Page 74 of Thief of Roses
The blankets and furs received his whimpers and murmured avowals of love until his grief exhausted him.He drifted into his first sleep without her beside him since the time she had taken nocturnal solace in his arms.He slept alone as he would for the rest of his life.
XXX.
Those assembled aroundthe campfire all leaned in, yearning to hear the last of the tale.The group had changed and shifted over the time it had taken for Vallon to relate the story, more Rivani crowded around him, many of the children sleeping in their parents’ laps.
“And then?”Prodded Haynati, the first to grow impatient when Vallon said no more.
“And then — nothing.Rivani left as intended.She went off to see the world and he remained to live out his days as a monster of the forest.Perhaps one day, Rivani will return to his side.”He did not look at the one he most wanted to see.
“That’s heartbreaking,” one of the other women said.“The poor Fir’Darl.”This time she did not kiss her thumb or put her fist to her heart when she spoke the god’s name.
“He was content with his fate, even if it caused pain,” Vallon explained.“Although absolved of his great crime, he had done things for which he still could not properly atone.His chance at any meaningful redemption lay in his ability to find the will to look after her before himself, even when she was all the joy he had ever known in his long life.”He went quiet.“Those who have done evil cannot expect to be given a second chance even after they’ve demonstrated growth.”
“And he is still out there?Alone?”One of the young men asked.
“I do not know where he is now,” Vallon admitted, “but I do know that he is alone and will always be alone unless his Rivani claims him again.”
Silence reigned as the gathered Rivani considered the story so unlike their ideas about what the Fir’Darl was and had once been.
While most were still in the midst of their reveries, Mother raised her voice.“Perhaps Vallon will know a different conclusion to the story another night, but for now, the festivities are at an end.”Mother stared at Vallon, the intensity of her gaze like an arrow lodged in his chest.“Thank you, Vallon, for your insight into our darkest of gods.”She scanned the dissembling camp.“Perhaps we should use it as a reminder of the power of story, and that no matter the darkness of our pasts, we may all strive to be better.If the Fir’Darl found the tranquility to endure his punishment with grace and the self-awareness to improve himself without tangible reward, then I hope that he finds the peace he seeks.May we all have a fortunate night.”
As others withdrew, Mother passed Vallon and patted his shoulder before she too abandoned the fire for hervyardin.
Those who remained broke off into small groups, lowering their voices so as not to disturb the peacefulness of the night, their conversations turning to comforting murmurs as they wandered away.For Vallon, he kept his attention on the flames, the story he told still much on his mind.A few Rivani bid him good night and he waved and responded, giving the customary wish of restoring sleep upon each person who took their leave of him.
He had not glanced at Sahtiya once through it all.When he mustered his courage, she was gone.
“That’s not the way I would have told it,” a voice said behind him.
Vallon’s stomach knotted.His legs lost their strength.His throat closed up.He turned and directed his gaze up at the speaker, meeting her eyes.He drank in the sight of her and loved her more with each moment that passed.
These past weeks, he left small presents at hervyardindoor, feathers and beads and stones, a snakeskin he cleaned from one of his kills, but she never said anything to him, not since he joined camp.He wanted her to claim him with outstretched arms and words of relief.He wanted to kneel at her feet and beg her to accept him now, now that he was frail and human and still unworthy of her.
“Then you may tell it next time.”He gestured to the seat that Rushina had vacated.
“Maybe I will.”Sahtiya sat sideways on the bench and drew her legs up under her.“Except I thought that such was the end to the story.Now I know that it is not.”
