Alistair smiled wide as she thought it all over. They were indeed an unusual people, yet she didn’t mind their customs; she thought they were quirky, and she liked them. And the idea of getting married to Erec immediately filled her heart with love. She was also so grateful to them for all the preparation they had taken.
Alistair shook her head.
“On the contrary,” she replied. “I will be delighted to marry your son. Even if it took place at this very moment.”
His mother smiled back, and she turned and began to lead Alistair over to the hot springs.
“Dauphine,” his mother called out sharply, a harshness to her tone that Alistair had not expected. “Turn to us. Rise and greet your sister-in-law.”
Dauphine scoffed, keeping her back to them, still ignoring them.
“Dauphine, did you hear me?” his mother pressed.
Gradually, Dauphine rose from the waters. She was entirely naked, and she stood and turned, facing them, expressionless. Alistair blushed and looked away. Dauphine stood there and stared her down coldly.
“Consider yourself greeted,” she said, and then she turned and sat back down in the water.
Alistair wondered, once again, what Dauphine’s problems were; she seemed like a troubled person. Either that, or she just truly hated Alistair.
Attendants rushed forward and helped the Queen and Alistair undress, giving them robes as they led them to the springs.
As Alistair stepped down the stone steps into the hot water, it felt so good, the warm water bubbling all over her, filled with a lotion she did not recognize, soaking into her muscles, making her feel completely relaxed. Alistair looked out over the endless landscape, perched as they were at the edge of a cliff, the soft breezes caressing her, and she felt as if she were floating in heaven.
“Dauphine,” her mother said, “be gracious to our new guest. In but hours, she will be your Queen.”
“She will not be my Queen,” Dauphine said, forceful.
“She will,” his mother insisted. “She is Erec’s bride. If you have any love for him, you will be gracious to her.”
Dauphine closed her eyes and shook her head.
Alistair sat there, feeling uncomfortable, feeling as if she were the cause of all this upset, her relaxation disappearing.
“You disgrace your family to treat her so rudely,” his mother pressed. “And you should not be sitting in the center chair. That is reserved for the bride.”
Dauphine opened her eyes, stormy, and glared at her mother.
“She has a tongue. She can speak for herself.”
Alistair blushed, not wanting to be caught between the two of them, not a confrontational person. Alistair realized how much Dauphine hated her and she did not understand why.
“You may sit wherever you choose,” Alistair said. “I wish no special seat for myself.”
“There, Mother. We have spoken,” Dauphine snapped. “Is that enough for you?”
His mother shook her head, fuming.
“Your father would be ashamed of you.”
Dauphine sighed, stood abruptly, and stormed out of the hot springs, the water splashing. She hurried up the steps, naked, brushing off the robe the attendants wanted to give her, and stormed away from the plateau.
“Dauphine, get back here!” her mother called.
But she quickly disappeared from view.
His mother blushed as she looked at Alistair.
“Please forgive her rudeness. It is not indicative of our people. I’m afraid I did not raise her as harshly as I should have.”
Alistair shook her head.
“Please, don’t apologize.”
“It is just that she is very attached to Erec. She always has been. And she hasn’t seen him in so many years.”
“Please, don’t apologize for her. You have been a most gracious host, and I am honored to have you as a mother-in-law.”
His mother smiled, sadly, and then the two sat back and closed their eyes.
Suddenly, just as Alistair was beginning to relax in the silence, all throughout the land there came the sound of bells tolling. This was followed by a huge cheer below.
The noise rose, louder and louder, and Alistair opened her eyes in alarm.
“What is happening?” she asked, wondering how many more strange customs these people had. It sounded like a great celebration.
Erec’s mother opened her eyes and smiled wide. She laughed and held up her hands to the sky.
“Those are death bells,” she explained. “My husband, he is dead!”
She laughed and laughed, clearly filled with delight.
Alistair looked at her, uncomprehending.
“Then why is everyone celebrating?” she asked. “Why are you smiling?”
His mother sighed and looked at her.
“In the Southern Isles, death is not something to be mourned. It is to be celebrated. We are forbidden to mourn death here. Instead, we celebrate the life. In fact, for us, it is the greatest cause of all to celebrate.”
The bells tolled and tolled, and as the cheers rose to a fever pitch, Alistair realized how foreign this place was, and how much indeed she had left to learn about this nation.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Thor stood before the skywalk, holding his breath as a cold gust of wind smacked him in the face. In the distance, at the other end of the walk, he saw great cliffs rising up into the sky, and perched on the edge, an ancient castle, its doors gleaming gold.
His mother’s castle.
The wind howled as he stood there, regarding the sight, this view from his dreams, with a mix of anticipation and worry. The skywalk was narrow, slick with the ocean spray and a hanging mist, and beneath it, the fall to the raging ocean and cliffs below was several hundred feet. It was a death fall.
Thor looked out at the vista with a sense of wonder. There was magic in the air here, he could feel it. This entire world felt surreal; it was the landscape of his dreams, come to life, dreams that had haunted him all his life. And now it was real.
Or was it real? Was this all just another creation of his mind?
Thor could no longer be sure. But this felt more real to him anything he had seen. Certainly more real than one of his dreams. And now that he was here, inside his dream, he wasn’t sure how it would end.
Thor knew that his mother was there, on the other side of that skywalk, in that castle; he could sense it. He felt himself trembling, excited beyond belief to finally lay eyes on her—and nervous. What would she look like? Would she be kind and loving to him, as she had been in his dreams? Would she be happy to see him?