Into the woods, shadows grow deep (Lancelot)

[Faerydae Moriarty]

She felt as if he kept on expecting her to leave him, nothing had to be said, it was something that just hung in the air almost. Neither of them seem to trust the other to stay, because, after all, why should they? And yet, Faerydae felt as if she wanted to stay with the knight, whether it was because he saved her life or because of something else, the young woman could not be sure. There was an invisible draw there that she could not make out but it settled deep inside of her. Of course though, the feeling, whatever it was, had yet to be determined. She did know though, that it was not because she felt that she owed him anything, and considering that he had not said anything to her about it either, showed the character and quality of the knight. No, the fair haired maiden found herself almost positively certain that she and Silver were staying with him and his black horse at the moment because they wanted to, and that there was no hidden meaning to it at all. In many ways, or at least she thought, Faerydae was quite certain almost that she and Lancelot were more alike than what meets the eye.

The young woman wondered what he thought of her though, but alas, it was hardly right to ask and be considered so forward. If only one could read minds, then it would be so easy. Although, it would not surprise her at all if he was frustrated at her, after all, he seemed to do all the talking and she simply, well, shut down. Even with all the verbal prodding that the knight seemed to do, along with some help from the white stallion in reassurance, Faerydae still found herself quite choosey over what to tell him and what to turn deaf to. It was probably wrong of her in a way to be defenseful about letting Lancelot in, after all, he had saved her life, and forever would she be grateful, but perhaps living the life of a wanderer had changed her so. Although, with that being said, the young woman knew that if anything was going to last between them, this bond of their, a partnership almost, would hinge on her. After all, no man would put up with being left in the dark, and at the moment, Lancelot would probably get more of a conversation out of a wall than he would her the way that she carried on.

Anybody probably would think her insane though, for having such a hard time talking with him. A small sigh escaped her at the thought as she closed her eyes for a moment and listened to the hoof beats upon the ground as the two horses walked before opening her eyes, their gaze still hung on the forest though and her mind lost in her thoughts. In many ways though, that thought was probably right, she was insane, clearly. Faerydae would know many of young women from Balor who would love to have an audience with the knight, and no doubt, there were probably plenty of women within the territories of Camelot that would fawn over him, even she herself, could admit to herself that she found him handsome and drawn towards him. Although, in many ways, Lancelot was almost too good to be true, it was as if he were a figure from a dream, or that he had to have somebody to hold onto whenever he got back to Camelot. It would almost be a crime if he were without a lover, for the young woman could not understand why anybody would not want him.

Perhaps though, she was just being silly, after all, she had not thought about a man so much since she was a young girl, thinking of Talberon. Her ice blue eyes fell from the woods to her hands for a moment, which gripped upon Silver’s mane. Was it a disgrace to his memory that she found herself thinking about another man? Did her only lover twist and turn in the heavens as he watched down upon her, or would he be accepting of this, wishing her to move on from that day four years ago when Janus had him tied to the stake and set him on fire? Faerydae was not sure; it was the inner demons that almost kept her from saying anything now. Yet, even with those thoughts in her mind, she could not push Lancelot out of hers, which may prove to be problematic for there was no possible way that he could be thinking of her in such a way that she thought of him.

A snort escaped Silver, breaking her thoughts of the knight for a moment as she glanced towards the white stallion now who had extended his head and took a playful nip at Sher-Fore now, tugging on his mane. Strange how they could become friends and companions so quickly verses their humans struggles to find that connection. It was so strange to her, that Silver should find a friend in the black horse when he hardly proved to find the company of other horses hardly rewarding at all. Whenever she goes into the smaller villagers, the white stallion refuses to stand with the other horses, keeping himself away from them. It made her wonder what he saw in Sher-Fore, although, perhaps it might even be so simple of an idea that it was because the black stallion had come with him and brought Lancelot along for their aid. Seeing their interaction though, she could not help but to feel a little envious that the horses were the ones making the connections and opening up in their own ways where as she was the one who kept on closing herself off to Lancelot. She felt ruined almost, perhaps because of Janus, or even Talberon, but to say such things would be cruel of her, for Faerydae had nobody to hate but herself.

Her trust had been shattered, and it unraveled because of her own doing, for within her foolish actions brought upon seeing people’s true feelings. If Talberon had never came back, if he had just stayed away, she could have been happy with Janus, it would have just taken time. But alas, that did not happen, and the outcome devastating for both her and Janus in his own way. They were betrayed, he by her, and her by somebody close to her, and in the end, her family, all but one, turned their backs on her. Seeing the darkness in people’s hearts, their hidden motives, not just by those within her past, but even by all of those wanders, the bandits, the thieves, even towns people, all of them were each corrupted in their own way to her. Although, she did not see that in Lancelot, not by a long shot in how he showed an even level patience with her and demanded nothing at the same time, no favor by sexual desires, money, or horse, unlike many others in the past for saving her life. Her ice blue eyes glanced over towards him now. No, in his eyes, all what she could see what he wanted was her trust, and there was emotion in his eyes to match that, that it would be okay, that everything would be okay until the end of time.

Before they could continue on in silence though, a conversation finally struck, moving between horses and himself even though she hardly asked her questions out loud, not all of them at least. She wished to know him in a way, learn who he was and how he shaped into the knight that rode before her now. For now, Lancelot still did the talking and she remained almost silent, but did listen to his every word without making much sound. Silence seemed to pass through their conversation for a moment, as if they were secretly taking each other in, although, Faerydae found herself quite sure that he could not be enchanted with her as she was him, no, the young woman was quite certain that this was just a one way emotion on her part, not his. In a way, it might be silly how she found herself fawning over him in her mind for she was not 16 anymore, and yet it was something that found not be helped. However though, his next words shattered her thoughts: milady. Still, he kept on using such a word, and she was quite certain that she knew why: to put a barrier between them. If her wall had been silence, than his was this word, to remind them that they were not of the same class, that even though she was no longer queen, she still remained above him and that they should keep their distances from each other. Although now, Faerydae found herself quite certain that it would take more than one word to break her yearning thoughts of him.

The conversation though, had taken a turn and it had caught her interest so much that it allowed herself to glance over at Lancelot now. He spoke of horses and men, as well as the communication between them and how some times, everything about them can get shattered so easily. When he answered a question, she responded with a quiet yes, for once without a challenge or an edge in her voice, because if she had, it would have been a lie. Perhaps she had surprised him with her response, for he probably had been expecting her to just not answer, to look away and allow him to continue on talking as she always had without any real encouragement. With her answer, he took on, talking more about the subject but she almost felt as if there was something hidden within his words now, something more specific than just horses and humans, perhaps just about humans themselves. Her ice blue eyes remained on him, a stare in which she had used whenever anybody came to her and Janus in court, while she said nothing to the people, her gaze was always penetrating and watchful, “Hinting, milady? I don’t think I was hinting at anything. I think that I was most clear and direct in my references to trust and what we must do to promote it.”

He said that he was not hinting at anything, but there was clearly subtext within his words, and the faint of a smile upon his lips as he stared ahead down their path was enough to be an answer for her. Faerydae’s gaze still remained on him for a moment though even though he would not look at her. He seemed to take great amusement in this, giving her a challenge. She did not quite understand the fun in it for him though, and why had he chosen such a topic as trust? After a moment, the young woman finally spoke, “Maybe some people are just broken and can’t be fixed,” she replied now before turning her gaze away from him and towards the woods once more. Although, their conversation did not entirely dwell on that of trust and horses, for she finally brought up ‘milady’, and no sooner than she did, they seemed to challenge one another on it. His words taking her by surprise at first before Faerydae attempted to counter it with her own words. Although, winning was no in her favor, and she slowly started to retreat now. When it was complete though, there was quite a broad smile on Lancelot’s lips, as if he took entertainment in what had just happened.

The rustling movement of the knight reaching into his cloak had not only caught the young woman’s attention, but her horse’s as well. Silver’s ears twitched at the moment and he turned his head, glancing at what Lancelot was doing with interest for it was the same action that had happened before the black Arabian had gotten his apple. When the knight pulled out the apple, Silver felt his anticipation rise for a moment before it was offered to his companion instead. A snort escaped the horse now, clearly annoyed but his amber eyes still remained on the fruit. Ice blue eyes glanced at the apple for a moment and reached over to take it, her small hand hovering above it for a moment, but her eyes remained on her horse now. Instead of taking it, she withdrew her hand, curious to see if Silver would take it from him now since she had rejected the offer. The moment it that he saw her hand move away from it, the white stallion stopped abruptly and allowed Sher-Fore to take a few steps ahead right when the white stallion swung his head towards the apple now. The moment his teeth bite into the skin of the green apple, Silver snatched it right out of Lancelot’s hand before shuffling himself back into a walk now. Laughter could not help but to escape the young woman now at the horse’s actions and he turned his head and neck back towards her now and she held out her hand as he bit the apple in two, the other half falling into the palm of her hand.

It was only a matter of seconds before Silver had finished off the first half of his apple to which he turned his head back towards his companion’s hand and gingerly took the second half from her now. Almost unknown to her, Faerydae found herself smiling and for a moment, she had forgotten that Lancelot had been there until he spoke and complimented her on her smile. The statement alone brought color to her cheeks; it was embarrassing in a way that he would pinpoint a feature of hers and in many ways, found it easier to look over rather than being beautiful as a whole. When she managed to say thank you, the knight replied easily enough, “You are most welcome, milady, but such things that are so obvious need not be thanked.” The young woman was not so sure about that, and she simply stared at him for a moment before finally replying, “Everything needs to be thanked, regardless of it being obvious or not,” after all, she had hardly considered herself a thing of beauty. Although, she was distracted now by the black Arabian now, with both his back story as well as the thought of being allowed to touch him.

When Sher-Fore allowed her hand to grace his sleek black fur, it was almost surprising to her, and it must have come out in her words for it prompted Lancelot to speak, "Of course you did ….. what male horse would turn aside from such a beautiful patron?” At his words, her gaze flickered towards the knight for a moment, “What beauty?” she merely asked now before her gaze returned to the black Arabian and she allowed her hand to glide over his strong neck now for a moment before Silver finally got annoyed at her. The young woman retracted her hand quickly now and returned it to her own horse now, and began to smooth things over with the horse. As she had stated that he had been lucky to acquire Sher-Fore, Faerydae automatically knew that she had made a mistake. It was so easy to forget some times that Lancelot was very different from other knights in the way that he saw things, and yet, she kept on grouping them all the same when it came to their horses. But she did not comment anything else on the matter now, too embarrassed to remotely do so.

Speaking of knights thought, that was the category in which they were on now as they talked under the turning sky, slowly fading from dusk into night. But it was not about Lancelot’s history this time, but his ideas, which had been originally sparked because of her own words. Clearly, the young woman was beginning to find herself stumbling along with awkward topics and poor word choices without much thought. He talked negatively about how people expect too much of knights in general, but then he went on and made a rather negative comparison between him now and Prince Arthur, the golden boy of the knights. She challenged Lancelot in a way, stating that she would prefer him over the prince any day, and unsurprisingly, he had asked her way, clearly not in belief. Faerydae found her words quite easily and countered him, much to the surprise of Lancelot it seemed, but like always, after a few seconds, he managed to find his ground and quickly recover, “Aye …. I can understand how you might feel that is a contradiction, from me. However, just from observation it is clear that Arthur is head and shoulders above all other knights, including myself. So, I would not call that opinion, but a fact. Although, it is also true that I bested him once on the training field. Hmmm …. perhaps …. But it is also true that there is all kinds of freedom. The idea that people have that freedom means that we can do whatever we please is not a proper one. That would lead to chaos and anarchy. God ….. and through them ….our monarchs give us the freedom to make our choices and the paths we follows, to choose right or wrong, good or not. After all, that’s what life is about, the choices we make, is it not? Hmmm ….. oh ….pity him for his father …. but otherwise …. he did get the girl after all,” he said with a slight smile, “Oh, I think he has a choice, and that he has chosen well.”

She was not sure if she could entirely agree with all of his words, but then again, they almost never seemed to agree about anything, “A fact? You shouldn’t paint him as the image of a god. Arthur’s human, he will fall like all the rest of us when his time comes. Your defeat of him once already proves that,” the young woman replied now. Perhaps it was wrong of her to think that way, but it was hard not to, Arthur seemed so different from the rest of them, the rest of the royalty who sat on throne at the moment, and perhaps she was wrong, perhaps he was destine for greatness, but every story comes to an end, whether tragic or happy, that was left in fate’s hand as well as the company he chose to surround himself with. Her eyes glanced over at him now, “Are they really choices though? What if they are simply disguised as that and our history and journeys are already written out for us?” Her eyes glanced back towards the woods now as the trees passed them, “Aren’t we all just victims of fate?”

The way that Lancelot had ended that statement, about how the prince had gotten the girl, it made her wonder if it was the same girl that he had left behind twice, and if so, that second time may have been because of Arthur. There was still a hinge of bitterness that she could hear, but it was clear that Lancelot was doing his best to cover it up now. It made her wonder if letting go of this girl would affect him for the rest of his life, that there was nobody who could replace her. The knight had said that they hall had the choice to choose, and that was what life was about in the end, but it still made her nervous. Only time would tell though what would be the outcome for his own choices that he regretted. He was quick to stir them away from the conversation and onto another conversation which would honestly seem just as taboo as the last one: magic. They exchanged their views, but his almost seemed quite uncharacteristic, especially for a non magic user, and when the young woman did question him on it, he gave her but a simple answer, “How …. as in all things they were acquired through experience and seeing people exercise magic both for good and for bad,” he replied now. She remained quiet but for a moment,“You’ve must have seen a lot of things then.”

Their conversations died one after the other now, even Silver could see that for he moved them towards the caves. From there, everything happened so fast: the touch, Silver, her suspect of Lancelot leaving her when he told her to the stream alone, and then her story. Everything seemed so rapid fire, like a skilled bow man reloaded his bow with the finest of arrows to hit their targets. He tried to comfort her from her decisions, saying that they all made mistakes and that we learn from them, but she was not so sure even if she said that she was. When she bit her lip and looked down at the floor, still ashamed of her words and past did the knight seem to almost act out of pure instinct and kiss her. It was light and tender, a hidden meaning behind it that everything would be fine, and for a split second, it made her wonder how often that he did this with women now, even though his only travel companion clearly was Sher-Fore. So when he asked her as to why he would want to leave her, she found herself startled and well, stumped, leaving her with the shaky answer of an ‘I don’t know’, for she wasn’t sure as to why he would leave her, but also that she wasn’t not really sure as to why he would stay with her either. After a moment of staring into his eyes though, she managed to lift herself on top of her tip toes to kiss him as their lips met each other and everything almost felt as if it were a blaze, testing and tasting each other as their lips parted against each other before he descended down her neck.

Although, even he needed to catch his breath and as he pulled back now, letting her go, was when she started to separate chainmail from cloth with her tiny hands. Her gaze had been concentrating on her actions rather than Lancelot, only when he lowered his head into a bow was when her eyes glanced at him now as she carefully pulled the chainmail off of him before it hit the stone ground. He had almost seemed surprised that she had been the one taking the lead now, but he had not said a word, so she was not sure of what to make of it. All men were different, Janus had enjoyed when she took the lead, to be the more dominate one even though it was far from the case, Talberon on the other hand, did not. It was one of those things where everybody was different, and it just took time to figure out. Faerydae moved in closer now, tugging on his shirt and her lips brushed against his exposed skin of his collar bone. Something stirred within the knight, she knew it, just as a moan escaped him, “Take my word, you are very much alive,” came his words now.

A small smile graced her lips but she allowed her head to rest against his chest now, her eyes closed for a moment as she inhaled softly his scent of pine needles, dirt, horses, and sweat. All comforting things, just as comforting as his arms wrapped around her now, making the young woman feel relaxed, “You know, there are springs at the back of the caves. Perhaps you would want to clean your wound out there,” he commented now, right as she felt his hands on her shoulders. She found herself uncertain to make of the question and she glanced up at him now, almost worried. Was he trying to get rid of her again? Like he did before, or perhaps she was just misunderstanding him out of fear that he would leave her in the woods with a broken heart so easily. Ice blue eyes broke contact for a moment as she stared down the cave now, now hearing the bubbling water that she had failed to notice in the beginning from being distracted by him. After a moment, a single word escaped her, “Lancelot…” she murmured now before turning her head, and her gaze went back to meet his own blue gaze now, trying to find her words, “Would…would you come with me?...To the springs?”

[Deleted]

Many things passed through Lancelot’s mind as he had gone to the cave, after turning his back on Dae. There were few people living that he would willingly turns his back on without fear. He was better off alone, he thought, as she was likely to better of alone, seeking her own paths. She had undoubtedly chosen the pathway long ago, and who was he to interrupt it? She was the type of noble that he would have willingly served and laid down his life if he had been called to. However, he was not a Knight, even though he still chose to follow the Code of a Knight, and she was no longer a queen, even though she carried herself with the grace of one. Perhaps, he smiled slightly, as he had bent over to collect some kindling, the horse had done the right thing, when it had interrupted their moment. It would have been a mistake, wouldn’t it? They were both nomads, to be sure, but their origins and background was so different, he thought. Why had she waited for him, he wondered, after he had cut down those men, anyway. The two of them would have gone their own ways then.

He understood, though, that she had wanted to perhaps thank him, for what he had done for her. He had found, however, that she had an inability to express herself, at least with speech. He had wondered, though, whether it was something that she had always had difficulty with or was it something that had atrophied through lack of use as a result of being alone. In any case, since the danger had not passed for them, he had hurried them deeper into the woods. And once they were together, he thought, it became more and more difficult for one to leave the other. As they slowly traveled the paths deeper in the forest, as he looked back on it, was it trust that developed, he asked himself. They slowly became more comfortable with having another traveling companion, to be be sure, he considered. It was obvious to see the bond that existed between herself and her horse. He questioned whether she could see the same between him and his horse. The relationships were different to be sure. At its base he and Sher-Fore’s relationship was a fighting one, where they relied on each other to survive in battle. He thought that Silver’s and hers was much more emotional, and therefore subjective and ambiguous, the he and Sher-Fore’s.

He did not know how much she trusted him, although he figured, given what he had risked for her she should have a considerable trust in him. The thing that he found difficult to imagine was why he had trust in her, and he could feel it building. It was one reason, he knew, why he kept trying to break through the wall of separation that she kept around her at all times. He understood that she had it there as a defense. He had hoped that she would lower it for him. It saddened him that she could not. However, a few times it seemed to him that she wanted to lower it …. that she was willing to risk it …. but that she just couldn’t trust someone completely enough that she had just encountered. All he wanted was to be her friend. He just wanted a companion, somebody to talk to, even on this short journey …. right? Or did he want more from her? It didn’t make sense that he would want more. He had never, outside of his budding relationship with Gwen, aimed for that. And after he had left Arthur and Gwen together he had vowed that he would not ever go down that path again.

Now, she appeared to be definitely attracted to his horse, as Silver was. She definitely had a natural affinity for horses, which he accepted. He did as well, but perhaps not as closely as she did. While he had a clear idea how she felt about horses, he was at a complete loss about what she thought about him. She didn’t seem to be interested in him, but she was not rude at all … she seemed to be respectful and polite. Did she think that he was just a soldier, who could kill without effort, or did she have a better view of him. He had no clue. Occasionally he had caught her spying glances at him. Was she trying to keep an eye on him because she didn’t trust him, or was she trying to figure him out. He had given up trying to figure her out. He had just settled on watching over her as long as she travelled. Since she had not expressed any interest, so he saw little reason to press her and lose whatever trust she had developed in him. Besides, if she felt anything at all wouldn’t she let him know, eventually? Anyway, he had had friends in the past, all male of course, who did not speak very easily, but were still friends. Speech, after all, was not the only way that friends communicated, was it? Just because she chose to have nothing to say did not mean that was being unfriendly. It might just be her way, he had reasoned.

It was hard to believe, he thought now, as he continued to pile kindling, and then larger sticks of wood, and lit it with a piece of flint, that she had no man that she was close to. Even though she did not talk, or more accurately, had not talked to him much, did not take away anything from the way that she looked or the feelings that she generated. In a way, he thought, her unwillingness to speak, and the distance that caused, made her seem even more mysterious and desirable. He made a conscious effort to look straight ahead and not to stare at her. He figured that it would only make her more uncomfortable and more likely to take her leave of him. Besides, he found her icy blue eyes to be entrancing, drawing him in, making it even more difficult to look away. It was just better if he looked away, and periodically try to entertain her with conversation. The emotionless mask she seemed to wear kept him from seeing what kind of effect his words had on her. Of course, he still didn’t really know what she had thought of the actions he had taken on her behalf. She had seemed to quietly thank him, but because of her low volume he didn’t know how much her heart was in it.

Lancelot rather mechanically had been preparing the fire, hardly noticing that it was going with a full blaze now, as the young former queen had come up behind him. The mechanical nature of his actions had allowed his mind to drift once more. Lancelot was not one to think on the past much, or to consider what the future would be like. Generally, the present was enough to occupy him, as his primary consideration, first of all, was simple survival. Now, though, looking into the flames, he looked upon his past, and the paths and pursuit of dreams that had taken him to his present. He had been guided by the principle that he would never finding himself to be in a position where he was weak and vulnerable, as his village had been when it was destroyed. He had been apprenticing to become a carpenter, and he had shifted his focus entirely into swordcraft. The best bath that he could see, at that time, was to seek the path of becoming a Knight. He had learned all he could about swordcraft, as well as the Knight’s Code. He had heard stories about the Knights of Camelot, and in recent years about Prince Arthur Pendragon, and those stories had fueled his desire to become a Knight.

Finally, the day had come when he had considered himself ready to make the trek to Camelot. He just had been unaware about the absolute restriction of Knighthood to those who were recognized nobles. Fortunately or unfortunately, he had not discovered this before rescuing a young man from an enchanted creature in the Forest of Balor that he had been travelling through on his way toward Camelot. It was when he was recovering from his injuries that Lancelot had been told about the noble restriction. It marked the first time where he had truly questioned his dream of Knighthood …. the path he had chosen …. Much as he was doing now. Then, however, he had been convinced to use some falsified papers of nobility, and actually stood against Prince Arthur and prevailed, and become a Knight. He had begun to sense an attraction to Gwen, Morgana’s maidservant at the celebration after the Knighting. However, as he should of known, it would only be a question of time until he was found out and his Knighthood stripped. He wondered now whether his real mistake had been made years before, and if he would be better off and happier if he had been a carpenter and not a dream-chaser.

His thoughts, as he watched the fire come into its own, came back to the present, focusing on Dae. There was nothing he could do about the past …. It was set in stone. All that he could do was to control the present, and maybe his future. Right now she was in his, but for how long? It wasn’t his decision, it was hers. He had done all he could for her and tried to do his best to get her to come out from behind her defenses and communicate, but apparently he had failed. Perhaps she would find someone who she could talk to and make her happy. He had a strong feeling that she had seen a lot of trouble. She deserved a better life and if she had the courage to trust someone besides her self, maybe she would get to enjoy it.

He thought back to what she had said to him as they had rode up to the caves, starting with her response about his comments about Arthur. This time he turned and addressed her looking straight into her eyes, this time without a smile on his face. “That may all be true …. he is a man …. but he is a friend and the man that I pledged to serve …. as well as lay my life for him and for Camelot. Now, even though I am no longer a Knight does not diminish my sense of responsibility to him or view him any less. No, he is not a god, but he has the potential to be a great king and I think that if given a chance, that is what he will be.” He then had considered what she had said about choices and fate. “Hmmm ….. you may believe anything that you want, but if I would have believed that everything was due to fate, I would have given up at the age of 14, when my village was wiped out. I’ve always believed that you make your own fate and future from the decisions yoke. Predestination and fate is simply an easy way out …. something to blame our lot on, if you ask me.”

She had quickly diverted to the subject of magic, or more specifically to his comments on the practice. “You’ve must have seen a lot of things then.” He thought in it for a few moments, before answering as generally as he could, “I have seen enough.” He was unwilling, as of yet, to go into any detail about his experience with magic or its practice, as they had approached the entrance to the caves. The request to go clean her wound was a surprise, although it shouldn’t have been. Standing before the fire he remembered his strong suggestion that he accompany her to the stream and then he had grabbed her arm, and it had felt so warm and comfortable in his grip. They had looked into each others eyes, as suddenly Silver had broken their moment, he remembered. It was at that moment that Lancelot knew how much he cared for her, and that he needed to give her some space. So he had decided to back away, give his blessing to have her ride off and he had gone into the cave too both start the fire and to await her departure. As he had been staring at the fire he had herd the footsteps behind him, and had whirled around. He listened to her blurt out her story, and he did his best to comfort her.

When he looked at the woman before him who was simply looking down at the floor, he saw not only a queen, but a very vulnerable female. She had given him a choice, as to whether he would send her away or not. In response he had carefully lifted her chin, planting a light kiss on her lips. He was still unsure of what she felt and what she believed, so he had asked her why he would want her to leave. She sounded contradictory as she said she didn’t know why he would want her to leave, but physically she had made a the move for a much deeper kiss that must have lasted at least half-a-minute. She had not pushed him away, and although she had not encouraged him verbally, he felt nothing but encouragement from her body language, and he had responded by moving up and down her neck with small kisses, waiting to see what her reaction was, either to encourage him more or to tell him to stop. As he backed away from her smaller form to catch his breath he watched her carefully to see what her next move was. To his surprise she began to remove his chainmail and he made no attempt to slow her down. He had no desire to stop her and was more than willing for her to take the lead.

His shirt hung loosely from his shoulders. It was well-worn, with several spots that were fairly thin, and one or two that were actual holes. He did not see the smile on her face, but he could feel the comfort of her body against his. He could feel her nose nestled in the middle of his chest because of her smaller stature. He wrapped his long arms around her upper body, with his hands cupping her shoulders, as he made the suggestion about the springs in the back of the cave. He saw the questioning look in her eyes after he made the suggestion. He saw the seeds of doubt in her eyes as she looked up into his eyes. He wondered if she was afraid that he was trying to end things, since he saw a fearful look in her eyes. Smiling, he said, “Why yes, Dae, of course, it is but a short distance.” He heard Silver somewhat impatiently pawing the ground, as he took his slight companion by the hand, and lead her to the springs. “Here you go,” he said, as he lifted her atop a small boulder next to the gurgling spring, which brought her eyes and lips to the same level as her own. “I think that this spring and stream will suit your purposes, will it not?”