"Aw shut up," Kal mumbled, turning red. "Sara, can you come too? I'm sure mama can take over in the kitchen."

Janner piped in. "Oh yeah! C'mon Sara!"

Sara looked indecisive. "I don't know if I should leave Maraly alone in the kitchen . . ."

"We'll bring her too," Kal declared, smiling sheepishly. Janner could see his face turning red. "Lemme call Mama and we'll get the kitchen taken . . ." but Kal never finished his sentence, a loud burp unsettled the room and Sara put her hands over her ears.

Kal grinned. "Here comes Maraly!" he announced.

Maraly ambled into the kitchen and halted beside Kal. " 'Sup guys?"

Janner sighed and Kal doubled over with laughter.

"Kal!" Janner snapped. "Behave your age! You are eighteen, not ten."

"Whoops! Sorry." Kal straightened up and grinned disarmingly at Janner.

Janner just sighed again and watched with mirth in his eyes as Maraly slapped Kal heartily on the back and Kal sputtered and spit out sugarberry seeds all over the room.

Kal turned to Maraly with a grimace and whispered out of the side of his mouth, "Next time, not so hard."

Maraly grinned and socked Kal in the arm.

Janner plugged his ears as Kalmar's howl echoed through castle Rysen.

Gammon sauntered into the kitchen, looking for Maraly. "Ah Maraly! What are you doing in here?" He cast a quizzical look over the four.

Maraly looking pleased, Kal grumpy, Janner was beaming, and Sara had a radiant look of happiness on her flour smudged face.

Gammon at once surmised why Janner and Sara looked happy and he swept into a bow before the happy couple. "I wisheth thee my bestest wishes."

"Thank you, uh, Mr. Felda?" Janner said.

"Gammon suiteth me fine, mine friends." Gammon looked up from his bow and resumed his normal manner of speaking. "What's the party in here?"

"You'll have to excuse us, Mr. Gammon," Kal burst in before Janner could speak. "We're going swimming and we need to leave now."

Kal grabbed Janner's and Maraly's hands and pulled them to the door. He was right in his assumption that Janner would be holding Sara's hand and that he wouldn't have to drag her.

However, all Gammon saw was a young handsome boy making off with his daughter and holding her hand. He did a graceful flip over their heads and landed right in the doorway, blocking their exit.

"Please Mr. Gammon, let us go through," Kalmar pleaded.

"Foul fiends!" Gammon roared. "Not with my daughter you won't!"

Kal simply let go of Janner's hand and grabbed Gammon's hand instead. "Very well. Come on then!" He pulled Gammon and Maraly down the hall—Janner and Sara right on his heels—despite Gammon's rather colorful words.

They burst out of the castle into the bright sun and they all blinked.

"C'mon slowpokes!" Kal prodded, letting go of Gammon's hand and seizing both of Maraly's. He raced to the edge of a cliff overlooking the dark sea. "Let's go," he urged, impatiently tapping his foot.

Gammon, Janner, and Sara caught up and stood there panting as a bright headed girl burst out of castle Rysen, a tall skinny boy trailing her heels.

"Leeli. You run real good," Thorn panted, trying to keep up with the fast girl in front of him.

Leeli glanced back at him and giggled. "Really good, Thorn."

Thorn smiled. "Oy, like I said, real good."

Leeli smiled and put on a burst of speed, arriving in front of Janner and Sara with a grin.

Sixteen-year-old Leeli smiled up at Janner, and, unable to contain her excitement, she began to talk rapidly. "I beat him, Janner! Did you see that? I beat Thorn! My leg is finally starting to get back to normal! That well water has done a miracle for me . . ." she continued talking and Thorn swaggered up to her and frowned.

"You know what I don't like about you, Leeli?" he asked.

Leeli stopped mid-sentence and looked up at Thorn in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"You talk too much," Thorn stated, leaning up against the side of Castle Rysen.

Leeli turned away, trying not to show her hurt. She tried to laugh it off and flipped her hair—a gesture Thorn usually had trouble resisting. "Well, then I guess you can just go and talk to an Introvert, for all I care."

Thorn realized how mean his words had sounded and he immediately regretted it. "Look, Leeli. I'm real—really—sorry. I didn't mean it to sound like that! It was supposed to be a joke."

Leeli turned to Thorn and couldn't hold back hurt tears. "Well it sure didn't turn out like that!" she snapped and turned and ran away leaving behind a bewildered Thorn.

Thorn turned to Janner. "What'd I do?"

Janner stared at Thorn and shrugged. "I guess it's a problem you need to fix, Thorn."

Thorn stared off after Leeli, a panicked look in his eyes, then he ambled back to the castle.

Janner hadn't noticed someone tugging at his arm until Kal almost yanked it off.

"JANNER!" he roared, yanking hard on Janner's arm.

"What . . ?" Janner said, calmly unlatching Kal's hand from his arm.

"I SAID IT TEN TIMES NOW! LET'S GO SWIM!"

"All right, all right. Get over it. Where's Gammon?"

Kal gestured over his shoulder. "Oh, him? He's talking with Mother Mungry." Kal snickered. "I think he's S-W-E-E-T on her."

Janner shook his head at Kalmar's foolishness. "For Pete's Sake, Kal! She's like twelve years younger than him."

Kalmar grinned. "Well then. Let's go swimming! I'll race you all to the docks!"

Maraly set off at a run and Janner and Sara followed as fast as they could.

Kal and Maraly reached the docks at a tie and Kal slumped against the dock. Maraly was getting better. She had almost beat him this time.

Maraly grinned down at the exhausted Kal. "Almost beat'cha that time."

"Show off," Kal muttered under his breath.

Janner and Sara arrived. Sara was holding Janner's hand and fingering it with her fingers. Kal saw and leaned over and pretended to puke. "You guy's mush is gonna kill me," he complained.

Janner decided it was time to take stuff into his hands. He grabbed Kalmar by his armpits and dragged him to the edge of the dock. "In ya go, Kal." And tossed him into the water.

Kal emerged, spluttering.

And enraged. Very enraged.

"Janner—you—you. I am so mad at you."

Janner grinned as Kal struggled to get out of the water. "Need a hand?" Janner offered his, knowing what would happen.

And he was ready for it.

Kal gripped Janner's hand firmly and pulled . . .

But Janner pulled too . . . and flipped Kalmar right out of the water and into the air.

Janner landed with a heavy plop! on the ground on his bottom and Kalmar went sailing through the air and landed with a loud whoop on a scaly back.

Hulwen peered at Kalmar, turning her long neck and delicately surveying Kal. "And, what, High King Kalmar, are you doing on my back?"

Janner smirked and Kal grumped his way off Hulwen's back.

"You and your jokes," he grumbled. He bared his teeth in a wolfish way at Janner and Janner was reminded of Kal's former suffering.

The High King had never forgotten what it had been like as a fang. Oftentimes, Janner saw a glimpse of the wolf that Kal used to be. It saddened him, just like his Uncle Artham's wings saddened him.

Janner truly wanted to erase all the bad memories of his past life. Kalmar's melding, The Fork! Factory! The betrayal by Migg Landers. All the fear of fangs after him.

He wanted to remember the good times.

In the Igiby Cottage, sitting around the fire, playing tag, writing in his journal, listening to Leeli's peaceful whistle harp music. He wanted to remember Podo at his best. Farming and taking care of the Thwaps that threatened their garden.