Arlana walked into the forest until she couldn't hear the camp any more. Stretching out her senses, she felt the fairies again, all around now that she was deep into the trees. Then she felt them move, streaming past her to converge at some point ahead. She followed at a trot, laughing as she ran, headless of the direction.

She popped out into a clearing. And froze. The bonfire blazed huge in the center of the dirt and twig strewn space. The circling trees seemed to stretch out and upward in the dancing shadows from the fire. Here, this deep into the woods, much of the evening light was cut off so that the bonfire was dazzling against the growing dark.

Around the fire, they danced. Circling, twirling, leaping, and running. They skipped and pirouetted at a dizzying speed to a music Arlana could only hear when she reached out to the surrounding magics. The music colored the magics in bright, living rainbows that she saw as clearly as felt. The sound, the feel, the sight of the fairy dance made her heart thrum faster. Giddiness and energy flowed through her, around her, so she could think of nothing but the dance. And every muscle, every fiber of her body pulsed with the need to join in.

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The change came so suddenly she only had an instant to notice, to feel the coalescing power, before the rectangle of impenetrable black opened at the opposite end of the clearing. Arlana blinked. He stepped from the blackness and stood for a moment simply looking into her eyes.
She couldn't look away. The living light of black that was his eyes moved into her, over her, held her in place. He walked toward her then with the grace of a mountain cat, slowly, circling the fire until he was only a few feet away. Then he stopped. Annoyance, and something that could have been anger waved through his black eyes.

The shift in his eyes freed her, allowed her to look away, and she noticed for the first time that the fairies no longer danced around the fire. They danced and circled her, making her their fire. She looked back at him. He tried to take a step closer and snarled viciously when he couldn't get near her.

The anger was replaced by a beseeching look shot into her eyes, pulling her toward him. Come to me, my love. In that instant, Arlana felt helpless to prevent her body from moving forward. And she didn't care. She wanted, needed to go to him.

The fairy dance whirled wildly around her as she took her first step. The fairy music in the magic surrounding her pulsed and clashed and screamed. But nothing stopped her forward movement, until she stood an arm's length from him. And went no further. The fairies now spun in a tight circle around her, preventing her from moving any closer to him. When he reached out to her, his hand couldn't move beyond the ring of whirling dancers.

Arlana? Please.

She stared into the black depths of his eyes and trembled.

Just beyond the throbbing of her own pulse and the now frantic fairy music, Arlana heard her name again. Spoken aloud by a familiar voice. He looked away from her eyes, past her shoulder toward the forest at her back. His upper lip drew back.

Arlana turned her head to look behind her. She heard her name being shouted again, this time closer. When she looked back at the man from her nightmares, he was backing away, retreating to the black door through which he'd first appeared. Just before stepping into that light devouring blackness, he met her gaze. Next time my love.

Her knees weakened and her pulse raced at his promise. She stared numbly at the door as he disappeared inside and it collapse in on itself. A deafening silence, so sudden it was loud, filled the clearing. She stood with her mind a blank and her ears ringing in the oppressive quiet.
When hands clasped her shoulders from behind, she screamed.

"Arlana!" Oric's voice broke through her numb panic. She looked around wildly as if she'd just come out of a dream. The clearing was empty. No fairies. No fairy music. No sign of the bonfire. And no black-eyed man. She started to shake so hard her teeth chattered together. "Arlana?"
She looked up and saw concern in Oric's brilliant blue eyes. She took a long shaky breath and straightened away from him, pulling in her control by an act of pure will. After several moments, her body stopped trembling and her heartbeat slowed. She glanced around one last time. Nothing to indicate anything had been in the clearing only moments before but her. She gave Oric a weak smile and said, "You startled me, Lord Commander."

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing. Nothing. I was just... just thinking. Not paying attention to my surroundings."

"I do not think you are telling me everything, my lady," he said quiet and even, his gaze narrowing. His entire body seemed to quiver with tension, as if the slightest movement would snap his control.

"Nothing happened," she insisted.

"What are you doing here all alone?" His voice was so gruff it was almost unintelligible.
She swallowed. "Walking."

He grabbed hold of her shoulders and pulled her roughly against him, the move so fast she couldn't react. "Never, ever leave the camp without an escort, Arlana. Do you understand? Never."

"I'm not a child." An edge of resentment crept in under her shock. "I'm perfectly able to take care of myself on a short walk in my home forest."

His jaw muscles jumped and his teeth ground together. Bringing his face very close to hers, he hissed, "I am responsible for your safety, Arlana. And while your safety is my responsibility, you will do as I say. Never again leave the camp without an escort."

His breath was hot against her face. His eyes and the set of his hard mouth left no room for argument. Instinctively, she wanted to argue with his high-handed command. She wasn't a child anymore damn it. But the breeze shifted and the scent of sandalwood washed over her. She swallowed hard against a renewed rush of panic. "Very well, my lord," she mumbled, forcing words through a throat closing with fear.

Her sudden acquiescence deepened his frown. "You are not well, my lady. What happened? Are you injured?"

"I'm not injured. But I'd like to return to the camp now, if we could."

The hands clamped on her shoulders relaxed. "As my lady wishes." He took a single step away from her, took her arm in his and led her wordlessly back to camp.

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