Popping "The Question"

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 14543

Astra 9's group, who have awoken refreshed and ready to face a new day? Sometime later this day, they had arranged to tell Duke Dredrick and Lady Champlaine about something important.....

Jarlath and the other, much refreshed after having an uninterrupted sleep, they are gathered around the breakfast table. Annafrid and Astra are nearest to Jarlath and they kisses each in turn. It is less that chaste.

"So, when's the wedding?" Andrea quips, fox tail swishing about and her fox ears quirked in a wry manner.

"Probably this very day, if they can manage it," Joan mutters.

Andrea and the others chuckle, mostly because it's all too true.

Soon plans are being discussed. This includes wedding dress designs.

Annafrid herself related a wonderful dream she'd had last night about such a dress that she was just dying to wear.

Everything was all of a whirl as she was fitted for her beautiful white lace dress. It had a tight boned corset which compressed her waist and pushed up her fast developing chest. From her slender waist a long skirt billowed out down to the ground. Her head was topped with a crown of white velvet roses.

As a matter of point, it was exactly the dress seen in episode 9388.....of another victim of another Belboz in another reality. This is the last gasp of the heritage of Annafrid.....glimpses of what could have been...if things had been different. Last gasp, and nothing more for things have moved on and life will go on.

That aside, the lovely image it gives catches Astra's eye, and both brides to be agree that for this one special occasion, that two woman showing up in the same outfit.....would be a wonderful thing indeed.

That decided, the discussion then starts to turn to how exactly to approach the elder D'Honaires when Jenny Elf and friends come by. When they tell of who they're going to be seeing next.....Joan is especially eager to see it.

As stated earlier, Joan is one of many people who isn't much of a fan of one particular male elf from the World of Two Moons.


Rayek groaned, feeling like something vile had crawled up into his mouth....and died. He opened his aching eyes, and is greeted by the impassive face of a human being who's got something strange on his face! Though he's never seen a human being before, and in fact only thought them a myth, his pounding, frightened heart tells him this is a human being!

He tries to jump up and run, but he's too weak still to do more than squirm and give off a weak shout of surprise. He even tries to use his powers of magic to freeze the human being with his magical gaze, but whatever the human being is wearing blocks his gaze.

"Ah yes, the elf of the our awakes!" Eric Jones quips, stepping back with an air of disgust, "And as expected, the boy tried to whammy me with his gaze attack."

He'd been talking with his boy before coming in to "greet" Rayek, and was rather happy at making the arrogant elf uncomfortable.

Rayek still was very unpopular with many, and Eric had a rather.....er.....odd sense of humor (something some would call a "mean streak"). But mean or not, Eric felt Rayek deserved a little jolt for all the problems he'd caused.

"Rayek, look at me." a small girl's voice says to his side.

The talk between the shocked Rayek (who somehow recognizes Ti'mma for a High One despite the new form she wears) and Ti'mma is short, quiet, and private. However, whatever exactly was said shakes Rayek to his core. This version of Rayek had not even met the Wolfriders yet, and as such had not even begun down the path that eventually lead to the event that would merge two object in one space at the same time (and destroy a universe). But though she'd been as kind at breaking the news of what had happened with his older self, she'd been very.....VERY firm that she would NOT allow Rayek to run amok again, and Rayek wouldn't like the means that she'd use if that became necessary. No words like that were used, but Rayek gets the distinct impression that Ti'mma (formerly named Timmain) was very serious about this.

That done, Rayek had a lost....forlorn look on his face is heartbreaking to the High One, but she knows that it was necessary. There just was no way to make this less hard for Rayek, and Ti'mma was very serious about her warning. Better to tell it all now, and let the poor SOB adjust as well as he could than have it fall and shatter him later on.

Nobody was really happy with this whole deal, but they did what they could. Even the one person who'd probably had been happy with seeing that broken look on Rayek's face can feel happy about it now. All that the small elfin boy named Curthis'el (formerly named Cutter) can feel is.....pity for Rayek.

As for several of the others.....they were rather satisfied with the broken look on Rayek's face. As cruel as that initially sounds, these people remember that Rayek had (or would have/had already) kidnaped Cutter's mate (wife), his children, and his brother in all but blood forward to a time ten thousand years into the future. They had remembered the broken, lost look that Cutter had when he'd saw the kidnaping take place. They remember the scene of Cutter trying to, hoping against hope, being able to live long enough to see his family again (WolfRiders are/were mortal). They finally remember that only by using extreme means (which went against the Way, the founding principle that all WolfRiders follow almost religiously) was the only way that Cutter finally saw his family again....only to watch a mad Rayek join the older Palace to it's younger counterpart......and wipe everything away.

No, there is no love here for Rayek.

But after Joan and the others are leaving the room, they run into an unexpected set of guests.

See, it's not only Probe who can hitch a ride on a Shuttlecraft. After hearing rumors of what exactly his son was going to talk about, Duke Drederick and Lady Champlaine had (after settling some business) jumped right over to talk with him directly. They are delighted in the extreme!

  1. But the rumors had only spoken of one woman....not two......

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12/2/2000 5:06:53 AM

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