if you can find your way back to me...

[loveasthouwilt]

The sun was setting and I was standing in what was to become my temple to Elua, thinking. The ground had been mostly cleared before the snows came, thanks to several days' work at weeding, and though it was covered in a soft blanket of white, I could see in my mind's eye where each piece was to make its home-- here, a bench; there, a fountain;

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[travelingprince]

"You'll catch your death of cold out here unless you come inside soon," I said, more teasing than chiding, for I knew well of Phedre's dislike for being told what to do. "There's little more you can do with the temple until the snows are gone." Had I still the power to control the weather, I would have banished the snow for her myself, but that was long gone, and I was as much at the mercy of rains and winds as she.

[loveasthouwilt]

"Ah yes," I said, turning with a smile and a lifted eyebrow, "but if I freeze, then at least we shall have a statue for the garden." He looked pleased, when all was said and done, to be outdoors; certainly the chill agreed with him, making his eyes seem to sparkle more than usual, and his grin seem brighter. I held out my hands for him to come closer, feeling deeply happy that he had joined me.

[travelingprince]

As was usual around Phedre, it was impossible to stop myself from touching her, and I took her hands in mine. "A beautiful one, though I think one of Blessed Elua would be more appropriate," I could not help but jest.

[loveasthouwilt]

"Yes, I rather think so," I agreed drily, arching my eyebrows at him. "I am many things, Hyacinthe, but a goddess is not one." I knew he understood; we had both had enough truck with the gods and their powers to know how dire they could be. And yet after all that, we were still mortal, still simply Phedre and Hyacinthe; it seemed a miracle. "Do you like the snow?" I asked with a smile, not wishing to think on immortal power any longer. "It was like this last year... I'd hoped it would happen again."

[incassielsname]

Since the dark day that heralded the arrival of so much chaos throughout the island, I have found myself perhaps more withdrawn than usual. It was all a false game, played by the island to torment, but if it was just a game, then why did innocents have to die? The thought weighs on me, and there have been no answers from Cassiel or Elua, and I wonder then if perhaps this too was the work of Kushiel's hand, that his judgement extends even here. I do not know, and the silence is deafening, without answers

[loveasthouwilt]

"How is it you always know where to find me?" I asked, feeling him standing at rest behind me, knowing it was him without needing to look. It was not only the silence with which he walked, but something in the stillness of him, the way it seemed he put down roots wherever he decided to stand. 'Twas a bit of Shemhazai, I thought, solid and unmoving as a mountain-- my faithful companion, my dearest love, but not my only love any longer-- and how was I to tell him that, the only thing which might shake his roots free from where they'd twined around my heart? I did not know, and could not guess. And so I simply reached for his hands and wrapped them around my waist, tucking myself into his warmth and letting some of his peace invade me, even if only for a minute.

[incassielsname]

"Luck," I say, wrapping my arms around her and holding her close. "Or perhaps just many, many years of having to find you." A slow smile spreads across my face despite myself as I think of all the ridiculous things I've had to do just to find her and keep her safe. I press a kiss to the top of her head and sigh. I have no wish to sour Phedre's mood with what I've been keeping from her for so long, but it is well past time that she knows. "Have you a moment? There's something of importance you should know."

[loveasthouwilt]

"Of course," I said, turning to face him with a lightly teasing smile. "Though as you can see I was very busy, I think I could spare a minute." My expression narrowed as I saw the seriousness in his face, the shadow that I had seen surface now and then since Halloween now full in force across his eyes. "What is it, love?" I asked, my hands slipping into his and squeezing gently. "Is everything alright?"