Bryony opened her eyes, disoriented by the darkness at first until she remembered where she was. From the looks of the pale light bleeding in through the cracks between the boards of the barn, it was an hour or so before sunrise. Plenty of time to go back to sleep. She started to roll over, but Finn's arm was slung low across her waist, and it tightened on her as she shifted. She waited to see if he would wake up, but he only moved a little closer. He had the most amazingly long lashes. She wanted to lean over and kiss them - hell, she wanted to kiss all of him - but it was probably best for both of them if she let him sleep.

I didn't realize I'd feel so connected to you, he'd said. She didn't tell him so, but she knew exactly what he'd meant. Not that she had much of a choice, dreaming about him her whole life long. Neither one of them had much of a choice. That thought bothered her.

She closed her eyes, trying to convince herself that she was tired and she really ought to sleep. It was a losing battle. She felt like she was wide awake. More than that, she felt like she ought to - needed to - move. She twitched restlessly, then finally gave it up, easing herself out from under Finn's arm. She managed to find his shirt and put it on. It was decent enough, covering her to the tops of her thighs and while it dipped low between her breasts, it covered them as well. She made her way down the ladder from the loft to the floor of the barn and padded silently over to the door.

And then she stopped, listening. What was she hearing? The faintest whisper of a sound, like wind rushing through grass or rustling leaves. She froze, waiting, but it didn't get louder. It was familiar, yet not exactly. She opened the squeaky door carefully, with a glance up to the loft to be sure Finn was undisturbed, and then she stepped outside. Another step followed that one, and then another, and another, and before she knew it, she was running through the trees, dancing over stones and fallen logs and branches until she reached a wide-open meadow full of tall grass and the smell of the wildflowers that grew all around.

That was when she saw them. They moved so quickly, it took a second for her eyes to adjust. There were dozens of them jumping, leaping, running, twirling in wild abandon, their laughter carrying on the pre-dawn breeze. Her logical mind told her that she ought to be cold, but she wasn't cold at all. She felt energized in a way she hadn't felt before. She stepped through the grass, and as they caught sight of her, they all stopped, staring at her curiously, but not with any anger or malice. Bryony had no idea what to say, so she remained silent, staring back, until one of them broke away, stepping forward from behind the others.

"Roan!" She smiled, recognizing him. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting."

"Interrupting?" He looked at her curiously. "Aren't you here to dance?"

"Dance?"

"We gather every morn to dance in the dew. You felt the call, didn't you?"

Bryony nodded. "I think so."

"You're here," Roan pointed out. "You are one of us. Come and dance."

He held out his hand, giving her an encouraging smile. Bryony gave a quick glance over her shoulder, even though she knew there was no way anyone could have followed her, as fast as she had been running. She stepped forward, taking Roan's hand, and then they were off, flying through the grass and then up, to dance on top of it, skipping and whirling as he pulled her along and his hand came up, spinning her around and across into the arms of someone else, who threw an arm around her waist, circling with her as another grabbed her hand and she was pulled along in an endless circling chain. They danced through the grass and leaped into the branches of nearby trees, weaving through the leaves and then back down, arms flung up to the sky as the sun began to break over the horizon. Finally, they splintered off in ones and twos, running into the trees as daylight flooded the meadow, leaving Bryony panting and grinning as she came to a stop at it's center.

Roan stood a few feet away his bare chest glistening with perspiration as he closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. He opened them again to look at her.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

Bryony flung her arms wide, turning in a circle. "That was...amazing! Oh Roan, thank you!"

He stepped forward, reaching out to take her hand. "It was our pleasure," he murmured, pressing his lips to her fingertips, his eyes never leaving hers. "I hope you'll dance with us again."

"I'd love to," she said, smiling.

He gave her a slight bow. "Until then," he said. His hand lingered in hers a moment longer, and then in a blur of motion, he was gone. Bryony brought her hand up to wipe the perspiration from her overheated brow, and discovered she was clutching a handful of wildflowers - she hadn't even felt him press them there. Her fingers folded around them, and then she turned back toward the direction of the farmhouse, and ran.

Bryony had just broken through the trees when caught sight of Finn emerging from the barn. He was striding quickly toward the farmhouse, and she moved to intercept him before he could wake anyone up.

She skidded to a stop in front of him, and he reached out, steadying her so she didn't slam into him.

"Easy there, love. You nearly plowed into me."

"Sorry. I didn't want you start climbing trees again or waking anyone up." She looked over at the farmhouse.

"Knowing my grandparents, they're both up already. And where in the blazes were you?"

She looked down at the wildflowers clutched in her hand, then looked away. "I was...getting some flowers."

He took in her flushed face, and the sheen of perspiration that still clung to her skin. "Where? Back in the Enchanted Forest? You look like you ran there and back again." His look changed to one of consternation. "Aren't you cold? It's awfully chilly out here and you're hardly wearing anything."

"No, I was...running and climbing trees. I'm sorry - I shouldn't have taken your shirt."

He reached out, playing with one of the shirt laces. "No harm done. You look quite fetching." He stepped in closer, giving her a roguish grin. "It would be even better if you had nothing on beneath it."

"I don't," she said, raising her brows.

"What the devil!" He glanced over his shoulder. "What are you thinking? They're all most likely awake by now - we need to get you decently dressed."

Finn put a guiding hand at the small of her back. "Come on, then," he said. "Let's cover you up." He chuckled to himself. When had he ever voluntarily wanted to see a woman fully clothed before? He glanced down at her, wondering if she was interested in taking a little extra time getting her clothes on.

She was looking at the flowers in her hand.