Garanth closed his eyes and let his head loll onto her shoulder, her long hair tickled his face as he willed the embrace to never end.
Eventually they broke apart, but he kept a hold of her forearm just in case she tried to walk away, in his state her absence was a truly daunting prospect.
"I'm sorry I know I...I haven't been..." He gulped, suddenly feeling nervous and guilty again.
"I haven't been very caring, and I don't want you to think that I don't, because I...I really do...really do"
All hint of pride and manliness was gone, to be replaced by a quiet and rather cautious voice. Most people wouldn't have recognized that to be the voice of the Paragon.
"Would you like to er...walk with me?"

Vesna smiled warmly and nodded, slipping under his large arms and wandering off to the garden. Just behind a pillar a little way away from them, all the men of the Legion who could walk with Gron at their head silently punched the air and hugged eachother before going off to find some alcohol and complain about their lovestruck Commander. The pair walked for a long time in the garden, Garanth slowly regaining confidence and joviality and Vesna getting closer and more tactile as they went. Eventually they were talking with eachother liked they used to, Vesna amusingly describing the various officials who could be responsible and their various little secrets that they liked to not talk about while Garanth animatedly reliving battles that had occurred in the three months apart. Eventually Vesna pushed him down onto a stone bench, mindful for his wounds, and sat gently down onto his lap. "Right, oh Paragon, what are we going to do about this?"

The sudden intimacy was both a nerve racking and pleasant surprise.
"Well...I would know who was responsible for the deaths of those men. For their families cannot be kept in the dark forever, and I wish people to mourn not only for my men, but the warriors of the opposing force as well. The ones who charged us, who roared war cries as they crashed into our line...they were nothing but grunts, given orders to follow. I do not judge a man for doing as he is ordered by his seniors, but I do intend to judge whoever ordered me and my men dead"
He sighed and put an arm round her.
"I suppose we had better start digging, and maybe once I can walk without fear of pain I should inform the king of this tragedy"

Vesna chuckled despite herself, shaking her head in amusement. "No, thats not... I meant about us." She sniggered a little more. "I have a plan of what to do all laid out already, that was what I was doing for the entirety of yesterday."

"Oh...right"
He felt himself blushing and with a nervous laugh he shrugged.
"Well...I er...Look I'm not going to be leaving again for a long while, my thirst for glory has turned sour, and...I feel tired of treachery and cowardice. I would still like...I mean if we were to kind of...try again...t'would be nice"
He was no so embarrassed that talking had become difficult. He grunted and stared at a nearby tree.

Vesna was sent into a very quiet laughing fit for a moment, her face pressed against his shoulder as her body shook with humour. But before Garanth could get too self concious and annoyed with her she recomposed herself and coaxed his face back toward her and leant her forehead against his. "You are very useless for a Paragon... but ok." She leant in for a kiss, a rather shy and chaste one for her considering the amount of times they had woken up in bed together and the number of nights they had spent in eachothers arms. She threaded her fingers into his beard as well, having missed that privilege.

Sighing from slight pain Garanth leaned into the kiss, smiling as she pulled at his beard.
When they broke apart it was as if they had been together all along. He suddenly felt elated and slight butterflies in his belly, but more from excitement than anything else.
He looked up to the castle mournfully.
"As much as I love this place, I wish to bring this matter to the King...so that justice is properly served. Also I should probably apologize to Gron"
He looked back at her and smiled warmly, then frowned.
"Did you just call me useless?"

Sighing from slight pain Garanth leaned into the kiss, smiling as she pulled at his beard.
When they broke apart it was as if they had been together all along. He suddenly felt elated and slight butterflies in his belly, but more from excitement than anything else.
He looked up to the castle mournfully.
"As much as I love this place, I wish to bring this matter to the King...so that justice is properly served. Also I should probably apologize to Gron"
He looked back at her and smiled warmly, then frowned.
"Did you just call me useless?"

Vesna sighed happily to herself as they broke apart. She really hated him, really really, damn him. She frowned slightly at his words, realising she needed to sit him and his Legion down and talk to him properly about her political machinations and plannings. Still she smiled at his final statement.

"Yes I did and I will do it again." Rubbing noses with him gently before her face became serious.

"But about the King... you cant tell him anything Sweet, he's too close to the source of this, we need to keep the failure of the ambush a secret until I can arrange something. There is a feast soon in the Royal hall, I am naturally invited and so would you be but if I can keep your survival a secret until the feast itself then I can watch for the ones disturbed by your apparent good health when you attend. After that I will be able to follow more paths of inquiry and you can do your duty and... inform the families, along with the King."

She sighed sadly, she was no ice queen, the blood of her kin being spilt was something she deeply regretted. She gently slipped off his lap and readjusted her dress. "For now rest up, and go apologise to Gron, he's managed to survive this long through our erratic affair, he deserve praise and probably a medal." She grinned sideways at him and took his arm before leading him back to the castle.

Garanth scowled as she took him by the arm and led him back to the house.
How did she always know what to do?
Next to her he often felt like an illiterate child. Never knowing why not to do something until she explained it slowly and heavily pronouncing each word, or at least it felt like that.
And when she did explain to him it then always seemed so obvious.
Shaking his head he smiled at her affectionately, silently marveling her beauty.

Once he found Gron it seemed as if he had not shouted at all. He was eating his way through half a wheel of mature cheese and munching on a large apple all the while. When Garanth apologized Gron waved a hand and casually referred to it as love sickness.
Daruk had been injured least in the battle and was already looking back to normal, if a little tired.
His sandy blonde hair was tied back in a plait, and his beard was separated into six long braids. Each one about twice as thick as Garanth's thumb.
He was garbed in simple breeches and a loose fitting top, the smell of alcohol plagued his breath.
The others were nowhere to be seen, so Garanth could only assume they were being their normal reckless selves and exploring the local countryside.
Well...there was still Torkost, slumped miserably in bed, gazing at his leg, as if willing the infection to recede.
When Garanth tried to talk to him the old Dwarf gave him a glare that would have made Ves quake. So for Garanth it all but sent him flying out through the door.

After a while longer he felt too tired and pained to remain on his feet. But instead of returning to his bedchamber he instead made for Ves's study. If he was going to collapse anywhere he wanted it to be as close to her as possible. After all she made better bed company than Gron.

Ves had left Garanth with Gron to consult with her returned scouts. Her younger brother, Varn, was the leader of this particular group. A cunning soul and very fond of his big sister. He gave her a hug as she entered her chambers. "It is good to see you sister, I trust Garanth is no worse for wear?" She shook her head and smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "No he barely seemed to miss a step." She sighed to herself, remembering the other times she'd had to patch him up and the number of times she'd had to tie him to the bed to keep him from getting up and bursting his stiches.

Varn frowned. "You were not on the best of terms last time we met if I recall... are you alright with having him in the Castle?" She smiled and patted his shoulder thankfully. "Don't worry little brother, that is sorted for the time being.." She tried to change the subject but his raised eyebrow caught her. "Oh quiet you, keep your nose out." Varn chuckled but shrugged and left it alone. They spent some time compiling all the various reports they had from their agents before finally deciding on the next course of action. Varn was to get his older brother, Vord, to lead another team and up their presence in the Capitol. Varn was just about to leave when Garanth wandered in looking tired but happy.

"Brother! Good to see you are well." Varn clapped Garanth on the shoulder warmly, being a friendly and blunt sort of person. However he looked briefly between Vesna and Garanth, noting to tone in the air, but grinning slyly. "Well then I imagine you have things to... do. I shall take my leave." He chuckled as Ves gave him a withering look and hopped out of the window. Vesna rolled her eyes, the man could have used the door, before turning to smile at Garanth. "He's so obvious sometimes I wonder how he even manages to be such a good spy at all." She rounded her desk to come and stand in front of Garanth, brushing his thick hair from his eyes and frowning. "You look tired, I have some more work to do for now but the armchair by the fire is free. Take some rest, I'll wake you when I'm done."

Garanth gave Varn a wan smile before turning to Vesna and smiling gratefully.
"You are too kind, I'll welcome a chance to sleep"
With a sigh he lay back into the armchair, letting the pleasant embrace of sleep take him.

It was dark...very dark. And he was lying in his bed, listening to the shouts of his parents. Even from here he could hear the deep growl of his father, and the defiant shout of his mother. Then there was screaming and he was crying. Then the door flew open and his mother ran through, sobbing. Her face was red and tears glittered beneath her eyes.
Then came his father. A giant of a Dwarf, standing a good foot taller than his mother. He was all muscle and hair, broad and thick set as stone.
With a yell he was jumping to his mother's defense, desperate to stop his drunken father.
Then he was on the floor and his breeches were around his ankles and his father was slapping a heavy leather belt against his buttocks.
He was crying, it was all tears and misery...then everything faded. Only to reform a few seconds later.

He was a young Dwarf, and returning from his raid of the village.
Then he was pushing back the tent flap and his father was there. A whore straddling him while he caressed her bare breasts.
With a growl of disgust Garanth tried to leave, but his father shouted out to him.
"Get over here you cunt! What now you're scared of a whore! She won't bite you rot beard!"
Then his father was shoving the whore at him, bellowing at him to mount her and prove that he was a man.
Once again everything faded...

He was in the arena, wielding his beloved great sword. His opponent Torek was wielding a broadsword, shorter but a third wider.
They fought long and hard, their war cries echoing off the sides of the pit.
Eventually Garanth struck home, his sword catching the young dwarf in the small of the back, sending him spiraling to the floor.
The crowd exploded into thunderous cheers, the men roaring their approval and thumping fists into their chests, a few maids threw flowers down to the champion.
Garanth had eyes for only one however. Lady Vesna sat on the lowest row of the Nobles beneath the King. With a shy smile he strode up to her and brought forth the flower he had hidden away in his Armour earlier that day. It was a slightly crumpled veil rose, as pale as winter snow, and thrice as beautiful.
Behind her he saw his father nod his approval, unsmiling.

Vesna had smiled as she watched him quickly fall asleep, the firelight dancing on his thick black beard and hair. Then she had gotten back to work. These were the jobs she had put off after Garanth had returned so injured, mountains of paperwork and assignments and reports of thousands of sleeper agents in all manner of countries and places. She had to vet each one, decide on a course of action and then reply to the agent as well as informing her quartermasters of their new duties. It was tiresome and intricate work that she usually didnt let pile up so much but she had ignored it to focus on Garanth's ambush. It was well into the middle of the night before she was finished and the last report package had been taken by a servant.

She leant back in her chair, stretching tentatively as her muscles bounced and tinged after such a long period of stillness. She sighed heavily and looked over at the still asleep dwarf in her armchair. He was moving slightly, she recognised his dreaming motions, she had seen them before many times. It had taken a while before waking him hadn't had her defending against wild and panicked attacks and fists. So, gently, she went over to him, brushing his hair with her fingers in the precise manner she had found that worked to soothe him and wake him at the same time.

The warm touch of Ves's fingers pulled Garanth from his dreams and made him smile. His eyes only half open as he gazed up at her.
"I assume that judging by your exhausted but relieved looking face you have finished working?"
He reached up and put his arms round her.
"I was dreaming...but this time I dream pt of the first time we met among st all the horror. When I won the Melee and gave you that veil rose..."
He shook his head mournfully.
"T'would be nice if I dreamed of you more, and of 'him' less"

Ves smiled and let Garanth pull her down to sit on his lap and kiss his forehead. She chuckled at the memory, suddenly reliving it in her mind. She had always hated tourneys and competitions, festivals to literally watch as the best of their armies made each other incapable of duty for at least a month afterwards. It made her skin itch, these men could be fighting real battles. But then there was Garanth and he always won and he set her heart to rest. The tourneys had become enjoyable once he stepped into the arena and eventually she had been noticed in the crowd. Vesna had never been a romantic.. but she still had the flower pressed in a book.

"I have finished, finally. Yes I remember, I still have the rose in that book over there." She pointed to a large buckled tome on her shelf. She hadnt actually told Garanth that before, she supposed the slip was because she was so tired, usually she didnt admit to too much sentimentality.

She had sighed at the mention of this 'him' and bumped his nose with her's gently. "Well, I can assure you, I dream of you quite a bit, especially when you are away." She nuzzled his nose softly and leant against him in the chair.

"That is nice to hear"
He smiled up at her before kissing her on the lips. His hands rubbing the small of her back. His wounds ached quite a lot but he was too happy to care.
After a few moments of silence he looked out of the study window to see the darkness beyond. As he did so his shoulders sagged slightly, it was late and he was going to have to go back to sleep.
"Damn the night and bless the day while we have it..."
He had always feared sleep, as he should according to Gron; who was outright sure that an abusive father led to mental damage. Garanth was not sure of much on that matter other than that he was happy Granth was dead. And may he remain still, for Garanth had the scars to remember him by, he needed nothing more.
"Ves...will you sleep by me tonight?"
He did not know how she would react. The want he had was not lust or male needs, but more a need for love he only had when around her.

Vesna purred under his touch and smiled into the kiss. She was feeling tired and so very cuddly, curling into him happily.

"I dont know, I quite enjoyed the night myself.." She said it in a sultry manner, but mainly jokingly, she was much too tired and Garanth didnt look up to it either. He asked his request in a small and sleepy tone that made her smile and she got off his lap slowly.

"Come on then, day will come sooner than we both might wish." She lead him through a door at the back of her study and into her own private room, a simple if large and soft bed awaiting them both. She undressed and snuggled under the sheets, curling her back against Garanth's chest and sighing happily.

The warmth of her smaller body made him smile as they lay there, quietly enjoying one another's company. Not bothering to damage the moment with speech or actions. All that could be heard was the ponderous and consistent sound of their breathing, and every now and again an owl hooting from somewhere in the grounds.

When sleep finally took him, for once the Under God was merciful and did not send nightmares to plague his rest. And when morning finally arrived Garanth found himself glued to his pillow, determined not to return to his every day life, his arms still tightly wrapped round Ves.

Strangely, this time it was Vesna's turn to be plagued by nightmares in her sleep. In Garanth's arms she mostly slept warmly and in comfort, but later into the night she began twitching delicately as her sleep was filled with shapeless horrors. Her craft and her duty never really bothered her, she rarely had bad dreams. But perhaps she had been more worried for Garanth's life than she had ever expressed. Watching him breathe erratically as blood seeped from his wounds was not something she was used to. Usually he was awake, complaining, and glaring at the wounds he sustained, no matter how serious they were. And so, when Vesna awoke, it was with a sudden small gasp as her hand spasmodically reached up to grip the strong arm curled about her waist. There was a tense stillness as she held her breath until Garanth shifted and she released it in a sigh of relief.

She released a quiet groan and quickly shifted around in Garanth's arms so she could kiss his chest and reach up for his lips and press into his beard with a slight sense of desperation in her actions. It was odd for her to be so effected by dreams, her body still shaking slightly. However Garanth would not know that such fitful sleeping tended to increase whenever he left for war or some other reason. She didn't like to admit that his absence had become a burden to her.

The sudden grip on his arm abruptly wrenched Garanth from the darkness of sleep. For once he felt as if he had slept peacefully, a rare occurrence for one such as him.
Looking down at Vesna he saw that she was in much the same position as before, curled up to his chest, her back pressed against him, and her hand gripping his forearm.
As gentle as he could, he cautiously leaned over and laid a light kiss upon her cheek, stroking her shoulder reassuringly.
"You seem tense love, what is it?"
With a sleepy groan she rolled over to face him and kissed his chest whilst toying with his beard.
With a sigh he looked down at her. The last woman who had been this close to him had been Ves, and that had been over a year ago. Her closeness was causing him to stir.
He was just beginning to harden when he felt her shivering against him. This was most unlike Ves, in fact it was more like something he would do.
Taking her by the shoulders he whispered quielty "Ves, what is it?"