Reinette felt Dúlinnor's hand move to her face, gently wiping away the stray tears on her cheeks. His lips were against her forehead a moment later, leaving a lingering kiss behind. She slid her eyes shut, taking in the feeling of his lips, before he pulled away.
"I would not have you apologize to me, as I believe I told you yesterday. Reinette, you are anything but an idiot. You should not be so hard on yourself. We all do things that we wish we could take back or change. It is how we learn."
Both hands took gentle hold of her face, and she snapped her eyes up to meet his.
"Lady Ringil's words were cruel though held some truth to them. The lives of Mortals are but a mere blink in the eye of my kind. However, that does not mean that we do not care for you. It is just how we see the passage of time. I am not angry with you for leaving the city. What troubles me is the fact that you seem to think so little of me."
Her eyebrows knit together in confusion - she didn't think little of him... but he quickly explained further.
"If and when I decide on marrying someone, whether it be you," She blushed. "...or some other person that I've not even met yet... it is my decision and I would not take it so lightly. Once one of my kind marries, it is for life. Whether or not both live forever or just one... we do not move on to another. Our heart is forever bound to the one that we marry. So, even if that ever came to pass between us... I would never be with Ringil nor any other until the end of my days."
She felt like her eyes were permanently locked onto his own, his hands falling to her own to take hold, giving them a kind and reassuring squeeze. "And... I would no longer be immortal in such an instance and so I would die eventually as well. Ringil knows this. She was only trying to hurt you. I will speak with her soon. She should not be acting so. She knows that I want nothing to do with her."
Reinette felt her heart clench at the words. Her eyes followed after him as he stood, sliding his sling on to his injured arm. She stood as well, wiping away the few remaining tears with the back of her hand. Taking in a shaky breath, she offered him a smile.
She watched him for a few moments, before approaching him and wrapping her arms around his midsection in a hug. Sometimes, she forgot their height difference, but in this moment, she couldn't help but smile, slightly amused by it. She rested her head against his chest, mindful of his arm as she took in his scent. "Thank you..." she said, her voice slightly muffled by his tunic. She truly was thankful - Dúlinnor was always kind, always looking out for her.
And he'd gotten her thinking about a few things... Relationships. Even marriage. That wasn't something that had run through her head before, but she couldn't say that it sounded entirely bad to her. She'd have to bring it up with Thurilostel the next time she saw her. She didn't know what she was going to hear when the Elven woman explained it to her, as she was blissfully unaware of the process.
Pulling away from him, she smiled up at him, before stepping back and taking hold of his free hand. "Come on, lets go out and relax on the deck." She lead him out the door, quickly returning inside the flet for a moment to grab her guitar, before making her way back out to the deck. Over the past year and a half, they had gotten a set of outdoor chairs for them to sit outside on. She made her way to the open one, sitting across from Dúlinnor, a true smile on her face.
"I learned a few songs while you were gone," she began, laughing slightly. She played a few chords, before beginning to sing, her voice floating through the air. The song was almost like an Epic tale sung in Sindarin, a story of the woods. She didn't know all of the meaning to the words, but she was proud that she had memorized it. If she had to say, it was her reigning accomplishment of her time spent in Middle Earth. She got lost in the words, happy for a chance to play again. She hadn't spent much time playing since Dúlinnor had been hurt, but the tension in her muscles seemed to release as she sang, her voice a soprano that carried through the woods around her.