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[Roger de Clare]

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Bleys the Calm, Astranthian, Xana, and Roger de Clare met at Poet's Garden late in the evening for a friendly chat and drinks. Xana, contrary to her usual modest attire, wore a short tunic that revealed her fine legs. Roger, already besotted with her, hardly knew what to think.

They began speaking about the invasion of Magincia. Both Bleys and Roger had spent many hours fighting there the past few days and agreed the defenders contained it. Both agreed the Free Lancers' mission to report any invasion there to the Royal Council of Light succeeded and that they made the first official report.

Bleys began a discussion of Emperor Tai Kwan Leap's death and his will. Astran questioned how his death could be confirmed if they found no body. Bleys explained forensic evidence showed...

Roger's mind again wandered and he missed part of the conversation. Xana jumped and he snapped to attention.

She asked Roger if he had told the men about their recent decision. He said no and by her expression knew he should have!

He stood and announced, "Gentlemen, I'm honored and very pleased to announce I asked my lady Xana to marry me and she honored me by saying yes."

Well, congratulations all around. Toasts made. Thank you, thank you, yes, we're very happy.

Bleys asked, "When will you be married? There is the matter of preparing the dowry."

Xana's parents are gypsies and she'd get no dowry from them. She said so, too.

Roger said Xana was all the treasure he could ever desire.

Bleys tut tutted and said, you misunderstand me. Poet will give a dowry to Roger on behalf of his adopted daughter Xana. Now Bleys works for Silent Poet who "adopted" Xana when she was delirious with poison and carried to the Garden for medical attention because Poet is a notable physician.

A dowry is still unnecessary, but if you insist, says Roger.

Xana squirmed a bit and Roger sat up straight, concern on his face. She pouted and he relaxed with a little smile, leaning closer to whisper in her ear. They whispered a lot this night.

Astran repeated the question, "When is the wedding?"

We haven't decided, they said. Shall it be a small one? A large one? Whom shall we invite? Who will perform the ceremony? A magistrate? Neither of them belonged to a kingdom or any nation or city. They began naming people who might come. Where shall it be? Here at Poet's Garden? The Island Temple? Their home?

Roger continued to seem distracted, however, and Xana's face seemed a little flushed.

Astran suggested they simply go to the nearest magistrate and do it. Roger asked "Don't we need at least two witnesses?" And Xana asked according to whose law? True, he shrugged, what about your gypsy traditions?

She didn't think that would work because she and her parents still had issues. Astran explained why it was unnecessary to have any ceremony at all.

Roger abruptly announced they should go home and she readily agreed. This caught Astran by surprise because they were in the middle of a discussion. He again said they should just get married that very night. They bade him good night, stepped into the gate Xana conjured and left him still wondering what just happened.

[Xana]

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Xana was lonely, as was often the case since strange things began happening in Magincia. As it was, she ran into a man who was now a neighbor of the house in which she'd once rented a room. A conversation ensued with the man, whose name was Astranthian, and he agreed to accompany her to The Garden. The two had met on several occasions and Xana felt comfortable that he was a proper escort in these dangerous times.

It was with some surprise that Xana and Astranthian found Bleys and Roger at The Garden, though she was as always thrilled to see her beloved.

Introductions were made, and Xana took the bench nearest Roger's. The foursome sat at the table, the men sharing stories of their recent battles, and the mystery of the seeming-elusive Tai Kwan.

Roger seemed to be entranced with her legs, which were bare this night, and indeed such was not her custom. More than once she was distracted from the conversations by Roger's ever increasing attentions, which were well concealed by the table at which they sat.

Many times through the course of the visit, Xana found herself and Roger speaking quietly and privately. At some point she'd asked him if he'd told anybody of their recent plans, not wanting to bring it up if the news was not considered ready to be shared.

Apparently Roger misinterpreted her reason for asking, and promptly jumped to his feet and made the proclamation before their friends that nuptials were pending. Xana could feel her face burning with both embarrassment and anger as Bleys launched into a dissertation about dowries and customs that which were not her own.

After her 'adopted' brother-of-sorts took his leave, the four became three, and Roger and Astranthian debated the high and low points of private union by magistrate and large, public celebrations. Xana occasionally chirped in a response or opinion, but spent most of her time simply adoring the paladin she so loved.

As the men talked, Xana's mind wandered back to the festival celebrating Finneas two years past, when it first struck her that she had feelings for the humble yet somehow regal soldier. How vividly she could recall the moment of turning a corner and nearly walking into the man she'd occasionally sat with and engaged in conversation with over at Hanse' hostelry, and how vividly she could remember the way her heart seemed to take flight as he greeted her with warmth and a smile. Likewise, it was all too easy to recall the many months of keeping her feelings private and secret, terrified to give them away that he might see.

How ironic, she found herself thinking, that it was an unknown assailant's strange and poisonous concoction that brought them together. Having been taken to The Garden for treatment, she lay for days in a stupor, crying, babbling, and often conversing with unseen people. It was the Poet who'd heard her going on about Roger, and assumed that the love of which she spoke in her delirium was a mutual thing; it was the Poet who had, during one of Roger's visits to pay his regards to the ill bard, asked Roger of his intent. It was in that way that Roger discovered Xana's true feelings...

Xana snapped out of her reverie, having been tapped several times high upon her leg by the man she loved. He was smiling at her and asking her if she wished to go home, and it was most apparent that this was his wish. Their table mate, Astranthian, seemed puzzled by Roger's sudden need to depart.

The gypsy, however, was not taken off guard by Roger's request. With a smile, she begged Astranthian's pardon, and chanted the spell that would open the gate to Roger's house. The two stepped through it and found themselves on the shore of the bay, surrounded by the darkest of nights.

They were home. And they were happy to have one another.
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An artist is a creature driven by demons ~Faulkner