Second Son Read Along: Chapter 26

Hello there, dear Reader! How are you doing? I've... been better. I wish I could get outside more and enjoy the nearly FOUR FEET of snow that has accumulated out there over the month of February (February really IS fantasy month here in the frozen tundra-land, apparently!) this is the sort of winter I dreamed of and prayed for as a kid. Sadly, the past couple of days I've spent feeling kinda crummy with a really obnoxious head-cold. (I did get to go outside last night and slide down some 8-10-foot drifts, and yesterday afternoon we spent a couple of hours trying to help a neighbor dig themselves out of the spot where they'd gotten stuck on the road outside our apartment). But still... I want to go sledding!Ahem.Anyway, I was feeling so rough, that I actually almost forgot all about the read along! So sorry! That is why this post is a wee bit late!Wedding Bells!I'm sorry if the wedding was a bit rushed. I didn't have a whole lot of experience with weddings back when I wrote this book, or romance in general... but hey, at least I included a glimpse of the day!"Brant was, for the first time in his life, the last one to leave."If that doesn't resonate with the introverts amongst us, I don't know what will. I also love that somehow nobody bothered to tell Brant that Zara was Scelwhyn's daughter until now. It's like the other characters have grown accustomed to him just knowing things without being told. Or something.But even Brant can be surprised. And most surprising of all is how seeing the joy and happiness of his adopted brother has suddenly caused the allure of the open road to wane.A time hopI don't normally time-hop at a segue, I prefer to let chapter breaks do that kind of work, but sometimes the story calls for things and we just have to run with it. So this segue jumps forward in time 5 years... Brant has been on the roads basically being medieval-Batman, because he's cool like that. But the world has not stopped turning, and a young prince and princess are born on the same day! One to Arnaud and Zara, and the other far away back in Llycaelon to Seamas and Llewana. In the realm of those who have and understand magic, some sort of ripple is felt, and Dylanna determines to hide her true identity in favor of watching over her niece while she grows up.A chance encounterIf there was one thing I knew from the very beginning of this story, it was who Brant was going to end up with. Who he had to end up with. However, I didn't know exactly who Imojean was, or how they met, or anything else about her... and when she wasn't Calla... I was honestly extremely surprised. But then I met her and everything made sense.This scene remains one of the most fun scenes I've ever written. It made me laugh when I wrote it, and it still makes me chuckle every time I read it. I don't mean to make Brant's life miserable... and I don't mean to put him through such awkward situations... but, oh dear! He makes it so easy."The look on his face was abashed and awkward, and she loved him for it, this man who had probably never felt either of those things before."Discussion Questions:1. Are you the type of person who loves parties and hanging out with lots of people? Or are you more like Brant, ready to leave after about 8 minutes?2. I'm dying to know if anything in this chapter made you laugh? Or do I just have a super weird sense of humor?