This is a JP from Arle and KK

Day 9, afternoon




Eleanora craned her head around the door to the Warrenlady's office.  "You sent

for me," she asked softly?




"Yes, I did.  I'm a bit concerned about Lorilei.  I'd like you to take a

message to Lord Fowler so he knows what's going on."




Eleanora nodded in comprehension.  Her heart went out to the girl, but she had

avoided trying to comfort her for fear of making things worse.  Besides, what

could she say?




Merissa put the finishing touches on the letter she'd been writing and stood

up.  "I'll walk out with you."  She smiled.  "Oh, and I don't want you going

alone, so I've asked for an escort to go with you.... I think Barsel

volunteered?"




Eleanora rolled her eyes, but nodded in resigned agreement.  She didn't really

want an escort - nor certainly need one - but she also knew there was no point

in arguing with Merissa.  As they walked out to the green, Eleanora racked her

brains trying to put a face to the name Barsel.




<He's Aedris's rider,> Cara supplied with the barest hint of disapproval in her

mindvoice.




<I'm sorry, I know I should know everyone by now,> Eleanora apologized.




They'd reached the green to find a large brick-red dragon awaiting their

arrival.  Cara backwinged neatly to land beside him and Eleanora took the

letter from Merissa's hand.  




Barsel bowed to the warrenlady and winked at Eleanora as the two women

approached. 





Merissa raised an eyebrow and hid a smile, wondering if Eleanora had forgotten

to mention something.  "Barsel."  She said in way of greeting.





"Lady,"  Barsel replied, "Eleanora."  He nodded his head to the courier.





Eleanora nodded in return. She carefully averted her eyes from the scar that

ran down the side of his face as she tucked the letter away with more care than

was really necessary. But why had he winked at her, she wondered? Or had the

scar damaged the muscles near his eye that he couldn't control it? She

shrugged, uncaring.  What did it really matter anyway? She swung aboard Cara

and waited patiently for Barsel to climb aboard his own dragon. As soon as Cara

transmitted the coordinates, the two dragons lifted off, blinking out of the

skies over Whiteriver to appear in the skies over the Fowler Estates.



Aedris circled with Cara as they made to land.  One of the pleasures of coming

to an Esate where the oldest son was a dragonrider was the nice wide lawn for

dragons to land on!  They put down into the soft grassy field, and were

delighted when animal handlers arrived with two freshly slaughtered beasts for

their enjoyment.





The lanky young man vaulted off of his brick red dragon, and landed smoothly. 

He moved swiftly to the brown dragon's side and extended a hand for her rider. 





Eleanora took the proffered hand and slid gracefully down off Cara's back. She

smiled her thanks and turned to the nearest of the attendants.  "I am Eleanora,

courier to Warrenlady Merissa. May I speak with Lord Fowler, please?"





The servants smiled pleasantly.  A young boy, apparently acting as page,

stepped forward. "Of course, rider.  If you and your escort will follow me?"



They were led to a comfortable parlor - clearly a place the family made

themselves at home.  Its walls were lined with books and there were several

comfortable chairs. "If you will wait here, I will fetch his lordship."





Barsel didn't hesitate to make himself at home, as he stalked around the room

eyeing all the do-dads and knick-knacks, picking up one here and turning

another over there... then his eye spied the neatly placed bottles all lined up

on a thin table against the wall.  He looked over at Eleanora, who had been

watching his progress through the room, "What do you think these are here for? 

Wonder if his 'Lordship' would miss one?"  He grinned. 





Eleanora's eyes widened.  "You wouldn't," she gasped.  Barsel's mischievous

grin was really all the answer she needed.  The little voice in the back of her

head immediately began its lecture on proper behavior, but for once Eleanora

wasn't listening.  The thought of taking one of the bottles sent a spark of

adrenaline through her.  She shook her head, her hands unconsciously twisting

together in her nervousness.  "It's stealing," she protested weakly.





Barsel shrugged, "Think 'His Lordship' would really miss one bottle?  Consider

it a tithe for our services for today.  Oh, this is really GOOD stuff, too. 

Dragonberry Brandy.  But... if you really don't think I should...."  Barsel

moved slowly to put it back, giving Eleanora all the time to decide. 



A sudden recklessness filled Eleanora.  Didn't she deserve it? Playing it safe

and behaving hadn't gotten her much had it?  Ben was still gone and she was

still alone.  Dare she try another route? She glanced up at Barsel, her teeth

toying with her bottom lip.  "We really shouldn't," she murmured, her tone

utterly without conviction.  She waited, eyeing Barsel and finding in his

twinkling eyes a challenge to meet.  "But . if it really is just a tithe.."



Barsel nodded, "Of course!"  He examined the bottles again, and choosing one

small one, he slipped it into his pants and tucked his shirt over it.  "A small

one...,"  He winked.





At that moment, the library door swung open and the page stepped aside to allow

Lord Hamn Fowler to enter.





Barsel's eyes widened and he swiftly bowed to the Lord.  





Eleanora felt her face flush vividly with guilt. Seeing her guilt reflected in

the other rider's face she moved quickly to cover it.  "Uh, Lord Fowler," she

stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.  "Merissa sent this

letter.um.about Lorilei. Uh, here."  She held out the letter in one trembling

hand and waited anxiously for Fowler to mention his missing bottle of brandy.





"Eleanora!  My dear!  So nice to see you again."  Lord Fowler shouted and spoke

slowly, knowing she was deaf.  "I'm about to have some tea with Jennifer...

please, won't you and your... friend?... join us!  And I can make a quick reply

to Merissa for you to take with you."





Barsel answered for them, "We would be honored, Sir.  I'm Barsel, one of the

dragonriders but given the delightful pleasure of escorting our fair courier to

your grand home."





Lord Fowler beamed.  "Are you in my son Jared's wing?"





"No, my Lord, I regret I am not given the priviledge of serving under the best

wingleader that Whiteriver has ever had." 





Eyes wide with panic, Eleanora darted glances from one man to the other to

follow the conversation. What did Barsel think he was doing? They had to leave

before they got caught.  Lord Fowler's face beamed with the praise of his son

and Eleanora knew she'd lost this round. With an inner sigh, she allowed Lord

Fowler to lead them into the parlor set aside for tea.  As the lord turned

aside to instruct servants to bring Lady Jennifer down and to get the tea,

Eleanora pulled Barsel close and hissed warningly in his ear, "You're going to

get us caught!"





Barsel feigned innocence, "Caught?  Doing what?  We're having tea, and you are

waiting for a reply for the Warrenlady... relax...."  His smile was incredibly

sexy and the way he looked at her with his soft, brown eyes .. it would make

any woman's knees grow weak. 





Eleanora swallowed against a dry throat.  The rider's smile only gave her a

whole new set of nerves tingling to deal with.  She managed a smile when

Jennifer sat down and nodded dumbly to the small talk the young lady was

murmuring.  Her heart was thumping and she felt as though she'd crawl out of

her own skin.  What was she thinking trying a stunt like this? She ducked her

head to avoid conversation and tried vainly to get ahold of herself.





Barsel pulled out a chair for Jennifer, who flashed one of her best smiles at

the dragonrider.  After Jennifer had been seated, Barsel walked around the

table and sat beside Eleanora.  His thigh brushed against hers...accidentally,

she was sure.  As they waited for Lord Fowler's return, Barsel

turned his charms on the young, Fowler heiress, chatting easily with her. He

allowed her to do most of the talking, which would keep Eleanora's eyes focused

on Jennifer.





Jennifer, for her part, was delighted at the attention that the dark-haired

young man was showing her, and hardly noticed the courier at all.  She bragged

about her accomplishments, expounded on some of her newest acquisitions and

genuinely enjoyed showing off all she knew.





Barsel took his neatly folded napkin off his plate and laid it across his lap,

again, brushing Eleanora's thigh, only this time with his hand.  Yet, he seemed

totally focused on Jennifer's prattle when Eleanora glanced his way.





It was all Eleanora could do not to jump each time Barsel brushed against her. 

Her nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with the guilt over the

brandy and this wasn't helping.  Of course, she couldn't exactly say

anything..not even through their dragons, seeing as how it was an accident. 

She shifted uncomfortably, this time brushing her thigh against his.  He gave

no sign of noticing save the merest flicker of an eyelash, but Eleanora felt a

sudden rush of power.  Smiling at Jennifer, she let her foot move forward and

slide along his.   





Barsel's heart skipped a beat, as he felt the courier's foot slowly moving

along his leg.  He quickly covered his grin with a sip of tea, as he nodded to

Jennifer as she told them of her show horse and winning the blue ribbons that

were displayed on the mantle.  Barsel was just planning his next move when the

parlor doors burst open.





Fowler returned, brandishing his letter, "Ugly business, awful!  Jennifer,

dear, we may have to take a small trip to Whiteriver.  Merissa believes it

might be best for all concerned if the sordid mess were handled there.  Horrid.

 Who would have imagined that young girl could do such a... well... I suppose

she was driven to it...," The corpulent lord sputtered to an end, and shook his

head in disbelief.  





Jennifer's eyes shone with delight at the thought of going to Whiteriver. That

would mean she'd get to see this charming dragonrider again.  He certainly was

handsome -- in a very dangerous-looking way.



"Thank you, Sir, for the lovely tea, but we wouldn't want the warrenlady to

have any delay in getting your reply, right, Eleanora?"  He squeezed her arm

gently to get her attention, "Right, Eleanora, we should be going?"





"Yes, I'm afraid we should."  The rush of power she'd found had stayed with her

and Eleanora smiled warmly, surprisingly confident now.  She took the letter

and stowed it away and thanked the Fowlers graciously, reminding them of their

welcome at the Warren.  She let Barsel lead her out, all too aware of the hand

lingering against the small of her back.  She swung aboard Cara.  <If you'll

get the coordinates from Aedris, dear?>





<Cara is asking us for coordinates,> Aedris relayed to his rider, not at all

expecting to return to Whiteriver.  He'd been monitoring his rider's mood and

had an idea that he was not yet ready to say farewell to the fair Eleanora.





<I know just the place... remember where you caught that buck?>  Barsel

suggested.





<Oh, yes.  Cara will like that mountain view.>  As they lifted off Aedris sent

Cara a mental picture and they teleported.





As they circled in over a lovely mountain dell, Eleanora smiled with pleasure.

The view was exquisite. 





<Yes, it is lovely.  And I'm sure there is some nice sun for me to lie in right

there.> Cara gave the mental equivalent of a firm nod and Eleanora burst into

laughter, as Cara landed neatly in her chosen spot.





She sat for a moment on Cara's back, simply soaking up the pleasure of the

moment.  It had been too damn long since she'd felt this good.  She closed her

eyes and raised her face to the sun, reveling in its warmth and the sweetness

of the cool breeze that tickled her cheek.





Eleanora's laughter carried across in the wind and Barsel felt a thrill.  So,

his little surprise wasn't an unwelcome one!   He vaulted down, in impressive

style, and then was only slightly disappointed that only Cara had been

watching.   He glanced up at the still seated rider and chuckled softly as Cara

extended a claw for him to climb on up.  Barsel smiled down at the young woman

who sat perfectly still, her slender neck exposed and just waiting... her head

tilted back... her lips slightly parted in a smile.  How could he resist such

an open invitation.  He leaned forward and kissed her. 





Eleanora's eyes snapped open as Barsel's lips touched hers.  She gave out a

soft gasp, comprised of equal parts surprise and delight.  Barsel drew back

just slightly and watched as the tawny-haired rider came to a conclusion.  That

conclusion being she wanted this - and therefore she was taking it.  Eleanora

grinned at Barsel.  "Guess we should enjoy our tithe, shouldn't we?"





"My thoughts, exactly!"  Barsel, eased himself back down from Cara's back,

followed by her lithe rider.  They strolled together to the overlook and

settled down comfortably, leaning their backs against a large boulder.  Barsel

pulled the bottle from its hiding place and cracked the seal.  He pulled the

cork, which thankfully slid out smoothly, with his teeth and then handed the

bottle to Eleanora for the first swig. 





Eleanora was tempted to take a hearty swig, but memory of a hungover and

embarrassed morning in Ralengarde made her reconsider.  Of course she did

already know Barsel's name, but still..  She wanted to grab what she wanted,

but she also wanted full appreciation of it.  She took a delicate sip and then

sighed in pleasure.  "Oh, this is good," she murmured enthusiastically.  She

glanced up at Barsel, inspired to mischief.  "You should taste it."






Barsel raised an eyebrow and replied, "Oh, and if you don't hand me the bottle,

just how am I going to taste it?"  He enquired, though he was hoping he knew

the answer. 






Eleanora merely raised an eyebrow in response.  She licked her lips and made

obvious "mmm" noises before taking another sip of the brandy - and then,

grinning madly, handing Barsel the bottle. "Take a taste," she urged, eyes

sparkling.






"Don't mind if I do."  Barsel didn't raise the bottle to his lips, but leaned

over and gently kissed Eleanora's brandy sweetened lips.  Leaning back he

licked his and grinned.  "Oh, I told you, a very good vintage."   






She chuckled throatily. "So you did."  She gazed at Barsel's face for a long

moment, then moved by some mysterious impulse reached out and gently traced her

fingertips along the line of his scar.  His eyes darkened with an emotion

Eleanora could not read and she decided to quit trying to make sense of things

and simply go with what she felt. She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss at

the top of the scar, following it with more as she worked down the length of

the damaged skin.  






His eyes closed against the tears that came unbidden.  No one had touched that

scar, not since the healers, at any rate.   Everyone knew where he'd gotten

it... when the bleachers at the hatching had suddenly been flung through the

air by the force of a blast placed there by those demented followers of the

Blindfolded Lady.  He, himself, could barely stand to touch that brand of

shame.  Yet, here was Eleanora so tenderly caressing it.. healing it and him in

a way that he'd never before imagined.  Accepting him, scar and all. 



The taste of saline made Eleanora draw back.  She stared intently at Barsel's

face, seeing her own pain reflected in it.  She smiled softly as she brushed a

wayward lock of brown hair out of the young man's eyes.  Whatever his pain was,

no matter hers - she knew just then that they could both escape, if only for a

little while.  She drew him closer, brushing her lips against his in a

tantalizing invitation.





He accepted.  With a rush of emotions, he enfolded her in his arms, meeting her

soft butterfly kisses, which grew in intensity, as their need for each other

made itself evident.  Barsel eased Eleanora down and leaning on his elbow he

gazed with wonder at the beautiful young woman, who gazed up at him with a

desire matching his own.





*****



The sky was just barely tinged with pink as the dragons finally alit on the

Green.  Eleanora waited deliberately to let Barsel help her down, hands

lingering ever so slightly..  She let her own hand rest atop his for just a

moment and smiled.  "Better go give Merissa the letter from Lord Fowler," she

murmured.





Barsel's brown eyes held a look of promise as he brought her hand to his lips

and kissed it, softly, "Yes, do that... and I'll see you... later."





Eleanora nodded with a brilliant smile and turned her feet toward the

Warrenlady's office.  Once there, as was her habit, she craned her head around

the door, not bothering to knock as she wouldn't hear a response anyway. 

"Merissa? I have Lord Fowler's reply."





Merissa stared at Eleanora for a second.  Was there something different about

the young woman?  "Thanks!" She answered, as she puzzled what it was that was

different, "I suppose Lord Fowler asked you to stay for dinner?"






Eleanora flushed faintly, but couldn't prevent the knowing smile that spread

across her face.  "No, he and the Lady Jennifer had us nicely to tea.  Barsel

and I stopped to.well, enjoy the view for a bit before returning to the Warren."






"Oh!"  Merissa grinned, "Then I guess you're probably hungry.  Hmm... don't

know what they're serving at the dining hall, tonight, but I don't really feel

much like being in a large crowd.  Want to go over to the Tavern?" 




Eleanora faltered for a moment, unsure where Barsel wanted to meet or when.or

frankly, if he even really meant it.  Well, the Warren wasn't that large and

they did have dragons - if he really wanted to he could find her.  She smiled

at Merissa.  "Sure, we can find a quiet table in back - will that be small

enough of a crowd?"



 



Merissa sighed, "Yes."  She stared at the letter from Lord Fowler.  She'd

waited all day for it, but now that it was here, she dreaded reading the

contents.  She placed it, unopened, in the center of her desk.  "Let's go now,

before I find some other detail needing my attention!  We'll have to take Cara

or walk, ... Chrysthal isn't moving anywhere."  



Eleanora grinned in response and they were quickly aboard Cara and across the

Warren to land in front of the tavern.  The tavernkeeper was happy to provide

them a table in the far corner, where the noise wouldn't disturb Merissa.  As

soon as he disappeared, Eleanora sat back in the cushioned seat and smiled in

reminiscence of the afternoon.






"So...."  Merissa sipped one of the glasses of wine that the barkeep had

slipped in front of them.  "Nice view this afternoon?"






Eleanora nodded.  Her wayward thoughts remembered the look of Barsel when he'd

stood to retrieve his trousers.  "Oh, a VERY nice view," she murmured.






Merissa's eyes twinkled, "Oh? Maybe I need to see this view for myself, then?" 






It took Eleanora a moment to stop laughing then she winked at Merissa.  "Oh,

you could, but I think that Th'rin might object."






Merissa chuckled warmly.  Her friend had found a distraction.  That was good,

though she worried that perhaps it was a bit soon after losing Ben'sar and

hoped it really was nothing more than an afternoon's distraction.  The friends

chatted for a long time, and Merissa looked up to see a pair of desperate brown

eyes staring at them.  "My!  It's gotten so late... I really ought to be

heading back... but I think I want to walk.  I need to think about some things."






Looking up to see Barsel standing beside their table Eleanora nodded.  "Enjoy

your walk then, I'll see you in the morning."  She rose gracefully to accept

the arm the brown-haired rider held out and grinned at Merissa.  "*Late*

morning."



_________________________




Submitted by:




Arlene aka Barsel.and, of course, Merissa




and




Katrina aka Eleanora