The late afternoon sun began to streak into the western window of the Tower. The brilliant colors of the stained glass created shapes on her face as she lay in bed sleeping. She had been in bed most of the day. He watched her sleeping as he worked at his desk. At first it was beautiful, but the longer she stayed there, the more concerned he grew. This was not like her. Usually she would rise by lunch and begin her daily tasks. Today, she had gone back to bed.
Wrinkling her nose, she turned her back to the glare. A quiet sigh escaped her as she pushed the covers back. She sat up at the edge of the bed, grabbing her robe. She pulled it up over her head, shivering. It was so cozy burrowed down in those blankets, but she needed to get up. “I am sorry, Kal. I have slept the day away. Again.” She raised her hand, a soft violet glow wrapping itself down her hair, plaiting the long blue locks quickly. She rose and moved to his desk.
“Still tired?” the older man asked. He put down the book in his hands, watching her carefully.
“I guess between my work at the Treasury, our experiments here, and our trips to Argus, I am overdoing it.” A grin worked its way across her face. “Our extra activities are taking the last of my energy I think.” She wrapped her long arms around him, burying her face in his robes. “I’m sure I will adjust. It’s only been a few days.”
Kalithil furrowed his brow. Something still wasn’t right about all this. He brings his own arms around her, resting his cheek on her head. He sighed and smiled at her. “I’ve been working on our next step to stabilizing the divination. I am hoping to test it out soon.” He looks down at the desk, indicating his notes. “But you will need to be able to handle it. This is going to require a lot of energy from us both. I’ve asked Tindomiel to come over and help with that. I hope you don’t mind.”
The girl’s face beamed at him. “Mind? I love seeing her! She’s so nice to me and she makes you feel better every time the two of you talk. Oh, Elune! When is she coming! I need to get dressed! And tidy up the Tower. Do we have anything for her to eat? You should have woken me up! I cannot entertain the Scion on short notice. Shit!” She started scrambling around the room, shots of violet bursting from her, placing things where they belonged. A chuckle behind her made her stop. She turned and he was softly smiling at her.
“She’ll be here around dinner, so about an hour. And she insisted on bringing food, so you don’t need to worry.” He crossed to the dressing area, pulling out her purple and blue gown. “Wear this one.” He placed it over the back of the chair and returned to his desk.
Lilybeth moved to the chair, picking up the embroidered garment. “Why this one?” She looked over at him, curious.
“Because it’s what you were wearing the first night we were together. As mates rather than Shan’do and Thero’shan. It reminds me of your stubbornness. Which is why all this,” he gestured to the changes she had made in the Tower, “has happened in my life.” He voice grew soft. “When my Lorlillui changed everything.”
Her eyes softened as she smiled at him. He didn’t always show how he was feeling. Or talk about it so readily. But when he let her in without prompting, it made her melt inside. She pushed her nightgown off her shoulders and it fell to the floor in soft ripples of silk. Raising the other over her head, she placed her arms into the sleeves and pulled it into place. A gentle tug on the lacing made it wrap her curves in the right places. She moved to the bookshelf, pulling down three volumes. Thinking for a moment, she put one back and selected another. The soft fabric swirled around her legs as she moved back to the bed.
His eyes had not left her since she had begun to change. At times he still didn’t believe that she was really there. Something still didn’t sit right with her reasoning about how she was feeling. He had asked Tindomiel over to give them both a bit of help. But he also wanted her opinion on Lilybeth’s condition. She had been working far too many hours in time suspension. It was not wise to brush it off.
Tindomiel arrived carrying a basket over her arm. She smiled as she moved her way up the long ramps within the Tower. It was nice to see how Lilybeth had changed things. Brighter, cleaner, and feeling much more like a home than the dusty old stones. She tapped on the railing below, calling up to them.
“Come in, Tindomiel!” cried out a cheery voice. A grinning face appeared above her. “I’m so glad to see you! You should have brought everyone. We could have had a family dinner.”
“Well this isn’t really a social visit, dear. Besides. Sometimes something more intimate is nice.” The silver-haired woman looked over at Kalithil’s worn face. She nodded at him and climbed the last ramp up to the top level. “I brought dinner, how about we eat and talk a bit?”
Dinner was filled with meandering small talk and delicious food. As they sipped their tea, Tindomiel moved to sit next to Kalithil. She placed a hand on his shoulder, golden tendrils flowing from her fingers. They wrapped around him, his whole body relaxing as the warmth spread down to his bones. Smiling, she pulled her hand off and planted a kiss on his cheek. She took a moment and smoothed out her long white gown. Walking over to Lilybeth, she reached out a hand. “Come. Show me what you’ve been working on.” She pointed to the stack of books on the bed.
Lilybeth smiled, using the older elf’s hand to stand up. She led her over and plopped down. “These are nothing very special. Just some texts on portals and augmentation of runework…”
Tindomiel let her chat away as she placed a hand near her. She moved slowly, trying to find a hint of what might be the cause of the girl’s exhaustion. Her eyes flashed suddenly, her face full of shock, tears springing up immediately. She dropped her hand down onto Lilybeth’s shoulder. Rather than thin tendrils, she wrapped her in a blanket of brilliant golden light. The young Kaldorei fell silent, closing her eyes and sighing gently. Tindomiel wiped tears away and composed herself. When she was finished, she whispered something into Lilybeth’s ear.
“Are you certain?” Her eyes began to fill with tears.
“Yes. You need to stop spending so many hours at the Treasury. You need far more rest than you realize. You can continue, but no more than two hours a day. I would prefer you do less, but I know you will not.” She took a soft cloth from her pocket and wiped Lilybeth’s face off. “I will let the two of you talk. This is complicated and I don’t have answers for you on what should be done.”
Her voice was quiet, shaking. “Thank you. I…I just thought I was working too much.”
Tindomiel brushed a lock of hair from Lilybeth’s face. “We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry too much.” She crossed back to her things, gathering them up. She crouched down beside Kalithil, embracing him. The worry on his face was evident and his fear was beginning to overwhelm her. “Go talk to her. I’ll come back tomorrow. I need to look some things up.” Before he could say anything, she left. Her soft sobs could be heard as she descended the Tower.
He moved to join Lilybeth on the bed. She sat there stock still, staring at window. Taking her hand in his, he waited a moment. “Lorlillui? Talk to me. What did she tell you?”
The girl turned her face to him, searching for answers. Barely audible, her mouth formed the words. “It didn’t work.” He tilted his head to the side, confused. “Alsa’a potion. It didn’t work. Kal, I’m pregnant.”