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A Book of Roses - Book 2	By : Moongirl Category: A through F > Dragonlance Views: 3931 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the book(s) that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
Chapter 1 – Reunion

He slowly entered the loud inn, observing The Queen’s drunken warriors in a natural setting. Soldiers and draconians yelled and laughed over their exploits while spilling ale and gambling their spoils away. It was a small area, but there was enough room for the humans to remain on one side, while the draconians huddled in another. The clerics and mages were not to be found at this hour, as they were most likely studying and committing to memory all their spells. The day was growing late, but he had already memorized what he needed for the next day. This would be the best time to see what secrets would slip. The harsher the ale, the more tongues would loosen.
He blended in with the dark robes of those that followed The Queen’s son, Nuitari. His staff stamped softly on the ale soaked floor. Finding a dark corner, he sat here in order to study the crowd. Never taking his hood down, his almost cat-like eyes took in everything and saved it for future study. A barmaid with dark hair approached him for an order, and he quickly waved her aside. In a way she was relieved, for this man caused her more fear than the dragon men that grabbed the females every time they approached. His staff rested in the crook of his arm, never letting anyone have the chance to touch it.
How long has it been since he left the others and his brother to take on this mission? A few months at least. He studied long and hard at the library of Palanthas after teleporting himself there. The spell nearly killed him as he moved magickally from one side of the continent to the other, but he always tested his limitations to the point of breaking himself. If he didn’t, he felt that he was not learning if he didn’t push himself, even if it was to the point of death. If he didn’t die in the attempt, then his abilities werrengrengthennd snd so was his confidence.
Now was the time of gathering confidences, learning the armies strengths and weaknesses so he could exploit them. The more that he knew of the evil armies, the easier it will be for him to break through them and conquer. He worked hard for the glory of this kill, to slam the door shut on a god and save the world from imbalance. How he would revel in his companions’ awe of him. And how he would look down on those that scoffed him; treated him as an outcast and distrusted his magic. How those strong in body have to thank someone that in their eyes was a weakling. It wasn’t the time yet, but soon he will have his revenge on everyone.
These ruffians behaved like any other troop of soldiers. Getting drunk, wasting their money on gambling and women, singing off key songs of conquest in many forms. The standard behavior that would be expected. The women who made their trips around the tables either accepted their attention or had a look of illness when touched. The barkeep and owner looked on sternly, making sure the girls did not turn down any advances. He must be getting the money for their services of the night; otherwise he wouldn’t be too concerned if they slapped a hand away. He felt sorry for those girls that did not want the extra attention, while those that welcomed it were not worthy of his sympathy. They were after their own glory, hoping that the next one they took to bed will be the one that rules a town, and she will wear all the jewels and titles.
There was one out of the girls that took his attention. She had a toughened look on her face, sneering at the troops as they made one comment after another. She slapped one hand after another away, much to the displeasure of the barkeep. She would pick up the order, get yelled at by thn atn at the bar, snarl at him and storming over to the tables she would slam the mugs down, sometimes splashing the soldier in her haste. Her loathing of those in armor seemed to make the other barmaids cringe in her wake. This was someone who obviously hated her station but was stuck.
Besides her temper, there was something familiar about her. Her hair fell in dark brunette waves to the middle of her back. Thin but still retaining a figure, she had the grace of an elf but was still clearly human. Her eyes with all their burning anger were able to read into people but reveal nothing about herself. She allowed them to see what she was thinking; no one else could figure it out. He believed he knew her, but the last time he saw her was when they were young. He could still remember when they said goodbye, the only girl that paid him any attention. Didn’t laugh at him, was treated as an equal because they were both outsiders. He couldn’t be sure, it was so long ago.
Determined to find out, he tried to signal her to come over. She didn’t notice, but one of the other women did. One that was flirting unabashed at one of the soldiers. As soon as she approached, he gave her a sharp glance and motioned for the one he wanted. Somewhat disappointed, she spun around and walked away with a canter to make him look at what he turned away. She talked to the brunette, pointing to his corner. The brunette looked in that direction, seemed curious, and motioned her to go serve the dragon men.
She approached in her own canter, seemingly interested as to who specifically asked for her. Maybe she preferred mages to those clunking around in metal, he mused. Obviously she did, because there was a faint smile on her rouged lips. She placed her tray down on the table and stood with her hands on her hips. She could sell if she wanted to, he figured, she just didn’t care for brutish men.
“Is there something I can do for you, Sir Mage,” she addressed him. The voice was rather the same as he remembered. It must be her, he thought. But why would I meet up with her in a place like this. He looked up at her, letting her see under the shadow of his hood.
The surprise showed on her face. He figured it was for his looks, which shocked the average person. But now it was his turn to be surprised. She leaned forward to look at him closely, her hazel eyes looking him over. She whispered, “Raistlin? Is that you?”
“Shareene?” he whispered back. She heard him over the din of soldiers, nodded in the affirmative. He motioned her to sit down. “What are you doing in a place like this? This isn’t like you.”
She shook her head. “First, make it look like you’re interested in me.” She grabbed one of his hands and hid the fact she was placing it on her shoulder. Again he was surprised that she didn’t react to his heat when she touched him. “If you do this,” she leaned in closer, “then you can buy my time and we can talk in private.”
Raistlin nodded in understanding. He leaned in closer; still amazed she didn’t stiffen or try to pull away. “Good, then you can help me out.”
She raised an eyebrow at this comment, but let it slip. “Go over to that slob behind the bar and demand for me. He’s a coward when it comes to mages, so you should have no problems getting what you want. Act more frightening, and you could have me for the night instead of a few hours.”
It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. “Interesting proposition. I believe you made that offer once before.”
“But without coins involved,” Shareene said with a smirk. “I must
go. Make sure you only demand for me.” With a quick brush of her fingers on his cheek, she stood up, grabbed her tray, and trotted away the same way the other girl did.
She always amazed him; either by what she said or reacted. Luckily, she didn’t change after all this time. He may be able to ask her to do things for him, and he would have someone he could trust. Once she was busy, he got up and walked over to the man behind the bar. Requesting for the specific person, he dropped a purse of steel in front of him. The barkeep eyed him suspiciously, another person that distrusted those that work in magic. A sharp stare, and he backed down, even offered a few coins back. Instead of taking it back, he demanded that she was bought a new dress. Grabbing his key, he made his way through the crowd to get up the flight of stairs.
Raistlin opened the door to his room. For what he paid, he didn’t exactly get his money’s worth. The room was clean, but very barren of furniture. A bed sat in the far end of the room, a window open above it. A small table with two chairs was in the other corner next to the other window, a lantern sitting in the middle of it. A fireplace was near the bed, but there was so much ash still sitting in the hearth he hoped it wouldn’t spark a coughing fit. Least there was still wood inside, so he could warm up beside it. After shutting the door and propping his staff against the wall, with one flick of his hand the fire started up in the hearth. He was just about to move a chair next to it when he heard the click of the door opening.
Shareene walked in, balancing a tray laden with two plates of food, a carafe of wine and two glasses, and lighting tinder for the fireplace. She walked in backwards and kicked the door shut. She turned around, smiled shyly at him, and then noticed the fire was already started. “Oh, Raistlin, I could have started thor yor you,” she sighed. He approached her, whispered a few words as he touched the tray, and picked it up away from her. The tray became light enough for him to take it and placed it on the table. “That’s supposed to be my job, remember?” she chided him.
“Not tonight. You have the night off now.”
She smiled, and then wiped her hands off on her apron. “Thanks,” she whispered, her face looking down at the floor, her hair hiding her blush. “I didn’t expect you to me me here, and certainly not like this.”
He turned around to face her. “Do not be ashamed. We all have to do what must be done. I’m sure I can guess how you managed to end up here.”
“It’s a short story. Mother and I moved to this small town to start another life. She went into the jewelry trade; I got a job as a maid to help in the lean times. The original owner passed away and left the inn to his cousin. His cousin was too interested in the money. Dragon armies came into town, met very little resistance. He opened the doors to them because of their ‘wealth’.”
“Watered ale and women were on the menu, I take it.”
She shrugged, the worn blouse slipping a little on her thin shoulder. “That’s about it. I fought it as much as I could. Unfortunately, my word meant little to him.”
Letting out a small sigh, Raistlin walked over to her and touched her arm. “Come to the table, sit down. Join me, maybe you can tell me what is edible on the plate.”
She smiled. “Should be okay. I snuck the good stuff out of the kitchen.” She let him guide her to the table and she sat down heavily. “I hate this place, but there is little I do ado about it right now.”
He sat down next to her, feeling comfortable enough around her to take his hood down. She did stare for a moment, not in revulsion but in curiosity. He started to take the items off the tray as she looked at him. “This might be fortuneous for me, and for you also.”
Shareene blinked, “What do you mean?”
“I am here for my own purpose. I intend to study these soldiers over and find where their weaknesses lie.” He was about to start pouring the wine, but took a sniff of it first. Didn’t seem watered down, so he poured it out for them. “Since I know you have no love of these…people…you might be able to help me listen when I cannot be here.”
She picked up a fork, started toying with the stew on her plate. “You’re asking me to spy for you, is that it?”
He smiled slightly. “If you able to escape my notice when you were a girl, I’m sure you can do that around the clueless.”
She seemed to think it over as she took a sip. “It’s a large task you’ve laid in front of me. I think you remember that I said I would do anything you wanted me to do.” She set the glass down again. “I may be able to escape their notice, but I will be putting my life on the line here.”
“As much as I am right now.”
“So, the black robes are a ruse?”
He stopped for a moment. “No. But I do not serve The Queen. I serve her son...for now.”
The brunette looked at him, not sure what he meant. There were some changes in his personality, but it felt more like a shield than his true nature. “Forgive me if I ask too many questions. But I must know, what happened to you after all these years. I can feel the same person I knew back then, but something has changed.”
“Besides how I look?”
“Are you self-conscious about it?”
Raistlin tensed up again, she always knew what to ask in order to get a reaction. “Possibly.”
“Don’t be,” she whispered, laying her hand on his. “At least try not to around me. I am no one to judge with me looking like a gully dwarf.”
“Some of my best friends are gully dwarves,” he joked, staring at
her hand. The more he stared, the more her hand stayed the same. She should have altered in his sight, be on the verge of being a crone before him. loo looked back into her eyes, warm with her sincerity. Again, no aging. “Are you enchant he he asked.
Smirking, she said, “By you I am. Anything else I’m not aware of. Why?”
He shook his head, smiling again. “It’s nothing.”
“Must be something or you wouldn’t have asked it.” She took her hand away from his and started to rub his arm. “And you’re avoiding my original question.”
“It’s not something that I talk about.”
“Please, bragging comes naturally to you. Something happened, and you know you can tell me anything.”
Sighing, he went into his story after she left Solace. Leaving some episodes out, he told her about how things remained the same once she was gone. How at twenty he was invited to take the Tests, and how his companions left on a five-year sojourn at the same time. He didn’t go into detail about what happened in the tower, but explained how it changed him, making him weaker in health but stronger in magic. How they all returned last year without his half-sister there, and how they came upon the True Gods and learned about the war.
“So why are you separated from them now, especially since your brother was like a shadow to you.”
“Or was I his shadow?” he added. “No, I had to leave them behind. They’ll be back. We’ll meet up again, possibly for the last time.”
She glanced again at him. “I hope that doesn’t mean what I think it does.”
“No, I will not die from this. I intend to have more power than I have now. I have…other goals to achieve.” He pushed his plate away, she placed it on traytray, then placed hers over it.
“Somehow I don’t feel comfortable about that.”
“Why?”
Shareene sighed. “Seems like when people gain importance, they forget those left behind.”
“I could not forget you,” he tried to reassure her.
“I’ve just seen it too many times. Whenever there’s war, and one gains power, all are left behind. I’m not saying you’re like everyone else, far from it. But one does get wrapped up in it.”
He reached out to her, took her chin in his fingers and guided her to look back at him. Her eyes were closed but with a look that could be a sigh. Then she looked at him, the soft look back. He could feel a wall shatter inside of him. No one ever looked at him that way, except for Shareene. “If I couldn’t forget you after all I’ve been through, I cannot forget you after all of what’s to happen. I will protect you, and when I know it’s safe again, I will summon you. I’m not leaving you alone again.”
She smiled warmly at him. “You know I would believe anything you say. And you know wherever you are, I belong at your side.”
“I will not put you in danger. You cannot walk where I am going right now. You must wait for me.”
“I waited this long, I can wait a little while longer.” Again she traced her fingers along his jaw, making his eyes close. “And you still react the same way as you did back then,” she teased.
“You’re the only one daring enough to come that close to me.”
She laughed, “If we were older then, that wouldn’t have been where I’d stop.” His eyes flared open in surprise, she kept giggling. “Oh, please, like you couldn’t have notice.”
“I know you were daring at times, but….”
“You didn’t think I would do that? The one who dared you to go swimming with me that one night? The one who would sneak you a kiss when your brother wasn’t looking and then dash off to see if you’d follow?”
Raistlin did remember those times. He did take up her offer, ended up with a chill so bad he couldn’t leave his house for a week. In apology, she brought over soup she made and took care of him when his brother went out to work. But, he had to admit, it was worth the illness to feel like a normal kid for a few hours. And her sneaking kisses were also a fond memory, but he buried that away because he was certain that wasn’t going to happen again. Now that she was back, he let them come back, almost wish she would do it again.
She had a talent of guessing what one was thinking. Her hand quickly reached for the back of his neck, and she gave him a quick kiss before he could react. Leaving him surprised, she stood up and started to clear off the table like nothing had happened. She grabbed the tray and turned to walk for the door, but was stopped as he grabbed the hem of her skirt and pulled her back. “You’re not getting away that easily, not this time,” he playfully snarled at her as she nearly dropped the tray in surprise.
“I have to set this outside so I can clean it up in the morning,” she explained unconvincingly. He waved his other hand and the tray disappeared from her hands. She was shocked for a moment, then laughed it off. “Well, that takes care of that.”
“I told you, no chores for you tonight. You look like you haven’t slept in weeks.”
Shareene looked up at the ceiling, as if she was counting the time. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“You’re going to bed now.”
She raised her eyebrow at him. “You sound like the others around here.”
His face dropped, catching her meaning. “No, not for that. You need to sleep, and so do I.” He turned to look at the bed in the room. “You take the bed, I can find another room to be in.”
“You’re not getting away from me that easily,” she echoed his words. “Besides, if they see you separated from me, I’ll be in big trouble. There’s plenty of room for the both of us, and I normally take very little room.”
She was the same, still daring. “Please, Raistlin,” she started to chide him again. “This will be the safest night I can spend right now. No one will come in here because I’m with a ‘client’, a mage no less. They’re not going to play games if you’re here. And I won’t do anything…” she brought out her mischievous grin, “…unless you asked of it.”
He stared blankly at her. Did he just hear her offer herself to him again? Was she serious? He blinked the confusion away. won’won’t be paying for something like that, especially of you. This is not the right time for…for such things.”
She dropped her act, came up to him as he remained seated and leaned over to hug him. “I know. And I love you for that.” Again, he opened his eyes in surprise. “Just give me a moment to clean up a little and I’ll be back in.” With another quick kiss to his cheek she let him go and walked for the door.
Leaving him to the quiet room so he could be ready for sleep too, he sat there for a moment, running through everything she said to him. For some reason she wasn’t repulsed by him, with his altered looks and eternal fever. She never flinched from his touch, but seemed to welcome it instead. He couldn’t be sure if she was kidding or not with some of her comments, but for anyone to say them to him was very rare. Despite all that had happened to her, Shareene was still herself. Still a tease and a flirt, but just to him.
He slowly got up, undid the clasp of his cloak and draped it over his chair. The belt was also placed on the chair, with all his components and scrolls still attached. He walked over to the bed and sat down heavily, not even realizing how tired he was with all the thoughts going through his head. After taking the boots off, he remained in his robes as he threw the blankets over himself. He was still thinking of her as he drifted off to sleep.
She returned with a basin of water and a long shirt. She went to check if he was asleep, relieved he was, and placed a grate up around the fireplace to cut down the glaring light. She turned her back to him as she quietly took off her top to try and bathe a little.
The splashing water woke him up regardless. Opening his eyes, he could just see her in the dark, Solinari spilling white light into the room so he could make her out. Her trust of him was incredible, because he could see her bare back to him as she ran a cloth across her arm. The light cast her in silver, her hair turning bronze, looking like a movitatutatue. He knew he shouldn’t be looking, but he couldn’t take away his stare no matter how much he berated himself.
Once she was done, she looked like she was undoing the apron and skirts, and that’s when he closed his eyes again. Firmly telling himself he saw enough, maybe too much, he willed himself to sleep again. But he burned that image of a silver woman in his room too well. He almost started to imagine what the rest of her would look like, but shoved it aside. If it were meant to be, it would happen. No sense torturing if it wasn’t meant to happen.
More rustling of material then felt the pressure of her climbing in beside him. He sighed inwardly, hoping he can put his imagination aside for the sleep he desperately needed. He was about to drift off again, till he felt her arm drape over his chest gently. He looked at her, she was asleep as soon as she lay down. With a smile, he put his hand over her arm, and fell asleep.
**************************************************************
He walked through the nightmare of trees; moonlight barely penetrating the twisted limbs above him. He could see he was still wearing black, the hems outlined in red. Something propelled him to keep walking through the nightmare, knowing he would see something he was ill prepared for.
Raistlin had no idea how long he walked, everything darkened by the very evil of the land. He listened for something, anything, to let him know why he was there. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Spinning around faster that the person behind him and grabbing them, he suddenly realized it was Shareene. Her hair was braided and wrapped around her head, and she wore mismatched armor, a badly notched sword in her hand. He let go of her, and motioned for her to walk beside him. She nodded in understanding and fell in step with him.
They continued in silence, him testing the ground with his staff, her twisting the sword nervously in her hand. Expecting something, they went on totally aware of what could jump at them. If they heard a foreign sound, she leapt behind him, her sword at the ready, as they pressed against each other back to back to back to back. Once it seemed there wasn’t a threat,
she moved back to his side and they continued on.
Hissing came out of nowhere and seemed to surround them. She went back to guarding behind him. Six draconians came out one at a time, forming a circle around them. They snarled at the mage as they leered at the swordswoman. Raistlin quickly formed a spell in his mind as one leapt for the woman. Shareene threw her weight into her slash, was able to cut off its sword arm before it came too close. He let loose lightning, striking down two of the three before him.
As the injured draconian fell and screamed, another came for her. Again, throwing her weight into it, she dragged the point of her blade across its midsection, disemboweling it in one slice. It fell dead at her feet.
Two were left. As he was getting another spell ready, he heard her scream behind him. Somehow, her last assailant had her arms lock behind her, her sword on the ground. Shareene kicked and flung herself in order for the thing to let her go without any success. A flick of his wrist, and his dagger flew into his hand. He heard the other dragon man charge behind him. He spun around, drove the blade of the dagger through its jaw, killing it instantly.
Turning back, he saw the last beast fling the woman to the ground and ran away. Letting it get away, he fell down beside her, carefully turning her over and laying her in his lap. The armor was torn apart, shredded into scraps on her frame. Her blood was flowing fast out of the rents in her skin. There wasn’t anything he could do except make her comfortable as she slipped away.
Her eyes opened one last time, locked on his. He couldn’t hear it, but she mouthed the words “I love you.” Her eyes then shut for the last time.
Tears burning his eyes, he flung his head up in a wordless scream.
***************************************************************
Shareene bolted upright in bed when she heard him scream. She found him sitting up, his eyes staring at the remains of his nightmare, panting for air as he clutched the blankets in a death grip. She adjusted her sitting position and wrapped her arms around him. His skin was wet with sweat. She pressed his head to her shoulder, trying to get him to calm down. Stroking his hair, she tried to hush him while gently rocking him into quietness. After a while, he seemed to realize where he was. He buried his eyes into the crook of her shoulder as he now clutched to her nightshirt in fear that she might not be real.
“My love, what happened? What did you see?” she whispered.
He shook his head, couldn’t speak a word. He started to shake in her arms; all she could do was hold him tighter until it subsided. She knew of his nightmares, had seen him before like this when she took care of him when he was sick. It frightened her once, but after that she learned how to calm him down and get him back to sleep.
Slowly, the images passed from his mind. In a few moments they would be forgotten, leaving him to wonder why he had woke up at all. A terrible feeling was still inside of him, but the reason behind it was faded. Once his trembling calmed down, Raistlin pulled away a bit, not facing her, eyes shut. He could feel her dragging her finger across his face, drying his tears. Her hands were cold, leaving trails of ice across his fevered skin.
“Can you tell me what you saw?” she asked again. He shook his head. With a sigh she let the subject , an, and pulled him back in an embrace. Once he seemed calmer, she let him lay back down. Climbing out of the bed, she went to her basin. The water was room temperature, but it would do. After soaking the cloth and wringing it out, she sat down at his edge of the bed and gently wiped his face with it. She could see him drifting off to sleep as she did this, murmuring something she couldn’t make cleaclearly. She then went to wipe down his neck to the slight parting in the top of his robes. Through his haze of fever and nightmare, he could still feel her touch, a small sigh or moan escaping him. Shareene closed her eyes shut, knowing that hearing him was a pleasure to her, but it was the wrong time to feel that way. So much time had passed between them, she couldn’t be sure if things could be the way she would hope them to be.
Shareene was the new girl, living out on the outskirts of Solace where the farmers worked their fields. Occasionally str strolled into town on an errand or just to see what was going on. On a few trips, she would notice a boy sitting beneath one of the trees, his head buried in a book, ignoring the yells and mock-fights of his peers. She eventually learned of them from the local girls, who always cooed over the local boy who was strong as an ox, and how they felt the one studying was such a stranger to them. Not worthy of their attention because he was more interested in books than anything else. That made her more curious about the mysterious boy in town.
So, on her “adventures”, she would find a spot where she wouldn’t be noticed and observed him. His brother, now that she knew whom the girls were giggling over, would try to pry him into activity, stop to flirt with the passing girls, and then relay a message that they could like him if he was nice to them. Obviously, he thought little of the girls in town as much as she did. Sure she could get some information, but once they got into squealing over Caramon, she lost interest. Intelligence and mystery was more interesting to her than the physique. She was determined to get his attention somehow, without either making him angry or frightened of her.
Shareene got her chance in the form of some bullies trying to start a fight with him. She knew he didn’t stand a chance against the brutes and decided to join the fray. Taking the stolen book, she clubbed one with it while kicking another down. Catching the boys unaware, she was able to grab him and drag him away to one of her secret places. Once the danger had passed, she returned the book to him and let him do what he wanted to do.
A pleasant surpriseher,her, he remained, wondering who was the girl that just defended him. After talking with him, she knew right away that she would want to spend more time with him. Sometimes she would seek him out, sometimes he would. Shareene would keep him company when he went digging for whatever plants he was seeking. He would walk her back to her house when she went to pick up something for her parents. They spent as much time as they could learning from each other, always ending with an unusual, awkward moment at the end where they didn’t know how to part. As she became more comfortable around him, she would quickly peck him on the cheek and dash away, a harsh blush on her face. When she was older mor more brazen in speech, she would quickly grab his face and kiss him on the mouth, then slink behind her door, smiling as she always got the same reaction: with him blushing, mouth slightly open, eyes wide with shock. But as she watched him walk away, she was glad to see that he walked with a bit of a bounce to his steps.
Her mother noticed her attraction to him, warned her not to hang around with witches like him. How he would spend many hours with Weird Meggin, learning her arcane craft. Shareene always responded, “If he wanted to turn me into a frog, he would have done so a long time ago.”
Regardless of her mother, she kept seeing Raistlin, most of the time in secret so that she wouldn’t have to deal with his brother and sword-driven friends. She did know her way around a blade because of her father, but she didn’t rely on it as they did. Making coins dance between slender fingers she was attracted to and conjuring tiny purple dragons that landed on her shoulder and would sneeze from her perfume was more interesting. She was his captive audience, and she got the feeling that he reveled in that fact, but still wanted something more. But it didn’t matter to her as long as she got to spend whatever time she could with him.
Moving away hurt her as badly as losing her father. He died from an illness that no one could cure, and her mother decided to move away and take up her original trade. Shareene sneaked to Raistlin’s house the night before to say goodbye, knowing her mother wouldn’t let him near the house. It was the hardest thing she ever did in her life, for she could see his heart breaking in his eyes, and then replacing it with a wall like a suit of armor. She was coming of age at that time, well on her way of becoming a woman in her sixteenth summer, and all her repressed feelings for him were threatening to break through. To throw him onto his bed and let out everything she ever felt for him in one night’s passion because she didn’t know if she would ever see him again.
But it never happened. She tried not to cry, was unsuccessful. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing her tightly against him, burying his face in her hair. She could feel that was thinking the same as her, but decided against it. Instead, he whispered that they would meet again, maybe not in the same place and not under the best of circumstances, but not to fear of being apart. Somehow, she believed him. He kissed her this time and not briefly. She went weak in his arms, feeling more than excitement run through her. He enchanted the kiss, with what she wasn’t sure, but she was quite familiar with the tingle of his magic. Choking back her tears, she left him with some doubt but tried to believe that he was right.
To her relief, he was right. They were back together, and it wasn’t in the best of times. War was raging all over the continent, trying to drive back the darkness that overpowered the faithless. Shareene had no doubt Raistlin would be a mage the next time she would see him, but his abilities were far greater than she imagined they would be. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t impressed and awed by him, feeling the pulse of magic that was stronger than his own heartbeat. She didn’t lie by saying he enchanted her. That happened many years ago, after speaking her first words to him and getting him to say his name. No one could fill her heart like he did. She could have had her pick of men when the town wasn’t occupied, but she turned them all away to the dismay of her mother. After she passed away, Shareene locked her heart away in the hopes that he would return to her.
Patience paid off, though by now the war took whatever they could out of her. She dreamed of being married to him, being whisked away to a better town, and that he would be her first and only lover. That dream was broken as a soldier forced himself on her after secretly paying for wit with the owner of the bar. She took food to this man, thinking she was only delivering. It wasn’t the case when the door was locked and a knife was brought to her throat when she started to protest. She felt nothing but shame for a week but locked it away in an already hardening heart. Knowing what happened to her, she felt awkward around the man she truly wanted to be with. He would understand, but would he feel the same about her again.
Tears threatening to fall from her eyes again, she hastily wiped them away with the sleeves of her dressing gown. Noticing he was asleep again, she pulled the blankets up to his shoulders, making sure he would stay warm. She tossed the towel onto the table and climbed back in to bed next to him. With a sigh and some hesitancy, she buried her embarrassment and arousal, gently wrapped her arms around him again and rested her head near his as she fell asleep.
**************************************************************
Shareene woke up slowly, the first light of morning just starting to creep into her r Th The warmth felt wonderful to her, the first time in a long time when she felt good. As her senses slowly awoke with her, she felt arms wrapped around her. She was held in a tight embrace, quick short breaths on her cheek. Such a heat she never felt before, and she wanted to snuggle into it and never get up again. Slowly opening her eyes, she could see he was still asleep. She reached for his face, dragging her fingers lightly down his cheek, brushing some strands of his hair away.
He had changed, yet not by much. When he was asleep he looked like what she remembered. The moments she saw him awake, he looked so run down and weary of the world around him. Regardless, he was beautiful to her. She missed the brown hair and light complexion, but now he was shimmering and god-like. The silver hair spoke of his wisdom, the skin shining in the light reflected the inner waves of energy that flowed in him. She traced one eyebrow her her fin bri bringing it around his eye, down the bridge of his thin nose. Her fingers skimmed his lips, could still see traces of pink among the bronzed skin, still as soft as she remembered them to be. She brought her hand to his jaw, dragging her fingers under his chin and back again so she went down his neck. She felt him purr and swallow as she did this, and she smiled slightly. As best as she could she ran her fingers along his collarbone, wishing she could reach farther. Instead she reached up through his hair to the back of his neck and pulled him closer. She brushed her lips against his, felt him purr again, his arms tighten around her just a little bit more. Feeling a little more daring, she kissed him full on the mouth.
He slowly woke up, his arms shifting on her small frame. Dormant feelings were also waking up with him as one hand held her tight against him while the other slowly rawn hwn her back. A small twist, and he had her lying on top of him without breaking the kiss. He ran his fingers into her hair, kept her locked against him as he moved his lips against hers. He could feel every part of her pressed against him, never imagining he would have a woman that could be like this with him. She shifted her hips against him, feeling the start of his arousal that surprised even him. She broke the kiss to bring her mouth to his jaw, down the side of his neck, kissind nid nipping her way to his shoulder. She found the few lacings to the front of his robes, undid them swiftly and pulled so that one shoulder was exposed. He ran his hands down her sides, touching the sides of her breasts as he did, smiling when she moaned at his touch. His hands rested on her hips, pressing her tightly into his hardness, slowly forgetting how to breathe as he was drowning under her passion.
Something clicked in his mind at that moment, knowing that this was the wrong time for them to be engaging in this. Trying to breathe again, Raistlin touched her face and urged her to lean up. She stopped, breathing as hard as he was, lost herself as she tried to bring her mind to the present. Shareene gave up trying to bring herself to her elbows, ended up laying her head against his chest. She let the sound of his slowing heartbeat slow hers down as she tried to cool down. In a few moments, she was back to thinking again and then slid armsarms under his shoulders to prop herself up.
That is when she really noticed his eyes, now shining like a cat’s eyes, pupils the shape of hourglasses. She wasn’t terribly shocked by them; it just made his stare that more mysterious. “Who did this to you?” she whispered.
“My eyes, I think you mean?” he said with a half smile. “They’re a curse placed upon me. To teach me humiliation and compassion, I am forced to see the world as a dying thing. Everything around me looks like it’s withering, slowly coming to its f rui ruin.”
She frowned. “But, how do you see me?”
Raistlin stared at her face, looking over every detail. The long dark lashes of her eyes, how the color in hers would shift depending on her mood and lighting. The one or two freckles that were marks of beauty instead of adolescence. Her lips slightly parted, still a little darker from their passion than normal. There was no mark of death on her, just her beauty of the present, the warmth of her eyes breaking through his walls he carefully laid in his heart a long time ago. “You look beautiful,” he managed to say.
Shareene blushed and looked away in embarrassment. “Oh, please, Raistlin,” she teased.
“You don’t believe you are?”
Now it was her time to freeze from that kind of comment. “Sometimes…well…. No, sometimes I don’t. I think I’m average. Before, I would have said I was beautiful, stunning…whatever. Now…no.”
“What caused that?”
She bit her lip. “I…I would rather not say.”
“You know you can tell me anything. I will not judge you.”
With a sigh, she carefully rolled off of him, landing on her back with her face to the window. “You…you know that the owner ‘rents’ the girls out, and some of them here used to be prostitutes. I fought this decision but nothing was done about I t I thought if that was their job that it would be left to them to do. I…was wrong.”
He turned to his side and propped himself up with one arm. “What happened?”
Tears threatened to spill down her face. “I was ordered one night
to take a tray of food up to a soldier’s room. I took it in, and then heard the door lock. I demanded to know what was going on, he slammed me against the wall with a knife to my throat. He said that the owner told him that I needed some ‘coaxing’ to be with a soldier, and that he was free to do what he liked with me because he had the most coin. I wasn’t afraid of dying, but I wanted it to be swift whereas if I fought him it would take hours. So, I had no choice….”
Seeing her breakdown, he wrapped his arms around her tightly, letting her cry as loud as she wanted to into his robes. Anger burned inside of him, wanting to kill the man that did this to her. He knew he could find out easily, as some people were too easy to read from. He would find a way to restore her honor, make him pay for hurting her.
Once she seemed to have cried herself of her grief, he kissed her wet face, took the hem of his sleeves and wiped her face dry. “Do not fear. That will not happen to you ever again. I will see to that. No one will ever touch you like that again. And do not fear of what I think about you. This wasn’t your fault, and you shouldn’t blame yourself. Just because someone robbed you of your innocence doesn’t mean I care for you less. It makes me care about you more.”
Shareene sniffled like she did when she was little. “You…you don’t think me…?”
“Like those other ‘women’ downstairs? No, they are beneath you. My little queen, you deserve better than this. And I promise I will take you away from this. For now, I will protect you the best as I can.”
She flung her arms around him. “Oh, Raistlin. I was so afraid that you wouldn’t like me…after that.”
“It’s not your fault. Believe me when I say that.” He kissed her on her hair. “Horrid how the world has treated us. I couldn’t be loved for whom I was except by you. And you were only seeking my love and ended up damaged in the process.” He sighed. “I’m sorry that we were split up so long ago, but you can’t walk the same paths that I do. I won’t put you in that kind of danger. But when you can, you are never leaving my side.” He broke her hold on him, sitting up with his legs tucked under him.
“I’m also sorry that I cannot love you as you deserve right now. It’s not the right time. I despise where you are, and I do not want to think that the coin I put on your time was that I could buy your body. I’m not like them. But you deserve better, at least something…a memory of sorts.”
Shareene was confused at what he meant. “Memory?”
“Close your eyes.” She did.
She could hear a few words spoken, feel him kissing her eyelids, then her lips. She could feel his hands on her, the same hot touch from before. She knew her eyes were shut, but she could see him above her without his robes on. Reaching out, she could feel him there, yet felt like a dream. Maybe I am dreaming, she thought to herself. Compelled, she felt herself spread her legs beneath him, could feel his hips between her thighs. The vision was blocked for a moment as she felt him very slowly enter her, making her moan his name aloud. She grabbed his shoulders as he moved within her, slowly at first, then speeding up as she demanded it. Her arms fell to the sides, riding with the magic push and pull that went along with his rhythm, breathing her praises of him. She felt herself quickly building up to her climax, her back arching into him as it hit her, making her scream his name. Slowly, she calmed down, never noticing that he left her. Or that he was never really there. And as soon as she was relaxed did she fall asleep again.
Raistlin hovered nearby, creating an illusion in her mind that granted her the release she needed in order to function for the day. If he knew her like he did, she would be wondering if she did something wrong that caused him to stop their encounter. He didn’t worry about himself, as he knew how to lock it away, to bury it and concentrate on what was needed to be done that day. As soon as she settled into sleep, he closed the blinders a touch so that the sun wasn’t in her face. Brushing her hair away from her face, he kissed her on the forehead, whispering a spell of protection.
He got up, ded, ed, and noticed there was a small pain on his shoulder. On examination, he was amused to see a small bruise there. She must have nipped him a little too hard in her passion, and he was too lost to notice it till now. It would be buried in the folds of his robes, so no one would be curious about it. He took a small piece of parchment out, whispered more words so that a note formed on it for her and placed it on the table where she would see it. Gathering his staff and components he made his way for the door, but not without a final glance back at the woman he cared about, the only one he could love in this world that despised him. He didn’t want to leave her, but he would be back, many times over, until he could free her of this place. With a sigh and pulling his hood up, he left the room.
Walking down the stairs and entering the main room, he was equally amused and disgusted that some of the soldiers were so drunk the night before that they were passed out in their spots at the table. The owner was still there, trying to look like he was cleaning the bar, but only smearing the grease around.
“Ah, black robe, nice to see you this morning,” was the greeting he received. “Was she all you expected?”
He sneered at the man, enjoying him flinch under his stare. “She was more than that. I want to retain her…services.” A few money purses were flung in front of the barkeep. “That should be enough to keep her under my care. I want her to have new clothes, and to be fed, if you want to call that swill you call stew food. She is not to be handed over to anyone for more money. If you do, and I will know because I’ve laid wards upon her, I will turn you into a pig and hand you over to the cooks for a ‘special feast’. I’m sure the draconians would be especially pleased if they could have this… pig…still alive so they can feel it still kicking as they swallow it.”
The man stared at him as a cold sweat formed on his brow. “Wha…whatever you say, Sir Mage. She will be only yours, you can be assured of that.” Wasn’t too frightened to take the money swiftly before he decided to make it disappear, Raistlin noted.
“I will be back for her in a fortnight. Have her cleaned, fed, and rested for my return.” With a stamp of his staff on the floor to make the little man jump, he turned around and started prodding the soldiers to wake up. Snarling at them to return to camp, they shot him dirty looks behind his back. To do it to his face was incurring the wrath of the Goddess on them. But they fell in line and left with him behind them.
***************************************************************
Shareene woke up slowly, stretching like a cat and feeling blissfully peaceful for the first time in a long time. After a while, she realized what the time was and rushed out of bed. As she went for her dress, she noticed the note on her table. It was written by Raistlin, telling her that he would be back in four nights and that he paid for her to be exclusively his, knowing that only money would talk to these types. She could still feel the tingle of his protection spell on her forehead, relieved that she knew she was under his care. Knowing that he kept his word, somehow the next few days didn’t feel so bad to her.
She walked down the stairs to the kitchen to get her tray. The
girls stared at her like she was a foreign object, but she just stared back at them. The blonde from the last night approached her. “Well, seems you got yourself in rather good for a rookie.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ezra.”
“That person in the robes…he bought you outright for a month. Why would he want you out of all of us?” she said with a fling of her hair.
Shareene sneered at her. “Would you make it with a man who isn’t a man? His skin is gold, his eyes like a cat, and his touch burns like fire? Would you be able to handle a god?”
Ezra looked frightened for a moment. “And you…you….”
“That’s up to you to figure out.” With a smart turn, she left the kitchen. She never counted on the women she worked with as her friends. Now, she was more certain that she made enemies. They were no better than the townsfolk of Solace, afraid of the magic that lived around them everyday.
Magic never frightened her. Those that were content to live in ignorant bliss did. Let them lay with the soldiers that couldn’t care about them. She had more protection now than ever, and the man behind it loved her.
To be continued…
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A Book of Roses - Book 2