Seeing Peredhil vanish right before her eyes was too much for her tonight, and Juliane moved rapidly towards the door and out into the night air. Only one place would be her refuge tonight.
The Nexus deposited him about a block away from the Great Hall. A flash of blond hair under the street light had him racing back towards the entrance. As he neared the front door, he caught sight of the woman's face?it was not Juliane. He came to a screeching halt, hastily trying to assure the woman that he was not about to rob her purse as she cringed before him, holding it out while simultaneously screaming at the top of her lungs. Passersby were starting to gawk at the sight, so he apologized once again to the frightened lady and took off at a trot towards the only place he could think of.
After his disappearance, she had wasted no time in cutting through the side streets towards the Studio. In fact, she moved at such a clip she gave no thought to her safety until she was safely inside the building and sprinting up the steps, skirt hoisted above her knees. Digging in her clutch, she removed a ring of keys and made quick work of the locks. Pushing the door wide, Juliane stepped inside and set every lamp to glowing. She was in no mood for shadows, and the night threatened to be a long one.
Pulling off his dress shoes, Peredhil ran through the woods, taking the shortest route he could think of to the Studio. A low-hanging branch clawed at him, tearing the arm of his jacket. As he scrambled up the last embankment before he reached the road that led to her entrance, he noticed that no lights were on outside. Doubting whether she was even there, he was on the verge of turning around when a blaze of light glimmered through the windows. Hope lifted his spirits momentarily, giving him the courage to leap up the steps and pound on the door.
Chest heaving, she look wild-eyed about the Studio. Her corner of the space was a dusty, disheveled mess. There was no way she was going to begin cleaning it as she was, so she kicked off her shoes and headed towards the closet, fingers extracting pins from her hair at will. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how the fates would look at it, she did not get very far before the reverberation of the door made her jump nearly out of her skin. "Who is it?" She bellowed in her most assertive voice, hoping to scare off anyone unsavory who might have followed her.
"It's Peredhil. Please, Juliane, let me in for just a second." He paused, trying to listen for any indication of movement on the other side of the door. "We need to talk."
While the adrenaline did not immediately leave her body at the sound of his voice, her nerves fluttered for totally different reasons. Crossing to the door, and painfully stepping on a hairpin along the way, she unbarred it and opened it wide.
He had no plan when he entered, but upon spying her there, he felt pulled inevitably to the only thing he could do. The streetlight and lamps combined to give her a strange aura, highlighting her disheveled hair and beautiful face in just such a way that she appeared to be some sort of mystical goddess, untouched by human hands... until now. Without a second thought, he crossed the threshold, sweeping her up in his arms and kissing her with the passion of a man imprisoned for months, a man whose emotions had been bottled up for practically his entire life. His lips met hers with a mixture of desperation, love, and hope, his strong arms pulling her towards him until her body seemed to fit into every curve and bend of his own slender frame.
She had opened her mouth to say something, only to have the breath stolen out of her body at his kiss. And at that, all rational thought escaped. All that was left to her was emotion, sensation, and the enclave of his arms wrapped about her. The tower that had been her security for all these months began to topple brick by brick and she kissed him back with all she had.
Sensing her warm response, Peredhil did not break the kiss until he felt his lungs on the verge of exploding for lack of oxygen. He did not break his embrace. Tracing his lips along her neck and towards her ear, he whispered softly. "Thank you." He had so much to thank her for that he did not know where to start. "You kept me alive when I was on death's doorstep. But that kiss has given me more life than I thought possible." A hand reached up to caress her cheek as he drew back just enough to be able to see her entire face.
It there was any vestige left to her, his words obliterated it entirely. Every ounce of worry, fear, doubt, hope, and longing bubbled to the service and left her mouth opening and closing as she searched for the words, tears once more glittering her eyes and cheeks. This time, however, the state of her dress could hang.
He knew that explanations would come later, that he would tell her everything, things that he had not shared with anyone else. For now he was content just to bask in her warmth and affection, standing there in her doorway with the door open behind him. "I will do anything for you, Juliane. Give up my throne, renounce all ties to Elessar... anything to make you happy. Because I realized that without you, my life has no meaning.? He realized it was a clich?, but it was entirely true. In the depths of the worst darkness, he had sought recourse in his love for her. It had sustained him during months of beatings, deprivation, and starvation.
Just the moment she had thought she had found her voice, the weight of his words flooded over her and left her speechless in their ebb. It felt as if she were entirely transparent down to her essence and the strength of such a declaration after all of her wild assumptions left her shamed even in the midst of her gratefulness. Burying her face into his chest, her arms tightened about his waist. "I was so foolish."
It was not the response he had expected, and he was glad that she was unable to catch his confused look. Stroking her hair, he kissed the top of her head, admissions continuing to pour out of him. "I thought I'd lost you forever tonight."
"I've thought that you were lost forever for quite some time." Her grip on him tightened responsively. "It was either think that or think that your feelings had changed, and neither option was entirely pleasant." As was the case with the Smiths, when they were truly emotional, their accent all but disappeared.
He lifted her chin gently with his forefinger so she could see his eyes, which were slowly transitioning in color from stormy grey to a forest green. "My feelings towards you will never change, Juliane. Please know that. There is no one else, nor will there ever be. That and death are the only two certainties in life." He smiled. It was a grim reminder perhaps of how close he'd come, but no other metaphor seemed to fit as well.
She blinked rapidly, almost owl-like, as her emotions crested on yet another wave of confession. Ignorant as to what had unlocked all that was pouring out of him, she looked long and hard into his eyes, the remnants of shadows and struggle still lingering deep in their depths.
Her brother's voice echoed in her ears. "I missed you,,," Her eyes brimmed with tears again. "... so much."
Peredhil saw the questions brimming in her eyes. He knew that he probably did not have all the answers she sought, but he would come clean about anything she wanted to know. Peredhil turned to close the door, then took Juliane by the hand and led her to the chaise by the window An ear-splitting smile appeared at her words, and he leaned in to brush his lips against hers. "I missed you too, Juliane." Touching her face again, he felt that could lose himself in those eyes and caress that soft skin for the rest of his life.
"Perhaps it would be best if I started from the beginning, when I first left Rhydin..." Peredhil began, describing what he had endured and how his faith in her... in them, had pulled him through. He left no detail out, describing the beatings and suffering, as well as his devotion to Elessar and, most of all, his hope of one day seeing her again. Every now and then, he would grow quiet until a touch or kiss from Juliane pulled him out of whatever nightmare he had fallen into. At one point, he got up to prepare tea for them. In other moments, he tried to answer Juli's questions, and listened intently as she described her own pain at his long absence.
As the first cracks of daylight appeared, they held each other, silently gazing out the window at the promise of a new dawn. "It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day, doesn't it?" Peredhil asked, grinning at Juli as he leaned in for another kiss.
Their clothes were crumpled, half of the lights had sputtered out. Her eyes were red from crying, makeup stained his shirt. Yet she had never been happier, returning his kiss without any of the heaviness that had haunted them both. "Th' very best of days, yeah? Especially now tha' th' night has passed."
((Adapted from live play.))
The Nexus deposited him about a block away from the Great Hall. A flash of blond hair under the street light had him racing back towards the entrance. As he neared the front door, he caught sight of the woman's face?it was not Juliane. He came to a screeching halt, hastily trying to assure the woman that he was not about to rob her purse as she cringed before him, holding it out while simultaneously screaming at the top of her lungs. Passersby were starting to gawk at the sight, so he apologized once again to the frightened lady and took off at a trot towards the only place he could think of.
After his disappearance, she had wasted no time in cutting through the side streets towards the Studio. In fact, she moved at such a clip she gave no thought to her safety until she was safely inside the building and sprinting up the steps, skirt hoisted above her knees. Digging in her clutch, she removed a ring of keys and made quick work of the locks. Pushing the door wide, Juliane stepped inside and set every lamp to glowing. She was in no mood for shadows, and the night threatened to be a long one.
Pulling off his dress shoes, Peredhil ran through the woods, taking the shortest route he could think of to the Studio. A low-hanging branch clawed at him, tearing the arm of his jacket. As he scrambled up the last embankment before he reached the road that led to her entrance, he noticed that no lights were on outside. Doubting whether she was even there, he was on the verge of turning around when a blaze of light glimmered through the windows. Hope lifted his spirits momentarily, giving him the courage to leap up the steps and pound on the door.
Chest heaving, she look wild-eyed about the Studio. Her corner of the space was a dusty, disheveled mess. There was no way she was going to begin cleaning it as she was, so she kicked off her shoes and headed towards the closet, fingers extracting pins from her hair at will. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how the fates would look at it, she did not get very far before the reverberation of the door made her jump nearly out of her skin. "Who is it?" She bellowed in her most assertive voice, hoping to scare off anyone unsavory who might have followed her.
"It's Peredhil. Please, Juliane, let me in for just a second." He paused, trying to listen for any indication of movement on the other side of the door. "We need to talk."
While the adrenaline did not immediately leave her body at the sound of his voice, her nerves fluttered for totally different reasons. Crossing to the door, and painfully stepping on a hairpin along the way, she unbarred it and opened it wide.
He had no plan when he entered, but upon spying her there, he felt pulled inevitably to the only thing he could do. The streetlight and lamps combined to give her a strange aura, highlighting her disheveled hair and beautiful face in just such a way that she appeared to be some sort of mystical goddess, untouched by human hands... until now. Without a second thought, he crossed the threshold, sweeping her up in his arms and kissing her with the passion of a man imprisoned for months, a man whose emotions had been bottled up for practically his entire life. His lips met hers with a mixture of desperation, love, and hope, his strong arms pulling her towards him until her body seemed to fit into every curve and bend of his own slender frame.
She had opened her mouth to say something, only to have the breath stolen out of her body at his kiss. And at that, all rational thought escaped. All that was left to her was emotion, sensation, and the enclave of his arms wrapped about her. The tower that had been her security for all these months began to topple brick by brick and she kissed him back with all she had.
Sensing her warm response, Peredhil did not break the kiss until he felt his lungs on the verge of exploding for lack of oxygen. He did not break his embrace. Tracing his lips along her neck and towards her ear, he whispered softly. "Thank you." He had so much to thank her for that he did not know where to start. "You kept me alive when I was on death's doorstep. But that kiss has given me more life than I thought possible." A hand reached up to caress her cheek as he drew back just enough to be able to see her entire face.
It there was any vestige left to her, his words obliterated it entirely. Every ounce of worry, fear, doubt, hope, and longing bubbled to the service and left her mouth opening and closing as she searched for the words, tears once more glittering her eyes and cheeks. This time, however, the state of her dress could hang.
He knew that explanations would come later, that he would tell her everything, things that he had not shared with anyone else. For now he was content just to bask in her warmth and affection, standing there in her doorway with the door open behind him. "I will do anything for you, Juliane. Give up my throne, renounce all ties to Elessar... anything to make you happy. Because I realized that without you, my life has no meaning.? He realized it was a clich?, but it was entirely true. In the depths of the worst darkness, he had sought recourse in his love for her. It had sustained him during months of beatings, deprivation, and starvation.
Just the moment she had thought she had found her voice, the weight of his words flooded over her and left her speechless in their ebb. It felt as if she were entirely transparent down to her essence and the strength of such a declaration after all of her wild assumptions left her shamed even in the midst of her gratefulness. Burying her face into his chest, her arms tightened about his waist. "I was so foolish."
It was not the response he had expected, and he was glad that she was unable to catch his confused look. Stroking her hair, he kissed the top of her head, admissions continuing to pour out of him. "I thought I'd lost you forever tonight."
"I've thought that you were lost forever for quite some time." Her grip on him tightened responsively. "It was either think that or think that your feelings had changed, and neither option was entirely pleasant." As was the case with the Smiths, when they were truly emotional, their accent all but disappeared.
He lifted her chin gently with his forefinger so she could see his eyes, which were slowly transitioning in color from stormy grey to a forest green. "My feelings towards you will never change, Juliane. Please know that. There is no one else, nor will there ever be. That and death are the only two certainties in life." He smiled. It was a grim reminder perhaps of how close he'd come, but no other metaphor seemed to fit as well.
She blinked rapidly, almost owl-like, as her emotions crested on yet another wave of confession. Ignorant as to what had unlocked all that was pouring out of him, she looked long and hard into his eyes, the remnants of shadows and struggle still lingering deep in their depths.
Her brother's voice echoed in her ears. "I missed you,,," Her eyes brimmed with tears again. "... so much."
Peredhil saw the questions brimming in her eyes. He knew that he probably did not have all the answers she sought, but he would come clean about anything she wanted to know. Peredhil turned to close the door, then took Juliane by the hand and led her to the chaise by the window An ear-splitting smile appeared at her words, and he leaned in to brush his lips against hers. "I missed you too, Juliane." Touching her face again, he felt that could lose himself in those eyes and caress that soft skin for the rest of his life.
"Perhaps it would be best if I started from the beginning, when I first left Rhydin..." Peredhil began, describing what he had endured and how his faith in her... in them, had pulled him through. He left no detail out, describing the beatings and suffering, as well as his devotion to Elessar and, most of all, his hope of one day seeing her again. Every now and then, he would grow quiet until a touch or kiss from Juliane pulled him out of whatever nightmare he had fallen into. At one point, he got up to prepare tea for them. In other moments, he tried to answer Juli's questions, and listened intently as she described her own pain at his long absence.
As the first cracks of daylight appeared, they held each other, silently gazing out the window at the promise of a new dawn. "It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day, doesn't it?" Peredhil asked, grinning at Juli as he leaned in for another kiss.
Their clothes were crumpled, half of the lights had sputtered out. Her eyes were red from crying, makeup stained his shirt. Yet she had never been happier, returning his kiss without any of the heaviness that had haunted them both. "Th' very best of days, yeah? Especially now tha' th' night has passed."
((Adapted from live play.))