They had retired to bed early the night before. The breaks filled with intimate caresses and soft whispers. Elyna had felt the passing of time like never before. Where she wanted it to stand still it had raced ahead. It would never be enough. No matter how long she spent wrapped in Malcolm’s warm embrace that night, she would be dissatisfied until he returned. Inevitably the Mortalborn had fallen asleep. Confident that he wouldn’t wake, because frankly it was hard to wake him at the best of times, Elyna slipped out of the bed and dressed in the dark.
She padded barefoot through the house and silently undertook all her tasks for the next day. Raising water from the well, scrubbing the kitchen worktops. She ventured out of the house by moonlight and gathered fresh lavender and left it to dry on the table ready to hang up over the door in the next few days. It was a tradition to hang dried flowers that she had absorbed from Malcolm and one she wanted to keep. He hadn’t yet left but she could already feel the encroaching loneliness in the corners of her mind. The shadows seeping into her heart.
This wasn’t like Yoreth, she reminded herself again. He wasn’t dead, he wasn’t suddenly leaving. Malcolm was setting off on a quest and he would be back. He had promised to write and he had promised to return. Even if he didn’t return for her, Elyna had no doubt that he would return for the child that was just making its presence known in the gentle swell of her abdomen.
She liked to be busy, and with all her usual habits of coping discarded in favour of their baby, it remained her singular outlet for her fear and frustration. Still she considered going with him, but even the day before she’d been hit with a wave of weakness and ended up curled up to rest through most of the morning. All the sewing was done though. Not a stitch was needed in the whole house. The rooms were spotless and neatly organised. If anything, she had run out of small tasks in her restless approach to his departure.
The sky began to grey and she found herself outside beneath the tree. Arms wrapped around her legs she watched the stars fading in the distance and the birth of new clouds rising up on the horizon. Time would pass whether she wanted it to or not. The Skyrider had set her longbow down beside her and lay the arrows across her knees, checking the fletching’s for any loose whipping. She didn’t want to say goodbye.
Last edited by Elyna on Tue Sep 13, 2016 10:35 am, edited 2 times in total. word count: 456
Malcolm twisted in the sheets, hot, almost feverish. He peeled the covers away from his bare torso and stretched, arms pushed out from his form with fists closed. The knight yawned like a roaring lion and turned to seek out Elyna, on this the last morning that he would wake up beside her for a long time. When he found the covers empty and her side of the bed cold, he looked around the room, squinting at the filtered light that shot through the curtains. "Ely!" He called, thinking she must have disappeared to the bathroom, it seemed too early to start chores.
Malcolm sat up and coughed, swimming in the ocean so late in the evening a couple nights before had left him with a bit of a cold. "El?" He whipped the covers away from his legs and got to his feet and stumbled over to his belongings to dig through his rucksack for a clean shirt. Everything had been packed, he had extra money from the horses he had sold, and a nice bottle of wine to enjoy over the first night or two away from home.
The bathroom was empty and Malcolm stepped in after knocking lightly on the door, wondering if he would find Elyna in the tub. He combed his hair back with his fingers in front of the mirror and washed his face before heading outside. Feet stuffed into an old pair of socks and wiggled into his fitted, leather boots, Malcolm walked around the front of the house before glancing over at the paddock. The horses were grazing away happily, heads down and tails swished back and forth, whipped against their hindquarters.
It was at the top of the hill that Malcolm finally found Elyna, propped up against the tree she often liked to practice firing her arrows into, arrows that were currently placed across her lap. The noble woman sat with her head bowed, and looked to have fallen asleep. Malcolm put his rusty fox-walk to good use, and tried to sneak up on Elyna without waking her. Once he was close, he got down on his knees, carefully set her arrows and bow aside, and kissed the woman lightly on the lips.
"Hey," he mumbled, greeting her with a smile as she opened her eyes, only to kiss her again, this time hard on the mouth until her upper body was flattened against the grass. Malcolm smiled from ear to ear as he sat up and gave the woman some room. "What you doing out here? I wanted to sleep in and put my arms around you," he settled down beside Elyna in the long grass and looked out at the view. Why had she come out here alone?
She had been studying the arrow whips, running a careful finger over the thread to check for any strain or wear that might cause a problem. She’d propped her cheek in her hand and her eyes had grown heavier and heavier as the light had slid over the horizon and started washing the grass with golden rays. The woman had dozed, with her head bowed against her hand until the gentle brush against her lips. Blinking she straightened, heart thundering with panic at being found off-guard. Before she could react though she was pinned, caught and thoroughly kissed. The Skyrider didn’t think, she was falling. Falling back into the grass and deeper and deeper in love with the man before her. Hands curled in his shirt and held him close, reluctant to let him sit up.
Confused green-eyes studied her face and she tilted her head to one side. The grass prickling against the back of her neck. The pollen was rising and threatened to make her sneeze.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to wake you up,” Elyna murmured in response. She reached up to run the pad of her thumb over his cheek and down his jaw. The skin was damp from its wash and rough with stubble. Her own eyes were ringed with dark shadows because she hadn’t slept. The sneeze caught her and she turned away, covering her mouth as she sneezed once, twice, then three times in quick succession.
“Go back to bed? I’ll come with you?” The woman lifted herself onto her elbows and forced a smile, “I can make breakfast? Did you pack anything for your lunch?” She swallowed, “there’s some beef strips you can take that’ll go well with the wine…w-what time is it?” She looked at the Sky before back at the Mortalborn, “when did you need to go? I… I could walk down with you to the docks?” She didn’t want to though. She didn’t want to say goodbye.
"You were worried about waking me?" He smiled, how silly the man thought, she wouldn't be able to wake him tomorrow. Malcolm had tried so hard to stay awake, to watch her drift off in the night, but sleep always won out when he was off duty. "You don't have to come back to bed," he lowered his voice and slipped an arm under the woman to draw her closer so that their sides touched. "I'm not hungry." He didn't want Elyna to go to anymore trouble for him.
The boat bound for Ne'haer would leave in the afternoon, meaning the man would probably have to hit the road just after lunch if he wanted to make it there in good time. He watched Elyna as she looked up at the sky and felt overwhelmed all of the sudden. How could he leave her? This just didn't feel right, this was the exact opposite of what he wanted.
The knight lifted his free hand to caress the skyrider's cheek and jaw coaxing her into another kiss, this one gentle and slow. "I don't want to go without you," he breathed, his nose pressed to hers, lips scarcely an inch from the woman's. He could smell the sweet scented oil she rubbed into her hair and closed his eyes, trying to commit the scent to memory, a keepsake for the long road. "Oh Ely... How am I going to manage without you?"
Malcolm didn't let the woman answer, his mouth hot on hers again, body twisted to tuck himself comfortably against her. The dew on the grass in the shadow of the tree had left the side of his shirt damp, and a light breeze chased up off the coast saw the skin on his bare arms prickle with goose-bumps. Burly fingers went through the woman's hair, leaving it loose and messy, and as he let the weight of his form sink against her's, he made a frustrated sound and broke the kiss.
Malcolm wasn't the kind of man who begged, but he did so now. "Come with me? Please, I need you with me," he searched her eyes, pinning her with that dark, green stare. "I can't go without you, I can't leave you here," he whispered and kissed the woman again in the hopes that the act would somehow convince her to change her mind.
Elyna was happy to curl up against him. Tucking herself lengthways against his body. She knew that she would always be content like this, wrapped up with the Mortalborn she felt safe. She had wanted him to rest before the journey so of course she hadn’t wanted to wake him. He pulled her down with more kisses and she was drowning in him. Totally intoxicated and lost to the world she clung onto the man she had married. Willing to sink back and let the rest of the whole world slip away. There was nothing else that she wanted. It could all go to hell, just as long as he stayed and he kissed her like this. It was difficult to care about anything else. To hear anything other than the steady beat of his heart and feel the brush of his breath against her mouth.
What was he going to do without her? What was she going to do without him? With every passing bit and break he pulled her further and further out into the ocean and she went gladly, joyfully. When he left there would be no way back to shore. She could already feel darkness wrapping around her ankles and threatening to pull her down. No matter how hard she tried to keep herself afloat, loneliness was a heavy burden and difficult to loose.
He begged and it broke her heart. None of the sensible reasons for her staying seemed good enough. They didn’t know where they’d be sleeping, if they could earn enough to feed them both on the road. It was going to be dangerous and she needed to be safe. Of all the times of her life, Elyna knew that this was one to try and listen to her head over her heart. It hurt though, she could feel herself splintering in two. Desperate to follow him to the ends of the earth. Eager to explore the world and see it with her own eyes. Never had fear dictated her actions like this. Never had it stopped her following someone she loved. She was trapped beneath his gaze and pinned by his body and she felt the lump rising in her throat. Her eyes were hot and the lids too heavy. Lashes painted with droplets of saline water. Elyna wanted to go, more than anything else in the world she wanted to go.
The kiss broke once more and she closed her eyes, unable to face him, “Mal…” she rubbed her nose against his cheek and inhaled the scent of him, “please don’t make me say it. Please don’t make me deny you…”
She held onto the tops of his arms as she ducked her head and nuzzled against his neck. The air caught in her lungs and she gulped for it, struggling and still reluctant to cry. “I need to be here. I don’t know why but…I feel that I need to be here…” Stay. She ordered silently. Don’t go. Stay with me.
With head bowed, Malcolm pressed his lips to the left side of Elyna's neck and held her for a time, content to wallow in his silent defeat. Begging was below him and Elyna deserved better. He hadn't told her what time the ship for Ne'haer was departing and in silence pondered whether or not he should leave sooner rather than later. Prolonging his departure would only see him press the issue again, he wanted her to join him, and didn't understand why she couldn't, or perhaps didn't want to, no matter how much sense it made. "It's only a season or two," he lifted the woman's hand and pressed a kiss to it before getting to his feet. "I'm going to go double check that I have everything," the man forced a smile and headed down the hill towards the house.
He was conflicted, go now and save them both some heartache or stay right up until there wasn't a moment to spare. Malcolm sank down in a chair in front of the fireplace and hung his head, fingers buried in his hair. He coughed and reached back to grab an apple from the fruit bowl on the table and took a large bite out of the side of it. There was nothing about this trip that he was looking forward to and that worried him.
Yesterday had been spent building a wooden box large enough to house four chickens, which Benjamin had rode from the city to their farm with to deliver. The hens were young and would provide Elyna with enough eggs for cooking or baking, and the box had been tucked against the cottage to shelter the animals from the wind and rain. A small, circular hole was cut in one side for the hens to go in and out of, and a stray branch hand been hammered to the inside wall as a makeshift perch. The hutch could be opened from the top, but didn't have any hinges, so Malcolm has placed a large rock on top of it to stop the lid from blowing off.
The knight had made short work of the Apple, and threw what was left of the core, if one could go as far as to call the handful of seeds and bent stem by such, into the ashes of the fireplace. Why was he doing this, he wondered, isolating himself from the one person who made him happy on the last morning he would be able to spend with her before the long trip? Malcolm went into the bedroom and pulled on his leather tabard and belt, making sure that his long sword and throwing daggers were all accounted for. He picked up his rucksack and threw it over his shoulder then, before heading outside again.
"Ely," Malcolm waved the woman over, it was time to say goodbye.
Malcolm left her beneath the tree but the woman didn’t stay for long. Instead, curiosity and a love for animals drew her down to the newest addition to the house. None of the hens had so far ventured out of their new home and so she found herself lying on her front, hands propped under her chin and watching the entrance. She could hear the softest sound of snoring, and smiled despite herself. The hens were asleep. Later in the morning she’d leave some grain out of them, and try and coax them from their home. Malcolm emerged once more and she pushed herself up to her knees, then stood dusting off the thin layer of dirt from her front and trousers.
Summoned by her name the Skyrider approached. She lifted her head and strode towards the Mortalborn, determined that she wouldn’t hunch or watch her feet. She would remember every detail of him. The way he looked with the morning sunshine drifting over his features. Tall and strong and armed. A captain of Knights and a man who had somehow stolen her heart despite her best efforts to hide.
Elyna looked up at him, memorising his features once more in silence. She’d done this so many times before that her mind was crowded with memories of him. She hoped that they would remain clear and vivid as the seasons passed. Her throat closed and she couldn’t speak, what could she say? She forced herself to lift her gaze, afraid that he would already see the truth in her own dark eyes. That she was afraid of him leaving, and afraid that she was already drowning without him.
It was then that she stepped forward and pulled the small trinket from her pocket to offer him, “I had this made. I wanted to replace your medallion, and the sword I won for you.” It was a pendant. A small silver sword on a silver chain. He was a wolf, a man of shadows and contrasting planes. He suited silver better than gold.
The silver of the pendant glinted in the morning light. Malcolm dropped his bag on the ground and undid his belt to put his weapons down with the rest of his belongings. He waited patiently for Elyna to raise the necklace and fasten it about his neck, watching her mouth and those lips he had fallen in love with the moment he had laid eyes on her. As he felt the newly joined chain settle against his warm skin, the man lifted Elyna, trapping her form between him and the front wall of the house.
Though he was a little on the thin side, Malcolm seemed to have regained his strength since the arena battle and made the lift appear effortless. He kissed Elyna as if they were two teenagers madly in love and forbidden to see each other ever again. Of course, the possibility of that being so was very high. Any extended crossing by ocean was dangerous in Idalos, and he was sure Ne'haer had changed a lot since he had last visited. Elyna had his will, and if anything were to happen, she would have enough in assets and coin to live comfortably for some time.
"I'll dream of you," he smiled, "and think of you often." Malcolm let his lover find her feet and lifted his hands to press against the wall either side of her as he stared into her eyes. He really didn't want to go and he could Elyna wanted it even less. "Thank you for the gift, you know I'll cherish it."
She’d held her tongue lightly between small white teeth in concentration as she fastened the catch of the necklace. Malcolm had sacrificed his previous pendant to have her ring made. The pendant had meant a lot to him, to them both. It had been the symbol she’d clung to when he’d been in the arena. She’d kept it even though he’d told her to sell it, his freedom worth more than the ancient gold. She treasured the gift he’d made for her but she’d missed the glimpse of metal against his skin. In a strange way the sacrifice he’d made to present her with a gift had made her feel sad and unworthy. So she had wanted to replace it. Originally she’d wanted a replica made, with the faces of Vri and Jesine, instead of aping the past though she had realised that it was better to look to the future with something that suited them better, a weapon. The metal mimic of a wooden toy sword from what was one of the happiest memories she had. The woman trailed her fingertips over the metal as it lay against his neck.
She was lifted without protest. Unable to deny the thread of desire that pulled at her stomach even now. Malcolm was returned to himself and his former strength and it was delicious. Ever eager to loose herself in him it was easy to forget the reason he was kissing her so thoroughly. The Skyrider clung to him as though it was the last kiss. Deliberately blocking out the thought that it just might be. There was only Malcolm. Legs wrapped around his hips, fingers pushed through his hair she made a soft sound of pleasure which was fast to faded into despair.
Unsteady on her feet the woman lay her hands on his chest, feeling the heat rising from his skin and the beat of the heart beneath. Dreams would be a poor substitute for the physical presence of the man before her.
“Mal…” she lifted dark eyes to green, “if you don’t go now - I don’t think I’ll let you. I love you. Travel safe. Come home,” for all three of us.
I love you, he replied with a look. Mal didn't say those three little words enough, he knew that, but he hoped Elyna knew just how special she was to him all the same. The man sunk to his knees and held his hands against her hips momentarily before dragging up the end of her shirt to untucked it from the front of her trousers. He pressed his lips to the shallow swell of her belly and spoke. "Make sure she feeds you, I want you to grow big and strong, and I will see you when I return, little one."
The knight got to his feet then and scooped up his belt to fasten it about his middle once more. His weapons felt heavy on his hips, but it was a weight he knew, that of responsibility and pride. Malcolm was proud of the faction he worked for and the role he played as a captain in the Iron Hand, he liked that it was his duty to serve and protect. Now he was going on to do the bidding of the immortals, and he hoped the sacrifice would be worth everything he would miss in the meantime. It was more than likely that he wouldn't be here for the birth of their child, and that in his eyes would be hard to forgive.
"Simon," Malcolm smiled as he took up his pack and pulled it on over his left shoulder, the weaker of the two. "Simon for a boy and Elsie for a girl," the man grinned. He couldn't rightly say that he knew anyone by that name or where it had come from, but he liked the sound of Elsie, gentle and kind, something any child raised by Elyna was bound to be.
Malcolm turned then and walked down the lane towards the road. He stopped to pat Red on the way, but didn't look back, continuing on down the worm dirt path until he was out of sight.
