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haebinHello, Lovelies!
I wish everyone a relaxed Sunday and hope you have the time to read the new chapter? ;) I would be very happy about that.
Thank you so much for still following Anwyn's and Trálír's Journey.
♥
It was only when she asked Trálír a question that he turned his attention back to her.
“Sorry, my mind was somewhere else,” admitted he quietly, but Anwyn didn’t inquire any further.
“Would you like to tell me how it came about that you were driven out of the castle - without a horse, it seems - and sneaked through the forest?”
The narrow smile on the elf's lips looked guilty.
“I have a sword, bow and arrow with me. I know how to defend myself and didn't just run blindly into the forest.”
Anwyn nodded, but looked at him slightly reproachfully out of her fawn eyes.
“I spent the afternoon with our bailiff, looking through numerous documents, reading over income and expenditure and then a decree fell into my hands by chance. Something I didn't know about, because my father wants to raise taxes.”
Anwyn frowned as she turned to Trálír's right wrist to clean it as well.
“Raise the taxes? I know that the Blackwater Lands are rich in many goods, but they are difficult to produce. There is no agriculture like in other communities, there is hardly anything that can be cultivated due to the dense forests and cliffs. We humans live from hunting, fishing and trading with each other for the meat of the animals we kill.”
Trálír nodded in confirmation. “That's exactly what I explained to the bailiff. I know that the fur of the black bears of Blackwater is prized throughout Faerún, but they are beasts that are not easy to kill. How many groups of hunters have lost their lives for some fur? One blow from a black bear can tear a soldier in two. And the search for pearls? How many pearl divers are there in the Blackwater Lands, Anwyn?”
Anwyn put aside the cloth she had used to clean Trálír's abrasions and thought for a moment.
“Maybe three or four people in the whole country?”
“The pickings are slim, and besides, it's extremely dangerous to dive in the open sea. Sharks, kuo-toas, chuul, marids. The risk of being attacked by an aquatic creature or elemental in the water is far greater than getting a halfway decent yield.”
“That means that the inhabitants of the Blackwater Lands have to give up even more of what they actually need to live,” Anwyn said, shaking her head.
“And not only that, Anwyn. He only taxes the humans and half-elves. The elves of the dark and black woods are exempt from his tax increase.”
Anwyn stared open-mouthed at Trálír.
“This is not fair,” she whispered, concerned.
“And I don't understand the meaning behind it, Anwyn. The Blackwater Lands are wealthy, we are powerful, of ancient blood. Our chambers are filled with gold. We would not need a tax increase. So what is the reason for his actions? I don't understand what he is using to justify this increase,” Trálír continued, his voice growing louder, anger and displeasure evident in it.
“Maybe it's the trade?” Anwyn asked cautiously and saw him grimace and shake his head in denial.
“Neither the earnings from pearl fishing nor the fur trade would make trade worthwhile. We have no harbor in these lands, the currents of the sea are too dangerous, ships would be wrecked on the cliffs. There are no trade routes through the forests. Establishing them would be madness, the danger of being attacked by robbers, murderers, gnolls, goblins or some other monster is too great. Trading with our neighboring countries makes no sense,” Trálír huffed and suddenly rose from his seat. Anwyn watched as his chest rose and fell rapidly in anger and rage, his fingers clenched into fists. She rose quickly, walked towards him and placed her hands gently on his chest, feeling the wildly beating heart beneath her fingertips.
“Look at me, Trálír,” she whispered, giving him an understanding and gentle smile as he complied with her words.
“I know this injustice is upsetting you. And I can see how much anger there is in you, but I ask you to refrain from that anger. This is our first night together, Trálír. Don't let anger at your father poison your soul.”
He gritted his teeth, turned his head away and stared at the ground. “I simply cannot stand this harshness and this intolerance towards the inhabitants of this land, Anwyn,” he pressed out between his clenched teeth. “It drives me mad that I am the heir to these lands and can do nothing to change these injustices. Constantly, every moment we meet, he reminds me of my duties, but never lets me put them into practice. Time and time again he accuses me of not having the maturity of an adult elf, of not knowing anything about how a country should be run. But he never gives me the slightest opportunity to prove myself.”
“Shhhh,” Anwyn whispered, standing on tiptoe and kissing Trálír gently. When she broke away from him, there was a deep sadness in his blue-green eyes.
“It's as if he enjoys torturing me, as if he delights in constantly pushing me down,” Trálír burst out. “He's doing the same thing he did to my brother, Anwyn. Only it's not physical abuse with me. What kind of ruler would he be if he so obviously mistreated his firstborn? But he always finds ways ... to show me how incompetent, how stupid I am.”
There was regret in Anwyn's large, brown eyes as she cupped his face tenderly with her hands.
“It's not time yet, but I believe that as ruler you will make up for all your father's injustices,” she said softly and kissed him again. And then once more.
“But how much longer will it take? Twenty, forty, sixty years? I can't make any decisions, I can't change anything, I can't act, I can't marry you, I can't start a family with you. I've been trapped in these damn expectations since the day I was born. Everything I want, everything I long for, I'm not allowed.”
Anwyn brushed a loose strand of his black hair from his face and gently pushed it behind the shell of his ear. Trálír used this gesture to press his face against her palm. As he closed his eyes, a soft sob broke from his lips. He immediately seemed to pull himself together, as if he were forbidding himself to show weakness, vulnerability.
Anwyn took his face in her hands again, showering him with tender kisses over and over again. She wanted to use her deep love for him to soothe the pain and the deep wounds inside him.
Anwyn felt a strong need to hug Trálír, hold him tight, to show him that his father's words were nothing but smoke and mirrors, because he was so much more than what his father thought of him. She wanted to protect him from the pain of this world and get him out of this agonizing feeling of despair and self-loathing.
When Yarrow suddenly howled softly, they both looked down at the same moment and she heard Trálír laugh softly.
“It seems someone wants to comfort you,” Anwyn said softly with a gentle smile and with a nod she encouraged her companion to devote himself to the little dog. Trálír got down on his knees and scratched Yarrow behind the ears. An affectionate smile stole onto his lips.
While Trálír devoted himself to cuddling and stroking Yarrow, Anwyn walked around them to her clothes chest and opened it to take out a simple cotton nightgown. She closed the box quietly, turned around and bumped into Trálír's chest.
“Oh,” she gasped.
“Will you let me help you?” he asked softly and she looked up at him, nodding wordlessly because her throat was tight and her mouth felt so dry that it would be difficult for her to say a word. Trálír grabbed the fabric of her dress at the waist, slowly pulled it up and helped Anwyn out of it. To her astonishment, he took the robe in his hands, folded it neatly and laid it on the table. He walked around her and she felt his fingers slide under the strap of her bra and the warmth of his fingertips on her skin.
In the next moment his fingers slid through her thick curls over her left shoulder and his warm lips pressed against her neck.
A soft sigh slipped from Anwyn's lips as she felt the tip of his tongue slide from it to the side of her neck. With a deft movement, Trálír undid her bra and slowly slid it down her upper arms.
Anwyn noticed how his fingertips detached themselves from her skin, which was burning with desire, and she felt a sense of loss. She carefully opened her eyelids and her breath hitched at the realization that her lover was standing right in front of her, his eyes gliding over her unclothed torso. When he felt her gaze on him, Trálír smiled. He placed his palms gently on her breasts and stroked Anwyn's hard nipples with his thumbs, which stretched out longingly towards him. With a tight throat, Anwyn watched as he moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue and his hands trembled slightly.
With a tender smile, he took the nightdress from her hands and let her slip into it. With her heart beating fast, Anwyn looked up at him and closed her eyes as he approached her. His kiss was tender, loving, almost like a breath.
“Let's go to bed,” he whispered and Anwyn nodded, her eyelids still closed. When she opened them and their eyes crossed, there was such a deep affection in them that Anwyn felt her heart skip a beat for a moment. Heart pounding, she settled onto her bed and slid against the wall, leaving enough room for Trálír to share it with her. She watched as he first removed his boots, then his tunic and finally his trousers.
He undid the ribbon in his hair that held it together at the nape of his neck, shook his head to loosen his hair and turned on his own axis to extinguish the oil lamp. With a sure step he found his way to the camp site, settled down and climbed under the thin blankets and thick fur that provided a pleasant warmth for the still chilly season. He searched for Anwyn's hands and when he found them, he intertwined his fingers with hers. Despite the darkness, Anwyn could see the tender smile on his lips and her heart beat expectantly as he slid closer to her. Another tender kiss followed, a wordless promise to her. A promise to always be by her side.
When he broke away from her, he whispered against her lips: “I love you, Anwyn.”
And suddenly, at the same moment, they both felt Yarrow leap onto the end of the bed and crawl confidently over her legs to drop between Anwyn and Trálír.
The elf laughed heartily and they released their hands when the little dog sighed, turned on its back and stretched out its belly to them to demand petting.
Anwyn and Trálír intertwined their hands again and gently placed them on the dog's soft belly so that they could scratch it with their fingertips.
“Yarrow is probably a little taste of what it would be like if we had a child sleeping between us,” she heard him whisper and Anwyn smiled with happiness at the thought.
“I love you, Trálír,” she whispered.
Then Anwyn closed her eyes and listened to the steady, calm breathing of her beloved as she slowly sank into a deep sleep.
I wish everyone a relaxed Sunday and hope you have the time to read the new chapter? ;) I would be very happy about that.
Thank you so much for still following Anwyn's and Trálír's Journey.
♥
It was only when she asked Trálír a question that he turned his attention back to her.
“Sorry, my mind was somewhere else,” admitted he quietly, but Anwyn didn’t inquire any further.
“Would you like to tell me how it came about that you were driven out of the castle - without a horse, it seems - and sneaked through the forest?”
The narrow smile on the elf's lips looked guilty.
“I have a sword, bow and arrow with me. I know how to defend myself and didn't just run blindly into the forest.”
Anwyn nodded, but looked at him slightly reproachfully out of her fawn eyes.
“I spent the afternoon with our bailiff, looking through numerous documents, reading over income and expenditure and then a decree fell into my hands by chance. Something I didn't know about, because my father wants to raise taxes.”
Anwyn frowned as she turned to Trálír's right wrist to clean it as well.
“Raise the taxes? I know that the Blackwater Lands are rich in many goods, but they are difficult to produce. There is no agriculture like in other communities, there is hardly anything that can be cultivated due to the dense forests and cliffs. We humans live from hunting, fishing and trading with each other for the meat of the animals we kill.”
Trálír nodded in confirmation. “That's exactly what I explained to the bailiff. I know that the fur of the black bears of Blackwater is prized throughout Faerún, but they are beasts that are not easy to kill. How many groups of hunters have lost their lives for some fur? One blow from a black bear can tear a soldier in two. And the search for pearls? How many pearl divers are there in the Blackwater Lands, Anwyn?”
Anwyn put aside the cloth she had used to clean Trálír's abrasions and thought for a moment.
“Maybe three or four people in the whole country?”
“The pickings are slim, and besides, it's extremely dangerous to dive in the open sea. Sharks, kuo-toas, chuul, marids. The risk of being attacked by an aquatic creature or elemental in the water is far greater than getting a halfway decent yield.”
“That means that the inhabitants of the Blackwater Lands have to give up even more of what they actually need to live,” Anwyn said, shaking her head.
“And not only that, Anwyn. He only taxes the humans and half-elves. The elves of the dark and black woods are exempt from his tax increase.”
Anwyn stared open-mouthed at Trálír.
“This is not fair,” she whispered, concerned.
“And I don't understand the meaning behind it, Anwyn. The Blackwater Lands are wealthy, we are powerful, of ancient blood. Our chambers are filled with gold. We would not need a tax increase. So what is the reason for his actions? I don't understand what he is using to justify this increase,” Trálír continued, his voice growing louder, anger and displeasure evident in it.
“Maybe it's the trade?” Anwyn asked cautiously and saw him grimace and shake his head in denial.
“Neither the earnings from pearl fishing nor the fur trade would make trade worthwhile. We have no harbor in these lands, the currents of the sea are too dangerous, ships would be wrecked on the cliffs. There are no trade routes through the forests. Establishing them would be madness, the danger of being attacked by robbers, murderers, gnolls, goblins or some other monster is too great. Trading with our neighboring countries makes no sense,” Trálír huffed and suddenly rose from his seat. Anwyn watched as his chest rose and fell rapidly in anger and rage, his fingers clenched into fists. She rose quickly, walked towards him and placed her hands gently on his chest, feeling the wildly beating heart beneath her fingertips.
“Look at me, Trálír,” she whispered, giving him an understanding and gentle smile as he complied with her words.
“I know this injustice is upsetting you. And I can see how much anger there is in you, but I ask you to refrain from that anger. This is our first night together, Trálír. Don't let anger at your father poison your soul.”
He gritted his teeth, turned his head away and stared at the ground. “I simply cannot stand this harshness and this intolerance towards the inhabitants of this land, Anwyn,” he pressed out between his clenched teeth. “It drives me mad that I am the heir to these lands and can do nothing to change these injustices. Constantly, every moment we meet, he reminds me of my duties, but never lets me put them into practice. Time and time again he accuses me of not having the maturity of an adult elf, of not knowing anything about how a country should be run. But he never gives me the slightest opportunity to prove myself.”
“Shhhh,” Anwyn whispered, standing on tiptoe and kissing Trálír gently. When she broke away from him, there was a deep sadness in his blue-green eyes.
“It's as if he enjoys torturing me, as if he delights in constantly pushing me down,” Trálír burst out. “He's doing the same thing he did to my brother, Anwyn. Only it's not physical abuse with me. What kind of ruler would he be if he so obviously mistreated his firstborn? But he always finds ways ... to show me how incompetent, how stupid I am.”
There was regret in Anwyn's large, brown eyes as she cupped his face tenderly with her hands.
“It's not time yet, but I believe that as ruler you will make up for all your father's injustices,” she said softly and kissed him again. And then once more.
“But how much longer will it take? Twenty, forty, sixty years? I can't make any decisions, I can't change anything, I can't act, I can't marry you, I can't start a family with you. I've been trapped in these damn expectations since the day I was born. Everything I want, everything I long for, I'm not allowed.”
Anwyn brushed a loose strand of his black hair from his face and gently pushed it behind the shell of his ear. Trálír used this gesture to press his face against her palm. As he closed his eyes, a soft sob broke from his lips. He immediately seemed to pull himself together, as if he were forbidding himself to show weakness, vulnerability.
Anwyn took his face in her hands again, showering him with tender kisses over and over again. She wanted to use her deep love for him to soothe the pain and the deep wounds inside him.
Anwyn felt a strong need to hug Trálír, hold him tight, to show him that his father's words were nothing but smoke and mirrors, because he was so much more than what his father thought of him. She wanted to protect him from the pain of this world and get him out of this agonizing feeling of despair and self-loathing.
When Yarrow suddenly howled softly, they both looked down at the same moment and she heard Trálír laugh softly.
“It seems someone wants to comfort you,” Anwyn said softly with a gentle smile and with a nod she encouraged her companion to devote himself to the little dog. Trálír got down on his knees and scratched Yarrow behind the ears. An affectionate smile stole onto his lips.
While Trálír devoted himself to cuddling and stroking Yarrow, Anwyn walked around them to her clothes chest and opened it to take out a simple cotton nightgown. She closed the box quietly, turned around and bumped into Trálír's chest.
“Oh,” she gasped.
“Will you let me help you?” he asked softly and she looked up at him, nodding wordlessly because her throat was tight and her mouth felt so dry that it would be difficult for her to say a word. Trálír grabbed the fabric of her dress at the waist, slowly pulled it up and helped Anwyn out of it. To her astonishment, he took the robe in his hands, folded it neatly and laid it on the table. He walked around her and she felt his fingers slide under the strap of her bra and the warmth of his fingertips on her skin.
In the next moment his fingers slid through her thick curls over her left shoulder and his warm lips pressed against her neck.
A soft sigh slipped from Anwyn's lips as she felt the tip of his tongue slide from it to the side of her neck. With a deft movement, Trálír undid her bra and slowly slid it down her upper arms.
Anwyn noticed how his fingertips detached themselves from her skin, which was burning with desire, and she felt a sense of loss. She carefully opened her eyelids and her breath hitched at the realization that her lover was standing right in front of her, his eyes gliding over her unclothed torso. When he felt her gaze on him, Trálír smiled. He placed his palms gently on her breasts and stroked Anwyn's hard nipples with his thumbs, which stretched out longingly towards him. With a tight throat, Anwyn watched as he moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue and his hands trembled slightly.
With a tender smile, he took the nightdress from her hands and let her slip into it. With her heart beating fast, Anwyn looked up at him and closed her eyes as he approached her. His kiss was tender, loving, almost like a breath.
“Let's go to bed,” he whispered and Anwyn nodded, her eyelids still closed. When she opened them and their eyes crossed, there was such a deep affection in them that Anwyn felt her heart skip a beat for a moment. Heart pounding, she settled onto her bed and slid against the wall, leaving enough room for Trálír to share it with her. She watched as he first removed his boots, then his tunic and finally his trousers.
He undid the ribbon in his hair that held it together at the nape of his neck, shook his head to loosen his hair and turned on his own axis to extinguish the oil lamp. With a sure step he found his way to the camp site, settled down and climbed under the thin blankets and thick fur that provided a pleasant warmth for the still chilly season. He searched for Anwyn's hands and when he found them, he intertwined his fingers with hers. Despite the darkness, Anwyn could see the tender smile on his lips and her heart beat expectantly as he slid closer to her. Another tender kiss followed, a wordless promise to her. A promise to always be by her side.
When he broke away from her, he whispered against her lips: “I love you, Anwyn.”
And suddenly, at the same moment, they both felt Yarrow leap onto the end of the bed and crawl confidently over her legs to drop between Anwyn and Trálír.
The elf laughed heartily and they released their hands when the little dog sighed, turned on its back and stretched out its belly to them to demand petting.
Anwyn and Trálír intertwined their hands again and gently placed them on the dog's soft belly so that they could scratch it with their fingertips.
“Yarrow is probably a little taste of what it would be like if we had a child sleeping between us,” she heard him whisper and Anwyn smiled with happiness at the thought.
“I love you, Trálír,” she whispered.
Then Anwyn closed her eyes and listened to the steady, calm breathing of her beloved as she slowly sank into a deep sleep.
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