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Bellara let her hart graze untied, calmed by the deep shade in the forest. The trees were enormous, probably the biggest she’d ever seen. Without the occasional flash of sunlight, she might have believed it was nightfall.
“Blink, dear,” Neve teased as she trotted up to where Bellara stood, dazzled. She dismounted gracefully, having taken to riding quickly and with determination. After only a few weeks, she looked as if she had been riding harts her entire life.
Bellara liked that.
“It’s just...” Bellara was lost for words for several breaths. She circled her hand over her head to make her brain move again. “The branches are higher than a giant’s head.”
Neve looked up as well, still holding her hart’s reins. She wasn’t completely convinced yet that her ride wouldn’t run off without her. “I’ve never seen trees like this before,” she said, the barest hint of awe in her tone. “Makes you feel very small.”
“Like a bug,” Bellara agreed.
Neve smiled at her, genuinely and beautifully. Her real smiles were rare; Bellara felt incredibly blessed to be in this place with this woman. Blessed by the titanic trees and the little brown nugs and the clear, rushing water. Bellara didn’t need gods here.
The trees reminded Bellara of Neve’s strong thighs, all the more toned from traveling, which also made her feel small. She tried, unsuccessfully, to think about something else. And so she blushed, delighted both by her surroundings and by her thoughts of Neve.
“Why do they call this place the Emerald Graves?” Neve asked. “Seems very alive to me. The Emerald Riverlands would have been a much better name.”
“Oh, that’s because the Emerald Knights are buried here. But the Emerald Riverlands is still a nice name. Many of the trees were planted to honor the elves guarding the Dales against the Chantry.”
“Huh,” Never said curiously. “I can see that.”
“There was an Exalted March here. But somehow it doesn’t make me feel sad. Instead, everything here feels like…abundance.” Bellara said quietly. Neve watched the forest, Bellara watched Neve. “Like the world knows how to recover from something terrible if we just help it along a little.”
Never turned to her with a thoughtful look. “You just might be onto something there….”
The trip was meant to clear their heads a little, see something new. And Bellara was seeing so many new things, including the spark returning to Neve’s eyes. She wasn’t ready for this, not yet. She kept her love close, just the warm feeling in her belly and the slight quickening of her heart. Even if Neve felt the same, which Bellara was starting to suspect she might, she wasn’t ready.
The birds called, pulling Bellara’s attention back to her environment, shyly nudging at a fern with her toes. “Maybe…we can learn a lot here. I think we can.”
Never stretched out her arms into the breeze and took a deep breath. “Me too.”