Black Crystal Part 1 - The Origin

Chapter Eleven ~ A Fire in the Rain

 The sky grew dark as the small party walked for hours and hours. That was the furthest from the village that Garen had ever traveled, and he knew the same applied to Peter. The same thing couldn't quite be said for Lenora, though, considering that she was a long way from her actual home. It was a silent walk for nearly seven hours. Only the sounds of the breeze through the trees accompanied by the songs of birds in the sky filled the silence in those seven hours. As nighttime drew near, rain began to fall from the dark clouds above.

"Oh, fantastic," Peter scoffed. "And we didn't think to bring any umbrellas or anything, did we? No, I don't think so."

"Now, now, Peter," the Bishop began, speaking in a calming tone of voice, "no need to complain. We'll take cover under a large tree or something. It is getting late; maybe we should rest for the night anyways."

"Fair enough," said Lenora. "I'm pretty tired as it is."

"I'll fetch some firewood," said Lucius. "Garen, would you like to come along?" Garen hesitated before looking between Lenora and Lucius.

"I don't know..." he sighed. "I'm pretty tired and cold, Lucius."

"I insist; please come along." Garen saw Lucius's green eyes. They seemed to cut through the darkness of the night as if they were glowing. Finally, he nodded and followed Lucius away from the group and into the darkness of the forest.

"Why did you want me to come along?" asked Garen. As soon as he asked that, Lucius turned around and made sure they were a pretty fair distance away from the rest of the group before answering.

"Is it true?" he asked. "Are you really in love with Lenora?" Garen opened his mouth to respond, but he didn't know what to say. "Dear Heavens, child..." Lucius began to pace around with his hands behind his back. "How could you fall in love with her!? There are so many potential problems with this, so many complications!"

"Could you please talk about this quieter!?" Garen hissed. "I don't want her to know." Both of them went silent while Lucius continued to pace around. "I'd appreciate if you kept this secret."

"It's not me you need to worry about." Lucius stopped pacing and gestured toward the direction of the rest of the group. "If anyone were to go blabbering about this, it would be Peter." Garen chuckled a little at Lucius's claim, knowing he was right, but Lucius continued speaking as he gathered firewood. "How much do you love her, Garen?"

"Um... I'm not quite sure what you mean."

"I want to know if your love for her is true, and pure."

"It is." Garen nodded and answered without hesitation as he also started gathering firewood. "I know it sounds crazy considering I've known her for only two days, but Lucius... it was like love at first sight. The second I saw her, I felt a protectiveness toward her. Like... like, to the point where the thought that anything bad happening to her could bring me to tears. I want to always be there for her. I want to see her become even greater than she is now. Lucius, I don't think I could part ways with her when we bring her back to the Capitol."

Quickly, Lucius turned around to counter what Garen said, but then he saw Garen's expression. It was sorrowful, sincerely sorrowful. He sighed and walked over to Garen, placing a hand on his shoulder as he held whatever firewood that didn't fall to the ground in his other arm. "I'm 100% behind you," he said. "I know it may not seem like it sometimes, but I'm always behind you. If you want to go and stay in the Capitol for Lenora, I support that decision fully. Heck, I'd even help you find a place."

"Really?"

"Your love for her is true, and pure. I trust that if you and Lenora were to be together, your intentions would be nothing less than pure."