A Wizard's Peace - Chapter 9

“Is he in there?"

"I think so, but I did knock a few times and then... Cal, the door is locked."

"Locked?!"

The pajama clad siblings stood whispering outside Rolan's door the next morning, their conversation hushed yet wildly animated as they took turns pressing their ear to the door.

"I swear I just heard him snore."

Lia huffed an impatient, confused sigh as she gestured at the door Cal was pressed against. "I'd break it down if I didn't think he'd kill me over it!"

Cal fought a snicker at the mental image of his sister breaking down the door just to be met with a thunderwave. He backed away from the door only to have his bare foot find something cold and damp on the floor. "What in the..."

They both stopped and stared, the floor suddenly far more interesting than the door they'd been focused on.

"Mud!" they both exclaimed, their voices still somewhat hushed. They followed the erratic path of mud spatter back towards its origin and found themselves standing before the door to where the portals were.

The pair looked at each other, then back to where they'd come from. "Alright now I want to break down the door too," Cal admitted.

Lia took a deep breath, trying to remain calm amid her concern. "Nothing looks like it was violent. We found mud, not blood. Maybe... Maybe ... I don't even know at this point. Let's just get on with our day. Have a little breakfast, get the shop running, and so on."

"What if there's an owlbear in there?" Cal suggested.

Lia eyed him as though he'd grown another pair of ears in an instant. "I will never claim to understand how your mind works," she finally said before she started toward the kitchen. "You can clean up the owlbear tracks!"

"Oh, come on!" Cal complained.

Lia only snickered as they each got started on their day.

~~~

Sunlight sliced through an opening in the heavy curtains drawn over the tall windows in Rolan’s room. It splashed across the bed, leaving Rolan groaning as he cast his arm over his eyes to shield himself. The weight against his chest and other arm were allowing him no further movement though, something his dawning awareness was all too keenly focused on as he braved opening his now shielded eyes. The blankets were tangled around their legs and waists, Raya’s arms tightening around him when he sought to move. A low chuckle rumbled from his chest as he rolled towards her, his back to the sun as he tucked her resting form against his chest. His limbs ached decadently, reminders of the night before as he sighed and buried his face against his lover’s hair.

It was not a dream, he kept reminding himself, it only felt like one. Was this what it was like, to feel content? Happy? The questions gently spun in his mind as his tail tapped against Raya’s blanket covered thigh.

“Do you have to go?”

Her breathless whisper drew the full focus of his attention. The way he reacted was instinctual, primal enough that he drew in a deep breath in an attempt to remain less than completely distracted. “I should. I really should,” he murmured back, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, then to her brow.

“Don’t want you to,” was her answer as she lifted her head, seeking a kiss that was freely; sweetly given.

“I don’t want to either but if we do not, the day will come banging on that door. We are not precisely dressed to receive now are we,” he answered, his dry humor undeniable.

“I like how you’re dressed,” was her reply, her sleepy features alight with mischief as she played her hands along his bare back, grasping at his waist to keep him close to her.

His breath caught as he looked back at her, that amber gaze she was so enthralled with narrowing before he pushed his brow against her own. “Just a little bit longer then…,” came his low response as he pulled her against him in kind. The world would wait.

~~~

Cal and Lia were sitting on the balcony outside the dining room after lunch when they finally saw their brother again. He was freshly showered and dressed, his hair loose and his attire but a casual shirt and loose-fitting pants. They both leaned over, watching him through the doorway and exchanging looks without saying a word. It was the appearance of Raya a short time later that ended the silence.

"No way! When did she get here?!"

"I thought I heard more than just him laughing!"

The tiefling siblings were talking over each other in pure astonishment as they dropped what they were doing to rush inside. The abrupt chaos had caught both Rolan and Raya's attention, the pair understandably startled by such a reaction to their presence.

"Raya! You're here again!" Cal blurted as Lia cringed.

"I think my brother means to say 'welcome back, we're so happy to see you'," Lia translated.

Raya remained somewhat sheepish, not used to being caught when not at her most orderly. That she stood there with her long locks unbound was one thing. That she was wearing one of Rolan's shirts with her own pants was another. She cleared her throat quietly, cursing the blush that stained her cheeks as she fiddled with one of the rolled-up shirtsleeves. "I'm glad to be here," she finally said, tentative over how to approach either of them.

Rolan merely stood back and watched as his brother and sister cleared the air of any real awkwardness immediately. They both seized Raya up in a hug at the same time, laughing at how they bumped heads in doing so. "Careful, someone is going to get a horn to the eye at this rate," Rolan remarked dryly.

"Shut up, you!" Cal shot back, for now it was the eldest brother caught in their sights. Lia grabbed Raya's hand, dragging her over so all three could surround the poor wizard and leave him weighed down by all of them trying to hug him at once. The comedy of the attempt soon had them all stepping back to wipe their eyes dry of tears born from laughter.

"Tell me you're staying for a while?" Lia pleaded as she threaded her arm through Raya's.

"I need to get back to Reithwin, I do have some things I promised to do for Ena and some of the children," came an answer heavy with worry and apology. "But I can be back in a couple of days?"

"A couple of days... I think I can live with that. And when you come back you can teach me those fancy braids you do," the tiefling lass declared.

Rolan just shook his head as he listened. Cal elbowed him then leaned close to speak quietly as Raya and Lia went on chatting about all the things Lia had in mind for them to do. "Happy is a good look on you."

The elder tiefling made a show of rolling his eyes. "Buttering me up, are you?" he responded, affecting a bland manner just for his dear brother.

"Well, I probably should given the state of the shop..."

Rolan raised a brow at him and Cal held up both hands. "I kid, I kid," Cal went on. "Swear. The shop is fine. Speaking of, I need to get back there. I'll see you all later. It's good to have you back, Raya," he finished, making his escape before his brother might lose his good humor.

"Oh! I need to get back with him. I'll see you soon, Raya, brother," Lia announced, hugging each of them quickly before she dashed after Cal.

Raya stood at Rolan’s side once more as she watched the pair retreat, her hand slipping into his. “I thought they would be mad at me, over everything.”

“They do not hold grudges easily,” the tiefling replied as he threaded his fingers with hers. “Come, let us eat something. Enjoy the time we have before you need to go back.”

“Part of me just wants to stay,” she admitted. “This is everything I’d always wanted with my own family. Has it always been like this? Your parents must have been so proud of you all.”

The words were so sweetly spoken yet brought an ache like a knife to the heart. Rolan’s expression shifted, melancholy casting shadows across stark features. “Their mother adopted me. I was a foundling. It’s not uncommon among tieflings,” he tried to say casually. Try though he may, the ache he felt colored the words. “I was there when Cal and Lia were very small. Their mother, my foster mother, was wonderful to us. She devoted herself to raising us and seeing us educated. We’ve always been a handful,” he admitted ruefully. “But at least the house was never quiet.”

Raya listened, inwardly cursing herself for a perceived misstep. “I’m sorry, I did not truly realize. I didn’t mean to bring up something painful.”

He bent to kiss the top of her head. “It’s alright. I can only hope that she is at peace, wherever she is. We lost her at the fall of Elturel. Another story for another time though, really.”

She turned to face him, her hand slipping from his as she put her arms around his waist. “I hope I’ll hear all your stories.”

“I would not wish that fate on anyone, my darling,” he said with a wry grin as he tucked a lock of her hair back behind her tapered ear. “Let’s get us fed.”

The smile she gave him settled his heart as he returned it in kind. How she managed to enfold him in calm so easily he could not place but he was no longer of mind to question it. Now was the time to simply enjoy as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her into the kitchen. The day must get underway at long last.

~~~

“Do you really have to go?”

Lia sat on the arm of one of the overstuffed old armchairs in the cottage. The little building was looking particularly lovely these days after the addition of Rolan, Cal and Lia to the group working on it. It was still so tiny compared to the tower yet so suited to Raya and Ena. The roof was completely refreshed, the walls repaired and given a fresh coat of white wash, the carpet before the hearth replaced with a newer one from the city, the kitchen table joined by four additional stools that were stacked in the corner when not in use. Ena lingered in feline form on the heart, enjoying the warmth of the low burning fire as she left an ear turned towards the conversation.

“I do. They do not summon us often but it seems they are summoning all of us. Why, I do not know. My mother leans imperious in her behavior though,” Raya tried to explain as she folded garments for herself and her sister, tucking them into a bag.

“Shouldn’t you be excited to see one another?” Lia asked as she reached for berries from a bowl nearby. The feline Ena snorted softly.

“I mean, I do love to see my siblings,” was Raya’s somewhat evasive answer. “I have not seen Eldrin since Aleida’s wedding. He is promised himself and, in a few years, will be married too. I hope we can meet his betrothed.”

“Are all elves like this?”

It was an innocent question, yet it gave Raya pause. She frowned, studying the tunic she held in her hands as she pondered how best to answer. “I think each elf family can be as different as snowflakes. Each of my parents come from long lines stretching back for as long as has been recorded according to them. They take their duties to the High Forest quite seriously. That they had four children, two of them twins, has put them in even higher esteem. Elven families do not tend towards numerous children.”

“Then how are there so many half-el--,” Lia bit off her own question, immediately realizing how indelicate it sounded.

Raya laughed. “I cannot even begin to answer that. I really can’t. It’s pretty incredible is it not? Among ourselves we’re so slow to reproduce yet there’s so many that share our blood out in the world. Maybe that is nature telling us something. What the depth of the message is though I will not pretend to say. I am but a simple monk, not a philosopher or reader of signs and portents.”

A huff issued from the cat on the hearth as Lia and Raya shook their heads. They exchanged a grin as Raya finished packing.

“Well. He’s going to be a mess while you’re gone, you know that right?”

That drew a heartsick sigh from Raya. Lia got up and went over to hug her as Raya answered. “I know this will cause him as much stress as it will cause me. If I brought him uninvited though it would be all the worse for us both. I want him there, please remind him of that. And one day I’ll take him there. I just need to do this first. He closes me out when I try to explain that.”

Lia rubbed the elven woman’s upper arms as she stood back a pace. “He knows. He doesn’t want to admit it but he knows. He fears losing you. That’s all.”

Raya nodded, still appearing distressed. “He won’t lose me. Ena and I, we’ll be back. As soon as we can get back.”

“Well, you both better get going then so you can get back all the faster!” Lia replied, putting on her bravest face. She too had grown attached to the gentle monk in the past months. The company of her and her twin were pleasant and welcoming. She would miss their talks and laughter. The thought made her impulsively seize Raya in one last, tight hug that left Raya gasping for air.

“I’ll hurry back. I promise. Give Cal my love too, of course. Before you know it we’ll be back in the tower playing games after dinner like I had never left,” Raya managed, taking her turn at putting on the brave façade.

Lia let her go and smiled. They gave each other a kiss on the cheek before Raya gathered her bag and turned to the cat. “Come on, Ena. I do hope you’re not traveling like that.”

The feline huffed, refusing to change forms as she rose, stretched and prepared to follow. Raya sighed, Lia laughed, and the twins soon departed. Lia felt odd standing alone in the sisters cabin. It felt so familiar yet so diminished without their presence. She dampened the fire and locked the windows, securing the little home carefully before she herself returned to the city.

Now all anyone in the Gate who loved the sisters could do was wait.