The Red Dragon Inn was very kind to her, so kind that she'd not left her room the entire first day. Of course that could have been due to the fact of needing rest after everything her mind and body had been through. So when she finally woke up, wow did she hurt! Every muscle seemed to ache. Muscles she didn't even know she had were sore, if it was at all possible, her hair even hurt! If this wasn't the right place, it didnt matter...there was no way she could plane jump again. There was too much of a strain on her body as a whole, it just wasn't possible. Sammy could only hope this was the right place and time. Gavilean had promised her Arch was alive. He said he was in Westridge. Could it truly be possible that he lived?

]

{{Eternity, you've been my rock through all of this.}}

]

Sammy couldn't help but laugh, {{What would I do without you?}}

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{{Now now, if you had...we wouldn't be home now would we?}}

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{{I do not snore!}}

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"Magical longswords are HIGHLY overrated!" Samleanus slammed the sword back into it's scabbard, the ringing of metal on metal vibrated throughout the room. As soon as she quietly closed the door behind her, the Queen of Mana became guarded once more...still not confident of her location as she descended the stairs into the inn.

Yes, going to Westridge was the way to go! Well if the wagon load full of barrels hadn't been wrecked in the middle of the street. The air smelled of beer and the street was littered with shards and splinters of wood. It was an absolute mess. Samleanus was BEYOND irritated with this entire situation. Why did it seem that every single time she turned around, there was some sort of barrcade in her way. The drow queen threw her hands up in the air with total disgust. This wondeful action would of course scare the crap out of her horse, which now reared fully into the air almost throwing her from the saddle. Ok so half way out of the saddle, with one foot stuck in the stirrup and her cloak wedged between the saddle in the saddle pad, while her mount now nervously pranced about...threatening at any moment to bolt.

"This just isn't my day. Not at all!"

Not the brightest action in the world, the horse now bolted...with the Queen of Mana in a rather dangerous position.

A horse galloped down the wide dirt rode that led to Rhy'Din from the west; a cloud of dust rose in the summer heat and slowly settled long after the destrier had passed.

Sir Arch Fane was in a hurry to get from Westridge to King Gavilean's home in Rhy'Din. There would be a council meeting the following morning and he had to check the security of the Starfare's mansion and assign guards to the Queen's protection.

Keen eyes trained for warfare missed little, and he had seen a body in the road well before reaching it. He pulled his horse to a halt and dismounted.

He could see that it was a woman. He didn't know if she had fallen from a horse or attacked on the road. Just what he needed - something to slow him down when he was in a hurry.

The Knight Marshall of Westridge knelt down and gentle turned the woman over into his arms.

His eyes went wide with shock.

"Sammy. . ."

He stared down upon the unconscious woman - his wife.

His hand moved to her wrist and gently pulled her hand from her sword, a sword he know only too well. He knew it would sense his presence, and know him for who he is.

"Sammy, you're coming with me. You're safe now." He didn't know if she could hear him or not, but he knew the best place to take her would be to the home of the Starfares.

He put her on his horse and held her then while he mounted, then nestled her in his arms as they rode. He saw her horse on the side of the road and he whistled for it, and it followed them back to the city.

All the while he held her close to himself, his cheek against her forehead, thankful to have his wife in his arms once again.

Sir Arch Fane brought his wife to the only place that was close, safe, and where she would get good care - the mansion home of Gavilean and Tera Starfare.

He carried Samleanus into the great foyer and asked for King Gavilean. When he heard that the king had went to Westridge for a few days, he then made another request.

"I must have a room for my wife. Is Queen Tera here? I would request a room and the aid of a healer."

Blackness. It completely engulfed the Queen of Mana, she was now oblvious to her current surroundings. Nothing, not even Eternity could penetrate the inky darkness of Sammy's mind. This did concern her long time companion, but he did nothing. Not yet. She was being held by her husband and the human female in the room seemed to know what she was doing. Impressive, these humans, for some reason Sammy liked them. If they didn't do something soon, then he'd take matters into his own hands...well...blade.

While he bathed her dirt smeared face, the tingling sensation of the soft cloth brought her into some form of consciousness. She could feel him bathing her face, Sammy even felt his lips touch hers...part of her wanted to scream in fear while the other part wanted this to really, truly be home. She couldn't see her husband, but she could hear the steady breathing, but was this Arch Fane? Could this really be him?

As she tried in vain to reach out in some way, nothing happened. It was like a dark cloud had descended upon her mind, refusing to let her go. She tried so hard a soft whimper actually escaped her lips, before she lasped back into the unconscious depths of her mind.

The High Elven warrior dressed in the armor of the Kingdom of Westridge watched the display impassively from his position at the gate. His magical abilities allowed him to sense her power which was greater than he had expected from her appearance until she opened her mouth then her arrogance had him thinking she needed a strong hand on her reins to settle her down. None of this showed on his face though. He was highly trained and had been dealing with royalty and those that considered themselves above the rules of protocol for years.

He could always deflect the ball of flames she was holding but there was no need because the wards Thulin Nel had placed around the mansion and grounds would keep even this Mage and her magic out until she was allowed in. He glanced to the ledger in the gatehouse to see if any visitors were expected that day when she announced she had been summoned.

There was only one name on the list. After reading it keen Elven eyes looked back to the Mage knowing this had to be the Lady on it so he nodded to her and unlocked the gate then stood back to allow her to pass. A second guard that had been standing ready to escort visitors to the doors motioned with a hand for her to proceed him up the path.

Fire was truly angry now. Sparks spit and hissed falling harmlessly to the ground around her as she stalked through the gate hissing at the first guard menacingly then sending a glare at the second that should have had him falling over dead in his tracks. How dare these males keep her from her business. She had been summoned here. This was no social call. She had better things to do than waste her time with Destre?s males.

Closing her hand the flames withdrew back within herself as with head held high she stalked up the walkway to the front doors. Her mage robes gave tantalizing glimpses of skin as she moved rather than actually revealing the voluptuous form they lovingly caressed.

The very correct Butler opened the door before she had to knock as word had been sent ahead. A footman was waiting to escort her to the suite of rooms where the Queen of Mana had been taken by her husband the Knight Marshall of the Kingdom. The guard followed her through the corridors as an escort.

Fire would have laughed or made a snack of the guard at his continued presence but she did owe Destre for several favors in the past not to mention she had already snacked on one of her staff this day. She couldn?t blame the woman for being cautious after all there was a reason she was usually her last resort except when it came to Healing.

She stopped in front of the door to take several deep calming breaths and reached for the Healer inside of her herself forcing the darkness deep beneath the surface. The red and yellow glow of her aura that usually snapped and crackled beneath her skin receding as the Tayladras became what she had come to do for her friend and Ally.

A Healing aura of calming and soothing blues and greens surrounded her to any with mage sight as well as her eyes losing their icy chill to become warmer. Features that were almost Elven themselves relaxed from their habitual smirk into something more pleasing that held concern for one that was injured and needed aide.

The voice that called out as she knocked upon the door held the musical quality of her clan.

?I am the Healer that Destre sent for. I offer ye my services. Might I enter??

The Immortal Knight stood at the window, his hands behind his back, fingers laced together, and watched and waited.

He prayed that the healer whom Des would provide would be up to the task of aiding a Drow Queen. Still, he had faith in the Starfares.

Sir Arch Fane walked back over the the bed and looked down upon Samleanus. "It will not be long now," he whispered, as much to himself as to Sammy.

Eternity had sensed the presence of the healer before the immortal knight heard the knock upon the door. At the sound of the knock, Sir Arch Fane walked to the door and opened it. If he was surprised at the appearance of the healer, his features did not show it. The typical "all business" expression of the Knight Marshall of Westridge and King of Mana held open the door and bowed his head slightly in greeting.

"You are welcome. Please come in.

"I'm Arch Fane, and on behalf of Queen Samleanus and myself, her husband, I offer you our deepest gratitude for coming here."

He did not base the gratitude upon any success at healing his wife. Simply the willingness to come was sufficient.

The formidable knight closed the door behind her and looked toward the bed. He was a man of few words, and he had already spoken enough.

What could be felt by such an adept healer was the obvious. Sammy had 3 broken ribs, multiple bruises, scrapes (from being drug down the road) and a pretty nasty concussion. But one of the most obvious things, regardless of all these various injuries was the sheer exhaustion of her body. Magical energy burned from within her, almost like she was literally burnt out...physically but mostly mentally. Nice combination, which is in the end what caused her present condition.

{{Obviously, what you face is a human male.}} Even a deaf person could have heard the scorn Eternity used when saying the words human male. {{Please heal her, this is beyond my means, her mind is gone to me.}}

Eternity would have never said those words to Fane, but then again had the healer not shown up, he might have.

As the healing aura encompassed the drow queen, a soothing calm seemed to envelope her body and mind. Sammy's body responded to the healing touches with ease, accepting each gift bestowed upon her by the one known as Firesong.

Once Firesong started the images into Sammy's mind, she resisted these images pulling as far back as possible. Retreating into a place where she could be hurt no more. Images of pain, death and denial were seen by Firesong as she inserted visions of her husband, Arch Fane while weaving Eternity's voice into her mind's eye. This was a battle of wills now, to accept the images of the healer or to deal with what she'd been shown for the last 2 years. The death of Arch. The destruction of her home plane. Her children torn from her and flung into the abyss of darkness. To couple this with the memory loss of un-anchored plane hopping, these images from Firesong were very hard for Samleanus to believe. She wanted to believe them, so much so that a glimmer of hope dared to surface. Just a tiny little light, dancing about...like a firefly on a hot summer's night. She didn't feel the tears falling down the sides of her face, nor realize she was gasping for breath...or was it trying to grasp a hold of a reality that she'd been searching for? It was easily an hour after being administered by the healing aura of Firesong, before the Queen of Mana opened her amber eyes, screaming out mentally and physically...her equilibrium a shambles as her mind tried to focus and maintain its sanity.

The tortured sound of her screaming subsided as Arch's voice pentrated the *madness* and along with his touch, finally got her to quieten down to gasping sobs. After several more minutes, Sammy eventually found her voice, "Arch...my love, is it really you?" Her voice so full of hope, but with enough sorrow behind them should he deny her what she truly wanted.

Him.

Eternity felt the magic of the healer envelope Samleanus once again, the longsword could only pray that the HUMAN MALE would do what needed. At least this female seemed to have a good grasp of reality. Now if his soulmate would just snap out of it and realize they'd finally come back to the right plane. Maybe then she'd level out. It was in the hands of Arch Fane. Well at least he wasn't having to rely on that ex of a blood sucker of hers.

When his amazingly soft lips touched hers, it sent an electric shock through her system, causing her to shiver with happiness. Sammy returned the kiss with an urgency she'd felt for such a long time. Tears streamed down her face as memories flooded her mind's eye of the many happy years they'd had together.

"Arch, it really is you," she brought an unsteady hand up to touch his face as she whispered this to him. "I've been lost for such a long time."

Sammy let out a soft cry of happiness as he kissed her, the drow queen seemed at peace, for the moment. "Who helped me? I can still feel the healing magic in me."

The room was quiet, except for Arch's wonderfully soft voice. That voice had put her to sleep with his soothing words on many a night when otherwise Sammy would not have slept.

**"A Lady Firesong helped youi. She is very powerful and a friend of Lord Gavilean and his wife."

He looked at Sammy and smiled, "Yes, King Gavilean is married. He is married to a wonderful woman named Tera. They are very happy."**

"Lady Firesong, yes...her magic." Sammy's voice was but a whisper on the wind by this time. Her body had been ripped from one end back to the other. It would still take some time for all the fragments of her memory to piece itself back together again. "Gav, I saw in the Inn. He told me you were here. I didn't believe him. I thought you were dead. I saw you die. I did. The dragon. One moment you were there, the next. Gone. But, I searched and searched." Her fingers plucking at the bedclothes nervously. "One plane to the next. Gone in the midst of time, I was. Something deep down, didn't want to believe you were gone. So I searched." At this point her voice was closing in on slightly hysterical edge. "But you are alive."

**He leaned down and gave Sammy a kiss. "We'll also be that happy. And our daughter is on her way to come see you. We shall be a family again. This time nothing will separate us."**

"Our daughter?" Her voice sounding a touch confused, her eyes going unfocused for a moment. "Yes, our daughter. No nothing will seperate us. Never again."

The immortal knight helped his wife from the bed and they went to the balcony and sat in the sun. Food was brought to them and they talked. He told her as much as he knew of what had happened since they were last together. How he had bargained The Land for his mortality once more, and how the price paid was his memory.

He told her of how the fates had brought him to Westridge where he was reunited with their daughter, Alatariel. He told her of Thulin and the magic of the mage.

He told her of the strange journey back to the Glade and how he conversed with The Land once again. He was permitted to have his memory return, but this time the cost was immortality. He surmised that The Land had seen into the future and saw this reunion between husband and wife, king and queen.

They had finished talking and the sun was setting when there was a knock on the door.

The words seemed to trip through the folds of her mind as she listend to her husband speak. They'd both encountered and taken so much in the last couple of years while they were apart. So much pain and suffering on both sides. She'd yet to really speak of the details of her ordeal and she knew Arch would go into further detail with her in the days to come. They had all the time in the world to get everything straightened out between them.

Time slipped by and eventually the uneasiness left her limbs as they stood together looking out over the city of Rhydin. The knock on the door surprised Sammy, she wasn't sure who it could be. Perhaps Gav? No, she doubted he would intrude. Arch called out for whoever the visitor was to enter, as the door slowly opened one of the most lovely women she'd ever seen walked into the room.

"Mother? Father?"

Tears welled in her eyes and she ran to them.

Sammy opened her arms to Ali and could feel Arch bracing her so they all wouldn't fall into a tangled heap on the floor. "Oh my darling, sweet daughter," was all Sammy could manage as she held her close while the tears began to fall.

"Yes, we are a family again, Ali," the immortal knight said to his daughter and looked to Sammy with a smile, hoping that she would agree.

"Since we are a family and living here in Rhy'Din, at least for the time being, I suggest we go looking for our own home rather than continue to rely on the hospitalities of Gavilean and Tera Starfare."

He put his arms around them both. "What do you say? Good idea?"

"But we will worry about a family reunion after we get ourselves settled, here in Rhydin. I think I'm ready to move about, I'm still a little shakey but nothing my husband or daugher can't help me with. We have good friends in Gav and I'd like to keep it that way by not intruding on them any further." Sammy nodded to FireSong, she would repay the debt to the healer one day, that was a promise. A life debt.

"Come, let's go and we will call upon Gav later."

It was so...perfect...yet odd to be riding around in a coach with her husband and youngest daughter. It was almost like a dream to her still. Being gone for so long and now they were house hunting? It almost seemed...so un-real. Like she was stuck in a dream world.

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{{Eternity the whole of my being isn't always fighting.}}

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{{That was many many moons ago.}}

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{{That was while I was fighting my way to get back here. Now quit arguing with me. Trust me, this is Rhydin, there will be fighting. Eventually.}}

Sammy turned her attention back to her husband as he pointed to a beautiful castle in the distance. "Yes let's take a look at it. I would think your sisters would like it as well Ali." She squeezed her husband's hand and gave him a quick soft kiss on the lips.

A tear spilled from the corner of the queen's eye as her husband kissed her lips. So long, no too long they had been seperated and now this all seemed like a dream to her. Sammy was afraid to fall asleep, because when she woke up she feared this would all be over.

"I think I like that idea very much my love. I'd love to see the inside."

They walked up the steps to the front entrance of the castle. The massive door of the main entrance had been left unlocked by the Realtor, and Arch opened it.

Inside the front door was the main entrance hall with stairs winding up on both sides, the second floor balcony hallway connecting them together. If you stay on the first floor and walk beneath the stairs, you entered the main banquet hall with the kitchens off to the left. If one went to the right beneath the stair one would come to the library, study, music hall and other public rooms.

Beneath the stairs to the left was a waiting room, solarium, and the utility and supply rooms that the staff would use.

Arch looked around approvingly and waited for the women to comment.

http://www.geocities.com/rcwolpert/FaneManor.jpg

Alat?riel was so happy that tears welled up in her eyes. ?Mother, just to be a family again, I?d live anywhere.? She gave her parents a hug, and then smiled.

?Mother, let?s go see what?s up the stairs!!?

Ali shivered at the thought of living in the Underdarke, but replied, "Well, as long as you and father were there with me, I'd even live there."

Ali grabbed her mother's hand and began to head quickly up the stays of what could be their new home. "I can't wait to see the bedrooms! I want one with a view of the fountain . . . or maybe of the mountains!"

She looked behind her and saw her father following with a smile upon his face. It was nice to see the immortal knight smiling again.

Sammy turned to Ali, "Does this meet with your approval daughter? I think this will make a nice home when we are away from Mana and Westridge. No doubt your father is going to have to split his time as will I." She turned to look at her husband's smiling face as he finished climbing the stairs. No doubt giving mother and daughter quality time together. "I think Shi'nayne and Elvanshalee will like it here too. This will be a nice place to visit and get away from the stresses of running a kingdom."

Samleanus shooed her daughter off to find just the right room for her. "Go ahead, I'm going to wait for your father. You pick whichever room suits your fancy," Sammy said with a laugh. It was so nice seeing her happy, too many years had been lost to them, all of them.

"Darling, are you going to hang back forever?" She looked at him through lowered lashes, "Or are you going to keep your wife company before the plagues upon the world settle upon our shoulders once more. Before you are drug off to Westridge and I to Mana? I would so love just to stay here and say to heck with the rest of it. All of it. I'm so tired of running and searching. I would just love to settle down for a little while and just...be. I don't think that is too much to ask for, do you?"

Sir Arch Fane looked into his wife's eyes and knew what she was thinking. He smiled and gave her a wink, letting her know that he knew; and furthermore, that it was on his mind also.

"Good. It's settled then. I'll inform those handling the exchange of property. In the meantime, we should contact the Quartermaster of Mana and get this home furnished in elegance, so that it will be second to none. While in town I'll also contact the local artisans to see what they might be able to make that would be suitable for the Queen of Mana."

He moved to Sammy and took her into his arms. His voice was soft and his eyes were hungry. "We shall make our bedroom such that we shall ne'er want to leave it."

"Mother! Father!" Alatariel came running into the master bedroom where she had left them. "I found the perfect room for me. It's . . ."

She saw her parents kissing and the way her mother's feet were lifted right off the floor.

"Opps!" she giggled and put her hand over her mouth.

"I think I'll go check out the stables," she added with a grin, so happy to see her parents together again. She ran out of the room, feeling better than she can ever remember.

"It appears that she has," he replied with a chuckle as he went over and closed the door of what was to become their new bedroom.

He turned the lock. "Hmm...an excellent lock. An essential part of any master bedroom."

As he turned back to her he was already taking off his shirt.

"C'mere, you."

There could be no doubt what he had on his mind. There was no furniture in the room, but that never stopped them before.

He slowly back Sammy up against the wall.

"I love you," he whispered as his hands removed her clothing.