Chapter 60

chapter Fifty-six

The first gretemp had come and gone by the time Volencia stirred in Damion's arms. Kumaris already warming the world around them. The plan had been that they would wake early and leave for Thambair. Giving him time to mark the route. And though he had been awake for at least an hour, which was still substantially late for him, he couldn't bring himself to wake the beauty in his arms.

Knowing the longer they stayed here in bed, the more upset his mom would be, didn't faze him either. He had no intention of lying anyway. So, he had stopped worrying about it. Though, technically, he hadn't really broken his promise either; they did have an intense night together. The best he'd ever had, and he had not wanted it to end.

She stretched beside him, and all the wild abandon they'd shared the night before crashed around him. Her sleep filled eyes met his moments before she planted a chaste kiss on his chin and closed again.

"Morning, love."

"The most amazing morning of my entire life." She giggled, "I'm not even awake yet, but you seem ready to continue our adventures from last night." She wiggled against him.

His hands pressed her hips, trying his damdest to ignore those pouting lips. "I need to calm down so I can step outside. Besides, we both slept too late. We'll have to get up and start moving sooner than later."

"That eager to get back to my castle and have your way with me?" She said into his throat, nibbling his skin there.

"Oh, you have no idea." He growled. "But at the same time, I'm not particularly interested in loosing good sunlight. I'd prefer to avoid spending a third night traveling though the forest. I've got my work cut out for me along the way already."

"Fair." She said, sitting up abruptly. Starting to scramble for the side of the nest, Damion reached over and pulled a buck in, holding it out to her. There was a brief flash of gratitude before Volencia's face disappeared in the bucket. Her stomach was empty, so there wasn't much that came up, but it didn't stop her stomach from trying.

Damion spent a bit of time fussing over her, before she finally convinced him to walk her to the little building outside where she could relieve herself. Worried his mom would pounce on them the moment his door opened, he had Volencia wait inside for a few minutes before going back for her. To his relief, mom wasn't here to reprimand them. Once they were both lighter, they did go to his parent's house. He was originally going to go alone, but Volencia insisted on going too.

Kirna was quiet overall, but seemed far less concerned with their intimacy this morning than she had been the night before. She even had a substancial breakfast laid out waiting for them. "I don't know if you've seen Travion this morning or not, but he's been packing for you. I wish you could have stayed a little longer." She kissed the top of Damion's head. Her eyes settling on Volencia across the table. "And I'm sorry about how I acted last night. I hope I didn't upset either of you too much. I worry about my boys too much sometimes and was out of line. I really am happy to have you join our family, dear."

"Thank you, mom. I do understand where you're coming from." Volencia figgited with the food on her plate. "You went through a lot when my father and mother got together, and I know you've seen the pain he went through for entering her world. You have every right to worry about your son. I do too." She could feel tears starting to pool and tried to blink them away so they wouldn't fall. Her gaze never left her plate.

From her peripherial vision, she saw Damion move. Heard the scrape of his chair, and then felt his arm wrap around her waist, pulling her close to him. "You are worth it. I will protect you, love."

"And we all support you, daughter." She heard Lennion say behind her.

"Maybe this all was a bad idea-" Damion put a finger to her lips, stopping her.

"Shhh," his forehead bumped hers gently, "Don't say such things. Come on." He pulled to standing, sat himself down and softly coaxed her onto his lap. "Please, eat. You didn't get enough last night." He kissed her shoulder gently, moving the plate closer to her.

Kirna took Damion's seat after prepping a plate for Lennion, and joined them at the table, eating from the plate Damion had abandoned. The conversation moved to lighter fare. Kirna had packed them enough food for three days. Items that were safe for travel, plus a whole pack of chartis to bring with them. "I also wrote out the recipe for chartis pie, incase you wanted to try your hand, or have on of your cooks make it for you."

"Thank you." She smiled. Damion only nibbled this morning, only eating when she offered him food. "You should eat more, you'll be hungry by the time we set up camp for the night."

"Once you're satisfied, I'll finish up. You need to eat first." She pulled another piece of bacon off the plate in the middle of the table. She hadn't eaten this much meat in a long time, but she just couldn't stop. It was delicious. The eggs were light and fluffy, and no one could bake a loaf of bread like Kirna.

"There's more than plenty." Volencia sighed, "I'm not going to eat all this."

"That's fine." He did spread butter over a slice of bread. As he lifted it to his mouth, she leaned forward, giggling as she took a bite from the side at the same time he did. His other hand squeezed her side playfully. Once she was finished, she found she had eaten far more than she had expected, and Damion cleared up the rest as she went home to change into her riding clothes. Trishia was there too, finishing up their packing and making sure everything was in order. She plaited Volencia's hair.

Travion, Birna, and Lenny came and talked for a while as they packed. Damion was on his game now, eager to leave, and complaining that they should have left sooner. It didn't take long for them to get everything together and packed up. Nearly the entire village came out to see them off, and the three elves made the rounds hugging and shaking hands. Trishia only hugged Birna and Lenny, Volencia hugged the entire family, but Damion made a quick turn around with half the village before they let him leave. Just like when they had gotten here, a band of striplings attacked him in the street and they rolled around wrestling for a moment before he finally stopped and pulled each of them into a tight hug.

Once they were over the small, slick bridge where they had originally come into the village at, quiet fell around them. The day went rather quickly, and Damion market one side of the trail while Volencia marked the other. He used a red dye leaving a large swish over the bark. Volencia used her magic to scortch a line through the trees.

Overall, they weren't able to move fast, but they kept up the pace and made it to the original shelter which he had missed on their way here. It was roomier and they made it in time to the point where Damion actually set up a tent. Tethering the horses, Trishia helped put out their food and Volencia used her magic to fill them with water. Though Damion had offered to go to a river nearby. But she didn't want him to leave, as it was starting to get dark, and she didn't want to have to worry. They only bothered with one tent, and just like before, he ended up in the middle of his travel companions. By the time the creatures were roaming around outside the shield, both of them clung to either arm nearly all night long. This time though, he was in a much better mood.

There wasn't a big fuss over breakfast, but Volencia did vomit on their blanket. So, they had to take some time for Damion to wash it in the river. But he was worried about it not being dry in time, because there was no way to hang it off the horses without it getting dirty.

They continued on, marking the trail again, they didn't move quickly, but kept up a good pace. Half way through the day, Volencia started to look peeked. With in a few hours, she was slumping and swaying in the sadle. Damion was becoming more worried. Though he kept asking her if she was alright, she kept insisting she was fine. He did make her stop marking the trees, and that little adventure went by the way-side. They had to stop more than normal because her stomach was riled up, and she couldn't stop vomiting. They even stopped early to rest because he was so worried.

*Is my darkness bringing pain to her through the baby* This was the thought that was constantly running through his mind, and he felt like he was slowly going crazy. *Will the healers in Thambair even know what to do?*

**Vaction is over, things are going to start to ramp up again. Happy reading. ;)**