Jaek

Night was approaching. Jaekel was not too surprised when Talon called for them to stop for the night. He was reluctant though to release Rune's arm. But she pulled away from him and headed to go do her chores as Niliah prepared what she needed for cooking them all a meal.

 Talon disappeared quickly into the woods, carrying the pail used for fetching water and singing softly as he went. With a bit of a sigh, Jaekel went to get his and Rune's tents up. Of course, between him and Rune the chores about the camp were soon done.

 The meal tasted delicious. After walking so long, Jaekel had gotten quite an appetite. But even more, he found himself wanting to talk to Rune. Who seemed to be having difficulty looking at him at the moment.

 She was ready for him to start courting her, wasn't she? Somehow, though he had long looked forward to this moment, now that it was actually come, he was quite nervous. And a little afraid he might end up just asking her to marry him without any real courting first.

 He leaned back against the rock he had sat beside. And Rune glanced at him, her cheeks reddening again. But this time she met his eyes. She smiled. "You look troubled."

 "Troubled isn't the word I would use. A little trepidatious… But I suppose I'll gather my wits soon."

 "Gather your wits? What about?" She sat up, "Is something bad about to happen? Is there anything –"

 He patted her hand. "Its not bad. I'm just extremely nervous is all."

 She met his eyes and he saw the understanding dawn in her eyes. He had not meant for this to happen right now. Her lips though curved up as she whispered. "Oh… is it…that is…" She bit her lip, looking away. "You and I…"

 "Yes. Its… uh, its mutual." He raised her hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles. "My dear friend, may I have the honor of courting you – unofficially since I am unable to ask your father at the moment?"

 She laughed, "I don't think my father would have anything against it. I don't think its occurred to either of my parents that we could –"

 "Oh. It hasn't." He chuckled, feeling himself relaxing.

 She swatted his arm. "But I think my parents would accept it pretty quickly. They love you like a son. And… well, they would trust you with me."

 "A trust I will do my utmost never to break." He leaned his head against hers.

 She was quiet for a moment. Then she suddenly stood up. "Agh. This… this is… it is still quite strange to me. And my heart is beating too fast! Is this normal!?"

 "I… think so?" He flushed, as he released her hand. He stood up as well. "I mean I am more used to it, and you still sometimes make my heart race. Its been racing this whole conversation…"

 She ran her fingers through her hair. And shook her head. "I… am going to bed. I'll talk with you in the morning." She paused before she decked into her tent. "I… am really not at all upset. Just embarrassed."

 "I know." He grinned. "I'm a little embarrassed as well. We'll just take our time and figure it out at our own pace, okay?"

 She smiled at him before decking into her tent. He turned and went into his tent, falling down on his bedroll. He grinned to himself. It was a bit of a relief that they had talked a little about it.

 His sweet little sorceress and he had finally gotten together. And now he would just need to focus on making sure she never regretted the fact that he was the owner of her heart. In many ways this was more nerve-wracking than the thought of the people he would someday need to rule.

 It was difficult to fall asleep. He was so excited that he ended up staring at the walls of the tent for a long while. When he finally fell asleep his dream was one that he had long held dear.

 So, somehow he actually woke up feeling rather refreshed.