Page 77 of Callista and the Elf

Her voice dropped to a husky, but intense, whisper. “What desires, Aedan?”

What desires? How could she not know? My heart beat like a wild beast trying to escape a cage.Tell her!it screamed.Tell her how you feel!

“I…” I was not so brave. She was the one who could say anything that crossed her mind. I was stuck debating if my words would lead to the death of my kingdom. My thumb slipped, striking the chanterelle. The string pierced the air with a note and gave me an idea.

“Lay down,” I said. “There’s an old ballad that contains my desires. Let me sing it for you.”

“You’re telling me what to do again.” She said the words, but there was no heat in her voice, and she laid down at the same time. “I think I’ve figured somethingout.”

I strummed the lute, testing my tuning. “Oh?”

“Mm hmm,” she muttered. “You get bossy when you’re nervous or afraid.”

I strummed again, trying to pretend her words didn’t tear into my heart. Were they true? “Perhaps. If so, I apologize. Apparently I am not as good at tempering my emotions as I thought.”

She chuckled. “It’s okay to be scared, Aedan.”

I tested out the chords for the song I wanted to sing to her. “Perhaps.”

She pulled a blanket around herself, and I began the song.

‘Tis simple now to walk the road

That’s paved with rocks and stone,

But yesteryear was close, you know,

When I walked here all alone.

There was no paving, no road signs,

No light to show the way.

I fell in darkness, cold and bleak,

Not wanting one more day.

I played the interlude twice, suddenly anxious about the confessions the next lines brought. But I told her I would share, and so I took a deep breath and plowed on.

But shock of all, your fire found me,

You brightened up the sky.

You lit the road and burned my heart,

You gave me wings to fly.

Oh, I will bless your fire–

And carry your light,

Build on the brightness

And suffer every night.

There is no darkness,

No terror too sharp—

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