The Conquest of Mytheyr
Chapter 45

Raven might have had to deal with politics for five days, but Morgan had to struggle through the other two weeks. There was still a tangled mess of string to deal with, but Asa was officially on the throne.

“I wish to thank you, Lady Morgan.” Asa said, catching Morgan as she attempted to escape the hall, “With out your support, I-”

“You’re welcome.” Morgan interrupted.

“I hope this is the beginning of a long alliance with Irideth.” he prompted.

“We’ll come when you need us.” Morgan responded. She could tell by Asa’s face that wasn’t exactly what he meant. She didn’t really care, and she wasn’t going to promise anything she didn’t intend to carry out. “If you’ll excuse me.”

Morgan slipped out of the ballroom, which had been modified to be a makeshift meeting hall, and walked down the hall into the courtyard. It was late evening, and the sun was just an orange streak across the horizon. The air was cool, a slight wind rustling the trees’ branches. She wandered on the paths for a bit, before sitting on a planter. She looked up into the branches of the birch tree looming behind her. A small songbird was sitting on a branch, its song in harmony with the wind’s whispers. Morgan closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her head clearing. The stressful ache in the back of her head faded. She opened her eyes and sighed.

“Can we go home now?” she whined to herself.

Vath had been spending a lot of time in the courtyard these last two weeks. He felt confined in the palace, though he never had that weird fit of claustrophobia again. Not only that, but he felt like he had worn out his welcome. The Dark Elves had started giving him odd looks. The Dragonkin were just as happy and friendly as usual. Timbltin had never gone too far from him ever since he woke up. Even now, the little dragon was stalking a mouse not five feet away. But they’d be going home soon. Vath didn’t know what he’d do when they left. He didn’t feel right returning to the desert, and… he had been avoiding thinking about Morgan, especially thinking about her leaving. Every time he did, he got a queasy feeling in his stomach, like he swallowed a bunch of moths.

He stopped short when he saw her. She was slouched forward, her face hidden in her hands. She wore a strapless gray silk dress, which left just enough of her back bare so that her wings were unhindered. The skirt was light and loose, resembling a waterfall as it cascaded to the ground and pooled at her feet. The light of the dying sun danced along her stained-glass wings, reflecting off the metallic purple flecks within them. The gentle wind tousled her hair, which hung in a mass of dark curls, adorned by a simple circlet. Vath was left temporarily speechless, but she hadn’t noticed him yet.

It was Vath who spoke first.

“Are you okay?” internally, Vath grimaced. That’s all you could think of, he scolded himself. Morgan’s heart gave a violent ker-thunk at the sound of his voice. She looked up, an idiotic smile on her face.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just been weird and stressful these last few days. I think I got used to having you around everyday.” Shit, she thought to herself, did I just say that out loud?

“I think I, uh… got used to you too.” Vath answered, blushing and looking down at the ground.

Morgan had been thinking about him when she had time, what with the constant flow of ‘this is really not my job’ thoughts. She had thought about what she had said to him, and she decided… she meant every word of it.

“Look, Vath…” she stood up, and walked to him, stopping about a foot away. “I’ve really given this a lot of thought… and if you don’t want it, that’s okay, but… I want you to go with us, when we go back. Well, to be honest…” she looked up at Vath. He wasn’t looking at the ground anymore, but right at her. The wind tugged at his ivory hair, and his eyes looked like amethysts in the light. “I want you to come with me.”

Vath’s smile came slowly as a mixture of joy and relief flooded through him. But when it did come, his mouth seemed so occupied with it that he couldn’t form words.

“Well, I, uh…” he stuttered. Morgan’s smile nearly matched his. She never noticed it before, but Vath was just a few inches taller than her. She had to angle her head up a bit as she pulled Vath into a kiss. He was surprised at first. But he took her hands and returned the kiss wholeheartedly.

Timbltin was no longer interested in his mouse. Instead, he hid in a bush, spying on Morgan and Vath. His first thought was to startle them. No, that would be mean.

But then again…