"…all know of the time when Creation held no more than the Sun and the Moon and the Earth. Our own people were the Children of Toil, in fast bond to the Lord of the Earth, looked upon with pity by the Lord of the Sun and the Lady of the Moon. The Lord of the Earth was not the same, however, and when a son of the Sun Lord came to offer alliance with the Realm of the Moon Lady through marriage to one of her daughters, the Lord of the Earth was not pleased. And he gathered his forces…"

-The Beginning, ancient Keeper chant

-The Beginning, ancient Keeper chant

The woods were as beautiful as they always were, dark and lovely and far from silent. Night woods are truly alive, the heat and passion of their prowlers almost bright enough to light the shadows. I've always felt I could spend forever exploring the woods and never learn everything there was to learn, every secret they hid. Sometimes they revealed small mysteries, little things to delight, and as I moved through the brush under the trees I felt that this might be one of the nights they did.

*Do you hear that?* Sahrinth asked in a mind whisper, the wisps of his small, light gray body-shape almost clear in the dark where he hung in the air beside me. *The trees say there's a stranger in the woods.*

"A stranger to them has to be a stranger to us," I answered, now aware of the leaf-rustle that spoke as clearly as words. "I think we're about to have some fun."

Greaf's tiny blue flame-body glowed briefly in protest at that, his memory undoubtedly still full of the lectures we'd gotten after our last escapade. He was a good companion, and Sahrinth and I would never have gone out without him, but sometimes his faint-hearted panic was annoying. The three of us were lectured every time we did something someone else didn't care for, but so what? Taking the lectures to heart would have made for a very dull life.

*Haliand, possibly we could simply see who it is,* Sahrinth sent in a tone of diffident suggestion, his streamers of mist beginning to move ever so slightly in the center of his thin cloud. *Your Lady Mother was extremely angry with us the last time, and Greaf and I, as entities older than yourself, were specifically warned…*

"Oh, Sahrinth, not you, too," I grumbled, putting my fists to my hips as I looked back and forth between them. "Hasn't either of you gotten as tired as I am of being guilty for absolutely nothing? What's life for, if you don't do something with it? Anyone can be dull, as most people have no trouble proving. Isn't it better to prove something else - and have fun at the same time?"

There were no thoughts from Sahrinth and no blinkings from Greaf, as clear an attempt to avoid answering my question as I'd ever seen. I knew well enough that they had been sent to accompany me in order to keep me out of trouble, but with the passage of time we had all discovered the closeness of friendship to be found between those of like mind. They wanted to have a romp with me, I didn't doubt that for a minute, but the last one must have brought them a lot more trouble than I'd been given.

"On second thought, it just might be more fun doing this alone," I said, as though simply musing aloud. "And you two can spend the time watching to see how innocent it all is - and how difficult it would be for you to interfere even if you wanted to. I'm not a small child anymore, after all, and it really is time everyone understood that."

I ended my speech on a pleasant note before beginning to move away through the dark and greenery, letting my friends know I wasn't angry with them. Blaming them for what I did was patently unfair, and I would no longer allow it to happen. Once the point was made perfectly clear to everyone, the two could join me again without worrying about blame.

The trees still spoke with a whisper of leaves above my head, discussing the stranger riding through the woods. They considered everything that happened around them a different aspect of the philosophy of life, but that was, of course, the philosophy of their lives. I'd listened to discussions a few times, and had even been there once when they'd argued bitterly, but there's only so far a mobile life form can go in understanding a stationary one. Status from root spread is clear enough, and so is extra standing from extra height, but when it comes to primacy by number of offshoots and the conviction that everything coming by them in the woods has meaning and purpose in relation to the trees themselves, I'm definitely out of my depth.

With the trees' conversation to guide me, it wasn't difficult to find the place the stranger rode. The configuration of the trees themselves formed an aisle that was used by those who couldn't or didn't care to move more directly through the woods, not so much a trail or a road as a grassy highway. Above him my mother's light shone down brightly through the gap in the ceiling of branches and leaves, the warm circle of silver sharp against the black of the sky. The visitor to our realm seemed larger than our own men, but it was difficult to tell his exact size because of the horse he rode. I'd never seen a horse quite that big, and its easy lope covered more ground than another horse's gallop would have.

*Haliand, he's wearing a sword,* Sahrinth's whispered through came to me, as though if he hadn't whispered someone might have overheard him. His light gray cloud-body had floated up to me without my having noticed, and I could feel the way he stared at the stranger.

"So what?" I asked in a matching whisper, but one that was verbal. "My mother's guards wear swords, and that doesn't make them special. He must be a courier from someone's court, bringing a message to my mother or someone in the Circle. From the way he's looking around, I don't think he's ever come this way before."

*That's why the trees speak of him as a stranger,* Sahrinth pointed out in a distracted but still superior way. *If he'd been this way before, they would have recognized him.*

"Well, it looks to me like he's bored," I said, annoyed. "He must have had a long, tiring ride, and will probably be glad of a diversion. I wonder what kind he would prefer?"

*Being showered with flower petals might not be so bad,* Sahrinth suggested in a hesitant, slightly hopeful way. *He'd certainly be surprised, and his expression would be priceless. In fact, I'd really enjoy seeing something like that. I've never seen it done before, so…*

I moved away from my cloud friend without commenting, a gesture of friendship if I'd ever performed one. Sahrinth was trying to keep me out of trouble by suggesting a lark no one would get upset over, but if I'd been in the mood to be boring I could have accomplished it more easily by doing nothing at all. What fun is there in a lark that no one gets upset over?

The stranger had by that time ridden past me, so I took a shortcut through the woods to a point he would reach on the highway in just a few minutes. My mind had continued to ask what sort of diversion he would prefer, and Sahrinth's observation about his sword helped give me the answer. The stranger would certainly prefer an adventure, a little action that would wake him up and give him something interesting to think about. For my part, it would be fun to see how long it took him to catch on to what was happening.

I realized at once how useful the brightness of the highway would be to my plans, but I needed other things as well if everything was to work out properly. When my mother's ladies had first begun to teach me moonlight and shadow weaving I'd hated the whole idea, but after a short while I had discovered that more could be done with the skill than producing low-grade amateur works of art. I raised my arms and gathered strands of moonbeams to me, reached back and down for a mound of shadow, then quickly got to work.

By the time the highway brought the stranger to where I lay in wait, I was all ready for him. The woven moonbeams concealed the gossamer draperies I wore, making it seem I wore nothing at all, a touch the stranger was sure to appreciate. Men, I'd heard, liked the idea of naked females, and although I still didn't quite understand why, it seemed only fair that he be given some fun of his own for the fun he would give me. I'd used the mound of shadow to weave a very special shape, one that would, of course, move at my direction, and as soon as the man appeared sound the curve of the highway I put my plan into action.

Which consisted of running lightly across the highway on a diagonal that put my back to him, appearing and disappearing in one leisurely moment. When his horse abruptly stopped I knew for certain that he'd seen me, and that meant I had to run through the undergrowth a good distance before it was safe to stop and look back. The hoofbeats had already resumed at a faster, more determined pace by then, which made me grin as I peeked through the dozing bushes.

The man hadn't dismounted, but he'd drawn his sword and was using it energetically to move bushes and branches aside. An uninformed observer would have concluded that he seemed to have lost something. His head moved around as though he were trying to pierce the dark with his eyes, looking for what he knew he'd seen: a naked woman flitting through the woods, unaware of the black, slinking predator following her. My woven shadow-predator wasn't good enough to stand up to close inspection, but at that distance it had been more than adequate.

*The poor man seems rather agitated.* Sahrinth's thought came to me as he appeared beside me to my left, the direction in which the stranger still stood prodding bushes. *I'm pleased to see he has the good sense not to dismount and give chase into the dark. He could be hurt that way.*

"He won't be hurt," I whispered back. "He'll keep searching for the poor victim-to-be every time he sees her, until it suddenly dawns on him that he's the victim. That's when he'll start to feel really foolish, but he certainly won't be harmed."

I laughed softly before moving off through the undergrowth, leaving Sahrinth and the stranger behind. I wanted to get to the next curve of the highway before the man did, in order to be ready for his appearance. This time I would cross the highway from right to left in front of him, and my woven predator would be just a little closer behind me. It might also help if I ran with a bit more desperation, as though I'd discovered what came along behind me. The game wasn't one I could continue forever, but some imagination would certainly add to the length of it.

My second appearance went just as well as the first, and after the third the stranger was more than simply agitated. His frustration was so sharp it rivaled the edge of his sword, and even the big horse he rode was aware of his upset. It pawed the ground as its rider tried again and again to see into the place in the dark where I'd disappeared, his weapon all but hacking the woods apart, and that told me the game was nearly over. The trees would not care for being attacked, even though a sword did not upset them as much as an axe. One or two more times, and if he didn't understand by then I'd simply stroll across the highway with the "predator" trotting beside me. Or maybe I'd reverse the whole thing and end it with me chasing after the predator, the poor thing trying to get away from the vicious, pursuing victim. I liked the sound of that, and chuckled as I slipped toward the next curve of the highway.

It took a little longer that time for the sound of the stranger's horse to come, a delay that made me glad the game was almost over. Standing around waiting is boring even when you're waiting for a reason, and I was beginning to get hungry. High Moon Meal was due to be rung soon, and that would have ended the game anyway. For my last appearance, I would run across the highway one last time, wait until the stranger began getting violent with the place of my disappearance, then reappear a short distance away chasing my weaving after making some sort of noise to draw the man's attention. He would then probably be in the mood to get violent with me, but if he hadn't been able to follow me into the dark to save me, he'd find the same lack of success with murder in mind. After that I'd be gone, and he could be angry or not as he liked.

As the hoofbeats approached the curve I noticed that the horse was moving faster. I started off, right to left diagonally across, faster than the other times but not so fast that the stranger would miss seeing me. The grass of the highway was soft under my sandals, my hair flying out behind me, and then -

"Oh!" I yelped as the arms closed around my knees, sending me sprawling face down in the grass. My breath was knocked out of me, and before I could recover I was turned roughly onto my back. The stranger knelt across me, staring down, his eyes unusually bright in the moonlight.

"Well, well, what have we here?" he drawled. "I was ready to swear I'd been chasing one of those wraiths I've heard so much about, but you're a little too solid to be a shade. Did you have fun trying to drive me crazy?"

"As a matter of fact, it turned out to be more boring than fun," I said, annoyed that he wasn't making any attempt to apologize for knocking me down. "You'll have to move back a little before I can get up."

"Yes, I will, won't I?" he said, grinning as he leaned forward. "Which I might do as soon as you tell me what you were up to. Did someone send you to delay me, or was this all your own bright idea? If you'd prefer to take your time answering, go right ahead. If I start to get bored, I'm sure to find something to fill the time."

He was looking down at me with a good deal of amusement, but I didn't quite understand the joke. His face was broader than those of the men of my own land, and his skin seemed to be darker. Even kneeling it was fairly obvious he was larger as well, and his hair was a golden red color I'd never seen before. He was handsome in a stronger way than the men of my mother's Court, and I was suddenly very pleased that he'd caught me.

"Why would anyone send me to delay you?" I asked in turn, wondering if he could be carrying so important a message. "And what sort of something would you find to fill the time?"

I knew he was hinting at something deliciously improper, one of those things my sisters discussed together with wide grins, but he didn't give me any details. His grin faded to puzzlement and he parted his lips to speak, but he was interrupted.

*Oh, please, Sir, please don't hurt her!* Sahrinth's agitated thoughts came, his mist-body suddenly floating between my face and the stranger's. *It wasn't her intention to do you harm, really it wasn't, she's just a child with no common sense at all! If you can find it within you to forgive her, we'll be eternally grateful!*

Greaf was hovering to Sahrinth's right, blinking fervent agreement with the plea, the blue of his shape more intense than it had been.

"But what if I'm not in the mood to forgive her?" the stranger asked Sahrinth and Greaf. "She's given me more than a little trouble, you know, first making me believe a woman was in need of help, and then making it necessary for me to run ahead of my stallion to catch her. She deserves more than a fall onto soft grass, especially if she's a child. Children need to be taught to behave themselves."

"I am not a child!" I protested, after blowing hard at Sahrinth's body to float him away from my face. "It may be true that I used to be a child, but everyone suffers from that at one time or another. He's not going to hurt me, Sahrinth, he's just angry that I made him look silly. Can't you tell when you're being teased?"

"What makes you think I'm not telling them exactly how I feel?" the stranger asked me, giving Sahrinth and Greaf no chance to comment. "You seem to believe you're perfectly safe no matter what you've done, safe enough not to feel the need to apologize. What will you do if it turns out you're not quite safe after all?"

He still hadn't raised his voice or lost any of the calm he'd been showing, but he also stared straight down at me, the most direct and unwavering stare I'd ever seen. A moment earlier I'd been sure he was teasing, but suddenly I wasn't quite as certain. He really was very big and wide, and he was a stranger, and he still wasn't letting me up, and - Very abruptly I wished I'd never started that stupid game.

"You're beginning to get the idea," he said as he continued to stare at me, his voice sounding faintly satisfied but still far too sober. "If you really were a child and did something like this, the worst you'd be faced with right now is a good, hard spanking. Since I can see without half trying that you're not a child at all, you're in line for something a good deal worse. Would you like to be given that something worse?"

All I could do was shake my head, wishing I could reach enough moonbeams to weave myself into invisibility. The men of my mother's Court never got as grim as this stranger was, and I didn't like it at all. He looked so … dangerous, and so terribly, awfully serious!

"Well, at least you're bright enough to know what not to want," he said, and again that satisfaction was in his voice. It was also in his eyes, which seemed to be dark but glowing gold. "If I let you go, will you ever do something like this again?"

I shook my head a second time, and that seemed to complete his satisfaction. He nodded slowly, as though he knew I was telling the truth, and finally got to his feet. After giving completely different nods to the hovering Greaf and Sahrinth, he turned and walked to his horse.

*See there, Haliand?* Sahrinth sent, an odd tenor to his thoughts. *He hung his swordbelt on his saddle when he came after you on foot, but he kept his dagger with him. I told you he was a dangerous man who shouldn't have been disturbed, and you're quite fortunate that he let you go. He could just as easily have…"

Since I had no interest at all in hearing what he might have done to me, I was already up on my feet and heading for the shadows under the trees. Once there I made no attempt to look back, instead taking myself directly and quickly home.

I didn't notice that High Moon Meal was late until it was rung, and only then discovered I'd lost all interest in it. I'd spent the time since getting home in my suite, shaking the moonbeams out of my gown and coaxing the grass and leaves out of my hair. And brooding. I stared at myself in the circle mirror, my hair bright and alive from having been brushed, a really strange expression on my face. It was an excellent representation of what I felt inside, a core of indecision with anger and uneasiness swirling around.

"And you were going to make him feel like a fool," I muttered to my reflection, trying not to look into the ice-green eyes. "It was going to be a lark, nothing but fun. If that's your idea of fun, there's something seriously wrong with you."

Which might well be the case anyway, I thought with a sigh. Why was it that I alone, out of all my sisters, couldn't seem to settle down to life at my mother's Court? Everyone else enjoyed it so much, was so willingly a part of it… They were all so happy with their lives. Even as a small child I hadn't been satisfied, and constantly getting into trouble had been the only way to avoid that terrible, stifling boredom it seemed I'd been wrapped in at birth. Most people envied me my place as a daughter to my Lady Mother, and she really was a wonderful mother with more patience than just about anyone else would have shown, but…

But I still had this overwhelming urge to do outrageous things, to break out of the mold my sisters were set in, to be different…

"And maybe end up finding out about those somethings that are worse than a hard spanking," I muttered again, seeing the faint flush in my cheeks that normally I could only feel. That stranger had been impossible, undoubtedly from some backward Realm where they did awful things to people all the time, and I had no intention of leaving my suite until he was well on his way back to wherever he'd come from. I was fairly certain he'd been serious about doing something terrible to me, and although the thought made me angry it also made me very uneasy. It was obvious he had no idea my mother considered spanking an inappropriate punishment for her daughters, and had blithely discussed doing something that was even worse. He was certainly handsome enough, and maybe if he'd just been teasing -

And it was possible he had just been teasing, getting even for what I'd been doing to him. He'd said something about knowing I wasn't a child, but he'd still tried to frighten me as if I were. Tried and succeeded - in a way. I wasn't really afraid of him, but if it turned out he had been serious…

"I'm not leaving this suite," I told my reflection firmly, getting an equally firm nod in response. "I like being different, but being the first to have something horrible done to me isn't quite the different I had in mind. No doubt there's something wrong with me, but I'm not that far gone."

My reflection clearly approved of my decision, which was certainly wise of it, and that helped the turmoil inside me to settle down a bit. I had no intentions of changing my mind - and then my door chime sounded.

"Lady Haliand, you're going to be terribly late!" Renna exclaimed as soon as she was through the door, wringing her hands over her rounded middle. "Your Lady Mother will be very angry!"

"Why should my mother be angry over my taking the Meal here in my suite?" I asked, going back to brushing my hair as though nothing were bothering me. "It won't be the first time, and it's hardly likely to be the last."

"Oh, child, when will you learn to pay attention to the bells?" Renna asked impatiently. "It wasn't the Meal that was rung, it was a Gathering Feast, and you know all members of the Family are required to appear at a Gathering Feast. The Court has a very distinguished visitor, and you mother will want to present her daughters. If you leave right now and hurry, you still might be there on time."

"I'll be damned if I'll hurry to my own execution," I muttered, slamming my brush onto the mirror ledge. So he was a distinguished visitor, and my mother would introduce me to him and he would say we'd already met, and she would ask where we'd met and he would tell her, and then my life would be over - or at least I'd wish it was.

"Well, at least Sahrinth and Greaf won't be getting in trouble with me this time," I said under my breath. Trying to avoid the mess would be useless, I knew that from experience, and I had just discovered I didn't want to avoid it. Let him tell my mother everything; at least that would keep me well away from him no matter how long he stayed.

Renna fussed and fluttered until I left her behind, her last words still telling me to hurry. She was as intense and conscientious as the rest of her kind, as chunky and thick of body as they all seemed to be, so very different from the people of my mother's Court. Children of Toil they were called, those like Renna, and everyone I knew felt sorry for them and their lack of grace and … spirit, you might say. They seemed to have no dreams besides serving, and no people can be free of chains without proper dreams. None of them apparently understood that, or toil would not have been their only destiny.

Most of the house was as cool and dim with moonglow as it usually was, but approaching the large, open, circular terrace used for Gathering Feasts, I saw that quite a few torches had been kindled to intensify the light. I remembered then how badly our distinguished visitor did in the dark, and began to seriously wonder who he was. Increasing the light level wasn't often done, and servants like Renna had long since gotten used to the moonglow preferred by the Court. I hadn't been in bright light for years and hadn't enjoyed it the last time, which seemed to be an advance warning of how pleasant this Feasting was going to be. External light shed light on things previously kept in the dark, an omen that needed no further interpretation.

Everyone in the entire Realm seemed to be on the terrace. My mother stood in its very center, not far from her eating couch, all of her glowing more brightly silver in the strong torchlight. Her hair, inches longer than mine, floated around her gown at a point below where her knees would be, more of a silver sheen to it than the platinum of my own hair. Her eyes were also of a warmer green - as my sisters had so often pointed out - but she and I were almost exactly the same height.

It had always bothered my sisters that they were all shorter, but for the life of me I couldn't understand why. As the youngest of nine I had absolutely no chance of succeeding our mother when she grew tired of being Lady of the House, and wouldn't have wanted the place even if it were offered to me. What I did want was another question entirely, and one that I expected to have some trouble answering.

"Ah, there she is," my mother's voice came, and I blinked back to where I stood to find that she was looking directly at me through an opening in the group around her. "My youngest daughter, who seems to have taken to heart the position of being last. Do join us a little more quickly, Hali, there's someone here I'd like you to meet."

The someone stood directly on her right, too big to be missed. His hair was definitely a golden red and his eyes were darker gold but very bright, and he had changed out of the leather and cloth traveling clothes I'd last seen him wearing. His tunic was a golden silk, his heavy leggings and boots a golden red to match his hair, and a thick-chained medallion of red gold hung around his neck and down onto his chest. It was no real surprise that he still wore a swordbelt, the leather of the original one having been replaced with a linked gold stand-in, and as I neared the group it was also no surprise to find that he recognized me.

"Prince Jentris, son of the Lord of the Sun, I would like to present my daughter, the Princess Haliand," my mother said with a smile, putting an arm around my shoulders to urge me closer to the man. "The prince comes with an unusual and unexpected proposal from his father, Hali, and for that reason wished to meet all of my daughters. Now that you're finally here, he has."

"And an admittedly pleasant chore it's been," the stranger said with a faint grin as he reached for my hand. "So very many young ladies and all so lovely… The choice will be an extremely difficult one. How delightful to meet you, Princess Haliand."

As he took my hand and raised it to his lips his golden eyes laughed at me, as though he were daring me to guess whether or not he would add "again" to the delight of our meeting. My hand was very pale in his large, tanned one, and I made no effort to match the warmth of his grip or to return his grin. If he was going to tell on me he would, and I wanted him to know I didn't care. I refused to be pleasant just to keep him quiet.

"Now that Hali is finally with us, Mother, we'd like to know why Prince Jentris had to meet us all," my oldest sister Dorithen said as he released my hand. I stepped back just a little, and my sisters promptly glided gracefully in front of me.

"The Lord of the Sun has proposed that he and I consider a very old geas put on our Houses," our mother said, smiling first at Dorithen and then at the rest of us. "Back in the very beginning, when our separate Houses were first established, it was understood that our Houses would remain separate only until there was a need to join them. No one knew when that would be, most especially since our Houses would have to be threatened, but apparently the time has come. The Lord of the Earth, having not long ago taken the place of his father who now travels elsewhere, is about to demand that our Realms be made vassals to his. He has gathered great armies, and means to attack us if we refuse."

"Loyal servants brought my father the word, warning us with the last breath left in them," Prince Jentris said into the mutter of shock and disbelief. "The Lord of the Earth means to attack our Realm first, and then expects to take yours with very little trouble. We none of us want to see that, so I'm here to find a bride and do my part in joining our Houses. At the ceremony, our Flames will also be joined."

The prince gestured then toward one of the arches leading from the terrace into the house and three servants appeared, two of them flanking the third, who carried a very small gold box in his hands. They made a procession of bringing the box to my mother and Prince Jentris, and when it got there our distinguished guest opened it with a flick of his finger. A combined sigh arose from everyone on the terrace at sight of the pure blue Flame burning inside the box, a Flame that needed nothing to consume in order to be. We had a similar Flame in a silver box, and it was said that when the Flames combined there would be born to the union something that had never before been known.

"So you see, young ladies and princesses, I'm here to ask for the hand of one of you," Prince Jentris said, turning away from the Flame. His faint grin was back as he let his glance move from one of my sisters to the next. "It's said that once our Houses are combined we'll be invincible, but after seeing how lovely you all are I'm feeling invincible already. I do hope at least one of you will take pity on me and help me see to what is, after all, a solemn duty to my House and yours. A duty, I should add, I can't wait to get to."

His grin widened at that, echoed by my mother's tinkling laughter, and then my sisters were all crowding around him, adding their own laughter and amusement and less-than-subtle attempts to get his attention. I turned away with a sigh, not quite pleased to learn that the man would soon wed one of my sisters. If they settled in my mother's Realm… He hadn't told on me and didn't seem prepared to anytime in the near future, but matters like this were usually subject to change without notice.

The finger-table beside my couch already had a crystal of wine on it, so rather than cause a fuss by leaving the Feast, I went to the couch and took up the crystal of wine. Except for my sisters and mother the Court was already settling down on their own couches, and the three servants were trying to leave with the Flame sent by the Lord of the Sun. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that they were having something of a problem, and when I turned to look I almost groaned. Sahrinth's mist was hanging back to one side of the terrace, but Greaf's little body was darting around and above the Flame in the golden box. From his movements he was clearly in ecstasy, as though he had found the love of his life, but that was more than silly. His sort of entity couldn't even communicate with one of the Great Flames, not to mention combine with it.

Since everyone knew he wouldn't have been there if not for my presence, I was going to be in trouble again if I didn't do something fast to stop it. Luckily, one of the servants reached over and closed the lid on the golden box. Greaf stiffened with disappointment, giving the three servants a chance to march away from him. I wanted to go to him and soothe his hurt if I could, but there was still that stupid Feast… Sahrinth saw my indecision, understood the situation, then rippled his mist to tell me to stay where I was before he moved off after those who were already out of sight. He would companion Greaf until I was free, and for that I was very grateful.

By that time my mother and sisters were beginning to move toward places of their own. Prince Jentris had been settled right next to my mother in the center of the terrace, and once they were down the food began to come. Three servants for my mother and the same for her guest, two each for my sisters and me, one for those members of the Court encouched, and circulating tray-bearers for the rest. Gathering Feasts were always the same: crowded, fattening, and boring.

But though my servants brought me samples of everything being offered, practically waving it under my nose, I just couldn't find much attraction in any of the food. I lay back among the cushions of my couch, sipping my wine - golden, in honor of our guest, I assumed - and tried to figure out what prevented me from finding enjoyment the way other people did. I was my mother's daughter, just the same as my sisters, so why couldn't I -

"Princess … Haliand, I believe it was," a voice said from above me. "Do you mind if I join you for a moment or two?"

I looked up to see Prince Jentris looming over me again, but not quite in the same way he'd done the first time. What was he doing near my couch?

"Your mother suggested I spend a short time with each of you girls, in an effort to know you as individuals," the man said as though reading my mind, then he gestured to the side of my couch. "May I sit down?"

"No," I answered, deliberately ignoring the immediate shocked looks on the faces of my servants. "I'm sure you'll find your time spent much more profitably elsewhere. Besides, I'm busy right now."

"Busy with what?" he asked, glancing to my servants with a reassuring smile before sending them away with a flick of his finger. Then he sat down facing me on the edge of the couch to my left, just as though I hadn't said no.

"I'm busy wondering what my mother would have done if you had hurt me for any reason at all," I said. "She wouldn't care what started it. All she'd care about was that I was hurt."

"I'm sure that's just the way she'd see it," he answered, those bright golden eyes softening. "But she won't have to see it that way, because I don't intend to hurt you. What happened earlier is over with now, so there's no reason we can't be friends. And I'll make a deal with you: I won't tell anyone you tried to ambush me, if you don't tell anyone I knocked you down and sat on you. Are you willing?"

He did everything but spit on his palms and rub them together, his expression warm and friendly as he offered me the best deal in creation. I sometimes wonder what it is about me that makes people think of me as a child - and what I can do to get rid of the blasted thing.

"You're not here to be friends with me, you're here to marry one of my sisters," I told him bluntly, wishing at the same time he wasn't sitting on quite so much of my gown skirt. "I didn't try to ambush you, I tried to make you look like a fool, and you may have knocked me down but you didn't sit on me. Not that anyone but my mother would care even if you had. You can tell everyone in the Realm what I did if you like, but don't expect to surprise anyone. They know me a good deal better than you do."

"Apparently so," he said, blinking with surprise. "From what you said I take it you're not interested in a deal, and I'm sorry you don't want to be friends. There's just one thing… You said something that isn't quite true, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to correct you. I'm not here to marry one of your sisters."

"If you marry all of them, you'll regret it," I said, unsure of what else there was to say. "I've heard some of the Court men talking, and I understand they're rather demanding."

"That isn't what I meant," he said, grinning. "You seem to have a very unusual way of considering things. What I meant was, I'm here to marry one of the daughters of your Lady Mother, not one of your sisters. Do you see the difference?"

"If you're trying to make the point that I'm one of those daughters, don't make me laugh," I snorted, almost laughing anyway. "If you were ever silly enough to choose me as your bride, that invincibility you mentioned would immediately lose its 'in.' I tend to affect people and things like that; it's a talent I have. And now I think your moment is up."

"I think you're right," he said with the same wide grin as he finally got off the couch and my gown. "I still have four of your sisters to visit with, and this Feast won't last forever. After that I'll be spending a full day with each of you, so you'd better start bracing yourself. When it's your turn I'd like to see a change of mind on the subject of being friends."

"It's possible by then I'll have changed my mind on lots of things," I said with a shrug, looking up at him to see the puzzlement I'd expected my comment to cause. "It may have slipped your mind, but there aren't many days in this Realm, although we have a few every now and then. If I have to wait for the ninth of them, I may not even remember who you are."

"Then, by all means, let's change that word to nights," he came back, amusement in his eyes. "I don't mind admitting I like the sound of it more, and that way you'll have a much better chance of remembering me. Possibly in a way not far removed from the way I remember you."

He put his left hand to his sword hilt as he bowed to me, and I wondered with annoyance if he knew I didn't really understand what he was talking about. I was very tempted to ask him to explain when we were interrupted.

"Dearest Haliand, now that our illustrious guest is taking his leave of you, I shall replace him," Feledor said as he materialized from behind my couch, a cool smile for both the prince and me. Feledor was another thing I'd lately been afflicted with, a very high member of my mother's Court who had suddenly discovered a more than casual interest in me. I'd learned through devious means that he'd spoken to my mother about me, but just exactly what he wanted was unclear. He bothered me every chance he had, trying to engage me in clever conversation, trying even harder to get me to visit with him for a while on his estate. Though younger and more inexperienced than I liked to admit, I wasn't so young that I didn't know he had more than visiting in mind. Most of my sisters considered me an idiot for refusing, but I'd known right from the start that I wanted no part of whatever he was offering.

"Prince Jentris, this is Feledor," I said, wondering as I sat up why our big visitor no longer looked amused. His bright golden eyes moved over Feledor's smaller, more slender body, apparently assessing the costly pale yellow silks Feledor wore, the richly jeweled dagger hung at his belt, the short, soft boots on his feet. If his concluding expression meant anything he wasn't impressed, not even by the fact that his size, next to the other man's elegant grace, made him seem like a gross, overgrown servant. Feledor, however, seemed aware of and pleased by the difference, and his pale green eyes were solid smirk.

"That's Lord Feledor, Your Highness," he said in his usual condescending way. "Haliand is completely lacking in an appreciation of all matters of class distinction, a quality I look upon as rather endearing despite its social awkwardness. Although my Court standing is quite high, I find nothing of the diminishment others undoubtedly would suffer due to such a slighting attitude. A diminishment, I might add, that others would be forced to accept in the sight of those about them, due to an involvement with her. I thought it best that Your Highness be fully informed, well before any irrevocable decisions are made."

"Why, that's extremely thoughtful of you, Lord Feledor," our guest said slowly. "I'll be certain to keep the information in mind when irrevocable decisions have to be made. Until then - We'll speak again, Princess Haliand."

He bowed to me a second time, nodded to Feledor, then moved on to the couch of my nearest sister without looking back. I didn't know if he was aware of the cultured scowl Feledor sent after him, but I had the feeling he wouldn't have cared even if he had known.

"I find myself filled with a complete dislike for that man," Feledor said softly. "He should have insisted that the rest of us not be subjected to all this light, he should have made a point of being introduced to members of the Court, and he should certainly take warnings a good deal more seriously. For your Lady Mother's sake, I do hope I don't find it necessary to resort to something other than words with him."

"And just what do you think you were warning him about?" I asked, the words turning his smoothly handsome face in my direction. "None of this is any of your business, so what do you think you're doing?"

"My dear child, there's no need for you to upset yourself," he said in that unctuous, supercilious way he had when he saw how annoyed I was. "You've been all but promised to me, and I have every right to protect what is meant to be mine. My House may be minor when compared with yours, but your Lady Mother is well aware of her need for my support. I'm sure the Lord of the Sun is firm in his belief that an alliance between the great Houses is necessary despite the more rational doubts of those like myself, but none of that needs to affect us. When one of your sisters is chosen for the purportedly high honor, we will commence our own, more modest, association. I find myself scarcely able to wait."

He stepped forward to bend for my hand and lift it to his lips, his light green gaze on me all the while, and then he strolled away to find someone else to bother. Bother. I looked down at the hand he'd kissed, shivering with a sudden chill as I abruptly remembered the full meaning of that word. I was bothered, all right, straight through to my insides, and confusion was no small part of it. Why did it have to be me he wanted, when most of my sisters would have been delighted to oblige him? He'd admitted my mother hadn't yet given me to him, but what was I going to do when she did? The only House in the Realm more powerful than his was ours, and to think he wouldn't get what he wanted was to live in a dream world.

And one of the things he didn't want was to see me chosen by that Prince Jentris. I looked over to the stranger where he sat on my sister's couch, his back to me, the faint sound of laughter floating away from the two of them. He probably hadn't been serious when he'd said I was as much under consideration as my sisters, but I almost wished he had been. There was very little I wouldn't have preferred to being claimed by Feledor, and abruptly I realized that included running away. If only I could find some place to run away to…

Suddenly there were two servants stumbling out of the house, bloody and disheveled. The two men made their way to my mother without anyone trying to stop them, then they fell to their knees in front of her.

"Greatest Lady, we must beg your forgiveness," one of them groaned, obviously in pain. "We have failed you, and our lives are yours to take. We fought with all our strength, but the strength and numbers of the thieves were greater. The Flame of the Lord of the Sun - they took it and fled, leaving us for dead. And so we should have been, before allowing so vile an act. We came as quickly as we could … but the time has not been short … none in the halls to pass the word to … all here at the Feast…"

Chaos erupted as the servant fell over senseless to join his companion on the floor. I was on my feet, just as most of the people on the terrace were. My mother was also standing, signaling frantically to other servants to see to the ones who were hurt, and Prince Jentris was already striding quickly toward her.

Everyone was demanding to know how such a thing could have happened, how thieves could have entered the palace and taken an object of such importance, but no one was volunteering any answers. I stood there next to my couch, wondering if there was anything I could possibly do to help, then noticed Sahrinth making his way over to me. The thin cloud of mist that was one of my two best friends seemed agitated, and although he floated to me quickly there was also something of hesitation in his movement.

*Haliand, something terrible has happened,* he sent as soon as he was near enough, the thought-words trembling with upset. *I didn't want to disturb you, but now that the Feast has been interrupted I thought - Oh, dear, what are we going to do?*

"Sahrinth, there's very little we can do," I said, raising a hand for him to touch with the edges of his body. "The Flame is gone, and we don't even know who took it. How can we do any more than anybody - "

*No, no, you don't understand,* he protested, his agitation increasing. *It's not so much the Flame - but it is - or at least I think it is - Haliand, I think Greaf found a way into the box of the Flame! I searched for him when I heard about the theft, but I can't find him anywhere! If I'm right - then he's been stolen along with the Flame!*

I stood there staring at Sahrinth, too shocked to say a word, almost too frozen to think. Greaf had been in love, had tried to get closer to the object of his love, and now he could be gone and in terrible trouble. If that was so, if he really was stolen along with the Flame, what was I going to do?