They Met In The Fall

{6} The Same Moon And Stars

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Six.

The Same Moon And Stars

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Oren could never recall ever being this nervous. He'd never been one of those people who paced, or wrung their hands or chewed their nails down to the quick when the adrenaline started pumping. Except now, he found himself doing all of these things, body exhausted with the days events and the celebration of his Crowning, he looked up at the moon and wished yet again that he could garner as much energy from it as he did the sun.

He'd trusted Puck to do this task, knowing that this simple job could mean everything for him, Puck had accepted. No questions asked. While he'd done nothing to earn such loyalty from his am-fear-fair, Oren noted to increase his leave, and to ask him about his partner and seedling.

The World Tree had never looked so foreboding, the moons rays casting shadows all over the clearing, the plants charged with almost electric energy. Reflecting his emotions almost perfectly, the anticipation and ... almost fear he felt over what might happen on this night caused his power to surge, and Oren -hoping the other Winter Fae weren't paying attention- fumbled to keep it under control.

He felt their footsteps almost a mile away, his senses were that heightened. And a relieved grin escaped when he felt four footsteps instead of two. She'd come. She'd gotten his message, and she had accepted.

But he wasn't out of the woods yet.

From the moment he'd seen her at the festival, dancing so closely with someone else, he knew he could not stay away and silent any longer. She'd tried to hide it, but Oren had always known her better than most, and he could see how much she was hurting. He recognised it, because he felt it himself.

He tried to respect her wishes, he knew the risks exactly, and he no longer cared.

One set of the footsteps stopped, and the others continued through the tree-line, and Oren couldn't stop himself from catching and holding his breath like he was about to be pushed underwater. He balled his hands in the trousers he was wearing, to hide the quivers they were exhibiting.

Then she was standing directly in front of him, only two feet away.

The time apart had not dulled her beauty.

Some flowers take ages to bloom properly, but when they do the others surrounding it simply pale in comparison, and to Oren this was always how he'd described Leliana's beauty. Her skin warm, browned, and kissed by the sun with freckles adorning her face. Her eyes hadn't changed at all, they were still that molten gold he remembered, and they matched the roots of her brown frizzy hair exactly; he knew that when she had her blossom this gold was the same, remembering with a catch of breath how the petals had felt beneath his fingers. Her beautiful face was open, expression unguarded, and as desperate as he imagined his to be.

Her eyes were watery, and she let out a tiny laugh, sniffing, "I... got your message." She told him, holding up his golden rose.

He dragged his eyes away from her face, and settled on the rose dangling from her fingers. Suddenly he couldn't hold on any longer, and he caught the rose in his own fingers and threw it over his shoulder. His arms stretched out, then wrapped around Leliana and crushed her to his chest. Burying his face in her neck, running his fingers gently over her hair, it took him a moment to realise that he was whispering things into her skin, and then couldn't recall what he'd been saying.

Instantly she responded, her arms wrapped around the bottom of his back, and he felt her smile against his skin, and the wetness of tears staining his shirt. Laughing, he realised that he'd been crying too, pulling slightly away from her to wipe the tears away, "It is okay Lia, I am not going anywhere." He whispered, fully meaning it. However deep down he was guarding himself against rejection again, and wasn't sure if he could handle it again.

But Leliana smiled too, and he felt his whole body relax with warmth and elation as she placed a small but calloused hand on his neck, "And neither am I." She breathed, leaning in to brush her lips against his. It was gentle at first, lips brushing each other with gentleness and love, until suddenly Leliana -and he- couldn't hold back anymore.

It was as if he'd been set aflame. His body reacted, feeling searing heat with every touch, every brush of her lips against his skin. His hands tightened in her hair, and her clutched at the back of his neck, trying to bring him ever closer to her. Suddenly they sunk to their knees, as if their legs gave up under all the stress and couldn't hold the pair up any longer. She used the momentum to throw her leg around him, and suddenly he was lying on his back, her legs either side of him and lips everywhere else.

Of course, they eventually needed to breathe.

She fell to his side, legs tangled together and breathing erratic, they both looked up at the same stars, the same moon that had been there mere moments before suddenly seemed brighter. As if the nature of Avalon came together to show its support for the two Fae, who against all odds, had found each other again.

She was the first to speak, leaning her head on her hand with her elbow on the ground, while her finger traced patterns of heat on his skin, "I wish to be the first to say that... I'm so irrevocably sorry for what I did to you. To us. It was terrible of me, and ever since I have regretted-"

"Shhh- Lia," He sat up, pulling her with him to look her seriously in the eye, "I never blamed you."

The expression on her face was a mixture of pain and confusion, then she looked down at her hands, now folded in her lap, "Why?" She whispered, looking back up to his eyes, "I have done everything to deserve blame, and hatred."

This time he placed his hand on her cheek, and she leaned into his palm, eyes closing briefly before meeting his again, "Because I love you." He surmised, as if it were the easiest thing in the world, "And that has not changed."

Her eyes turned gentle, and she cupped the hand still on her cheek, "And I love you," Pressing it gently before she leaned closer, her eyes suddenly determined. The gold burning and rolling, catching the reflection of the moon and stars, "I will do whatever it takes to restore your faith in those words. I swear."

Oren swallowed, a tiny flicker of the mischievous grin passed across his face, and he held out his pinky finger, dropping his hand from her face, trying to make her smile.

Leliana's grin always managed to snatch his breath away, as if it were the light of the sun and the giant blue sky, shining just for him. She caught her pinky-finger in his, and the two Fae sat together under the moonlight, and the immense protection of the World Tree as it swayed with the gentle breeze, with their left hands clasped together, and the others in front of them with the comforting weight of the promise on their fingers.

And, about five paces behind them, the golden rose lay, forgotten. In all the commotion neither of Leliana or Oren had thought to collect it, and there it stayed, gathering dirt and dust for weeks. Until -much later- a slender, tanned hand (with blood-red, sharply manicured nails) plucked it off the ground, running fingers over the golden surface for a moment before pocketing the rose, and sauntering away. 

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Can I officially state that I am in love with my chapter titles. They are literally cuter than the actual story???? How????? ALso just wanted to say that I know I have many stories outstanding right now but I have too many ideas that I just want to get out! 

Pls comment!