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"You did all this," Ashlynn said, gesturing at the expansive painting that was at least a dozen paces across and stretched all the way from the floor to the chamber’s high ceiling. "Just so I would feel comfortable falling asleep here?"

"This much and more," Nyrielle said as she stood, pulling Ashlynn to her feet along with her.

"Come, let me show you," she said, guiding Ashlynn first to the large four poster bed which seemed to have spawned twice as many plush feather pillows as it had before along with a dark set of nightstands carved from figured walnut.

"I cannot risk flames near my bed while I sleep," Nyrielle said, pointing to a strange looking lamp that held a piece of crystal, roughly the size of an apple, at the center where a candle or the wick of an oil lamp should be.

"I know that most days, you won’t sleep as long as I do, but with this for a focus. .."

"I can use it the same way I used a crystal the night you started teaching me sorcery," Ashlynn said, reaching out and gently touching the crystal lamp as she remembered the feeling of Nyrielle’s hands roaming over her flesh, helping her feel the power within her and guiding it to the surface for the very first time.

It had also been the night they shared their first kiss, and the first time that Nyrielle fed on Ashlynn, taking a small bit of her blood to show the young witch the potential of blending their power together.

"Wait, this is the same crystal from that night, isn’t it?" Ashlynn said, remembering the way it had glowed a deep midnight blue when Nyrielle used her energy to illuminate the terrace and how Ashlynn’s own energy had pulsed with a deep, emerald green. "You saved it for something like this?"

"I set it aside as a memento of the first..

. ah hem, the first time we kissed," Nyrielle said awkwardly, suddenly feeling too embarrassed to say that she’d preserved it as a keepsake that had helped her to lower the barriers that stood between them, letting them blend their powers for the first time and so much more that night.

"There’s more for you to see," Nyrielle said, pulling gently on Ashlynn’s hand to lead her away from the bed and into a corner of the room that held several heavy wardrobes.

"The one on the left is yours," she said, pointing to an ornate piece that was clearly several decades newer than the other ones in the room. "I know you’ll still spend some nights in your tower along with your coven, so I only prepared a single wardrobe for the items you choose to keep here. But, if you find it’s not enough. .."

"It’s perfect," Ashlynn said, opening the wardrobe to find that it contained not only a few of her favorite simple dresses in browns and greens that were suited to the practical work of witchcraft, but also some of the most elaborate gowns and outfits that she’d worn for formal occasions in High Fen City.

"The jewelry boxes are mostly empty," Nyrielle mentioned as she opened a simple cedar box.

"Tomorrow night, when we announce our betrothal, I expect that you’ll receive many gifts including jewelry.

If I know the Heartwood Clan at all, they may also have prepared a few boxes for you and other wooden items, so I tried to keep this spare for now. "

"Because you know that I’ll have a long time with you to fill it up," Ashlynn said with a warm smile as the last of the ghosts that had been haunting her gaze finally fell away while she imagined the years she would spend with Nyrielle, acquiring tokens and keepsakes of their moments together until even a room as this wouldn’t be able to hold all of their treasured mementos.

"I want to spoil you, my darling," Nyrielle said as she pulled Ashlynn into a close, loving embrace. "I want to fill your life with the moments of happiness and joy that were denied to you because of the mark on your hip and the power that you bear."

"But you still included a sword rack," Ashlynn noted as she looked at the fixture attached to the wall next to her wardrobe. "And a stand for my armor."

"We’ll have to have another sword made for you," Nyrielle teased. "Since you broke your last one in the High Pass. But yes, I made sure that there would be a place here for your weapons," she said as she gently turned Ashlynn around, staring deep into her emerald eyes.

"You are the woman that I love more than anything in this world," Nyrielle said softly. "And at night, I will always fight to keep you safe, no matter what threatens you. But during the day, while I’m asleep, I’m at my most helpless.

And here, there are no trees for you to draw on, no life to sustain your witchcraft. But, if danger ever finds us here..."

"Then I’ll be able to fight to protect you," Ashlynn said, understanding the significance of Nyrielle preparing a space for her weapons and armor here even though Ashlynn would most likely keep both sword and armor in her chambers in the tower where they would be more convenient for her.

Nyrielle’s room would then require a second set, but when she thought of standing as her lover’s last line of defense should the very worst happen, she immediately decided to commission Artificer Erkembalt to prepare something specifically to keep in Nyrielle’s chambers.

"I love you," Ashlynn said, caressing Nyrielle’s pale cheek and drawing her forward into a brief, chaste kiss. "I love you in ways I don’t have the words to explain, and I will never, never let anything hurt you while you sleep through the day," she promised solemnly.

"I know you won’t," Nyrielle said, pressing her forehead against Ashlynn’s and savoring the rich, earthy scent of ancient trees and evening mist that clung to her lover like sweet perfume.

"And while you sleep with me, I’ll safeguard your dreams," Nyrielle promised.

"Until the nightmares leave you alone, I’ll carry you away at the break of dawn into the very best memories that I can share, or you can show me your most treasured moments. "

"When the dawn comes," Nyrielle whispered. "We can be together. And when you stand watch over my body, I will stand watch over your dreams."

"I’d like that," Ashlynn answered softly, running her slender fingers through Nyrielle’s long, raven locks and relishing in the feel of her love’s lithe body pressed against hers.

"But why all this," Ashlynn said, pulling back and gesturing at all of the subtle and not-so-subtle changes that Nyrielle had made in order to welcome Ashlynn into her bedchambers on a more regular basis.

"Why all this just to have me stay until you fall asleep at dawn? "

"You’ve been hesitant to have me close to you when the sun rises," Ashlynn said gently. "So what is it that happens to you when the sun rises that you haven’t wanted me to see?"

Holding Ashlynn close, clinging to the warmth of her body as if the room had suddenly become colder than the High Pass, Nyrielle took several breaths before she was able to answer Ashlynn’s question.

And when she finally did, her voice trembled, as if she was afraid of how her lover would react to what she had to say.

"I told you before, my darling," Nyrielle said slowly.

"A vampire balances on the edge of the knife between life and death. We are neither truly living nor completely dead but caught in between. But in the light of day, we’re pressed off the edge of that knife, into the darkness of the abyss beyond. .."

"Each night, a vampire’s body dies," Nyrielle said softly. "We become little different from a corpse..."