"I wonder what Dylas has planned?" Avani wondered out loud the next morning as we washed up after breakfast.
"Well, My Lady, in just a few hours, you'll have the opportunity to find out," I said, smiling at her as I took a cup from her to dry.
"I suppose... I hope I can persuade Illuminata to come. At least it's her day off today, so it's just a matter of tracking her down. You'll come, too, won't you?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," I said with a wide grin.
"Meaning that whether he succeeds or fails, you expect to be amused one way or another?" she replied drily.
"My Lady, I'm hurt by your accusations. Do you really think me so insensitive?" I said, adopting a wounded air.
She just grinned up at me, then setting her washcloth down, she reached up with still-damp hands, twining her fingers in my hair as she pulled me down for a long, slow kiss. "I'd say you're very sensitive," she murmured into my ear as she felt the rapidly-enlarging bulge in my pants pressing against her.
"And I'd say you're trouble, My Lady—perfectly delightful trouble," I replied huskily, as I swept her up into my arms and carried her back to bed.
************
We found Illuminata by Dragon Lake about half an hour before midday, sitting on a rock and gazing pensively into the mirror-like water. She started as we approached her, and said with a sad smile, "You two always look so happy together. I wish...." Then she blushed and turned back to the lake with a sigh.
"Hey, Lumie," Avani said gently, laying a hand on the elf's shoulder. "I wondered if you'd care to join us for lunch at Porcoline's? I'd be so happy if you would."
Lumie hesitated, still gazing into the water. She sighed again, saying, "Sure. I mean, it's not like I have anywhere else to be, right?" She flushed red and looked quickly at Avani, saying hastily, "Oh! I'm sorry. That sounded so rude. I didn't mean it that way... I'm just... I guess I'm feeling unusually lonely today. Never mind me. I've just been reminiscing, and that always make me feel blue. But I'd like to come, if you really don't mind."
"We'd be delighted," Avani replied, holding her hand out to pull the elf to her feet. The three of us strolled through the town and to the restaurant, arriving just as the sun reached its peak overhead.
When we walked in, Avani looked quickly around and immediately spotted Dylas watching for us at the counter. He came over, looking slightly flustered and anxious. Illuminata started when she saw him, turning scarlet as she looked at him, then Avani, and then back at him before looking at the floor.
"Oh! Ummm, hello, Dylas," she said nervously.
"Hi, Illuminata, Avani, Leon. This way, please," he said, leading us towards the back of the restaurant.
To my surprise, though, he continued on through the doors connecting the restaurant to Arthur's offices. He held the door as Avani passed through, then myself, and finally Lumie trailing slightly behind. The room was empty except for a man I didn't recognize—there was no sign of Arthur or any other visitors. I looked curiously at the stranger for a quick moment. He was an elf, I could see that right away by his long, slender ears. He had the willowy build common among elves, as well. Shaggy, blue-black hair hung down over his forehead, nearly covering his cobalt blue eyes as he turned to look at us.
His face lit up, and he exclaimed in a deep, resonant voice, "Posy? Is it really you?"
Lumie stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening. "D-Deasún?" She ran forward, throwing her arms around the man's neck, a strangled sob escaping her throat as she held him tightly.
He lifted her up and spun her around, looking deliriously happy. "My precious Posy! I thought I'd never find you! I thought I'd lost you for good...." And he pulled her to him, holding her tightly as they both wept and smiled and embraced each other, their faces beaming with joy.
I looked at Dylas and Avani, saying in a low voice, "I think we should leave these two alone. Don't you agree?"
Avani slowly nodded, gaping in astonishment at the sight of the normally urbane elf acting like a giddy schoolgirl. Dylas started to lead the way back to the restaurant, but the elven man hastily set Lumie down and sprang to grab his hand with both of his.
"Wait—before you leave, I want to say thank you, sir. Without your help, I might never have found my Posy again."
Lumie looked up at the man, saying, "Dylas? How did he...?"
"We have a lot of catching up to do, pet," he smiled down at her. "I'll tell you all about it in due time." She hesitated, then returned his smile. He took her hand and led her to Arthur's small dining area, where I could see a splendid lunch had been spread for two. We left them alone and returned to the restaurant, where Dylas guided us to a private table set for three and headed off towards the kitchen.
Avani looked at him in wonder when he returned with our lunches. "What... what was that all about?" she asked.
He sat and sipped at his milk for a moment, then he set his glass down. Looking at his hands on his lap, he said, "After... after you found me with Illuminata and got so mad at me—and you had every right to be, I know—and you told me that I needed to make things right with her before we could be friends again, I spent a whole day trying to think of what I could do to begin to repair the damage I'd done. It was hard—thinking's something I'm just not very good at, you know. But I kept at it until it started to get dark and my head hurt. Then finally it dawned on me... she'd been willing only because she was so lonely. I thought I remembered someone mentioning that she'd had a lover once, so I asked around—discreetly, of course. I didn't ask Kiel or Amber, at least," he added, looking up at Avani.
He paused for a moment, taking another sip of his milk before continuing, "Anyway, it was Dolce—or rather, Pico—who finally shed some light on it. Apparently, one day while Dolce was visiting Amber, Pico heard a noise coming from Illuminata's room and snuck in there. You know how, being a ghost, she can be invisible and intangible whenever she wants. So anyway, Pico found Illuminata sitting at her desk with her head on her arms, crying and holding a worn photograph of an elf man. She described him to me, and that was my first clue.
"The next thing I did was to find where she came from. Meg was able to help me with that—elves are kind of clannish, I guess. So then I spent day after day going to her old village and talking to people there. I found that the elf in the photograph was a man named Deasún, and that he'd been her lover for many years, until he just up and disappeared one day, breaking Illuminata's heart. That's why she left her home and came to Selphia—to try to forget about him. I thought I was screwed then, because no one seemed to know anything about him after he left.
"But I lucked out again—I just happened to stumble across an elderly elf priest who recognized his name and description—and had even seen him fairly recently, within the past year. Then it was just a matter of tracking him down from there and persuading him to come to Selphia and meet up with Illuminata. It seems that he'd left because he felt he was getting to be too settled and had some pretty bad wanderlust. But that was years ago, and lately he'd been missing her and thinking about her a lot. He hadn't had any luck finding her, though, since I guess not many people in her village knew where she'd gone to, either. When I mentioned that she had stayed single all that time, he got really excited and couldn't wait to see her again. So I arranged to have him come here, and talked Arthur into letting me borrow his office so that they'd have a quiet place to meet and catch up. I... I really hope it works out for her," he said, looking down at his hands again. "I feel really bad for what I did. To both of you."
I happened to glance out the window just then, and spotted the elf man strolling past the restaurant, Lumie clinging to his arm and gazing rapturously up at him as they chatted, oblivious to the world around them, and I said with a smile, "I think the early signs are very favorable."
Avani was dumbstruck for a few minutes, just staring at Dylas with tears in her eyes as he sat staring down at his hands, not meeting her gaze. Finally, she said, "Dylas, that was... that was incredibly sensitive of you. You managed to figure out just what she needed, you put forth a lot of effort in obtaining it, and you presented it to her in a very charming manner. I... I'm impressed, I have to say."
He looked quickly up at her, saying hopefully, "Then... does that mean... are we friends again?"
She stood up and walked over to him, then knelt down next to him and folded her arms around him, holding him tightly and resting her cheek against his as she laughed, "Yes, you ridiculous, wonderful horse—very good friends. I couldn't be more delighted. Thank you, Dylas." He turned scarlet and looked away, but he looked happier than I'd seen him look in a very long time indeed.
Things were beginning to get interesting.