Will and the Word
Chapter 17
"Taryn, it has been nice meeting you!" Harry said quietly "For the sake of your friendship with Beldaran it would be best if you accompanied them. If they need me. Fawkes will be able to find me," he said pointing at the sleeping phoenix. He then changed forms and flamed to the tower. Taryn was offended on his new acquaintance's behalf and decided to do something about it.
"Beldaran of Riva, I would have words with you!" Taryn called out using every bit of his Gorim of Ulgo voice. "Now!"
Beldaran meanwhile was getting read the riot act by her mother "Beldaran you have to stop hitting him like that!"
Thierra chimed "He was smiling when he said it. It is like he enjoyed being nobody. I am not sure why you slapped him on the back of the head"
"Because he is somebody to me. I can't explain it he came into my life like a meteorite crashing to earth and…If he would stop putting himself down …" Beldaran broke off hearing Taryn's voice and winced "Mother if you will excuse me, I am about to get yelled at by Taryn and Harry." She waved her mother off leaving the tent.
As she walked out of the tent, she took in her friend. Gone was the small boy who never got into any trouble. He had grown from lithe boy into stocky young man. It was his stance that surprised her this was not her friend standing there it was the Gorim of Ulgo, arguably the most holy man on the face of the planet next to Pelath. "You summoned me, Most Holy?" She asked with a curtsey her annoyance readily apparent in her tone. "How may I serve?"
"You can start by, apologizing to both myself and your husband," Taryn snapped "for your appalling behavior. Although your husband said if you wanted to find him you should talk to the bird over there."
The inferno that was rising in Beldaran was smothered by a cold feeling "Taryn, where did Harry go? Did he say anything to you anything at all?"
"He seemed more concerned for the sake of my friendship with you" Taryn spoke harshly "Do you even love him or do you just love the idea of him because it means the Bear Cult has been neutralized?"
"I do love him. I hear him say those words, words that have been ingrained into his mind by the callous indifference of his family." Beldaran snarled "Every time he says it, I can hear it in his uncles voice. Mind you I have never actually met his uncle but I experienced his entire life and he experienced mine." She looked at her friend tears coursing down her cheeks. "They beat and starved him Taryn, at the tender age of 5 they made him learn to cook. When he failed, he would go without food for days? They did their level best to destroy him. I love him as sure as the sun rises and sets."
"I suggest you go find him and bring him home." Taryn scolded her "It speaks volumes of his characters that he would want me to save my relationship with you as opposed to choosing to stay with him."
Taryn brushed past her ignoring her surprised face. "Aunt Ce'nedra I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news the Gorim of Ulgo has passed away." He said to the Rivan Queen and then took the tiny queen into a warm embrace "He passed in his sleep, he was in no pain and he left a message for you and the King" he said as he tried to release the queen from the hug only to find his shoulder bathed in hot tears as the tiny woman held onto him with surprising strength. "He enjoyed your last missive. He was not as I am not happy with how the Bear Cult treats you and Beldaran. He thought we should offer Beldaran a place in the caves as once you were offered a place."
"Those were some of the happiest days of my life. I made many good friends we keep up with one another." The Queen murmured "Thank you Taryn. Where is my son in law?"
"I don't know. I was told the sleeping bird could find Her highnesses husband." Taryn said stiffly "For as smart as Beldaran is sometimes she can be really dumb."
Beldaran walked to where Fawkes was perched sleeping gently petting him "Fawkes can you take me to Harry." She began petting the phoenix trying to stop the tears "I may have hurt him." Beldaran was surprise when the phoenix began to trill mournfully "His uncle made him feel like nobody as a child. He is somebody not just to me but to everyone he meets. Please take me to my love." Fawkes trilled he jumped and settled on her shoulder flashing them away.
Harry had been sitting on a rock not too far from their tower his head bowed in a whirlwind of emotions and whispered "Luna, what am I supposed to do now"
"You are supposed to live silly!" Luna said her spirit manifesting in front of him "What bothers you, my love?"
"Met a girl, and she experienced my entire life as I experienced hers ." Harry said quietly "I followed your command and chose to accept what she gave. She doesn't get me though. When I introduce myself to her father, the King of Riva. I introduced myself as being nobody important."
"I take it she did not agree?" Luna said in voice that Harry had only ever heard when they had returned to Ottery St. Catchpole and found the Rookery destroyed and the burnt remains of her father. "Even if your titles or the circumstances of your Birth do not matter to you. Your predilection toward self-deprecation is a legacy left by your aunt and uncle. What else?"
"I uhm…" harry started stammering "I fell in love with her and asked her parents if I could court her with the goal to marry her leisure. Wegotmarried"
"I did not quite catch that, Harry. The spirit of Luna said quirking an eyebrow "Use your words, slowly"
Harry smiled at Luna's very direct command it was so very unlike her "We got married." Harry said expecting to see a hurt look he was surprised by her smile "I expected you to be angry or sad, not smiling."
Fawkes deposited Beldaran behind Harry she was going to speak when she heard his plea and was surprised when the spirit appeared making a sign to remain quiet. The spirit, his Luna, Beldaran thought. Was roughly their age she had waist long platinum blond hair and was a little more filled out? For a moment Beldaran had flash of irrational jealousy until she saw Luna smile when she heard they were married. Luna made a gesture; a big one that Harry did not miss the meaning. It was the gesture to turn around when he cocked his head asking why with the gesture, she made the gesture more insistently he relented and was met by the sight of his wife "Oh, how long have you been there?"
"Long enough to know Luna and I would have been the best of friends." Beldaran admitted quietly "Every time you say you are nobody important. I hear your uncle. If I could kill him, I would. But I should not be hitting you. I am sorry." Tears coursed down her cheeks "I am so, so sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for. I survived my relatives but even I have to admit they left deep marks on me" Harry murmured "Beldaran, I would like you to meet my one-time fiancé and my best friend Luna Lovegood. I need to formulate the next thing I am going to say to you so I will give you few minutes to talk."
Harry moved away and sat down again looking out over the vale. Luna turned to Beldaran "You know part of me is jealous of you Beldaran of Riva."
"Yes, I know the feeling!" Beldaran grimaced "He loved, loves you deeply. When Voldemort took you, it broke him. He did not want to survive."
"He loves me, yes" It was Luna's turn to grimace "I am his past! You are his future. I need you to take care of him. He will give everything for the people he cares about. Right now, that is you and will come to encompass others. We have been watching. Ul himself tasked Harry with the younger generation's safety. While your father and family friends have fighting experience, they have not had a war in some time. Harry has existed in a state of war or near war since he was 14 and he is very good at it. Please watch his back I do not want any of you joining us any time soon. Beyond that just be there for him. He is so easy to love, and easy on the eyes if you can get him in a tight pair of leather trousers like his dragon hide. You will thank me for the suggestion"
"He destroyed the golems and found the portraits you had made for him." Beldaran spoke softly "I regret that we never got to meet Luna. I think we would have been great friends."
"Silly Goose!" Luna said her smile lighting up her ghostly face "We are friends and we are part of a very select group who have known and loved Harry James Potter. Take care of him for us!" her voice echoed as she vanished from sight.
Beldaran felt better and worse for the encounter she walked up behind her husband "I really like her. I Hope you won't be shy and will share stories of her and your other friends." Beldaran whispered in his ear as she wrapped her lithe arms around Harry "You made an Impression on Taryn. I think he might actually like you more than me."
"Sorry" Harry muttered as he stiffened "You just did not seem happy with me I did not want him to have to choose between the new guy and you. So, I came up here to think… you saw how that went"
"Yes, I did!" she sighed "I want us to work, to see the world, settle and have children to study whatever takes our fancy. Mostly I want you to stop with the cracks that you are nobody."
"I know it seems like my uncle won in that regard to me." Harry said quietly "Let me tell you having been at the mercy of fickle population who alternated on treating me like royalty one minute and in the next to trying kill me for no other reason than I survived a curse that kills in any other case. I wanted to enjoy being nobody for a bit. That would have worked if not for you, my love. So, I will amend my statement I have not made my mark on the world." he twisted around settling his wife into his lap "There are people who are not going to be happy that you married me and they will see me as my uncle saw, an inconvenience to overcome. That I am one of Aldur's Disciples will not even slow them down."
"There are two at least" Beldaran said drying the last of her tears away "one will be in Tol Honeth trying to make business deals with many of the visiting dignitaries. Trust me he will make himself known." Beldaran replied absent mindedly running her fingers through his thick mane of hair "There are those in my own mother's family who want me educated as she was. Only fear of my father and my uncle the emperor of all Tolnedra has kept them at bay."
"I will try to be on my best behavior." Harry said impishly as he started tickling Beldaran "No promises though"
Beldaran giggled and pulled her husband into a kiss that left them both breathless.
When they came up for air "I don't want you to be on your best behavior, I don't care if you create a diplomatic incident." Beldaran said forcefully "Aldur gave us this I don't care if your title is Lord, Sir knight or your grace. For now, the most important title you have is husband and son. Later I will instruct you on other titles, like Father, Uncle and Grandfather."
Harry was a little cowed by his wife "Yes ma'am. So, what do we do now?"
"Well, my best friend told me to fix this and bring you back. Like I said I think he likes you better than he does me at the moment." Beldaran captured Harry's lips in a sweet hope filled kiss "I really don't understand what is going on with us but I know one very important thing"
"What is that my wife" Harry emphasized the last two words "Please share with me."
"That this, this right here is what I want" Beldaran said in a soft voice "More importantly I want it with you! My love for you is many things but it will never be fickle." She stood and offered him her hand "My love for you will endure even unto the end of days. We will make mistakes; we will say things we may not mean in the heat of the moment. we will confound and frustrate each other. But never will I forsake you. It is my hope you will never forsake me."
Harry was rendered speechless. He had no idea what it was to really be a husband. The only role Model he had were Arthur and Molly Weasely. However, he did not think he could or should let Beldaran treat him as he saw Molly treat Arthur on occasion. "I will not forsake you. Even unto the end of days."
"Now that we have hashed that out" Beldaran's stomach took that moment to rumble. Smiling shyly "we should return home dinner will be soon."
"Well, we cannot have you missing a meal!" Harry smiled wrapping his arms around pully her close kissing her as he apparated them home. Beldaran and Harry lost themselves in the kiss. Appeared in front of Taryn and Thierra.
After a minute the silence became too much for Taryn "We should leave them be it seems like they are having a moment" He began to turn when Thierra let out whistle causing Harry and Beldaran to turn sheepishly.
"Thierra, this is my husband Harry Gryffindor" Beldaran made the formal introduction "I know you tried to intimidate him earlier. Please do not do it again. He understands what it is to have brothers and sisters not of his blood. Harry…Taryn…" the small princess said grabbing both their hands "I am sorry for earlier you both deserve better than that from me."
"Well for my part, I should not be so glib about my place in the world." Harry admitted "You are right Luna hated it when I did that. I will try to stop. Taryn I was rude to you as well I am sorry" Harry then pinned Thierra with a glance in a very formal tone Harry addressed her "Princess Thierra, trust that I will never hurt Beldaran and if mother and father trust me you can too!"
Taryn had been rubbing his temple imagining the things his betrothed said to this lordly young man. "Apology accepted My lord Gryffindor" the holy man said quietly "Thank you Beldaran for Following my instructions. Believe me I never want to use that tone with you ever again." He pulled Thierra close "My love A princess you may be, but I think you will need to work hard to earn Harry's trust."
"Your Highness" Thierra said quietly stepping away for the protective embrace toward Harry "I apologize profusely. She is not just a friend she is my family. My mother is His majesty's cousin. Please do not let this first impression sour what could be the beginning of a lasting and happy friendship"
Harry thought back to all the times he had put his foot in it. All his friends had put their foot in it "Call me Harry. Beldaran is royal I am not."
"Oh, but you are son" came from behind him as he felt a delicate hand that was not his wife gently rest on his shoulder "My husband and I decided together after discussion with our older family members that even though Beldaran may take the surname of Potter you will still be a prince and princess of the house of Riva. Prince Harry does roll off the tongue." Ce'nedra said turning him around "Now your highnesses and your holiness we are planning on leaving in the morning we have three weeks to get to Tol Honeth and the wagon is not the fastest thing in the world."
"Harry, I need to speak with you. Ul bade me speak with you" Taryn spoke up "He Intimated to me that my family should be at the summit so my father and Mother can speak for Maragor. Unfortunately, I have 15 sisters so travelling will be a process. Ul said that maybe you could help."
"Well, I might have some ideas about how I can help but I may need to see a very detailed memory." Harry said stroking his chin in thought "Fawkes!"
After a moment the phoenix flamed in "Would it be possible for one of us to carry a wagon full of people with enchanted with runes to mimic a featherlight charm?"
Fawkes looked far away then trilled Harry found that it was easier to understand "Flame travel is out but we could carry the wagon and everyone in it. Excellent. We can make it happen I just need Shrink everything we will be taking and store it in my pouch. Then I need to talk with Durnik to see if he is okay with me carving the runes into his wagon."
"How long will it take Love?" Beldaran asked
"Pretty much all night" He replied "Assuming our uncle agrees."
"Harry is what you are going to do going to destroy the wagon?" Durnik said emerging from the gathering crowd. "Or will it improve the wagon."
"It will definitely improve it for sure" Harry muttered going over the runes he was going to use in his head "and if I pour enough power into them, they will be permanent."
"We will have dinner first" Polgara insisted "Then you boys can play with your toys."
Authors Notes: apparently the authors note in Eorzean odyssey was incorrect apparently I have two and a half chapters worth of Will and the Word - Enjoy