Garion liked him. Zakath could have looked like him when he was young, though Kallath was a bit taller than his father. Around his eyes, however, he resembled his mother. It was a dramatic moment when Garion had seen the eyes of the seeress of Kell for the first time, and he'd never forget that moment.
"We're glad to welcome you here, Kallath!" Garion replied. Kallath had visited the family of his friend Mandorin, and now he was in Riva to see the best friends of his parents.
"Father didn't exaggerate, I see," Kallath said to Ce'Nedra. "You're beautiful, indeed. All these pretty little Dryads here look more like your younger sisters than like your daughters."
Ce'Nedra liked the compliment, but she was a mother and a queen. She liked it still more that Kallath greeted all the tiny princesses with profound respect, even the little Xildera in her arms.
"You're very polite, Kallath," Garion remarked. "One wouldn't think you're the the heir of the biggest empire in our world."
Kallath grinned. "Politeness doesn't cost a thing, Belgarion. I may meet these wonderful girls again when they'll be married to kings. Mallorea is strong, but diplomacy is better than war. I'd want to spare Eriond the pain to spank me."
Beldaran giggled, and Kallath assured her that she was the most perfect likeness of her mother. Both Garion and Ce'Nedra felt flattered that he obviously regarded this a compliment. And they both missed the short look of recognition between Beldaran and Kallath.
The young man had a lot to tell in the following few days: about every single detail of their family life in Mal Zeth, about Mandorallen and Nerina, their daughters and Mandorin, about the studies of the two young men at the university of Melcene. Garion was impressed by Kallath's knowledge and intelligence.
"I wished I had your education," he said in his usual, sincere way during one of their talks.
"Unfortunately, when I was your age, I didn't have much time for studies. I was too busy with other things."
"I know." Kallath smiled. "You were busy slaying an insane God, and chasing insane Grolims who missed that fact. Sometimes, I wished my youth were a bit more like that." Then, however, he waxed serious. "Your quests made the world the peaceful place it is now. That's why I have the leisure to study. And if you come right down to it, my parents wouldn't have met without your advantures. I owe you a lot, King Belgarion!" He sighed.
Garion didn't know what to say. Kallath's words could be taken for flattery, but Garion was certain he didn't mean it that way. Kallath simply stated facts. Garion decided to change the subject.
"By the way--did you inherit any of the capabilities of your mother, Kallath?"
The young man slightly blushed. "Yes, it would seem so, I had a few visions. But you don't always have to be a seer to understand what you have to do."
That was true, and Garion decided not to make an issue of Kallath's evasion. He definitely liked the young prince.
Kallath seemed to be determined to be the ideal Mallorean ambassador in Riva. He was sorry that he missed Geran by only a few months, but he wasn't too proud to play children's games with the younger princesses od Riva, and he was patient enough to answer Beldaran's infinite list of questions about Mallorea. Often, the both of them walked in Beldaran's little yard, where she proudly presented him the wedding tree of her parents--she was a Dryad, after all. Naturally, they never were unattended. Servants always were within earshot to fulfill every wish they could have. Kallath was the very soul of courteosy. Polgara wasn't in Riva at that time, and everybody lese missed a few warning signs. So it was a stark surprise when Brand approached the royal couple of Riva, shortly before the official audience, with a worried face.
"King Belgarion, Prince Kallath has been seen leaving the rooms of Princess Beldaran."
Garion couldn't believe his ears. "Kail, is this a fact or only servants' gossip?"
The Rivan warder swallowed hard. "I hoped for the latter, King Belgarion. But I placed reliable men near her rooms tonight as soon as I heard of the rumours. They saw Prince Kallath leaving Princess Beldaran today in the dawn, about an hour before sunrise."
Garion looked around in the throne room, and his wild look fell on Riva's sword.
Ce'Nedra followed his eyes. "Don't be absurd, Garion! He's the son of our friend. I will have a long talk with our daughter, though."
Brand cleared his throat. "Er, that won't help much, I'm afraid. This is Riva, and you know how we Alorns are. Princess Beldaran should have married two or three years ago, that's what most Rivans think. An early marriage avoids that type of... foolishness."
Both Garion and Ce'Nedra tended to disagree on this.
"As far as I can see, there's only one way to keep the damage under control," Brand continued relentlessly. "The both of them have to marry as soon as possible, before the rumours spread, and before..."
Ce'Nedra cut that off. "I think we should drop the official audience today, and we should ask Beldaran and Kallath what this is all about." She looked at Garion inquiringly.
"I think you're right," Garion agreed. "Brand, bring the both of them here, please!"
They arrived surprisingly soon. Kallath was very pale, but he laid his arm around Beldaran's shoulder protectively.
"I take the full responsibility," he declared, "I ..."
"Shut up!" Garion hissed. "You're a guest here, Kallath. Are you sure you're behaving like a guest?"
Kallath looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry, King Belgarion! I know I misuse your hospitality, but... there wasn't anything I could do about that. This had to happen, it's preordained."
Garion had long ago grown to hate these words.
"Does that mean that the visions you mentioned once..."
Kallath's pale face blushed. "Yes, they showed me Beldaran, and our wedding in this very room."
Garion groaned. That wedding wasn't all that easy to arrange as everybody seemed to assume. Beldaran was 'only' a girl, she wasn't relevant for the succession in Riva. Kallath was the crown prince of Mallorea, however, and quite a few royal guest would want to attend his wedding ceremony. His parents, for instance... How much time had they left for preparations? It was very hard for Garion to ask his daughter the crucial question, but it was necessary.
"Beldaran, let's be blunt about it. Is it possible that you're pregnant?"
"Father, I'm a Dryad!" Beldaran protested. "It's very unlikely at my age."
Garion groaned again, and even Ce'Nedra gasped when she realized what that meant. Likely or not, but it was possible.
"They didn't invent the name 'Kallath the Conqueror' for nothing, I see," Garion remarked sarcastically. "It was tactically sound not to reveal details of your visions. You didn't want to warn me."
Beldaran raised her chin. "Father, don't blame it on him! Kallath would have been content with a few kisses, but I wanted more."
Garion threw up his hands in despair. He turned to Kallath. "Did your visions show you by any chance how to organize a royal wedding so urgently?! How do you suppose will the guests come here? It will take your parents a few months to come here, and we don't know if we have those months!"
Kallath seemed confused.
"I'm sorry, King Belgarion, but I saw that wedding happening very soon, and I saw my parents. I don't know how they got here..."
Ce'Nedra didn't like any of that very
much. She played with her amulet without being aware of that.
"I wished Eriond were here," she said with a deep sigh.
The God appeared immediately. "Ce'Nedra, you called me? You're looking great, again. I love Dryads," Eriond said with a wink.
"It seems to be a wide-spread disease, I'm afraid," Garion remarked with a sour look at Kallath.
"Be nice, Garion!" Ce'Nedra rebuked him. Under the calm look of Eriond's deep blue eyes, the situation began to seem less terrible. She turned to him. "Oh Eriond, I'm so glad you came! I guess you know already what happened. Sometimes, I wonder: people know we are personally acquainted with Gods and the Prophecy, and they probably think we were better informed than others about things to come..."
Eriond actually looked a bit guilty.
"I'm sorry, Ce'Nedra, but there were reasons. Kallath is right, these events had to happen, and there are people who'd want to tamper with things, if they knew about them too early." Eriond looked at Garion. "Are you certain you wouldn't have taken steps if Kallath told you about his visions before?"
Garion chose not to answer that. The God could see his thoughts, anyway.