(Archive) - Rowaen and Dania
From the archives of the Gondorian
On the road
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Weather: Clear
Time: Early Night
Season: Spring
Date: Hevensday - April 4, 3021
Real Time: Thu Sep 07 10:43:14 2000
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*Note - log supplied by Rowaen*
Description: After Amano convinced the Lady in Waiting Dania to come with him to meet with a man who proclaims he is Rowaen, her lost love, the two head for the place were Rowaen would be awaiting their arrival. Amano leads, while Dania is full of doubts and desires, wondering if it could really be him...Rowaen the one she loves so dearly...
Rowaen:
A tall and grave young man, with jet-black hair and sullen blue eyes which radiates a coolness as they stare out into the world around him. A lean, warrior frame, his arched dark eyebrows crown his long-lashed eyes. His strong features do not diminish the youthful aura he has about him. One can indeed say that this young man is rather attractive, despite his reserve looks and sometimes an expression of respite that he wears, as if hiding a hidden torment.
He is currently clad in long and heavy black robes, with black leather boots. A plain, thin silver chain is around his neck which seem to be the only thing providing light to his form, besides his fair complexion. However, should one notices with a greater care, a unique silver ring is on his fourth finger, that seems to be carefully taken care of.
Dania:
Slender and graceful is the maiden. Her curious shinny eyes are as dark as a moonless night, gazing out with a look unperplexed by anything or anyone at all, radiating intelligence which she often choses to hide. Her raven-black hair falls on her shoulders and down over the small of her back. Her skin is fair and flawless, like one who had never been exposed to sunlight and lives by night. Her brows dark and shapely, her lips full and her chin strong. Like most of those in her familyline, her facial features lacks no trance of youthful strength though she is of a beauty surpasses by little in her own way.
She is dressed in a dark gown of blue velvet hanging in heavy folds, with a low-waisted close bodice and close-fitting sleeves. She is not clad in much jewellery and only wears a silver necklace with intricate carvings which is embedded with a single blue stone around her bare neck. But one will never see her without a silver ring around her finger. Insignificant perhaps, but she wears it always. Intricate paterns adorn the face of the otherwise plain metal.
Amano: Lithe and broad of shoulder is this youth, lean and wild as a proud wolf. Wiry muscle ripples as he moves with supple, self-assured grace. Tall he is, long of leg and limb, well-built and with an athlete\'s narrow hips. Fierce and fiery are his eyes of dark amber, large and slightly tilted beneath a few stray locks of hair keen and hawkish is his profile, patrician and strong, his nose and jaw sharply chiseled. His is an upstanding mane of spiky dark brown hair, stormtossed as though blown by some unseen wind. A thin band is tied around his brow, presumably more to keep his unruly hair out of his eyes than to symbolise anything, the ends of the streamer of cloth falling to his shoulders.
Draped upon his wide shoulders is a form-fitting coat of faded grey that blends into the shadow of leaf and copse, loose and open upon a simple shirt of the same hue. The sleeves are rolled up at the cuffs, exposing hard, sinewy forearms tightly wrapped in leather bracers. His long legs are clad in trousers of the same woodland gray, tucked p Uhm who exactly is she? (
into soft leather boots that permit him to stalk without sound. For all that this nineteen-year-old youth might still seem gangling with his height and leanness, the ferocious, fire-born intensity of his spirit adds age to him, and gives due credit the name of Amano, a lofty and noble spirit.
Dol Amroth: Men Ernil
The Men Ernil--\"Prince\'s Way\"--is a cobblestone pathway some fifteen paces wide, surrounded on the sides by walls roughly twice a man\'s height. It leads from the Marble Gate at the city\'s eastern edge to the outer bailey of Imrahil\'s Marble Citadel by the sea. There are occasional breaks in the wall--some from age, some intentional one of these opens onto a broader road that leads northwards towards the town of Dol Amroth and the quays that line the Bay of Edhellond to the north.
The Men Ernil is ill-lit at night, but there is little fear of brigandage or ruffians here within the protective sphere of the Prince and his Requain, his Knights. Stretching above you in all its glory is the canvas of Night, sprinkled generously with the jewels of Elbereth Star-Kindler, chasing away the darkness, and in the distance to the west you see the steady gleam of Earendil\'s Star.
The stars glitter overhead in the clear Spring sky.
The scene:
So it is that the odd pair come to Men Ernil, Amano\'s long-legged stride inevitably bringing him far ahead of the slight woman occasionally he pauses to await her, impatient and barely restrained in his movements as he weaves through the crowds that pass through this narrow way. Easy he is to follow however, for his figure towers over most of the men in the path, and his signature mane gives him away as much as his height. After a walk of short duration he halts, turning to Dania, his keen eyes flickering hither and thither as he scans the folk about for a sign of Rowaen.
She walks unheeding of the people around her, even as she leaves the court and even as her presence draws in many curious glances. It is nothing that worry her at this moment. Her eyes roams about unseeing, as if not believing still that one of the faces that populate the area may belong to that boy who holds her heart so. She stops next to Amano, heart battling with rational sense.
Carefull avoiding the crowd he stands alone, Rowaen. At the beginning of an alley he stands tall, his eyes filled with anxiousness, eager to finally find out about the one he loves so dearly... His heart pounds like mad, and his face lacks the calmness which usually signifies him. Now it stands nervous, his eyes shifting to all directions, awaiting his friend\'s arrival. His hands rest on the wall, the silver ring glimmering in the scarce light. Oh how long had he waited for this, all those days without her...and now finally...or perhaps not.. Perhaps she was not the one. A sudden panic comes over him, yet his strong mind prevails, making him shake his head slowly, whispering soft to himself. \"Nay I must have faith, she just has to be the one...\"
Easily Amano begins to move, almost lazily, his height parting the crowd even before his stepping into them. His eyes roving the spot in which he had told Rowaen to meet them, the taller youth espies his friend after a few moments, and turning to Dania, carefully guides her through the moving throng of people. \"He is right there, at the head of that alley scarce a small distance away. I can see him, lady, but perhaps you cannot with this crowd. Follow close by.\" He turns, forging a path through the multitude until he stands within shouting distance of Rowaen, tall and relaxed, with a smirk of amusement upon his face. \"Rowaen!\" he calls, waiting for the youth to turn his head in response.
Upon hearing Amano\'s voice Rowaen turns his head swiftly, again expressing his anxiousness. Nervously his eyes search the crowd, yet he can not get a clear sight of the one with Amano, just the black hair... His heart pounds even faster. Yet he succeeds in upholding his calmness, as he gazes back coolly to his friend, sending him a faint smile and a short nod...
Following the man without words, she merely walks behind him thoughtfully. Her face still as pale as when she heard Rowaen\'s name mentioned. She snaps back to attention as Amano speaks and nods her head, attempting to reply but to no avail. Excitement and bewilderment still runs within her. She chews on her lower lips, something that she seldom does, but at that moment could not be stopped.
The crowd parts and she sees him well enough, for she is tall enough as a maiden and besides, the commoners part at the sight of her. Clad in black, his raven black hair and his fair skin. The coolness radiated from those sullen eyes of his. The eyes she had never forgot in her whole life even after he left. Those eyes that speak love even when no words were spoken. The eyes that still hold his dreams he had once shared with her.
Her own eyes widened. A sudden dejavu, and a sudden realisation. She had seen him before. She had thought of the possibility, the familiarity. Was he not the one she had seen in the garden? Could he be the same man? How could he be the same boy she thought she had lost three years back, even when he still lives in her dreams and memory?
Her eyes stares blankly at the sight of the young man, for once her heart skips a beat. Her lips parted and her hands lay limp. Rowaen.
Amused are Amano\'s deep tones as he moves forward, stepping aside to allow Dania to pass, speaking almost in wry hesitation. \"Rowaen, my friend, here is the lady of whom I spoke and you might have been previously acquainted with. I make good on my promises, however difficult, or small they may be. This task was not onerous, and here indeed she is. It is now up to you whether this is the Dania of whom you so eloquently speak.\" A thread of irony runs beneath his words, lost in the moment he turns courteously to Dania.
\"Dania, Lady of House Nimothan, here is Rowaen, the Rowaen I spoke of. By your eyes I see that you know him indeed, and I pray that this meeting will be to your happiness. I err not in bringing you here, I hope. Now that you are free to speak with each other, perhaps I shall leave you to have space in which to converse..\" His grey eyes look thoughtful as he scans the crowd. \"Yet I would speak within the Palace, if I were you. This spot lacks privacy.\" With a wink, he begins to turn away, shoving his hands in his pockets. \"I shall be at the Golden Kraken, friends. Farewell for now..\"
There she stood...as a statue, yet it was really her, Dania... Finally after all that time, times of ill-fortune, times of uncertainty, not knowing if he would ever see her again. It almost seemed a dream....so long had she been out of his reach, so long had he doubted ever to see her again and now she stood just a few feet away...almost impossible...
If his eyes or face show any emotion at all then it vanishes as Rowaen sudddenly remembers... He was away for three years, three years... a lot could change during that time. So still a question remains, pounding in his thoughts. His face expresses his slight discomfort, his eyes blinking nervously, for he could not be sure of her love...perhaps she found another... Her tears were they of relieve or sorrow? For Rowaen the meaning is double, leaving him in doubt once more.. And there he stands, his eyes gazing into her dark ones, delighted by her beauty, anxious to close her in his arms. Yet... he lacks the courage, not sure of her feelings... And so his hands stay alongside his body...
The maiden barely notices Amano\'s departure now that the only one who holds her attention is the young man, standing there as tall and reserved as she remembers him to be. Taller and graver perhaps, and perhaps wiser. But these holds little meaning to her at the moment. For a second the world fades into a shade of gray, veiled with sudden memories and voices of long ago.
The smell of spring and the glitters of dew upon the green meadows. The blissful strolls under the starlight. The cold white winter and the harsh sea breeze. The summernight dance and the burning fireplace. They seem to fill up her visions and without her realising it, tears begin to fill up her eyes.
Without warning or without anymore thoughts or hesitation, she moves, even when each steps seem to take forever, bringing herself closer to her lover yet once more. She throws her arms around Rowaen and holds him close. Not caring for a moment to reason if this be the same man she had always known, merely wanting to hold him again, even if she has to lie to herself. For has she not been waiting for him to return? Of all those nights of unanswered prayers? Can this be the realisation of her waiting and longing all these years?
Nay, she cares not. The turbulance within her drives all thoughts from her mind. Let this man be him, whoever he is. Let her hold that raven-haired boy in her arms again.
He blinks again, yet this time of suprisement, as his eyes see the fair maiden running up to him, throwing her arms around him. All he can do is react... And there Rowaen gives in to his heart, opening his own arms, closing her in a firm, yet tender embrace, his hands on her back, around her slender waist. All his desire of all the lost time he lay in that embrace, pressing her against his chest, enjoying every second. Heads beside each other, him closing his eyes, to hide the two glisters in his eyes.
Yet..still his mind can not stop wondering, with his voice soft and a bit trembling he whispers to her... \"Then...you...you still love me?\" At that he softly frees himself from her grip, his hands remaining on her waist. His eyes face those of the fair maiden, gazing.... Nervously they study her expression, desperate for an honest all relieving answer. In thoughts he prays...
The voice seems to echo with distant dreams lost but not forgotten in time. For a moment the maiden can say nothing, nor even to realising the crystal tears she is crying as she feels his strong arms around her again, for the first time after three wearisome years. She inhales deeply for a couple of time, forcing control back to her own thoughts but fails.
\"Speak that not as a question but as a statement, lord,\" the maiden merely replies between her sobs, as the question dawns in. \"For I gave noone else my heart even during your absence... even with these thoughts that you are gone forever,\" she looks up at him then, blurred visions caused her to question herself if this is nothing but a dream, yet she tries and holds on, looking at him.
Everything around her seems surreal and as she clutches at him like a frightened child, she looks up and for a second is again bewildered. \"Rowaen?\" she says then, in a voice almost like a whisper which is soon blown by the cold wind of winter. Her hand reaches up slowly, trembling as she strokes his cheek, half uncertainly, half eagerly. \"O lord, pray say that this is really you. Pray say that your heart is still mine as well...\" Dark eyes glisten by the layer of tears as she looks up at him, imploringly.
How her words fill his heart with joy, his mind with pleasant thoughts... Finally his dark soul is enlightened, relieved from this heavy burden known as uncertainty. The amnesia totally ruined his life, making him doubt every single memory he had... Still the thoughts concerning Dania had troubled him the most, leaving him pondering for hours and hours days on end, almost going insane for not finding the answers he so desperately sought. And now? Now he knows.... Then her hand strokes his cheek, sending a shiver down his spine. Yes, she still loved him...
His voice sounds gentle, full of love, yet eager to now relieve her off her worries... \"Ay do not pray for it is really me, Rowaen... the one who was so utterly stupid to leave you behind...\" His hands go from her waist up to her face, holding it with care. His eyes gaze into hers sparkling... One finger goes alongside her eyes, wiping away her tears. \"Do not cry... for my heart never left you, always longed for you...\"
He seems to lose himself into her gazing beautifull dark eyes, his own blue becoming blurry aswell. Then slowly he bends forward, not able to refrain himself any longer. Their lips meet, as he presses them tender on her mouth, giving in to the whispers of his heart. The embrace becomes firmer... One single thought crosses his mind...finally his luck had changed, he was happy once more...
She closes her eyes, almost choking and bursting with her own emotions as she holds him close. Nearly faint with ecstasy, with that kiss. All her doubts and fears fall behind. Her sorrow and her loss. Her lips are almost trembling as they met his and she lets herself be freed for once of all her worries. Now that she has him in her arms again.
Long and passionate is the kiss, bestowed only upon the two lovers long sundered and pained with longing and doubts. None matters then. She circles her arms around Rowaen and hugs him tighter as if unwilling to let go. Her eyes still brimming with tears, her happiness she can barely hide as slowly she parts away from him and stares into his bright eyes, clear as the sky, bounds in an unspoken spell yet once again.
She stays in his arms unmoving for some moment, merely content to be there. Finally she speaks, her voice strange as if pained with one possible answer that she dread, but at the same time edged with utter happiness. \"Pray tell me that you are here to stay, for I can not lose you again, O lord, O Rowaen my love. For it is within your eyes that my spirit lives, and it is within your heart that my soul finds rest,\" she looks at him, her face contorts slightly at the effort she makes just to speak. \"Pray that you will never leave me again,\"
Seeing her face, so full of love and care, and hearing her pleeding words, Rowaen has to bite his lips not to cry. So moved is he. He just gazes into her eyes, thanking for this moment a thousand times. Now he realises all that time of sorrow and cursed luck, the one thing that stopped him from giving up, had been his desire to hold his love into his arms again, admire her beauty, to show her his love. For her he persevered, all the pain, ill fortune and despair, they could not hold him from coming back to her. She had meant his salvation...
As he no longer can withstand his desire to hug her for eternity, again his arms surround her, his hands on her back, pressing her against his chest. He lays his head on her shoulder, stroking her hair. A heavy sigh announced his voice, gentle and it seems unmoved, yet the words contradict the assumption. \"Never! Never will I leave you again my love. I do not know how my heart lived through all that time. It seemed like an eternity... no end to my misery. Oh how I longed for you, my heart screaming for your love, yet my mind always reminding me of the uncertainty, not knowing if your heart still belonged to me... This day will forever be in my thoughts, the day my heart experienced joy once more... I give you my word milady, I will stay by your side forever! Surely mine heart would not survive another seperation...for my love is stronger then the river\'s current, goes deeper then the greatest cliffs, burns fiercer then any fire. Nay, I will not leave, just stay here...together with you...\"
As to strengthen his words he hugs her even tighter, him too not willing to let go.
Relief surges through her bones as the words are spoken and she smiles admist her tears and nods her head happily, taking a step back only to reach for Rowaen again as if unable to resist being close to him. \"Then I am glad, Rowaen,\" she smiles as she buries her face on his chest, \"For you never knew how much I missed your presence, and how I kept on telling myself that I would rather hear your voice again than any other sound in the world,\" she sighs happily and looks up at his fair face.
At those magical eyes, she runs her fingers through his dark locks and smiles...of love and how much she cares for him. \"I thought you were gone, Rowaen, and oh how foolish of me to even think that you would leave me,\" she hugs him again and for a moment is lost in yet another dream as she feels him close, listening to his heartbeats. She closes her eyes for a moment then suddenly realisation comes tumbling down.
Her dark eyes drift towards her surrounding, suddenly noticing that they are not alone as what she had felt then. Still in the middle of curious eyes, still in the middle of the world that often criticizes the truth. Slowly she parts away from him, hands still resting on his arms and looks around, noting how the time passes so quickly now that she has him with him, as the slanting shadows begin to form from the sinking sun. Even dusk is getting old.
Rowaen his face overjoyed notices his love\'s slight discomfort. He follows her lookse and realises what is troubling her. He can not refrain himself from uttering a soft laughter. With a pleasant smile he takes her hand in his own and squeezes it. \"Oh what is this my love, you suddenly feel disturbed by this common place...\" Yet his eyes still stand calm, full of love, the tenderness clearly readible...
Rowaen bends over to give Dania a last playfull hug, seemingly to make sure he is not dreaming. Then he prepares to make a way through the crowd, giving the people, who were curiously watching the two in their intimate embrace, a coolly gaze not ready to let them embarrass him or disturb his moment of joy. Nay no-one could take this away from them, long did the two waited for this and now the only thing Rowaen wished was them enjoying every second of this special moment.
\"Never would I leave you my love, yet it was my ill-fortune that seperated us... my cursed luck that made me be away for three years. Yet let us go find a more...quiet place. For we should charish this moment in our hearts, it is ours and ours alone. I myself do not care of the people, yet you as a Lady in waiting should indeed beware... Some people seem to have trouble remembering the truth, mix it with their \'vivid\' imagination. So let us be wise and converse somewhere less common... Also, I believe, my love, that it would be wise to inform your Lady of your situation. It will enable her to hear the truth and not some imaginery story...for I would not see you get into trouble..\" As his lips stop speaking, they move over one more time, pressing a last kiss on her mouth. This one is short, yet tender and sweet. Then Rowaen, holding Dania\'s hand, guides her through the crowd, ignoring all smirks and queer faces of the people around...