**Some portions of dialogue have been quoted from the subtitled version of the series on the DVD set distributed by Bandai***

"Always…"

VII: One Wedding and Considerably More Than Four Funerals

Before I can have a private talk with Allen, I must have a public confrontation with him and the council. The council agreed to hear us; Allen just needs to show up so I'm not the only one talking.

I don't know why he hasn't yet. I gave those pages very explicit instructions. They should have found him by now. Allen isn't allowed outside city limits and most of his time is spent on the palace grounds. That's not a lot of territory to cover for a group of people whose primary purpose is to deliver messages back and forth. How could they not have found a man in a Caeli uniform with hair down to his waist? They couldn't have mistaken someone else for him. But if the pages didn't, that means Allen didn't care enough to appear at his own treason hearing.

This doesn't look good, for either of us.

"Princess," Lord Millay says with an ominous sigh. "I know you served on this council before and therefore, you must know how important it is to conduct business in a timely manner. I don't think this is a terribly urgent matter to begin with. Judging from Schezar's absence, he must agree."

There are nods all around, except for Lord Windom. He's not showing support. He fell asleep five minutes ago. Twenty minutes is a long time for these men to go without arguing about something.

"I assure you, as soon as Allen Schezar is located, he will be here." I wish someone would assure me. It wasn't pleasant coming before a council I once was a member of and pleading like a commoner for a bit of their precious time. It wasn't pleasant either to spend that hard won time smiling emptily like a fool because the man for whom it was set aside isn't complying with the schedule. But to get what I want, I have to pretend it was. "These charges have been looming for long enough. He's been back in Palas for weeks without any resolution being made. It doesn't reflect favorably on Asturia to have one of her highest knights come under such dark suspicion and for no one to act upon it. The sooner this is resolved, the sooner we can move on."

I can't tell who it is, but someone curses under his breath, "You better tell the damned knight that." Someone else snickers.

I can't let this get out of hand before it even starts. I promised Millerna I would take care of this and take care of it today. With or without Allen's help. "Is it necessary for Schezar to be here? You heard his testimony along with King Fanel's when he returned. My sister is willing to offer testimony of her own." More snickering. A few months ago, I would have laughed at the idea of Millerna giving an objective opinion of Allen too, but that's beside the point. "As is Dryden Fassa." Invoking the name of the son of the council's temporary head silences everyone.

"Really?" Meiden sniffs. "He hasn't said anything to me about the matter. He hasn't said anything about Allen Schezar."

"Perhaps not to you, but he and Millerna have spoken about it." They *could* have discussed Allen, though if they did, treason charges would likely be the last thing mentioned. The council doesn't need to know that. It occurs to me that the council doesn't need to know anything. "If you gentlemen would like to convene later though, I understand. But Meiden, if I could talk to you in private… about my sister and your son…"

The councilmen shuffle out slowly, hoping to catch the most recent word on the potential royal wedding from the two sources closest to the betrothed couple. Meiden and I are both politicians enough to defer speaking until the room is empty.

"You had something to say, Princess?"

He wants me to be direct. I think it's best to be a little more circuitous. I need to exercise the negotiation skills that have grown slack over the summer. "I had a long talk with Millerna earlier today. A part of it was about Dryden."

"And what did she have to say about him?"

"She thought he had good character. She was appreciative of his help in aiding her friends."

"She said nothing of her engagement to him."

"Possible engagement. She has… concerns."

"Ah, concerns… Would these be the type of concerns that can be assuaged by a helpful sibling?"

"Perhaps. I don't know how much I can do though. Millerna's been distracted by another matter and when she's upset about something, she tends to keep focusing on it."

"Oh, my, my. What could be upsetting the poor girl? Let me take a wild, uneducated guess. She's upset that she won't have twelve Caeli at her wedding because one of them might be convicted of treason and there won't be time to replace him?"

"You know how particular women can be about weddings…"

"In Jichia's name!" I probably shouldn't take pleasure in Meiden being the first to drop the pretext of a friendly chat, but it does bode well for me getting my way. The agitated negotiator is always at a disadvantage to the calm one.

And Meiden is very agitated. "You know, your sister should be counting her blessings that she's engaged to a respectable man that will care for her instead of some disgraced fop. And you, Princess, should know better. Grava thought you still had a weakness for Schezar but honestly, I thought you were more sensible."

"You think I'm sensible?" I chose to treat it as a backhanded compliment over a full insult. I only want a little bit of tension, not complete hostility. I'll have plenty of that later if Meiden finds out that Millerna's already agreed to marry Dryden. "Then let me make a sensible proposal. Zaibach did not retaliate against us for Allen's actions. Millerna is safely back home. No lasting harm was done, so why don't we let the matter drop?"

"No lasting harm?" he sneers. "He almost killed your father! He didn't stick a sword in him, but taking his daughter away had the same effect!"

"Allen told Millerna to stay in Palas -- "

"Are you that blind? Grava didn't have the stroke until after we found out about Freid. Until after he found out his daughter was running into danger to be by her pet knight's side. If Schezar had had any honor or sense of duty at all, he would have insisted that she stay behind. He would have refused to let her come along. We're still allies with Zaibach. They would have let her come back and this whole mess with your father's health would have been avoided!"

Meiden hits closer than he knows. Yes, Allen could have forced Millerna to stay in Freid but if I had forced her to stay in Palas first, this whole discussion would be moot. And if Millerna hadn't gotten it in her head to run away. And if Father hadn't capitulated to Zaibach so quickly…

My own guilt makes it hard to lay all the blame on another. We've all made mistakes. We've let everything from personal issues to political fears guide us into actions that weren't necessarily right but did not feel wrong when we took them. We were only doing our best. We're not seers. We can only guess where our actions will lead and none of us would have deliberately chosen a path that led to Father being left bedridden and on the verge of death. It's easy to look back and judge. I can say things would be better if Millerna had stayed. But when I was standing on that dock, I knew that caging Millerna then would only make her fly away faster the second she got the chance. She needed to learn and neither of us were at the point where I could truly teach her.

If Meiden had accused me, I could plead my intentions. He accused Allen though and I can't say on his behalf what his were. The ones I've suspected in the past wouldn't help him. We've been apart too long for me to make any other guesses with any degree of accuracy. So here I am, trying to counter a man with a valid point for the benefit of a man who didn't make it here to offer any of his own, however bad they may be.

It's tricky dancing in the grey area of the greater good, but I've made these moves before. They're not always graceful. Some can be downright crude. "I know Father is in precarious health, but that was no one's intention. Millerna is back now. That will help him. Following his wishes to marry Dryden will help him more. Is it more important to you to satisfy a grudge against Allen Schezar in Father's stead, or to let it go so that everyone can move forward in peace?"

"Brokering over your Father's sickbed for the man who put him in it? Gods, woman, is there anything you won't do for Schezar?"

"What do you mean?" I ask before I've had the chance to think better of it. Meiden grins. He knows I've given him a means by which to take control.

"You realize that your sister's hand shouldn't be your bargaining chip, don't you? If you were serious about your politics, it should be yours."

"Dryden is in love with Millerna," I say slowly. I'm not sure what Meiden's intentions are, but I don't care for how he's executing them.

"Oh, yes, that's plain in every word he speaks about her, but you know as well as I do how little love has to do with political marriages." His grin widens. "No wait, you don't know. You don't have a clue."

"I don't see how this is relevant to the topic at hand." Such a weak defense, but I can't let Meiden monopolize the conversation. My advantage is gone. I now need to keep us even.

"Twenty-one is awfully old for an unmarried princess in Asturia. I don't blame you for passing up the beyond the border offers. Who wants to be a powerless piece of jewelry on a foreign crown when you can rule everything at home? I really thought you were waiting for the right Asturian noble to marry -- someone with a nice title but not enough backbone to stand up to you. Asturian law doesn't allow her queens to rule directly, but nothing stops them from using their kingly husbands as fancy puppets."

"Again, Meiden, is there a point you are trying to make?" The impatience and irritation in my voice don't have to be faked. If anything, I have to keep them in check.

"You threw it away, Princess. I believe Grava still has many good years in him, but Asturia needs a successor and no one's going to wait any longer for you. When my son marries your sister, the throne will pass right out of your hands. And for what? A disgraced knight that barely acknowledges you? If I may be so frank, get some pride. Schezar didn't care enough about these charges or you to come here. Let him rot."

I don't think Meiden's distaste for Allen comes completely from Father. There must be another reason for him wanting the charges to go through. "Fine, Meiden. We've established that I am not entirely objective when it comes to Allen Schezar. But I am not the only one whose impartiality is in question. And don't tell me you're doing this on my father's behalf."

"No," Meiden discloses, "Grava hates him for what he's done to you girls. I want him gone because he's in my way."

"Your way?"

"Well, my son's way," he amends. He was speaking more truthfully the first time. "Dryden does love Millerna but, alas, she hasn't quite reached the point where she reciprocates those feelings. You tell me she's ready to marry but only on the condition that Schezar goes free. You understand why I might not be so enthusiastic about the deal. What's to stop her from changing her mind once the charges are dropped?"

"Her word. And mine."

"What's the saying? A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's printed on? I've been a merchant since long before you were born. There's a way out of any contract. And if Schezar's still around, your sister might start looking for one. On the other hand, if Schezar gets banished or becomes so disgraced that she wouldn't think of touching him, suddenly, Dryden looks much more appealing."

"And you're doing this all for your son's happiness, aren't you?"

"I freely admit I stand to gain by this marriage, but yes, my son's happiness does matter to me." It galls me that Meiden is attempting indignity. "He loves her. He wants to marry her. What about your sister's happiness? I know you've tried to wean her off Schezar before, why not cut her off when you've got the chance? You know he's bad for her. You know nothing good is going to come of her 'love' for him. Dryden would take care of her. He wouldn't use her. He would do anything in the world for her. Isn't that the kind of man you want for her?"

"Yes, which is exactly why I support the marriage and asked you to meet Millerna's condition to begin with."

"Forgive me for wanting to be certain. To put it simply, no Millerna equals no king for a son. I don't want to take the chance she'll pick another option once she gets what she wants. You say you want her to marry Dryden, but Millerna talked you into letting her leave the country when you were set against it. I don't need you two conniving to find a way out of her engagement."

Meiden doesn't wish to see conniving? Too bad for him. "To put it even more simply, no dropped charges equals no chance of a wedding at all. You will quit insulting me and do as I say or you will see how much influence I can have over my sister -- starting with drilling into her head all the reasons why she doesn't want you for a father-in-law."

There's just a flicker of the true rage he feels before Meiden goes reverts to the shrewd merchant. He's lost this battle but the odds for the war still look good. He throws up his hands in a theatrical surrender. "All right, all right. If you can live with the consequences, I suppose I can as well. The charges are dropped. The luster has been restored to Asturia's wayward knight," he says grandly. More darkly, he hisses, "Though I don't know quite what to say about the condition of her second princess. Enjoy your victory."

I don't think I will. Manipulation isn't something to savor and it's the only reason I won. We both took our shots, but Meiden's were more telling.

***

Needing to wash off the muck from my encounter with Meiden, I go looking for Millerna to tell her the good news. She's not in her room -- frustrating, but a good indicator that she followed through on her end to talk to Dryden after visiting Father. Proof positive comes from overhearing Dryden declare his impending nuptials when I pass by the room he has commandeered for his private office. Everyone in the hall can hear Hitomi Kanzaki's astonished reaction.

I listen in the hallway as Dryden expounds upon the prosperity that awaits Asturia upon his coronation. From anyone else, it would be boorishly egotistical. It couldn't be considered humble coming from Dryden, but a tint of self-deprecation in his speech indicates he finds the pomposity humorous. No one else in the room seems to get the joke and I'm not in a mood to laugh.

My entrance won't make anyone find anything funnier. "They were engaged to begin with. It's only natural that Dryden become successor to Asturia's royal family," I state matter-of-factly.

Hitomi gasps my name. For someone who is supposedly psychic, she's very easy to startle. Fanel and his catgirl just stare. They're good at it and really, it's not as if any of this effects them. Dryden's got the sense to stay quiet. So does the sixth person in the room. For good measure, Allen looks away guilty when his eyes catch mine.

This room is no more than a hundred yards or so from the council chamber, yet somehow he managed to materialize in it without a single page spotting him and alerting him to my request to meet me before the council. I haven't had the chance to talk to any of them so maybe I was right in assuming that they did speak to Allen but he ignored them. I can't tell what happened from Allen's expression. Feeling responsible is an instinctual response for him when an upset woman is in the vicinity. Yet where was chivalry during that encounter with Meiden? Allen wasn't there to represent it. If he had been, the whole thing likely would have stayed civil and well in front of all the councilmen.

He doesn't even know what I did for him. I wonder if he ever knew.

I hate the frustration of being the silent martyr, but some roles can't be broken out of. True to the manner of another part assigned to me, the Ice Princess, I coldly inform him of the results of my labors. "Furthermore, we'll even let bygones be bygones in regards to your crimes."

Everyone's memory must go blank because they all act as if they can't comprehend what I'm talking about. I cite what I can remember of the official proclamation of the treason charges. Irritated by their incredulous responses and the fact that I know that proclamation is nothing but overblown half-truths written by the Strategos and yet I'm quoting it anyway, I sink further and start paraphrasing Meiden. "After Millerna left, our father was so worried that he fell ill. It was because you took Millerna with you."

"That's enough," Millerna says firmly. She's arrived in time to see me at my lowest but, blessedly, to stop me from getting any worse too.

Her appearance brings everything to a halt. No one so much as blinks as she walks up to Allen.

With perfect grace, Allen drops to one knee to kneel before his liege. He takes her hand and gives it the barest of kisses, a romantic gesture only in the sense that it conforms to the standards of gallantry. "May I offer my congratulations on your wedding, Princess Millerna?"

It's a breathless moment. Everyone watches and puzzles over what this means. Allen doesn't give any hints. He stands, bows to Millerna, then me and then, though not as deeply, to Dryden, turns on his heel and walks smartly out of the room.

I gather Dryden has chosen a literal interpretation. He acts as if nothing of any importance has taken place and asks Millerna how the remainder of her visit to our father went.

"I ran into Dryden on my way to Father's room," she explains to me. "I thought it might be more beneficial if we could make the announcement together so I gave Dryden my consent then."

If only the gods would bless us with such a miracle. Millerna's taking her first visit to our sick father well though, another positive thing to counterbalance my foul mood. She does know substantially more about medicine than I do. I listen to the doctors' positive prognoses with the skepticism of layman being fed jargon to keep them from knowing the truth. My sister wouldn't be susceptible to those tricks; she would know if Father's actually improving or if was only wishful thinking.

"Now that everyone but my family knows the good news, maybe I should tell them," Dryden announces. As he brushes past Millerna, he takes the hand Allen didn't kiss and holds it close to him. "I would take you with me, but I don't want your soon to be Fassa in-laws to scare you off."

Millerna blushes nervously. I imagine my cheeks look a tad redder.

"About that, Dryden…" I gradually slur out. "I think it best that you wait until tomorrow to inform your father. He's had an… exciting… day in the council. You wouldn't want to overdo it."

Both of them look at me oddly, but Dryden doesn't dwell on it. "Whatever you say. The old man's been acting weird about it anyway. If I told him today, he'd probably want to spend all night figuring out ways to use the wedding to boost his profit margin."

Once he's gone, Millerna's quick to question me. "I didn't hear if you got the charges dropped or not but from the way you were talking, it didn't sound good."

No, Millerna, that was just Ice Princess venting her anger. "It's been handled. Don't ask me how, but Meiden agreed to get the council to dismiss the charges."

"Oh." She looks back and forth from the door Dryden left through and me, putting together the things I've said. She coughs delicately and meaningfully. "Anyway… Thank you, Eries. It's a weight off my shoulders. Now, the other thing we discussed…"

"I'll talk to Allen." I'll talk to him if only to figure out what went wrong this afternoon. Which reminds me, I have some pages to gather up and question.

"Um, when you do, Eries," Millerna says with a feint smile. "Perhaps you might want to be slightly less, umm… confrontational."

It's a display of humor that will serve her well as the wife of Dryden Fassa and, a reminder of why I must go through with my promise. Over the course of a day, I've become closer to her than I've ever been and to preserve that, I'd even take on Meiden again.

***

"Okay, promise me you won't kill him. I know the surroundings add an extra temptation, but you've got to promise."

It's a wonder that I ever tell Alucier anything. Ever since I recounted what happened with Meiden and then with Allen and the others, he's been making light at my more ruthless side. The extravagant apology this morning for eating the last roll was cute. The scenario he concocted with Revius featuring me taking down Zaibach by scorning them into submission had its entertaining portions. One more joke though, might result in having to turn that side on him.

I regretted letting my fight with Meiden influence my manner as it was. I felt worse after I finally spoke to those pages and discovered that only one, a man named Twite who is fairly new to the job, had found Allen in time but hadn't been able to get any word to him. As it turned out, he was involved in a sparring session of his own against Fanel. The young king had been acquitting himself well when a disarming move by Allen coincided with the approach of the page. Mr. Twite was sent scurrying away with a royal sword-pointed warning to not interrupt again. A catgirl that could only have been Merle took position beside him to make sure the king was obeyed. In telling me his story, the page took some satisfaction in adding that Fanel was disarmed quickly in the next round and didn't do much in the ones after, but by the time knight and king were through play-fighting, I was bringing claws to bear on Meiden. Twite insisted that he spoke up as soon as he could and even helped to clear the way for Allen and the Fanelian entourage, only to come back to an empty council chamber with a cheery Dryden Fassa dropping cryptic clues to Hitomi Kanzaki about his bright future nearby.

I should have fired the man for his after-the-fact delivery of a message so important. I think that's what he expected. His job was saved though, by the grace of a good turn in my ever waxing and waning opinion of Allen. I wasn't abandoned. Allen did try to be there. We just couldn't connect at the right time or place.

I've given Allen the benefit of the doubt so many times when we were friends, I don't know if I owe it to him anymore. One more time, though, I'll give it. After all, my annoyances over Hitomi Kanzaki are petty and personal. I left him. I can't be angry with him for keeping her company while not seeking out mine. My annoyances over my sister might not even be applicable any more. I can't be angry with him for leading on Millerna when the only interaction I've seen between the two since her return was a stately display of a knight offering formal congratulations to a princess. As for annoyances over his refusal to let go of his past… I don't know the exact outcome of the meeting with his father but I do know that he spoke calmly, rationally to Hitomi about it. He's never spoken of Leon Schezar before with anything except livid contempt. And if Allen is here, after avoiding this place for so long…

Yesterday, I learned how much my sister had grown from her experiences. Could today I learn the same about Allen?

Reconcile that with your jokes, Alucier. But he's stopped the teasing to survey the cemetery we've followed Allen to. A caveat to Mr. Twite keeping his position is the responsibility of knowing Allen's whereabouts at all times. Knowing what memories lurk here, this cemetery is an odd place for Allen to go, but the page has been the model of reliance since he previous failure. He continues to be one as I spot a tall, blond man standing before the grave of a woman that used to be the source of his apprehension of coming here.

The wind kicks up, sending petals of white and pink floating through the air to settle in small piles at the bases of the grave markers. The flowerbeds from which they came line the sides of the cemetery, making the bouquet I brought with me redundant if not for the type of flowers that comprise it.

It was an offhand comment in a conversation about another topic entirely, but I remember Allen pausing in front of palace garden long enough to say the patch of flowers in back looked liked the ones his mother had planted the most. I remember it as clearly as the first and only time Allen and I were ever here together. He brought me to his mother's grave on her birthday, for his first visit there since he had run away from home not long after her death. He had wanted so much to come, yet was reluctant because of guilt over his bandit past. I wanted to be strong for him. I gave him a pretty speech about his mother and how she would never judge him for that. Allen turned around and asked me about my mother. And I answered him. I hadn't spoken to anyone about Mother for years and to Allen, I confessed everything.

That was the moment I realized I was in love with him. In the middle of a cemetery, standing over the grave of his mother with tears streaming from my eyes, I realized I was in love with him.

Maybe I should have taken the hint.

"Something funny?" Alucier asks when he hears my amused sigh.

"A delayed reaction to your clever quips."

"Riiiight."

I let the wind distract me. Great storms of petals brew up and dissipate. Through it all, Encia Schezar's son stands motionless over the ground in which she rests.

"So…" Alucier says. "He's not going to stand there forever, Eries. Are you?"

"No," I answer. Though I could. I've never seen Allen so tranquil when confronted by memories of his family. They were what used to keep him from returning here since that one day. He's even put aside his Caeli uniform, the symbol of the duty he had embraced as his whole life, to wear simple clothes of black and white.

I don't want to interrupt. Strangely though, I don't feel that I will be.

Alucier asks if I want him to come with me. I send him off in search of an uncle of his that's buried here. I won't need a guard. I don't need his support for this.

Allen doesn't notice me coming up behind him. The breeze carries pieces of his whispered words to me, the reverence in the syllables of 'father' make it the most distinct.

Curiosity would have me ask about Leon straight away. Respect for the significance of Allen's family to him defeats curiosity. Still, I can't help but comment on the peculiarity of the circumstances. "This is certainly unusual. You've never prayed in your life and yet here you are in a place like this."

He is surprised but not unhappy to see me.

Small talk would waste time and seems terribly out of place between us now. "Let go of Millerna. Please. She's finally found happiness." I do not mean this as an edict. It is advice, advice that would benefit him as much as Millerna. I don't believe he will ever find his own happiness without heeding it.

I walk past him, not expecting any response, let alone the one I receive. "I'm relieved to here you say that. If you say so, it must be true."

He still trusts me…

"Dryden's a good man," he continues. "If this marriage were only a way to take the throne… I'd have killed him."

"Allen…" I can't answer this confession. I can't tell if it's borne from underestimated feelings for Millerna or his fierce protectiveness for women in general. He is letting her go, though. There will be no last minute objections to the wedding from him, and therefore, from Millerna when I tell her how this meeting went.

There's so much more I could say, but little reason to say any of it. Alucier's waiting anyway. Turning to go, I'm caught in a crosscurrent of breezes that strips a few petals from the delicate flowers in my hands. They scatter wildly, though a few fly towards the man for whom they hold meaning.

Reflexively, Allen grabs one of the strays. "My mother loved this kind of flower. As I recall, these flowers mean, 'one who cannot be forgotten'."

I know. I didn't forget. I won't ever forget.

I make a tribute of the bouquet to Encia. If, at long last, Allen's beginning to settle the painful memories of his family, may the flowers be a reminder that times of happiness were there too.

I silently wish him well. Making peace with his past won't be easy. The quiet reflection this cemetery seems to evoke is only a promising start, and not only for that. With hope, I hear Allen's words of gratitude and think that another reconciliation might have been set in motion.

***

Preparations for the wedding began immediately. They had to. Once Meiden got confirmation that Millerna had acquiesced, he put a motion to the council to hold the wedding as soon as possible. Conservative estimates put the preparation time at two months. Meiden went for two weeks. Millerna had dissembled a bit when Meiden asked her exactly when she resolved to marry, claiming that she knew that he, having such a generous son and that had to come from somewhere, didn't it?, would agree with her on that silly Allen matter so she saw no problem with giving her consent before she had heard the actual outcome of his meeting with me. It was a very sweet exchange between the future in-laws, but Meiden knew he had been played once; he wasn't going to give me or anyone else time to do it again.

There's little to plan since it was also decided to make this wedding follow Asturian customs as strictly as possible. That's not to say there isn't a long list of things to do. It would be an insult not to send out invitations to our allies to attend, even if the only way they could get here in time would be to hop on a leviship the second they opened the envelope. Since the feasibility of any foreign sovereigns with the exception of Fanel attending was so low, Meiden got the bright idea that the invitations should at least be personally signed by a member of one of the families involved. I tried to plead poor handwriting, but Meiden argued eloquently on what a lovely message it would send if the bride's sister had her name on every last invitation sent to every last little nation on the entire planet of Gaea. I don't think that satisfied smirk on his face when he spied me shaking out a hand cramp from an all-night signing session was because of a good joke he heard.

In a display of civic duty, I made the suggestion that we hold public feasts to make up for the probability that the official reception would be sparsely attended. The people would come out in droves to watch the ceremony; surely the crown would not send them home empty-stomached in appreciation of that support. Everyone loved the idea, except for Meiden, who had previously agreed that his wife would be in charge of the menu. The extra several thousand mouths to feed with less than two weeks to come up with the food should make for some interesting conversations at the Fassa household.

I doubt I would be as eager to play such petty games with Meiden if my enthusiasm for this wedding hadn't been tempered by worrying about Millerna. By all outward appearances, she's viewing her marriage exactly as I hoped she would. To all her well-wishers, she'll speak merrily of Dryden's good qualities and her confidence in his as yet untested ability to rule. The pre-wedding responsibilities given to her were deliberately light (even lighter for Dryden who is only required to show up for fittings for his wedding regalia and to submit to the ministrations of a barber on the actual morning of his nuptials) and she's taken each one seriously. She's consulted with me on more political choices like who to talk with the most at her engagement party and with Hitomi Kanzaki on lighter issues, such as which flowers to hand out to the commoners that attend.

But it's not what she's doing so much as the way she's doing it. The difference between sincerity and artifice is subtle for someone that's been trained so heavily in the latter and we princesses have gotten the best education possible. A smile that blossoms too quickly and holds a second too long, nods that are too deep and too many -- I saw all of these signs years ago when Marlene was engaged to Mahad.

And just like her oldest sister, Millerna was allowed to choose her dress, but defaulted to having a gown made in the traditional style. To some extant, I am envious of both my sisters for being able to still look so beautiful while wearing something so simple yet so extravagant. The gown itself is a muted blue-grey, plainly stitched and long in both sleeve and skirt to cover almost every inch of the bride. The headdress it's worn with could be considered overcompensation. Cloth in Asturia's vibrant blue and gold trail off over the bride's head and onto her shoulders. Marlene complained that it was like wearing a large sackcloth on your head and it felt and looked as ridiculous.

Yet she chose it anyway. I know her rationale; it was a symbol that she was only doing this out of duty. I don't find it too farfetched to think Millerna has a similar line of reasoning.

It's foolish. Millerna's doing exactly what I think is best for her and I'm still worrying. I accused Allen of seeing Marlene when he looked at Millerna and here I am doing the same. They're in similar situations but they're entirely different people. I've fought Millerna's stubborn streak enough to know if she were really against marrying Dryden, she simply wouldn't do it. Somehow, someway, she would, as Meiden feared, get out of it. Marlene was more accepting of her fate, except of course, when it came to the man that ties the three of us sisters together.

Would it be so terrible if Millerna did have a marriage like our sister's? Like Dryden, Mahad adored Marlene from the moment he saw her. He wasn't nearly as secure in pursuing her as Dryden was with Millerna, but I imagine both men are alike in how much they'd be willing to do for their wives. After initial doubts, Marlene settled into her new life. Each time I visited and in each letter she wrote, the descriptions she gave of what her brilliant little boy did and his father's proud reaction to it, showed how happy she was. Even if she never came to love Mahad, she cared about him deeply. As good of an actress as she was, there was nothing fake in her taking his arm for no real reason but to be touching him, watching him out of the corner of her eyes or any of the simple things she did that the last time I saw her.

This marriage should have a better start than that one. Millerna's crush on Allen runs deep, but Marlene was actually in a relationship with him, was carrying his child when she said her vows.

Really, there's nothing left to worry about. Dryden will be a good husband. If she gives it a chance, Millerna will be a contented wife. The sooner they get married, the sooner it will happen.

***

By tradition, the day before a royal wedding, the royal family gets to hole up in the location of their choosing and ignore anyone who doesn't share their last name. It started as a day of bonding, of paying homage to family ties and the legacy of Asturia. What it's used for today is as a chance to catch a breath between the non-stop preparations leading up to the wedding and the hectic events of the blessed day itself. I'm not sure when the switch occurred, or if that homage stuff was just an excuse all along, but the plans Millerna and I made do not involve naming any of our ancestor's names or deeds and we're quite pleased with that.

Instead, we'll be visiting with Father for most of the day. Millerna mentioned something the other day about going to the hot baths later, but we haven't set anything in stone. That's fine with me so long as Millerna does something today. It's past noon and she has yet to join me in Father's room. The doctor told me he sees no reason why he can't be at the ceremony before he left. He does look better than he has since the attack. He needed help to do it, but he's sitting up in bed, reacting to me with nods and attempts at speech. He smiles when I suggest that I go find that delinquent sister of mine.

Thinking she's using her light schedule to sleep in, I go straight to her room. I don't really want to disturb her in that case so I don't knock. It's a mistake. Hitomi Kanzaki is exiting the room as I go to enter it and hurriedly so. The psychic doesn't see me and I don't dodge quickly enough. The cards she's holding go flying upon impact.

My reflexes still warming up, I'm able to pick one of the cards out the air while the rest fall at my feet. Hitomi spews out apology after apology without looking to see whom she hit. She's dropped to the floor, I thought to gather up her cards but it's more like she's looking for one in particular. She can be such an odd girl.

Her cards are equally strange. I move to get out of the way of her search and cause one leaning against my foot to flip. There's a man surrounded by four swords on it. Turning over the card in my hand reveals a young man in fine clothes holding a chalice.

Hitomi finds the card she's after with a sigh of relief. Then, she remembers herself and apologizes a final time. "I'm so sorry, Princess Eries! I didn't know it was you."

"It's all right, Hitomi." I hand her back the two cards I've picked up, tempted to ask her how on Gaea she and Millerna played card games with these things.

She's too rushed to answer. Her deck reassembled, she clutches the cards to her chest, thanks me and runs off at the pace she ran into me at. She's gone so quickly, I can't tell her she missed a card. One of them fluttered across the hall.

Millerna comes out as I bend down to retrieve it. "Eries? What are you doing?"

"Just picking up a card Hitomi left behind." I hold it up for her to look at, but Millerna turns away. She must not have done well at the card games. I don't know what she expected. From the pictures alone, I can tell the people of the Mystic Moon play by some very different rules.

"Have you been to see Father yet?" she asks to change the subject.

"Yes, for several hours, in fact."

But Millerna's not of a mood to be teased. She heads for Father's room, going only a little slower than Hitomi did. I don't want her to get too far ahead. I want to see her face when she sees how much well Father is doing today.

I linger long enough to look at the card and tuck it in a pocket so I can return it later. The picture on this one is a man, a woman and ten of those chalices.

Very, very different rules.

***

It's glorious today. Breezy spring weather has usurped the normal wet heat Asturia endures this time of the year. It doesn't just benefit the mass of people lining the canals and streets leading to the grand cathedral, but the principals of the event those people have come to witness. It just doesn't do to have the future king and queen covered with sweat at their wedding.

Anticipation could potentially make up for the absence of heat, but Millerna's holding up well this morning, despite the commotion of last minute preparations going on outside and an earlier, highly unexpected visitor. Millerna said the Moleman had been by to offer her advice. She didn't say what the advice was or if she was going to take it. Nor did she say how he got into her room to begin with, as she had sounded surprised to find him there. Honestly, I had forgotten he was still was on palace grounds. Making himself scarce is one of his skills. I know the man hadn't meant her any harm; other possible intruders might not. So I sent for extra guards to be posted out in the hall. Millerna didn't seem to care, but through the din made by the swarm of handmaidens fussing over her, she might not have heard the orders. I hope she at least heard me tell her how proud I am of her.

I was politely shown the door by the lead handmaiden before I could find out. I am a princess, true, but not the princess getting married today and therefore, I am only a woman in the way of getting Millerna's hair and make-up being done to perfection.

I still have duties as a daughter. This will be the first time Father's left his bedchamber in weeks and the first look most people have had of him since word got out about his health. It won't be a close look. Father and I will watch the wedding from the balcony directly above the officiating priest. We won't be able to see him at all, but we'll have a good view the bride and groom and half of Asturia will have a tiny view of us. It's important that he's there. For the people, for Millerna, for me and for him.

For one other person too. Meiden's bickering with Father's doctors when I stop by to check in on him. It doesn't take long to ascertain the problem. The doctor says it's all right for Father to appear in public, but only as long as a doctor or two appears with him. Meiden won't have it. For a change, I agree with him.

"Couldn't you wait out of sight?" I ask. "In the event that you are needed, how long could it take to come somewhere nearby?"

"Too long," the tall doctor with the beard says. Short doctor and young doctor concur.

"Please," Meiden says, "You just want the glory of standing by the king. I imagine the publicity of having such a patient would do wonders for each of your practices."

Not everyone thinks like you, Meiden. I shouldn't think like that. He is on my side right now. "I know Father's health is on all our minds, but there are other concerns -- "

"His daughter is getting married today," Meiden interrupts, "He will be there as a proud father and dignified king."

Young doctor is green enough to believe he has a chance at successful persuasion. He holds up recent reports on Father's health that no one takes and affects his best version of a doctor with good bedside manner. Meiden has him cowed in less than a minute. In two, all three doctors are in agreement that Father will do just fine today but on the extremely off chance that their services might be needed, they'll find a room in the cathedral to use for a temporary infirmary. In fact, they believe it best if they go pick out that room right now.

For his part, Meiden receives a slight, barely intelligible thank-you. He cocks an eyebrow, daring me to say it louder and like I mean it.

"Thank you, Meiden." Supposedly, one can take comfort in being the bigger person. "I'm sure Father will appreciate your efforts. I do."

He breathes deeply, giving him time to switch from his instinctual response to a more carefully phrased reply. "We all want what is best for Grava and for Asturia. We might have different ideas on what that constitutes, but sometimes, those differences need to be set aside. I hope you enjoy the ceremony, Princess. I will."

A truce, however tenuous, with Meiden must be a good sign. In only a few hours, my sister will be married and all of Asturia will be celebrating. A private war doesn't belong in such an event.

***

And I thought the weather was glorious. The barges have just cleared the bridge over the canal, giving everyone their first look at Millerna in full glamour. Light plays off the water, forming shimmering patterns on her dress and lending her the radiance of an expectant bride. Dryden doesn't need the sunlight. Cleaned of his perennial fosterling beard and clad in the stateliest Asturian fashion, he's almost unrecognizable, except for the warm smile that his love for Millerna gives him. Behind me, the group of handmaidens selected to attend to Father (and ostensibly me) gasp in unison. Meiden too, makes a happy grunt of approval.

*This* is how a royal wedding is done.

Asturia's best guymelefs ring the yard of the cathedral. Our best knights line the platform at which Millerna and Dryden's individual barges will dock and the two will join each other to walk down aisle leading to the priest. Every inch of space in the yard beyond the melefs is filled. Wealthy, poor. Human, beastman. They're all here, clutching the flowers they were given and watching with hope and anticipation. As figured, no foreign royalty made the trip here -- I don't think Fanel came, either -- but they aren't needed. This is Asturia's moment.

I'm not a sentimentalist, but even I can't fight the knot of giddiness that rises and unfurls into feelings of elation as the priest reads the wedding scripture. Lingering worries about Millerna fade in the face of the unity I feel with my family and my people. It only fitting when Father places his hand over the one I put down on the arm of his chair.

I think, isn't this perfect?

It's followed by, why is Hitomi Kanzaki running down the aisle?

She's screaming. Between her distance from me and ambient noise from the crowd, what she's screaming is lost but it does not sound like congratulations. She's too frantic. Something must be wrong. This can't be a custom of the Mystic Moon. Her foot catches on a ripple in the runner underneath and she falls. Watching her, I almost miss the moment when Dryden and Millerna seal their union with the traditional kiss.

A giant shadow falls across the courtyard. The knot reforms, tighter and more distressing, as I -- and everyone else -- looks up and sees the source. It looks like an eclipse. Dryden even mistakes it for one. But he wasn't here in Palas when this shadow first appeared. When it spent days hanging above us before it left to lord over Freid instead. Zaibach's floating fortress has returned.

The guymelef flying down from it leave no doubts that they are not here to talk treaties. Sleeker than most of the machines and almost feminine in its curves and in the silver, hair-like substance flowing from the head, it nonetheless shrieks hostile intent. It hovers in the sky, daring us to take the first formal strike.

Dryden scoops Millerna up in his arms and runs for shelter. Whoever does make the first move, at least she will be sheltered from it. The shock of this sudden appearance makes the rest of move slower. There's almost a hypnotic quality to Zaibach's machine, so still there up in the sky in its lethal grace. Who knows how long I would have stared at if I hadn't been startled by Father stammering out the first clear words in weeks?

"Zaibach? But why?" I wish I knew. Why now, why at all.

Our guards try to mount an attack. Half rush to the armaments that had been put in place as decoration; half try to control the panicked exodus of the crowd. Those guards meet with some success. The courtyard begins to empty, slowly so that no one is trampled in an escape attempt that would be more deadly than the actual attack.

The others are having trouble. They're yelling at each other that nothing's working. A bow gun misfires. Another pitches forward, it's mechanism broken. Melef pilots stand uselessly before their machines. They can't even board them to mount a defense.

And just when things couldn't look worse, the sky darkens further and the weather itself turns against us. Lightning flares and splinters above. Streaks of it come uncomfortably close to the church. The air crackles and burns.

I think it is past time to follow Dryden's example. Father's wheelchair isn't heavy, but negotiating the stairs takes care. Finding the safest place needs more consideration. We can't tell what's happening outside anymore but the loud cracks of noise are not promising. The rumbling we hear isn't thunder, but the structure of the church as it buckles under the force of an assault. Natural or man-made, it doesn't matter. We need to get out of here.

Dust coming from the ceiling makes it hard to see and breathe. We keep moving, not sure where to go but down. The upper floors and outer rooms are the least safe. This room doesn't look good either. That room doesn't exist anymore. We're more or less carrying Father now. Meiden and a handmaiden on one side, me and another on the other. We've sent a third ahead to scout for a spot of some security. She hasn't come back yet.

Rounding the corner on this last flight of stairs, we see she won't ever be back. Several stone slabs in the ceiling were shaken loose. They must have fallen so fast, she didn't have time to react. We've no place to go now. The stones are blocking our way and are too heavy to move even if we wanted to go near them.

We wait. One of the handmaidens prays. Meiden curses Zaibach with futile threats of what he'll do if his son is killed. My own thoughts are of family. I've slouched beside Father's chair and taken his hand. He clutches it back, harder than I thought possible but the minor pain is nothing compared to the reassurance it gives me. He can't say it, but I know he's wondering if her new husband was able to keep Millerna safe.

Finally, the pounding of the storm stops. No more explosions or crashes. Smoke seeps into the church, the second time Zaibach's set fire to the city. Through the stillness, a familiar voice is projected over the courtyard and into the church. Even through the unnatural amplification, the quiet tenor of Strategos Folken is unmistakable.

He wants Hitomi Kanzaki. He's ordering us to turn her over.

"Is that was this is about?" Meiden shouts. "That girl from the Mystic Moon?"

The handmaidens blanch. The disaster today fits in well with all the horror stories told about the 'cursed' Mystic Moon. They must think Asturia is reaping its just desserts for harboring one of its natives. Hitomi would make an excellent scapegoat. A strange girl from a strange place bringing tragedy to whomever harbors her. Given the concessions we made with Freid, Meiden and the council would hand her over wrapped in a bright bow. From a practical standpoint, the life of one person certainly isn't worth more than the lives of an entire city.

But it doesn't feel right to simply offer her up as a sacrifice. Millerna may have been distressed after Hitomi's visit yesterday, but by all other accounts, the two have become close friends. Whatever changes are going on with Allen, I have the impression that Hitomi plays no small part in them. And she's just a girl. What could Zaibach want with her? What would they do to her?

No decision has to be made. On her own, Hitomi has come forward. Her voice rises up out in the courtyard, quivering but determined, as she proclaims her name.

A brave move, a bold move. I hope it is not also a foolish move.

***

Author's Notes -- Though I collect tarot cards, it's only for the pretty artwork. My knowledge of what the cards actually mean is pretty limited. I used this website -- www. aeclectic. net/index. html. Sorry, ff.net hates URLs now, so you'll have to delete some spaces in there -- for all information. I've added some more fan art by Sakura to my Eries site. The page isn't finished or properly linked yet, but all of the pictures are available at -- www. geocities. com/eriesariaaston. fanart. html.

Author's Notes Part 2 -- Some minor editing on the last section, including grammar, some bits on chronology and who says what. Yep, Folken's voice is unmistakable to everyone but me. ^_^ This is what I get for only watching through an episode once before writing and with the audio off because I just wanted a visual impression. It was the only time I've done that for this fic too. Many thanks to Ron and his Sakura, Wintermute and Rad for pointing out errors.

Next up -- One unhappy chapter to go before this fic ends on two upbeat ones. (Seriously, I have a happy ending planned!) Of course, it's kind of a big unhappy thing that happens -- My Best Friend's Engagement.