Making plans

*Calliope*
I continue to feel the weight of his words as we join the others in the library.

His mother comes out of her chair in a rustle of silk. “Well?”

“She's consented to marry me," Zac says, his voice strong with the conviction that he expected no other response from me.

Yes is the only answer I could have given and ensure my place in Zane's life. Any other course would put me at risk of one day losing him. I love him too much to take that chance. And I care deeply for his father. The stirrings of love. No, he isn't exactly the man I had known in the hospital, but then neither am I the woman he had held through the night.

I know this is a forced marriage, even if my father is not standing behind Zac holding a gun against the small of his back. It is his honor as a ranked dragon, as a gentleman that prods him to ask me. But that doesn’t mean that things between us can’t be good. I can foresee a few complications, but I will find a way to deal with them. For Zane’s sake. And mine. And Zac's.

“Lovely!” The princess says now. She sweeps across the room and takes me into her arms. “Oh, my dear girl. I could not be more pleased to have you in the family.”

His mother steps away with a no-nonsense gleam in her eyes. “The ceremony will take place here in the estate chapel. The village vicar will do the honors. I think under the circumstances, a small, select number of guests. Family, close friends.”

“I have no family to speak of,” I tell her, “And a letter to my father announcing the marriage should suflice. He washed his hands of me." Heat burns my cheeks. “If not for Zac's generous offer, Zane and I would be living on the streets, I'm sure.”

“Nonsense. I would have handled matters if Zac hadn’t. But I'm terribly pleased that he did. It shows he’s a man of character.” His mother says.

“Mother, I’m quite famished. Could we possibly discuss the details after dinner?" Zac asks.

“We can discuss them on the way in to dinner and during dinner.” To my startlement, the princess wraps her arm around mine like a clinging vine. “Morton and his family shall attend, of course. I believe you’ll enjoy Djuna’s company. And their son is quite a delight. But I shall show no favoritism amongst my grandchildren. I made that mistake with my sons. We shall also invite Lynn and his family. The lord served as guardian to my boys after my husband, the prince, passed. One or two others perhaps, but I see no reason for a big elaborate affair unless it's what you wish."

“No, I prefer small." The smaller the better. Tiny even. Simply me and Zac. I glance back at him over my shoulder and am rewarded with an apologetic smile.

The princess has apparently decided she is on a mission and is not about to be deterred. During dinner she speaks of little besides the upcoming nuptials they will send for her seamstress post haste to attend to the gown that I will wear. Flowers can prove a problem this time of year, but if I have no objection to orchids, the princess knows someone who cultivates them. The wedding breakfast is discussed.

By the time dinner ends, the magnitude of what I agreed overwhelms me. I am dizzy with the thoughts of it all, how my life will change.

Later that night, I sit in my bed, my legs drawn up, my arms wrapped tightly around them. “We should elope,” Zac had whispered in my ear as he pulled out my chair following dinner.

The thought didn't half appeal, but there is something sordid about an elopement and the time for taking so drastic a measure to protect my reputation is long past. Certainly, if we are to marry, I don’t want to delay it too much longer. Zac might very well change his mind. Until we are joined by the law, I will not rest easy.

********

Events are moving at an amazing clip.

The nightmares increase in frequency and intensity. No matter how valiantly I fight to sleep lightly, to not slip into the realm where dreams reside, the horrific images come. After two nights of having his sleep disturbed, Zac begins to join me in bed. He does little more than hold me. But it is enough. With his arms around me, I can sleep without fear. The weariness that has been a constant companion since my days in the hospital begins to ebb. The heaviness that has shadowed my movements is no longer there. My step regains its lightness. I am beginning to put on some weight, so my clothing is fitting me as it has in the days before I left for the war.

But my worries over my wedding night do not abate. It doesn’t help matters at all that the princess has given me a white gossamer nightdress that scandalously reveals the shadows of my body.

“I hope you won't be offended," the princess had said as she had watched me unwrap her gift. “I’ve never been one to be demure when it comes to what passes between a man and a woman or elsewhere. Depending upon one’s adventurous spirit and daring, it can be a glorious thing."

I have little doubt, based upon what Zac has shared so far.

In three days, I will marry. It is difficult to believe how quickly everything has come to pass. As I rock Zane in my bedchamber, he is busy blowing bubbles between his lips. The depth with which I love him astounds me sometimes. It is almost painful. It terrifies me and brings me joy. It is satisfying. All that matters is that he is happy and well cared for. And that I have the privilege of being his mother.

The knock sounds on my door. I know it isn't Zac. I would recognize the rap of his knuckles. I bid them enter and discover it is one of the young maids.

She bobs a curtsy. “Sorry to disturb you, m'am, but Her Grace sent me to fetch you. The dragon lord and Lady of West cliff have arrived. They are in the front parlor, waiting to make your acquaintance.”

“Thank you. Tell them I’ll be there as soon as I've tidied up." Me and Zane. I want to make a good impression. I know I haven’t quite won Draco over yet, and I want to have more luck with Morton.

When I step into the hallway, I come up short at the sight of Zac. As always, my spirits lift at the sight of him, but my arms remain more securely around Zane, as though my heart and mind are in conflict. One part of me recognizes the immense feelings I harbor for this man, the other understands that he has the power to take my son from me if he ever learns the truth, that I have not given birth to his son.

“You're so pale, Callie. Surely you didn’t think I’d allow you to walk into the dragon’s den unescorted.” Zac grins.

Zac Dragan, dragon’s den. I wonder if he meant the play on the name. I release a nervous laugh. “Should I be fearful of meeting your older brother?"

He offers me his arm. “Not to worry. He only looks as though he bites.”

He does that. Dark hair and darker eyes. His expression is fearsome, his features appear to have been carved from hard rock. He is taller and broader than either of his brothers. A man I can see wielding a broadsword. I see none of Zac in him, none at all.

“Condolences on being forced to wed my brother," He says evenly.

“Morton!” The woman beside him has moon-shaded hair, a luster I have always envied. Her eyes are a softer blue than her husbands, and gentler. “Pay him no heed. He’s teasing you, of course. Zac is an excellent catch. I'm Djuna." She glides forward and hugs me. “Welcome to the family.”

She leans back and studies the baby. “And this must be Zane." With tears in her eyes, she looks up at Zac. “He does favor you."

“I don't see it.” Her husband mumbles.

“Because you're a man.” She gives her attention back to me. “They can be so troublesome sometimes. Would you care to meet Waver, our son?"

I like the Lady of West cliff immediately. She is welcoming and kind, and I see no censure in her eyes. “Yes, very much, Lady West cliff.”

“You absolutely must call me Djuna. We'll be sisters after all." She says warmly.

She leads the way to where the boy is sitting up on the princess’ lap. He is a miniature of his father. Zac has already told me that his courtesy title is that of dragon viscount. One day he will inherit his father’s title and all he possesses.

But what strikes me the most is not the boy but his parents and the obvious love they hold for each other, mirrored in their eyes whenever their gazes meet. It hurts to know I will never possess what they hold dear.

In spite of all of Zac's tender regard, he doesn’t love me. He has accepted me as his duty. For Zane, I will weather it.