The light of the fire cast tall, dancing shadows on the walls of the courtyard. Outside the walls in the dark forest could be heard the calls of wild beasts. L'Kor and some of the other older Klingons were singing the ancient songs of their history and heritage.

'ej HumtaH 'ej DechtaH 'Iw

'ej Doq SoDtaH ghoSpa' Sqral bIQtIq

'e' pa' jaj law' mo' jaj puS

jaj qeylIS molar mIgh HoHchu'qu' *

Ba'el sat in the midst of them, singing along to the parts that she knew, and listening to learn the less-familiar sections. Sometimes Anne used to join her on these nights, but she was married now. Ba'el knew that she would eventually come back, at least occasionally. For the time being, however, she felt alone.

"jaj qeylIS molar mIgh HoHchu'qu'!" sang a deep, unknown voice from the shadows.

The group turned toward the archway. A mysterious Klingon warrior stepped into the light. He was wearing armor and carrying a bat'leth. His hair flowed freely in the night breeze.

"Who are you?" asked L'Kor. "And how did you get here?"

"Toq!" Ba'el stood slowly. "You came back!"

"Yes," Toq answered, "I have returned." He had grown a little taller in the previous six months, and it was obvious that he had seen much warfare. He was a man now.

L'Kor finally recognized him. "Toq! It is good to see you! But I thought you wanted to be a warrior," he said in disbelief. "Why have you come back?"

"I am a warrior," he declared. "I always will be. These past months, I learned that I will never be able to deny that part of me. I learned much from the son of Mogh and others. I have fought many battles, and proven myself to the other Klingons."

The elder Klingon nodded. "You have made us proud, Toq. Your family will be honored when they hear of this. But you still haven't said why you returned."

"Worf taught me much about being a warrior," he explained, "but there is one thing that he does not understand. He fails to understand the most important thing about being Klingon. And that is, a warrior's strongest muscle is his heart. No matter how powerful he is, he cannot conquer it."

Toq approached Ba'el. The light from the fire in the center of the terrace reflected in his eyes. "Soon after I left, I realized that my warrior's heart beats only for you, Ba'el. You are why I came back."

Ba'el gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "Toq," she said in surprise, "That's the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me. But surely you understand I can't leave here. No," she shook her head, "here is where I belong."

"I know," he said. "That is why I intend to stay and win your heart!"

"Oh, Toq," she said affectionately. "You've always had my heart, ever since we were children together."

He cast his eyes downwards. "I thought you loved another."

"I did," she admitted, holding her head high, "but he didn't truly love me, and I have since moved on."

"That is good to know," he said hopefully.

Ba'el smiled back at him. She realized that she had loved Toq all along. She also came to see that, although Worf had hurt her, it was he who had helped her and Toq to become aware of their feelings for each other. It was this knowledge that enabled her to finally forgive him. Her heart was at last healed.

Author's note: This story, of course, takes place before Worf met and fell in love with Jazdia Dax. Hence the reason he didn't fully understand love at the time he met Ba'el and Toq.

*Translation of the Klingon song (because, to my knowledge, Google Translate hasn't added Klingonese to their repertoire):

And the blood was ankle deep.

And the River Skral ran crimson red.

On the day above all days.

When Kahless slew evil Molor dead.