“You’re welcome,” Marian whispered to the space where his body was only moments before.
* * * * *
Royce Morgan descended the stairs in the dead of night, leaving Beatrice exhausted and sleeping peacefully in their bed.
As he moved down the steps, he saw Esmeralda Crane stood in one of the semi-circular windows, staring thoughtfully out into the night.
Instead of her making the trip back to her cottage in the dark after the events of that eve, Beatrice had insisted the witch stay at Lacybourne with them. Also at Beatrice’s stubborn demand, Old Lady Griffin was there, Royce heard her loud snores as he walked by her chamber moments before.
He quietly strode across the Great Hall and stopped to stand beside the witch, looking out into the dark night and joining her for a moment in her silent reverie.
After some time, he spoke.
“Is she safe?” he asked softly, his deep voice rumbling low.
Esmeralda knew exactly to whom he was referring. “Yes, I believe she is.”
She was watching him and she could swear to the goddess that she could actually see the tension leave his powerful frame.
“And her betrothed?” he enquired.
“Yes,” she answered quietly.
Royce Morgan nodded.
Then he turned and walked back across the room with wide, ground-eating strides and ascended the stairs, two at a time, to rejoin his bride.
It was then Esmeralda Crane turned back to regard the night and when she did she allowed herself to smile.
Epilogue
Mallory had been caught by a sunbeam of which there were a great deal in doggie heaven.
Being thus, he immediately deposited his big body on a soft bed of grass and took a snooze.
This was rather irritatingly interrupted by a Chihuahua.
“The Big Dog wants to see you.”
Mallory lumbered up and headed to the enormous tree where the Big Dog liked to hang out. Although he much preferred to stick with his nap, one didn’t really keep the Big Dog waiting.
“Mallory,” the Big Dog woofed when Mallory arrived.
“Big Dog,” Mallory woofed back.
“It appears you’re going back down.”
Mallory groaned and slid into a lying position. He hadn’t been in doggie heaven very long.
The Big Dog continued, “As you died valiantly, you get to pick what you want to go back as. You could even return as a human.”
Mallory lifted his head at this news.
Any animal that was given this choice went back as a human (just to see what it was like). They also chose tiger (not enough food, Mallory thought, or sometimes they made you do silly tricks at circuses), lion (still not enough food and you had to run to catch it and it was usually too hot where you lived or you were caged), a wolf (people were scared of wolves and Mallory liked people) or a horse (Mallory had been there and done that, although he’d done it well, very well, it was a lot of lugging his big warrior around and then there was the blood on those battlefields).
Mallory shivered at the memory.
“I’ll pick dog again,” he told the Big Dog and vowed to himself not to do anything brave and fearless this time. He missed his mistress, she was very nice and she always found the right spots to scratch behind his ears. And Mallory also missed his new master, he liked him a lot. He would have liked to have lived a few more years with them.