From: artemis@odin.unomaha.edu (Gina Ritter)
Subject: Castle -- Meghin and Elo:  "Prelude to Celebration(ies)"
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 18:05:42 GMT


	Meghin was sweeping again.
	It struck her that she had been doing alot of this lately, though
the broken glass and rubble from the Battle had been mostly picked up by
now.  She stared at her broom.  She must be very distracted.  Distracted
indeed...
	The Battle she had sworn to help with was over.  All the Defenders
were well and safe.  Why was she still here?
	Nyrak, a good Defender, had left the Castle.  The Feral Knight had
gone as well.  They had their own paths to follow, as she had hers.  She
stalked around the deserted infirmary, broom over her shoulder.  She had
places to go, things to do, foes to stomp.  Then why had she not yet taken
up her satchel and gone on her way?
	"Because you are yet needed here, Meghin,"  the Goddess said, gently.
Her voice was warm and soft and everywhere.  "You cannot leave yet."
	"But-I have to-Noel-"  Meghin winced.  The Goddess didn't speak to
her often, but somehow she always managed to say something foolish when 
She did.  The Goddess had never reproached her, and Meghin knew that She
never would.
	"You will know when the time is right, child.  But for now...  Be
well..."  Her voice faded away until it was a whisper of a whisper, almost
a memory.  There was a noise at the door and Meghin turned to see Elotheria
standing in the doorway, bouncing on her toes.
	"Hi there!"
	"Hello,"  she said, shaking her head.  It was always difficult to
get a grip on reality again after hearing the Goddess' voice.  Elo came
over to peer directly into her face.
	"What's wrong?  You look all funny."
	She couldn't leave yet.  She was yet needed here.  Did the Goddess
mean...  Surely She did not expect her to watch after Elotheria.  Meghin
wasn't sure either she or her golden-haired friend would survive the task.
Still... she had to admit it was good to be around Elo, and she couldn't
leave her so soon, after just having met up with her again.  "Oh... just
thinking."
	"You're *always* thinking,"  Elo moaned, and flopped on a bed, her 
arm dramatically across her forehead.  "Oh, woe!  Oh, angst!  Oh, puh-leeze!"
She giggled and sat up again.  "Well, stop thinking for once.  I got 
something to tell you."
	"What?"
	Elo grinned.  "Oh, nevermind.  You wouldn't be interested."  She
hummed to herself and swung her feet.  "Not interested at all."
	"Tell me, Elo..."
	"No.  You wouldn't care, not at all.  I can tell."
	"Elotheria--"  Meghin said, holding her broom over her head like
a club, ears twitching.  Elo 'eep!'ed then smiled happily at her.
	"There's going to be a celebration!"
	"Oh."  Meghin set down her broom.  "A celebration."
	"Tomorrow night!"
	"Have fun,"  she said with a polite smile.  Elo squinted.
	"Say... Whadaya mean, 'have fun'?  You're going, aren't you?"
	"I don't think so."
	"Is this a priest thing?"
	She sighed.  "No, it's a Meghin thing.  I don't go to parties."
	"Well, ya should."  Elo took up her broom.  "There'll be food and
music and--"  She waltzed with the broom for a bit, making Meghin blink,
"dancing!  There'll be dancing."
	For a few painful seconds Meghin was in Noel's arms again, at the
Harvest dance months back.  The memory of how happy they had been, how
good it had been to be together, was enough to make her feel sad and
faint.  "I don't dance,"  she replied, sitting down.  Her friend frowned.
	"You don't dance?  No way.  All us elfs dance.  Humans do too, but
not so good.  You think the Goddess gave us feet just so we'd have something
to put shoes on?"  Elo rolled her eyes at the thought.  "Megs, don't you
*ever* have fun?"
	Meghin thought about it.  She couldn't recall having had a really
good time since she'd met up with Elo again.  But she didn't think Elo 
would have liked to hear that.  "Not really."
	"Don't ya miss it?"
	"Not really."  She shook her head then, slowly.  "Yah.  I do.
A lot."
	Elo smiled.  "Well then!  You've got to go to the celebration now.
We'll dress up for it, you know.  It'll be keen.  I haven't gotten to 
dress up since... well, the last time I got dressed up, and, boy, was
that awhile ago!"
	"I don't have anything to wear."
	"That's what you think.  There are storage rooms all over the place,
full of clothes.  All we have to do is find something we like (and that
doesn't belong to anyone else)."
	"And hope it fits.  We are built kinda funny."
	Elo stuck out her tongue.  "Speak for yourself.  Some of us are
fully mature."
	"Some of us,"  Meghin began with a smile, "could *act* like it,
once in a while..."
	She made it to the door before Elo started after her, screeching.
				*     *     *
	A dozen minutes later they had run through most of the Castle,
shouting insults at each other and getting underfoot.  They stopped 
outside the main hall to catch their breath.  Elo peeked inside.
	"Oh, *neat*!"
	Meghin looked too.  The main hall was partly decorated for the
upcoming celebration.  Banners adorned the walls in every color 
imaginable.  Tables and what looked like a stage were set up.  Workers 
moved around, doing this and that.  "It's nice,"  she said, feeling 
suddenly sad again.  Elo grabbed her by the arm.
	"No!  Don't get like that, I mean it!"  Elo stamped her feet.  
"Can't you just be happy, Megs?"
	"I'm trying."
	"Well,"  Elo sniffed, and tweaked her ear, "try harder.  You did
good stuff in the Battle.  You deserve a celebration.  We all do."  She
smiled--a bit sedately for Elotheria, Meghin thought--and gave her arm 
a tug.  "Come on.  There's a dress somewhere with my name on it."
	Meghin laughed and followed her.
				*     *     *
	"So,"  Elo said, holding out her arms, "what do you think?"
	Meghin stared.  Elo was wearing a black dress, with no sleeves or
straps, that stopped just above her knees.  "No,"  she said quietly.
	Elo sighed and ducked behind a painted screen to try on another
dress.  "It looked *fine* to me."
	"It looked *short* to me."
	"That's the point."
	"What's the point?"
	Elo came out from behind the screen again.  Now she wore a deep
blue gown with no adornments at all.  She took up a handful of it and
wrinkled her nose.  "Bo-ring."  She disappeared behind the screen again.
	"What's the point, Elo?"  Meghin asked impatiently.  It was 
amazing how easily Elo got distracted.
	"To get 'em to look at you."
	"To get who to look at me?"
	"Guys."
	"They look at me all the time.  While I'm healing them, while
I'm getting them some nice herbal tea..."
	"No, Meghin.  You want 'em to *look* at you."
	"What's the difference?"
	Elo sighed loudly.  "Well, when someone just looks at you, it's
nothing.  They could look at their mom or their dog the same way.  But
when someone *looks* at you..."  She danced out from behind the screen.
She was wearing a high-necked, flowered dress, and carrying a parasol.
She twirled the parasol experimentally and made a face.  "Yick."  She
disappeared again.
	"No one needs to look at me."
	"Ah, c'mon.  You're pretty enough."
	"No, I'm not.  But it's not that.  I mean... I like Noel, Elo."
	"Bunches?"
	"Yah."  She thought about it, almost smiled.  "Yah."
	"Well Noel isn't here."
	"Don't remind me,"  Meghin said, frowning.  
	"Sorry, Megs.  I just want you to have fun.  Speaking of having
fun, you haven't tried a thing on yet!"  Elo stepped out from behind
the screen and this time Meghin *really* stared.  Elo was wearing a
white dress with a full skirt and ruffles around the sleeves and neck.
She waved a pair of white gloves at Meghin and grinned.  "Whatcha think?"
	"I think you must think you're getting married."
	"It's pretty, yeah?"
	Meghin hoped she'd be able to wear something so pretty to her
wedding someday.  Someday.  "Yah.  It's pretty."
	"Now we can do soemthing about *you*!"  Elo cackled.  She gestured
Meghin behind the screen.  "I'll toss ya stuff to try on."
	"I'd rather pick out my own stuff, thank you,"  the young priest
said, unfastening her tunic.  Elo gasped.
	"Like *you* have any fashion sense.  Gimme a break!  You'd find
something gray and black and modest and say, 'ooh, here we go'.  No way!"
She tossed an armload of dresses over the back of the screen.  Meghin 
picked up the first dress and looked at it distastefully.
	"Oh, Elo, do I have to?  Can't I just wear my robes?"
	"And look like a priest?  Heck, no.  Just 'cause you're a priest
doesn't mean you can't dress up."
	She thought of how nice Elo looked in her ballgown, even with her
hair a bit rumpled, and wondered why she was bothering at all with this
silly stuff.  It's not going to work, she thought, putting on the dress.
Not for me.  Not ever.  She peeked out from behind the screen.  "Elo?"
	"Megs, you're *so* pokey."
	"This isn't me,"  she complained, tugging at the neck of the 
burgundy gown.  Elo nodded.
	"You're right."
	"Oh, good.  Can I wear my robes now?"
	"That's the second time you've said that, after telling me it was
a tunic and trousers and cloak."
	"So can I?"  Meghin asked hopefully.
	"No.  Try something else."
	So she tried something else, and something else, and something
else again.  She was ready to give up when Elo threw another dress over.
"Elo!"
	"Don't whine.  This might be the one."
	"That's what you said about the last one,"  Meghin said under
her breath.  She tried it on.  When Elo managed to coax her out from 
behind the screen to look at her, Elo looked very surprised.
	"Oh, my."
	"What?  What's wrong?"
	"Look.  There."  Elo sat down on the floor with a thump, gestured
at the mirror.  Meghin turned to the mirror and blinked.
	She had thought the gown pretty before she'd put it on, but surely
it was not for her.  Surely this could not be her... The dress was mostly
peach-colored silk, with ivory sleeves and a long full underskirt.  She
was as pale as the ivory, and it made her hair look dark as ebony.  Meghin
was startled to see that she might actually be... no, she wouldn't even
think it.  "I do wish my hair was longer,"  she said.  It fell barely
to the back of her neck, boyishly short.
	"Oh, *you*,"  Elo laughed.  "You look just fine.  Get you a ribbon
for your hair and you're set.  Here."  She held out a red ribbon and Meghin
looked at it doubtfully.
	"It doesn't match."
	"It doesn't have to."
	"It does too.  What do you think, I just fell off the potato cart?"
	"Contrast, Megs, contrast.  The attention you'll get..."
	"Somehow I think it would be easier if you just stripped me naked
and marched me through the hall."
	"What?"
	"Nevermind."  Meghin picked up a green ribbon, handed it to
Elotheria.  "*Here*."
	"It's very green,"  Elo said, and tied her hair up in a ponytail
with it.  She looked at herself in the mirror.  "Not bad!  Here, Megs."
She tied the red ribbon around Meghin's head in a poufy bow.  She gave
her a hug and grinned.  "What do you think?"
	"Too cute to live,"  Meghin said gravely, and burst out giggling.
	Elo giggled.  "Mmmm-hm.  Come on, let's go.  We need to help get 
things ready for the celebration too, you know."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[To be continued... let the celebration begin!  No new Dark Ones!!!]
Gina Ritter -- artemis@odin.unomaha.edu
Di Atkinson -- dementia@odin.unomaha.edu		----^_^----
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------