Chapter 10
The first slanting rays of liquid gold lit the air in the room long before it lightened the sleeping land. Her head rolled on the pillow to face the east. The linen drapes flowed out through the open window, where a long stretch of gold separated the two forests. The gray sky promised cool weather. For running perhaps.?
She considered it. All week, to run, flee, escape. Yet while she had thought over this one question she had been slyly indebted to the very creature that she longed distance from. Or did she?
It was true, at first she had considered him a most rude, uncivil stubborn donkey-headed being that gave a bad name to all elves. But wasn't that the way elves acted when they were in the deepest love? Passionate and forthright, seeing nothing but their goal? To be forevermore with the elf of their dreams? Their soulmate, their lover? It was certainly the way she had recalled it from the stories in her child hood. The pure hero rescuing the woe befallen maiden. She supposed that her situation could compare to the stories, with a very large misunderstanding on her side. Several of them.
She could hear his breathing, or rather his breathing was very evident beyond her senses having become so attuned to him. He had been gone for a while after she'd 'fallen asleep' and bathed before he joined her again. Most likely practicing his skills, warriors in the southern woods were always fine tuning their skills. Every day, as if in the lee of a few hours a lifetime of knowledge would shift and waste away. For whatever reason, he slept deeply and would not stir if she decided to.
Her eyes sought him, pulling her face back towards the center of the bed. His hair was down and slightly damp where it had clung together throughout the night. Golden tassels that would proudly ornament the finest of tapestries or dresses. His eyes were shut, long lashes gently brushing the tops of his cheeks. A rather stately nose that fit him well, he had an almost regal appearance for a warrior. Delicately pointed ears protruded from his hair at a gentle angle. A small gap between his chin and shoulder which she knew to be most comfortable and smelling quite unique, but unexplainable. Broad shoulders extended into strong arms, ones that often encircled and enfolded her to his chest. It was a comfortable arrangement.
If she went south would she ever experience the like again? She had to decide quickly, otherwise the decision would be made for her, and this was one of the rare evenings when he had an arm set around her in some fashion. To protect me. As a security precaution to ensure her presence. Such thoughts would stray her from her decision. But, that was what it was about wasn't it?
What would the life he was offering give to her? In all realities it would probably be not far better than the life she currently lived. Worse perhaps? He had been very.compassionate but also very protective and sheltering. Both which indicated that he thought her no more than the normal female, who although a great deal more intelligent than they were given credit for were not very assertive when it came to freedoms. Freedoms were dreamed about, not lived.
As the master weaponsmith she had some leverage in the community. If she carried over her skills she would most likely be pressured to smith there too. What would he think of it?
He shifted next to her. She would wait another day. And then another and another. She rolled from the bed silently and gazed down upon him. If he was true as his word, he would trust her to repay the debt, she would have died, willingly, had he not intervened. Now that he had she lived, courtesy of him. In the laws of the south her life was technically his now, she would not tell him though. Not yet at least.
The drapes beckoned her towards the window, through which both forests were visible. What was it like to be a northern elf. She needed to know.
The first slanting rays of liquid gold lit the air in the room long before it lightened the sleeping land. Her head rolled on the pillow to face the east. The linen drapes flowed out through the open window, where a long stretch of gold separated the two forests. The gray sky promised cool weather. For running perhaps.?
She considered it. All week, to run, flee, escape. Yet while she had thought over this one question she had been slyly indebted to the very creature that she longed distance from. Or did she?
It was true, at first she had considered him a most rude, uncivil stubborn donkey-headed being that gave a bad name to all elves. But wasn't that the way elves acted when they were in the deepest love? Passionate and forthright, seeing nothing but their goal? To be forevermore with the elf of their dreams? Their soulmate, their lover? It was certainly the way she had recalled it from the stories in her child hood. The pure hero rescuing the woe befallen maiden. She supposed that her situation could compare to the stories, with a very large misunderstanding on her side. Several of them.
She could hear his breathing, or rather his breathing was very evident beyond her senses having become so attuned to him. He had been gone for a while after she'd 'fallen asleep' and bathed before he joined her again. Most likely practicing his skills, warriors in the southern woods were always fine tuning their skills. Every day, as if in the lee of a few hours a lifetime of knowledge would shift and waste away. For whatever reason, he slept deeply and would not stir if she decided to.
Her eyes sought him, pulling her face back towards the center of the bed. His hair was down and slightly damp where it had clung together throughout the night. Golden tassels that would proudly ornament the finest of tapestries or dresses. His eyes were shut, long lashes gently brushing the tops of his cheeks. A rather stately nose that fit him well, he had an almost regal appearance for a warrior. Delicately pointed ears protruded from his hair at a gentle angle. A small gap between his chin and shoulder which she knew to be most comfortable and smelling quite unique, but unexplainable. Broad shoulders extended into strong arms, ones that often encircled and enfolded her to his chest. It was a comfortable arrangement.
If she went south would she ever experience the like again? She had to decide quickly, otherwise the decision would be made for her, and this was one of the rare evenings when he had an arm set around her in some fashion. To protect me. As a security precaution to ensure her presence. Such thoughts would stray her from her decision. But, that was what it was about wasn't it?
What would the life he was offering give to her? In all realities it would probably be not far better than the life she currently lived. Worse perhaps? He had been very.compassionate but also very protective and sheltering. Both which indicated that he thought her no more than the normal female, who although a great deal more intelligent than they were given credit for were not very assertive when it came to freedoms. Freedoms were dreamed about, not lived.
As the master weaponsmith she had some leverage in the community. If she carried over her skills she would most likely be pressured to smith there too. What would he think of it?
He shifted next to her. She would wait another day. And then another and another. She rolled from the bed silently and gazed down upon him. If he was true as his word, he would trust her to repay the debt, she would have died, willingly, had he not intervened. Now that he had she lived, courtesy of him. In the laws of the south her life was technically his now, she would not tell him though. Not yet at least.
The drapes beckoned her towards the window, through which both forests were visible. What was it like to be a northern elf. She needed to know.