DISCLAIMER: I own Fiare. Everything else is owned by Patricia C. Wrede and her publishing company.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yadda yadda yadda… thanks for reviewing! Yes, I know the first part was kinda short, but I wrote it in a burst of energy at three in the morning… oh well. I think I might make that a prologue, it's really too short to be a chapter. This one is mostly background, but it sets things up so you understand where I think I want to go. Besides, you think I'd keep you in the dark as to what happened between Talking to Dragons and my story? **grins** Also, Hyzenthlay, I think I know you… or know OF you at least. **starts singing It's A Small World After All** Thanks to Hippy Gypsy for suggesting The Second Wielding as a title, although I'm sorry, but I can't use it because Daystar is not wielding the Sword of the Sleeping King. **grins** You'll find out why later. But it did give me an idea. How about The Second Venture as a title? Please tell me yes, no, or stop bothering us and go home when you review! -Noala
In the late afternoon sunlight, tinted green as it filtered through the leaves of the giant trees, Daystar had to admit that some of the novelty was wearing off. The ghost of adventure and of some unnamable want hadn't died, but it had taken refuge and would probably not be seen for a long time. Daystar was walking through the Enchanted Forest, bearing as the only signs of his royal nature his distinguishing looks and an air of authority that had grown in leaps and bounds in five years. Other than that, he looked as common as he had when he and his mother Cimorene had lived in the small cottage of his youth: his clothes were plain, he wore no crown, had a no nonsense haircut preferred by many of the noblemen he had met, and his sword's hilt and its scabbard were wrapped in strips of leather.
Daystar at last consented to himself that he needed to stop and rest. He found a small glen with a few rocks in it after a minute of searching, and after he checked to make sure the rocks weren't enchanted, he settled down on the largest. His large water bottle hung from his belt; the level was low, and Daystar decided to refill it the next time he came to fresh water. He had been walking most of the day with little stops for water every once in awhile, but he understood that he'd have to pace himself a little better if he wanted to be any good for traveling later on. After all, this time he didn't have a fire witch, a kitten, or a young dragon to hold him back….
I wonder what they're all doing right now, he thought. Let's see…Shiara is probably still with Father, discussing one of Telemain's new spells or some diplomatic problem or other, Kazul must be asking for dinner, Mother is probably honoring her with chocolate mousse and currently covered in some powdery baking ingredient. Morwen and Telemain…? Those two might already have returned home, or they might have stayed the night; they do have the baby to worry about after all. Daystar smiled unconsciously as he thought of the squirming bundle of energy known as Fiare, something that not even the gargoyle could hope to deal with and have everything come out as expected. In her seven months of life Fiare had already proven herself quite adept at wreaking all sorts of imaginative havoc around the castle, most of which gave everyone a good laugh as they helped to clean up. Yes, they had probably gone home, and saved the castle from more accidents.
He smiled again as he remembered why those particular people had come to the castle two days ago; and how they had reacted when he spilled his news….
~*~*~
It was the fifth anniversary of the day of what had come to be known as the Last Battle, the day when Daystar gained a father, and the kingdom regained a king. Things had transpired quickly after that. Shiara and Kazul had left for the Mountains of Morning, Telemain and Morwen had left for the cottage, and the royal family had settled into its new routines as gracefully as they could manage. For the first year everyone was too busy with mopping up after the war to do anything else, even feel very sad when Morwen lost the baby she was carrying. The second year, most of the effects of the war had been dealt with, but the beurocratic and diplomatic half began to creep up on them. Morwen and Telemain were frequent visitors, and much more often than not, worked as an "extended branch" of the royal family so Mendanbar, Cimorene, and Daystar could have some peace. The two of them had no problems with it, and enjoyed it most of the time. But around that time Telemain began to tinker not only with other people's spells and formulae, but his own as well; he had found the bug of creation again and it had bit him big-time. Morwen was very pleased by this development and she and Telemain had gradually retreated to the cottage where they could work with fewer interruptions, leaving more and more of the work to the royal family. Shiara and Kazul were experiencing similar difficulties; the repercussions of the Wizards' War would take a long time to fade. Kazul could not be spared from administrative work, and as Kazul's new Princess, Shiara was as in the thick of things as Cimorene had been almost twenty-five years earlier, perhaps more so. Her blunt nature and her ability to say things that no one could put delicately were making her an invaluable asset to King Kazul. Neither of them could often be spared for even the time it took to make a short call, much less fly to the forest and back. Three years after the Last Battle the royal family had managed to take a break and do some house cleaning, and organize a tournament that had ended with lots of eggs. But after that it had gotten busy again, with giants, nightshades, Silverstaff elves… there had been little or no time for Daystar to go off on his own. But his adventure had shown him he had a love of the quest, and the tournament had shown him that there was more out there than endless piles of paperwork. He'd have to deal with enough of that when he was King, a time he hoped wouldn't come for many years, and right then his relatively young blood sang out for adventure. He had once thought that he was acting like several young idiots his age in this want of adventure, but what they wanted was the glory, and all he wanted was to be doing something. Something besides push paper. Something interesting.
Sometime in the fourth year, he had begun sneaking away from meetings where he wasn't really needed and researching various topics in the castle's gigantic library. He had read about famous dragons (even though he had absolutely no intentions of getting into a fight with one, much less being impolite and getting eaten), trolls, giants, and various other nasties. He read biographies of famous knights, kings, younger princesses, virtuous woodcutter's sons, and anyone else who had deemed their experiences worthy of being put on paper, although he could tell as he read that most of these heroes had very inflated egos. Still, he took to heart what seemed to be good advice, sifted out the useless jargon, and began to understand just what a quest was about. Then it was on to weapons… the research took him three quarters of a year. It was only a matter of a day to find if there was a suitable weapon in the Armory; he could not take the Sword of the Sleeping King outside the Enchanted Forest. But this sword was definitely suitable for his purposes. He waited three months before retrieving the sword; all they needed at that time was a false alarm that most people would take for more wizards. He carefully arranged his plans and waited for an opportunity to present itself; and finally, his parents had provided him with the perfect occasion.
King Mendanbar's aversion to formal occasions was very well known, but Queen Cimorene (with help from Willin, Daystar suspected) had managed to convince him that the fifth anniversary of the end of the Wizards' War and his own liberation deserved to be recognized. Everyone who had participated in any way was coming, from Dobbilan and Ballimore to the last of Morwen's cats and the elves. Every fire wizard who had settled in the Enchanted Forest, and a good chunk of those who hadn't, had said they were coming, and they were even expecting one or two of Cimorene's sisters to show up. Most important of all to Daystar though was the fact that every single one of the dragons was coming… and their princesses as well. Kazul and Shiara were flying in early, to help arrange accommodations for that number of dragons for the three days the celebration would last. Daystar was uncertain what Shiara's reaction would be when he told her his plans, but he was fairly certain she wouldn't like being kept in the dark with everyone else.
Two days before the celebration began Daystar was standing at the window at the top of the tallest tower in the castle, squinting into the morning sun and waiting for a certain familiar shape to appear over the tree tops… There it was! A dark blur was growing on the face of the sun, becoming more and more defined by the moment. Soon he could make out the shapes of tiny wings beating up and down like some parody of a bird's, although he couldn't see the smaller blur he was sure would be on the back of the larger. His eyes cleared as he turned from the window and raced down the stairs, nearly breaking his neck as he took most of them two at a time.
He burst out of the kitchen door and onto the wide lawn generally called The Dragons' Landing to see his mother, father, and Willin welcoming the guests to the castle. Cimorene was giving Shiara a sisterly hug as Mendanbar chatted with Kazul and Willin looked on with a faint semblance of shock at the informality. Daystar was walking towards the group when he heard the door open behind him again, and he turned his head to see Morwen and Telemain, who had arrived the night before, step through at a more sedate pace than he himself had taken. The former was carrying a squirming bundle of arms and legs and the latter a sturdy bag marked "Distractions- use only in emergency". From that bag could be produced almost anything needed to trap the active Fiare's attention long enough to save some painting or priceless rug from destruction. The family followed Daystar's path to the gathering, Morwen and Telemain smiling slightly as Kazul broke off her talk with Mendanbar to coo at Fiare.
Daystar didn't waste time; he directed a quick, polite hello at Kazul, then grabbed Shiara's wrist and led her rapidly away, ignoring her protests. He also ignored a knowing look that passed between Cimorene, Morwen, and Kazul; let them think what they will, the crush he had had on Shiara at sixteen had dissolved, leaving them as good friends, but nothing either of them could say would make the others believe that. Daystar led Shiara around the outside of the castle, then hushed her with a gesture and pulled one of the invisible strings of magic radiating through the forest, making them disappear from the lawn and appear in the library he had spent so much time in recently.
Shiara definitely didn't look too pleased. "Daystar, what is going on?"
Daystar sighed. "Shiara, this is important, will you please be quiet long enou-"
"You drag me away without letting me say hello to Telemain or Morwen or the baby, or your father for that matter, don't tell me what you're doing, and expect me to keep quiet?"
"Not you I don't," he muttered. "Shiara, just shut up for a minute." His voice had quite a distinct edge in it.
Her eyes widened and she took a step back, almost shocked into silence by the uncharacteristic sharp tone of voice. He took the opportunity. "Thank you. I'm leaving after the celebration."
Shiara blinked. "Why? You couldn't be bored, you certainly have enough to do here."
"That's just it Shiara, there's too much to do here. All of it the same, and all of it boring. Look at it." He slowly walked over to one of the three tall, skinny windows and stared out at the Enchanted Forest. After a moment Shiara followed, the skirt of the very practical dress she wore brushing against table legs and chair arms. "One day, all of that will be mine. I know it by heart - on paper. We've been too busy with forms and documents and this ambassador needs to sign this and that emissary needs to approve that for me to see much of it. I think I saw more five years ago when I didn't know who I was than I have since then." He turned to look at her, and his face held traces of regret, longing, and something else she couldn't identify. "I want to be a good king," he whispered, "and I know all the paperwork now will teach me management for when I really need it, but there's more to the Enchanted Forests than Willin's lists. And beyond it too. My whole life I've existed in two places, the cottage and the castle, except for those few days when I didn't belong in either place." She knew he meant their adventure. Daystar fell silent for a minute, staring mutely out the window and off into the trees. Then he spoke so quietly she had to strain to hear him. "And I don't really belong here until I do this."
Shiara tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you really have to do this?"
He nodded wordlessly, that same longing expression on his face.
She dropped her hand and stepped back a pace, crossing her arms across her chest as she did so. "Then you should do it." Her voice was firm, but not stubborn. "You're miserable here now, and I certainly don't blame you, if your work has been anything like mine… you're not meant to sit behind a desk. So get out! Go! Nothing's stopping you. Unless your own sense of honor is."
She had hit it. His honor would not let him leave without someone's prior approval. He felt like a weight had been lifted, and his decision was indeed the right one. He grinned abruptly and turned to face her. "Thanks Shiara. Now you get to help me pack." He tugged on her hair, which had grown exceptionally long in the past few years, as he strode out of the library to his room.
Daystar had stood at the height of the feast on the last day of the celebration. When he had gotten everyone's attention, he had announced his intents to leave. The news was clearly not a surprise to some. Telemain looked mildly startled, but Morwen was wearing a typical "I-told-you-so" look as she struggled to contain Fiare. Shiara had an outright defiant expression and grinning at the same time, while Kazul seemed amused. Mendanbar looked first surprised, then resigned and proud, and Cimorene…
~*~*~
If I didn't know better, I would say Mother seemed triumphant. Daystar's mind returned to his glen of tall trees and sun-warmed rocks. Although she couldn't have known… He smiled amusedly. Hadn't he learned, years ago, not to underestimate what his mother knew?
A rustling in the bushes that partially ringed the clearing drew his attention. Daystar was on his feet in moments, hand on his sword hilt and ready to cast a spell if necessary, as he berated himself for dropping his guard. The rustle came again, a bit louder and slightly to the left. For several moment he watched with his ears, not his eyes; he let his ears track the movements of the thing in the bushes as he mind ran through the worst case scenarios… it could be a nightshade, of a wolf pack, or a wizard, or an ogre…
It came again, several feet to the left of where it had started. He shifted to face it and drew his sword with a metallic ring. "Who, or what, are you?"
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ooooh, cliffhanger! Sorry, sorry sorry… just think of it like an old-fashioned radio show. Those always ended with the hero dangling above a volcano or tied to railroad tracks or about to die in some other creative way. So you'll have to wait till the next one to find out what's about to jump out of those bushes. Remember to review!
