a severe case of writer's block due to a certain annoying gnome were the chief causes, but I also wanted to make sure I could really finish this time if I started posting again.
If any of my readers are still out there and want to read the end of the story; I actually have written it, all that's left is the epilogue. So I promise not to leave you hanging this time! I expect there to be about 5 chapters and the epilogue after this one. Hope you enjoy it.
We start up again on the morning of Merena and Anomen's wedding…
Chapter 37
The morning dawned bright and clear, a fair day for a wedding. In his quarters at the Order, Anomen had been up since well before dawn, his anticipation of the day to come vanquishing his need for sleep. He wasn't nervous, precisely, at least not in the way bridegrooms are thought to be nervous on their wedding day. He had absolutely no doubts about the course he had taken, but rather, he couldn't shake his underlying anxiety that something might happen to prevent the wedding from proceeding as planned.
He inspected his armor for the third time to reassure himself that no smudges marred the gleaming surface. He was wearing it for the wedding, of course, as befitted and knight and warrior-priest of Helm, with a new tabard commissioned especially for the day to Lady Maria's specifications. Anomen glanced over to where it lay on the bed, ready to be donned. The design was primarily done in Helm's blue, not surprisingly, but it also had touches of green, a green that Anomen had decided was precisely the shade of Merena's eyes.
Anomen was considering whether the butterflies in his stomach would tolerate some breakfast when there was a knock at the door. He called, "Come in!" expecting the visitor to be a fellow knight dropping by to convey his good wishes for the day. Consequently, it came as quite the surprise when the door opened and Merena's brother Sarevok entered his room.
For a brief moment, Anomen wondered whether Sarevok had decided to take a direct approach to prevent the priest from marrying his sister, but a quick glance assured him that was most likely not the case. Sarevok was dressed casually, and without armor, his only weapon a belt knife.
Still unsure of Sarevok's intentions, Anomen said warily, "Sarevok, this is…unexpected. To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"
Sarevok met his eyes and snorted in dry amusement. "Delryn, you needn't pretend to be any more pleased to see me than I am to be here. It was certainly not my idea; I am here at the insistence of your soon-to-be sister-in-law."
Anomen smiled to himself at Sarevok's aggrieved tone. "Imoen gave you no peace, I take it?"
"Who would think that someone so small and…chipper," Sarevok shuddered slightly, "could be so persistent?" He glowered at Anomen. "Be grateful you're not marrying that one."
Despite his best efforts, Anomen couldn't entirely keep the smugness out of his voice when he replied, "I consider myself a fortunate man for many reasons."
"Evidently, there is some Amnian custom that a male member of the bride's family visits the groom on the wedding day," Sarevok continued, glaring at Anomen as if counting him responsible for the absurdities of Amnian customs in general. "And Imoen had the gall to suggest that my failure to do so with Merena's first marriage had a role in its collapse! Bah! Neither Merena nor Kelsey are even Amnian!" he added bitterly.
Anomen made a valiant attempt not to laugh in the face of Sarevok's outrage. "Yes, that is an old Amnian custom," he replied, when he was certain he could keep his voice under control. "I believe the original intent was for the father of the bride to insure that the groom was aware of his…husbandly duties," Anomen hurried on, careful to avoid looking at Sarevok, knowing all too well what his probable reaction would be. "In recent times, it is more frequently used as an occasion for the bride's family to slip the groom a fortifying drink before the wedding."
Sarevok barked out a laugh. "Ha! A much more worthwhile custom, in my opinion." He met Anomen's eyes, "Do you feel the need for either a lecture on your husbandly duties, or a 'fortifying drink' to get you to the altar?"
Anomen smiled. "No, thank you, Sarevok, I think I would prefer to have my head as clear as my heart when I say my vows."
"Good," Sarevok responded. "I will tell the pink-haired one that I have done my duty." He turned to leave.
Anomen felt a surprising reluctance to let Sarevok go without at least attempting to put their relationship on a more comfortable footing. "Sarevok! I…I just want you to know that even though we have little in common, and probably never will, I realize I was wrong in my original judgment of you. Wrong that you could not change your ways." He met Sarevok's eyes. "You have been a good brother to Merena and Imoen."
Sarevok looked at Anomen a long moment before responding. "You may be startled to hear," he said, gruffly, "that your attitude toward me never angered me, or surprised me. You were always very vocal in your distrust and dislike, and indeed, you had every reason to feel that way." His voice hardened. "Unlike that snake, Coltrane, who pretended open-mindedness because he knew it would please Merena."
Anomen's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I thought you had no use for 'mewling priests'."
"I have no use for hypocrites," Sarevok said scornfully, "which most clerics are, in my experience. But you…I have seen you fight, I know you are no coward, and no weakling." Sarevok shook his head, "I can understand why you did not simply dispose of Coltrane in the beginning; you had no wish to cause Merena unhappiness. However, once the snake had abandoned her, it must have been very…tempting to speed the arrival of this day by having an unfortunate accident befall him. Instead, you freed her—the 'right' way, the 'moral' way, and held to your oaths. I can respect that, even if I am grateful I am not under the same constraints myself."
Sarevok scowled. "Yet it makes my blood boil to think that scum treated my sister as he did and walked away unpunished. Retribution is owed there, still."
"Indeed it is," Anomen agreed grimly. "Even though I know Merena would not want him to come to any lasting harm—he is Kylia's father, after all—it angers me as well, to think that he was never truly brought to account for hurting Merena and Kylia. But of course," Anomen said lightly, "my oaths forbid me from taking any such action."
Anomen glanced up at Sarevok, and when their eyes met, a moment of perfect understanding passed between the two men.
Sarevok chuckled malevolently. "But how…fortunate that I am under no such restriction." He grinned at Anomen as he turned to leave. "Delryn, you are more like me than you think!"
The door closed behind Sarevok. Anomen stared at it for a moment before addressing the empty room, "By Helm, am I?"
-ooo-
Merena also woke early, and lay in bed for a time contemplating the day to come. It was hard for her to believe that the wait for this day was finally over. She wondered what Anomen was doing with his time this morning, and smiled at the thought that the previous night would be the last one they would spend apart.
With a happy sigh, she got up, dressed quickly, and made her way downstairs for breakfast. The house was quiet, most of the guests still asleep after the excitement of the night before. She made her way to the dining room, where she found Minsc sitting alone, enthusiastically working his way through an enormous breakfast. He looked up and beamed at Merena when she entered.
"Friend Merena, good morning! Have breakfast with your good friends Minsc and Boo on your special day!"
"I'd love to, Minsc. Is everything to your liking?" Merena replied, moving to the sideboard to begin filling her plate.
"Oh yes!" he boomed, "Mister Gareth has made sure that Minsc has plenty to eat, and brought some crackers for Boo!" Gareth, who was hovering nearby, looked gratified at this endorsement. Although Merena had found no fault with his service, she could tell that Gareth was still a little anxious about properly executing his greatly expanded responsibilities. She gave him a reassuring smile.
"That's wonderful, Minsc," she said, taking the chair next to him and starting to eat, "but I'm a little surprised to find you up so early."
"Knight Keldorn's wife is a very nice lady; she wanted to make sure that Minsc was dressed properly for your wedding. So Minsc and Boo got up with the sun to see the tailor! Little Imoen was supposed to be there too, but she did not come," he said, clearly a little puzzled. "Lady Maria said she would drag her out of bed if she had to," he added, matter-of-factly.
"Why am I not surprised?" Merena chuckled.
They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, but when Minsc looked up at Merena again, his eyes were sad, and his voice hesitant.
"Merena, I hope you can forgive Minsc, but he does not understand about…Kelsey. He was our friend," he added plaintively, "but now I know he is not because he hurt my good friend Merena." Minsc shook his head, "Boo has tried to explain, and little Imoen has tried, but Minsc still does not understand. Why would Kelsey hurt Merena?"
Merena sighed and rested her hand on Minsc's broad shoulder. "There's nothing to forgive, Minsc. None of us really understands why Kelsey did what he did—I know I don't! I even wonder sometimes if Kelsey truly understands it himself."
"Minsc is sorry that he was so far away when you needed him."
Merena smiled, "Thank you for that, Minsc. But you know, as painful as it was, it all turned out for the best in the end. Now I have Anomen, and I'm very happy. I hope that's not too hard to understand."
Minsc's face brightened, "Oh, Minsc understands that! When Minsc hurt his head and couldn't think very well, he was very sad. But then Minsc found Boo, and it is even better than it was! Minsc is happy, and would never want to give up Boo and go back to way it was before."
Merena stared at him for a moment, and then shook her head, chuckling. "Yes, Minsc, it is very much like that."
At that moment, Lady Maria bustled into the room. "Ah, there you are, Merena! Had your breakfast?" At Merena's nod, she continued, "Good, there's so much to do today! The hairdresser should arrive any time, but first we must have your final dress fitting. We're running a little late because of that sister of yours…" she muttered under her breath.
"Maria, I've had three fittings already!" Merena exclaimed.
"One more won't hurt, then," Maria said briskly.
Minsc had stood when Maria entered, and now asked deferentially, "Will Lady Maria need Minsc again?"
Lady Maria smiled up at him. "By noon or so the tailor should have something for you to try on, but until then, no. Why don't you ask Gareth if he needs any assistance?"
Minsc beamed, "Minsc would be proud to help with Merena's wedding!"
"Thank you, Minsc. If only everyone was so cooperative…" she said, eying Merena speculatively.
"Don't worry, I'll cooperate!" Merena smiled. "Although he tried to hide it, last night Anomen was almost quivering with worry that something might go wrong, so I'll do my part to make certain everything runs smoothly."
"That's what I like to hear." Maria exclaimed, linking her arm with Merena's and escorting her out of the room.
-ooo-
Danis glanced around to make sure no one was watching, and surreptitiously adjusted his tabard yet again. It was new, and aggravatingly, didn't fit quite right over his armor. Danis sighed. The last thing he wanted was to look slovenly on Sir Anomen's wedding day. He was honored to be asked to assist, but truth be told, he felt very out of his element. The squire looked over to where his friend Martel was stationed at the door of the temple, chatting easily with a new arrival. Danis smiled ruefully. It was easy to understand why Martel was given that task; his fellow squire knew most of the nobles of Athkatla by sight and was much more likely to spot someone who shouldn't be there. He, however…
His thoughts were cut short by the arrival of Lady Maria Firecam, Sir Keldorn's elegant and imposing wife. Danis straightened reflexively; she had always been polite and friendly to him, but still, she made him feel like his feet were two sizes too large and that he should check his clothes for food stains.
"Ah, Squire Danis, don't you look handsome!" Lady Maria smiled. "Now Danis," she said, getting down to business, "all you need do is offer your arm to the eldest lady in a group of guests, and escort them to their seats. Now unfortunately, some guests really shouldn't be seated next to certain other guests, but I'll keep an eye out and let you know if that's the case." She glanced up at him, and obviously sensing his discomfort, said, "Come now, squire, it can't be as bad as creeping into a camp of armed brigands!"
"No my lady," he replied mournfully, "it's much worse." Then, feeling that Lady Maria would think him an idiot, he blushed and looked down at his feet.
Lady Maria gave a very lady-like snort of amusement, and when he met her eyes again, she patted his arm and said, "You'll do fine, Danis." Lady Maria's words seemed prophetic, for Danis did do fine, escorting guests to their seats with no mishaps or embarrassing incidents. A few times Lady Maria gave him particular instructions for certain guests, but Danis felt he handled these special cases as smoothly as the rest.
The temple started to fill as the hour of the ceremony drew near, and Danis began to relax at the thought that his duties would soon be over. Then, to his surprise, he heard Lady Maria utter what sounded like a very unlady-like oath under her breath, shake her head and mutter, "Imoen said two!" He followed her gaze toward the temple door where Martel, looking distinctly flummoxed, was speaking to one of a large group of garishly dressed gnomes.
She turned to Danis and said, "I shall have to take care of this," in an exasperated tone that Danis was glad was not directed at him. "But I don't want to leave you here alone…" Her eyes narrowed for a moment, and then her face brightened. "Of course!"
"Leona!" Lady Firecam called, and one of the girls in a brightly dressed gaggle standing nearby, responded immediately and joined them.
"Yes, Mama?"
"Leona, dear, could you please help Squire Danis…just make sure that people who hate each other don't get seated too close together. I have a gnome situation to deal with," she added grimly. "Squire, this is my eldest daughter, Leona, she'll take care of you," she said shortly, before hurrying off to assist Martel.
Danis had, of course, noticed the group of girls earlier, but had restricted himself to brief glances in their direction. In his experience, drawing the attention of groups of girls larger than two usually caused them to giggle in a most disconcerting fashion, which invariably put him at a loss for words. Consequently, he had not inspected them closely enough to identify individual members of the pack. By Helm, I hope she's not a giggler! Danis thought desperately.
He looked down into the face of the girl standing before him, and caught his breath. She had the same golden hair and cornflower-blue eyes as her mother, but in the daughter, Lady Maria's regal beauty was transformed and softened; no less appealing, but less intimidating. Leona was dressed in something filmy and blue that, to Danis' inexpert eyes, looked altogether enchanting.
Fortunately for Danis, Leona was not a giggler, nor, unlike the squire, was she at a loss for words. Her face brightened; she bobbed a quick curtsey, held out her hand to Danis, and said breathlessly, "Danis? Oh, my father has mentioned you! You were one of the squires who helped Sir Anomen rescue all those people from those awful brigands!"
Danis took her hand and bowed over it briefly, trying desperately not to blush, stammer, or step on her feet. "Yes, my lady, I am," he replied, searching his mind frantically for something to say that would not make him sound like a half-wit.
If Leona felt he was not holding up his end of the conversation, she gave no sign. "Isn't it romantic?" she sighed. "Mama says that Sir Anomen has been in love with Merena practically forever—four or five years, at least! But then she fell in love with that dreadful sorcerer, so of course Sir Anomen had to step aside." She shook her head, "It's just awful how that man treated her, but Sir Anomen kept loving her through it all, and now they can finally be together." She glanced up at Danis, and smiled shyly, "Imagine having someone love you that much."
Danis had heard bits and pieces of why Anomen and Merena had not married before now, but this was the first time he had heard the tale in full. Honestly, romantic was not the word he would have used to describe the situation; he had seen how Anomen and Merena looked at each other, and had absolutely no doubts about depths of Anomen's devotion to his lady. Ever-practical Danis could only think how utterly ghastly it must have been for Anomen to love her so much and have her take up with someone else. But he was not about to say that to the lovely creature before him, who was looking at him as if she was truly interested in what he had to say.
He returned her shy smile, "Yes, Lady Leona, it's very romantic."