There was a chill in the night air as Riesse sat perched on the stone balustrade surrounding the small balcony just outside her bedroom. Goose bumps laced her arms though she was more than sure they were caused by more than the chill in the air. Her petite, curvy frame drew strength from the stone at her back as she leaned against the manor home, face tilted toward the stars. "Gods above, please help me.." The whispered prayer offered up to any who would listen was shakily uttered, broken by the quiver of her voice. Earlier that evening, Riesse had been enjoying an outting with her new friends, Christabela and Aeydark Bal'annor. She'd even met yet another friend of theirs, a cheeky Troll introduced to her as Jal'eh. The Mage fondly recalled the ease of talking with them, the inherient way the married couple put her at ease without them being aware of how hard it was for the woman to be in the company of so many strangers. For so long Riesse had warred with her emotions and the shear terror of people around her realizing just how 'different' she was. Most times, she was sure that the 'mask' she wore was securely in place. But, this night...the mask had been ripped from her, laying bare her heart.
As the evening began to wane, Riesse bid her friends farewell in the hopes of speaking to them again soon. She was sure they'd be willing to discuss helping with some of the problems she was now facing as the Farm had grown to the size of a small village. Barely had she taken a step when her eyes caught sight of him. Disbelief and utter shock rooted her feet to the stairs. She couldn't move as the very breath she breathed was knocked from her. The world around her fell from existence and in that moment, only Belgoroth remained. "It can't be..." Her mind spoke. "He's...dead.. it's an illusion born of some slumbering pain waking.." And then he spoke her name. Reeling, memories whirled up, a cyclone capturing her, twisting her and reining mass confusion in her mind and within her heart. She felt the blood drain from her face. Anguish raced through her veins just as it had done night she and her brother, Rook, had finally laid to rest the notion Bel would ever return. Their hearts had accepted the Fates decree, Bel was dead.
Raw emotiion burned her throat and tears stung her eyes as she moved to speak with the man that had once sworn his blade and heart to protect her. Her Champion. She had lost her heart to him that day, so very long ago, in the Row when his body shielded hers from the havoc being wrought around them. She ached to touch his scarred face, to assure herself this wasn't the torturous nightmare she believed herself to be caught up in. Scalding tears ran unchecked down her face as his touch hit home and she lay her own hands on the face she had only dreamt about for so many years now. Shattered by the loss of him, her heart had crumbled into a million shards of anguished brokeness, never quite healing again. Now, he was back and the wall she'd built around her heart camecrashing down around her. “I can’t do this again...”She whimpered as he brought her into his arms.
