Chapter 23

When Kate woke, it was with a wide smile and a deep, contented sigh, and she couldn't quite bring herself to open her eyes. Not yet. She felt better than she had in ages, warm and well rested, with such a sense of peace and comfort, she didn't even mind the muscles still stiff from a day's ride. That sweet dream she'd had didn't hurt either; cuddled up with Aduil under the stars, her head resting on his chest, the soft but steady sound of his heartbeat in her ear as he—wait.

If that was a dream, why could she still hear it? And smell that unmistakable mixture of fresh-cut grass and mint that always seemed to follow him around? Granted, it was overlaid with a good dose woodsmoke and horse, but…It was a dream, wasn't it?

Eyes still closed, she warily reached up and felt around, like something out of a stupid Donald Duck cartoon, until her fingers met a strong chin and soft lips which lifted into a smile, and she froze.

Aduil's chest rumbled under her ear as he chuckled. "What are you doing?"

She jumped back with a squeak as if stung—except a sting would have been so much better, or a bite, or a scratch, even a slap in the face. Those she could handle. But it couldn't be that easy, could it? No, she had to wake up hanging off Aduil like a blackout drunk, and worse, she didn't even have any booze to blame.

"Are you alright?"

Kate buried her face in her hands with a groan. What had she been thinking? "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to fall asleep on you like that."

Aduil laughed. "It is well."

"No, it's not." She let her hands fall. "You must have been so uncomfortable, why didn't you wake me? Or at least put me down or something?"

"It was no trouble. And you needed rest." He shrugged. Then, with a grin added, "Though, if you feel you must apologize for something you may do it for…" He trailed off, searching for words.

"What? What did I do? Oh, dag nabbit, don't tell me I drooled on you!"

Another low chuckle as he shook his head. "No, I do not believe so. You only—" he cut himself short and made a loud snoring sound.

Kate gasped. "I do not snore!"

"How would you know? You are asleep when you do it."

"Because I—hmm." He had a point. And honestly, he wasn't the first to tell her she snored, she'd just never believed it. Still, he didn't have to look so amused by it. She raised her chin before finishing, "Fine then. Sorry for snoring."

He waved it away. "It is no bother. In truth, it is cute."

"Then why bring it up?"

He raised a brow. "You are no longer worrying over the night's rest, are you?"

That startled a laugh out of Kate. "Oh, is that what you were doing?"

"It is," he said with a smug smile. "Diversion, one of my many, many talents."

"And so humble, too!" She grinned. "Alright mister talented, why don't you divert me to breakfast?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kate didn't have any more nightmares after that first, which was both a relief and a disappointment, and for the same reason. The warmth and safety, the comfort of falling asleep in Aduil's arms... She knew if she had the excuse to do it again, she would jump at it, flipping a big middle finger to that voice of reason telling her how much worse it would make things, how much more it would hurt to leave if she let herself get closer to him.

So, it was better that way; if she didn't have an excuse to seek his comfort, she could stay strong. And she would, she would hold her ground, she would not allow herself to fall.

Aduil didn't make it easy.

Of course, he never had, but when the last thing she saw before sleep dragged her under was his warm smile, when she woke to the quiet, cheerful tune he hummed as he broke camp each morning—and refused to let her help—when they swapped stories and he spoke about his family and people with such love and joy… Oh, and when he laughed, even just at some stupid little joke, and there was such a lightness to it that her heart just wanted to fly away… How could she not fall?

Even Taleria itself seemed to be working against her, tempting her more than once to stay, with such wonders as she'd never find at home, things the books never mentioned.

Like the Starfire Rain.

Kate had just gotten the fire lit—with a little help from Aduil—and had settled down with a comfortable sigh as dusk turned to dark, when it happened. That was when she saw the first flakes gently drift out of the sky like burning ash.

"What's that?" she asked, because they were way too big to have come from her piddly little campfire.

Aduil had been about to answer when she scrambled out of the way before a fat ember could land on her, and he laughed instead. He reached out to catch it, explaining, as the flake hit his palm and flared from a glowing orange cinder into a brilliant green flame, that they were harmless, just a lingering effect of a buildup of magics from wars long past.

She was a bit dubious when he suggested she catch one for herself—demonstration aside, it looked like fire—but curiosity won over caution, and she gave it a shot.

She gasped with a grin the moment it touched her skin. She'd expected heat, but all she felt was a pleasant tingle as the Starfire flake blazed a dazzling pink before dissipating in a puff of mist like a soap bubble.

Kate leaped to her feet in delight as the Starfire rain fell faster and faster around her, bursting in cheerful colors wherever they struck, and flung her arms wide, spinning and dancing with all the careless glee of a kid in the first snowfall. Which gave her an idea.

"You're absolutely sure these are safe?" she asked.

"Entirely."

So, she stuck out her tongue and set about trying to catch a flake.

"What in the world," Aduil asked with a laugh, "are you doing?"

She might have answered, but that was the moment she caught one, and closed her mouth instead, smacking her lips in thought.

"Hmm. Tingly. And kind of sweet. Like pop-rocks. What?" she added when she noticed Aduil watching her with an odd sort of amused fascination. "You've never wondered what it tastes like?"

He just shook his head and, laughing, rose to join her as she danced in the Starfire Rain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The days passed, taking with them some of the bitter cold that had only seemed to deepen since they set out from the Meadowood. Or maybe Kate was just getting used to it. Either way it was a good thing.

Less good though, was that all the early mornings and late nights, and the hours on end spent on horseback were starting to wear on her. She found herself falling asleep a little earlier every night and waking just a little later every day. And no matter how much rest she had managed to get, by mid-afternoon, she was exhausted again. Every day she felt a little weaker, almost less… substantial, somehow. It was a little worrying, and Aduil hadn't failed to notice, but she had brushed it off when he'd asked, saying that she just wasn't used to traveling so much. A few days of rest in a real bed and she'd be right as rain. Because that had to be it, she'd reasoned. She couldn't think of anything else it could be.

On the sixth day of their journey, they reached the River Siné, crossed on the Erchon ford, and joined a well-traveled road on the other side. Soon, they began passing other travelers, some on foot, others on horseback and a few with wagons. They were mostly human, (and that was a bit of a strange shock, how long had it been since she'd last seen another human?) though there was the occasional set of Creesa, a few families of Gnomes, and one lone Tolar who wore ranger's leathers, hummed a cheery tune and winked at Kate as he passed. She gave a shy little wave in return.

They hadn't been on the road long when a man in full armor pulled his horse alongside Aduil's and spoke to him in a language Kate didn't recognize. The man's posture was stiff and formal, his eyes never settling as he spoke, constantly scanning the crowds and surrounding landscape. Whatever he was saying, it didn't seem like just a friendly chat, and Aduil definitely didn't like it as his hand strayed to rest on the pommel of his sword. A few more words passed between them before Aduil gave a grim nod and the man rode away.

"Goblins," Aduil said in response to Kate's questioning look. "A hunting party has been spotted in the area, last seen fleeing east."

"Which is the way we're going."

Aduil nodded.

"Wonderful," Kate muttered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The air was still when they had stopped to eat, and rest the horses in a small, somewhat secluded clearing not too far from the road, so Kate didn't think anything of it at first when they settled near a patch of wildflowers like oversized silvery bluebells. Not until the wind picked up as they were about to leave.

"Do you hear that?"

It was quiet at first, a tinkling sound like high pitched giggles from some tiny creature, but as Kate followed the sound to its source, it grew louder and changed, sounding more like the soft, clear notes of wind chimes.

It was the flowers.

Every time the wind knocked the fragrant buds against one another, they let out pure ringing tones, and when it got them all at once, it almost sounded as if they were singing.

Kate laughed, kneeling in front of the flower patch for a closer look. "Are you kidding me? This is amazing!" She turned back to Aduil, regarding her with a tilted head and a small smile playing at his lips. "You see, this, this right here, this is what I'm talking about. Singing flowers! Taleria is so cool! Oh, I want to see it all! If only there were time." She let out a small wistful sigh.

"Why can there not be?"

"What?"

"You could stay," Aduil offered softly.

He looked so earnest, so hopeful, she had to look away. "Aduil…"

"No, I have been thinking it over," he said, his words tumbling out, "you fear for your mother, yes? For she does not know where you are, yet if there truly is a way for you to return home, could you not simply use it to send a message in your stead, tell her that you are safe, you are well, and you will return when you are through here? Then you could stay—for a time at least, and we could tour Taleria together, for there are many things I have not yet seen either and I… well, I could imagine no better companion for such a journey. You could stay."

She returned her attention to the flowers, quiet now as the wind had died down, and brushed a hand over them, setting them off again as she thought.

It was a tempting, it really was, and sending a letter to her mom wasn't a bad idea. Although, what would she even say? 'Hey mom, sorry I missed our lunch, I've gone to hang out with elves in Taleria, see you when I get back?' She shook her head. Yeah, that would fly about as well as a lead balloon.

She could just say she gone on a spontaneous trip and was traveling with a friend to see the world. It wasn't technically a lie, so long as she didn't say which world she was seeing. It wasn't much better than the unfiltered truth, but maybe it was close enough. If it meant her mom would be okay, then maybe… She wanted to say yes, wanted to stay, more than anything she'd wanted in a long time.

So why shouldn't she?

For once, she didn't have an answer.

Kate stood, brushing dirt from her leggings, and turned to face Aduil.

"You really want me to stay?"

"Oh, I do. I truly do."

She nodded slowly. "Okay. I'm in."

"You…will stay?"

She nodded again, and Aduil's smile could've lit the world. He crossed the space between them in two quick strides and swept her up into a spinning hug, laughing all the while.

"Put me down, you goof!" She giggled. "I'm getting dizzy."

He set her on her feet and quickly stepped back, then shot a hand out to stabilize her when she swayed.

"Forgive me, I—I got excited," he said, but he couldn't stop smiling.

"It's alright," she said with a laugh, giving her head a little shake to make the world stop tumbling around, then turned to head back to the horses—with only a slight stagger. "Come on, next stop, Havenvale. And then…" She grinned back at him "Who knows?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Of course, it wasn't actually the next stop. Havenvale was still about a week away, but the next two days, as they continued following the Queen's Road, passed in a flash of laughter and excited chatter as they added to their ever-growing lists of all they would see and do once things were squared away in Havenvale. Finding the Palace of Stelarion was near the top of Kate's list, though Aduil wasn't too keen on the idea. At least not until she admitted that, maybe he was right, because given the random nature of curse it was under, it could take years to hunt down. After that, he was all for it. Go figure.

Even the others they passed on the busy road seemed caught up in the joy—there were few who didn't smile or wave or nod a greeting as they passed—though that may have had more to do with the midsummer festival about to kick off somewhere down the line than Kate and Aduil's cheery smiles. Still, it was easy traveling, those two bright days, with no sign of trouble; no Urut, no goblins, not even any annoying buzzing flies to dampen the mood.

Even if that security was provided solely by the armored warriors patrolling up and down the road, Kate still couldn't find it in herself to worry when the shadows grew long, and their path led away from the crowds and back into the wild green. She had Aduil, and they had the whole of Taleria spread out before them, just waiting to be explored.

What could go wrong?