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The woman in white had been a cat. Whispers Diane could hear spoke of this. Her human form had not been seen in 100 years, but now the curse was lifted. The white dress flowed as smoothly as her pale skin, floated as lightly as her platinum hair. She was elfin, feline, as beautiful as ... Diane thought of Canth. Yes, as beautiful as Canth, as pale as Canth was dark. Silver Fang, except that she was a cat. White Tiger maybe? Her eyes were silver grey with lashes of a pale ash gold. Her eyebrows, if she had any, were invisible. Her ears swept upward to a point, atop which was a small tuft of platinum fuzz.
The man beside her had reddish gold hair and bright green eyes. He was almost as beautiful as she. She clutched his arm tightly and he smiled, his own pointed ears topped with red fuzz, though he had never held any form but this one in his lifetime. They were elves, Diane knew somehow, real elves, the Sidhe. In Fianna stories they were also called the Children of Danaan, which was another name for Luna. She wondered how they were related to the Garou. If they were. There were stories about that too, but she called her mind back to the drama at hand.
There were many other beautiful folk about. All attention though centered on the woman in white and her beau, and on the other two couples who flanked them, one pair in yellow, the other in red. All the men bowed before the King, who sat on the throne. The men all had decided familial resemblance to His Royal Majesty. The same green eyes, the same mouth and chin, or the same high forehead. The King looked at each couple who stood before his throne. The women were all very beautiful, but it was the one who had been a cat who drew all eyes to her.
The King stood, his purple robes creasing slightly then falling gracefully into new folds as though the man they clothed had always been standing, a carven statue of perfect style. Diane's eyes were drawn to three birds in cages hanging overhead, one gold, one red and one white. Then to three dogs who lay near the throne, of the same three colors. In all cases, though all the animals were perfect and beautiful, it was the white ones that were most impressive. She was not sure how the effect was obtained, but it had been.
The King spoke. His voice was sonorous, there were no words to describe it better than kingly, and majestic. "My sons. This was the final quest I set you all, to determine who will be King after me. I told you, and I tell you still, there is nothing that a King must understand better than quality. I bade you all find the finest songbird in the land and bring it to me. You all found fine birds, but the one my youngest son found was the finest. Then I bade you bring me the finest hunting hounds in the land. All the hounds were excellent hunters, and well formed, but the one brought by Dolan again surpassed the rest."
He turned to Dolan, apparently the man standing with the woman in white. "Dolan, I know we have never seen eye to eye on anything, but you have shown yourself to be among my sons the one with the best judgment and finest taste. In proof of this, you have brought the most lovely woman I have seen since your mother's death before us as your bride. Be welcome and be known to all that you are my heir and heir to the kingdom." The people all around broke into cheers, though the other two couples remained quiet and watchful. Diane looked from the man in red to the man in yellow. They did not look like candidates who had lost the campaign. They knew there was still more to come, and thereby so did she.
Now the King spoke to the woman who had been a cat. "Elaine, I welcome you as my new daughter, and the future queen of my country." Elaine, as the woman in white's name seemed to be, turned to Dolan and looked at him. Seven years, and seven years, and seven years again. After so long they thought as if they were one being. Diane heard whispers telling the stories of the seven year searches for the songbirds, and the hounds, and the brides. She again, though with effort evident, drew her concentration back to the events unfolding before her.
Dolan took a step forward, Elaine staying close beside, and spoke in return. "Father. You never wanted me to be your heir, and you devised your tests to try to prove me unfit. Ultimately, though you lost that battle, you have won the war. Twenty-one years later, and I no longer care to rule your kingdom after you are gone, to be your heir for the next century under your thumb. No, thank you. Elaine and I will return to her kingdom and rule there together. Now that the curse is lifted, her kingdom needs us far more than yours." Dolan held Elaine's hand tightly in his and took a step back, bowing to the King. "I hope that your kingdom and ours can be friends and allies, Your Majesty."
The men in red and yellow exchanged glances, whose contents Diane could not read. She suspected a subtle smirking satisfaction there. The one in yellow approached Dolan and offered his hand, which after a moment Dolan took briefly. "Brother, I wish you luck in your new kingdom, and happiness with your bride." Dolan managed a smile and nodded, wishing his brother happiness as well.
The man in red looked to the King. "Father, Dolan has refused. Will you name one of your sons heir this night, or is there to be another quest?" The King looked angered for a moment, then his expression returned to its stylistic perfection. "I will not. The quests have proven ill-omened, and I take it as the will of the Celestines that I not name an heir. You and Kyril can fight it out after I die. As for your ladies, I bid you good morrow and welcome, and good night." The King turned and walked out of the room.
A buzz rose among the gathered courtiers and Diane felt herself leaving their presence, as various ones decided where their best interests lay and took to the Prince they favored best. Many chose Dolan and the woman in white, though the Princes in red and yellow had their courts as well. She smelled intrigue strongly in the air, as the dream floated her up, over the castle, over forests evergreen, to elsewhere in Arcadia or beyond...