Beginning , Section II, Section III , Section IV
Jump to new as of January 4, 2004
Chapter Ten continued
Finally, he reached her. She stood still, Bruggen on her shoulder and two pelts at her feet. Will dismounted and let his horse rest.
He approached her, not knowing what to say. He wanted to sweep her off her feet, or at least kiss her, but he couldn’t approach her with a bird of prey on her shoulder.
After a long silence between them, Will said, “I thought you would at least say goodbye.”
Lyssa’s lower lip quivered until she bit it. She replied in a soft, shaky voice, “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t.” After a brief pause, she asked, “How did you know I was here?”
“A combination of things. It was Firefly who really gave you away.”
Lyssa looked at her feet, studying the pelts Bruggen had brought back. She’d forgotten about Firefly. She hadn’t really expected him to go into the stables, despite her knowing his habits.
“And I was given this,” Will added, holding his hand out.
Lyssa saw what was in it and gasped, crying in delight, “Where did you find that?”
“The Queen found it. She thought it belonged to me. I thought the owner of it was trying to return it to me.”
“No,” she said, sadly. “It lived in a pouch around my neck, but Bruggen here,” Lyssa rubbed the peregrine’s head, “had a habit of chewing on the strap and it must have broken and fallen off. I looked everywhere for it.”
Will’s heart lifted with the knowledge that she treasured his seal.
“Lyssa…” he said softly, and she closed her eyes in pleasure at hearing her name for the first time in a year. “Why do you run from me?”
Lyssa’s brow furrowed in sorrow. “I don’t run from you, I run from what you are.”
“How can I get you to stop running? What will it take?”
Lyssa wanted to give her full attention to Will, but Bruggen was fidgeting, anxious to hunt again. Lyssa realised she hadn’t put on Bruggen’s rufter, so of course she expected to continue hunting.
Lyssa turned away from Will and walked a few steps, whispering to Bruggen, hoping she would stay out long enough for her to deal with Will. Then she tossed the bird in the air and watched as she ringed upwards, her lazy spiral belying her restless activity.
Will now approached her, placing one hand on her shoulder. “Lyssa.” She turned to face him. “Do you love me?”
Lyssa couldn’t look away from him. His face was so haggard and pained. She couldn’t lie to that face. “Yes.”
“Do you know that I love you?”
“Yes, I do.”
He took both of her hands in his, gazing into the beautiful eyes he loved so dearly. “Will you return to Shire with me?” It was not exactly the question he wanted to ask her, but he had decided to move carefully with her. “I’ll give you as many birds as you want.”
Lyssa’s face contorted with pain. “I don’t know, Will.” She began to cry, and moved forward to wrap her arms around his neck. It felt so good to be in his embrace once more, she didn’t know how she could ever leave it again.
“Please, Lyssa. I’m desolate without you. Just a shadow of myself. I need you.” Will’s voice choked, clutching her as tightly as he could, burrowing his face in her hair.
“I’m so frightened, Will.”
“Of what?”
“Being your wife.”
“You mean being a queen?”
She nodded slightly.
“You shouldn’t be. You mould the position to suit yourself. You couldn’t make me a better wife.” He paused. “Your sister is Lady Jane of one of the northern provinces.”
Lyssa gasped. “What?”
“She and Charles replaced one of the northern noble families. Go visit her. She would give anything to see you again. Come, Lyssa. You belong in Shire. An entire kingdom waits for you.”
Lyssa laughed a short laugh. “You’re not making this any easier.”
“My love, what do you intend to spend your life doing? Are you going to continue looking after spoilt royal birds? Or would you come and make a man happy and spend your life bettering the lives of the people of Shire?”
“I hate it when you do that,” she said in a muffled voice, still sniffling.
“Do what?”
“Phrase it in such a way that if I turned you down, I would feel like a horrible selfish person.”
“It is only because I know you are a wonderful selfless person that I can do that and make it work. Come home with me,” he whispered, kissing her head. “I promise you a quick, small wedding, and then we can begin living a normal life together.”
He always made it so hard for her to refuse. It was one of the reasons why she had avoided him for so long.
“I have every confidence that you will make a wonderful queen.”
She was glad he had such confidence because she was sure she didn’t.
He pulled away from her, capturing her face with one hand to make her look at him. “Come home with me.”
When he looked at her with those eyes, she knew she had no choice. She nodded. His hopes rose. “Marry me,” he asked, hoping to gain full commitment from her.
She smiled a little as she nodded again.
“Never run away from me again.”
“I won’t.”
Will let out a huge sigh, and pulled her to him. Holding her as tightly as he could, he bent his head to kiss her. She closed her eyes at the exquisite sensations caused by his kisses. She loved him so much. She didn’t know how she had managed to elude him for so long. He kissed her passionately, positive he would never be able to get enough of her.
When they parted slightly, she whispered to him, “I love you more than there are minutes in a lifetime.”
“As long as that lifetime is spent together,” he whispered in reply.
He moved forward to kiss her once again but stopped when he heard the cry of a bird overhead.
“Uh oh, you’re going to be attacked if you’re not careful,” laughed Lyssa.
She moved away from Will, put on her gauntlet and held out her arm for Bruggen to perch. The peregrine dropped a prairie dog on the ground and landed heavily on Lyssa’s arm. Bruggen gripped her perch with her talons and settled herself down. Lyssa stroked the bird, praising her for her success in hunting, feeding her a few bits of meat, then attached the leash and rufter onto her.
“It must be a great weight on your arm when she lands.”
“It is. Perdwin is heavier, though.”
“Shall we return to the castle?”
“If you can grab those pelts, we can begin walking back.”
“You could ride my horse.”
“He won’t like Bruggen riding with me. It’s all right. I would prefer to walk.”
Will tied the pelts to his horse and began catching up to Lyssa, leading his mount by the reigns. Lyssa had moved Bruggen to the more comfortable position of her shoulder. Will felt safe enough with Bruggen’s rufter preventing her seeing him to kiss Lyssa swiftly a couple times, then capture her hand in his.
They didn’t say anything for several minutes as they strode through the long prairie grass. Then Lyssa observed, “I shall enjoy seeing Shire’s forests again.”
“Is this place too flat and open for you, my love?”
She smiled up at him and nodded. “Though I certainly saw my fair share of mountains and heights at first.”
Will stopped. Lyssa turned to him questioningly. “Tell me. Tell me everything since I last saw you.”
Lyssa sighed. “It’s a long story.”
“We have a long ride home.”
“Not right now. I’ll tell you when we begin for Shire.”
“At least tell me if … anything horrible happened to you.”
Lyssa saw fear in his face – fear of the unknown trials she had faced. She stepped closer to him, cupping his face with one hand. “Nothing too horrible happened. I spent happy months in Mont Karmle, with the exception of missing everyone I had left behind in Shire. And I have been treated well here in Eos. Prince Richard has always been kind.”
“That he has. I invited him to come visit me in Shire sometime.”
“Really?” Lyssa’s face showed pleased delight.
Will laughed a little. “I told him to bring Perdwin and that falconer of his.”
“You didn’t know it was me?”
“Yes, I knew.”
Lyssa looked confused. “Now it is your turn to explain yourself.”
Will gazed down at her. “I have watched you this past week. Watched you like the miserable obsessed person that I am … was.”
“You did not say anything before today?”
Gravely, he replied, “I believed you did not love me, explaining why you evaded me. I believed that until I received a note from you this morning.” Lyssa flushed. Will kissed her gently. “So I rushed out to find you, to make you change your mind.”
“You’re impossible to dissuade when you have your mind set,” she whispered back.
“One of the few traits you admire about me, admit it,” he teased, kissing her again.
She smiled into his kisses. “You’re incorrigible.”
“You’re my remedy.”
They began walking again.
Will didn’t want to break the subject, but preferred to be prepared for the contingency. He squeezed her hand and asked, “What do you want to do when we get to the castle?”
Lyssa looked at him, realizing what he meant and the implications behind it. She opened her mouth to reply, then shut it, not knowing how to answer. The thought of walking back into the castle and facing all those nobles and the Eosian royal family… and Prince Richard ….
Will, seeing the fear in her face, stopped her and pulled her to face him. “Lyssa, no one will hurt you.”
“I know.”
“I mean that no one will treat you ill.”
“What will they think when you produce the lowly, grubby falconer as your fiancé?”
“I don’t care and neither should you. Listen, we can say nothing of this here, if you like. We can return to Shire without announcing anything now.”
Lyssa could see he did not like this plan as much as parading in with her and shouting the news to the entire castle, but she knew she would feel better about any announcements if she just looked the part. In Shire, they did not know she was a falconer. She had nice gowns she could wear and family who would support her. Now, she even had a noble sister and brother-in-law.
“Could we, please?” she said.
Will nodded. “But you will be coming back with me.”
“We should tell Prince Richard at least,” Lyssa said. “He will be sorry to lose his falconer.”
“Yes, but he will understand.”
“Will he?”
Will didn’t reply, not knowing for certain how Richard would react.
Chapter Eleven
Posted on Saturday, 3 January 2004
Lyssa went off to the falconry on her own to feed and return Bruggen to her perch and the pelts to the kitchens. Will, meanwhile, informed his entourage that they would be leaving the following day, and left his horse in the tender care of the stable girl.
Now that he was no longer in Lyssa’s presence, he could scarcely believe that she was returning with him. It was so easy once he spoke with her, it didn’t seem real.
Will returned to his rooms followed by his attendants. They fretted about him, positive he had gone mad. They coddled him and asked whether he didn’t think it a wiser idea to rest a few days before making the arduous journey home. Will hardly acknowledged them. He just immediately began sending messengers to Lyssa’s family and to Jane and Charles asking them to come to the castle as soon as possible. He sent one on ahead to the castle to inform Mrs. Reynolds that he was bringing his bride home and wanted to perform the ceremony as soon as possible.
When he had finished with his business and dismissed his fussy attendants, he asked Prince Richard to accompany him to the falconry. The Prince met King Fitzwilliam in the outer courtyard.
“I thought you were leaving today.”
Will grinned at him. “I was delayed. I’ll leave tomorrow.”
“The whole castle was in a bit of a tiff this morning after you dashed out on your own. Your courtiers were wondering whether to follow you or not.”
“You remember the woman I told you about?”
“The fiancé you can’t find?”
“I found her. I found her a week ago, but I didn’t think she wanted to be found. To make a long story short, I had been mistaken about her love for me. She’s just very … intimidated by royalty.” Will paused. “You know your falconer, Dusty?”
“Yes.”
“Her real name is Lyssa Bent. She grew up on an orchard in the southeastern corner of Shire. We met over a year ago and became engaged. She returned to her home before the wedding, and then trouble broke out with the north. She fled when her own life was in danger. And that was the last I had heard of her, until I discovered her here, as your falconer.”
“Dusty??” Prince Richard looked not a little astonished. “She never said a word of it. Nothing. She never told me anything about her past.”
Will led the Prince inside the falconry where he had agreed to meet Lyssa.
“Meet my fiancé, Lyssa Bent,” Will said.
Prince Richard looked upon the lady with new eyes. She smiled shyly and half curtseyed.
“Forgive my duplicity, Prince Richard. I became used to running and hiding.”
“You do it well, my lady,” Prince Richard assured her, bowing low. “While I am happy that you two have been reunited, I confess to great disappointment at losing a fine falconer.”
Lyssa smiled. “You and Perdwin shall just have to visit us often.”
Will thrilled at the fact that she was making plans in the future that included the both of them in the castle.
“If you would be so kind, please do not let anyone else know about me.”
“Whyever not?” asked Prince Richard. “They will surely be interested.”
“It’s just… rather odd for the King of Shire to be marrying a falconer.”
Will scowled at her, but Lyssa merely ignored him.
“I shall heed your wishes. You both leave tomorrow?”
Will nodded.
“What shall I tell Ben?”
“I’ll say goodbye to him. I’ll tell him I’ve been hired by King Fitzwilliam.”
This was where Will drew the line. “Lyssa, no,” he said firmly. “You cannot keep telling falsehoods about yourself like this. You are my fiancé, the love of my life. You are Lyssa Bent who grew up on the most beautiful orchards in Shire.” Will had taken her face in his hands and was looking at her sternly, but lovingly. “You must not keep hiding. It is time to come out of your shell.”
Lyssa knew he was right. She closed her eyes and nodded. Will kissed her gently.
Prince Richard and Will went upstairs to see the birds while Lyssa went to speak to Ben.
Prince Richard turned to Will and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Congratulations, Fitzwilliam. You seem to suit each other.”
“Thank you. I believe so, too. She’s just… skittish.”
“You have to admit it must be difficult for any peasant girl to make the step up to being queen,” Prince Richard mused. “Think how much training she has missed. I mean… my sisters have been preparing for their roles their entire lives. It’s an entire mentality drilled into them.”
“But maybe that’s what attracts me to Lyssa. She doesn’t have that mentality.”
“It’s a paradox, then, my dear sir. You love exactly what makes her unsuitable to be queen.”
“That is what I hope to disprove. I believe she will make a better queen than any woman brought up for it.”
“And I shall be behind you the whole way.”
Will leaned against the window looking down at the activity in the outer courtyard. He mused, “What do you think are the chances that I could assassinate your older brother and have you put on the throne?”
Prince Richard looked up at King Fitzwilliam in shock, but saw the small smile on the man’s face that gave away his humour.
“I’m afraid I wouldn’t make a good king. I wasn’t brought up for it.”
“I was and I still make a pig’s ear of it.”
“Not from what I hear.”
Will grew serious. “I owe much of my success to Lyssa, as a matter of fact. She woke me up to my duty and the possibilities being the King could provide.”
“I look forward to visiting you both after you are settled.”
Will looked up at him and added, “As do I.”
Lyssa spent one last night in her small, unpretentious room despite Will’s protests. She rode out with the train of attendants, but as soon as they were out of the castle’s vicinity, Will rode back to find her and Firefly in the entourage. He refused to leave her side during the whole journey home, sparking numerous rumours among the attendants. On the second day of the trip, Will returned his seal to her wrist. She was grateful to have it back, finally feeling more comfortable about her decision to marry him.
Will did everything in his power to make Lyssa’s return a happy, enjoyable one. He stalled until he knew that Charles and Jane had arrived ahead of them. They were still unaware that her sister had been found.
When they were a short distance from the castle, Will and Lyssa galloped on ahead of the rest of the party. Lyssa was anxious not to be caught in a large homecoming gathering. She was already uneasy about the rumours spreading about her. Now she was almost eager to have their engagement announced, thus ending the lies spread regarding them.
Lyssa began to recognize her surroundings as they drew close to the castle. Will pointed out to her the path up to their meadow. Lyssa looked at him eagerly. Reading the look in her face, Will laughed and said, “We’ll have plenty of time to visit it another time. But today, you wanted to arrive ahead of the crowd.”
They passed the blackberry bushes, now leafless at the beginning of winter. Then they rounded a bend in the road and came into view of the castle. Lyssa stopped, looking at it.
Will rode beside her and captured one of her hands. Leaning over in his saddle, he kissed her and said, “Welcome home.”
She smiled at him. For some reason, it did feel a bit like coming home. Not like returning to her orchards, but it was definitely a welcome sight after her foreign travels.
Will nudged her forward and they slowly made their way to the castle. As his presence had not been announced ahead of his arrival, no one was expecting them as they entered the main courtyard. A stable-hand came forward to take their mounts, then asked the King if he should sound the alert. Will shook his head, grabbed Lyssa’s hand and led her inside the castle.
Mistress Reynolds came forward as usual, and then first recognized the King, then his fiancé. She smiled broadly. “My lady! It is good to see you.”
Lyssa, giddy with an odd sort of excitement, ran forward to hug the older matron. “Oh Mistress Reynolds! You are a wonderful person!”
The woman awkwardly patted her back, flushing slightly with the praise. “Thank you, dear.”
Lyssa pulled away, slightly embarrassed.
“Would you like to freshen up? I have readied my lady’s room.”
Will replied, “I would like to see my guests first.”
“Right. If you would like to wait in the private audience chamber, I will show them there.”
Will nodded and took Lyssa’s hand firmly in his, tugging her along with him.
“Who are you seeing, Will?” asked Lyssa, walking quickly to keep up with him.
“I have some business to attend to immediately,” he said vaguely.
“Then why not let me go to my room?”
“I want to keep you by my side. You will be helping me with my affairs from now on.”
“I will?” she asked, puzzled.
“You have helped me before.”
“I have?”
“It was you who made me realize the power of the ordinary person. Before I met you, I never even thought about what they thought. Actually… I didn’t really think the commoners had thoughts about anything. But you… you showed me the humanity of my own people. And it was from that which came the idea to directly approach the northern people and ask them to follow the crown not the nobility.”
Lyssa stared in amazement at him, but he kept on walking.
“So you see, you’ve been invaluable to me from the beginning.”
They reached the private audience chamber and went inside. It was empty. Lyssa looked around her. The place brought back difficult memories.
“Will,” she said in a soft voice, not liking the empty silence of the room. “Where are your parents?”
Will looked at her gravely. “They’ve retired to a country estate in the west. They’re content enough there.”
She didn’t say anything more, leaving the discussion about his accession to the throne for a later time. She walked slowly toward the fireplace. There was only one throne there, now, and it was not one of those used by his parents. She would not have thought it a throne if it had not stood on the small dais at the end of the grand hall. Other than that, nothing else had changed since the last time she had stepped into it.
She was startled by the door opening. A footman entered and strode rapidly to the fireplace. There, he quickly laid a fire and fed it until it was a steady blaze.
In the meantime, Lyssa turned to Will and asked him, “What is your business, then?”
Will took her hands in his, drawing her close. “Wait and see.”
She leaned into him, feeling the weariness of travel beginning to descend on her in full force.
“It is winter very soon,” Lyssa whispered.
“Mmm. Don’t worry. You’ll be warm enough in the castle.”
“What about the rest of the country?”
Will pulled away and grinned excitedly down at her. “Do you not see this? Do you not hear yourself?”
Lyssa looked confused.
“You just naturally think like a monarch. It’s incredible.”
Lyssa thought it over and supposed that it might be a remarkable thing, but she didn’t feel remarkable.
Will kissed her. “It’s one of the many things I love about you.”
Mistress Reynolds entered the chamber and announced, “Lord and Lady Bailey of Sylvester.”
Lyssa turned in dismay to the door, not wanting to meet any nobles looking at her worst after a week and a half of traveling and a year on the run. They were a handsome couple of her own age, Lyssa noticed at first. Then she recognized them and gasped.
Jane’s reaction was equally astonished. They ran and clasped each other as tightly as they could, laughing and crying at the same time.
“Oh, Jane!” cried Lyssa. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Lyssa, my own dear Lyssa,” Jane whispered. “I thought you were never coming back. I thought I would never see you again.”
They held each other for several minutes, just reveling in being together again. Finally, they pulled away and Jane looked her sister over.
“I’ve seen you look better,” Jane said with a small smile.
“We have only just this hour returned from Eos.”
“So you did go to Eos. When all those men sent out to search for you there returned empty-handed, I began to doubt.”
“No, I did go through Eos.”
Lyssa saw something odd about her sister that was nothing to do with the noble clothes. She pulled away farther to look her older sibling over. She gasped again and cried, “You’re pregnant!”
Jane grinned, laughing, nodding.
Lyssa lurched into another fierce embrace, then jerked away. “Oh! I’m so sorry. Have I hurt you?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Oh, Jane! I’m so very happy for you! I can’t believe it.”
“It took me several weeks to believe it myself.”
Lyssa heard a familiar voice from behind her add, “And I swear, if it hadn’t been for the great urgency your messenger expressed, I would have refused to let her come at all.”
“But you mustn’t be traveling!” exclaimed Lyssa.
Jane calmed her sister, saying, “No, it is still early. I shall be fine. We took care in coming here.”
Will spoke up, “I’m sorry, Charles. I had no idea. If I’d known I would have taken Lyssa up north to visit you.”
“It’s all right. No harm done, and this has been a wonderful surprise. Lyssa.” She turned to face her new brother-in-law. “Welcome home,” Charles said quietly.
Lyssa looked him over, both of them assessing the other.
“Thank you, Charles. Thank you for everything.”
Charles knew her thanks was for his part in her escape.
“I confess, I regretted it later on.” Charles’ face was somber as he said, “You should have come home sooner.”
Will opened his mouth to defend his fiancé out of hand, but Lyssa interrupted him. “I know,” she said. “I know it full well. My only explanation is sheer cowardice.”
“I hope you have found your courage then?” asked Charles.
“Rather, I have found my fears to be unfounded,” Lyssa replied thoughtfully.
“I’m glad you came home,” Charles said, he moved forward and kissed his sister’s cheek. Lyssa hugged him briefly.
“Congratulations. I’m sorry I missed the wedding,” Lyssa said in his ear.
Charles pulled away to look at her. “You were sorely missed. We waited for a while, but we couldn’t for too long. I needed Jane with me as we forged a new noble dynasty in our province.”
“I’m sure you do well together as nobles.”
Jane smiled. “I think we receive mostly good responses from our people. They held a feast in our honour when we married.”
Charles turned to Will. “And what about you two? When do you intend to marry? Soon, I hope?”
“Yes, as soon as Lyssa’s family and my parents arrive.”
“My family is coming here?” asked Lyssa incredulously.
Will nodded. “I wasn’t about to wait until after you’d gone home to see them, so I summoned them to the castle to witness our wedding.”
Lyssa didn’t know what to think of it. “Will,” she breathed. “My mother and sisters don’t know I’m alive! They think I’m buried in the orchards… or at least my ashes.”
Will and Charles looked at each other, realizing the difficulty. “Hmm, yes, that does make things a bit more interesting, doesn’t it?”
“The shock of that alone will be enough to send my mother to the grave herself, let alone discovering that you, my fiancé, are the King!”
Will scrubbed his beard in thought.
Jane suggested gently, “I think it would be best to hold the encounter here. Let’s bring in more chairs.”
“And you don’t wear any of your royal whatsits,” Lyssa said, poking a finger in Will’s ribs.
“My what?”
“The things you wear to intimidate people.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” scoffed Will.
“Charles and I will be in attendance, which should help calm things down a bit.”
“Let me see my father first,” said Lyssa.
“Yes, that would be better,” agreed Jane.
“When do you expect them?” asked Charles.
Will shrugged. “They could be here any day now. It just depends on how quickly they answer the summons.”
Lyssa didn’t want to think how her mother would react to the summons. She dreaded an embarrassing scene.
“In the meantime,” Jane said, “You both need rest. Will, you look awful. Have you not been sleeping the last three months? Lyssa, you look little better. What have you been doing, living in the forest?”
“Her maternal instinct has been acting up recently,” Charles apologized.
“Actually,” replied Lyssa. “I’ve been a falconer for Prince Richard.”
Will began to steer Lyssa toward the door. “We have lots of discussion and stories to relate, but we can do that over a quiet evening meal together.”
Jane held onto her curiosity with great effort, and urged them both to bathe and dress.
Will dragged Lyssa away and they began walking through the castle. Lyssa stopped him and gave him a long, heated kiss. When she pulled away, she smiled at his slightly stunned expression and said, “Thank you so very much for bringing Jane to me.”
“I would do anything in my power to keep you happy, my love.”
They continued walking and Will showed Lyssa to her room. It was the same room she had occupied during her previous visit.
“I wouldn’t allow anyone else to use it,” Will explained, as Lyssa took in the unchanged room, particularly the large wooden chair which still stood in its rather odd position facing the window.
She opened the wardrobe to find the gowns that had been made waiting for her.
“I hope they still fit me,” she laughed.
“You don’t look any different.”
“I don’t trust your judgment. Now go away so I can have my bath,” she shooed him.
Will paused before leaving and kissed her. “It’s literally a dream come true to have you here in this castle once again.”
“I’ve dreamt of this, too,” she replied. “But this time…” she paused and took a deep breath, “This time I’m here to stay.”
Will’s eyes, holding hers fast, suddenly began to shine, then the brims filled with tears. He didn’t let any fall. He leaned forward and kissed her arduously. Holding her in a tight embrace, he whispered hoarsely in her ear, “I love you more than anything else in the world.”
“And I love you enough to stop running,” she replied with a short laugh, sniffling and wiping her own tears from her eyes.
Will finally left her, and the servants brought her a bath. After refreshing herself in the warm water, she donned one of the gowns. It was a bit loose on her, but still looked presentable. Will collected her and they made their way slowly through the castle, Lyssa taking the liberty of looking around the castle she had never really got to see.
Their private meal with Jane and Charles was nothing but pleasant and joyous. Lyssa’s heart brimmed with love and fulfillment and happiness at being in this company once again. She couldn’t remember why she had not wanted to return.
The rest of the Bents arrived three days later. Lyssa first had an audience with her father alone. His elation at seeing her once again was great. It was some time before either could speak, and then it seemed that all words were unnecessary between them. They spoke anyway, to fill the time until her mother and sisters were brought to the private audience chamber.
The meeting with her mother, Katy, Lida, and Maria proved the most difficult for her. Their shock at learning she lived, then the pain and anger at the deception, and finally the explanation of why her flight was necessary was emotionally draining for Lyssa. It eventually ended well. Her mother was still suffering from a bit of trauma and nerves, but would recover, most definitely, in time for the wedding.
Their engagement was announced to all those present in the castle at the time during a ball, in which Lyssa and Will danced how they liked to dance, and promptly scandalized the whole room. But Will didn’t care because Lyssa was happy. And Lyssa didn’t care because she had decided not to let the courtiers bother her. She knew she would never survive if she were constantly worrying about public opinion.
Five days before the wedding occurred, the old King and Queen returned to the castle for the first time since their abdication. It was a difficult encounter for Lyssa, still retaining a small resentment from their last meeting, but also feeling awkwardness toward the ousted monarchs. She felt guilty, as if she had somehow indirectly caused their downfall. But she took her cue from Will, who treated them deferentially, while still somehow maintaining an air of authority in his own kingdom.
The wedding was relatively small for a royal wedding thrown together with very little time. However, hundreds of people still managed to arrive in time to see their King marry his love, a falconer.
For a wedding gift, Will gave his Queen a newly caught golden eagle. Lyssa was absolutely speechless.
“I know you haven’t worked with eagles before, but I thought you would enjoy the challenge and after a while you would have the extremely loyal camaraderie I’ve heard eagles offer their masters. Besides, only royalty are allowed to have them.”
Lyssa still could not think of any way of expressing her gratitude and amazement. She tried showing him instead.
Topaz proved herself to be an excellent companion for the Queen of Shire. The pair of them soon had their fame spread all over the known world. Queen Elyssa proved Will right, displaying grace and charm with her intelligence and compassion. The reign of King Fitzwilliam and Queen Elyssa was named the Golden Age of Shire by historians of the future who looked back on this time with nostalgia. They were succeeded by their eldest son, Peter, who, along with his three sisters, managed to continue the legacy started by their parents of traveling once a year to Mont Karmle.
Lyssa would often look back and shake her head at her younger self, wondering why she always made things difficult for herself, taking the longer, harder road.
The End