Stars, Hide Your Fires

"I really love that color on you, Dove."

"I know, that's why I wore it." Althea glided down the halls with her lover at her side wearing a trailing, green gown. Althea preferred red on herself as she always loved the color within the sunset and sunrise alike compliment her hair. But she was so blissfully full of love this day that she wore the color Durai admired her in most.

The days passed and seasons turned from the heated skies to the painted earth and rested at last to the days of chill. The castle had grown delightfully accustomed to the closeness and warmth Althea and Durai brought to the halls. Even their dread of the colder seasons disappeared. With the coming of the cold, Baldrik's condition usually worsened, and the castle seemed in perpetual mourning. However, with Althea's help, he was barreling through the days much stronger than before and was filled with the spirit of the good-humored soul they remembered from childhood.

Durai was hardly from Althea's side; he even took to bringing his studies in the room with her and Baldrik as she worked with him on some days. He was never presumptuous enough to participate or get in their way, but he often quietly watched. Baldrik hadn't remembered a time he had seen Durai before so much. The only time Durai was apart from her was her personal time with Mireya or on the rare chance he was sent away to work on a troubled field, investigate rumors of troublesome spirits in the Woods, or to renew protection spells of a village. He made sure never to be gone long and always returned to sweep his Dove up in embrace and twirl her around. Their lives had turned into the tales in the times of fairies told to children to guide them to dreams of love and hope.

"Shall I have dinner tonight brought to your room? Just the two of us?" Durai asked as he prepared to part from her one day, her to work with Baldrik and he to study in his room.

Althea blushed as his seductive tone and delightful proposition. "I would like that very much, yes."

"Dinner at sunset, and don't be late. And keep the green dress."

Althea went through the rest of her day in the smooth routine she came to delight in. After she worked with Baldrik she went to spend some time with Mireya as Durai was still studying his texts. Mireya was overflowing with delight in spending extra time with her spirit sister. They decided to take a long bath in the hot spring next to Mireya's rooms.

"You and Durai seem to be…getting along," Mireya said coyly. She beamed from ear to ear seeing the attractive blush on Althea's face, and she loved to tease her about her smitten antics. "Is he all you dreamed when you were young?" Mireya shifted from her teasing to earnest curiosity. While she had had suitors and had periods of infatuation with this boy or the next, she never really felt the full possession of heart-filled love. Not that she felt empty in its absence, in fact she felt incredibly satisfied with where she was in life. But she was curious to hear how Althea described it. She loved to hear Althea's musical voice and her way with words.

"I never really dreamed much of love and the tales of romance when I was young. I usually studied hard to live up to my mother and my grandmother. They were the light that guided the village, and I wanted to be that light too."

"You always speak so highly of them," Mireya said as she gently rested her head upon her folded arms enjoying the warmth of the water. "You always seem to go to another place when you speak of them."

Althea sighed. Mireya was right. Her mother and grandmother always shined brighter than other parts of her life, and they were the true measures of greatness to her. "The first love I knew was theirs, and always was the greatest. Even when I didn't believe in myself, they did. Whenever I wanted to give up, they didn't. They didn't force me because they said so; they embraced me and reached deep into my heart and always helped me discover faith and love in myself."

"You mean you didn't always have that?"

"I guess not always. But whenever I had doubt, whenever I would find fault in myself and hate it, they would bring the lantern to my darkness and drive it out. In a way, they would heal me in ways I didn't really realize until I think back on it now." Althea did seem to go then to a place far away in memory. Mireya just stared at her and felt the warmth of her thoughts and was happy for it.

"Lady Althea!"

Both women heard the servant's voice coming upon them fast and instinctually ducked lower in the water to cover themselves.

"Lady Althea, please come right away. Baldrik is calling for you, he's in some kind of trouble." Without asking for details, just as she always had, just as her mother and grandmother before her had done, she set right away to go towards suffering. She didn't even fully dry off or clothe herself. She simply put on a robe and ran barefoot towards Baldrik's rooms.

As Althea walked through the door, she saw Baldrik curled and bent inward muffling sounds of stifled pain. She quickly went to him to assess what was wrong. She wasn't sure how he came to be this way, but what she saw upon that bed brought tears to her eyes. Every part of this man she cherished had bent itself inward. His hands were fists clenched against their will and silent tears went down his face as he tried to mask his pain. "Oh, Baldrik," she whispered sympathetically.

"It's not that bad," he nearly spat out in false bravado. He looked up into her eyes to see if she was buying it, which of course she wasn't. But they let out an honest laugh at his attempt. "Listen," he said in seriousness, "don't you do what you did before. This isn't that bad. Just get me to limping, and I'll do the rest."

"You're not the boss of me," Althea said as she sent an attendant for supplies and began massaging the more bent parts of his hand.

Baldrik pulled away his hand from her, or at least tried to. "I mean it," he said deepening his look into her eyes, "you will not give away yourself like that again. Not to me, not to anyone. This world needs more of what you have, and you're not going to be reckless with yourself on me." Althea made a move to protest before he stopped her. "You've made me strong, Althea. And not just the work with my body. I mean you've made all of me stronger, Althea. I have the will to fight because of you. So I mean it when I say get me to limping, and I'll manage the rest."

Althea felt overwhelmed with pride in her kindred brother, and even more remarkable still, she felt pride for herself. She had never heard thanks and unwavering trust like she had just heard. While she couldn't believe the words completely, she was still proud in as much as she knew how.

Althea worked on Baldrik's muscles until they released their stiffness and spasms that kept him curled. The chorus of the night creatures began to hum through the window signaling the deep of the night and rang out louder as the song Althea tried had died down and she covered Baldrik with blankets for sleep. It was then that she realized the time and felt her heart sink at missing her dinner.

Baldik noticed her change in mood and asked what was wrong sleepily. His pain had subsided enough to allow him to sleep, and the fight he was putting up against the pain had rendered him exhausted. As much as he wanted to shrug off the veil of sleep to be there for Althea in her clear distress, her skills had been far too effective. He was asleep before she could respond. She brushed back his hair and doused the room's candles before she ran to her rooms.

The doors opened slowly and timidly as Althea peered from behind them like a guilty child. She wanted so much to find an empty room; she knew if would break her heart if Durai was still waiting for her. But there he was behind two candle stubs and cold, untouched food. She said from the door, "Oh, Durai. I am so so sorry. An emergency came up-"

"With Baldrik. I know. I gathered from the way the servants dashed in and out of here grabbing this and that." His hurt tone stung Althea and she felt herself flinch. She knew Durai had negative feelings with Baldrik before, and she despised the thought they could get worse.

"You should have seen him, Durai," she began in a pleading tone. "Every joint in his body had stiffened into a curl. It was frightening. But we worked through it, and he thanked me so very much." Althea tried to turn the situation to a lighter tone. She knew that Durai was protective, so she wanted to assure him that this situation was not like the last. She was hoping he would be relieved.

Instead, Durai rose from his seat and started to walk towards the door in a manner that made Althea's stomach drop to her feet. "Durai?"

He stopped with his back to her with his body held tall and stiff. "You left me here. You broke your word to me."

Althea had hardly seen it that way at all. Someone needed her, and she answered. She supposed she should have sent word to Durai, and suddenly she felt embarrassed. Durai turned around to face her. "Look at you," he said with his face downturned and sour. "You didn't keep your green dress like you promised." And then he really looked at her in her robe and nothing more. "Were you with him barely dressed?!"

Althea had forgotten her state and pulled her robe in tighter. "I was with Mireya at the spring when they called-"

"And you couldn't be bothered to at least be decent. You went before another man nearly naked while I was here like a fool waiting for you to keep your promise?"

Althea dropped her head. She had not meant to hurt Durai at all, but she could see he was clearly wounded by her. She had never hurt someone like this, and she wanted more than anything to not feel this way. When she raised her head to beg for forgiveness, he was gone.

...….

The next morning there was a note on her door that Durai would be gone for an urgent errand by the Queen beyond Shimmer Plains to the other side of the Woods. She was quite sad that he had gone before she could clear things between them. Her soul was in torment, and she wanted to cry. She pushed the tears back until after breakfast.

Baldrik stood when she entered the dining hall and pulled a chair out for her. Though his movements were still stiff, they were much better. His grateful smile made her feel slightly better.

"Will Durai join us this morning, or did he wrapped up in another book?" Mireya asked. Althea's head shot up in panic and confusion. Mireya's words echoed from a place far away, or so it felt.

"Wasn't he sent…I mean didn't you send him to the Woods for some errand?" she nearly squeaked out like a mouse.

"No," Mireya said not seeing the color leave Althea' face and putting a bite of food into her mouth, "I haven't seen him for a few days actually. Why?"

Althea's sight faded to gray and sounds came through her ears like they were blocked with cotton. She rose from her chair clumsily, almost knocking it over.

"Excuse me please. I left something in my room."

...…..

"What is it you're running from?"

"I don't really want to talk about it now. The sun is almost set, and we need to focus on a safe place to sleep."

"I want to know. Why did you run? Was it that you lost someone? Althea?"

"I…."

"Listen I know it's not easy, but it might help if you talked about it. Are you running because you lost someone you loved?"

"Yes."