Dilah's bed was tiny, Skywise noted as the mute girl led him into her hut. They undressed each other in heavy, heady silence. Dilah was amazing, full of lust, and their joining was an act of beauty and wonder.
Then it happened, after they had explored several positions, she reached a peak of rapture, perhaps the sixth or seventh time that night, when he was drinking the mead of her lap in passionate kisses -
- She cried out, an animal sound, harsh and dry. Her hand, tangled in his hair, pushed his head away. He caught a glimpse of tears on her face as she climbed from the bed. Not bothering to cover her nakedness, Dilah ran away into the night.
"Oh, puckernuts!" Skywise found his breeches, but by the time he was in them and out the door, Dilah was nowhere in sight. He went back into the hut and put on the rest of his clothes. Deep in thought, his feet led him to the ridge of hills protecting Sorrow's End. Soon he stood on a familiar ledge, the vantage point where, four turns of the seasons ago, he and Cutter had first seen the Sun Folk and decided to attack them.
What had he done wrong? He had been very gentle - how could he have hurt her? As he sat, going over his movements over and over again in his head, Mother Moon set in Sun-Goes-Down, and the smallest, shyest stars came out. Child Moon was a mere pale sliver near the horizon.
Then a familiar shape emerged from the shadow and he was greeted by a wet tongue washing his neck. Starjumper had come to entice his elf-friend to join the hunt. Skywise scratched the wolf's ears.
"Anyone ever got a scare from you putting your tongue where it doesn't belong?"
He did not expect an answer, of course. But he got one, from the person who had come to stand behind them silent as a shadow.
"I should have guessed you were to blame." Cutter sat beside him, taking care not to go too near the edge.
"Blame? Oh no, has something happened to Dilah?"
"If you mean the girl who came into our hut and woke Leetah talking only with gestures, she seemed all right - more than all right, quite lovely in fact, and I got to see all of her. But I assume there is a reason for the worry in her eyes. What did you do to make her forget her clothes and run to the healer?"
"I wish I knew."
"Want to tell me about it?"
Skywise related all his experiences with Dilah from their first meeting to her sudden departure. When he had finished, Cutter laughed.
"You really don't get it? You are supposed to be the clever one!"
"You mean you know what startled her so?"
"Think about it. She is the Mute. What did she do, right before she tore herself from you?"
"She - she cried out!"
"Right. Ages ago, she made this mindless oath not to speak, and you made her break it. She lost control of herself. You didn't hurt her - quite the opposite."
"You mean - because I - oh, stars!"
He contemplated the revelation for a while. He had, quite unintentionally, achieved what he had dreamed of: broken the cold façade of Dilah, the walls of silence she had surrounded herself with. He was quite certain she would not love him for it - she probably never wanted to see him again. Back to the snarls and spitting, and the hatred in her eyes. One thing bothered him, though.
"Why did she go to Leetah? Knowing her, I'd have expected her to run to the desert, to be alone."
"I have no idea."
"Would you mind asking Leetah about it?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself?"
"She doesn't like me much."
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, she's exactly the sort not to approve of my collection of lovemates. The sort not to share."
"You don't know her at all! Just because we don"t share right now, her and I, doesn't mean we never will. By the High Ones, she's a healer! When she was younger she did initiations all the time."
"Really?"
"Really. I"m surprised you don't know gossip like that."
"The maidens are awfully jealous of her, even Shen-Shen. They don'"t want to talk about Leetah, because they think everyone is comparing them to her. She has always seemed to get the best of everything… first Rayek, then you, Recognitionand twin children… and worst of all, she is so nice and clever and lovable they can't help but like her!"
"And you, Fahr? What do you think of my Leetah?" Cutter wrapped his arms around Skywise from behind.
"Oh, Tam! I admire her and I fear her, and yes, I am jealous of her too."
"Jealous?"
"We haven"t had a single wrestle-in-the-furs since you Recognized her. I know I shouldn't complain, but I miss you, sometimes."
"Miss me? But I haven't gone anywhere."
"You've gone farther than the stars, Tam. You've gone somewhere I can never follow. You have a Recognized lifemate, and you are utterly devoted to each other, almost as bad as Strongbow and Moonshade."
"Recognition fades, replaced by love. And when that time comes, Leetah and I will have eyes for others once more. Someday, we'll share."
"Is that an invitation?"
"Yes, Fahr, it is."
Note: I'm sorry that I didn't express more clearly last time that the story wasn't over yet... this one isn't the last chapter, either. If only I could think of how to continue the story... Thanks for your reviews, keep them coming! And if you have any suggestions/guesses/whatever for what happens next, please tell me! Will Dilah start talking? Can she forgive Skywise? Why did she go to Leetah instead of to meditate in the desert or something? (I have some ideas but I'm not certain about anything yet.)