Clashes in the Moonlight

Aiden paced the leaf-strewn hollow restlessly, his shadow leaping like a caged beast in the fickle moonlight. Tonight held the promise of stolen hours with Isolde here under the stars. Yet unease still troubled him after the disturbing confrontation over her brother Cadell two days prior.

Since discovering Cadell's misuse of Isolde's secret grotto, Aiden wavered about sharing his ominous findings. Protecting her delicate happiness posed the wisest course short term. But deception by omission eroded the earnest affection blossoming between them like persistent weeds.

Isolde arrived in her customary swirl of silken cloak with an eager smile that faltered taking in his grim welcome. Hesitantly she approached his restless figure.

"What darkens your mood tonight, my heart? You seem positively thunderous." She brushed tentative fingertips along his tensed forearm. "Come, sit beside me and share what weighs you down."

Hoping to delay uncomfortable revelations a bit longer, Aiden attempted lighter topics as they reclined together on their favorite lichen-crusted log. But her perceptive gaze noted his distracted responses. Finally she cupped his cheek insistently.

"Please Aiden, I sense a deeper turmoil in you left unspoken. As one who hides herself, I know the perils of suppressed troubles. Speak openly with me now." Her eyes pleaded for returned trust.

Sighing heavily Aiden captured her slim hand, searching for suitable words. "In faith you see me too clearly, my lady. Indeed I recently uncovered certain...improprieties...which in honor I should share, yet dread causing you pain."

Isolde's gaze remained steady. "I am no frail flower to be shielded from harsh truths by well-meaning men. Please Aiden, simply tell me plainly what discovered misdeed spurs this melancholy."

Reading her resolute sincerity Aiden drew a bracing breath. Choosing his next words carefully, he related finding her brother Cadell occupying her hidden sanctuary with crude comrades and casually discussing conquests of other maids. Isolde listened attentively, her fair skin paling further as indignation flared in aquamarine eyes.

"That lecherous cur!" she burst out at last, springing up to pace the leafy carpet. "I should turn him into the worm he resembles for sullying my private refuge so!"

Her simmering fury surprised Aiden who expected vulnerable tears rather than outraged vengeance. Reminded anew of her complex passions, he watched Isolde continue seething with fiery resentment as she kicked stray twigs in her path.

"And to think he berates me for secrets when that snake crafts still viler deceptions!" She sent a branch spinning violently into the bush with a guttural cry.

Aiden intercepted her swirling march, gently restraining her flailing arms. "Careful in your anger, my heart. We must respond judiciously or risk the very exposure we wish to avoid."

He searched her stormy gaze intently. "Though fury feels warranted, retaliation cannot undo what passed unseen before. We must simply prevent future abuse." He smoothed back windswept ebony hair from her flushed cheeks. "Will you walk with me awhile to regain perspective before deciding our wisest course?"

Isolde hesitated, chest heaving from residual temper. Finally she bobbed acquiescence and allowed him to guide her along a narrow deer trail meandering deeper into the woods. There they moved in brooding silence except for nocturnal creatures rustling nearby.

Eventually Isolde's rigid fury melted into pensive melancholy. She halted beneath a towering recurved oak and turned to Aiden with quiet remorse. "You must think me irrational acting the petty shrew just now. In truth I thought myself past such fits of temper already."

Aiden tucked one jet lock behind her delicate ear. "You have endured much provocation and strain, my lady. Even granite cracks under sufficient pressure."

He curled her into the sheltered alcove of his shoulder. "Rather I admire your fierce passion defending what you love. Simply channel it toward justice, not destruction."

Isolde nodded tiredly against his tunic laces. "In this as all, your wisdom guides me back to equilibrium, Aiden. I shall seek to reclaim my hidden bower somehow without exposing awkward secrets."

She met his eyes then with renewed purpose. "But that raises the question - can we maintain innocuous ruse ourselves if Cadell frequents these very woods for trysts? Our continued secrecy may require utmost care."

Unease skittered down Aiden's spine at this sobering truth. Indeed one ill-timed encounter here could prove their undoing. With effort he kept his voice light. "Then we adapt, my lady. The forest offers myriad lovely groves for us to Meet discreetly."

He lifted her chin tenderly. "But future locations matter little if your sweet company graces them. My only imperative is thawing this wintry heart as promised." His privates admission brought answering warmth to her tired eyes.

"And you succeed admirably, dear heart." Impulsively Isolde stretched up to meet his mouth in fierce promise. For endless moments they moved together with familiar ardor. But when Aiden reluctantly withdrew, apprehension still gnawed his gut.

For several pvensive heartbeats he debated his next words. But she must understand the mounting risks to judge fairly. Tucking her head beneath his chin he confessed softly, "I cannot dismiss my concerns fully yet though, Isolde. Your Lord brother poses real jeopardy still."

She shifted inquiring eyes up to meet his uncertainly. Aiden forced himself to continue. "Specifically, the matter of certain... jewels...discovered by Florin which may link Cadell to deception and coercion of local women."

He watched her sharply for any telltale reaction. When she paled further, dread blossomed bitter and choking in his throat. Isolde looked quickly away, a tumult of emotion warring across her proud features - shock, remorse, resentment. Finally she inhaled brokenly and turned back, resignation haunting aquamarine depths.

"I hoped never to cause you pain, Aiden. But in fairness you deserve to understand my full history with Florin's troubling discovery." Her words emerged numb and flat.

Aiden braced himself as she began relating the unvarnished truth of her past dalliance with the hedonistic Lord Cadell and its messy aftermath. With each callous detail revealed, his heart fractured further. Isolde and Cadell - sister and brother bonded by blood. The notion turned his stomach.

By the end of her bald confession, Aiden could barely meet her eyes, so profound was his disgust and disappointment. Were their months of deepening affection only her attempt to erase past sins through him? Had she ever truly cared for his hopes and dreams?

As these bleak thoughts threatened to overwhelm, horror slowly transformed into molten fury. That she willingly surrendered her virtue and dignity to such a loathsome cad! He spat in disgust and turned away, unable to tolerate her pleading gaze any longer.

"Aiden please! I was so young and lonely then. Surely you can forgive one youthful indiscretion long ended?" Her broken entreaty only fueled his resentful anger. Whirling he fixed her with caustic glare.

"You played me false from the start with your pretense of innocence and talk of trust. My only consolation is ending this odious affair immediately."

Her stricken sob barely penetrated his haze of bitterness. Without a second glance Aiden strode off, his world crumbling to ashes behind him. The woods echoed bleakly with his vow never to waste another moment on this faithless enchantress and her vile ilk again.