They went on again all day this time. They talked all the way. They talked about family, their worlds, and religion. When night fell, they were at Ippo. Emily went into town to buy supplies, and Trellis set up their camp. While they ate, they laughed and chatted. When they lay down again, Emily found a constellation she knew quite well. "Orion!" she breathed.

"Who?" asked Trellis, questionably.

"He's a constellation," replied Emily. "Back home there's a country called Greece. In ancient times, the Greeks didn't know how the seasons changed or how come the sun rose. They didn't even know why there was dew on the ground. So they used myths to explain. In one, Orion was a great hunter. He was friends with Artemis, the supposed goddess of the moon and the hunt, until he got too friendly. Artemis, having sworn to be a maiden forever, was disgusted. So she killed him."

"That's pretty harsh." said Trellis.

Emily shrugged. "In another version of the myth, Orion bragged that he was the greatest hunter. To punish him, Gaia, the Earth goddess, sent a giant scorpion against him. Orion died from its sting. Either way, he perished, and the gods put his image among the stars."

"Wow," said Trellis, "that's pretty amazing." Emily nodded.

"But it's a myth. Like I said, the Greeks didn't know about natural science."

"It's still pretty amazing," The Elf Prince looked at the human girl. "You're so beautiful," he barely whispered.

"What?" Emily looked at him questionably.

"I…," Trellis started, and then sighed. There was no way he'd get out of this one without revealing the truth. So he spilled out his heart. "You Emily you're more beautiful than any jewel. Your eyes sparkle more than a thousand stars."

Emily blushed. "Really?"

"Really," He took her chin and tilted it toward him. He sat there for a while. Trellis was lost in Emily's eyes. So are you two going to smooch or what? A voice said in Trellis' head. He jumped back, startled. "Sorry," he said with a faint flush, "it's this stupid thing." I'm not stupid! His stone retorted.

"It's pretty hard," Emily admitted, "when there's a voice in your head and it won't leave you alone."

We can work through it," Trellis said, smiling down upon her. Emily returned it and snuggled down in her sleeping bag. Trellis let out a breath and put his arm around her. They fell asleep like that.

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