7 - LOVE

Fenrir was sitting on a chair in his room, back on the treehouse. The ascent was slow, both of them hopping onto the branches that made up the stairway in complete silence. He had a splitting headache due to having consumed all of his mana, and now that he was no longer under the effect of the adrenaline he was paying the price for his foolish actions. As soon as they were in the privacy of his room, he told her what happened from his point of view. It felt right, and it was pleasant to have someone to talk to. Words came out like a river, full of emotions he didn’t even know he was holding inside. He did not hold back, telling her of how he felt, of those raging emotions and those compulsions he had towards killing and violence. He wondered for a moment whether to tell her about the system, but did not. He felt guilty for that, and promised to himself that he would tell her as soon as possible. It was just that right now, it was not a good moment.

“I would have killed them, if it weren’t for you.” he said, looking at his feet. The only thing that was left now was an endless sense of shame and regret. More for what could have happened, rather than what had happened. Those idiots had it coming, but did not deserve to die. And if she hadn’t called to him the moment she did, he would have killed them on the spot with the arrows. He had no intention to hold back, no justification for what he wanted to do.

He would have liked not being able to remember. Perhaps hide behind the fact that his memories of that fight were all foggy and confused, that he didn’t know what he did and so on. But it wasn’t the case. He remembered perfectly the confused expressions of their faces as he conjured those arrows out of thin air. The sense of power and the realization that their life was his to take. Their terror as they realized they were going to die. And he enjoyed it. Every single moment of it.

Lunora said nothing for a while, as she sat with her legs crossed on his bed. Finally, she reached out for his hand, took it and held it close to her.

“I know it’s a hard time for you. And I don’t blame you for what you did, nobody does.” she said, and pulled him even closer.

He got up from his chair and went to sit close to her, once again in silence.

They enjoyed their moment for a while, as the memory of the event grew distant and unimportant. The only thing that mattered was that they were here now, together and safe. She let her head drop gently onto his shoulder, and he instinctively reached for her hair with his hands to stroke it. He had been developing a habit, he feared, but her hair was just too soft and warm not to stroke it. He couldn’t resist doing that.

He fondled it for a while, and she giggled. A cute, little giggle as he tickled her on the base of her neck. Then she too began ticking him until the two were laughing and chasing one another on the bed.

Then they relaxed, and they found themselves laying on the bed next to each other, hugging very closely to fit onto the small single bed. But it wasn’t unpleasant, quite the contrary. He felt calm, safe and completely at ease. Just like every time he was with her, he felt good. He felt alive, and that life was worth living after all. A smile crept on his face, and time flew by unnoticed.

“You aren’t going to ask me why I can use your magic?” he said, and rolled to the side to face her.

She too rolled to face him, and the two found themselves so close to each other they could feel the heat of their breath. He lost himself in her deep emerald eyes, watching her gentle and beautiful face as she relaxed. She took a moment before replying, observing him.

“No,” she finally said in a gentle, soothing voice. “Just tell me whenever you feel like telling me.”

She got up from the bed, straightened her clothes and motioned him to follow.

“Come with me. I want to show you something.”

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The stairway went up and up, seemingly forever. It was made out of wood, and the walls were made out of the tree’s leaves. It kept going, straight, until it ended in a wide open space. It was a wooden platform built on top of the Tree itself, and it was connected to four other platforms at the other ends of the space. Lunora was still holding his hand, enthusiastically leading him to an observation point she had personally spotted the previous day. She was ecstatic, and could barely keep herself calm. Finally today was the day, she had steeled her resolve and got this far. Just a few more moments, she told herself, but she could barely contain the swirl of emotions within her. She looked at him as he took his first steps on the platform, looking around. She felt a smile make its way on her face as she took in the beauty of his face, the perfection of his features.

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There were memories they had formed together, memories she kept close to her heart. And in the few instants while she waited for him, she replayed all of those memories in her mind. She thought back at the first time they met, when she saw a broken man who had just lost everything. She then remembered the stories he told, the life he had shared with her. Then came the happiest memories, right after the most difficult ones. When her mother came to her and told her that he would survive. All the time she spent watching over him as he slept. The time he opened his eyes and the expression on his face as he realised she was there with him.

Now it was time. She would see her plan to completion. She led him to her personal spot, and leaned on the wooden fence that faced the forest below. Fenrir followed her and began exploring the new place until he too leaned onto the fence, taking in the view. His eyes were open wide in awe, and darted to and fro to examine all of the interminable expanse of the forest.

Below them the forest stretched on forever, as far as the eye could see. She knew that barely twenty miles away there were the plains, and his ship, but they were concealed behind a small hill covered in trees. She had chosen the observation post on this side of the tree for this very reason, and also because this was the best place to watch the sunset. Away were the painful memories of the past, away were the bad and the hurt, hidden forever behind a sea of trees. The effect made it look like the sea of green below extended in every direction, without end. It was the best view the entire village could offer, and she knew she was very lucky to have it all for herself. For once, she was happy to be the daughter of the chief, so she could share with the man she loved a place as unique as this. And she felt proud showing it to him, sharing her own, private, little piece of heaven. This place was only hers, and it was full of happy memories from her younger years. She used to come here when she felt sad, and immediately felt happier. Or when she wanted to think, finding the place calming and relaxing. Sometimes she used to come up here just to take in the view of the forest, and it reminded her of her connection with nature, and life.

Today, she would form the happiest memory of her life.

The sun was slowly setting on the horizon, coloring the whole forest amber and gold. A few taller trees carved little tendrils of darkness through the green of the treetops. Fenrir was looking at the scene with his mouth open, his lips forming a wide ‘o’ on his handsome face. His beard was black, punctuated by a few patches of white here and there. She remembered his expression the first time he saw them, after she had brought him to the village. He didn’t believe what he was seeing, and was blaming her for pulling a prank on him. He was too young to have white beard, he had said, and the way he reacted every time he caught her looking at it made her laugh and giggle. She liked it, and thought it was a nice touch to his features.

Even his dark hair was shining under the light of the sun. She remembered him telling her how he had never truly enjoyed a real sunset, and even if she didn’t understand the reason, she had promised to herself that she would change this. And here she was, alone with him, watching the sunset.

She felt her heart beat faster and faster, her cheeks flush and grow hot. She turned to see his face, bathed in the deep red of the last of day. Her breath grew shallow and fast. She looked at him intently while he was still lost in the distance. His deep blue eyes glowed in the crimson light, and little tears like rubies were forming at their sides and rolling down his cheeks. He was paying them no mind, instead he was smiling gently. A peaceful and relaxed smile of joy that was rarer than the most precious of gems. She turned to face him. He saw her and tried to straighten his expression, but only managed to cry even harder.

“Thank you… for this. It’s truly a magical moment-” he said, between the sobs, but she didn’t allow him to finish.

She ran towards him, and threw herself at him. She couldn’t wait anymore, she couldn’t hold it any longer. They stumbled, and found themselves on the ground. She was on top of him, and he was watching her closely from below. Her heart accelerated even more, she thought it was going to burst. She found herself smiling at him, and she knew the time was right. This was the moment she had been waiting for. This was the time for her to be finally happy. She closed her eyes, placed her hand behind his head and pulled his lips towards hers.

Gently, their lips touched, and the world seemed to disappear around them. She could still feel the gentle warmth of the dusk on her face, or the breeze moving her hair, but she didn’t pay attention. She focused on the new, fantastic sensations that came to her. The warmth of his lips, the prickly sensation of his beard, and the feeling of his heart beating in unison with hers.

She could feel his tension melting, his expression relaxing as he too enjoyed their moment of intimacy. Alone, away from all the world.

They kissed, and then kissed again. Then he held her tight, and the two of them just laid there, on the wooden floor, in each other’s arms. They did not care about anything else, they were there, and they were lost in each other. The sun had set, and the sky was coming to life with the twinkling light of the stars. She turned to face him once again, and he too looked at her in the eyes. He tightened his arms, and squeezed her even harder, until their lips met again and they kissed for hours and hours.

In the end, they were still there, Lunora resting on his chest and feeling the comfortable heat of his body. His chest was moving up and down with every breath, and he was playing with her hair.

“I love you.” he told her, and then pulled her to him again as he kissed her. She too kissed him, and she didn’t care how many times they did that, it was never going to be enough.

“I love you too.”