*Belarade*

She swayed in his arms as her head rested against his shoulder.  How many
times had they danced in his apartment by themselves to a silent tune
audible to their ears only?

Belarade sighed and whispered close to his ear, "I need something to
drink..."

The memories hurt...like a searing lance through the middle of her
heart....and brought to mind the happier times that they had shared.  But
with those joyful remembrances also came the nagging voices of how different
Ce'Lot and she really were.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see B'Lin out of the corner of her
eye, his arm wrapped strongly around a priests shoulder in a bullying
fashion, leading the small elderly man from one group of dragonriders to the
next until he reached Celia.

Did she want marriage?  She knew it wasn't done in the warren, and while
some part of her upbringing told her that it was the right thing to do, all
she had really wanted was some sort of symbol that what she shared with the
wingleader was more than a casual fling.

True Ce'Lot had told her that he loved her, told her that he cared.... but
still her heart had yearned for something more...  Even the riders within
Xylian would become 'mates', a word that Ce'Lot had never mentioned to her.

Bella's eyes welled with salty tears as she remembered his face as he asked
her to move in....it had been a look similar to that of a reluctant child
being urged to jump off the diving board into cool blue waters for the first
time...

A passing tray had provided her with a glass of wine, and she took a sip
before searching through the crowded room for her beloved dancing partner,
only to discover that B'Lin's priest had cornered him and they seemed deep
into conversation.

*Father Sirab*

He smiled at the young blonde haired man and folded his hands in front of
him.

"So you will be giving your sister away?" he asked.

Ce'Lot nodded.  "Yes...that is if she will let me..."

"It's a wonderful thing...  Your future brother in law seems quite taken wit
h her..."

"Let's hope," the dragonrider returned dryly.

Father Sirab nodded and glanced over at the red-head at the far end of the
room.  "Would that be your girlfriend?  She's stunning..."

Ce'Lot shook his head sadly.  "No....we were...but now... I'm not sure what
we are..."

The priest studied the other man for a moment before clearing his throat.
"Well, wish your sister happiness...  It's such a blessing to find someone
to share the rest of your life with...  Someone that loves you no matter all
of your imperfections... When you find someone like that...embrace it... Not
everyone is lucky enough to experience something like that."

*B'Lin*

"Lish!  Lish!"

"The baby is sleeping B'Lin..." the nurse whispered loudly to him.

"Well wake him up... Lecia and I are fixing to get married...  Where is
she?"  B'Lin stormed into their bedroom and shook the blonde girl awake.
"Come on...put on your dress and let's go...  It's time... I got the
priest...he's going to marry us...  Let's get this over with.."

<NRPG:  Kris, I wasn't sure what would be going through lecia's mind or
whether the wedding would take place on this day or not... maybe we can
collaborate on a post?>

Respectfully Submitted,
Belarade
B'Lin
aka Tracee Taylor-Schneider
~Tamarisk~

Midnight Bay http://www.mindspring.com/~tamarisk
Dragonlands http://www.geocities.com/~_sierra_

She tore from them feelings they had not known they had.
She sang to them as if she were as ancient as the Earth, as
if all the pain of a millennia of humanity had passed through
her, leaving her scarred but whole, leaving her wise but
hopeful.  And so they sang back to her what they could not
keep within themselves; they sang their exultation, their
admiration, their gratitude; most of all they sang their own
hope; rekindled by her song, though they had not known
they needed hope; had not known that they had ever
despaired.
-Orson Scott Card, Songmaster




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