Author's Note: Drama warning.
Enchantress
----
Silvia Durazzo held a hand to her mouth, her eyes cast towards the floor as Talos knelt beside the sorceress on the bench.
"... Silvia?" the man asked, his words sounding utterly dejected. Silvia shook her head.
"Talos, she's..." Silvia thought for a moment how best to cheer the man up. She had never seen him like this, and knew he must have been close with the sorceress. With her being pregnant on top of that, Silvia had to choose her words carefully. Silvia decided to remain silent for the time, and merely stepped towards Talos to take one of his hands in hers.
She guided his hand to the sorceress's neck, allowing Talos to feel her pulse. She noticed an immediate release of tension from Talos' shoulders, and even breathed a sigh of relief herself.
"What happened, Sil?" he asked softly. Talos didn't bother to look in Silvia's direction, his gaze solely fixed on Alanna.
"Rayya did this, Talos. She attacked Cass and her in the street, somehow. It's-"
"What?!" Talos interjected. He certainly turned towards Silvia, now. "Where's Casiama?" he asked hurriedly. Silvia put a hand on his shoulder and casted an imperceptable calming spell to steady the man.
"She's fine, Talos, just a little shaken up. The sorceress here saved her. We're keeping Cass at Vex's loft, down by the Eternal Font. You know of it?"
Talos nodded, but his gaze had already fallen back to Alanna's resting form. He placed one hand on the bench beside her. "Yeah. Good to hear, Silvia. Thanks."
"You're welcome. Sorry, I would have brought her here if I could. But..."
Talos shrugged. "I know, Sil. Can't admit an elf to the Imperial Hospital." He exhaled quite deeply just then, the wave of relief still washing over him fully. He had been so shortsighted to leave the city.
"I'm going to request she get her own room. Should be easy, what with her... condition," Silvia explained nervously. "I'll take good care of her and hers, Talos. I promise."
"You always do, Silvia," he said. "I'm glad you're here." Talos clasped one of Alanna's soft hands, giving it a quick peck as he held it tight.
Why ever are you here, Alanna?
"I need to check on Cass. I'll be back," Talos said, gazing at Alanna's still lips for another moment before turning to leave.
--
Talos found Casiama to be in good spirits that day. Good, but restless. She demanded Rayya's blood for what she had done, and equally, desperately wanted to thank Alanna for saving her. Talos knew the act of saving one's life meant much to an elf than to a human.
The following day, Talos remained at Alanna's side while Casiama stalked the streets of the capital once more to hunt. The remainder of the party weren't given any orders to do so, and little effort was put into searching for Rayya.
Alanna did not stir that day, but she breathed. The next day was appearing to be just more of the same. Until she coughed.
Talos shook himself from a nap, leaning over the enchanting woman with a worried frown. Alanna's hand immediately flew to her tummy, accompanied by a grimace of worry a second later.
A sigh of relief soon came on its heels, and Alanna was content with what her hand found. She shifted atop her bed, blinking quickly to get herself used to the light once more. She spotted a man once loved beside her, staring back with a similar look of relief in his eyes.
"Hey," she said weakly, with a smile.
"Hey."
"What a surprise to see you here," Alanna croaked, then hoarsely cleared her throat. Talos hadn't been completely sure she would have wanted him here until he saw her eyes. In them laid a comforting gaze of warmth, as if one was accompanied by a majestic ballad next to a roaring fire.
Talos would keep his voice to a whisper for the remainder of the conversation, a skill he'd picked up when speaking to injured warriors in hospital a decade and a half ago. Alanna's voice was incredibly weak, and a constant pang of sympathy washed through him each time she spoke.
"Mmm," he mumbled in reply. Alanna's smile waivered for but a moment.
"I suppose you're here to interrogate me?" she asked softly.
He shook his head truthfully. He'd gathered the story from a flustered Casiama already. "No. I'm just glad to see you're awake, and whole. Get your rest, Alanna."
"I feel like I've already rested for half a lifetime. What day is it, Talos?"
"The eleventh," he answered succinctly.
"... of?" she asked hesitantly with furrowed brow. Talos chuckled.
"Dawn's Light," he answered; the same month it had been, of course.
Another sigh of relief spilled from the sorceress's lips, followed by a fluttering of eyelashes. Alanna did not have the willpower to handle the gentle sunlight streaming through the room's few windows at the moment. The enchantress spoke again, softly, with eyes shut.
"Thanks," she said. Her hands rose to her belly, and Talos' gaze followed them there. "If you didn't know-"
"I know, Alanna. I'm happy for you."
Talos and Alanna remained silent for a good three minutes. He could hear her exaggerated breaths, and assumed she was drifting off to sleep once again. With Alanna in good form, Talos could rejoin Casiama on the hunt for the other enchantress. He'd remained by Alanna's side for almost the entirety of two days as she recovered, just as she'd once done for him in the Badlands. He was of course worried for Casiama as well, having heard of Rayya's prior enchantment of the elf. Talos had told her to show no hesitation if she found Rayya again, and had complete faith in her ability to handle the situation herself if she somehow stumbled across the girl.
"It'll be a boy. A diviner in Catriona told me," Alanna sighed dreamily.
"Congratulations," he said with a half-smile.
"You know what I'll name him?"
Talos shook his head, but Alanna's eyes were still shut so she did not see him. He hoped she was merely bluffing in her delirious state.
"There's a thousand thousand better names, Alanna," Talos joked softly. He saw a smile pass her lips briefly before she fell into silence for another minute.
"Merge with me, Talos."
He raised an eyebrow, having never heard the term. Soon after, he realized he still had his mental defenses up in case Rayya were nearby. He immediately let Alanna pass through -- every empath, technically -- to view his current thoughts. Talos couldn't identify specific telepathic signatures.
"Show me a happy story," the beautiful enchantress sighed.
He did, eventually. He had to reach for it, way back to his childhood. Talos had found a puppy in the forests of Evora. He raised the pup, cherished him, and it even lived for three whole years before it fell to sickness. Talos skipped that part.
"I've already seen this one," Alanna whispered with a smile. Talos thought again to conjure another story for the girl. He drew a blank when he realized there weren't many that hadn't involved a certain woman that Alanna hated. He dreamt instead of the Four-Leaf Inn in Rinoc, where he and Alanna stayed for a night last year. Alanna smiled, and enjoyed the memory for a minute until her eyes reopened once more.
"How's Casiama doing?"
