Author's Notes: Song Cue: Style by Taylor Swift. Not the words, just the music and ambiance. Go ahead, go find it on Youtube. I'll wait.
My prayers did nothing to comfort me that night. I vacillated from prostrate on the cool stone floor, begging silently for my heart to not ache, to digging my hands into my scalp, hot tears running down my face, intensely angry at emotions that I could no longer seem to control. I paced the floor, I knelt motionless, I did everything I could to plead that a direction be sent my way, any kind of sign to let me know that Elune's daughter still found Her favor, even after everything that I had done. I was given no respite, and when the dawn broke through the high window of my room, I had not slept a wink.
I claimed illness from morning prayers, and did not even bother to wash or dress properly for the day. I laid in bed, listless, feeling both unbearably hot and ice cold beneath my shift. If not for the events of the past week, I would be alarmed I had caught some horrible disease. As I once again kicked every blanket onto the ground in frustration, I knew that this was not a sickness that could be healed by a Temple priestess.
By evening time, with nothing to eat, no spiritual answer, and unbearably restless, I sat up in bed. I pulled my sweat-soaked shift off, and pulled on a simple robe. I covered my hair carefully with a lace shawl, tucking the loose strands up inside. Wrapping a belt around my waist, I vacated my room and padded quickly down the corridor in bare feet. It had been nearly 24 hours since I had entered my room, and I had noticed no commotion outside my door. It was possible that he had taken his leave before the Sentinels could be called. He was to be pronounced completely recovered any day. I passed a few of my fellow priestesses on the way, and they nodded but kept to their path on the opposite side of the hallway. Illness was uncommon in the Temple of Elune, and it was usually assumed to be a sign of an unsettled spirit.
I entered the healing ward with no hesitation. Whether he was there or gone, I was prepared.
He glanced up from where he was buckling on soft leather vambraces. His expression lit up into happy surprise, and he stood to greet me.
"Abilene! I thought I would not get a chance to say farewell." He held his arms out away from his sides. He was completely dressed in the mended clothes he arrived in. The stitches were so neat in his dark grey shirt that it was impossible to see the holes where a knife had punctured them. I should know: I did the repair myself.
He seemed unsure when I did not immediately give him a reply, so he continued fastening his leather armor while he spoke. "They say I am back to full health, so I will be departing tonight, before any false accusations can be brought with the morning."
I stepped closer to him, nearly silent on my bare feet. He watched me cautiously from underneath the infuriating lock of blue hair that permanently covered half of his face. I had kept my mind open as I had walked the trail from my room to the healing ward. There had been no answer from my Goddess. This decision was all mine. With surprisingly calm hands, I reached up to my lace shawl. I pulled out the pins, one by one, and lay them on the cot beside us. Reyloran's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and he reached out one hand to stop me.
"Abilene-" he started, but I had finished with the hairpins, and I pulled the covering off of my head in one movement. There I stood before him, bare-headed, bare-footed, bare-souled.
"Trust is my choice."
He took in a breath, his silver eyes burning with a heat I had only caught a glimpse of before. He pulled off one half glove, and laid his bare palm against my cheek. He slid it slowly up, entangling his fingers into the untamed purple chaos that was my loosened hair. I closed my eyes briefly at the sensation: no one had touched my hair since I was a child. No one had even seen my hair since I had dedicated my life to Elune. He leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to my temple, and holding his mouth there to whisper.
"Come with me."