As the last flock disappeared into the bright sky, great organ music filled the chapel, and a choir of religious women sang a chorus celebrating love and praising Janico.
Even with everything that had happened, she knew this was the one place in all the Known Worlds she wanted to be.
As she neared the steps, she kept her eyes on Varian, who looked so regal. He was wearing some kind of dark blue military uniform with medals on his breast pocket and gold braid adorning his sleeves.
A friend of Varian's, and from what Moonrazer had discovered the night before, Estelle's potential life partner, Thersian, stood as Varian's man of honor. Apparently, their age difference was something of a scandal at court. He did not look as old as she'd been led to expect.
He was also dressed in a military uniform, but his was a lighter blue with fewer medals.
Thersian was a striking looking man, with black hair shot through with gray, light gray eyes, a quick smile, and engaging laugh. Moonrazer had enjoyed their conversation the night before at the rehearsal dinner.
Suddenly, her eyes were drawn to the second pew on the groom's side of the church.
Anthelme and Diamondpike beamed at her, and she had to wipe away a tear of joy that her friends were able to be here. She wondered why Whiteshadow had let them leave Carrick.
As she reached the priest and Varian took her hand, she realized Oakgold was missing, and she scowled. Was it possible Varian's sisters had determined that a servant had no business at a Royal Wedding?
"What is it, my love?" Varian asked, leaning toward her.
She looked into his eyes that were just a shade darker than the flowers she carried. "Oakgold. She is more than my servant. She is my friend. I am sorry she could not be here."
Varian nodded to the priest.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the religious man said, "as is traditional, the Prince has a gift he'd like to present to the Princess before the wedding. Prince Varian's father gave his mother a set of ten matching diamonds in her favorite color of green. As our new Princess is nothing if not unique, the Prince has chosen a unique gift for her." He gestured toward the back of the sanctuary.
Moonrazer looked where he pointed, and Varian squeezed her hand.
Oakgold walked into the sanctuary, and the guests cheered as she led Wind Rider forward. His mane was braided and tied with ribbons, his coat neatly trimmed and washed. When they reached the front of the church, Wind Rider snorted and nuzzled Moonrazer.
The young Sarl woman bowed to Varian and handed him a wooden box, inlaid with silver and decorated with gems. He took it, and Oakgold led the horse off to the side.
Varian grinned. "Anthelme and Diamondpike brought him. Your sister sent the three of them to represent the Court of Carrick at this wedding." He took her hand and handed the box to the priest.
"Friends and loved ones," the religious leader said, smiling at the two people standing in front of him. "We are here on this joyous occasion to unite Prince Varian, our sovereign, and the woman he has chosen to be your princess, Moonrazer, lately Exalted Warrior of Sarl."
The priest paused, holding the box in both hands. "The institution of joining before Janico requires a gift. We have seen the gift of love from Varian to Moonrazer, but now the Prince of Tellan would like to present his official gift to the woman he has chosen to be the Princess."
He handed the box to Varian, who bowed before the Star.
"Moonrazer," the Prince said, turning back to face her, "I stand here now as a representative of the people of World Tellan. We accept you as our princess, and you have our fealty and our love. As a token of that love and respect, I present you with this."
He handed the box to Thersian, who held it as Varian opened it and withdrew a circlet of silver.
Moonrazer gasped as she looked at the simple, yet beautiful piece of jewelry. Small ice-like diamonds embellished the gentle curve. The likeness of a Borromean thistle, sitting in the cusp of a Red Crescent moon, was worked into the face of the shining metal.
He placed it on her head and said, "With this I make you my princess and joint ruler of Tellan. To you I entrust my armies, fleets, and the defense of this world. All the generals, admirals, and other military leaders will report to you and follow your orders as they would mine."
Moonrazer looked at him. "I am to be the leader of your armies?"
Varian beamed. "It is who you are. You will always be my Exalted Warrior."
Chapter Twenty-eight
Varian and Moonrazer were alone. The guests had gone after a celebration that lasted long into the night.
As a gift from Estelle and Gloriana, they had been given use of a house on the Aria Beach. A coach and driver had driven them to the house after the last Tellan noble had sworn fealty to the new princess.
The beach was a candlemark's journey from the palace and Moonrazer feared she would fall asleep before they arrived. Rich food, endless toasts of rejoicing, mixed with the most flavorful wine she'd ever tasted, and dancing had worn her out more than any single battle ever had.
However, as soon as they reached the beach house, she grew alert looking at the beauty that surrounded her.
The house seemed to grow out of the sand. It was constructed of rocks, and while she couldn't make out the colors in the night, she had a feeling the house echoed the hues around it.
Candles burned in nearly every window and along the path that led from the road to the front door.
"My wife," Varian said. "I hope this pleases you."
She smiled. "Warriors need little in the way of physical comfort, but as a princess, I intend to enjoy every luxury this place has to offer."
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "I intend to see that you enjoy everything."
Hand in hand, they walked into the house.
A basket of fruit stood on the table of the private sitting room, and flowers covered every other available surface.
Facing her new mate, Moonrazer suddenly felt nervous. All her life, she'd resisted intimacy with any man, knowing she could never be sure of the motives behind his interest.
Now, though, she found herself wed. Knowing that he'd been married twice before, she worried that he would find her lacking.
He closed the door behind them.
"I'm glad you wore the weapons at the ceremony," he said, putting his arms around her waist. "I would have been disappointed if you'd tried to deny the warrior part of you."
"Most Sarl women give up the battles when they take a mate," she said, her voice little more than a whisper. "I always believed I would have to as well."
He deftly undid the knot holding the sword and removed the scarf and weapon from her body.
She swallowed as he carefully slid it away from her and set it on the red leather sofa nearby.
"Now the knives," he murmured in her ear. His fingers were steady as he undid the knot and ran one hand over her hip while with the other, he removed the knives.
Varian turned away for only a moment as the knives joined the sword on the sofa.
He looked at his wife again, and his desire for her shone out of his eyes. She felt color flood her face, and she drew a ragged breath.
"I love the warrior Moonrazer, but tonight is for the woman." He reached out to take her hand. As she reached for him, her hand trembled.
"The great Moonrazer is frightened?" He pulled her to him.
"Do not mock me," she said, tilting her head back from him. "I have not given myself lightly to your hands. No man has touched me the way you do. This is a sacred moment from me."
"I'm not mocking," Varian said, kissing her with a feather touch. "Forgive a mere man's joy in knowing that his touch can cause the Exalted Warrior of the Sarl, a woman of legend, to tremble with desire. It is a heady thing."
He kissed her and immediately, she felt their bodies mold together, confirming for her that the Holy One had created them to be together in just this way.
When he took his lips from hers, she reached up to to
uch his face.
"I wish our life together could be like this," she said, "but we have to face reality. The Festival…"
He cut her off with another kiss, this one so passionate it took her breath away.
"We have tonight," he said. "There is nothing and no one outside this room."
"But…"
"No. We are a man and a woman finding love and joy in each other. Not a prince who has to prepare his people for the arrival of an enemy. Not a warrior who has to prepare to defend a home she's never seen. Tonight we are two people on their wedding night whose only thoughts are about love."
Again Moonrazer felt herself blush, but before she could pull away in embarrassment, he kissed her again while his hands reached behind her and began unbuttoning her dress.
As his fingers worked, the fire dancing inside her grew in intensity, and her passion overwhelmed her.
****
Moonrazer stepped across the beach, weaving her sword through the air, practicing her forms. The sun was just beginning to rise out of the lake, the burning orange ball kissing the ripples of the water.
Step, step, thrust. Turn, high guard, low guard, serpent strike.
She made her way through the steps in the Dragon's Dance, a training exercise she was designing for the Tellan army.
"Combat is a dance," her mother's sister, Blackmoon, often told her when she was young, and it was the same lesson she’d taught the Sarl warriors.
As she moved, quickly and with precision, she worked on controlling her breathing to keep her actions strong and deliberate.
The muscles in her arms and legs protested. She'd been on this beach every day for the last two weeks. The routine was becoming natural, but she grew tired earlier and earlier each day.
She hadn't appreciated how ready her body was to receive a child, but she knew immediately that she and Varian had conceived, when on the third day of their honeymoon, she felt the urge to run on the beach. Her strength had returned.
However, as the new life grew, her muscles were changing even though they had regained their power. They weren't supposed to be used for battle training.
Her balance, too, had changed, even this early in the pregnancy. She struggled to adapt. However, she had to be ready to defend Varian against the Dragons in a few weeks.
As she completed her maneuvers, she saw a form move amidst the trees. She grinned.
Varian had started coming out to watch her train. He thought he was being stealthy, but he was no spy. He made too much noise.
"You can come out now, my love," she called.
He stood. "How long have you known I was there?"
"Since I started training." She kissed him. "We will not use you as a scout if the Tellan army goes to war."
He laughed. "I should know better than to try and sneak up on you."
She took his hand and led him to a blanket she'd laid on the sand. "The sun is almost up. Let us watch it together."
When they were settled on the blanket, Moonrazer sat in front of him and leaned back against his chest. He put his hand on her stomach.
"Can you feel our son yet?"
"Your Highness, it is too early for that. Our daughter will need to grow a bit more." Only a few weeks remained, however.
"You have made me so happy." Varian kissed her neck. "To give Tellan an heir is the greatest gift you could give my people."
"What if the baby does not start kicking in time?"
"Now is not the time for worries." Varian began massaging her stomach and kissing her neck. "For today at least, I want only to think about my wife and child, and practice for when we need to make another baby."
She turned around in his arms and kissed him. "I have heard that practice is important."
Together they lay down on the blanket and she showed her husband how much she loved him.
****
The day of the Festival had arrived. Moonrazer saw the sun peek through the sheer curtains on her windows.
She and Varian had slept apart last night for the first time since the Joining. He had welcomed King Rillaur and his party at the Portal from Andarnnon and their negotiations on the form of the potential transfer of power had lasted until well after second moonrise.
Getting out of bed, she knelt before the small table in the prayer corner she'd erected, focusing her thoughts and eyes on the star.
"Today, Holy One, will mark an ending. Whether it will also be a beginning is a question I cannot see the answer to. I do not know where You are in this, but I do know that Rillaur is a man with a heart of anger who is bent on revenge. Even knowing the Festival could give him control of Tellan, he cannot believe the wizards will give him their world peacefully. I am sure he will be prepared for war. Make us ready. I beg you, for the sake of Tellan, please let me have enough strength to keep this world and her people safe."
After a few moments of silent meditation, she stood to look at the gown Varian's sisters had given to her for the Festival. It consisted of three layers of silken steel, combined with metal plating on whose surface were intricate designs and gems.
During these last days, Gloriana's sense of propriety had given way to her fear for her brother.
At one time, Moonrazer had thought the armor wrought in the forges of Carrick was the strongest in the Known Worlds, but she had a new perspective since coming to Tellan. The Weaver-created armor was formidable indeed.
"Moonrazer." Adazzra's voice called through the door. "Are you awake?"
"Come in."
The Tree Woman came into the bedroom and hugged her friend. "Are you ready for what is to come?"
Moonrazer shook her head. "I do not feel ready."
Adazzra tilted her head. "Those are not words I have ever heard from you." She sat down on the bed, pulling one of the pillows onto her lap. "Do you think there will be a battle today?"
"I feel it in my whole being, like the sound of distant hoofbeats upon a plain. We have many enemies, and they are all too ready to fight."
****
Like butterflies floating in the warm summer air, women from the court came together in groups and then separated to find others to gossip with.
Seated on a throne at the top of a wooden and marble platform in the middle of the parade ground, Moonrazer watched the activity below her and wondered if these women had any idea of the magnitude of what would happen soon.
"There isn't one of them who is half the woman you are," Varian said as he squeezed her hand.
Moonrazer squeezed his hand in return. "This is a hard day for us."
"It is a hard day for all of us," Gloriana said from behind them, one seat up.
"May Janico have mercy on us all," Estelle said.
Varian looked at the flags flapping in the breeze above the round stage set in the middle of the square. A podium in the center held an embellished copy of the Dragon Prophecy and a scroll on which was written the transfer of power.
If Varian and Rillaur signed this latter paper, Tellan would be a province of Andarnnon once more.
"It is a day that marks my failure to protect the people of Tellan. For generations, my family has ruled this world, and it prospered."
"We may yet save your kingdom," Moonrazer said.
"Has the baby kicked then?" he asked, suddenly hopeful.
"No," she said. "But that is not what I meant. A number of things led to this, not the least of which was the forging of an unwise marriage by the Coward Exalted Warrior, prophecies, curses, and strange magic. The hand of the Holy One has brought us here. We should maintain our trust."
She hoped he couldn't hear that she did not share the confidence she was voicing.
It pained her, however, to see him so discouraged, and she wanted to do what she could to raise his spirits.
"Perhaps," he said, looking back at her.
She had no answer for him, but he had chosen her over the welfare of his country, just as the Coward Exalted Warrior had done. However, unlike Staffthrower IV, Varian had chose
n the hope that both she and his people could be saved.
If Tellan reverted to Andarnnon rule this day, the fate of the royal family was unclear. Would Rillaur exile them or would he allow them to remain on their World, living out their days in obscurity? Would he discover the secret of the Giants and use that knowledge to reduce this World to a barren, lifeless rock?
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