Okay, all, my laptop broke, so I'm using my mom's lappy for this one, but I just want you to know that this might be my last FanFic for a while. Hope you like it!!!!!!
Note to All Readers: As I said, my laptop broke, and my format is different than the Vista (I hate Vista!!!!) my mom uses, so I couldn't use the same format on the words, meaning basically that the little dots above the "e" in "Adnae" are gone. :( lol Just thought you might want to know...
Disclaimer: It's not mine...well, the story is, but not the characters...well, one is mine, but...argh, now I'm confused...
The fountain in the courtyard trickled peacefully as birds burbled in the branches high above, and the sun shone down on a warm day. All in all, it was a wonderful time to be outside, relaxing in the serene sunshine. But not everyone was enjoying the warm weather, as they should be. Maerad stood outside of the council hall, staring gravelly at the door, her hands trembling in the folds of her dress. She jumped as the door opened, and then stared down at the ground, ashamed. It was Cadvan.
"Maerad!" he cried. "Where have you been? The meeting started ages ago!"
"Oh, Cadvan...I know, but...I can't go in there. I just can't," she said fearfully, her eyes widening.
"Maerad," he said, more softly, and he gripped her arms firmly, but tenderly, as he looked her in the eye, "You CAN do this. You are the strongest woman I have ever met, and I know that you can go in there and prove to the council that you are not in the wrong. You can show them that true love always wins, and that it is not your fault for what you did."
She smiled half-heartedly. "Do you really think so?"
He smiled back, his winning smile that transofrmed and illuminated his somber face. "I know so."
"Maerad of Pellinor and Cadvan of Lirigon," said Malgorn, his normally care-free eyes cold and hard, "You have something to tell us?"
Maerad, Cadvan, and Adnae stood before the entire First Circle of Innail, their faces shadowed and heads bowed. "Yes," said Maerad, barely inaudibly.
"So," said another bard, Hurille, "please explain." None of them spoke, but then Cadvan lifted his head and glanced around the table.
"Bards of the First Circle of Innail," he said, "You have called this council, which, maybe to your surprise, would have been if you had not called it anyway, for just last night, we were considering coming to you humbly, ready to accept your just punishment."
"Oh, another one of your midnight meetings, was it? What did you do at this one?" said another bard snootily. The table snickered. Maerad turned red, and Adnae grasped her hand in encouragement, although her face, too, flushed.
"I will ignore that," said Cadvan, visibly working to contain his anger. "As I was saying, we would have come to you anyway, for we must tell you of something. Of something that is wrong with your decree of so many years ago."
"Our decree?" said Malgorn, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes, before Maerad went away to Murask."
"Oh. I see."
Cadvan turned to Maerad. "Would you like to take it from here?"
Maerad swallowed. "Yes," she whispered.
She turned back to the council. "Bards of the First Circle of Innail," she began, and her voice gathered strength as she went on, "we have come to you, or rather, you have called us, to talk about a decree that was made nearly 17 summers ago. There was something that was very, very wrong about your decree, something that can affect the fate of the world.
"What, that you broke the rules of the decree?" laughed another bard. Others joined in, but others remained silent, and for that, Maerad was glad.
Adnae squeezed her mother's hand, and when Maerad looked over, she saw that her face was hard and determined. Gathering strength from that one look alone, she looked back at the council, and spoke slowly and deliberately.
"No. What you said in that decree will remain firmly in my mind forever."
"Even though you chose to ignore it?" said another bard. The council erupted into laughter again.
Maerad and Cadvan could tell they were fighting a losing battle. Adnae beside them was angry, and her face was a horrible shade of red.
"STOP IT, STOP IT!" she cried out furiously, and instantly the council hall was dead silent. "What is wrong with you?" she said, glaring at every man and woman in the council hall. "They are trying to tell you something more important than anything, something more important than your stupid decree. They are trying to tell you that YOU ARE WRONG."
The counil just stared at her, their mouths open. None had dared ever stand up to the council before. Even Maerad and Cadvan were shocked.
Adnae gathered courage from this and continued, her eyes glittering angrily from under drawn eyebrows.
"You were wrong to keep them apart. Yes, it may have been disastrous, but you shouldn't have even tried. If they loved each other, than they shouldn't have to stay away from each other. Malgorn," she said, turning to the man, who jumped as she said his name, "you love Silvia, am I correct?"
He coughed, and scratched the back of his neck, then looked away. Then he looked back at her, a slight smile tickling the corner of his mouth. "With all my heart," he said.
"Well, what would you do if someone told you that you were never, ever allowed to talk to her, see her, or touch her, ever again?"
"Well, most likely I would disobey..."
"PRECISELY!" she cried out, her blue eyes fiery and alive. "So that is exactly what they did. My parents, Maerad of Pellinor and Cadvan of Lirigon needed each other, simply because they loved each other. Would you keep love," she said, grabbing her parent's hands and joining them, much to their embarrassment, "apart?"
Maerad's hands tingled as she felt Cadvan's touch. He looked at her and she felt her face go all red again. She looked away, and glanced up at the council. All of them seemed lost in thought, and others were smiling at Adnae.
Maerad hugged her daughter. "You did well," she whispered in her ear before kissing the top of her head.
Adnae glanced up at her. "Thanks, mom," she said, her eyes glowing with happiness, "but it's not over yet."
She turned back to the council. "So, you now know that your decree was wrong, and although my parents disobeyed and had me anyway, it was wrong for you to try and keep them apart. You should have let it been fate's decree whether or not I turned to the dark. You should have trusted my parents, the greatest bards in Edil-Amarandh, to raise me up to be a loyal bard of the Light. Do not doubt your fellow friends, and never doubt the Saviours of our world."
The council nodded, and Malgorn stood up. "Maerad, Cadvan, Adnae," he said, his smile now wide, "you have shown us our faults, and for that we thank you. We ask your forgiveness."
The three on the floor nodded, accepting the apology that was owed.
But Malgorn became grave again. "But, therefore, you must also accept your faults as well. Even if it was wrong to keep you apart, you still disobeyed the rulings of a council."
"What else is new?" whispered Cadvan in Maerad's ear.
Malgorn continued, "So, you must accept the charges."
Maerad swallowed.
Malgorn smiled. "But, we are going to lift the charges."
Maerad's face lit up, and Cadvan smiled as Adnae's draw dropped. "Really?" she cried.
Malgorn nodded, as did some of the other bards in the council. Others were still glaring at them, but they were ignored.
Maerad, Cadvan, and Adnae laughed out loud, their faces shining with joyful disbelief.
Malgorn smiled again. "You are dismissed."
They thanked the council and then exited out of the hall, talking and laughing. Once the double doors had closed, Cadvan picked Maerad up and spun her around. "We did it!" he cried as she laughed. He brought her down and then kissed her passionately. She relaxed into his tender embrace, and put her arms around his neck.
"Ahem," said Adnae, tapping her foot and crossing her arms.
They broke apart and smiled at her. Cadavn brought her into a tight embrace. "Ah, my girl," he said into her hair, "you did so well. I can never thank you enough."
"Well, I..." said Adnae, her voice muffled.
"...you were wonderful, and no buts," said Maerad, taking her from Cadvan and hugging her tightly, and then he put his arms around them both.
And there the family stood, happily together again, their story come to a happy conclusion. For after a mistake, a wonderful, beautiful mistake, they had come together and been reunited, and then they had proven the truth, and that is the greatest story of all.
Well, I hope you liked it. Review, please. I would like to know if you think I should do an epilogue. 'Cause I will, but only if you want one...your choice. Farewell for now!!!!