"Oh, this is so good, I could eat these all day!" A lewd moan left Luciya's mouth as she bit into a slice of orange. Her legs were flung over the arm of the chair as per usual and peeling littered the floor around her. She was messy, overly energetic and unreserved in everything she did and yet I couldn't find it in me to be impatient with her for it. Her company over the last few weeks, while extremely excitable and akin to a storm passing through with every visit, proved more than just another body in the room, I had really started to appreciate her companionship. Her lascivious tales were vivid and wild- and nearly entirely made up, of that I was sure- but entertaining nonetheless. While I had no doubt that there was some basis in the stories she relayed, I have a feeling the cloak-and-dagger aspect of some of her plots were lifted directly from those bloody novels she kept leaving at her convenience. I let her keep her illusions though, she was distracted and happy even if the bruises she sported were fading. Nevertheless, I didn't appreciate my room stinking of citrus peel.

"I do hope you're going to clean up after yourself," I nodded to the litter. She had the nerve to glance sheepishly at her handiwork before flashing me a bright grin.

"Sure thing, o feeble one," she popped another slice in her mouth. " Just as soon as I'm finished this delicacy." Her speaking through her mouth caused juice to dribble on to her chin and she wiped it away with her sleeve hem. I was curious if the juice would hurt her scar burn, but thought better of asking. Instead I opted to call her out on her mess.

"I thought you were dignified," pointedly I looked at her over my alchemy book (a gift from Lynara after taking pity on me and my only other reading material). Luciya looked to me sharply, quite offended.

"What on earth ever gave you that idea?"

"Aren't you supposed to be like…a companion? Isn't there an element of elegance about that?" Her amber eyes stared at me dumbfounded before creasing with a fit of laughter. My own mouth quirked.

"You've been reading too many of those novels! Hon, I am as elegant as a kodo. I have a great body and even better skills and that's all my clients care about. Dignity…Elegance," she scoffed to herself, eating another slice of orange. She threw a sly grin my way "I'll have you know I haven't shaved in months, my legs are hairier than a tauren!" A bare leg presented itself en pointe as she hiked her trouser leg up to her knee and sure enough, one pale leg was covered in fine, blonde hair. I found myself laughing outright in spite of myself. Yes, she was great company most of the time.

"Speaking of hair, actually, take off your scarf and let me see." Jaw sore from laughing too much already, a smile still plastered on my face, I obeyed and let the scarf descend. Luciya and Lynara were the only ones to see my hair like this. I still mourned it from my time with Edmund in my dreamworld and I couldn't bring myself to look at it-

"Whoa, Cers! What a difference!" Luciya was up in my face sitting on the bed, staring in wide-eyed admiration all over my scalp.

"What? What is it?"

"Your hair, you goose! Look how it's growing back!" A lock was presented in front of me and I nearly gasped.

There was brown. A plain, dull, understated brown but it was there, interwoven amongst the white. And it wasn't a thin wisp of a lock either, it was thicker and – and- real. I choked at the sight.

"Wow, that's stunning. It's like seeing a tree in the middle of a snowy day, all that brown just peeking through the white," Luciya was ongoing in her praise, freely fingering through the strands as she kneeled higher on the bed. The more she did it the more I could feel the weight of it and the length. It fell to my chin at most, other, shorter tufts growing at their own pace but it was there. I couldn't believe it. I raised my own tentative hand up to my head.

It was like silk. Like cotton, and water and all pleasant things I didn't realised I missed touching. My hair. I could run my fingers through it again! And I did! Several times over, my smile growing wider and my tears spilling over the edge.

"Oh Luci- look! I have hair again-!" I stopped, a few more strands than I felt comfortable losing sat entangled in my fingers, freshly torn from their new root. I was grateful for Luciya's presence even more when she stayed my panic quickly.

"Tell you what, why don't we wrap you up again," she started tucking my hair away and replacing the headscarf, "and let it be for now." She fixed in place expertly all the while I sat still and let her. I gave her a gracious smile and she rest one long hand on my cheek. "There, that's better. Don't tear up-" a thumb wiped my face. "It's growing back and that's the main thing. It's still fragile but that's okay, just take it easy and try not to get too excited, eh? Rule Number One of being a woman, Cersae, save your crying for when absolutely necessary. Tears are a woman's weapon- use them like that and not like this, okay?"

I nodded at her, smiling through my dwindling panic at her anecdote. "That's my girl! Well now I know what present I can get you for Winter's Veil- a new comb and mirror, I think! We pretty women need pretty things, you understand. Helps us keep our confidence and to get our way, you see," she said sagely flicking her own red plait dramatically over one shoulder.

Wait- "Winter's Veil?" I repeated.

"Mmhmm. In a few week's time."

"No, it can't be that time of year. No one told me!" I declared, sitting up straight.

"Cers, it's snowing outside."

"We're in Northrend! It snows all year round!"

"One would think after twenty odd years on the planet that you could keep up with the times. Literally!"

I groaned.


"Do you know she still didn't pick up the peelings? Even after I told her too? Oh that woman, I swear I could throttle her if I didn't like her so much!" Ryndan smiled, directing Cersae through the street with his hand on her elbow. Despite being mid-afternoon the sky was dark and the lamps were lit. People were milling and pottering and busying about even more today than usual and he didn't want to lose her. She was so immersed in her small rant that Ryndan couldn't help but smile fondly as he steered her. She hadn't said anything about the bodily contact, something of which he was glad, and instead continued on in her tale.

"So how come you were late round today?" Her pale face turned up to his as they passed by the inn, the multitude of the crowd now thinning to the point where they weren't under threat of separation. He still kept a light hand on her arm.

"I had a meeting that ran a little late, I did apologise though."

"That you did. Was it an important meeting?"

"Very."

"Oh. Is it top-secret?" she inquired, trying to hide her disappointment at his lack of information. He gave her a side glance and smirked a little.

"For now, but not for long. I do have things to take care of before I can say anything however." To his surprise this perked her up.

"Suits me fine! Hey, where are we going anyway? We've never been down this street before I don't think." She was correct, this street was outside their normal walking ground. The last week had granted them a bit of freedom to extend their limits and each day their stamina grew that bit extra, allowing for longer trips out. Today, it was snowing lightly and had a chilling air so he didn't want to keep her out of doors for too long, but they needed to be somewhere. Cersae didn't mind, she was wrapped in her headscarf and thick grey cloak borrowed from Ryndan. He was similarly garbed with thick cloak and a thick collar. With a childish awe, Cersae admired the passers-by and all the colours of the window displays. The specialist shops held particular fascination as they bypassed a shop catering to enchanted dust and shards which had something particularly sparkly shining on its nameboard that physically caused Cersae to stop dead and wonder at it. He tried not to pay too much attention to how he had committed the image of her standing there, bathed in warm lamplight, surrounded by snow and the silvery glints in her eyes as she adored the spectacle. He knew it to be a cheap parlour trick, but to Cersae it was magic, and that made it magical to him too.

He bit the inside of his cheek, all too aware of the dangerous road he was headed down. Instead he led her down a turn and through a dim alleyway into another backstreet. Much like the rest of Dalaran, the architecture was curved and immaculate, the paving perfect and lamps lit. It was also nowhere nearly as crowded as the main street had been.

They managed to arrive at their destination- though Cersae was none the wiser as to the reason they were there.

"Here we go!" he announced, opening the door to a bell chiming overhead, heralding their arrival. She stomped her boots on the stone outside, shaking off the snow and stepped into the warmth inside, Ryndan following close behind her.

He never made it all the way in as Cersae stopped in her tracks and tilted her head up and all around. He caught a glimpse of her mouth open in awestruck and wide-eyed marvelling at the hundreds of tomes lining the walls of the small shop. A whispered "Oh Holy Light," reached Ryndan's numb ears as she took a tentative step forward, almost as if she were scared to disturb the sanctity of the Scribe's Emporium. There were a handful of other people in the shop already browsing, some squinting at some books, others carousing the shelves and another on a ladder high up in the rafters replacing librams.

He caught the eye of a figure beyond the counter and nodded.

Cersae on the other hand had moved more than a few steps away from him and had ventured towards the closest section. He kept behind her to stay in her company, but far away enough as to not crowd her.

Ryndan himself was fascinated. Not by the leather bound tomes with their aged pages, but by the woman in front of him extended one small hand to touch each spine, whispering the names to herself as delicately one might a prayer as she fell into a world of parchment and ink. Her head would tilt this way and that to read some of the faded titles and she kneeled and stretched tall to see some of the others in her height range. If she noticed his presence, she didn't say anything, simply cherishing the bonding she and the books were undergoing. It was a holy thing, of that Ryndan had no doubt, and to him he could clearly see that this was her passion. This was Cersae at home, at peace and it warmed him like no fire could.

She turned to him without warning, almost careening into him despite his effort to keep a respectable distance between them. Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed and she was beaming.

"Oh Ryndan, this is amazing! How did you ever find this place!" taken aback by her query and excited manner he stuttered at her that it was recommended by invitation. Delighted she turned back to the shelves and even ventured to take a tome from its resting place but was cut short as someone bumped into her hard causing her to lose her balance. Ryndan's reflexes caught her under her arms before she hit the floor and a repeated apology came their way.

"Oh I do apologise! Cannot see a blasted thing without my eye –glasses!" a gruff voice came from an even gruffer face when they looked up. He offered Cersae a hand to get up and she accepted, clearly a little shaken. "My," the man said, "aren't you pretty?" Ryndan hovered back watching the interaction. He was older than them both, a salt-and-pepper beard on his chin and there were the beginnings of hard lines on his tanned face. A dark robe covered the bulk of his body, though he was not taller than Ryndan. He still held her hand, talking platitudes and making a comment or two about the book she was about to read.

"An excellent author, makes some fine points on the subject of percolation versus manual stirring in the alchemy business. Strong argument for one being better for elixirs and the other method for potions." A cough was heard behind the robed man and they turned to see a bespectacled draenei woman not-so-subtly demanding his attention. He released Cersae's hand before sudden cough assaulted him. "Well, that's just my two pennies anyway. Apologies for the fall once again," he said once he collected himself, before walking away to talk in low tones with the draenei.

Cersae was a little bewildered by the event but otherwise unbothered as she turned to the book he mentioned and opened it up, scanning the contents. Ryndan managed to catch the eye of the man a half hour later before they left and he nodded solemnly. That was all Ryndan needed to know.

With what sounded like a sad whine from his companion, Ryndan and Cersae left the shop although they were not as alone as they had been entering the emporium. A brown paper covered book was ensconced in Cersae's arms and she clutched the purchase to her like a newborn, very content with the contents. Cersae, unknowing their destination to be such a haven, had not had the forewarning to bring her purse and so Ryndan offered to purchase the very tome the man had recommended to her as an apology gift for running late that day. She would have none of it but he bought it anyway, taking a prideful delight in being the one to make her smile shyly like that. He noted that she liked books and seemed to favour journals on Alchemistry and the likes. Merrily they retraced their route, rejoining the main thoroughfare and chatting about the sites they saw- children throwing snowballs at important looking people, an acrobat juggling fire batons, traders shouting out about their wares and other things. Once or twice, Ryndan reflexively placed his palm to the middle of her back to steer her out of the way of an idler before resting it there indefinitely as the crowds became thicker.

Their pace was slowed, the snow making for slippery tread and a rogue patch of ice sought to threaten them with descension to the pavement. Luckily the only casualty was the tome flying from Cersae's arms as for the second time that night, Ryndan caught her in his own very nearly losing his own balance in the making. Awkwardly he managed to pull them upright, Cersae's boots holding little grip on the ice as she clutched to him. They made their way in a tangle of legs and laughter towards a wall where he managed to grab the book with one arm and hold securely onto Cersae's light frame until they could stand independently. Leaning onto the wall they laughed until their sides hurt. Cersae's breath came in short, frozen cloudbursts as she clutched her stomach, one bare hand still gripping onto his forearm for support. Eventually she eased up and he watched amused as her cheeks flushed redder than they had earlier and her eyes crinkled in glee.

Their eyes locked and her smile faded slowly.

He could deny the urge to press his lips to hers in that moment all he liked, but he would be labelled a liar if he did. Huddled against a wall, his body shielding hers, the intimacy was their own made and no one else could intrude on it. He searched her eyes in askance, but she moved first. A soft kiss was granted on his rough cheek and she lingered there for a moment and no more. Dumbly he watched her settle back on her feet from tip-toe.

"Thank you for today, Ryndan. I – I haven't felt so happy in a long time." Her gaze was bold and honest and the paladin found himself struggling to maintain composure under such a gaze, feeling his face flush in embarrassment and wonder. "I've always loved books-" she ever so gently removed the tome from his grip, clutching it tight to her body once again. "And it's like being home again. This- this tome, it reminds me of some of the conversations Edmund and I used to have and it's nice to think of happy memories for once, not- well, not the bad ones." Her eyes lowered to the package as she gingerly checked to make sure it wasn't damaged through the wrapping.

He had forgotten about Edmund, he had to admit. The recent weeks in her company had shown him a side of her he was glad to know and if this was what she was like before Turning then he wasn't surprised by the knowledge that this man had fallen for her strong, innocent charm. He retained a grimace, grateful to be hidden in partial shadow.

"I am very glad to have been a part of this evening, and I hope to hear more about the arguments between percolation and manual stirring by the next time we meet," he stated in partial jest. She grinned at him, evaporating most of his feelings of defeat.

"I'll be sure to read up thoroughly to give you all the fine points- Ryndan." She stopped suddenly, a very serious expression washing over her. He was alert immediately, pulling away from her to search their surroundings.

"Oh stop that and look!" she was pointing to him.

"Cersae what are you-"

"Your arm! It's out of its sling!"

The words took a few moments to filter into his mind but when they settled he ventured a glance down. Sure enough his right arm was resting comfortably at his side much like his left. The sling was hanging awkwardly empty and a hope flared in him. Tentatively, he told his arm to lift.

And it did. It moved. At his command. Elation and excitement overtook him in an instant as he slowly tested the limits of his mobility. His shoulder was stiff with disuse but it wasn't out of the realms of improbability of recovery! His fingers flexed individually and together and he could rotate his elbow all the ways it should be able to. A cry of triumph left his throat and Cersae laughed with him. Caught up in his zest he swooped her up and spun her round twice before setting her down and pulling her to him.

"Oh what a wonderful night for us both!" she muffled. One arm snaked around his back and tugged on him close, the book sandwiched between them. Ryndan pressed one chaste kiss to her headscarf and agreed wholeheartedly that yes, this was indeed a good night.


A/N- Aaaaha, double update tonight (morning for me, I kid you not, It's 3am because I so wanted to get these chapters done.) you lucky lot!

Just want to firstly say that A Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers. I want to say that I'm thankful for all of your support, reviews, favourites, follows, PMs and pain. I thrive on it and it pushes me to be a better and crueller author. I am thankful that you're still reading this even though you might feel slightly trolled this chapter...and I'm thankful that none of you know where I live so I can't be hunted down.

Love you really.