CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Sam hadn’t stopped dancing for hours. He could not remember a night in his life when he’d danced this long, or had a better time. He’d been drinking for hours, too, ever since the ceremony had ended, which had been followed by a feast to end all feasts.

There must have been thousands of torches placed around the ceremony and reception area, in the huge, open field before the castle. Even the castle itself was alight with torches, placed all around the moat, all along the entranceway, and even in every window. In fact, the moat itself was filled with ingenious floating candles.

As if all this were not enough, there were thousands of flowers, elaborate displays of every color, in every direction. There were huge vats of wine, even bigger vats of blood, and dozens of boars roasting on spits. These had been complemented by every sort of delicacy. Rounding out the festivities were dozens of musicians, jugglers, clowns, and all sorts of tournaments, games and fun. It had been a grand spect