ELIA

Elia blew out a breath and looked at the items on the quilt as she switched the pieces of paper so she could read what he'd written about each.

And as she did, her heart broke and was stitched back up with each little evidence of his thoughtfulness and love.

~

Elia,

I share these with you in order of when they came into my life. I hope you enjoy these memories as much as I do…

The first is probably the one you don't recognize. You made two of these, though I've only managed to keep one safe through the years. Remember that you wished, when you were small, to have your ears pierced? You made these little crosses of twigs one day in the forest behind our houses, and I looped the string so you could hang them over your ears. You wore them every day for a week, and I found it very funny. The day I was forced to leave, I went to our fort in the woods and collected everything. I was still angry and, selfishly, I took them. But they became precious. One was crushed in my journey. But I have kept this protected since, and now I return it to you, though you need no embellishment to your beauty.

The second, the round rock, I picked up on the night you came to Anima. When we entered the circle for the Flames and Smoke I kicked it and stopped to pick it up. It was intended to be a marker for me to remember that night—to remind me that the Creator can do anything. That the twists and turns of life as I see them are straight lines to His eyes. Now I pass it to you. I have held this since the night he returned you to me. The most grateful night of my life.

The third may not survive with time, but I learned when I was in your world that when water evaporates, anything within it is left behind. So this little bottle will always contain a trace of the bathing pools. Do you remember when we made love there the first time? The first night, in fact. I already knew I loved you then. I already knew we were True Mates, and already burned for you. But that night… that night is precious in my mind because it was the night you gave yourself to me. I am humbled by that memory every day, Elia. Your willingness to allow me into your body was a privilege—and remains so to this day. I love nothing more than you, and enjoy nothing better than you. You are my heart, and you have me by the balls. And I am glad for it.

The fourth is one you may not recognize. Do you remember the morning, after we'd started training together above the bathing pools, where I taught you to wrap your hands for protection? This was one of the laces we used. I still remember you, your little hand extended and already wrapped, asking me to tie the lace for you. You were so eager, so ready to keep going, though your body ached and you were so tired… I admired your spirit, my beautiful mate. You held your wrist for me to tie this lace around the linen, and you smiled up at me. And when I was done, you called me Sir—but with that wicked grin that I love so. We made love up there at the end of the session, and the memories of that still cause my blood to boil when I think of it. You are delicious and brave, my beautiful mate. Never change.

The next is that beautiful creation that Candace made for you. I so love that your friend is a part of our memories, and that she remains your support as Cohort and Companion. Can we please ask her to make more of these? I enjoyed it greatly—

~

Elia had to drop the paper for a moment, the tears came so thick and fast and she was afraid her tears would smudge his precious writing.

He'd written this before Candace was hurt… killed… He'd written this before Candace was killed. He hadn't meant to hurt her with this reminder. He celebrated her friend. Elia choked out a prayer to the Creator to bless her friend. But her heart ached. She needed Candace. She needed Reth. She needed to be back in Anima.

Nothing was as it should be!

It took minutes before she was calm enough to wipe her face and return to the letter. When she did, she skimmed to the bottom of Reth's paragraph about the little, sheer slip Candace had made for her. She would read that later when there weren't other griefs to steal from her honor of her friend.

Then she took a deep breath and picked up the next item Reth described. It was a small bundle of fabric. Thin fabric that had a cluster of something rolled into its center, then was tied, like a small candy twisted into paper. Elia lifted it to her nose and inhaled as she read.

~

…This last is actually two of my most precious memories rolled together. Within that little parcel is a handful of blossoms and leaves from the Weeping Tree, and a handful of grass and field-flowers from the mountainside where I took you before we faced the Elders to address the final Petition about your throne. Not a happy day, I will admit. But the night before Lucan took you, we visited the Weeping Tree alone. It is a place I vow I will take you again, Elia, and these petals mark my promise. Then the following day I took you up the mountain so we could be alone and we made love… we made Elreth. I grabbed a handful of the tiny blossoms and grasses because I knew. That day, although marred by such sadness and anger, is the happiest of our memories together. You carry our daughter, my love. You carry our future. You carry an entire person whose heart is half of me and half of you. And I cannot be prouder, or more excited. No matter what comes, no matter where we are, whether we are together or apart, there is a person who exists, whose soul was created, to mark our love, my love. And I will never forget that day, and I will always smile when I think of it. Because that is the fulfillment of my wishes and prayers since I was a cub myself.

You, Elia, are my heart, and my soul. Elreth is my life. Should we be blessed with more offspring, they will be added, making my life richer and fuller and more beautiful again.

I do not know why the Creator chose me for such bounty of love. I do not know how He came to decide that you were for me. But He did. He made me for you, and you for me. And now He has made another person—an entire life—out of our love.

I am humbled beyond words. And I love you beyond expression.

Take these things my love and wallow in the memories as I do.

There will be more, many more to come.

With all of my heart and soul,

Reth

~