Monday, November 5, 2012

Chapter 21: Pleasures of the Moment


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"I'm strong enough now, I could alter Tania's curse" Evenfall says, "Instead of sleeping until mother dies, you could be awakened by true love's kiss."

"True love's kiss," Auberon laughs, "Where do you get such ideas?"

Evenfall pouts,  "I thought it would be sweet, for you and mother to be reunited that way..."



"It is a lovely thought, my daughter," Auberon says, "But have you considered the confusion it was cause your mother if I were to return to her now? She has a mate, and two children with him. She loves him, does he not?"

"Yes," Evenfall says, "Ardax is a good man, and he's been like a father to me. But it isn't fair that you have to stay trapped in the dream realm..."

"I am not trapped here, not truly," Auberon says, "Dreams are what I am made of, and this realm is more home to me than the world you were born in."

"The world I was born in..."  Evenfall sighs, "Mother's people are not unkind, exactly, but they know I'm not one of them, that I don't belong..."




Tegan's reasons for leaving his mate had nothing to do with the kin they'd left behind, but being here to see his daughter's first child born is the best reason to be happy about his decision.



"You aren't staying the night?" Aeaea asks when he gets up to leave them after they've shared dinner.

"Not tonight, daughter," Tegan says, not giving her an explanation, knowing she won't pry. His frequent visits to her nest are unusual enough for an old dragon like himself. There was a time when an adult male would not enter another's nest for anything but the most dire of circumstances. Visiting one's adult offspring was simply unheard of; once they left the nest to start their own, they were no longer your concern. But all that has changed in the years since Aithne and her followers left; because of Aymeri's influence, males have a voice in the council and the tight structure of their society has loosened considerably. 


Tegan lifts his young grandson to snuggle him before he takes his leave. The younger dragons, like Aeaea and her mates, have adjusted well to the change, like they were just waiting for someone like Aymeri to make it possible. Change has been harder for the elders dragons, but Tegan has taken to it, and even turned down several offers to join other nests as a mate, choosing to live mateless in in Aymeri's highly non-traditional nest, enjoying his new freedoms, being able to come and go as he pleases, to stay in his daughter's nest for days or weeks at  time, answering to no one but himself.


Between his daughter's nest and Aymeri's, Tegan meets with Tania, as they'd planned. It was a spell that brought them together, he knows that, and many times he's wished he could shake them both free of its grasp, this need that rises between them once in every moon's turning that drives them to met like this, in secret. He sees it in her eyes as well, the desire and the revulsion, and something she wants from him, something she cannot take.


He always means to resist, while knowing he won't be able to; once the need arises, it drives him, and nothing will stop him until he's had her.


Tania gives herself over to hr desire more readily, as it is the nature of the fae to live in the moment and take whatever pleasures the moment brings. But it's more than pleasure she wants from the dragon that Auberon's spell has bound to her, she wants what Auberon has been unable to give her, what Shayeleigh's dragon has given her, a child.


And once again, when the heat of their passion is cooled, Tania weeps in disappointment. No new life has sparked in her womb.

"Why can you not give me a child?" she sobs, clutching his knee.

Tegan strokes her hair gently, not seeing the need to respond.

"It's not fair," Tania continues her tearful complaint, "Shayeleigh got pregnant the first time she lay with her dragon."


"Yes, she did," Tegan agrees, leaning over her to soother her with a kiss, "And if you've seen Riain and Shayeleigh together, then you've seen the bond that formed between them. They are mated forever, while you and I...we've kept our affair secret for more than a dozen years, now. Perhaps it is for the best no child has come of it."



In her heart, Tania cannot deny the truth of his words, but she cannot bring herself to accept it, either, so she just continues her sobbing, while he tries to comfort her.


"Evie," Talfryn whispers, "Wake up."


"Talfryn?" Evenfall murmurs sleepily, opening her eyes, "Talfryn!" she whispers his name to keep her parents and siblings from waking, but shows her disapproval through her tone while keeping her voice low, "You can't be here! Your father..."



"Neither my father nor any dragon laws can keep me from you, Evie," Talfryn answers, crouching over her. The dragons have relaxed their laws about being seen by the fae kind, and now they are allies, but they are still forbidden to be seen by mortal eyes, and if Aymeri knew where his son was at this moment...Talfryn puts that thought out of his mind, as he has more pleasurable things to think about.

"Not here," Evenfall insists, "My sister is right there, and my brother is just behind you."

"Then come with me, we'll go somewhere else."


"Honestly, Talfryn, you're just looking to make trouble," Evnfall grumbles affectionately, cuddling against him once they've gotten far away enough from her mother's village to satisfy her.

"I was just looking for you," Talfryn laughs, "Why do you live with the mortals, anyway? You're fae, you should be with your people."

"My mother is my people," Evenfall says, "My sister and brother are mortal, too, and I will only have a handful of decades to be with them. You and I will live forever, I think you can wait that long."


"You know I'm not good at waiting," Talfryn laughs as they slip out of their clothes to make love beneath the stars. "I want to nest with you, as soon as we come of age."

"Maybe," she sighs, and gasps,"It will be hard to live with you and not be able to tell my mother or my sister about my dragon lover."




15 comments:

  1. Wow. So many changes. I like how Evenfall turned out. A dragon lover though? Very dangerous should the mortals find out... whoops looks like they have. Is there a bit of blackmail in the works?

    My heart still aches for Auberon.

    Tania, I think, is getting what she deserves. Her hatred and jealousy brought about the curse to Auberon, so she should be punished accordingly.

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    1. Thanks, my pal!
      A human has seen Evenfall with someone, but she doesn't know that it's a dragon. Still, there could be trouble.
      Don't feel too bad for Auberon, he's not unhappy with his situation. He still loves Uvie, but it's not a human love that burns with the desire to be with the loved one. He's content to know she's happy with her life.

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  2. Wow, I think Evenfall and her dragon lover is exactly how the story should turn out, unfortunately it is extremely dangerous. Although I think she knows, I don't think Talfryn does.

    Tania can't have children because that would be totally wrong to have one of her spawns. I think she should just face it. What she did to Auberon, is exactly why she should never spawn. Evil begets evil and so on. I am kinda hoping someone kills her.

    This was a great chapter, was it shorter than you others? No, It just felt that way.

    As always Melissa, good job.

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    1. Thanks, Paula!
      This chapter is probably a little shorter than usual for this story.

      The danger of Evenfall's affair with Talfryn comes from the fact that the dragons have outlawed any contact between their kind and the humans, and Talfryn has been very careless about showing up in the human village to see her.

      I have a hard time picturing Tania as a mother, myself.

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  3. Beautiful update.
    It must be mating season. *LOL*
    Really, lots of insight. I love every update, they could all just sit around and roast veggies and it would be great. :)

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    1. Thanks so much, Zhip!
      You know, the reason this chapter took so long was I was having a long think about where to pick it up. I knew there would b time jumps, but I kept feeling like I should show more of the changes in dragon society, but all the scenes ended up being dragons sitting around talking, and I thought it was too boring so I moved forward to where the toddlers that the last chapter were now teens, and just let Tegan muse a little over the changes while visiting his adult daughter.
      But it's nice to know that you, at least, would enjoy chapters of dragons just jawing over their fir about their laws and traditions, lol.

      And, it's funny, this story will have chapters where no has sex, and then chapters like this that are just ne sexual encounter after another...maybe it is a seasonal thing, lol.

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  4. Great chapter!

    Hmm. Last pic, is that Evenfall's sister?

    My heart doesn't hurt for Auberon at all. Seems pretty clear he's in no pain, and we are as mayflies. xD Evenfall can see him whenever, and I still feel like Uvie isn't his "true" love. ;D So I loved the conversation between father and daughter, even though it seemed to me that he was severely sparing her feelings by not pointing out more of the obvious.

    I'm glad we get to see Talfryn. I'm concerned for him, of only because of what Aymeri said about him in the Roman legacy.

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    1. Thanks, Becky!

      That is Evenfall's sister in the last picture. That will be confirmed in the next chapter.

      I think you are very spot on about Auberon, his perspective is totally different from the mortal one. Evenfall does have the ability to visit him not just when she's asleep and dreaming, but through something like meditation...I should probably show that more clearly in the story, since Uvie was only able to see him that way in dreams. But she's human, and Evenfall is fae like her father.
      The concept of true love is pretty alien to Auberon. He does love Uvie, as he loves Tania, and Ico, and who knows who else. And he was sparing his daughter's feelings by not pointing that out to her, which is a kind of compassion he's learned by being Uvie's lover. Before her, he might have just been blunt about the truth.

      Yeah, I think people who have read my legacy stories where these characters appear have something of an advantage in knowing how some of this plays out. I will say this much: the story Aymeri told in that legacy isn't about to happen soon, but Talfryn's carelessness here does foreshadow that event.

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  5. Oh wow, look at evenfall all grown up! I would say "Why couldn't she just be simple and date another fae or something...but then I guess from the start her life was never simple! I, Aeon fully support this relationship (for what it is worth) and I hope that others will when they come to find out about it....looks like the secret is now out as well!

    Oh...Tania is like a child. Everyone else has a kid and now she wants one too! Well that is what she gets. Teagen is right, it is for the best as cruel as that may sound.

    It is great to see this back! It feels like such a long time since the last update!

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    1. Thanks, Aeon!
      I don't think Evenfall will get a lot of trouble from the relationship, but because the dragons want to keep their ability to transform into a human type form a secret, she wouldn't be allowed to tell her mother or the rest of her human tribe and family about Talfryn. And, of course, her sister just caught her with him, lol. But that's for next chapter.

      It's so true, Tania wants what she sees others have, very like a child.

      It has been awhile since my last update. I had to put some thought into where I was going to pick the story up. I knew I wanted to jump ahead in time, but I wasn't sure how far. And I've been really distracted by my legacy story, which has been crossing over with this story...Evenfall, Auberon, Moth and Ametair have all made appearances, and I've even been using this same world for some scenes, so I kind of forgot that I hadn't actually updated this story in so long, lol. But anyway, I should be back on a more regular schedule now that I've made up my mind on the time jump.

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  6. Evenfall looks so pretty! And Talfryn, wow! Another good looking male! I feel kind of bad for Evenfall's sister though, that is something I would never want to see---my sister having sex with a guy. Yuck! Eye bleach needed! lol :P



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  7. Poor Auberon...maybe it's more peaceful for him though, he does get to see his daughter and for the most part seems to be away from all of the drama.

    Evanfall and Tal just got catched!! I'm hoping by someone with some understanding.....edenz~

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    1. Thanks, edenz! Auberon is pretty at peace with everything.

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  8. I'm glad even though Auberon is unconscious in physical form, that you still write him in the story through his dreams. :) I like him.
    Silly teenage Talfryn being careless and going into Evenfall's house. I like all the changes.
    *points at Tania like Nelson from the Simpsons* --> Ha-ha! I don't think that I would want to be raised by someone as bitchy as her. No, I know that I wouldn't want to be raised by someone as bitchy as her. I hope she never gets what she wants.

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    1. Auberon will always be a part of this story. He's one of my favorite characters. I'm glad you like him.
      Talfryn was extremely careless, and lucky he hasn't gotten caught.

      LOL, I agree, I can't see Tania being a very good mother, either. She's too selfish and immature.

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