User blog:Leea/The Tale of Voronwe, Chapter 42

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4th Era 130, 11th of Frostfall, Pyandonea
As he left her embrace, Talgando apologized for his behavior.

"I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I have no self-restraint whatsoever. I--"

Alana cut him off by pressing her fingers over his lips. "There is nothing to be sorry for." Her hand drifted over to lightly cup his jaw. "I am glad it happened. Its been a long time since I'd been embraced by a warm, living body. I missed it, to be honest."

Thoughts - myriad and conflicting - tangled in his mind, preventing him from replying. He was nearly a head taller than her, gazing down, trying desperately to say something. A little voice deep within his head told him that he should have prayed for better comunication skills. His tongue was totally tied. Before he fully knew what he was doing - he barely understood where these new impulses came from - he shot forward the short distance separating their faces and planted his lips firmly on hers, his hands cradling her head as she ran her fingers through his mohogany hair.

He'd always wanted this, that little voice whispered as the passionately kissed. He'd been waiting and waiting for someone, and it had been Alana this whole time. Perhaps Lady Mara had granted his wishes and prayers after all. He had just needed to be patient. The kiss felt like he had always dreamed what one would feel like, as he had never been kissed before, only little pecks on his forehead or cheek by his mother when she had been alive.

As they parted from each other, Alana licked and lightly touched her lips, which appeared to be a shade darker from the force of his kiss. He felt a stab in his heart when he noticed. He lightly touched her cheek with his thumb, before jerking away in shame, backing away. "I'm sorry. Why do I keep forcing myself on you--"

She moved forward and took his hand and placed it on her cheek. "No, I'm glad this happened." She covered his hand with hers, caressing the skin of his hand with her fingertips, causing him to shudder. "It shows the passionate man you are beneath the surface; the man that no one gets to see." She smiled slightly. "I hope you don't think badly of me."

"How could I possibly do that?" he asked, incredulous.

"Because I just barely broke up with someone, and here I am with you."

"I do not think poorly of you Alana," he whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with his free hand. "It is me that should be...I forced myself on you. I had no permission whatsoever. Its just that..." he wrinkled his forehead, causing lines to appear on his white skin, "I've never felt this way before. No one has ever told me these kind words before in my life."

A lonelyness nearly matching his swam in the depths of her eyes. She took his other hand and put it between her smaller ones. She gazed back up into his anguished face, which was torn between the conflicting emotions of desire and guilt. She took his clasped hand and placed it gently over her heart, causing him to shudder again. "You are a wonderful man, Talgando. More so than anyone knows. I...I would like to continue this, if at all possible."

His heart was beating so hard, he felt he would soon have to open his mouth to be able to draw breath. With one hand still over her heart, feeling the steady beating through her skin, he took his other and ran his thumb over her chin. "I would...I would love to, but..."

"But what?"

"You...You wouldn't care what others would think...think of...us? Being together? What about Orthendar?"

An ethereal smile graced her lips, hope welling in her eyes. "We split amicably. I know he wouldn't mind, especially since you're a Liberator, as well." She reached forward and gently touched his jaw, like a breath of wind over the skin. "I just used to think of you as a comrade, then later as a friend, when you began to counsel my relationship with Orthendar after..." she cleared her throat of the unexpected tears trying to emerge. "After he was killed. But...this. I want this. This...your kiss. Its changed everything. I never thought you would be this romantic, but you are; it was just hidden from view, like a curtain hides the interior of a house through a window." She gazed deep into his white eyes. "I want to be with you. I want to be more than friends; more than comrades. I want us to be together."

Time seemed to stop its progression into endless future when he heard the words he had been waiting his whole life to hear. Pulling his hands gently from her grasp, her face temporarily showed great pain and deep sorrow - thinking that he was rejecting her - before he cautiously rested them on her waist.

"I do. Its all I ever wanted. To be with someone." He carefully leaned his forehead on hers. "Lady Mara has finally granted my prayers." he breathed, heart hammering in his chest.

Her face lit with joy, so bright as to seem that she glowed like a star at night. She trailed her hands up his forearms, resting them on his shoulders. Her eyes gazed deep into his as her mouth parted to meet his kiss.