Chapter EIGHTEEN: Implicit Love-TALIA

...

Hours before...

Aydan had woken minutes after Talia's departure. He looked towards the side anticipating his love's brilliant red hair beside him, but she was gone. The spot where she had slept was still warm telling that she must have left recently. He wished he would have been awake to make sure she was feeling well before she left for the Dreamworld. Nevertheless, he was blissful for the privilege of temporarily having her in his arms.

Now he would allow nothing to get in their way, if he could help it. None of their pasts mattered now. What mattered was that he had her with him again, and their relationship had grown greatly, he thought; utterly elated as he stared at the ring in his palm.

Finally, sitting up, groggy, but extremely happy, Aydan left Talia's room and headed towards the eastern towers to his own room. On his way, he passed the magic storage room and remembered that he needed to retrieve his spell book. The memory of the parchment in his pocket suddenly hit him, and he reached inside to read it.

His eyes widened at what he had discovered. It was a potion, but not just any potion, it was a love potion that was in his mother's handwriting. Why would she have this? he pondered, but knew that he would never get a definite answer.

Just out of curiosity, Aydan began reading the different ingredients necessary to make the potion and soon realized that he had all of them in his possession. He noticed that nothing in the potion made it permanent; however, a potion like this was rare and potent. He stopped, and wondered whether he was skilled enough to make it.

His hands suddenly began to move quickly as he reached out for all the items he needed. Having not done any complicated potions in so long, it was thrilling to do his old ways as a warlock. When the potion was nearly complete, he cleaned out the vial with the remaining soothing potion and filled it with the love potion in its place. He reread the parchment for further steps and realized that it would have to set until the next full moon. Predictable, he thought about the silly moon specifications and realized that a full moon had already gone by.

Aydan grinned in satisfaction with his finished work, perhaps, he would show it to Talia later on. He paused again with the now turning pink potion in his hand. Or maybe I could cast it on her?... This would be the answer to getting rid of her ex-love once and for all, the oh-so tempting thought crossed Aydan's mind.

No...No! Love takes time and it should be natural, he thought now wishing he hadn't made the potion. He held it near the drain wanting to pour it out, but instead put a stopper on and placed it in his pocket.

"There's no point in wasting perfectly good potion," Aydan reasoned out loud as he left the storage. He then forced himself to think about the work he would have to catch up on after not fulfilling his duties for the day. That, unfortunately, would deplete his free time.

When he got to his room he wrote Talia a note and teleported it to her room because he wanted to see her again soon.

...

During the following days, more news on Talia's grandmother came upon Leana's return. Leana told Talia that her grandmother had passed away abruptly from an unknown illness, likely due to age like the village healer believed.

The Moon Priestess had also managed to retrieve personal keepsakes and bring them back with her: a picture of Talia's mother, a few old books, a sham, and a milk pail (of all things), were among the items Leana managed to salvage.

Talia was also getting better each day at locating Devin in her sleep; but it would not last long, only but a few minutes at a time, for whenever the mysterious bright asterisk disappeared, Devin would fade away as well.

Like before, Devin had refused to tell her where he was staying, only giving her information about his journey to Elden to pay respects to her grandmother.

Talia had sensed that he had done something shameful, but was not sure what it could be. Having to go through this experience every night, her grief only grew from seeing Devin more than it helped to see him. Although she treasured every moment of her dreams containing her dear friend, the terrible truth was that she would have to let him go.

...

Nearly a month passed...

Aydan and Talia had agreed to meet early morning after her duties for an outing in the enchanted off-skirts of the High Realm. Aydan had promised that he knew of a place that would be worth seeing and would cheer her up. Since they had been busy with everything lately, Talia had no intentions of refusing time with him.

As he had promised, during the last few weeks, Aydan had been different towards her. It had become apparent after he took his ring back. He was no longer courting her; now, he only behaved as a friend.

Only a friend... Talia thought repeatedly as she walked besides him, once they left the castle. She watched as he distanced himself at a comfortable gap. He did not even attempt to hold her hand anymore or compliment her in some way like he had in the past. Does he no longer like me? the possibility struck her thoughts like an unsuspecting curse.

He had been upset with her the day before when she asked him to visit the world to find Devin. Though Aydan had quickly told her that he would think about it. And now they were here, and she was still waiting for an answer. Perhaps, he would tell her his decision if he was going to find her old friend or not after today. If not, she would understand, at least she would know that he still cared for her as he had before. Her thinking stunned her.

Lately, Talia had realized how much she missed Aydan's daily flower when she would wake, and his small but charming surprises. She especially missed the way he looked at her whenever she was around. She did not know why or how, but it had left her feeling empty after he had stopped. But now, he was doing exactly what she had wanted him to do before she felt this way: he was being an ordinary and simple friend, and nothing more.

"We're nearly there, my dear," Aydan said to her as they walked along a gravel path lined with flower patches and small trees.

Still deep in thought, distracted by what he had said, Talia tripped on a stone, but still managed to stay standing. Aydan turned immediately to aid her.

"Are you okay my lov- my dear?" he mumbled, correcting himself, hoping that she had not heard 'my love'.

"Yes...I am now," Talia answered wondering if he thought she was stupid, but the word confirmed his feelings. She tried not to laugh.

He held her by the waist as they continued, even though she was more than capable of walking on her own, she happily clung to him for support.

His hold reminded her of the evening they were together when she had secretly kissed him. Talia did not know what it meant then, but now it was all she could think about. She wondered what would have happened if Aydan had woken at that very moment. Would she now be wearing his ring?

They were senseless questions since none of it happened, but now she contemplated whether she should tell him what she had done. No... I need more time, Talia acknowledged, thinking she was out of her mind. What if she was looking at him as a rebound, or attention, or lust? She no longer knew the answer to her true feelings.

Talia glanced up at Aydan who gave her a warm smile. Though, overall, Aydan confused her. She felt bewitched by her feelings. Her change of heart had been so abrupt and strong, that saying anything now could risk their amity, which is what she most needed right now.

And there's also Devin... It was his fault all this was happening! Talia blamed, as she angrily thought of what he could have gotten himself into.

The sky was brightening fast. When they finally reached their destination, Aydan gently let Talia to the grassy floor. The sun loomed straight ahead in front of a beautiful water lily-filled lake surrounded by lush meadow groves. A squirrel pranced in the nearby bushes and froze when it saw them.

Aydan sat near Talia and placed a bag of goods to his side. Soon my love...Soon we will be together and Devin will be a lost memory, he thought nervously as he pulled out biscuits and a flagon of water for tea.

"Aydan, this is beautiful! You have a gift for taking me to places I would never dream of," Talia said cheerfully as she removed her priestess veil and combed her red hair to one side.

"I thought you would like it here," he replied as he strained dry tea leaves into cold water by mistake, realizing that he should have heated the water first. His hands shook slightly and his heart began to race.

Aydan looked over at Talia to see if she was looking, but she was gazing towards the lake in deep thought. He poured a small amount of the love potion into her tea-drops. The squirrel turned its head suspiciously towards Aydan as he hid the vial and picked up his magic staff to warm the tea.

Talia looked towards him again trying to catch his attention, but he was facing the other way. She scooted closer to him when he held out the teacup for her to take. She grasped the cup, but he did not let go.

"Oh Aydan, let me have my drink before it gets cold!" Talia exclaimed playfully as she tugged at the warm cup.

As much as he wanted her to love him, he did not want it in this way. Why had he even dared? he pondered.

"No. This one is mine," he finally said not giving up the cup and then drinking some to prove it.

"Well...Okay, you can have it then," Talia said defeated and looked away.

Relieved, Aydan put the cup down between them and turned to get the other one for her. When he spun back, Talia was holding his cup to her lips. The squirrel realized what was happening and ran forward.

"No! Miz therez iz zomethin in da drink!" the rodent warned loudly, startling Aydan who instinctually picked up his staff and fired warning sparks, making it run into the meadow. Talia, however, had not noticed what was happening when she finally put the cup down.

"Talia! How do you feel... my love?" Aydan asked worried and held her close. He knew what he had allowed was unforgivable.

"I...I feel fine...my love," Talia answered only feeling half herself as she passionately kissed him, "...Aydan, I love you."

The words took him by surprise. He had not expected such results considering he had only used a meager amount of potion, and the rest he had taken. He kissed her back with the same intensity.

"My love, I have waited so long to hear those words from you!" he replied and pulled out his mother's promise ring. "I want to be with you forever."

"You want to marry me?" Talia asked softly as the potion engulfed her even more.

"No, marriage is for mortals. We have eternity."

The news somewhat disappointed her, but as long as they were together nothing else mattered.

...

They walked to the castle soon after. The potions effects were already wearing off Aydan, but he knew he would have to give Talia more later on. The only witness to this event was a measly rodent.

No one would ever know.

End of Part 2

Deleted Scene C

...

"Oracle, you summoned me?" Talia bowed her head and smiled politely upon entering the Oracle's quarters.

"Dream Priestess, it has been some time since we have met. I wanted to see how..." the Oracle stopped and looked attentively at Talia. The girl was beaming with spirit, the Oracle thought: the sign of life.

"Heavens and glory! My dear, you are expecting!" the Oracle announced, bewildered.

"I am expecting?..." Talia said almost silenced by the shock of the news. "I'm expecting?!" she said again in a panic, but the fear was instantly covered with joy. Talia placed her hands over her front unable to think clearly.

The Oracle continued to gaze at Talia. She had not thought that after what happened in Mysten Far, Talia would be in love with someone else so soon. She herself witnessed the soul breaking moment that day and shed tears, which was rare for her to ever do. It was possible, but something told her that things were not as they appeared. After all, she was the seer, but time would tell more. For now, nothing should be done.

"May I ask who the worthy father-to-be is?"

"Aydan is, ma'am," Talia said sincerely happy this time.

"Aydan...Aydan Adlan? The Sun Priest! I had believed you to be simply friends, but I suppose... It is just taking me by surprise, is all. After you became the Dreamer, I thought it would at least take a few hundred years before you gave your heart to another. Normally, most druids wait a long while before they have children, if ever...However, I suppose all is possible...I cannot wait for the little bundle's arrival! It's been so long since there were children in this old castle...But are you and Aydan planning on staying?" the Oracle said carefully wanting the occasion to remain a one happy.

"Yes. At least until I can get myself to the Dreamlands. Then we will move to his father's manor in High Realm," Talia answered, but a question suddenly came to mind. "...Oracle, do you think that you can tell if I am having a daughter or son?"

"My dear, I can do more than that! I can also tell you of your child's destiny, but just a little bit. Would you like Aydan to be present?"

Talia wanted to say no for some reason, but automatically said yes instead. The Oracle then disappeared in a blaze of light speckles and returned not long after.

"He will be with us in just a moment... But I cannot resist telling you first. You are having a son, deary!"

"A son?...Aydan will be thrilled!" Talia exclaimed ecstatic from the news.

Aydan then appeared.

"My love, is everything fine?" Aydan said as he went to her.

"Yes, darling-We're going to have a son!" Talia said, truly happy, and kissed him.

Aydan wrapped his arms around her waist and embraced her snugly; but guilt came all too sudden. Even though he was only giving her but a few drops of potion, and he was almost sure she loved him without it, he had not been able to completely stop. I need to wean her from it. It needs to stop! he told himself, but this was one of many times preached.

The Oracle focused on him long enough to catch a nervous glance, but he quickly softened.

"Now, since you are both here, I will read the boy's destiny. Be warned that my telling can be broad and ambiguous for some, and that destiny can change upon choices and circumstances," she said cautious as her pupils turned snow white. "...He will be very great, no matter his outcome in life. However, it depends...which one of you is most influential in his life on what kind of greatness it will be."

Aydan and Talia both thought alike: they both would there for their child-equally. But the Oracle's words scared them in some sense. They wondered what she meant by 'kind of greatness.' As far as they both knew, there is only good or bad greatness.

The Oracle eyes then turned icy blue again.

"I hope you will consider my words of wisdom with extreme care. His future will depend on it," she said and then looked intently at Aydan.

"We will. Thank you," Talia answered for them both.

End of Part 2