"Night"
The days passed so slowly that it seemed as if the whole world had ceased to turn, and as the attacks on Dragon, human and even elven villages increased, so did the restrictions on how often anyone could leave the sanctuary. The restrictions seemed aimed at Lileina in particular, since it was she who spent most of her time out of its protective walls, but they didn't stop her from thinking of leaving. After her outburst in council, however, she was under close watch by the elders to make sure she didn't run away from the sanctuary and into the midst of a demon attack.
But no matter how often they told her that the restrictions were for her own good, Lileina couldn't stop staring out the windows every chance she got, trying to think of a way to slip past the guards and get back to Karal. And that particular afternoon was no different as she sat by the window of the study on the upper level of the sanctuary while Sorian painted, wishing that she could fly to Valtier that very moment. Being without him made her feel so empty...as if someone had taken away half of her heart.
"Lileina, you look so melancholy. Why don't you read or draw a picture? I know you want to replace that one that got torn. You know you can't see him tomorrow, so it's no use sitting there and staring out the window." Adding a dab of paint to her picture, Sorian stood back a little from the canvas and frowned at it. "Hmmm...."
"I know it's useless to sit here and think about him, but it's all I can do. Imagine having someone you love more than anything, and knowing that they're hundreds of miles away from you...all I can think about is him, and wonder if he's thinking about me...if he misses me as much as I miss him." Leaning her head against the glass, Lileina sighed. "It's terrible."
"You miss him like this because you're so used to seeing him every day. And of course he's missing you. After all, he's your mate isn't he? He's probably driving his friends crazy by talking about you all the time, too." Sorian looked to her friend, expecting to see Lileina giving her a dirty look, but instead Lileina was blushing bright red. "What is it?"
"We haven't actually...you know..." Beet red, Lileina looked around the study to make sure no one was listening to them.
"But still...he chose you, didn't he? That's almost as good, knowing that he's out there somewhere, waiting for you."
"What do you mean? It is not almost as good." Giving Sorian the look she had been expecting earlier, she sighed and let her head fall backwards against the windowsill. "It's...hard to explain." The door to the study opened, and Rinoa walked in carrying a book under her arm. Immediately, Lileina and Sorian began chatting about the weather and how nice it looked outside. It hadn't escaped either of their notices that Rinoa had been acting strangely lately, much nicer than she usually was, and as a result they were being much more cautious in their dealings with her.
Signaling to one another with their eyes, Lileina informed Sorian that it was time to go and Sorian agreed as she started packing up her paints and canvas. It looked to both of them like she could either be sitting down to read a book or spy on them, and this meant that it was time for them to go somewhere else to talk. They continued to talk about how it was getting dark much earlier than it had been as they walked past Rinoa and out of the study towards the sleeping quarters. Sorian wanted to change clothes because she had splashed paint on her robe while she was finishing the picture, and Lileina retired to her own room momentarily and locked the door.
After Sorian had reported Drassi's unwelcome intrusion into her bedroom, Lileina had enlisted her help in fitting a lock onto the door that could only be opened by magic, using an 'unlock' incantation. It was really an easy spell, but both Lileina and Sorian knew that Drassi knew very little, if any, magic, so it was an effective barrier against further intrusions on his part.
While she was sitting on the bed, Lileina suddenly felt herself growing very tired. She had been sleeping very poorly lately, what with being worried about Valtier and being plagued almost nightly by dreams that always awakened her suddenly and never left her with any memory of their content, disappearing as soon as she sat up in her bed.
There was a knock on her door, and Lileina went over to tell Sorian that she was tired and wanted to rest for a little while. Sorian agreed, telling her that she was a little tired as well and that she would be sure to wake Lileina for dinner. Locking the door behind her with an incantation, Lileina stretched out on the bed and pulled the covers over her body as she closed her eyes, wishing that she was in Karal...or anywhere she could be near Valtier. At least, she thought to herself as she began to doze off, I can see him in my dreams.
* * *
While Lileina dreamed of Valtier, he was leaning on the side of the Great Dome waiting for the elders to come out so he could lock the door. Deep inside the Dome, the elders were inside preparing to send another message to the Gold Dragons in response to their final demand for the Ancient Dragons to turn the weapon over to them.
Artemis walked slowly down the long hall, the message tucked safely into a leather pouch that hung around his shoulders. A sick feeling had settled into his stomach, and he tried to push it away as he opened the doors. The elders were entrusting him with this message because he was the only one outside the council that knew the full extent of the situation with the weapon, but that didn't make him any less nervous. he passed through the doors of the dome and smiled over at Valtier, who looked like he was about to fall asleep.
"Afternoon, Valtier."
"Good afternoon, Artemis. You look like you're going to be sick." Clapping his friend on the shoulder, Valtier smiled. "What's wrong?"
"I've got to make a trip to the Fire Dragon Lord's sanctuary...to deliver a message to their elder. I'm...nervous about it." With a sigh, he looked up at Valtier. "You're lucky. You don't have any worries."
"Don't I? My future mate is sitting defenseless in that sanctuary, waiting until they say she can move before she can leave to see me for a few hours. She could be attacked at any moment by demons and I wouldn't know about it for days. And you say I have no problems?" Noticing the pouch that hung over Artemis' shoulder, Valtier's smile became wider. "I'd give just about anything to get a message to her. If only someone I knew was going that direction..."
"All right, all right, I get your point." reaching into the bag, Artemis took out a quill and piece of paper, which he handed to Valtier. "I can't guarantee anything, but I promise that I will do my best to get it to her."
"You're a good friend, Artemis," Valtier said as he handed him a letter. Giving him an exasperated look, Artemis tucked the letter into the mail pouch.
"Oh, sure. Like you were going to let me refuse."
* * *
After Sorian awoke from her nap, she had decided to walk around a little since Lileina was still asleep. She wasn't worried because she knew her friend had been having trouble sleeping lately, but after she had been cornered by Drassi, she was reluctant to be anywhere in the sanctuary alone and no one else seemed to be around. The silence was making her a little nervous, and she headed back to her own bedroom to wait for Lileina to wake up.
As she came around the corner, Sorian saw someone moving in the shadows near the mikos' sleeping quarters. Instantly on her guard, she pressed herself against the wall and looked as far as she could down the corridor. From where she was standing, it looked like a male figure, and she felt her heart stop for a moment. She couldn't believe Drassi would dare to be anywhere near the mikos' sleeping quarters, but it made her all the more wary of him. Surely he knew that if Sorian caught him again, she was going directly to the elders. If he was willing to risk the wrath of the elders, there was no telling what he might do. Moving slowly towards him, careful to stay in the shadows, Sorian narrowed her eyes.
"Who's there?" Trying not to sound as scared as she felt, Sorian called out to the other creature in the hall, and was a little relieved as whoever it was stopped in their tracks. Slowly, the figure stepped into the light, letting Sorian see that it was not Drassi, but a young man with dark hair who looked just as terrified as she did.
"I...I'm Artemis...a messenger from the Ancient Dragons..." As he spoke, his voice shook a little, and Sorian's eyes widened.
"Did you say Ancient...wait, are you a friend of Valtier?" Stepping closer, she lowered her voice as the young man nodded cautiously. He tried to get a good look at her face as he recalled the description of Lileina he had been given.
"You aren't Lileina, are you?" His voice was soft and kind, making Sorian feel as if she could trust him. Shaking her head, she motioned to his mail pouch.
"Are you looking for her?"
"I...I have a message for her. From Valtier." He rested his hand on the mail bag, and Sorian took his arm with a smile.
"I'll show you the way. But you know you really shouldn't be back here. The sleeping quarters of the mikos are off limits to males of any species."
"Yes, I know. It's the same at the temple in the City of the Ancients. But Valtier has been missing her, and he asked me to do this. I promised to do my best to give his letter to Lileina, and as a friend, I owe it to him to do so even if I have to take a bit of a risk." Artemis' gold eyes fixed on Sorian's violet ones, and she smiled as she thought of how far she would go for Lileina.
"He must be a very good friend."
"Yes, I suppose he is."
* * *
In her room, Lileina lay on her bed, tossing and turning in the grip of yet another of her nightmares. Murmurs of unrest escaped her slightly parted lips as she rolled over once more on the bed, trying to escape whatever horrible things she was seeing. Clutching a handful of the covers, she frowned in her sleep.
"No...n...no..." Shaking her head against the pillows, Lileina groaned as her face contorted into a mask of pain. She kicked out her legs as if she were trying to run away, but it only served to further entangle her legs in the sheets and blankets. "No..." Feeling even more trapped, Lileina cried out in her sleep as she tried to jump out of the bed. "NO!!" Waking with a start, she tripped over the covers that had bound her legs and fell onto the floor roughly. Catching herself on her hands and knees, it took her a moment to realize where she was and that she was safe.
Trying to catch her breath, Lileina gasped softly to herself as she pressed a hand to her chest and leaned back against the nightstand. Another nightmare. And as usual, she could hardly remember anything that had been in it. Closing her eyes to try and help her regain her composure didn't help, but as she rubbed her temples a needle of pain shot through her head and a sudden flash of the dream came back into her mind as her chest tightened.
In her mind, she could see Valtier standing defiantly before a tall figure whose face she couldn't see through the darkness that surrounded them. Valtier was already badly injured, bleeding from several deep wounds on his chest, back, arms and face, though somehow she knew that this figure hadn't been the one to inflict those wounds. His armor was gone, and all he was wearing was a tattered pair of white pants, his hair flying wildly in the breeze that seemed to have suddenly come up. The two looked as if they were facing off, and Valtier turned his face towards her with his usual smile. Less than a moment later, a huge sword was unsheathed and flashed out towards Valtier, driving through his stomach and exiting his back with a sound that made Lileina's stomach turn. Hurriedly, she crawled over to the basin in the corner and forfeited her share of lunch as the sound continued to replay itself in her ears. Leaning over the basin, her hair hanging around her face like a set of tangled flaxen curtains, Lileina gasped for air as a bead of sweat ran down her face and dripped off the end of her nose.
What...what kind of a dream was that? It...seemed so real...please tell me that it was only a nightmare...and not a vision of things that will come to pass...
"Excuse me?" There was a knock at the door, and she looked up from the basin as she continued to try and catch her breath. It sounded a little like Sorian's voice, so Lileina stood up to rinse her mouth out with water from her jug as she murmured in the direction of the voice.
"Come in," she managed weakly, pushing the basin behind the bookshelf with the toe of her boot and looking towards the door, expecting to see Sorian walking in. Instead, a somewhat feminine-looking young man stepped inside, looking at her nervously.
"Miss Lileina?" Artemis' voice was soft, almost reverent as he gazed at the face of the figure that picked up a brush and began to untangle her hair as she came towards him. So this was the Dragon that had not only saved his best friend's life, but had also won his heart.
"Yes," she said cautiously, brushing her hair quickly and smoothing it down with her hand. Placing the brush back onto her nightstand, she smiled. "Who are you?"
"A messenger. I was sent by the council of the Ancient Dragons to bring a message to the Chief Elder of the Gold Dragons. My name is Artemis, and..."
"Artemis?" The name caused a bell to go off in Lileina's head, and she moved a little closer to him. "You're a friend of Valtier's!" He nodded, and the image from her dream suddenly returned and caused a sick sensation to return to her stomach. Hurrying to his side, Lileina grabbed Artemis' arm. "Please! Is he all right? He isn't...hurt, is he?"
"No, he's fine! In fact, he sends you a letter." Reaching into the mail pouch, he withdrew the letter and handed it to Lileina. "Here. He misses you greatly." Pressing the folded piece of paper to her heart, she felt tears spring to her eyes.
"And I miss him..." Pushing back the tears, she opened the letter and ran her eyes over the sharply slanted script that was Valtier's handwriting.
My precious Lileina,
I miss you more than any words could ever express, and I hope that you are thinking about me, even a little, while we are apart.
My love, waiting to see you is like being deprived of water and sunlight and I find it harder and harder to wait until the morning to see you again. Every moment is like a year and there are hours still to go until the sun rises. If you are able, please meet me by the waterfall at the edge of the Sleeping forest. It should be safe for us to meet there. Send word with Artemis if you can meet me, I will wait for your reply.
All my love, Valtier
Almost in tears, Lileina nodded slowly as she pressed the letter to her heart again. Going to her bookshelf, she took a sheet of paper from a wooden box and wrote a short letter on it, which she folded and handed to Artemis with a smile.
"Here. Tell him I'll be there. And I thank you for..." Lileina stopped and frowned as Artemis leaned over to tuck the letter into his mail pouch and the light hit his face in such a way that she was able to see a large bruise on the side of his face. Scanning his body with her eyes, she noticed another on his arm and looked up at him. "Oh, Artemis...what happened here?" Ever so gently, she touched his face and he flinched a little.
"That? Oh...some of the guards decided, when I showed up, to...um...check that I wasn't a demon." Blushing a little, Artemis shook his head. "It doesn't hurt."
"I'll bet one of those jerks was Drassi. They had no right to treat you like this...these bruises are terrible..." Inspecting his arm, she could see the vague outline of finger marks on the bruises. "They're no better than demons themselves."
"It's not so bad...really. You see, I...I bruise easily." Her kindness was almost more than Artemis could bear, and he looked away from her.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Holding a hand over his cheek, she uttered a soft recovery spell that sent warmth spreading through Artemis' entire body. "There...you're completely healed."
"Thank you...it wasn't necessary, but thank you just the same. You're so very kind." Looking over at Lileina, Artemis realized that he suddenly understood why Valtier loved her so much. It was true, she was kind and gentle...but the anger she felt when he told her about the guards' treatment of him when he came to the sanctuary was almost palpable. For her to be able to have such empathy for another creature...she had to be, no, she was truly special. Any other Gold Dragon would have left him in pain simply because their races were in the middle of a dispute, but Lileina refused to let anyone suffer, even someone she was supposed to consider an enemy. Valtier was right...she was different.
"I'm not special at all. You risked quite a lot to bring me this message from Valtier. I owe it to you for being so thoughtful, and for being such a good friend to Valtier and to me." Touching his healed face, she smiled. "Now let me call Sorian, and we'll walk you to see the chief elder."
"You really don't have to..."
"Yes, we do. If you're caught alone here in the sleeping quarters, the guards will hurt you again and I don't want that to happen. If we walk with you, we can simply tell anyone who might find us that you got lost." Leading him to the door, Lileina sighed. "I suppose I'm a little selfish too...I want to make sure Valtier gets his letter." This made Artemis laugh, and Lileina nodded to the door. "Let's go, shall we?"
"After you, my lady."
Down the hall, Rinoa pressed herself into the shadows, unable to believe what she had just heard. She watched Lileina, Sorian and the young man who called himself Artemis walk down the hall away from the sleeping quarters. A smile spread over her face before she was able to stop it. So that was their secret...an Ancient Dragon... Wait until she told Drassi this. Not right away of course, she would wait a little longer until the situation with the Ancients was at its breaking point and she was sure that Drassi was a little more interested in her. Then, when Lileina was least expecting it...
Rinoa laughed to herself. She couldn't believe her luck, couldn't have planned it any better if she had tried. Instead of actually working to get rid of Lileina, all she had ended up having to do was listen at a few doors. Finally, though...after all this time, she would make Lileina learn what it meant to really cry.
* * *
Valtier sat by the waterfall, watching the moonlight shine off the water as it ran over the rocks and around the small pool at the bottom before running off into a small river. Lileina's letter was tucked safely into his vest, and he glanced up at the sky every few minutes in the hopes of catching a glimpse of her Dragon form gliding through the night sky over the Sleeping forest.
It had been three long days since he last saw her, and Valtier was beginning to feel like he was going insane. He had become so used to seeing her every day that not seeing her bright eyes by the time the sun went down made him a little sadder each time he went to bed.
"Valtier!" A voice from the trees startled him, and he turned to see Lileina running towards him. She hugged him tightly as he caught her in his arms, and her face pressed into his chest as she caught her breath. "Oh, I missed you!"
"I missed you too," he said, kissing the top of her head quickly. "So much." Lifting her face, he kissed her lips for a long moment before looking into her eyes. "I'm glad Artemis made it."
"Me too. He's a wonderful young man." Lileina's hair fell away from her face as she leaned her head back to look up at the sky. "It's so beautiful out here. And so quiet..."
"Yes." Sitting down on a log that was near the pool at the bottom of the waterfall, Valtier smiled up at Lileina. "I thought we might just sit and watch the stars."
"I don't care what we do," she replied, sitting next to him. "I just want to be near you." Leaning her head onto his shoulder, she sighed softly. Even now, she was trying to forget the terrible dream she had dreamt that afternoon. Sensing that something was amiss, Valtier reached over and put his arm around her, pulling her a little closer to him.
"It's been terrible without you," he said softly, resting his chin on her head for a moment. "All I could think about is how much I wanted to see your face and hold you..."
"Mm..." Breathing deeply of the forest air, Lileina snuggled closer to his warmth to try and dispel a little of the chill she was starting to feel. She had missed being so close to him, feeling his arms around her and hearing his heart beating...his voice calling her name. He was so warm...always so warm...
"Lileina?" His voice was a whisper by her ear and she looked up, her eyes bright. "Is something wrong?"
"Wrong?" When she spoke, her voice sounded strange to her ears, and Valtier rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand.
"You were breathing strangely all of a sudden. Are you feeling well?" Something seemed amiss to him, and he pressed his hand against her cheek for a few moments. "Your skin feels so cold..." Putting his arms around her, Valtier embraced her tightly. "Maybe coming out here was a bad idea."
"No, it's just..." Surrounded by his warmth, Lileina couldn't stop the images from her dream from coming back at her, just as painful and vivid as they had been that afternoon. Tears welled up in her eyes as she remembered how his blood had run down the sword, how limply his head had fallen down onto his chest, and the tears began to flow from her eyes before she could stop them. Thinking she was just upset about the continuing war, Valtier kissed her cheek gently.
"It's okay...don't cry..." His words seemed to have no effect on her as the tears continued to trickle down her cheeks, and as he continued to kiss her face and lips, Valtier realized that something more than the war was bothering her. "My dear... Lileina, what's wrong?"
"I'm so scared," she whispered, shaking her head against his chest as the words she had been trying to keep inside managed to find their way out. She didn't want to tell him about the dream, she was afraid she would sound like a frightened hatchling. His kisses were only a small measure of comfort as she felt herself trembling a little, and Valtier stroked her hair gently.
"There's nothing to be scared of, not while I'm here. I'll protect you, I swear that I will. As long as we're here together, you're safe." Raising her chin up a little, he pressed his lips softly to hers. Lileina closed her eyes, trying to tell herself that it was only a dream, that she should put it out of her mind and enjoy the time they had together, but she couldn't. Pulling away from her, Valtier looked into her eyes, his face lined with concern. "Lileina...where are you right now?"
"What? I'm right here..."
"Your body is here, but your mind is elsewhere...it's as if you're a thousand miles from here." Brushing her hair away from her face, he smiled gently. "I would like it if all of your parts were here with me."
"I am here," she insisted, placing a hand on the side of his face. "Always...here with you." She knew at the same moment he did that she was lying, and she sighed. "Maybe you're right. I am a bit distracted... I can't explain it, but it's as if my mind is so full right now."
"Perhaps I can persuade you to forget it all, just for a short while?" His golden eyes glinted in the moonlight, and Lileina smiled at him as she nodded.
"Of course," she said, leaning in so that he could kiss her again. As their lips met, she resolved that she was going to forget about the dream and about everything else that was bothering her so that they could spend what little time they had together. The kiss continued, and as memories of the dream began to resurface, Lileina began to kiss Valtier harder as she tried to push it out of her mind. The more passionate their kisses became, the easier it was to forget about the dreams, about Drassi, about everything but being there, that moment with Valtier. Her sudden vigor did not go unnoticed by her partner, who suddenly opened his eyes and pulled away a little breathlessly.
Lileina opened her eyes and looked at him in surprise as he frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing...well, I mean...you just seem...different tonight."
"Different..." Blushing as she realized what he meant, Lileina looked down into her hands. "I'm sorry...I didn't meant to make you uncomfortable."
"It's not that," Valtier said, reaching over to take her hand. "You didn't make me uncomfortable, it's just that I'm not used to you being so..." Lileina didn't let him finish. She was almost afraid of what he might say.
"I...I think I was trying to forget..." Deciding that sounding childish was better than scaring Valtier away, Lileina sighed. "A dream...a terrible dream I had this afternoon."
"What kind of a dream?" To her amazement, he didn't sound as if he thought she were stupid or childish, he sounded genuinely concerned about her. Lileina was suddenly very relieved.
"You were hurt...bleeding..." Shaking her head, Lileina closed her eyes. "It was bad...I think you were dying. And then...this man..." Not letting her finish, Valtier took her hand and kissed her forehead gently.
"It's all right, Lileina. I'm right here...I'm not dying, I'm right here." Squeezing her hand, he smiled. "I won't leave you, no matter what. And I'm not about to die...not just yet. I'll always be here with you."
"But it seemed so real..."
"I know. I've had some dreams like that. But fortunately, the ones that seemed the most real to me were all very good dreams." Looking up a little, Lileina noticed that Valtier was looking at her in an odd sort of way, as if he couldn't take his eyes off her.
"Valtier..." As she leaned her head towards him, the moonlight made strange little shadows travel across her face, and Valtier reached up to touch her cheek as if he were in a daze. His fingers brushed lightly across her skin, making her smile inquisitively. "What is it?"
"You're just so beautiful...in this moonlight, you look like an angel." A smile spread over his face as he traced her cheek with his finger. "My angel. I'm so lucky to have found you. Looking at you like this...it makes me wish that..." His voice trailed away suddenly, and Lileina leaned closer to him as he cleared his throat.
"It makes you wish...what?"
"I don't think I should say." All of a sudden, Valtier's cheeks had gone bright red and he shifted his eyes away from her. Cocking her head ever so slightly, she smiled.
"Why not?"
"Because...I don't want to offend you." His face grew even redder, and Lileina blushed herself as she realized what he had probably been about to say. For a moment, she was unsure of what to say.
"Oh...I see..." Fidgeting with the jewels at the end of one of her braids, she smiled over at him reassuringly. "Well...if you wanted to say it anyway, you could...and then if I was offended, I could just say so, and we could...forget you ever said it at all..." Part of her was dying to know what he said, but the rest of her was shocked that she would even think about it. "How about that?"
"I...suppose that's okay..." Clearing his throat again, louder this time, Valtier scratched the back of his head as he spoke. "I was going to say...that I wish...you were already my mate." His words hung heavily in the air for a few moments as Lileina blushed a little more. She understood him perfectly now, but wasn't sure how a nice young miko was supposed to react to something like this. Shaking his head firmly, Valtier looked into his hands. "I'm sorry...forget I said anything..." The embarrassment in his voice was more than she had ever heard, and Lileina suddenly decided that she didn't care what a nice young miko would do.
"No," she murmured, her heart thundering in her throat as she scooted a little closer to him. "I don't want to forget it...at all..." Valtier's head snapped up as he looked into her eyes, which were shining with sincerity.
"Lileina...what do you mean...?"
"I mean that I don't want to wait until the war is over." Somehow, she managed to keep her voice steady as she spoke, despite the fact that Valtier was staring at her. "I would like to become your mate...now..."
"Oh, Lileina..." His heartbeat quickening, Valtier took her hands gently. "I didn't mean for you to...to make this decision so quickly..."
"If you don't want to..." Shaking her head, Lileina looked into her lap. Now she was the one who had made him uncomfortable. Trying to think of a way to take it back, she moved her mouth soundlessly for a moment as Valtier smiled gently.
"That's not it. Not at all. I just...don't want you to do this because of me."
"I'm not." Leaning forward, Lileina surprised him a little by kissing him gently on the lips. "I love you...and I want to be a part of you." Her cheeks were still burning, and Valtier pressed a hand to her flushed cheek. It took her a moment to realize that he was trembling a little. Moving slower than she had ever seen him, Valtier kissed her as he pulled her closer to his end of the log. Ever so gently, he dipped his head downward and nuzzled the side of her throat for a moment. Lileina murmured contentedly in the back of her throat as he turned his face to let his lips brush her skin, and he looked up at her.
"Are you...sure?" His voice was soft, and she nodded, keeping her eyes on his as she did. Reaching behind her, Valtier unfastened a few of the tiny buttons that held her dress closed and pushed it down to expose her shoulders. They seemed to glow ivory in the moonlight, and he caught his breath suddenly. "Lileina...everything about you is so beautiful. Not just your face and your body, but your heart as well. I could have never hoped for anyone or anything as wonderful as you...and yet somehow...here you are."
"Here we are," Lileina said softly as he began to kiss her neck and shoulders, her face growing warmer as his lips caressed her skin and his hand fell to her waist. She leaned her head back a little so her hair was out of his face, and Valtier began to aim his kisses further down her torso. Feeling as if her body had reached some sort of boiling point, Lileina felt a sudden need to cool herself off. Nodding to herself, Lileina stood up, her dress hanging loose around her shoulders. As Valtier watched, she reached back and unfastened the rest of the buttons, letting the dress slide down her body and onto the forest floor. Carefully, she stepped out of it and kicked off her boots, then walked towards the pool of water that was gathering under the waterfall, wearing only her very thin slip. Valtier gave her a questioning look, then pulled off his vest and shirt, intending to follow her into the water. She looked over her shoulder at him, and he noticed that a smile was playing over her lips, a smile that made him pull off his boots and wade after her into the water, either not noticing or not caring that his pants were getting soaked to the knee.
Joining her near the waterfall, Valtier noticed that the tiny droplets of water that sprayed onto her from the direction of the rocks was making her already-thin slip cling to her body as it began to turn transparent. Lileina's slender figure was clearly outlined through the white fabric, and Valtier put a hand on her arm.
"You're all cold again," he murmured, rubbing a hand rather lightly over her skin. Smiling up at him, her cheeks pink in the starlight, Lileina shook her head.
"No...you're wrong. I feel like...like I'm on fire..."
A few moments later, they were laying together on a fluffy patch of grass just inside the Sleeping forest, where the only sounds were the beating of their hearts as they looked into one another's eyes. Their remaining clothes having been discarded, Lileina and Valtier curled closer to one another, each warming the other with the shelter of their body.
"You're sure about this?" Brushing the side of Lileina's face with his fingertips, he gave her a somewhat serious look, and she nodded slowly as she smiled.
"As sure as I am that I love you...and that I want to be with you forever."
"All right..." Slowly, deliberately, he moved his body over hers as Lileina reached up to touch his face. A smile crossed his lips as his hair fell over his shoulder and tickled her nose. "Lileina...I love you..." Valtier's words echoed in her ears as he moved forward into her, and suddenly everything around Lileina seemed to rush in on her at once as a thousand sensations she had never known before overtook her body at the same moment.
Before either of them fully understood what they were doing, they began to move in unison, their bodies entwining with one another, seeming to melt together as the world fell away beneath them, leaving only the dreamlike state in which they were the only creatures alive, the only ones that mattered at all. Lileina's hands opened and closed against Valtier's back, catching a few strands of his long hair in them as she did.
Valtier...you're so warm...these feelings...please, don't leave me... I'm so afraid of what might happen without you... We can't see the future, what will happen tomorrow is so...uncertain...but I can be here with you...today...
Without warning, Lileina felt as if the ground was rushing up at her. One of her hands fell back and clutched at the grass beneath them as a strange, foreign heat filled her body and spread rapidly through her veins. Reaching up to comfort her, Valtier took her hand and squeezed it gently as the earth caught up with them in a storm of white light that seemed like a rain of feathers.
"Valtier..."
"Lileina..."
"I...love you.."
* * *
"Your reverence, the Ancient Dragons have sent us their final word on the weapon." Caiphas stood before the chief elder, holding out the message that Artemis had brought, and the elder shook his head.
"It seems that now we have no choice. Call a special meeting of the council first thing tomorrow morning. There is much to discuss about our current situation, and about what we must do in the future...as well as in the days to come." There was an undertone to his voice that Caiphas had never heard before, and he nodded.
"Yes, your reverence." Bowing deeply, Caiphas exited the room, leaving the elder alone with his thoughts. As much as he hated to do so, and even though he knew the full ramifications of the course of action he was considering taking, he knew something had to be done. And it would be done...for the safety of the Gold Dragons.
* * *
Holding Lileina in his arms as she rested her head against his chest, Valtier felt a peace like he had never before known settle over him. Looking down at Lileina, her long hair tangled and slightly damp, cheeks glowing a gentle rosy hue, he understood why. From that time on, she was to be the only thing in the world who was truly and completely his, and he to be hers.
"Valtier?" Her voice was sleepy, little more than a whisper, and he leaned over to kiss her sweat-beaded forehead lightly before answering.
"What is it, my love?"
"What you said before...about me going to live in Karal for a while. Will you really come to live there with me?" Though her eyelids were drooping, the blue of her eyes was no less bright, and he nodded, tightening his arms around her.
"Of course I will. But I thought you said..."
"I changed my mind. Now...I'll think about it." Pressing herself closer to his bare chest, Lileina could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke. She felt the need to close her eyes, to rest, even if it was just for a moment. There was no need to fear anything now.
"I'm glad."
"You know...I am too..."