Heirot

Vlad's smile weakened a little. "There's one other thing." He gestured to his chest, as if touching a necklace, with his ringless left hand.

Tenele mimicked his movement, feeling the chain around her neck. She lifted the necklace from behind the dress and admired the rings. At first it didn’t register, and then she looked back at his hand. “What does this mean?” she asked him quickly, panicked. If she didn’t remember him… did that make their marriage void? The only thing that made it work to begin with was the fact they loved each other purely, and if she didn’t remember him, then she didn’t know to love him. “Can you put it back on?” she asked him, near tears. Gods, what if that meant they couldn’t be married anymore? She took the ring from the chain and held it out to him with a shaking hand. She was afraid to see that he couldn’t.

Vlad looked down at his hand. It was still scarred from the last time he'd tried to force it on. He extended it slowly and took the ring from her hand. It didn't burn him. He brought his arms in and carefully slid the ring over his finger. It gave his hand a warm glow as it settled into place, but their was no pain. He stared at it and gave a laugh that was close to sob. Still staring at his hand in disbelief, he reached out for hers, for the ring she'd removed from her own hand.

Tenele held her ring out to him, feeling tears on her cheeks as she realized how happy that made him. It must have been so hard to have lost his ring and his wife. She met his eyes."I love you."

Vlad knelt before her. Her words gave him confidence and strength he'd thought he'd lost forever. He took her hand lightly and slid the ring over her finger. Then his pressed his cheek to the back of her hand, holding it tight. "I am yours. Always," he vowed."

"Ugh," Lelana grumbled, rolling her eyes.

Tenele smiled down at him. She took his face in her hands and bent, pressing her lips to his before he could think of objecting.

Vlad kissed her, and he couldn't bring himself to stop. He just kissed her and kissed her, too elated to be desired as a husband to think about the sour memories that threatened to surface. This was his wife, in his arms. He refused to question such perfect happiness. "I love you. It will be fine now," he breathed as he squeezed her in his arms.

Tenele nodded, knowing that was true. Vlad was still her husband and Atul desired to be with them again. It was wonderful. "Anything else I should know?" Tenele tightened her fingers in his dirty shirt. He was covered in dried mud.

She glanced over his shoulders and noticed that Lelana was also equally dirty.

Why were they so dirty together?

“Well, there are a few more things, but we can all take it very slowly,” Atul whispered next to them. He was beaming. So, so happy. He almost glowed. “I…” The King fidgeted. “I want to ask you a question, Tenele. I’ve already spoke to Vlad about it, but now that you have your memories I wanted to ask you.”

Tenele turned slowly from Vlad and watched as Atul took her hand gently. He pressed it to his lips. “It seems that as I am King I need a wife,” he whispered. “I need a Queen.”

“Ugh…”

“Of course, if my Queen also comes with a husband, I don’t mind all that much,” he added, offering a wink to Vlad. “I don’t want to wait another second wandering what will be in the future.” He kissed her palm. “Be my queen… Be my wife, and allow Vlad to be my husband.”

Tenele felt the floor go out from under her. Had she heard that right? This was a dream. It felt like a dream. Lelana was standing in the same room with them. She’d missed two months of her life. If this was a dream… Tenele didn’t want to wake up.

Tenele giggled happily, covering up her mouth. “Are you mad?” she asked him. “Of course. Why even ask?” She moved forward and threw her arms around the King.

Lelana frowned, glaring at the floor. How much longer did she have to deal with this sappiness? How much longer did she have to see their happiness while she wallowed in her own misery? But, at the same time the light in her brother’s eyes seemed so familiar to the hope they’d held as children. It was nice to see that light reflecting in those blue orbs again.

“That is to say, if Vlad is still willing to share you as a wife?” the King added, turning his attention to Atul.

Vlad stared, his eyes alight with energy. He was just beginning to comprehend what this meant. They could be together. No more jealousy or dating games. The powerful trust and understanding they'd somehow forged would exist again. And suddenly, he was realizing what Atul's commitment meant. This man he'd come to love wanted to be at his side...forever. He stepped forward beside Tenele and stared into the man's eyes. "It is simple to share when we are this much richer," he murmured. "Always, Atul."

Atul grinned. He drew them both in against them, holding tight. "This is great. This is so wonderful. We have much to plan and prepare for, but I am so very happy."

"That's wonderful," Lelana sighed. "Beautiful, in fact. But, I've held up my end of the bargain. Tenele is cured, Vlad is returned to you... Sooo..." Lelana glanced to Vlad. "You should probably be getting back to Hajara. Not trying to rush you out or anything, but I am."

Vlad turned to Lelana and walked up to her. He didn't look for permission before hugging her. "Thank you for giving her back to me," he whispered.

Lelana stiffened, but slowly relaxed in Vlad's arms. She rested her head on his chest for a moment. "I suppose it is the least I can do considering what I've done to your mind," she whispered to him. "Just remember... none of it was real."

Atul stepped forward, still confused by Vlad's embrace. "Sister..."

Lelana drew away from Vlad, turning to her brother. "Don't," she rushed. "Its okay. Your welcome."

"You have changed," he whispered, knowing that the old Lelana would have rather watch them burn than help. "Thank you."

Lelana paused, blinking at his words. She lowered her gaze to the floor. "Since father is gone... the noise in my head is getting softer," she whispered. "But, I do not deserve forgiveness for my crimes. And I do not want sympathy for my insanity. Give me time... Please."

Atul nodded. "I wish I knew what he did to you to make you the way you are," he breathed.

Lelana shook her head. "No," she muttered. "You really don't. But, it was done. And it is over. We are all free. But, I am not... I'm not ready."

Atul nodded. "But, when you are..."

"I will let you know."

Vlad nodded, feeling proud to see her stand strong in front of her brother. He could see pride in her eyes, something he hadn't seen there before. She could face her brother without being defined by her infatuation with him. If there was a first step, this was it.

"I'll visit, if you do something about your damned snakes," Vlad put his hand on her head.

Leleana smirked. "I have no control over the snakes," she warned him. "Guess I get to keep my peace."

Tenele was still very unsure of the woman, but too much had happened that she didn't remember, which meant for now she had to go with it.

Lelana kicked them out, politely. It was more than she could handle to have them there and she was making small steps. She felt proud of herself, but also extremely exhausted.

Atul gathered his army and they set off for the desert, but as Tenele requested he made sure to stop at the glowing pool that night to set up camp. She didn't remember the request now that her memories had returned, but he was sure that she would be just as impressed with it.

Vlad soaked in the baffled stares as he walked through the camp. He'd been forced to change into one of Atul's outfits, since his own clothes were so badly destroyed. Wearing the colors of the king, he drew a lot of confused attention.

He loved it. He was beside himself. All day during their ride, Vlad sat tall in his saddle, strutting like a prized hen. Even the thought of the four-day journey across the bright sands couldn't dull his mood. He'd have to stop staring at his ring so much though, or he'd burn a hole straight through his eye sockets.

Even that thought made him overly pleased with himself.

"Your tent is ready, your highness," one of the soldiers announced as he jogged up to them. "We placed it in the center of the camp, so we could protect lord Vladimir from the snakes."

Vlad smiled demonically. The men still wouldn't believe he was abducted by a "pack" of serpents. They'd been taking jabs at him all day. "See that you do," he humored the man, sliding the fallen log he was stepping over just enough to trip him.

"Playing dirty!" the soldier howled, brushing moss and forest junk off his uniform.