Dangerous Engagement

Disclaimer: All characters and such still belong to the awesome Sherwood Smith, hopefully I won't damage them too badly while borrowing them in this innocent fanfic.

Chapter 3 – From Meliara's Point of View

I had spent innumerable days in the saddle, felt sluggish due to loss of blood, and desired to look extremely fresh and beautiful when I next saw Vidanric. All these feelings combined to cause me to linger idly in the scented bath, trying to quiet my buzzing thoughts.

Returning to my room in huge, warm towel, I sat in front of the mirror and began trying to comb out my hair. As it did reach past my knees, I knew I couldn't hope to be done very quickly. I let myself get lost in daydreams for awhile, recalling Vidanric's careful touch on my wound and his anxious, but always handsome, gray eyes. Smiling to myself, I remembered it had been only a week ago when I could barely hold a coherent conversation with him. I had blushed furiously whenever his eyes were on me, and couldn't even bring myself to call him by his given name!

There was no point in dwelling on my past stubborn mistrust, I reminded myself. I had to leave those regretful memories behind and focus on the future - which looked bright and exciting. I was in love with Danric now, and hoped to spend my life with him.

Glancing at the time-candle, I saw it was nearing noon. Noon? How long did I spend in that bath? Leaping up, I vaulted to my dressing room. Comfortable as I now was with Danric, I thought I would look forward to his pending arrival a bit more when I had put some clothes on.

Hastily I selected a deep blue gown, pulled it on, and tied up the laces. The color calmed me a bit - I was running on almost no sleep and got thoroughly overexcited whenever I thought of Vidanric's kisses. I realized the sapphire accents around the collar perfectly matched the ring he had given me, which I slipped on. Just as I had decided not to bother with my hair, the tapestry rustled and Nee walked in.

"You're awake!" I smiled happily, hurrying over. "Do you feel alright?" She certainly looked confused, still wearing her nightgown and robe and trying to blink herself awake.

"I think I'm okay," she began. "I just feel so groggy. I believe everyone stayed up a bit too late at the party you threw – I tried to wake Bran, but he wouldn't stir." She blinked at me. "You're hurt! How – "

"It's okay," I interrupted, "I'm fine. But you're a little behind on the news. The party wasn't just last night; it was several days ago. There was a plot by the Merinders – they tried to take the throne, and Flauvic used a stone-spell to hold the palace hostage. He cut me with a knife, but I had managed to warn the Hill Folk about a planned kinthus-burning, and they saved the country by turning Flauvic into a Goldenwood tree."

Nee stared, and I tried hard not to laugh, as she would probably feel hurt. There was no malicious feeling in the mirth that I was holding in, just relief in the Court's safety, and thrilled excitement at the story that would soon be on everyone's lips. With Danric as the hero, I thought happily, picturing the courtiers and citizens who would be impressed when they heard of their future king's triumphs.

I was just realizing that I would probably also be mentioned as a heroine in the stories, especially once I told Danric I was certain I wanted to be his queen, when there was a soft knock outside my chamber.

Lifting the tapestry and stepping into my rooms, Vidanric smiled lovingly at me, although he glanced a bit worriedly at the bandages on my neck.

"I got your note," he said, indicating the one about my bath, "and decided to follow suit." He looked extremely handsome in a dark gray tunic, his hair slightly damp from the bath and my ekirth ring on his finger. I grinned back. Nee cast me an odd expression, obviously wondering why I had left Vidanric a note and looked so happy to have him pop into my rooms, but she decided not to comment.

"How are you feeling, my lady?" Vidanric inquired to Nee. "Have many awakened yet?"

Nee shook her head. "I tried to wake Bran, but you know him, not even the rhythm of his snores budged. So… all this about the Merinder's takeover attempt is true?"

"I'm afraid so," confirmed Danric. "I believe everyone will be quite interested to see the new edition to our throne room – a Goldenwood tree by the name of Flauvic."

"Let's all go wake up Bran," I proposed, "or we'll end up telling the whole story twice."

"We'll be called upon to recite it quite a few more times than that, I assure you," sighed Danric, but he agreed to accompany us on the wake-up call. Nee led the way to Bran's rooms, and as Danric and I followed along he slipped his ringed hand into mine, warming my fingers.

We found Bran sprawled on a pile of cushions in his night things, looking quite inelegant. This didn't bother Nee a bit as she hurried over and knelt down. As she worked on reviving him I was suddenly reminded of the times Danric had taken care of me, first as his prisoner and today as his companion (and I recognized that I had probably looked about fifty times worse than Bran after I had stepped in that trap).

Bran opened his eyes and rubbed them dazedly, saw Nee looking at him anxiously and smiled. Still thinking about Danric, I glanced up into his eyes and just couldn't resist the urge to stand on my tiptoes and feel my lips brush his.

Of course, I had assumed Nee and Bran were too busy to notice.

"Nee!" Bran gasped loudly. I broke away from Vidanric and turned to my brother, wondering if he was possibly hurt. I found him staring straight back at me.

"I think I'm hallucinating," said my extremely tactful sibling, snorting a laugh. "I just thought I saw Mel plant a kiss on Danric!" He kept laughing, leaning back on the cushions and wiping his eyes, while Nee looked questioningly between the two of us. I chose that moment for another one of my infamous blushes, but Danric just smiled, and, thinking about the big picture, told us his worry:

"If this is the kind of reaction we're going to get, it may take very long time indeed to convince the Court of Meliara's change of heart."

**I am rearranging the chapters a bit (if this is the first time you're reading this, ignore this) to make them all around the same length. There are less total chapters but all the content is still there. Also I can avoid those annoying cliffhangers! Anyway, enjoying the story so far? Hope so! Reviews, please and thank you! ~Shannon