Gemma @gemmababbler - Tumblr Blog | Tumlook (2024)

I write stories. There's mostly Guild Wars 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 stories though other things creep in from time to time. My biggest story, Chasing the Sky, is perpetually almost finished. There really is only about 1-2 chapters left and I will get there one day.

Writing can be a lonely hobby so please feel free to say hi or drop your thoughts here and there. It is always lovely to have company and to think that maybe, just maybe, someone else is loving the little fictional worlds you spend time lost in. What is posted at the link above is I believe all cross-posted here. I'll get my website up to date soon.

Writing Warmup #2 14 June 2024

From Terra on Twitter:

Here's one: if your character met a part of their personality, etc what would that part look like, sound like etc and would your character recognize them?

Sarnai raced out of the orphanage as fast as her short legs could carry her. The wind was changing, she could feel it, and it was singing her name. Her long hair fanned out behind her, fluttering in the increasing breeze as she veered through alleys and across yards to get to her destination. The sound of the matrons yelling her name soon faded from her notice, not that it had lingered there very long.

She was no more than nine or ten, a scrap of a child marked with a broad scar across otherwise reasonably nice features. Dragon scales of soft bronze framed her wide eyes, barely marred where the scar crossed them. It made people stop and stare when she passed, transfixed by the odd nature of the child's looks. She paid no need. She had to be somewhere, even if she disturbed farmers returning from fields or traders hastening to get their wares into shelters. The child was clearly someone else's problem.

Her breathing was ragged when she finally reached the cliffside overlooking the fast flowing river below. The height was a lethal one so she remained back off the edge enough to be safe but edged close enough to feel the wind buffet her as it picked up. She caught her breath, enraptured as she watched the clouds grow dark and dense overhead.

Lighting flashed and thunder clapped, an announcement of the impending storm for those who had ignored the warnings of the wind. Sarnai pressed her hands together and watched, eager and excited. Soon they appeared, first one, then three, then a dozen tiny flickers of lightning manifesting around her like fireflies come to play. She cheered happily and reached out to them, watching them flit away so she could chase them back down the cliff towards the fields.

The little girl did not know or understand yet that it was her own magic that created the lights. She could not understand it was her own spirit that the storms saw like in. She was a child of the tempest, touched by lightning and thunder, capricious and willful yet absolutely terrifying and destructive when wrathful.

All she knew right then was she was happy, dancing among friends, feeling free and joyful.

Writing Warm Up 14 June #1

From BluedyMoos on Twitter:

Astarion in a 1980s roller rink

Shorts almost too short to be decent, black of course, went with a cropped jersey style t-shirt whose writing had long faded away in the wash. Both items were so snug they may has well have been painted on but that was the fashion, darling.

And fashion was everything.

Astarion's mussed curls always looked so care free and accidental yet they were anything but. The amount of hairspray that went into that style was indecent. He'd never tell. His fair skin sparkled with a dusting of glitter and lip gloss sheened his lips. It was a good night for hunting and one had to be delicious to be successful.

The adult skate, the night's disco party, had begun an hour before he swanned in like a royal returning to their court. This was where he was meant to be, he felt like. Where he was free, gloriously free. His skates were slung carefree over his shoulder as he paused to kiss cheeks with a few of his closest acquaintances on his way to his favorite bench to change out of his street shoes.

The smoky haze made the colorful lights hypnotic and dreamlike. The thrumming beats of loud music on a cheap sound system echoed off the parquet floor. He could see several likely marks already. He grinned, baring his fangs briefly.

He was on his feet in an instant, prowling after a handsome young man in sequined shorts and a tie-dyed top. The amount of fluorescent he wore was a crime, true, but he had a face that would allow forgiveness for many a sin. Astarion flirted, circled and danced.

The night was young and oh, what a night it was going to be. What a night to be a vampire.

A Blood Woven Promise

[This is a my first requested piece! Please join their tav, Kira the tiefling bard, as she navigates what the dramatic ending of her party's battle with the netherbrain did to her life and that of the ones she loves best.

Thank you callmesimplyflo for trusting me with your character's wonderful story. This was a joy to work on!

CW: Grief, loss and a few solid cuss words]

"You should be here! f*ck your letter and f*ck you!"

Her rage echoed through the once tranquil library in the wizard's tower. His tower. Her beloved wizard's tower. She flung books from one of the shelves at the far wall, knocking a few baubles to the floor and threatening to damage covers and pages amid her pain and rage. She was an angry, wounded beast growling and baring her teeth as she pushed objects from tables and knocked over a desk chair. Tara had given up reason, taking flight and fleeing to sanctuary high in the rafters as she watched with pain and understanding.

The sun was setting as Kira fell to her knees in the middle of the muddled library. She buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. Her tail wrapped around her waist, an echo of the familiar way Gale once held her. “I hate you, I hate you… Gods how I wish I could hate you,” she cried into her hands miserably.

"Kira, are you... By the gods what happened?!" Astarion asked in astonishment. He had only just woken from his daylight stupor, his senses slow to come back into focus as he observed the room in the dimming light of day.

Harsh, rattling sobs were the only answer the pale elf received. He stepped carefully around strewn books to reach her, kneeling beside her shoulder to shoulder as he tried to decide what to do. He surveyed the wreckage, rueful at the sight of all Gale's treasured cast about. Love was far more painful than anger and hate, he was coming to realize.

"Darling, you're not alright. I know that," he began, his voice hushed. When he spoke unguardedly as he did then was when that voice was most bewitching. Kira looked up, her eyes puffy from crying. "But was this worth it?" he asked, no reproach in his voice. In fact, she was almost certain there was a tinge of humor in it as he gestured to the library around them.

"It felt good!" came her hoarse retort, caught on a sob. "He left us, Astarion. He said he loved us, and he left us."

"Yes, darling. He left us. Both of us," the spawn answered somberly.

"Then why aren't you angry? Why aren't you throwing books and smashing chairs beside me? Don't you miss him? Didn't you love him?!" she asked in grief fueled rage.

His pale brows rose but he let her rage wash over him. His shoulders tensed; the reflexive want to retort brutally a difficult one to keep in check. "Love wears many faces, Kira. He was... hopeless! Constantly blathering on about this, and that, and this... That man, he could talk the scales off a fish. He could talk the sun down from the sky. He could have probably talked the netherbrain into ending itself, but he did not even try. He saved us, saved all of us, but could not even try that to save himself. Don't you think that hurts me too? Thinking that he couldn't love us and himself enough to come home?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, determined to retain his composure despite it being such a losing battle. "Yes, I love him," he admitted in a fragile tone. "And look where it got us."

Kira's lower lip quivered as she listened. She lowered her head, a sign of unspoken apology before she sought his hand. She held it enfolded in both of her own as she sniffled quietly.

"He would be so cross to see this room right now," she whispered after the silence tried to linger.

"Good. He deserves it for what he did," Astarion answered, his voice thick as he squeezed her hand.

"He does, doesn't he? And piss on Mystra too while we're at it," Kira said with a snort.

"Please not literally that's so indelicate," came the bland response.

"And you know that deviant bitch isn't even pleased with what he did I bet! It somehow wouldn't be enough. Every shrine we see to that misplaced goddess is getting fouled. That should be our mission. Torment Mystra shrines until we feel avenged."

"That would be work though and so much walking and traveling," he replied with a mild huff. "But it does sound fun. How about a cairn of dead rats in her honor?"

Her gaze brightened, something that brought a wash of relief to him as she answered. "Oh, I think that's perfect! I'll bring my flute, we'll have the Ballad of the Greedy God in her honor."

He smiled as he shook his head and drew his hand from hers. He got to his feet and held both hands out. "Come on, you silly thing. Get up."

She smiled back, her expression weary but true as she took his offered hands to get unsteadily to her feet. He tucked her close, letting her gain her footing as he kissed her brow right below the base of one of her horns.

"You're so beautiful when you're being devious," he murmured, lips still against her skin. He drew back to look at her properly. "I had a wonderful plan for tonight but you're rather good at accidentally fumbling those, aren't you. My plans, that is."

She gave him a confused look.

He only smiled, the kind of expression those he beguiled only got a fraction of while believing they had the full package. He drew back, ever the gallant as he sank to one knee. "Shh," he immediately said at the sight of her expression shifting, her brilliantly blue eyes fever bright from the tears of not moments before.

"Now, if Gale were here, there would be a flurry of words and many of them probably actually quite beautiful. I am not so verbose as he. I did find this among his belongings though," he offered, reaching for her right hand to slip a delicately wrought gold ring onto her finger. "And it goes well with this," he added as he took her left hand to slip a silver band flecked with rubies onto her finger in kind. "His absence will always be there, but he will always be part of us. I don't know where this road goes but we have so much yet to do and see. I want to do it all with you. Always. Say you want that too?"

There was no hope for the poor man then. The sound that escaped her was little more than a squeak, tears contrasting sorrow and joy as she studied each of the rings then threw her arms around his neck. He was bowled over onto a few tossed books as she kissed his ability to care about where he lay clear away.

"He would yell at us," she said against his lips between kisses.

"No, he wouldn't because he'd be down here with us. He'd yell at us later," he answered, smiling against her lips. "Tell me this means yes?"

"Yes! Always yes."

"Good. Now let me get up, love. These books hurt."

She rewarded him with a smile as she got to her feet, turning a rueful gaze on the messy library. Her head dipped a little as he put an arm around her shoulder.

"It's not my best work," she admitted. "But I sure tried."

"And this is why I endeavor to keep you happy my dear," he chuckled, gently turning her so they could leave the library. Kira paused though, looking back to Gale's beloved chair a last time. It remained untouched beside the hearth, a book carelessly tossed upon it as though someone would be right back to resume reading. She did not trust herself to speak, instead blowing a kiss towards the chair in silent love and gratitude before she let Astarion lead them out to start discussing where life might lead them next.

A Wizard's Peace - Chapter 8

Time slipped quickly past and suddenly months had passed since Rolan and Raya had seen one another or even communicated. The space between them thrummed with many moving pieces, people who loved them going back and forth between the pair without ever forwardly addressing that they were looking out for them both. Rolan had returned to a regular schedule, terse but adequately attentive to the business that required his attention. Raya remained busy tending the cottage and fields she and her sister had claimed in Reithwin. The hum of mundane life that surrounded them each kept them both well insulated and well distracted.

The humdrum normality at Ramazith's Tower was interrupted when an ostentatiously attired elf arrived at the tower one afternoon. He set himself to ringing the bell aggressively and repeatedly which sent Lia and Cal stumbling over themselves trying to get down the stairs in time to answer that rarely used door.

"About time you answered," the violet haired elf sniffed as he inspected the winded pair. "For the master of the house. The work, it is complete. Among one of my finest pieces, if I do say so," he informed the duo rather smugly as he presented a box a little larger than his palm wrapped in plush midnight blue velvet.

Cal and Lia looked blankly at one another then at the elf. "And he's expecting this?"

"Of course he is," the elf answered with exasperation. "He commissioned this piece. He was extremely specific and I dare say I have surpassed expectations. Do see it delivered to him? My fee has been paid but I always accept gifts of appreciation for my masterful skill. Your master will understand."

“Our master?!” the siblings exclaimed in unison. Cal went to utter something that'd get them both in trouble when Lia snatched up the box and spoke quickly. "We'll deliver it immediately. Thank you!"

The elf snorted as he found the door closed abruptly in his face. Cal and Lia stood with their backs against the door, staring at the box Lia held.

"Oh, I so want to open it..."

"How's he going to know?"

"Cal, it's wrapped."

"Does he know it's wrapped?"

Lia eyed her brother, unable to help but admit his points were valid. She reached for the fabric but stopped, huffing at herself. "I can't. I can't risk upsetting him more. Maybe he'll just show us."

"Yeah, that's right after he takes up basket weaving and opera singing."

Lia elbowed her younger brother then made for the stairs, heading up to secure the box in Rolan's library and away from temptation.

~~

Several days later the weather was looking ominous for Baldur's Gate and its surrounds. Sun occasionally broke through the angry storm clouds that rolled across the sky, but it never seemed able to linger. Cal was about to comment that the weather matched his brother's mood when he realized that was not wholly the case.

"Brother, what are you thinking about?" he asked over breakfast, watching as Rolan seemed taken with staring out the window.

"Hm? Oh. Nothing. Busy day ahead of course," came the crisp but distracted answer. Most of his breakfast was left untouched as he got to his feet and started out of the dining room. "I'll help with dishes later, let Lia know? Apologies..."

Cal watched him go, a brow upraised. "Hey Lia, he's being weird again."

"I am starting to think weird is just how everyone is now," Lia called back from the kitchen.

"You're not wrong," Cal agreed if begrudgingly as he sat back to watch the door to see if Rolan might return. When his brother never did the younger tiefling went about his day, helping his sister and working in the shop.

Neither sibling saw Rolan depart, dressed in a fine shirt, vest, pants and boots. His hair was tied back just so to cover his ears as was his habit. His horns were shined to a dull sheen. His gait was determined and focused when he stepped through the portal, bouquet and box safe in his satchel.

~~~

Ena tapped Raya's shoulder and pointed to the sky.

"I know. It's just rain though. I can work in the rain," Raya answered amiably enough. Ena pulled a face and shook her head. She gestured back to the Reach before she turned to climb down and head that way.

"If they have bread to spare it would be nice to have," Raya called after her twin as she watched her go. She wiped a hand across her brow and returned to repairing the thatch on their cottage's roof. An apron covered her simple tunic and pants, a straw hat discarded a distance away as the sun had not lingered long amid such threatening clouds. Her fiery hair was bound in a tight braid wrapped into a knot to keep it all out of the way. Everything was neat, orderly and suited to the work that kept her mind and body busy.

She had just hauled up another bundle of thatch when the clouds broke for a moment and allowed sunlight to filter through. She paused and took time to sit down on the roof, leaning back on her hands and closing her eyes as she relished the feel of it warming her skin. She allowed her mind to still for a little while, almost lost in reverie when she heard footfalls on the far side of the cottage. She stiffened, listening but not moving. Was it Halsin? Ena? One of the children?

"This must be it," she heard, the voice instantly recognizable to her and leaving her clamping a hand over her mouth to silence her gasp. It was the voice that filled her wandering mind so often these days, a pang of sorrow lancing through her as she remained where she sat.

Rolan studied the old cottage, torn between a strict need for doing things correctly and the deep desire to engage in a little breaking and entering. He studied freshly fitted panes of glass in the windows, the newly hung door, the battered nature of the overhang of the roof above it. The cottage had seen a lot and yet it had a warmth to it now and not just from the sleepy spiral of smoke drifting out of the chimney. It was clear at least someone lived there who was giving the place a lot of love.

"They're not here, though," he sighed after he knocked and received no answer. He set his satchel on the bench beside the door and fought the urge to rake his hand through his hair too roughly. Soon he was pacing the cobbled path in an attempt to quell his rising anxiety. Raya shifted with deliberate care on the roof, rolling to one side and crawling up to the top to peek over as she watched him stride back and forth.

Cruelty would have been leaving the tiefling stewing for an indeterminate amount of time. Raya had the patience to have watched him walk back and forth working out problems in his mind for hours but not the heart. She shifted quietly and scooted down the roof, soon climbing down the rickety ladder and pausing to dust herself off before she rounded the cottage to approach him.

“Raya…”

He breathed out her name when he turned and saw her there waiting on the walk. He had not heard her approach, so deep in his own head as usual. Every carefully planned word, every well-rehearsed approach was lost in a breath as he started her way. The steps were hasty yet purposeful, his heart racing until he stopped but a couple of footfalls away.

“May I?”

It was a question asked in a whisper, so many weeks of heartache and confusion etched on each of their faces as they drank in each other's features. Raya didn’t trust her voice not to crack and answered him with a quick nod. He had no reservation left then, no hesitation as he closed the space between them and took her face in his hands. His thumbs traced her cheekbones lightly, the warmth of his amber eyes as he studied her leaving her holding her breath before he bent to kiss her.

“I’m so sorry,” they said over one another as the lingering kiss parted, soft laughter chasing the words as he bowed his head, so his brow rested against her own.

“Whatever I did, all I want in this world is to fix it. To make it right. Can I make it right?” he pleaded, not wanting for even a moment to draw away from her. He let his hands fall from how he’d been cradling her face, instead seeking her hands to hold.

“I thought you were only here because of Aleida. Because of obligation. I was just an obligation,” she answered, just speaking the words making her ache anew. “I was so scared all that tenderness, it had been a lie despite words you’d written and I didn’t know what to do.”

“Gods have mercy no. Never. Never at all. That I was able to help the family of someone trusted was always something extra. I sought you out because of you. The moment I met you all I wanted was more time by your side,” he answered as he crooked his fingers under her chin, the pad of his thumb playing lightly across it as his gaze fell to her lips.

“But… why?”

“Oh darling, how can you not know why?” he answered before he kissed her anew. “Where can we sit and talk for a while? I have so much to say,” he said against her lips when the kiss parted. “Before the skies open up on us.”

“I don’t care about the rain,” was her soft response as she sought a kiss that he reluctantly denied her, if just for a moment.

“My gifts may not withstand the rain so well as you do,” was his patient response, his lips teasing hers as he spoke. This time when she moved to kiss him it was not denied, the two left lingering as fat raindrops began to spatter the walk around them.

“Alright, we’re going, we’re going,” he groaned, his frustration lost in an instant when he saw his antics answered with a smile from Raya. There it was, all he’d missed and yearned for in those dreary months. It took all his willpower to let her go rather than kiss her again as he turned to grab his satchel. Raya seized his free hand to tug him along inside the cottage behind her.

It was the scent of the cottage that struck the tiefling as he ducked through the low doorway. Herbs, flowers, woodsmoke and subtle hints of baked goods created a cozy air about the place. It was tiny, just a single room dominated by a broad fireplace along one wall, but it was enough for those who lived there. A couple of old, recently repaired overstuffed armchairs were set before the fireplace on a frayed carpet while two single beds were fit against the far wall with a small nightstand between them. A small table and a couple of stools stood not far from the door to make a plain little kitchen, several cabinets hung on the wall with baskets hanging on hooks underneath. This was not the luxury of the tower yet somehow Rolan felt at ease as he placed his satchel on the table.

"Let me just make some tea, we can sit by the fire, will that do?" Raya asked, her hand still in his as she looked back up at him.

"Anything you wish," was his answer, words that came easily as he lifted her hand to his lips to kiss the back of her knuckles. "I'll get the fire going."

He saw that much loved smile, even returning it as they both set to task. A warm fire was soon burning in the fireplace as tea and snacks were settled on one of the kitchen stools between the armchairs as a makeshift table. Raya had been about to sit in the other chair when Rolan snagged her hand, tugging it gently and giving her the chance to draw away. She tilted her head, her expression questioning before she stepped in to how he tugged and found herself drawn onto his lap. Her side settled against his chest as he tucked her close. He wrapped an arm around her, his tail curling across her legs as though to reinforce the embrace as he offered her mug to her.

"I don't even know where to start," he admitted after a sip of his own tea.

"Me neither," she answered, suddenly sheepish.

"The thought of having hurt you, of having broken your trust," he began, shaking his head. "Raya, why didn't you tell me?"

"And humiliate us both in front of people we love and respect? You had Gale there, and I had Ena. I was so heartsick, so ... I felt so small. Just so very small."

He sighed softly, a grimace of pain crossing his features as she looked up at him. "However I made that impression, I would undo it. I wish I could. It was never how I felt. It is not how I feel. That I failed you... I... The dark places my mind went."

"I'm so--"

He stopped her gently with a fingertip to her lips. "There is nothing for you to apologize for in that. I just…," he lowered his hand, taking a deep breath that was shaky as he exhaled. "There is a part of me that has always felt worthless. Cast off. Unwanted. That all I could do was fail all those around me and drive them away. The thought that I had done that now, again, to you crushed me. It was a wound I did not think I could fix.”

He was gentle when he moved her, absent mindedly brushing his lips against her temple as he guided her to stand so he could move. Once he stood, he ushered her to the chair they had just shared, settling her there before he stepped across the room to gather his bag and return. He set it beside him as he knelt in front of her, sitting on his heels and reaching for her hand.

“Would you believe the answer came from an orange cat that broke into my library? She messed up my desk, knocked a book from one of the highest shelves then had the audacity to order me around,” he explained as he opened his bag, tugging the book from within it and showing it to her. “’A Poet’s Guide to Flowers’” he explained before he put the book aside. “That’s what she knocked down.”

The mention of the cat had caused panic to send Raya’s freckled features almost ghostly white. Her eyes widened as she listened, a confused glance following the book he showed her. No words came yet, she only listened.

“I spent days studying flowers and words, trying to figure out why Ena said what she said and left the book and flowers with me to sort out. It was like being in the depths of the tower’s vaults for the first time all over again, yet no spell was going to solve this for me. I had to think. I had to allow myself to simply be myself. Rolan. Not the tiefling orphan left underfoot. Not the wizard stumbling from a fallen city through calamity after calamity. Not the battered apprentice who helped take down a scoundrel. Not even the Master of Ramazith’s Tower. What did I feel? What did I want? How could I make that apparent to someone I held so dear yet had so clearly injured?”

“I don’t understand…,” was all Raya could whisper.

Rolan’s expression faltered, anxiety threatening to trip him up as he reached into his bag again to pull out the preserved bouquet. “Morning glories. You glowed upon seeing them at the Tower that morning you came for breakfast. They are a sign of affection,” he began to explain as he offered the flowers to her. “Forget-me-nots, their meaning is obvious. Never forget me. Never forget us,” he said with a mild waver in his voice that caused her to glance up from the lovely blooms. “Lily of the Valley, learning that they mean sweetness meant I could not forget them. Your smile, your gentleness, everything about you carries a sweetness I’ve never known. The sunflowers, they are my adoration and the ivy to tie it together is fidelity. That my affection remains steadfast and unerring. If you’ll have it, of course.”

He was so earnest in how he spoke, so hopeful as he searched her face for a reaction. She could feel his hands trembling just a little as he rested them on her knees as he looked up at her. She lowered her head, burying her face carefully in the flowers for a moment and just relishing the scent he’d managed to preserve with his spell. The scents of home, of peace. She opened her eyes as she lifted her head.

“The man I thought only cared to be near me for the approval of my older sister brings me the joy of my mother’s garden. I ran and hid there so many times over the years. My sanctuary,” she said softly as she touched one of the ivy leaves. “I was always enough for the flowers. The bees. The birds. And of course, Ena loved to play out there anyway. She’s always been the way she is now, free as the wind.”

“So I saw, as she allowed herself in and out of my library at liberty.”

“I really hope she didn’t harm anything…,” Raya began to apologize, Rolan shaking his head as she did.

“Nothing of the sort. A bit alarming to be surprised like that, but it was for a good reason. I appreciate the effort she made.”

“Why me, though?” Raya went on to ask, the question nearly inaudible as her attention fell to the flowers again.

“Why you?” was the incredulous response. His brows shot up as he shook his head. “Why not you? Gods have mercy do you know how fast I dropped literally everything the moment Lia said you were about to arrive in Baldur—”

“The moment who said I was about to arrive?!”

Rolan blinked, caught offsides by the question. “Lia of course. She told me that morning before I met you outside the Elfsong.”

“Lia? Not Aleida? Or even Eldrin?”

“What? No. Of course not. Lia heard something about it at the wedding she said. We barely spoke to Aleida with so many guests bustling about. I do not even think I said a proper hello to your brother much less anything else. Same with Cal and Lia,” he answered in confusion.

“Oh no…,” Raya answered miserably, all but hiding her face in the flowers. Dismay began to darken Rolan’s features as he watched.

“What is it?”

“I am an idiot. How can you care so much for an idiot?!”

“Raya I am absolutely not following right now, please help?”

“All this time, I thought you, Lia and Cal were told to keep an eye on me the way Jaheira, Halsin, even Minsc were! At one point I even saw the pale elf man that sat with me in that terrible place. The whole misunderstanding… I had no idea you weren’t sent by her and thought the whole time that you were driven by something else. That night at the Reach, I should have known. I should have known how very very wrong I was,” she answered miserably.

Realization settled in Rolan’s mind, his silence lingering until finally he shook his head once, then again. “An idiot? No. I… I understand now. No, I sought you because I could not stop thinking about you. There was something in how you smiled at me, how you spoke with me… I had to see you again. I wanted to know you more. The more we spoke, the more time we shared the more I wanted to be the man you saw. That was the magic. I could see him too, this proud wizard who led with wisdom, who used his past not to shackle his future but to fuel it. This man who could grow his family and cultivate something beyond what the boy he’d once been could ever have imagined.”

Her lower lip trembled as she listened, the flowers again lowered as she watched him speak. A soft smile appeared as he looked back at her, something in that moment allowing weights they both carried to at least be set aside for a time.

“I want to know what our future holds, Raya Amberleaf. Our future. Us. Together. Would you like that? Do you want that too?” he asked quietly, his heart thudding in his chest.

“Yes,” was all she could manage to say, her nodding punctuating the simple reply.

Rolan felt his cheeks would hurt later from how he smiled, his joy incandescent as he fumbled for what to do next. First, he leaned forward to kiss her, a giddy and joyful kiss they both smiled into. Then he was fumbling with his bag, finding that velvet wrapped box. “Don’t worry, this isn’t anything silly or rash,” he half mumbled as he fumbled to unwrap the beautiful little wooden box. “Remember that night, sat on the bedside? The light that rested in your hand?”

Raya nodded, resting her brow near his as she watched him with the box. He finally managed to open it and they both sucked in a breath, appreciating the beauty of the piece that lay within. It was a dainty bracelet of fine elven gold made for a slender wrist. Five beads were set in it. Four were cloisonné, the enameled patterns a striking mixture of vibrant greens and golds offset with tiny gold details. The center bead was the darkest blue and swirled with what seemed like thousands of miniscule stars. The occasional flash of violet or blue seemed to flick across its surface. Rolan carefully lifted the piece from the box, holding out his free hand for Raya’s. She gave it easily.

“When the night is dark and the pain in your mind threatens you again, you have this. Whisper ‘behold, my earth and sky’ to it,” he explained in quiet words as he clasped the bracelet around her wrist.

She gave him a look he could not understand, her flowers laid aside as she touched the bracelet lightly before trying the words. “‘Behold, my earth and sky’.”

She gasped as an orb of light flickered into existence just over her hand, sparks of violet, blue and green surrounding it until it burned like steady candlelight. It followed how her hand moved, just as the orb he’d given her before had. She closed her fist around it, amazed to find it was extinguished so simply.

“It will only work once a day, but it will be there for you when you need it. You never have to be alone in the dark anymore. Those who love you are always there.”

The poor tiefling did not stand a chance then. She bowled him over onto his back as she pushed herself out of the chair, the man sprawled on her carpet as he caught her in his arms to return her eager, clinging embrace. Even his tail wrapped around her waist again, his laughter soon filling the room as she lifted her head to cover his face with dozens of little kisses.

“I don’t deserve you.”

“Darling, you deserve all the world can give.”

“I don’t want anything if it doesn’t include you.”

“A good thing I am not going anywhere then,” he informed her as he looked up at her. “Now shall you let me up so we can make ourselves more comfortable? Your floor is rather unforgiving,” he remarked, unable to help how he smiled.

Raya looked sheepish for only a moment, seizing the opportunity to kiss him properly before she did in fact move to allow him to get up. She held out both hands to help him as well, smiling up at him when finally, he was upright once more. Something about that smile left him transfixed, the words he spoke uttered before he could second guess them.

“Come home with me tonight? If Ena will be alright here…”

Raya looked torn as she glanced around the cabin. The decision did not take her long to make. “I can leave a note. She enjoys staying at the Reach too. If she needs me, she knows how to find me.”

Rolan nodded, bending to kiss her again before he let her go to write her note. He dampened the fire in the hearth and set to tidying up while Raya gathered what she might need to join him. When she was ready it was his turn to look sheepish as he cleared his throat.

“I hope you will indulge me in this, but I’d like to cast a spell that will allow us the chance to simply travel without a single person stopping us. Is that alright with you?”

“Please,” she answered quickly.

Rolan’s smile went crooked at her answer, an expression that left Raya blushing as he set about the incantation that would leave both of them invisible to the world around them. When the magic settled they were breathless and giddy, dashing out into the rain to race back to the Reach and through the portal into the Tower. How they spent that night was a secret tucked away in each of their hearts though Cal and Lia would happily report to all who might listen just how much laughter they’d overheard.

Angst Muppetry

There is something strange about being someone who posts writing on the internet. You create these little story-babies and you raise them up and you set them loose on the world... and it's stunning how often silence is what answers you back.

Oh great, Gemma's angst muppeting again.

Hear me out. Indulge an old bat.

One of the things I love most about the internet is dropping little comments of appreciation or comedy on posts I see on various social media sites. I love cheering on all these wonderfully talented people I come across. Frankly, every day I see at least one thing (usually MANY more) that astonishes me and touches my heart in some way. It's incredible.

Then I wander back to my own little corner, my own little stories and I wonder...

What am I doing wrong?

I write for myself of course. The ideas I am indulging are the ones that spin in my head and tantalize me for hours on end like my own personal little in brain TV show. This has been a coping mechanism I have had since childhood. It was all I had sometimes to save me from some dark things. Now I write them, I share them... and part of me feels silly. Stupid. There is no space for an old woman writing silly stories.

The stories are still there though.

Part of this meandering of my mind is likely because of life things that are hard to talk about and even harder to face when you feel seemingly alone. I'll be alright I just have to get through some fussy sh*t first and onwards I'll go.

Tonight though, tonight this creator's heart is just lonely I suppose.

Thanks for reading this far. Your reward is a cute puppy picture courtesy of Lord Percival Peabody Picklebottom III.

A Wizard's Peace - Chapter 7

The timbre of his voice, warm and comforting; the way his features softened as he looked her way, severity melting into smiles he doled out generously only to a favored few; the sparkle in his rich amber eyes; the way his dark hair fell loose on the rare occasions he left it unbound; these were the details that snuck into her reverie and chased her waking moments. It was no wonder her heart ached constantly.

Raya had spent the morning working in a field on the far side of Reithwin. It had been weeks since she'd last seen or heard from Rolan, or anyone outside a few. Ena had found them a tiny cottage they could hide away in, the pair working side by side to clean it out and make it serviceable again. It wasn't much but at least they had somewhere to sleep and make food. She had just returned as she noted the looming figure of Halsin sat outside the door patiently whittling as he waited.

"Ah, Raya. I knew you'd come back eventually," he greeted her as she drew closer. "Would you sit with me?"

Raya put down her basket and did as asked without speaking. She saw a familiar raven nearby and braced herself, shooting the bird a warning look.

"Ena's here too I see," Halsin chuckled, following Raya's gaze. "You both look well enough though. Tired around the eyes, but, overall...," he trailed off as he considered first the rudely staring raven then the young elven woman beside him. "You know what I am about to ask, I suspect."

Raya sighed, shook her head and looked ready to make an attempt at escape though she remained where she sat. "There is nothing to talk about, archdruid. I think Ena and I are alright out here. Do you need us at the Reach? Is there help we could give?"

The weary nature of her voice; her manner told him more than the words she spoke. "The Reach does well and you are always welcome back there at any time. Both of you. I do worry about your safety out here. Yes, I know, each of you can handle yourselves but still."

"Obie is by often. He has a fondness for the woods out back," was Raya's delicately evasive response.

"You do know he is but a very large cub, right? He has become a great hunter in the time since the camp disbanded but he is still young. I never thought I would know an owlbear raised by a dog but there are stranger things that have happened," he chuckled.

"He's quite sweet. Protective. He probably talks to Ena, but I am not privy to the conversations," she replied, relaxing into the safety of a simple subject.

The raven cawed loudly, a reminder she was there and paying attention. Raya shook her head as Halsin grinned. It was not a grin that lasted long.

"You know why I am here," he began, his voice quiet and kind. "So many worry about you both. You, especially. What happened between you and Rolan?"

The temptation was there for Raya to simply turn and walk away. It was a subject she had no desire to delve into. Her heartache was her own. She did get to her feet, meandering away only to walk back in a slower version of the pacing a certain tiefling wizard was all too good at.

"It was all because of Aleida. He only ever looked after me because he felt obligated by whatever she'd done for him. Simple Raya, she can't take care of herself, so let's send someone she won't suspect as a proxy to babysit her and lull her into a sense of normalcy that did not exist."

The bewilderment that etched Halsin's face was intense. The words were spilling out though and he knew better than to interrupt. The raven hopped from where she had been perched to alight on the archdruid's broad shoulder, settling there as they listened.

"He told me once that there were no debts between us while the whole time his every action towards me was to repay one he felt he carried. I feel so small, so foolish. I thought he cared. I thought he was sincere. I should have known better. People vie for the approval and pleasure of the Hero of Baldur's Gate. Her dumb, fragile sister is an easy conduit."

The raven squawked angrily, Halsin raising a hand to touch her head to quiet her before he turned his gentle gaze back to Raya. "Do you truly believe that? That that's all things were? That that's all you are?"

She paused in her meandering to look up at the archdruid, the written plain across her lovely features. "Yes."

Halsin regarded her in silence for several moments. He abruptly bent to pick up a rock, throwing it at the young woman without warning and without checking his strength in doing so. She did not flinch, instead turning to catch it and throw it back fast enough that he had to jump away to miss being struck. The raven flew to a nearby windowsill with an indignant caw. The archdruid approached her, looming over her before he went to shove her lightly. She ducked with ease, sweeping her leg behind his knees and leaving Halsin sat hard on the ground.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted as she reached out both hands to him to help him back up.

He was smiling as he got to his feet on his own, shaking his head at her. "You think yourself weak. I think you simply cannot see yourself very well. You are powerful, Raya. Stronger than maybe some give you credit for by far. It's what caused so much trouble in the illithid colony I suspect. They saw you as either a threat or an asset and they sought to make you the latter."

Raya looked stricken, her breath quickening as a feeling of panic gnawed at her. Halsin closed the distance, laying his hands on her shoulders. "Breathe, little one," he urged.

She closed her eyes, shaking as she tried to push her mind far from flashbacks that tore holes in her soul. She was still shaking when she felt someone come up behind her and embrace her. Ena was back in human form as she held her sister and rested her head on her shoulder.

Halsin withdrew his hands as he watched the sisters, his gaze soft and distant. Raya held Ena's arms as they wrapped around her, her head bowed as she slowly stopped shaking.

"There is a young man out there who knows your burdens because the ones he carries are similar. Ask your sister his tale or better, ask him or his siblings. When you're ready, of course," Halsin said as he watched the pair. Ena's sharp blue gaze softened with gratitude as Raya's head remained bowed. Raya eventually did nod once.

"Maybe one day. Not today, though," she answered in a shaky voice.

"In your time," Halsin replied as he gathered his whittling and prepared to leave.

"Thank you, archdruid."

He smiled, not bothering to ask her to call him any different in that moment. He stopped to embrace the pair before he headed off, Ena and Raya left stood side by side. Ena shook her head, then turned to take her sister's face squarely between her hands.

"My hero."

The words were hoarse, pushed out with a voice so long unused. Raya's brows shot up, her gaze searching her sisters before she clasped her hands over Ena's and touched her brow to hers. Eventually Raya drew Ena's arm around her shoulder and put her own around Ena's waist before the two went inside.

~~~

Meetings, accounting, ordering, researching, studying, practicing: there were always ways for Rolan to fill time. He had become adept at it since everything that happened at the Reach. He evaded conversations about anything more than business or the superficial, artfully sidestepping invitations for social events and just about anything that might draw him away from working. He ate because he had to. He drank because he needed to. He spoke only because others required it of him.

Insulating himself was safe and right, he reasoned, both for himself and all around him.

It was early afternoon when he returned to his library after gathering some paperwork at the shop. He crossed to his desk, lost in reading one of the papers he carried. It was not until he sat down that he realized something was different. Something was off. He slowly looked up from the pages in his hand to notice the disarray on his desk.

Flowers. So many flowers.

A riot of spring color overwhelmed the normally orderly and austere space. Some spilled onto the floor while a few sat atop the nearby lamp.

"Gods above what is this all...," he muttered in confusion as he tried to make sense. "If this is some kind of prank," he went on, turning aggravated and bleak as he rose. He was stalking across the room, his temper preparing to flare when he heard a dull 'thud' across the room. It was enough to make him stop and look.

High upon one of the massive bookshelves sat a familiar ginger feline. She preened, tidying her coat and enjoying how the sunlight made her beautiful fur positively radiant. She began to hop down, shelf by shelf, making the long journey from so close to the vaulted ceilings down to the floor below as Rolan looked on. Once she reached the bottom, not a treasure disturbed in the process, she went to sit by the book she'd so kindly knocked down.

"Ena what are you doing here...," he said slowly, cautious in his approach of the cat. Seeing those unsettling blue eyes was almost a relief, confirming his suspicions about the identity of the fluffy intruder.

His answer was a feline huff before she rubbed her head against the book and walked around it, sitting on the other side and looking up at him expectantly.

The mage sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before he reached down and picked up the tome. "There, are you happy?"

She offered nothing but a haughty look in response. Rolan sighed, studying the beautiful cover of the book that left little indication as to its contents. It was clearly well loved, the spine well-worn and the pages looking a bit rough at the edges. His curiosity was piqued as he opened it up.

"'A Poet's Guide to Flowers'... Ena, I am a mage not a gardener or a poet. What are you getting at here?"

He could have sworn the cat rolled her eyes. She got up, trotting towards his desk and shifting back into the human form he'd seen before. Her curly locks were wild, this time laced through with minute strands of green ivy. Her freckled features were more sun kissed than her twins, a few scars standing out pale on her arms and the back of her shoulders. She wore a sleeveless shirt and pants cut off at the knee this day, no shoes to be seen which left her steps near silent on the luxurious carpeting. Rolan found himself unable to watch her, the echoes of who he wanted to see versus who he saw difficult to bear.

Ena would not accept that. She knocked on the desk edge to make him look up again before she gestured at the heap of flowers. Then she pointed to the book, then the flowers, then the book again.

"Heal. My. Hero."

The words were a fight for her to speak. The mind and body seemed confused as to how to connect the wires needed to get them out, but Ena pushed through. She made her gestures again as Rolan looked on in surprise over hearing her voice.

"I am no healer, though. No herbalist."

It was Ena's turn to pinch the bridge of her nose. She shook her head and walked straight over to him, opening the book he held and pointing to the word 'poet' in the title. She turned a few more pages, showing him the book's real purpose. Slowly, a flicker of light returned to his features.

"I think... I think I see what you mean. Of course the sky knows what the earth needs. Who sees her better?" Rolan said in low tones, faint whisperings of hope stirring within him. He moved impulsively but stopped, growing formal and reticent once again as he lowered the book. "May I hug you, Miss Ena?"

Her reply was an easy one, the druid seizing the wizard in a hug that made him cough for how tight it was and how it surprised him. It did not linger, Ena stepping away soon enough to start towards one of the doors leading out to a balcony.

"Where are... That's how you got in, isn't it," Rolan realized.

Ena smiled, waggling her brows before she shifted into her raven form and took flight.

"I must remember to close those doors," he told himself as he walked to his flower-strewn desk, curious book in hand as he settled in to figure out the puzzle before him.

~~~

Cal was in a bind. People were asking after Rolan regularly in the shop, others were confused about meetings he was missing... It was so unlike the orderly, punctual Master of Ramazith's Tower.

"Terrible cold, you see. Yes, of course, finest healers, all of that. I'll let him know you stopped by. Our deepest apologies...," Cal said yet again, the recitation growing exhausting as he finally managed to get the last person to leave the shop's offices. He went out to the balcony overlooking the shop itself and the till below.

"Lia can you handle things for a while?" he called down. She turned, looking as tired as he felt when she nodded.

"I think so. Closing is soon enough anyway. You alright?"

"Just going to check on our poor unwell brother," he answered blandly.

"Convey my well-wishes," she called as Cal headed off to return to the tower proper.

Days had passed since Rolan had locked himself in his library. He came out only to answer basic needs, missing encountering his sister and brother almost entirely. He left a note on the door stating he did not wish to be disturbed for anything. The worry it caused his siblings was manifest. Cal was just about to finally break the door down when he was caught halfway up the stairs by a familiar voice.

"Cal! How wonderful to see you!" Gale exclaimed as he too started up the stairs. "How are you and Lia? How's Rolan?"

Cal couldn't decide if he was happy or frustrated to see Gale. That wizard's timing was always so uncanny. "Lia and I are alright. Rolan is, well, Rolan. Locked himself in the library three days ago and we can't get him to come out."

"Locked, you say? Exceptionally odd. Is he eating and drinking?"

"Yes."

"That's a good sign. He must be making some kind of breakthrough with some research then," Gale offered, ever optimistic. Cal, however, looked doubtful.

"I was just going to interrupt him."

"How about we avoid that," Gale suggested. "How about we go to the shop? I'll see what I can help out with there since I wanted to pick up a few things from there and the herbalist. Oh, I can even cook us all dinner when I am done. The tower does have such a wonderful kitchen after all, almost rivals my own."

Cal could not resist the warmth in Gale's manner. The man had such a vibrant way, the idea of cooking for them making his whole being brighter. "Are you sure? Where's Aleida?"

"Oh, you know. Off doing heroic things," he jested as he turned to head back downstairs. "More like she is visiting her sisters after growing frustrated with the speed of letters. Yes, I made her promise to keep her temper in check."

"That woman could scare the eyes off a beholder," Cal noted, mildly terrified at the idea of it as he joined Gale.

"It's why I love her," Gale chuckled.

Rolan poked his head out of the library just in time to hear their conversation fade away entirely. He made a soft, puzzled sound before he withdrew once more and returned to his project.

Cal and Lia had long gone to bed after a night of delightful food and stories with Gale. They had needed such a night, their sides sore from laughing as they finally retired. Gale had lingered to clean up before he approached the still lit library. He knocked once, then braved opening the door.

"Rolan? It's ...," the words cut off as Gale stepped inside.

The tiefling wizard was sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by the flowers that had once littered his desk. They were organized by type and color, pieces of paper strewn about as he carefully worked on arranging a bouquet. He looked disheveled there in his shirtsleeves, pants and socks, his hair unbound as he consulted pages then flowers in turn.

"Gale! Did you know there's a whole language here..."

Gale's brows went up as he slowly strolled closer. "I have heard poets speak of it. Romantics adore it. It was something I only passingly learned a thing or two about."

"Ena left me all of this and asked me to help Raya. I... I think I've finally figured it out," he said tentatively as he got to his feet.

"Ena... spoke to you?"

"Yes."

If Gale's brows got any higher, they would be in his hairline, so vast was his surprise. "I see. And somehow flowers are involved, because of course they would be. Druids, you know? Hmm," he replied, looking over the array upon the floor.

There was something about the bouquet that frustrated Rolan as he studied it. He finally slumped, rubbing his aching forehead between the base of his horns as he sighed. “There’s something missing. I can’t figure out what I just can feel it.”

Gale took the time to move a few of the piles of flowers and papers aside so he could join the tiefling, sitting on the floor nearby. “Talk to me? Do the flowers say what you want them to say?”

Rolan studied the ones he held, the morning glories, the forget-me-nots, the lily of the valley and the few small sunflowers, the stems wrapped in a strand of ivy. The colors were vibrant, mostly purples, blues and whites with a splash of yellow from the sunflowers and all of them seemed to mean exactly what he wished he could put into words himself. It was everything he thought of her held in the palm of his hand. “I think so, and yet…”

“And yet?”

“How do I prove I see her? Wholly, undeniably her? As she stands now, not anything else?”

Gale studied the younger man as he spoke, a subtle tilt to his head as he pondered how to answer so weighty a question. “What would no one else think she needs or wants?”

Something about the answer to that made Rolan give a short laugh, but a quick sound before he shook his head. It got an inquisitive look out of the other wizard. “Gale I cannot stop the sun in the sky for anyone, nor can you.”

“We do try such things sometimes, don’t we,” he could not help but to say with a short, all too self-aware chuckle.

“We do,” Rolan allowed, contemplative anew. Silence threatened to linger on before he sucked in a breath. “How confident are you with enchantment?” he asked Gale abruptly.

“Well, I cannot say I’ve practiced it lately, but I have done my fair share. Do you have something in mind?”

“I think so. I will need your help and a jewelers. We can get the latter come morning but for now, come with me. I think I know just what we need from the vaults.”

Gale groaned. Last time he had ventured into the vaults was before Ramazith’s Tower came into the hands of its current, far more reasonable master. “Please tell me you’ve got a more orderly way of getting through it. I do not need my eyebrows singed off again.”

“I am the master of this tower, of course I do,” Rolan said blandly as he got to his feet. He stepped over the remaining flowers carefully and laid the bouquet on his desk, whispering a mild enchantment over it to keep it cool and fresh before he turned his exhausted but energized attention on Gale.

“Shall we?”

“Only if you promise to rest, and properly, once we’re done. Write down what you need from the jeweler I will take it myself in the morning,” Gale answered, a hint of sternness on the words.

Rolan sighed, relenting with a nod. “Fine.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

The wizards set off into the depths of the tower and its vaults, invigorated by the tantalizing prospect of a project ahead.

A Wizard's Peace - Chapter 6

Dawn had barely broken when Rolan left a note in the kitchen for Halsin. It was brief and formal, conveying apologies for an early departure and reminding the archdruid of where he could be reached for further discourse. The sleepless wizard made one last walk around the Reach and grounds, desperately searching in the first rays of daylight for a person he could not find.

He stepped through the portal back to Ramazith's Tower almost unable to breathe from the weight that settled on his shoulders and heart.

"You're back! So soon!" Lia exclaimed, surprised to see him as she made her way towards the kitchen for breakfast. Her smile soon faded into stark concern seeing the state of him. "Brother, are you well? What's wrong?"

"I... I don't know. I'm fine. Just... I'm fine," he answered, at first distraught then abruptly curt. Lia reared back, shocked by how fast his emotions switched before he all but raced away from her. She stared after him and turned around, jogging down the hall back towards her other brother's room.

"Cal? Cal wake up, quick," she said as she knocked on the door again and again.

"Uuugh I hate early mornings what do you want," came Cal's plaintive response though he did shuffle over and open the door. He went from droopy eyed to wide awake in a hurry though at Lia's expression.

"Rolan just came back. Something's wrong. Raya's not with him and he's not talking."

Cal rubbed his face, consternation obvious as he went to pull on a robe. "Sure he's not just... being him?"

"Very. This is the old Rolan, the Rolan from before Ramazith's Tower became his Rolan."

That made Cal stop, the look that passed between he and Lia one of pure distress. Neither said another word, instead hurrying through the halls and up to the library in search of their brother.

"Leave me to my work," the wizard snapped as the pair entered through the wide doors. They stopped but did not obey the order.

"What's wrong? What happened in Reithwin?" Lia asked, taking steady but slow steps towards Rolan with Cal shortly behind her.

"I finished my business there and evidently, so did Raya," he replied in cold, perfunctory tones. The siblings knew that facade. They knew it all too well, the duo sharing an anguished look.

"Is she back in Baldur's Gate?" Cal braved asking, tentative in his approach.

"Probably. I have a lot of demands on my time, leave me be," he barked again. This time both siblings backed away and did as asked. It was only when the door was closed Rolan laid his head on his arms atop his desk, miserable and aching for having lashed out at those he treasured most.

~~~

When Cal and Lia set their mind to a task there was no stopping them. They made deals with other shop employees to tend the counter while they split up, investigating Rolan's situation without asking him another thing.

Cal went to the Elfsong, only able to uncover that Raya wasn’t there. He moved on to check at Jaheira's home, her children as confused as he was in regard to the elf's whereabouts. Lia had entered the shop from the tower when she all but ran headlong into Gale.

"Where's Aleida?" Lia asked, unable to help feeling a little scared as she did.

"You didn’t see her? She went through the portal just a moment ago," Gale answered, bewildered at the question. Seeing the look on Lia's face he went directly to concern. Lia spared no words, merely grabbing his arm and dragging him with her back through the portal.

BANG!

The sound caused them both to jump, stare at each other then run as fast as their legs could carry them up the stairs.

"Why am I getting sendings from Raya, Rolan? Why is my sister devastated, Rolan? I trusted you! My sister, my fragile sister, what have you done?!"

The yelling would strike fear into most, a paladin's anger not to be trifled with. Gale grabbed Lia's arm as they reached the library door. "I'll go to her, you get to him. I don't know what is going on, but I do know he doesn't deserve this."

"No, he doesn't. I'll go to him," Lia agreed quickly. They pushed open the door to see Aleida, thankfully armed with only what books she might be able to grab easily, stalking after Rolan as he backed away from her in abject terror.

"I did not do anything! I have been looking after her, endeavoring to cater to her every need and comfo--"

"LIES!" the fury-blind paladin yelled. Lia darted from the stairs to get in front of him, her meager frame between him and the golden elf. Fury rolled off her in waves that made Lia tremble, stealing her words as she simply made herself a physical barrier.

"Aleida. Please," Gale said, steady as he could manage. "My love there's got to be pieces to this story we lack. This is Rolan, he's not about to wound someone for the sake of wounding them if he's done so at all."

"If you make me regret my choices in the shadows that night...," Aleida snarled, still staring Rolan down. The words were sharper than any sword, leaving even Gale and Lia gasping at their cruelty. Darkness flashed across Gale's features as he stood in front of the paladin himself this time.

"Aleida Dekarios, I will not let you savage him. Your sister deserves your love and protection but not like this. Not. Like. This. You were never going to leave him there just as you were never going to leave the prisoners, no matter what anyone said. Their freedom was as important to you as any of our troupe. The woman I love does not let pain turn her into a blunt instrument wielded carelessly. She's too clever for that."

Rolan grabbed Lia's hand as she reached it behind her, his hand clammy and shaking. Neither said anything as they watched Gale and Aleida. They were too frightened of the confrontation getting worse.

Aleida stood still. Her bearing was stoic. Aloof. She put down the book she held, respectfully laying it atop several others as the intensity of her fury slowly seemed to dissipate.

"You have one chance, Rolan. One. What happened in Reithwin?"

Gale nodded to Rolan in encouragement after Aleida voiced her question. Lia squeezed his hand, letting him decide if he still wanted to hold on or not when he was ready to answer. He returned the squeeze, letting go and stepping from behind his sister.

"If I knew, if I had done something to directly harm her, I would lay myself at your feet right now. Whatever punishment you delivered; I would deserve for harming her. I swear, on my soul, on the love I hold for my siblings, the esteem I hold for your sister, I did not do anything I can think of at all. To harm her would be to harm myself."

Lia pressed a hand to her chest as she listened, tears in her eyes as she heard her brother's voice crack. She yearned to reach out for him but stood still, glancing from him to Gale and Aleida.

"I believe you," Gale said before Aleida could formulate a reply. He closed the distance between himself and Rolan, clasping Rolan's upper arms as he met his gaze. "I believe you," he repeated before he drew the younger man into the hug. Rolan crumbled into the fatherly embrace, fighting the urge to let his emotions get the better of him as he held on tightly to his fellow wizard.

"You have no idea how good she has been for him, Aleida," Lia began, her voice thick. "His whole being is lighter. He moves with genuine purpose and pride, no facades. Why would he cast that off rather than chase it?"

Aleida sighed and walked away from the group, standing looking out one of the windows. Rolan remained holding onto Gale as Lia joined them, rubbing her brother's back as Gale spoke in quiet words Lia could not decipher. They were not for her ears, she figured. Rolan nodded, taking a few deep, sniffling breaths before he let go. Gale took the younger man's face in his hands. "I'll see to her."

Lia took the opportunity to take Rolan's hand as the wizard nodded to Gale. They both thanked him, leaving Gale to talk with his wife as they slipped from the library to go sit on one of the balconies below.

"I ruin all I touch," her brother said brokenly as he sat on a bench, entirely defeated.

"You have ruined nothing."

"I haven't? Everywhere I go, misery. We were orphaned. We were attacked again and again trying to get to this damned city. You were captured with Cal. I let that bastard manipulate me into keeping you both hidden away like dirty secrets..."

His sister sat beside him, shoulder to shoulder. "How many of those things did you, yourself, actually do?"

He did not answer, staring despondently into the distance.

"None," she supplied for him. "When Elturel fell, you sheltered us. You got us to Zevlor. That was clever, quick thinking that saved all our lives. Who saved the children on the road, most of whom now reside with Halsin? That would be you. Cal and I tried but we were ... foolish..."

"You weren't foolish, you were brave. Powerful and brave," Rolan interrupted fiercely.

"And so were you. So were you, brother. You survived what that bastard Lorroakan put you through for what? Why did you endure that? The torture, the separation, the constant belittling and degrading, why did you suffer it?"

He lapsed into silence, tears spilling down his cheeks. He looked to Lia then away miserably.

"For a better life. So you could give us all a better life. You told everyone how legendary your name would be, how your prowess would be renowned and put on such airs but I knew. Cal knew. Gale and Aleida know. Dame Aylin sure knows. The façade that is the great Master of Ramazith’s Tower now is just that, a façade. The real man, the real Rolan, has such strength and conviction especially when it comes to those he believes in. Those he loves. And every day here you sit believing yourself somehow unworthy. How wrong you are, brother. How wrong you are.”

Lia got to her feet and gathered her brother into her arms, letting him weep as he had let Raya weep not so long ago.

"Gods, only took you how long to let this all out? Stubborn as an ox," she said to him as his crying slowed.

"Hello Pot, I'm Kettle...," Rolan mumbled back. Lia laughed, loosening her embrace and stepping away so she could sit beside him once more.

"Alright brother mine, how are we going to fix this?" she asked.

"I don't know. Can it be fixed?"

"Have to try, don't we?"

He shrugged, defeated and tired.

"We'll figure it out. We've all gotten through everything else together before. I am not letting you nosedive back into the Arabellan Dry again after we finally got the budget for that under control."

Rolan glanced at her sidelong but only huffed in response. She grinned, took his arm and pulled him to his feet. "Go wash up, take care of yourself and I'll deal with our rampaging guest and her more obliging spouse," she urged.

"Love you, sister," he said low as he got to his feet.

"Love you too, you lout," she answered warmly as she watched him go. She took several minutes and deep breaths before she headed back inside to see what battle awaited.

~~~

"So there I was, standing on the rope railing on the edge of the dock, balancing for dear life until suddenly one of the Bitch Queen's priestesses comes sauntering by. I thought I was done for. There was no way I could win that bet with a sight like-- Oh, hi Lia!" Cal said brightly from where he stood regaling Gale and Aleida with likely highly fictionalized tales of his exploits. "What's up? Where's Rolan?"

"Aleida ground him into a fine paste, I've stored him in a jar on one of the shelves downstairs."

"Oh really! Do we serve him on toast or is he purely decorative?"

"Decorative," she answered with a single nod.

"What a shame! I bet he'd be fine to serve on a good piece of rye," Cal, the seemingly unflappable went on as Gale fought to urge to laugh out loud. Aleida's attention was elsewhere as she looked out the window again, mind a thousand miles away.

"He's in his room I suspect," Lia said as she sat down, studying the group. Cal nodded, tipped a jaunty salute to Gale and Aleida then ambled off to find their brother.

"He alright, you think?" Gale asked, his concern obvious.

"He will be. This is chewing him up inside. There's so much he blames himself for and this is now part of it. Do you think Raya will come back to Baldur's Gate?"

"That I don't know," he answered after a glance to his wife. "I can hope, though. I can hope. I know Ena is with her. It must be a great relief for them to be together again."

Lia rubbed her forehead, trying to figure out what could be done.

"I will talk to my sisters. I'll try to begin untangling this. Sendings are too brief. I'll send letters when I can. For now, I'd like to go home," Aleida said as she got to her feet, the movement surprising both Gale and Lia.

"Yes, my love," Gale answered as he looked to Lia a last time. "I hope we'll have answers soon."

Aleida took a moment, pain flickering across her features before she spoke. "I owe your brother an apology either way. One I deliver myself, when he might be ready to hear it. My words went too far. It doesn't matter why, I should hold myself to a better standard. Hopefully when next we meet will be under better circ*mstances."

Lia braved a small, weak smile. "I hope so too. Whatever is going on, please give Raya my love. I miss our walks and lunches together and our time in the gardens."

Gale smiled as Aleida nodded. "I'll let her know." Gale paused to kiss Lia's cheek before he and his wife made their way back to the portals and out. Lia watched them go, lost in thought of how to fix a situation that seemed so strangely broken.

Boops have now made me a menace to society.

A Wizard's Peace - Chapter 5

One moment Rolan had been stroking Raya’s hair, telling her idle facts and stories about this and that to lull her into a restorative reverie and the next he was asleep. Time slipped from their grasp, the sun soon creeping close to the height of its daily journey as Rolan felt something tickle his brow. He waved it away with a sleepy gesture, grumbling something unintelligible as he wrapped his arms snug around the woman tucked against him and nestled down into the blankets that enfolded them.

Wrapped his arms around the woman…

His eyes opened fast, his breath held as realization of where he was, what he was doing dawned on his sleep hazed mind. The sight that greeted him wasn’t of Raya though but of a large, fluffy ginger cat with angry blue eyes staring him dead in the face.

“By the gods!” he uttered, the way he startled leaving Raya turning to clutch him tightly as though he were about to run away. He froze, completely unsure what to do as the cat let out a low growl and crouched in preparation for a pounce.

“Go ‘way, tired,’ Raya muttered as she buried her face against Rolan’s bare chest. The feline paused, tail flicking madly behind her. She gave the mage a warning hiss and a swat of her paw, her claws for now sheathed. All Rolan could do was stare as he watched her jump off the bed and depart.

“That’s one way to wake up,” he finally mumbled as he let out the breath he’d been holding. His heartbeat slowed again as he settled, his chin atop Raya’s head as they curled together. Even his tail draped over her waist, an extra reassurance that she was not alone.

“Morning isn’t it,” he heard her utter without lifting her head. The warmth of her breath and brush of her lips against his skin made his breath hitch anew.

“Mm, quite late into it I think,” he whispered back. “Did you rest well?”

“Want more,” she answered with a soft huff, her arms tightening around him. It was as her fingers curled against his bare back that he felt her stiffen a little, her head soon lifting so she could look up at him. If he had not been disarmed before he was then, her hair mussed from reverie and gaze so drowsy a sight that could melt a long cold heart.

“You can stay, if you wish. I will tuck you in and fetch us breakfast. Would that please you?” he whispered, unable to help himself as he tenderly brushed a kiss against her brow.

She smiled sleepily and nodded, shyly laying her head against his chest once more. “As long as you come back.”

“Not even a netherbrain could keep me away,” he vowed. He did not hurry to depart, though. He drew his fingers through her hair, his nails lightly teasing over her scalp as she melted into his arms. It was a feeling he wanted so much more of, his mind veering places he had to fight to draw it back from.

“I’ll be back shortly. You rest,” he forced himself to say, slowly disentangling from their sleepy embrace. He tucked her in with the blankets they’d shared, kissing her brow again as she watched him prepare to leave. He must have looked back at her a half dozen times, she noted, hiding her smile as she grabbed his pillow to bury her face in.

It was the most at ease she’d felt in months.

Rolan took the time to gather his wits, stopping in his room to splash his face with cold water several times before he washed up, dressed and fetched food for them both. Ena followed him like a malevolent shadow in her feline form but did not disrupt him. When he chose something she did not approve of for her sister she swatted his booted ankle. He obliged the cat, much to the amusem*nt of the children who witnessed the exchange. When he returned to Raya he bore gifts of food, drink and a remarkably tidy and ready for the day version of himself.

“I feel so lazy,” Raya apologized as she sat up, brushing a hand over her messy hair and rubbing her eyes.

“You deserve a lazy day. Your sister made her thoughts on my selections known by the way, so you have her to thank for your choices of food,” he commented as he set the tray on the bedside table where she could easily reach it. The room was so much more pleasant in daylight, no shadows to frighten the elf as she watched the mage fuss over her.

“She has a way of making her thoughts known,” Raya replied with a crooked smile. Ena had not made herself evident again since Rolan’s return to the room, off prowling and pestering elsewhere for now.

“Indeed,” was Rolan’s plain reply as he fixed a mug of tea to pass to her. Her brows went up as he added just the right amount of honey and nothing more to the beverage. She looked so inquisitive, but the conversation soon fell into superficial niceties, comforting topics that could edge nowhere painful or disruptive as they shared a quiet meal together.

“I do need to spend some time with Halsin and some of the caretakers here today,” Rolan explained as they finished eating. “Would you like me to take you to Ena? Or somewhere else before I do?”

“I should be quite alright finding my way around here, I think. Thank you, though. Will I see you at supper, then?”

“Most certainly, if not sooner,” he answered as he rose, preparing to take the tray back down to the kitchen. He studied her, his expression warm yet vague. Whatever he was thinking was impossible for Raya to guess at.

“I look forward to it,” she replied, her smile brighter for how much less tired she appeared.

Impulse dictated the wizard’s response as he bent to kiss her brow, the brush of his lips lingering before he stood and nodded. The way she blushed threatened to derail him entirely, so he turned away, almost fumbling with the tray as he lifted it and headed out with but a single glance back over his shoulder at her.

~~~

The day turned unexpectedly luxurious for dear Raya. Ena showed her the baths and used a sneaky bit of magic to warm water to allow her sister a pleasant soak. She awaited Raya in Raya’s room, lounging on her bed in a midday sunbeam. She cracked open an eye as her twin returned, practically dancing as she hummed a song off-key to herself.

The feline sat up, watching attentively. Knowingly.

Raya paid her no mind for now, choosing her blouse and pants carefully and brushing out her hair to arrange it in a complex braid she wrapped in a knot at the base of her neck. The feline leapt from the bed and Ena shifted back to her human form, padding up behind her sister as she started to unwind the knot.

“What are you—”

“Shh,” Ena answered as she began to undo the braid as well. Slowly, with skilled fingers, she began to rework the braid. This time it glimmered with a bit of sun kissed magic, a golden strand of tiny leaves with dark blue blossoms lacing through the locks. She helped her sister arrange the knot anew and stepped back to admire their work before kissing her twin’s cheek.

“I have missed you so much,” Raya said as she seized her sister’s hands.

Ena nodded, the way her smile wavered more than enough of a response. Soon the pair were hugging again, standing brow to brow as though every secret of their hearts could pass between them so easily. When both threatened to give in to torrents of tears again Ena drew back, instead grasping her sister’s hand and lacing her fingers through hers. She tugged her arm.

“Show me everything,” Raya answered, beaming and happily following her sister out of the room and into the world.

~~~

He wouldn’t call the meeting tedious, but he was certainly not as attentive as he would have liked. The men and women represented so many walks of life, all devoted to the care of the charges at Thaniver’s Reach and to the renewal of the village of Reithwin. Everyone overflowed with ideas, the more steadying hands of the group making sure to lay out what the needs versus wants were as they discussed what needed to be done and in what order. Rolan listened, barely saying a word beyond a few brief answers when questioned. He took notes of what he could directly see assisted with instead.

It was not lost on Halsin how the mage’s attention often wandered to the windows. He smiled to himself, trying to remember times when he was similarly minded. The archdruid shook his head and returned his attention to the conversations around him. Supper was drawing close as the conversations started to wane, plans falling into place and the group sounding largely positive about the future before them. People stopped to shake hands as the meeting broke up, their names slipping from Rolan’s mind as fast as they were spoken.

“Go find her,” Halsin said low as he passed the mage again. “Before my heart breaks for how yours is pining.”

The shades of red the ruddy skinned tiefling turned were downright impressive. He sputtered for a moment, staring after the druid before he turned to rush out the door.

“Rolan!”

He flinched as he heard a familiar voice, closing his eyes as he silently cursed his luck. Slowly he turned to see Gale, fresh from Waterdeep, and striding through the hall to greet him.

“Good afternoon, professor. The day finds you well?” Rolan greeted, somewhat stiff as he shook the man’s hand.

“So formal!” Gale laughed. “I am well, quite well indeed. Looking forward to seeing what the lessons ahead have in store for me after some tedious days at the academy this past week. They never do like exams, do they. How are you? Are the twins still here? I do hope to see them…”

“I was just going to find them actual—”

“Oh wonderful! I’ll come with you.”

It was all Rolan could do not to groan in frustration. He instead politely smiled, nodding once to Gale as he struck out to lead them both to the courtyards. The two chatted idly as Rolan searched for the sisters, occasionally stopping one of the children or carers to ask if they’d seen them. Their search led them towards weeping willows along the riverbank where Raya stood among a small group of tiefling children that looked vaguely familiar. Rolan paused, tilting his head as he watched from a short distance.

“Like this,” Raya demonstrated, moving with startling grace and precision as she showed the movements of not only how to throw a punch but to also duck an incoming blow. She had the poise of a dancer yet the focus and intensity of a honed warrior. She moved slowly, a manner that turned movements made for war into something to be enraptured by.

Several of the children were dubious but they followed her lead, moving with equal slowness. They were uncertain, even clumsy as they made such earnest attempts in repeating what they were shown. “That’s brilliant!” Raya cheered, stepping in to help each of the children and encouraging them to try the movements more quickly.

“Now what we do not do is use this on our friends, no matter how cross they might make us,” she warned the children, her mellow voice sweet even with stern words spoken. “The bell will ring soon for supper, you’d best get back to wash up,” she said to the tieflings, claiming hugs from several before they turned to run off. It was then that Rolan and Gale were caught.

“Rolan!” one of the boys cried, the small group racing over to mob him with hugs. Raya remained where she had been, watching with curious surprise. Gale merely chuckled, leaving Rolan to the children as he went to greet Raya with a hug and kiss on the cheek.

“It’s much better here than when we came here before,” a girl said, words that made Rolan ache.

“So much better,” he agreed, awkwardly returning their hugs. “I am glad to see you all doing well. Miss Raya was right though, you’ll want to wash up before supper,” he urged, playfully nudging a couple of the children’s horns. The children laughed, waving to him before they raced together back up towards the Reach.

“Where’s Ena?” Gale was asking as Rolan finally made his way over. The tiefling paused to admire the glints of gold and blue threaded through the elf’s hair, about to inquire about it when Raya turned to point up into one of the willows.

“Ah, she’s a raven now. Right there,” she said with a laugh. The raven cawed indignantly and flew down to settle on her shoulder. There would be no mistaking those unsettling blue eyes.

“Pleased to see you again, Ena,” Gale said jovially. “Your sister will be pleased to know you’re both doing well. At least, I assume you are Ena, your feathers look quite pristine.”

Rolan fought a grin as Raya glanced his way, wrinkling her nose sheepishly before she turned her attention back to Gale. “Where is Aleida?”

“She went directly to Baldur’s Gate. She had some business there to attend to she said. She is so relieved knowing that Rolan, Cal and Lia have been there for you.”

“The pleasure has been mine. Considering all the times Aleida saved us from ourselves, it would hardly suit to miss an opportunity to assist,” Rolan remarked.

The words seemed to strike Raya strangely, her expression dimming as she looked up at Rolan in confusion. Her mouth opened but closed immediately, words not forthcoming as the raven on her shoulder shifted and cawed again. Gale looked between Rolan, Raya and the raven in stark confusion.

“Shall we away to supper then?” he offered brightly.

“I… I am not so hungry. Please excuse me?” Raya managed, her voice shaky.

Rolan now shared in Gale’s confusion. “Do you want me to walk you back?”

“No, you… you’ve done enough.” Raya replied, ducking her head before she made her way away from the pair. Both men stared after her almost slack jawed.

“What just happened?” Gale finally asked.

“I have no idea.”

“We’ll check on her after supper,” Gale decided, gesturing to the path back to the Reach and letting Rolan take the lead. The tiefling started out, genuinely lost as to how Raya had gone from looking so radiant to so diminished in but a heartbeat.

~~~

“Raya? Are you alright?”

He lingered outside her door, a knot of anxiety starting to form in the pit of his belly. No sound answered. He reached for the doorknob but stopped, instead quietly knocking again.

“Please? I’m worried,” he pleaded. No answer came.

He paced back into his room, confused and uncertain. “She’s with Ena. She must be,” he told himself as he paced. Still his mind reeled. He tried to settle down with one of his books but found himself rereading the same passage again and again. The book was soon cast aside as he resumed pacing, then left the room entirely to go search the courtyard.

Twilight was a peaceful time in Reithwin. The gloaming painted the landscape in an ethereal light, fireflies dancing in the distance like heralds announcing the arrival of night over the land. The children were inside by then, soon to tuck in for the night as a chorus of crickets and frogs began its nightly performance.

The beauty was lost on Rolan.

He strode from path to path, searching around the Reach and along the bridge nearby. He reeled back crossing paths with terrain once life threatening, the growing night too like a time he’d been plucked from the jaws of death right there. He spun on his heel, racing back towards the safety of the torchlight around the building. Raya was not the only one with nightmares to fight.

He made his way back through the halls, desperately worried, confused and upset. Few crossed his path, something he would have given thanks for had he mind to have noticed. He paused outside Raya’s door again and knocked softly. No answer came, nor was there any light to be seen from the room. He returned to his room, taking almost an hour to pen but a simple note to slide under her door:

“Darling Raya,

I am not sure where you’ve gone but I am worried. I am sure you are with Ena, and you are both enjoying yourselves, something I fervently want for you both. Please let me know you are well, and I will see you tomorrow I hope.

Yours,

Rolan”

The wizard did not sleep that night, instead staring at the ceiling, lost in his own head about where she could be and what had gone wrong. What had he done this time, he asked himself again and again, sliding deep down into a mental ditch of self-blame and self-loathing, not caring if dawn ever came.

A Wizard's Peace - Chapter 4

Reithwin was abuzz with anticipation. Children loitered in rooms near the where the portal was set up hoping to catch a glimpse of the guests soon to come. Halsin was a gentle warden making sure none of his young charges got in the way or got into trouble as they waited. It made his heart soar to see how vibrant a village once haunted by so deep and lingering a curse was becoming. They had taken over the toll house and created housing for many of the people who had come to work on the rejuvenation. Clear skies, newly blossoming trees and increasingly lush gardens and fields surrounded it. They could see Moonrise Towers nearby, the structure enwrapped with scaffolding as masons and builders worked together to dismantle and rebuild it into something befitting the thriving new life that characterized the area.

Rolan and Raya were mid-conversation when they stepped through the portal, Raya passing through but a step before Rolan. She had barely been able gain her bearings when a figure burst through the doorway and tumbled them both nearly to the floor an embrace that stole her breath.

“Ena!” she managed to squeak.

The tiefling mage almost tripped over the pair, narrowly caught by a hasty Halsin and steadied as he ushered the young man a short distance away from the sisters.

“Forgive the abruptness, I think she’s been building up for days for that,” Halsin apologized, his words warm with soft laughter.

“It would seem so,” Rolan answered, the laughter of several children in the room beyond greeting his words. He straightened his long vest and dusted off his sleeves, soon accepting he and Raya’s bag back from the archdruid.

It was the silence of the twins that caught him unawares. They clung to one another, their shoulders shaking as they cried and held fast as though someone, or something might tear them apart. No words were spoken. Rolan was left in stark surprise by the differences between them: Raya was tidy and orderly, Ena was wild and free. Ena wore but a chest wrap and long skirt while Raya wore a tidy tunic, pants and boots. Their hair color was exactly the same though, he noted. He was sure he’d see more similarities soon.

“Let me show you where you’ll be staying. Give them a moment to catch up,” Halsin offered in a low voice. Rolan turned a distracted but grateful smile to him as he nodded and prepared to follow.

The children started to wander off to other activities as Halsin led Rolan through the halls of the building. “We call it Thaniver’s Reach. It seems a fitting name for a place where we welcome all in need of home and healing. Quite a difference from when last you stood here, I suspect,” Halsin explained as he studied doorways to find the correct ones. “Ah, here. Please forgive the modesty of the spaces. We do our best with what we have. You’ll have beds, a place to wash up and of course there are baths downstairs.”

“Thank you, Archdruid. These are most adequate. I appreciate your hospitality,” Rolan said with his usual polite formality. Something about it made Halsin grin.

“I am sure we’ll talk more later. Please simply be patient with young Ena. She’s not spoken since all that befell her but her recovery goes well. I have no doubt that in her own time she’ll find her way to whatever her future is meant to be,” the druid noted as he prepared to head back into the Reach.

“Recover…?”

“As the Oakfather wills it, aye. You didn’t know? About what happened at the Towers?”

Rolan’s confused expression answered far better than words. Halsin shook his head and put his hand on the tiefling’s shoulder.

“I have many tales I can tell but this one, it is not mine. They have seen a lot, just like we did. Their tales are not on the tongues of bards though. They are personal battles held close to the heart. Let them unfold in their due time.”

“Yes, archdruid,” Rolan answered soberly. Halsin smiled.

“Please, call me Halsin. Go, see how they are doing. When you’re hungry come down to the kitchens I am sure there’ll be something good there for you. Otherwise, please just enjoy what all of us fought so hard for,” he replied, patting Rolan on the shoulder a last time before he left.

The wizard remained in the room for several moments as confusion began the drumbeats of anxiety in his temples. He paced for a moment, concerned and even a little upset. What did he not know? What was he not being told? Was there a secret forcibly being held from him? He stopped himself abruptly and closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

“I have to trust her. It will come out in its time,” he told himself.

He straightened himself one last time and put Raya’s bag into the room next door before he went to return to the sisters.

~~~

The wizard was certain he'd met at least most of the adults at Thaniver's Reach by the time he ever found Raya and Ena again. They stopped him in the halls and rooms as he searched, shaking his hand, introducing himself, remarking on the wonder the place had become. He was painstakingly polite, but every delay layered stress onto his shoulders. A few children took to following him, a young tiefling girl peppering him with questions he did his best to answer indulgently as they walked. After not finding Raya and Ena in what felt like the hundredth place he'd looked he turned to the girl.

"Might you have any idea where the elven woman I came with and her sister are? Red hair, one is wearing a beautiful shade of lavender?"

The child, barely more than seven or eight, giggled. She gestured for him to follow. "Outside, of course! Ena's almost always outside. We hardly ever see her in people form though!"

Rolan arched a brow but only nodded as he followed the child through the halls and out into the sun drenched courtyard. Laughter filled the air as a group of children around the little girl's age took turns climbing into a little wagon for a particularly obliging rothe to pull. Raya was busy helping children into and out of the wagon but he could see no sign of Ena as he approached.

"Did I miss her?" he asked as he approached, the children quieting as they looked up at him inquisitively.

"Miss her? No, not at all," Raya answered, perplexed before she smiled and patted the rothe's side. "She felt like entertaining."

Rolan went wide-eyed for a moment, looking from Raya to the rothe and back before the rothe shoved her nose into his side and snorted. It raised a gale of giggles from the children as Rolan sputtered and looked flabbergasted.

"Great. I am a cow's handkerchief," he announced in his perfectly deadpan way.

Raya studied the tiefling, momentarily doubting his humor until she saw the familiar warmth in his amber eyes and the subtle upturn at the corners of his mouth. Her heart fluttered, her smile brighter as she shook her head at him. "Come, dear Rolan. Let's fill this cart and make this rothe work for a living."

Rolan returned her smile, heartened to see it as he helped the children into the wagon alongside her. The rothe took the children on several playful turns around the courtyard and building before Raya and Rolan got them out and settled again, Rolan creating simple illusions to entertain them while Raya answered their questions about Baldur's Gate and whatever came to mind. It was creeping towards sunset by the time the dinner bell rang and sent the children scurrying inside.

"They certainly keep one on their toes," Raya said as she watched them go. Ena was back in human form by then, sitting on a nearby rock eating an apple as she watched the goings on.

"It's good though, to see them looked after and thriving," Rolan answered. "Promising. They deserve it."

Raya smiled up at him before she turned to head towards her sister. Ena stood up abruptly, handing her half eaten apple to Raya before she padded towards Rolan. The tiefling was confused, looking from her to Raya and back again as he waited to see what she was up to. The blue of her eyes was sharp and intense, shrewdly studying the man before her as she reached up to touch his chin, his ear, his horns, the tip of his nose. Rolan shifted uncomfortably under the attention but did not withdraw or push her away. Ena continued her inspection as she walked around him, touching the tip of his tail with an odd sense of amusem*nt, the back of his shoulders, even giving his neatly bound back hair a light flick. Rolan did not waver, though he did look over his shoulder to follow her movements. Finally, Ena stood before him again, nodding once before she went back to her sister's side. She took back her apple, kissed her sister's cheek and turned to wander inside.

"What... just happened?" Rolan managed to say, completely bewildered.

"I think she likes you," Raya answered slowly, not entirely certain herself. "That or she's simply happy she could study a tiefling up close. I cannot entirely say. If she made you uncomfortable though I am so sorry," she hastened on apologetically.

Rolan shook his head, reaching for her hand to hold with both of his. "It's alright. Truly," he reassured in a soft voice. "I am so glad to have finally met her."

Relief washed over Raya as she looked up at him. "Thank you. For bringing me here, all of this."

"The pleasure and honor are mine, Miss Raya," he answered with a gentle flourish.

Silence lingered as she looked up at him, lost in the warmth of how he looked at her before the bell ringing in the distance rudely intruded on her thoughts. "We should hurry, before we miss supper."

"Supper? Oh, yes, of course," Rolan replied, not having heard the bell at all. He reluctantly let her hand go to offer his arm instead. "Shall we?"

She took his arm, resting her head against his shoulder for but a second before the pair set off inside to enjoy a meal and an evening of rest.

~~~

"Please stop. Please leave her alone. Please..."

The words were soft but Rolan was certain he heard them as he settled down with his lantern to read before bed. The evening had been wonderful, stories shared around the hearth after a hearty meal. Now, though, something was amiss.

"No, stop...!"

He heard shuffling feet in the room next door. Not once were the words he heard loud. They seemed distant, not quite muffled but anguished cries. The panic was vivid, plain even with a wall between them muffling the sound. He got up from the bed, snuffing out the lantern and instead conjuring a small ball of light to guide his way. He was in but his pants, having prepared to sleep not long ago but there was no time to care about attire just now.

"Raya? Are you quite well?" he asked from just outside her door.

"Whatever you want, please, stop hurting her," he heard sobbed from inside the room. He gave it about a moment's thought before he pushed the door open to step inside.

The chamber was dark, the lantern either having sputtered out or simply never been lit. The window was too small to allow in moonlight, the darkness almost absolute but for what his conjured light offered against it. He tossed the mote ahead to light the room from closer to its center.

Raya was across the room, her back pressed against the wall as she stood in her nightdress looking a fright. Terror left her features pale and sweaty as she clutched at someone that was not there.

"I let you do what you need, please, let her go."

"Oh Raya," he breathed as he strode across the room then stopped. Abruptness might be his enemy here, he realized. He slowed, doing his best to keep his voice calm and quiet. "Raya, it's me. It's Rolan. I'm here. You're safe."

"Y-you're a paladin, too. You'll save us," she sobbed, looking through rather than at him.

He did not know how to answer, instead reaching for her hands. The moment he made contact something seemed to break within the elf, a sob tearing from her throat. "She's gone! Where is she?!"

"Who, darling? Who?" he asked, taking her hands in his and holding them tightly.

"Ena, my Ena..."

"She is safe. She is well, Raya. You are safe, too," he answered, drawing closer so he could put his arm around her shoulders.

"My Ena," she wept brokenly, turning towards Rolan and burying her face against his bare chest. He stood shocked for but a moment until he wrapped his arms around her, letting her pain pour out. Every so often he murmured words of comfort to her, tender reminders that she and Ena were safe.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled as her sobs slowed. He shook his head.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," he whispered back. He drew back just enough to be able to crook a finger under her chin, lifting her face so he might see it. "Come, let's sit."

Raya nodded mutely, allowing him to guide her to the bed. She sat on the edge, letting him to fuss over her as he got her a cup of water from the pitcher nearby. He knelt before her as he held it out for her to take. She accepted it, taking slow unsteady sips as she finally noticed the ball of light in the room.

"You made that," she whispered as she watched it.

"I did," he answered as he took the cup back from her and placed it on the bedside table.

"Will it stay?"

"For a little while. Would you like it to stay longer?"

She nodded and Rolan flashed a brief smile. He took her hand and turned it palm up. "Behold," he whispered as he drew a sigil with his fingertip upon it, the nails typical of a tiefling strangely gentle on her skin. A second later a lavender spark flared and then a light slightly brighter than the original mote soon warmed the air above her palm. He made a gesture like wrapping a bracelet around her wrist before letting her hand go.

"This one is yours. You can set it on the table, toss it in the air, keep it in your hand, whatever you wish. It shall last until daylight," he went on in the whispering tone they had lapsed into amid such closeness.

She studied the magical light, mesmerized by how it moved with her hand as she raised and dropped it. She lifted it carefully and set it down upon the table near her cup, admiring how the light chased away the darkness. Rolan rose but found himself startled when she abruptly seized his hand.

"Please don't leave me?"

His eyes went wide, too many emotions hitting him at once and rendering him tongue-tied. The way she asked the question though, the way she held his hand, all he could do was answer with a single nod. Rather than depart as he had thought he would he slipped his hand from hers and went to the other side of the narrow bed. He fixed the pillow and blankets just so then sat with his back to the headboard, making room for her to join him. The state of his dress had not fazed her yet and certainly did not then either as she crawled straight into his arms, her head tucked against his chest and her arm around him as she held him tight. He shifted only enough to draw a blanket over their legs before he settled his arms around her, initially stiff but soon relaxing into the sweet intimacy and comfort of the moment.

"I hate the dark," she said after silence had lingered for a while, the sound of his heartbeat and warmth of his skin soothing the disquieted parts of her mind for now. "I feel like I am back in that awful place."

"You don't have to speak of it if you don't wish to," he offered, gently stroking his fingers through her silky hair.

She didn't answer at first. "I want to," she finally said. "Ena and I were trying to get to Baldur's Gate, to meet Aleida and to go on an adventure with her to find some things for each of us. We thought we were so clever, traveling on our own before we were suddenly stolen from the road. The illithids weren't the worst part. The people were. They kept hurting us, messing with us, threatening us, trying to toy with us to see where we fit in their schemes. They kept savaging Ena once they knew she was a druid and I kept doing all I could to protect her. I fought them off so many times, they decided I'd be a warrior for their cause."

Her words halted, her tears starting to fall anew as she forced herself to go on. "I thought she was dead. They had put a tadpole in my head then stuffed me in a pod with her even though she was limp and not responding. I clung to her, begging her to breathe and screaming for help I thought would never come. The first face I saw that gave me hope was... it was like yours. A tiefling man. A paladin. He shattered the pod and I heard Aleida screaming. Her rage and pain... The others were holding her back so she did not cause harm. She hugged and kissed us both while the man took Ena in his arms. He came back for me a short while later. The pale one, he sat with me until the tiefling returned. He told me I was strong, and I'd be alright. I barely remember much after the tiefling lifted me and took me away."

He said nothing, stroking her hair as she spoke despite the pain the words brought to mind. The more she spoke, the more things made sense about her in ways that hurt to hear.

"Halsin and Jaheira were the faces I saw first when we woke. They had us bundled into his tent and it smelled of lavender and willows. He and a little boy were watching over us and a voice in my mind told me I was safe; protected now. I would not be controlled by the monsters I'd been captured by. They had eased Ena's injuries but her heart; her mind, they were for her to heal in time. Same as mine are for me. Halsin got us back to the High Forest, to our parents who welcomed us but could not understand why we did not recover as they believed we should. This was beyond them. What we'd seen and been through, they struggled to comprehend it. They figured separation would force independence. Recovery. They took the earth from the sky."

"They are together now, though," Rolan braved saying.

"For now. Side by side. It does not make the dark less scary, or solitude easier to abide. I do not like to travel alone anymore."

"You do not need to."

"Hm?" she lifted her head, looking up at him with uncertainty. The puffiness crying had caused around her eyes did little to diminish how her features always captivated him. He touched her chin with his fingertips again, lightly drawing his thumb along it as he spoke.

"There's three of us and one of you. Cal, Lia and I can take turns making sure you never have to travel alone if you'd like. I know I would be delighted to go wherever you need or wish."

"You have so much to attend to. I can't demand that of you or anyone."

"You aren't demanding it, I am offering it. Freely. Until you feel stronger."

"But what of Ena..."

"What of her?" he asked, slightly bewildered.

"Is she free to come back with us? I cannot see her staying in the city but maybe she can visit whenever she pleases?"

"I can give her a key, she can take the portal at her leisure if you so wish. We'll have to show her the way to the Elfsong but otherwise that's no trouble at all."

"Truly?"

He offered a soft smile as he answered. "Truly."

She pushed herself up enough to kiss his cheek before laying down against his chest again, hugging him tightly when she did. "You are a precious blessing, Rolan. Thank you. For this. For everything."

The man could have melted into a puddle right there under such words and affection. He wrapped his arms around her in turn and braved pecking the top of her head with a kiss. "I know your sorrows. Your fears. I've lived similar. We'll see you through this and come out stronger on the other side."

Raya said nothing though he could feel her shift and the curve of her smile as she nestled against him anew. He tucked the blanket better around her and settled in to guard Raya's rest that night.

A Wizard's Peace - Chapter 3

A note written on fine paper in an elegant, upright hand is neatly folded and sealed into an envelope. The emblem of Ramazith's Tower is pressed into the wax that seals it, perfectly centered.

"Dear Raya,

My apologies that it has been several days since we last spoke. I have made arrangements with Halsin as I discussed with you. It is your choice if you wish to travel with me there during a brief visit to set up a portal or if you would prefer to travel via that portal at a later time provided it remains stable. Your comfort in this matter is my greatest concern.

Yours,

Rolan."

"Lia? Where are you?" Rolan called out as he strode through the tower halls.

"Outside!" came the somewhat distant reply that left him turning on his heel to head in her direction.

"I should have guessed you’d be out here. Are you heading to the shop soon? Could I get you to bring this and maybe a bunch of morning glories with it to send with a messenger over to the Elfsong if you are?"

Lia stood up from the flower bed she'd been tending, her look of amusem*nt at her brother's disheveled state unabashed. "I could. I won't though."

"What? Why?!"

"No need," she answered with a glib shrug as she went back to pruning flowers.

"What do you mean no need? Has something happened?" The poor wizard was growing alarmed and distressed as he sputtered his questions.

"I'm already planning to meet Raya for lunch you lump," Lia answered, feeling bad for ruffling her brother's feathers a bit too much. "I can just bring them with me."

"Oh. I ... I had no idea. It... Well then," he stammered, not quite certain how to react. "I would appreciate you bringing the letter then. Thank you."

"Anything else I should tell her?" Lia asked as she wiped a hand on her smock and held it out for the letter.

"No, I think the letter shall suffice. Let me know if she is doing well?"

"I will. And if there's any concerns, I will bring them to you right away," Lia stated, serious for once. "Promise."

"Thank you," he answered, unable to explain the relief he felt at those words. He even bent to peck his sister on the cheek before he went back to his work. Lia shook her head as she watched him go.

~~~

Plain paper was adorned with a flowing script that must have made elvish words look supremely elegant just as they did the common in which Raya had written. The page was only neatly folded, no envelopes or seals to adorn it.

"Dear Rolan,

Thank you for asking Lia to bring such lovely flowers. Now my room sings with a scent of home. I appreciate you both for thinking of me. It would be delightful to travel with you to set up the portal but I feel I will be less underfoot if I simply wait until the work is done. Your kindness is already so generous I would not wish to ask any more than absolutely necessary. I will be serving meals at the refugee camp with Jaheira's children these next couple of days but when you know what time is convenient for you just send word. I shall eagerly await it.

In your debt,

Raya"

Something about the words so beautifully written across the page made his heart ache. It brought his mind back to so many events of what felt like so long ago, flickers of sorrows and frustrations leaving him almost breathless. He took a few moments to sit back studying the astrolabe as sunset cast a fiery glow upon it. It was a kind of beauty that brought him back to the here and now, to the company of a lovely elf he desperately wished to know better. Something made him smile before he got to his feet and returned to his desk, penning another note.

"Dearest Raya,

There are no debts here. Once your sister helped my siblings and I again and again. Not once did she or her companions keep tally like there were checks and balances to be made over it. They helped because they could; because we needed it. We needed them. It is indeed an honor for me to be able to extend the same to another and moreover I am blessed to be here for you in this way.

I shall meet you at the Elfsong on the weekend then. Halsin has offered rooms, if you do not feel it improper to stay for a night or two. It would allow you more time with your sister. If you do not feel comfortable, I can always ask Lia and Cal to join us.

I am glad you enjoy the flowers. Suddenly I see them everywhere. I wonder why that is.

Yours,

Rolan"

He sealed up the letter and raced down the stairs and through the portal. It was luck and a little gold that allowed him to catch the messenger on their last pass of the day so the missive would be delivered promptly.

Now he had but to wait.

~~~

A day passed with no word or reply. When midday passed on the second day Rolan was about ready to tear himself to pieces with anxiety.

"I cannot see why she wouldn't have gotten the note. That messenger is highly reliable. I haven't missed any letters, have I?" he asked Cal for the umpteenth time that day alone.

"You are making me anxious now. Will you settle? Worse comes to worse you can always walk over there, see if all is well. It's not like the Elfsong is far from the shop."

Rolan pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes as he breathed slowly in and out. Cal was right after all. His siblings always did manage a calm he never quite seemed able to wholly master.

"Right. Of course. I shall do that," he finally said, straightening his grey robes and smoothing a hand over his hair. Cal could only shake his head as he watched Rolan walk away.

"Hopeless..."

It was one of the caretakers for the books that waved him down as he entered the shop. "Rolan darling! Over here!" she stage whispered. One did not raise their voice around books so tender in nature. The wizard fought a sigh but turned to head her way.

"Yes, Mimi?"

"This was mixed in with our goods," as she handed him a letter affixed to a small bag. "Came in yesterday noon. Apologies for not getting it to you sooner."

His brows went up in confusion until he spied the elegant scrawl spelling out his name. "None needed! Thank you, Mimi," he answered almost a bit too loudly. He whispered an apology to the books before he hastened back up to his office.

"Dear Rolan,

This weekend then. If you wish to bring your siblings, I shall not say no, but I feel we'll be quite appropriate given Halsin and Ena at minimum shall be there. I cannot picture you being anything but gentlemanly either way. It will be nice to see you again.

Please find attached some 'sun drops'. They are made with honey, lemon and a tiny bit of lavender. I saw a candy maker selling them and they have always been a favorite. I hope you enjoy them as well.

Do give my regards to Cal and Lia.

Warmly,

Raya"

He could not stop smiling as he stared at the letter in his hand. Gone was any anxiety he'd had from thinking communication had broken down. He beamed as he reached for the pouch, opening it carefully to remove one of the slightly sticky candies to taste. He'd not been sure what to expect but the subtle mix of flavors proved pleasant and comforting, even surprising as he sat back in his chair to savor them. His mind strayed to imagining sharing the candies with Raya, wondering if maybe her lips might taste as sweet. The heat that rose in his cheeks made him clear his throat and seek a distraction as he hastily returned to his paperwork. The weekend would be there before he knew it and he could not wait.

~~~~

“Think he’ll fall over his own feet this weekend?” Cal asked as he leaned against the dining table. It was early yet he and Lia were both up, snuggled into their pajamas and robes. They had plenty of time to enjoy their breakfast while waiting to see their brother off.

“He hasn’t completely done so yet, shockingly. Maybe she’s good for him,” Lia answered, feet kicked up on the chair beside her as she sat back and enjoyed her tea.

“Oh, don’t mistake me, I don’t want him to fail I just love seeing him getting all flustered.”

“That is pretty funny,” Lia admitted with a grin over her mug at Cal. “But maybe this time he can go without a lot of that. He’s so nervous to meet Ena. Frankly I want to tag along to meet this sister but he said our services are not required,” she went on, imitating Rolan in fittingly exaggerated fashion.

“Wasn’t she at the wedding?” Cal asked as he took the chair Lia was using to put her feet up on and sat down.

“No! Isn’t that strange? I mean, I didn’t see her. I remember seeing Aleida of course, and Raya, and their parents and even the brother but not her. What do you think she’s like?”

“Probably just like Raya. They are twins after all. Reserved and polite, all of that.”

The two were just about to get deep into their guesswork when Rolan appeared in the doorway, pausing as though he’d lost his train of thought before he continued to the table.

“I think I have everything. You both will keep the shop running smoothly?” he asked, distracted as he took a glass and filled it with water to drink quickly.

“Just as we always do!” Cal answered with his typical easy smile.

“And if you need me—”

“You’ll be just a portal away in Reithwin and the key is secured in your desk,” the siblings answered him in unison. “We know, Rolan. I promise all will be well here. Go. Enjoy yourself,” Lia went on.

Rolan looked so torn as he studied the duo. How much they had grown in the past year. They could do this. He could do this. He nodded once to the pair and turned, about to start for the door before he turned back.

“Come here, would you both?”

Cal and Lia looked at each other in confusion but stood to meet Rolan. He wrapped them each in a hug, squeezing them tightly before he studied each. “Thank you both. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

With that, Rolan was gone, off to meet Raya for their trip. Cal and Lia were left blinking at where Rolan had just been.

“Who was that and what did they do with our brother?” Cal asked.

“Maybe she really is good for him,” Lia replied, unable to help how she smiled.