There and back again, a journey to love.

Chapter 23 - The return to Camelot.

The return journey to Llanlivet was uneventful and they stayed at the Inn for a further week, enjoying the comfort of the place, both scarcely believing that they had come through the final part of the quest unscathed.

They had spent an hour or so examining the Artefact and it became apparent, that though it was simply made, there was no visible lock, or seam in the wood, lending weight to the stories that it could not be opened, unless by the specific conditions as laid down in the prophecy.

Now that Auriel held the relic in her hands, she became only too aware that soon Guy would be gone from her forever, and to protect herself from the already wrenching grief of his departure, she started to distance herself from him.

She caught him looking at her strangely and she saw the hurt in his eyes, which nearly broke her. But he did not question her about her coldness, instead saying to her, "You look weary, my love."

She replied that the weight of responsibility she now held in her hands was so great that it drained her strength and she could not see an end to it. He accepted her answer, drawing her close to him, holding her there against his chest for a few moments, then she kissed him gently as she stepped out of his embrace, not wanting him to see her tears.

He went to the farrier the next day to tell him that the horses would be required the following morning as they would rise at dawn and pack the spare horses with the supplies.

Auriel clasped the Artefact before her on her horse and they set out together. They rode side by side, as they always did,  and she reached out for his hand as she had always done, while he smiled at her with such love in his eyes, that she believed again that he would always be there, to love and cherish her.

They camped each night and went through the tasks necessary for their comfort, often making love there under the stars, and the loving became bitter sweet for her as they got nearer their journeys end.

They laughed together in their usual fashion, they kissed whenever they were within reach of each other and lay close together at night, but as he never spoke of remaining with her in Camelot, she assumed he was already eager to leave, though she never asked him of it, fearing his answer.

They reached the cave in the forest after elven days of travelling and Guy spent the next hour or so seeing that the horses were watered, fed and rubbed down, then, as he always did, he tethered them in a grassy area to enable them to graze. He returned the spare horses to John Proctor, as they had been only loaned to them.

Auriel meanwhile, brought the humble dwelling place back to its usual state of cleanliness and efficiency, storing the artefact at the back of the cave, wrapped in a thick woollen cloth, still marvelling that an object so humbly made could contain such greatness.

Guy returned and chopped several cords of wood, and then went hunting with his crossbow, returning with two rabbits and a fat partridge. The weeks passed and the nights drew in as Winter threatened on the horizon, but still no mention was made by either of them of Guy's departure and eventually she knew that she had to speak of it, as the new moon was three weeks away, and preparations needed to be in hand for the casting of the spell which would carry her beloved Guy from her.

He returned from watering the horses, as he did each day and came upon her wrapped in a thick shawl, with the marble crucible in her hand and the strange medley of ingredients on the table, along with an almanac scroll containing the phases of the moon.

"I have served my purpose then, and you wish to be rid of me," he said. "It was what we agreed from the start," she answered, "and you are free to stay or go as it pleases you, but you can only return as you came, you can take nothing with you, your sword and crossbow will have to remain here."