Departure:
Elayne woke up feeling refreshed and deliciously content, remembering a dream that wasn't a dream. She stretched and rolled over, putting her hand out, her eyes shot open when she felt an empty space, looking at a red rose instead of him. She reached out to him and saw that he was almost to the Tower.
"Good morning, my love," he whispered to her.
She closed her eyes and pictured herself in his arms on Midnight, her arms wrapped around his neck, his mouth on hers. She held that image there and wrapped it around him, "I love you too, my sweet, loving husband. Tell me, my dear husband, that wasn't a dream I had, was it?"
"It was a dream, and it was also real, I wanted to give you something special. Now, when you go to sleep every night, you'll have that dream."
"Mmm, what a sweet loving dream."
As she got dressed, she noticed something on the top of her left breast. She went to the mirror to see what it was, and she heard him chuckling, "Arik Hawke, did you mark me?"
"Now, why would you think I'd do something like that baby." She saw the mischievous grin on his face. She paused at that, wait, how could I see that? It was as if he was standing right in front of me. Her eyes went back to the mark on her breast. It was shaped in a heart with their initials in it, AH and EH.
Surprisingly, she actually found it really sweet. She looked more closely at herself and found an identical mark right in the middle on her lower belly right above her mound between her legs, this one being a little bigger. She grinned, wondering if they were permanent. "They are my love," he said quietly to her.
"Elayne, do me a favor, close your eyes, clear your mind, and picture me standing in front of you, I want to check something, trust me, please."
Curious, she did as he asked. She gasped when she felt his hand on her cheek, "Hawke," she whispered, confused. "How is this possible?" She felt his lips lightly touch hers.
"Remember me telling you about that ball in our bond. It's no longer a ball, I unraveled it completely. Elayne, I need you to promise me something, please. Don't experiment with it until we're both completely alone. Will you promise me that?"
She felt a thrill of excitement run through her, and her curiosity rose until she heard him growling, "I promise I will behave until both of us are alone," she sighed. "You're so not any fun, by the way," she pouted.
"Is that so my sweet angel," she gasped when she felt his hand on her nipple, he chuckled. "Now get your hot sexy ass dressed. You have practice this morning after you eat."
With a frustrated sigh, she pulled on her clothes and made her way downstairs. The aroma of breakfast filled the air as she joined her family at the table. Her mother glanced up, a look of concern etched across her face.
"When did he leave?" her father asked.
"Early this morning, likely before dawn, I noticed that he had already passed West Hill by the time I woke up. The Tower was in sight, indicating he was making good progress. I expect he'll slow his pace once he gets beyond the Tower." Glancing at her mother, she reassured her, βIβm okay, Mom. Our connection keeps us in touch, and while itβs tough not having him here with me, we can still communicate. So please stop worrying and looking at me that way; or I will start crying."
For some reason, she didn't have much of an appetite, so she decided to go check in on his family. She found the girls had just finished eating as they came running over to her. When she bent down, giving them both hugs, she suddenly felt overwhelming emotions running through her. After making sure they were ok, she went to go see his mom and sister. When they came over, giving her a hug and asked how she was doing, she wanted to scream. Why couldn't they quit asking how she was doing? She was fine, she would be fine, she needed to be strong, stay strong for him. She looked over at them, opened her mouth to tell them, but suddenly found herself breaking down in tears.
"I'm not fine, I miss him, I know he's ok, he's in my head, but I need to see him, touch him, I need to feel his arms around me. So no, I'm not okay." She left them, needing to be alone. She rushed back upstairs to their room and laid down on the bed crying.
"Hawke, I miss you, I thought I could do this, but I can't, I'm so sorry." She felt him immediately in her head, comforting her, loving her, holding her.
"Elayne, my love, it will be ok. We will get through this together. It may not be the way we want it to be, but we'll manage. Whatever the reason I have to do this, I'll try and get it done as soon as possible so I can come back home to you. Elayne, I'm still with you, angel. I love you, Elayne Hawke." She laid there crying, listening to his words, feeling his love pouring into her. But it wasn't enough, she stripped off her shirt, went and grabbed one of his and put it on, it smelled just like him. She laid back down on his side of the bed crying until she fell asleep, exhausted.