Searching for Dragons - Wrede Patricia Collins (мир бесплатных книг TXT) 📗

"I– That's good," Mendanbar said. He hesitated, then said tentatively, "I suppose you'll be going with her?"

"What else would I be doing?" Cimorene asked. She sounded more curious than sarcastic.

Mendanbar took a deep breath. "You could stay here. At the castle, I mean. With me." This wasn't coming out at all the way he had wanted it to, but it was too late to stop now. He hurried on, "As Queen of the Enchanted Forest, if you think you would like that. I would."

"Would you, really?"

"Yes," Mendanbar said, looking down. "I love you, and-and-" "And you should have said that to begin with," Cimorene interrupted, putting her arms around him. Mendanbar looked up, and the expression on her face made his heart begin to pound.

'Just to be sure I have this right," Cimorene went on with a blinding smile, "did you just ask me to marry you?"

"Yes," Mendanbar said. "At least, that's what I meant."

"Good. I will."

Mendanbar tried to find something to say, but he was too happy to think. He leaned forward two inches and kissed Cimorene, and discovered that he didn't need to say anything at all.

The first person they told was, of course, Kazul. Mendanbar was a little nervous about it, because from what he'd heard, dragons tended to get testy when their princesses ran off with someone, but Kazul didn't seem to mind at all.

"Good for you," she said to Mendanbar. "And congratulations to the pair of you." Her eyelids lowered halfway, and she looked at Cimorene.

"I'd been wondering how much longer you were going to stay."

"I don't know what you mean," Cimorene said indignantly. "I wasn't planning to leave! This just sort of happened."

"I know," Kazul said. "But you'd have gone soon in any case. Now that you've gotten things organized, there isn't really enough work to keep you busy in the Mountains of Morning. You wouldn't have stayed long, once you started to get bored."

"Living with dragons doesn't sound boring to me," Mendanbar said.

"That's because you've never done it," Kazul replied. "Being Queen of the Enchanted Forest will give Cimorene more scope for her talents."

"Then you really don't object?" Mendanbar asked.

"Why should I?" Kazul said. "You're a nice enough person, as humans go, and you've been very polite about the whole thing. That doesn't happen often. Normally, knights and princes just grab a princess and run. And most of the princesses don't even bother to say good-bye, much less give proper notice." She looked at Cimorene and sighed.

"I'll miss your cooking, though."

"I can come back for a week or two, if you'd like, and train a replacement," Cimorene offered.

"I may take you up on that, once I find one," Kazul said thoughtfully.

"And in the meantime, you can come over for dinner a lot," Mendanbar said, and both Cimorene and Kazul smiled at him.

When Willin heard about the engagement, he was delighted. The wedding of the King of the Enchanted Forest was just the sort of vast formal occasion the elf had been craving, and he threw himself into the preparations with enthusiasm. He didn't even object when he learned that the bride wanted the King of the Dragons for her matron-of-honor and a witch for her bridesmaid.

"Kazul and Morwen are my best friends," Cimorene explained. "Besides, if I have them, Mother won't insist that my sisters be bridesmaids."

"You have sisters?" Mendanbar asked, somewhat taken aback.

Cimorene nodded. "Six of them. They're all perfectly lovely and sweet, and the sight of Kazul will probably scare them silly."

"Typical princesses," Mendanbar muttered, but without any active dislike. He didn't seem to mind foolish princesses much anymore, as long as he didn't have to marry one. It was amazing what a difference being engaged to Cimorene made.

"They aren't as featherbrained as they sound," Cimorene told him.

"They just act as if they are."

"I don't think I like the sound of that," Mendanbar said. "Are you sure they won't want to be bridesmaids anyway? Maybe we should just elope."

"No, it's too late for that," Cimorene told him. "Don't worry about it, though. It will work out fine."

"If you say so," Mendanbar said, but he was not really convinced.

The note Cimorene's mother sent to acknowledge the engagement only increased Mendanbar's misgivings. I am delighted to hear that you are going to be properly settled at last, Cimorene dear, ran the note. I am enclosing a list of relatives and family friends who ought certainly to be included in your wedding plans, however unconventional those may be. Your father wishes to know which half of the kingdom your betrothed would prefer, as he is anxious to get the paperwork out of the way as soon as possible.

"Half the kingdom?" Mendanbar asked cautiously.

Cimorene looked more than a little put out. "It's the usual reward for rescuing a princess from a dragon. I hoped they'd forgotten about it, but I should have known better. Mother would never do anything so incorrect."

"Well, I don't want it. One kingdom is more than enough for me."

"Then you'd better write them immediately and tell them so," Cimorene advised. "Otherwise they'll have all the forms and documents and records written out, signed by twenty noble witnesses, and sealed by every member of Father's Council, and you'll never be able to get rid of it."

"I'll see to it at once."

"Good." Cimorene picked up the long list of names that had been enclosed with the note. "I'll take this in to Willin, so someone can start addressing the invitations."

"Do we have to invite all of them?"

"We might as well," Cimorene said. "We're asking everyone else. And most of them are family."

"I think it would be easier to elope," Mendanbar said.

The guest list was enormous. Almost all the dragons were coming, and so were a great many of their princesses, past and present. After some initial misgivings, Cimorene's entire family decided to attend, including all six of her sisters and their husbands, her fourteen nieces and nephews, her parents, three of her aunts, two uncles, seventeen cousins, and her fairy godmother. Queen Alexandra was also coming, along with all twelve of her daughters. Mendanbar couldn't help feeling a little nervous about that, out of habit. All the kings and queens and princes and grand dukes who lived around the edges of the Enchanted Forest had had to be invited, and so had most of the odd and unusual people who lived inside the forest itself. Even the ogres and trolls had agreed to behave themselves if they were allowed to be present. In fact, the only people who hadn't been invited were the wizards.

"This wedding will be the best and most prestigious event in years!"

Willin said happily as the acceptances poured in.

"It's certainly going to be the biggest," Mendanbar said, gazing at the stacks of paper in mild amazement. "Where are we going to put them all?"

"You are not to worry about that, Your Majesty," Willin told him sternly. "It is my job to oversee the preparations, and that includes arranging an appropriate place to hold the ceremony and the reception afterward."

"I really think it would have been easier to elope," Mendanbar grumbled.

In the end, they decided to hold the wedding in Fire-Flower Meadow.

The gargoyle in Mendanbar's study complained about the decision long and loudly, because it would obviously be unable to attend, but the meadow was the only open area in the entire Enchanted Forest that would be large enough for the enormous crowd of guests.

"I bet you think that makes it all right," the gargoyle told Mendanbar and Cimorene several days before the wedding. 'Just because you want to have hundreds and hundreds of people at your wedding, I'm supposed to smile and say I don't mind being left out. Well, it isn't all right and I won't do it!"