The hulls stood in a semicircle in front of Maerad. She screamed in horror, not at what they might do to her, but at the suffering, anguish, and lifelessness that filled their black, swirling minds. Minds that slowly grasped hers; she felt the horror and blackness of their being begin to infiltrate her barriers. The blackness was spreading and no matter how she tried, she couldn't fight it. She screamed again, but no one came to her rescue. Where was everyone? Suddenly she heard a voice, warm and intimate in the middle of the black storm. Elednor, Elednor, come back to me, my fire lily. Elednor...
She gasped and sat up in a cold sweat and looked around her, trying to get her bearings. The first thing she noticed was a worried Cadvan standing by her bed, watching her closely. Slowly her mind came back to the present, and she remembered they were staying in an inn on the way to Innail.
"What...what happened?" She croaked, her voice hoarse from the screaming. It must have waken him up. Her heart beat wildly, and she still couldn't shake the panicky feeling of dread that the dream gave her.
"You had another nightmare," he simply stated, but she could tell by the look on his mobile face that it killed him to see her like this. Her heart swelled with the love that she felt for him. He always knew how to find her, how to call her home. Her shivering slowly began to subside, and she finally found her voice.
"You called me home."
"Yes, my dear. You were very far away." She remembered another time when similar words were said; he had just saved her from the clutches of the Landrost. How was it that this man was always there for her? She looked up into his eyes, and realized that they told her all she needed to know; that he would always be there to save her, and that he loved her. The aftershock of the nightmares was leaving her body, and a warm feeling of love for him began to replace the feeling. She reminded herself that the hulls were gone; that Sharma was defeated, and sighed in relief. "Feeling better?" Cadvan inquired, giving her one of his half-smiles when she nodded in response, though her expression was still downcast.
It was so frustrating, Maerad thought, that these nightmares kept plaguing her relentlessly. Whenever she fell asleep, it was as if the dark were stronger then ever. It didn't make any logical sense, considering the treesong was renewed and the dark was nowhere to be found, but yet the horrific dreams would not go away. She wondered if Cadvan knew the answer.
"Cadvan," she asked, "Why do I still have these nightmares if all is right in the world?" She looked up at him with pleading eyes, begging for an answer.
His eyes grew dark and brooding with thought as he tried to search for the right answer. Maerad waited patiently as he pondered. Finally he looked back up into her eyes. "The dark may be defeated, Maerad, but we all carry scars from the battle." He grimaced as he felt along his cheek bone, to where his scar curled up and around his eye, then took her maimed hand and stroked it comfortingly. "One of the scars that you may always have, though Light willing you will not, is the nightmares." Cadvan noticed her face fall as she realized that she may never be rid of the nightmares, and he sat down on the very edge of her bed. Still stroking her hand with one of his, he took her face in the other and kissed her gently on the forehead. Her stomach fluttered, and she moved to embrace him. "Just know this," he continued as he felt her rest her head on his shoulder, "as long as you have nightmares, I will be here to call you home."
Tears sprang into Maerad's eyes, but they were not caused from sadness. She wondered how anyone could love her so much? She didn't deserve it. She didn't deserve any of this. Countless people died to save her, and yet hear she was, fully alive and on her way back to Innail.
She looked into Cadvan's eyes, and gasped at the emotions that swam through them. It was one of the rare moments that Cadvan let his guard down, and she could clearly see all the care and love that he felt for her. She pulled his face down to hers and joined their lips in a passionate kiss. Maerad had never been kissed like this before, and marveled at how right it felt.
It was quite some time before they separated. Maerad sighed happily, then remembered with a yawn that it was still the middle of the night. Cadvan moved as if to get back to the couch where he slept, but she stopped him.
"Cadvan?" She asked timidly.
"Yes, my dear?" His voice was husky, and his eyes were half-closed, whether with fatigue or passion she knew not. She pulled lightly on him to get him to lay down with her as she sank back into her pillow. He obliged and laid down beside her, trying to read her expression.
"Stay with me?" She was almost asleep when she felt him pull her into his arms.
"Of course, my love."