Emalia sped through the air, groaning. Not two moments before the weather was fine, then one by one the cold droplets of rain began to pelt her like little stinging barbs on her forehead. Everything on her body was getting saturated, and it was apparent that she would either need to land and make camp, or suffer the consequences of biting cold air on a freezing wet body.
The trees weren't welcoming as Emalia drifted down between the branches. Evergreen needles pricked at her ankles and nabbed at her cloak before she finally alighted at their trunks with a soft thud. Beneath the thick mantle of living needles the rain had barely touched the ground. Shivering, she made a small fire - carefully clearing away any of the brush that might turn the small flame into a rolling inferno.
Emalia let out a deep sigh and wiped her damp hair back from her face. She hadn't the time to even wring it out when the sound of soft footfalls reached her ears. She spun about quickly to see the form of Nephesh, complacently walking into her camp. It was much like seeing an apparition though she knew it was no trick. "How by the Gods did you get here..." Before she could finish, the man who landed behind the halfling tore the very breath from her chest. Her vision began to swim and only the frigid water that ran down her hair kept her from dropping to the ground. "Hellstrom..."
Emalia walked over to him, noting the fact that he looked more rugged than before, but still his black hair shone (many thanks to the wet weather that created an even more powerful vision). She wanted more than anything to throw her arms around his neck, perhaps even to kiss him, but a quick reminder of her situation - their - situation, stopped her from making a fool of herself... and more the better. "Emalia! Are you alright?"
In her heart she knew that out of these three people, two should not be together - yet here they were. "You know each other?" "Of course," Emalia answered, "this is Hellstrom."
How many times had Emalia cried on Colin's shoulder, or sat with him as he listened to her breaking heart over Hellstrom? She easily could have counted, as they were written plainly on Colin's face. Even though his countenance was grim, Colin kept silent, much to Emalia's relief.
She couldn't be sure how it all came about, but Emalia immediately wanted to know about the other Guardians. She spoke with Hellstrom, amidst Nephesh's noted questions and eventually had to explain to everyone why she had run off. There wasn't really a way to say it without simply saying it - she honestly felt that the mission she was on was no longer her own.
As Colin reassured her, Emalia sat wondering what she should do. A question which was answered as Hellstrom began to excuse himself. "Oh please... don't... don't go." 'Gods there must be something wrong with me... what am I doing?!' Emalia quickly thought, but the words were out before she could think anything over. The truth was she wanted him near, even if the tension had suddenly become unbearable.
Emalia stared between Colin and Hellstrom as they spoke until interrupted by a note. "Are they enemies?" it read.
She looked down at the small boy and gently lead him a few paces from the camp. "They are not enemies but, I believe, if I may be so bold to say it, they are both in love, or something much like it, with me." "Both parents may love a child and love one another. What is wrong with that?"
She could only smile, as here was a child - no matter how much he knew about The Apprentice, nor what kind of guide he might be to her, still unknowing of the intimacies of the heart. "Nothing at all."
Emalia told Nephesh a bit about the problems between she and Hellstrom, and could barely hold herself silent as the boy looked at her incredulously. "Why would Hellstrom be mad at you for joining the Church?"
"He does not believe as the church does... and it is why I, too, make this trip. To be certain
I am ready. It's complicated, but please, say nothing."
"If he does not know of the Truth, shouldn't I tell him?"
"I, after everything, am glad to see his face look on me with something better than anger."
"He must listen! The voice will make him understand."
"Please, Nephesh, I'm begging you not to put me in such torment again." Her heart beat miles a minute as she sunk down into the bed of needles, memories of Hellstrom's enraged face as they argued before, assailing her. She looked up, almost ready to cry, when the boy reached over and gave her a hug. It was one of the most welcome things in the world.
The venison was delicious compared to the half-hearted spells and mysterious food Emalia had found in her pack. As she chewed, Hellstrom spoke in a whisper: "In all my wandering lately in all the random choices and directions I've taken I never dreamed I would ever see you again." "Nor did I."
Emalia watched in silence as Hellstrom handed Colin a piece of the venison, letting the conversation drop there. Famished, Emalia inhaled the rest of her deer, then walked to the nearest tree. With hunger out of the way, the only thing left to dwell upon was where she would be going, and how to keep everything calm.
She curled within the cloak given her by the traveler, and put her head on her knees. At the sound of the pan flute, courtesy of Nephesh's skilled playing, Emalia drifted off into a dreamless sleep - her thoughts of what was to come dissipating like her breath in the chill Hammer air.
