Gilmor stopped us on top of a hill and in the valley ahead of us lies a small, charming cottage with smoke rising out of it's stout chimney.
"Well here we are." Gilmor said as we were only a few steps away from the door, and yet I wondered who was hospitalizing my Aranel.
"Gilmor, before we go in, I must ask… Who are these people?" Gilmor sighed and said,
"It's a long story but I will tell you he was a soldier and we fought in many battles together and he is a damn good friend. Alright? Anymore questions?" He was a little frustrated with me but I did not know why. When he touched the door knob he said softly,
"Now, brace yourself. He has three young ones running around." What! This was not part of the deal.
"Children?" I whispered back. Gilmor nodded. O Great! Children! Sorry to say I am not a huge admirer of children. They scream and cry and are so god damn annoying! Well I will have to make do for now. Maybe, whoever this man is, could tie a muzzle on their faces. Gilmor opened the door and once he did I saw the inside of their cottage which was terrifying. It was lovely and homey but once I saw those three running around they were like little demons dancing around a fire in hell. But then Aranel followed close behind them with a bright smile on her face as she shouted,
"Gildon come back here!" Oh no, she has fallen in love with the children! Well if she likes them then I will have to find a way to share some love with as well. Gilmor walked in and grabbed one of the devils and swung her around. The girl laughed in a shrill voice and then Gilmor brought her toward me. Even though I disliked children this young one was hard not to like. She had bright blue eyes and red hair. But she was no shade so do not think of my hair color when I say red. And her skin was pale but her cheeks were blazing red. And her smile was precious, but I still am not comfortable around children.
"This is Gail. Gail this is Kobal." Gilmor said and Gail's smile toned down to a shy smile, but then she raised her arms toward me and I stepped back,
"What? What does she want?" Gilmor laughed and said,
"Kobal, calm down. She just wants to be in your arms." Gilmor held her out as her pretty little green dress fanned out. But I panicked,
"What do I do?" Gilmor laughed even more as he placed this child in my arms and said,
"Just hold her Kobal! She won't eat you!" I doubt that. She had a light body and was warm like Aranel. She giggled and said,
"You are very quiet." Sorry I am not a screaming monster like you! But I rather to say that in a more sensitive way,
"Sorry I am not a screaming monster like you!" Well, not really. But she laughed again and said,
"You're funny! Almost as funny as Gilmor, but you are still too serious."
"That is because Gilmor is a fool… How old are you, Gail?" I realized that her vocabulary was too strong to be a three year old. She put up all her five fingers and said,
"I'm five. How old are you?" I felt like joking around a bit and said,
"I'm five too." She laughed again and said,
"No you're not! You're to big!" Just then I heard a screech come from behind me and it was a young boy sitting on top of my mother's trunk. He had dark brown hair and a small body of a two or three year old. I put Gail down and went to the boy and said,
"Um, little boy! Get off of that! It is an antique!" He just laughed and started bouncing up and down. What a fiend! I was ready to kick him right off of that thing! But someone grabbed him and said,
"Gildon play time is over, you should be getting to bed." And wouldn't you know it was Aranel. She was there for only about an hour and she is acting like a mother already. I looked at her and she looked so different. The scar was gone from her face and she was wearing a beautiful emerald dress instead of the clothes that she wore for two months. The dress was simple and trimmed with gold, but Aranel made it royalty. She smiled and said,
"Well how did everything go with you and your father?" I was so dazed by her beauty that it took me a few seconds to gather myself.
"Oh, um not well. Disastrous in any way possible." Aranel's smile was gone from her face and she said,
"What happened, Kobal? Wasn't he happy to see you?"
"Yes, overjoyed, he even hugged me. But once I said 'I love you' to him he never said I love you back. He turned away like I was a disgrace. I can't live like that anymore. I need to be with someone who loves me." She grabbed my face and said,
"And she's right here." She went on her tip toes as I reached down and kissed her softly but it was not long until the children yelled in unison,
"EW!" Aranel laughed and I could not help but laugh as well. Then a low and loud voice came out from the kitchen,
"What's all this noise? You all should be in bed!" A man came out of the kitchen and he was around his early forties. He had dark brown hair to his shoulders and a scruffy beard. He was tall maybe a few inches taller than me and was robust. The three children turned to him and just stared. The father sighed and said,
"What are you staring at me for? Go to bed!" The children laughed and ran into different parts of the house. Gail and Gildon ran upstairs while the older boy ran past the kitchen and into a room in the hallway. Once all the doors were shut the man turned to me and said,
"You must be Kobal." He reached out his hand as I grabbed it and we both gave out a manly handshake. Then he said,
"I am Aldran. And welcome to our home. You will have to forgive my wife for she has already fallen asleep. And I am about to do the same so I should proabably get to that before I end up on the floor. But you three are welcome to stay up as long as you like just don't wake us up... We shall wake you in the morning. Kobal, Aranel will show you where your room is. Goodnight to all." After all of that he almost ran upstairs. He was a nice man but yo could tell he was hard working and extremely tired.
"You must forgive him. He was at his shop all day. He will be in a lighter mood tomorrow." I was not really bothered by his attitude. I would be just like that if I had three children... even if I didnt have a job.
"No he's a nice man. I am sure his is tired... So Gilmor you are staying here as well?" He nodded and said,
"Just tonight. There is no way I am running all the way back to Gil'ead. So I will be sleeping on the couch." He then got a running start and flopped gracefully on the couch. I guess it was a signal he wanted us to leave so he could sleep. So I said,
"Well I am pretty beat too so, shall we?" I turned to Aranel, but she was already up the stairs. I chuckled and picked up the trunk as I chased her up the stairs. Then we came to the last door on the left of this strangely big cottage.
"This our room." Aranel said. Our room. Oh, Iiked the sound of that. As she opened the door she quietly chanted brisngr to the four candle in the room. I placed the tunk heavily on the floor as she said,
"You lugged that all the way from Gil'ead?" I looked up and nodded. God did dhe look beautiful. She looked so clean instead of all the dirt and dried blood that smeared over her pale body. No more ugly scars to hide her beauty all of that was gone. She was just like the first time I saw her struggling in those shoulders arms.
"Well what on earth did you do that for?" She woke me out of my daze and I said,
"It's for you. It was once my mother's but I figured since she is not around anymore this would do you good. Open it." She smiled and said,
"Kobal, I dont know what to say... Except thank you." I chuckled and said,
"Please, I am the one who should be thanking you for coming into my life." She smiled gracefully and kissed me on my neck softly and then went on her knees to open the chest. As soon as the chest creaked open she gasped,
"Oh, Kobal! I cannot except all of this!" I bent down beside her and wrapped myself around her as I said,
"Nonsence. These clothes have not been worn for years. Don't you think it is about time you share it's beauty along with yours?" She blushed and it was so refreshing to see that again. She pulled out a silver necklace and said,
"I cannot except this fine jewlery, though." I laughed and said,
"Aranel I know you want it! Please it is a gift from me to you. I mean honestly! What am I going to do with it?" She laughed and I have not heard that beautful sound for a while now. She explored throught the trunk giving lovely comments until she said,
"Kobal, what happened to your mother?" She was very sincere she even grabbed my hand. I slightly smiled and said,
"She left us. She didnt die, she just could not live with my father anymore ... and neither could I." She grabbed my hand even tighter as she said,
"Oh, Kobal I am so sorry." I shook my head and said,
"Don't be. She did the right thing... But one thing that scares me about my father is that I am exactly like him." Aranel shook her head violently and said,
"No, Kobal you are nothing like your father. You are not cruel or sadistic like your father. You have a heart and ..."
"That is the only thing I have inherited from my mother. I mean look at me Aranel! I am my father's legacy, and I don't have a choice. My mother was an elf, Aranel, and my father was a shade. They fell in love just like us, in a prison cell. And she left him. My father said I was about to face the same doom." She shook her head and said,
"I would never do that, Kobal. Never." I had to make sure of that so I said,
"Then will you love me forever? Will ... wait." I looked through the chest rapidly and went to her jewelry box that was filled with other jewelry like braceletts, earrings, and rings. I pulled it out and quickly shuffled through it and I found the perfect ring. It was nothing big, but like some other ones in there. It was a simple silver ring that looked like a plant vine that woul wrap around the base of her finger. Perfect for her. I held it up to her and her eyes sparkled at the sight of it. She was speechless and I hope that was a good thing.
"So, will you love me forever and never let go of that? I know it is a little early to be doing this, but you are so damn perfect, Aranel, and I don't want to lose you. We don't have to do anything fancy for this proposal isn't that fancy as well. I wouldn't even call it a proposal just a promise. Do you promise to be with me for the rest of our lives? And I promise, Aranel, I will make you safe no matter what is iin my way. Just, love me, I dont want to end up like my father who thinks love is a sin. And if that is so well then your love is the sweetest sin of them all. So please..." And she kissed me and that shut me up. I think that is what she was aiming at for I was ramping and a nervous mess. I wrapped my shaking hands around her and held her tight to me as she tangled her fingers through my messy hair. She then loosened her grip on me and said,
"Are you alright now?" I looked down at her and said,
"Depends on what your answer is." She took my hands and opened my right one which held the ring. She picked it up and placed it on her finger as she said,
"I think I am too young to have a wedding, but I promise that I will be in your life loving you with all my heart. I will never let what happened to your father happen to you. I love you." She kissed me lightly on the lips and I wanted much more, but her focus led to the window as she said,
"Look, Kobal! It's snowing!" We both ran to the window. I loved the snow. It is the most beautiful thing that weather can produce. So we watched as the snow danced in the sky as Aranel's ring glisten in the bright moon beam.
A/N: Another chapter complete! Now I was disappointed with the number of reviews I got last time so if you are reading guys please review. Now I got a tip from a reviewer on my last chapter saying I should do a chapter (or a few) in Aranel's POV. I was actually thinking about that and I would be happy to do one. So you may end up in Aranel's POV for the next chapter, but it will not be from the beginning of the story where she enters Gil'ead it would be from where we left off. So please review and tell me what you think of this idea. Seriously, review i dont just want one or two opinions on this topic.