As they approached the narrow road, Fabiana did look down, and she didn't like what she saw. She was used to mostly flat beach land and gradually rising hills, she had never been on a precipice quite like this before. "Anian," she said nervously. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I don't want to die before our wedding."

The horses slowly made their way across the path, trodding slowly and deliberately. Anian turned around in his saddle to look at Fabiana. "Worry not. The horses are well trained, and this path, though narrow, is well used and sound. Only the foolhardy end up going down the side of the mountain." He peered down over the edge of the cliff. It was not quite as steep as it seemed at first glance, though he thought that, for someone coming from the lowlands, it must feel as if she were clinging to the clouds themselves.

Fabiana held onto that horse like she had never done in her life before. It's a good thing it was a good, sturdy horse or she might have choked it out. Finally though, they started coming to an end of the narrower part of the cliff face, and Fabiana realized she was breathing very heavily. She looked up at Anian who still looked cool as a cucumber and said, "Do you do this often? Are you mad?"

Anian laughed, looking back over his shoulder. "To answer both of your queries: yes, I do do this fairly often. No, it doesn't make me mad. If I were mad, I would have tried to fly off of it." The path began to widen again, becoming wide enough for two wagons to pass side by side. He whistled, and Fabiana's horse came up next to him. "Now that the fun part is over, what do you say we finish our trip out?"

Fabiana's breathing slowly started to return to a more normal pattern. It seemed that their proposed marriage would not end prematurely after all. This new terrain could have a beauty to it, but some parts would take some getting used to.

"Well, I suppose so. How do we 'finish out' our trip?"

"We have but a short gallop to the valley. I assure you that it will all be worthwhile." Snapping the crop against his horse's flank, he was off once again, with Fabiana following quickly behind. The road was much wider now, and the riding easier.

After a few more miles, they rounded the turn into what could only be called a sublime spot. A small creek had evidently carved out a piece of the ridge, and a relatively flat glade was dotted with deep purple flowers. The stream ran off the edge of the creek under the road, plummeting some three hundred feet to the rocks below.

"Wow," Fabiana said, "this spot really is beautiful!" She had known there could be beauty in the mountains, but had never really taken the effort to find a "perfect" spot in them. At least not when it was easy enough to find a nice spot on the beach, but perhaps it was time for a change.

Fabiana slowly got off of her horse and smelled the clean air and listened to the waterfall for a few seconds. It was more constant than the sound of waves, but not at all unpleasant. It was peaceful in its own right. She smiled over at Anian. "Is this where you take all of your royal, lady guests?" she asked playfully.