Chapter Five Hundred and Fourteen - Golden Moment

"Alright!" Amaryllis said with great authority.

"Alright indeed," Desiree replied with a serious nod that broke out into a teasing smile when Amaryllis gave her an unamused look.

We were situated in our war room.

That's what Caprica had started calling it, and as we congregated in it day after day, the name had stuck. I think it was mostly because of the irony of calling Booksie's reading room a 'war room.' We had five big, floofy couches arranged in a semi-circle around an old wooden coffee table. A small fireplace sat across from us, made of local stones and with a lively fire crackling and spitting within. It filled the room with a nice smokey scent that mixed well with the lingering odour of hot cocoa and tea and the taste of pastries that stuck to my lips.

Caprica had scoured the city for good pastry shops and had come back with samples from half a dozen of them, so we had croissants, eclairs, donuts, and some strange squarish pastry with a sort of greenish paste inside that the local grenoil called "hoppers" ... it was enough to feed a small army.

It was night, though Port Royal was surprisingly well lit despite that. The room had the fireplace, of course, but also a pair of old magical lamps with glowing runes hanging from metal sconces on the walls. Booksie said that they were due to be changed because their light was dim and didn't carry far, but I kind of liked the cozy vibes I was getting.

Seeing my friends only in the soft oranges of firelight made them feel even warmer and cozier. The warm drinks and sweet food settled in my tummy and left me feeling all sleepy and yet too awake to actually snooze.

"Well," Amaryllis said. "It took over two weeks since Cholondee began her search, but..." she reached over the edge of the couch she was occupying and pulled out a package from a bag. She carefully unwrapped the box, then opened it on her lap to reveal a ring. A very large golden ring which she raised up with both hands.

The ring was large enough that I could have maybe worn it as a crown. Or maybe it was a bit too big for that and it would have fallen around my neck. Judging by the way Amaryllis raised it, it was exactly as heavy as it looked.

"Is that the lost ring?" Calamity asked. He leaned forwards a little and squinted. I did the same. The ring was definitely sized for one of Rhawr's talons. The outside of the band was covered in criss-crossing patterns that looked like knots and... were those little bunny heads on it? That was cute! I think Booksie's ring had little dragons on it, so they kind of matched!

"This is, indeed, the lost ring," Amaryllis said as she placed the ring on the coffee table--was it a tea table? I wasn't sure if they had coffee here--with a heavy clunk. "Pure gold. I don't even know the exact weight, but certainly enough to make it a tempting target."

"Cholondee found it?" I asked. I hadn't heard the whole story yet.

"One of her... goons?" Amaryllis' face twisted in distaste at the word. "They tracked it down to a gold-buyer's shop. News about the ring has been circulating, as well as news of the whole wedding of course. The buyer took what notes he could from the seller, then contacted Cholondee's people."

"They repaid him?" Caprica asked.

"With a bonus to spare," Amaryllis said. "The thief is still on the loose. Apparently they came in disguise. Honestly, I don't think it matters anymore. The ring is back, and we brought it to a bank to have it covered in anti-theft enchantments. Temporary ones, mind. They'll last until the wedding."

"And afterwards, stealing it would mean removing the ring from a dragon's talon," Caprica said. She swirled her mug of tea about. "Good luck to any thief that tries that."

"It would be a lot of experience," Calamity said. "The more challenging the trial, the better the reward."

"There's challenging where being caught means time in jail, and there's challenging where being caught means turning into a snack," Caprica said. "Let's not gamble too much on the intelligence of criminals, however."

Amaryllis sniffed. "If it's stolen after the wedding, then it's no longer our problem, so we shouldn't even worry about it."

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Booksie giggled. "I think dragons usually have a good sense for where their things are. They're a little like squirrels, or some types of birds."

Amaryllis huffed. "I can think of a few harpies with some dragon-like characteristics, then."

"Ah, so, other than the ring being back, what do we have left to do?" Awen asked. She shifted in the sofa she occupied. It was made for someone much larger than her, so she was kind of lost in it. Awen had a small notebook filled with little doodles but also a long to-do list. She and Amaryllis and Caprica had been our organisers for the last week or so. "Um... it looks like most of the things that are left are time-sensitive?"

"So mostly just checking up on things?" I asked.

"Pretty much," Amaryllis agreed. "We're going to have to go around and keep everyone honest until the very last day. On that day we're going to have to make sure everything is properly coordinated."

"That'll be fun," I said.

"No, it will not," Amaryllis countered. "It'll be a small nightmare. There's a lot of logistical plates that need to all be spun at the right time and at the right speed. We're mostly dealing with professionals, so that's a relief, but even they need to be pushed and prodded into the right place at the right time. And then there's the unprofessionals." She looked to Awen who wiggled away into her sofa.

"Uncle will... try his best," Awen said.

"Doesn't your uncle have a bit of a problem with Rhawr's mom?" I asked.

Booksie sighed. "I'm just happy that the familial issues aren't on my side of things," she said. "I'm sure Rhawr's mother can put aside any issues she has for one afternoon. Though... perhaps ensure that your uncle is on his best behaviour?"

"I'll let him know," Awen agreed with a nod. "I promise that he won't be a problem." She swallowed, and I think that she knew just how flimsy of a promise that was.

"Do we have any tasks for the next few days, other than running around and checking on things?" I asked.

Amaryllis hummed. "Bodyguard duty for the bride-to-be."

"Is that really necessary?" Booksie asked.

We all kind of stared at her until the bun went red in the face, so much so that we could all see it even in the firelight.

"I mean, I don't really plan on leaving my shop, and I know that it's well-guarded now," she defended. "And I've gained a few levels as well! I'm not nearly as weak as I once was."

"That doesn't mean that you're strong enough to take on any big threat that might try to fight you," I said. "Besides, bodyguard duty is just Amaryllis' fancy way of saying 'hang out with friends duty.'"

"That doesn't have nearly as nice a ring to it," Amaryllis grumped.

"Exactly," I said. "Can someone pass me the chocolate?"

Calamity picked up the magical kettle of warm milk and poured some into my mug, then I sprinkled on some slivers of cocoa and mixed it in with a spoonful of powdered sugar and a pinch of salt. It lacked some whipped cream, but no one in Port Royal sold cans of that. Maybe no one on Dirt, even!

I plucked a hopper off the pastry platter and sat back down to dip the confection in my drink. It was a little sloppy, but that only made it taste that much better.

We had four days until the big day. Things were more or less lined up now, but that didn't mean that we could just sit back and relax. There were bound to be some last-minute disasters to take care of and fires to put out.

I was actually looking forward to those, in a weird way.

It made me feel just a smidge guilty, but... well, it was fun to run around with my friends and try to tackle novel problems. It made me feel good to be helpful and meet new people and think really hard about ways to fix the issues that arose. Maybe being on bodyguard duty for a couple of days would help?

Booksie and I could do some sparring! And practice with magic, and chat! And I could play chaperon when Rhawr came around, which--according to Amaryllis and Caprica--was very important.

In any case, by this same time next week, the whole thing would be done!

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