The party was well underway by the time Vanyel made his appearance. Stuck at Court again, Stefen thought absently, craning his neck around to see when his lover—no, lifebonded—would arrive. Breda was in the midst of a randy ode to young lovers' endurance when Stefan saw the telltale black and silver head peek cautiously around the corner of the old barn. Everyone—all twenty odd guests—was raptly watching Breda or was curled in a corner attempting to act out the lyrics. Stefen quietly inched over from his post against the wall to say hello.

"I've been waiting for you, ashke," Stefen said, smiling.

Garbed in dark blue, hair tousled, Vanyel sighed. "I know. The meeting ran over and I ducked into my room to change." He shrugged out of his cloak, revealing a bottle of fine red wine. "And to grab this."

Stefen plucked it out of his hand and chuckled. "Looking to repeat our first night, lover?"

"With a slightly better ending," Vanyel replied, a smile playing on his lips. "How long has Breda been up there?"

"Four turns, at her age! She puts us to shame."

"I believe this song would put anyone to shame," Vanyel remarked dryly as Breda strummed the last chords.

Winding down, Breda looked out at the audience, her gaze lighting delightedly on Vanyel's telltale face. "And that one," she said with a final, loud strum, "was for Lord Vanyel Ashkevron, first in the Circle, who so kindly chose to finally grace us with his presence."

Vanyel chuckled and gave a short bow, raising his cup. "To Breda, whose tongue is as, ah, limber as ever even in senility!"

The guests roared with laughter and Jisa came over, clad in a simple white dress and arm in arm with Treven. "Uncle Van!" she crowed, wrapping him in a slightly drunken hug. "You came!"
"So, Van," Treven said, more loudly than necessary, "What'd you bring us?"
Stefen placed a steadying hand on Treven's shoulder. "Ah, young love," he sighed dramatically, "So inebriating!"

Treven laughed, then narrowed his eyes speculatively at Vanyel's arm around Stefen's waist. "I hear you're experiencing some of the same symptoms these days. Both of you."

"Yes!" Jisa exclaimed, joining him in laughter. "I'll have no more teasing out of either of you!" She paused. "So… you are truly together? It's official?"

Vanyel cuffed his daughter gently. "That's for being nosy, child!"

:Use your senses, dearheart.: He sent. :Only go a bit farther than the other day. My shields are lowered.:

She did and he Felt her touch his mind. She looked back at him, then Stefen, and her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, Stef," she said, placing a hand on his cheek. "What a gift from the Gods you've been for us all."

Savil interrupted the moment by coming up to give Vanyel a healthy kiss on the cheek. Eyeing her nephew's tunic knowingly, she said, "Pulling out all the stops, eh, Van?"

He blushed. "Why is it that anytime I wear anything other than Whites everyone thinks I'm being seductive?"

Savil waggled her eyebrows at him. "Don't know, lad," she said, grabbing his bottle and taking a swig, "Could be that you're keeping company with this lad of a certain reputation!"

Stefen straightened indignantly "I think you've had too much to drink, Milady Herald Mage," he replied, wresting the wine away and taking a deep drink himself, "To despoil an innocent man's reputation so heartlessly!"

Snickering, Vanyel said, "Innocent, Kernos' balls! And," he continued, reclaiming his drink and holding it high, "I think you've all had a bit too much." He brought it down and took a few healthy swallows. "I have a bit of catching up to do."

Jisa and Treven laughed, drinking from their own cups.

"Well, Stef?" Jisa said, looking pointedly at him. "We're waiting."

"For what, O Queen of my heart?" he replied theatrically.

"I'll take that title as a sign of fealty and request a service of you," she said with a smile.

"Anything for the light of my life!"

Jisa snorted. "In that case, a song?"

"Certainly!" Stefen replied, dropping his hand from Vanyel's shoulder and reaching down to pick up his gittern case from the ground behind him. "I have just the right one for this celebration of love," he continued, leering briefly at his lover.

Vanyel rolled his eyes as everyone chuckled and took another drink. "I hope it's not too crude," he said fastidiously. "Breda's already covered that song genre."

"Me? Crude?" Stefen said, raising his eyebrows and heading toward the makeshift stage of two hay bales. "Never!"

"Good luck, boy!" Savil called. "Make him blush!"

Stefen paused in route and smiled. "I forgot one thing!" He came back toward them. "I need you for this," he said, grabbing Vanyel's tunic and dragging him along.

Breda readily relinquished her throne to them, gratefully accepting Vanyel's half-full bottle.

"Bag of old bones like me needs to wet her throat!" she exclaimed. "Do us Bards proud, Stef! Show these Heralds something new."

"Well, I'll be singing with one of them," he said, gesturing to Vanyel.

Breda's eyes widened. "He's singing with you?"

Stefen stifled a laugh. Apparently the gossip hadn't reached all corners of the Palace.

"Oh, Breda, if everyone's not found love by the end of this song—at least for tonight—then I don't deserve my Scarlets."

When Stefen and Vanyel climbed up—the latter most reluctantly—the room quieted.

"What are you up to?" Vanyel asked amusedly. "I haven't got an instrument, just my voice."

"You'll know the song," Stefen replied. "Just sing the baritone."

They looked out at those known faces in the crowd—Joshe and his betrothed, Kyllia; Tantras—surrounded by a couple of Jisa's year-mates, along with Lissandra; Savil and Healer Andrel; Treven's cousin Kylar; Breda with the Head of Healer's, along with a few other friends of the royal couple's, and of course, Jisa and Treven. The sight of so many friends together caught at Stefen's heartstrings and for a moment, he struggled to speak.

Then, like rainwater, the words poured out:

"This is a celebration, and Gods know we need one. So here is to Jisa and Treven, to their love, and to the wondrous future they will bring to Valdemar." He paused, and the audience called back, "To love!"

As he strummed the first chords, he looked at Vanyel, who inclined his head slightly. The chords were well known; the song was a famously poetic ode to love. It had always been one of his favorites, but he'd never had the chance to sing it in duet.

Emotion caught at his throat as he prepared to sing the first verse—I love him so much. He just knows how to touch me.

Taking a deep breath, he began:

Perhaps love is like a resting place
A shelter from the storm
It exists to give you comfort
It is there to keep you warm
And in those times of trouble
When you are most alone
The memory of love will bring you home

Smiling, he turned to Stefen, whose face was caught in shadow. Then, the Bard began to sing, and Vanyel forgot to breathe.

Perhaps love is like a window
Perhaps an open door
It invites you to come closer
It wants to show you more
And even if you lose yourself
And don't know what to do
The memory of love will see you through

The power of Stefen's gift washed over the audience in a wave of deep-felt emotion. When Vanyel's eyes met Stefen's, he saw his own almost painful, heart wrenching feeling reflected back at him in the Bard's hazel eyes.

Together, they sang their love into the barn. Together, they strummed the last sweet, melancholic chords:

If I should live forever
And all my dreams come true
My memories of love will be of you

Together, they stood and looked at each other before taking a bow.

Then, unexpectedly, Vanyel took Stefen's face in his hands and planted a deep kiss squarely on the Bard's lips. A shocked moment followed—Vanyel rarely showed any emotion in public—then slow applause coming from Jisa and Treven, growing across the room. Savil whistled and called out, "That's it, nephew!"

Laughing and beet red, Stefen climbed down the hay bale, followed by Vanyel.

"I thought you were the shy one," he joked.

Vanyel smiled a small, secret smile and wrapped an arm around Stefen's waist. "Sometimes the situation calls for a bold move."

Stefen chuckled. "Claiming me, were you?"

"Forever and always," Vanyel replied, leaning in to kiss him again. "Forever and always."