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[Aurelia Bretane]

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So alive...

The words echoed in her mind—resonated brightly through her body, as she laughed.

“So alive,” he had said. And she watched him as his body was wracked with laughter as well.

For all that she had known and seen in the past two years, somehow she had forgotten. But the world around her had not. For Ashencrosse teemed with life, and pushed forward in the name of virtue, and thrived, peacefully nestled in the fortress in the shadow of the mountains of Malas.

Life was as it should be. Life! And on occasion, she found herself in awe of the gifts this world had to offer. It was the blessed rush of air into the lungs after the long plunge toward the surface, and each new sensation set her ablaze again with renewed wonder.

The fire lingered low, long after the others had gone. Aurelia sat quietly, watching the flames dance. She, a captive audience, unable or unwilling to allow the night to fade so soon. And so, she lingered too, with the fire, and drowsed and relived each moment until the last. That moment when the fear within her gave way to something new.

The night had long since settled into the eves of her little town, and the candles and lanterns had been extinguished, one by one. Arahim took watch in the southern tower, and Genevieve in the north. Loric had, no doubt, been seduced by sleep in the hours since he'd departed. All that Aurelia could think about now were the shadows which had crept in, clouding his deep blue eyes again and again, throughout the night.

If what he had lost could be found, then she would see it done. Hastily, she wrapped herself in a crimson velvet cloak and shut the heavy wooden door of the theatre behind her as she fled into the haze. The warmth of the fire would scarcely be missed, as the new flame that had been kindled within her took a breath and began to grow. If anyone in Ashencrosse could catch a halfling's shadow in the dark of Malas night, she knew that she could. It was instinct which had pulled her from his embrace, and instinct which had drawn her in to him again. And instinct which would guide her safely through the night in search of his ward.

The flame within her burning brightly, Aurelia paused again to consider the size of the miracle, and she smiled.

She wasn't cold, and she wasn't afraid. Not anymore. Never again