Eldwyn spent the rest of the next day practicing his new ice powers. It drained him more, but he became better at wielding it. His attacks became more powerful and his aim improved in a relatively short amount of time. After that, we had a salad dinner in their chapel and I watched all the relics closely as they communed. Everyone was smiling and engaged in jovial conversation and I was once again reminded by the differences between that and my royal life. In the Sentria kingdom, everyone had an agenda and it was up to you to parse out whether someone was friend or foe or something in between. In the Village of the Wind, everyone was honest and open with one another. They were all family. You could relax without having to worry that there was someone who would plunge a sword in your back if you made the wrong move.
That night, I couldn't get to sleep, and it wasn't due to thoughts of the future. I was happy with my present without feeling the need to force it into being anything other than what it was meant to be. It was an unfamiliar feeling that I needed to wrestle into understanding. There was always something I had to chase, and while I still had the Oblivion Witch to thwart, I truly had faith that all would be well.
I lied on my back with my hands behind my head and looked up at the wood beams holding up the roof of our small wooden home. I pictured all of the relics I had gotten to know over that short time: Murton, Hura, the many relic children who played and danced at the festival. They reminded me of who I once was as a kid, playing in nature and talking to animals, and it put a smile on my face. The next thing I knew, I saw Eldwyn's face come into view as he climbed on top of me.
"Eldwyn?" I said, sitting up, but he gently pushed my shoulders down.
"It's okay, knight," he said, and leaned in and gave me a sweet and soft kiss on my lips. "Let's stay in the present."
I wanted to talk about this. All of the implications that might arise from us being together, but at that moment I only wanted what was true, not what was rational. My responsibilities to my kingdom aside, I cared for Eldwyn more than anyone. I could be my authentic self without fear of judgment, and all I wanted to do was be with him. Roles and Betrothment be damned.
Eldwyn kissed me again, and I ran my fingers through his curly black hair. We grew more passionate by the second and I grabbed him by the waist, feeling his lithe body as he circled me. I could take it no longer and I got on top of him. We stopped kissing for a moment and stared at each other lovingly. I had never felt this way before and I never wanted it to go away. He unlaced my shirt and I did the same for him, then we pulled them off clumsily and eagerly, laughing quietly in the dreamy night. We rubbed against one another, his legs wrapped around me and it made me press harder. I caressed his face as his hands trailed down and pulled off my pants, and for the first time, we made love so powerfully that even the gods could have felt it.
I woke up in the morning with Eldwyn laying on my arm, curled next to me. We were tangled together and I knew for a fact that I had never been this happy. He still had that look of innocence from when I had first met him in the Winding Forest and I kissed the center of his forehead. I couldn't resist.
"That's my true eye, knight," said Eldwyn, his eyes still closed. "That's where I receive my messages."
"Is that so?" I asked, looking at it as if an eye would appear and blink at me.
"Yea, it is."
"Let us get breakfast, we must be on the road soon."
We got out of bed and got properly dressed. I put on my Lorian armor, had breakfast with the relics in the chapel once more, and went around saying my goodbyes to the relics and the relic children. Eldwyn left to relieve himself as I packed the items Hura gave us for the journey. There were antidotes to cure poison, elixirs for strength, and food to sustain us. Murton said that we were only a day away, but she reminded us that one could never be too sure about where a path led.
When Eldwyn returned, he came with a pink palor flower in hand that he put in my hair by my right hear. "It's for good luck," he said.
"Eldwyn, it's a flow—" I stopped myself from arguing with him, seeing how pleased it had made him. It was a nice gesture and if it made him happy it made me happy. "Let's away." I mounted Brio and lifted Eldwyn up to sit behind me.
"Take the Victory Trail east," said Murton, looking us over. "And follow it all the way there. The tower will be waiting for you."
"Yes, Murton, and thank you." I nodded to him and he nodded back. I knew that he had been a teacher and parental figure to Eldwyn, but he also had become a teacher to me during my short stay there and no amount of words could properly detail how grateful I was for his hospitality and lessons.
"And when I return," said Eldwyn, "I'll learn to harness my portals. I promise Murton." Eldwyn wiped a tear from his eyes and tried to maintain a stiff upper lip.
"That's if you return, young relic." Murton left it at that and we left the Village of the Wind with all of the villagers coming out and waving us farewell. It was bittersweet saying goodbye and I wouldn't have traded my time there for all the riches in Askeran.