Sorry it has taken so long to get you this instalment, Uni has preoccupied my life but now I can give Lily and Ryan my full attention again. Thank you for your patience and for sticking with them! Fallen.
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They buried Ryan the next day. He was buried in a white coffin in the clearing he had taken her too. She knelt and leant over the open coffin and stared into the lifeless face of her mate, stroking his soft hair she kissed his cold lips, taking a small knife from the strap of her bra she cut off a curl of her hair and placed it under his crossed hands, then running the blade across a pad of her thumb she dabbed her red blood on his lower lip before kissing him again.
"Goodbye Raim. I love you." Standing she shut the lid of the coffin and nodded to Aaron who with Lucy's help lifted the white box and gently lowered it into the hole in the ground. She stood and watched as Aaron piled the dirt back into the hole covering her mate forever. "I'm going to stay here for a while, you guys can go back. I'll meet you later."
"We'll wait by the car, I don't want you walking back by yourself." Lucy's voice was filled grief and Lily took hold of her hand nodded, kissing the elf's cheek she watched the two figures retreating before kneeling at the newly dug grave, resting her hand on the dirt she wiped a tear from her cheek.
"What am I going to do without you Ry?"
"Come on poppet, don't cry." She jumped and whipped around, Ryan stood behind her with a small lopsided grin on his face. Standing slowly she took a tentative step towards him.
"Ryan? Is that you?"
"Anyone else you know look this good in a suit?" She looked his up and down, he wore the grey suit he had been buried in and a crisp white shirt, she took another step towards him holding out her hand, he linked his fingers with hers and pulled her against him body, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. "How are you doing baby?"
"I'm fine, are...are you real?"
"For now."
She slid her arms around his waist and breathed in his familiar comforting scent. "I thought you were dead."
He sighed and rested his chin on top of her head. "Don't worry about me baby, just keep yourself safe. Keep yourself happy."
"How can I be happy? I need you back."
He held her at arm's length and smiled down at her. "I haven't gone anywhere poppet." He leant and kissed her lips. "I'm right here."
When her eyes opened she was alone in the clearing, taking a steadying breath she went back to the car, Aaron and Lucy waited patiently, his arm around the elf's shoulder his chin rested atop her head. As Lily emerged from the trees the two turned their heads and smiled weakly at her.
"You ready?" A tear rolled down Lucy's cheek as she spoke and nodding Lily pulled her into a hug.
"Let's go, we can stay at my house. There is plenty of room for us all there."
"You're sure?" Aaron spoke from beside them.
"Of course, come on we'll stop and pack you guys a bag." She climbed into the back seat of the car. Aaron watched her for a moment before he a Lucy joined her into the car.
By the time they arrived back at her apartment building the sun was setting casting a pink glow across the sky, she smiled hello to Luca and they all piled into the lift.
In her apartment she turned and smiled at the pair. "My room's upstairs but there's two more through there," she pointed along the hall. "And another upstairs, pick whichever you want. I'll make dinner, it's been a long day."
They watched as she moved to the spacious kitchen and began pulling pots and pans from the cupboards, they took the bedrooms downstairs. Both were huge with large windows overlooking the sea, a bathroom separated the two rooms and was stocked with fluffy white towels and two bath robes.
"Wow, how the fuck do they afford these houses?" Lucy stared around her room in awe, Aaron came up behind her and draped an arm across her shoulders.
"Ryan's money was the Johanson's and she's an incredible dancer, she's been working for decades under different names with different looks and saving the money. She's practically a billionaire."
"You know a lot about her," the elf turned her head to look up at him.
"I share Ryan's life, that includes his love for her and his memories, I know everything about her."
"Then how is she? Really?"
"She's broken but she's a strong girl. She'll keep it together as long as she feels she needs to look out for us."
"Is that why she wants us here?"
"That and she's lonely. She'd just come round to the idea of spending her life with him. We just need to be here for her for now." She rested her head on his shoulder and wiped a tear from her eye.
"I miss him." Her voice broke and he pulled her into a tight hug.
"Me too," kissing her forehead he pulled back. "Come on, I hear she's an incredible cook."
They sat around a wooden table on the balcony, the air was still warm and the last rays of the sun shone on the water, the table was filled with plates of fried fish, sweet potatoes, spicy green vegetables, sweet, barbeque chicken and warm oven baked rolls. Lily opened a bottle of white wine and poured them each a glass.
"This looks amazing little lady."
She smiled. "Thank you, when you've lived alone for almost four hundred years you pick up a thing or two," she sipped her wine. "I was thinking, you guys know a lot more about whatever businesses he owned, if you want them they're yours."
"Are you sure? You would get all the profits obviously." Lucy stared at her from across the table.
"Does it look like I need the money?" Lily laughed sadly. "They were his and now they're yours." They ate in a companionable silence for a while before Lucy spoke again.
"Can I ask you something?"
