Elven Roses

She jumped from the railing, and then struck an absurdly dramatic pose. Simultaneously, her voice shifted into an equally absurd imitation of a male baritone. "'Flowers fade, but if I could pick a sun, then I would bring it to you, for it would by far equal your radiant beauty!'"

Aldrec burst into laughter, which he quickly stifled with his hand.

"By the Divine …!" He exclaimed, after settling himself down. "Where did you find that old line at?" He stared at Mericlou, half in shock that something so eloquent and ridiculous at the same time had come out of her mouth.

"Some old file I read a long time ago," Mericlou said with a vague gesture. "It had a million of them; I thought I'd forgotten them, but …"

Aldrec grabbed at her waist, taking her completely by surprise. She yelped, and then laughed in amusement as he dipped her backwards.

"Then I think you've probably heard this one," he said, shifting himself into an overly-dramatic stance. "'Even if I put you on a mountainous pedestal by my words, then I will learn to fly, and soar to the heavens in order to kiss the face of the angel who will not come down!'"

Mericlou laughed hard and loud, and nearly fell out of Aldrec's arms. He caught her, and held her more securely. She felt herself blush, but for once did not mind.

"Oh, and … this one I really like," Aldrec said, barely able to stop his own laughter. "'Even though the peoples of this world are as grains of sand, they all seem alike, for my eyes see only your beauty!'"

Though he struggled to keep himself from laughing, Aldrec noticed that his voice sounded less childish, less forced and ridiculous.

That is, until Mericlou came out with, "And let's not forget the ever-so-popular, 'I want you so badly, I can taste you when I blink!'"

Both of them laughed so hard that Aldrec, losing his footing, staggered and stumbled down the bridge, tumbling into the grassy bank area beside the Selisna. Still holding onto Mericlou's side, he brought her down with him in the fall, but his elven reflexes caught himself short of falling on top of her.

And so they lay on the grass, Aldrec poised over Mericlou, his face as red as hers, both of them panting heavily from exhaustion … or perhaps something else entirely.

"That … wasn't elven," Aldrec finally said, beaming over Mericlou, her amber doe eyes dazzling fiercely up into his blue ones: water upon fire.