mind.
‘Yes, Polgara?’ her thought came to me.
‘Kamion’s seeking out all of the eligible young women on the Isle, mother.
How do we determine which of them to choose?’
‘You’ll know – and so will Daran.’
‘We aren’t going to let him make the decision, are we? He’s a nice boy.
but this is important.’
She actually laughed. ‘Just bring them into the Hall of the Rivan King
one by one, Pol,’ she told me. ‘You’ll know immediately – and so will
Daran.’
And so we did it that way. Our approach wasn’t really very subtle.
Kamion let it be generally known that Daran was looking for a wife
– although that was probably the furthest thing from the Prince
Regent’s mind. The young women on the Isle were paraded, one
by one, before the throne in the Hall of the Rivan King. They all
wore their finest clothing, and each of them was given about five
minutes to try to snare our increasingly nervous – even frightened
– young man.
It went on for days, and poor Daran was engulfed by treacle-laden
smiles as the girls of Isle of the Winds each tried to enchant
him.
‘If this goes on much longer, Aunt Pol, I’m going to run away,
he threatened one evening.
‘Don’t do that, dear,’ I said. ‘I’d just have to chase you down and
bring you back. You have to get married, Daran, because you have
to produce an heir to your father’s throne. That obligation takes
precedence over all others. Now go get some sleep. You’re starting
to look just a bit haggard.’
,so would you if people kept looking at you like a side of beef.’
It was the next day, I think, when she came into the hall. She was
quite small, and her hair was almost as dark as mine. Her large
luminous eyes, however, were so dark as to be almost black. Her
father was a very minor nobleman, hardly more than a peasant,
who had a small holding back in the mountains. Her name was
Larana, she wore a plain dress, and she entered the Hall rather
hesitantly. Her eyes were downcast, and there was a faint flush on
her alabaster cheeks.
I heard Daran’s breath catch in his throat, and I turned sharply
to look at him. His face had gone very pale, and his hands were
trembling. More importantly, though, was the fact that the Master’s
Orb on the pommel of his father’s sword was glowing a soft pink,
a blush almost exactly matching the one on Larana’s cheeks.
I stepped over to where the Rivan Warder stood. ‘Send the rest
of them away, Kamion,’ I advised him. ‘We’ve found the one we
want.’
Kamion was staring incredulously at the rosy Orb. ‘Was that
supposed to happen, Pol?’ he asked, his voice a little strangled.
‘Of course,’ I replied in an off-hand sort of way. ‘You didn’t think
we were just going to have all those girls draw straws, did you?’
Then I stepped down from the dais and approached the bride-to-be.
‘Good morning, Larana,’ I greeted her.
‘Lady Polgara,’ she responded with a graceful curtsey.
‘Why don’t you come with me, dear?’ I said.
‘But -‘ she looked at Daran with an almost naked longing.
‘You’ll have time to talk with him later, dear,’ I assured her. ‘Lots
of time, I’d imagine. There are some things you’ll need to know, so
let’s get them out of the way right at the outset.’ I firmly took our
bride-to-be by the arm and led her toward the door.
‘Aunt Pol.’ Daran’s voice almost had a note of panic in it.
‘Later, dear,’ I told him. ‘Why don’t you and Lord Brand go to
our meeting room? Larana and I’ll be along in a little while.’
I took Larana to my rooms, sat her down, and gave her a cup of
tea to settle her nerves. Then I told her in rather general terms
something about the peculiar family she’d soon be joining.
‘I thought all those stories were just that, Lady Polgara – stories.
Are you saying that they’re all really true?’
‘They’ve probably been exaggerated a bit, dear,’ I said, ‘but they’re
still more or less true.’
‘Does the prince know? That I’ve been selected, I mean?’
‘Oh, dear, dear Larana,’ I laughed. ‘Didn’t you see his face? Right
now he’d walk through fire just to get to you.’
‘But I’m so ordinary.’
‘No, dear,’ I said firmly. ‘You’ve never been ordinary, and
you never will be. Drink your tea now, and then we’ll join the
menfolk.’
She set down her cup. ‘Shouldn’t we hurry, Lady Polgara?’ she
asked. ‘I wouldn’t want him to get away.’
‘Not to worry, dear. He’s not going to get away from you. Let
him wait just a bit. It’ll be good for him.’
When the two of us joined Kamion and Daran in the blue-draped
tower room, I was treated to a repetition of that day in the inn at
Camaar when my sister and Riva first met.
‘Aren’t they going to say anything to each other, Pol?’ Kamion
whispered to me after about half an hour of absolute silence.
‘They are saying things to each other, Kamion. Listen with your
eyes, not your ears.’
He looked at the happy couple and saw the absolute adoration
on their faces. ‘I think I see what you mean, Pol. It’s almost
embarrassing to be in the same room with them.’
‘Yes,’ I agreed. Then I looked speculatively at Larana. ‘You’d
better give me about ten days before you schedule the wedding,
Kamion. I have to have a long talk with Arell about Larana’s
wedding dress and a few other details.’
‘It’s all settled then? That quick? My courtship went on for half
a year or more.’
I patted his cheek. ‘This is more efficient, dear boy,’ I told him.
‘You’ll probably have to make most of the decisions here on the Isle
for the next couple of months. Daran’s not going to be very rational
for a while. Oh, you’d better talk with Riva and let him know what’s
afoot. He’ll have to be present, of course, and we’ll want to give
him time to prepare himself to appear in public again.’
‘That might be a little tricky, Pol. He’s become very reclusive in
the past year. If I didn’t know better, I’d almost say that he’s afraid
of people.’
‘Let him know what’s happening, Kamion, and then I’ll talk with
him.’
Kamion looked at the children again. ‘The next problem is how
we’re going to get those two apart. Besides, it’s starting to get dark
Outside, and we should probably feed them.’
‘They aren’t hungry, Kamion. Give them another couple of hours,
and then I’ll take Larana to my quarters for the night.’
‘Be sure to lock your door. Keeping Daran and Larana away from
each other might be just a bit difficult.’
‘I’ll take care of it, Brand. Send for Arell, would you, please? Tell
her that I’ll need her first thing in the morning.’ Then I went over
to where the children were still gazing into each others’ eyes. ‘Did
YOU ask her yet, Daran?’ I said, shaking his shoulder to get his
attention.
‘Ask her what, Aunt Pol?’
I gave him a long, steady look.
He flushed slightly. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘that. It’s not really necessary,
Aunt Pol.’
‘Why don’t you do it anyway, Daran? These little formalities are
the very soul of civilized behavior.’
‘Well, if you think I should. It’s already been decided, though.,
He looked at the young woman who’d fill the rest of his life. ‘You
will, won’t you, Larana?’ he asked.
‘Will what, my Lord?’ she replied.
‘Marry me, naturally.’
‘Oh,’ she said, ‘that. Of course I will, my Lord.’
‘See?’ I said. ‘Now that wasn’t so difficult, was it?’
There had been cries of outraged anguish from those girls who’d
been waiting to meet the Crown Prince and then had been
summarily dismissed, and Kamion and I were besieged by equally outraged
fathers vehemently protesting – not so much the disappointment of
their daughters as the evaporation of their own opportunities for
social prestige and access to the throne. But Kamion and I were able
to smooth all the ruffled feathers with mysterious references to ‘fate’,
‘destiny’, and ‘preordination’. Our arguments were a bit specious,
I’ll admit, but convincing lies are the very soul of diplomatic
discourse.
Arell quite nearly outdid herself with Larana’s wedding gown, a
lacy fantasy in palest blue. Larana and I really hit it off when she
confided to me that blue was her favorite color. I wholeheartedly
approved of the girl’s good taste.
The wedding took place about noon on a sunny spring day, and
the Hall of the Rivan King, suitably decorated for the happy
occasion, was flooded with bright sunlight.
I’m not entirely sure who arranged that. I know that I didn’t.
There was the usual banquet after the wedding, but I’d visited the