Rothardan had come so close to losing what he loved most that it scared him more than any monster had done in the past. And because of it, he had done something he had never done before. He had retreated into himself, not smiled in a long time. His memories kept going back to seeing Enelya hung up like a piece of meat, bleeding and bruised from her captor. Though he was scared that Enelya could get into some trouble, kidnapping and torture never entered the paladin's list of possible scenarios. But what was the most scary part of it all was that Rothardan couldn't think of what he would do if he was too late. If Enelya had died... if he had lost everything. The paladin didn't know what he would have done.

That scared him.

For now, the caravan was reaching one of the final stops in their journey. They had travelled to Debon Plains, which was near the temple of light. Rothardan remembered the last time he had come here, bleeding upon the ground as the god of darkness attacked him out of the blue. The scars upon his face began to prickle and Rothardan felt the urge to scratch them to make them stop. Instead he simply kept on directing the carridge, directing Alatiel into the plains. Soon, he stopped the horse and got out of the carridge, patting Alatiel and telling him to go and have some rest.

This was the middle of no-where, nothing bad could happen here. Rothardan just wanted to have a relaxing day in the middle of no-where, no demons or metal monsters or druids or anything that counted as something bad. Rothardan just wanted a normal day to spend with Enelya. And it looked like he was finally going to get it. The paladin looked around and saw nothing of danger. FINALLY! He and Enelya were alone.

So why wasn't he happy?

Enelya had slept so much since her kidnapping. She was constantly trying to regain the energy that had been drained of her as the crazed druid had almost bled her to death. She lay in a small ball, covered with leave for a blanket within the carriage, letting the rolling of the wheels rock her gently. Her hands washed through her short hair… She still hadn’t gotten used to it. It was so strange… Even though her hair was different, she felt as if she had been uplifted. Despite the fact that she had been kidnapped, abused, and near death… She felt like a strong person.

Though she worried for Rothardan. He hadn’t smiled, or laughed in days. She knew he would take it hard, especially with how much he cared for her. He worried about her safety, especially with him being a paladin, and having to face evil on a regular basis… He didn’t want to bring her into that kind of a world. But… it was inevitable. Her own mind still loomed with her own past that still haunted her… The whole situation of her existence sat upon her chest like a heavy weight, preventing casual breathing. She’d been created from death… Her own life was a big ironic experiment with an aging druid who had nothing else better to do but simply toy with nature. She was an abomination… And what Rothardan saw in her, she did not know.

As the carriage came to a halt, Enelya opened her lavender eyes slowly, and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She held her hand against her neck for a moment, listening for her pulse. She knew she was alive… But sometimes, especially after recent occurrences she felt it necessary to check. After both her own life and Rothardan’s had been threatened in the past month, you couldn’t ever be too careful. Enelya poked her head out of the carriage, and caught sight of the back of Rothardan’s head. She carefully climbed out, and wrapped her arms around him from behind. “Where are we, love?”

As Rothardan finished tending to the carridge, he looked and saw Enelya was opening her eyes. The paladin saw that she was bringing her fingers up to her neck, feeling her pulse. Rothardan closed his eyes and shook his head with sorrow, angry that it had come to this. Now Enelya was checking to see if she was alive all the time, every time she woke up she would check her pulse. It was like a dagger to Rothardan's heart everytime she did that, it reminded Rothardan how close he came to losing the one he loved.

Rothardan turned around and took his cloak from his bag of neverending space and placed it upon him. It was getting windy now, and Rothardan didn't want to catch a cold on top of everything else. He looked at the mountains in the distance and wondered how this could have ever happened. How did this vacation turn out to be so disastorous to the point where the paladin was wondering if he should even be around Enelya? Everytime danger came forth, it was because of Rothardan and the paladin alone.

The blue cloak flapped in the wind, making Rothardan look like an avenger from the heavens. He needed some time with Enelya, he wanted to enjoy this day whilst it lasted. Hopefully there would be no stupid problems such as thieves or oddballs or anything like that. It would be a normal ordinary day.

From behind him, Enelya's arms wrapped around the paladin. The smell of lavander blew into Rothardan's direction and the paladin closed his eyes as he savoured the smell. Enelya was pefect in everyway, and yet she may not have been here today if for some small luck.

“Where are we, love?” asked Enelya

"The Debon Plains," replied Rothardan, not explaining anything else. He couldn't bare to talk anymore. He just wanted to stand there and enjoy Enelya's embrace as if it was their last moment on earth.

Enelya smiled, leaning her head against Rothardan’s, and kissed his cheek. She closed her eyes, just feeling Rothardan beside her, as she scooted around, to where she was sitting next to him on the carriage, arms still around him, and head resting on his shoulder now. Her hair flapped around her face as she tried desperately to contain the short wisps, pushing it again and again behind her ears. She soon gave up, and simply let it blow around her face, causing her to simply keep her eyes closed.

"The Debon Plains,"

The Plant Lady took in a deep breath, taking in the smell, feel, and sounds of the Debon Plains. She then opened her eyes, and took in the sights as well. She looked to him, seeing the sadness in his eyes, and she crawled into his lap, and guided his hands around her torso. If he chose to pull away he could do so, but Enelya couldn’t think of a reason why he would want to. She leaned against his chest, and looked out onto the plains. “Mmm… Looks big. Is it big, Rothardan?” She looked up at him, and as she stared at his face, she became lost in it. Perhaps her lighter tones would lift his spirits… But she couldn’t help but think it was something that they needed to talk about… rather than simply ignore.

She interlocked her fingers within his, and gave him a light squeeze. “I’m still here, Rothardan…” She reached up behind her, and started to stroke his jaw line, going down his neck softly. She closed her eyes, and moved her head so that it was horizontal with his chest, listening for his heartbeat, that pumped with a solid beat. It was so reliable and consistent. Every time, another beat, and another and another, and his chest rose and fell with each breath, and Enelya was satisfied to know that she could feel his life under her skin.

Enelya grabbed the flapping edges of Rothardan’s cloak and wrapped it around herself as well, encasing them within it. She held his arms, along with the cloak around them, and breathed steadily. She could feel her own breath, her own pulse, and though she might have been deemed crazy for being so obsessed with feeling the life under her skin, the past occurrences had made her paranoid, and persistent to make sure that it was still there. It was not a dream, nor a trick being played on her by angels… But she was still alive, and so was Rothardan. She decided to stop checking for pulses and breaths… But to simply enjoy the presence of Rothardan, and the winds of the Debon Plains, as vast as they seemed to be.

Rothardan felt the embrace of Enelya as she clung onto him, wrapping her arms around his torse. But still he kept on looking onwards, wishing he could feel something right now. Rothardan was emotionally torn, unable to come to some sort of decision. His relationship with Enelya was amazing yes, but he had almost lost her in the worst way possible. Was it really safe for her to be around him anymore? What if someone worse came forth to attack the paladin and Enelya was there? What if it were Seele? What if it were someone worse than Seele (god forbid) and what if Enelya was injured because of that?

“Mmm… Looks big. Is it big, Rothardan?”

But the paladin didn't answer. Instead he looked down at his feet, desperate not to look at Enelya. He wanted her to be safe, wanted her to have a normal life. She would never have it around Rothardan. Could it? Enelya's hand took Rothardan out of his misery and made him look at his love. Her eyes were so full of concern, like they always were when she was worried about him. His heart began to feel like a lead weight as it pounded in his chest furiously. His stomach began to knot itself as the thoughts of Enelya's torture left his mind for more thoughts of how much he loved this woman.

“I’m still here, Rothardan…”

Yes, she was indeed. That was a good thing. Enelya was still there... still alive...

When Enelya wrapped herself in the cloak, Rothardan couldn't take it anymore. He held onto Enelya as if she were somehow going to slip away and rested his head upon hers.

"Enelya, I came so close to losing you..." was all the paladin could say.

Enelya wondered why Rothardan still had not looked at her. His heart was so torn from his chest that he could not even bare to look at her. Enelya could sense the tension between them. It wasn’t anger, or hate, but simply the distress of what had happened over the past couple of weeks that was obviously taking hold upon Rothardan’s heart. Enelya wished that he hadn’t taken it so hard… She embraced his love for her, but wished that he would not worry so much… She was still alive, and one must count their blessings… Right?

He did not respond, but merely stared at his feet. Enelya hated him not looking at her. Was it really that painful? Was just seeing her face that devastating to him? She wanted so much to simply jerk his face to hers, and make him look at her… But she had to be patient, gentle with his feelings, and gentle with his heart, as she hoped he would do the same with her, if she were ever in a similar situation. Until she finally pulled him out of his aching daze. She ran her hand along his cheek, and tilted her head slightly, wanting to soak up all his hurt, and make it dissolve in his dark eyes.

She turned back into his lap, and as she wrapped them up in his cloak, Rothardan held her as if she’d float away if he did not. She ran her hands along his arms, leaning back onto his chest as he rested his chin on her head. Enelya turned her head slightly, meeting her lips with his bicep softly. She then rested her head on his arm, and closed her eyes, simply washing away from time and everything else, within his hold of her.

"Enelya, I came so close to losing you..."

The Plant Lady squeezed his arm gently, and kissed his arm again. “Shh… You’re not going to lose me. I love you too much and I’m holding onto you too tightly.” She smiled softly, rocking them slightly in unison. He meant too much to her to simply let him go. “And because you saved me and protected me…” She turned, and looked into his eyes, becoming lost within them, melting into them, “I’m still here because of you…” She said, leaning into him, pressing her lips softly against his. She then broke the gentle kiss for a moment, and whispered into his ear. “I love you, and I need you by my side.”

The two of them were entwined together, lips pressed to each other, as the Paladin and his lady both showed each other how much the other meant to them. Rothardan knew how much Enelya meant to him, she meant the world to him. Never before had he felt feelings for another person as Enelya, and when he saw her tied up in the cave being tortured... he felt a part of him die that day. Though Enelya had told him not to worry, that everything was fine, Rothardan could not place the memory from out of his mind. How could he ever forget what he saw? How could he ever forget the pain and the anger directed at that druid?

And then there was Enelya.

Had Rothardan been too late... what would the Paladin do? He would never be able to recover from such a blow, never be able to live his life normally. His greatest strength in life was his love for all living things, and his vow to protect them as a Paladin and a Warrior of the Light. But Rothardan had never felt so much love for anyone other than Enelya before. She was truly something.

“Shh… You’re not going to lose me. I love you too much and I’m holding onto you too tightly.”
Enelya and Rothardan began to rock forwards back and forth, Rothardan's eyes closed so has he could just lay there. He had never felt so weak in his life... so defeated.
“And because you saved me and protected me…”
Rothardan opened his eyes and looked at Enelya, facing her and looking into those beautiful emerald eyes. It was so easy to become lost in those emerald eyes, to feel such love for Enelya.
“I’m still here because of you…”

Rothardan hugged Enelya and held her close again. He wrapped his majestic cloak around her and closed his eyes again. Leaning into him, Enelya whispered:
“I love you, and I need you by my side.”

Rothardan couldn't help but chuckle...

"Not as much as I need you Enelya... he replied.

In each other’s arms they remained, for how long wasn’t important. Despite the reassurances of Enelya’s words… Rothardan was inconsolable. Despite her words, kisses, and embraces… He was still internally struggling with the idea of losing her. It seemed that no matter what she said, or did, he would continue to pain his heart. It wasn’t doing anything for him than tearing him apart. She brought her hand against his cheek, and placed her forehead against his. Surely he could feel her touch? Surely he could see that she was embraced and captured within his arms, and she wasn’t going anywhere.

Enelya could not find the words to continue to consol him. It seemed for naught; for he would simply cast them aside, caught in his own tidal wave of “what if” scenarios. She was flattered that such thinking made him so distraught, but she wanted him to cheer in victory that he’d rescued her! He’d given her freedom! He’d rescued her from such a terrible fate and because of him; she was still standing here to see another day! And she was still here to see another day in his arms…

She cupped his face within her hands and brought his gaze to hers, making sure he would take in every word she told him. She smiled slightly, tilted her head, simply taking in Rothardan’s face before she began to speak. He looked so sad, so tortured… His eyes were so distant and sad. “Rothardan…” She kissed his cheek, trying to find the words to say, “don’t let the what-if's consume you…”

Her knight then held her close, encasing them in his cloak, and she closed her eyes as he did the same, and they simply held each other for a short while. She took his arm within her grasp and held onto it tightly, resting her head upon it. Perhaps the best thing for Rothardan would simply be for him to hold her, feel her, and take her in as a real being captivated in his arms. And he was the reason for such a statement. She owed her life to him.

“Not as much as I need you Enelya...”

Enelya grinned, and shook her head. There would certainly be a disagreement between the two, but Enelya simply let it sit as so. She turned, wrapping her arms around his neck, and kissed him softly. She ran her light fingers through his hair, and down his back, softly loosening the muscles in his back, tense for the day’s events. They worked back to where they found the base of his ears, bringing his face to hers, the taste of his lips upon hers. Patience would consol Rothardan… and time would slowly bring him to realize that one could not dwell on all the what ifs, and all the might have been tragedies… But to look towards the future with optimism, and fondness; and Enelya would help him see it as so.