Ram and Elora had dutifully set themselves to the task of gathering materials for their handfasting cord. Some of the flowers had indeed arrived after lunch. Elora had suggested they each pick one red rose to go into the braid. They had also borrowed a few long, coarse strands from the manes of two horses. Elora had been drawn to a dapple-gray mare with a pretty face, an intelligent expression, and a wavy mane that just begged to be laced with flowers. She also happened to be pregnant.
Ram argued with a magnificent black stallion over giving up two strands of mane, but after some alarming hoof strikes echoed against the stall's wooden walls, he jumped over the stall to land in the breezeway looking deliriously victorious. Grinning at Elora wickedly, he came straight for her and proceeded to crowd her against the wall where she waited. While still breathing deep to get his breath back, he whispered something in her ear about stud horses and fertility. It got the exact reaction he was hoping for and he laughed with the delight of a mischievous boy.
"'Tis a first. I made a knight of the Black Swan blush and giggle at the same time."
Back in their suite they were laying out the components they'd gathered and were discussing who would hold the knotted end and who would braid the strands when they heard the commotion of Kay's troupe being shown to their accommodations down the hall. They took one look at each other and dropped what they were doing, scrambling to the door to go and see the show.
The far end of the hall was beyond excitement. It could only be compared to a three-ring circus. The three sisters were assigned to a suite of two bedrooms with shared bath while Katrina was planning to room with Kay. Ram and Elora stood in the hallway at a suitably safe distance to enjoy the theater of commotion. There was arguing over beds, giving directions as to where luggage should be set down and which way it should face, questions about additional hangers, opening and closing of windows and doors, and, of course, running back and forth between rooms to make sure that nobody else got a better deal.
Kay noticed his teammates looking on like wide-eyed spectators. He sauntered over to stand next to them, out of the way of the feminine siege, but looking strangely at home in the middle of a situation that would bemuse a lesser man. The staff had finished delivering luggage and was clearing out, happily, when Katrina noticed they had attracted an audience. She came straight toward Elora with a grin that showed off dimples Shirley Temple would envy.
Elora had guessed she must be Katrina because the three sisters were taller, blonder and bore a family resemblance to each other as well as Kay. Katrina had hazel eyes, a heart-shaped face and a head full of shiny brown curls with a touch of red in them. She was pretty, but more importantly, her manner gave the impression - even before she spoke - of someone who was kind and gracious; both highly valued traits in Southern society. She had the singularly self-possessed bearing of a woman who had never experienced loneliness, rejection, or a broken heart. And she never would.
When Katrina approached, she leaned toward Ram for a kiss on the cheek. Elora extended her hand with the intention of introducing herself.
"Oh, put that away and come here." Katrina laughed as she ignored Elora's hand and pulled her into a hug. "You could only be Elora. Kay's warned us not to invite you to one of our late night poker games unless we want to lose everything."
Elora smiled. "He couldn't be more wrong. Ram's the shark. Blackball him."
Katrina laughed and glanced up at Kay with a look that was proprietary and adoring at the same time. When her attention came back to Elora she said: "This is too much fun! An elf wedding. Wow. Maybe I'll pick up some ideas."
"Well," Elora said, "if you do, I can't take credit. Ram's mother and sister are the architects of the event of the millennium. I'm along for the ride and glad to have somebody else taming the details."
Kay's sisters suddenly took the hallway. In a dizzying flurry of femininity, they said hello to Ram then grabbed Elora, pulled her into their suite, and closed the door, leaving their brother and the groom standing in the hall alone.
Kay looked down at Ram with a tiny shake of his head and a crooked little smile that implied this was nothing unusual.
Ram said: "I happen to know where the tenants of this monstrosity keep some very fine Irish whiskey."
"Lead the way." Kay immediately looked more optimistic about the prospects for a pleasant afternoon.
They had only gone a few steps when the girls' door opened. Dandie stuck her head out. "Hey. Any chance we can get some..." Her head disappeared momentarily while there was apparently some appended discussion, then popped out again. "...Arnold Palmers sent up here?"
"Sure." Ram shrugged offhandedly.
Without thanks or further adieu, the door closed, leaving the two men staring at an empty hallway. After a few seconds, they turned and resumed their quest for whiskey, but were stopped by Squoozie this time. "We need snacks, too. That airline food was just... well, you know. Y'all got stuff down there to make chicken cheese nachos?" Someone was saying something. She looked away for just a second. "With jalapenos." Another voice was heard coming from inside the room. "Not the sissy kind."
Ram took a deep breath and put his hands in his jeans pockets. "No nachos, Squooze. Why do you no' come downstairs to the solarium or the library or the game room? We can drum up some cheese and fruit. Maybe tarts or popovers."
She opened her mouth to say something, but Ram held up his hand shaking his head. "No' a single jalapeno in the house."
She contemplated that for a minute, ducked her head back into the room, then reemerged smiling brightly. "That'd be great, Ram. Thanks, hon." The door slammed, but reopened three seconds later. "We'll be down in twenty minutes."
Behind closed doors four single ladies piled up on the beds next to Elora and insisted that she give up details on how she "bagged" the world's most eligible and allegedly "active" bachelor. While Elora found the company of other young women novel and exhilarating, she had to get very creative with her story to ease around the fact that she was an alien from another dimension with extra physical abilities, who was employed by an ancient secret society of knights and paranormal investigators who guarded innocents from harm by occult or supernatural forces sometimes using occult or supernatural forces in the process. She found that she was able to stay close to the core facts while tiptoeing around specifics that would require security clearance.
When she recalled her time with Ram at the hunting cottage in the New Forest Preserve, she repeatedly heard sighs and noticed that eyes had glazed over with longing. Well, it was a good story.
She was less prepared for a question about where she got her hair color done. After a couple of beats of indecision, she said, "It's natural."
The four blinked at her for a few seconds, uncertain how to respond, then simultaneously exploded into a fit of shared laughter. Squoozie said, "Good one, Elora."
Sometimes honesty really is the best policy.
The other women were so open and easy to be with, that by the time the little group emerged an hour later to make their way toward fruit, cheese, tarts, popovers, and Arnold Palmers, Elora felt like she had known them for a long time. She noticed that Kay's sisters alternately called his fiancée "Trina" or an even more affectionate "Trinnie".
On the way downstairs Elora pointed out what she had learned so far about the palace and how to get around without getting lost. She headed straight for the solarium while they talked about costumes for the handfasting and who would be wearing what. They were just traversing the grand foyer when the giant doors opened and in walked Baka, Aelsong, and Storm.
Elora's eyes went straight to Storm's and locked there. She hated feeling uncomfortable around him and wished that she could run up to him and give him the same sort of unself-conscious hug she had received from Katrina an hour before. Instead, she froze where she was and simply nodded. He did the same, but was quickly distracted by Kay's women swarming him to say hello. Elora made herself useful introducing Aelsong and Baka, who seemed to be enjoying the female attention immensely.