Soft Stars in the Night Sky

They lay on the floor of the forest just outside the small village. They were silent and simply admiring the soft, twinkling stars in the night sky. The sound of the wind and their breathing, in time, was the only noise that broke the otherwise tranquil atmosphere. It was the dead of night, and the village slept. Among the sleeping, and importantly so, were Laramie and Loren. The people they were staying with, in the village. Had they been aware of the other two’s absence, a commotion would have been created. Laramie did not like his sister to be out of the house after dusk; he was scared of her being taken advantage of by the Orlesian peasantry. This, in all honestly, was not a conjecture without evidence. It was well known that an unsuspecting woman or two had received an unwelcomed grope here and there as well as something more. It was not the portrayal of a civilised society the Orlesian royalty wished to give, but it was reality and nothing would ever change that. The only solace to take from it was that this little village was on the frontier, no foreign envoy would ever have the misfortune to see.

Tonight though, the village would not bother either of these two. They were free to enjoy each other’s company in utter seclusion. Free from prying eyes and judgemental glances. It had been a mini scandal in the village whenever they had discovered one of its inhabitants had become entangled with an elf; a Dalish elf no less. Such men were to be feared and loathed; the Dalish were barbarians - they were not compatible with the Orlesian way of life. Thankfully, this girl was not like every other Orlesian. She was a dreamer, with wanderlust in her eyes and the desire for adventure in her bones. That was why the Dale had been so drawn to her; she stood out among the tired and dead faces of the villagers. She offered him so much more than mere companionship, she was someone he spent time with and someone to talk to – she really listened to him whenever he told her stories of his past life as a Warden. Though she almost always said at the end of his stories, “I’d rather stay alive than live like that.” Such words stayed with the elf, perhaps she wasn’t all that different, but it made her difference all the more subtle and all the more appealing.

The elf slowly slid his hand across the ground and took one of her fingers between his index and thumb finger and gently played with it; rubbing his thumb over it. The red-headed girl looked over at him and offered a sheepish smile. The elf returned her smile. She was never one to accept signs of affection straight off, they always seemed to embarrass her and the elf found it endearing, another little thing to like about her. She was cute. He shuffled over towards her. He placed her head onto his shoulder and continued stroking her finger before gentling gripping her hand in his. Still not a sound was uttered between the two of them as they silently admired the stars above them. The elf was an admirer of the stars. He had been taught by his clan that they were the remnants of the great battle between Elgar’nan and his father, the sun. The stars were the remnants of the life blood and the elf thought that that made them all the more beautiful and astonishing.

He was thankful for the chance to have some down time and the ability to merely look and appreciate the stars. He hadn’t been able to do so in quite some time as he was constantly moving from place to place in an attempt to lose his pursuers. He had not told the Orlesian girl of this, he was scared that she and her brother would try and cash in on the reward for the bounty on his head. It was a source of intense paranoia for the Dale, but this girl had proven herself to be someone he could trust, he felt like it was only fair that she know that at some stage he was going to leave her. He had grown fond of her and held a deep rooted affection for her too; it would not be easy for him to simply up and leave as he had done all the times before. But unlike those times, the elf had not gotten himself romantically involved with one of his keepers. This made his situation all the more unusual and difficult.

He took a deep breath and turned the girl’s face up to look at him.

“I’ll have to leave you one day, Val.” He whispered.

“No you won’t.” She replied, her voice filled with defiance.

“Yes...Yes I will.”

“Don’t be so ridiculous, Jolich. Why would you ever have to leave? Don’t you like it here? I’ll leave with you.”

“No...No, it’s not that.”

“What is it then? Don’t you like Loren or Laramie?”

Jolich took in a deep breath, ready to admit to her his darkest secret, and one he did not like to admit. “I’m on the run, Val.” He finally admitted, his voice cracking, “people are looking for me... I did some things to help the Wardens back in Ferelden.”

“It’s in the past.”

“But people want me to be thrown away, locked up.”

“I’d never turn you in.” Once again the defiance entered her voice, stronger than ever as she gripped his hand firmly, but reassuringly.

Jolich’s lips began to quiver at her kindness. “Val...The price of my head.”

“I don’t care, I’d never hurt you, Chérie.” She looked straight into his eyes. Hers were filled with such sincerity and genuine concern that Jolich had to look away, tears forming in his eyes. He had not expected such a response from her, he had expected her to be reviled by it, not want to be anywhere near him, but there she was; closer than ever.

He felt her place her had on his cheek and she gently turned his face over to look at her in the eyes again. It was an intense gaze and Jolich could feel her moving her body over his, her leg positioned itself between his and one of her hands slipped underneath his shirt and drew soft circles on his stomach. She moved in to place a soft, passionate kiss on his lips.

“Say you won’t leave, Jolich.” She said.

Jolich placed another kiss on her lips and wrapped his arms around her, pretending he never heard the question.