A Kind of Magic

Fifty-Nine

Gilderoy waved one last time at the friendly vampire family he knew stood, invisible, hiding from the bright sunshine in the gloomy Entry Hall of their white chateau, before he followed the rest of the company into the thickly grown forest.

His eyes fell briefly on Fiona and Alexandra who rode behind him-- the older woman insisted on riding with her daughter for the first time today, and from the stream of half whispered words he could see forming on her lips, it seemed Alexandra believed that a mother-daughter conversation was necessary. It wasn't difficult to guess its subject. Fiona and Peregrine hadn't been exactly inconspicuous, and Alexandra didn't seem thrilled about the Highlander becoming her only daughter's lover... 

He chuckled when Fiona's fierce words, pronounced in an angry whisper just loud enough for everyone to hear, reached his ears a while after he turned away.

"That's enough, Mum. This is my life. If you won't stop giving me advice I'm not asking for, I'll make you dismount, and you can either walk or ask your Leo to pick you up."

That silenced Alexandra effectively, at least for the moment. Fiona was a strong and decisive woman; she was going to fight for her feelings for Peregrine even against King Alaric, who was bound to dislike his daughter's union with a Highland Dragon, just like Alexandra. And she would win, eventually; he had no doubt about it. 

All conversations ceases as they rode deeper into the Black Forest, only the sound of a distant stream and their horses' hooves stepping through long, lush grass growing in the perpetual shadows pooling under the trees, hitting an occasional hidden rock, and the chirping of birds flitting in the labyrinth of branches above their heads filled the air around them.

Was this the river that flew beyond the last cottages of Aryana's village? Gilderoy wondered, following that sound, letting it take his mind to the memory of the girl he had only met once.

Would she accept his proposal of coming with their company to Alaric's court? They didn't know each other but he believed... that she had also felt the spark that had ignited between them that night, and this was the only way for them to get to know each other better, giving him some time to court her as the Dwarflandian tradition demanded... The werewolf pack would never accept a simple dwarf among them, not easily, and even if they did, he couldn't just leave his company now and stay behind. But if Aryana agreed to join them, either as his fiancée, should her father refuse to let leave unattached-- Gilderoy knew that werewolf traditions were different from his own, and even from those respected at Alaric's court-- or as Peregrine's protégée, as Wilbur seemed to highly respect the Highlander. She could become Freddie's nurse, or Fiona's lady-in-waiting once they reached the castle, if the princess agreed; it would  be a position her ambitious father Wilbur could be proud of.

But would she accept to come away with him from the only place she knew? She would, he was certain... almost certain... but what if she wouldn't? What if she would laugh at his proposal, dismissing his budding feelings for her, refusing a dwarf as less worthy than any of the werewolves she could choose from as the alpha's daughter...

Gilderoy welcomed the lunch break when they stopped to eat on the river's bank, and his gloomy thoughts were scattered by Freddie, who insisted on his taking a quick bath with him and Gollum in the cool water. Gilderoy loved the captivating boy, wise beyond his age, who assumed him into his life as a friend the moment they first spoke together. He wished he could be as carefree as the boy, who seemed, at least outwardly, unfased by all the unexpected things happening in his life, accepting of his crazy fate without a shadow of doubt, Gilderoy mused as they got back in the saddle and rode on, his doubts and insecurities returning immediately, enveloping his mind so thickly that he hadn't even noticed that the tenebrosity filling his head seemed to have overflowed into the world and it was getting dark when Peregrine, riding at the head of the group, turned around and announced, "Here we are. Come, bring your Buttercup next to Shadow, Gilderoy, let us enter the village side by side. And cheer up by the old gods! Let her see you smiling; that frown doesn't suit you."

A dainty shadow detached itself from the last row of trees separating them from the clearing where the pack village lay scattered, flowing towards them like an ethereal black bird, pausing a short distance ahead, blocking their path, making Peregrine, who had apparently witnessed this welcome before, smile.

"Here's your girl, Gilderoy, go on, don't let her wait," he encouraged in a whisper, as the two of them reached the waiting girl long moments before the rest of their group. 

Banishing all thoughts, Gilderoy didn't need to be told twice. He jumped off his Buttercup immediately, noticing with grateful appreciation how Peregrine lingered behind, in the saddle, giving him the occasion to be the first to gather Aryana in an embrace.

"We knew you were coming, I've been waiting for you for days," she announced, smiling at Peregrine, her cheeks ablaze after the kiss she had bestowed on Gilderoy's cheek, as the dragon shifter finally dismounted even as the rest of their company reached them. 

She spoke through the few blonde strands escaping her charcoal bonnet, not making any effort to free herself from Gilderoy's arms, not even when Gollum reached the couple, sniffing at the short girl's black skirts, making her giggle. 

Peregrine's heart clenched at seeing her attire. The girl had changed so much since she had been kidnapped... Before, she used to dress in the same traditional, alluring fashion as the other females of her pack. But not even the bonnet concealing her honey blonde hair and the dark gown hiding her curves, could obliterate her lively spirit and beauty, and he was glad that Gilderoy, unlike the males of her pack, spoiled by the display of unshrouded assets of the other females of the pack, noticed. 

"The news travels fast in this part of the kingdom," Peregrine said, winking at her as he accepted her proferred hand and brought it to his lips. They both knew that the pack's knowing about their arrival had more to do with the efficiency of Alpha Wilbur's spies and messengers.

She giggled, the blush blossoming on her cheeks as the rest of the company dismounted and gathered around them, yet she didn't pull from Gilderoy's arms, encasing her too close to his body, until he realised her embarrassment and released her, settling for holding her hand. 

He still hadn't spoken, Peregrine reminded him with a single raised eyebrow as Fiona stood at his side, and he wrapped an arm over her shoulders. 

"Fair Aryana," Gilderoy finally said, bowing to the girl on the threshold of womanhood whose hand he still held safely in his, bringing it to his lips and kissing it, "I've been waiting for this moment, to see you again..." he finished in a whisper only she could hear. 

"And I've been waiting too," she muttered, looking into his earnest, warm brown orbs for a long moment. She then let her eyes sweep over the group, curtsying to Fiona, before she spotted Leodhais. "And so was my sister and her friends," she added, a bemused smile rippling on her lips as she noticed Annwyn, whose hand was closed tightly in the elf's.

"Follow me, welcome in our village, travellers," she said, freeing her hand finally from Gilderoy's as she preceded them out of the last trees separating them from the village.

"May I talk to her alone for a minute?" Peregrine asked Fiona in a whisper the moment Aryana was far enough not to be able to hear him. "She's too shy to speak in front of you; she doesn't know you yet. And this is something I must know, for Annwyn's sake..."

"Go," Fiona said, relishing the instant he pressed his lips to hers after she took Shadow's reins from him, and led their two horses into the village in Peregrine and Aryana's wake, followed by the rest of the company.