#4146   [Rewritten by Penthesilea]
     
She gives herself over to his kiss. She had missed him so much!

#4148   [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     I was a fool! I believed everything that Jasmine told me about the Keyholder. That she was evil, delusional and plotting to kill everyone she believed was “of the dark.” Jasmine is the one who is evil... *Despite the hot water and the presence of her lover, Miranda shivers at the memory of Jasmine’s evil. She swallows hard.*  I accept responsibility for my choices. I just hope that the Lady will forgive my weakness and stupidity. 

#4150   [Rewritten by Penthesilea]
     
     *Tears spring into her eyes as she sits up abruptly in the tub.*
You can’t possibly mean that! I’m unworthy. I’m just a seamstress from the middle class and you are a nobly born knight! There are so many others more beautiful than I who would make a better wife for you than I! You honor me but.....

#4152  [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

Are you sure you want me, even after I abandoned you on the word of that little trollop?

#4154  [Rewritten by Penthesilea]
     
Then, yes. I will marry you, Alexander, and spend the rest of my life making you happy.  *At her agreement, Alexander gathers her into his arms and exits the tub, pausing only long enough to dry off most of the water before he carries his love to her bed. He places her in the middle and joins her there, intent on showing her how very much he has missed her. Suddenly more content than she had been since she left the Castle, the seamstress Miranda offers silent thanks to Aphrodite and then lets her love have his way......

#4156   Penthesilea

     *The negotiations break up with some progress being made -- His Lordship will only have to bathe once a day and Penthesilea will not be required to produce an heir within 18 months of the marriage. Having been pregnant twice, Penthesilea knows something about the process and has no desire to undergo it again until life is more stable! And, of course, the thought of bearing Kennicott's child turns her stomach! Kodiak's child however.... With that happy thought in mind, she goes to find out why Aphrodite is laughing.*

#4158  Penthesilea

     *A carefully selected cask of mead is delivered to Sir Alexander's quarters with a note that reads: "For the Honeymoon". When Sir Alexander finally gets back to his rooms, he will wonder how the Keyholder knew.*

#4162  Penthesilea
     
The Ballroom -- Second Floor
     
     Penthesilea was on her way back to her Tower to dress for dinner. She was taking a less traveled way along the second floor landing that encircled the ballroom midway to the ceiling. It was a favorite spot for trysts but it was currently deserted since the night's festivities were still an hour or two in the future. Now that Miranda was back, apparently to stay, Penthesilea needed to see her about a handfasting dress. She still had not decided if she would follow the custom of Amazon Queens who wore full dress armor when formalizing mating agreements but she knew even if she did, she would need a ball gown at some point in the proceedings! Armor was suitable for many things but not for dancing. With these things foremost in her mind, she was momentarily caught off guard when strong masculine arms reached out of the alcove she was passing and pulled her in. The man spun her around to face him, which suited Penthesilea just fine as she unloaded a chi punch at his midsection. Then she saw his eyes.....
     She was pulling the punch even as Kodiak blocked it and pulled her into his arms and dropped his mouth to hers before she could gasp. She melted.... and thumped him hard on the chest with the fist that had been headed for his solar plexus.

Penthesilea: (inspeaking) Are you trying to scare me to death?

Kodiak: (inspeaking) No, my dear. I was practicing.

Penthesilea: (inspeaking) Practicing what? *They were still kissing and it was getting hard to think.*

Kodiak: (inspeaking) Stealth and concealment. And thievery.
     *Kodiak relinquished her lips and began to kiss a line from her ear to her neck. When his lips touched her neck the desire that exploded through her was so intense she would have fallen to her knees if he had not been holding her so tightly. She flashed back to her birthday when a vampire using the illusion of the Darklord had lured her from the Castle and into his embrace. And now, she really was in Kodiak's arms.... * Are you all right? *He had noticed her near faint.*

Penthesilea: Yes, Beloved. You just overwhelmed me for a minute. *She flashed him an impudent grin which he returned and kissed her again, his fingers busy with her shirt buttons as she tugged his shirt free of his pants....*

#4164  Penthesilea
     
The Ballroom -- Second Floor

     It was growing dark when the lovers parted company with extreme reluctance -- Penthesilea to change for dinner and Kodiak to continue his stealth exercise. She was still glowing from the encounter when she stepped into the shadowed alcove that led to the stairs which would take her to the fourth floor entrance to her tower. Someone grabbed her from behind -- she knew that it was not her beloved -- and she felt the shock as the vampire's fangs dug into her carotid artery. She had seconds to act. It was enough!*

Penthesilea: I am a Witch born in the Web! My blood sends the undying back to the dead!

     The vampire drinking her pulled free and screamed as Penthesilea's now poisoned blood boiled through him like holy water. Then he died, falling to dust. Penthesilea slapped her hand over her bleeding neck as the vampire's two companions rushed out of the shadows toward her. She prepared to fight. She need not have bothered.
     Suddenly, as if he had Farwalked, Kodiak was there. He fell on the monsters that had dared touch his beloved with a fury that was unmatched by anything that Penthesilea had ever seen. In seconds, he had dismembered and then decapitated them both with the short ninja sword he was carrying and had his arm around her, to steady her as she canceled the first spell and cast another to speed her healing. Then, he escorted her to her bedroom and stood guard over her as she washed away the blood and dressed for dinner.

In her desert palace, Athanasia waited for a signal that did not come.*

Athanasia: "sigh" It was worth a shot.

#4167  Penthesilea
     
Torao-Akio's Quarters

*The Wizard and the Master sat together amid the fumes. Both were troubled.*

Torao-Akio: It was close. If the young Darklord had not been there, they would have taken her.

Master: Agreed. But his Gift must be trained. And he must regain the focus that he has lost. Fortunately, he now has motivation. *Torao-Akio nods.*

Torao-Akioi: His Lady will inspire him to greatness -- if she survives.

Master: You must see that she does. If she were to die, we would lose them both. He would burn the world in revenge. (pause) I've narrowed the list of teachers to three. Two of them reside at a temple in the western Cold Heights Mountains, near the sea.

Torao-Akio: When will you be leaving with him?

Master: Sooner than they would wish. *Torao-Akio nods.*

Torao-Akio: Then we must arrange for them to be together as much as we can. Their bond must be strong enough to sustain them through what is to come.

#4169  Penthesilea
     
The Keyholder's Bedroom

     When Penthesilea woke at her customary time, Kodiak was gone. She understood the necessity but she didn't have to like it. Another rose lay on his pillow and she held it to her nose, carefully avoiding the thorns.* Where is he getting these? The roses in the gardens are dormant now. *The Hearth Queen, who lay curled up halfway down the bed on Kodiak's side didn't answer. Penthesilea put the rose aside and picked up the pillow where Kodiak had rested his head. She pressed it to her face and inhaled. Yes... His scent still clung faintly to the fabric. For one last moment, his physical presence was still with her. She closed her eyes and remembered and then, reluctantly, she put the pillow down and began her day.*

#4171   Penthesilea
     
     Penthesilea was in the Dining Hall when she heard the commotion and went to investigate. The problem was in the Courtyard. Sometime during the night, someone had desecrated the Bast Shrine that stood in the northeast corner of the Courtyard. By the time Penthesilea arrived, the shrine's attendants were hard at work cleaning up the mess. Penthesilea didn't know if the statue could be cleaned sufficiently for reconsecration but if it could not, she would commission another. She told the chief attendant as much and then turned her attention to four of the many cats who were prowling around the shrine. They were growling softly, sniffing deeply and their tails were lashing back and forth like whips. The War Queen came to her and she carefully picked up the angry cat.

Penthesilea: (inspeaking) Do you know who did this?

War Queen: (inspeaking) We have their scents. They left plenty of it around! There were six of them. Enough prey for all! *The War Queen growled deep in her throat.

Penthesilea: (inspeaking) Then I will leave it to you, Beloved. "Yours is the claw that strikes and my paw is beside yours!"
*The War Queen purred and rubbed her head against Penthesilea's cheek. Then Penth put her down and the four cats seemed to drift away in different directions. Penthesilea knew that before the sun rose again, the six violators of Bast's shrine would be very messily dead.*

#4173   Penthesilea
     
The Keyholder's Study

     *Penthesilea was finding it very hard to concentrate on her paperwork! Kodiak kept popping into her head with some choice remark about something or other and cracking her up! She had finally moved from her public office to her private study so that she could avoid curious looks when she burst out laughing for, apparently, no reason at all! He'd been complaining for the last hour as his Master took him on a cross country run. The older man was having no trouble setting and keeping the pace and Kodiak was once again being reminded of the downside of an undisciplined lifestyle. His grumbling was good natured enough and she sent him the mental equivalent of a hug through the inspeaking. What he sent back to her would have made her blush if she had been inclined to that sort of thing. She returned his volley with interest and the contest was on! They teased and flirted and made each other laugh and in that manner, they passed what would have been an otherwise very lonely morning. If Kodiak's Master knew what was going on, and Penthesilea assumed that he did, he did not stop their play and when Penthesilea went to the Dining Hall for lunch in Torao-Akio's company she was smiling.*