Lordan, the wagon master, performed our ceremony. With his level of diligent paranoia and the distrust he'd shown me at our first meeting, I thought he'd be hard to convince. As far as I know, Aloree just pointed out that she'd be in more danger unmarried based upon our intelligence so far, and Lordan scheduled the wedding for the very next day.

For the wedding I wore a fine suit of gilded platemail, polished to a sheen. My sword Swelfalster was in an ornamented scabbard upon my hip. Aloree wore a dress of white trimmed with blue like her eyes, and the sapphire upon the ring on her hand. As we placed our rings upon finger of the other, the rest of the wagon train flew wildflowers at us that they had picked that day.

That evening, we were finally given some privacy. Aloree joined her soul to mine, and told me her true name.

Our days of matrimonial bliss were glorious, but fewer than we hoped. Two towns later, it happened. As our wagon train pulled into town, an endless column of soldiers clad in black armor marched out, surrounding us. Our hands went to our sword hilts. Canmar quietly nocked an arrow onto his bowstring. An officious looking man marched out into the circle of soldiers, and declaimed loudly, "As regional magistrate, it pleases me to announce that the head official of the Black Citadel commands the presence of Aloree, diplomat of Talore, at the council hall tonight."

"She's currently indisposed," said Lordan, nonchalantly trimming his fingernails with a dagger.

The man nodded to the soldiers to his left and right. They drew their crossbows from their belts and pointed them upwards.

"She has some moments to prepare. Should she not be forthcoming shortly, we will dispatch a search party to find her."

I felt my sword hum beneath my grip as a magical discharge occurred, and a puff of black smoke went up from Aloree's wagon. Aloree came out shortly thereafter, a small smudge of ash upon her cheek. I wondered what documents she had just incinerated.

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Our eyes were upon her as she and Lordan exchanged whispers. My muscles tensed. If we were going to battle, it would be best to do it now, before more soldiers drew crossbows. Finally, Aloree shook her head.

Aloree looked the magistrate in the eye. "By tradition of Talore, I may not go alone and unescorted. May I take my husband?"

"Yes, yes," said the magistrate, "there will be room for two people in your party. Hurry. We must set out at once. You have ten minutes to get ready."

With that, I hopped off my wagon to join Aloree. "You sure you want to come with them?" I whispered to Aloree.

She nodded. "This is what I came for. If we wanted to run, we should've done it days ago."

After adjusting our attire and packing a few things, we followed the magistrate out of the circle. He led us to a chariot drawn by several horses, and bade us sit down. Immediately after we sat, soldiers began tying us to the seats with ropes. "So you don't fall off," explained the magistrate helpfully. "We'll be travelling very fast."

The soldiers ahead of us commenced riding down a narrow trail leading directly to the citadel. Our charioteer whipped our horses, and we were off.

We arrived in the citadel, were untied, then marched into a large building, soldiers on either side of us, and seated near the head of a large table full of people. An impressively dressed man in platform shoes walked in, and all rose.

"All stand for the imperator, governor of the Black Citadel!" shouted a herald.

The man walked to the head of the table, and picked up a glass. All present picked up theirs. Aloree and I followed suit. "To a prosperous relationship with Talore. SKOL!" yelled the imperator. All slammed down their drink, and Aloree and I did as well. We sat.

The imperator looked at Aloree. Small talk began up and down the table. "How was your trip over?" he asked.

"Efficient," replied Aloree. "By the way, I notice your title is Governor. Under whom do you serve?"

At this point, my vision got blurry, and the room swayed a bit. I wondered about the drink I had just drunk.

"Why, the commander of the Black Legion, of course—The Dark Emperor."

The room spun, and my head hit the table in front of me. I heard Aloree's thunk down as well. All went black.