Holier Than Thou

[Emora Deen]

Tenele used Vlad as a brace as she pushed herself to stand, keeping a hand on his arm while she settled herself. She applied more pressure to the leg, putting full weight on it. "Its not so bad," she muttered groggily. Tenele ran a hand through her tangled silver hair and then placed it back on Vlad's arm.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him quietly. "Do you think you can port us out of here and to the forest floor?"

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad rose to his feet, reaching out a hand to steady her. "Yes. It seems it's worn off," he replied in a low tone. His tone with the nurse was not so gentle as he addressed her. "Her things. Now."

"Th....y.....H-hakom has her things."

"Fetch them," Vlad instructed her blandly.

She jerked to her feet in a quick, jumpy movement and hesitated. "I'm to stay with-"

"I am with her. Fetch them," Vlad persisted. This time, she spun and fled the tent.

[Emora Deen]

"Wow," Tenele sighed with a soft smile. She leaned into him with all the desire to curl up and go back to sleep. "You want to get out of here just as badly as I do... probably more."

Tenele pushed away from him gently, taking a couple of steps on her own. Her leg was sore, but manageable. Chances were they'd be doing a lot of walking, so she needed to get used to it. It was a long way back to Lowight.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad put an arm supportively around Tenele's waist. "How is it?" he asked her while they waited, without looking at her leg. "I'm afraid we don't have much hope of calling the horses back. They're not fond of me to begin with, and that storm probably spooked them miles off by now."

[Emora Deen]

"Its fine," Tenele told him, lifting her green eyes to meet his. "I'll be fine. Its just sore, but I can manage." Tenele leaned in more against him, resting her cheek against his chest as they waited for the nurse to bring her things.

Tenele drummed her finger tips against his arm. "We haven't gotten a chance... or had much time to talk about it. I've been avoiding it most of the time until it could settle in. What are you feeling about all this? Are you okay with who I am because of this? I don't even know what it means, or how its going to change me. I suppose it will be an easy secret to keep. I hope it is an easy secret to keep."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad's fingers squeezed slightly around her waist. "They can call you what they like, bow down to you if they please. It will not change who you are to me, Maiden Girl," he said, an affectionate smirk pulling at his stern features.

[Emora Deen]

The Queen's Maiden leaned up and pressed her lips gently to his.Tenele smiled at him, forgetting the seriousness of the next question she was going to ask him. Instead, she decided not to. His words were so sweet that she had no desire to bring such darkness in, not now. So, Tenele pushed it to the back of her mind and left it there to simmer.

"It is taking a little longer than I expected to get my things," she commented, glancing towards the hut door. Tenele stepped away from him to hobble towards the door. It was dark outside, the sun having set on another cold winter night.

[Soran Nightblade]

Almost as soon as she reached the door, the flap swung open and the nurse popped her head in. "Lady-" he froze and blushed as she noticed Tenele so close. "I...I'm sorry. your things are..." she stepped aside so she could see outside. A quiet crowd of elves were standing outside. One was holding their bag, and another Tenele's sword. Two more were holding heavy bundles of fur and leather. Well made clothes of strong, warm materials. "We will...see you off," the nurse said quietly. Erom was standing at the edge of the group with Ilthe, and Hakom was not present.

The party knelt down quietly and held out their things as well as the gifts.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele swallowed hard at the reception. She felt like she was back in the Outerlands where the people thought she was Attara... She'd thought it was all a joke back then, a way to rally the people. How close the truth was now made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She didn't want to be such an important person. Tenele liked being a Queen's Maiden, a warrior, a servant.

She was not good at being worshipped.

Tenele stepped towards them, reaching out for the warm fur mantle. "Thank you," Tenele told the woman holding it. She went about collecting what she could carry, her sword she hooked around her waist. It was not on the side she would normally carry it, to keep it from bumping against her bandaged wound.

"Thank you all, but please stand up..."

[Soran Nightblade]

The elves rose obediently at her request, but didn't seem sure how to meet her eyes.

Ilthe stepped out toward her, Erom at her side. Vlad stepped up toward Tenele's side, watching her with keen red eyes as she stopped before his wife. She looked Tenele over searchingly, reverently. How could she have watched over this person and not seen her for what she was? "You truly are the daughter of our goddess," she murmured. Her eyes flickered to Vlad's intent, protective stare. "You even bring life to the dead."

"I want you to have this," she said, shaking her head to collect her thoughts. She slipped a leatherbound book under Tenele's arm. "It is our holy book. It is in our tongue, so please bear with it. I hope it will bring you closer to your mother, some day."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele held the book tightly. Ilthe words struck her in a way she hadn't thought about. "Thank you," Tenele told her softly, feeling tears brim her eyes. She shook them away. The idea of getting close to her mother... to even speaking with her. Tenele wanted to run from it so far, and at the same time she wanted it more than anything. "I will cherish it, and hopefully in time it will bring me closer to her."

Tenele stepped away from her slowly and back towards Vlad. "Let's go," Tenele told him, her voice cracking more than intended.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad looked over the group of elves, but especially at Ilthe. Something seemed different about her attitude from before. He regarded her with fresh interest as he threw the heavy fur cloak around his shoulders, hiding his glory from the audience.

He spared a look at Erom, who looked pouty. "Well done, elfling. Thanks."

The boy raised his head, flushing. "B....bye!" he exclaimed, and immediately looked frustrated that he hadn't said something cooler.

"Bye," Vlad confirmed with a smirk as he wrapped his arms securely around Tenele for the port.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele was thankful for there gifts, but she felt even more thankful to be leaving. On the forest floor Tenele rearranged the gifts they'd been given, handing off a pair of clothes suited for a man to Vlad. She hobbled over to a tree and leaned against it for support while she fiddled with the book in her hands. It was very dark, and her vision wasn't very good at night, so Tenele pushed the book into her bag and slipped it over her shoulder.

"We could run into more soldiers at night," Tenele muttered as she tried to see through the gaps in trees. "So... I have this idea. It might not be the best idea, but I think it will keep us out of too many fights. Well, maybe. Anyway, this is the idea. I'm not in the best shape to fight, and you can't port us all the way back to Lowight without wanting to eat me at the end of the journey. So, I think if we come up against any Arken soldiers or a town infested with them you pretend your one of 'em and I pretend I'm a captive. You're a vampire, so I think they're likely to believe it. Unless we've gotten so famous that every Arken soldier knows of the silver haired Queen's Maiden and the vampire."

Tenele thought about it, and then shrugged. "At any rate, if it works, and we come across a nice warm tavern filled to the brim with their scum, at least we can maybe wrangle a warm bed out of it?"

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad smirked. "That is possibly the worst idea you've ever had," he teased, messing up her hair. He sent out a mental call for his hound and felt a distant response as he caught Stalker's attention. The hound felt far away; it would take some time for him to return to his master's side. "Then again, a tavern's not a bad idea. I could use a drink." He winked.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele narrowed her eyes on him. "You're serious? I thought it was the worst idea ever?" Tenele poked him. "You are a mad man." She pushed off the tree and slipped an arm around his to lean on him as they walked. Trudging through the snow put a strain on her leg, and the further they went in the dark the harsher her limp grew. She was a good sport about it, not making much noise of discomfort save a sharp hiss when her foot stumbled into a hole hidden by the white fluff.