Evelle felt pleased with the rightness of her decision to confer with 
Wynn about the problem of V'rdeen.  Her heart had fluttered with worry 
when, at first, she felt the cold hardness of his outrage at what he'd read.  
The good judgment that had prompted M'ressan to name him Gamma 
Wingleader had surfaced almost immediately, however, and Evelle 
relaxed a little.  She knew he would keep his emotions in check and act 
cautiously until he could act wisely.  She looked for long minutes at the 
door that closed behind him as if she could see the lean, strong 
musculature of his body walking away.  Her love for him deepened with 
each passing day.

	The next couple of months passed quickly.  There were no more 
incidents with V'rdeen reported although Evelle noticed him several times 
talking animatedly with a small group of riders.  They seemed to admire 
V'rdeen and gave the appearance of looking to him as a leader.  These 
conversations were always held out of earshot of the other warrenfolk.  
Evelle mentioned them to Wynn and to Christalla.  All were concerned but 
since there had been no more overt harassment, they could do nothing 
but continue to watch.  They knew this was a simmering pot of trouble that 
would boil over one day and they were ready to take immediate action 
when it did.

	Her days were busy and full, her nights a time of loving ecstasy 
with Wynn, a time when their cares and worries could be put aside.  
Wynn continued to find new and ingenious ways to awaken his lazy-in-
the-morning girl.  Sometimes, when he wanted some extra private time 
with Malekith, he let her sleep late, earning himself some very special 
rewards that occasionally gave them a day where they left their apartment 
only to go to their lagoon.  Such days were rare, and in their rarity, they 
were treasured.

	Several times each day Evelle went to the hatching grounds to be 
close to Alicynth.  Ali's inherent calm nature gave her a fairly easy 
gestation period, but as the days passed, she was growing impatient for 
her eggs to hatch.

	*I want to fly again, Evelle, and feel you on my back*

	*Soon, sweet girl.  I miss our times in the air very much, too*

	*You work too hard these days without me to make you play.  We 
will play together at the lagoon, you and I and Wynn and Malekith, as 
soon as my children are joined.  Won't we, Evelle?*

	*Yes, of course, you imp of a dragon.  We'll play at the lagoon*

	Satisfied, Alicynth breathed fire to warm the sands on which her 
eggs lay.  Evelle hugged her and sat with the expectant mother a while 
longer.

	With peaceful times at Keldarra, her days settled into a full but 
regular schedule.  Each morning, she joined Christalla in her office where 
they discussed warren business and then talked as friends.  Each 
morning a few more candidates for the hatchlings were interviewed.  
Evelle knew that several of the hopeful riders would be disappointed this 
time.  It was Alicynth's first clutch.  Fifteen eggs was quite a respectable 
number for the first, particularly with her having produced a queen.  Most 
of the ones not destined for joining this time wouldn't have to wait as long 
as Evelle had, nor as Wynn had.  Kaeryth had been the only queen for as 
long as they had been candidates.  The Empress had produced two 
clutches a year, but now there were two queens, soon to be three.

	Christalla had interviewed the boy, Mukale, as Evelle had asked.

	"Yes, you were right," the DragonLady confirmed.  "He has the 
aura of affinity."

	She had asked Mukale to stand as a candidate.  He had agreed 
out of politeness -- he couldn't dismiss the care he and his family had 
been given at Keldarra -- but he felt the DragonLady was only making a 
gesture.  Not surprisingly, Mukale did not know the DragonLady.

	Evelle's afternoons were spent in training with Aleta.  She was 
learning the art of healing, and there was a lot to learn.  Aleta watched 
her very carefully, not allowing Evelle to do anything except under the 
most careful supervision.  The Alpha Wingleader would have to be 
convinced that Evelle was competent before letting her treat anyone, 
dragon or human, by herself.

	After Aleta had dismissed her, Evelle would wander down to the 
lagoon.  These visits were not for play.  Carefully she examined the 
varieties of plants for the healing powers she had found them to have.  
Diving deep to the bottom of the lagoon, she collected mud from its bed.  
She found as she explored its depths that the lagoon was fed by a series 
of hot springs.  Each day she carried samples back to the Medical Center 
for study.  Aleta was skeptical but allowed Evelle to experiment then 
carefully checked her results.  It grew evident as the days passed that 
Evelle's plants and mud and waters could indeed speed healing.  Evelle 
resolved that her next project would be to try and discover something that 
would be of help when the next plague came.

	Word had spread through the warren that King Jaldor had 
disowned his son, Reolden.  Evelle sought him out but found that the 
former prince, though distressed, was taking it in stride.

	"I'm a dragonrider now," he'd told her, "and this is my home now."

	"And we are your family," she'd agreed.  "But if you ever do want to 
talk about these things, just remember I'm here, Reolden.  We worked 
well together during the tithe negotiations.  I've not forgotten how much 
help you were."

	She had also heard about the trouble between David and Minty's 
father, Guy.  David's family had taken well to the couple, even accepting 
the difference in their codes of morality.  Guy was another story, one that 
would bear watching.  Evelle knew that David had great self-control, but 
any threat to Minty would not be tolerated.  It was one more potentially 
explosive situation at Keldarra.

	A much happier turn of events was the growing closeness between 
S'brogh and Briana.  Though she teased him unmercifully about it, Evelle 
knew her brother really cared about the girl.  Briana, for her part, seemed 
to be adapting well to warren ways.  Whether S'brogh and Briana would 
ever want a monogamous relationship was a question not to be answered 
for some time, but Evelle felt that Briana would be comfortable with 
whatever the answer turned out to be.

	They were in the dining hall enjoying a satisfying meal when 
Evelle's hands flew to her head.  A cacophony of song was welling inside 
it joined by the raucous trumpeting of dragons outside.

	"They're hatching!" she cried.  "The eggs are hatching!"

	She was almost unaware of the turmoil of activity going on about
her as Wynn's strong arm guided her to the hatching caverns.  Her head was
filled with Alicynth's song welcoming her children into the world.  Wynn
held her hand tightly, overwhelmed with emotion, too.  They were
Malekith's children as well, and he eagerly watched the keening, stumbling
dragonets burst from their shells to begin their search.  Evelle's eyes
brimmed over with happy tears as she watched young Bandin become the first
to join. 

	The next few she didn't see; her thoughts were locked with 
Alicynth.

	*How are you, Alicynth?*

	*Fine, Evelle.  My children are joining nicely*

	*Is it hard for you.... to let them go so soon?*

	*It is the way of things, Evelle.  I would like to nurture them for a 
while, but my children need to find their riders as I needed to find you.  I 
am all right and Malekith's thoughts are with me*

	*You are the most wonderful of dragons, Ali*

	*You are the most wonderful of riders, Evelle*

	Evelle heard her brother cheering wildly and looked down to see 
Briana join with a dragon as white as the snow atop the mountain peaks 
in winter.  "Her name is Starleana," the girl called out.  The she turned her 
attention to her Starleana's demand to be fed.

	One by one they joined.  With this hatching as with the last, there 
were surprises.  Sky joined with a male dragon, something that happened 
so rarely as to be almost legend, and which would present its own set of 
problems for dragon, for rider, for warren.  The joining of the queen was 
yet another surprise.  But the dragons knew whom they needed, and the 
humans responded.

	The ones not chosen began to file out, their faces a mixture of 
disappointment and hope for the next time.  The last unjoined baby 
stumbled its way to Mukale.  The boy didn't seem to realize what was 
happening.

	"I'm not a candidate," he said to the dragonet.

	"He wants *you*, lad," Christalla called down to him.

	Mukale looked up in bewilderment to see Christalla and Evelle 
smiling down on him.

	"Me?"

	"You!"

	"He will know all there is to know about you, Mukale," Evelle called 
down.  "And you will know him.  Go to him.  He needs you."

	They watched and waited as Mukale turned his attention to the 
baby dragon who needed him so.  "His name is Tarranx!"

	It was done.  Alicynth looked over the hatching caverns to see all 
her children at one with their riders.  She rose and walked outside proudly 
and calmly like the queen she was.  Evelle and Wynn left the celebrants 
to the joy of this night and moved down to meet her.  It was no surprise to 
find Malekith already at her side.  Without a word, they mounted the 
dragons and flew to their apartment.  Wynn and Evelle sat for a while with 
the dragons in their antechamber.  Rider and dragon shared their feelings 
and the dragons passed them along to the other rider.  If any further 
bonding was possible for any of them, they found it that night.

Evelle
Queenrider of Alicynth
WarrenLady of Keldarra