TBATE: A Hero's Return

Love You From Afar

During the war, Tessia was always instructed on the importance of changing her movement patterns in order to not allow someone to trail her or take advantage of her movements. Such actions could make her an easy target for enemy combatants.

Now, however, was a time of peace, and she settled back into her old habits. It was a bright sunny morning, and she was on her way to the graveyard to meet her parents. She smiled as she felt that a familiar presence was waiting for her.

She smiled to herself seeing the love of her life approach her. She was surprised he had tracked her down this quickly. She'd thought that he would take longer to sort his feelings out.

"Art?" she asked, glancing back to see him sauntering up to her, his hands in his pockets. He looked serious. Oh, no.

"Hey Tess," he said, then sat down next to her in front of her parents' graves. It seemed to have become a sort of meeting place for them. Again, his elbows and knees invaded her space but Tessia kept silent even as his arm brushed hers. She would typically love having him so close to her, but something told her she wouldn't like the direction this conversation would be taking.

"Sorry for following you. I just noticed you typically come here around this time, the same time I come to visit my father," he said. "I came to see you and to continue our conversation the other day. I've had time to think."

She smiled softly. "And?" Tessia prompted.

"Did you really mean what you said?" Arthur said.

"That I love you? Yes, I do."

He sighed, then looked down at the ground for a few minutes. When he finally looked up, he turned, met her gaze, and started scratching his cheek. A nervous tick from his childhood days. "Look, to be honest, I still don't know how to take it."

He then looked down again.

"Oh," was all she said, looking at his hair, his bowed head. She waited for him to continue, to give voice to the feelings in him so she could understand where she stood in his life.

He looked up into her eyes, and she was determined not to break contact even as she heard him say, "I think I love you but not in the way you want me to? It's the same love I feel for Kathyln, Caera, Curtis, Lilia, and Gramps. You are a cherished person in my life for sure, but..."

And Tessia knew then that he wasn't ready to accept her love. Strangely, though, she wasn't heartbroken about it. He wasn't in the right frame of mind to understand it. She knew firsthand what it was like to be forced to deal with things that you weren't prepared for: the death of her mother, the death of her father, and being thrust into a position of leadership due to the war.

Besides, if she were being honest, neither was she ready. She didn't know either if she was willing to take their relationship to the next level. She'd only wanted to know how he felt about her and now she knew. He felt the same way about her as he felt about everyone close to him. That was something, at least.

She paused, taking stock of her feelings. In her heart, she was calm. Tessia was fine with the way things were now. Besides, she had other more pressing things to worry about, herself. Her parents' deaths had forced her to deal with the elves' issues and the future of Elenoir. Everyone was pushing for her to take on a bigger part in the running of the nation.

But she suddenly felt free, lighter than she'd felt in months, unburdened by letting go of her expectations from Arthur.

She beamed at him then, startling him. But she didn't care. She was finally able to feel acceptance, and it prompted her to be honest. "Art, can you forgive me? I think I was being selfish the time I made my confession of love. I just wanted to air out my feelings because my mind still hadn't come to grips with the fact that you were okay. I thought that if I didn't tell you then, there was a chance I wouldn't get the chance to tell you ever."