“A family that has been friends of my own for quite some time. I am quite close with each in our own little way which is nice no matter how much time has passed. I certainly hope that our families continue to keep close ties in the future.”
It had been quiet for them since their return to the small estate that Eli’yon kept up in return for him and Eleney’a’s living arrangements there. Life had, for most purposes, returned to normal. There were very few hints to allude anyone to their noble births with the way in which they worked about the estate. It was true, Eleney’a did have a small household that would assist her and Eli’yon had a farm hand or two to assist him. They’d occasionally allow a wayward traveler to spend the night within the abode before venturing out in the morning with a renewed sense of warmth and a full belly. The visions that Lord Duskhollow had implanted in his mind prevented him from obtaining a full night’s sleep since their departure however. He hadn’t mentioned any of it to Eleney’a. It was in part because of his desire to not want her to worry, but another part of his pride swelled with keeping such things a secret. He had never wanted to ask for help of anyone.
The sun was beginning to fade beneath the line of the trees that lay near the edge of their property and Eli’yon took that as his cue to return to the homestead on the estate. Valion had flown over the treetops at a speed which had made Eli’yon’s loosely fitting shirt ruffle wildly. It was rare that the beasts experienced combat these days. Eli’yon had delayed his deployment to Argus temporarily and his menagerie had settled in somewhat nicely to daily life, or so he had liked to believed. The hunting for their food had satisfied what he could provide in way of bestial urges. The wolfhawk landed in front of the estate with a hasty gust of wind and Eli’yon quickly slipped from the fur, patting the beast on the head briskly before shooing him off. He was trained well enough to know the grounds and where he could and could not travel to. It had given the beast master little to worry of. “Neya?” Eli’yon called as he stepped through the doorway and ran a hand through his newly tangled hair as a result of the flying.
There was a soft sizzling sound that seemed to echo through the small estate, the delightful scent accompanying it would allude to what she was doing and where she could be found before her voice carried through the hall to respond to him. “In the kitchen!” She was unlike her sister and many of her noble lineage in many ways, one of which was such a simple little thing but a difference made nonetheless. Eleney’a stood before the large oven with her thick, long, dark brunette hair messily tied up in a bun and very simple dress covered by a dainty apron. As he would enter into the room, she would not pause in her preparations of their meal, however she would glance over her shoulder to offer him a smile. “Welcome home, I hope the day was profitable?”
Eli’yon made his way through the modest estate with his nose leading him moreso than her voice. The dried mud on his boots trekked through the manor somewhat that followed his path through the halls. He arrived to the kitchen with a rather humble greeting as his hands loosely found themselves about her waist and his lips quickly pressed themselves to the crook of her neck. “I was expecting you to be wearing...less,” he spoke in a rather teasing manner as he pulled away from her to seek out the icebox. The magical contraption did an interesting job at keeping things and fresh and cool. His hand reached for the pitcher of mead and he poured himself a hefty helping of mead. The liquid was more than halfway consumed within seconds of the pour and he found his slightly dehydrated body only temporarily restored. “The fields are turning nicely.” He responded with a light shrug as he brought himself to sit at the small table a few feet from the oven. “And your day?”
She gave a slight pull away from him at the touch to her neck from his lips, but only because the sensation was a bit of a surprise and it brought slight goosebumps to form over her skin. There was a soft giggle that aided in showing that she wasn’t doing it maliciously. “It’s merely a piece of fabric, Eli’yon… though, I suppose I could have done without it and simply worn the apron,” Her response came almost as a musing for herself, something to remember in the future. “However, we have had some others coming and going today, I did not wish to flaunt myself before them without you here.” She turned around now to face him, listening as he continued on about his day a bit. “I’m glad to hear it, you’ve been putting many hours into it for it to fail. As for me? Quite uneventful -” Her words were clipped as she noticed the mud that had been tracked through over the floors.
With a determined pace, she moved to stand before him with hands upon her hips, a spatula sticking out from her grip. “Eli’yon Starfury! I spent most of my day tidying this pigsty up and you cannot find it in yourself to remove your boots before coating my floors in dirt?”
Eli’yon’s attention had drifted partially to a freshly baked loaf of bread on the table and he quickly took it into his grasp as he tore a rather large piece away. He placed the loaf back onto the piece of cloth that it rested on and he took a bite of the slightly warm bread. “You could have flaunted yourself before them,” Eli’yon admitted with a hushed chuckle as he swallowed the bread that remained within his mouth. “I am not opposed to showing others what is mine.” His voice was amused as his features mimicked the reaction of such as he smiled up at her as she approached him. Though when he had noticed her reasoning for doing such, he paused abruptly. His gaze dropped as he brought the tankard of mead to his lips once more in an effort to avoid the subject matter. “You do have a lady or two you can request to clean the floorss, Neya.” He responded somewhat swiftly. “It’s just simply some dirt.”
Her lips pursed and brows furrowed, an expression that often would oddly resemble her sister. “Yes, I am quite aware that it can be cleaned again by another, but the fact that I already spent my time doing it originally!” She was truthfully upset but it was not a serious discussion as her lips tugged into a grin and she founds herself chuckling. The spatula was placed to the table and her hands reached to undo the simple ties at her shoulders that would hold her dress in place, causing the fabric to fall from her form and simply remaining the apron. “But you do no not mind showing me off, hm? As yours, you say?” She asked, turning the conversation once more to turn the conversation to what it had been prior.
He indulged himself with another sip of the cool liquid as his pale eyes watched her intently. The falling of the fabric from her frame had caused his attention to watch its descent in an entertained manner as his eyes drank in what was visible of her frame on their way back up to find her face. “I do trust you to handle your own,” he replied to her as he placed the nearly empty tankard onto the wooden table. “Should some man find it within his being to do more than look, but I trust that those who come into this household would not.” His words were confident and his features held a similar look as he smiled up at her in a cheesy manner. “Not many so eager to find themselves in combat with one who has devoted their life to such things.”
“Of course, Eli, my loyalty is all yours,” Two fingers came to rest under his chin as she lowered herself down to place a soft kiss to his lips. “However… now that I have your attention, you’ve enjoyed some food and more to come, I believe it might be time for us to have a certain conversation that has been put off since our return. Before we become a bit… distracted…” Her gaze lowered to regard her mostly naked form as she stood straight once more and anxiously awaited his response.
Her initial words had caused him to smile somewhat but her continued voicing had caused that smile to disappear just as quickly as it had come. “You mean the conversation that your sister and her dog encouraged us to have?” He asked as his body slinked back into the chair somewhat. His hand moved upwards to indulge himself into his nervous tick as his fingers twisted the hair of his beard around them. His gaze was upwards and on her, waiting her confirmation despite knowing the answer to his question.
Eleney’a offered him a knowing look, her brows raised ever so slightly as she met his gaze. “Yes… that one,” She began before heading back to the oven. Her entire backside was now exposed as she had removed her dress, which she realized too late might have been a bit of a distraction and probably should have waited until the conversation had been completed. The food was removed from inside the oven and whatever pots or pans were on the stovetop were set aside. As she spoke, she went about preparing their plates. “You know, he is to be my brother-in-law and while he may seem a bit stuck on his high horse, I do not presume him to be such a bad man… and save for a few quips at you during our dinner, I could think of only one reason why you would be so against him…” Her words were a bit somber in nature, hinting at his remaining feelings for Elenaris but not speaking them loudly.
Her words had caused him to grumble beneath his breath in a quick and dismissive fashion as he pushed himself from the seat. Her current placement was more than enticing and more than inviting for him though he resisted his urges temporarily to grab the pitcher of mead and return to his seat with a loud thud sound of his body settling into the chair once more. “I do not still love your sister,” Eli’yon quipped loudly and in a forceful manner as he poured himself another tankard and ripped another serving of bread from the loaf. “How can you not sense that there is darkness within that man? Call upon your studies of the Light and feel something. He will bring nothing but despair and I believe you think that too.”
She stopped in her movements as he spoke, taking a moment for a steady breath and then she resumed her actions to pick up the plates and turn to place them upon the table. It was a simple meal, some meats and veggies with potatoes, but enough for them. “Do I sense a darkness? Yes, of course I do...but that darkness is also inside my sister as well and I think that perhaps the two of them together may do good things for her. At least keep her in line, keep her sane to some degree so that she does not fall further into the shadows. Who knows, I may be thinking too highly of Elenaris and her newly engaged but I know at least one thing is that while you may be disagreeing in their ways, she’s carrying my little nephew and if he brings nothing good but that one thing, I am grateful for that.” She went about picking at the food as she spoke, lifting her gaze to him ever so often to ensure he was listening. “And the way you acted at the dinner spoke tones of a different song… if your feelings were as deep as I imagine they were, it is okay for them to not completely to disappear.”
Eli’yon drew in a shaky breath and released it as Eleney’a brought him the plate of food and placed it down before him before moving to sit across from him at the tiny, wooden table. The food smelled delicious, as did it normally when she prepared it and his hand grasped the metal fork quickly to poke around at the contents of the plate. His opposite hand once more gripped the tankard and he took a healthy sip before placing the wooden mug onto the table. “Neya,” Eli’yon breathed as he placed the fork down so that a hand could move to hold the bridge of his nose. “You speak of my love for your sister but by the Light, I’ve no idea what you speak of. I had a military alliance with your sister and nothing more for as far as I can remember,” he admitted to her, his hand dropping away to reveal his pale hues to her and prove his honesty on the matter.
She had taken a few mere bites of the food but as he spoke, she completely stopped in all movement. “You..what?” She stuttered out, her lips falling apart slightly as she continued to try to comprehend what he was saying. “I’m sorry, what do you mean you do not remember anything more than that? Did you have an accident and did not tell me of it?” She stood and rounded the table to run her fingers through his hair in a manner of examining. “Did you bump your head?”
He seemed to become rather irritated when she rose from her chair and began to run her fingers through his hair in search of a possible wound. She wouldn’t find one however as he as there was no wound to be discovered, just slightly knotted hair from the flying he had done on his way home this evening. “This is not a joking matter,” he replied softly as he glanced upwards at the woman. His face appeared to be solemn and his eyes hinted at only being slightly panicked on the matter. His voice cleared, a possible defense mechanism to stop himself from becoming anymore emotional than he already was. “I can’t remember. Months of time? Gone as if it were nothing and at night? I’m plagued with these awful nightmares that not even the apothecaries can cure with their magics and their herbs.”
“I was not joking…” She said softly as her hands dropped from his hair and she began to look him over with just as much concern as she slowly bent at her knees to lower down before him. She sat on her calves as she gazed up to him. “Eli’yon, what has happened to you?”
He released a heavy sigh at her response as his line of sight followed her movements. Where she had gone, he had seemed to follow without actually moving. His hands dropped to lay in his lap and his eyes finally moved to shift to staring at his callused hands. He felt violated and unsure of himself. How could he actually know what was the truth and what wasn't when things were stripped so quickly and easily from him. “I've no idea,” he finally breathed. “All I know is that the man whom your sister calls her husband is responsible and I cannot even find it in myself to find a desire to fight him on it.”
The dainty and sweet features of Eleney’a’s face seemed to distort into more of angst fierceness. She quickly reached up to where his hands were in his lap and took hold of them with a stern grip. “I will figure this out, Eli’yon… surely Elenaris is unaware of what has transpired,” there was a steady inhale of a somewhat shaky breath. “Eli, I know you feel somewhat lost and that you’re unsure of what is and what isn’t real but… this is real,” her hands squeezed his even tighter,” I am real, okay? We will figure out what has done to you...if that is what you desire.”
The moment that her hands took his own, he managed to jump slightly. The feeling was comforting from heras Eleney’a had grown to be his primary source of support whether she had truly known that or not. “She’s not a fool,” he breathed quietly. “That much I am aware of.” The memories that had been left of Elenaris were just things that most citizens would know of her. Her status within the community, her wealth, her power and her ability to make an entire room bend to her will. The personal connection with her was gone, perhaps never meant to be returned. “I want someone to make him pay for what he has done to me. I want to be able to feel and know why I feel those things. Not to just feel things out of nowhere with no remembrance.”
“If you want your memories back, we will get them back, whether Elenaris knows or not. Whether she helps or not…” Eleney’a reassured him, her grip onto his hands was unwavering as she continued to speak, that was until she released with a single hand to reach up to cup his cheek softly. “Forget the prior conversation, we need not to kneel before their desires any longer, especially with this. We will live our lives the way we wish for as long as we wish. I was willing to have some sort of agreement or perhaps some sort of compromise but not now, they are not our rulers.”
He seemed slightly relieved at her change in decision but her unwavering support. Eli’yon knew the troubles of families with morals and mindsets that differed. His own family was a product of that. Mat’aes was the only Starfury that seemed to hold his father’s favor without interruption. Eli’yon and Aris were very rarely within that spotlight and he had almost preferred it. His marriage to Elenaris or even Eleney’a would have been giving his parents absolutely everything they wanted and regardless of his love for either sister, he was not so willing to indulge their wishes. “If we do not agree to their wishes, her dog has already made it clear that he will separate us,” Eli’yon finally spoke up as his chin leveled and his eyes bore into her own. “We’ve no choice than to submit or face unhappiness.”
She offered a heavy sigh as her hand fell from his cheek and both rested to his knees to aid her in standing. “Well, one way or another, a choice must be made. Unless you forsee looking for a different mate, I see little reason to fight the idea of us marrying, getting it out of the way and would no longer have to be concerned about any of it.” She pursed her lips as she gazed down to him now that she stood over him. “However, if it is truly something you do not wish, we will leave Quel’thalas and be rid of their heavy hands in another land.”
Eli’yon inhaled sharply as she pushed herself to stand once more and he followed suit to stand as well. The blonde man towered over her as his gaze softened and his neck craned so that he’d be able to gaze upon her. “Let us elope then,” he suggested as one of his brows rose momentarily. “Let us have a quiet ceremony in the woods with one witness and an officiant. Let us bring nothing special but ourselves and wear nothing fancy.” He explained to her, possibly in hopes that it was something she was agreeable to. If he were to marry it would be her in something quiet and private. “We need not tell Elenaris, her dog, or my father. It is none of their business.”
It was no playful surprise that Eleney’a offered in way of response to his suggestion. She took quite a long moment to respond and when she did her words were a bit soft. “Eli’yon… I don’t want you forced into anything simply because of the concern that they will attempt to control us further.” Her chin had lifted so that she could keep her gaze on him but her eyes flicked over his features briskly as her mind whirled with thoughts. “But if it is what you wish, I would be happy to join you.” She stated with somewhat of a blossoming pride. “ And together we will bring consequences for what has been done to you.”
janainaart
dailybridgerton
izzy806
jbbartram-illu
stormborns
kaledo-art
blakekathryn
dededos
baratheonpilled
