Echoes Beyond

Purity

Who can find a virtuous woman?
For her price is far above rubies

The next morning, Aragorn groaned as the first rays of light filtered through the curtains and pierced his eyes. His head throbbed, and his mouth was dry. He had drunk far too much the previous night. As he tried to shift his position, he felt something warm and soft beside him. He turned and almost crushed a fragile female body—Lytharial's body.

Naked.

Her head rested on his shoulder, her bare skin pressed against his. Memories from the night before started flooding back. Shit. He could remember parts of it, but... did they...?

Panic set in, and he began shaking Lytharial uncontrollably. 

     "Lytharial! Wake up!"

She groaned and tried to push him away. 

     "Leave me alone, Aragorn..."

     "Did we...!?" he stammered, his voice rising with anxiety.

     "Did what?" she mumbled, still half-asleep.

     "Did we make love?"

Lytharial jolted awake, her eyes flying open. She took in the sight of him beside her and then glanced down, realizing she was completely naked. With a cry of alarm, she grabbed the nearest blanket and threw it at him. 

     "Stop staring at me!"

Aragorn averted his eyes, feeling a flush of embarrassment. 

     "I'm sorry! I just... I need to know what happened."

Lytharial wrapped another blanket around herself, trying to gather her thoughts. The memories of the previous night came rushing back to her. She could still feel the heat of his touch, the intensity of his kiss. But... no, they hadn't gone that far.

     "We didn't," she said firmly, her voice still a bit dizzy. "We only... had fun."

Aragorn's shoulders slumped in relief. 

     "Thank the stars." He rubbed his temples, the headache making it hard to think clearly. "I drank too much. I'm so sorry, Lytharial."

She shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips despite the situation. 

     "You don't have to apologize, Aragorn. I wanted it too. It was... a moment of weakness, for both of us."

He looked at her, his expression a mix of guilt and confusion. 

     "But I shouldn't have... I mean, you deserve better than... this."

Lytharial reached out and placed a hand on his arm, her touch gentle. 

     "Aragorn, stop. We both needed something last night. A distraction, maybe. It doesn't have to mean more than that."

Aragorn sighed, his gaze meeting hers. 

     "But I don't want to complicate things. Especially not with everything that's happening."

     "Neither do I," she agreed, pulling the blanket tighter around her. "Let's just... put it behind us. Focus on what we need to do."

He nodded slowly, still feeling a pang of regret but also a strange sense of relief. 

     "Alright. We'll move forward. Together."

She smiled softly. 

     "Together."

As they got up and began dressing, the tension slowly eased. They didn't speak much, but there was an unspoken understanding between them. They had shared something intimate, something that would linger in their minds, but it wouldn't define them.