There Be Dragons (15 page)

And so, Michelo kissed his soon-to-be bride. And that time, he kissed her as a lover should, and all around them was applause and the sound of cheering.

When the kiss broke at last—by that time, many of the tired warriors were sitting and wondering if it would be over by sunset—Michelo turned to his father.

“A wedding, Father? There must be two weddings!”

And, of course, the great Duke Fiorelli turned to Armand and Daphne. “Yes, two weddings. And you, falcon master! Armand, you will take the title of the Lord of Baristo, and with Daphne, child of Pietro, and our very good friend, you will live in the castle, and bring peace and prosperity to all the folk there!”

Again, there were cheers.

Armand, not to be outdone, even by Michelo, kissed his soon-to-be bride.

This time, the people cheered, but then groaned as the kiss went on and on, and they were forced to sit and wait once again.

“Good heavens!” Radifini cried. “We will never get to these weddings!”

And so, for the moment, the kissing was over.

Before dressing for her wedding, Marina spoke tenderly and privately with the falcon, Thomasina, thanking her sincerely for all that she had done.

Thomasina reminded Marina that she had never used her final wish.

“Wishes are precious, and must be thought out with grave attention to detail,” Marina told her, smiling. “And I have thought … and what I wish now is that you are returned to all your strength, that you are able to be all that you want to be, just as you have enabled me!”

“You are sure?” Thomasina asked her.

“Oh, yes. You’ve taught us all that we must help ourselves, and one another, to make our wishes come true. There is nothing I want more than to share the happiness I feel.”

Thomasina raised her wing and gently touched Marina’s cheek.

“Leave me be then, child, and get ready for your wedding!”

There had not been such rejoicing in all the territories of Calasia in years. By sunset, before moonrise, Marina was married to Michelo, and Armand became husband to his Daphne.

Champagne flowed. People danced and sang.

And the world itself seemed magic.

Christmas Day came soon after.

When she awoke, after the most magical days ever, Marina raced to the balcony of her new garden room at the castle of the great Fiorelli. (He planned to retire from being duke, leave the realm to his son and Marina, and take his wife on an extended cruise of the known world, until such time as they should return to play with the grandchildren.)

To her astonishment, a falcon perched outside her window.

“Thomasina?” she said, and she was startled, for there was no reply other than a blink of the eyes. Marina realized that, beautiful and wonderful, Thomasina was a falcon. Rare and precious in what she was, but just that, and nothing more. The magic within her was gone.

Michelo came out to the balcony, and he drew her into his arms, startled by the tears in her eyes.

“My love! It is Christmas Day. The church bells are ringing, and we are together. We have our lives to live to bring to others what Christmas magic has brought to us.”

“It’s just … the falcon, Michelo. We must care for her, my falcon, with the greatest tenderness, all of her days!” she told him.

And he, surprised by her strange emotion, but touched by it, held her gently, and said, “We will love her, and care for her always.”

Later that day, after the church service, a magical, beautiful snow began to fall. It was the most beautiful snow Marina could remember. And with carols filling the air and more feasting going on—it was really, really, a big celebration—Marina saw that Radifini was not alone. He was with an older woman, beautiful and regal.

They appeared quite happy.

They were giddy, in fact, like children, whispering to one another about magic and belief and all that kind of thing.

As if aware that Marina was watching her, the woman looked up. She wore a strange, lovely smile of amusement, and Marina was suddenly reminded of the day she had found the falcon, when Carlo had been out hunting, when he had wounded the bird.

At first, she had seen something … an animal.

And then a woman …

And when she had searched, she had found Thomasina. The gorgeous, magical creature that had claimed to be a fairy.

The woman winked.

And Marina smiled, and turned away. Yet, she paused again. For they were not the only happy couple to be seen together.

Serafina had returned. And she was at the banquet table, seated beside Pietro. Her stepfather was beaming.

Serafina was flushed and exceptionally beautiful, and apparently very pleased to be right where she was.

And Pietro! For once, he seemed truly at ease. Marina realized that she had never really known him before; perhaps he had never really known himself. Now, he was free, as well. And being free …

Well, he’d never actually been a
bad
man.

Marina’s happiness increased. Sometimes dragons came into the world. But they could be fought, when there was love and courage and conviction. And sometimes, when such demons were bested, there was tremendous beauty to be found.

The woman with Radifini was still watching her.

“Merry Christmas!” the woman called.

“Merry Christmas!” Marina called back happily.

Seeking Michelo, she went off to find—and make—her own magic. Life was the magic one made it, she knew. But Christmas …

It would always be a special time of magic. For magic was in belief.

Naturally, in the beautiful fairy-tale realm of Calasia, they all lived happily ever after.