Dream of Me/Believe in Me

disheveled, often wet. She laughed and groaned, sweated and sighed just like all mortals. But not like the creature in the mirror, who smiled suddenly, a winsome smile of piercing sweetness as though beckoning her into a mystery.
    “Oh, my.” A sigh of sound, nothing more, but it was enough to make Martha snort.
    “Oh, my, indeed.” She dusted off her hands and looked at Krysta of the mirror with satisfaction. “ 'Twas worth every moment though I doubt my poor eyes will recover. Never again will I make such a gown.” She glanced around at the array of fabrics still filling the room, fruit of Hawk's unbridled gift giving. “Unless, of course, your ladyship wants another.”
    “Oh, no!” The very thought dismayed her although she knew something would have to be done with the fabrics if only because Hawk obviously intended that to happen. She was beginning to understand that he was extremely good at getting his own way. “That is, not just now.”
    As it was, other seamstresses were already at work on lesser but still luxurious gowns, shifts, and all the rest that Eahlswith insisted had to be made. Moreover, just that morning the queen had announced that the wedding gifts were arriving. General hilarity among the ladies greeted Krysta's dismay. Hawkforte was a large keep, true enough, but surely there was a limit to how many gold plates and cups, finely woven wall hangings, chests of spices, furs, and the like that any one place could accommodate.
    Yet still the tribute to Hawk poured in. That was how she thought of it, tribute to the man who stood at Alfred's right hand, who had slain Udell and who married as a pledge of peace between Norse and Saxon. He deserved every bit of it, she had no quibble with that. She was just feeling a little overwhelmed, that was all.
    “Perhaps you should sit down now, dear,” Eahlswith said. She gestured to Martha and her helpers. The magnificent gown was deftly removed, leaving Krysta in her shift. A stool was set beneath her and a cool drink pressed into her hand.
    “Even dear Athelflad,” the queen said, “who is rarely discomposed by anything, found the preparations for her wedding tiring and we had half-a-year for that, not a mere fortnight.”
    Privately, Krysta could not imagine undergoing such rigors for six months but she did not say so. She was deeply grateful to Eahlswith for all that the good woman was doing, and that she did say.
    “You have been so kind, I will never be able to adequately thank you.”
    The queen smiled and actually looked a little embarrassed. “No thanks are needed, my dear. I'm enjoying myself thoroughly.”
    Krysta thought it fortunate that somebody was, but by the time the sun rose on her wedding day, her own spirits had improved greatly. For one thing, she was no longer nauseated. Indeed, she felt filled with energy and health. Slipping out of bed as the first rays of light filtered through her windows, Krysta stood for a few minutes gazing out at the town. So crowded was it with noble guests and their servants that there were people sleeping outside on pallets thrown down wherever there was room. Fortunately, the weather could not have been better. Fall had come with rich, dappled warmth. Insects still buzzed in the bushes and scarcely a leaf had changed color. The onlyreal indication of the season were the splashes of gold and red to be glimpsed here and there in the surrounding wood. That and the shortening days that brought night on more speedily than weeks before.
    The thought of night made Krysta feel suddenly flustered, and wasn't that foolish? She did not go to her bridal bed a virgin and was deeply glad of it. Imagine trying to cope with all the guests, the ceremony and the rest, while worrying about the coming night in the arms of a stranger. Hawk was dearly known to her, no stranger but the man she loved and trusted above all else in the world. She closed her eyes for a moment and whispered the hope that night would come on swift wings and overtake the laggard day. For laggard it was, each moment seeming to stretch out intolerably.
    The queen and her ladies came while she was yet at the window. They brought food, bath water, and welcome chatter. Glad though she was of the distraction, Krysta still wished for something, anything that would speed up time. Each moment passed with aching slowness but despite that, when the bells heralding sext rang out, she was surprised. Midday already and the ceremony scheduled for nones.