Organization: Penn State University
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 10:24:30 EST
From: The Dreamer <ASG102@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [L&S] Returning, Resting, Recovering


 Shadows stretched themselves to their longest points as the sun dipped
over the western horizon.  It threw vibrant pastel colors amidst the
falling snow of Winter in Generica.

 One shadow was respected by its peers.  It was called the Father of
Twilight, the Creator of Shade, the ShadowMaker; it walked with grace
and accompanying trails of mist.  This particular shadow moved toward
the door of the Dragon's Inn with a tiny child in his arms.  They were
both hungry and a little tired from their walk to the shore earlier that
day.  Now, they looked forward to eating, resting, and meeting with the
woman that they both loved dearly.

 The shadow paused briefly in the snow.  He looked up to the second
story of the building to a window, her window.  He could see her
silhouette there, but blinded by the light from the room behind her, she
could not see him.  He penetrated the shadow that covered her face and
saw that she was gazing dreamily toward the coast.  Her grey eyes were
in themselves a study in possibilities, he reflected fondly.  Another,
older woman approached her from behind and put her in bed.

 'Mary,' he thought, 'eternally protective of her best barmaid.'  He
shook his head in amusement.

 The door to the Dragons Inn opened with little fanfare.  Through the
door came a BLACK cloak of indistinct size, shape, or material.  In the
midst of this cloak was a Half-Golden Elf named Luthor and his
goddaughter Mista. Luthor coughed briefly as he was struck by the cloud
of smoke and beer fumes that called the Dragon's Inn home.

 The Rabble noticed that his normally friendly smile was brighter than
usual.  Immediately, they attributed it to the deep love that he held
for the child in his arms, but it was more than this.  Luthor had a
suprise for Serene.

 Luthor waved to friends as he crossed the floor to the stairs that
would take him to Serene's room.  Once there, he knocked gently on the
door and waited for a response.  Hearing a soft "come in" from the other
side, he opened the door and rushed to the edge of Serene's bed.

 Hers was a face that glowed with love.  Her eyes nearly set fire to her
lashes when she saw her daughter, and she could not wrap Mista up in her
embrace quickly enough.  "Hello, Sweet Baby You!" she gurgled at her
little one, allowing her daughter to grasp a tendril of auburn hair.
Raising her eyes and extending one arm to hug Luthor, she easily
included him in the tiny circle of family gathered here in her chamber.
"Thank you for the restful afternoon, Luthor.  You'll think I'm crazy,
but I became terribly homesick for her!"

 Luthor's eyes twinkled.  "Good evening, my love.  No, I don't think you
are crazy at all.  I know how I get when I a away from Mista...or her
mother.  Speaking of which, I have a few things for you.  The first,
of course is your daughter.  She seems to be a bit hungry...oh, and I
had to change her cloth about half an hour ago."  Luthor paused for a
second, briefly missing the weight of the child in his arms.
"I didn't mind changing her.  I had a lot of practice from when Joshua
was little," he continued.

Serene gently shifted Mista in her arms to nurse.  She found herself
awestruck at the vibrancy of the little life in her arms, and the utter
dependency on the adults in her world for care.

 "I also got you...a few flowers."  From the depths of his cloak, he
pulled a dozen roses of a deep blue color...the flower of the Anside Clan,
Luthor's Family.

Serene gasped softly, "The Rose of Anside."  Their graceful form and
delicate scent filled her with delight.

 "Remember that old druid that we ran into on our walk of the city?"
Luthor put the flowers in a vase near Serene's bed.

 "That 'old druid' was 50 years younger than you ShadowMaker," Serene
said with a false tone of disapproval.

 "Yes, that is true.  Anyway, he has them growing all over the gardens,
all from a single flower that I gave him.  Now that the snow has
started to fall, the flowers have opened.  It was amazing...in the
gardens, with the scent of the flowers on the cold air, I felt like I
was home again."  His eyes twinkled with a child-like glee.

Serene regarded him fondly.  More and more she found glimpses of
Luthor's heart revealed to her: joy in his goddaughter; grief at the
loss of his wife; wonder in the world.  Now his eyes made her long for a
tale of his home, of a land which gave rise to such beautiful flowers,
to swirling banks of SnowFog, to men such as this.

 "I would like to take you out of this inn for a while tomorrow.  The
change from the smoke and noise of the bar room would do you some good.
We could leave in the morning and be back before Mary misses you."  He
looked at her hopefully.  She could tell that he had something hidden
planned, but did not ask; she was pleased to look forward to his
surprises and adventures with a trusting heart.

"Git!"  A commanding voice filled the room.  mary Littlefair bustled in
with a dinner tray.  "These two ladies need peace and quiet while they
eat, Mr. Anside."  Luthor found himself standing in the corner of the
small chamber, rather unsure as to exactly how he got bustled.

Serene caught his eyes with her smiling ones.  "Yes, Luthor." she
accepted his invitation without giving him away to Mary.  Her pillows
were fluffed and her tray set beside the bed as Luthor returned the
twinkle in her eyes and bowed out of the room.  Mista raised her hand as
he left - coincidence of course - and she and her mother proceded to
sup.

"He's an odd one, little Serene, don't you think he's been getting
overfond of you?"  asked Mary, and promptly stuffed a stew-soaked piece
of bread in Serene's mouth.

Unable to answer, Serene chewed obediently.

"Now, I know that he's had a wife, I just wonder what he thought of
having a companion, and -"

"And you're only thinking to take care of me,"  Serene finally finished
the bread and interrupted.  "Luthor Anside will always be Rachael's
husband, now and in Avalon.  I shall love only Mista's father in the way
that a woman loves a man.  But Luthor is Mista's godfather and midwife.
He walks in the Shadows, Mary, and I dance the Fog.  We are kindred
spirits, he and I, and we share a wonderful friendship.  Don't fret
about Luthor for my sake, Mary, it's not as though I'm going to be
running off to live with him."  She laughed broadly.  "Besides, I'm only
an eighth of his age!"

Mista gurgled and was shifted to nurse from Serene's left.  Mary knew
when she was about to lose the last word, and popped a particularly
large crust between Serene's lips.  "Well, he loves that baby well
enough it's true.  You just let me know that all is well, will you?" she
said and held the mug of milk to Serene's lips before the young woman
had time to answer.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Love and Peace and Parenthood,
             -The Dreamer-

Text by: The Dreamer and Laurie Alden (who wrote all the good parts)
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn