p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ophilia sat in the noisy tavern with a glass of cider next to her. See sat facing her traveling companions and how lively they were. Alfyn and Olberic held their glasses high up in the air, singing a little tune that is sung in most taverns while Cyrus played the tune on the small piano in the corner of the room. His movements were fervent and swayed to the rhythm, his foot keeping the fast tempo. Primrose moved across the tavern, dancing and circling around some of the patrons. Sometimes, when she found Alfyn, she would wrap her arms around his waist and a slight blush would appear on his face. Tressa and H'aanit sat talking with Kit. Sometimes, the table would burst with laughter from all three, with Tressa being the loudest, and Ophilia would find herself smiling./spanstrong id="docs-internal-guid-c90d1bac-7fff-b21f-6f0d-a70d1e6bbc85" style="font-weight: normal;"/strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was nice to see her companions so energetic after the living hell they just went through. Fighting Galdera and Lyblac left them all drained physically and emotionally. Ophilia closed her eyes and drank her glass of cider. She heard someone sit next to her and throw a handful of leaves onto the table. Ophilia turned to her right and saw Therion holding a small cup of mead in his hand. He leaned his head back and chugged his drink. His long, scraggy bangs fell back, showing part of his face that is usually covered. There was a long scar that ran from his forehead to his jaw that Ophilia couldn't help but stare at. He didn't often show off his scars, especially those on his face. Ophilia was naturally curious if there more more visible scars that ran along his face. Maybe if she got closer-/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Therion then put his drink down on the bar with a thud. Ophilia slightly, and quickly, shook her head, snapping her out of her daze./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Like what ya see, Your Holiness?" Therion asked dryly. Ophilia blushed slightly and silently looked away from Therion, trying to hide her pink cheeks. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sorry," Ophilia said quietly. She heard Therion chuckling./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You're so easy to tease," Therion said. Both of them were avoiding each other. They sat awkwardly, listening to the slurred, drunk singing of Alfyn and Olberic./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hey, you wanna talk outside for a bit?" Therion asked, breaking the awkward silence. Ophilia nodded and they both got up from the bar and went outside. Everything was quiet in Everhold, at least, compared to the noisy tavern they just left. They walked down the stairs leading to the giant theater and sat down on the bottom few steps, with their heads resting on the cold, stone steps. They stared at the sky, awkwardly clearing their throats or coughing to break the silence. Therion let out a giant sigh./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ophilia," Therion started. Ophilia turned her head look at him./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes?" She answered./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm leaving tomorrow morning," Therion stated. Ophilia sat up. He was still lying on the steps, staring at the full moon in the sky. His eyes looked dead, even in the bright moonlight./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Why?" Ophilia asked. Therion sat up and held his knees in his arms, then resting his head on his arms. His mouth opened slightly to speak, but no words came out. They both sat in silence, except for the sound of the crickets. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I need to find answers, about my past 'n crap," Therion finally said, "gods have I gotten sentimental." He chuckled./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""How long have you felt this way?" Ophilia asked. She moved to sit closer to Therion, mimicking his stance. Therion let out a small sigh before he spoke./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""After our battle with Galdera," He said, "what I saw...I need to know if it's true."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I see," Ophilia looked down at the stone ground, "anything I can do to help?" Therion stood up from the steps, looking at the tall mountains that surrounded Everhold. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No, this is something I have to do alone." Therion stated, still looking out at the mountains. Ophilia stood up from the steps and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around his chest and brought him into a tight hug. She rested her head against his chest. He felt warm, despite the constant chilling breeze that came in from the mountains. Ophilia felt one of Therion's hands wrap around her waist, pulling her closer towards him. Her cheeks started to blush again./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They both stood there, holding each other tightly. Ophilia squeezed Therion slightly and he squeezed back, almost reassuring each other that it wasn't a dream. After a while of small squeezes, and the longest hug that Therion has ever allowed anyone to give him, they both looked at each other for the first time that night. Ophilia noticed how reflective Therion's eyes were. The moonlight reflecting off his eyes allowed her to see her reflection. Ophilia put her hand on Therion's cheek, stroking it. Therion's other hand brushed her hair back from her face, allowing him a better view of her face./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Therion let out a sigh and mumbled something that Ophilia couldn't hear. Therion slowly lowered his head and he inched closer and closer to Ophilia's lips until, finally, he placed his lips onto hers. Ophilia froze for a second before reciprocating the kiss. It was gentle and soft. She felt Therion's calloused hand caress her cheek. He was gentle with her, as if she was something precious. Ophilia's stomach felt like there were butterflies fluttering around, dying to get out. Therion's bangs tickled the side of her face and Ophilia smiled slightly. Seconds after the kiss started, Therion pulled away slightly. His lips were still hovering over hers. His warm breath touched her lips ever so slightly and Ophilia felt her cheeks flush for the third time that night. After a few silent moments, Therion peppered Ophilia's lips with small, chaste kisses. Ophilia prayed to Aelfric that this moment would last, that Therion could stay with her. However, such a selfish request would fall on deaf ears to a god. Therion pulled away from Ophilia and just held her tightly. His arms tightly wrapped around her shoulders and lowered his head on Ophilia's head./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"After what seemed like an eternity, they both let go of each other. Therion held out his hand and Ophilia took it. They both walked up the steps together, swinging their arms with each step. Once they got outside of the tavern, Therion stopped and turned to look at Ophilia./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Let's go back to the inn." He said. Ophilia nodded and they both walked to the inn, still holding each others hand. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"br /br /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They got inside the inn and walked up the stairs together. They got to Ophilia's room and she opened the door, pulling Therion inside. She locked the door and they started to kiss each other again. It was rougher and sloppier than their kisses earlier. Their tongues entering each other's mouths. They both caressed each other with their hands moving wildly up and down each others body. They started walking backwards until they fell onto Ophilia's bed, still kissing each other. Therion hovered over Ophilia. He was propped up using his elbows and their legs entwined. Ophilia breaks away from the kiss, panting./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Promise...you'll come back?" She pants. Therion gives her a small kiss./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Promise."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"~~~/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ophilia woke up the next morning to the sun shining brightly and the chill mountain breeze touching her bare skin. She sat up and outstretched her arms and arched her back. Multiple small pops we heard as she stretched. She looked at the empty space next to her. Therion must have left already. She noticed a slip of paper on the nightstand and got up to pick it up. Therion had wrote her a note. Well, it only had one word on it, how befitting./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Promise/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"-Therion/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ophilia sat in her bed and smiled as she read that one word. She knew he would come back. He was a man of his word after all./span/p
p style="text-align: center;"strong style="font-weight: normal;"br /~~~/strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ophilia plopped down on her bed and sighed. It was a long day of service. It was a church holiday, celebrating when Aelfric performed the first trek to restore the flame. Not many members celebrated it, but for the clerics, it meant special services that were twice as long and the cathedral was to be deep cleaned. Needless to say, Ophilia was tired of everything and just wanted to sleep. She stared up at the ceiling. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It's been two years since her journey ended. Everyone went their separate ways after Everhold. On her pilgrimages to other churches, she would visit her friends. Cyrus was still teaching, but sometimes he would leave for weeks at a time to study anything that piqued his interest. She had seen Tressa travel from town to town with her big bag of wares, but where she got the majority her leaves was still unknown. Olberic now trains more children how to sword fight, so they can defend their small village. Alfyn and Primrose announced that they were together (only to Ophilia so far) and they currently live together in Clearbrook. Primrose had renounced her noble status to live a more quiet life. She said her father would've wanted her to be happy no matter what. H'aanit still hunts with her master, but now she has more tales to tell around a campfire. She had recently fought a giant direwolf that had terrorized Whispermill and Ophilia couldn't help but feel impressed./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ophilia pulled out a slip of paper out of the drawer of her nightstand. She unfolded it and read the only thing written on it: /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Promise/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;". Everytime she read it, she is brought back to that night. The way he held her tightly, the way his lips felt on hers, the touch of his skin on hers, it was enough to give her sweet dreams on rough nights. However, those dreams always left her empty. She missed him and wished that she could see him again, like he promised. She snaps out of her daze and folds the paper neatly and placed it in the drawer. She closes the drawer and lies down on her pillow. Ophilia smiled as she stared at the candle on her night table. She sighed, blew out the candle, and closed her eyes./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Feeling sleepy Your Holiness?" Ophilia shot up from her bed and looked around the room, squinting her eyes so she could see better. She noticed a shadowy figure standing at the base of her bed. She lit her candle and held it in front of her. The light shone dimly on the figure, however, it was enough for Ophilia to see who it vaguely was./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Therion?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""The one and only." Ophilia smiled and put down the candle. She felt a cold chill on the left side of her face. She turned and saw that the window was ajar./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I see you still enter through the windows," Ophilia teased. Therion shrugged his shoulders./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Old habits die hard,"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ophilia got up off her bed and walked over to Therion. She wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled him into a tight hug. He put his hand on her hair and began to stroke it. Therion kissed the top of her hair and she nuzzled her face on his chest. Therion lowered his head to her ear./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Let's go outside and talk," he whispered. Ophilia nodded and they left the cathedral. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Therion took her hand and guided her away from the cathedral. It was a quiet night. Everyone was inside their homes, asleep. There was remnants of unfinished snowman scattered nearby. They started walking up steps that led to the main commercial district in Flamesgrace. All the shops were closed, however, the tavern was as lively as ever. Therion led her to a small path off the side of the tavern and Ophilia knew where they were going. They walked up the steep path leading to the top of a snowy hill, Ophilia's calves burned as they walked. They reached the top and they sat facing the cathedral. It always glimmered when light shined on it, but at night, the moonlight causes the windows of the cathedral to emit a light blue glow that reflects itself on the snow. To put it plainly, it was beautiful./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Therion sat with his legs spread out and hands buried in the snow. His breath was visible in the snowy weather and the snowflakes would touch down on his white hair, causing it to glow brighter in the moonlight. Ophilia and Therion sat quietly./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So what did you want to talk about," Ophilia asked, "did you learn anything about your past?" Therion took in a deep breath and let out a loud sigh. He looked up at the night sky. The moonlight shining on his pale skin makes him glow like the cathedral in front of them. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, I found out crap about my parents," he pauses for a bit, "but none of that is important. I found lost family, but I'm gonna stay out of their life. It wouldn't be fair for me to waltz in and say 'hey, we're related, accept me or whatever.'" Therion looks at Ophilia. His green eyes shining in the reflection of the moonlight, much like that night in Everhold. He shifts his position in the snow with handprints left in the deep snow./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Anyway, it's in the past. Nothing to get all worked up about," Therion gets up from his spot in the snow and sits behind Ophilia. He wraps his arms around her stomach and holds her tightly. He rests his face on her shoulder. She can feel his warm breath through her cape, warming her shoulder. Ophilia puts her hand through his hair and runs her hands through it. His hair is soft, but a tangled mess. Ophilia finds her getting her fingers caught in knots in his hair./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I've missed you," his voice is muffled through the cape. Ophilia continues to run her fingers through his hair. She stops to kiss the top of his head with some of the snowflakes touching her lips. Therion sat up and Ophilia turned her head to face him from behind. She puts one of her hands on his cheek and holds it gently in her hand./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I've missed you too," Ophilia whispers./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Therion lowers his forehead to touch Ophilia's. Both of them close their eyes, feeling each other's warm breath on their skin. The night is still quiet. The only thing they can hear is the gentle winter winds brush against the trees. Ophilia could feel her heartbeat. It was quick and felt like it could break out of her chest. Her cheeks burned, but she couldn't tell if it was from the cold or Therion being so close to her. Therion moved his slowly, inching closer to her lips, until they finally touched. The world stood still around them, as if they were frozen in time. The kiss was soft, filled with love or each other. Ophilia thanked Aelfric for reuniting her with Therion. Therion moved one of his hands and stroked her cheek. Ophilia tilted her head to rest in Therion's hand, deepening the kiss as well. She moved her hand to Therion's head and began stroking his hair. They kissed and touched each other with such fervor, almost as if one of them would leave the other. Their lips separated slowly and they rested their foreheads together again./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ophilia," Therion whispered, "promise you'll never leave."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Promise,"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was nice to see her companions so energetic after the living hell they just went through. Fighting Galdera and Lyblac left them all drained physically and emotionally. Ophilia closed her eyes and drank her glass of cider. She heard someone sit next to her and throw a handful of leaves onto the table. Ophilia turned to her right and saw Therion holding a small cup of mead in his hand. He leaned his head back and chugged his drink. His long, scraggy bangs fell back, showing part of his face that is usually covered. There was a long scar that ran from his forehead to his jaw that Ophilia couldn't help but stare at. He didn't often show off his scars, especially those on his face. Ophilia was naturally curious if there more more visible scars that ran along his face. Maybe if she got closer-/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Therion then put his drink down on the bar with a thud. Ophilia slightly, and quickly, shook her head, snapping her out of her daze./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Like what ya see, Your Holiness?" Therion asked dryly. Ophilia blushed slightly and silently looked away from Therion, trying to hide her pink cheeks. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sorry," Ophilia said quietly. She heard Therion chuckling./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You're so easy to tease," Therion said. Both of them were avoiding each other. They sat awkwardly, listening to the slurred, drunk singing of Alfyn and Olberic./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hey, you wanna talk outside for a bit?" Therion asked, breaking the awkward silence. Ophilia nodded and they both got up from the bar and went outside. Everything was quiet in Everhold, at least, compared to the noisy tavern they just left. They walked down the stairs leading to the giant theater and sat down on the bottom few steps, with their heads resting on the cold, stone steps. They stared at the sky, awkwardly clearing their throats or coughing to break the silence. Therion let out a giant sigh./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ophilia," Therion started. Ophilia turned her head look at him./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes?" She answered./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm leaving tomorrow morning," Therion stated. Ophilia sat up. He was still lying on the steps, staring at the full moon in the sky. His eyes looked dead, even in the bright moonlight./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Why?" Ophilia asked. Therion sat up and held his knees in his arms, then resting his head on his arms. His mouth opened slightly to speak, but no words came out. They both sat in silence, except for the sound of the crickets. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I need to find answers, about my past 'n crap," Therion finally said, "gods have I gotten sentimental." He chuckled./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""How long have you felt this way?" Ophilia asked. She moved to sit closer to Therion, mimicking his stance. Therion let out a small sigh before he spoke./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""After our battle with Galdera," He said, "what I saw...I need to know if it's true."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I see," Ophilia looked down at the stone ground, "anything I can do to help?" Therion stood up from the steps, looking at the tall mountains that surrounded Everhold. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No, this is something I have to do alone." Therion stated, still looking out at the mountains. Ophilia stood up from the steps and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around his chest and brought him into a tight hug. She rested her head against his chest. He felt warm, despite the constant chilling breeze that came in from the mountains. Ophilia felt one of Therion's hands wrap around her waist, pulling her closer towards him. Her cheeks started to blush again./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They both stood there, holding each other tightly. Ophilia squeezed Therion slightly and he squeezed back, almost reassuring each other that it wasn't a dream. After a while of small squeezes, and the longest hug that Therion has ever allowed anyone to give him, they both looked at each other for the first time that night. Ophilia noticed how reflective Therion's eyes were. The moonlight reflecting off his eyes allowed her to see her reflection. Ophilia put her hand on Therion's cheek, stroking it. Therion's other hand brushed her hair back from her face, allowing him a better view of her face./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Therion let out a sigh and mumbled something that Ophilia couldn't hear. Therion slowly lowered his head and he inched closer and closer to Ophilia's lips until, finally, he placed his lips onto hers. Ophilia froze for a second before reciprocating the kiss. It was gentle and soft. She felt Therion's calloused hand caress her cheek. He was gentle with her, as if she was something precious. Ophilia's stomach felt like there were butterflies fluttering around, dying to get out. Therion's bangs tickled the side of her face and Ophilia smiled slightly. Seconds after the kiss started, Therion pulled away slightly. His lips were still hovering over hers. His warm breath touched her lips ever so slightly and Ophilia felt her cheeks flush for the third time that night. After a few silent moments, Therion peppered Ophilia's lips with small, chaste kisses. Ophilia prayed to Aelfric that this moment would last, that Therion could stay with her. However, such a selfish request would fall on deaf ears to a god. Therion pulled away from Ophilia and just held her tightly. His arms tightly wrapped around her shoulders and lowered his head on Ophilia's head./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"After what seemed like an eternity, they both let go of each other. Therion held out his hand and Ophilia took it. They both walked up the steps together, swinging their arms with each step. Once they got outside of the tavern, Therion stopped and turned to look at Ophilia./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Let's go back to the inn." He said. Ophilia nodded and they both walked to the inn, still holding each others hand. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"br /br /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They got inside the inn and walked up the stairs together. They got to Ophilia's room and she opened the door, pulling Therion inside. She locked the door and they started to kiss each other again. It was rougher and sloppier than their kisses earlier. Their tongues entering each other's mouths. They both caressed each other with their hands moving wildly up and down each others body. They started walking backwards until they fell onto Ophilia's bed, still kissing each other. Therion hovered over Ophilia. He was propped up using his elbows and their legs entwined. Ophilia breaks away from the kiss, panting./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Promise...you'll come back?" She pants. Therion gives her a small kiss./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Promise."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"~~~/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ophilia woke up the next morning to the sun shining brightly and the chill mountain breeze touching her bare skin. She sat up and outstretched her arms and arched her back. Multiple small pops we heard as she stretched. She looked at the empty space next to her. Therion must have left already. She noticed a slip of paper on the nightstand and got up to pick it up. Therion had wrote her a note. Well, it only had one word on it, how befitting./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Promise/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"-Therion/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ophilia sat in her bed and smiled as she read that one word. She knew he would come back. He was a man of his word after all./span/p
p style="text-align: center;"strong style="font-weight: normal;"br /~~~/strong/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ophilia plopped down on her bed and sighed. It was a long day of service. It was a church holiday, celebrating when Aelfric performed the first trek to restore the flame. Not many members celebrated it, but for the clerics, it meant special services that were twice as long and the cathedral was to be deep cleaned. Needless to say, Ophilia was tired of everything and just wanted to sleep. She stared up at the ceiling. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It's been two years since her journey ended. Everyone went their separate ways after Everhold. On her pilgrimages to other churches, she would visit her friends. Cyrus was still teaching, but sometimes he would leave for weeks at a time to study anything that piqued his interest. She had seen Tressa travel from town to town with her big bag of wares, but where she got the majority her leaves was still unknown. Olberic now trains more children how to sword fight, so they can defend their small village. Alfyn and Primrose announced that they were together (only to Ophilia so far) and they currently live together in Clearbrook. Primrose had renounced her noble status to live a more quiet life. She said her father would've wanted her to be happy no matter what. H'aanit still hunts with her master, but now she has more tales to tell around a campfire. She had recently fought a giant direwolf that had terrorized Whispermill and Ophilia couldn't help but feel impressed./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ophilia pulled out a slip of paper out of the drawer of her nightstand. She unfolded it and read the only thing written on it: /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Promise/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;". Everytime she read it, she is brought back to that night. The way he held her tightly, the way his lips felt on hers, the touch of his skin on hers, it was enough to give her sweet dreams on rough nights. However, those dreams always left her empty. She missed him and wished that she could see him again, like he promised. She snaps out of her daze and folds the paper neatly and placed it in the drawer. She closes the drawer and lies down on her pillow. Ophilia smiled as she stared at the candle on her night table. She sighed, blew out the candle, and closed her eyes./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Feeling sleepy Your Holiness?" Ophilia shot up from her bed and looked around the room, squinting her eyes so she could see better. She noticed a shadowy figure standing at the base of her bed. She lit her candle and held it in front of her. The light shone dimly on the figure, however, it was enough for Ophilia to see who it vaguely was./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Therion?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""The one and only." Ophilia smiled and put down the candle. She felt a cold chill on the left side of her face. She turned and saw that the window was ajar./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I see you still enter through the windows," Ophilia teased. Therion shrugged his shoulders./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Old habits die hard,"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ophilia got up off her bed and walked over to Therion. She wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled him into a tight hug. He put his hand on her hair and began to stroke it. Therion kissed the top of her hair and she nuzzled her face on his chest. Therion lowered his head to her ear./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Let's go outside and talk," he whispered. Ophilia nodded and they left the cathedral. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Therion took her hand and guided her away from the cathedral. It was a quiet night. Everyone was inside their homes, asleep. There was remnants of unfinished snowman scattered nearby. They started walking up steps that led to the main commercial district in Flamesgrace. All the shops were closed, however, the tavern was as lively as ever. Therion led her to a small path off the side of the tavern and Ophilia knew where they were going. They walked up the steep path leading to the top of a snowy hill, Ophilia's calves burned as they walked. They reached the top and they sat facing the cathedral. It always glimmered when light shined on it, but at night, the moonlight causes the windows of the cathedral to emit a light blue glow that reflects itself on the snow. To put it plainly, it was beautiful./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Therion sat with his legs spread out and hands buried in the snow. His breath was visible in the snowy weather and the snowflakes would touch down on his white hair, causing it to glow brighter in the moonlight. Ophilia and Therion sat quietly./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So what did you want to talk about," Ophilia asked, "did you learn anything about your past?" Therion took in a deep breath and let out a loud sigh. He looked up at the night sky. The moonlight shining on his pale skin makes him glow like the cathedral in front of them. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, I found out crap about my parents," he pauses for a bit, "but none of that is important. I found lost family, but I'm gonna stay out of their life. It wouldn't be fair for me to waltz in and say 'hey, we're related, accept me or whatever.'" Therion looks at Ophilia. His green eyes shining in the reflection of the moonlight, much like that night in Everhold. He shifts his position in the snow with handprints left in the deep snow./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Anyway, it's in the past. Nothing to get all worked up about," Therion gets up from his spot in the snow and sits behind Ophilia. He wraps his arms around her stomach and holds her tightly. He rests his face on her shoulder. She can feel his warm breath through her cape, warming her shoulder. Ophilia puts her hand through his hair and runs her hands through it. His hair is soft, but a tangled mess. Ophilia finds her getting her fingers caught in knots in his hair./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I've missed you," his voice is muffled through the cape. Ophilia continues to run her fingers through his hair. She stops to kiss the top of his head with some of the snowflakes touching her lips. Therion sat up and Ophilia turned her head to face him from behind. She puts one of her hands on his cheek and holds it gently in her hand./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I've missed you too," Ophilia whispers./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Therion lowers his forehead to touch Ophilia's. Both of them close their eyes, feeling each other's warm breath on their skin. The night is still quiet. The only thing they can hear is the gentle winter winds brush against the trees. Ophilia could feel her heartbeat. It was quick and felt like it could break out of her chest. Her cheeks burned, but she couldn't tell if it was from the cold or Therion being so close to her. Therion moved his slowly, inching closer to her lips, until they finally touched. The world stood still around them, as if they were frozen in time. The kiss was soft, filled with love or each other. Ophilia thanked Aelfric for reuniting her with Therion. Therion moved one of his hands and stroked her cheek. Ophilia tilted her head to rest in Therion's hand, deepening the kiss as well. She moved her hand to Therion's head and began stroking his hair. They kissed and touched each other with such fervor, almost as if one of them would leave the other. Their lips separated slowly and they rested their foreheads together again./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ophilia," Therion whispered, "promise you'll never leave."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Promise,"/span/p