2nd Day of Àttäðr (August) in the Year 7740 A.C.

Glenwing awoke and found Leafë curled up next to him. His breath hitched to find her face inches away from his, long lashes casting their shadows over regal cheekbones, her soft red lips gently parted as she breathed deeply, silver hair rumpled and a strand tickling his nose. He brushed it aside, and the movement stirred the girl from her waking dreams before he did something foolish.

Of course, watching those dark gray lashes flutter open halfway to reveal eyes that glittered like emeralds when they gazed upon him was no doubt far more foolish than anything he else could have done. She ran a hand through her hair casually and offered a sleepy, "Good morning."

Her voice brought him back to reality, and he shot up from beneath the covers, forcing his voice to stay firm as he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Waking up," Leafë murmured, her nose scrunching adorably as she yawned. Wait, not adorably, normally. Her nose scrunched normally as she yawned. What was cute about a nose, Glenwing? Nothing. That was the answer. Nothing was cute about noses, especially hers. Now focus.

"That's not what I meant."

"Mmm." Sitting up beside him, she smile and hugged his arm, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Can you be more specific?"

"What are you doing in my bed?" Glenwing demanded, hardening his gaze and himself against her. He could not allow her to know the effect she had on him; it would only cause her to chase after him all the harder.

"Well, I had been sleeping."

"Leafë."

Her smile widened as she fluttered her lashes at him. "I like it better when you address me by name rather than title."

The älfr decided that this questioning was leading nowhere and knew he had to escape from those eyes and lips and hair and - älfar veita älfrs, where had her dressing gown gone? He abruptly stood to his feet and stalked to the wash room with a short, "We'll soon be leaving, so get ready."

Flopping back onto the mattress as her bodyguard shut the door, Leafë closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of Glenwing that lingered in the sheets. The night before, as soon as he had fallen deep into his waking dreams, she had carefully crossed the space between their beds and slid into his. In truth, she hadn't been able to fall asleep in such unfamiliar surroundings until she had done so. He was the one real piece of home she was able to take with her.

Thinking of home, she hopped up and decided to listen to him for once. It didn't take long for her to pack (seeing how she had barely unpacked to begin with) and slip out of her chemise and into one of her nicer purple shirts paired with gray leggings. She removed the mirror from her satchel and recited the spell, "Draumr kópa."

The surface turned cloudy before it cleared to reveal the face of Dellanir. "So you finally found the time to put a use to my gift?"

"Of course, Grandmother," the girl replied. "How are you?"

"It's been terribly quiet without you, child." The älfa-kona sighed and admitted, "I've grown used to your daily interruptions."

"I miss you, too. How is Mother?"

"She is..." Hesitating, Dellanir tried to find a way to say that which she could not utter. "She is...not as bad as you may have expected."

"She misses me?" Leafë didn't mean to say it with a note of surprise, but that was how it came out.

"Of course. And with my son off playing the diplomat, Islanzadí is feeling lonesome."

"But she has you, doesn't she? And you have her."

The former queen held back a snort for the sake of her granddaughter and stretched, "We do. Enough about us - how are your travels going? Will you be arriving at the Reliquary soon?"

"We'll be there by nightfall," Leafë told her as Glenwing emerged in only a towel. Swallowing to wet her suddenly dry throat, she returned her focus to the mirror and hoped neither he nor her grandmother noticed how her face had changed color.

"Be sure to scry me once you arrive safely, as well as Evandar. He'll want to know, too."

"And you have Mother with you when I do." Dellanir nodded and said farewell, and she released her hold on the magic before glancing at the other occupant of the room. To her surprise, he was already dressed. But he hadn't gone back in the wash room, which meant - "You got dressed in here!"

"Yes," he answered, raising one eyebrow. "As did you."

"But not when you were in here!"

"Your back was to me, and I was never exposed."

"Then how - "

"I slipped my leggings on beneath my towel." Both of his brows had now risen, highlighting the twinkle of amusement in the blue irises beneath them. "Was that a problem, my highness?"

"No," she pouted, annoyed at how he'd begun using her title once more. "You know, you weren't right about what you said earlier."

The älfr struggled not to smile at how put out she looked and asked, "Would you care to clarify what specifically I said that is the cause of your grievance?"

Now Leafë knew he was teasing her. "You said that we couldn't be together because I'm a girl and you're a man. But you're only five years older than me, which means you're still just a boy yourself!"

"I've less than a year till I turn twenty." Glenwing walked forwards and leaned down. For one fleeting moment, she couldn't even remember how to breathe. But he picked up her satchel rather than kiss her, and her breath left her in a rush of disappointment. "And I've seen far too much to be considered a child no matter the age."

Her anger spiked, and she snatched the bag back from him. "Just because I'm a princess and lived such a coddle lifestyle doesn't mean I'm a child! I'm old enough to carry my own burdens."

The girl strode off before he had the chance to say another word, slamming the door behind her. He gathered the rest of bags and thought to himself, But you're still far too young to carry the burden of a man's love, especially when he struggles with the weight of it himself.

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A/N: Here it is! A little bit shorter than I intended it to be, but I wanted to end on that note. Ugh, stupid Glenwing, holding back and not allowing me to pair him up with Leafë immediately! Of course, he has his reasons, some of which haven't been fully revealed even to himself. Wonder how many can guess what burdens he carries? All will be revealed in time, but the next part will finally have them arriving at the Reliquary, which means hello Ruby but goodbye Oromis and Arva. And I hope some of you caught on to the important detail of how Glen is soon to turn 20, which means an important ceremony that could possible change the course of his fate forever...and separate him from his beloved Leafë. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I guess you'll just have to find out! >:D