A Kind of Magic

Eleven

"Peregrine went to bed," Annwyn informed the two friends when she, faithful to her word, appeared at their table just after it was cleared by one of her helpers. 

Her eyes twinkled with mirth as she observed Leodhais. It made Gilderoy chuckle-- apparently, she had received a warning from Peregrine, just like the elf.

Leodhais blushed as he arrived at the same conclusion. "Whatever His Darkness told you about me, it's not true," he muttered, not meeting her eyes.

Annwyn laughed. "Oh, isn't it?" She paused until Leodhais finally looked at her, then continued, "I wanted to apologise for Peregrine. He really is a wonderful man, despite his unpolished behaviour and dark moods. If he pledged to help you in this quest, you can rely on him; he never betrays his promise."

Leodhais nodded. In all honesty, he had gathered as much. "So, he sees you as his younger sister?"

Annwyn nodded. "Yes. He just strolled in here one day, half starved, years before I was born, when my newly wed parents ran this inn. He claimed to have walked all the way from the Highlands, too young to be able to shift into his dragon form, after both his parents were killed by another Highlander. His mother had hidden him well, and because the magic enveloping the Highland Dragons was still undetectable in him due to his young age, the other dragon did not perceive him." 

She sighed and stayed silent for a while, as if she was gathering courage to continue. "From his hideout, incapable to join the fight, Peregrine witnessed his parents' deaths, and it scarred his heart and soul forever..." She closed her eyes and sighed again, her deep love for Peregrine apparent in that simple action. "When he arrived here, he claimed that he was headed into The World Beyond The Stones to kill the Highlander who murdered his family. My parents didn't let him go any further. They took him in, and as he grew up, my father taught him to fight."

"Your parents...?" Gilderoy asked, intrigued by the sadness seeping through Annwyn's voice when she spoke about them.

"They... are dead," she muttered, her head drooping like a wilted flower. "My father was just teaching Peregrine to use the magic all Highland Dragons possess, a feat incredibly difficult for an ordinary, non magical dragon shifter like himself, when another Highlander detected him. See, they can sense the kind of magic only they possess and track each other..." Her eyes found Leodhais' and used them as a lifeline, drawing strength from him to be able to bring her tragic story towards the end. "I saw it. There was an awful fight... Peregrine was injured; he was unconscious for days after... But my father died."

Despite recalling well Peregrine's words of keeping his distance from his sister, Leodhais' hands closed around hers-- a pair of delicate fists trembling on the tabletop-- and he noticed with the utmost delight that she didn't pull away. Her hands were small and smooth, and the tears that landed on his hands now enclosing hers were burning hot, filled with profound feelings and grief he wished she had never had to endure. 

"And your mother?" Gilderoy asked, his voice just above a heartfelt whisper, spellbound by the tale as well as by what was happening between Annwyn and Leodhais.

"She had died two years prior; she had never been in perfect health after I was born." Two new tears ran down her cheeks as she said that, but she didn't remove her hands from Leodhais' to wipe them away.

Gilderoy observed the two in awe. The story Annwyn had recounted to them was the most tragically intriguing tale he had ever heard, more so because it revolved around his new friend. But what was transpiring between these two was even more intriguing... He had never seen Leodhais so taken by a woman; he had never seen a woman who would respond to him quite in this way.

Annwyn continued on a sigh, "I was seventeen back then, almost an adult, and so I took over the inn. Peregrine stayed around for a couple of years to help, but then he put it in his mind that by staying here he was only putting me in danger, that the Highlander who had killed our father would come back for him." She shook her head, a faint smile returning to her lips, the damp, salty trails left by her tears glistening in the light of the candle burning in the corner of their table. "I knew it was only a part of the truth. Peregrine now had two Highlanders to track and punish, and finally, having reached adulthood and being able to use his magic, there was no reason for him to wait around for them to find him first. So I let him go. And despite this place being his home as much as mine, he only comes to visit since then."

"Did he... Did Peregrine end the two Highlanders since?" Gilderoy asked as the elf and the half-dragon stared into each other's eyes, spellbound, as if tonight they both found exactly the person they didn't know they had been looking for their entire lives.

Annwyn opened her mouth, but it wasn't her voice that replied to the dwarf. 

"No, he had only killed one of them, but this is none of your concern," Peregrine thundered, making them all jump.

His hand rested on Annwyn's shoulder, his stormy eyes weighed on his sister's and Leodhais' joined hands, his shadow lay on all of them, cold and suffocating, his presence piercing through their bubble of privacy, making the loud noises of the inn, which Annwyn's voice had somehow managed to subdue, spill around them again. 

Leodhais started to remove his hands from hers instinctively, but Annwyn laced her fingers through his, not letting go, her eyebrow raised challengingly as she looked at him while she talked to Peregrine. 

"I don't see why they shouldn't know. You accepted a part in this quest, and so you all need to know each other and stand together. You are not alone this time, Peregrine. You need to learn to respect and at least like each other enough to look out for one another. I couldn't let you walk through the stones into the other world tomorrow, knowing that your companions won't protect you should you need their help. The same goes for you." She looked up at Peregrine finally, her eyes leaving Leodhais' for the first time since she had come to their table, even as the elf's hands wrapped around hers again, ignoring the dragon shifter's dark scowl. "You are in this together. And I want all of you to return unharmed. Understood?"

Peregrine opened his mouth to say something harsh, judging by his look, but Annwyn, knowing him well enough to foresee his words, removed her hands from Leodhais', stood up and wrapped her arms quickly around Peregrine's waist, pulling him close to her, pressing her forehead against his chest. 

Peregrine sighed deeply, his anger leaving his body on an exhale, and he caressed Annwyn's black hair lovingly as she spoke into his chest, her voice muffled by the folds of his black cloak. "Ever since you left, I keep worrying about you."

"I'm sorry, Annwyn," Peregrine muttered. 

She shook her head then looked up at him, her contagious smile back in place. "I don't want you to be. This is a part of you, and I love you just as you are. I'm only asking you to treat your companions like friends and not enemies. You have enough of those."

"I'll behave," Peregrine promised, looking down at her.

Leodhais gaped at them-- Annwyn had an incredible influence over their dark companion; he hadn't been expecting to ever witness anything like this. Gilderoy rushed to put his hand under the elf's chin to close his mouth, justly deciding that it would be better if they pretended that they hadn't witnessed the scene, just before Peregrine turned to them. 

"Gilderoy, Leodhais, we need to rest. We will leave at sunrise tomorrow," Peregrine said civilly, looking at them as if nothing had passed. 

"You are right," Gilderoy said, standing up and grabbing his friend by the sleeve of his shirt to pull him to his feet.

Peregrine turned around and led the way through the still loud but thinning crowd of Annwyn's customers towards a rickety wooden staircase ascending to the upper floors, Gilderoy at his heels followed by Annwyn and Leodhais holding hands inconspicuously.

"Don't you need... Should I help you downstairs?" Leodhais asked. 

He felt strangely responsible for the wellbeing and happiness of this gorgeous young woman standing in front of him after Peregrine had vanished into his own room, and she had showed them the one he and Gilderoy, who had already disappeared inside, would share.

"No, thank you, Your Highness," she smiled at him, taking his breath away, and Leodhais realised that he was becoming addicted to that new feeling. "I can manage, and you need to rest, you heard my brother. Let's not give him more reasons to complain tonight."

Leodhais chuckled, then sighed as he brought their joined hands to his lips. "Will I see you in the morning, fair Annwyn?"

"Of course. Good night, Leodhais." She leaned on the tiptoes and pressed her lips to his cheek briefly, before disentangling her fingers from his and leaving him alone in the gloomy corridor, walking down the stairs towards light and noise, taking his heart with her.