Three days following Jax’s manifestation, nearly all of Meer’an managed to squeeze into the main hall of the palace at sunset. A large dais at one end of the hall had been erected, and the Chief High Priest of Meer’an stood in the center. He was surrounded by his associate priests and priestesses, all of them robed in shimmering white silk with deep purple sashes. Hundreds of purple tapers provided the light in the room, while huge bouquets of purple hycinthias festooned every pillar.

As musicians continued to strum walendas, providing soft background music, Jax and Jerrar entered the room from a side door and proceeded towards the dais. Jax was resplendent in cobalt blue breeches and a matching blue silk brocade tunic that fell just to mid-thigh. A white sash cut diagonally across his chest, held fastened at his hip by an ornate gold brooch. A circle of gold cycantha blooms on his brow blended with the natural color of his hair.

A hush fell over the crowd as Jax walked to the center of the dais. He turned expectantly towards the back of the room and then nodded towards the musicians. All eyes were riveted to the doors that swung open slowly to reveal Jax’s zira, escorted by Tomassif. The tune changed to a traditional processional used at marriage celebrations.

A collective gasp went up from the crowd as the two moved slowly through the doors and down the wide aisle leading towards the dais. Brenda was a vision of life and vitality in a full length, deep rose caftan. Rare Familiar gems called zarfanthites circled the hem, creating a sparkling rainbow of color as she walked. They also trimmed the fluted edges of her sleeves as well as the simple round neckline of the gown. A white sash identical to Jax’s wound from her shoulder to her hip. Brenda had one arm linked through Tomassif’s, and in the other hand, she carried a huge cascading spray of pale purple hycinthia blossoms.

Tomassif assisted Brenda in climbing the stairs leading to the dais. But then, once they reached their destination, he turned her to face him. The high wizard kissed her gently on the forehead and then handed her to her impossibly handsome groom. As Jax linked Brenda’s arm through his, their happiness was telepathically conveyed to all present in the room.

As Tomassif joined Janar and Jonun at the right side of the dais, the chief high priest intoned a prayer. All bowed their heads, although Brenda couldn’t resist stealing a look at Jax. She was gratified to find his eyes meeting hers in a guilty assignation, and they shared quiet smiles at the oneness of their thoughts.

When the high priest signaled the end of the prayer, Jerrar came forward holding a snow-white ribbon above his head. Jax and Brenda turned to face each other and joined hands. With the high priest chanting the ritual prayers, Jerrar bound their hands together with the ribbon, passing it over and between them nine times. He stepped back and bride and groom bowed their heads as the high priest held his hands high over both of them, chanting again.

As the high priest finished the incantation, Jax looked up into Brenda’s eyes. In a voice clear and strong, he proclaimed his love for Brenda in the traditional Familiar marriage vow. She echoed his words, the Familiar words coming easier to her after practicing with Tomassif. When they finished speaking their vows, the high priest placed one hand on Jax’s head and one on Brenda’s and began the final blessing. As he spoke, another hush fell over the room. The colors of Jax and Brenda’s garments both began to sparkle and fade. Jerrar came to slowly unwind the ribbon linking their hands and by the time he finished his task, Jax’s tunic and breeches had changed to the same shade of royal purple as Brenda’s caftan. The gems on her gown still glittered in all the pink hues of the rainbow, and their white sashes glowed as though infused with the energy of a thousand suns.

The high priest stepped away from the couple and Tomassif walked back to lift their joined hands. "Zir Jax and Zira Brenda!" he proclaimed loudly. The words were no sooner out of his mouth than a thunderous round of applause shook the room to its rafters.

Jax whispered something in Brenda’s ear that caused her cheeks to flush, but then he took her hand and led her down the steps of the dais towards his family. They exchanged greetings with Janar and Jonun, and then Jax led her towards a receiving line where Stefantok was already assembling the leaders of the tribes of Familiars.

"Are you fatigued, angel?" Jax asked sometime later. They had received the congratulations of many Familiars but there still was a lengthy line. He had been concerned for Brenda’s health since the Familiar marriage ritual was a protracted ceremony, and he wasn’t certain if she could endure it in the first days of her pregnancy.

"This Familiar rite is a tiring one, Jax, although not as tiring as some of the others you’ve shown me," she replied with a naughty smile.

"Indeed, Jax, you need not worry about your zira." Tomassif clapped his hand on Jax’s shoulder from behind. "She and your child are both enjoying themselves tonight."

Brenda’s eyes widened and she looked back and forth between the wizard and her blushing groom. "Jax! He….." She pointed first at Jax, then Tomassif, and then back at Jax. "……you told……he knows!!"

Tomassif laughed heartily while Jax sputtered in embarrassment. "He did not tell me, Brenda." He took her hands and held them in his warmly. "I knew it to be true as soon as I saw your face this night…….the same way that I know the child you carry will be a full-blooded Familiar."

Now it was Jax’s turn for astonishment. "A pure Familiar?" He took Brenda’s hand and tears glistened in his eyes. "From a union with a non-Familiar female? I thought it was not possible….."

The wizard took Jax’s hand and joined it with Brenda’s. "The match between you and Brenda is pure, Jax. It was meant to be – written, perhaps, in the stars, or in all of the hopes and dreams of our ancestors. I am as sure that your child will be a full-blooded Familiar as I am that it will have azurnite eyes."

Brenda heard Jax catch his breath and she turned to him, a question written on her face. "Jax? What does he mean?" she whispered.

Jax’s gaze remained locked with Tomassif’s as he answered her in a quiet voice. "Azurnite is a special eye color among Familiars, Brenda. It is a unique shade of blue that fades occasionally to green or gray, flecked with gold."

He finally faced his bride and she saw a tear had escaped his eye and ran down his cheek as Tomassif continued for him. "Zir Jax’s eyes are azurnite, Brenda, as are the eyes of all Familiars born to inherit the throne of Meer’an."

"So, the throne does not automatically pass from father to son?"

"No. Familiars must possess certain mystical characteristics in order to rule Meer’an. Our ancestors established it thus so that we would always be ensured of having wise, capable leaders." Tomassif smiled at the two young newlyweds. "Do you wish to know if the child is a male or female?"

"NO!" Both Jax and Brenda spoke the word in unison, but then turned to each other and smiled. "I think that we have already had enough revelations about our addition to the family this night, old friend," Jax replied, putting his arm around Brenda’s shoulders. "And I am a firm believer in the fact that life’s surprises often bring the most joy!"

Just as Jax finished speaking, one of life’s other surprises pushed his way to the front of the line. "Step aside, step aside – hero coming through, here!" Scorpian took a place at the front of the receiving line next to Tomassif. "Zir Jax! Zira Brenda! Fundin best wishes to the both of you!!"

With their arms wrapped around each other possessively, Jax and Brenda just smiled while Tomassif shook his head and stared at the floor. "Knight Scorpian! You will turn my hair completely gray before your commission expires!"

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Scorpian was truly baffled as to what faux pas he could have committed but Jax just clapped him on the shoulder and smiled.

"So, Scorpian, have you been enjoying your sojourn here at home after your latest quest?"

"I have," Scorpian replied, pausing to look past Jax’s shoulder and follow the progress of one particular priestess as she made her way through the throng. At Jax’s low chuckle, the Knight cleared his throat loudly and straightened his purple sash. "But as a Knight of the Thren, I must forsake the comforts of Meer’an to go wherever my next quest takes me!" he pronounced in a serious tone.

"You can relax, Knight Scorpian," Tomassif whispered dryly. "She is no longer within hearing distance." Scorpian’s face dropped and Tomassif just shook his head. "Besides," he sighed, "there are no quests presently in need of your unique talents."

"But surely the elder Sharay has left his wife and child by now and gotten himself into trouble *somewhere* in the universe, has he not?" Scorpian swirled the paga in his goblet with a snort. "Unless he was serious about repairing food preservation units for the rest of his life."

Jax took a deep breath at the mild insult, but Brenda stepped between the men, putting a hand on each one’s chest. "Gentlemen, this is a marriage celebration, and I won’t have it marred by affronts to each other’s testosterone levels." Both Jax and Scorpian looked properly chastised as Brenda got a mischievous smile. "Besides, Jax and I have need of you, Knight Scorpian."

"You do?" Scorpian’s eyes widened and his smile was as bright as the sun on Porfira. "Is it some monster you wish me to slay? Some beautiful long-lost sister of yours, perhaps, that needs rescuing?"

Jax’s face betrayed the fact that he suddenly understood Brenda’s game. He pulled her back to his side. "I’m afraid this is a much more difficult quest, Knight Scorpian." The knight bristled proudly as Tomassif continued to frown. "One that probably will require your devoted service for the balance of your life."

It was Scorpian’s turn to frown. "The rest of my life?"

Brenda reached out and took the Knight’s hands in hers. "If it were not for you, my brave Knight, Jax and I would have perished on the planet of the crystals. We would never have reached Meer’an, and I never would have realized just how much I love my Familiar." She smiled warmly at Jax, who nodded as she continued. "I’m pregnant, Scorpian."

He froze for a moment, but then broke into a broad grin. "Fundin congratulations to both of you, Sharay!" He shook Jax’s hand vigorously. "During the manifestation, I take it?"

Brenda nodded but then took Scorpian’s hands again. "Knight Scorpian, Jax and I would be honored if you would consent to be our child’s godfather."

Scorpian’s face lost a trace of color. "Me?" he whispered. "Godfather?" He looked around to where Jax’s family was gathered in noisy celebration. "But what about the other Sharay – wouldn’t I be usurping your brother’s place?"

"He has a new baby of his own to care for, Scorpian," Jax replied. "And as you well know, Jerrar has not been one to take quickly to responsibility in the past. I do not wish to over-burden him at this point."

"Besides," Tomassif added, leaning towards Scorpian. "Their child will be a full-blooded Familiar." Scorpian gasped audibly but Tomassif just nodded. "I can sense it already. And who else among us would be capable of acting as guardian to a full-blooded, Familiar Sharay offspring?"

"Pffft, me, of course," Scorpian replied without a hint of modesty. He seemed to gaze into the distance and his eyes grew mellow. "I can see us now, me and the little tyke, playing woffle in the meadow." He puffed up his chest. "You must remember, Sharay, that *I* was always the one who was able to drive the sphere the farthest when we were young." Brenda and Jax just laughed quietly as Scorpian continued to dream aloud. "And I’ll take him on his first trip through the Matrix, and on his first sleepover on another planet, and when it’s time for his first manifestation, I’ll……."

"Scorpian!" Brenda placed a hand on Scorpian’s arm to interrupt his reverie. "I’m afraid that you’re overlooking the distinct possibility that this child might be……a female."

"You can’t…….a fem….." Scorpian’s smile faded and he looked in a panic from Jax to Tomassif and back again to Brenda. "But you wouldn’t……I mean, I wouldn’t know how……I mean……"

"Oh, I happen to believe that you are *more* than capable of guiding a young Familiar female into maturity," Brenda admonished.

Scorpian frowned for a few more seconds but then started to stroke his chin in deliberation. "It could work, I suppose…….and considering the fact that she’ll still be a Sharay, I have no doubt that she’ll *still* get herself into more than her share of trouble!"

The four were still discussing Scorpian’s potential as a godfather when Jax glanced over the Knight’s shoulder. "Yes," he proclaimed in a louder voice, "I believe that in order to carry out this latest quest, you will need to take up more permanent residence on Meer’an." Jax saw the priestess who had been circling nearby smile and cast her eyes downward.

"Nowwwww, wait a minute," Scorpian said hesitantly, but then when Jax nodded towards the priestess and winked at Scorpian, the Knight changed his tone. "Of course, zir Jax," Scorpian replied in a voice louder than was necessary. "If living on Meer’an is what is necessary to fulfill this quest, I’ll endure it somehow."

Maerdithon discreetly walked past Scorpian, trailing her hand down the length of his arm as she did. "My pardon, good Knight, but I understood that we had matters to discuss……"

She moved out of hearing distance and Scorpian turned back to the other three. "If you will excuse me, I need to see Maerdithon in private…..about my manifestation….."

"Your manifestation?" Tomassif frowned and Scorpian gestured to the wizard to lower the volume of his comments. "But Scorpian, you are not due for a manifestation for at least another year!"

"Robby……." Maerdithon’s lilting voice drifted towards them and Scorpian winked and backed away.

"Ahhhh, but Maerdithon does not know that!" Bowing one last time to the bridal couple, Scorpian swept Maerdithon into his arms and pulled her out into the gardens, the sound of her musical laugh trailing behind her.

Jax took Brenda’s hand and kissed it. "If you will excuse us, my love, I’m afraid that I must discuss some matters with Tomassif privately before we retire for the night."

Brenda’s eyes sparked with amber fire. "Then I shall meet you in our bedchambers, my zir," she replied in a husky whisper. "I fear that the evening’s festivities are beginning to take a toll." She trailed a finger beneath the sash across Jax’s chest. "I find I long……exceedingly …….for the comforts of our bed after such an arduous day!"

Jax’s indrawn breath was shaky. "No more than I do, my love," he muttered, placing a kiss behind her ear. He purrrrrred softly and nipped the flesh of her earlobe before straightening. "I’ll join you as quickly as possible."

Jax watched the sway of Brenda’s hips as she made her way towards his family to say her good-nights. Tomassif’s voice broke his reverie. "Is there a problem, good zir?"

He reluctantly turned back to the wizard. "I know that today has been an exhausting one for you, old friend, but I dare to impose on our friendship by asking a favor……."

"Name it and it shall be yours."

Jax took Tomassif by the arm to head him towards a side door of the room. "I need you to establish a mind-link for me ……so that I might deliver a message to a special person before the night is over."

As was his practice of late, Corinthon only lit one candle in his quarters. Clothing and used platters with scraps of food still clinging to them littered the floor. He tightly gripped the tankard before him on the wooden table, re-filling it from the large bottle of paga that, at his orders, never ran dry. The servant that brought the evening meal quickly left the room as the stench from Corinthon’s unwashed body and half-eaten meals was becoming overpowering.

When the first crystals of glimmering light appeared in the corner, Corinthon sighed in despair. He had been anticipating this conversation for some time – preparing for his execution when he delivered the news to Faisonaire. After pouring another full mug of paga, he decided to take one last swill to fortify himself for death.

The despairing despot certainly was not prepared for the face that appeared in the center of the oval of light. Corinthon rubbed his eyes at first, but then rose slowly from the table and walked towards the holographic image. "YOU!" he sneered, pointing an accusing finger. "YOU are the root of all of my problems, Familiar!"

"YOU are the root of your *own* problems, Corinthon," Jax replied calmly. He had traded the elaborate purple wedding tunic for a plain white linen shirt and black leather jerkin and breeches. "Had you accepted our offer to join the Empire and negotiated with our emissary, you would not be facing death now."

"You told them!" Corinthon hissed, weaving as he stood before Jax’s image. "After *she* helped you escape from the dungeon, you somehow escaped my troops and managed to get back to Meer’an and warn them of my plan! You and that traitorous trollop convinced that brilliant king of yours to close the portal before I could attack!"

Jax shook his head and clucked his tongue. "Now, now, Corinthon…..traitorous trollop? That is no way to speak of Zira Brenda."

"Zira?" Corinthon’s face paled. "Brenda now rules Meer’an? After all the times she told me she would NEVER become queen of any realm?" He ran back to the table and re-filled his tankard, taking a long drink before casting the tankard aside. "So that king of yours managed to seduce her, did he?" He let out a wicked laugh and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. "Then at least we share something, Familiar," he leered, staggering back towards Jax’s image. "Neither you NOR I will ever hold the key to Brenda’s heart!"

Jax feigned disappointment. "Yes, it seems she’s quite taken with him, I’m afraid." He leaned towards Corinthon. "I heard just this night that she already carries his child."

"His child?" Corinthon’s voice was strangled although he pretended indifference. "Probably had to take her against her will, no doubt," the dark man mumbled. "Or cast one of those magical sexual spells that you Familiars are so well-known for."

"On the contrary, Corinthon," Jax smiled, "Brenda was a very active participant in the creation of our child. Torengi women are *remarkably* sensual creatures." He watched Corinthon’s expression turn from confusion to amazement to violent rage. "I’m sure you’ll understand when I tell you that we won’t be able to invite you to the christening."

"You…….you……" Corinthon pointed a finger again at the image that seemed to dance before his eyes.

"Brenda is MY wife, Corinthon. She carries MY child."

"But that would make you……." Corinthon’s breathing escalated and he shook his head to try to clear it.

"King of the Familiars, also known as Zir Jax," he replied. Corinthon could not suppress the wail of despair that escaped his lips. "So you see, Corinthon," Jax continued, "you had a much greater prize in your dungeon than you ever realized. I’m sure that Faisonaire will not be pleased when he hears the true identity of the Familiar that you allowed to escape."

Corinthon tore at his robes. He looked around wildly and, spotting another goblet of paga on a nearby table, he threw it at Jax’s image, splattering the wall with paga as the goblet shattered into pieces. "You’re lying!" he screamed. "Brenda would never allow herself to become queen!" He approached the vision with eyes narrowed with hatred. "She would *never* willingly bed a cur like you!"

Jax merely shrugged. "Believe what you will, Corinthon." He sighed and then shook his head. "I find this extremely difficult, but I feel obligated to thank you."

"Thank me?" Corinthon’s words were muffled as he huddled in front of the apparition.

"Yes. Had you not captured and imprisoned me, I would never have met my zira." He arched a tawny brow. "In fact, if you had never gone to Brenda, boasting of your plan to have both her and the throne, she would never have been motivated to come to me in the dungeon, seeking my help in her plan to escape from you." Jax sighed. "I knew from the instant that I saw her in the dungeon that she was meant to be my true soul mate, Corinthon, and for that, you have my most sincere thanks."

As Jax smiled once more, Corinthon’s rage built to monumental proportions. He began screaming so loudly that the guards outside his door burst through, worried that some demon had slipped past their watch. But all they found was Corinthon, sobbing and ranting uncontrollably on the floor, in an empty room.

*~*~*~*

"Brenda?" Jax opened the door to his living quarters cautiously. When darkness and silence greeted him, he slipped in and closed the door behind him. "Brenda? Are you here?"

When Jax heard a muffled reply come from his bedroom, he let out a sigh of relief. He had worried momentarily that his prideful gloating with Corinthon may have warranted some retribution from the heavens. But then, he realized that Brenda was probably fatigued after such a prolonged and public ceremony as the marriage. Compounding her lack of rest after the manifestation and the early stages of her pregnancy, Jax fully expected to find her heavy with sleep in the center of his bed.

Candles cast a warm glow over the bedroom when Jax entered it, but still Brenda was nowhere to be seen. Then he noticed that there was a dim light in the bathing chambre, and when he heard a rustling noise, he breathed easier. He slipped out of the black leather jerkin, turning his back to the bathing pool. "I apologize for my delay, angel, but there was a matter I needed to attend to before joining you."

His words were met with silence. Jax kept his back to the bathing pool as he continued to disrobe. "There is still quite a noisy celebration going on in the great hall," he mused with a smile. "I imagine that Knight Scorpian himself is leading another round of toasts even now." He removed his shirt, leaving only the black leather breeches as he sat on the side of the bed. There was another rustling noise, but Jax still did not turn to see its source. "If all of the celebrating has taken a toll on you, Brenda, I want you to know that we need not ……. I mean, if you are too tired, and since this really is our wedding night in name only……" Jax was so involved in searching for the right words that he never saw Brenda’s warm smile. "……I mean, if the pregnancy has created some ill feelings in you……"

"Jax……" The husky, sensual tone in her voice finally made Jax turn to face his bride. She vowed she would never forget the look on his face when he saw her standing next to the bed. She wore her hair loose around her face, falling in a dark cascade of rich midnight-colored silk to curl around her shoulders. The pale pink caftan she usually wore to bed had been replaced by a diaphanous white organza caftan. It was so sheer that Jax could plainly see the shadows that her breasts and the center of her femininity cast. The warm glow of the candles cast an ethereal aura around her. She wore no jewelry, her feet were bare, and Brenda’s eyes glowed with fathomless love for her husband.

Despite all that he had consumed at the marriage feast, Jax’s mouth felt dry at the sight of her. Her name came out on a whispered sigh. "Brenda……"

She put her fingers to her lips, and then as Jax sat transfixed, a coy smile spread across Brenda’s face. She began to hum a melody – a hypnotic tune that had Jax entranced from the moment it began. Her hands lifted above her head, twining and reaching as her entire body began to undulate to the song she sang. Brenda looked down into Jax’s eyes as she smiled again and then, still keeping time to the music, she turned her back to him and removed the caftan.

Brenda turned to look over her shoulder at Jax as she continued the dance. When Jax realized the significance of Brenda’s performance, tears threatened to blur his vision of her. When Scorpian had told him of the traditional dance that a Torengi woman did for her beloved, Jax had hoped that someday Brenda would feel comfortable enough to perform it for him. He never dreamed that "someday" would be *this* day.

Her hands played over her body in much the same fashion as his usually did during the act of love. Jax’s loins ached as she turned back to him and her fingers circled her breasts, the centers standing out, longing for his attentions. He removed his breeches in record time (even for a Familiar!) just as Brenda moved to stand directly in front of where he sat on the bed.

Jax purred loudly when Brenda leaned forward to thread her fingers through his hair. Although he itched with the need to touch her, stopping her dance for him was unthinkable. He endured the sensual torture her hands wreaked, trailing down his chest to his stomach and then lower. Still humming softly and with her body punctuating the rhythm, Brenda pushed Jax back onto the bed to straddle him. As prescribed by Torengi tradition, she performed the dance for him…..she worshipped her body with his……she proclaimed her desire for him and no other…….she loved him.

Much later, Jax held Brenda in his arms as they lay in bed, gazing at the pyrotechnic display in the night skies of Meer’an that celebrated their marriage. He nuzzled her hair and then leaned down to purr against her neck. "Corinthon was a fool," he murmured softly.

Brenda could not contain the laughter that erupted. "It has taken you until NOW to make that discovery?" Even Jax had to laugh with her. "And exactly what brings you to make that highly-enlightened observation, husband?"

Jax tightened his grasp around her. "He did not need the Familiars to bring all other worlds under his domination." Brenda turned to face Jax with a frown. "All he would have had to do is mount an army of Torengi women." Her eyes began to widen with understanding as Jax shook his head. "I never thought I would live to see this day, angel, but I believe you have……undone a Familiar."

Brenda rolled over in the bed so that she could look into Jax’s eyes. She gently cupped the side of his face. "I’m so sorry for ever doubting you, Jax, and for trying so hard not to love you." He smiled and she buried her head in his chest, deeply inhaling the scent of him. "I don’t know now how I ever thought I could live without you."

"Nor could I live without you, angel." As Jax lifted Brenda’s chin to bring her lips up to his for a kiss, there was a loud explosion in the night sky. Brenda startled at the sound but Jax pulled her to sit upright with him so that they could see through the window. "Do you see?" he asked, pointing towards the heavens, "I told you that our love was written in the stars. Now all of the universe will know it as well."

Brenda felt tears come to her eyes as she heard the words the musicians sang to accompany the dazzling celestial extravaganza. "And I will always love you, my zir," she whispered. "Though this life, and this time, and all the lives and times to come."

As Jax cradled his precious wife and child to his chest, the chant of the groom for his bride went up throughout Meer’an.

Music credit: "The Wedding Song," (There is Love), lyrics and score by Paul Stookey. "All the Things You Are," lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, score by Jerome Kern, from the show, "Very Warm for May," (1939)

Author’s note: I can already imagine the response from readers to see this story ending with so many plot threads left hanging!! Yes, we don’t know whatever happened to Lukathan, the Familiar who was last seen on Charporta recuperating in an old woman’s hut. Yes, we don’t know what Faisonaire does to Corinthon or if he comes up with another oily scheme to save his miserable hide. Yes, we don’t know if Brenda and Jax have a boy or a girl.

The only excuse I can offer is that the original novel ends the same way, but Dara Joy assures her readers that she will continue the story in a sequel. If she stays true to the form she’s established in the trilogy, the "Jax" character will only have a minor role in a sequel. But until she writes that book, I would feel uncomfortable in taking characters she’s established into different plots. "Mine to Take" was published in October of 1998, so every time I go into a bookstore, I eagerly check for any new releases.

Rest assured that this story will eventually have a sequel that will hopefully solve some of these mysteries. In the meantime, I wish to thank everyone for their support of this story. Special thanks to those angels who didn’t laugh at me when I told them I wanted to do a Jax and Brenda sci-fi story. You see? It wasn’t that bad after all. *g*