/So Daeron really had known something I didn't./ I stared up at Quill for what seemed an eternity, my mouth hanging open slightly as I fought with myself internally. My brain had been preparing me to let go of Quill and save him from a future that could only end badly, but my heart was urging me to say yes and jump into his arms.
"Please say something…" Quill finally said, unable to hide the hurt in his tone. He was looking down at me with a worried frown.
"Quill...you don't know how badly I want to say yes…" I trailed off. His hands were still wrapped around my waist, and I took them now into my own. I was unsure how to continue, so I cast my eyes down as if inspecting every crack in his leathered hands. He squeezed gently and half-whispered, "So then say it. Say yes. I love you, Lynarra."
My heart felt as if it had stopped beating. My whole chest was tight and I could scarcely breathe.
Not raising my gaze, I managed to choke out, "There's something you don't know about me. Something that would make you change your mind."
Quill brought his hand to my chin, lifting it to caress my face. He looked deep into my eyes, searching. "What could I possibly not know about you after all these years? There's nothing you could say to make me stop loving you. I want to spend my life with you. Marry me, Lyn."
"Alright." It slipped out before I could help it. My heart refused to break his, though even now my brain was screaming at me for it.
My fiance's face broke into the biggest grin I'd ever seen, his eyes alight with triumph. Quill scooped me into the air and kissed me, spinning in a circle as he did so. Setting me back down breathlessly, he took my hand again and paused. "I'd almost forgotten! Here." Quill reached into his pocket and pulled out a modest silver ring with a rough purple gem atop it. "I had the blacksmith make it special," he confided as he slid it onto my finger.
"It's beautiful," I murmured, shifting my hand to watch it twinkle in the afternoon sun. "Thank you. I still need to tell yo--"
"There you are! I've been looking for you two!" Daeron had burst into the barn. He looked from our faces to the ring on my finger, and beamed at us. "I see I'm not too early, brother. Congratulations!" Daeron clapped his brother on the back before turning to me. "And congratulations to you, Lynarra! I finally get to consider you not just a friend, but a sister. I've been waiting for Quill to propose to you since we were 18 and he said to me--" I couldn't make out the muffled remainder of his sentence. Quill had firmly clamped a hand over his younger brother's mouth and was blushing furiously.
"Come, we should tell Mother and Father we are celebrating more than just my birthday," he said to us, placing his other hand in mine and leading us from the barn.
~~
Several weeks had passed since Quill's birthday and our engagement. Life had settled back into its usual rhythm. It seemed my secret was indeed safe, and I continued on with the lesson serving as a caution to me. I came to believe that a happy future with Quill would be possible so long as I did everything I could to not resort to my powers and was even more vigilant when the need did arise. I only knew a handful of incantations in the first place; ones I had managed to piece together from words of the old language, and a few I'd glimpsed in a book at a merchant's stall before it was confiscated and the man banned from our market.
Focusing on my herbs, I took to the woods more often. It was a late summer day, and I meant to make the most of the late-season plants before autumn took hold. Quill was on a short trip to a neighboring village to help someone whose normal farmhand had been injured. He was taking on any odd jobs he could find. We would need the money, come our wedding in the spring. Daeron was putting in extra time at their farm to make up for Quill's absence, so I had no other obligations or sources of company. I took my time wandering the forest. The sunlight streaming through the branches catching on the floating pollen, the smell of damp soil, the vibrant green of the ferns.../I could easily spend hours here./ I spotted the white petals of Feverfew and knelt down to pluck it. Tossing it into my basket, I continued through the woods. /Perhaps I will find some of those mushrooms for Erik, I've seen them here before./
The deeper forest was less bright. The tree cover was thick and prevented the sun from reaching the ground below. Terrible for most plants, but excellent for mushrooms. My basket was half-full when I heard something unusual. Though it was faint, it pierced my ear, standing out from the background noises of the wilderness. /A voice? All the way out here?/ I followed the sound cautiously, taking care not to step on branches as I crept through the shadowy trees. The voice sounded male. And frustrated. And...familiar?
"Erigo!" I knew that incantation. /Rise./
This time I crouched not to collect an item for my basket, but to sink into the shadows as I squinted into the grove ahead of me. Someone was performing magic. My heart lurchrd as my eyes adjusted to the light. I recognized the figure standing in the middle of the grove with a stone floating a foot above their hand.
Daeron.