Circle of Stone

The Story

Page 40

Spellbinder - 2000-10-12

is forehead burning from the brief contact with those gorgeous lips, Trevor felt himself fall under the spell of Azari's beauty and charm. His mind was aswirl with thoughts heady and confused. He longed suddenly to drink of her lips and feel the silky strands of her luxuriant hair between his grasping fingers. To be held in her possessive arms seemed to be of paramount desire, a desire born long ago in the dreams of the young knight. Yet as these thoughts orbited his fevered mind he knew he should restrain the passions straining to be released, lest he be unable to contain their fiery inducements and commit a grave blunder. Perhaps it was the ale she drank which caused her to abruptly kiss him. Perhaps it was his head injury that affected his senses. Perhaps, perhaps. All that mattered now was the girl and the stars and moon. It was magical, a dream come true. Trevor gently gripped her forearm and smiled enigmatically. He murmured teasingly, "Too late? Too late for what?" He turned his face toward the moon and in a voice husky and deep, "Aye, you are indeed a queen as beautiful as the celestial bodies you guard, your skin as fair as the silvery moonlight." Trevor chuckled at his attempt at poetry. He regarded Azari with an appraising eye and continued, "I fear I may starve as a poet. Perhaps I should concern myself with more knightly pursuits, eh?" He gazed deeply into her emerald eyes, eyes that mirrored the lunar light falling about them. He was very glad they had met. Very glad indeed. Trevor bent forward and taking Azari's hand, brushed his lips across her fingers, his warm breath caressing her skin. "May your sleep be sweet and your dreams happy." Trevor recited the litany his mother used to calm the fears of her young son at bedtime. Little Trevor had been convinced there were monsters dwelling under his bed, just waiting to feast upon sweet boy-flesh as soon as the candlelight expired. "Does my Queen require anything before retiring?" the knight enquired.

Amber - 2000-10-17

elene turned and noticed Azari's obvious drunkeness, and, now if more than ever, was incredibly disgusted. In her house, being drunk was one of the seven deadly sins. Even more disgusting was the way Trevor was looking at Azari. Selene rolled her eyes, and looked at the horse she was petting.

"Tomorrow I am going to get as far away from these drunken peasants as I can." Suddenly, there was a snort, and some bushes cracked and then burst apart. She whirled to see Starstruck prance into the clearing, branches sticking out of his mane and tail. In her delight at having her horse back, she forgot she was angry at the beast and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh! You wonderful horse you came back!"

She spent the next few minutes taking Starstruck's halter and saddle off, feeding the tall stallion some of the hay from the saddlebag she'd pinched off of an unknowing servant, and brushing him till he shone. As she worked, she wondered what her mother and father were doing, a sudden nagging ache of homesickness in the pit of her stomach. Starstruck had curled up next to Trevor's horse, with only a little space between them. Grateful for the body heat, and the company, Selene didn't even realize she was doing something that not too long ago she would have shuddered at the thought of.

She glanced at the fire, shivered, not only with cold, turning her eyes back to the darkness. They seemed to have forgotten about her, but right now she didn't care. More than a little hurt, she pulled a blanket from her things at the base of the tree, and ignoring the dampness, curled up against Starstruck.

In a few minutes, she was asleep, her long chestnut curls drifting idly in the wind. She didn't sleep soundly, dreaming of things that made her toss and mutter in her sleep. "no.. don't want to .. marry him.. let me.. don't want to..."

Diana - 2000-10-20

erithiel watches this all from her perch in an old oak tree that now sheltered Azari's horse, Trevor's horse, Selene's horse, and the noble herself, Selene.

Tiel was also disgusted with Azari and Trevor's behavior. In case they'd forgotten, they were this little groups only defense. 'They aren't being very fair to us,' she thought bitterly. She crept down the tree, made herself dim, and spirited the half-empty flask away. On her way to the river, she poured the contents of the flask onto the ground and filled it with fresh water. "Serve a better purpose, friend. Be a canteen, now," she said quietly.

Looking over at the wyvern, she saw that it had eaten the venison and was looking at her as if it expected to be fed again. Tiel shrugged. What could it hurt if she gave it some more?

*Stay,* she told it, and disappeared into the dark.

Surprisingly quickly she came upon a herd of sleeping deer. 'Must be their bedding area."

Creeping around through the herd, she picked two older deer who would be dead in a matter of months and slew them silently without pause and shedding no blood. She took the largest of the two to the wyvern and the smaller to the fireside and dropped it without ceremony to the ground. A loud crunch indicated that several ribs had been broken in doing so.

"More," she said quietly and bluntly, returning to beneath the tree. Settling to sleep close in front of the horses, she heard the high-pitched yapping of what might be foxes.

Martin - 2000-10-24

uranog dismounted as his ebon steed brought him to the village inn. :So, this is Stoneley Mill,: the pyromancer thought to himself. :Another small, insignificant village that pales before Home...: he caught himself. Such thoughts could be dangerous. :But the name is apt. I see the mill, in the distance...:

Sliding from the saddle, the Shenmiri strode forward to the door of the inn. With one quick shove, it crashed open. Ignoring the surprised looks and startled oaths from the men - and few women - gathered within the dark, smoky interior, he marched directly to the innkeeper's counter, where the large, red-faced man stood, clad in coarse linen, wiping a glass.

"Rooms," the Shenmiri said flatly, before the surprised innkeeper could speak a word. "Three of them - for myself, and three companions still on their way into your village. And stabling for our steeds." When the shocked innkeeper still did not move, his eyes narrowed. "My coin is as good as any other, innkeeper," he prompted, the faintest flash of orange flame flaring for a moment in his eyes, clearly showing his magical Path to anyone familiar with the Shenmiri Way. Reaching into his belt pouch, he slammed three silver coins down on the bar - more than enough for a night's lodging and stabling for his group. The innkeeper blanched under the force of the pyromancer's stare, hurriedly scooping up the coins, reaching for three keys from a rack of hooks behind him, and shouting for a stableboy to attend the horses, then proffering the keys to Muranog - just as the door of the inn opened again to admit Keleos, half-pulling and half-carrying Elexa, and affording the innkeeper a view of Daemil draped over the saddle of Keleos' steed.

Muranog smiled thinly as he picked up the keys. Turning to the new arrivals, he bowed gracefully to Keleos as he handed her a key.

"The good innkeeper has found rooms for us four, and his boy will see to our steeds, m'hara. I assumed that you and young Lexa would not wish to be separated? hence I have obtained three rooms for us four, that your unconscious companion can recuperate in comfort. What of the elf, did he follow you down? If so, my coin will stretch to a room for him also."

Laura - 2000-10-26

zari smiled gently with loving eyes and spoke softly being sure to remain quiet for the rest of the evening. She had glanced over noticing that the other females were restless trying to get to sleep. " My! I forgot about Selene and Terithiel being here" pausing with panic in her voice "I have been rude, Trevor I am so sorry, I know I should have been more considerate. I will have to try to apologize tomorrow." Her eyes meeting his " This doesn't mean I am staying. I will be going." Azari's gained her composure, brushing her hair out from her emerald eyes with a whisper she said " Well..this is good night, again. I will see you in the morning." With those being her last words for the evening, Azari made her way back to her horse Jetta trying to avoid falling over or getting caught up in the branches from the woods. It was quiet now. The noise from the fire popping and the leaves rustling brought a tranquil feeling to the camp ground. Azari could not sleep, she was fighting her desire to be with Trevor by the fire all night long. The way he was looking into her eyes, she knew she felt warm inviting eyes see into her soul. Her mind drifted off and on all night. She would toss and turn speaking out " Trevor! Trev...."

Spellbinder - 2000-10-26

s the young knight sat by the fire he recalled the warmth and emotion in Azari’s eyes as she had spoken to him earlier. He felt a stirring in his heart, an ember of passion began to smolder, making him somewhat giddy. “Do not worry, Azari. We have all been through a rough time. They’ll forgive you, I’m sure.” he had said. What else could he have said? There was so much more that he had wanted to say, but how could he have said it? When she told him she was leaving he had felt his chest suddenly contract, which made it difficult to breathe. He wanted to get up and go to Azari now and beg her not to leave. The thought that they hardly knew each other nagged at his mind and prevented such a precipitous action. That there had been a mutual attraction was without question, but beyond that there lay only mystery. Trevor sighed and kicked an errant log back into the fire, causing a shower of sparks to shoot skyward. What was happening to him? Was it love at first sight or something akin to it? Trevor had had many young ladies attracted to him in the past, due to his looks and devil may care attitude, but none had been real and lasting. Even Lorelei seemed a bit enamored with his looks and chivalrous deeds in saving her and her family, but little more. She was helpless in a girlish sort of way, unlike Azari whom he sensed was his equal, despite her inexperience. He longed for someone to ride beside him and share each moment of his life, each danger and victory. Someone to watch his back, someone that he could trust.

He thought of Selene and her spoiled brat manner and then he sat bolt upright. Selene! What had become of her? He jumped up and cast about for his charge, finally seeing that Starstruck had returned and was lying near the other horses. Trevor also saw Tiel and absently waved a hand at her to indicate he would take care of the deer in a moment, his face betraying the concern he felt. He moved closer to the stallion and noticed that there seemed to be an unaccountable lump on the horse's flank. Closer inspection revealed chestnut hair protruding from under a blanket. So this is where she disappeared to. Trevor squatted a couple of feet from her and spoke quietly, "Selene? Selene, wake up. It's me, Trevor." She didn’t respond at first, so he shook her shoulder gently. She moaned and looked up at him groggily. When he was certain he had her attention, Trevor said, "What are you doing sleeping on your horse? Why don't you come closer to the fire? There's plenty of blankets. If you stay here you'll smell like a horse by morning." He wrinkled his nose to emphasize his point. He was still distracted by thoughts of Azari to really notice Selene’s expression. The would-be knight had certainly captured his mind, and soon, his heart.

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