Bertrice Small - A Distant Tomorrow

“Now,” Sirvat said, “we must decide when you will marry me, for I am not of a mind to wait. And if Lara is to wed my brother eventually she needs to be mistress in her own house.”

“I would prefer we free all the men of Terah before any marriage is celebrated,” Magnus said. “It is not right that those men here within my castle can hear our women again, but no one else can. What think you, Lara?”

“I agree with the Dominus,” she replied. “We should begin tomorrow to reach out to all the men of Terah so they may be free of Usi’s curse.”

Sirvat pouted prettily. “I have waited my entire life to wed Corrado,” she said.

“Do not be selfish,” Magnus said.

Sirvat glared at her older brother. “Both of our sisters were married by the time they reached my age,” she snapped at him.

“Just a few days, please,” Lara begged her friend. “You will need at least several days to prepare for a proper wedding, Sirvat. There is the matter of your garments, deciding what foods to serve at the wedding feast, and there is your new home. Is it ready to receive you and Corrado yet? And your dower portion must be decided upon, too.”

Sirvat considered a moment, and then she said, “You are right, Lara. I will certainly need several days before Corrado and I can be properly wed. Very well then. I agree, but I must be allowed to see Corrado while you are away.”

“Magnus?” Lara’s look was questioning of the Dominus.

“I will agree because I know I can trust Corrado,” Magnus replied.

“And you cannot trust me?” Sirvat was most offended.

“It is not a matter of trust where you are concerned, little sister. You are young and in love and prone to your own way. I trust Corrado to see your behavior remains fitting so that there will be no gossip,” the Dominus said.

“Sometimes, Magnus, you are a pompous and meddlesome halfwit,” Sirvat said bluntly. And she smiled sweetly at him.

“Take her away, Corrado,” Magnus told his captain, “and see if you can teach her some respect for her Dominus.”

“I obey, my lord,” Corrado said with a grin, and escorted his beloved from the chamber. “Come, minx,” they heard him say as the door closed behind the couple.

Lara sat down heavily. She was weary with the last few days. And she found there was comfort in the strong arm that he put about her. Her head fell on his shoulder.

“I think you must rest now, my faerie woman. You have exhausted yourself in your endeavors. You were gone from me for several long hours.”

“The tower was so awful,” Lara told him. “And Usi’s shade was there as Kaliq had known it would be. I thank your Great Creator that you were not there, my lord. The sorcerer’s spirit was very strong. He would have taken you over had you been there, and I should not have been able to aid you. I needed all my strength to climb to the top of his tower. He made me hear the moans and piteous cries of those he tortured. I think I shall hear the screams of those unfortunates he destroyed for his own pleasure in my dreams forever,” Lara said, and then she began to weep.

Both of his arms went about her, and she sobbed bitterly against his broad chest. After a time he said to her, “I thought faerie women did not cry.”

“They don’t,” she sniffled, “but sometimes my mortal half overcomes my faerie half, Magnus. It was so horrible! I should not have been able to succeed without Kaliq. That evil creature would have surely overcome me.”

“But he did not, Lara. You triumphed, and you have done Terah a great service. Now you must decide if you will accept me as your husband as well as your lover. I understand your misgivings, faerie woman, but I cannot live with the thought that some other man might come along one day and take you from me. I believe in my heart that we are meant to be together. That you are meant to be the Domina of Terah.”

“I cannot be bound to any man, Magnus, by anything other than trust. If you trust me you will allow me to do what I must to fulfill my destiny. You will wait for a son until I say the time is right. You will seriously consider my advice and my counsel, because if I am the Domina of Terah my loyalties will lie first with Terah. None of what I ask of you will be easy for you to accept. Your pride and determination is every bit as great as mine, I fear. We will have some monstrous battles, you and I,” Lara warned him with a faint smile.

“Much between us will require skillful negotiations. I will not give you an answer now. And you will not require one of me. Tomorrow we will take Dasras, and we will go to each of the fjords in turn, each of your villages in turn, and I will free the men from Usi’s curse. When we return you will consider if you still want me for your wife. If you can abide by my words as my husband. And I will give you an answer if I think I can believe the words you speak to me,” she concluded.

He was not surprised by her candid speech. He had already learned that Lara spoke only truth. And this was more than she had offered him previously. “I understand, my faerie love,” he said to her.

“Then take me to bed, my lord, for I do not believe I can remain awake for another minute,” Lara told him.

He stood, and picking her up in his arms he carried to his bed, laying her gently down. She was already asleep. Looking at her he considered how pale she was. The great task she had this day performed had taken much out of her. He prayed silently that she would not dream the nightmare of her efforts. He did not know that the Shadow Prince Kaliq had already seen to it, for he understood better than Magnus possibly could the dangers Lara had faced, and the weariness she would suffer afterwards. He also knew that in order to regain her strength Lara would need to sleep a dreamless sleep for many hours. And she would need her strength to finish the task she had only begun.

Lara slept for almost two days, awakening on the morning of the second day. She was very surprised to learn she had been asleep for so long, but she had to admit to herself that she felt very well rested, and her old self again. She was eager to continue in her efforts. She was surprised to find herself in the Dominus’s bed, but then she recalled they had been in his apartments when she had lost consciousness.

“You’re awake,” he said as he came to kiss her.

“How long?” she asked him.

“Two days,” he replied.

“Is it early?” she queried.

“The sun is barely up,” he told her.

“Then we must begin our journey today,” Lara said firmly. “I shall return to the Women’s Quarters to bathe, and dress in fresh clothing. Meet me in the stables in an hour.” She climbed from his bed. “Thank you, Magnus.” Then she was gone.

When he reached the stables at the appointed time he found her already there talking with Dasras. He walked over to the great stallion, rubbing his velvety muzzle in greeting, and asked, “Are you well, Dasras?”

“I am, my lord Dominus. This is a good thing we do. I have told my mistress to put a bridle on me, but no saddle. You will both sit more comfortably without it. And you must understand that my mistress will ride first, and control me.”

“I am the Dominus,” Magnus Hauk protested.

“But Lara is my mistress. I answer only to her,” Dasras said sternly.

“It will appear as if you are holding me, rather than I clinging to you,” Lara said.

The Dominus nodded. “Very well, but as we enter each village I must appear to be holding the reins,” he said.

“Agreed!” Lara told him. “Our first negotiation has been successful,” she teased.

He laughed.

Dasras was bridled and led into the stable yard. They mounted the big horse, and suddenly two great white wings sprouted from his rib cage. Magnus found himself moving his legs just slightly to accommodate them. At a soft whispered command from Lara, the horse rose into the air while below the men in the stable yard watched in rapt amazement. The Dominus asked if he might direct the animal, and Lara quickly acquiesced. Dasras turned to fly up the fjord.

The Dominus’s fjord had no villages, but the homes of many of Terah’s important men were located there. They stopped at each, and Lara broke the spell surrounding each household’s men. Uma came out to greet them when they arrived at Lord Dodek’s house. To Lara’s surprise she appeared quite happy, and was delighted that her husband could now hear her. They moved on, crossing the fjord and flying across the mountains to the next fjord as the day was coming to an end. They stayed at Felda’s husband’s farm. Norval was not unhappy to be freed of the sorcerer’s spell.

For the next few days they traveled from village to village freeing the men of Terah of the curse, flying over the mountains from fjord to fjord. And Lara was astounded at the vast tracts of land that went as far as the eye could see. As they finished in the last village the Dominus was eager to return home, but Lara begged him to let Dasras fly into the uninhabited lands as far as the Obscura.

“Where will we sleep?” he demanded of her.

“On the plain below us,” Lara said.

“What will we eat?” he wanted to know.

“Faerie bread,” she told him. “It will taste like whatever you want it to taste. Please, Magnus. It is important to me.”

“Fly on, Dasras,” the Dominus said, and the horse did. And then as the day was coming to a close Magnus Hauk saw the sea that Kaliq had told Lara was called the Obscura just in the near distance. “That is not Sagitta,” he observed. “Its waters are almost the color of my eyes, they are so vibrant a blue.”

“No. It is called the Obscura. Kaliq told me about it. On its other side is the desert kingdom of the Shadow Princes. Only they know of its existence in Hetar. Now we know and that knowledge may prove valuable to us one day, my lord Dominus.” She turned so she might see his face. “Your world is going to change, Magnus. Better you be in charge of that change than others.”

“What is it you want of me?” he asked her astutely.

“The promise that if I marry you, you will give me whatever I desire as a wedding gift, my lord Dominus,” Lara said.

“And what is that?”

“First your promise,” she replied.

“If I ask you again to wed me, Lara of Hetar, I will give you whatever it is you desire as a gift, and pledge of my devotion to you. I swear it on the Great Creator,” he told her.

She kissed him softly on the lips, and smiled into his turquoise-blue eyes. “Thank you, Magnus,” Lara said in a soft voice. Then she whispered to him, “Have you ever swum naked in the sea, and then made love beneath the stars?”

“Aye to the first, and nay to the second,” he told her.

“I have never done either,” she said. “I think it is time we broadened my education, my lord Dominus.”

“Only if I may be your instructor,” he replied.

“Descend, Dasras,” Lara said to the horse, and the animal obeyed, alighting on a low bluff overlooking the Obscura.

“Unbridle me before you hurry off to seek your pleasures,” Dasras said sternly. “I shall need to graze among this lush greenery most of the night to restore my energy while you two play in the waves, and lie upon the beach expending yours.” He stamped a hoof impatiently.

Lara unbridled the beast. “Then we shall both have the night we desire,” she told Dasras.

He looked at her a long moment, a twinkle in his dark eyes. “Indeed,” he said, and then with a snort the big stallion dashed off.

“SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT,” Magnus said as they prepared to depart the following morning for the Temple of the Great Creator.

“What is different?” Lara asked him as she slipped the bridle over Dasras’s head.

“You,” he answered.

“She has ceased debating with herself,” Dasras told the Dominus, and then he took the bit in his mouth. “She will probably accede to your wishes to wed.”

“Is he right?” the Dominus asked.

“Will you not let me speak for myself?” Lara demanded of Dasras. “I have not yet come to any decisions, Magnus.”

“So she says,” Dasras teased his mistress, and then with a snort shook his magnificent head. “Run your fingers through my mane, Mistress. The wind yesterday has tangled it.” Then he addressed the Dominus again. “Do not rush her, Magnus Hauk, and you will obtain your way in the end, for she is a sensible woman.”

“One of these days, “Lara muttered, “I’m going to make a spell to silence you,” she threatened, but they both knew she didn’t mean it. Her slender fingers worked busily through his creamy mane as she combed it.

“You can’t silence me. My voice comes from Prince Kaliq, and his powers are greater than yours, Mistress.” Then he stamped his hooves. “Are we ready now?”