Renaissance Magic

III - Wednesday, September 29, 1999

Gwynabeth woke with a start and gasped. For a moment she was disoriented and when she realized where she was and that Merlin had performed a spell on her she calmed down. It was funny, though. She couldn't actually remember him performing the spell, but she was positive that he did. When she took in her surroundings, she noticed Gerard asleep in a chair next to the couch she had slept on.

As she sat up she moaned. Her head was pounding. She reached over to the coffee table and grabbed a bottle of pain relievers which had a note attached to it. '

'Gwynabeth,

Take two of these and come and find me once you have refreshed yourself.

Merlin'

When Gwyn got up to go get some water Gerard stirred.

"Gerard, have you been watching over me all night?" Gwyn asked.

"Yes, my Lady," Gerard answered solemnly. "I had not realized what a sacrifice you made by asking Merlin to perform his spell on you. I submitted my vote in anger and I am ashamed of myself because of it." Gerard walked to stand facing Gwyn. He knelt on one knee and bowed his head. "Please forgive an old fool, Princess Gwynabeth?"

Gwyn laid her hand upon his head. "Lord Diller, you are forgiven, but honestly, the fault is mine. Merlin and I should have informed the Company of our plans, even if informally."

"Thank you, my lady," Gerard said as he stood up.

"Gerard, Princess Gwynabeth D'Avalon is the King's daughter in the Realm on Sytheria. Here, I am simply Gwynabeth Davidson, the tavern maid. I do commend your nobility, however, and thank you for sitting vigil over me. That was very thoughtful and kind," Gwyn said before she downed the pair of pain relief pills with her glass of water. "Now, I must find Merlin. If you will please excuse me, I will let you tend your business."

Gwyn exited the meeting hall trailer and walked down the dirt road to the Royal Market Square. Merlin would be at Christabel's jewelry shop with the Talisman of Attraction to see to it's placement on the sales racks. On her way to the shop, she stopped by the Royal Market Square Inn. The building was not a real inn, but it did have a few rooms for the merchants and workers to stay in. She climbed the stairs at the rear of the building and went inside. At the end of a hallway, she stopped in front of the last door on the left. She pulled a key from the pocket of her blue jeans and unlocked it.

Her room was small. There was just enough room for her bed, a chest of drawers, a bookcase, and a desk which held her laptop computer. She opened the chest of drawers and picked out some clean clothes to wear and entered her bathroom. After a quick shower, she got dressed and sat down at her desk. She opened the top of her computer and waited for it to boot up. She moved her mouse cursor over the Cynergy 4.0 icon and double-clicked. She smiled when she saw Dain's message, which she read again. When she finished reading, she clicked on the 'REPLY' icon and started typing.

'Dain, my Love,

I'm glad that you don't think that I am crazy. I was so worried that you would not believe me and that I would never see you again. That would surely break my heart. I can not wait to see you again, either. Just the sight of you makes me melt. All I want in the world is to feel your arms around me and to kiss you. We only have two more days to wait, my heart. I await your arrival patiently and longingly. Until then, my love, know that my love for you grows daily.

Love,

Gwynabeth'

Gwyn clicked her mouse pad on the 'SEND' icon and exited the program. She turned the computer off and closed the top. She walked out into the hallway and locked the door. She could go find Merlin now. Hopefully, everything would work out ass they planned and this would be the last time she would have to be away from her family. Her father, King Alaric D'Avalon, had not wanted her to be a part of the Company and had tried to talk her out of going. He could not find a sufficient enough reason, though, to sway her commitment. In the end, he reluctantly granted her leave to go.

He almost forbade her to come this year, however, when he found out about her love for Dain. Gwyn had felt that she had to tell him about the man from Earth who had stolen the heart of his princess. King Alaric had felt Gwyn drifting away from him as all children surely must when they grow into adulthood. He had brought up the old argument about having to arrange her marriage soon. Eventually, Gwyn had convinced him that arranged marriages between the nobility were a thing of the past and that it was her choice to make as to who she fell in love with. Plus, she had reminded him, Dain was on Earth. How could a relationship possibly work out under those circumstances?

"Well, the Fates must have had an ace up their sleeves," Gwyn told herself, "because Dain will be coming to the Realm after all. Father is going to freak!"

As she approached Christabel's shop, she could hear Merlin ranting about something with her. He was shaking his head, which made Gwyn laugh to herself, because his long white beard was wagging back and forth.

"We need to have it out of the way in a hard to reach spot so we will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this person is the Warrior-Mage," Merlin ranted.

"No, we need to put it in the most obvious spot," Christabel argued. "You never see what's right under your nose."

"Oh, that's a bunch of bull and you know it," replied Merlin.

"You know what?" Gwyn intervened. "Both of you are right. The Talisman of Attraction needs to be in an out of the way spot right out in the open."

"What, child?" Merlin asked, perplexed.

"Why not put it behind all of the other necklaces on the rack right there by the register over there? That way it's out of the way, but still easily seen by our watchers," Gwyn explained.

Merlin thought for a moment and said, "You are exactly right. That is a wonderful idea."

"Problem solved," said Christabel.