A/N; Ahh… It's so cold here. D:

Ugh. I just have to think SUNSHINE. WARMTH. SUMMER. NO SCHOOL.

Bah. Dx

ANYWAY, I guess it's time for an update, eh? ;D I didn't do one yesterday because I was… blahhh… mucho tired-o.

Cheers for all my reviewers! ^^

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"Are you sure about this, Arya?"

"Yes."

"Is it truly your heart's desire to become affiliated with the Varden and, in doing so, represent your race?"

"It is."

"Do you—"

"Enough, Faolin. I know that this is the correct duty for me, and I will not be swayed in my decision," Arya interrupted firmly, her eyes boring in to Faolin's silvery gray ones. "Whether or not you think that this is the proper decision for me… I cannot allow that to influence my choice. I may be going to my death—but I do so willingly."

Faolin studied Arya carefully for a few moments. Finally, he broke off from his observations, coming to the conclusion that Arya was actually dead serious, and that this was not some random feat she wanted to accomplish just for the sake of adventure. That would not have suited Arya anyway, as she had somewhat lost her taste of going on escapades a while ago.

"I am going to speak with Brom tonight, Faolin. This is it," she breathed quietly, her voice barely above a whisper as she took a step closer to him.

Extending her hand, Arya looked up at Faolin. "One last time?" she asked, looking at him solemnly.

It took a little while for Faolin to comprehend what she was saying, as it had been a long time since they had had the time.

He stared in to Arya's eyes for a moment, losing himself in their emerald green depths. Subconsciously, he noted the hint of a crystalline tear balancing on the edge of one of the delicate eyelashes that rimmed her eyes. For an instant, Faolin had half mind to reach out and brush the tear away—but he resisted. Instead, he grasped Arya's hand and nodded.

"One last time," he said, and they both took off running through the forest, as they had when they were younger.

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It was as if they were reliving the moments of the past. As if bringing back traditions from long ago, the sun's rays found Faolin and Arya laying side by side, staring up at the sky.

A dreamy look crossed across Faolin's face, and for a split second, he forgot about all of his troubles and worries—most of which involved Arya to a certain extent. He gave a slight sigh, but otherwise made no movement as his eyes were filled with the blueness of the sky and, in the corners of his eyes, the golden rays emitting from the sun.

Arya, on the other hand, could not get rid of the thoughts that were endlessly plaguing her. Most of them involved her rash decision to accept the mark of the yawe, but those weren't exactly the most pressing matters on her mind. After a while of thinking, she realized that most of her reflections centered around one subject: Faolin.

Turning her head, she stared at the elf. As she traced the familiar figure traits of him with her eyes, her face began to relax in to a faint smile, and she closed her eyes for a little before opening them once more.

As if sensing that she was watching him, Faolin turned his own head and met Arya's gaze willingly. It was, at first, a little awkward—for both of them—but eventually they managed to slow their quickly beating hearts.

Reaching out tentatively, Faolin gently brushed a loose strand of hair from Arya's face, his hand lightly touching her cheek as he did so.

It was at this moment when Faolin decided something.

"Arya," he said softly, though he knew that he already held her attention.

Faolin hesitated here, and Arya looked at him, encouraging him to continue on with his sentence.

"I have decided that wherever you go…" Faolin stopped here, wondering if he was choosing wisely with the way of his words. "…I go." Well, now it was too late to feel any remorse for saying the words out loud—they were out, and there was nothing he could do to take it back.

These words seemed to take an immediate affect on Arya. She sat up quickly, drawing her knees to her chest as she eyed Faolin warily.

"What are you saying?" she asked, looking at him fixedly.

Faolin too sat up. "I am saying, Arya, that I care for you deeply, and that I will follow you in to the duty of the resistance."

"It is dangerous, Faolin," Arya protested sharply, then stopped short as the apprehended the irony of the situation; a few hours before, she had been interrogated by Faolin with the same comments.

"Dangerous it may be. Without any logic it may be. But that does not stop the heart from doing what it believes is right," Faolin responded, his tone covered with a sense of peacefulness and tranquility.

"But, Faolin… Only one ambassador is needed, and only one ambassador should be risked—after all, simply one will not be suspected. But two… it is risky, Faolin." Arya gave her answer with some level of uncertainty, playing with a few locks of her hair absent-mindedly as she tried to gain some control over the situation.

"But three can divide and conquer, do not forget something as simple as that."

Arya turned and looked at Faolin strangely. Had he truly just said something like that, something that had no relevance with the current topic at all? Raising her eyebrows, she waited for Faolin to explain himself.

"That wasn't me…" he muttered underneath his breath as a rustle of underbrush sounded not far off. Both elves turned to face where the sound had come from.

Emerging from the trees was a slender slip of an elf, willowy and delicate. He finished off his appearance with the flourish of a deep bow before looking down at Faolin and Arya with a good-natured smile written clearly across his face as he recited the lines contained in the formal greeting.

Once pleasantries were exchanged, the newcomer elf remained standing, which might have been displayed as an act of rudeness, if Arya hadn't been so intrigued as to who the elf was.

"The name is Glenwing," the elf stated shortly. For the first time, Arya picked up a hidden melody dancing through the elf's words when he spoke. A slight smile tugged at her lips when she recognized the sound of a potential singer in their midst.

Glenwing was, from his appearance, was about the same age as them—which was surprising, as both Faolin and Arya had grown up believing that there were no other elf children in Du Weldenvarden. It was rather odd for this elf to be showing up now, but Arya couldn't help but feel a slight hint of dismay—after all, she and Faolin had both missed out on this stranger's childhood.

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Glenwing," Arya told the elf, giving him a nod as she studied him rather curiously. Faolin did not say a word and remained rather tense, as if not quite trusting Glenwing. In truth, Arya knew that Faolin was smart to remain on guard, but she herself felt that there was some type of amiable demeanor surrounding Glenwing that made him a likeable character.

"May I ask, however, why you made your earlier comment on how three can divide and conquer?" Arya asked after a while.

Glenwing did not give her an answer, for he had his head tilted up toward the trees, a look of pure delight flitting across his face. Faolin furrowed his brow in confusion, and even Arya had to admit that she was feeling somewhat perplexed that Glenwing was not answering the question she posed for him.

They remained in a block of silence before Arya decided to break it by repeating her question once more. This seemed to snap Glenwing out of his trance-like state, and he turned to look at her.

"Ah, my apologies, Arya Drottningu. I was simply listening to the melodies of the birds—how fascinating they are, do you not agree?"

He once more did not address her question, but Arya found herself simply taken along with the flow of the events. She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "I suppose so," she responded, not sure of what she should say next.

Glenwing… He is obviously not afraid of me, and he speaks as if he is about to break out in a song, Arya thought to herself as she watched Glenwing. He is certainly a most strange character.

"Now, on the subject of your question!" Glenwing declared, breaking Arya from her contemplations. "Forgive me for intruding and eavesdropping on your conversation, but I find that it is impossible to shut your ears from hearing the things that are floating around—you experience that a lot in listening to the birds. But, ah! I am getting off track." Appearing flustered, Glenwing ran his fingers through his dark colored hair in somewhat a bit of distress. "If I am not mistaken, there is a resistance that is waiting for you two to reinstall connections between them and the race of the elves?"

Not bothering to wait for an answer, he continued on.

"And, I believe that since my time living in Du Weldenvarden has proven to be nothing of much interest, there are greater things for me to achieve—but these things lie outside of this forest, though I daresay that I will miss all of this—" Glenwing paused here to gesture around him. "—And the company of the elves. Still, however, this renewal of ties between races does seem to be a big deal, does it not? And maybe, it will even allow us to have our names written in the books of history and sung in various hymns! Does that not seem glorious?"

Arya and Faolin both looked at Glenwing, somewhat bemused. The same thought ran through their heads, more or less, although both of them did not know it.

What a strange, strange elf.