AN: Thanks for the review, Kitty- I appreciate the compliments :D
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I woke up that next evening with a sense of dread and excitement. I was going to my mother's house…but wouldn't be staying. I would be leaving as Loth'loren's future mate. The thought filled me with a nervous joy, and I tried not to think of what would come after that. My mother had never said anything to me on the subject of sex, mating or courtship- she had expected me to be a chaste priestess, not a balance druid in love. My eyes narrowed at the thought, another reminder of why I disliked my mother so. I shook the nagging thought from my mind. I wouldn't let her ruin this. Not today.
I left my hair down, and combed it briefly, enough to make it shine, but not enough to take out the waves from sleep. I reached out the window and pulled a moonflower off the windowsill, affixing it over the top of my right ear.
I paused. Did I dream that Loth'loren has asked me to be his mate? Had I merely dreamed it all? Was there a chance that none of it had happened? I panicked. Surely I was deluding myself and was about to look a fool! I whirled on my toes, wondering what to do when the door opened.
Loth'loren was shirtless, but wore an indigo leather cassock, and had his hair gathered in a loose tail at the base of his neck, the long strands hanging down his back. Dark violet and gold fathers were artfully arranged in the leather thong that tied back his hair- feathers from his own wings in flight form. In his arms he carefully cradled an indigo, violet and gold dress. He held it out to me almost ceremoniously, and I knew what it was.
"My own father made this for my mother when he beseeched her family for their blessing of their joining. If you wish, you can wear this, as I don't think you brought formal clothes for this occasion," he said quietly.
Tears pooled in the corners of my eyes, and happiness, relief and elation flooded through me like a warm wave. I hadn't dreamed the night before at all! He truly wanted me to be his mate! I took the dress from him carefully, kissing his cheek as I held the gown to my chest.
"I would be honored and grateful to wear your mother's betrothal gown, Loth'loren," I told him, my voice shaking a bit.
His face broke out into a gorgeous emotional smile, and he bowed slightly, backing out of the room to allow me to dress. I slid the silky gown over my form, the cloth flowing over me like a soft shimmer of mist. The gown fit me almost perfectly, but was a tad tight in the chest. It came off my shoulders and the long elegant sleeves flared out, loose flowing and elegant. I came out of the room, and Loth'loren gave me a trembling smile.
"You look stunning. So elegant and pure."
He reached out and took the flower from my ear, then removed a feather from his hair. He stabbed the sharp quill into the base of the sepals, and then put the flower back on top of my ear, the feather hanging down over the front. He took my hand and placed it on his chest over his heart.
"My heart is yours, Keliara. I've seen you grow and learn, and blossom into the woman I have grown to love, and I cannot live without you by my side any longer," he said softly. I struggled not to cry.
"Loth'loren…I feel my heart flutter like the wings of a bird when someone says your name, and being near you puts my soul at ease. I want to remain by your side as long as I live," I said, tears sliding down my cheeks.
He leaned forward, and gently kissed my tears away.
"Come, Keli-bird."
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We rode silently on our sabers, my mother's house looming into view. Keeka tossed her head a bit, making an annoyed growl. We'd bedecked their bridles with moon flowers, and the felines didn't like their new accessories. I glanced at Loth'loren. He smiled at me reassuringly, and reached over to stroke my hand. His hands were strong, calloused evenly from hard work, but the tops of those strong hands were soft and warm.
"Regardless of what happens, I'm here for you, Keliara," he said softly.
I nodded and swallowed around the lump in my throat, trying to fight against the panic that was rising in my chest, my heart beating frantically against my ribs like a caged wild bird. My viscera were in fiery knots, twisting and turning in my belly. I steeled myself, and holding my head high in my final act of defiance, I urged Keeka to continue to the house.
Every step Keeka's paws made on the ground reverberated through me, shaking my fluttering heart and trembling stomach as the door opened and my mother stood on the stoop, watching us approach. Could she see the flowers on our steeds' tack? Did she see my hair loose and undone, a flower of virginity and maidenhood over my ear? What was she thinking of the stunning man at my side?
I was now able to see her marred face, and now, more than ever, I found her appalling. Her lips were twisted in a furious seething snarl; her teeth slightly pointed and wicked, were glinting against her skin. Her good eye was narrowed under her furiously knitted eyebrows, and her nose was crinkled in anger as she seethed at what she saw. Even her shoulders were slightly hunched, as though prepared to spring. We came to a stop before her, and she shrieked at me with a voice akin to that of an enraged cat. She denied her druidic path, but more than ever she reminded me that once on a path that called to you, you could never leave it, and the path of the feral druid was simmering within her even now.
"What is the meaning of this? Is this some stunt the hooligans in Darnassus made you do? Who is this druid?" she screeched like an enraged alley cat, spitting out the word druid as though it were tainted with poison and left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Internally, I bristled as she passive-aggressively insulted Loth'loren, but kept my façade of calm and serenity. Loth'loren was already off his saber, and he held my hand, helping me dismount. I came just outside of an arm's length from my mother.
"Mother," I began, and today, calling her as such made me feel bitterly sad. "This is Loth'loren. I've known him from town since I was old enough to take trips to the temple. He is a strong, hard working and caring man, and he came home with me today to meet the woman who raised me."
She made no reply, eyeing Loth'loren with hatred as he bowed in her direction. The gnashing of her sharp teeth became audible as she continued to scrutinize him. His calm handsome face belied no emotion as she threw the most venomous of glares at him.
"Lady A'folan, I have seen your daughter grow, learn and blossom into a beautiful woman of intelligence and strength. I adore her spirit and heart, and I have come to love her with all my soul. I came here with her today to ask your blessing and permission to court her to be my mate," he said serenely, kneeling before my mother.
Her voice choked in her throat and her eye grew wide in fury as she took in my garb, the feather over my ear, and his matching attire.
"You're training her to be A DRUID!" She shrieked, flecks of sputum flying from her mouth, a vein throbbing in her neck.
Loth'loren finally showed a bit of indignant anger, his forehead crinkling slightly as he frowned.
"Your daughter is nearly grown. It's her decision on what path she takes. It would not be healthy for her spirit to ignore what calls to her so strongly," he said, his voice soft but his tone firm and assertive.
My mother turned on me, and the fact that her nails were turning into claws did not get past me. I felt the form of the maternal and protective bear stir within me, ready to encase my form and protect me, should the need arise.
"You…ungrateful brat! You DARE come back to this house to tell me you've been lying to me all these years, that you've been practicing this filthy magic! That you've been betraying me with this heathen of a man, and you've probably been letting him have his way with you, like the ingrate harlot you are!" She screamed, purple-black fur rippling over her shoulders.
"You're wrong, Talishae! You've denied my true calling all these years, you've suppressed my dreams, my talents, and you punished me by nearly starving me! You have never told me that you loved me! Not ONCE can I recall you holding me like a mother should, stroking my hair and telling me that you loved me. NEVER. Never have you been a mother to me! And now you dare to insult my morals and the man I love, after all the neglect you've shown me! I am done being oppressed by you, Talishae A'folan!" I cried, clutching my hands in fists, tears of anger streaming down my cheeks.
"Not a mother? Not a mother after all I've done for you, after all the patience I've shown you? We'll see how you appreciate what you had. You are NOT my daughter- I have no daughter!" Talishae roared, her feline form taking over her, and with her disownment made known, she leapt at me, her claws outstretched, her fanged maw gaping wide.
The protective spirit of the bear enveloped me, and I raised my paws to fend off her attack as she leapt, but a flurry of violet and gold flew at the ferocious form of my mother with a screech that made the both of us cringe and shy away in pain, and in my case, revert to my true form in shock.
I opened my eyes and saw a magnificent storm crow in violet and gold plumage, massive wings unfurled to shield me, clawing at the angry hissing form of Talishae. His gold claws swiped at her face, his wings issuing forth great gusts of air that kept her from advancing on him. He lunged his great beak forward and stabbed her face between the eyes, making her sway on her paws.
"Let her go, Lady A'folan. She is a grown woman. She should be free to walk her own path. If you love her, let her go," he said.
"I never loved her! She is a constant reminder of her horrible father, and her dead sister! I never could love her when every glance at her brought me pain!"
I froze. Dead sister? What did she mean by that? She took advantage of my moment of confusion and leapt at me, and Loth'loren dove into her path, her claws raking his right wing, pulling out the feathers and rending open the skin and flesh. Bright indigo blood began to flow freely.
"NO!" I screamed as my love fell the ground, his wing crumpling underneath him, and he did not move.
Talishae was distracted by the scent of blood, and she swung her head over Loth'loren's motionless form, hunger in her eyes. She was completely lost in her feline instincts.
"No, Talishae. You will not harm him!" I cried, starlight gathering in my palms.
It grew unstable in my grasp, and I unleashed it at her. She flew back, hitting the wall of the house, a loud crack sounding in the air. The shock sent her back into her true form, and she gazed at me in confusion and pain. She clutched at the shoulder she'd broken in the collision.
"Be gone, you trite. I don't want to see you ever again. You are not my daughter. I cast you out of this family."
I met her gaze evenly as I crouched over Loth'loren's non-moving form, seeing if the wounds could be healed by my meager experience in restoration. The wounds were deep, and bled freely.
"You will help me heal him before I leave, as it was your madness that injured him."
"Fall into the Dream and never come out, you whore. Anzu take you," she replied, still muttering nonsense of a raven god, stumbling back into her house and shutting the door on me forever.
Loth'loren murmured softly, and melded into his Kaldorei body. The wounds did not fade, the gashes raking across his shoulder and chest. I pulled the white robes I'd once used as placation for Talishae and ripped them up to bind his wounds. Helping him stand, I murmured apologizes over and over to my beloved, despite his dismissive pleas that it was not my doing. We both got on Keeka's back, sitting myself behind him to hold him up. Whispering to the sabers quietly, we turned and left, heading home, where we belonged.
I found it odd as we left. I had thought there would be some sadness in leaving, but there were no sentimental items in that house, nothing I needed or had attachment to; only chains that bound me to the past. I left feeling free and exhilarant. I had Loth'loren, I had my path, and now, I was heading home- my first home and the only one I'd ever loved.
The wind sang through the branches, ruffling our hair and bringing a sweet scent to our nostrils. Though I knew it to be the sweet scent of the flora of the woods, it held a new quality for me.
It was freedom.
