‘You’d understand that, wouldn’t you, Wolf ?’ she murmured to her son’s companion.
Wolf opened his golden eyes and thumped his tail briefly in acknowledgment on the bed.
That startled Ce’Nedra just a bit. Wolf seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. Who was this Wolf, anyhow? She quickly pushed that thought into the back of her mind. The possibility that Wolf might not be who – or what – he seemed was something Ce’Nedra wasn’t prepared to deal with just now. For now, the discovery that Poledra had won that game was enough for one evening.
Reluctant or not, though, there was one realization that crashed in on the Rivan Queen. Her husband’s family predated the cracking of the world, and there was no getting around the fact that it was the most important family in human history. When Ce’Nedra had first met Garion, she’d rather scornfully dismissed him as an illiterate, orphaned scullery boy from Sendaria, and she’d been wrong on all points. She herself had taught Garion how to read, but she was forced to admit that all she’d really done had been to open the book for him. She’d almost had to run to keep up with him once he’d learned the alphabet. He’d washed a few pots and pans in Faldor’s kitchen, but he was a king, not a scullery boy. Garion wasn’t a Sendarian, either, and as for his being an orphan, he was the farthest thing in the world from being an orphan His family stretched back to the dawn of time. Ce’Nedra had fretted about the possibility that her husband might outrank her, but he didn’t just outrank her, he transcended her. That really went down hard for the Rivan Queen.
She sighed. A whole group of unpleasant realizations were crowding in on Ce’Nedra. She glanced at her own reflection in her son’s smeary mirror, and she lightly touched her deep red hair with her fingers. ‘Well,’ she sniffed, ‘at least I’m prettier than he is.’
Then she realized just how ridiculous that final defense was, and she laughed in spite of herself. She threw up her arms in surrender. ‘I give up,’ she said, still laughing.
Then she slipped out of bed, tucked the bolster up under Geran’s chin and lightly kissed him. ‘Sleep well, my dear little Prince,’ she murmured.
Then, not knowing exactly why, she stroked Wolf’s head. ‘You too, dear friend,’ she said to him. ‘Watch over our little boy.’
The Wolf looked at her gravely with those calm golden eyes, and then he did something totally unexpected. He gave the side of her face a quick, wet lick with his long tongue.
Ce’Nedra giggled in spite of herself, trying to wipe her cheek. She threw her arms around Wolf’s massive head and hugged him.
Then the Rivan Queen blew out the candle, tiptoed out of the room, and quietly closed the door behind her.
Wolf lay there on the foot of Geran’s bed looking at the dying fire in the fireplace with those golden eyes of his for quite a long time. Everything seemed to be as it was supposed to be, so Wolf sighed contentedly, stretched his muzzle out on his front paws, and went back to sleep.