Chapter 602: Room For Two (Part Two)
"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."