Sylvan
1 Kythorn 1500 DR🌟
Cowritten with the infinitely wonderful Gerhard 🌟
“Just a bit further, it should be around here somewhere…”
The slowly setting summer sun casts long, hazy shadows against Gerhard and Orianna as they walk, arm in arm, through the winding streets of Daring Heights. The last golden rays of the day reflect off the windows and displays of the merchants that they pass, heading west towards the wall of the city.
“Ah! Here it is.” With a wide grin on his face, Gerhard comes to a stop in front of a simple wooden door embedded into the western wall of Daring Heights. The iron latch displays proudly a hole for what must be an impressive key, but with a light tug it bows to let the two lovers through.
“After you,” Gerhard whispers, holding the door open as he gestures with his free hand to the small room and the ladder within.
“Where are we going? Or is that meant to stay a secret?” Orianna teases, starlit eyes darting around, trying to figure out where he is leading them to, and what this surprise could possibly be.
“You’ll see! I can’t spoil it when we’re this close.” Gerhard shuts the door behind them before excitedly bounding over to the ladder and carefully finding the first rung. “I called in a small favour.”
A few orange and pink clouds peek their faces through the opening at the top of the ladder, and as Gerhard reaches the top and turns back crouched to hold his hand out to Orianna, he grins.
The ladder was tricky for her cloven feet but Orianna managed well enough. There were plenty of places in- …where she was from that had required such things to help people climb. So focused was she on stepping right she nearly missed the offered hand.
“Oh!” she exclaims, before laughing softly, embarrassed. She takes his hand, looking up, and stops. The crown of Gerhard’s head was set alight with golden fire, casting a beautiful halo all around him. It took her breath away.
“Orianna? You’re looking at me lik- Did I run into a cobweb again?” Gerhard runs both hands through his hair, tossing it forward in front of his face before flicking his head back. A small leather tie in his hand tries to tame the bulk of it, but long strands still hang lazily down to his shoulders.
A deep blue blush rises to her cheeks, making the silvery white markings on her face glow. She cannot help but smile at how effortlessly handsome Gerhard is at this moment.
“No cobwebs, imi-ib,” she says, tucking one of the loose strands back behind his ear. Carefully, Orianna climbs up another rung of the ladder.
“It is only the golden light of the sun, weaving through your hair with threads of gold,” she says in Sylvan.
She climbs another rung on the ladder, coming up and out of the opening. Tilting her head, Orianna intended on bestowing a kiss to her heart’s lips, when her left hoof slipped.
“Oh!” In a flash, his arms are there to catch her, interwoven with Orianna’s own. “Careful, my love.” His feet firmly planted, he pulls lightly to bring her up through the hatch and into the open.
“I’m alright. You have me,” Orianna reassures him, though her voice shakes at the sudden adrenaline. “I’m alright,” she repeats. The earlier curiosity is forgotten. Now, Orianna is merely embarrassed. “I’m sorry, imi-ib, I…”
It takes a moment for Orianna’s eyes to adjust, now that the two of them stand above their city. But once they do, she quickly sees the reason why Gerhard had wanted to come all this way.
The last rays of brilliant golden sunlight dance across the rolling hills and farmland west of Daring Heights as the sun sets into the horizon, casting a gorgeous pink and orange glow onto the few clouds that fill the sky. Below their feet and to the south, the last few carts and trolleys exit through the Stone Gate, returning back through the outskirts of the city; the steady beat of wooden wheels on cobblestones tapping out the rhythm of the night.
Gerhard, the concern still plain on his face, holds Orianna’s arm tight as he gestures to the edge of the wall. They’re in a small space usually used by The Watch for keeping an eye on the horizon around the city, but tonight it is their private spot.
“Here, come, sit. I have… something…” he says, turning at the waist to look around the rampart. “Ah! The Rooftop Beetles, dependable as always.”
Tucked in the corner is a small basket that Gerhard brings out, with a light wool blanket on top.
“What is this?” Orianna asks, the sound of a smile in her words. “It is an usual place for a picnic. But-” She turns west, towards the setting sun, half lidding her eyes as the warmth still clings to the world. “-it is as lovely as the usual place.”
It is clear she loves it, adores it, even. The way the light comes across the rolling hills leading towards the mountains paints the green hills in hues of orange and yellow. For a brief moment she could almost think they were sand dunes. “Why here?” she asks, clearly wondering what else he had hidden away as part of this delightful surprise.
“Well, now that you’ve learned Sylvan and our lessons are over, I wanted to do something… different. And I thought this would be a good place for another surprise.”
With the basket in hand, Gerhard drapes the blanket across the low wall of the rampart and sits, patting the spot next to him with a smile. “I hope they turned out okay.”
Burning with curiosity, Orianna carefully sits down next to Gerhard, brushing the fabric of her clothes smooth. It was obvious she wanted to know what was in the basket by the twitch of her tail, but she willed herself to wait, to be patient.
Inside the basket, the sweet scent of citrus and almonds is caught on the breeze. The small diamond cut slices of cake still steam slightly in warm night air, the wisps curling over the single glazed almond that adorns the top of each one.
“I thought we could enjoy these here, where you’d feel a bit… closer to home.”
She didn’t mean to cry. Something about the smell, the warmth from the day wrapping around them both, and the golden light make her think of somewhere… she couldn’t remember. But she knew it was important. Like how Gerhard was her whole heart and world. That level of importance.
“How did you know? These… These are my favourite. I…” Orianna reaches in and carefully pinches one of the little cakes between her fingers. The citrus only got stronger and finally the tears spilled over her cheeks even as she smiled in bemused wonder.
“You never cease to amaze me,” she says, breathless.
A gentle hand rises up to Orianna’s cheek, the thumb lightly caressing the tears away. “Nothing but the best for my star pupil.” A kiss, light as the breeze, finds her lips.
Gerhard rests his forehead on hers, feeling her frontmost horns as they tangle in his hair. He smiles, with a twinge of sadness at the tears he has made flow, and whispers to her, “You should have a bite, before they cool.”
With a small nod and sniffle, Orianna turns her head a little, still keeping her forehead against Gerhards, opens her lips and pops the whole piece into her mouth. It’s a strange sensation, the feeling of familiar nostalgia and yet being unable to recall the exact memories of the place. Taste and smell are strongly tied to memory, and some part of her knows where these vague recollections are tied to. Yet unlike all the other times, Orianna does not feel sadness at being unable to recall because she has come to realise it does not matter to her. It’s not
that place she is in anymore, and it is not
those people she is with. It is here, now, with the man who is more than a man, who is her heart and soul, the earth to her sky.
“They’re perfect,” Orianna whispers, brushing her nose across Gerhards in a soft kiss. Then she sits back, licking the lingering flavours from her lips as she holds up a diamond of cake for him. “Now you. A great teacher must know what delicious rewards he has given his student.”
He accepts it gratefully, and just as she did, pops it whole into his mouth with a wink. His eyes go wide as he begins to chew, and with a pleased look on his face he tries to speak through a mouth of crumbs. “Theshe ahrre bahdder-” He holds up a finger to finish chewing. “These are much better than the first batch! And the second. Maurice gave me such a look when I burnt them…” Gerhard’s gaze averts to the horizon, his arm slung back to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’m glad they’re perfect.”
“You made them?” Orianna asks, eyes widening in surprise. “For me?”
Gerhard reaches into the basket once more, withdrawing two. He hands one to Orianna and settles back with his own. He leaves it hovered over his hand to catch any crumbs as he looks at it briefly before meeting his partner's eye.
“I did, yes. This afternoon, while you were at the Academy. It was tough, trying to get them done while you were out.” He smiles warmly, raising his own diamond dessert in a toast. “But I wanted to surprise you.”
“I don’t know what to say… except you amaze me, Gerhard.”
Orianna looks down at the little cake in her hand before taking a bit of it. The crunch of the almond, it’s almost smokey bitterness mixing with the tang of citrus, just like she has always loved it.
“Did you find out by walking the Stairs?” She holds up the other half in her hand, palm flat.
“I- I may have had some help, yes…” Gerhard trails off, focusing instead on the cake in his own hand. “I hope that’s okay.”
A periwinkle hand touches Gerhard’s cheek, lifting his chin up so he can see her face as she says, “It is.” There is no lie to her words, but there is a tone, something close to worry as Orianna is working out how best to say more.
“I am still working through how I feel about the Staircase and its place in our lives. Perhaps, I always will be. But without that connection I would not have these, now.” She looks down at their hands, each holding a piece of cake and smiles. “A marvel, only possible by your unique connection.” She chuckles a little. Of course Gerhard would use his ability for her in this way. He loves her, this act proves just how much, and more. She cannot go home to her people — who knows if she ever will — but he found a way to bring a little bit of home to her.
Home… The smile fades a little as the place that is blank in her mind rises up, and recollections of what she was taught take its place. “My people would have me think it is dangerous. Not to be trusted. But to me, if it is you-” Orianna looks back up, “-then I am assured. I trust you, imi-ib, so I will trust what you do. You will not fall into becoming like
him.”
“I hope not. But who knows how long it took him to become what he was. I have… a lot of time to change.” Gerhard’s hand meets with Orianna’s on his cheek, pressing her fingers into his beard and skin. “Though if the rest of my days are all like this one, I'll have nothing to fear.”
He holds her gaze for a moment, stretching it out and out into the infinite. Stealing time from later, when he will be called to his duty. When she, too, will be called to the next adventure.
“I have something else for you.”
Gerhard’s words break Orianna out of the spell like a dash of unexpected, cool water. “Hmm? Something else?”
At the bottom of the basket, wrapped in sheets of parchment, lies a small parcel tied tightly with narrow blue ribbons. Gerhard lifts it carefully out, handing it gingerly to Orianna. “It’s… not much, but I thought you’d like it. And I thought maybe it would help you remember our lessons.”
Her mouth makes a little “oh” at this second surprise. There is a moment’s hesitation then, Orianna is carefully pulling the ribbons loose.
“I am not likely to forget any of my time spent with you, be they lessons or-”
The last ribbon falls away and the parchment falls to reveal a book, the corners worn and the edges tattered. A thin gold filigree decorates the bindings, twisting up and down the spine around the title,
’S i nighean mo ghaoil*. The gold twists further, reaching the cover where it creates the outlines of two figures.
“It’s the closest I could get to a first edition, and it’s a bit worn, but…”
“It’s perfect. Oh, Gerhard, thank you!”
Orianna throws her arms around Gerhard’s, showering him in kisses. Somehow they manage to stay in the parapet and not tip the basket over.
“How did the stars align so that I would be blessed to have you in my life?” she asks him and to the world at large.
Gerhard laughs, a deep throaty chuckle that rises from his chest. He pulls Orianna onto his lap to stop her from toppling him over.
“You’ll have to ask the stars themselves, imi-ib. Or maybe ask the moon, if I recall.” He wraps his arms around her, pulling her tight into him. “I’m glad you like it. Did you know it’s part of a set? There’s others, but I wasn’t able to-” He stops himself, smiling both inwardly at his rambling and at his love. “Gifts for another day, perhaps.”
“I would like that. My star-day** is soon. Books are a most
excellent gift for such occasions!” Orianna smiles up at Gerhard, settling into his embrace, like the heavens being embraced by the earth. “There was one time I received a scroll from my father. My first map of the stars. I treasure it still.” She lightly runs her fingers over the gold filigree, feeling the edges of her newest treasure. “And I will treasure this one, for many
many years to come.”
“I want nothing more.”
The sun, shimmering quietly to the west, has nearly set, the last few golden rays casting a soft glow around the edges of Gerhard’s arms as he pulls her in tighter, giving her a light squeeze. To the east, the first few stars begin to show their faces, blinking lazily as though to whisper a greeting to their goddess.
The stars are always there for the earth, though he may not see them. And the earth lies always within the embrace of the stars, though she may feel he is an eternity away.
But each night, without fail, the two are reunited.
His face finds the curve of her neck, the drape of her hair, and he sighs, breathing her in deeply. He holds her close, in what feels like a beat, a breath, a moment they’ve stolen.
“I love you, Orianna.”
In the warmth of his embrace, feeling the happiness his words elicit, Orianna prays to the Cosmos of this universe and all others that this moment lasts just a little longer, sealing it with her own vow of devotion.
“I love you too, Gerhard, before, now, always, and evermore.”
. ୭ ˚○◦˚·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙˚◦○˚ ୧ .
* “My Love Is”
** star-day = birthday
