Since the incident in the forest, we spent time with Ykril in his home. He had even made from an unused room an extra bedroom for Sanise and built a small bed for Nimri out of branches and leaves. This silence was unusual for me. Even at home, my mother always drove me directly to training. But we enjoyed it and were able to relax and get to know each other much better. And the more I got to know about this cute Aasimar, the more attractive he became to me.
The first days I had set up a place to meditate by the fireplace and was pleasantly surprised that it was no problem for him. After the night of the soiree, I would have expected him to be more cuddly, but he shyly kept a respectful distance. When he went to the trouble of surprising me on Marpenoth 25 with a dinner from the Underdark at fairy fire, and we enjoyed a romantic and funny evening, over toadstool steak with myconid essence as well as fluorescent mushroom salad with cave grubs, I decided to sneak into his bedroom at night, stripped down to my underwear and snuggled up to his naked body. I had almost forgotten how warm and soft he felt, how good he smelled. And even though he hinted at intentions by unclasping my bra and tender caresses over my back, he left the final decision to me.

Sanise always sat at Nimri's bed with a children's book and read stories to him in the evening, which always made him squeal up happily. Even when I stood leaning against the door frame and watched them, she would just smile at me and read on. I was a bit worried about her, because she didn't seem to feel any need to go home, even though her parents lived here in Ramshorn too, and whenever I asked her she said that she was already at home. The additional absence of search messages made me a little bit thoughtful. Nobody seemed to miss her. I talked to Ykril, and he agreed that she would stay with us as long as she wanted. She cheered us up every second she was with us and showed us her childish ways that we would never think of. Even if she sometimes strained our nerves a lot, she was an enrichment for all of us.

Whenever the little ones were already in bed, Ykril and I sat down with a hot cup of tea in front of the fireplace for a while, cuddled up together, and just stared silently into the flames. It struck me repeatedly that he often stared apathetically against something and answered the question of what he was thinking about with ›nothing‹. Even when we went to the market together. As if he was remotely controlled. He also seemed to have no other interests than his work and me. I wonder what led him to such unusual behavior? He didn't seem to mind, and I couldn't complain that he would neglect me. On the contrary, he liked to take care of us, and above all, he tried to read every wish from my eyes.

During our morning walk, I noticed that many people were dragging a fir tree around. Since Ykril was unaware of any festivities, I asked some passers-by at the marketplace. They told me about the Snow-Festival¹, celebrated for a few weeks every year beginning on Nightal 21 with the first snow. I remembered that my father had told me about it, but we never celebrated it because my mother didn't want us to get used to too many traditions from the world above. She always said they would only make us soft and worship the false gods. But I was sure that Sanise and Nimri would be very happy about it and I could give my Ykril a present too. So I grabbed Nimri and got us one of those trees and some jewelry for it, and later, without Nimri, I went back to this unique store and bought some lingerie to surprise Ykril a little bit.

(c) Art by Amionna

When I came out of the store, Sunih suddenly stood in front of me. But not in the way I remembered her, in her peasant clothes, but in a reinforced suit with daggers attached to her belt. Apparently, the messenger I sent a few days ago with news about Ykril came through to them. Hectically I tried to hide the bag with the lingerie behind me.
»Where's my brother?« She started rumbling.
»Nice to see you too.«
»Don't be a friend now. It's all your fault, so take me to him. Now!« she brought out in anger and tugged at me.

We entered the living room, where Ykril, Sanise, and Nimri joyfully decorated the tree with these balls, candy canes, and tinsel.
»Ykril? Here is someone who wants to talk to you.« I said calmly while Sunih eyed him.
The shock I feared did not happen; instead, he just came up to us and briefly checked Sunih.
»Who have you brought?« he asked cautiously.
»It's me, your sister Sunih« it came desperately from her, while she tried to turn his head to her »What happened to you? What has this Drow done to you?«
»This Drow has done nothing wrong to me!« he growled »And what sister? I have no siblings.«
»You do« I assured him »She is your sister.«
After a short glance at me, he looked at Sunih again.

I gave Sanise some gold pieces and asked her to take Nimri with her. Actually, I wanted to go with them, as it was a family matter, but Ykril insisted that I stay. The next few hours had little to do with the friendly snow festival as it was described to me. From Sunih, only reproaches came to me, and Ykril tried to defend me all the time. It was remarkable that he argued with someone he didn't seem to know because they blamed me for his condition. I didn't know what to do, so I continued to sit tensely in silence on the sofa, watching them.
»Listen, brother. After you saved her, you disappeared without a trace, and now I found you here, without any memory and without your wings, in a completely different life which is not yours!« she argued.
»Wait? I had wings? – And what guilt should Naldela share?«
»She is a Drow! Drow cannot be trusted!« she became louder
»And if she were a gnome, I wouldn't care!«
»A gnome wouldn't run you into trouble. Did you know that there's a bounty of 500 platinum pieces on her head? Doubled if alive!« she held up a wanted poster of mine.
›Wow. 500 platinum pieces. Double if one delivers me alive. He could live a long carefree time if he would deliver me and expand the farm. Maybe I should turn myself in?‹ I thought while still looking anxiously, waiting at his reaction, for which I did not have to wait for long.
»I will strangle anyone who tries to lay a hand on her!« it came decisively from him.
»But we could also use the gold for the farm!«
»No« he shouted, grabbed the wanted poster, and tore it up.
»You would risk your life for a Drow?«
»No, not for a Drow. But for Naldela!«
It was indescribable, and I was deeply touched. He did not care about all that gold. He did not even hesitate for a second.

Sunih addressed the rescue again a few hours later, and Ykril wanted to know more. I told him everything I knew, also that I was initially only in Ramshorn to kill Tarlyn.
»How long have you known that it was me?« he asked with a slight disappointment hardly to overhear.
»When you awoke that night, Marpenoth 2, from a nightmare, and your scars on your back struck me.«
»Why haven't you told me?«
»Because it was not necessary to me. We had found each other, and that was enough for me.« I tried to defend myself, slightly desperate.
He looked at me in a blank stare, and I hoped so much that he did not resent me for my silence
»Is that why you fled the following day?«
»I left because I didn't want to endanger you.«
He looked at me in silence for a while before he went to the window and stared outside. My heart was in my mouth. As always, his feelings and thoughts were difficult to discern from his facial expression.
»I don't care what you think about Drow, Sunih!« he began resolutely »It may be true for some of them, but not for her!«
»But …« Sunih was about to begin when she was interrupted by Ykril
»But nothing! If you're really my sister, you accept my decision! And how about getting to know her before you judge?«
She did not reply but began to tell him about his life as a simple farmer, his brother Zalen and his parents Akim and Kira. With every detail from his past, the blockade that had taken away his memories seemed to dissolve. When she began to tell about the Drow attacks on the farm, in every macabre detail, always emphasizing the word Drow, I got up and sat down in front of the door on the step to the entrance of the house, buried my face in my hands and began to cry. I was afraid that with all the knowledge from his memories and Sunih's detailed accounts of the attacks, he could not be the one who he had been the last weeks. What if he moves away from me because I am a Drow and never wants to see me again? I could not bear the thought. Not after the last weeks with him, when we became so close. The discussion in the house became more heated and louder, so that probably already the neighbors would soon spread new gossip in the city.

When it became silent after a long time, I felt a warm blanket being thrown over me. Ykril, who wordlessly sat down next to me, held out a handkerchief and took me in his arms.
»I'm a Drow. One of the race who attacked your farm over and over again« I babbled quietly and sobbingly »And I lied to you by withholding my knowledge of you from you.«
»And you are the one I love« he quietly added to my sentence »No matter what race you belong to - I freed you from imprisonment because I fell in love with you at first sight – And nothing has changed my feelings for you« he gently stroked my cheek and gave me a kiss on the forehead
»At first, neither of us knew who the other one was, and yet we found each other again. If that's not fate« he sounded so confident, as if he would not let himself be influenced by anything or anyone. I snuggled up to him, put my head on his shoulder, and closed my eyes.

I don't know how long we sat there in silence, but we were interrupted by Sunih.
»Do you two lovebirds ever come back in again? I've put on fresh tea – and why the heck do you only have mint tea in the house?«