Mars Colony Clinic

Trynity excused herself and quickly left the clinic and her patients behind to return to her house. She was out of breath when she finally made it inside and pressed the button to the telecom. Quynn's face appeared on the screen. She appeared to be in her uniform and from the backdrop, Trynity guessed that she was already sitting in the Deathscythe.

"Hey, Mom, you made great time!" Quynn was grinning. "One minute thirty-two seconds from patient to telecom!"

Trynity was relieved to see that her daughter could still smile. "I hoped you would stop here before going back to work."

"I was going to, but there was a little trouble on the second moon that Lord Duo had to take care of before he left. So we got back a little later than he intended and I am on duty."

"Are you all right?" There was so much more that Trynity wanted to say to her daughter, but the telecom just didn't seem like the right communication. What she really wanted was to hold her in her arms and stroke her hair like she would do when Quynn was a little girl and had skinned her knee or gotten a sliver. Of course what had happened to her was far more serious than that, but Trynity still felt that she could still soothe her daughter's pain.

"I'm fine. I wasn't too good at first, but then I met this amazing man!" Trynity guessed who before Quynn blurted his name. "Lord Apolo! I know you are acquainted with him! I can't believe you actually had your hands on that gorgeous specimen!"

Trynity laughed. "Slow down, Quynn. I had my hands on him for medical reasons and no other."

"He held my hands and spoke to me, and suddenly I felt better. Somehow, he just gave me peace of mind." Quynn sighed dreamily. "He is so adorable that I cannot believe he doesn't have a wife. Then again, what woman would want to share him?"

"I'm glad he was able to help you." Trynity still would rather have been with her. "Did you enjoy your stay on Calabria?"

"I didn't go to Calabria. When I first got there, I just wanted to hide in my room, so I stayed at Lord Duo's palace on the second moon. Mom, the place is huge! He has so many servants that I didn't learn any of their names. And I have never seen so much butt-kissing in my entire life!"

Trynity glanced around her own modest home, which was strewn with the mess Stryfe and his grandfather had made. Trynity hadn't straightened up in at least three days because she had been so exhausted after work. She shrugged and scolded herself for comparing her lifestyle to Duo's. There was no competition between them.

Quynn went on. "My bedroom was bigger than our entire house!"

Trynity's shoulders slumped. "That's nice."

"Prince Amyr's room had a swimming pool! Well, they called it a bathing pool, but…"

"Hold on!" Trynity frowned at her daughter. "What were you doing in Prince Amyr's room?"

Quynn's face turned a dark shade of pink. "I was just showing him to his room when he arrived. Taeron was with us! Anyway, a servant told me that Lord Duo's sleeping chamber is even bigger and grander than that of the crowned prince! You will have to let me know." She winked.

Trynity gasped. "Quynn! What kind of a remark was that? I doubt I will ever see it! Lord Duo has gone back to his life. You said yourself that he had problems to take care of…"

"Prince Amyr is taking care of them."

"What?" Trynity didn't dare hope that Duo was returning. Her heart would be broken if she learned otherwise.

"You had better clean up the house, Mom. Duo Maxwell is coming to call on you."

Trynity spun around and looked frantically to all corners of the house. She had no time! She had patients to see!

"He won't arrive for a few hours. Heero had to finish up some paperwork to grant them diplomatic immunity because Winner wants Taeron arrested for murder."

"Taeron is with him?"

"Lord Duo is bringing Shamara back to Mars Colony. That girl can't make up her mind about Prince Dagan! First she wants him, then she doesn't. Now she wants him again."

Trynity hid her disappointment. Duo was returning for Shamara's sake and not to see her again. "Mr. Winner isn't going to be happy about their return."

"Especially when they take away his wizard. Heero is writing an official order form the Cinq Kingdom to release Prince Dagan or Winner will face arrest. I'm hoping he'll get arrested."

Trynity was too but she didn't say so. "He's been quiet since Malik's death."

"You don't really think he is mourning, do you?" Quynn made a sound of disgust. "I only wish Taeron had time to finish off Winner while he was at it. Malik was bragging about killing Pops." She slammed her hand down and alarms started sounding from her gundam. "Oops! Oh my God! I think I may have incinerated Sam's cubicle. He is going to be so pissed, Mom! He treats the Deathscythe like it's his child! He was so happy when I returned to show me his 'office.' Now I've wrecked it!"

Trynity raised her brow. Could a couple of weeks with Duo Maxwell actually rub off on Quynn? Or did she have it in her all the while? "Quynn, you didn't tell Sam about your real father, did you?"

"I didn't have the heart, Mom. When he heard that Lord Duo had returned, he was ranting about not letting Duo Maxwell within a hundred meters of the gundam."

Trynity nodded. "They didn't have a good relationship."

"Well, I have to get back to work now. There's a mess to clean up. I'll check back with you in a few days to see how far you've gotten with Duo Maxwell." She winked and the screen blanked.

Trynity went to Stryfe's room and pounded on the door. "Wake up! I need you to clean!"

Her father exited from a door further down the hall, his shaggy, graying hair tousled, wearing the now rumpled clothing he had slept in. "What's all the racket? Can't a man get some sleep?"

Trynity took a step back. "Father! You were drinking! Did you and Stryfe go into the village last night after I went to bed?" Without waiting for an answer from her groggy father, she pounded on Stryfe's door again and she heard him swear. Then she heard him say something, but it was muffled. The feminine giggle that followed was not.

"Stryfe! Do you have a woman in there?" Trynity was furious.

"Mom, don't burst a vein!" he called out, then swore again. "It isn't what you think!"

The door opened and a young woman stumbled out. Her clothing was also disheveled so Trynity was relieved to see that Stryfe hadn't been cavorting with females under her roof. The woman fell to her knees and promptly vomited on the floor.

"Stryfe!" Trynity didn't think the day could get much worse.

Sudden pounding at the door was accompanied frantic shouts. "Dr. Nelson! Dr. Nelson, my wife needs you!"

"Just a minute!" Trynity turned to look at the groaning men. "Clean this mess up! And get this…this…"

"Dr. Nelson, my wife says the baby is coming now!"

Trynity went to the door and jerked it open. A terrified man stood holding his pregnant wife. She had never seen them before, but that didn't surprise her. These ignorant people didn't think pre-natal care was necessary, but when it came time to drop the child they wanted her to be there to catch it. More often than not the baby had complications that could have been avoided by having a doctor monitor its development.

"Doctor?" He was still standing in the doorway. Trynity could see that her water had broken on her doorstep and the woman was groaning and wincing as her contractions came one after another.

To determine if there was time to take her back to the clinic, Trynity checked her, then shook her head. "The baby's head is already half out! Put her in…" she saw that the man was about to faint. "Stryfe, take the woman to my room."

He trudged to the man and gently took his wife, then headed to Trynity's bedroom, sidestepping the vomit and woman who was heaving again. "Father, get this woman out of here!" Trynity ordered.

"No need to shout!"

"I'm not shouting!" But she shouted loud enough to make him groan. Stryfe had helped the delivering woman to sit up in the right position to deliver. "Very good, son. You would make an excellent nurse."

"I suppose you need boiled water. I need to make some lunch anyway." Stryfe was grumbling as he shuffled out. The woman's husband entered and sat on a chair, whining every time his wife moaned. Trynity coaxed the woman, and in no time, she delivered a healthy boy. Her father arrived with the water and towels, but he did nothing more to help. Trynity cleaned the baby and handed it to the woman, and as her and her husband ogled their precious child, Trynity looked at the mess on her bed.

"It's ruined," she predicted. "Now I'll have to sleep at the clinic while the Calabrians are here."

"The Calabrians are coming?" Her father raised his brow. "Does this mean I will have a chance to poke Duo Maxwell in the nose for abandoning you?"

She raised a brow. "Father, I don't think you could land the blow. Besides, it wasn't all his fault."

"Sounds like you are melting like butter," he chuckled.

"I'm just stating a fact. If Stryfe has finished cooking, then I would like him to take the mother and her child to the clinic for observation. I need to clean my house."

"I don't think you will be able to get to that any time soon." Dr. Stryfe nodded toward the bed. "I'm no expert, but I think that woman is having another baby."

Trynity spun around to look. "Damn! Twins! Tell Stryfe to boil more water."

The second baby was more difficult to deliver as it presented itself breech. Trynity had dealt with the problem before at the infirmary on L12, but not here in such primitive conditions. The mother labored for three more hours, and Trynity thought it might be dangerous to move her. In the end, she had to reach in and turn the baby herself, then brought a baby girl into the world. The mother was exhausted and passed out, the father had fainted, and Dr. Stryfe sat rocking the baby boy. Trynity wasn't sure what to do with the girl.

"I'll take her."

Her head snapped around and she saw that Duo was in the doorway. "You're early! I wasn't expecting you for hours."

"Actually," he said as he carefully took the child from her, "I am late. There was a minor scuffle at the spaceport. Winner's men tried to grab Taeron for an old-fashioned lynching."

"He wasn't hurt, was he?" Trynity kept her attention on the woman and was relieved when she stopped bleeding.

"Taeron?" Duo chuckled. "He's an imperial guard, Trynity, and the best of the lot."

He sounded quite proud of his son. Trynity was glad they had developed a healthy relationship. She looked over her shoulder to see that he was wiping the baby. "I'm sorry about the greeting or lack thereof."

Duo chuckled. "I was a little surprised by the vomit all over your couch."

"On my couch!" Trynity was going to kill Stryfe for bringing that woman into her home.

"So, where is a diaper. I'll show you how handy I am with a baby."

"Too bad you weren't around seventeen years ago to show us," grunted Dr. Stryfe. The baby was sucking on his finger.

If the old coot were within range, Trynity would kick him.

Duo took a spare cloth and proceeded to efficiently diaper the baby in a style that Trynity didn't recognize. "There. I call it 'The Imperial.' As for your remark, Dr. Stryfe, I'm not going to bother responding. I know I disappointed you, sir, but at the time I thought I was doing the right thing." He tucked the baby in his arm after wrapping it in a configuration Trynity guessed was Calabrian. The newborn seemed content. Trynity was impressed.

"You'll have to teach me that technique," she said with a laugh. The husband of the mother roused himself and was embarrassingly profuse in his thanks. When he took his daughter in his arms, there were tears in his eyes, and Trynity noticed that Duo looked away.

"I had better check on Shamara. She offered to help Stryfe clean." He walked out without looking at Trynity.

She wanted to cry and had to fight back tears. The mother was still sleeping and beginning a normal recovery, so Trynity arranged a makeshift nursery by emptying two drawers and padding them with some sheets. As Dr. Stryfe laid the baby boy in one drawer, the father sat in a chair by the bed to wait for his wife to awaken.

After changing in the bathroom, Trynity picked up a picture frame from her dresser that now showed a shot of Quynn and Stryfe which was taken at the academy only a year ago. By pressing a button, she changed the picture to another when they were just toddlers.

"Why don't you give that to Maxwell?" asked her father from over her shoulder. "He might like to see the childhood of the children you cheated him of."

Trynity took a breath to keep from exploding. Her patients didn't need to see her beat her father into a bloody pulp. "I don't need your advice!" She walked past him, but she heard him chuckling when she left the room. She should put him in a home for the mentally unstable!

In the living room, Taeron stood leaning against a wall with his arms folded as he watched Shamara who was kneeling on the floor with a scrub brush in her hand, a confused and disoriented look on her face. Trynity doubted she could use the scrub brush. Stryfe was slouched in a chair snoring.

"Stryfe! Get up and help the princess!" She crossed the room to him and slapped him across the head. "This whole mess is your fault."

Stryfe rubbed his head. "It was Gramps' idea to go into the village. We ran into this group of Winner's thugs bothering that woman, so we helped her. Then we all went to a bar, and Gramps had this idea of a drinking game and…"

"My God! I can't believe I once thought he might be a good father-figure!" She looked around the room, and not seeing Duo, she was afraid he had gone out to lament the missing years of his children's lives by swinging his nasty sword.

"He's in the kitchen," spoke up Taeron.

Trynity braced herself, and clutching the frame album, she pushed the door open and walked into the kitchen. She almost laughed when she saw him scrounging in the refrigerator because the scene was reminiscent of the many times he could be found in the kitchen at Seaside Lab doing just the same.

"Is this edible?" she heard him ask. After a moment he answered himself. "Probably not."

"I doubt there is anything edible in the refrigerator," she said.

Duo bumped his head as he straightened, and all the contents on one shelf rattled. "Do you use this to store your research?"

"I don't do much research, and if there is any research in there, it is probably Stryfe's. His job is to cook and clean the kitchen. I think he's researching the limits of my patience with the bad job he's doing. Have a seat, and I'll throw something together."

Duo looked skeptical, but he sat on a stool near the chopping counter. Trynity put the picture album before him. "I thought you might like to see this. I have a few of them around the house, but these were my favorite pictures."

He didn't pick it up. "I can't take back the missing years. They aren't my children. You and Lars raised them."

She turned away to open a cupboard so that he couldn't see that she was hurt. Trynity thought he was rejecting her children. "You claimed Taeron."

"I've known Taeron since he was born because I have had to work with his mother in establishing governments on both moons. He's been nipping at my heels since he could walk. Holding that baby girl made me realize that I wanted one, that I was glad when Larya asked me to father her daughter."

Trynity was torn up inside by jealously of the other woman. Duo hadn't made any overtures toward her, even that one night in his room she had been the one to throw herself at him. He had a far different life in the Calabrian system in which she had no part and probably never would. "Did you see her while you were back?"

"We attended Shamara's betrothal together."

"Shamara is betrothed?" Trynity turned around. "What are you doing back here then?" Trynity dared to hope again that he had come for her.

"Now she wants Dagan again. Truth is, the man who pledged to marry her, Avar of Teralon, had already picked another flower in Trey's garden. Shamara's sister, Chaela, is in love with him and he claims to love her. He promised to marry Shamara out of some sense of duty to his father. Now Chaela is knocked up and Shamara has come to get Dagan back to challenge Avar for the right to marry her." Duo chuckled as he absent-mindedly picked up the picture frame. "I see Lars must have been with you when they were born."

She refused to feel guilty. "I don't know what I would have done without him. Relena made plans to be with me, but they came early as twins often do."

"Good old Lars was around to lend a helping hand." Duo looked from the picture to Trynity. "I'm sorry I said that. I should be grateful that he was there for you when I wasn't."

She raised her chin. "Lars was a saint! He loved me even at my worst. When I was struggling through medical school, he left his post with the Cinq Kingdom command to take care of the children. He took an endless succession of odd jobs so that he could support us and still have time to be there for us. He devoted his life to me."

"I'm sorry I didn't," said Duo sadly. "I thought I was making a noble sacrifice."

"You did make a noble sacrifice." Their eyes met. His were glistening with tears that matched her own. He slid off the chair, and Trynity took a step toward him.

The kitchen door banged open. "Is anyone cooking in here?" Her father scratched his head. "Someone should tell that pretty young princess how to scrub. She's got water all over the place. I think your carpet is ruined."

"Father, you are a jackass!" Trynity marched out of the kitchen.

"Well, there goes my chance for a meal," sighed Duo as he sat down and picked up the frame album. Although it hurt to see the different stages their children had gone through without him, he was mollified by the fact that they appeared very happy. At first he was annoyed to see Lars in pictures, then he became amused as he saw the lummox in many undignified fatherly poses. Lars had been a good father. Duo couldn't have done better.

"You broke my heart."

Duo looked up to see Dr. Stryfe staring at him. "If I had known…"

"Even if that wormhole had opened up to let you back in, I would have forbidden her from accepting you back!" Dr. Stryfe was furious. "She was crushed! I couldn't believe you would do such a thing because I thought you understood how fragile her feelings were. But I was wrong. You were just a punk who wanted to get into her pants."

Duo didn't think before throwing a punch that sent the older man to the floor. He stood over him rubbing his knuckles. "I'd like nothing better than to give you what you deserve, old man, for making her grow up in a pile of wires and gundanium without any parents."

"You're going to beat up a senior citizen?" Dr. Stryfe struggled to stand. He rubbed his jaw. "That was a good hit on an old codger."

"You think you owe me one?" Duo pointed to his jaw. He doubted old man Stryfe knew how to make a fist. "Put one right here."

To his surprise, Dr. Stryfe seized a cutting board and slammed it against Duo's head. Duo fell to the floor in a daze, but he could hear Dr. Stryfe laughing, then suddenly he heard Trynity shout at him in outrage.

"What have you done! Father!"

"He hit me first!"

"Good one Gramps. Looks like you knocked him silly."

Duo was watching little explosions of light until Trynity's face appeared before him and she lightly slapped his cheek. "Duo, can you hear me?" She turned away. "Father, I'm not going to forgive you for this!"

"I'll just add that to the list." Both he and Stryfe were laughing. Duo felt himself chuckling.

"See! He's fine."

Duo shook his head, and he pushed off Trynity's helping hands. "I'm all right. But I think I had better lie down."

"I'll show you to a room."

"Oh no you don't!" Dr. Stryfe hurried forward to grab Duo's arm. "I know that old trick. First you show him to the room, then the rest of us wait a couple hours before you come out explaining that you had a lot to talk about. Funny thing, we wouldn't have heard much coherent discussion."

"Father!" Trynity's face was almost the same shade as her hair.

Duo chuckled. "I guess he's no fool. Lead the way, sir."

"You will be bunking with Stryfe. I'd keep you with me, but I'm a pretty heavy sleeper, so I don't trust you to go sneaking off like an alley cat to…"

"Father! You have gone too far!" Trynity picked up a pan.

Duo pushed him out of the room. "Better move or you'll get hurt."

Duo could hear Stryfe trying to calm his mother. Taeron raised a brow as they past and Duo was sure he was wondering what was going on. Shamara was on the floor scrubbing, but she was obviously disgusted by the vomit because she was avoiding it. Duo snorted with laughter, which earned him an imperial glare. He would tease her later about her foolish offer to help.

Dr. Stryfe waited until he was settled on Stryfe's bed before leaving, but he stopped at the door. "You aren't here to break her heart, are you?"

Duo put his arms behind his head and smiled at him. "I'm taking her back with me, sir. I'm warning you not to get in my way."

He chuckled. "Just tell me what I can do to help. She needs to get away from this place, and I think she might do it for you, Duo Maxwell." Then he left Duo alone.

As he stared at the ceiling, Duo wondered if Dr. Stryfe were right. The physicist wasn't particularly noted for his understanding of his own daughter, but Duo thought that he probably knew Trynity better now than he had in the past. At least he had his consent. How would he feel if Duo picked her up and carried her away over his shoulder? How would her children feel?

After a short nap, the aching in Duo's head had subsided. Exiting the room, he found that Shamara had quit the cleaning duty and turned to nursing by helping the woman with her two new babies. Stryfe had cleaned the mess, and the house was looking neat and comfortable. Taeron, Stryfe and his grandfather were examining the scrolls that Duo realized they had forgotten. Trynity had returned to the clinic, and Duo thought it might be unwise to bother her when she was busy. She seemed a bit flustered by his arrival anyway. Duo wondered if her house was usually in a state of chaos. He was so used to having servants around that he had forgotten what it was like to pick up after himself. Judging from Stryfe's room, he had never learned.

Stryfe left his grandfather's side. "Are you feeling better, Lord Duo?"

"I might be if I learn there has been some progress in the making of a meal."

"I have found edible fare," volunteered Taeron.

Although Duo enjoyed Calabrian food, he was hoping to eat what was not available in his own home.

"How about mac and cheese?" suggested Stryfe. "It doesn't take long and it fills you up."

"As long as your mother doesn't make it. The last time she made it for me…"

"When did she ever cook for you?" scoffed Dr. Stryfe.

"I worked up an appetite on some of those moonlit walks on the beach." Duo smiled as he remembered.

"I've heard about them!" Stryfe laughed, and Duo felt uncomfortable with the memory so he pushed it to the back of his mind for some later time.

"Anyway, she served me one huge orange, spongy ball. Seems it got a little pasty and she didn't know how to deal with it."

"What did you do?" asked Stryfe.

"It was either get hit by it or eat it, and I thought I would be safer if I ate it." Duo laughed. "She was so happy that I ate her creation that I didn't have the heart to tell her she forgot half the ingredients."

Stryfe sighed. "The Trynity Stryfe Nelson that you know and that I know are two different people."

Duo felt sorry that she had changed and he knew that he had been responsible.

"My lord," spoke up Taeron. "These people have translated part of the text from the cave. Shamara is mentioned several times."

"It appears to be the insane ranting of madman caught on this planet," Dr. Stryfe told them.

"It is a curse," agreed Stryfe. "Gramps and I are not in agreement that the curse is called down on Shamara, however. I believe the curse is intended for what he calls the sacred shield."

"The symbols are similar," argued his grandfather, "but I am quite certain that the individual was calling upon Shamara."

"Gramps, will you open your eyes and look! The symbols clearly state 'sacred shield.'"

"Stryfe, your work is careless, but what can I expect from the shallow gene pool you have to work with."

"You are both right." They all turned to see Shamara standing in the doorway. "My name is a prayer that Calabrian warriors shout as they go into battle. You have done so yourself, Lord Duo, yet you do not know what it means."

"What does it mean?" asked Duo curiously. Many Calabrian men shouted the word before fighting.

"It is a word to invoke the sacred shield of the gods to protect them in battle." She came forward and looked down at the scripts on the page. "To curse the sacred shield is a great blasphemy. Whatever man was trapped on this planet was truly evil." Shamara reached down to touch the symbol for Camridaeus, and Duo barely had enough time to catch her as her eyes fluttered shut and she became limp.

She opened her eyes to find herself in the cave, but it was lit by a fire that flickered. Shamara was having difficulty breathing, and she became aware of another person in the cave. A man was panting as he carved into the stone wall, muttering the accursed words as he pressed a pointed stone into the rock with such strength that his hand bled as the symbols formed.

"Who are you?" she asked after taking a few breaths. Shamara realized that the planet was far different from the one she had left to enter this trance.

He turned his head to look at her, and she gasped. Shamara recognized the face of the man she had previously seen paired with Dagan. "You know who I am. And I know who you are, sacred shield."

There was such hatred in his voice that she stepped quickly away from him.

"I do not know you!" she insisted.

He dropped to his knees before her, and his bloody hands grasped the hem of her clothing. "Why did you betray me? How could you leave me?"

"I…I do not know…" Shamara was frightened of the man.

He raised his face to her. "One day I will avenge myself on you! I curse you, Shamara. I call upon all my minions to destroy you!"

The man fell back, his breathing irregular. She cautiously approached him and reached out her hand unsteadily.

"Ulfyna," he murmured with what appeared to be his last breath.

"Shamara!"

She turned away from him and saw Dagan approaching her. "He is dying. I must help."

"Who?"

Shamara turned back and found that she was no longer in the cave, and in the spot where the man had been lying, the wolf was resting. Shamara felt a shiver run down her spine. "He was here just a moment ago."

"Who?" repeated Dagan.

"I don't know, but he seemed to think I should." She sighed. "I guess I am over-tired from the journey."

Dagan took her hand and helped her to her feet. She had no time to react when he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. There was no denying the pleasure she felt as he slid his arms around her waist and drew her closer. Sighing, she slipped her own arms around his neck. He lifted her and laid her gently on the ground.

"I have been thinking, princess," he said as he lay beside her and propped himself up on an elbow. "We should marry before we return to Calabria."

"My parents would be very disappointed to not witness my vows," she said. "Besides, you must challenge Avar. It would be very dishonorable to do otherwise."

Dagan stretched out on his back to stare up at the sky. "We do not ever have to go back."

"I could not do such a thing to my mother and father!" she exclaimed. Was Dagan serious? Shamara was afraid that he was and that she would have to choose between him and her family. There was a time when her choice would have been simple, but as she now watched him, she wasn't sure. What was happening to her? Why would she even consider giving up her family for such a dunce?

"My father would probably be relieved if I never returned."

"He believes that you are dead," she reminded him. "I think he will be quite shocked by your resurrection."

"I doubt there was any outpouring of grief on his part. He was very jealous of my powers, and yet at times he seemed to be afraid of me."

"I am sorry, Dagan."

He seeks to earn your sympathy.

Shamara turned her head to the direction from which the voice came and she saw Camrin. He was standing several feet away.

You must leave this place and leave Dagmar behind. He wishes only evil on you.

Shamara turned to look at Dagan again, but now she saw the shadowed ghost of the man she had seen before slip quickly back into Dagan's body. She shook her head to clear it.

Dagan glanced at her. "I suppose you are right. We can return to Calabria for the wedding of the millennium. You seem preoccupied, princess. Is my presence already boring you?"

She looked at him. Shamara tried to tell him what she was seeing, but when she opened her mouth to speak, Camrin shook his head. She wished Camrin would disappear because he was confusing her. Purposely she looked away and caught Dagan staring at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what? And what is so interesting over there?" Dagan stood and walked toward the spot where Camrin stood, but he stopped short. "I don't see anything." He reached out a hand that went through the ghost that was Camrin.

Camrin was smiling. He can't see me or hear me. I could end his miserable life now.

Shamara hurried to Dagan and put herself between him and the vision. She smiled up at Dagan although her insides were churning with fear for him. "I am thirsty. There's a stream nearby."

"There is always a stream nearby," muttered Dagan although he didn't complain as she took his arm and lead him away. "You seem tense, princess."

"I am always tense when you are near," she said without thinking.

Dagan laughed and slipped his arm around her waist. "You have no idea how tense I am around you."

Shamara didn't really understand his statement and the tone with which he delivered it. It did make butterflies flutter about in her stomach. "I meant that when you are near, there is danger."

He grunted. "I was thinking the same of you. I think that you attract beasts."

The stream was very small so they need not fear a water creature attacking them on the shore. Shamara sat down and pulled off her shoes to dip her feet in the cool water, and she leaned back to look at the sun. "It is so very far away. Do you miss our two suns, Dagan?"

He lay on his side and propped up on an elbow as he looked at her. "I miss the two moons, especially the brightness of the second moon."

"The moons in this systems are rocky wastelands," commented Shamara. "Both of our moons are fertile and hospitable."

"There are still people on Bayman who are angry that Calabria settled them," commented Dagan.

"My father claimed them because he knew that you soft traders from Bayman couldn't control those that would settle on them." She could see that Dagan wanted to argue, but he decided against it. Shamara thought she should change the subject also. One purpose of their marriage was to end the dispute over the moons' governance.

"Tell me about your family," Shamara suggested. "I know that you have a sister."

"I do not consider Ryana my sister. We were raised apart because her mother was resentful of mine."

"Was your mother beautiful?" she asked.

Dagan stared at the running water as he spoke. "My mother was very beautiful and very kind. She did not deserve to be mated to a pig like my father, but my grandfather insisted."

"Did she ever tell you how she felt?"

"She knew her duty was to produce the heir for the throne, but once she had done what was expected, she wanted no more to do with Seighen." Dagan sighed. "I was told that my grandfather died the moment I was born, the instant he touched me, so I never knew him although I was told by Master Nazzar that he was a kind and just ruler. My mother spoke often of his talents and his powers. I think she was proud that I would have them."

"And your father?" Shamara was prepared to hear a very different story.

"He cannot help that he did not receive the powers. Seighen has been very bitter, and when my mother was murdered, ending the pure line of our family, I suppose he lost faith in anything. For years now he hasn't done anything but enjoy himself." Dagan looked at her. "Enough about me. What of you? When did you discover your powers?"

Shamara smiled. "I have always known of my powers. My father says I called out across the universe to him the moment of my birth and that I continued to call to him until he came to me." She told Dagan of her father's struggle to take back his birthright. "He triumphed over them all," she concluded.

"The gods show him great favor. Tell me about you, Shamara." Dagan reached out to touch her hair. "Were you raised by an army of nursemaids?"

Shamara sighed. "I had one or two nannies, but I do not remember their names. I have spent most of my life with my parents. When my mother was busy with her newborn children, I stayed with my uncle, and if he could not take me, Lord Duo was only too happy to have me. I love them all dearly."

"You are very spoiled," he observed with a crooked smile.

She was about to retort, then realized he stated a fact. "I suppose I am used to getting my way. But I doubt you have ever been denied anything, Prince Dagan. I recall getting just such an impression when I touched your hands some years ago."

Dagan took his hand from her hair. "You did use your magic!"

She curled her fingers nervously. "I…I did not mean to…"

He stood. "You judged me unworthy!"

Shamara jumped up. "I meant no harm! I did not have control of my powers, and…"

Dagan grabbed her shoulders. "You sent your opinion back to me and it has directed my actions without me realizing it! I left my father's court to stay with Master Nazzar because I thought I was lacking, and I do not return unless summoned." He released her and turned around. "I was convinced I had done something to offend you."

Frustrated, Shamara wanted to pound on his back to make him listen. "You are being foolish! I couldn't help my thoughts. I was just a child!"

"You still are a child, princess!" Dagan turned to look at her over his shoulder. "I am not your toy. You ask me to go back to Calabria to save your sister?" He turned around fully to look down at her face. "Tell me, Shamara, what do you want?"

"I have already told you! I must get Chaela out of this mess she has gotten herself into." Dagan was making her confused.

He framed her face with his hands. "What about your feelings, Shamara? Do you have any? Have not the gods blessed you as they have me?"

She jerked away from him. What she felt pouring from his hands into her made her anxious and frightened. "You are using your powers on me!"

"I use no power." His hands dropped to his sides and she saw that he was disappointed. "I will return to Calabria with you, Shamara, and I will challenge Avar. Once that business is over, I will leave for Bayman. I will not marry you."

Stunned speechless, she could only watch him walk away. What had she said to upset him? If she knew, she would take it back!

"Do not mourn his leaving. He is trying to manipulate you, Shamara."

Shamara spun around to see Camrin sitting on a rock near the stream. "What do you know about him? What are you trying to warn me against?"

"There is an evil spirit inside your prince." Camrin hopped off the rock and walked toward her. Shamara heard the wolf growling, so she took a step back. Camrin stopped immediately. "I am hurt that you would be frightened of me."

"I am not," she said, although she was afraid. Shamara no longer knew whom to trust. Although she had seen the spirit that hid inside Dagan without his knowledge, Shamara could not fear him. She felt more protective of him, considering his poor sword handling. Then again, he had mastered his powers so well that it seemed he could control the elements.

"You can trust me," Camrin told her softly as he stopped only inches from her.

Shamara had to find the truth, so she suddenly seized his hands. Camrin tried to wrest them back from her, but she held them tight. The sky above them became dark, and the wind began to whip the trees into a frenzy. Lightening flashed, followed closely with thunderclaps that shook the ground. She felt as if she were spinning, round and round, the earth around them giving away until they were standing on air with the storm raging around them.

"Shamara! Shamara!"

She could see Dagan nearby, but he was not alone. Standing behind him was the man she had seen earlier.

"Hold out your hand to him now, Ulfyna. Bring him in," said Camrin, but his face had changed.

"Who are you?" she asked. "Camridaeus?"

"It is time, sacred shield. Hold out your hand so that we might be done with this. We have waited long enough!"

But Shamara released him, and she fell back.

When she opened her eyes, she was in the cave again, but this time she saw that the man carving brutally into the rock had changed.

"I will wait," he was muttering. "And they will come. They will come for her, and when they do, I will destroy them." He turned to look at Shamara.

She gasped, for it was Camridaeus.