starkdiary8

Wedding Bells

I had an easy life growing up. Mother and I moved, from dig to dig. She’d occasionally settle down for a semester to teach and then we’d slowly become the locals for a while. She would find one of the natives to watch us and then school us herself at night. As we got older, we’d sit by the bonfires with the college students and listen to their ghost stories by the flickering popping flames. Reichert and I were pretty much left to our own devices. Mother has way too many pictures of Reichert and me, half-naked, filthy, smiling like crazy. I would inevitably adopt some abandoned bird, snake, mouse or insect to take care of and that would be proudly displayed in one hand. Reichert and I were little bohemians and in our own way spoiled rotten. I grew up to be stubborn, immensely proud of my abilities, liking crowds, but having a hard time dealing with people on a more intimate level. Reichert grew up to be laid back, casual, and have tons of girlfriends. We both have an intense amount of wanderlust which has fed by our involvement in the Wild, Wild Animal show. I wasn’t sure what I would do with my vet’s degree and the show had fit it perfectly.

This search for Amber, also fit my desires perfectly. I was travelling through exotic locales, fixing wounded "animals" and seeing lots of interesting things. I was learning a couple of things along the way. I desperately missed Reichert. He is one of the few folks I feel comfortable talking to. He was also someone who could always help me get out of messes. The other thing I had learned, was that this wasn’t going to be a lark and for some of the folks that I was meeting, things were down right serious. Almost loosing, Cecily and then Harry had shocked me. This was for real and there was a chance that something could get me too.

I welcomed the chance to take a break and help bring back the horses. Dragos was interesting and fun, a little intense, and I have to admit a little sexy. I probably shouldn’t have slept with him. I was stinging from Greyson’s abandonment and the intense emotions of the past few Beholder laden days. I thought he understood it was a "for the moment" interlude, but now I am not so sure. I enjoyed my time with him. The sex was kinda fierce and I liked it and needed it. I got further release from the spring festival. We danced and sang and drank all night long. Shen was reserved and sad, but he had made a friend while I was gone and I was happy for him. Cecily was healing remarkably well, as were Griffin, Syrana, and Fletcher. I had a chance to talk to Fletcher and we traded notes about living amongst the natives. He seems to have wondered the desert and met several Indian tribes. He told me about the shamanic training he had received and we spent a pleasant time talking. I was a little surprised. He always came off as grumpy and disgruntled most of the time, but he was quite an interesting person.

Dragos, however, was about to loose my interest. He asked me if I wanted to walk with him to a really nice place to see the sunrise. We had been having such a nice couple of days together that I thought it would be a good finish. We hiked for an hour up the side of the mountain, the sky just starting to rise. He led me through a grove of fragrant lime trees. What caught my eye was the large tower up ahead. It was stark white and somewhat imposing. I figured we’d climb it to watch the dawn. He grabbed my hand and we quietly went forward. As we approached the door, a woman came out, dressed in some sort of ceremonial garb. She stared at us and asked formally if we had walked the path along the lime grove as the sun was rising. It seemed such an odd question. I snatched my hand away from Dragos, and looked at him suspiciously as he answered in the affirmative. He wouldn’t tell me the significance and two other priestly women dragged him off.

I was forced to drink from the fountain inside. Apparently, Brand, one of Random’s brothers had owned this place or something. I was a little distracted. I was furious. One of the women explained that the ritual we had just performed would marry Dragos and I, in both this life and the next. I didn’t consider myself married. That wasn’t the problem. It was that Dragos thought that we are and that he had married me without my consent. He had actually duped me to go through ceremony that had some sort of significance to him. That jerk, how could he have done such a thing. Did he think I’d be overjoyed? Settle down in this alien place and raise little winged babies? Give up my life? Damn it, we didn’t even know each other! For that matter, I still missed Greyson!

I walked out of the temple and stalked back towards the camp. I quickly got lost. I wasn’t paying much attention to the surrounding countryside. Shen, on some mission of mercy for Dragos, led me back to camp. Apparently Dragos thought he loved me and that he was following some sort of prophecy. Prophecy my ass. And as for love, how could he, he didn’t even know me?