The party wasn’t structured. The servants came and went, and, Lilly knew, there was a party going on in the servants’ hall, as well. All but the high table were serving themselves from massive buffets set up in different places and mingling freely. The courtiers sat in the great hall, by their own choice, but later in the evening, as the tables were pushed aside to make room for dancing, there was a bit more mingling.
Well after midnight, when the party showed no signs of slowing down, Luc caught Lilly’s hand and led her outside, into the garden. Fairy lanterns had been lit here and there among the bushes, and torches lit the outside walls of the castle. The place looked magical, and more than one couple was out walking among the fragrant boughs.
“Where are you taking me?” Lilly teased as Luc walked purposefully toward a distant part of the garden. She thought she knew where he was heading but didn’t see any point in ruining the mystery of the moment.
“I’m stealing you away, and I may never be persuaded to return you,” he quipped, leering at her in a comical way as they walked along. The light was dimmer the farther out from the castle they went, and when they rounded the final bend and she could see the bower, her breath caught.
Someone had lit tiny lanterns and hung them from the tree branches, creating a magical nook in the otherwise dark garden. The night-blooming plants lent their heady fragrance to the scene, and a bottle of wine with two crystal glasses rested on the bower seat. Luc had planned ahead, and Lilly was truly touched.
When they reached the sitting area, he gallantly held her hand while she sat, then he opened the wine and poured her a glass. He sat beside her and held up his glass in a toast.
“To the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known,” he said quietly, “and the most courageous.”
He held her gaze as they touched glasses, the chime of the crystal ringing in the dark night, then drank deeply. She would have toasted him in return, but he went on almost as soon as he’d swallowed.
“Lilly, I have enjoyed our time together more than I can express in words.” Her stomach sank. Was this his way of saying goodbye? She fought to hide her dread. “I want our relationship to continue.” Her heart leapt in her chest as the dread turned to happiness.
Luc stood and went to one knee before her, taking her hands in his. Her stomach clenched. Was he going to…?
“Lilly, will you marry me? Despite our differences, I find I don’t want to live without you and want to spend whatever time we have, together.”
Her heart melted into a little puddle and her eyes filled with tears of happiness. His proposal was music to her ears, even though she knew it was crazy. They were from two very different worlds. Two different peoples. Could they really make a go of it together? She didn’t know, but she really wanted to find out. She threw the questions about tomorrow behind her and reached out to him, pulling him close.
“I don’t want to give you up,” she whispered to him. “It may be selfish of me, I know, but I want to spend whatever time we have, together.”
They kissed, and the moment was perfect. The garden. The fairy lanterns. The soft sounds of music and laughter coming from the distant castle. And Lilly and Luc, in each other’s arms. All was right with the world.
*
Alric and Zallra snuck out of the party and headed for the dark bower but stopped short outside the circle of light when they saw Luc get down on one knee. When the couple embraced, Alric and Zallra retreated beyond the line of sheltering bushes.
“I suppose I’m going to have to do something to help them stay together,” Alric said, smiling at his lady love. “I’ve never known Lilly so happy as she is with him.”
“You care for her a great deal,” Zallra mused.
“She is the sister I never had, and you cannot begin to know how she helped me, ever since I was a boy. She made the blindness a little more bearable, and now, of course, she’s been instrumental in bringing about my cure. I don’t think anyone else could have gotten through to the enclave of fair folk. She has a tenacity that can’t be beat, and a will made of iron.”
“Then, you should reward her loyalty and ask to have Luc assigned as the permanent envoy to your court from his people. The snow dragons seem to think he would enjoy such a post as a chance to make his own mark away from the shadow of his brother’s achievements. It’s been all right since Luc was in a different chain of command as leader of the Scouts, but now that he’s proven himself, he is sure to have earned his spot in the Guard, and then, he’d be starting over at the bottom under his brother’s command,” Zallra explained. “If he is promoted and given the post to your kingdom, I think it will solve that problem while also allowing he and Lilly to be together. She likely will not want to leave your service, according to Jimnel and my other sources among your people, but you do not need her as much as you did, now that you can see, and of course, you have me. It’s ony fair that she should be able to marry and make a life with Luc, as you and I will make our lives together. Perhaps, our children will be playmates.” Zallra’s smile was full of mischief.
Alric was suddenly struck by a vision of the future. A future where little boys and little girls played together in the very bower they had just left. A children’s party to celebrate the birthday of Alric’s heir.
“Do you see it, my love?” He wondered if they were sharing this vision, but she shook her head.
“No, but I can guess. You can tell me the details later. However, I think I know where you should send them on their honeymoon. Lilly, Luc and Shilayla would make excellent emissaries to the royal court of Draconia, and they know the way now, having made the journey before. I suspect some of the ice dragons will also want to go, so you should start thinking about making up a delegation to open talks.” She leaned against his side and walked with him back toward the castle and the ongoing celebration.
“Is this from a vision you had?” Alric asked, playfully curious. He loved that his betrothed shared his gift and that they understood each other so well.
“No, but once the ice dragons find out what I have to tell them, I believe they will waste no time in sending someone—or perhaps several of their number—directly to King Roland’s court.”
“Why?” Alric stopped short of the castle, turning to look down at his lover in the moonlight.
“Because King Roland adopted a baby ice dragon and is raising him as his son. The baby was stolen and separated from its mother when it was still in the egg, and by good fortune, the new Queen was set to tend the egg. She is a dragon healer, you know, and a black dragon herself, though she came to her true power late in life. She raised the baby, and they escaped together into the cold Northlands, evading hunters for years before Roland met them.”
“That’s incredible,” Alric said. “I hadn’t heard this, but of course, travel over the Dragon’s Teeth isn’t undertaken lightly. We seldom get much official communication from over those mountains.”
“That will change, now that you have dragons and Jinn living openly in your land, my love.” She sparkled up at him. “We Jinn go wherever the wind takes us, and we have networks throughout every land.”
Alric reached down and kissed her. “You are a treasure, Zallra, and not just for your amazing contacts.”