Emerald Falls Got Talent (2)

Writers: Eimi, Paula
Date Posted: 15th March 2019

Characters: Corowal, Erassa, Ofewal, Felcoron, Wallia, Corolia, Beleran
Description: The Lord Holder's family enjoy a special day together
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 10, day 14 of Turn 9
Notes: Part 2/2

***

"It's been wonderful day," Corowal replied. He had wrapped his arm
around her shoulders before his brain caught up.

She stiffened for only the briefest of moments. The touch was
innocent enough, she told herself. He would put an arm around one of
the children's shoulders, why not hers? It felt... really nice.
"They are all so amazingly talented. And each has their own gift to
share."

"They are a great bunch," Corowal agreed, looking at the stars.

"You have been a good father to them," she said, a soft smile on her
lips as she remembered the way he ruffled Beleran's hair.

"I'm certainly doing my best. I was lucky with my step-father, he
always treated me like one of his own," Corowal replied.

Erassa's eyes narrowed curiously as she looked up at his face. "I've
never heard you speak of your family at Coral Bay."

"I haven't spoken much about them, haven't I?" Corowal was bit
startled to realize that. "Well, you've met my mother." She visited
Emerald Falls Hold often enough.

"I have," she nodded. Lady Walrea had always treated her and her son
kindly, but made a definite distinction between the family and the
help. "Meeting her and knowing her are two different things, though."

"True, and she doesn't let people near her very easily," Corowal replied.

"I can tell how much she loves you, though." Erassa wondered if he
really knew how much she envied him that. Her mother loved her, too,
she knew. But she was too afraid of Erassa's father to reach out to
her after he kicked her and her son out of their home. Her face fell
as she tried to recall the last time she had even seen her mother.
Somehow, she had always managed to avoid her daughter.

"You miss your own mother, don't you?" Corowal asked. He really
couldn't help her in that regard. But he could try cheer her up with a
story. "I've never really told my mother's story, did I? How I came to
be. It might help to understand my family."

"I always assumed you came to be in the usual way," Erassa said, her
eyes regaining the spark of amusement.

"Well, naturally," Corowal replied with silent laugh.

"All right, then," she said, turning to face him with her head tilted
expectantly. "Tell me how the great Lord Corowal came to be."

"Sassy," He muttered and he liked that about her. She didn't hesitate
to pull him down a notch.
"Well, my mother is originally from Coral Bay. She actually came to
Emerald Falls Hold as a young girl to apprentice, she was weaver
apprentice. She was just a ordinary, no Blood or anything. Then she
met my father. The usual happened. She was lucky though, Corovan
married her. Otherwise I would be just another half-Blood running
around here. However, Corovan's family objected to the marriage,
strongly. She wasn't good enough for a Lord Holder's son. They treated
her horribly. After two Turns, the Plague hit Emerald Falls and
Corovan died. She didn't feel safe here without his protection, so she
packed up me and her things and moved back to Coral Bay. Where she had
family and friends. She was still young and attractive, it didn't take
her long to find a new husband. She never really talked about the time
she was married with my father. I believe she wasn't happy. She loved
him, with the passion of the young but was otherwise unhappy. My
stepfather made her happy again. Their love was never that passionate
or fiery, it was more deep, slow burning and long lasting."

"Hmmm," she hummed with a small, wistful smile. "At least she found
her happiness in the end. It sounds like your step father gave her a
wonderful love story to bury the past."

"Happy endings are the best endings," Corowal agreed. He found that
upturned face, illuminated by the soft starlight so irresistible. He
leaned to kiss her, tenderly at first.

Erassa's breath caught in a soft startled gasp, not having expected
his kiss at all. Her hand instinctively lifted to his chest, but
surprisingly, she did not push him away as she had thought she would.
Instead her fingers seem to curl ever so slightly into the fabric of
his tunic. Though her lips remained still against his, she did not
pull herself away.

Since she wasn't pushing him away, Corowal deepened the kiss, adding
more passion to it. He enjoyed the feel her lips against his.

His kiss made her feel wonderfully helpless. Something inside herself
that had been touched for so long only in dreams suddenly jolted to
life. It was terrifying. It was wonderful. And the small voice that
usually screamed that she could not afford to make a mistake was
drowned out by the sound of her own heart beat as her hand slid from
his chest to his hair as she kissed him with just as much intensity as
he brought.

Corowal wanted it to last forever but eventually he had to break the
kiss to just catch a breath. "Shards, woman," he said very softly and
lovingly, lifting his hand to caress her.

His touch sent tingles down her spine that seemed to race to
every nerve ending in her body. She didn't know what to say in that
moment, and so she just leaned her forehead against his and tried to
remember how to breathe, though her heart seemed to not want to return
to it's normal pace.

She wasn't pushing him away! A part of Corowal wanted to just pick her
up and carry her into his bed. The other part knew that was sure way
to scare her away and just wanted to cherish this tender moment.

Erassa's mind was clouded with confusion. This kiss had come from no
where. It was not their first. He had kissed her once before on the
dance floor in front of the whole Hold and his new wife. Corowal had
once again pressed the issue of her being his mistress, and she had
once more told him that if he couldn't not recognize her publicly and
therefore offer her and her son some kind of protection, she could not
accept his offer. In the end, he gave her that public acknowledgement
of his affections, but they had never become lovers. Now much had
changed, and yet so much had stayed the same. She wasn't sure what to
make of it, and so she did what she had done before when feeling
overwhelmed. She slipped her arms around his neck and buried herself
in his protection.

Corowal just held her for a moment, then his head cleared a bit and
his sense returned. "What are we doing?" he asked, "Are we sure about
this?" Because things were fastly heading towards the bedroom and he
wanted her to be sure.

His question brought Erassa crashing back down to solid ground.
Closing her eyes, she unwrapped her arms from his neck and took a step
back. She was sure the space between two people had never felt so
vastly empty. Fighting to keep her words from turning into a sob, she
whispered, "What are we not sure of? One kiss changes nothing."

"One kiss can change a lot," Corowal countered, "And it can certainly
lead to more."

"Not for us," she said, shaking her head and opening her eyes to look
at him. They shimmered with the threat of tears. "You are still a
Lord Holder, and I am still just... me."

"You could be the power behind the throne," Corowal was using his best
seducing voice. Since she was not lady of Blood, only thing he could
offer her was to rule from his bedroom. Unless... well, Corovan had
done it, but he had not been Lord Holder, just a younger son. But the
seed of a thought was now in his head.

Erassa's eyes narrowed in disbelief as she looked at him long and hard
for a moment. Finally she shook her head, lifting her fingers to wipe
the unshed tears from her eyes. "If all I had wanted was power, I
could have had you turns ago." She crossed her arms over her chest, a
frustrated snort escaping her through her flaring nostrils. "_You_ are
what never changes, Corowal. As long as the only eye you see me with
is the one that belongs to that tunnel-snake in your pants, you will
never truly know me. Good night."

Straightening her back, she turned for the door, knowing full well
that as soon as the door to her bed chamber closed behind her, the
tears would fall in unstoppable cascades. They would fall for the
moment was, and for what would never be.

Corowal sighed, now he's done it again. She wasn't far off the mark,
power and sex never were far from his thought. "Corowal, when do you
learn to keep your mouth shut? You had her and then you blew it," he
directed his question to the cold, uncaring stars. From his point of
view and the way he was raised, being mistress of a Lord Holder was as
good as being his wife, minus the official trappings. But she didn't
see it that way and that's where he always tripped.

Last updated on the March 19th 2019

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Emerald Falls Got Talent (2)