Chapter 23

The next few weeks pass almost uneventfully on the scale of my recent adventures, so to say. Val wakes up after three days of slumber during which we could only get him to consciousness a couple times a day to feed him his medicine. His waking should've been rewarding in a way, but I was so preoccupied with his health, I admit, I didn't pay much attention to the goings-on. Milgasia was visiting to check up on him and also to bring us the potions I had asked for. When Lina learned that the calming draught was meant for her, she wasn't quite happy, so we were having a hushed argument in the next room while Milgasia tended to Val. Suddenly, the Dragon appeared in the doorframe.

"He's awake and asking for you," Milgasia told me with a hint of disappointment. "He wouldn't even talk to me."

I rushed to Val's bed and grabbed his hands before even seeing myself that he was up.

"Daddy," he whimpered, trying to pull closer, but being too weak to raise his body. "Mum..."

Between Lina and me we cuddle him for some time with Milgasia jealously watching from a few steps away. Then Lina takes mercy on him and beckons him to sit on the bed. The Dragon grudgingly accepts her offer.

"Sorry," Val mumbles into the nook of my elbow.

"Whatever for?" I wonder.

"F'the trouble..." he explains in a small voice. "I jus' couldn' stop."

"Of course you couldn't, you are way too small for this kind of magic," I offer. "It's all right, Val."

He nods without lifting his head, which probably feels heavy.

I check his Astral state quickly. Val seems fine in the mental way. He apparently hasn't had any bad dreams or ominous visions. He actually feels accomplished and almost happy.

"How's Posel-san?" he asks next thing after establishing that Lina and I are both here and care for him in spite of all the 'trouble' he's caused.

"Oh, he's great," Lina puts in. "Very greatful to you. He's promised to help you with anything. Do you want to attend his wedding?" she mocks a bit more cheerfully than she feels and I whish Val hasn't felt it.

"Maybe," he says quietly and yawns. "C'n I sleep more?"

"You should," Milgasia says with conviction, at last finding a subject where his opinion is welcome. "Take your potion and have some rest, you will be sleeping through most of the coming week."

"That's a lot," Val states with pleasure.

I bring the bottle to his lips, and in a matter of a few minutes he is out again.

"He is better than I expected," Milgasia and I say in unison as soon as we come out of Val's room. We glare at each other half-heartedly.

"How much do you think he remembers?" the Dragon asks.

I shake my head.

"No idea, but he's been sleeping peacefully, so I'd say he hasn't had any more insights on Ancient Dragon magic, as well as probably on the past in general."

"Let's hope so," Milgasia sighs.

"I don't know about that," Lina frowns. "Wouldn't it be better if he recalls something substantial about the magic that comes to him naturally? I understand it's stressful, but if he learns to control it..."

"He is literally too small for the Ancients' magic," replies Milgasia. "I've found some very old records of their abilities and it would seem their size was crucial. Here," he pulls a neat brand-new lookig scroll out of his belt bag. "I've copied everything I found for you, Xellos, although it's in the Old Common Dragon language, I'm not sure you'd be able to..."

He trails off at my look.

"Even if I didn't know it," I say haughtily, "I'm pretty good at deciphering scriptures in dead languages."

"Of course," Milgasia purses his lips. If he thought his knowledge made him more useful for my Val...

"Boys, don't bicker," Lina interjects. Now we both glare at her. I don't mind being called a 'boy', but, honestly, what kind of 'boy' is Milgasia? Meanwhile, she continues as though not noticing the Dragon's pique. "Thank you very much for the information and help, Milgasia-san, we really appreciate your participation in Val's case."

The Dragon manages a sour smile.

"It's my pleasure, Lina-san. Now, I should be going before anyone notices that I'm away yet again. It's not in my habits to travel so much, you see, and my colleagues are getting suspicious."

"If you need a cover-up story, I can easily provide one," I assure.

Milgasia nods in a way that tells me he has no need for my help, and teleports away.

Prince Posel's marital dilemma has been resolved quite successfully. The day after his transformation he skipped the scheduled date with another of the princesses and had a relaxing party at one of the biggest central pubs. He got so drunk, in fact, that I had to dash back to the West and get him a good anti-hangover potion, because the local stuffs are no good, and his own stock had been consumed a long time ago due to his unfortunate situation. I really tried not to think about a stuffed toy having hangover, but, I must admit, I couldn't help snickering just a bit. To his honour, I should mention that he didn't pay any attention.

"Yesterday was fun," he says as soon as the potion takes effect. "It was crazy, really. You should've been there."

"I was a little busy tending to Val," I remind him. "But, ah, do tell me who made the greatest fool of himself. Was it the king?"

"Oh no, he wasn't there. But it was crazy for another reason. You see, there was this guy... Said he was an apprentice of a local famous magician. He challenged me for a magical duel. I was pretty drunk already, and accepted. I mean, they don't have real magic in the Big World, you know? So I thought I'd teach the brat a lesson."

"Let me guess, he's won, hasn't he?" I smirk.

"Not exactly," Pokota scratches his head and blushes a little for some reason. "He was not half-bad, that's true, for a Big-worlder, of course. But then I sent him flying into the fountain on the main square... and as he emerged, all wet, I realized he was a girl!"

"Oh, what a surprise!" I intone politely. I can see the origin of that blush now.

"Yeah, but that's not the worst part," he says with the special kind of happy grief people exhibit when they are telling a dark humour joke. "She turned out to be the princess, the one I was supposed to meet that morning. And of course the guards thought I was assaulting her or something and almost hoppled me. Thankfully the girl turned out decent and told them she fell while dancing or something," he giggles in a very telltaling way.

"Why would she challenge you to a fight?" I wonder. "Was she insulted that you'd cancelled the date?"

"Not really," he grins, staring off to space. "We talked after that, and, well... You see, she's fascinated with magic, and she so wanted to meet me to maybe learn something from me, or just to see some cool Western magical tricks. But when she knew I was restored to my body and cancelled the date, she got afraid that I'd leave Zelein without meeting her at all, so she, er, took the lead."

"I see she's caught your attention," I offer.

"Yeah..." Pokota rests his temple on his elbow which is lying limply on the breakfast table. "I proposed to her yesterday."

"You did? What did she say?"

"That I'd have to do it again when I'm sober."

"If you're interested in my opinion, she sounds like a smart girl," I chuckle.

He snorts and blushes again.

"Yeah..."

Then he suddenly pulls up and shakes his head to dispell the drowsiness.

"Sorry, Xellos, it was nice talking to you, but I need to get things done, and I haven't even washed yet, and then there's trying on at the taylor's because I don't have any clothes that fit and..."

"Sure, go ahead," I laugh. "I can see you're going to prepare thouroughly to this particular date."

He gets a bit pink again, but doesn't mind my teasing.

"I am. Thanks for the potion. And say hi to Val from me when he wakes up. I really wish him to be fine."

Posel's wedding takes place two weeks after the party. Val is already up and about, even though he still needs to sleep a couple hours during the day. He also got to eating a lot, and Lina became suddenly anxious about his diet. Normally he eats very little, as only a half of his small body needs material nourishment. So we never cared much as to what he eats precisely. A chocolate bar or a smoked sausage are fine so long as they are not the only sourse of nourishment. But now that he suddenly began eating three full meals a day, Lina insisted that he has some 'healthy' stuff like steamed vegetables. One look at those told me my son was being tortured, so I had to go though another couple nights of reading to find some recipes that were both 'healthy' by human accounts and also fun to eat. Of course, I can't cook any of them, but the palace chef was very understanding, especially after I threatened to poison one of the courtiers' food and frame him for it. Thankfully, I don't yet have trouble with this kind of solutions.

Other than the change in sleeping and eating habits, Val is really fine. His eyes are bright and curious, he smiles a lot and even laughs a little, which wasn't very common for him to begin with. His passion for art seems to have receded a bit, now that he's performed such a huge creative task that his Astral entities merged together. He still likes drawing, of course, but is no longer spellbound to do it when he sees something inspiring. Instead, he tries to memorize as much as he can about the world, and then uses this in doodles he makes during our magic lessons. It turns out that he learns spells more easily if he draws their effect first, at least in some approximation. I got him a new album, and its pages are steadily getting covered with all kinds of shields, protective and concealing charms as well as odd blotches that represent events on the Astral Plane. Those don't make much sense to me, but then, Val and I see Astral very differently.

Anyway, by the time Princess Yavora decids her wedding dress is fancy enough, Val is in a good enough health and mood to attend the wedding. I get him a charming little outfit in lilac with a white shirt and laquered shoes.

"Ne, Xellos," Lina says two evenings before the event. "I was thinking... Considering your skills in getting just the right clothes and stuff, can I ask you to find be some stockings that don't fall off or tear mid-party?"

I grin widely.

"You've asked the right person! I was just thinking of adding something to your wardrobe due to the occasion. Perhaps a new dress as well?"

"I like the one you got me last time," she smirks. "And no one here has seen me wearing it yet. You're going this time, aren't you?"

"Sure, Posel invited me right after he invided Val."

"Good. I hope it won't be as disastrous as the Seyruun wedding," Lina sighs. Her expression grows distant, then she chuckles unhappily.

"Zel is such an idiot."

"In what way do you mean?" I blink.

"If he hadn't insisted on kicking us out of the country, it could've been him getting his body restored. I so want to rub his face in it."

"I don't think you should tell him. When it comes to his cure, he loses all the little common sense he has. He'd probably force Val to do it again."

Lina slowly nods.

"I know. I won't tell him anything. Just wish he'd appreciated the irony."

"Back to the subject of dress though," I remind her. "Isn't it bad luck to attend two weddings in the same dress? Besides, I've read that Zeleinians don't wear dark colours to celebrations. And also, there is still a chance that someone who's been to the ball in Seyruun might be here. What's the point in the risk of being recognized?"

"Okay," Lina gives up. "You just want to dress me. Fine. Do that. So long as I don't need to go shopping myself."

"No problem," I grin. "Leave it to me!"

I spend the next day looking for something fitting and end up getting a plum-coloured brocade gown with long wide sleeves and an elegant belt with floral designs. I also get her an intricate headdress to make her hair stand out a bit less. Not that I'd ever wanted to cover her hair, but we don't really want to be recognized by the whole world. And, of course, the stockings.

The wedding is nothing nearly as disatrous as Lina feared. In fact, it turns out rather pleasant. At first we follow Posel and his retinue to the main palace where he has to bargain for his bride with her friends and maidens. Posel looks quite well, I should say. And I also congratulate myself on choosing lilac and plum for my family's outfits because Posel's pink hair kind of dictates the general pinkish-purple hues in dress and decorations, so we perfectly blend in.

Posel's bargain goes well, and the Princess comes out with her escort to be led to the temple where the actual ceremony will be held. She is a dashing brunette and looks a bit boyish even in the bright wedding outfit. I can't quite call it a dress; it's more like many layers of colourful silks, heavily embroidered with precious beads and gold. She also has a crown of live flowers on her head and they work not just as a headdress, but also as perfume. One look at Posel tells me he's lost for the world.

The short walk from the palace to the temple takes us almost an hour because we stop several times on the way to dance and watch the fireworks that the locals set off, and anyway, the orchestra in front of the procession is in no haste. Finally we get to the temple where things go quite usually except that the whole time that the priest carries out the ritual, the bride's guests sing folksongs which I recognize as very ancient incantations designed to protect the couple from ill-wishers as well as from discord. I don't miss the chance to draw Val's attention to this uncommon type of protective charm.

Coming out of the temple, both newly announced spouses run. As a guest explains to us, the one to cross the threshold of the tmple first is believed to become the chief in the family. Obviously, in this case it was a draw. Outside, on the high porch, the king gives his daughter a great round porcelain dish with gold coins and wheat, and she trows it over her head right onto the pavement where it shatters, showering the crowd with gifts. The crowd cheers loudly, there are more fireworks and songs, younger people line up for a circle dance and then lead the procession in eights and spirals back to the palace where the feast is waiting. The three of us find ourselves handin-hand with some jolly locals who show us the right footing, so we have lots of fun on the way.

"It's a good thing you got me a dress with a wide skirt," Lina gasps as we are being pulled by the singing crowd across the main square paved with round boulders.

"I thought it could turn out a bit active," I reply almost having to shout to get the message to her.

As we reach the palace, the king takes Posel by the elbow and exchanges a few words with him, after which the Prince suddenly comes up to us.

"Lina," he says in a hushed voice. "May I ask you for a favour? They have this tradition that the groom's mother should meet the party in the dining hall, but, you know... My mother passed away a long time ago. So, well, I thought..."

"You want me to play the part of your mother?" Lina says incredulously.

Posel blushes.

"Well, the king said it's fine if a friend substitutes..."

"Oh... But what's the job?"

"Not sure, he said it's to hold the bread, whatever that means..."

"Okay, fine," Lina sighs and pats Val on the head. "I'll be right back, save me some treats.

She stalks off after Posel and then goes into the palace together with two rotund middle-aged women — apparently, experts on the motherly duties at a wedding.

When we enter the dining hall, Lina is standing at the head of the table surrounded by servants with huge baskets. As the couple comes up to her she smiles to them and says a few rather warm well-wishes. The servants then hold up the baskets and Lina grabs a few handfulls of flower petals to shower the young couple. Again, I notice that she adds some well-wishing charms to the words. After that one of the servants brings a huge loaf of bread on a plate and Lina holds it while Prince Posel and Princess Yavora pull it in different directions. As an old man standing to my right explains, it's also about who'll wear the pants in the house. Again, friendship wins.

Lina soon joins us, showing a trophy — a large piece of the loaf. She carefully breaks it in three.

"A good omen to eat some," she explains, presenting both Val and me with a piece.

The feast is truly royal and is accompanied by some pleasant music. As people get more and more drunk, the dance-floor becomes more and more crowded, and soon there are all kinds of folks mixed together in ancient energetic and rythmic dances, from a distance resembling colourful sea waves or a windy field with swaying grasses.

Lina blinks at me drowsily, having had one beer too many, and then suddenly reaches forward and kisses me on the mouth, as if she's just realized she could do that. I think it's actually the first time she takes the lead in this kind of thing. I pull her closer as Val ducks under my arm so as not to be squeezed.

"Care for a dance?" I ask.

"Nope," she rubs the tip of her nose on my cheek shaking her head. "Had enough on the way. Just wan'ed to say tha' I love you."

I thought I knew that already, but somehow, hearing it again revives the familiar tingling inside me, and I suddenly feel like I might burst.

"I love you too," I whisper into her lips. "Love you too."

As we are leaving the palace in a flow of relaxed evening music, I get unpleasantly shaken out of my festive stupor. I sense a spy in the nearest tree.

A quick spell makes sure he won't remember ever seeing me or either of my dearest ones as well as what he was doing in that tree at all. He is a low-ranking Mazoku, so memory spells are easy to cast on him. Being disoriented, though, he teleports away, which means he is well-trained. It also means I haven't had the time to find out what Lord her serves.

"What's there?" Lina asks, sobering in an instant.

"Eyes and ears," I sneer. "We'd better get going."

With a nod Lina quickens her pace as I lift the sleepy Val in my arms. He is tired and didn't pay attention to our exchange, thankfully.

Back at out quarters I put Val to bed and cast a hundred and one protective and alarming spell around him. Lina has changed and is waiting for me in the hall.

"Who was it?"

"Can't tell, he got away too quickly. But a Mazoku for sure."

"Dynast's?"

I shrug.

"It would seem logical. Anyway, I don't think we should stay here."

"Yeah," Lina nods gravely. "I was thinking of hitting the road in a few days, but it looks like we should start tomorrow. Will you take us to some distant location again?"

"Absolutely," I agree.

Lina nods again and hugs herself, her expression worried. I curse the damn spy. I was planning to continue the celebration into the night, and now because of him Lina is clearly not in the mood. I wrap my arms around her and tell myself it's for her comfort, not mine. She relaxes a bit and strokes my hair.

"You were looking forward to the night, weren't you?" she says perceptively.

"Kind of," I whisper.

"So was I," she sighs. "Is Val tucked in safely?"

"Yup," I nod reassuringly.

"Then maybe we won't let that bastard have his way?"

"Maybe we won't," I smirk, feeling even more want-on than back at the main palace.

"Great," Lina grins. "Let's start from the bath and then we can..."

"Continue in the bath," I supply. "It's dark there and we can have candlelight, aromatic incense and flower petals, ne?"

Lina giggles and pulls me to the bathroom.