The Wolf and the Raven

The night was lit by a half moon that hung low in the midnight velvet sky. Stars were scattered here and there upon the cloudless canvas, some bright, some dim, some large and others tiny. Kaylanna Ravenmoon sighed softly as she stood on the balcony watching the sky. The sound spoke worlds of her emotions. It was neither sad nor forlorn, but more heart worn than she would have cared to admit. She seemed as a part of the night itself, pale like the moon that shone down upon her, with dark curling hair and stars shining in her violet eyes. Tears shimmered there though they had yet to fall. She refused to cry, even though she had heard often enough that tears cleansed the soul. Finding one small star in the sky that seemed as lonely as she, she took a moment to make a silent wish.

"Wishing and wanting doesn't always get you what you want, Kaylanna," came a familiar voice from behind her that startled her from her reverie. She turned to find her brother leaning against the doorjamb looking nonchalant with his golden hair tasseled and a wolfish grin on his face.

"Darian, you are likely to scare me to death one day!" she exclaimed mockingly before leaning back against the railing of the balcony. "Why are you in my chambers at this late hour?"

Darian shrugged his shoulders. "I can feel your emotions all to well, my sister. I have not learned to control my empathy so well as to ignore your feelings, though often I wish I could."

Kaylanna lowered her head, her hair falling in a rivulet of ringlets around her face, hiding her features from view for a moment as she struggled to compose herself. Raising her violet gaze to meet her brother's green one, she spoke. "He has returned, Darian. He has returned and he still treats me as a brother would a sister. I wish that it were that he loved me as I have come to love him, but I doubt that shall ever be." Her lower lip trembled slightly with her words and she turned her back to Darian, trying to hide the tears that threatened to come forth.

"I doubt that is true, Kaylanna," Darian said, putting his arms on his sister's shoulders in comfort. "He is just unsure of how to approach you. After all, we did all grow up together and he did just come home from the war."

"Aye...but I wish that he would show some sign of his feelings...give me some hint of what he thinks. He has learned to control his emotions even better than you have, Darian."

"Mother is a good teacher," he stated matter of factly, which didn't seem to improve Kaylanna's mood one bit.

"Sometimes I wish she weren't. Before he went away, at least I could read him, at least I could most of the time. I thought..." Her words trailed off into nothingness and she let out another heavy sigh then shook her head. "It does not matter. What is, is."

"I will speak to him, Kaylanna. Perhaps he does not know how he is hurting you."

"Don't you dare, Darian. Twould put a rift between he and I if he does not return my affections."

Darian let out a sigh of his own before saying in a soft tone, "Very well...mayhaps you should try to get some sleep, then. It is well past midnight and mother is holding circle early tomorrow for Bethany's new child."

"I am too wound up to sleep...I think I will go for a walk in the garden. Perhaps it will clear my thoughts." With that, she strolled passed her brother into her room and picked up a white silk robe that was hung over the back of an armchair. She slipped into it as she walked out the door, wishing her brother a pleasant goodnight.

Her brother smiled to himself, shook his head then strode purposely to the door as well. If he had anything to do with it, his sister and his best friend would be handfasted by the next full moon.

Tyreon had been walking the parapet walls for nearly an hour. Too much was weighing heavily on his mind and as he paced the familiar wood and stone flooring memories of his boyhood flooded his thoughts. Happier times had been spent with his foster family, those who had taken him in when he had not a cent to his name. Now he was the lord of his own lands, his ancestral holdings having been returned to him while in service of King Larath. Before, he would never have thought to be capable of taking a lady of standing. Who would have wanted him, a lord in name only, other than the higher class merchant women of the surrounding towns and villages? Now he was prosperous and wanted by many of the ladies at court, but there was only one that he had his heart set on and she thought of him as a sister does a brother. He sighed heavily, his fingers combing through his dark brown shoulder length hair. For the first time in his life, he wasn't sure how to proceed.

The creak of a door opening at one of the towers brought him abruptly out of his thoughts and he quickly smiled at his dearest friend, Darian, as if to hide his rampaging emotions. "What brings you up here at this late hour?"

"I was about to ask you the same question," came Darian's amused answer. He closed the door behind him and went to stand next to Tyreon, overlooking the castle courtyard.

"I just needed to think." An unknown emotion crossed his features before his face turned, once again, into a steely mask.

"If you ask me, there is too much thinking going on in this castle this night."

"What makes you say that?"

"Kaylanna has been pining away in her chambers these last few nights and nothing seems to comfort her."

With concern clear in his voice, Tyreon asked, "Is milady alright? Has she been struck by some malady? Has someone done her some injustice?"

Darian smiled at this bombardment of questions and nodded his head at the last. "Aye, you could say that someone has done her some injustice."

"Who? Tell me, and I will alleviate the person of his head."

At this, Darian had to laugh. It was a happy sound that sounded odd in the quiet of the night. "Tis the man that she loves that has done her wrong, Tyreon."

"Oh," came Tyreon's semi-startled reply and he hung his head trying to hide his features as well as the disappointment in his voice. "She is spoken for then? That is good," he lied.

"Nae, she is not spoken for as of yet, though her heart has already been given away. It seems that the one she loves does not return her affections."

"Tis a fool who would turn down the affections of Kaylanna Ravenmoon. Who would be such an idiot?"

"It is you, Tyreon."

At this, Tyreon raised his head and looked at his friend as if he had just grown a second head and a third eye. "What?"

"Simply put, she's in love with you." The surprise that crossed his friends face was amusing if not refreshing. Tyreon had a way of hiding his thoughts and feelings making one wonder if he had any at all. Now it was obvious that he did. It was also obvious that he had lost his voice.

"So, are you going to separate your head from your body? If you are, I am sure mother would like to be present to observe. It will truly be an interesting show, although, you might want to do it the woods, you know how picky she is about cleanliness and blood can be very hard to clean up."

"What did you say?" Tyreon asked, not hearing any of Darian's sarcasm. He was still stuck on the idea that Kaylanna was in love with him.

"I said, are you going to separate your head from your..."

"No, before that you, twit!" Tyreon restrained the urge to strangle Darian for his cheerful attitude at such a serious moment. "About Kaylanna."

In a deliberately slow voice that Tyreon would be sure to understand. "She's...in...love...with....you..."

At that moment, when Tyreon's hands were about to reach out and shake Darian into his senses, Kaylanna strode into the courtyard below. Tyreon turned to watch her. Every move she made was graceful. The way she walked was poetry, the curve of her neck was like that of an elegant swan, and the hair that cascaded down her back was like a dark waterfall, perfect and beautiful. In the moonlight, she seemed to be a part of the night, an ethereal being that was too wonderful to exist.

She walked towards a white rose bush and bent to smell one of the full blooms. Her dark tresses fell over her shoulder, shielding her profile from view, but Tyreon's heart sped none the less. Could it be true? Could the woman he loves love him in return? He sent out a fervent prayer to the gods, asking them for their aid as Kaylanna plucked the rose from the bush and tucked it behind her ear.

As if feeling eyes upon her, she gazed up towards where Tyreon stood. She knew in an instant that it was him. Even though he was shadowed by the night and the darkness of the castle parapets, she knew. She knew his dark brown hair would be loose and falling against his shoulders, she knew his gaze would be a steely gray, and she knew his clothing would be simple but appealing none-the-less.

For a moment, the shadows seemed to dissipate and their eyes met. It felt as if an electric shock went through each of them at the moment of contact and it lasted for several long moments.

Darian took this moment to leave, silently. My work here is done, he thought to himself as he walked down the staircase towards his own quarters feeling most pleased with himself.

"Are you sure she is in love with me?" Tyreon asked his friend and when no reply came he turned to find Darian had disappeared. When he chanced to look at the courtyard once more, Kaylanna too was gone, leaving an ache in his heart.

Tyreon had stood outside Kaylanna's door for more than an hour trying to muster enough courage to knock. Though he had raised his hand several times, the courage remained elusive and he simply lowered his hand and waited, occasionally pacing and running his fingers through his silky hair. He wasn't even sure if she had returned to her chambers after leaving the courtyard but he had hoped that she would have. He couldn't understand how one woman, nearly half his size and 3 years his younger could possibly cause him to be so nervous.

Finally, and with much reluctance, he decided to simply turn the handle and walk on in. If she was there, she would likely be asleep and he could simply turn tail and run. That, however, was not the case.

Kaylanna sat on a window seat staring out into the night. She didn't seem to notice his entrance or did not seem to care if she had. Moonlight shone in through the window, leaving her half in shadow and half in light. She had forsaken her robe which was now hanging haphazardly over the back of a chair leaving her only wearing a thin silk nightgown that left little to the imagination. Kaylanna had also removed the rose from her hair and the stem laid on the still along with more than a dozen petals. He loves me...he loves me not...

Tyreon took in a deep breath and then cleared his throat, expecting her to look up. Instead, she said simply, "What do you want, Darian."

"Unless my name has changed without my knowledge, I am not Darian," was Tyreon's reply. At his voice, Kaylanna looked over her shoulder at him. I must have fallen asleep, she thought to herself as she gazed at the man she loved. Certainly, he wouldn't be in her chambers this late at night for any reason other than to grant her secret wishes that she only dreamed about.

"Why are you here, Tyreon?" She finally managed to ask as she realized this was indeed no dream.

Tyreon looked more than a little lost for words. Though he had stood outside her door and gone over what he might say to her several times, he could not bring himself to speak what he had rehearsed. "I could not sleep, milady. I thought mayhaps you were still awake." His voice sounded strained even to his own ears, and he gazed downwards, almost afraid to meet her eyes. "I am sorry to have bothered you," he apologized and started to leave.

"Tyreon..." Something about the raw emotion in her voice made him pause and turn back to her. She stood up slowly and it was obvious that she had been crying now that she was fully in the candlelight of the room. Tears streaked Kaylanna's pale skin and clung to her dark eyelashes.

His heart ached for her and without a second thought he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. "Why do you cry, Kaylanna?" he asked softly, placing a kiss upon her forehead.

She took a moment, reveling in the feel of his embrace before saying barely above a whisper, "I fear the one I love does not love me in return."

"I think you must be wrong, Kaylanna." Finally the small amount of courage that he had entered the room with was growing and he thanked the gods for that favor. "I think the one you love loves you very much. I think he has been an idiot for not noticing your love for him sooner and I believe he is willing to pay dearly for his stupidity."

Kaylanna wasn't quite sure if she could believe what she was hearing. She wondered if the emotion lacing his voice was just a figment of her imagination or if it was true. She let out a soft sob against his shoulder, unable to help herself.

"Please, Kaylanna, my love, please don't cry. I cannot bear to think that I have caused you so much grief."

At hearing his endearments, Kaylanna raised her head, love shining obviously in her eyes as she met his gray ones. She wasn't sure what to say or how to say it but suddenly the words fell from her lips unbidden. "I love you, Tyreon," she whispered, "oh, how I love you." And once again, she laid her head against his shoulder, fearing even now that he would reject her despite everything that had just happened.

"You don't know how long I have waited for you to say that. I love you, Kaylanna," he whispered against her hair. He could not help inhaling her scent, memorizing how she felt against him, running his hands up and down her back. Though he tried, he was unable to keep himself from becoming aroused.

His emotions being more open to her empathic touch at the moment, she could feel his lust and it made her shiver in anticipation.

"Are you cold love?" he asked worriedly, misinterpreting her response. In answer, she lifted her head once again, and after but a moments thought, she leaned up on tiptoe and placed a kiss on his lips. It caught him off guard but he quickly returned the kiss, leaning down to meet her. His tongue teased at the seam of her lips before she opened to the intimate assault and her tongue shyly slid out to meet his. It was her first true kiss, and she was swept away on the tide of emotions that seemed to fill her small form.

Tyreon groaned deep in his throat. He had never thought to gain so much pleasure from something as simple as a kiss and he had always prided himself on holding back his emotions, but with this woman it was completely different. He was fully aroused now, and wanted nothing more than make love to this fair creature, but he tore his lips away and leaned his forehead against her shoulder, trying to catch his breath and force his body to do as he bid.

"I should go," he said in a hoarse voice. "Else, I may not be able to stop myself."

Kaylanna looked a bit dazed from being so thoroughly kissed. It took her a moment to understand what he meant and she blushed a pretty pink at the implication. "Aye, we should wait...My mother would throw a fit if she knew my maidenhead was breeched before I were handfasted..." She let her thoughts trail off and sighed softly.

"Aye," was all he said as he raised his head to look at her. She was beautiful, with the blush creeping up her neck to her cheeks and her lips full from his kiss. "Will you handfast with me Kaylanna?"

A bright smile slowly lit up her face as he asked her the question that she though he would never ask. "Aye, my love, I will handfast with you."

Tyreon thought his heart would burst from the sheer joy that was flowing through him and he kissed his future wife with such ardent fervor that Kaylanna thought for sure she would have some explaining to do come morning. "I love you, Kaylanna," he said when he finally broke the kiss then headed towards the door, afraid that if he stayed he would not be able to control himself.

"I love you too, Tyreon," she replied as he walked out the door and closed it behind him and she went to sleep soon after with many a pleasant dream.