Aidan

The Realms

Fifthday, 2nd week of the 8th month, Age of the Chosen 1

Early Evening

Starchaser Village, Mistvale Highlands

"No, no, no, no!" Brighid whimpered, her head thrashing and legs kicking. "Aidan, do not leave me, I am sorry, no no noooooooo!"

The door banged open and Cai barged in, but Aidan paid her no heed. He focused his attention on Brighid, moving back to the bed and taking her head between his hands. "Brighid, I'm here, I'm here, wake up love, it's just a nightmare, wake up," he urged her. Whenever he had the opportunity, Aidan pressed a kiss to her lips, cheek, forehead, or shoulder. After a few seconds, Brighid stilled and her eyes fluttered open. She stared, unseeing, at Aidan for a long breath before her emerald gaze sharpened and focused on him.

"You left me," she whispered. "The Taig.. and then..." Pain flickered in her eyes and her voice broke as she continued, "and then I watched you die, Aidan. You floated up into the air and... and..." She buried her face against his chest and sobbed, "And you burned away. You didn't even leave any ashes, just your armor and clothes."

Aidan held his love, running his fingers through her tangled hair. A sound caught his attention, and he looked up to see Cai kneeling beside the bed. His vassal rested one hand on Brighid's bare back and spoke to her in a gentle tone. "He came back to you, Brighid. I told you he would, did I not?" She turned her attention to Aidan and said, "We helped each other through our nightmares this last week while we waited for your return."

"Thank you for that," Aidan replied. "I'll want to talk to you about that later. For now... actually, how long have we been asleep?"

"Well," Cai's lips curled up and her cornflower blue eyes glinted, "it has been about three hours since all the [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords] died down." Aidan blushed, and Brighid managed to hiccup out a laugh between her sobs. "It is only just after sunset if that is what you are asking, Lord Aidan." Cai rubbed Brighid's back again, then stood, saying, "It looks like you have things in hand, so I will return to my post. Let me know if you need anything."

"Actually," Aidan spoke up as Cai turned to leave, "there is something you can do if you don't mind. Can you or Llwyd take a message to Ailis tonight or tomorrow morning? I need to speak to the Council, but I want to get her advice first. I'll meet with her whenever she can make time for me."

"Of course, my Lord. I will take the message myself and return with Councillor Ailis's response." She bowed her head to him, then left Aidan and Brighid alone. Once the door clicked shut behind her, Aidan turned his attention back to his lover. Brighid had calmed somewhat, but he could still hear her sniffling against his chest.

"I am so sorry, flame of my heart. I tried to think of anything else, anything at all, that I could do. I was trussed up; if the Taig had gagged me, too, we would all have died. Or, worse, become slaves like the dakhols. I could not, would not let that happen, my love."

She nodded and murmured, "I know, love. You did what you had to. But watching you die..." She lifted her face to look at him with tear-filled eyes. "And then you took so long to return. After five days I... I was going to kill myself, Aidan."

Aidan's heart seized in his chest. His mind emptied as her words echoed a thousand times. With a shudder, Aidan cupped Brighid's cheeks and rested his forehead against hers. “I will always come back to you, Brighid. You are the love of my life, the flame of my heart, the one who makes being trapped here worthwhile. I cannot think of anything you would do of your own free will that would drive me away. Please, love, even if I take months or years to return, please know that I will. Not even the Powers of the Realms themselves could keep me from you.” Aidan felt a rumbling vibration, like thunder rattling his bones, but ignored it. “I couldn’t do this without you. Losing you to battle or disease would break my heart; losing you to despair would shatter me.”

"It was Llwyd who stopped me," Brighid whispered with tears streaming from her eyes. "He saw the hope dying in me and knew what I felt. He told me that he was the same way when Cai died. He said it was you who kept him alive despite himself, and that you had already died once—I told them all, after the Age message—and that nothing that had happened would stop you from coming back to me again. I did not believe him, but Llwyd would not allow me to be alone. He even sent Cai or Ceirios with me when I went to relieve myself."

"Then I have to find some way of thanking all three of them because they saved us both."

Someone knocked at the door and, thinking that it was Cai returning from her errand, Aidan called out for her to enter. However, once the door swung open and closed, it was Ailis's soprano voice that spoke. "When you sent Cai to fetch me, I did not realize you meant to hold the consultation naked in your bed. It is a good thing you did not send for Fionn or, Powers forbid, Gerwyn."

Aidan's first instinct was to scramble for his clothes or pull the sheet over his nudity, nor was he alone; Brighid crossed her arms over her breasts. An incongruity made Aidan still his hands, though. He stood up, facing her with hands on hips, and said, "I do not recall asking Cai to fetch you here; I intended to visit you in your own home. In fact, it hasn't been long enough for her to make it to your home and back. You were on your way here already, weren't you?"

Ailis arches one pale eyebrow above her ice-blue eyes, but her mouth quirked up in a smile. "Yes, I was. Very good, Aidan."

"And you didn't announce yourself when you knocked; you let me assume it was Cai or Llwyd at the door. You wanted to catch us exposed like this." Another thought occurred to Aidan, bringing a smirk to his lips. "What would you have done if I had been [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords] with Brighid? [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords]?" The Councillor's eyes widened a hair, and her cheeks took on the slightest hint of red; if Aidan wasn't paying close attention, he wouldn't have noticed. Before she could reply, he pressed onward. "Don't let me stop you now; come, join us." Aidan knelt back on the bed, making sure not to obscure the sight of [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords] and leaving plenty of room for Ailis. Brighid followed his lead, dropping her arms from her chest and holding her head high, displaying the only article of clothing she wore with pride.

Ailis hesitated for a moment, off-balance from the way Aidan had stolen the initiative. He knew she tried to put him on the defensive by catching him in a vulnerable state, but her reaction proved she hadn't been prepared for him to turn the tables on her. Ailis's eyes searched his face, then flicked across the nudity displayed in front of her. Then, taking Aidan by surprise, her delicate hands tugged at the laces of her shirt then pulled it over her head. She folded it and placed it on Brighid's table, then made her way over to the bed to join them. Aidan forced himself to ignore [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords] and keep his eyes trained on Ailis's.

Brighid's bed was large by Earth standards, but it was still close quarters for two centaurs, a cat, and a human to share. Brighid pressed tight against Aidan's side, holding one of his arms between her [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords], but that still forced Ailis to sit just two feet from him. He considered pushing the envelope further, but since he did have a genuine need to talk to her, he decided not to risk her anger.

"Thank you for meeting me, Ailis. There are several things I need to speak to you about, and I'm sure you have questions for me as well. In fact, I'm sure the entire Council does, which is one of my reasons for asking for this meeting." Intuition told Aidan that Ailis would bear a little more pushing, so he reached out and took one of her hands, bringing it to his lips so that he could brush her knuckles with a kiss. "And, of course, it is always nice to see more of the mother of my beloved." Brighid stifled a laugh, and Ailis shook her head at him, but Aidan didn't miss the upward twitch at the corner of the Councillor's mouth.

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He lowered her hand from his lips but continued to hold it, rubbing his thumb across her skin as he continued, "In light of the events at Ceallach Macht, we need to discuss the future. With all sincerity, I hoped to be nothing but a unique Starchaser, living my life here with Brighid and helping wherever I could. Unfortunately, it appears that will no longer be possible. My first question to you is: do Brighid and I need to prepare to leave? I realize that I have, albeit inadvertently and somewhat against my will, placed the tribe in danger. If it made you all safer, I would be willing to—"

Ailis cut him off, shaking her head and squeezing his hand. "No, Aidan, I believe that might be the worst thing you could do. You are correct that your display of power and the dawning of the new Age—I assume that is what you are referring to?" At Aidan's nod, she continued, "You are correct that they place us all in danger, but it will come whether you are here or not. Your absence will not prevent anyone from seeking us out, and if they held violence in their hearts, it would not prevent that, either. If you wish to leave so that you had more time before someone tracked you down, we cannot stop you. But if your desire is to help us, stay, grow strong, and defend us when the consequences of your actions come home to roost." Aidan winced at her blunt words, but given that she was sitting naked on his bed and holding his hand, he didn't take it hard.

"You are right, of course," he conceded. "And I had come to much the same conclusion, but I value your advice. If you thought otherwise, I would have listened." Aidan squeezed her hand back and resumed stroking with his thumb. He continued to take note of her subtle reactions, wondering whether he had grown more observant or if Ailis was so off-balance that she had lost control of her tells. Either way, her cheeks had darkened to light pink and goosebumps dotted her flesh. [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords]

Aidan cleared his throat and moved onto the next topic. "Now that it's settled that I'll be staying, my next concern is that everyone who went with me into the city is cared for. We all suffered at the hands of the Tannath Taig, and though I was able to heal all the physical damage, emotional scars remain. Ysbail seemed to be coping well, and I haven't seen Anwn since returning, but the rest of my team are all suffering. I was able to help Brighid," his lover nuzzled against his shoulder and kissed his neck, "but I can't help the others in the same way. I don't know that you can, either, but I would appreciate it if you would at least monitor their Psyches."

Ailis nodded. "It reflects well on you that your first concerns are to your tribe and then those under your command. You are a good man, Aidan." She shifted her weight, leaning an inch or two closer to him. "I will, of course, help them in any way I can. You already know that I cannot erase the hurt from their minds, but they will not be the first Starchasers I have helped heal in this way. I will need the complete truth of what happened, though. I cannot heal wounds that I do not know about. Your team has been quite silent on the matter; even my own daughter," Ailis lifted her free hand to stroke Brighid's cheek, "would only say that your secrets are yours and that she would not betray them to me."

"Yes, I realize that. As long as whatever is discussed is held in confidence, I have no problem with anything they might tell you. In fact, I am going to insist that Brighid talk with you as well." Brighid stirred against him but didn't speak up. He turned his attention to her anyway. "I know we already dealt with the big issues, beloved, but it will help you to talk with someone who wasn't involved. I'm hoping that it will be a bonding experience for both of you as well." Ailis's eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and she made no attempt to disguise her gratitude. Aidan smiled at her and raised her hand to his lips for another kiss. Brighid kissed his neck again as a sign of acquiescence, but her fingers on his tail [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords].

"The third thing I wanted to discuss is a quest the gargoyles gave me upon my return. The deal they presented to me seemed a touch too good to be true. Where I come from, there's a saying that goes, 'If you think it's too good to be true, it probably is,' and I wanted to get your opinion." At Ailis's nod, Aidan gave a quick outline of the quest. He didn't go into the reasons why they wanted his assistance, figuring that might be a sensitive topic.

Ailis gave him her full attention while he spoke, then chewed on her lip for a few moments. "I admit that I know less of the Sapphire Sky Horde than I would like, but I have never heard of them attacking unprovoked. Indeed, the ones who fought at our side at Ceallach Macht are the only time I have heard of them fighting in my lifetime. If they have offered you their help in return for an agreement of future assistance, it must be something that they want a great deal. I cannot tell you what the end result would be, but I believe that as long as you hold to your end of the bargain, they will keep theirs. Speaking only for myself, if you choose to accept, I would quite like to hear any knowledge they share with you." Her voice held a note of promise.

"Oh? And just what would you be willing to give me in return?" The change in Ailis's tone gave Aidan a jolt of courage. He let go of her hand and reached out to touch her just below her waist, where her smooth skin turned to fur. He knew from recent experience that Brighid was appreciative of such touches.

Ailis's nostrils flared. She swayed a touch closer to Aidan, her eyes fixed on his. "That would depend on how rare and valuable the knowledge is, of course." Her delicate tongue emerged and flicked over her lips.

"That doesn't seem fair to me," Aidan told her. "I tell you a secret, and only after I have given it away do you tell me what you will give me for it? Does that sound fair to you, Brighid?"

The Paladin raised her head off Aidan's shoulder to look at her mother. "No, that sounds like a poor deal indeed, Master. You should make her pay upfront; once you have told her the secret, it no longer has any value, and I do not believe the gargoyles would waste their time with banal secrets."

Aidan nodded and kissed Brighid's cheek in thanks. "Yes, that was my thought as well. What do you think I should ask for in payment, though?"

"Mother was the one who brought us together, in a way, so I think you should give her the first for a kiss. After that, though, the price should go up. If she wants more secrets, she will need to offer more in trade."

The red in Ailis's cheeks spread across her neck, shoulders, and [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords]. Aidan trailed his fingers across her skin and fur with soft, slow strokes. "Well, you heard your daughter. I do believe I will accept the quest, and I would be happy to sell you any knowledge they do not forbid me from sharing—for an appropriate price, paid ahead of time."

Ailis wet her lips again, then leaned forward, breathing, "Then let us call this a payment for the first secret," just before her soft lips pressed against Aidan's. A heartbeat later, he felt her soft [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords] press against his chest, and her tongue tracing across his lips. Aidan parted his lips in response to her unspoken request, [content censored by Royal Road's advertising overlords]. After only a few moments, however, Ailis slid her hand back up Aidan's side and withdrew from the kiss. Her voice dropped low and her breath came in short, breathy pants as she asserted, "That should be sufficient payment for one secret. I must not over-pay at the start, after all, or who knows what price you might extract for later trades?"

Aidan closed the space between them to press a rough, demanding kiss on her, then backed off after another short tongue-duel. "I'll hold you to that. The second price will be to finish what you started today." He let his hand fall to her waist as she leaned back from him.

"I look forward to future negotiations, then," Ailis told him, eyes hooded. "Was there anything else you wished to discuss?"

"Only that I would like to address the full Council. It isn't an emergency, and it doesn't need to be a formal Council session. I just would rather answer everyone's questions at once rather than having each of you approach me piecemeal. Would you mind conveying my request to the other Councillors?"

"I have no objection to that. If there is nothing else?"

Aidan shook his head, then decided to let fly one last arrow. "Until then, I believe I speak for both Brighid and myself when I say that you are always welcome in our home. I will inform Cai and Llwyd that you are allowed entry at any time. Please, feel free to stop by and join us whenever the mood strikes you."

Ailis smirked at him, then rose and sauntered over to the table where she left her shirt. Instead of wearing it, however, she gave Aidan a sultry glance over her shoulder, flicked her tail, and walked out the door. Brighid managed to keep calm until the door closed behind her mother, then collapsed against Aidan in a fit of giggles.

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