The Fire and the Storm - Metric Pro Edition: Fiction, Dragons, Elves, Unicorns, Magic (84 page)

“I think we can disregard the possibility that it was done from outside.

“When you consider the people with us inside the time-bubble, and ask who had the capability to do it, who could’ve had a motivation to do it, and who has a twisted enough sense of morality to do it even though they’re sworn to justice, there’s only one real candidate.

“Quewanak did it.  He has the capability.  He considers us his protégés and has always been quite impressed with us, and could certainly see what a benefit forty-four more of us will be to The Just Alliance.  And he’s got a kind of inconsiderate sense of morality.  Don’t forget that when me and Fire were barely toddlers and had no magic and almost no physical combat ability, Quewanak had us fight hundreds of adult Sylvan to the death, armed with nothing but our psionics.  He could have stopped it at the beginning of their attack, but he let it go on until just before we were going to be overwhelmed and killed because he wanted to see what would happen, and he thought it would be good for us.

“I think of every other possible suspect that has the skill to do it and ask myself; are they the kind of people who could have done this?  Yazadril?  Dalia?  Nek Sibook?  Any of the Sylvan Elders?  No.  None of them would do something like this, not in a million years.  But Quewanak?  Sure, he’d do it on a whim.

“Quewanak had the ability, the opportunity, the motivation, the requisite personality, and in my mind he stands alone as the sole suspect by process of elimination.

“He did it.”

“Well done.”  Quewanak chuckled, startling the rest as he appeared.  Or rather his head appeared without the rest of him since he couldn’t fit in the house, which was a rather disconcerting solution to the problem for Mark and his children.  “I hadn’t considered that you might identify me as the author of the work with absolutely no evidence against me.

“You are completely correct of course, I did do it, and I feel completely comfortable with having done so.  It needed to be done; I could see no possibility that the fertility problem would be solved otherwise, and it was the right thing to do.”

“You think it was right to steal my freedom to decide whether I was going to have children?!!” Mark demanded in rage.  “Was it right to make Yzell think that she’d committed this crime against me, or to inflict on my family the stresses and awkwardness that this situation has put on our relationships?!!  To force me to raise forty-four more children at the same time?!!”

“These are extreme times, that sometimes require extreme measures.” Quewanak patiently explained.  “You’ve solved the problem of how to raise the children well, and though I knew not how you’d do so, I was confidant that you would.

“I knew that Yzell would be exonerated, and in return for a few minutes of anguish, she was allowed to accomplish a great achievement that will greatly benefit many millions of people over millions of years.

“The stress and awkwardness suffered by your family have been minor.

“And as to my crime against you personally, I’ll make you a deal;  After the time-bubble opens, after sixteen years of subjective time for you spent raising the children I’ve caused you to breed, if you still feel that I deserve punishment for my crime against you, I will submit to it.  If you still feel that you should confine me or torture me or even kill me for what I’ve done, I will allow you to do so, even accepting the true death, if you truly feel it is my due.  I swear it by the soul of Holy Amirgath himself.”

And with a final chuckle, the head of Quewanak disappeared.

“Damn it!” Mark cursed.  “There’s not a damn thing to be done about it but accept it, or bring him up on charges for it before The Assembly and The Pantheon!  And frankly, the entire situation seems a bit too ridiculous for that!”

“Or, we can just let everyone know what happened.” Six mused.  “Almost everyone in the Kellaran-Triax alliance will be able to see the injustice of what he’s done.  Perhaps he doesn’t care what everyone else thinks of him, but he’ll still have to endure their disapproval, and some of the gods may feel that he deserves some discipline for it.”

Mark angrily considered that for a few seconds, then finally calmed himself, took a deep breath, and shook his head.  “No, I don’t really want to do that either.  As strange as he is, Quewanak has been a good friend to us in many ways.  This almost feels more like a problem within our family than a matter for public prosecution.

“After I’ve made the Ascension, I’ll deal with it.

“In the meantime, we’ll go back to the meeting.”

They did so, and we joined there by Alilia and Talia a few minutes later.  They checked in with Povon, Kragorram, and Karz, who were busy integrating the Serminaki forces into the attack plan.  Since they had a week before the exercise began, by that time they planned to have most of Serminaki Draconia trained with the new Xervian Draconian Void-proofing spell, and to be able to bring most of Serminak’s dragons into the fray.  They also planned to be able to field at least three thousand of Six and Kragorram’s void craft crewed by twenty-four battle wizards each; all of them Serminak and Hilia’s best.

Within another hour the plan was set, and Yazadril announced that it was so.

Just as Somonik took the stage to close the meeting Mark appeared there as well, so Somonik calmly announced him as smoothly as if it had been planned.

“Prince Mark of Hilia; Lord of Serminak, Key to The Just Alliance.”

“Thank you Somonik.” Mark said with a bow to the white dragon, and spoke directly to him.  “As you know, all of the rulers and ruling members of The Just Alliance have been invited to a state wedding some two hours from now, declaring the love shared between myself, Princess Talia, and Princess Alilia of The People of Life, and declaring an alliance by marriage between The People of Life, Hilia, and Serminak.

“However, Quewanak will not be attending.  We’re not pleased with him right now, and we’re rescinding his invitation.  He can watch it in Revealings along with everyone else who didn’t receive an invitation.

“He was scheduled to perform the ceremony.  That being the case, I most humbly ask you; Somonik, First of The Ninety-Nine of Xervian Draconia, Speaker for The Assembly of The Just Alliance, Most Noble of All, would you conduct my wedding?  Sorry it’s such short notice.”

“I would be most honored to do so.” he replied with a grin and a bow as humble as Mark’s had been.

“Excellent.  You can consult with Yazadril as to the specifics of it.  Thank you, and I’ll see you there!”

“You are most welcome.” Somonik chuckled as Mark left the stage, walking back to his family on a whim.

“That concludes our congress here today.” Somonik declared.  “Please keep sending your updated status reports as soon as they become available.

“We thank our guests from The Triax, and look forward to continuing to work closely with you in the days ahead.

“We will next meet immediately after the upcoming joint battle exercise, tentatively scheduled for one week from now.  That meeting will be limited to rulers and all military personnel down to the rank of Colonel or it’s equivalent, unless unforeseen circumstances make it advisable to include other personnel.

“Until then, be well.”

Mark and his family Translocated to Alilia’s home in Heartwood, where Caria was impatiently waiting to begin dressing the wedding party.

An hour later they were ready, and took a moment to admire each other’s appearances.

Mark and Six’s hair was bushed smoothly back and tied at the nape of their necks with matching gold clasps.  Both of them had hair over sixty centimeters long, and their ponytails streamed down their backs.

Talia, Alilia, Fire, and Val all had their long hair bound up with subtle pins and clips into beautiful and formal mounds and waves, and their coloring had been expertly enhanced to accentuate their delicate beauty.

All six wore matching clothing; the form-fitting black velvet pants and high black leather boots, white silk blouse, and sweeping ankle-length black velvet cape of a Battle Wizard of The People of life.  All wore fine scents and their best discreet jewelry, and Mark, Talia and Alilia also wore their crowns and sashes of office, since this was to be a state wedding.

“Well don’t we look fine.” Val smiled as she regarded herself in a mirror.

“Thanks Caria, you’ve done a wonderful job.” Talia told her with a quick hug.

“Bah.” Caria protested with a laugh.  “With subjects as attractive as all of you, the standard preparations are all that were required.  Any woman in the city could have done the same.”

“Perhaps, but perhaps not as well.” Mark chuckled as he swept his new mother-in-law up in a hug and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Put me down, you great handsome oaf!” she laughed.  “You’ll get me all flustered, and I still need to prepare myself!”

“Flustered, is it?” Alilia teased as Mark set her mother down.  “Did you know Mother, that Mark honestly considers myself and Talia to be the two most beautiful females on Kellaran?  And of course Dalia and Nemia look the same as Talia, so it was perhaps inevitable that both would eventually share his bed on occasion.  And, since you look just like me except for hair color…”

“Shut
up
, you naughty child!” Caria laughed in embarrassed exasperation as she blushed a pretty pink and gave Alilia a playful swat on the behind.  “Off with you all to The Hall of Anticipation!  I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”

“All right, we’ll see you then.” Alilia smiled as she gave her mother a quick kiss.  As soon as the two stepped apart, Mark Translocated the six of them.

They looked around the large ovoid room for a moment before Fire asked;  “So what do we do now?”

“Now we have some Hilsith’s Herbal Tea.” Talia laughed as she headed for the drinks cabinet.  “It’s gotten quite popular you know, largely due to the fact that we had it on our first wedding day, which was widely reported on in great detail.  Hilsith is actually getting quite wealthy from it.”

“Traditionally, the bride and groom always wait here while the guests arrive and are seated and the decorations are finalized.” Alilia told them with a smile as they seated themselves in the largest grouping of sofas, loveseats and armchairs.  “It gives them one last chance to have some quiet and private time before they’re joined and all the celebrating begins.  It also gives them a chance to reflect on what they’re about to do, and to be sure it’s what they really want.  Those who are truly unsure tend to change their minds about the whole thing while waiting in this room.”

“Yes, we
know
all that Mother.” Val told her with an exasperated smile.  “We know that Father and Talia used the time to learn the ceremony and to get to know each other better, and that you and Gorsh fornicated enthusiastically here for over an hour and were almost two minutes late to your own wedding, which I find quite amusing.

“The question was; what do
we
do
now?
”

“Ah.  Well we relax and enjoy some conversation, of course, and wait for the rest of the wedding party to arrive.” Mark chuckled as he cuddled Alilia on his lap.

“They keep Preserved urns of this and five other hot drinks fresh and hot over there.” Talia announced as she arrived with a tray and handed out steaming mugs.  “This might have been there for months, but it’s still delicious.  They have Bhia honey too.”

“Mmm. This really brings back memories.” Mark smiled as he sipped his tea and Talia carefully joined Alilia on his lap.  “I was such a scared, nervous, mind-boggled wreck the last time I was in this room.  In a way it seems like yesterday and I still feel like the same person.  But in a way it was an eternity ago, and I’ve grown so far beyond that poor young wretch that I almost can’t believe my present life is real.”

“We were all so broken from thinking Dalia and Bezedil were dead.” Talia wistfully reminisced.  “And you were still broken from the loss of your family.  And we were all a mess from having been cursed; Father and Alilia, you and me.

“I tell you, it amazes me that we managed to pull it off with even the slightest shred of decorum.”

“We did, though.” Alilia smiled.  “There were some rough moments, but you two impressed the world that night, and you impressed me more than most.”

“Some rough moments?!” Mark laughed.  “Gods’ teeth, I had a heart cramp and died in the middle of the vows!  I guess recovering from that and not seeming too much of a fool was rather impressive at that!”

“And Balen trying to color you green and purple as you were walking down the aisle,” Talia laughed, “And Yzandra making a scene, and Kragorram and Povon’s tumultuous argument and reconciliation…

“Damn!  I don’t mind telling you that I hope today’s event is a lot less eventful!”

They all laughed, then Mark hugged both of his beloveds and grinned.  “Well, we’re only having a few hundred guests this time, and though the valley may be filled with spectators they’ll be excluded from the chapel, and I don’t intend to go touring around among them this time.  They’re merely spectators, they haven’t been invited, so they’re not part of it like they were last time.

“And this time I’m not the slightest bit nervous about the future of our relationship and my performance in it.  Living and loving together for a few years before marriage definitely has its benefits that way.  Our love is strong and well-established, our lives are completely bound together through our children, my heart is strong with security and contentment.

“To me, today’s marriage is primarily a proud declaration of all that from us to the rest of the world.”

“Then we are of one mind on the matter.” Alilia softly declared, and she and Talia both leaned in simultaneously to share a three-way kiss with him.  In a moment their passion was fired, and it became a very serious kiss indeed.

“Please!” Val laughed.  “Is that really appropriate?!”

“Mm hm.” Mark responded with a slight nod, without seeming otherwise distracted from the kiss, and Talia gave a muffled giggle.

After a minute of that Fire suddenly spoke;  “I’m in love with Karzog!  He’s my destined mate, my destined love.”