Lyndon Hardy - Master of the five Magics

"You speak most glowingly, my fair lady," Feston said. "Can I interpret your praise to mean that you at last see fit to choose the hero of the realm?"

Vendora's smile stiffened and she drew herself erect. "Do not presume too much, lord Feston. You have done me great service here these past few days, but not so much that my senses depart me."

Feston's heavy brows furrowed, and Vendora laughed at his discomfort. "Do not fret, my warrior. Know that I look upon you with much favor. I wish you to journey with me to court, be known as a royal suitor, and stand by me as you have done here. If in time I grow used to the roughness of your features, then perhaps I will indeed honor you with my hand."

"Wait a moment, my fair lady," Aeriel said. " Alodar, the journeyman thaumaturge, did apply his mind and skills with marvelous imagination to our cause. It is to him that we owe our good fortune."

Vendora frowned, paused, and then pulled her face into a smile as she turned to Alodar. "Indeed I thank you all for my deliverance," she said. "Your steadfastness in propelling the car was most dedicated."

"That was but a minor part of it," Aeriel persisted. "He fathomed the castle's secret. He discovered the passageway out. Why he even found you the grimoire."

"May I remind the fair lady," Festil cut in, "that many of the more restless vassals of your crown will interpret the fall of Iron Fist as a sign of weakness. Without the house of the red surcoat standing at your side, you may be hard pressed to deal with them, Bandor, and the border kingdoms to the south, all at the same time."

Vendora looked at Alodar and then back to Feston. Her eyes narrows in thought. She stared at the sword at the warrior's side and then studied Alodar's cape-draped form.

"Oh well enough, Aeriel," she said at last. "I am sure that the thaumaturge did exercise his art most exceedingly fine. He and his master may henceforth speak of royal favor when they lure customers to their craft. But I cannot see how his acts compare with the feats of lord Feston or the comforts he gave me. What indeed can you profit by pressing his suit upon me so?"

Aeriel opened her mouth to speak again, looking first at Vendora and then to Alodar. She hesitated a moment, but finally snapped it shut. Vendora nodded approval at her apparent acquiescence and returned her attention to the grimoire that Feston now held before her.

Alodar flung his candle aside and stepped forward, his eyes starting to smoulder, but Aeriel placed her hand on his arm. He shot her a sidelong glance, then halted when her fingers squeezed more tightly.

"My fair lady, there is no more business to conduct here," Festil said quickly as he saw Alodar pause. "We must start immediately for Ambrosia. Each hour we save will limit the time Bandor has to consolidate his victory. Let us descend this slope and appropriate a quicker means of transport from the first farm we encounter."

Vendora looked up from the grimoire and into Alodar's eyes. "It is settled then," she said. "A royal endorsement for the thaumaturges and status as suitor for lord Feston. Ample largess for deeds well done."

Alodar sucked in a deep breath and opened his mouth; but before he could speak, Aeriel covered his lips. Vendora smiled and looked around the group, from Periac standing silently near the car to Festil already ten yards down the slope. She nodded her agreement to the old man's suggestion, placed her hand on Feston's offered arm, and started to descend the incline. She paced ten slow steps and then looked back over her shoulder at Aeriel.

"In a moment, my fail lady," Aeriel said as she cautiously lowered her hand from Alodar's mouth while still maintaining her grip on his arm.

The two stood silently, not moving, watching the queen draw away from them. Several minutes passed, and she and the two lords gradually shrank to dim outlines, fading into their surroundings.

"By the laws!" Alodar exploded. "What feat must one accomplish to be held worthy in this kingdom? Can she not grasp what I have done?"

Aeriel again raised her finger to his lips. "It will avail you no good, Alodar," she said. "The queen is clever enough to know how her actions influence the safety of the crown. And the circumstances here prevent her from giving her reward in a just manner. So long as Festil and his son feel they have some claim, she can bestow it on no other."

She turned and looked down the hillside. "But at least I know who is the true hero of the day," she continued softly as she released his arm and then suddenly clasped her hands behind his neck. Alodar's eyes widened in surprise and he felt her lips pressing his as she drew against him.

After a moment she dropped her arms and started to step back, but Alodar put his hand behind her. She stopped when she felt the gentle pressure and smiled, watching him intently.

"You indeed behave most unlike a lady-in-waiting," he said huskily after a long pause. He drew another deep breath and the emotions churned within him like the hot acid in the thaumaturge's cauldron. The exhilaration of freedom, Vendora's beauty, the grim determination of his resolve, the anger of yet another injustice, and now the warm presence of Aeriel in his arms, all tumbled in confusion, and he could not sort them out.

"And you are most unlike the tradition-bound noble or the meekly accepting craftsman, Alodar," she said. "You have dared to seek as did no other and because of it you have saved us all."

He smiled and pulled her towards him, and she again reached her arms to ring his neck.

Yes, he had saved the queen, his thoughts raced. Had not Feston been along for the final dash, then all would have followed. Title restored, respect of the peerage and hero of the realm.

Suddenly he stopped his gentle tugging and frowned as the realization of what he was doing hit him. The queen and hero of the realm?or Aeriel and whatever that future might bring? She has judged him by what he had done, rather than by his station. He could treat her in return with no less fairness.

But would not the surprising passion that boiled for the moment cool as suddenly? He was driven to the queen by what had smouldered for years. How could a chance encounter stand against it?

He looked at Aeriel, trying to clear his confusion, and then lowered his head.

"What is it, Alodar?" Aeriel laughed, continuing to come forward.

"I am resolved, my lady," he said thickly after a moment. "I strive for no less than does lord Feston."

Aeriel's lips curved in the beginning of another smile, but then she looked deeply into Alodar's eyes as he raised his gaze to meet hers. For several minutes they did not speak. Finally she reached and pulled his arm from around her.

"I see," she said crisply. "Forgive me for thinking your aspirations to be so low."

"My lady," Alodar replied, "forgive me that your presence confuses me greatly. But I will not have peace until my birthright is restored. And that I see accomplished only if I am hero of the realm. For that end did I labor and almost succeed. And I cannot with honor accept your favor, so long as that is my quest."

Aeriel took one step back and studied Alodar at arm's length. "Had I not seen what you have done," she said, "I would not credit the chance of such ambition." She sighed and looked in the direction in which Vendora had disappeared. "But if that is your goal, then may the random factors align in your favor." With a whirl she suddenly turned and raced down the hillside without looking back.

Alodar stood dumbfounded, watching her go. It all had happened so quickly. He had held excitement in his arms and then deliberately pushed it away. But with each passing second the lure of Aeriel's image lessened and the anger, temporarily diverted, gathered strength.

Total success?and now, nothing! His deeds completely discounted in favor of a strong arm and flashing sword. Great spells worthy of a master judged of lesser worth than the formulas of alchemy. Despite what he had done, the warrior still stood first in the minds of men; and apparently no thaumaturge could displace him.