Naveen

"I wish I could have done more..." The words were just as soft as hers but they carried a growl to them. I wasted no time in taking a longer way or taking a slow pace as we made our way back to her room. I kept it slow enough that even with her skirts she wouldn't be in danger of slipping or falling however.
Once we returned to the safety of her room did I finally stop and let out a slow frustrated breath.

Rina:

I moved to stand in front of him when he sighed. I put my hands on either side of his face, my fingers moving into his hair. He was frustrated, I knew, but I didn’t quite understand why. My eyes shifted between his. I hoped that I wasn’t what frustrated him. That it was the situation we were both in.

"I am not good at this." I murmured softly as I searched her face right back. "Standing on the sidelines in a fight for what I care for." Reaching up with a hand I gripped her arm lightly. "I don't think it's going to get any easier either. I made a mistake today. It might cost us dearly."

Rina:

I shook my head. “It wasn’t a mistake. You were there when I needed you,” I said softly. “I should have had Aero or Iris with me.” I sighed. It would have gone poorly then too. If I had killed the man I could have been found out. “I’ll take care of any repercussions. I’ll handle this.” I moved my thumbs over his cheeks.

A smile graced my lips for a moment. "Perhaps it wasn't..." I agreed softly. "But lets relax instead shall we? Something to make this night not so grim." I trailed my hand from the arm I gripped to one of her hands, gently pulling it from my face so I could kiss her palm.

Rina:

I smiled when he kissed my palm and nodded in agreement. I asked him to stay the night. It would be better for him to not be in his room, just in case. We shed our clothes and curled up in bed together, simply holding each other.

The next day I was summoned before the prince and the queen. I went, with Talon at my side and a pit in my stomach. Thankfully it was the two alone who chastised me. But I was spared no ridicule.

From the prince I was told that I was throwing an opportunity away. I was disgracing myself and lowering my image by keeping an elf around. The sooner I was married, the better off I would be.

The queen went on about how Talon had attacked Sir Bellon. When I explained what happened, with as much civility that I could manage, she said it was impossible. The chaperone had spoken on the mans behalf. He had explained that the elf attacked him, likely out of jealousy and an animalistic sense of possession.

My blood boiled. Aero, who I would not leave my room without now, buzzed under my skirt at my rage.

“He is my guard. He protected me when the man you picked forced himself upon me. He acted when the chaperone was no where to be found,” I hissed, barely restraining my anger. They didn’t listen.

The prince said I should get rid of him. I said I didn’t feel safe without him as long as there were people like Sir Bellon in court. The queen said, at the very least, he would not go with me to meet any more suitors. I said I would not meet any more then.

The prince said I would not be allowed in court unless I was meeting suitors. I was trapped. Without court I had no way to make connections and change things. I would be a prisoner and nothing else.

The queen said I would have a new guard when I met suitors. Otherwise I would be allowed to keep my elf. The prince spat that it was disgraceful, but he said nothing else to prevent it. I wanted to send Aero flying into his eye socket.

I didn’t bow to him before leaving. My hands were shaking in anger as I gripped my skirt. I was scared to even look at Talon. What I felt was nothing compared to what he likely felt. We couldn’t stay here, in the castle. Not right now. We would come back, but we had to leave right now.

“To the stables,” I whispered it to prevent from screaming. I looked up at him then once we were out of the great hall.

I had trouble falling asleep that night, caught up as I was in my thoughts. And I tried to work out the feelings and emotions the next morning. As soon as I felt better about the whole thing Rina was summoned before the prince and queen. I stood off to the side gazing straight ahead as the charges were leveled at me. But my gaze snapped to the pair as the lies poured from their mouths.

Rina's defense of me held no sway on their opinion. And the further it went the harder I gripped the hilt of my blade. When Rina started to leave I remained where I was, staring both of them down with the same expression I had on my face when I'd held my blade to Sir Bellon. It was only after Rina had taken a few steps that I finally turned to follow her.

My gaze was cold as we made our way to the stables. And my grip never relaxed on my weapon as we walked. "They treat us like dirt when I could break both of them."

Rina:

I had a deep crease between my brows. “I know,” I murmured. I wanted to reach for him, but we were out in the open still. Furthermore, I didn’t know if he would want me to. I was human after all.

Once in the stabled I requested our horses be readied. The stable boy hurried off with a frightened look toward Talon. We rode out of the city and found ourselves at the site of the ruins where I had once brought him.

The ride out of the castle and city gave me time to calm a bit. Nothing like a spirited gallop on an eager horse to help break through your anger. I was still frustrated as I hopped down and tied the reins to a post within the ruins. Pacing a few steps out I closed my eyes and let out a slow sigh."What do you think we should do Rina?" I asked softly after turning to face her.

Rina:

I slid down from my horse then faced Talon. He wasn’t happy, but some of the fire had died down in his eyes. “I don’t know,” I said honesty. I looked at the ground. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered. “If… If you can’t stay any longer, I understand.” I felt a chill run through me at the idea of him leaving.

"Rina..." I began then let out a soft breath. Instead of saying anything at first I held out my arms towards her. After she stepped into my embrace I murmured, "I'm not going to leave you alone. I will support you for as long as you want me around."

Rina:

I hugged him tightly even with his armor. “I know it’s not fair, but I don’t want you to go. I always want you around,” I murmured. “I’m so sorry that things are the way they are, that people treat you like an animal. I’m sorry I didn’t defend you better. I should have said more. I wanted to scream at them… I wanted to kill them.” I said with a strain in my voice.

"And then we'd be in more trouble than we started. We can get through this. But this is a perfect example of what we fight to change." I gently rubbed her back, surprised to find that I felt I had to comfort her more, than I needed to be comforted.

Rina:

We held onto each other for a time until we had both calmed. We had only had breakfast this morning and now it was getting close to lunch. But I didn’t think going back to the castle now would be good for either of us. “We could visit Maleen while we’re out here,” I suggested. It had been a while. I hadn’t seen her since Lady Alia had arrived. It would take nearly an hour to ride to her cottage, but she would make us feel better. She always did.

"That sounds like a good idea." I agreed readily. Maleen was a wealth of knowledge and had an almost motherly air about her even when both of us were older than her. She might even have an idea or two to help us fix the problems we faced at the castle.

Rina:

Maleen was waiting for us on the porch when we arrived. “Rina! Talon!” She ran to us and through her arms around me. I felt a sudden rush of joy at her embrace. There was nothing like being in the presence of someone who undeniably loved you. Wren was out of the door a moment later and ran to us as well. For a moment at the sight of her, I couldn’t remember what was troubling me. She took my hand, squeezed it, and lead me inside.

Maleen:

As I hugged Talon I whispered to him, “I’m glad the two of you came together.” The last time I had seen them there was pain in his heart and uncertainty in his mine. There was something else bothering him now, but it wasn’t Rina. They were tied together more strongly now than I had ever seen them.

I smiled softly, and hugged her in return. "It's good to see you Maleen. Yes. Your talk helped me out when it mattered most." I didn't want to immediately say that we needed her advice once again. I hoped to spend time with her and Wren, help clear the dark thoughts that still trailed both Rina and I.

Rina:

The girls said Dorian would be back later and took us into the cottage for lunch and tea. I laughed more that afternoon than I had in a long time. Maleen and Wren were sweet, and loving, and sympathetic to everything we told them

Talon:

The entire afternoon was just what we needed. Maleen and Wren worked well together in healing our spirits and bringing joy back into our lives. For all the rough times their softness was the best kind of balm.

Rina:

Maleen couldn’t tell us what to do but she did give us all a way to stay in contact. They were small stones with an indentation to press a thumb. She said Talon and I could contact each other if we needed to by pressing our thumb to it and calling the other with our mind. It wasn’t exact, but it would give the other person an idea of where we were and what we needed. We could contact her by the same way if we ever needed her to come to the castle. It was nearly sunset by the time we set out back to the castle.

Talon:

The stones were a good idea, and I thanked her with a tight hug before Rina and I left for the castle. As enjoyable as the day had been I wasn't thrilled with the idea of returning to the castle. No good had come from the pile of stone and arrogance, and I didn't believe any good was to be had either way. A part of me was starting to doubt that any progress was going to be made with the whole venture. But I didn't voice my thoughts to Rina as we trotted the horses through the gates.

Rina:

The queen wasn’t pleased that I had disappeared for the day. I snapped that I had the freedom to do as I wished, and wasn’t that why they wanted me to marry? She didn’t say anything to that because it was true. I spent the night with Talon in my bed. I wasn’t a rebellious daughter, that wasn’t why I was with Talon, but it did feel nice doing something I knew she would disapprove of.

The next day I was sent out on my own to meet another suitor. I hatted going without talon, but I did have Aero and Iris strapped to my thigh if I did get in trouble.

Talon:

I did what I could to ignore the looks I was given that evening, and it almost made up for it by being with Rina that night.  It wasn't her fault.  The comfort of being with her could only offset so many glares and sneers.

The next day I returned to my room, only to be stopped along the way by a page.  Taking the note from him I watched him walk off before opening the envelope and reading the note. Lady Alia wanted to meet with me.

While I was close to my room I decided to go to the meeting place early and began to make my way to the directions in the note.

“Hello Talon,” lady Alia said when the elf approached. No one in the garden seemed to notice them. “I was sorry to hear what happened the other day. It is unfortunate that such things occur here.” She gestured her hand for him to take a seat next to her on the stone bench.

"Lady Alia." I said with a faint frown. "The apology is welcome, but it doesn't help end the prejudiced that plagues humans. It's what I had hoped to rectify during my time here. But humans will never change. A few good ones exist here and there, but they as a whole live too short of a life for change to happen quickly."