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Mabon Part II

Chapter 2 – Marriage

From the information Numair had had to draw from the messenger's mind they had realised that a small band of raiders had docked at Pirate's Swoop with the thinking that the king and queen were residing there. Alanna had automatically assumed that some attempt would be made to take either Thayet or Jonathan, probably for a try at a rather dim witted ransom demand.

However, the Lioness had stood up straight away, obviously intending to immediately go to her home and rid it of the attackers. George had mirrored her actions, Numair, Jon, Sarge, Onua, Raoul and Thayet also leaving hurriedly. Jon turned to his wife and shook his head. "This will be a small attack from what we've heard, and probably over by the time we get there. However, if something should happen to me as we've underestimated them, you will still be here," he explained, grabbing a thick robe to keep him warm on the journey.

Thayet sighed and sat back down. "I could look after Sarralyn and Daine, you could go?" She suggested.

Daine looked at her daughter and felt the dilemma. If she stayed she would be continually worrying about Numair and how she could have helped. She considered leaving Sarralyn with Thayet and Buri, but she had the niggling feeling that it wouldn't be wise, just in case the attackers were cleverer than they had thought and had planned an ambush on the Tower. Pirate's Swoop and the Tower were close enough and well known enough for them to target the Tower as well, particularly if they were unsure which location the king and queen were staying at.

"I'll stay," Daine announced. "If it is a small party than they'll likely have been stopped by George's men by the time you get there. Why not take Tkaa and Kitten?"

Numair shook his head, pulling on boots he wore to ride. "We are leaving you unguarded. They can stay here and help out if the need arises. I will let you know the outcome before we head back," he kissed her, wishing he could linger, and then kissed his daughter's cheek, the last to leave the room.

Daine watched through the window as they left, listening to the click of the hooves as they rode away. She recalled the last time they had celebrated a sabbat at the Tower and had to go to Pirate's Swoop after an attack by the former Lord Synthia. She looked at her two companions, Buri, heavily pregnant, and Thayet, looking rather furiously at the dwindling figures heading away from them. Daine laughed at her expression, obviously frustrated at not being able to go and help. Thayet tried glaring back at her, but found she couldn't, and began to smile herself.

"I know they will be fine. I doubt they actually needed to all go back, as it is probably just a handful of idiots thinking they'll be able to have a good go at Pirate's Swoop as everyone will be relaxed because of the sabbat. But there was no way Alanna could leave it be," Thayet sighed, her eyes going back to the window, although no trace was left of their friends.

They heard Buri give a strange sound from the chair where she was sat and both pairs of eyes rushed to her. She was very near due, and Daine felt slightly concerned that with Alanna gone, there was no healer present in case she went into labour. In fact, Daine was surprised that Buri had come at all, given the journey and the stage of her pregnancy. But very little could stop the woman from joining in what she wanted to do, and Daine imagined that if Raoul had put up a battle against them coming he would have lost -- dramatically. And maybe painfully too.

Daine took Sarralyn from Thayet and cuddled her close, wondering what thoughts would be going through Numair's head as he rode to Pirate's Swoop. He had been looking forward to a quiet holiday, Daine just hoped that the reminder of it would be calm and serene, and that whatever trouble had hit Alanna's home would be quickly resolved, hopefully before they even got there. She realised that Sarralyn needed changing, wrinkling her nose up a little at he smell. She kept a change of things downstairs, hidden in one of the cupboards in the sitting room. It saved having to climb the countless flights of stairs, carrying a sometimes screaming baby.

Thayet smiled as she saw Daine take out the necessary equipment. "I'll change her in the other room," Daine said, not wanting to offend her guests.

Thayet laughed. "I have no problem with it. My sense of smell was slaughtered after the third child!"

Buri sat up straight and watched interestedly. "I should probably watch and refresh my memory as to how it's done," she murmured. "Although I am looking forward to seeing Raoul change a diaper," her tone became a little evil.

Daine grinned as she set to work on a task that she could have done with her eyes shut now. "It won't beat Numair when he first did this," she smiled. "He hadn't seen me do it properly, so he didn't really know what to expect," she began to laugh, putting down the little tub of cream that one of the palace healers had given her to help with Sarralyn's nappy rash. "It was shortly after Midsummer, so she'd just stabilised in this form, and her stomach was particularly… let's say it was working well. Anyhow, he undid the diaper and fell backwards, shouting me over like some terrible immortal had appeared. He ranted on about why it was so black and smelly and was something the matter; he just couldn't understand that it was normal for a young baby!" Daine carried on laughing. "I'll never forget the look on his face!"

Thayet and Buri joined in the laughter. "Jonathan always tried to make an excuse to not have to change a diaper. One day I just ignored him so he had to. By the time I came back into the room he had the diaper on his head and was attempting to find a spell that would put it on. He had no idea either," Thayet said, her tone dry.

Buri shook her head. "I'm not sure about Raoul. I think he will want to be a part of things like that, he's keen for us to take equal roles in all of this, partly because he's already seen his friends become fathers and this was something he really wanted."

Thayet nodded. "I'm sure it will still be an interesting experience watching the first diaper change. You'll have to commit it to memory and give us a full report on it," she suggested, her eyes dancing with amusement.

Daine began to laugh again as a memory crossed her mind. Sarralyn was now dressed and in her arms, her eyes looking round the room as if it was a completely new place. "I remember the stories I heard about Jonathan the night before your wedding," she looked at Thayet who rolled her eyes, although the look on her face told of the fond recollections she had of that day.

"If that story was public knowledge there'd be an outcry about Jon's ability to run a country!" She said with a smile.

"What exactly happened?" Daine asked, never having heard the story from Thayet before, only from Onua who had received the tale third or fourth hand.

Thayet shook her head, laughing. "Jonathan would have me beheaded if he knew I was still telling this! The night before the wedding he was accosted by Gary, Raoul and George and taken up to the suite of rooms that we now use. At the time, the rooms were empty as they had just been decorated for our marriage. Naturally, the other three came armed with more ale than it is humanly possible to drink and set about attempting to sup as much of it as possible," Thayet smiled, a mischievous glint in her eye. "They managed to get Jonathan completely intoxicated, then carried him down to he stables and tied him onto his horse and rode out to where the large oak tree is in the middle of the meadow. They stripped him and tied him to the tree and left him there. It wasn't till the morning when Duke Gareth went looking for him in a hurry that he was found, but thankfully it was early in the morning and no one else had discovered him. Jon was completely oblivious to his state and the fact that it was his wedding day. The healers managed to sort him out though; otherwise we may never have married!"

Daine and Buri laughed at the story, Daine well imagining the scolding Jon had gotten off Thayet when she had found out the sorry tale.

"How did you find this out?" She asked the queen curiously.

"Duke Gareth actually told me. I think he was too annoyed with Jon to speak to him, so he wanted me to rebuke him instead. I went into his rooms, not caring of the notion that the bride shouldn't see the groom before the wedding, and yelled at him till I was blue in the face. Jon tried to cover his ears with a pillow, so I just shouted louder," she smiled at the memory. "I think it was then that it was decided who was the boss!"

Buri laughed. "Raoul ended up in? a tree the night before we were married, and I have to say that it was your husband, Thayet, who instigated the whole thing!"

"It would be only fair he got revenge!" Thayet defended him.

"How did he end up a tree?" Daine asked. She had heard a few tales about what Numair had gotten up to the night before their wedding, although it was still too recent for him to confess anything to her.

Buri shook her head, taking the baby Daine offered to her and nestling down with her. "From what I know, which isn't much at the moment, certain items of importance, such as the rings we were to exchange, had been tied to branches at the top of a tree. Raoul got a pair of ladders and managed to climb up to the first lot of branches, not having the sense to realise that they were egging him on to do it for a reason, and then they removed the ladders so he couldn't get down. Of course, George's home brew had something to do with the notion being born, and I believe it was Jonathan's idea," she glared at Thayet. "He was stuck up there for the rest of the night and it was only when Gary came to wake him up in the morning that he realised that Raoul hadn't managed to get down that anyone went to put the ladders back!"

Daine laughed loudly. Raoul was a big, well built man, and she knew he would have had an uncomfortable night up the tree. She could also imagine his wrath and annoyance at Jonathan and the rest involved. "What did he say to you when you found out?" She asked Buri.

"He just looked at me with big eyes and said that he hadn't wanted anything to happen to the rings as he didn't want our wedding to be spoilt," she laughed. "Basically he was too idiotically stupid with all the jesting and encouragement to realise that he could have just gotten one of the squires or pages to climb the tree, and was a bit foolish doing it himself."

Thayet grinned. "You didn't fall for the big eyes did you?"

Buri made a noise that showed her disgust and shook her head. "Hardly. I've known him for far too many years to be taken in with things like that. Yet he still tries," she ended, grinning. "I know a few things about Numair's wedding eve," Buri looked at Daine impishly.

Daine looked back at her with the same wicked glint. "I've heard a few things, but not much, so tell!"

"From what Raoul has told me, they decided to take Numair into Corus to sample some of the finer brews available. However, Harailt had decided to arrange to see off Numair in a finer style and had ordered a couple of dancing girls to provide some entertainment," Buri said, Sarralyn resting on her baby bump.

Daine started to laugh. Numair didn't drink too often, although he could handle more of it than the likes of Jonathan and Harailt. She doubted that he would have been very amused with the dancing girls, although it was just the type of thing Harailt would enjoy, even through he was now a married man with three children.

"Numair apparently was coping well with the drinks that were being bought for him, although Raoul did say that most of them were laced with stronger spirits," Buri continued.

"He'll have spelled the drinks so they didn't affect him," Daine said knowingly. "He was a bit worried about that night and what they would do to him, so he carried a gem that was an alcohol neutraliser."

"Jonathan could do with one of them," Thayet muttered under her breath.

Buri laughed. "That would explain it. These dancing girls came in and Harailt pointed them in the direction of Numair. Raoul said that Numair somehow managed to get them to believe that it was Harailt getting married, so they latched themselves to him, and began their routine and ended up thoroughly embarrassing Harailt in front of the whole room. Raoul won't tell me exactly what happened, he just laughed, but I think Numair managed to get away quite lightly," she finished, watching Daine's face. Most wives, she knew would be a little perturbed to know that their husband spent the eve of his wedding watching semi naked girls dance provocatively, but Daine didn't bat an eye lid. She knew that after ten years of living together Daine would never doubt Numair's commitment to her, and his effort in diverting the girls onto Harailt would not have surprised her.

"Why on earth would Harailt think dancing girls would be an idea?" Daine giggled.

Thayet laughed. "Back when Harailt and Numair were both single I think they enjoyed the odd night out in such places. Maybe it was a bit of reminiscing on Harailt's part as those nights weren't likely to happen again," she suggested.

Daine nodded. "That sounds fair right. Poor Harailt!" She got up, her eyes looking out of the window, as if she expected to see the rest of the party return at any minute. "Would anyone like a drink?" She asked, heading toward the kitchen. Both of the women nodded yes and continued their conversation about their husbands and their various escapades, none of which portrayed them in a particularly glowing light. Diane brought in a hot drink, made of herbs, that she knew would be particularly good for Buri at the stage of her pregnancy. She then took Sarralyn into the kitchen to feed her, untying the front of her shirt and altering the special breastband.

She gazed at their daughter as she fed at her breast and thought of the wedding that had led up to her making. It had been held at the Midsummer of the previous year, and the Goddess had granted them a luxurious day of crystal clear blue skies and a light warm breeze that helped to keep people from feeling too hot.

Daine had spent the eve of the wedding with Thayet and Onua, in Thayet's rooms, from which Jonathan had been banished for the occasion. She hadn't felt especially nervous, she had had no wedding night rituals to worry over, having shared a bed with Numair for nine years already. All the preparations had been put in place with Thayet's military precision and there was nothing left to do besides chat and sleep so she would be fresh for her day.

Her dreams had been filled with the Badger, a rare occurrence these days, and she heard him wish her well and tell her she had chosen a good mate to have kitts with. When she had woken she recalled dreams that looked like visions of the future and she wondered if Shakith had decided to show her some of the things that lay in store for her. She had seen a little girl with her hair and stubborn chin, chocolate brown eyes like Numair's and her head in a book. She had seen a small boy following Numair, the very image of the tall mage, but for lighter skin and a curl in his hair even though it was kept short. And she saw another girl, her hair jet black and straight, grey serious eyes peeping out from long eyelashes, and she wondered if this was their third child. Daine smiled when she woke, knowing that the morning sun brought a new chapter in the rest of her life.

Thayet had entered the room baring a tray with a light breakfast of scrambled eggs, orange juice and hot tea. Putting the tray down, she had sat on the bed at the side of Daine and smiled.

"How's your stomach?" She had asked, already dressed with her hair tied up in an elaborate style.

Daine looked down at the breakfast and wondered how much of it she would be able to eat, feeling as if someone was jumping up and down inside her belly. "It's churning," she answered, smiling ironically.

Thayet nodded. "I was sick several times before I got married. Alanna, however, was just in an incredibly good mood the day she wed George, no nerves at all, or so she let on."

Daine had begun to eat a little of the breakfast, Thayet staying at her reassuring best. Once she had eaten as much as she could stomach, she was led to a warm bath that had been ran for her and then found herself being pampered. She missed Numair, having become so used to waking up with him when they were at he palace, and she missed the words he would have said to her to ease her nerves. She wondered if he was as nervous as she, and how long it would take him to get ready on such a day, when he would be the centre of attention for the duration.

Once she had washed and had her hair tamed Thayet came in to help her with her dress. Since Daine and Numair had announced when they were to get married Thayet had been busily making Daine's dress for the occasion. Most people, when they were married wore their best clothes, the bride often in blue to symbolise her purity. Daine had laughed at this when Thayet had told her the reasoning behind the colour, and suggested that the usual shade of blue was lighter, and a little less traditional.

So the dress had been made, keeping to a simple pattern that would emphasize the young woman's best features without being blinding. It was in a light shade of grey blue, which brought out the colour in Daine's eyes. The material was a dull satin, and heavy enough to make Daine glad to have it removed at the end of the day. Thayet knew from experience of making gowns for Daine before that the simpler the design was the more it would suit her, so the dress ended up coming almost to the floor with a slight flare. It nipped in at the waist, was fitted around the middle and was supported at the top with two small straps, the neck coming down low enough to make Numair gasp when he saw it.

Her hair had been piled on her head, tendrils falling down from it, and her face painted a little to accentuate her cheekbones, full lips and lashes. When she looked in the mirror she couldn't quite believe it was her. The girl had gone, and the glass reflected a woman who did, by no means, look to young for the groom. For a second Daine knew with every ounce of her that this was the right thing, and there would never be any regrets. Her eyes had welled with tears as she turned to Thayet, desperately trying to hold them back.

"Daine," Thayet had began, her voice soft. "If you start to cry now you won't stop and you'll muss your face."

Daine had smiled and pulled herself together, the older woman straightening out the dress and making sure that everything was as it should be. She had opted for a shorter veil than tradition decreed, not wanting the usual long, yellow material that covered the bride's head from the morning until the couple returned to their rooms at night to consummate the marriage. Instead her veil was a fine lace that was very sheer, in the same shade as the dress. Her face could be seen through it and as it only covered the front of her, the hair style was still visible too.

Her maids had been dressed in the same shade of material. Wearing the same type of clothes as the bride was meant to confuse any malevolent spirits, and stop them from attacking the bride. Daine had chosen some of the younger girls of the palace to be maids; Lianne, Alianne and Harailt's twin girls, Ain and Annam, who were just five years old and highly delighted to be part of it all. Daine had debated having Kitten, but the young dragon had recently developed an air of dignity and had let Daine know that she would prefer to stand at the front of the ceremony with the king and queen.

She had walked with her party to the meadow where George's mother would perform the handfasting ritual in her role of High Priestess. She had carried flowers that Onua had arranged, lilies, roses and an assortment of beautiful wild flowers. Sheaths of wheat were tied into it as a fertility symbol.

Animals had gathered to watch the proceedings. Daine had noticed the Long Lake Pack in attendance, as she had expected. Zek, the little pigmy marmoset she had rescued from the Zekoi river in Carthak was sat on Cloud's back, joined by the female marmoset he had met shortly after they had returned to Tortall. Daine's eyes had filled with tears as she saw her old horse. Cloud was not the young pony she had once been, yet she had not lost her biting tongue. Don't start to cry yet! Daine had heard her say. No one wants a bride with red eyes, especially the stork man! Daine had smiled and continued walking towards Eleni.

Thayet had made her pause near a copse for a moment. Daine had stopped, wondering why she was being made to wait, particularly when she was late already. Then she saw why; a tall man with antlers appeared from the trees, accompanied by a woman in green with fair hair and a beautiful face.

"Ma! Da!" Daine had cried, opening her arms to them, not wanting to run in case she should spoil her dress.

Her mother had already begun to cry, gushing over how she looked, and that she couldn't believe her daughter was getting married. Weiryn had said very little, merely offering his arm and leading them onto to the waiting party. Daine was aware that her father was now intending to take his traditional part in the ceremony, although she wasn't sure how traditional it would be, given that he only wore a loin cloth. Originally she hadn't wanted this part to be included, but up until now she hadn't thought that her parents would be able to attend the wedding. Now she was just glad they were her, and felt a little glow inside her that her da wanted this role, and also accepted Numair as his daughter's husband.

The rest of her memories seemed like a blur. She had walked through their guests as they made a path way for her, her eyes had been fixated on Numair, who stood wearing tan breeches and a white shirt, both made out of the same material as her dress. He had looked apprehensive and worried when she had first seen him, noticing his expression before he saw her.

Then the look on his face had changed as he had caught sight of her. There eyes had met and she felt the same pulse of electricity she nearly always had when she looked at him and found that she couldn't move her eyes away.

Her father led her to him, and then silently bent down and removed one of her shoes. He handed it to Numair, a look of amusement on his face. "You have already looked after my daughter well for many years, although it was without my permission," Weiryn handed him the shoe. "Now I give my permission to you. See you look after her well," he almost growled, and then stepped to the side. Daine smiled, noting he look of relief on Numair's face that Numair had officially shown he thought he was worthy for her.

Eleni had then begun the ceremony, calling for the presence and the blessing of the Great Mother Goddess and then beginning to tie Daine and Numair's wrists together with a strip of leather, their hands making the sign for infinity. Daine had not really heard her words; she had been too captivated by the look in her new husband's eyes, showing her the world, as Eleni had declared them to be together for as long as their love should live.

The day had continued with the celebrations, although Daine barely remembered anything bar the feeling of happiness and the unwillingness to move from Numair's side. He had been just as bad, his eyes watching her wherever she went; now that he had managed to marry her he was not going to let her out of his sight it had seemed.

That night, when the dress had been lost to the floor and the pregnancy charm had been tossed into a drawer before making love with a new sense of possession and comfort, Daine had afterwards curled into her husband's arms and wondered why they hadn't done this earlier.

She rested Sarralyn in one arm and fastened up her shirt, putting a muslin cloth over her shoulder before lifting the baby up and winding her, rubbing her back gently. She wondered how her husband was getting along at Pirate's Swoop, and when he would be back so she could share with him the memories she had been enjoying.

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Numair had reached Pirate's Swoop in what he thought must have been a record time. To the sea he could spot a large boat which he guessed had contained the raiders. The boat seemed empty, so he imagined that its passengers were now on ground. They could hear the sounds of battling and Alanna ran to where the noises were coming from, followed by Raoul. George headed straight for the building, Numair and Onua following. Sarge had spotted what looked to be a raider and had managed to grapple with him, his strength keeping him captive for George to interrogate.

Within half a minute George had extracted the information that he needed from the man. There had been fifty men on board the boat, all but one of them were now within the grounds of the Swoop with the intentions of taking the king or queen back with them. George had laughed out loud when the man had told him this.

"Half your men have been captured or killed already!" He had exclaimed. "The other half will soon be in the same predicament!" One of George's men who guarded the Swoop had already found him to report that the situation had been contained, and it wasn't necessary for George and Alanna to have returned. George had merely laughed. He was a proud man, and would not let anything stop his defence of his home, whether it was from an invasion of Scanran soldiers or a flock of magpies intent on doing damage.

Numair and Onua had returned outside to help with any captives that they could. Numair found fun in capturing them in a web of his gift, leaving them magically tied up and in the mercies of George's men who then took them to the cells underneath Pirate's Swoop. Onua impaled a few with her bow, not killing them, just enough to stop them from going anywhere.

Numair was engrossed in catching one man who was making his way quickly back to the sea when he saw a flash of light next to him. Turning to his side he saw that Onua was no longer there; just her bow lay on the ground. He looked out to the boat, sitting seemingly empty in the waves, but for a diminishing glare of brown light. He closed his eyes briefly and cursed. The attackers had wanted someone they could hold for ransom. The king or queen would have fetched the best price, however, one of their friends would obviously do as well.

George ran over to him, his face bemused. "We seem to have caught them all in one way or another, do you want o contact…" He stopped, seeing the look on the mage's face.

Numair turned to him. "There was a mage on the boat -- one that's obviously used a screening spell as I didn't sense him. He's taken Onua."

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Daine sat with Sarralyn in her arms looking out of the window. Dusk was settling rapidly and the rest of their party had been gone for some time with no word as to how they were. The conversation between herself, Thayet and Buri had lulled, all three becoming increasingly worried about what had gone on at Pirate's Swoop. Daine had asked a few of the birds in the vicinity to fly over to it and report back what they had found. She had sent some animals to see it they could help in any way without getting themselves injured. But she knew that she would not rest until she knew how everybody was.

She watched as Buri stood up, obviously uncomfortable, and began to pace around the room. Her face contorted with pain and she went for the nearest chair. Thayet and Daine both stood up and went to her, passing each other a knowing look. Buri looked up at them both half a minute later, her face calmer and more relaxed.

"I think the baby's coming," she said, managing the tiniest of worried smiles.

This next chapter - Mabon III - will be my last for a while. I have really enjoyed writing these DN stories, but I'm a little strung out with them now and I really want to start my own book while I have some time to do it. I have no doubt I will be back, I have an idea for a long DN story and a oneshot that I do want to do at some point, but it might bea few weeks. Mabon III will be up tomorrow.

So, for the penultimate time - REVIEW!