Taking a deep breath, Rastellion wakes up and looks around the room. His mind goes over the conversation he'd had with Zandrianna the day before about Immalaine's farm and her reluctance to claim her family's lands. Zandrianna had agreed with him; Immalaine should definitely go after claiming her father's land, even if she decided to sell it afterwards. It was, after all, hers. Thinking of the young woman, he turns his head and smiles, stroking her hair back from her face and onto the pillow. He leans over to brush his lips against hers. "Immalaine... we need to talk about what we found yesterday afternoon. About your home."
Her eyes flutter open as she feels his breath against her face. "Rastellion ...." she murmurs happily, snuggling into him before his words filtered through her sleepy brain. "Discovered? Oh ... the farm ..." she said, leaning up to look at him, a frown on her face.
He cocks his head at her, puzzled. "I know it must have been a surprise... but, Immalaine, aren't you happy? It's your home! And we can get it back for you!" He runs his fingers slowly through her hair. "I would've thought you'd be excited..."
Immalaine looks at him, her eyes still sleepy and now tinged with a hint of worry and fear. "I know Rastellion. But I dun know if I can go back after ... after .." she shakes her head, trailing off as her voice breaks.
Sighing, he pulls her a little closer. "After the fire?... the attack?" he asks, softly, his eyes on her face.
Nodding, Immalaine replies "Yes ... I can still smell it Rastellion. Th' smoke, th' house burning. I can still hear th' screams ... I ... " she takes a deep breath, before continuing, "I still have nightmares 'bout it."
"I remember, after the attack on our farm, when pa lost his leg... We didn't loose the farm, not like you did, but..." His lips purse briefly in recollection. "I'd wake up in th' middle of the night sometimes, thinkin' that I'd heard orcs bangin' down the front door, or maybe slipping into my room."
"I ... we did go back once, a couple days after it happened. Th' land were still ... it still smelled like smoke an' I looked 'round. They'd slaughtered e'erything. E'en th' animals." She closes her eyes and shudders at the memories.
Rastellion keeps silent for some time, his fingers still caressing her face. Eventually he says, "it'd be different now, you know. All that will be washed away by now. And there were happy memories there too, werent' there?" His own gaze goes distant. "When we passed by our old farm, when I showed you 'round... I could remember th' attack, could see how bleak it was there now... But, I remembered growin' up too. Th' time I tried t' fly by jumpin' off th' roof into th' haystack, or th' toy ships pa made for me, when I were just a few years old, t' float down th' stream." He pauses, realizing his accent is slipping back to the farmyard dialect, not the Breetown speech he's been trying to cultivate. "Well, I just mean, there were good memories too, .. and it made me wish I could keep the farm - that the land was safe again. Feels like we're selling those memories." His gaze returns to her. "But you ... you don't have to do that!"
Immalaine opened her eyes, watching as Rastellion spoke to her about the farm. She took a deep breath as his memories evoked her own from childhood ... running through the wheat fields, helping to brush the horses. The game her father made of gathering the eggs in the morning. The sounds of the men singing as they tended their duties ... slowly she let out her breath, as she tried to grasp onto the things she had been, the life she had lived, before the attack. "It almost feels like a different girl lived there ..." she said finally, unsure how else to explain herself to him. "It don't e'en feel like me anymore."
"And that's why you don't feel like it's yours to claim now?" he guesses. "Or..." He shakes his head slightly, trying to understand.
"Yes ... well yes and no. An' I dun know how t' say it Rastellion! I jus' dun feel like that girl anymore. I ain't been her fer a long time. That girl ... that life ... were all taken 'way th' day e'erything burned."
Rastellion leans down and kisses her lips - a tender brushing of mouth against mouth. "But now you can have her back again!"
A mixture of sorrow and hopefulness vie for control of her emotions. "Can I? I have t' wonder 'bout that. It's like a piece o' me's been missin' all this time, but now I've moved on .. an' would th' old pieces still fit? I'm not sure Rastellion ... " she worries her lip with her teeth, as she always tended to do when she was debating something in her head.
Rastellion props himself up on his elbow. "Tell ya what. We'd have to go back there to find those who remember you, who'd be your witnesses that you are who you say you are, 'cause you don't have the deed or anything. Why don't we stop by the land first? And you can see - see if it still fits. And if it doesn't? Well, you can always sell it. But should be you who gets that money, if it's sold; and you who gets to keep the land, if you want. 'Cause it's yours."
For several long moments Immalaine remains silent, the only sound her soft breathing as she considered his words. She turned her eyes to stare past him at the wall, as if she could learn something from the pattern of the plaster.
Rastellion studies her expression. "It was your home Imma," he says, softly.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was only in reality about a couple of minutes or so, Immalaine finally drew a long breath, sighing gently as she nodded. "I reckon yer right Rastellion, as much as I dun want t' go back. I should ... I should consider that. As ye say, I can always sell it, th' money could go t' doin' any number o' things. But, I dun want t' go alone. I can't."
He lowers himself back down to lie half-on her. "And d'you think I'd let you go alone? Oh no!" He grins wryly. "Once is enough of that." Then he chuckles. "B'sides, Zandrianna would kill me if I let you!"
She smiled briefly at him, the expression one of love despite her continued uncertainty. "No, I reckon yer not gone let me go much anywhere by meself after that." she replied ruefully. "But 'specially not there." She tries to sound aggrieved by it, but the relief in her eyes suggests otherwise, as she brushed his mouth with a kiss.
"Good, then it's settled. Soon as we can arrange, we'll head out there, to see the land, and to try to find those witnesses the notary needs to recognize you as heir."
She replies as she reaches up to run her fingers along his cheek. "An' now that that's settled ... Zandrianna isn't back yet ..." she whispered to him, with a twinkle in her eyes.
A cheeky grin crosses his face as he makes a show of lifting the covers and looking underneath them. "Well that's good," he says, grinning back at her ... "Because it seems that I am!"
((WIP))
(Credits and love go to Rastellion, who provided the voice of the male characters in this story. *Blows kisses to Rastellion and grins widely*)
