"Lay down?"

She heard him ask and didn't need  for him to ask a second time 
but moved to slip under the covers to lay beside him. It was where 
she had always longed to be.  He turned, slowly to face her though 
she knew twisting his body was hurting him then he took her in his 
arms.  Velara's letter was still clutched in his hand.

"You never gave me your answer," she said softly, still slightly 
afraid being here with him was part of a dream. One she prayed 
she never woke up from.

He looked at her.  "I don't know.  I need to know how you feel 
about R'ven. Do I need to leave him to be with you?  And... and 
what about Gerald?"  

Her eyes widened in surprise.  "Gerald... oh..."  She thought back 
to this afternoon by the lake. "Do you honestly think I would go 
from making love to you, something that I enjoyed more than I could 
tell you...to sleeping with another man so soon?"  She had asked 
him. At the time her words had been the truth. Tair'n was still 
untouchable to her. It was in finding Velara's letter that had 
allowed that to change.

What was she going to do about him. It wouldn't be right to just 
tell him, "so long , thanks for the good feelings but now I have 
the man I want...so you can go." 

Jayleigh knew there'd be no way she could just coldly dismiss the 
tall shy man in that fashion. In his own way Gerald had come to 
mean quiet a bit to her. Not just as a wonderful lover, and the 
gods knew he *was* that... but as a friend. She really liked the 
young bard and didn't want to hurt him.

Then there was this question about R'ven. Tair'n and R'ven, she 
correct herself. How could she even hope to give Tair'n an answer 
about that. It was a decision  he was going to have to make for 
himself. She knew the two men cared about each other. She herself 
cared about the older man. But to her the feelings were out of  
respect for his vast knowledge and wisdom. As well as friendship. 

There was so much against them working things out, but somehow they 
had to. She hadn't lied when she said she needed him. It was more 
than just wanting him, and the gods only knew how bad she wanted 
him, it was as if he was the second half to her. She needed him in 
her life to make it complete.

They laid quietly for a moment, just holding each other.  "It's 
still not going to work out, is it?" she cried, tears filling her
violet-blue eyes.

He shushed her and pulled her close.  "It'll work.  Somehow, we'll 
make it work."

They laid cheek to cheek, her tears wetting his face.  She slowly 
calmed and the pulled apart, looking into each other's eyes.

They both gave a start as a hand touched Jayleigh's hair.  She sat 
up hurriedly.  He tried to, but quickly gasped in pain and laid 
back down.  The girl who had been one of Gossimor's ghosts stood 
beside his bed, looking at them curiously.

"Who are you?" Jayleigh asked, shocked that this girl could have 
snuck up on them without them being aware of it. But it was more 
than that. It was the aura around the girl.

"That's one of the two people who were poaching.  I don't think 
she speaks, though she is telepathic," Tair'n explained.

Jayleigh studied the woman.  "Why didn't anyone bring them to 
me?" she asked, forgetting for the moment that Tair'n wasn't able 
to see what she was seeing. This girl definitely had the affinity. 
It was stronger in her than anyone Jayleigh had seen in a very 
long time. And with two Queens about to lay eggs...

"Well, I was kind of occupied at the time..."

"W'roan could have... or one of the other riders.  She's been here 
a whole day, after all." Jayleigh was somewhat amazed that no one 
had reported seeing the strange looking pair hanging around the 
Warren proper. She was going to have to look into that.

"I don't know, 'Leigh.  Maybe they couldn't find her.  Why don't 
you get Troy to talk to her and find out."

<<Troy love?>> Jayleigh sent the request to her Queen as she 
smiled kindly at the frightened girl, hoping to put her at ease.

<Her name is Fae'Rhee she came here with her mate Nrocinu who she 
is now looking for. She came in here to see if he might have come 
by to see Amadith's rider.>

"Troy said that she's looking for her mate,"  Jayleigh turned back 
to face the man on the bed next to her, while taking his hand in 
hers. "She came by here to see if maybe he came by to see you."

"He was here earlier," Tair'n frowned remembering. "But he left 
sometime ago."

She relayed the message to Viktroy and waited while she past it 
on to the girl, Fae'Rhee.

"I wish that you could see what I see," she said quietly in aside 
to the man beside her. "She had the affinity, and it's strong."

Tair'n looked surprised. "Are you sure?"

Jayleigh nodded her head.

"It's too bad she's past the age of joining," he commented.

"I know.." she said softly just as they heard the sound of someone 
knocking softly on the door. 

As Jayleigh called out for the person to enter, she saw, hope and 
then sadness in the younger girls face, when the person entering 
proved to be the young wilder Dyanisa, opal Sienra's rider.

"Yes Dyanisa?" she asked.

The young girl looked around the room and suddenly lowered her 
head when she saw the Warrenlady sitting up on the bed next to 
the Alpha Wingleader. 

"Come..find..her.." the female rider turned to point at Fae'Rhee.
"Woke ..not find her."

<Sienra said her rider made friends with the two who are somewhat 
like herself.>

"Dy, have you been looking out for the two of them?" Jayleigh 
asked and saw the girl nod her head.

"Bath and food..." she smiled, wrinkling up her nose as if 
smelling something unpleasant. "Better now...we go?"

"Go?" 

"Sleep...not... not..." the girl frowned as if she couldn't find 
the right word to get her meaning across.

<<Troy?>>

<Sienra said that her rider wants to take the girl back to her 
rooms so that you and Amadith's rider are nor disturb any longer.>

<<Tell her that's fine but please ask her to bring the girl and 
her mate in to see me sometime after breakfast.>>

When Dyanisa reached for the girl and tried to pull her from the 
room, Fae'Rhee shook her off. She turned back to face Jayleigh 
and with her right hand she touched her own locks of hair and then  
very slowly reached out to finger the Warrenlady's short black 
bangs. A question appeared in her eyes as she tilted her head.

"Maybe you can take her by Beret's tomorrow and see if she'd like 
to have her hair cut?" Jayleigh said to Dyanisa after Troy had 
relayed the girl's fascination with the bangs.

"Will find," Dy nodded her head and grabbed for Fae'Rhee a second 
time. This time the girl went with her, and Jayleigh suspected 
that Dy had sent a message to the girl through Sienra to get her 
to listen. What ever the cause she was glad to see them go. 

Turning back to the man on the bed she smiled. "Alone at last."

"Then what are you doing sitting up there?" he asked patting the 
bed where she had laid before they were surprised.

"Are you sure?" she asked wanting more than anything to just lay 
beside him and feel his warm body next to her's. 

For an answer he reached up and pulled her down until she was 
laying half over his good side. His hand moved up into her hair 
and pulled her head towards his until their lips met. 

She gasped as he showed her with the oh so wicked and very 
through kiss, just how sure he was. In the first instant his mouth 
was warm and firm, like his body against hers. Then it was hot and 
hungry. Like her body. He wanted her, his lips told her that.

They were both breathing hard when the kiss ended, Tair'n moved her 
so that Jayleigh's body was snuggling up tight against his, her 
head resting on his shoulder.

"Go to sleep 'Leigh," he said soothingly. "We'll work something 
out. Some way for the two of us to be together."

"I won't ask you to give up R'ven," she said in a voice barely 
above a whisper. "I can't ask you to turn your back on someone 
you care about as you do him. It wouldn't be fair to any of us 
if I did."

"Are you sure?" he asked and she could hear something in his 
voice, she couldn't quite identify. But it brought to mine a 
picture of her son Jadain when he was told he could rider Troy 
alone for the first time. 

"I'm sure."

*****Submitted by: ********

Barbara  (a.k.a.

Warrenlady Jayleigh & Viktroy

Daere Warren

(Nrpg: Amy & Sarah...I'll get something out for Ja'ks by this 
weekend....

Paula: Ready??