Silver Rose

The Fauye

“Mara of the Polante-Gnight?” the man asked, standing.

The bucket Mara held crashed to the floor as her hands became numb.

“How did you know her name?” Currie asked.

“I haven’t seen you since… well, I’m sure you remember,” he said.

“You two know each other?” Currie asked.

“Yes… sort of…” Mara whispered.

"Oh. How nice,” Mrs. Ranley said.

“Where can we go Mara?” He asked.

Mara nodded her head. She walked upstairs to her room, he followed. She checked to make sure no one else followed. Then she closed and locked the door. He sat down in a chair. Mara sat on her bed.

“You know why I’m here?” He asked.

Mara nodded. “To take me back,” she said.

“No,” he said.

Mara was confused. He read it in her eyes.

“Your grandparents sent me. At first, they wanted me to bring you back. Then your grandmother Rafzen decided that you shouldn’t be forced to come back. Soon most of your family agreed.”

Mara stared at him.
“I don’t understand.” she said.

He smiled.

“Apparently, you Polante-Gnight daughters are very anxious to get away from us,” he said.

She gave a small smile

“You are both also very stubborn. So your family decided that forcing you to come back might create more problems. They don’t want you running away every other day.”

Mara smiled, a little proud and a little ashamed.
“That’s why they sent me,” he said.

“Who are you? Are you a Scout?” Mara asked.

“Your face… I’ve seen it before, but I don’t know when… or how long ago.”

“You know they stopped sending Scouts after your father... Sorry, I am Keinan of the Drihagee. I was friends with your parents. They were older than me and they were closer to my older sister, Lucinda. The last time we saw each other, was at the Farewell to Serio, your father. You were just a child, about 100 or 90 I think. After that I left that region to pursue other things.”

“What did you do?” Mara asked.

“I went out to advance my magical skills in a remote part of the Fauyen world.”

Mara nodded.
“Of course,” she said. 

“Of course?” Keinan asked.

“I mean I should have guessed that’s what you did. That’s all any Fauye does—cultivate their skills. Magic is everything.” She said, standing. She walked over to the window.

“Is that why you left? You didn’t want to learn?”

She saw the blue sky with the sun shining. She had seen many days like this one at home.
 
“It’s not that I didn’t want to learn. It’s just that magic is life there and I want more to
living than only for magic.” She said.

 “Yes, I understand,” he said. “But no can force you to do it. Kyrin gave up magic all together for two years once. You didn’t have to run off to the human world.”

 Mara turned away from the window.

 “Yes, I did. My family expects me to be the greatest Fauye there ever was. I can’t… I don’t want to be that.” Mara began pacing the room. “They… they wanted me to replace my mother. My mother loved
magic, she loved her family, she loved who she was, and she loved my father. I just can’t be her. And I had to get away.” She stopped in front of the wall. “I couldn’t live up to their expectations, but they couldn’t see that.”

 Mara turned around and leaned her back against the wall and closed her eyes.
 “I don’t know why I told you all that,” she said.

 They fell into silence.

 “Mara,” Keinan finally spoke, “I think you could have reached your family’s expectations. I think
you could have gone beyond what they wanted.”

 She sighed.

 “But,” he continued, “I don’t think you would have been happy.”

 She opened her eyes. No one had ever talked about her happiness before.

 “Mara,” Keinan said, “do you want to come back to the Fauyen world?”

 “I—I am not prepared to answer that question,” she replied.

 “Either you want to go back now or later.”

 “I… uh, it’s just that I thought my grandparents would come and take me back. I knew it would be futile to resist them, but… I haven’t thought of what I’d do if I had a choice.”

 “In that case, you have all night to decide. I’ll come back tomorrow for your answer. But consider this, the humans do not live long, they are very suspicious of those who are different from themselves, and their sentiments change with the wind.”

 Mara nodded. Keinan stood.

 “Choose wisely, Mara of the Polante-Gnight, even Fauyes have regrets,” he said.

 He walked across the room and opened the door. Then he turned back to her.

 “Would you mind showing me how to get back to the land I live on?” He asked.

 Mara laughed.

 “You’re joking,” she said, looking at his serious face. “You really don’t remember?”

 “I was so busy thinking of what I had to say to you, I didn’t pay attention. I can’t remember anything except what it looks like when you get there.” He said.

 Mara laughed. Even fairies couldn't remember everything. She grabbed her cloak and they walked outside. Silently, they walked to the road. Mara waited until the Silver Rose was out of sight before she opened her mouth.

 “Keinan,” she said, “I’m curious, why did my family send you? Why didn’t one of them come themselves?”

 “They were afraid if one of them came, you would feel pressured to come back. Then you’d rebel and insist on staying,” he said.

 “They’re probably right,” she said. “You know, I had made up my mind to go quietly with them when they came. When I saw you, I knew why you
were here. Suddenly, I wanted to run away so you
couldn’t find me.”

 “Why didn’t you?” He asked.

 “I’m not sure. Something… something deep inside me felt completely at peace when I saw
you. There was nothing to fear.” She shook her head not knowing how to describe what had happened.
 
They walked in silence for awhile. Sometimes
Mara would point out important landscapes for Keinan to remember the next time he left his domain. Keinan asked a couple of questions about the area then they slipped back into silence again. Mara tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. The few topics she did think of sounded stupid.

 “Are you married?” She suddenly blurted out.
 
Keinan pulled back his sleeve, there wasn’t a Bond Bracelet.
 
“Aren’t you very old not to be married?” She asked feeling embarrassed about the question as soon as it was out of her mouth.

 “Aren’t you?” He asked.

 “I’m not that old,” she said.

 “Neither am I,” Keinan said.

 They walked in silence for a minute.

 “I’m only a hundred years older than you,” Keinan said. “Actually, I was 99 when you were
born.” (In age, a hundred Fauyen years would be
equivalent to about 10 human years.)

 “Did you see me when I was a baby?” She asked.

 “Yes, and I thought you were very ugly.”

 “No you didn’t!”

 “Yes, I did,” he chuckled. “You were so skinny and pale, you looked like a corpse!”

 “I did not!”

 “How would you know?” Keinan grinned. “If it’s any consolidation, you’re much better looking now.”

 Mara didn’t know if she should thank him or slap him.

 “Now you look like you’re alive,” Keinan said.

 She wanted to give him some harsh words, but when she opened her mouth an image of
herself as a child popped into her mind. Fauyes didn’t have portraits made, so she would never know what she really looked like, but the mental picture stuck in her head. Keinan turned to her and put his arms across his chest as if dead.

 “Ma-ma, Da-da…” he said as if he were one of the living dead.

 Mara laughed in spite of herself.

 “That’s not true,” she laughed.

 “Waaa… feed me… feed me…” Keinan drooled.
 
Mara screamed as he grabbed for her. Pulling out of his grasp, she ran down the road with Keinan close behind. They stopped a quarter of a mile
later laughing and panting under an oak tree.

 “Besides,” Mara panted, sitting in the grass, “how
would you know what a corpse looks like? There aren’t any in our world.”

 “That’s where you’re wrong, Mara of the Polante-Gnight. There are corpses, just not in your part of the world.”

 “What do you mean?”

 “The less inhibited areas go unchecked," he said. "Sometimes if you pass through them the corpses of humans from long ago arise because no one is there to keep them down.”
 
“Oh. The first time I saw one, was in this world. I was so terrified I put a beauty spell on it. It’ll have a very hard time scaring anyone now.”

 They laughed. Mara looked up at the sky.

 “Oh, fooh!” She exclaimed.

 “What is it?” He asked.

 “Clouds,” she replied. “It’ll rain either tonight or tomorrow. I may not be able to finish planting my herb garden.”

 “Herb garden? What do you need that for?” Keinan
asked.

 Mara proudly smiled,
 “I’m a healer.”

 Keinan stared at her for a long moment. Then he laughed. Mara’s smiled quickly disappeared.
 
“A daughter of the Polante family,” Keinan laughed, “and of the Gnight family… a healer?!”

 “I don’t see what’s so funny,” Mara said, standing. “A healer is an important and respectable position.”

 “Do you honestly expect me to believe that you would waste your time on healing when you have the ability to do so much more?”

 Mara stared at him for a moment.

 “You are no different from them,” she said, rising.

 She swiftly made her way back to road. Keinan got up and ran after her.

 “Where are you going? I live in the other direction!” He yelled after her. “Mara!” He called catching up to her.

 She kept walking.

 “I thought you were going to show me the way to my house.” He said.

 “Find it yourself,” she said.

 “Come now, you aren’t upset because of what I said about healers.”

 “It’s not just about healers, Keinan, it’s about me being a healer.”

 “I only meant it was strange…”

 “Strange? Strange?! What is so strange about it? There have always been healers.”

 “Yes, I know," he said, "but not in the powerful families. People with minimal skills are healers. It’s nothing you should concern yourself with.”

 “Oh isn’t it?” She said, facing him. “My family thinks healing is worthless too. But note this, Keinan of the Drihagee, I believe healing is not only important, but it’s needed. I wouldn’t care if I came from the most powerful Fauyen family that ever existed, I’d still be healer. It’s something I’m
very good at and I enjoy doing it. So do not tell me what I should be concerned with! I don’t need you to concern yourself with me!”

 She began to head down the road again.

 “Wait! I’m sorry! I didn’t realize how serious you were!” Keinan shouted after her. “How will I get home?”

 “Follow this road until you come to a fork, then take the left one. After that you’ll be on your land and you can ask anyone you see how to get to your house.” She shouted without turning around.

 Mara marched back to the Silver Rose. As soon as she was in the door, Currie ran up to her.

 “Did you bring back the doctor?” She asked.

 “What?” Mara replied, confused.

 “I thought you left to get the doctor! Why didn’t you bring him back?!” Mrs. Ranley exclaimed coming out of nowhere. 

 “I didn’t—“

 “Were you with Mr. Keinan this whole time?” Currie asked grinning.

 “I don’t want to talk about it!” Mara yelled rushing to the stairs.

 “But what about the doctor?!” Mrs. Ranley exclaimed.

 “I don’t care about the doctor!” Mara shouted as she ran upstairs. She went directly to her room and slammed the door behind her.

 Going to her window she saw Currie running down the walkway to the road.

 “Hurry, Currie! Hurry!” Mrs. Ranley yelled.

 Mara took her cloak off and hung it on a peg. Turning she saw her bucket sitting on the bedside table. She walked over to it. The tools and seeds were inside it. Someone must have cleaned up the mess she made after she dropped them. Her fingers touched the cold metal of the bucket. The seeds were herbs... for healing.

 “Do you honestly expect me to believe that you would waste your time on healing…” Keinan’s voice laughed in her head.

 “It’s better than wasting my time on you!” She said out loud.

 No one responded. Frustrated, she knocked the bucket over. Digging tools clattered to the floor. Seeds flew everywhere. As she looked at the
mess, hot tears swelled in her eyes. She flung herself onto her bed. Burying her face in her pillow, she spent the rest of the day crying and trying not to think of Keinan. 
 



Mara awoke with a start. She looked around in the dark. She was in her room in the Silver Rose. She had dreamed she’d gone back to her family and they locked her away in a transparent box so she could never runaway again. Then her mother came out of hiding. She tried to warn everyone, but they couldn’t hear her though the box.

Her mother killed all humans, animals, plants, and all non-magical beings. Her family finally let her out of the box in time to watch the magical beings come together and destroy her mother. Many of the magical beings died before they killed her. She saw Keinan dead. The world was completely devastated, scorched and covered in dark blackness. Wild magic swarmed everywhere. The rest of the people would eventually die out and then there’d be nothing.

 Mara clutched her blanket to her chest. She didn’t know if what she saw was made from her imagination or if it was a vision of what may be. Either way, she was frightened out of her wits. She stared at the ceiling, replaying the dream over and over in her mind. She wanted it to be a figment of her imagination. But her mother had uttered a curse. Unless someone stopped her, she’d have to fulfill her curse. Mara wished she knew what the exact words of the curse had been. Maybe then she could figure out how to keep it from happening.

She flung the blanket off and got out of bed. Walking over to the window, she stared out into the night. Her body shivered as sweat cooled off on her skin.
 The night was black and silent. What did the dream mean? She rested her forehead on the cold glass of the window. If she found her mother, could she stop her? If it took every magical being in existence to stop her mother in her dream, how could she do anything against her mother? Even she could do something, no one know where her mother was.
 
She sighed. Her warm breath fogged the window. She stepped back. The fog slowly disappeared.
If she couldn’t find her, then she could wait until she let herself be known. But how long would that be? The dream could have be implying an event that would take place tomorrow, or a thousand years from now.

Mara crossed her arms over her trembling body.
 Grabbing the blanket off her bed, she sat in a corner across from the window. Her mother thought magic was an art. She often took her time with it until it was perfect, beautiful, satisfying. She’d use magic to fulfill her curse. She’d wait. She’d wait until the time was ripe. Then she’d slowly weave her way in until everything was exactly how she wanted it.

That was the perfect moment. That was the moment her mother loved best. It was exactly when she knew her desire was about to be fulfilled. It was also the most opportune moment for someone to stop her. Her mother would be vulnerable and unwary at that moment. She’d savor the moment for awhile and after it was over… all hell would break loose. And then only death could stop her. Somehow, Mara needed to know when that
moment came.

She fell asleep in the corner with these thoughts swirling in her head. She awoke to someone roughly shaking her shoulders. Opening her eyes, she looked up at Currie's blurry face.
 
“I'm sorry. I called your name but you wouldn't wake. Oh, Mara..." Currie said as tears streamed down her face. "Come quick, Mara! Papa wants you.”
 
“What's wrong Currie?” Mara asked, standing.
 
Currie grabbed Mara’s hand.

 “He’s… he’s dying,” Currie sobbed.

 “Dying?!” Mara exclaimed. “Why? What happened?”

 “Didn’t you know? That’s why we wanted the doctor yesterday. There were some birds building a nest in one of chimneys. He went on the roof to get rid of it and… and he fell!”

“From the inn’s roof? That’s three stories high!”

Currie nodded.

“And the doctor said he’s broken a lot of bones and he’s lost so much blood and…” Currie began to cry harder. “Oh, Mara, he’s not going to live to see the sun set.”

Mara put her arms around the weeping Currie. They held each other until Currie calmed down. Then Currie pulled away.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “I didn’t mean to get your dress wet.”

“It’s alright, Currie. Will you tell me where he is?”
Mara asked.

Currie nodded. She walked out of the room and Mara followed her. They went down the stairs to one of the guest bedrooms. Currie softly knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Mrs. Ranley’s voice said.

“You go ahead,” Currie said, “I can’t go back in there.”

Mara saw the fear and pain in her eyes and nodded in understanding. She opened the door and walked inside. She smelled blood first, and then she saw the blood drenched linens in a basket. On the bed lay Mr. Ranley. The stained sheets were up to his neck. His face was pale and contorted in pain. His eyes were squeezed shut. Mara stood motionless by the door. She’d never seen a dying person before. Mrs. Ranley motioned for her to come near. Mara slowly walked over to her and Mrs. Ranley took her hand.

“Dear,” Mrs. Ranley said softly, “Mara is here.”

Mr. Ranley didn’t open his eyes. His lips moved a little.

“Bend over him so you can hear him, dear,” Mrs. Ranley said.

Timidly, Mara put her face inches from his.

“Mara?” Mr. Ranley whispered.

“Yes,” she whispered back.

“Mara, I have a wish for you,” he said.

Immediately, she felt a tingling in her skin.

“You… you don’t have to do it,” he whispered.

“But…” He gasped and labored to breathe. “…But it is my dying wish—that you, Mara would marry my son, Doustan.”

“Oh!” Mrs. Ranley smiled sadly.

“I know… he’s weak and just a boy.” Mr. Ranley gasped. “But I’ve watched you and you are no older than he and yet… and yet your eyes seem so old. I know Doustan isn’t ready for the responsibility that is about to befall him… Mara you are strong and wise beyond your years. You would be exactly what he needs to mature.”

Mara began to tremble with the desire to grant his wish. Her head pounded and her stomch twisted sickeningly.

“It is my wish that you two marry. If you decide not to, then you are welcome to stay here working with my family. But if you do, then I wish you many children and a prosperous life here.” Mr. Ranley coughed and gasped for air.

“Mara, go send Currie to fetch the doctor!” Mrs. Ranley ordered.

Mara fled the room and quickly found Currie. After Currie left, Mara wrapped her arms around herself. The desire to grant Mr. Ranley’s wish was making her entire body ache and groan. The room spun and her head burst. All the colors of the rainbow swam before her eyes. Weakly, she crawled into the hall. She saw Doustan coming down the stairs.

“All right!” She screamed. “I’ll marry you! I’ll marry Doustan!” Immediately the pains went away, the wish was partially fulfilled.

Mara leaned against the wall as the doctor rushed through the hall.

Mr. Ranley died that afternoon. They were all there when he took his last breath. Mara felt death in the room and it made her sick. They had a funeral two days later. Mara was fascinated as she watched them put Mr. Ranley in a box and then the box into the ground. A man they called the priest, said he was a good man and he was now in heaven. Mara didn’t know what heaven was, but it sounded magnificent. She wondered if Fauyes went to heaven. She wondered if that was where her father was. There weren’t any teachings on an afterlife in the Fauyen world. As far as anyone knew, once a person died they became nothingness. There was no way to prove what became of the dead since those who died never returned. So it was assumed that if they didn’t have the power to return, they must no longer exist. Mara decided that the reason Fauyes didn’t have an afterlife was because they didn’t want one. Death was one of the few things they couldn’t control and Fauyes hated what they had no control over.

-----------------------------------------------------

Mara had to press Doustan for a quick marriage. Everyday they weren’t married, her ill symptoms bought about from an unfulfilled wish persisted and they grew worse each day. She couldn’t understand why they couldn’t just hold hands and get it over with. Doustan’s family would hopefully be enough to create at least one Bond Bracelet.

The Ranley’s laughed when they heard her proposal. So she angrily went over to Keinan’s manor. After she accepted Doustan as her future husband, she found that Keinan (being the only other Fauye around) was the only one she could tell her woes to. They became very close and Mara found herself at his manor more days out of the week then she’d admit. This time he wasn’t much help, but he told her human marriages were much more complicated and had absolutely no magic involved. When she pressed him for details, he only said it didn’t really matter.

“You’re no help!” Mara yelled. “Why are you still here? I think it’s quite obvious what my decision is.”

“I figured you were staying three months ago,” he said.

“Then leave, I know you don’t want to stay here,” she said.

“I’ll leave this world when you do,” Keinan said.

“Why?”

“Because… you need a— a fellow Fauyen friend.”

“A Fauyen friend?”

“A friend.”

Mara sat in a chair. She held her head.

“Does it hurt?” Keinan asked.

She nodded.

“You never should have let him make a wish that involved yourself.”

“What was I supposed to do? Tell him I’m a fairy and I’ll be forced to grant his wish?”

“No.” He said. “But when he said the words ‘I wish’, you could have told him to say ‘I ask’ or ‘I want’ or ‘if only’ instead. Then you wouldn’t be bound to it.”

“Well, it’s too late for that advice now.”

“It’s never too late. The next time you hear the words ‘I wish’ slip from a human’s lips, you’ll know what to do.”

“What if they won’t listen to me?” She asked.

“Then run.”

Mara smiled. A bolt of pain ricocheted throughout her head. Keinan put a hand on her shoulder.

“Mara…”

“I know. It’s a disgrace to marry a human and I should have left when you first came. But maybe there’s a reason this is all happening. If we could see the future, maybe we’d see that there was something bigger out there. Something might be happening and this is a step towards it.” Mara thought of her mother and the dream.

“Maybe…” Keinan said doubtfully.

“Besides, humans don’t usually live past 70. Doustan will be gone in 50, 70, 80 years at the most. I think I can handle that.”

“Maybe you have no problem with marrying Doustan, Mara, but you’re forgetting the other wish.” Keinan said. “Mr. Ranley wished that you and Doustan would have children. You’ll have human children!”

“Part human.”

“They’ll still be human and then what will you do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Mara, if you had children with a Fauye, your grandchildren would have no trace of human blood in them. But these children, no matter how much Fauyen blood they may have, will be considered human. You can’t bring them home with you.”

“Why not? My great-great-great—“

“Yes, I know about your father’s lineage. But his ancestors were practically ostracized from the community.”

“How do you know that?”

“I did research on your family background before coming here.” Keinan said.

“You shouldn’t stick your nose in other people’s business!”

“I had to understand where you were coming from before I tried to convince you to come back.”

“Well you did a terrible job of persuading me.”

“Mara, I’m trying to tell you that we have no idea how these children will turn out. We don’t know if they’ll be fully human or if they’ll have more Fauyen blood than human blood.”

“So?”

“So! Mara, if they have enough Fauyen blood in them, they may have Fauyen powers. Humans don’t like magical beings. They may try to kill your children and if you try to stop them with your powers, they’ll try to kill you too. Mara, your father was murdered by human hands. Your mother’s blood should be enough to keep you safe, but we can’t know that for sure. You may be putting your descendents and yourself in grave danger. And if Fauye is dominate in your children, their children may have high quantities of Fauye too. They wouldn’t be accepted in our world or this one.”

Hot tears slid down her cheeks. She hadn’t given much thought to her future children. She’d be endangering them with death just by giving them life.

“Fauyes only have one or two children…” she whispered, “maybe I could protect him or her with
something.”

Keinan shook his head.
“I’ll help in any way I can.” He sighed. “Your child or children have my protection. Gold has a lot of power in this world and I can get some in the blink of an eye. If things get very bad, you can send your child to live with me. People here are much more reluctant to harm a rich man’s ward, than a simple innkeeper’s child.” He said.

Mara jumped up and threw her arms around Keinan’s neck.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Keinan. You have my eternal gratitude for your kindness towards me.”

Keinan pulled her away from him until he could see her face. Tenderly, he wiped her wet cheeks with his fingers. Holding her face in his hands, his head moved towards hers until their lips almost touched.

“Keinan, don’t,” Mara said, suddenly pulling away.
“I’m marrying Doustan in five days. This is only going to make the marriage very hard to deal with… for the both of us.”

Keinan squeezed her shoulders and threw his head back. He let a long stream of air out through his nose. He stayed in that position for such a long time, that Mara feared he was paralyzed. Softly, she touched his neck with her fingers.

“Keinan…” she whispered.

Slowly, he moved his head back into a normal position. Tears stood in his eyes. He looked into her eyes for a moment. Then his head fell forward to his chest. Mara heard him mumble something.

“What did you say?” She asked.

Her fingers still rested on his neck. He grabbed them with his hand. He lifted his head. Tears dripped off his chin.

“It should be us. It should be us and not you and him,” Keinan said. “He only loves what little he thinks he knows about you. He’s in love with an image of you. I love you, Mara. I love all you.”

He grabbed her face again and leaned his forehead on hers. She gripped his wrists.

“We could have stayed here forever, if that is what you wanted.” He whispered. “We could have gotten married in the Fauyen world and then come back here. And we could have stayed as long as you wanted.”

“My family wouldn’t like that,” Mara whispered.

“They won’t like this either.” He murmured. “Not that it matters what they think. There’s nothing they can do.”

They stayed that way with their heads together for a long time. Finally, Mara moved her head away.

“I—I’d better go before they… worry about me,” she trembled as the words left her mouth.

Keinan turned to look out the window. It was very dark. He nodded. Mara got her shawl and slowly put it over her shoulders.

“Mara?” Keinan said. “You can forget this day if you’d like. But know that if you ever need anything, as simple as a talk or as much as control over the world, let me know.”

Mara nodded.

“I promise I’ll do what I can,” he said.

She nodded again.

“Of course, and I’ll do the same,” she said.

They walked over to the door. Mara put her hand on the handle. Then she turned to face Keinan.

“I won’t forget this day.” She said. “I’ll remember it to my death.”

She opened the door and stepped into the hall. Suddenly she turned around.

“I wish it were us too!” She blurted. Then she ran down the hall and out the manor. She didn’t stop running until she reached the Silver Rose Inn.

She stood on the road in the dark. Light glowed through the windows of the inn. Her future stared back at her through those windows. She had left the Fauyen world because she thought she couldn’t stand it. And now what she wanted most was Fauyen. She thought she had no control over her life in the Fauyen world and now she found she had even less in this one. She took a step toward the Silver Rose, and then walked away from it. She left the village and wondered about the countryside all night. Occasionally, she had to stop and let her heart weep; but mostly she cried and stumbled along at the same time. She wished with every part of her being that she didn’t have to marry Doustan and could be free to marry Keinan instead. But Fauyen wishes are under no obligation to be granted (and rarely can be). So her wish flew off on the night breeze and vanished as the sun slowly rose over the earth.

Mara returned to the Silver Rose. She cried herself to sleep every night until the day of her wedding. Then she bravely became Mrs. Mara Ranley in the sight of men. She still considered herself Mara of the Polante-Gnight since she was much more powerful than Doustan Ranley could ever imagine.