Solving a question of life and death

[Miri]

Minerva stood in her bedroom, staring at herself in the mirror.  The late afternoon light filtered in through the lattice walls making hazy patterns on the floor and picking out the highlights in her hair, but it did nothing for the way she looked.

Today, instead of her usual strapless green gown, she wore a plain dress of white silk. It even had sleeves.  The hue of the cloth matched her complexion almost flawlessly, so that it was hard to tell where the material stopped and her skin began.  The only things that set her apart from a simple ghostly white shape were the reddness of her lips and hair, and the vivid emerald green of her cat-like eyes.
She turned her head this way and that, trying to pick out other features, but the shadows were playing games, failing to fall where they should, sliding off her like water from pane of glass.  It almost seemed that they were avoiding her, that the inner-light of her true self was shining through the constraints of her elven body.
She sighed and turned away from her own reflection.  She looked, quite frankly, ridiculous in such pale clothing, but she had chosen it because it was apt for what was about to be done.

She had known it would come to this.  She had figured out the solution to her problem after the Gorn affair, whilst her body had been dying and she had been trapped within, unable to move, see, hear or feel.  She had known without a doubt that had the flesh died, she would have gone with it.  Odd that it should be such a way.

The body she usually wore, the form that all saw, was that of an elf, excatly like the one she was in now.  The differences lay in the making though.  Whereas normally the form would be constrcted of magic, as solid and real as that of any elf but lacking the frailties of flesh, when she had arrived in this world she had found it to be exactly as it looked: a true elven body.
Whilst that would not seem like a problem to many, the truth of full flesh was that it would not support her type of life.  Elves, and those of a flesh nature, needed food and water to survive.  Her people, however, were made purly of magic and spirit. It was magic she needed, not an uprooted plant or a slab of carcass to fill her belly.  So, even whilst the body grew strong, the Pixie inside grew weak through lack of sustenance.

She poured herself a goblet of berry wine and seated herself upon the end of the bed.  She refused point blank to pace in frustration and any thoughts of fear were quickly dismissed.  She had died before.  Once... Long ago.
This time, she would not die.  She would not see the Void again.
She would not allow herself to fail and fade.  Especially when her friends and daughter were counting on her to find a way home.
And that, she thought in resignation, is what had brought her to where she was now.

Waiting.

Waiting for the return of her husband.
Waiting to call upon an old promise.
Waiting for freedom.

[Eldarace]

Urian finally came to the forests he had begun to call home, he could see the lights of Eldanari in the distance, the cross roads where he now stoodcould either take him there or if he chose, he could move off the beaten track and find the home he shared with his wife, cousin, and almost daughter.  He had been away for many days trying to find himself again, he looked one more time to the glowing lights of the elven town, then turned his magical mount around moving to his home.

Dismissing his mount back to it's own plane, he opened the door of his home, he was pleased to see his wife up, pleased that she was alive, yet he was not pleased,by what she wore. Minerva always wore green yet she stood dressed in white, a colour he always hated, the colour of mourning.

'Who has died?' he asked Minerva

[Miri]

She heard her husband and felt the small surge of magic as he dismissed his spiritual unicorn before she saw him.
Eager to see him, she put aside her goblet and went downstairs.

She watched in anticipation and felt the warmth of love when she first saw his shock of white hair passing the lattice walls.  For once in her life, when there was no one to see, she simply stood in the centre of the room instead of rushing to greet the elf she had fallen for during the course of a terrible war.

The door swung open, silently as it had been designed, and there he stood.
Tall, slender and breathtaking perfect in every way, his sapphire eyes sparkling.

She watched demurly as his expression changed from joy to apprehension.

'Who has died?' he asked, his soft voice somehow harsh.

'No one yet,' she told him quietly.  'But soon someone will.  Me.'

[Eldarace]

Urian was shocked by her statement ' you will die' he said, and fell silent for a time

'i told you along time ago my love, you will only do that by my blades'

[Miri]

'Indeed, dear heart,' she replied, her tone soft but serious. 'And that is exactly what must happen.'

Urian said nothing, simply stood there and looked at her, his eyes narrowed as if he wondered whether she had gone mad.  But she knew that he could see she had not.  Her gaze was level, unwavering, her shoulders held straight and head high.  She was deadly serious, and by her stance she made sure that he knew it.

'Ever since we came here,' she explained.  'Things have been different for Celandra and I, as well you know.  I have been searching for a way to end that, to return us to what we are supposed to be.  I found the answer, my love and now I need your help to see it come about.  You must kill me, or else I fade when this body dies.'

[Eldarace]

His apuse was longer this time, she had just asked him to fulfill the promise he made to her all those years ago, yet on this world he was not sure it the act she has asked of him would not truely kill her.

He had to trust in her, after all she knew far more in the ways of magick than he ever could, he could hardly understand the basics. He looked at her and smiled, his lips parted and he began to chuckle.

'well my dear, i do threaten you with it at times, now you have called me out, to prove it, let us see if you can remember any of the moves i showed you'

With that he turned and left the house, once outside he called his magical Unicorn forth, Minerva followed suite, they galloped at speed to one of the world gates, leading to another part, wooded as the one they left, yet somewhat less welcoming. Once more he dissmissed his mount and then turned to face her

[Miri]

She followed without question, and dismissed the spirit form of Aesteriorn, her lifelong mount and companion, even as he did.
'You wish us to fight, my love?' she asked, her head tilted to one side.
Urian nodded, his features grim.
'Well then,' she replied with a nod. 'Before we do, know that the only way I will survive this is if you leave me a way out.  You must take my head, or another limb, my love.  Without a decently sized exit wound, I will not be able to escape this form.  Do you understand?'
He paused for a long moment, his eyes sparkling again, but this time with tears she thought.  Then he nodded just once.

Without further ado, she called forth the sword that had belonged to her father, and his mother before him, all the way back down the line of her family to the first High King himself.  Then, they began to dance.

Odd, she thought as she countered first one stroke and then another, how some things will become so significant at times like this.
In the one and a half thousand years they had known one another, Urian and she had rarely been apart at sunset, always sitting or walking together as the light faded and the stars began to show.  Now, the same was true, but instead of talking, they were fighting.  Instead of simply enjoying their closeness and the chance to be alone after another hectic day, they were dancing the blades.

It did not take long.
Her primary weapon had always been her unrivaled strength in magery, swords and the like taking a back seat to what she had known since the time of her birth.  Urian had tried to teach her over the years, but although she had improved greatly in the art os sword fighting since they had met, she had never been able to come close to his prowess.

Soon, her blade lay upon the soft earth and Urian had his twin swords to her throat.

'I love you,' she whispered.

Almost, he hesitated.  Almost, he dropped his swords and walked away.

He nodded, just the once, and then the blades came together.

For a moment, everything was dark.  She could not see, hear or feel.  For a moment, she thought that it had gone wrong, that she was back in the Void and soon she would be reunited with the child she had lost so long ago...

Suddenly, she felt a rush and she was free.
The stars shone brightly above, the wind sang in the trees and the crickets chirruped in the grass.  She looked around, seeing with her own eyes for the first time in a long time.
Once more she could see the magic emmited by every living thing in the vicinity as a hazy rainbow floating just above.  Once more she could see the ebb and flow of the magic stream as it wound its lazy way across the world.  Once more she could feel the life and the power.
And there, standing but a few feet away, was her beloved husband.

That he could look straight at her without having to sheild his eyes told her much about her current state.
Without stopping to think, she let the magic of the world flow into her, replenishing her strength and making her feel almost whole again.
She knew not to take too much. Not here, and not now.  This place could not give her all that she needed in one go.  So she stopped after a little while and resumed the elven form woven of magic that she had always worn before.

'Thank you, dear heart,' she whispered.  'I am free.'