There's no Place like Home

Lysa and Aaron awaken to find that they are back at Westmark.

26.

There’s no Place like Home

 

The sound of songbirds happily singing of the arrival of dawn was the first thing Lysa heard and for a long time she laid there with her eyes closed, listening to their song.    Aaron lay against her shoulder, still asleep and she could not imagine anything more wonderful then feeling him next to her.

Of course she’d have to give him up as soon as they returned to Westmark.    It was the circumstances that had drawn them so closely together and what was allowed in the wilds of the forest would not be acceptable in the middle of civilization.

Once out of danger and surrounded by friends and safety, their relationship would return to normal.    She understood this, of course, but her purely feminine heart was nearly heartbroken at the thought.

‘We’ll still see each other.’  Lysa thought, gently stroking Aaron’s hair, ‘Hopefully he will resume teaching me the courtly art of Waltzing, so I’ll at least get to feel his arms around me.’ 

The distinct sound of a horse drawn cart bumping up a cobblestone street made the girl pop out of her daydreams in confusion.   Opening her eyes, she cried out in alarm, for they were not in the cave at all but a building!

Looking around wildly, she recognized the surroundings - it was Aaron’s own quarters in Westmark.     Then her gaze glanced down and she was startled to see that she was wearing a very lovely, yet quite revealing gown of lace.     Someone had found them, bathed them and clothed them, then put both of them in Aaron’s bed.

“Is this a dream?” She said aloud, pinching her arm.

“What is it?”   Aaron stirred, coming awake slowly, “What’s going on?”

He opened his eyes, blinked away the fog of sleep for a few moments, and then bolted upright.   He sat there glancing all around with the most comical expression on his face that Lysa could not help but giggle.

“Lysa…what happened?   Is this real?   Are we really here?”   He asked, staring at her for a long time, then sharply turning away, red faced.   

“Yes, it’s real, Lord.   I’ve only been awake a few minutes, and I’m as confused as you are.”

“This is my room.”  He said, then glancing back at her, “We’re not wearing the same clothes!”

It was her turn to blush, and she crossed her arms to cover the generous view of her cleavage that the gown provided, “Sorry, sir, I don’t know what happened.”

“It’s alright.”  He reassured her, and then he paused as if realizing that he might have been misunderstood by his reaction, “Lysa, that is a very lovely gown.”

“It’s not mine, Lord!   I don’t have a gown like this.”

“Well, still it is quite lovely and you… you look… beautiful.”  He looked away as he said this, knowing it would make them both feel awkward.

The moment was ended by the sound of a door opening.    In walked Reverend Mother Zeatt and Lysa’s brother, Bruce.

Lysa gave out a horrified soft whimper, but their two visitors didn’t seem surprised to find them there, only pleased to see that they were awake.

“You’re awake at last!”  Zeatt said to them as she and Bruce walked over to the bed, “How are you both feeling?”

“We’re alright, Reverend Mother, but how did we get here?”   Aaron asked, and the Drow cleric quickly gave them an account of all that had happened.

“I’m glad everyone made it back safely.”   Lysa commented after Zeatt told them of the safe return of those who had been part of the team that had rescued Aaron.

“We’ve been more worried about the two of you.”  Bruce told her.

“So the King’s airships did not encounter any of the Hutcaiah forces?”   Aaron inquired of Zeatt.

“No, we didn’t get past the middle of the forest before Deborah reached us.    Then we immediately turned around and returned here.   We’ve been back about eight hours.   Thankfully, the Hutcaiah have not been seen since they took you captive.     I imagine you may have stirred up a political mess after you killed the Emperor.   There may be several claimants vying for the throne.     There may even be civil war.”

Aaron looked down at his hands, “It all seems like a terrible dream - I just vaguely remember doing it.    But my mind wasn’t clear then.”

“Well, we’re just glad you both are safe and sound.”

 

Lysa shifted uncomfortably, “Reverend Mother, why did Lady Sophia return us both here?    Aaron had experienced a terrible nightmare and that is why-“

The Drow Cleric patted the girl’s hand, “Child, you don’t need to explain yourself.    You’ve told us what happened.   No-one is judging you or jumping to conclusions.   You were surviving and taking care of each other.”   

Zeatt glanced over to Bruce, who nodded in agreement.

“She’s right, Lysa.”  He told his sister, “Lady Sophia placed you both here so you both could rest more comfortably.     You were tightly embraced with each other and were clearly drawing comfort from the presence of one another.”

Lysa looked greatly troubled, “So everyone knows we were sleeping up here?”

“Just the royal court and a few servants who looked in on you to make sure you were well.”   Zeatt assured her, “Sophia, Khord and Deborah have asked to address the royal court tomorrow about some important changes that Yesh has made regarding the Watchers, and so until then, I’d recommend that the two of you just rest.”

“I’ll go to my quarters, if someone can just find me a robe.”  Lysa said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Why not just stay here?”   Bruce surprised her by saying, “Duke Aaron may still experience some of those same nightmares and he may need you... if he wants you to stay, of course.”

“Yes, I do.” Aaron boldly replied, slightly red faced, “But that is up to Lysa.   I’ve put her through a lot these past few days.”

“I’ll stay, Lord.”  She said meekly, and though she blushed, she could not completely hide the hint of a smile.

“Well then, we will let you both get some rest.”   Zeatt announced, and Bruce followed her out of the room, firmly closing the door behind them.

 

Lysa and Aaron just looked at each other for a few moments.

“They certainly acted odd, don’t you think?”   She finally spoke.

“Why do you say that?”

“I don’t know, they just seemed so… well, so understanding of everything.    Bruce seemed totally different to me.    He was the one who suggested that I stay here with you!   I can’t believe he would suggest such a thing.”

Aaron sat back against the headboard of the bed, “Well, he knows that both of us have been through a lot recently and I guess he has realized that there was no danger of any inappropriate behavior between us.”

Lysa’s face flushed a pretty pink, “Lord, I would never try anything inappropriate, no matter what situation I was in at the time.”

He laughed, “Lysa, I’m quite sure you are not their primary concern of impropriety.”

She looked at him, confused.

“I meant me, Lysa.” Aaron continued, grinning, “I meant that they were more certain that I was not going to try anything inappropriate toward you.”

“Of course not!    You are a Paladin, Lord, why would they ever think of such a thing at any time?”

“Paladins are not immune from desire, Lysa.    Reverend Zeatt knows that and your brother knows it.   That is one reason that your brother was uneasy about you serving as my squire.”

“That’s ridiculous, Lord!  To think that Bruce would fear that you would try something with me, an Orc!”

“You were a very attractive Orc, Lysa.”

She looked at him, unbelieving what he had just admitted.

Aaron shrugged, “Lysa, there is more than just appearance involved in attraction.”

Lysa shook her head, “Yes, but even if you did - somehow- think I was attractive, you never acted inappropriately to me, because you are a gentleman and not an animal that acts on instinct.”

“That is kind of you to say, Lysa, and yes, I would never try anything like that.     But you must understand that you were attractive when you were an Orc and you are beautiful now as a Hutcaiah Elf.”

“Even wearing the form of the people that tortured you?”   She asked, nervously sitting down on the bed near him.

“Lysa, the Hutcaiah people didn’t torture me, it was the Emperor -and his people- that did that.   You are wonderfully beautiful wearing your new skin; your blue eyes could melt the heart of the meanest characters.  Be confident in yourself.”

“Yes, sir.” She said demurely, “I’ll try.”

 

There was a rather awkward silence as neither one knew exactly what to say.   

“So what do we do now?   What are your plans, Lord?”

“My plans?    I really don’t know.   We’ll have to hear what the Watchers have to say, and see what the King’s plans are as well.   As to what his plans are, I’d guess planning a defense against future threats by the Hutcaiah would be his main focus.     Since Helios’ Valley is the westernmost point of Marksylvania, of course we’ll play a pivotal role.    No doubt we’ll be extremely busy in making preparations and fortifications to Helios Valley.     I imagine that we will be commanded to begin quite soon.”

Lysa nodded and Aaron spoke up again, “Lysa?   I want to be certain that you are willing to share this upcoming task.    You don’t have to, you know.   I certainly understand if you would rather stay here in Westmark.    Don’t feel obligated because of me.   You’ve served me wonderfully well and deserve more than to have to pioneer a duchy with me.”

“There are no buildings in Helios Valley, so everything will have to be built from scratch.   It will be very primitive there for a while.    Not the sort of place a lovely Elven woman would want to live while she learns how to survive in her new form.”

 

Lysa looked slightly hurt, “You’re not trying to get rid of me, are you?”

“Get rid of you?!   Of course not!   Lysa, I feel that I need to give you the opportunity to get used to your new appearance and I’m just worried that Helios Valley would not be the best place to do that.”

“My place is with you.    I am still your squire.”   

“Yes, but I don’t want you to be miserable.”

“I won’t be, as long as I’m with you.”   She looked away after saying this, embarrassed at her confession.

He didn’t want to say anything that would make her more uncomfortable, so Aaron just leaned over and squeezed her hand.

“Good.”  He finally said, “I wanted you to come along.   I need you… um, you’re a great comfort and friend to me.”   He qualified his statement, and then stood up before she would glance at him.

 

Aaron looked around the room for a moment, took a deep breath and then turned back to Lysa, “Well, there is something we need to do.”

“What’s that, Lord?”  She asked.

“Stand up, Lysa and come over here.”

She complied at once, meekly crossing her arms over the low neckline of Sophia’s gown.     As she approached him, Aaron held out his hand to her.   Lysa hesitated a moment, uncertain of the meaning, but finally took them.

“We need to practice your Waltzing.”   Aaron said to her, pulling her closer to him.

“Lord, I fear we missed the mid-summer’s dance.”

“The King cancelled it, due to everything that was going on.   So we have a few months until the autumn dance to get you ready.   You were doing quite well before you got sick.”

“Lord, you don’t have to do this for me, you know.”

Aaron looked at her sheepishly, “Who says I’m doing this for you?    You see, I’m in a wonderfully unique situation here, Lysa.   I have a beautiful woman as my squire, and I am obligated as her Lord to teach her the proper techniques for a ballroom waltz.    So I shall do this, and then display my mastery as a teacher to everyone by dancing with her at the next ball.”

“You will?”  She asked.

“Absolutely!    What a lucky man I am, Lysa.     You really have no choice in the matter and I am fortunate enough to have the most radiant woman in the Kingdom as my friend as well as a dance partner and squire.    So I will certainly take advantage of this fortune.”

Aaron wrapped his arms around her waist, “Are you ready?”

“Yes, sir.”  She stammered, her heart racing.

“There is no music, but we don’t really need that, do we.    I think we move very well together.    The longer we are around each other, the more fluid our moves become.”

“Yes, Lord.    Thank you for teaching me.”   She said, looking up at him with her blue eyes.

“Thank you for letting me.   Now let’s begin, shall we?”

 

In the quiet bedroom, without any music to be heard, the couple began practicing the Waltz.     Their smiles at each other hinted at much deeper emotions that would - in time- express themselves.   But for now, there was just the two of them, there was joy at the partnering of the dance and - for that moment, in a crazy, uncertain world- that was all they needed.

To Be Continued in "Helios' Menagerie" coming this fall...

 

Reviews

[Elina]

Beautiful ending! I can hardly wait to start the next book...

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you, Elina, it is an honor to have you read them.