"I'll only have her for a week at most," he reminded them of the sham of a
wedding. "Only until the books have been changed, then she's all yours if
she'll have you."

"Oh I don't think there's any question of that," Ghost said quickly then
blushed. 

"I didn't think so," Norik grinned. "Be happy Bashie. You have found a good
life here. And you Mc'key... take care of her."

"With my life if I have too," the blonde rider swore and their eyes met....

Norik wisely left them alone.

Ghost turned to watch the man who was now her husband for the next week walk
away. The man who had given his life and pledge a vowel to keep her as the
last living heir to a Lordship alive until such time as she could take back
what was rightfully hers. 

"He'll do well as the Lord of Lago Vista," she told the man beside her. The
one who held her heart. Funny how she was just figuring that out now after
all the time she'd know him. But it felt right.

"Ghost are you sure you want to give it all up?" Mc'key asked her, trying to
keep his sadness out of his voice. He'd waited a long time for her to grow
up and notice how he felt for her. And now that she seemed to feel the same
she was *married* to another.

The tiny blonde turned to the much taller man beside her, the one who hand
she still held and looked up into blue eyes. 

"I'm sure Key," her voice was firm with her resolve. "I've never been more
sure of anything in my life."

"But to give up so much land," he commented.

"The land is nothing to me!" she said firmly, her blue eyes holding his so
he could see the sincerity of her words. "You are! You and Kikeane and this
Warren! This is my home and the people who live here my family. I don't want
anything more. Certainly not the lands of a people I never knew or cared
about. No it's better that Norik become Lord there. He's known to the people
and by rights it should be his."

They began walking hand in hand and she couldn't help but feel happy. In her
heart she knew she had done the right thing. This *was* her *home*. This was
where she'd always been happy even while she'd had to play at being the
child everyone had thought her to be when they *found* her.

He lead her to the far side of the green where a pink dragon laid cuddling
up against a larger green. 

<So you finally figured out what was in your heart my rider?> Kikeane's smug
tone entered her mind. <We were wondering how long it would take you to know
how you cared for Vasleth's rider.>

<<So you think you knew my feelings all along did you now?>> Ghost commented
as she moved from Mc'key's side and went to hug the pink's head, while her
eyes turn back to watch her hearts love approaching his own dragon. <<So why
didn't you tell me before miss know-it-all? It would have saved me sometime.>>

<If would have served no purpose for me to have told you what you would have
figured out in time,> Kiki told her rider. <Vas and my mother, Melith told
me told me it was some silly human thing that I was suppose to let you
figure out for yourself or you would deny your feelings and then be sad. I
did not want you to be any sadder than you were already.>

"Some silly human thing," ghost laughed, unaware she had spoken the words
aloud until she hear Mc'key behind her.

"What's silly?" he asked coming to stand beside her.

"Something Kiki just told me," she replies, blushing slightly as she noticed
the look in his beautiful eyes.  

"And what was that?" he took her hand grinning, knowing what she would say,
because he'd just heard the same from his own dragon.

"It seems my dragon was smarter than the I was, in that she knew how
I...felt... about you... before I did," she suddenly felt a little shy and
lowered her head to look down at the ground. "And was waiting for her silly
human to figure it out."

She felt Mc'key's fingers gently brush the underside of her chin as he
pulled her head back up until their eyes met. There was a look of intensity
in his eyes she had never seen there before, but had noticed in the eyes of
others. The look had scared her then, but it didn't now. 
Not from him.

"And have you?" he asked. "Figured it out?"

His hand held her chin in place so she couldn't turn away, but it wasn't
needed. She couldn't have pulled her eyes from his if she had wanted too.
Which she didn't.

She simply nodded her head. "Yes."

He smiled. 

"It's about time. Though I would have waited forever if I had to," he said
softly, and the tone in his voice caused her heart to flutter and her
breathing to become shallow as she awaited his next move.

"I'm going to kiss you now," he told her and felt her body quiver at the
thought of what was to come. "I tell you this so you won't be afraid. I'd
never hurt you. You know that don't you?"

"I know," she whispered even as his full lips swooped downward to gently
touch hers.

Slowly he teased her. His lips slanting softly over hers this way and that,
never quite touching hers with anything more then a whispered caress. When
he heard her whimper he slipped his tongue out and traced over lips,
starting on the upper one then moving to the lower one.
He was going slow with her, not wanting to scare her but his teasing kiss
promising better things to come.

Her breath caught in her throat as soon as his skin touched hers. Her hands
reached out to grab onto the nearest thing available, which turned out to be
his arms, to keep her from falling as her mind began to whirl around, lost
in this new feeling such as she had never known existed. 

He lips opened to him, but he made no move to accept her unknowing
invitation, instead pulling back and then she felt his arms wrap around her
and pulling her close.

"Oh lords woman," he muttered in a voice that wasn't quite steady. "If you
only knew what you do to me"

"Why did you stop?" she asked. "I liked what you were doing. It felt... it
felt like... well I liked it."

She heard him chuckle and his arms tighten around her slim waist. "Oh so did
I, and there will be more of that, but not yet."

"Why not?" she looked up at him suddenly unsure of herself. Had she done it
wrong. Was he regretting that she wasn't more experienced in love play?

"Because these feelings are new to you sweetie," he told her. "And I don't
want to rush you into something your body isn't ready for just yet. We have
time, but I want you to be totally sure you want this to happen between us.
Besides... there's this thing about you being married to another man
standing in our way."

She groaned at the reminder and stepped away from him, but not far.

"There wasn't anyway," she said softly. "By the laws of the Landbound
Nations the only person outside of the family's blood who could take over
the lands, was a husband of one of the daughters of the house. I had to
marry Norik don't you see? It was the only way I could lawfully give him
control of the lands and stay here at the same time. Besides it won't be
long before we can have the marriage annulled and then things will return to
normal... And I can stay here in the Warren...with you... if you still want
me too?"

She felt his arms slip around her from behind and then felt his chin come to
rest on the top of her head.

"I've waited this long for you to notice me," he told her and she shivered
at the tone in his voice. "I can wait a while longer to have you with me, if
that's want you really want."

If that's want she really wanted.

"Oh yes," she cried and turned in his arms, hers reaching up high to circle
his neck and drawl his lips down to her. "Oh yes I want."

This kiss was a little more heated and she reveled in the feelings he drew
from her. it was like nothing she'd ever felt before, and as a strange
feeling formed in the pit of her stomach, her body cried for more. 

But once again he pulled away from her and she whimpered at the lost of his
lips against hers.

"Please!!!" she cried and tried to drawl them back where she wanted them.

"Oh no woman," he husked. "I promised myself we would take this slow and
wait until you were ready. I'll not break that promise and ruin what's
happening between us. We have lots of time so don't try to tempt me. It
won't work, and will be better when we finally do make love."

"Promise," she grinned.

"Oh yes woman," he returned her grin. "That's a promise."

He pulled her willing body back tight against his and they just stood there
that way for a few moments, until another voice broke into their thoughts.

"Bashie?" Dellanie called softly, and they turned as one to see the older
woman walking slowly towards them.

Ghost broke away from Mc'key and ran towards her, wraping her arms around
the slender woman.

"Oh mama everything's going to be okay now," she cried softly. "We're safe
now and don't have to ever worry about that man again. You're safe to do
anything you want."

She pulled far enough away to look up into the eyes of the woman who had
raised her with love and protected her al these years.

"You'll stay here won't you?" she asked suddenly. "In the Warren with me?"

"Do you still want me to.." the woman asked softly. "Even knowing what you
now know about me?"

"You are my mother!" Ghost said firmly, wanting the woman to have no doubts
about her feelings. "It doesn't matter to me that you didn't birth me. You
were the one who loved me and looked out for me, better than anyone else
ever could of. Of course I want you to stay with me! I *love* you!!"

"Oh Bashie," Dellanie cried and pulled her daughter back into her arms. "I
was so afraid that you would hate me when you learned the truth. I've lived
with that fear ever since the day my mother brought you to me as a babe."

Both of them were crying now. Mc'key stood there not quite knowing what to
do, but stayed out of it, and let mother and daughter work things out on
their own.

<My rider,> Kiki broke into the girls thoughts. <Melith's rider wants you to
come back to her office to finish taking about what is to come.>

Ghost pulled slowly out of her mothers arms and turned back to look at her
new loves face, knowing he'd received the same message from his own dragon.

"We're being called back to Phaedra's office," she told her mother. "Seems
we're needed there to finish talking about what's going to happen now."

She lifted her hand towards Mc'key who moved to take it and the took her
mothers hand in her other one. Then the three of them wondered back together. 

-----------  

"So you'll be needing to go into Lago Vista and prove you are who you say
you are, so that the transfer of title to Norik can be written into the
books," the Warrenlady was saying as they sat in her office talking. "But
with the letter Norik's men took off of the ex-Lord Bridgett, I don't think
you'll have any problem proving who you are."

"No young lady. I don't either," Lord Oboe spoke up and agreed. "Once them
in the courts get a gander at that pretty little face of yours they'll
believe you when you tell them your Bequest's kin. You've the look of your
real mother. Begging your pardon Ma'am." He said to Dellanie. 

"None taken Lord Oboe," Dellanie smiled at him, and then looked over at her
daughter who returned the warm look.

Phaedra spoke again repeating the question the young girl had heard more
times today then she wanted to hear.

"Bashie you are *sure* this is what you want?"

Ghost turned to look at the tall blonde sitting beside her holding her hand,
something that didn't go unnoticed by the others in the room. Something that
made the Warrenlady worried, because of everything else the girl had gone
through. She have a talk with Mc'key later about that.

"Yes M'lady," the girl answered. "I've never been more sure of anything in
my life. This is my home. This is where I want to be."

"Very well scamp," the Warrenlady sighed. "Now... what do we do about that
bastard in our holding cell?"

Norik's face held an evil smile as he spoke up to answer her. "You won't
have to worry about him again. My men and I will see to it that he is
brought to the notices of the courts and given a fair trial."

After that Norik thought, the man would die. But the people in this room
didn't need to know that. 

------------------------------    

Nrpg: Peter, welcome to Geode.... Mc'key is all yours ;)

****Submitted by: *******

Barbara (a.k.a. 

Ghost (Bashie) & Kikeane
Mc'key & Vasleth 
Dellanie
Norik the new Lord of Lago Vista
Geode Warren