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In truth, Qwinn had not been listening in the least. He didn't let that fact show on his face however. He cleared his throat and set a stern gaze on Mar. "Why waste the time or the space for wine when we can send soldiers to the surface to gather some from the human wine fields a few miles from here?" he asked.

A few of the council members agreed with him, but Bartus looked as though he did not.

"The farther we venture from the doorway, the more in danger we are."

Now engrossed in the conversation, Qwinn leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. "Vidarian's travel outside the gates all the time to trade with the elves and trolls."

Bartus nodded. "This is true. However, that is one Vidarian. When we send a group of twenty soldiers to gather wine, there is a much greater chance that we could become caught."

Qwinn stroked his chin in thought. Bartus was right. Vidarian's rarely traveled outside the gates in groups larger than three. It was safer that way for everyone. Then an idea struck him.

"What if we sent teams of three or four to gather in the night every night until the eclipse? Will that give us enough wine?" he offered.

A few members murmured to each other. Mar spoke up first. "Perhaps. But will not then humans realize that their fields are being picked?"

This was a problem. Qwinn frowned in thought again, "There are many fields north. We could pick from a few different fields."

"Seems like a lot of work," one of the members said.

Another nodded in agreement.

Qwinn turned his sights to them, meaning business. "Tilling the ground and planting, then using our magic to make the grapes grow sounds like more work. We will send small groups to collect as much as they can carry and begin to make wine. By the eclipse we will have enough." End of discussion.

After a moment, Bartus agreed. "Yes. We will, send them out in a few hours, when the humans are sure to be asleep."

With that taken care of, they began to discuss the happenings with the cattle. Qwinn tuned out, calculating if they would indeed have enough wine. Wine was served at only the most important events. Since it was not fermented for the proper amount of time, they mixed some if their cussa, sweet alcohol, with it, creating a rare and tasty beverage.

Would Alison like it, he thought unbidden. He tightened his jaw slightly. He needed to banish the girl from his thoughts, at least until after the training. It would help no one if he couldn't even concentrate.

He closed his eyes, hoping to clear his mind of Alison and the sudden a vision of her in that beautiful purple dress appeared behind his lids. She had looked beautiful. Her skin was pale and glowing as her hair burned a deep red. He hadn't had the chance to tell her how amazing she looked.

Jealousy rose in him, he didn't want any other man to see her in that outfit. She belonged to him; he sucked in a deep breath before opening his eyes, banishing the vision of her. This was not working. Thankfully, the meeting adjourned and Qwinn was quick to escape to the training hall. He was early, the soldiers wouldn't be coming until after their mid meal, however, he was desperate for something to distract him and keep him busy. Most of all he needed something to keep him from going to the stables, grabbing an Ou'tani and riding to the tents to make sure Alison was all right and untouched. He needed to get a grip on himself. He wasn't so completely hypnotized by her that he couldn't function without her, was he?

He grabbed a lance and cut through the air with it, the sharp metal singing. He did it again, feeling his muscle move in time with the weapon. Who was Adalia to always tell him that fighting was not at all like dancing? She had no idea.

Relaxing from the familiar comfort the lance brought, he took another swing, going over the training plans in his mind as he moved about the large courtyard with packed dirt as the floor.

He was going to need everyone's attention, when they planned to go to war with the Torin, they would all need to be completely focused and know the plan without fault.

Qwinn worked his jaw, fighting off anger. They should have attacked the Torin long ago, as soon as he had disposed of their leader. They were weak and confused now because they had no royal family or sense of government system. The Torin were nothing but ruthless savages. It would be a while until they gathered their ranks enough to attack. But for some reason Qwinn felt as though they were wasting too much time.

He wanted to take care of the beasts before they could hurt any more of his people. The soldiers had managed to save the last woman that was stolen, but would they be so lucky the next time? What if Alison was next?

He snarled in anger, leaping through the air and slashing at an imaginary foe. He would never allow it. He would surround her with guards if he had to. He grew even more anxious about going to the tents to see her; however, he fought the urge. Adalia would keep her safe.

Qwinn sighed as he rolled the tension from his shoulders, remembering when his people had first been banished underground. He hadn't even had time to mourn his mother's murder before the humans ran them out of their village to the series of caves.

Ever since he was a child he had heard stories of the beasts that lived in said caves, but his father was certain that his people could handle whatever lived here. Vidarian numbers were down greatly due to the slaughter, nevertheless the elders gathered their magic and began to work the caves.

From day one, they were fighting for land down here. They fought off the strange creatures that lived in the forest area. Then when they started digging and clearing land for themselves, the Torin appeared. His father fought valiantly, losing his sight in the process from Torin poison, but he used his knowledge and magic to grant his other senses enough power to finish the Torin king off.

Once the king was dead, the others fled wildly, having no leader and confused. That's when Qwinn's people built the wall that surrounded their city and gated off the forest and all of its horrors. The problem with the Torin, is that once they found a new leader, they were lethal once again, attacking at the opportune moment, trying to kill the men and steal the women for breeding. In a sense they had organization, yet they were so savage, Qwinn assumed that they hardly felt remorse for what they did.

Thankfully, the elders and the rest of the soldiers dug enough to have a substantial amount of room to live and grow. Much of the forest was uprooted or moved, again by magic. Ahanu was angry at first for the destruction to her land, destroying a good amount of the crops they had attempted to grow.

Qwinn shuddered at the thought of that first year.

His sister and him had been kept indoors, as did most of the children too young to fight. It was a dangerous time. Every time his father ventured out of the house, he remembered wondering if he would ever see him again.

So, he threw himself into his training with a obsessed drive, learning to fight so that he may protect what was left of his family.

In times such as today, centuries later, life seemed almost too easy and simple. Many of the younger Vidarian's we're not around to witness the struggle of his people and so would never know what it was like to struggle to survive, to be unsure of tomorrow. He swore to himself that when he became king, that his people would never know that suffering again. Alison would never know the struggle. His children would never know. And once the Torin were destroyed, his kingdom would be safer.

After a moment, he wondered if his people would be safe enough during the festival. They hadn't had a large gathering of every Vidarian for a long time. It may be too tempting for the Torin to resist. Then again, if they were still unorganized, they would be in no shape to attack.

Then a thought slammed into him, making him swallow stiffly. How was he going to ask Alison to marry him? His grip on the lance slacked enough that it dropped with a thud that matched his heart. He would scare her away. What if she said no? He was going to have to marry her anyway...

He was angry with himself for not stealing himself against her. She was too far under his skin that her rejection would hurt him; he knew that now. A growl sounded low in his throat. He had sworn that after Shea he would never let another female get hold of his heart. He picked up his lance and threw it will full force into the wall, it hit with a shower of sparks and landed in the dirt. Frustration overtook him as he ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't let her in any farther than she was already had, for his own safety.

ALISON PICKED UP THE TAMBOURINE again, for what felt like the hundredth time. Adalia reassured her that she would get the hang of it as she turned her sights to the three seven and eight year old looking girls that Alison had seen dance with the hoops in the market place. Now they held sticks that were almost as tall as they were.

It seemed that everyone in the tent was busy and at work and Alison felt like a fool for not being able to master a twirl with a tambourine. She held it once again over her head and brought it down to her hip as Adalia had showed her. In what was supposed to be an easy rush of motion, Alison tried to spin while keeping her balance and lifting her hands over her head to clap at the same time. The result was an ungraceful stumble and an even more frustrated Alison.

She stood straight once again, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself.

"Humans are not made to dance like us," she heard a sneering voice. At a quick glance, she realized that it was the woman called Shea. Shea was bent toward another dancer, pretending to be whispering, but Alison was no fool, the comment was meant to be heard.

Lifting her jaw Alison set herself up for another try, fierce determination rushing through her. She listened to the drumbeat that someone was playing in the background and for a moment let the sound consume her. She bent her knees slightly, allowing her body to be ready to spring. This time there would be no mistakes. She raised the tambourine above her head and clapped it against her hand, then brought it down toward her hip. Pushing off with her good leg, she spun herself while lifting her hands again, the tambourine singing to the beat.

With a triumphant smile, Alison landed from the spin facing Shea. The move couldn't have been more perfect, for that Alison was grateful. She made no move to wipe the nervous sweat that had gathered on her palms. Instead, she aimed her smile at Shea.

Adalia clapped and came over to her, grabbing her shoulder, "That was perfect!"

Shea narrowed her eyes before turning away, pretending to be interested in something else.

Alison's spirits soared.

Without missing a beat Adalia began to teach her the next sequence in the dance that she called tosssdare'. This, she insisted, was performed at every special event.

Alison paid attention closely, memorizing the sway of her hips as she brought the tambourine in a wavy motion, the bells tinkling happily. She repeated the movement one more time then handed the instrument to Alison.

As soon as the instrument was back in Alison's hands, Adalia turned her attention back to the girls who were beginning to playfully smack each other with their sticks. Alison set her mind to the task at hand and began to slowly attempt the sway of Adalia's hips. She felt like she was doing it all wrong, but no one around her was paying any attention.

The men who were on the drums changed the beat to a faster one. Alison licked her lips as she tried to match the movements of her hips with the beat. To her surprise, she found that it was easier than she had originally thought.

The beat vibrated through the large tent and everyone seemed to be moving in unison to that beat.

The atmosphere was one of excitement as a few Vidarian's arranged and created costumes, others stretched, cooked or cleaned and the rest practiced dance moves wherever they were standing. Alison was positioned almost in the middle of everything. She felt exposed and surrounded, but at the same time very excited. She knew that if she got the dance right, they would accept her. The thought stilled her movements. Did she want them to accept her?

For the first time she realized that she
did
want to be accepted by the Vidarian's. When had this happened? She knew that Qwinn had something to do with her change of heart. If his people accepted her, then maybe he could like her in return. She sucked in a deep breath and sighed in frustration. She had never battled with insecurities as much as he had this past week or two.

She returned her attention to the dance. Her hips swayed to the beat, once again, the drums taking over her. She waved the tambourine the way she saw Adalia do. The move was easy enough. When she had mastered it, she practiced the first set of steps then added the new moves. To her amazement, they flowed together easily. She did it again and again and again.

Adalia watched with a pleased smile. "I knew you would learn quickly," she commented as she handed Alison a sweet roll, who consumed it, not realizing how hungry she was before that moment. As she chewed she looked around and watched the other dancers.

"Why isn't anyone practicing the dance I am?"

Adalia seemed slightly worried, but she hid it immediately. "This is a traditional dance. We already know it," she answered.

Alison accepted the explanation, but puzzled over why Adalia had seemed so uncomfortable a moment before. When the sweet roll was finished, Adalia showed her the next sequence of steps. She made it look incredibly easy as she leapt through the air, her dress billowing like a beautiful cloud. She landed lightly on her feet, only to spin and spin.