The revels wane into the night at Adso’s camp, Claywick and Caladna retire to their tent (another story too long in its beginning), and Captain Teahesto and my bride, Seregrian, sit at the campfire and discuss his latest investigations into the Wildwood. I take the opportunity to draw out Her work “Mortals: A Case Study” and, after noticing Her approving nod, continue my reading with “An Hypothesis”.
Here, She continues exploring a new and fundamental change in Her life, that of being loved, more than just desired. The entry opens with the beginning of Her first day with me as her beau. She concerns Herself with Her appearance, seeking deliberate modesty as if to either measure my feelings or perhaps to rein in Her own. Thus, does she reveal Her own interest in me, and I would resolve to openly invite and respect Her examination. Of our first meeting of the day, She writes:
“When he embraces me, I can feel no sense of possession on his part, just the desire to feel closer - to which I don't believe I shall ever object.”
The remainder of this entry describes our first picnic, including our excursion through many of the Bree Town shops and stalls where we gathered the makings of our little feast. The focus of her observation was not on the things we collected, but on my methods for selecting them. She categorized my behavior, but not in a clinical sense. She was observing a beau, judging him for a trust she already knew She wished to share.
The Park across the lane from Town Hall seemed a most natural place for a picnic, being both conveniently in the center of town and also walled and hedged, giving a sense of separation from the town’s bustle. She mentions Her pleasant surprise at finding a spot, so inviting to Her Elf values, in the middle of a Mortal village.
She recounts with a fondness every detail of the remainder of the day and into the starry night. She frames these details with Her description of our picnic tree and the beautiful weather, both overseeing our simple interactions; my presentations of food and drink, our conversations on a constellation of subjects, our inching closer to each other. She concludes the entry by describing our lingering kiss as lovers, the joining of our gazes, and gentle caresses. Her last line, quoted from our embrace:
"It would appear that my initial hypothesis was correct. You are not in love alone - dear one..."
In this entry, she has introduced a new role in Her life; the Lover, a being She had thought abandoned ages ago. Her most comfortable role, the Scholar, is at this point demanding facts and truths, proofs of what the rediscovered Lover sings. The Scholar gathers all the details of this eventful day, but the Lover writes them down, warm tones embracing the facts. The result is not an internal argument, but a collaboration.
In the next entry, “Planning for Time”, the Scholar continues to demand primacy within Her. In doing so, the Scholar calls up a sister, the Campaigner, another of Her roles She has depended upon for ages, to carry out a thoughtful plan of action. As the title of the entry states, time is now a primary concern for Her, an urgency the Lover has awakened. She writes:
“To continue to observe and experience Mortal ways and customs, it was necessary to remain in close contact – however, I also had to factor in my developing affections for Cutch. Admittedly, he is a resident of Bree, and of course Mortal lands; I on the other hand, reside in the Elven community of Falathlorn by the banks of the Lhûn. Taking into account the four days’ journey between the two, things become problematic.”
Thus, encouraged by the Lover, the Scholar and Campaigner acted:
“I began making discrete inquiries at the Bree-land auction houses and in the markets, which brought raised eyebrows from some, and the eager prospect of coin from others. Once transactions were finalized and deliveries arranged, I was now moving against time.”
She rapidly packed and departed, leaving me a missive that, although brief and vague, was still as reassuring as She had hoped; She continued to refer to me as “dear one”.
The intervening days till our next meeting seemed endless, and my only consolation was the faithful and firm anticipation that She would return. Early one morning, as I arrived at the Mess Hall, a note from Her was waiting inside: “Meet me at the West Gate.” I made my apologies to Bellum and rushed immediately to find Her. I recall Her empowered by some decision She had made, but not yet revealed, and had sought to introduce it somehow by choosing that moment to begin my lessons on her language. Mystified and enthralled, I went along with Her, until She began teaching words for ‘house’ and ‘home'. As our discussion led to the fact that I had neither, simply rented accommodations, She revealed Her plan:
“Cutch, dear one, it is not right that you should live here and labor with little reward and less regard. So I have decided to offer you a proposal: come live with me. In Falathlorn, you would have a place to live and ply your trade; new sights and vistas to behold, and the ways to dream your dreams into wakefulness. There would be no more travel and labor, no time to be wasted, just time spent learning, about each other. So come, dwell with me, and let us behold where these events shall take us.”
There was absolutely no hesitation on my part, as if the proposal was just simply the next thing we must do as a matter of course. It took nearly no time for me to gather my few things, resign to a shocked and chagrined Bellum, dash a note off to Clay and Callie, and return to where I knew I belonged; beside Her – always and anywhere.
