“Then you are content?” Lara asked them.

“We are,” Rendor spoke for them all.

“Then,” Kaliq told them, “we are content knowing you are safe.” He looked to Lara. “I will return to our desert. My brothers and I need to rest. Who knows when you will need our help again, and we are greatly weakened by this task we have just completed, and the months we have spent keeping the Outlands safe.”

“Will you be all right?” Lara asked him anxiously.

“Yes,” he assured her. “By the time Gaius Prospero and his Mercenaries are ready to invade the Outlands our strength will be restored.”

“Magnus wants to go to the City and observe the Hetarians,” Lara told Kaliq.

The Shadow Prince nodded. “I understand his reasoning. Keep safe, my love.”

“We will,” she promised him.

“Will you be his wife when you go?”

“The wedding is scheduled in just a few days’ time. I must go home today, Kaliq,” she told him. “There is a final fitting on my gown, and Sirvat will want to confer with me on the wedding feast, although it is actually better left to her judgment. And I must arrive before Magnus’s mother, for she has sharp eyes and ears and will ask a hundred questions, some of which may have no answers,” Lara said with a chuckle.

“It is time we both went,” he told her. “My lords, I bid you farewell and good fortune in your new homes.”

“How can we thank you and your brothers, my lord Prince?” Rendor said. “Will we ever see you again?”

“No thanks is necessary, Lord Rendor,” Kaliq replied graciously. “And as to whether you will see us again, only the future can know the answer to your question. Lara, my love, goodbye!” He kissed her lips softly, regretfully, and then he was gone, disappearing into the shadows of the afternoon.

“And I must go, too, for my wedding day is near,” Lara told them. “But first you must all be returned to your homes. Take your horses, and ride back the same way from which you came. You will each reach your villages within the hour. In future, however, you will find this Gathering place several days’ journey away as it has always been.” She turned to go.

“Wait!” Rendor called to her.

“What is it?” Lara asked him, surprised.

The clan lords gathered themselves about her, and Rendor spoke quietly. “We have all pledged our loyalty to Magnus Hauk, Lara. Now we would pledge that same fealty to you, for you are the true leader of the Outlands clan families.”

Then each man knelt before her in turn, taking her small soft hands into their big rough ones; pressing them to their foreheads, their hearts and finally kissing the backs of those dainty hands as each spoke in his turn their oath of loyalty. Lara’s green eyes filled with tears that spilled silently down her pale cheeks. And when they had concluded the rite they saluted her, raising a single arm in tribute to her as they cried with one voice a single word: “Domina!”

She bit her lip, and swallowed back the emotion that threatened to weaken her entirely. “Thank you, my lords,” she somehow found the voice to say.

They smiled at her, and then the clan lords mounted their horses, traveling off in different directions, disappearing from her view almost instantly. Lara drew a long breath in, and then whispering a single word, “Home!” she was herself gone from the Gathering place, and quickly found herself back in the castle in her own apartments.

Sirvat was awaiting her anxiously. “Thank the Great Creator you are here!” she cried. “My mother’s ship has just been sighted coming around the point into the fjord. Magnus is beside himself with worry. You were gone longer than he anticipated.”

“Go and tell him I am home,” Lara instructed Sirvat. “I will bathe and dress quickly so I can be ready to greet the lady Persis.” She began to pull off her garments, handing them to the serving women who hurried to help her. She washed herself quickly in the small private bath that was now hers. Her hair was filthy. She soaped and rinsed it twice before wrapping it in a towel. The serving women dried her, and handed her a soft light wool gown. It had long fitted sleeves, a simple rounded neckline and a straight skirt. It was a dark burgundy-red in color, Lara sat while two women vigorously rubbed her damp hair dry with silk cloths. One of them plaited it into a single braid, tying the end with a silk ribbon to match her gown. Lara slipped her feet into a pair of delicate leather slippers as a servant clasped a dainty gold chain about Lara’s waist.

Sirvat rushed into the room. “Praise the Great Creator! You are ready. She is just disembarking now from her vessel.” Grabbing Lara’s hand she hurried her from the room, from her apartments, and through the castle. They quickly reached the quay platform entry where Magnus Hauk was already waiting to greet his mother, along with his brother-in-law. “Here she is!” Sirvat gasped.

Lara smiled at him, and pulling her into his arms he gave her a long satisfying kiss. “I have missed you,” he murmured in her ear.

“I have missed you, but I did not realize how much until this moment,” she told him with another smile.

“Mother’s coming!” they heard Sirvat whisper nervously.

The platform creaked and squeaked as the giant in charge drew it upwards. They saw the top of Lady Persis’s head first, and then the whole of her appeared as she reached her destination. The Dominus came forward to open the gate. He bowed.

“Welcome, my lady mother,” he said formally, helping her from the platform.

“I hope you have something hot for me to drink,” Lady Persis replied. “I am frozen from being out on the water these many hours. Lara, beautiful as always. Sirvat, Corrado, you do not look bored with each other yet.” She acknowledged them all, taking her son’s arm and encouraging him to lead her to his Great Hall.

“You should have a fur-lined cape,” Lara told the older woman. “Marten, I think. The warm brown of that fur would flatter your lovely complexion.” She walked on the other side of Lady Persis. “It is rarely warm upon the sea, as I remember.”

“Yes,” Lady Persis agreed. “I should have a fur-lined cape. Why have you not given me one, Magnus?”

“Because I was not aware of your need, madam,” he answered her. “But your good son-in-law should be.”

“Tostig? He sees nothing but Narda’s needs,” Lady Persis snapped.

“You shall not leave here without a fur-lined cape,” Lara promised the woman.

“Well,” Lady Persis declared, “having a daughter-in-law may not be quite as bad as I thought it might be.” She cast a toothy smile at Lara, who smiled in return.

They had reached the Great Hall, and Magnus was solicitously seating his mother near the fire and signaling a servant for a large goblet of wine.

“In the name of the Great Creator do not encourage her,” Sirvat whispered to her friend. “She will want to move back to the castle and our lives will never be the same again! I remember her from my childhood. She is the most demanding of women.”

“I do not want her here,” Lara agreed, “but the truth is she was not dressed warmly enough. And where are Narda and her husband? Did they not come with her?”

“Obviously not. She has had a falling out with them. I sense it,” Sirvat fretted.

Lara moved next to Lady Persis. “Are you comfortable, and a bit warmer now?” she enquired sweetly. “Where is your daughter? Did she not travel with you?”

“Narda? Nay. She and Tostig did not want to come until tomorrow,” Lady Persis said irritably. “This is her brother’s wedding, and she behaves as if it is just an ordinary event. I will tell you that she thought Magnus was never to wed. I believe she even saw her own eldest son in his place one day,” Lady Persis confided.

“Indeed?” Lara murmured. “I fear then she will be doomed to disappointment.”

“Are you already with child?” Lady Persis asked eagerly.

Lara shook her head. “Not yet, madam, but I promise I will give my husband children in due time, and there will be a son. Those of us with faerie blood have the right to instruct nature in these matters.”

“So you could have as many sons as Magnus wanted?” Lady Persis asked.

“We will have as many as he and I think reasonable,” Lara told her. “And now I must see to the meal. Sirvat, come and keep your mother company.” She grinned mischievously at her friend as she passed. Sirvat stuck out her tongue at Lara but she returned the grin.

Over the next few days the castle was filled in every nook and cranny with family and guests arriving for the wedding. Narda and Aselma arrived with their husbands and children. They were irritated to find their accommodation was smaller than the one they had enjoyed previously. Lara smiled sweetly, and shrugged her shoulders. They had so many guests, she told them. After all, it was the wedding of the Dominus. That Lady Persis looked pleased at her daughters’ annoyance did not help the situation.

The headmen and their families from each of the seven named fjords arrived, bringing tribute and gifts to the Dominus and his bride. There were bolts of colorful fabrics, silks, satins, brocades and delicate wools. There were bowls, cups, plates and platters of gold and silver, some chased and embossed or studded with gemstones. There was jewelry for Lara: chains, rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces. There was cattle and horses. The folk in the Light Fjord raised beautiful songbirds, and they brought their finest singers in gilded and exquisitely decorated cages. There were several braces of hunting dogs. The Dominus’s three last Pleasure Women arrived with their husbands, and bearing gifts. Uma and Dodek brought a red lacquered box filled with the finest pearls: pink, black, gold and white in color. Felda and Norval brought a pair of rare Enok puppies, tiny little dogs with round faces, perky ears and long silky fur. Alcippe and her husband, Jencir, came with a beautifully illustrated and updated history of Terah that even included Lara’s part in lifting Usi’s curse.

Kemina, High Priestess of the Daughters of the Great Creator, came with half a dozen of her priestesses. Arik arrived with an equal number of priests from the Great Temple. Lady Persis was pleased to see her younger brother again. She greeted him effusively, leading Arik to wonder what his elder sister wanted of him.

The last of the guests to come were from the Faerie Kingdom. They arrived with the dawn, transported in from the sea in a cloud of silvery mauve mist, which set itself down upon the great terrace. Ilona, queen of the Forest Faeries stepped forth from the cloud. She was followed by her consort, Thanos, and their son, Prince Cirilo. The queen was garbed in an ethereal gown of various shades of green, and an elegant brown fur cape. Her long golden hair flowed over her shoulders, a crown fashioned of green gold rested upon her head. Despite their rather dramatic entrance Lara’s faerie relations quietly took their places among the other guests.

The icy season, as the Terahns called it, had arrived, but while cold the weather was fair and without snow. The wedding guests crowded out onto the large terrace overlooking the fjord, and watched the sunrise with Magnus and Lara, who wore white fur capes and nothing else. They escorted the couple into the baths to observe their physical perfection as they were disrobed, bathed and redressed. Then the bride, her groom and their guests moved on to the great hall, now decorated with winter branches and berries.

Everyone commented favorably on Lara’s gown. Of soft delicate white wool lined in silk, it was sewn all over with tiny sparkling gems that twinkled with each movement, each breath she took. Its sleeves were long and tight. The neckline fell in a graceful drape on her collarbone. The floor-length skirt hung straight and just to her ankles. About her neck Lara wore the gold chain and crystal star that her mother had given her so long ago. Ethne’s flame burned softly, but steadily. Upon her feet Lara wore bejeweled white leather slippers. Her long thick hair had been styled in many braids woven with thin bejeweled chains, and each plait was fastened with a round gold or silver clip that enclosed the tasseled hair. Atop her head was a gilded wreath of leaves. All present admitted they had never seen a more beautiful bride.

The Dominus wore a simple long white woolen tunic that fell to his ankles. Each of the full sleeves was decorated with a wide bejeweled cuff of gold embroidery matching a similar design on his round neckline. About his waist was a chain made up of oval gold links and in the center of each was a sparkling blue gemstone. On his feet he wore boots of whiteand-gold leather. His dark gold head was crowned with a wreath of gilded leaves matching his bride’s.