Darkness and Hellfire

Chapter 84 The Armor Please.

Lenna followed the jeweler’s wife behind the counter and in the first door on the left. It was a break room of sorts with a table, a few chairs, and a standing cabinet. The door was a curtain that was mostly there to keep noise out rather than people. “Is this alright?” The woman asked.

Lenna nodded. “Yes. Thank you.” She replied absently. She was staring through the wall towards where Isaac was supposed to be.

“Dear?” The woman said, trying to get Lenna’s attention. When Lenna didn’t respond she spoke her mind. “You look like an abandoned puppy. He’s not going to run away or turn to dust because you aren’t there.”

The frankness of the woman snapped Lenna out of her own head. She looked at the woman with slightly wide eyes and was temporarily taken aback. Lenna closed her eyes and took in one long breath in her nose and out her mouth. She opened her eyes and looked at the younger woman who at that moment seemed to be a few times her senior. “Sorry.”

The woman shook her head with a smile. “It’s fine dear.” She replied and set the necklace and the cushion it was on onto the table. Lenna reached to take her bracelet off so she could remove her gauntlet. After the third attempt the other woman walked up to her and grabbed it. “Let me help you.”

“Thank you.” Lenna whispered.

“This is an interesting piece.” The jeweler’s wife commented as she set the bracelet on the table.

“It’s proof.” Lenna told her and set her helmet on the table.

“Of what?” The woman asked.

Lenna started to take off her gauntlets and the other woman helped her doff the upper half of her armor so she could try on the necklace. “That I’m allowed in the city.”

The woman nodded. “I’ve never heard of a drow in town before.” She said absently in an attempt to continue the conversation.

“I’m not surprised. There is no good blood between your kin and mine.” Lenna commented.

“On to a better topic.” The old woman said abruptly. “How did you two meet?”

Lenna figured it wouldn’t hurt to tell her as long as she left out any important details, people were already looking into the two of them after all. “Lua told me to run away from home.” Lenna began. “I left my family and headed into the wilderness to meet someone. Lua told me that my life would change for the better. That I would leave behind the suffering of my home for something better.”

“Lua is a moon goddess right?” The woman asked.

Lenna nodded. “And beauty in all its forms.” She replied.

“I didn’t know there was a drow goddess like that.” The jeweler’s wife commented and eyed Lenna with a slight smirk.

“She’s the only good one.” Lenna said and after a moment of silence continued her story. “When I got to where I was supposed to meet him there were two dozen shadow-wolves waiting for me.”

The old woman froze. “Two dozen?”

Lenna nodded. “It was the largest pack I’ve ever seen.” She went on. “I was out of mana. My hand could barely hold my sword. There were still a lot of them left. I should’ve died.”

The old woman’s eyes twinkled. “He swept in to save you?”

“Yes.” Lenna affirmed. “He was a shadow flickering through the pack until he was suddenly behind me. I felt his hand on my back and his magic flow into me.”

“He’s a mage?” The woman asked. She had seen Isaac in his leather armor with a sword at his hip and assumed he was any number of things, none of which was a mage.

Lenna nodded. “He gave me the power to continue fighting.”

The old woman smiled. “It sounds like a bard’s story.”

“The hero almost died immediately after.” Lenna said dryly. “Once the last wolf was dead I turned to see him. He was standing there with an easy smile and said something that haunts me.”

“What did he say?” The woman asked with raised eyebrows. She was entirely hooked on the story of violence and mostly imagined romance.

“‘I appear to have been injured.’” Lenna quoted. “He collapsed immediately afterwards from blood loss.” Lenna swallowed. “He had a gash in his side from moving through the pack to get to me. He ignored the injury until it couldn’t be ignored any longer.”

The old woman shook her head. “Boys will be boys. Always trying to be tough. It’s a wonder any of them are still alive if you ask me.”

That got a smile out of Lenna. “Truer words have never been spoken.” She commented.

“So… what happened next?” The woman asked.

“Once he was conscious and able to move around I swore my loyalty to him. I owe him my life and his. I would have died if he hadn’t intervened and he almost did because he did.” She replied.

The woman smiled. “Loyalty is something every man and every woman wants. Make sure to remember that he isn’t just someone to look after but a handsome young man with most of his life ahead of him.” She told Lenna with a wink.

Lenna finally had enough of her armor piled on the table to put on the necklace and reached to put it on. “He makes sure to remind me.” She replied.

The woman chuckled and moved Lenna’s hair out of the way so she could fasten the necklace. “Let me get him.” She said and headed off to fetch Isaac as soon as the necklace was on.

Isaac headed to the back. When he got there Lenna turned to face him. His breath caught. Silence hung in the air. The magical lighting illuminated the gem that sat where Lenna’s collarbones met. It’s deep purple shown with reflected light. The silver chain gleamed with the same shine as her eyes. The sharp edges of the gem accented the sharp edges of her face. Rarely had he seen her and the reality that she was truly a woman of incredible beauty thrown in his face to such a degree.

“How does it look?” She asked after silence had hung for a few seconds. The jeweler’s wife was smiling conspiratorially at Isaac’s reaction.

Isaac swallowed. “Beautiful, elegant, and strong.” He said quietly.

Lenna looked down as if to see but then looked back up to meet his eyes after that was proven impossible. “It is.” She replied.

“You are.” Isaac added. He was afraid to blink lest this moment disappear.

“Flattery, my Lord?” She asked rhetorically.

“The truth.” He replied almost absently. His thoughts and thus his voice were not completely in the conversation as he was still completely transfixed on her.

After a moment Lenna commented: “When you say it like that,” She let the silence hang as she found her words. “it’s hard to tell when you are lying.”

Isaac snapped himself back into reality with a blink and a light shake of his head. “Lenna. I don’t lie to you. Here is the truth and nothing but the absolute truth.” He said seriously. Lenna’s eyes widened at the sudden ernesty. “I can’t flatter you because any words I try to think up fail to compare to the real thing. I have to keep telling myself to not stare at you. Whenever you put on your helmet I breathe a sigh of relief because I can finally think straight again.” He paused for a moment. “If you want I can try to flatter you?”

“I… don’t think that’s necessary.” Lenna replied. She felt her collar start to get hot and her face flush even as she tried to school her face back into her practiced neutrality.

“It’s definitely necessary.” The other woman said quietly.

Isaac couldn’t help but smile and try to hold back a laugh at the older woman’s comment. After a moment of thought Isaac shook his head. “I can’t think of anything better than the truth.” He conceded. “When I first laid eyes on you the rest of the world fell away. I assumed that a goddess had descended and I was the only witness. Any thought of any other woman even existing instantly left my mind as even then I knew that no one else would ever be able to compare to you. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. My favorite color is your skin. My favorite sound is your voice. I keep suppressing how I feel because it’s not fair to you so, once we leave, forget this ever happened.” He ended abruptly and turned around. “Get dressed, I’m buying that necklace.” He ordered and walked back out to the front of the store. He took a few deep breaths and shook his head.

“You shouldn’t have said that last part.” The old woman chastised him. She had left with him after winking at Lenna. “I’m not saying to rush things too fast but that last part is just going to slow things down needlessly.”

Isaac chuckled as he leaned against the counter. He shook his head. “Can you help her?”

“Open up about her feelings or putting her armor on?” The woman asked with a mischievous grin.

Isaac laughed. “The armor please.”