As Elisa dispatched the messenger to Severian in his homeland, she thought about all the time that they had been apart...and how much she missed him .....


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My love.....it has been quite some time since I have heard from you. I only recently have returned to Elysium and fear that I shall be departing on a mission soon, so your letters may not have caught up with me yet. I just wanted to let you know that I am always thinking about you and miss you with every bone in my being. My heart aches to be near you once again and though I could in a heartbeat if I wished, it is not fair to burden you with my presence during your current course of work. Please accept this letter with my deepest love and devotion.

Always, Elisabeth......

*A fierce wind straight from the heart of the north whistled through the tall pines lining the sides of the road as four cloaked figures strode slowly toward their picketed horses. The largest of the four men threw back the hood of his cloak and began to peel off the blood-soaked strips of black cloth covering the shinier bits of his armor. The wind carried away the smell of the blood soaking the ground where ten of the bastard king's men lay behind them, but they never really escaped it for long these days. The broad-shouldered knight vowed quietly to never allow himself to get used to that smell. White streaks running through his dark blonde hair seemed to nearly glow in the darkness even though the moon could not be seen through the dense cloud cover...*

Rest well brothers. I will return to you on the morrow.

*A lean man shouldering a long bow stopped and looked at the knight for a long moment...* Are you sure of this Severian? Our work is far from finished.

*The White Knight nodded without hesitation...* Aye my friend, it's time. Time is very nearly all that I have now, but the aching in my heart will never cease until I can hold Elisa in my arms again.

*The bowman simply nods and continues towards his horse...*

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*Severian stares silently into the fire as he does on the rare occasion when they can afford the luxury of a fire. He lightly caresses the points of the snowflake pendant in his hand with his fingertips, considering his words carefully. He takes a deep breath and stands as a single tear rolls down one cheek. He had hardened his heart after leaving Elisa to return to Wynterhaven to begin the grim work of prying the bastard king's grip from his homeland. He wasn't entirely sure he was capable of crying anymore until tonight. While he was so very much alone, the warmth he felt from remembering the softness and sweet dizzying sensation of being with Elisa was all that reminded him of his humanity these days. He had forced himself to harden his heart more than he ever had since he first took up the sword, but quietly embraced the memories to keep them alive and well in his heart. He had to. If he ever forgot that his place was, ultimately, by Elisa's side, he would never regain his humanity after his work was done in Wynterhaven. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, holding the snowflake in his hand against his heart in a death grip...*

Elisa.... *He whispered the name with a profound and soul-borne reverence and tingled as he felt the magical forces in the pendant fighting his unusual magical resistance. He felt a great peace overcome him and nearly wept with unbridled joy as he realized that she was asleep. He could feel her warmth and knew that she stirred ever so lightly as the sending crossed the bond between them. He would not wake her--that was not his plan. He simply wanted her to know his heart. That would be enough for now...*

You will always be my blood and my breath, my love and my life... *he whispered in his mind, letting his love flow to her...* Always... *he smiled in his heart as though he were smiling into her luminous eyes and allowed that rare feeling of peace and sweetness fill his senses...*

*Then, his eyes wet with tears, he released the snowflake and felt the faint heat of the fire barely pushing back the cold of the north wind. Yet he was warm and knew he was still loved. He would find the strength to continue his struggle with the knowledge... No, with the unblinking certainty in his mind that he will be by her side again...*

~ Elisa's eyes shot open just as the presence faded...it's words still echoing freshly in her mind. Tears that had not been shed for many months finally emerging from her eyes as she wept openly on her pillow. Wether the tears were from happiness or sadness, she could not tell. Severian's presence was all around her, comforting her and letting her know that she was loved and not forgotten. After moments of thinking, she slide off her bed and dressed herself quickly. As she slipped her cloak around her shoulders and lifted the hood over her head, she started the incantation that would take her to Severian. She also sent a quick mental message to Wisdom to inform her of her brief departure.

She materialized on a cold and windy hillside. Looking around briefly, she spotted a small encampment to her west. She knew that would be where Severian would be. Walking quickly over to the camp, she stopped several feet outside it's perimiter waited for the guards to spot her. As they approched, she smiles and held out her left hand to them, allowing them to see the ring she wore. She also lowered the hood of her cloak and allowed them to see her.~

You know who I am good sirs.....I am Elisabeth of Norworld and I only beg a moment with Severian of Wynterhaven. You have nothing to fear from me.

~ As the guards inspected her ring, which bore her and Severian's house symbols intertwined, she waited paciently. They smiled and pointed her in the direction of the back of the camp. As she walked that direction, she spotted Severian...sleeping gently next to a giant rock. Kneeling beside him and taking his hand gently, watching his eyes open and settle on her in disbelief....lips moving as to speak. She simply places her finger on his lips and smiles ~

My turn love....I only can stay a brief moment. I needed to come here to see you and see the look in your eyes once again. It always told me how you really felt about me. The love I have always seen there is undeniable.I wanted to make sure it was still there before asking something of you.

Marry me.....Take a a day and night off of your quest and take me for your own forever. No matter what happens then, we have that. I don't want to live another day without being your wife.

~ She leans over placed her hands on his face, kissing him softly....slipping a crystal into his hands ~

This will enable you to come to the Sanctuary if you wish. Just place it next to your pendant and it will bring you to me.

~ blowing him a soft kiss, her form disapearred into the night...settling back in her room in the Sanctuary and slipping back into bed, as though she had never left ~

A pair of sapphire eyes softened as she looked out along the nexxus of the three realms and she smiled. At least one of them was finally happy.

The ArchAngel turned her attention to her realm of Etheria and sighed softly, her hand dropping to her stomach before turning her back on it once more, vanishing into the soft starlight.

Time to go home.

ELISA....!

He yelled after her disappearing form, his voice choked with emotion... He stared at the spot where she had stood, letting the image of her impossibly beautiful eyes burn itself into his mind.

Marry her? Could he be dreaming?

No, the pounding in his chest was real. The sweat on his brow defying the cold wind was real. The faint lingering scent of Elisa was ever so real and sweeter to his senses than the very air that he breathed. The stabbing pain that began shooting through his heart was also real. The pain that comes from knowing on one hand that the woman he loves so dearly not only still loves him, but wants to pledge herself to him and yet, on the other hand, knowing that she is asking him to put her in the position to possibly make her a widow.

Was she insane? He actually grinned a bit at the thought... No, she almost cetainly was perfectly sane, yet she knew that he expressly stated he could not marry her as long as the ursurper held the throne of Atenveldt.

No Elisa was quite sane. She knew what he had said before he left her. It was then that he realized that it was he who was insane, for even as his heart thundered in his chest and sweat beaded along his face despite the cold north wind, he knew that he would marry her. It made no sense for a woman, even one as formidable as Elisa, to wed a wanted man who had bounty hunters from several planes after him; who was an outlaw in his own homeland; who had little more than a bedroll and a bloodied sword to his name. But it made perfect sense for him to wed the woman who's touch he had felt upon his very soul and for whom he would endure Hell itself to be with.

He now knew with cold, unblinking certainty that once he married Elisa he would survive his current ordeal and return to her side again. He would live see the blade of his great sword slide from the lifeless body of the pretender to the throne of Atenveldt. He would see an end to the sleepless nights spent eluding his hunters. He would see an end to the suffering of the people of his Duchy and his kingdom. He would see his brothers-in-arms return to their rightful roles as the knight-protectors of the Crown and Kingdom of Atenveldt. He would see his lands and title returned to him as the Duke of Wynterhaven. He would see the day the son of Deaton Claymore would be crowned the new King of Atenveldt and he would proudly place his sword in His service as the Preceptor of Knights of the Order of the Argent Rose.

And then he would return to Elisa and become the husband that she deserves.

He took the charm she had left him and tucked it away safely, then pulled the snowflake pendant from within his tunic and held it tightly in his fist. He nodded to himself in affirmation of his newly found certainty about his future. About their future. He closed his eyes as he held the pendant close to his heart and felt the surge of magic as the sending began. He felt Elisa's uneasy slumber and waited until he could feel that she was fully awake, then he whispered in his mind...

Yes my love, I will...