Tangled Engagements (The Memory Stones Series Book 4)

by Jeffrey Quyle

  “Theus! Splendidly done!” the god cried out. “How are you?” he asked immediately after bounding over to see his marshal. And at that point in the plane of the gods, while a dead demon lay nearby on the hilltop, the loss of blood overcame Theus, and he passed out.

  Chapter 19

  When Theus awoke, he saw a painted stone ceiling overhead. He was lying in a bed, one that was firm, he noted. The room was awash in light. And his leg was sore, stiff, and painful.

  “Where am I?” he asked aloud.

  “You’re in Limber,” he heard Coriae’s voice. “And it’s an extraordinary place. Crystal, would you go fetch something fresh for the marshal to eat?”

  “Yes, my lady,” Theus’s wondering ears heard the voice of the granitine reply, followed by the sound of the creature skittering across the floor of the room.

  Theus propped himself up and saw that Coriae was sitting in a chair next to his bed. Beyond Coriae he saw an open window, and through the windows he saw the towers and mountains that could be the skyline of only Limber.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked in astonishment. “How did I get here?”

  “You are the chosen hero of the gods,” Coriae said with appropriate wonder. “As well as the chosen hero of my own heart,” she added impulsively, with a smile that was warm and shy.

  “The gods saved you from whatever happened wherever Currense took you. We were all still in the temple at Greenfalls, as I was learning about what had happened at the palace, when Currense reappeared,” Coriae told Theus.

  At that moment, Crystal came back into the room, with a tray that held a decanter of water, two cups, some bread, and some cheese.

  “My lord hero marshal, it is gratifying to see you awake,” Crystal told him. “And we are pleased to meet the one who has selected you to be her mate. The granitines approve.”

  Both Theus and Coriae blushed.

  “Thank you, Crystal,” Theus replied. “I’m glad to see you too. I,” he paused to consider his next words, “I do not know precisely if the Lady Coriae will be my mate. She and I will talk about that soon though, I’m sure,” he replied.

  “Has my lord Limber been in the city recently?” he asked.

  “Not since he brought you to his temple two days ago,” Crystal replied.

  “Did he say anything about what happened?” Theus wanted to know.

  “He said that you were a hero, and to take good care of you until you were ready to go on your final quest, and to watch for the woman who you were going to marry,” Crystal answered. “Was I wrong to assume that this woman is that one?” the creature asked innocently.

  “Crystal dear, if you’ll allow us to speak privately, I’ll learn what my lord’s intentions are,” Coriae spoke up.

  “Yes, my lady. Call if you need anything. I’ll be just outside the door,” she replied.

  “So as I was saying,” Coriae resumed her commentary, “Currense reappeared at the temple in Greenfalls and called my name.

  “’Coriae, come with me, you’ll be needed to tend to Theus,’ she said, and she held out her hand to me. And then the two of us walked into the waterfall, just the way you and she did, and we walked right into Limber’s temple here in Limber,” Coriae explained.

  “A moment later, Limber appeared, carrying you, and within seconds, several of the granitines came sliding into the sanctuary,” Coriae continued. “There were a few worshippers and a couple of priests there, and they all were overwhelmed by the appearances of the two gods.

  “Limber told the granitines to take you to the palace for care, and said that I would be your caretaker. I was frightened at first by the appearance of all the granitines, swarming into the temple the way they were, but Currense told me they were Limber’s own people. She told me I was to tend to you and help you heal,” Coriae told him.

  “And then the granitines carried you to the palace, and they took me along. People in the streets were screaming and shouting when they saw the granitines carrying you to the palace, afraid that you were dead. The granitines continually told the people you were going to be okay, according to lord Limber,” she added.

  “When we got to the palace, I met your family – they’re all such wonderful people,” Coriae told him. “And we’ve been here in the palace ever since.

  “Do you know, I think it must be something about me, but I seem to fall in love with you the most when you’re injured. You won’t remember the first few times, but you were hurt while fighting in a tournament in Great Forks, and I went with you to the market to find the ingredients you needed for some medicine for yourself. And then,” Coriae was looking up at the ceiling, looking for memories it seemed, “one night at my family manor you came to my room and we put salve on one another.”

  Theus recollected Coriae describing the visit to him earlier, when she had lamented his lost memories of her.

  “And there was the time after you fought Donal and saved Great Forks. I nursed you after that, and after you took that knife meant for Holco in the palace. And now here we are,” she finished her monologue with a contented sigh.

  “So the gods think we’ll be married,” her next sentence startled him.

  “I, guess, they do,” Theus drew each word out slowly as he was at a loss for the right answer.

  Coriae laughed.

  “Let me go find your mother and sister, to tell them you’re awake. They’ll want to see you,” she started to rise, then stopped in the middle of the motion.

  “Let me check your wound again, first,” she decided. She pulled his covers down unexpectedly, then looked down at his leg. He did the same.

  His leg was a spider web of stitches. His leg had been severely shredded by the demon’s attack. Someone of extraordinary skill had managed to overcome all the damage, apparently, and put everything back in place, held together by yards and yards of fine thread that crossed and connected at all angles covering every inch of his thigh from his knee to his groin.

  “Baccoso must have done it himself,” Theus murmured appreciatively.

  Coriae’s fingers softly stroked the wounded flesh. “It hasn’t looked infected since I started watching it,” she assured Theus. “It’s in good shape.

  “Be back soon,” she assured him, and then she was gone.

  His family adored Coriae, Theus discovered over the next three days as he convalesced.

  “You’re a great and mighty person and all, Theus,” Thera told him during one of her short visits, “but that girl is way above your class. How did you ever get so lucky?

  “After all that I heard from Forgon and the others about the two of you, I was sure I wasn’t going to like her,” the young queen marveled.

  “Oh, that reminds me – Holco said to tell you hello,” Theus interrupted her as the memory of Holco’s wish came to the forefront of his thought.

  “Oh,” Thera’s face softened as she smiled gently. “Will he be back here anytime soon?” she asked.

  “He’s the king of Stoke now!” Theus surprised her by revealing the news. “He probably won’t be able to travel so easily.” Thera’s face darkened at the news.

  “But with a little white magic, perhaps the time will come. Don’t give up hope just yet,” Theus told her.

  She left the visit soon thereafter, happier. “Don’t forget, you promised a visit with Holco,” she said as she left the room.

  “Coriae is such an accomplished young lady, and so elegant!” Theus’s mother was just as impressed by his presumptive fiancée. And virtually everyone in the palace did seem to think they were engaged, based on the words the granitines reported hearing.

  The topic came to a head on the third day of the recovery period in Limber. Theus had decided that though his leg hadn’t completely healed, it was healthy enough for him to resume traveling, so that he might return to Greenfalls and Stoke to help assist in the negotiation of the treaty to reopen trade between the two cities. He and Coriae were expected to depart the following day.

  �
��Theus,” Coriae asked as they were sitting together in the early evening, eating dinner from a tray that had been delivered by the granitines. “I suppose one of us needs to start this conversation.

  “Will you marry me?” she asked him as he took a deep drink of water, and the result was a coughing, choking fit that delayed an answer for thirty seconds.

  “Is this a joke?” he asked when he was able.

  “No,” she answered simply, and waited in silence.

  “You’re asking me, really?” Theus checked, uncomfortable with the silence. “Really?”

  “Yes,” Coriae answered and waited again.

  “I wasn’t expecting this. I thought I’d ask you, and I wasn’t thinking of asking yet, not before I go to Southsand. I didn’t think I could make any commitment before I know if I’ll even survive the battle there,” he tried to rationalize.

  Coriae waited silently.

  “Yes, I want to marry you,” Theus realized he had to answer. “Where do you want to have the wedding?”

  “We can talk about all of that when you return,” she said calmly. “I just thought that since you had already accepted my ring, I should ask the question to finish the engagement.”

  She smiled at him, then laughed at his confusion.

  “You did accept the ring I gave you, in Currense’s temple, remember?” she asked. “And it was right after you told me you loved me. You do remember saying that, don’t you?” she asked with a playful seriousness.

  He smiled back. “How could I forget?” he asked.

  Chapter 20

  The morning following their decision to become engaged, Theus and Coriae left Limber. They shared their news with Theus’s family, Vanline, Montuse and Alamice at breakfast, prior to their departure.

  “Will you be married here? Our first royal wedding in Limber!” Allise was excited and thrilled to learn about the engagement. Despite all the changes the previous year had brought to her life, and despite the long separation she and Theus had endured, she had no reduction in her maternal instinct nor lessened desire to be involved in his life.

  “My marriage to your father was the most humble affair ever seen in the Jewel Hills, and we didn’t have a care in the world,” she reminisced fondly.

  “Mother, Coriae and Theus won’t have a humble wedding,” Thera spoke matter-of-factly. “They are like royalty in Great Forks and Greenfalls, beside here in Limber. They may have to have a half dozen receptions all over the world to see all of Coriae’s friends.

  “And Theus’s,” she added with a laugh, as he stuck his tongue out at her.

  Afterwards, the couple said goodbye to the granitines, especially Crystal, who had adopted Coriae along with Theus as her own special individual to serve, when the granitine didn’t have other chores.

  And then the travelers left the palace grounds, Theus carrying them away in a magical step, his leg still stiff and covered in stitches as his torn flesh healed rapidly with the help of the ointments and balms Theus had mixed on his own behalf. They carved a rugged path through the sunny mountains, and arrived at the outskirts of Greenfalls within half an hour.

  “Praise be to Currense!” Alsman exclaimed when they appeared at the palace soon after.

  “Praise to her indeed,” Theus agreed. He hadn’t spoken to any of the gods since awakening in Limber. He’d tried not to think about the amazing and terrifying experience he’d had in the realm of the gods. It had been an extraordinary world, full of power and magnificence, it seemed, though words couldn’t convey the sensations he had felt. In some ways, he felt as though he had been altered just for having been there, though he couldn’t describe what the difference was.

  He hoped that the gods were doing well. He hoped that Maurienne had recovered from the blow delivered by the demon. He remembered specifically that Crystal had told him that Limber had called him a hero for his simple and lucky role in the battle with the demon. He was sure that the god was simply being kind with his words, and he was grateful.

  As Coriae and Eiren spoke excitedly to each other about the wonders of Limber, Theus thought about Baccoso. The god of healing had prepared an extraordinary mixture that had been intended to knock Theus unconscious while the gods removed the demon spawn from his flesh.

  The demon’s early eruption had spoiled that, but it had been that mixture made by Baccoso that had ultimately stopped the demon, knocking it unconscious so that Limber could finish the monster off. Knowing the ingredients of such a mixture might prove useful at some point in his upcoming journey, Theus considered.

  The extraordinary strength and power of the demon had impressed and frightened Theus. The creature had nearly survived a battle with four gods. It had been set loose by Donal, giving Theus fears that the black magician might have more of the unthinkable horrors available to do battle on his behalf. Perhaps they were gifts from Ind’Petro, or perhaps they were something Donal had come to possess himself – or come to be possessed by.

  “Don’t you think so Theus?” he heard Coriae ask.

  She had been talking to Eiren, and he hadn’t paid any attention to the conversation. Alsman and Eiren and Coriae were all looking at him, while he tried to find some memory of any snippet of their conversation he might have heard, any clue about the question.

  “He was woolgathering,” Eiren stated the obvious. “She asked if you thought Great Forks was probably where you might have a wedding?”

  “You’ve got so many friends there, from the apprentices to the armory sparring partners to the members of the guard, and my family,” Coriae laid a hand on his forearm on the table as she spoke.

  “That makes sense,” he nodded agreeably. He didn’t really care, though he didn’t want to disappoint his mother either.

  The conversation moved on to discussions about the trade ambassador to Stoke.

  “After the horror in the palace here, the merchants were understanding that Melbourne needed more time for traditional travel to Stoke. And they were furious to learn that one of their own had left the device in the palace that had summoned the black magician. They figured out who it was and turned him in the very next day,” Eiren told the interested travelers.

  “He’s still hanging from the gibbet on the back side of the palace grounds,” she added. “Alsman didn’t approve, but I know that in the real world, sometimes an example needs to be made.”

  “We won’t bore our guests with philosophical conversations,” Alsman said mildly.

  “We’ll go to Stoke today, if you want us to take any message to Lord Melbourne for you,” Theus offered.

  A half an hour later, the pair of travelers moved on once again, as they left Greenfalls and traveled to Stoke using Theus’s white magic capabilities.

  “We received a note that Lord Melbourne arrived in the city this morning, and wishes to call upon the court this afternoon,” Holco told Theus and Coriae after they appeared at the palace. Maier, one of the companions who had been in Limber with Theus and Holco was also at the table as they spoke.

  “My sister congratulates you on your coronation,” Theus told Holco. “But she’s disappointed to think that you might not be able to travel to Limber so easily to visit in the future.”

  “I’ve thought about that as well,” Holco agreed.

  “Will you be at the court when Lord Melbourne arrives?” Maier asked. “Could you introduce him on behalf of Greenfalls?”

  Theus agreed to do so, and then the conversation turned to the topic of the appearance of Donal at the Greenfalls court.

  “You must be aware that Donal may have similar spies planted here in Stoke as well,” Theus warned. He had thought about the issue while he had laid in bed in Limber. Limber was likely to be the only city that would be safe from having spies in place, he thought. It was too newly settled to have given Donal time to infiltrate it.

  He and Coriae surprised and delighted the servants at the Warrell mansion by appearing unexpectedly, and by announcing their engagement.

  “Wo
uld you believe I had to be the one to ask him to marry me?” Coriae asked the staff in a conspiratorial whisper that made them all laugh. The couple freshened up, then returned to the palace, and were present to introduce Lord Melbourne, and explain his mission to negotiate a peaceful settlement between the two cities so that trade could resume. The court was full of appreciative murmurs as Holco immediately named Maier to be the lead negotiator on behalf of Stoke.

  “I know you believe you have to go to Southsand imminently,” Coriae spoke delicately as the couple walked back to her home after the event at the palace was finished, “but could you take me to Great Forks, so that we can tell my parents we are engaged?”

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Theus agreed. “And we can see Forgon and Amelia.”

  “I’m sure they’ve all heard that you rescued me from the palace, but I’d like to see them face to face to let them know how wonderful my life feels,” she squeezed Theus’s arm tightly with pleasure as she spoke.

  The next morning, they did indeed make the long journey from Stoke to Great Forks, a much longer trip than either Limber to Greenfalls or Greenfalls to Stoke had been. Even using the sunlight, Theus found the trip to be draining, as it lasted for much of the morning. But by the late morning they were able to walk through the gates of the city and return to the city where Coriae remembered they had first fallen in love.

  “This is the tournament ground where you beat Monsant,” she took him on a tour as they walked across the city. “And in that market over there we went shopping together, because I thought you seemed unsteady. We ran into a friend of yours, and I could see the amazement on his face from the fact that I was with you!” she giggled.

  Minutes later, just as rain began to fall gently, they reached the drive to the Warrell home. The guard smiled broadly and waved as she nodded them past her post.

  “Oh, my word! Thank the gods of the world!” Lady Warrell uncharacteristically came running out of the house and into the rain to meet Coriae and hug her lovingly when those inside the house spotted the arriving guests.