Smug

Elswyth stroked the hair out of her sleeping husband's face. His sleeping face looked so peaceful and innocent. Her lips curved up at the sight – he looked a lot more relaxed than he was usually. Always doing his best for his people and those he cared about, Heron did not always take the time to relax like he should. Well, now she was his wife she could help him out more than she could before.

A bit of movement caught her eye and she turned her head slightly to see two eyes peering out of the darkness at her. It took her a while to realize that it was Heron's snake. Kimplewig was coaled near their head and its head was slightly raised as it slowly tasted the air. It was no longer quite as small as it had been when he had first got it, having now grown to be about half an arm's length and thick around as a large coin. Its eyes blinked at her slowly. Then it lowered again, closing its eyes.

….That would take some getting used to. She liked Kimp well enough but sleeping in the same room as a poisonous snake was a bit…

Not all familiars clung to their masters so much. Kur's familiar wandered from his side a lot. But Kimp never left Heron's side and was often somewhere on his person. And sometimes, she had noticed, on her as well.

Whenever they held hands it wasn't abnormal for the familiar to slither down his arm to coal about both of their wrists. She wondered why it did that, but figured from what little she knew about familiars that it was responding to Heron's emotions.

She turned her eyes back to her wizard. Smugly, she laid down beside him taking his hand in hers and holding it to her bosom. She was proud of the fact that this man was hers.

….She really did adore him. Enough she was even willing to become a queen if she had to. That thought made her sigh. She knew that that was going to be a difficult journey for her. Quite a few of the nobles were already aghast that he had taken her as a bride – for numerous reasons. But they had been unable to voice it greatly.

While they were able to say that she wasn't the best suited, or that he would be better off marrying a noblewoman, they weren't able to stop him when he'd already decided. Marriage after all, was the domain of religion so if the priests were willing to wed them, and saw no problem with the union than the nobility couldn't really say anything...

Heron stirred, his eyes blinking open. He froze at the sight of her face so close to his in the dark and then smiled, "El? What are you doing awake still…it's still dark out right?"

"I was admiring my husband's sleeping face." She smirked at him. "Its not been that long." Only about an hour or so.

His eyes were already closing again as he mumbled sleepily, "Well… get some rest as well darling…"

She thrilled that he'd called her that and hugged him fiercely. His arms wound about her waist and his breathing evened out again. For a while more she just enjoyed his closeness, but his soft breathing lulled her to sleep.