Chapter 8: Heading East

Hunith awoke to the sound of a crackling fire and looked over to see Balinor fully dressed and back to carving his piece of wood.

"Hungry?" he asked her.

"A little."

"There's not much left, I'm afraid."

"Well, we can go now," she said in a matter-of-fact tone as she moved to collect some of their dwindling rations.

"They've gone?"

She shrugged. "I assume so. All I know is the pull to stay here isn't as urgent any more."

"Well, if it wasn't for the lack of hunger I'd say we've been in here for days, and they really should have given up if that's the case."

She shook her head, trying to get some sense of timing and failing. "It's all been very strange."

"Are you all right?"

"What? Yes. It's just that being in here is..." She shook her head again. "I think you were right about the magic in this cave, I just don't feel as if I'm all here, somehow and I'm definitely ready for some fresh air."

"Yes, me too," he agreed.

They finished eating in silence and afterwards, as Balinor packed their supplies up, Hunith dressed properly and they made ready to leave.

"Hunith, about what I said before we went to sleep earlier?"

"You don't have to stay with me," she responded quickly. "I know this was all … well, I'm sorry if I've put you in a situation where you feel obligated in any way."

He turned to her and smiled. "No, that's not what I meant. In fact, I was just wondering if you remembered it at all."

"Oh, yes, I recall you saying something about not letting me go, but then I fell asleep."

"Well, I really meant it but ..." He frowned. "I'm not sure if it's safe for me to stay so close to the border for long, and I'm not sure if you'd want to come with me if I have to move further east."

She frowned. "Me neither but we'll talk some more as we travel and see what the situation is once we get home." She smiled and picked up her bag. "There's no point worrying about it now." She turned back just once more to look at the strangely glowing cave and the pair both hovered at the entrance.

"You have family in Ealdor still?" Balinor asked.

"Not close family, no, although one branch of my family has been in and around the village for generations, I think. When my parents died I was old enough to look after myself, even though my two childhood friends were especially determined to keep an eye on me."

"Do they still live there?"

"Yes." She smiled. "My very best friends."

"Well, that's good," he said with a wicked smirk. "It's always fun to find out about what someone got up to when they were a child."

"Don't you dare ask them anything!" Hunith complained as he continued to grin wickedly.

"I can't hear anything?" Balinor said as they reached the entrance, poking his head out to look around. "What about your funny feeling?"

She smiled at the comment before reaching out with her senses, even though she wasn't entirely sure what she was doing. "It feels safe," she replied tentatively. "I'm certainly not getting the same sensations as I did the last time I was out there. Then I felt as skittish as a deer – constantly nervous and uncertain - just wanting to take cover as quickly as possible. But now ..." She paused again. "I'm not getting any unusual feelings at all."

"Well, let's be cautious anyway, just venture out slowly."

They started by following their route back out until they reached that place where Balinor had first pulled her away from the sight of the searching soldiers. All seemed quiet and clear and so they belatedly resumed their move south, planning to come out at that end of the valley and travel south of the forest of Brechffa and from there to Ascetir and onto Ealdor. Hopefully skirting a comfortable distance away from Camelot in the process.

~o~0~o~

The first part of their journey was slow and nervous, as they were constantly on the look out for Camelot patrols. Gradually, however, their confidence grew and it wasn't long before they fell into a more conventional pattern of walking, eating and sleeping.

Each night, around the camp fire the pair would talk more about their lives, whilst Balinor continued to carve his piece of wood; sometimes doing no more than a few scrapes with the blade until he wrapped it back up in the red cloth and put it away.

"Have you found its form yet?" she asked him one night.

"Of course," he replied with a soft smile.

"Keep your secrets then," she retorted.

"I'll show you when it's finished," he promised.

The cave felt more and more like a dream to Hunith and almost everything they said and did now brought back the strangeness of their time there. Within hours of leaving the area, both started to feel desperately hungry and it was an effort to find enough energy to forage for basic foods that would keep them going until they could hunt properly. Each night the pair would huddle together for warmth and exchange kisses and small caresses, but neither seemed to feel the same pull of passion that they'd experienced in the cave – perhaps due to nervousness about the more exposed environment or perhaps due to something else entirely. And yet, Hunith didn't feel any less attracted to Balinor; quite the opposite. In fact she felt closer to him than she had to anyone in recent years, and although up until this point he'd been the one asking her all the questions about her life, slowly he started to tell her about his. About his life before the Purge and afterwards - explaining what had happened recently; the fate of his fellow Dragonlords, and of his own dragon Kilgharrah and the very real heartbreak he felt now they had to be parted.

"You can go back and free him though?" Hunith asked. "In a little while, when things have improved?"

He smiled weakly at her. "Perhaps, although that enchantment on the chains is strong and will need a special weapon in addition to magic." He shook his head. "It will need a lot of careful thought and planning but, yes, I hope that one day soon I can return. It's the least I owe him, after all."

They continued to talk about their past and also their possible future together and, although this slight shift in the dynamic of their relationship wasn't discussed, there seemed to be no doubt in Balinor's mind that he still was determined to stay with her.

"Are you sure you're not just saying this?" she pushed. "Are you sure it's not due to guilt or a feeling of obligation?"

"No," he said sincerely. "I know this is all a bit sudden, but you grabbed my attention from the moment you stood outside my cell door and, at that point, my life was turned around. Even in Lionel's chambers I felt lost and hurt and worthless, but these last few days have changed that. You've changed that. I feel as if I belong again."

"I feel much the same," she admitted. "And for me it's always been about safety and belonging. Since being in the cave I understand. It's being around you that has given me that sense of security – despite all the danger we've been in - being with you has always made me feel safe."

They kissed again, then. Deeper and more passionate than at any time since they left the cave but, to Hunith, this had even more meaning than the desperate passion of before and she knew then, without a shadow of a doubt, that she had fallen completely and hopelessly in love with Balinor.

~o~0~o~

Their eastern journey was mercifully uneventful. They encountered no bandits, no patrols and it was only once they joined one of the roads between Camelot and Ascetir that they came across any other people at all; mostly just travellers and traders going about their daily business.

As they got closer to Ealdor, Hunith's excitement increased and Balinor loved teasing her for it.

"You're like a little child at Yuletide now," he joked. "All wide eyed and excited about what's to come."

"I love my work," she said seriously. "Really love travelling but … Ealdor is home; it always has been."

"That must be nice," he replied sadly. "Up until these recent events, my life was pretty good, but I'm not sure I ever remember staying in the same place for more than a year or two."

"Hopefully that will change now," she said with a smile.

"Hopefully."

They walked on in silence for a little while longer but then, as they turned another corner and Hunith saw the beautiful, familiar sight of the little village ahead, her excitement returned.

"There!" she shouted. "We're home."

Balinor laughed and accepted her enthusiastic kiss before the two continued down towards the houses, moving just a little further apart than was their custom – not wishing to provoke any awkward questions once they'd arrived.

Shortly afterwards a young man rushed towards their position; still a youth really, although he seemed rather more well grown from the last time Hunith had seen him.

"It's Matthew," she said to Balinor quietly. "My best friend's little brother."

"Hunith! Where in the world have you been? Everyone's been so worried," the young man said.

"Sorry about that. We had to go the long way around, but we're here now. This is Balinor. Balinor – Matthew."

The boy looked at the man suspiciously before a slightly forced smile reasserted itself. "You're lucky the safe house is free again, Balinor. It nearly wasn't. We had another visitor here just a few days ago."

"Any problems with that?" Hunith asked him.

"None."

"And how's Sian?" she continued.

"Big!" Matthew replied with a far more genuine smile. "But she'll be so pleased you're here. She was worried you'd miss the birth."

~o~0~o~


A/N: Guess who? ;)