Maree Lumariale's Story

Al'Kaera listened with rapt interest while Ana told of her abilities. He had never been particularly good with animals, himself. On the occasion he might have gained a companion of a wolf or other beast, but for the most part he and they avoided each-other.

He could not help but quirk a brow when Ana excused herself. He could tell the signs. Her nervous glances towards Nachytsm, who was glancing over and occasionally staring. Tact was clearly not a strength for either of them.

"Nonsense," Al'Kaera said to his wife. "I think in different circumstances, she would have been more than willing to carry on what would have surely been quite a fascinating conversation." He bore no sarcasm in his voice; he would have also liked to hear them talk.

"But, I think she has other things on her mind..." He chuckled lightly, looking pointedly at Nachytsm.

"Why don't you go keep her company, Nachytsm? Maree and I have some things we need to discuss that would best be done so in private."

Nachytsm had been oblivious to Ana's reasons behind leaving. He was conflicted all the same. He found that he liked her presence. At the same time, he was relieved. With a slight sigh he looked over to Nel briefly before he heard what Al'Kaera said.

"Er," he replied. He didn't want to reconflict himself again so quickly. But he knew Al'Kaera would want his privacy.
"Okay," he then said. Standing up, he pets Nel on the head briefly before making his way out.

Once he was standing outside the doors, he stayed there, with his back to the rest of the room. He didn't know where Ana had gone. He wasn't sure he ought to try finding out. Maybe he would do best to be alone for a little while, he decided. Go on patrol maybe.

This was a good thought.

Nachytsm turned around to face the rest of the chamber outside the dining room, a half-smile on his face.

Maree arched a brow inquisitively at her husband's statement. They had need to talk? Yes, she thought. They did need to speak but Maree had to wonder if Dhaelhel had spoken to Al'Kaera. The Ascension was supposed to have stayed between the goddess and herself. Her husband would not do well with the outcome of Naar's defeat, if they were to make it to that point.

Maree had asked Dhaelhel to not speak a word.

The elven woman's hand fumbled for the fork and she lifted it. Maree pushed her food around on her plate. The smell of it was making her stomach turn. She did not want to eat but she could also hear that Al'Kaera had not touched his food either.

"You should eat, my husband. You need your strength. Tell me, what is it that we must discuss?" Maree said with a timid smile on her face.

Al'Kaera could not help but smile slightly at Maree. She was quickly mastering her loss, by attuning her other senses. That she could tell he hadn't eaten just by sound was telling.

"I do not wish to eat while you suffer hunger," he replied. "Surely you need more strength than I, as you bear a great burden." He paused.

"I... spoke, briefly, with Dhaelhel," he then said. "He told me what we must do, in order to remove Naar from you. What we must create... and destroy." He spoke with a level tone. He had to be strong for her.
"I know we have seldom spoken of having a child. It seems... sudden, for me. But it will provide a door for our future."

He did not know what else to say. They both knew what must be done. In the circumstances, he did not simply wish to come onto her. It was strange, attempting to speak of such an intimate, important thing like this.

Maree allowed Al'Kaera to speak without interruption. So, that was what Dhaelhel had told her husband. There was a profound sense of relief that washed over Maree.

"I looked into Dhaelhel's memory. I saw Naar in his true form; The Old God of Death, Aderas," Maree said to her husband in a soft voice.

"In turn, he saw me and the god was pleased. I should have been more careful of my actions but seeing you again distracted me from taking precaution," Maree said as her hand slid across the wooden table. It was a slow and deliberate move. Her smooth fingers found her husband's hand and she grasped them firmly.

"I do not regret it," she said to him before he could interrupt. Somehow her blind eyes found his.

"Naar placed a seed inside of me, a piece of himself that feeds off of my very essence. I cannot eat because the very smell of fresh food sickens me, I cannot sleep for the fact that Naar shows me his dreams, and I am growing weak from fighting against the evil that wishes to take over my very soul, Aderas."

"There has been evil on Terra before and I have vanquished it with the help of others, but those were lesser evils. The Old God of Death is unlike any force that I have ever faced before. He touched this world and I felt the darkness spreading. It was frightening beyond anything I had ever felt before. And now that darkness is growing inside of me, Aderas. I fear that I will fall to it and never come back, that you will lose your wife."

"Dhaelhel has told us how to rid my body of Naar, of how to contain him inside of me," Maree said in a wavering voice. A sadness was creeping into her words as she spoke of what they had to sacrifice. Maree's free hand fell down to her belly.

"I almost cannot bear the thought of killing your child, Aderas. Our child. There is a small part of me that rather die than take the life of your firstborn," Maree admitted.

And then she added in a whisper," ... but I do not want to die. I cannot die. I am not allowed to die just yet, Aderas. I do not know what to do."

A tear slid down her ivory cheek.

Al'Kaera listened to his wife tell him of her experience with Naar. It hurt him to know that she was wounded, again, by his actions. He would not show that pain however. He knew it would only make hers worse, and possibly entertain the foul Naar.

When she took his hand, he returned the gesture by taking hers in both of his own. He wanted to show her that he was there for her.

He felt another pang of guilt regarding her inability to eat, and another that she could not sleep. He had been through trials to reach Terra, but now Maree suffered.

Then she spoke of what they must do. Al'Kaera released her hands, standing and kneeling beside her. Then he wrapped his arms about her and closed his eyes to share in her blindness, if only superficially.

"You need not sully your hands with taking an innocent life," he intoned. "I have the blood of a world on mine. One more makes little difference, even if it is of my own kin."

He stooped in to place a brief, passionate and sorrowful kiss upon her lips. "You have borne the burden long enough. I will do whatever it takes to see you rid of it."

Maree looked around with her blind eyes as if she were looking for something. When her hands found her husband's face, Maree's face turned upward at him. Another tear rolled down her cheek.

"I cannot ask this of you, Aderas. I cannot. Terra is my world, my home, and I am the one that will bear the burdens that come with it," Maree said to Aderas.

"You have beared the burdens of your home and now it is my turn, my beloved. You cannot carry the weight of two worlds upon your back," she told him as her fingers stroked over his skin, and through the hair at his temples.

"I make this choice for myself, Aderas..." Maree said with her voice wavering into sobs.

"And I will selfishly make this choice for our future. I am not ready to die and leave you just yet, Aderas. I cannot... I cannot."

Maree's gentle hands drew Aderas closer until their lips met again. It was a slow and sensual kiss, one they had not yet been able to share since reuniting. However, there was a tinge of sadness and sorrow in Maree's kiss. She choked on a sob and deepened the passion.

She was going to drown herself in Aderas; in her love for the elven man. It would chase away all the horrible but inevitable events to come, at least for that very short while. His warmth and his heartbeat would drown away all the nightmares to come.

Aderas wanted to fight his wife's words, deny what she said and place himself in that position. It destroyed him to see her hurting so. But she spoke with such conviction, he could not bring further sorrow upon her by arguing about so terrible a thing. When the time came, he would take action. He would not see her soul destroyed by taking an innocent life.

When Maree kissed him, Aderas closed his eyes to delve into it. He played one hand across her back to pull her in more closely. With the other he stroked her hair, running his calloused hand down the length of her silk covered back. He touched her lip briefly with his tongue, but he did not press forward.

Instead, he broke away. He did not leave her, but he distanced himself from the kiss. He placed one warm hand upon her cheek and stroked her chin with his thumb.
"Am mathanuon," he said, deep and earnest. "Let us join in a moment of peace... take the first step to rid you of sorrow. Bring joy back to your life." He brought his lips to hers again, warming himself to what they would do.

It had been decided. The one she was bonded to would bring another life into the world with her, and yet they would have to destroy it. Maree's heart was shattered. Her own carelessness now caused her to pay the price of taking Aderas's first child away from him. Not only his first child, but hers too.

"Li mathanuo la," Maree whispered against Aderas's lips as her answer. "Having you near always brings joy into my life." Her hand pressed against the middle of his chest. She could feel his heartbeat beneath the palm of her hand. Her own heartbeat matched it.

"I will be with you, Aderas Keegan, my bonded," Maree said to her husband. After her consent was said, the woman's hand began to wander on his body like they had not in the past. The dip and rise of his muscles beneath his clothing made Maree curious of Aderas. Her soul ached at not being able to see him in that moment. Maree could not deny the sensuality of not being able to see him, either. She seemed more attuned to him than before and it made the moment more intimate.

Maree's arms wrapped around her husband and slipped beneath his shirt. Her fingers trailed over the flesh of his back. And then Maree stopped and pulled away from Aderas.

"It will be a son. My kind always give life to sons first, and then daughters," Maree told Aderas. Her eyes drifted down in acceptance. The child would likely die even before it was born into the world.

Al'Kaera's eyes shifted briefly when Maree spoke words of love to him in his own language. She seldom spoke in it, but when she did it was always a pleasant surprise. It was more meaningful, especially now that so few were left who knew it.

Her hands wandered his body. It was a strange sensation, but not unwelcome. She spoke again, and he wished that he could look into her eyes. They both anticipated this evening. Al'Kaera looked upon it with mixed excitement and worry.

When she pulled away, he took her hands in his own to stop her leaving him entirely. "Do not fret over our child, love," he said to her. Bringing her back to him, he wrapped his arms around her waist and back. Softly, he brushed errant strands of hair away from her lips before he kissed her once more.

Then, he stood and lifted her into his arms. "Let us... make our union at long last true." There was no longer a ritual or rite for him to perform, no family or council to request askance of. Only Al'Kaera and Maree existed in that moment, so far as he was concerned.

He took her from the dining chamber, holding her as if they were newlyweds. He had made sure that one of the bedrooms was cleaned and prepared earlier in the day.