This story takes place some time after our heroes succeed in their mission, and have returned safely to the mortal plane with Jeminya.

While this is not a song fic, I will be including the songs that have inspired me for each chapter.

I recommend listening to them while reading for best effect.

Also, I'm going to be trying something new for me, as this story will be written in first person from Faerthurin's point of view. Let me know if you like it.

Enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review!

The Promise Chapter One

Song - Somewhere by Within Temptation

"I Promise."

Looking down at the small music box in my hands, I still remember the words he spoke to me the night we danced in hell. He had said this device would play any song you could think of, but in the back of my mind, I wondered. What would it do if you didn't think of a song, but a person, and your feelings for said person. Slowly twisting the small turnkey, I cleared my mind of all thoughts, except for him. His strong arms, his kind smile, the gleam in his eyes when he's mischievous. His clever mind, his occasional clumsiness, everything about him. Everything I fell in love with. Placing the music box on a nearby bench, I waited. A gentle melody began to play, then a voice that sounded strangely like my own began to sing. Feeling the magic start to wash over me, I danced. While I danced, I thought about everything that has happened since the day we returned home.

...

The day we returned, I had never felt such joy and relief in my life. Jeminya, exhausted and traumatized from her experience was immediately put on bed rest, with Rose watching over her. Arkoth went with Hana to show her around Directian, during which they happened to run into Reiyn, who immediately took a liking to Hana. Oin, cautious as he always is, kept a silent but watchful eye on them. Ivan and Amber went looking for her father Varaugh to tell him the good news. While she wasn't able to end Simula's life, Amber was able to be content in the fact that she managed to sever the link between Simula and Jeminya, and leaving Simula in hell. Raavas, having taken a different portal to go straight to his home, later sent word of his safe arrival. And Jalerom, my sweet A'mael. As the sun began to set, he brought me to this special garden he found, and fulfilled the promise he made to me. By the light of the stars and surrounded by fireflies, we danced together again. After the song ended, he surprised me by getting on one knee, asking if he could stay with me for the rest of his life. To which I of course said yes.

We knew Jeminya would definitely want to attend, so we set the date for the ceremony to be held in a year. While we had killed Lolth and dissuaded Asmodeous from taking Jeminya away again, I was still set on casting the sanctify the wicked spell to sever her ties to hell, and giving her a few days to recover was still risky as Asmodeous could easily change his mind. She protested at first, saying that I should use the spell on Hana before herself. We were able to persuade her however, once I pointed out that unlike her, Hana had not died before and therefore was not yet considered as property of hell. After the spell was cast and Jem was safely inside a diamond, I made sure to keep it close to me. During that year I kept it under my protection, determined not to let anything happen that would cause the spell to fail. It went smoothly, with only one close call. At our engagement party, as I was showing the diamond to Hana and Reiyn and trying to explain how the spell worked, a tipsy and very clumsy Amber accidentally knocked it out of my hands. Thankfully Jalerom's quick reflexes kicked in, and he caught it before it could shatter on the floor. Amber on the other hand was completely distraught at the fact that she almost caused the spell to change Jem's fate fail. Ivan came to the rescue though, and brought her up to her room to calm her down. Strangely, I don't remember seeing either of them for the rest of that night.

For the rest of the year we rested from our journey, and made preparations for the wedding. Ivan was of course put in charge of music, and had the extra task of making sure Amber didn't go overboard at the buffet table. Oin was set to task of creating a huge feast for everyone. Rose took care of decorations and floral arrangements, with a little help from Reiyn. Invitations were sent to all of our friends and allies we made during our adventure. Amber and Ivan personally traveled to the dragonlands to deliver the invites to Varaugh and the dragon leaders, plus the prince and princess of the gold and red dragons. After they returned, Amber told me that Ivan was acting strange during the trip. She said that on the way to the dragonlands he seemed nervous, almost scared. When they got there, after they delivered the invitations, she noticed that both Ivan and her father disappeared somewhere for a long while. When she did see them again, her father looked kinda grumpy, but at the same time, was somewhat happy. And Ivan was positively beaming with happiness and joy. She had no idea what to make of their strange behavior. I on the other hand had a sneaking suspicion of what the little gnome was up to, but if he wanted to keep it a secret, so would I.

Time passed quickly, and the day of our wedding soon arrived. Ivan was placed as Jalerom's Best Man, and while they were uncomfortable with it, both Oin and Raavas were groomsmen. On my side I had Rose and Jeminya as my bridesmaids, and Amber as my Maid of Honor. And of course Hana and Reiyn were the ring bearer and flower carrier. (Yes, Hana carried the rings and Reiyn scattered the flowers.) We had planned on having Jeminya officiate, but the day before the ceremony, Corellan appeared before us asking if he could be the one to bind us together. And when THE god of elves and beauty asks, it's kinda hard to say no. The ceremony hall itself was beautiful. I wish I could describe what everything looked like, but at the time my eyes could only see him. As we spoke our vows, it felt like a piece of my soul I didn't realize was missing finally clicked into place. Later Jalerom told me that the rings he bought for us were specially enchanted. He said that for as long as we wear them, we'll be able to tell when the other is near, and should anything happen to either of us the other's ring will break.

At the reception, everyone dined and danced late into the night. At one point I thought I saw Corellan talking to Erevan and the rest of our deities (in their disguised forms), and I might have been seeing things, but I could have sworn I saw Oin even crack a smile. Near the end of the party, little Ivan surprised everyone by proposing to Amber, right in front of her father. The young dragon was in tears, but was smiling the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face when she scooped him up into her arms. Jalerom and I decided to use the distraction to make our escape. He whispered a location to me and I teleported us away, right to the outskirts of Galgari, and our honeymoon began.

Ah, our honeymoon... My cheeks began to warm at the memory... Jalerom had led me to a small spring he knew of. It was there, under the light of the full moon, that we completed our union. I had not known it was possible for someone to be so gentle, yet so passionate. In all the time we had traveled together, I had never realized just how much he had been holding himself back, but now that we were together the small flame of our love had turned into a blazing inferno. Every touch set me on fire, every kiss made my heart melt, and he burned with me. I lost track of how much time we spent in our seclusion, it could have been a week, or even a month, but eventually we had to return to what would soon be our home.

Once we returned to Directian, I officially pledged myself to Jeminya's service as her royal sorceress. Jalerom would have done the same, but he had to keep himself available should the assassins guild needed him for a mission. A few weeks after we returned, Amber and Ivan were also wed, though theirs was a much smaller celebration. Soon after they found a small cave on the cliffs just outside Directian, and decided to build a house there, while Jalerom and I settled down within the walls of Directian, where we spent many wonderful months together.

Then one morning, I awoke to find a note from Jalerom saying that he was needed for a mission, and that he would be back in a week. It was nothing new, as he had gone on several tasks for the guild ever since we came back from hell, but for some strange reason I had a bad feeling about this one. For starters, on his previous missions he'd only be gone for a few days, three max. This would be the first time he'd be gone for a week. Secondly, it has now been three weeks since he left, and I have made up my mind that I must go to find him.

...

With a final sweep of my arms, the song came to an end, and I opened my eyes. "I will find you A'mael. No matter what it takes." Then from deep within my body I feel a strange sensation, a tiny flutter of movement, as if in agreement. Placing a hand over the spot, I turn my gaze towards the stars above. "WE will find you."

"I Promise."

Authors Note:

WHEW! Not counting these notes, this has been the longest chapter I've written yet!

As you can probably tell by now, this one is going to be a bit longer than my usual 2-chapter stories.

Hope you like it, and make sure to leave a review!

Stay tuned for more!