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.
“As you wish,” the Big Dog stated.
Then instantly, Mallory was reborn, the last (of course, always lagging behind) of a litter of Newfoundland pups.
Mallory thought it was fun being a puppy but somewhat exhausting.
Then, one day, six weeks later, he was lying contentedly in another sunbeam when he heard the woman who watched over them say, “They’re over here.”
His brothers and sisters all exuberantly ran to whoever it was that had entered the room. Mallory lifted his head to have a lazy look at what was transpiring.
Then he saw his tall, strong, dark-haired master.
He jumped to his big, puppy feet and ran to the man who was now crouching low over the gaggle of puppies, examining them closely.
Mallory pushed his brothers and sisters aside, surged toward his master’s hand and gave it a sloppy lick.
Colin’s eyes immediately shifted to Mallory.
“I’ll take this one,” Colin stated.
“Are you sure? He was the last one out; he’s a bit of the runt.”
Colin chuckled as his big hand closed around Mallory and lifted him into his arms.
“That figures,” he mumbled.
Mallory was beside himself with glee.
The pretty dark-haired lady that came with his master held Mallory while Colin drove them back home to Lacybourne.
Then he was put in a room for several hours. He was happy there. The room had food, water, treats and kids and people came in every once in awhile to coo over him, play with him or take him outside.
And, of course, the sun was shining brightly and there were some mighty sunbeams.
Then he had several hours to himself and he used them wisely and took a long puppy nap.
Then the door opened and the dark-haired woman walked in with a red-haired one. He knew both of them and he ran to them and gave them as many puppy kisses as they’d allow which, Mallory thought with delight, was a lot even though they were both all dressed up in pretty frocks.
They tied a silly pink and cream ribbon around his neck but he didn’t mind as it was rather fun to try and reach it so he could chew through it.
“Take off that ridiculous ribbon,” Colin ordered upon entering the room.
“But Colin, he’s a gift!” the dark-haired lady said.
“Claire, take off the ribbon,” Colin repeated.
“The ribbon has to stay, Sibyl will love it,” the red-haired woman declared.
Mallory could swear he heard his master growl.
Then Mallory jumped from the red-head’s arms and into Colin’s. His tail was wagging and his body was wriggling and he tried to reach his master’s face to give it a big, wet kiss.
Colin deftly avoided his tongue as he followed the two women out of the room, into the hall and toward the stairs.
He was still trying to lick his master’s face when he heard the loving, familiar laugh. Mallory froze, looked across The Great Hall, his floppy ears flying and saw her standing under the two big portraits.
There were tons of people there milling all over the place, drinking golden liquid from fragile glasses and eating food (some of which, Mallory fervently hoped, they’d drop to the floor). They were talking, laughing, joking, smiling and having the times of their lives.
Most of them Mallory knew, some of them he didn’t. But Mallory didn’t care. He only had eyes for one of them and he had to get to his mistress now.
Everyone was slowly stopping their chatter and turning to look as Mallory and Colin descended the stairs. And then she looked and she saw and Mallory was delighted as her face, already glowing, brightened to magnificent.
She looked so pretty in that cream dress with the pink flowers in her long, golden hair.
And she looked so happy, happier than he’d ever seen her and she was normally quite happy.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, she swept forward and the crowd parted as she ran toward them.
And for the second time in his life, Colin was upstaged by a dog.