"Zandramas had to find out where the meeting was supposed to take place, and she couldn't go to Kell. She posed as Arell so she could ask you those questions. You told her about Perivor, about the map, and about Korim. That was your task.”

"I betrayed you?" Her look was stricken.

"No. You saved the universe. Zandramas absolutely has to be at Korim at the right time. Somebody had to tell her where to go, and that was your task.”

"I don't remember any of this."

“Of course not. Aunt Pol erased the memory of it from your mind. It wasn't really your fault, and you'd have been overcome with remorse if you'd been able to remember what happened."

"I still betrayed you."

"You did what had to be done, Ce'Nedra." Garion smiled a bit wistfully. "You know, both sides in this have been trying to do the same thing. We and Zandramas, of course have been trying to find Korim and to keep the other side from finding out where it is so that we can win by default. It was never going to happen that way, though. The meeting absolutely has to take place before Cyradis can choose. The prophecies weren't going to let it happen any other way. Both sides have wasted a great deal of effort trying to do something that simply could not be done. We should have all realized that from the very beginning. We could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble. About the only consolation I have is that Zandramas wasted a lot more effort than we did.

"I'm still certain that it's going to be me."

"Nonsense."

"I just hope they let me hold my baby before I die," she said sadly.

"You're not going to die, Ce'Nedra."

She ignored him. "I want you to take care of yourself, Garion," she said firmly. "Be sure that you eat right, dress warmly in winter, and make sure that our son doesn't forget me."

"Ce'Nedra, will you stop this?"

"One last thing, Garion," she plowed on relentlessly. "After I’ve been gone for a while, I want you to marry again. I don't want you moping around the way Belgarath has for the last three thousand years."

"Absolutely not. Besides, nothing's going to happen to you."

"We'll see. Promise, Garion. You weren't meant to be alone, and you need somebody to take care of you."

"Have you almost finished with this?" It was Poledra. She stepped out from behind the foremast in a businesslike way. "It's all very pretty and sweetly melancholy, I'm sure, but isn't it just a trifle overdramatic? Garion's right, Ce'Nedra. Nothing's going to happen to you, so why don't you fold up all this nobility and put it away in a closet someplace?"

"I know what I know, Poledra," Ce'Nedra said stubbornly.

"I hope you won't be too disappointed when you wake up the day after tomorrow and find that you're in perfect health."