Finally, in mid-winter Eraeon returned, having been gone for nine months. "Forgive me for being so tardy, Miri. I was held up by Goblins on the way home." He stood in the doorway beside a pair of boars, appearing amazed by the changes in his cave. "You have been busy in my absence! Have you done all this for me?"

Miri sprang from her seat by the fire and ran to embrace him. "Eraeon! Thank God!" she exclaimed, and then released him sheepishly, reacting to the surprise she felt from his touch and feeling as if she'd been too forward.

Before she could retreat however, he wrapped his arms around her to prevent her escape and kissed her once before letting go. She was so surprised by his sudden kiss that she barely registered the relief and pleasure he felt during their kiss, didn't have time to shield herself from his abilities.

His skin was clammy and he trembled from the cold though. Miri knew he needed to be warmed and quickly. She stepped back, as much to aid him as to shield her emotions from him in the hopes she hadn't given herself away already. "Forgive me, My Lord, I grew concerned when you didn't return," Miri blushed. "Please, come and warm yourself by the fire, while I take care of these." She indicated the boars he'd returned with and used them as an excuse to put some distance between them, to busy herself with something other than her emotions.

Wordlessly, he complied, settling himself onto one of the stone benches nearest the fireplace. Miri left his game near the outer entrance, with the door open a crack to keep the meat cold, then ran to fetch the warmed blanket. When she slipped it around his bare shoulders, Prince Eraeon looked up with a thankful expression and touched her hand, but he said nothing. His teeth were beginning to chatter, telling Miri he'd been colder than she'd thought.

Worried now, Miri retreated to the kitchen to bring him some hot food. As soon as his trembling had ceased enough for him to maneuver tableware, Miri handed him a bowl of cooked grain and berries, and sat a stone mug of hot tea on the bench beside him. The lynx eyed the newcomer from the hearth before the fire.

"Have you eaten today?" Eraeon asked after he'd had a few mouthfuls.

The lynx replied that it had indeed, and would wait for the evening's stew to eat again. Miri laughed at the forward cat and ran to fetch herself a small bowl in order to eat with the prince, even though she hadn't skipped a meal since she'd found him the first time. She said as much, and though he nodded his approval, Prince Eraeon didn't answer.

When the food was eaten and Miri had cleared away the dishes, Eraeon spoke up. "Tell me, something," he said quietly. Miri looked up from tending the fire. "When I came in, you said you had grown concerned. Was that concern for Eraeon- or for the prince?"

Miri knew what he was asking. Did she care for him beyond as her lord? Though she truly loved him, Miri knew that if she answered yes immediately, it would leave her vulnerable if he didn't share her regard. Miri weighed her answer while she finished stoking the fire.

"I will answer your question, My Lord," she finally replied, "if you will first answer one of my own." He nodded his assent. "You asked if I had done all of this for you and most of it, I have. Yet, there are things that I have done purely for myself. Name three before morning and I will answer your question."

He smiled her favorite smile. "Two are easy, Miri," he chided. "When I left, you were dressed in ragged travelers' clothing, yet now you are beautifully gowned." She blushed and thanked him. He continued. "And also when I left, your hair was the same as mine, everywhere. Now, however, you have it subdued in fine style behind combs you carved out of wood."

Miri noticed about that time that his hair was wet, the snow in it having melted to drip down his back and chest. She fetched a towel and removed one of her combs in order to dry and comb his hair. "You will not be properly warm if you are wet," she explained.

After a short while, Eraeon caught her wrist and pulled her to sit beside him, leaving his hair partly uncombed. "Why are you afraid, Miri?" he asked.

She looked away, embarrassed that he'd noticed it. "You fear me?" Miri could feel how sad this made him.

She couldn't deny what her emotions told him. "My Lord, I am but a servant and the daughter of servants, a Seeker born of a forbidden marriage," she reminded him. "How could I expect my master, my prince, to bear me any more regard than he would any of his other servants? Indeed, even as much, since my parents were forbidden to wed at all, yet disobeyed?"

His understanding flooded her as Eraeon cradled her cheek in one hand. Miri was overwhelmed by the emotions that flowed from his hand. His voice was filled with gentle affection. "Miri, all the while I was hunting and then when the Goblins had me cornered, I dreamed of you every night. I remembered your eyes and face, your voice, your clothes and pack, even your walking stick. At first I thought it was merely because you are the first of our kind that I have seen in so long but then I returned."

Eraeon paused to look around again, his eyes coming to rest on the floor at their feet. The toes of her rabbit-skin slippers peeped out from the hem of her gown. "Those are not the shoes you were wearing when I left, Miri," he teased, then brought his gaze squarely to her face.

Miri had no choice but to answer. "I was worried for Eraeon," she whispered, knowing that all of her emotions flowed into his hand anyway. His kiss- overflowing with love, desire and satisfaction- made her head spin and her breath difficult to catch.

"With all that you have accomplished in my absence, Miri," he said at last, "there remains but one thing before you place that gimmal ring on my brow."

"I will cure the hams and cut bacon . . ." Miri began, thinking of the pigs.

Eraeon interrupted with a chuckle. "That, we can do together, after our wedding. I want you to marry me."

"But there are others," Miri began, afraid to hope that such a thing might be possible. "Your father's chancellor has chosen a bride for you already."

"Miri, I have dreamed of you for three seasons straight. And after the reception you gave me this afternoon, do you really think I could see any other maid as my wife?" Eraeon's voice was gentle, teasing her a little. "No, I will have no other but you to kiss me when I return to my hall."

At last, Miri smiled. "I am your servant, Prince Eraeon. You have but ask, and I shall do whatever you need me to do," she reminded him.

"Then marry me. No more call me your prince or lord, but merely Eraeon; your beloved."

"Yes, My Lord. But before I do though, may I show you the remainder of your stronghold?" Miri was laughing then, her joy and his overflowing as the love between them.

Eraeon dropped his hand from her face and seized her hand, unwilling to break their shared emotions. "Please do. I am anxious to see what other wonders you have created." He followed Miri through the rear of the hall to his bedchamber, where the new clothing was laid out on his bed, to the kitchen where a dinner stew simmered merrily on the stove and water heated for his bath, to the pantries and cold rooms, to empty rooms waiting to become whatever they were needed for.

"I suppose we can change things if you don't like them this way," Miri remarked when they'd seen the last storage room. "I only really did most of these things out of necessity, beyond your room."

"Things will change as we need them to," Eraeon replied. "Life is always so. This is perfect today."

"Not quite," Miri objected. "We need a place to put the meat. The farther down I go, the warmer the rooms grow so the meat pantry needs to be above the frost line, but away from the rest of the house so the heat doesn't go up."

Eraeon only grinned. "Leave that to me," he promised.

"I will go and ready your bath," Miri decided, "so you can dress for our wedding. She grinned up at him and retreated after he stole a quick kiss, leaving him to his task.

Back in the kitchen, Miri grabbed two pails of warmed water and went to his room. At the far end, she ran her hand over the floor, bidding the stone to sink into a rounded depression for the water. She was almost done filling the impromptu tub when Eraeon returned. He glanced at her efforts and thanked her, then carried the last two pails of water.

Miri retreated to the hall to wait for him, smiling when she heard his pleased sigh and barely-audible prayer of thanksgiving a moment later.

The lynx asked to be excused, so Miri opened the door for him. He glanced at the two pigs, reminding Miri to take care of them before the meat spoiled. Miri laughed at the large cat's imperious attitude and promised to take care of the matter before too long. The lynx asked her to look for him just after dark and left about his business.

Eraeon finished his bath and dressed in the clothing on the bed, then joined Miri in the hall. She inspected him carefully until he raised an eyebrow. "Do I pass muster?"

"You will never fail," she told him, "but I wanted to be certain that I had done well on your clothing. May I comb your hair for you?"

He smiled. "I would enjoy that. Thank you." He sat on the bench nearest the fire so she could reach his head. Miri grinned when she discovered that his perch put the two of them almost at eye level. He smiled up at her. "I often dreamed of you at night," he whispered, "and I prayed for you during the day, but I find the answered reality to be beyond even what I could ask or imagine."

Miri bent over his upturned face and kissed him, loving the tenderness she felt from his touch. She realized in that moment that he'd prayed for her and not merely about her, that he'd loved her as much as she'd loved him even before he'd left. "I never dared to dream of this," Miri admitted. She rested her cheek against his brow for a long moment, merely enjoying the contact, allowing him to read her emotions before she fetched a comb from her hair and set to work.

"Perhaps you did dream after all," Eraeon remarked when she'd stood straight. "Instead of dreaming with your mind, you dreamed with your hands. In every detail, every ornament, every utensil, I see the love with which it was made. The very stone of our hall speaks of how lovingly you coaxed it into beauty. The rock frame of my bed intends to hold two rather than one and the mattress therein tells of your love for me."

Miri didn't bother to deny it. "The day you left to hunt," she said instead, "it felt as if part of me had gone too. The only way to fill the emptiness I felt without you was to do things for you as I prayed for your safety." She focused on drawing her comb through his hair, on watching the shining, silken strands draw through the teeth of the comb.

"Everywhere I look, I see your love," Eraeon murmured when she was satisfied with his hair. He motioned for her to sit beside him and took her hands in his own. "Miri, you are the first of our kind that I have seen since I left my father, but not the only."

He stared down into her eyes for a moment, allowing emotion to flow through their clasped hands. "The wild boars are far to the south now, beyond the snow. I saw many of our kind but only you recognized me for who I am. When you place the gimmal ring on my head and summon them, it will be to the hall that you built, to food that you gathered and prepared. Aside from the love I feel for you, no other maid deserves to stand by my side as my wife."

Miri stared up into his blue eyes. "Did you meet Nerissa then?"

"Yes, but she refused to recognize me. It was as if I were another face in a sea of humanity."

His words were bland, but holding his hand, Miri realized that Nerissa had refused to acknowledge his existence, not merely that she didn't see who it was who stood before her. Eraeon had tested his people and found only lack. "I'm sorry, Eraeon." Miri's eyes filled with tears.

Eraeon kissed her brow. "Why? All of that served only to show me that the perfect bride waited for me much farther north. Do you have the rings?" When she nodded, he smiled. "May I have one?"

He went to stand in the center of the hall, as if surrounded by his people already. Miri handed him one of the Gimmal rings. As soon as his fingers closed around the silver circlet, a shudder went through both of them as the ring called out to the others.

Eraeon sighed. "That happened a lot sooner than I would have wished," he commented, and took Miri's hand in his own. "My beloved, my bride," he murmured. "Stand beside me forever, complete me as only you can." He put the ring he held on Miri's head as a symbol of his vow.

"I don't know what to say," Miri whispered in a panic.

He grinned. "What do you want to say?"

"There aren't set words?"

"No."

"Oh, um . . . I will stand beside you as your bride, Eraeon. You are my protector, my teacher, my provider; my very heart. I will wait with bated breath whenever you leave and be here to greet you when you return. I have looked for you for all of my life and now that I have found you, I will never leave you. Know that whenever you leave, a part of me goes with you. I love you."

Eraeon bent his head so Miri could reach to put the other ring on his head. When he straightened again, Eraeon captured both of her hands in his. "There are twelve rings, Miri. As the remaining ten arrive, five will join the one on your head and five will join mine. We will rule together as husband and wife and the two crowns will only come together again for our heir. You have put our people before yourself to the point of death many times. No other maid deserves to be queen, and certainly I will be honored to be king beside you, for you never lost faith in our people as I once did. You will be Queen Miriana to our people."

"Will you please still call me just Miri though?" Miri thought her new name sounded a bit pretentious and worried that such a formal title might ruin the intimacy they shared. "After all, I'm not allowed to call you my lord anymore."

Eraeon grinned, feeling her worries. "Miri, my beloved, you are my wife. It is one of the elfin ways. There are more, but we will deal with them later."

Miri reached up and locked her fingertips around his neck, boldly pulling his head down for a kiss. "Much later," she whispered, and laughed when Eraeon bent down and swooped her up into his arms.

"I will call you just 'Miri' when we are alone," he promised between kisses, "if you call me only 'Eraeon' as you did when I arrived. No one, save you, has ever sounded so happy to see me."

Miri pulled back to look at him. She caught his gaze and touched his cheek, trusting her expression and emotion to say what her words could not. "Eraeon," she finally whispered when his emotion seemed overwhelming, and closed the gap between them again.

<<<>>>

Eventually, the two boars became sausages, hams and sides of bacon hung inside the chimney to smoke as well as raw meat stored in a room Eraeon built to keep the meat cold. It was just under the surface of the clearing, so the winter's chill kept the meat preserved.

The hides were tanned and what leather Miri didn't use in making their new shoes was stored for future use, bristles used to make brushes for hair, teeth and scrubbing. Soap was rendered from the lard. Whatever Eraeon and Miri didn't use, the lynx was happy to receive until both boars were used entirely.

Just before spring, the first of the Elves began to arrive. Prince Eraeon and his bride received the refugees warmly. They fed the hungry, providing shelter and clothing where needed.

Some stayed in the prince's stronghold, in rooms hastily made for them, until spring should afford them the opportunity to create suitable shelter. Others, the older and wiser, the more prepared of the refugees, preferred to make their own dwellings outside the Hall until the settlement of Elves reached high into the mountains around Eraeon's Hall. The trickle of refugees was slow at first, consisting mostly of those desperate enough to dare the late winter unprotected.

Miri slowly grew accustomed to her new role as Eraeon's wife, to being served as the lady of her people rather than a servant. Eraeon eventually stopped looking ready to flee into the mountains when the demands of his people grew tiresome.

The first of the lords arrived only a few weeks after the first of the refugees. Eraeon had taken some Elves up into the mountains, leaving Miri in the Hall, sewing with her new maids. It took her a moment to recognize her own name when the scout entered the Hall and addressed her.

"Queen Miriana, a party of Elves approaches. There are just under a dozen Elves and maids, and one of them dresses as Lord Norissad."

Miri quelled a frisson of misgiving and rose with a smile. "Then we must make the newcomers welcome. Thank you, Sotu, for your sharp lookout. Leta, would you please oversee preparations for lunch?" Sotu nodded and left, intent on returning to his post.

The Elf-maid Leta smiled and rose quickly, "of course, My Queen." She called a few other maids to assist her and left. The remainder followed their queen in case she should have need of them.

Miri went to stand just outside the entrance of the Hall, ready to greet the newcomers with a smile and warm assurance of welcome as soon as they reached the clearing. Unlike previous times, these new arrivals did not appear happy to be arriving at the court of one who was to be crowned king.

The Elf-lord bore a grave expression, as if entering some impending danger, while his daughter bore one of petulant discontent. All around them, the members of their household, many of whom Miri knew by sight but had never personally met, walked with wary gazes. She watched the advancing party with a smile on her face and when they were within a comfortable distance, she called a greeting.

"Lord Norissad, you and your household are welcome here!"

The elf lord looked at her, seeming surprised. "Yes, of course." His eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the Gimmal ring on Miri's brow. "I know that ring, but not the wearer. Who are you to greet me so, and who is your lord?"

The rude, insulting reply brought a murmur of dismay from Miri's maids. Miri only looked at him with a level gaze. "I am Queen Miriana, Eraeon's bride and she who found him. Just as I set a ring on his brow, he set this one on mine. As for greeting you so, is it not proper for a wife to welcome guests to her husband's hall when he is not at home? But come, you and your house have traveled far. Enter here and refresh yourselves. I have ordered a meal laid out."

The elf-lord grunted and allowed himself to be shown to the hall. When the meal had been laid out and consumed, Norissad sat back in his chair and looked around the hall. "A trifle bare perhaps, but Eraeon has done well for himself, I suppose. Come now; tell me how you came to be wearing the ring that I entrusted to my loyal maid, Nori. For three centuries, she served in the house of Aeon, and in my house after."

Miri nodded once. "It is true that Nori served you loyally, as she served her king, Aeon. And just as you entrusted your ring to her, so Olegon entrusted his ring to Milu, who also served Aeon. Their paths joined while they quested, for common purpose and common foe often yields deep bonds between those who journey lonely, toilsome paths."

"Outrage!" huffed Nerissa. "I do remember that each of the Seekers was constrained from such relationships."

Miri pressed her lips into a thin line to prevent a hot retort from escaping. "Yes, perhaps," she acknowledged. "But on such a dangerous quest, it is useful to have a companion, one who can watch for danger and help to ward off attacks. The Goblin-King learned of the Band of Seekers by his own arts and sought strenuously to stop them. Is it not so, that every ring save two has returned to the elf-lords time and again?"

"It is so," agreed the maid's father unwillingly. "Every Seeker of the original twelve save two was lost."

Miri sighed, feeling the loss of her family acutely. "Save one," she corrected softly. "Nori bore two elflings to Milu. They were named Nolu and Miri." When our parents died, Nolu and I took up their rings. Nolu died over two years ago, leaving me to carry both rings. Indeed, I had both when I happened upon the prince."

"And you set yourself up nicely as his bride," Norissad sneered. "Who are you to claim the hand of our future king?"

Miri took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It was Eraeon's choice," she reminded her guests. "He set this ring upon my brow before he allowed me to place one on his own."

"My daughter has already been chosen as Eraeon's bride," asserted Norissad. "They have been pledged to each other since her birth, for she bears the wisdom of ages and will bring balance to his wilder tendencies. You are the forbidden fruit of a misbegotten union and bearing the blood of servants. What right do you have, be it blood or otherwise, to claim such a place among our people? No, I suggest you remove yourself to the outer edges of Eraeon's holdings and allow his rightful bride to take her place. If Eraeon calls for you, then return. If not . . ."

"If not, what?" The angry challenge came from the doorway, where King Eraeon himself stood, having returned from his tasks and heard the edict of the elf-lord. The angry king held his blade at the ready, his expression thunderous. "How dare you, Norissad? You sit at the table fashioned by my wife's hands and will, eating of bread baked from grain gathered by those same hands, and cheese that she herself cured, yet you dare to tell my queen she does not belong in my hall?"

Eraeon crossed the floor to stand behind his wife, poised to impale the unwelcome lord. "Queen Miriana is my choice. She recognized me when Nerissa would not. My queen risked her life repeatedly to find me and it is only because of her that I have consented to become your king at all. I will have no other by my side."

Norissad rose to face the angry prince despite his lack of weapon. "You have not changed at all these two millennia past, have you, Eraeon? You still refuse to accept the counsel of the lords." His sneer was undisguised, and there was a disgust in his voice that made Miri cringe.

"If I had not changed, you would be dead by my blade for the insult to my wife." Eraeon put a hand on Miri's shoulder, reassuring her of his love and protection.

Miri reached up and laid her hand on his. There was no longer any anger in him, merely resignation, disappointment and sadness. Above it all, love for her flowed through their connection.

Eraeon's voice softened marginally as he addressed the guest. "Now, if you are done with your repast, I will show you a suitable place for you to settle your household. You may return when the last ring has arrived for the coronation or not at your discretion, for you hold none of the rings, yourself."

"Are you so sure the lords will crown you with the remainder?" Norissad challenged. "They may like what they see as little as I and choose another."

Miri spoke up, emboldened by her husband's show of support. "King Eraeon is Aeon's son and bears his blood. No one else may make such claim. It is true that King Eraeon does not follow the old way, but these are different times than Aeon's and require a different kind of leader.

"If the lords refuse our leadership, they may go elsewhere, for this is our land; but I assure you, as one who has traveled extensively, there are few places left in the world safe for our people. These mountains are held apart, to remain unsettled by the sons of men. We are unlikely to be disturbed here. I cannot say that about many other places in the world, at least not places large enough for all of our people."

Miri paused and caught Nerissa's eye, holding it. "Whether or not the lords choose to allow my husband the remainder of his father's crown, this is our home and the members of this household are under our protection, King Eraeon's and mine. You are welcome to join us as a maid of honor, or you may follow your father to wherever he leads."

Nerissa sat back in her chair and smiled. "Truly, Queen Miriana, it is a relief to be given such a choice."

"Nerissa!" Norissad thundered, aghast at his daughter's defection.

"No, Father! I have never wanted to be queen and I have no desire to marry Eraeon. I never have. That was your choosing, your ambition- not mine!

"Perhaps I do have the wisdom of the ages and the deep learning of our people, but what has that gotten us? Have I been able to make a safe refuge or to feed and clothe our people? Queen Miriana has. For all my great depths of wisdom, there is much I must learn from her instead of the other way around."

Nerissa looked apologetically at her future king. "I did see you that day. I could not bear to acknowledge you, lest my father insist we wed immediately. But I have not forgotten that we played together as children, just as I have not forgotten how you broke your father's heart, and Fyrean's."

At the mention of his twin sister's name, Eraeon recoiled as if slapped. Anger, shame and heartbreak rolled through him all at once.

Miri stood up, eyes flashing. "Enough of that! Princess Fyrean chose the end of her tale. If she had not believed in her brother, she would have saved herself by betraying him and become queen in her own right. Do not speak of things you know nothing of!"

"And how do you know such things, little Seeker?" sneered Norissad.

Miri turned her head to look at her husband and favored him with a sad smile. Her reply was for him, rather than the others. "Because I tried to rescue her when I learned of her captivity. I found her in the Goblin king's stronghold but she refused my aid in escape. Instead, she told me where to find you and sent me away after I was able to come for her. She thought she could buy me time by keeping the Goblin King busy."

Eraeon touched Miri's cheek, conveying his thanks wordlessly. Miri felt his awe and wonder that his sister would perform such an act of service for him. "She loved you," Miri reminded him. "And she knew you would not fail to become king, to become a strong protector of our people."

"I would not have been if not for you, Miri," he whispered. "Surely, she knew that, too, when she sent you. She tried to tell me in her dreams, but I thought it, along with the news of our father, to be merely a product of her torment."

"We must name our first daughter after her," Miri suggested.

So wrapped up in each other were Eraeon and his bride that they took no notice of their guests' leave-taking.