“You aren’t going anywhere for a long time,” Marzina said.
“She’s going to Grandmother’s tomorrow,” Taj noted.
“But only for a few days,” his twin quickly responded.
“And you and I shall be left alone,” Taj said.
“We shared our mother’s womb. I think we can share a castle without getting into too much trouble,” Marzina said mischievously. “My behavior must remain above reproach for Mother has promised me that if I don’t get into any trouble I shall go to the Forest Kingdom to our queenly grandmother for training in magic soon.”
“I have noticed,” her brother teased, “that you haven’t turned any of the servants into frogs, butterflies and birds of late.”
“I always turned them back,” Marzina said defensively.
“You and your magic are so childish,” Zagiri said. “When are you going to grow up, little sister? Men do not like women who are too clever.”
“Father liked our mother well enough,” Marzina said pertly. “I doubt I shall ever wed a mortal man. I will need a man who understands my great talents.”
“You will need a miracle, then,” Zagiri said and Taj laughed aloud.
Marzina’s face darkened briefly but then she laughed, too. “I’m too young to wed, anyway. But you aren’t, Zagiri. I wonder what kind of husband they will find for you.”
“I will find my own husband,” Zagiri replied.
“Hah!” Her younger sister snorted derisively. “You know as well as I do that our mother must approve any match we make.”
“It is bad enough to be treated like a child by Mother,” Zagiri said irritably, “but to be spoken to like one by my little sister is not to be tolerated!” She stood up from the table. “I am going to bathe, and then go to bed.”
“It is early yet,” Taj noted.
“I am leaving early for Grandmother Persis’s house. As it is not far I shall walk,” Zagiri told her siblings. “When I return I hope you two younglings will have remembered that unlike you I am grown.” Then with a toss of her golden curls she left them.
“What is the matter with her of late?” Taj wondered. “All this talk of being a grown woman while we are but children. I am the Dominus, and she has no respect for my position,” he grumbled. “When she returns we shall have to have a little talk about that.” Then he smiled at his twin. “At least you understand me, but then of course you would even if we are different in so many ways.”
Marzina leaned over and kissed her brother’s cheek. “It would have been wonderful if we had both been given the gift of magic, Taj. Just think what we could have accomplished together.”
“You have the magic of two, sister,” he said. “You will work it for both of us. It is better that I am more mortal, for magic is difficult for many Terahns to accept.”
Marzina nodded, more than well aware of the truth he spoke. “It is early yet,” she remarked. “Will you play a game of Herder with me?”
“Only if you promise not to move the pieces by magic,” he told her. “I prefer to at least attempt to use my own skills to beat you.”
“Oh, very well,” Marzina agreed, and then she giggled. “Remember the first time I moved my pieces by magic. The look on your face, Taj, was priceless.”
The young Dominus laughed at the memory. She had indeed startled him, for they had just been nine at the time. “I wasn’t certain I could believe the evidence of my own eyes,” he said, still chuckling.
“Mother couldn’t believe what I had done, but Father thought it quite amusing,” Marzina recalled. Then her beautiful little face crumpled, and she began to cry. “Oh, brother, I miss our father so much!”
Taj put comforting arms about his twin. “I miss him, too, Marzi. I am too young for this responsibility that has been thrust upon me, and I do not think I shall ever be the Dominus that our father was. And poor Mother walks such a fine line so that Terah may remain safe from all predators. Yet I cannot help but wonder if her natural prejudice against Hetar’s rulers hasn’t blinded her judgment.”
“Nay, Taj, you must believe in Mother completely. She is right not to trust Hetar. Their own recent history does not speak well of their intentions,” Marzina said. She could not tell him of the miniature of the Lord High Ruler that had appeared so mysteriously upon Zagiri’s pillow. She had promised to keep her sister’s secret, but now she worried if she should have made that promise. Her older sister had suddenly changed. She had become defiant, moody and even distracted. Marzina had never seen Zagiri behave in such a manner. She wondered if anyone else had noticed the change, or if she was even imagining it. What had happened to Zagiri? Well, perhaps a few days in the company of their Terahn grandmother would calm Zagiri. The sorrow that had so suddenly overcome her vanished. With a leftover sniffle she said, “You get the game table, Taj, and I will fetch the board and the pieces.”
The twin siblings played several games of Herder, and the evening deepened into darkest night. There were no moons, for the skies had become dense and overcast. Finally Taj and Marzina admitted to one another that they were weary, each going to their bedchamber. Marzina could not help but look in on her elder sister. Zagiri was already abed and sleeping, a smile upon her beautiful face. Relieved to see her so Marzina went to her own bed.
Zagiri had just been about to enter the Dream Plain when she had heard the door to her chamber open. The faint noise had drawn her back briefly, and through slitted eyelids she had seen the anxious face of her little sister. It had caused her to smile. Then Marzina had retreated, and Zagiri had heard her footsteps as they faded down the hall. She concentrated upon gaining the Dream Plain once more.
“Zagiri, my golden girl, where are you?” Jonah’s voice called to her.
“Here I am, my lord!” Zagiri called back to him. Then the mists of the Dream Plain parted, and she saw him waiting for her. Zagiri hurried into his arms.
“Are you ready to be brave, and to come with me, my golden girl?” Jonah asked.
“I am ready!” Zagiri said eagerly. This was so exciting, she thought. She would awaken in Hetar, and she could hardly wait. Her heart was beating wildly with her anticipation. Soon she would be this powerful man’s wife.
“Are you certain, Zagiri?” he asked her. “You must be certain that you are ready to come with me. This must be of your own free will, my golden girl.”
“I am sure, my lord. I love you!” she told him. “I must be where you are!”
“Then come, Zagiri of Terah. Come with me to Hetar. Come and be my bride,” he said to her. His arms enfolded her strongly now. “Awaken now, my golden one! Awaken in Hetar!” And his lips came down on hers, crushing her mouth in a hard, fierce kiss. His body pressed against hers.
Zagiri reveled in the touch of his mouth, the feel of his body against her, but then her head began to swim. She struggled to hold on. She could hear an unfamiliar voice whispering in her ear, bidding her to let go of her reality, and join theirs. The voice was dark and sweet, but at the
