Bran and Nee were departing to Tlanth for good: Nee was packing all of her things, and Bran was looking forward to having control of his own county again. Both were delighted to have me come, but I still made sure to reassure them that I was only going for a month, for both their sake and mine.
The day we departed, Vidanric gave me his waterproof cloak 'for loan' until I returned. We left, all riding in the carriage, but I grew restless and for most of the trip I rode on horseback. We entered Tlanth this way, the people cheering Bran and Nee in their carriage, and ignoring me in my anonymity. They knew the Countess of Tlanth was marrying the soon-to-be king, they just didn't know the short figure with a regular black cloak was her. I liked it that way.
I rode into the courtyard of the familiar castle, and dismounted quickly. Oria was waiting for us, as was Julen, Calaub, Khesot, and the equerry Jerrol (or Stenchbelly, as I had renamed him so long ago). When I removed the hood of my cloak, they instantly recognized me, and ran towards me. Only a foot away they stopped, unsure of how to address the future queen. I felt a fleeting pang of sadness; the rift had widened.
"Oria!" I exclaimed, hugging her. "I've missed you!" I greeted all of them with the same unreserved happiness.
As Oria showed Bran, Nee, and I into the castle, I immediately recognized the differences. When I had left the castle, it was gradually becoming respectable again, but places were still shabby. Oria had expertly redone them and the whole castle was gorgeous. Nee felt the same way; her eyes were glowing as she looked over her new home.
That night, I left Bran and Nee and sought out Oria. We sat curled up in the library talking over things that we missed; I felt the old comradeship come back a bit.
"You're becoming a Queen, Mel!" she exclaimed, her eyes glowing. "Can you believe it? Those days you- we- ran around filty, and now you're to become royalty!"
I groaned. "There's so much to do for the coronation that Vidanric sent me away," I replied. "I have to memorize so much- and Life, Ria, I'm scared!"
She squeezed my hand encouragingly. "You'll do fine," she said. She laughed. "Just think of all the things you've already done- surely you can do it."
"I hope," I said. I added wryly, "I have more lines than Vidanric does, even."
Oria grinned. "It's so funny, you used to hate him so much," she said. "I remember when he visited, you used to glare at him so. And now…you're marrying him!" She laughed. "It's funny how life turns out."
I nodded. Even as I thought about it, it was humorous how I used to hate Vidanric and now I was in love with him. "What about Jerrol?" I asked slyly. I remembered the way she had talked to him when he came, but soon after I had left for Tlanth and I didn't know what had become of the budding romance.
Oria snorted unsentimentally. "Oh, him," she said sensibly. "We flirt, but I'd rather run the household." I laughed; it was always Oria's first priority to run the house smoothly.
"Nee's going to appreciate you," I said wisely. "You'll come to the coronation, right?"
"I wouldn't miss it," she assured me. "But I'll be so little, among all the fine nobles!"
"You're my best friend," I retorted. "You mean much more to me than you think you do."
"I wonder, sometimes," she said softly, so unaudible I barely heard her. I stared at her, shocked.
"Ria!" I exclaimed. "I know I'm a noble, and that will never change, but you've been with me since we were born. I mean…" I grasped vainly for words. "No matter what happens, you'll always be my friend."
She grinned, but the sudden smile was softened by the moonlight and the flickering of the candle. Things were all right between us, even as a noble and a commoner.
The month passed languidly, but I didn't mind. I slept and regained my health, realizing only at Tlanth how weary I had been. Vidanric had been right, as much as I hated to admit it.
I oversaw the county with Bran, listened to Nee play the harp, discussed house and personal matters with Oria, and at night, I would visit the Hill Folk. The month passed peacefully, but before three weeks were over, I found myself missing Danric fiercely.
He sent letters almost everyday, and I sent them back, poor writer that I was. His wry words kept me from missing him too much, but the twinge of loneliness was there all the same. His letters were exactly like the ones of our courtship by pen, and they made me laugh. But when Bran and Nee went off on a walk together, I would always think of him.
One day, I received a letter from him that made me laugh, then turn thoughtful.
Dear Mel,
I, with not much better to do, was reflecting on the past yesterday. It's been almost two years since you escaped Galdran's prison and set off back to Bran and your little rebellion. Do you remember how Debegri, Russav, and I had to find you? Debegri had the worst intentions, and I remember all too well how apprehensive Russav and I were to find you first.
Rather queer, how life turns out sometimes; you've switched from a vagabond on the run to perhaps the most influential lady in Remalna.
The letter went on with other things, but these paragraphs stuck in my head. How ignorant I had been! While they were searching to keep me from Debegri's clutches, I had hated them for doing so- when they were really trying to save me. Smiling, I jotted a quick postscript to the letter I was sending him.
The change from a vagabond to Lady has been welcome for me; those days were just a wee bit unpleasant. What strikes me as ironic now was that I remember when I was on the run, that I heard of you and Savona's bet on who would find me first. The hate that I heard it with coursed through me and gave me energy to keep going(my food having been gone by then). Who would have known? My hate for you was the thing that saved me.
Nee had settled into Tlanth with quick ease. She seemed to belong there, and the castle finally felt like a true home again. She retuned her harp and often played and sang; the servants at the castle grew to respect her as their lady. I caught Julen tapping her foot once when Nee played; when she saw my gaze, she quickly stopped. Oria liked her because Nee largely let her do what she wanted with housekeeping, though adding a few mild suggestions here and there.
I was slowly being transitioned out, but I found that I didn't mind that much. There would always be a place here at Tlanth for me when I visited, but the slight detachment was good, because soon Tlanth wouldn't be my home anymore.
Vidanric, in the meanwhile, was sending invitations for the coronation-wedding. It was an immense affair, all foreign dignitaries as well as all the nobles of Remalna were invited. I personally invited Oria, and Ara's family, not forgetting my promise to her. I even wrote her a quick letter.
Dear Ara,
I haven't forgotten my promise; I'd love for you to come to Athanarel for my coronation and wedding at Midwinter. Your whole family is invited, and I'll personally meet you, I hope. I'm sure that your cousin isn't invited; and I'll give you some gossip that she'll never have heard! Then you can tell her for once; you can say that you know the Queen personally.
Meliara
I grinned as I sent it; I could understand Ara's indignation at her cousin knowing everything. With this invitation, she could definitely rub it in to that know-it-all.
Soon enough, my peaceful month drew to a close, and I started packing for the hubbub of Athanarel. Four days before I was set to depart, I spent the whole day in the hills, just like I did when I was younger. I spent the morning thinking about everything that my mind grasped upon. This would be the last time I would see the Hill Folk for a long time. I used to go and see them so much; when I was little, barefoot, and ignorant. And then as I grew older, during our hopeless rebellion, I hardly ever saw them. Then to Athanarel; never. The bond between us, however, could not be broken by time. They still knew everything of me; my faults and my strengths. I would miss them.
As I lay there thinking, I wondered how many people had never seen the Hill Folk before, never understood them. I didn't want my children to be like that; I vowed that they would grow up knowing the Hill Folk, and learning to respect and love them. The Covenant would be safe if the people really knew what it was about, by understanding and not just following. Future rulers of Remalna should know that.
When the sun began to sink, I reluctantly rose and left the forest, bidding a silent farewell to the Hill Folk. A plaintive, sweet note from their windharps answered me. I smiled as I turned toward the castle.
I had only just left the forest when I saw someone walking up the road that I was going down. I squinted; the walker was rather far away. He was tall, wearing a nondescript tunic and breeches. I widened my eyes as I saw his build. Finally, he was close enough for me to see the telltale light hair blowing in the breeze. I broke into a run.
As I drew closer, he smiled, his familiar gray eyes revealing his satisfaction.
"Danric!" I exclaimed (or more truthfully, yelled.)
"Like the surprise?" he asked.
"Love it," I replied, and hugged him fiercely. He put his finger under my chin and drew it up.
"Much better," he said with a hint of smugness. "I told you Tlanth would make you better."
"It did," I agreed. I looked at him, scrutinizing his
face. "I missed you." He kissed me softly.
"I did too," he said. "That's why I
thought I'd come and fetch you."
"I don't need 'fetching', but I'm glad you did anyway," I replied happily. We returned to Tlanth, talking happily about events we had missed without each other.
The return trip to Athanarel was speedy, Danric and I racing almost every day. We'd set a destination, and then set off, always betting a kiss. I laughed the first time he suggested it, remembering another return trip where we had bet the same thing. He usually won, although a couple of times I beat him. This way, we made our way to Athanarel quickly.
Things were exactly as I had left them, with the exception of Bran and Nee. Savona and Tamara were together; always either affectionate, quarelling, or making up. I suspected that their fights were half the reason they appealed to each other so much; Vidanric thought as much too. Elestra was busy sending out invitations for the party where I was adopted into their family; Savona was arranging for one two days later where the mood would be less formal and more fun. I looked forward to both.
This time, I was more relaxed about the coronation ceremony, mostly because Vidanric never let me think of it. The rare times when I dwelt on the things I had to say, my chest would tighten in a sort of panic attack, but I quickly stopped thinking about it. My lines were well on their way to memorization, and I was careful not to let the terror get to me.
Oria and I started sending each other letters again, even though she didn't need to update me on the state of Tlanth. We were bent on staying good friends, and the letters we sent retained our friendship.
I missed Bran and Nee more than I thought they would; Bran's indiscreet words and Nee's advice were always absent when I needed them. I needed to learn to live without them, though; and I eventually got used to not having Nee by my side at functions, and not hearing Bran's loud laughter. Still, when I needed advice on matters that Danric could not counsel me on, I always dispatched a letter to Nee.
As I learned to rely on myself, I learned resourcefulness and quick thinking. One night before a ball, it finally hit me that I did have the guts to be a Queen. I could do it. I smiled at my reflection in the mirror. I had always been uncertain of myself before, but this time I was sure.
Princess Elestra's party was rather formidable; every important dignitary was there, and I was afraid of making errors. I dressed carefully, making sure I looked my best (which was assured by letting Mora pick out everything for me and dress my hair), and constantly reminded myself to shut my mouth. People would think that the future was Queen was mute, but that was better than them thinking I was an blabbermouth.
Vidanric met me outside the ballroom, in the adjacent steps. We were waiting to be introduced. This, instead of a costume party, was a combination ball – dinner, music, and then dancing. Formidable indeed.
We were presented as we walked down the steps, and I mentally cheered myself for not tripping and falling. The first part was socializing, mainly. I tagged Vidanric, and we went around greeting people until the smile seemed permanently stuck on my face. Whenever I didn't recognize an important person approaching us, Vidanric quickly muttered their name while pretending to cough; by the time we went to dinner, at least ten concerned people had asked Danric whether he was developing a cold. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud.
Dinner was enjoyable, and I slowly relaxed as I talked with the Sartoran ambassador. He was familiar with the Council of Magicians, and he encouraged my attempt to learn magic, when I told him. His wife, Kieanor, apparently was learning magic too, and when she finished telling me about it, regaled me with tales of the Court at Sartor. With her pleasant mannerisms, she reminded me of a more exuberant Nee.
Disaster didn't hit until dancing; we moved from dessert into a spacious ballroom tastefully decorated in flowers and green and gold. I had left Danric to dance with Lady Trishe and headed to the refreshment table for some punch. As the server filled my cup, Savona walked up behind me and whispered in my ear, "Having fun?"
I hadn't heard him come up, and my hands automatically flew to a defense position. The punch, however, missed the cup that wasn't there, and spilled all over my elegant skirt.
"Oh!" I gaped.
"I didn't think I surprised you that much," Savona said, a hint of remorse in
his voice.
"Burn it!" I cursed. "It had to happen now."
"Meliara," a voice hissed from beside me. "Turn towards me, now."
I quickly turned, obstructing my spoiled skirt from the dancers' view. I faced Lady Kieanor, who was smiling at my predicament.
"I can fix it," she whispered, "Come." Holding my skirts so the stain didn't show, I followed Kieanor out of the room into an antechamber.
She inspected the stain, then smiled.
"The most useful spell I ever learned," she said, and while still looking at my stain, she said a series of words in a language unfamiliar to me – probably Old Sartoran. As I watched in amazement, the stain disappeared into a a few drops of the punch. The drops hovered in air, and then Kieanor, moving her hands, moved them to water a plant at the end of the room. I inspected my skirt; it was exactly as if the stain had never been there.
"Life," I said, awed. "That's amazing."
She laughed gaily, and hooked my arm around hers as we walked into the ballroom. "Isn't it?" she replied. "Out of all the magic I've learned, I use that spell the most."
When we returned to the ballroom, I danced a quick dance with Savona, who apologized profusely for scaring me, while complimenting me on getting it out. I chose not to tell him of the magic. I danced with Vidanric next.
"Where did you go with Lady Kieanor?" he asked. "I saw you leave."
"I got a stain on my skirt, and she got it out," I replied. "With magic, Danric! It was amazing." He grinned.
"She's a benevolent lady," he replied. "I believe that she was a lady-in-waiting to the Sartoran queen."
"She's nice," I responded. "I like her- please don't tell me that I have to watch out for her."
"She's no Flauvic," Vidanric said, grinning. "So don't worry. She's only started learning magic a month ago, she's not that advanced. And she's not learning from the sorcerors that Flauvic received his instruction from, she's learning white magic. You're safe."
"Good," I said, laughing. "So nice to know."
The very next day, no sooner than I had sent my thanks to the Princess, Savona held a much less informal party for our engagement. All of my friends were invited, and through Savona's reckless spirit, the party went on through blue-change, and into white. It had a much more relaxed atmosphere and was – dare I say? – a great deal of fun.
To my great amusement, half of the people there got drunk. I had a good laugh out of this, as many careful Court disguises were being shattered. The other half that wasn't drunk (or sober enough to think), were always drinking too, so soon almost the whole party was drunk, to various degrees. The only ones completely sober were Danric, Savona, Tamara, and I (although I'm not sure if Savona's exuberance was due to being drunk or just his personality as usual.)
The next morning, I didn't feign much surprise as Court appeared deserted; everyone was recuperating. Thankfully, I wasn't, because the letter from the Council of Mages arrived that day.
I opened it carefully, and read the sparse words. To my relief, they said they would send a mage to meet with me soon, and they remembered my mother. Slight apprehension from me greeted that statement; would they compare me to her? Ranisia was much more talented than I would ever be.
The mage was coming in a few months, at which the he or she would notify me, and we would meet. The letter only said a 'brief interview to measure your skills' so I didn't think I could do much to prepare. Either I was qualified, or not.
It was only a few days after Savona's party that my panic for the coronation set in. The leaves had already fallen; there was less than two months to Midwinter.
I would, in all honesty, love to tell you how the coronation went. But, being completely truthful, I don't remember at all. I froze up, as I often do, and I can't recall much until directly after our dual marriage and coronation.
Vidanric, however, told me that I looked beautiful (I have no idea if this is true or not considering that he always says that), and that I had said all my lines correctly. The guests were pleased, and the whole ceremony went off smoothly. He told me other insignificant details, and if you really wish to see the whole workings of that day, look up any recent book by a court scribe.
My memory only came back- or unfroze, more like it- when I saw Vidanric directly after the coronation. The ceremony was over, and we were walking down the aisle together. He turned to me, his grey eyes narrowed in amusement, as I often see him, his lips curved smugly.
"Now, it wasn't that hard marrying me now, was it?" he asked, and squeezed my hand. There was a slow swell in my heart at that moment, spreading down into my legs, through my arms, and up into my mouth, making it blossom into a wide grin. I couldn't do anything else; there was everything in the world for me to grin about- I had Vidanric, and that was enough of a reason.
Vidanric is my brightest memory of that day, and possibly my only. He was dressed in dark green, small gold and diamond beads in his hair making it look even more paler. If I was asked, I could not have possibly told you why I married him during the ceremony, but as we walked down that aisle I was acutely aware of his prescence; his boots on the ground, his cool hand in mine, his rhythmic breathing.
Magic? Possibly- because isn't love magical? I truly believe it is the purest magic of anything I have ever or will encounter.
In conclusion, I've not much to say. I've finished writing this, and there is still plenty more to write about. For being a scrawny little Countess, I've had quite a few adventures. Perhaps I will write more, or perhaps other people will write their truth of it. I've no advice for you this time, nor ideas. This was just my bit of history, my bit of adventure, my bit of love. I hope you will find yours, and wish you luck.
-Alqualyne
A/N: I have a LONG author's note to write now, don't I? Completed! Done! Finito! Took enough time! *looks extremely, extremely sheepish and blushes* That was a long time to not update, wasn't it? I am so, completely, utterly sorry. And I know this weak chapter is an extremely sorry excuse and you're allowed to pelt me with tomatoes all you want. Thank you ALL for reviewing, it was so great. I love you all!! *hugs to everyone* I don't know if I'll post another story any time soon, since I'm overloaded with homework, but if I do, I hope you guys read it. Anyway, defending this chapter, in the epilogue, Sherwood Smith does say that Mel didn't remember the coronation, and it seemed a sweet way to end that the only thing she remembers from that day is Vidanric. ^-^ Sappy, mushy, this chapter is so unlike my usual style! I'll probably never really do that again, but it was an ending. Love to you all, thank you so much!