Author's Notes: Hi to everyone still reading this story. I've decided to stop waiting for reviews and upload this, since if I figure if I don't, I'd still be waiting when I'm seventy.

Anyway, for those of you who did review, thank you! For those who did not, please start now!

Replies:

Silverbrilliance - As I've said before (and now I'm saying it again), Zarien just Feels different in Kerri's head thanfrom the others. (You'll find out why in a few more chapters or so :P I love keeping u in suspense. Hint: there are some types of love that creates strongbonds)

dustigrey143 - Big big thank you to you for reviewing so many times! Well, getting 'Chosen' is how a person becomes a Herald in Valdemar. A Choosing is the act of a Companion (they look like white horses, but are actually the reincarnated souls of deadHeralds) forming a strong bond with a person (normally around thirteen years old or so). The bond between a Herald and his Companion is so strong that normally, a Companion will follow a Herald into death and vice versa. And I appreciate your comments about the different aspects of my story; it's very useful.

This chapter is dedicated to dustigrey143, thanks for all your reviews!

Chapter 11 Romantic Dawn

After a while, Kerrayrlia's sobs subsided. She lifted her head up from Zarien's lean, muscled chest, where it had somehow fallen to when she relaxed in Zarien's embrace. Looking up, Kerrayrlia saw that Zarien was looking at her intensely. Under the piercing gaze, Kerrayrlia lowered her head, feeling sad and ashamed. I'm unclean now, defiled by that...bastard. Everyone will look down on me…

She felt Zarien's hands reach under her chin and tilt it upwards. Catching her eye, Zarien said quietly, "No, Kerri. It was not your fault. There is nothing for you to feel ashamed about. And, Kerri, I swear by the gods that I'll never let anyone hurt you again. Ever." The last two sentences were delivered with a force that surprised Kerrayrlia. She blinked up into Zarien's misty grey eyes, a question in her eyes.

Again, she was surprised by Zarien's respond. He blushed, a red heat creeping up his neck and across his tanned cheeks. Staring determinedly at the bed, he whispered softly, "I… … like you, Kerri." His face had by now darkened to a red not unlike that of a Bard's uniform.

At first, Kerrayrlia bubbled with happiness that could not be expressed. But then, a shadow crossed over her features as she asked Zarien, "You're not saying that just out of pity for me, are you?" Zarien's head shot up as if pierced by an arrow. "No, I mean it, Kerri, I love you." On seeing the doubt that remained on her face, Zarien tried again. "I mean it, Kerri. Damn it, look."

With that, Zarien opened his mind to Kerrayrlia and showed her his feelings for her, feelings which he had not discovered up till now. It had taken his all night vigil beside her bedside, stricken with worry and concern for him to finally realize his love for her. Through his gift of Empathy, he let Kerrayrlia know how important she was to him, and how worried he had been about her.

Kerrayrlia luxuriated wonderingly in the deep feelings that Zarien was showing her. His love was a soft and radiant glow that she basked in, the attention and comfort that she needed; had wanted for so long, since her mother had passed away.

When had he begun to love her, she wondered. For surely the love had been developing for a long time; such strength and depth could not have sprung up overnight. Perhaps it had already started to form when he met her on that fateful day near the river where she had gone to brood. Now, recognized at last, Zarien's love flooded forward in a strong gush not unlike water rushing though a broken dam.

Speechlessly, Kerrayrlia met Zarien's gaze, her eyes filled with joy. Overtaken with exhilaration, Kerrayrlia threw all caution and reserve to the winds. Taking his hand in hers, she let her feelings, built up unsuspectingly over the one year they had known each other, about him come to the forefront. She showed him her love, which was no less strong than his was, by means of the soft, graceful smile that curved her lips.

No words were exchanged, for they needed none, so caught up in each other they were. Reaching forward with his hand, Zarien pulled Kerrayrlia closer to him, tilted her head, and met her soft, pink lips with his own in a lingering kiss.

At length, Zarien gently disengaged from Kerrayrlia's embrace. His lips were still tingling as he spoke, "Much as I would like to prolong the moment, I'm afraid we have other things to think of, my Dark Princess. And I'm sure your Companion wants to see that you're all right." Kerrayrlia had been staring dreamily at Zarien when he broke off the kiss. She had never been close to any male before, not even her friends. When she heard his last sentence, however, she broke out of her mental fantasies with a start.

"What Companion?" Kerrayrlia questioned. As if that remark jogged her memory, Kerrayrlia suddenly recalled the pair of ice blue eyes that had seemed to speak to her. She had thought that it was part of her dreams after she lost consciousness, and had dismissed it as such. Now, however, it turned out that it had not been a dream after all…

"Don't you remember, love? Your Companion, Rannael, Chose you just before you lost consciousness." Zarien was looking at Kerrayrlia with a worried expression on his face; clearly, he thought that Kerrayrlia had suffered a lapse in memory because of some injury or another.

Kerrayrlia stared at Zarien, an expression of mingled shock and horror on her face. "Me? Chosen?" The full impact of what it meant to be Chosen by a Companion dawned on her. "Won't that mean I have to be a Herald? That means I can't be a Bard anymore!" No more music! My lifelong dream was to be a Bard and now…

Kerrayrlia's unshielded thoughts leaked over to Zarien. Her Gifts had developed from the potential that was there when she was Chosen. Although her Gifts were not at their full strength yet, they had started to flower. And it was strong enough that Zarien, who was an excellent Mindspeaker and empath, had no problem picking her thoughts up.

Zarien's first impulse was to reach over and comfort Kerrayrlia, to tell her that it was no big deal being a Herald, that she did not have to worry. But first and foremost, Zarien Arian was a Herald. He was but one year away from getting his Whites, and the training he received had been thorough.

Squashing his impulse, he spoke calmly, "If you really do not want to be a Herald, we can break your bond with your Companion." The moment he said it, Zarien felt regret. Kerrayrlia's shock hit him hard, and waves of longing followed behind closely.

Break my bond with Rannael? But… Kerrayrlia recalled the overwhelming sense of love that she had felt when Rannael had Chose her. Did she really want to give that up? Tentatively, she tried to access the place in her head which resonated with the sense of love. All those stories about Companions being able to speak…

Despite her mental preparation, however, it came of something as a shock to her when Rannael spoke in her head. Chosen? Did you call for me? It took Kerrayrlia a moment to recover, and more than a moment to try to frame a reply without words. It did not occur to her that she had the Gift of Mindspeech; rather, she thought that if her Companion could speak that way to her, she should be able to do the same. You're really my Companion. It was a statement, not a question. Generally, Kerrayrlia did not like asking about the obvious.

Well, yes, Kerrayrlia, came the amused reply. Or would you prefer Kerri? Kerrayrlia found herself replying automatically. Kerri's fine. What about you? Rannael gave an amused mental snort. Companions are not as choosy as humans are when it comes to names. You can call me anything from 'Rannael' to 'Hey, there'. Just as long as you don't call me 'Horse'.

Kerrayrlia was a bit taken aback. So, that was her Companion. From what she had experienced just now, she would say that they were as similar to a horse as humans were to monkeys. A grin began to blossom on her face, but she clamped her usual blank mask down over it. Surprisingly, her mask came back on with only a little effort. Still, six years of practice isn't really going to fade away in one night… And then, suddenly, Kerrayrlia made her decision. Being a Herald would mean helping people. Hopefully, this means that I'll be able to help other people as lonely as I was.

Out loud, she said coolly, "No, I don't want my bond with Rannael broken. If that means I have give up being a Bard, so be it." With a sigh of mingled relief and sadness, Zarien answered the unspoken question. "Well, being a Herald does mean that you cannot be a Bard, because a Herald's first duty is to Valdemar. But that doesn't mean that you have to give up music. Heralds are allowed to have hobbies, you know." Zarien eyes glazed over for a moment, than he spoke again. Or rather, he mindspoke to Kerrayrlia.

Disclaimer: I had sort of forgotten about disclaimers. Well, this applies to the whole story. The plot is mine, so are most of the characters, except Jisa, Treven, Stefen, Joserlynand any other characters you may recognise from Mercedes' books. The settings and background and anything about Heralds in general belong to Mercedes.