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Eclyse Christian · Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 5:53 pm Post subject: Soft Asylum

A blast of arctic wind drove the snow through Stonegate Valley. Eclyse shut her eyes tightly against the sting of the icy blast and the pelting sleet, pulling her dark cloak tighter around her. When the wind rested, she knelt again to tend her fire, careful to keep her dark tresses from blowing into the flames. Then she sat back, hugging her knees to her chest on her bedroll at the foot of the mountain. She was lucky to have a fire at all, as fickle as the winds had been this night.

Her head bowed and face buried against her knees, she heard footfalls in the snow. It was not uncommon in the valley, but the crunch of boots on ice approached closer than she expected, then stopped. She raised her head. Sir Kaylor stood watching her, his expression unreadable. Eclyse scrambled to her feet and bowed her head respectfully.

“Eclyse, do you sleep here?”

She didn’t know how to answer him. She slept here most nights. Except the coldest, when she slipped inside the mead hall to drowse by the fire. But admitting either of these seemed a weakness, and she did not want him to think her weak. She shrugged, and went back to nonchalantly tending the fire. He did not pursue the question.

Instead, he removed his gauntlets and squatted by the fire, warming his hands, and watching her. “I owe you an apology for last night.”

Eclyse looked at him, her deep green eyes suddenly wide with shock. She thought back to the night before, when he'd laughed so hard at her disdain for cleaning his stables. Laughed at her in front of her brothers and sisters in arms. She lowered her gaze. The echo of his laughter rang in her ears, and her cheeks flooded pink, burning hotly.

Going a step further, Kaylor knelt and watched her intently. His words barely audible above the winds that howled and raced across the snow, he implored her gently to request something of him as if he were squire, and not she. Eclyse could feel the blush spreading down her neck and chest as she backpedaled, nearly tripping herself up. Vehemently, she shook her head and held up her hands in protest, her thoughts near frantic. What are ye doin'? Ye don't kneel b'fore me. I should be the one kneelin'...It's all wrong...all wrong...

Kaylor watched the panic in her eyes and reached out to her reassuringly. "Please, Eclyse. Allow this Knight his honour."

Eclyse saw the earnest and sincere glimmer beneath his gaze, and she reluctantly nodded once with a sigh. She remembered an offer Sir Kaylor had extended earlier. This night, with the mead hall under construction, it sounded more inviting than ever. Loathing to do so, she knelt and wrote out her request in the snow. "A warm place to sleep tonight?"

Sir Kaylor nodded in agreement and took her bedroll as she gathered and tied it, tucking it under his arm. He waited while Eclyse kicked snow over her fire, then led her through the fierce, soul-rending wind to the warmth and solace of his home.

Eclyse Christian · Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 7:10 pm Post subject:

The bedroom was huge. Eclyse looked incredulously around the room, shaking her head. The details were immaculate, the bed enormous. I woulda been ‘appy sleepin' in the stable, Sir Kaylor...

Kaylor surveyed the room to make sure she did not want for anything, then turned back to her. "If you have need of anything at all, please let me know. Tonight, I serve you. And you are released this night; there is no new assignment. You may come and go as you please." With a slight bow, he let himself out of the room and shut the door behind him, leaving her staring after him, utterly bewildered.

Eclyse Christian · Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 7:25 pm Post subject:

The Snowden tavern was cheerful, as always. Sounds of laughter bounced through the room like shining bubbles, then dissipated just as quickly. Eclyse was finding her silence more and more useful, as she learned much more about people around her. She noticed their fidgets, their expressions. Every intonation and inflection as they spoke. Silently, she passed the evening, watching Kaylor and Malidian interact. Their old cameraderie couldn't be more obvious as their posture ebbed and flowed with one another's movements, whether they discussed old clans or issued new challenges.

When at last Eclyse tore herself from the revelry of the night, she found that Sir Kaylor had already returned home to his manor. The room he had provided was warmly lit with candles, and a plate of food sat on the table in the corner, warmed by a candle flame beneath. Eclyse took a bite and closed her eyes as she chewed, trying to remember the last time she'd had warm food. She immersed herself in comfort as the warmth of the room soaked into her body and thawed her bones. She pulled her favourite robe from her pack and changed into it. It was soft and warm—a deep green robe hemmed with embroidered wisteria blossoms and scented with lavender and Minoc honeysuckle. She curled up in a chair with her journal and stared at the blank page as she ate her fill from the plate. In the far corner of the room, where her worn bedroll had been, lay a lavish, tightly rolled down comforter and a soft, fluffy pillow, bound together into a new bedroll beside her pack.

Her eyelids heavy for want of sleep, she took out a quill and scrawled a quick note, then laid the open journal at her bedside in case she should find the energy to write more. She crawled beneath the fine blankets and linens of the bed, their weight only adding to sensation of sinking into slumber. Her long ebony waves spilled around her as she gave her journal entry one last look before slumber submerged her completely.

"Sir Kaylor must feel very guilty. I wish he didn't. A girl could get used to this, but I shall not. Tonight's soft asylum soothes my body and calms my soul, but My Lord's scowl will certainly return on the morrow..."