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Date Posted: 18:34:47 02/13/03 Thu
Author: Delwyn en Aragon
Subject: By the lagoon

Night had fallen on the Elvish city of Tel'Oira Eldamar. Many elves filed in and out of the banquet hall. Delwyn was not among them. She had crossed over the river hours ago. Delwyn had worked for a long while on fashioning arrows, each arrowhead bound carefully to the shaft which was then fitted with the stiff feathers to give them flight and aim. It was clear that she missed her weapon working. It had been far too long since she had forged a sword or a shield of armor. She'd completed enough arrows to fill a quiver by night fall.

Leaning back against the tree for a moment, her dark eyes watched as the moon crept out from behind the treetops. She unlaced the half-bodice and then her breeches. Kicking off her boots, she waded into the water and then slipped completely underneath. In the cool darkness she found solace. A morbid thought crossed her mind. Was this how Lirael had felt before she died? In the space and time between panic and death? Those brief moments when acceptance of death brought peace to the mind?

She surfaced with a gasp, eyes wide and searching her surroundings. A soft sigh was released as she reaffirmed in her mind that she was the only person there. Delwyn knew there were wards, but she did not think they were close enough to give her more than passing notice. She swam around in the clear water for a short while until she had lost enough body heat that she needed clothing again. Delwyn climbed back onto the bank, the silvery water dripping from her nude form. A hand rested upon her belly, the womb that would never be filled. She noticed that her hips were becoming more obvious. Her fingertips traced over the slightly protruding bones and she sighed again.

Her clothes were once again donned, and she crawled up onto the rock and leaned back against a tree to braid the damp black waves into a single, thick braid.

As they often did, her thoughts drifted to Adaron. He was no more fair than his kindred, yet he was far more precious in her eyes. Her voice rose in song, a beautifully mournful tone that could have brought tears to the eyes of mortals, and perhaps even to those that were not. Her emotions so full in her words as it ebbed and flowed from her throat. Eyes closing, she hugged herself, arms crossed across her chest to rest upon her shoulders. "I feel your fingers, cold on my shoulders. The lightest touch that sends chills down my spine..." Her legs pushed her to a standing position, her eyes turning to look up at the waxing moon. "Watching your eyes as they invade my soul. Forbidden pleasures, I can never make mine. At the touch of your hand, at the sound of your voice, at the moment your eyes meet mine. I am out of my mind, I am out of control, full of feelings I cannot hide. It's a sin with no name, like a hand in the a flame, but it's true all the same--it's a dangerous game."

Hopping down from her rock, she began to make her way back towards Tel'Oira Eldamar. Her song continued. "A dark dream that has no ending. It's so unreal, yet I wish it were true. I dance with Death while I wave a mystery tale. So lost and lonely, I don't know what to do. Will the ghosts go away? Could I will them to stay? Either way there's no way to win." She crossed over the rocks across the river carefully then. "All I know is I'm lost, and I'm counting the costs. My emotions are in a spin. I know I am to blame. It's a crime and a shame, but it's true all the same--it's a dangerous game." Her voice was allowed a bit louder once she wasn't so focused on crossing the river. "You don't speak. Not one word, but the words are in your eyes. Your silence speaks loud and clear all the words I don't want to hear." She stopped in place then and continued singing, perhaps to the stars, perhaps to the one she knew heard her voice but to whom she could never speak with so boldly. "At the touch of your hand, at the sound of your voice, at the moment your eyes meet mine. I am losing my mind, I am losing control, fighting feelings I can't deny. It's a sin so proclaimed, yet I've no remorse and no shame. Fighting fury and pain, I may yet go insane; still all reason proclaims....it's a dangerous game."

I know you can hear me, she thought to herself, and I am so sorry

It wasn't too long before the city came into view and she reached the bridge. The thought had crossed her mind that perhaps she would stay there until dawn, but she knew she needed sleep. "Oh my love," she began softly in Elvish, "You don't know how much I need you." The coming years she knew would be hard, but she would learn that the coming days would prove more difficult than she ever knew.

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