The ice storm had come out of the south, howling like a horde of draconians before it swept over the weary travelers. Laurana felt the wind whipping her hair around her head as she struggled to pitch her tent before the full fury of the storm arrived. She looked up from her work as Sturm walked over, bent into the wind. He had the hammer he had been using to drive the tent supports into the ice they crossed in his hand.
�Let me!� he yelled over the wind. Laurana smiled gratefully as he took the support she had been struggling with and hammered it into the ice with a few precise blows. Together they finished attaching the tent to the ice, hopefully well enough to stand up to the storm.
The storm front was like a white wall as it swept down on them. Laurana saw Gilthanas, Derek, and Elistan crawling into one tent while Flint and Tas ducked into the other. �Get in!� yelled Sturm, holding the tent flap open for her as the snow obscured any view of the others. With snow splattering over her face and hair, Laurana ducked into the tent with Sturm right behind her.
�Where did that come from?� she asked as she tossed her pack into the corner of the tent.
�I�ve heard stories of them. We should be alright as long as the wind doesn�t get too much stronger,� Sturm said, wiping the snow from his long mustaches.
�Do you know how long they last?�
�No,� Sturm said with a shake of his head. �But a storm this strong can�t last too long. No more than a day.�
Laurana sighed and began to unroll her bedroll. �I feel sorry for Flint, he�s trapped in his tent with Tas,� she said, unable to hide her grin. To her surprise, Sturm grinned back.
�We may have one less kender to worry about after this,� he said, both
of them laughing.
�-so then we flew back on the tinker�s ship,� Sturm said and took a sip from his mug of tea. Laurana stared at him over the small oil fired camp stove that she had been lucky enough to have in her pack. They had made some soup and tea with it, she felt sorry for the others who probably had to dine on leftover hardtack and jerky.
�You flew to Lunitari? The moon?� she finally said wonderingly. Sturm would never lie, it was against the Oath and the Measure which he followed rigorously. Still, she wondered if that precluded tall tales.
�Yes,� he said simply. �After that, I headed north and-� He stopped, pain clear in his eyes.
�I�m sorry, I shouldn�t have asked you about before,� Laurana said. Sturm shook his head and smoothed his mustaches reflexively.
�No, do not be. But it is late perhaps we should be retiring.� Laurana nodded in response and set her mug aside as she moved over to her bedroll. She heard a gasp from Sturm as she pulled her tunic over her head. Blushing, she belatedly remembered that Sturm held a different standard of modesty than she did. Used to the forests of Qualinesti, she had been accustomed to running around in only a long tunic and sandals, at least when she wasn�t at the royal court.
�I�m sorry,� she said sheepishly as she quickly tugged on the thick flannel nightgown she had been given by one of the human refugees from Pax Tharkas. �I forgot about-�
�No need to apologize,� Sturm said, his eyes firmly shut and facing
away from Laurana. �While normally it would be indecent of me to be sharing
a tent with you, I believe the circumstances have forced us. I cannot complain,
for I did not think of the problem earlier when I might have done something.�
He flushed and cursed himself as he heard the elf slipping out of her pants,
the fabric whispering across her skin as she slid into her bedroll. His
imagination was working furiously, filling his mind with scandalous images
of
Laurana�s slender waist and the graceful curve of her flank and stomach
up to the twin mounds of her brea- He stopped himself and began to mutter
the Canticle of Huma under his breath in Old Solamnic, forcing himself
to concentrate on it instead of her. Tanis was dead, buried in the ruins
of the inn and yet here he was, thinking of Laurana in a horrible manner.
He cursed himself again. He truly never would be a knight if he could not
control himself.
�I�m decent,� she said. Sturm turned and saw that she had tucked herself into her bedroll, leaving only her head uncovered. He tugged off his boots and slid into his bedroll, still wearing his clothes.
�Aren�t you going to be uncomfortable?� Laurana asked. If their bedrolls had been of human make, she would likely be fully dressed, probably with her coat and furs on as well. But the dwarves had managed to craft a bedroll that was warm enough so that even in the chill of the Ice Wall they were warm and comfortable. �I can close my eyes if you want.�
�That won�t be necessary,� Sturm said as he leaned over to blow out the lamp. In the darkness that followed he said, �I�m used to sleeping like this.�
�Oh. I�m sorry about undressing like that. I guess I�m still used to how Tanis and I used to sleep when we would camp-� She stopped, realizing that she was only embarrassing the knight further. With a whispered, �Goodnight,� she lay down and turned on her side flushing in embarrassment.
Staring up into the darkness and listening to the wind howling around the tent, Sturm reached into his belt and pulled out the jewel that he had been given in Tarsis. What was it that Laurana had called it? A Starjewel. Listening to her talk of Tanis had roused uncomfortable feelings in him. If she and Tanis could hope for love, could he and Alhana? Both he and Tanis would die far before the elven women, but before then-
He stopped and clenched his free hand. No, such thoughts are not appropriate
to a knight, he thought fiercely. But I�m not a knight, came a nagging
little voice in his head. Sighing, he held up the Starjewel and watched
it. The jewel seemed to shine with a light of its own, even in the pitchdark
of the tent. Idly, he turned it in his hand and then pressed it to his
heart, his mind filled with the alluring face of Alhana Starbreeze...
Alhana Starbreeze shifted in her sleep and moaned, thinking of the dragon�s attack in Tarsis. She slept beside the bed of her father with her head cradled in her arms. She and the rest of the companions had managed to struggle through the nightmares of the woods surrounding the Tower of the Stars. Now they rested. Her dreams turned to the knight who had helped her survive the attack, the feel of his arms around her as they huddled in a doorway.
Hearing her moan, Tanis stood and walked down the hallway from where
he had been standing guard. Raistlin had said they were safe now that the
Dragon Orb had been defeated,
but Tanis couldn�t sleep anyway. He peeked around the edge of the door
and was relieved to see that she was now sleeping soundly.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Seeing Silvanesti, even as perverted as it was now, brought memories of Qualinesti back to him. Seeing Alhana reminded him of another elf maiden, one who probably thought he was dead. He shook his head and leaned against the doorjamb, looking out across the balcony that lined the inside of the Tower towards the main chamber where his friends slept. Laurana, he thought longingly. He thought of Alhana and the gift she had given Sturm. A Starjewel, something usually only given between lovers so that they could communicate from afar. He smiled. And do other things, he thought. He almost laughed at the thought of the staid and proper Sturm using the Starjewel for its secondary purpose.
He walked forward and leaned against the edge of the balcony railing, looking down at the people sleeping below. Tika was leaning against Caramon�s broad shoulder, fast asleep while the burly warrior watched over his brother. Riverwind and Goldmoon lay together, curled up in their blankets. Let�s see, he thought. If the Starjewel did what the stories said it did, then those with them could share amorous dreams as if they were together. Tanis sighed, he wished he had one of the jewels to share with Laurana. But what was it the Loremasters said? Something about it only working properly between two members of the Silvanesti royalty. Something to do with the gift of sending thoughts that only the Silvanesti royal house could use.
Unseen by him or by Alhana, the Starjewel she wore flashed...
Laurana suddenly awoke, her mind suddenly filled with thoughts of Tanis. She blinked rapidly and rubbed her eyes as she felt tears welling up. He was dead, buried beneath the rubble of the Red Dragon Inn in Tarsis. Here, in the darkness with no one to see, she began to cry softly. She wanted him so badly, wanted to feel his arms around her, wanted to feel his lips, even with that awful beard of his. She was so tired, of the fighting of the killing, of everyone looking to her for leadership. She wondered if he had felt like this and began to sob, remembering how everyone took it for granted that he would lead, that he would be there. And never a word of thanks.
Sturm woke to the sound of someone crying. �Alhana?� he whispered into the darkness. He remembered how scared she had seemed as the dragons had swept in over Tarsis. �My lady?� He stood slowly, and crept across the tent. �Lady Alhana?� he whispered as he knelt by her side.
Laurana looked up, her elvensight showing her Tanis� face. �Tanis?� she said in amazement. She watched as he knelt by her side and reached out to smooth back her hair. �A dream...� she sighed and reached up to stroke his face. But one she�d enjoy. �Tanis,� she sighed and leaned back, pulling him down to kiss him. For some reason he didn�t have a beard but he did have a mustache.
Sturm froze at Alhana�s sudden kiss. She was obviously distraught by the attack and was seeking comfort. As a knight he couldn�t take advantage of her in this situation. But I�m not a knight, he thought, remembering how Derek seemed to enjoy emphasizing that fact. And her lips were so warm and soft- Cursing himself for a weakling, he returned her kiss, feeling her tugging at his clothes.
Laurana moaned in pleasure as she moved over and opened the bedroll. The chill air of the tent raised goosebumps along her bare skin. Tanis slid into the bedroll and closed it over them, his body pressed against hers. His cock was already hard as he lifted himself over her, her legs spreading as wide as they could in the confines of the bedroll. He drove himself into her with a barely repressed hunger, rocking her body as he bent to kiss her again, his hips driving into her with a steady rhythm.
Sturm shuddered at the feel of Alhana. He kissed her warm lips and then buried his face in the soft mass of her black hair. Moaning her name, he thrust deep into her, feeling her soft breasts rubbing against his chest. He felt the desire he so ruthlessly pushed down flooding to the surface, seizing control of him and sending him over the edge.
Laurana shuddered in pleasure with each of Tanis� thrusts. He was pounding into her, his lips running over her neck and ear as he moaned hoarsely. She wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him deeper. She began to gasp as his tempo increased, her arms tight around him as she felt her body rocking, her hips nearly lifted into the air. �Tanis,� she moaned and then screamed as she felt herself coming.
Sturm felt Alhana tighten around his cock and heard her gasping his name. He kissed her hard, crushing their lips together as he moved one of his hands up to grasp her breasts. The feel of her soft flesh beneath him and the motion of her hips as she furiously bucked upward was too much for him. With a low groan he came, thrusting himself as deep as he could and letting his head fall forward.
In the sweaty aftermath, they lay together. Laurana rested her head
on Tanis� chest, her hand intertwined with his as they slowly drifted off
to sleep.
END