Happily Ever After: Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Conscience
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Rivian awoke from her reverie. Solaufein's arms across her chest reminded her of last night's passion with the dark elf. She glanced at Solaufein's peaceful face. He was still deep in reverie and his face wore a peaceful calm that Rivian knew was the result of their closeness. Solaufein was dear to her, she reminded herself that beneath his powerful physique as a dark elf, Solaufein's heart was as vulnerable as hers, if not even more. She must take care not to hurt her friend.

The face of her beloved husband wearing a frown came into her mind, she imagined he was displeased at her momentary weakness. She tried to reason with the conjured image that she was merely touched by the dark elf's love for her and that above all, she was lonely and emotionally inadequate. A hug from the dark elf did wonders for her, it had calmed her wandering thoughts and the torment of her loss in her heart. A kiss from Solaufein brought out passion hidden deep beneath her soul, passions that she had long hidden with the passing of her husband. Still she imagined the image frowned deeper at her weak reasoning of her mind.

I needed last night, to know that my heart can still love.

She stifled a growl from herself protesting against her selfish logic, even that thought was too much to bear on her conscience. She looked at the sleeping dark elf besides her and determined she would not let herself hurt the dark elf. She sighed in defeat and let herself slipped into reverie eventually.

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Solaufein opened his dark eyes and smiled at the first sight on the beautiful gold elf lying in his arms. The warmth of her body and the closeness they shared widen the smile on his smooth ebony face. He took a deep breathe, taking in the flowery scent of her golden hair and the so familiar scent of the elf. It was more than a comforting sensation. For many years, over the last six decade, he had dreamt of this very day-to awake with the beautiful elf in his arms, from a night of passion.

He praised the Goddess, Elistraee in his heart, for her blessings and guidance. He was at peace with himself, and for the second time since he left the UnderDark, he was truly happy, even if his heart told him the happiness was fragile and may not last. He remembered the first time he felt such peace and calm was when Rivian took him into her party and led him out of the UnderDark. He suspected that he would not have the courage to escape the UnderDark if it were not for her. Her care and friendship had provided strength and focus to Solaufein's uncertainty and ensure his survival on the surface.

He watched Rivian shifted in her reverie, and found himself subconsciously cuddling her closer to him. He knew her pain was still new in heart and it would take a long time for her to heal if she could at all. He promised himself that he would wait patiently for her to be ready for him. He had already waited six decades, another decade or two would not make much of a difference.

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Rivian and Solaufein left for Berdusk early in the morning. Their footsteps were light as they had spent the previous night together, in each other's arms. Solaufein was particularly cheerful. He marched besides Rivian and entertained her with his poems and songs. He was most delighted to be rewarded with several of Rivian's radiant smiles.

He would have carried on entertaining Rivian but his keen hearing had picked up sounds of fighting further down the road. A quick look at Rivian's face told him she had heard the sounds as well. He positioned his sword arm at the hilt of his blade and ran towards the fighting with Rivian following closely behind.

They saw a group of humans and elves were fighting each other, the battle scene littered with corpses and body parts of both humans and elves alike. In the middle of the area, were six wounded elves tied to wooden poles. The area around the poles were piled with wooden spikes that would kill any unwary that tried to approached the bounded elves. Clearly, the humans had laid a trap to lure the elves. The air stung of death and wailing of the wounded. Solaufein did not need to consider which side to take, he drew his blade and cut down the nearest human. Rivian started casting her protection spells and summoned a few elementals within a short time. The humans were strong and the elves were outnumbered. A human wizard stood at the edge of the battle, throwing lighting bolts and magic missiles at the nearest elves. Rivian decided to take out the wizard first and commanded the elementals to attack the wizard. She cast Breach to disable the wizard's protection. She was busy dealing with the wizard that she did not notice Solaufein being surrounded by five humans.

Solaufein parried the attacks deftly but he was outnumbered. With the Moon's Blade granted by his goddess, Elistraee, he was able to strike quickly at his enemies. He concentrated on dispatching the fighters surrounding him, he did not notice a bolt of lightning approaching him until it hit him in the chest. Solaufein staggered at the impact of the blow, the fighter on the right attacked with his axe and the dark elf barely parried the blow with his blade. Another fighter managed to slash at his back, Solaufein turned and landed a killing blow with his left blade at the fighter. There were still three fighters near the dark elf and already the loss of blood was taking a toll on his strength. He blocked the attacks weakly and using his spells whenever he had a chance to, he was able to get a stoneskin up in time for the next attack was a slash at his mid section. It would have been nearly fatal if it were not for the stoneskin protection.

Three more human fighters surrounded Rivian, two more archers shooting their bolts at Rivian's protection orb. The bolts fell harmlessly as they bounced off Rivian's protection. In return, she threw two lightning bolts at the archers and dispatched them successfully. Rivian threw several magic missiles at several human fighters surrounding the elves, enough to stun them momentarily but not enough to kill them. The elves were able to regain their advantage with their opponents stunned and several wounded elves were able to break out of their rank and aid their weaker allies.

Solaufein laid on his stomach, a blow to his midsection knocked the wind out of him and he was unable to cast any spells nor block the next blow. Already, his back was bleeding profusely from an earlier wound and his chest burning from the lightning bolt. He braced himself for the next killing strike but it never landed.

Rivian stood between him and the two remaining fighters, magical energy flowing from her hands as she threw two magic missiles towards the fighters. Following the advantage by her stunned opponents, she cast the killing spells - disintegration.

With the remaining fighters dispatched, Rivian went straight to Solaufein, searching frantically the healing potions from her backpack. She tried to pour the potion down his throat but Solaufein had already lost conciousness from his wounds. Rivian looked at the wounded elves around for a healer but found their concentrating on their wounded kinsman instead. Whatever healing spells the elves had, they would not use it on a dark elf, especially when their own kind were in need as well. Rivian knew that it was up to her or she would lose her only friend.

Out of desperation, she poured the potions over the most critical wounds on Solaufein's body. It did not help much as she already knew from experience but every bit mattered. The wounds closed a little but it was not enough to save Solaufein's life. Without hesitation, Rivian gulped another vial of potion and she cupped the dark elf's face in her left hand and placed her lips on his. Slowly she parted his lips and let the potion flowed from her mouth to his, using her other hand to stroke his neck, easing the liquid down his throat.

As soon as Solaufein drank the potion, Rivian noticed several of his wounds closing and the bleeding had ceased. Solaufein opened his eyes to find himself in Rivian's arms. He smiled contently at the gold elf, who quickly brought another vial to his lips and ordered him to drink.

When Solaufein recovered enough to stand, they found themselves surrounded by the very elves they helped. Solaufein noted that the elves did not seem too happy at his presence. The elves stood on guard, with their weapons drawn and they formed a circle around the two elves.

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