Chapter 15

TEARS AND REJOICING

Both Linden and his Mother immediately sought the solace of Vandar's arms. All of the women were crying at seeing him after the unbearable agony and uncertainty of the days he had been missing. Vandar was excited beyond belief himself!

The loving touches of the two women he treasured most in the world put him almost in a state of rapture. Both of them desperately returned his frantic kisses and clung to him until his lips were gloriously numb.

"Thank the Stars we've found you, Son." The King laughed heartily in relief. "If my armor weren't plated with gold, it would be rusted solid from consoling so many crying women!"

"And the shoulders and bodices of most of my best gowns are ruined from holding your worried Sire and poor Linden." The Queen laughed as she wiped away her own tears. Vandar knew the armor and gowns were the last things they had been worried about.

"You were wounded very badly, my Love?" Linden asked him as she tenderly touched his upper chest at the exact site of his wound. She accepted a moistened hand towel from Lady Kirsta to wipe the tears from her face.

Vandar was beginning to worry about his Linden. She was rapidly turning extremely pale. She began trembling and her teeth were chattering in a severe emotional reaction to the shock of holding Vandar once again.

The joy of seeing and touching her beloved had made Linden positively delirious. They had both hurt so very much. When she had gently touched his shoulder she knew it was the arrow that had impaled him there had caused her own physical pain.

Of a sudden, she grew incredibly weary of the hurting. She had lived through the physical and mental agony, only so she could find him, now she could turn loose of the pain. She felt herself drifting away from her hold on reality...

The King saw his Daughter's distress. "Let's get these women inside and seated before they fall down. Sir Gannon, we're all very weary from the forced march. Order the troops to stand down. Tell them that I am much pleased and deeply honored by their splendid performance during our long forced march, then please join us inside."

Sir Gannon strode away purposefully. The King spoke as his newly reunited Family entered their Castle. "Vandar, I'd wager that you haven't heard I had to send orders to your Sir Gannon not to fall on his sword when you came up missing?"

"No, he somehow neglected to inform me of that foolishness, my Lord!" Vandar was so overcome with emotion at seeing his beloved Family again that he wasn't shocked by this news at all. He had his arms possessively around the shoulders of both Linden and his Mother.

Linden's steps faltered and the Prince turned and caught her up. He lifted her in his arms even as she lost consciousness. Despite his recent weakening injury her slight weight seemed to be shockingly ethereal and insubstantial to him. His Mother confided in him. "Poor Linden is so very weak. I haven't been able to get her to eat a thing or rest in days and she has been so very ill since the exact moment you vanished!"

The nearest seat was in the main hall, he carried her in and Wildar helped him with a chair. He sat down and cradled Linden in his arms. One of the women provided him with another moistened towel. He gently wiped her face and neck with the cooling towel, when she didn't respond he held his fingers to her throat in sudden panic.

Linden's pulse was very weak, he could detect no breathing and her precious lips were turning blue. She lay still as death in his arms. "Oh, Stars!" Vandar shouted, as he held her tightly and rocked back and forth in abject misery. "My Linden cannot die!"

He looked desperately around for Xandar and saw that the old Wizard had not yet arrived in the hall. Vandar hoarsely ordered one of the attendants, "Call Xandar in here immediately; Linden is gravely ill!"

A tortured feeling of loss and despair tried to block Vandar's thinking; his next wild thought was that if he lost her he would will himself dead so he could join her. Despite the agony he was feeling inside, he forced himself to calm down.

He knew his actions at this moment would determine the future of not only their own lives, but also the rise and fall of Kingdoms and of whole races of people.

His Mother was crying in despair once again, but he couldn't allow that to distract him from his task. He closed his eyes, he laid his hand on Linden's left breast over her heart and with all of the desperate strength of his heart and soul, he willed his treasured Linden to live, to breathe!

He felt life giving Energy flow into his body and through his hand into her. He visualized and then felt the gentle rise and fall of Linden's breasts, the heartbeat first starting feebly, then growing stronger, her warmth and health returning swiftly!

Linden seemed to feel Vandar drawing her back from the brink of a precipice. She wondered vaguely for a moment why he hadn't let her go on, everything had seemed so very peaceful there. Then she felt some of the urgency and need in him as the vitality returned to her body!

He pictured the pulse at her throat and wrist growing stronger and the color returning to her lovely face. He thought of how vibrant and alive she had been on the night of their Betrothal and he willed her to be so again; he so desperately loved and needed her! He felt her stir in his arms and then she stretched her arms and yawned; the Prince removed his hand from her breast and embraced her!

When she awoke and found herself in his lap, she rejoiced again after the short separation caused by her having lost consciousness. Linden returned Vandar's embraces and kisses and said sweetly, "I'm sorry, my love, I must have dozed off. I've been so very ill and weak from worrying about you, but I feel much stronger now!"

Vandar looked up through his tears to see his Family watching Linden in amazement; they knew Linden had been near Death! Xandar was standing over him. "Good job, Wizard. You have saved Linden's life."

Vandar looked at his betrothed's beautiful face in elation. She looked as if she had just awakened from a refreshing nap. Her complexion was creamy and her dark eyes were bright and wide. She was puzzled by the distressed looks on everyone's faces but she returned the Prince's thankful kisses with renewed enthusiasm.

The explanations took a hand span of time. Linden insisted she felt fine, but Vandar knew he had come so close to losing her that he could not bear to allow her out of his protecting arms! She didn't fully understand, until Xandar pointed it out, that she had literally been at the very brink of Death!

Vandar requested that one of the stewards bring them a bowl of warm broth and bread, then he worriedly pleaded with Linden until she allowed him to personally feed her every nourishing drop and crumb with his own hands! Wildar, Camden, Gannon, and Klaron hovered over them protectively as if they were newborn eaglets in a nest.

After Xandar had assured him several times his precious Linden was once again healthy and out of danger, Vandar began to relate his harrowing adventures to them.

Linden reveled in the possessiveness Vandar showed toward her after her close call with Death. As he told them about his amazing experiences of the last few sun cycles, she sat in his lap, encircled by his jealous arms, and thought of the many lonely years she had wished he would show her something other than brotherly affection.

The Family was all amazed at the revelation of Vandar's new Powers. Of course, they had always known the possibility existed in their bloodlines, but they had never imagined that their own down to earth Son would ever become a Chosen One. They thanked the Stars that he had, since his Powers had already saved both his own and Linden's lives!

Queen Camden laid a dainty calming hand on King Wildar's big clenched fists as their Son told of the ambush. The enraged King grumbled ominously, "We saw what it did to dear Linden, she endured every moment of your pain! If only I could have been there beside you, my Son!"

Linden sweetly told Vandar. "My Darling, I know of your pain. I felt it in my own shoulder. I know you were bravely concerned only for our feelings. You are so precious to all of us!" More tears were shed at this point, of course.

When Vandar began telling them of his rescue from the bottom of the sea, he thought of Lorelei for the first time since the arrival of his family. He saw her across the table; she was looking at him and Linden with a plaintive longing in her eyes.

Vandar managed to skim over most of the encounter with the Siren, although he noticed his Father and Mother exchanging knowing glances. He told them how he had healed himself and allied the Siren with him after stilling her Song. She had been paroled to him and under his constant supervision since.

Linden was quick to see the hungry look Lorelei gave the two of them as they embraced. She also saw the knowing look exchanged between the King and Queen as Vandar quickly skimmed over the details of his rescue and escape from the Siren.

Another detail that caught Linden's attention was that the Siren had been paroled under the constant supervision of Vandar. Linden resolved right then that she would get the raven-haired, emerald-eyed Siren back on the available list as soon as possible!

When Vandar told them about the monstrous Sea Serpent, Linden purposely cuddled closer as if frightened and breathed hotly on his neck and ears. She relished his quiver of excitement and thought that no matter what had happened in the last few days, she would never again let Lorelei get that close to Vandar!

Vandar enjoyed telling them about the Sea Monster because it made her cling tightly to him and nestle her lovely face against his neck. The thrill her warm lips and breath on his neck gave him rivaled what he had felt from the Magical and much more intimate things Lorelei had done! Vandar knew he was naive about such matters but suspected it must be their strong love that made the difference.

Linden's fear caused by the story about the Sea Monster reminded him to tell Xandar they needed to talk about his "pet" before Linden ventured outside again. When Linden curiously asked what sort of pet they were talking about, they both assured her she shouldn't concern herself, so soon after being ill, they would take care of it themselves.

Vandar's Parents and Linden expressed to him how immensely proud they were of him when he related how Xandar had corrected his name and inducted him into the Order of Heroes for his actions in saving Sir Gannon and in capturing the Siren.

Sir Gannon looked proudly on them all when the King told Vandar, "I salute your bravery, my Son! You performed admirably; that rascal Gannon is worth risking your hide for. I lost count years ago of the many times he's saved my own!" Vandar noticed that Lorelei turned to eye Sir Gannon speculatively.

The Prince then told them of how Xandar had revealed to him that Lorelei was his own Daughter and about his using her Singing to overcome the surrounding army without loss of life. He also told them of his promise to her to petition the King for a pardon for her and to attempt to alter or do away with her Curse. Lorelei looked at them with a desperate hope in her eyes that was heart breaking to see.