The Story of Our Lives Never Ends
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Dana, Eimi
Date Posted: 20th November 2005
Characters: Ailyn, Firon
Description: Ailyn recieves some horrible news, and Firon is there to comfort her
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 8, day 15 of Turn 3
It was so cold in the room, but Ailyn hardly noticed as she stared, unseeing, out the window. He was gone. Gone. She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't believe it. She curled her arms tighter around her knees, resting her chin on top of them. He would be there, with his bright eyes and laughing face, greeting her when she and Firon visited. He would. A sound almost like a sob, almost like a sigh, escaped her.
She was so absorbed in her silent thoughts that she did not notice her husband's return. Firon laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Ailyn?"
His hand was so warm... She let out another sob, and finally, tears that had been lingering just behind her lashes trickled down her cheeks.
He wrapped his arm around her and craddle her head gently against his chest. Firon didn't know what had happened, and he would not ask. She would tell him when she was ready. His wife was hurting, and that was all he really needed to know.
One hand reached for him and her fingers clenched at his tunic. Hard. She buried her face in his chest, breathing in his familiar scent even as she cried. For long moments, she couldn't say anything - all Ailyn could do was just let everything out. Everything she'd been keeping bottled up inside; her sadness, anger, frustration, bitterness, denial...everything. She moaned her husband's name, rubbing her wet cheek against him.
Firon's heart ached for his lover. His fingers caressed through her hair, wishing he could extract her pain through his fingertips. He whispered soothingly to her, feeling his heart twist in his chest with each heaving sob. There was nothing he could do but wait for her to ride the waves of her grief.
Finally, she raised her face to him, her blue eyes glazed, tired and bloodshot. "Papa's..." Her strained voice trembled. "Papa's gone. Gone." There was such a finality in that acursed word.
Ah, so that was it. He was a good man, and Firon would miss him too. But there was no time for his own grief. His wife was his primary concern. He slipped one arm under her curled knees and lifted her into his arms. She was light in his arms despite the heavy grief that was upon her. He carried her to their bed and gently wrapped himself around her, surrounding her with his body as he wanted to surround her with his love, wanting nothing more than to protect her heart from the saddness that attacked it.
"Heart-attack, Mama says," she whispered brokenly against his neck. "And there wasn't...there wasn't anything she could..._do_, Firon."
"He lived a good life, Ailyn," he whispered, knowing that it would be no consolation for losing the man who had watched over her and loved her since the moment of her birth.
"But there were so many things he wanted to see and do still...and he'll,"
her throat closed and fresh tears welled in her eyes, "he'll never see his first grandchild. That's what he wanted most. He wanted to be a Grandpapa to our...children..."
Firon nodded as his gently kissed her forehead. "You know, I remember his face the day we were married. Do you remember it?"
Ailyn shook her head. But she knew. She remembered, but she wanted him to tell her...she wanted to relive that moment with him...
His arms tightened around her. "Your father held your hand as he walked into the room, and I could tell that it was the hardest moment of his life
- giving you away to another man. He had loved and supported and protected you all your life, waiting for that one moment that he knew would someday come, when he would finally have to give that responsibility to another. And there were tears in his eyes as he placed your hand in mine. But he looked at you with a look of unfathomable love and pride. I think he could have died happy on that day." Leaning back so he could look at her he gently brushed away her tears with the back of his fingers.
"It's not a bad thing to die with things still left to do and see in our lives. I just means that the story of our lives never truly came to an end. It is left to those those of us still living to carry their story for them."
She gazed up at him, and the love she had for him glistened amongst her tears as she moved so she could brush her lips against his fingers.
He turned his head to kiss her lightly before laying his head against hers. Caressing her hair and murmuring softly to her, he knew there was nothing more he could do to mend her broken heart than to just pick up the pieces and stitch them back together with his love, and to wait for the wounds to heal themselves.
Last updated on the November 20th 2005