Dragons of Spring Dawning - Margaret Weis [177]
“What about you, Tas?” Tanis asked the kender with a smile as he came trudging up to the group, lugging a water-skin he had filled at a nearby creek. “Will you come back to Kalaman with us?”
Tas flushed. “No, Tanis,” he said uncomfortably. “You see, since I’m this close, I thought I’d pay a visit to my homeland. We killed a Dragon Highlord, Tanis”—Tas lifted his chin proudly—“all by ourselves. People will treat us with respect now. Our leader, Kronin, will most likely become a hero in Krynnish lore.”
Tanis scratched his beard to hide his smile, refraining from telling Tas that the Highlord the kenders had killed had been the bloated, cowardly Fewmaster Toede.
“I think one kender will become a hero,” Laurana said seriously. “He will be the kender who broke the dragon orb, the kender who fought at the siege of the High Clerist’s Tower, the kender who captured Bakaris, the kender who risked everything to rescue a friend from the Queen of Darkness.”
“Who’s that?” Tas asked eagerly, then, “Oh!” Suddenly realizing who Laurana meant, Tas flushed pink to the tips of his ears and sat down with a thud, quite overcome.
Caramon and Tika settled back against a tree trunk, both faces, for the moment, filled with peace and tranquility. Tanis, watching them, envied them, wondering if such peace would ever be his. He turned to Laurana, who was sitting straight now, gazing beyond into the flaming sky, her thoughts far away.
“Laurana,” Tanis said unsteadily, his voice faltering as her beautiful face turned to his, “Laurana, you gave this to me once”—he held the golden ring in his palm—“before either of us knew what true love or commitment meant. It now means a great deal to me, Laurana. In the dream, this ring brought me back from the darkness of the nightmare, just as your love saved me from the darkness in my own soul.” He paused, feeling a sharp pang of regret even as he talked. “I’d like to keep it, Laurana, if you still want me to have it. And I would like to give you one to wear, to match it.”
Laurana stared at the ring long moments without speaking, then she lifted it from Tanis’s palm and—with a sudden motion—threw it over the ridge. Tanis gasped, half-starting to his feet. The ring flashed in Lunitari’s red light, then it vanished into the darkness.
“I guess that’s my answer,” Tanis said. “I can’t blame you.”
Laurana turned back to him, her face calm. “When I gave you that ring, Tanis, it was the first love of an undisciplined heart. You were right to return it to me, I see that now. I had to grow up, to learn what real love was. I have been through flame and darkness, Tanis. I have killed dragons. I have wept over the body of one I loved.” She sighed. “I was a leader. I had responsibilities. Flint told me that. But I threw it all away. I fell into Kitiara’s trap. I realized—too late—how shallow my love really was. Riverwind’s and Goldmoon’s steadfast love brought hope to the world. Our petty love came near to destroying it.”
“Laurana,” Tanis began, his heart aching.
Her hand closed over his.
“Hush, just a moment more,” she whispered. “I love you, Tanis. I love you now because I understand you. I love you for the light and the darkness within you. That is why I threw the ring away. Perhaps someday our love will be a foundation strong enough to build upon. Perhaps someday I will give you another ring and I will accept yours. But it will not be a ring of ivy leaves, Tanis.”
“No,” he said, smiling. Reaching out, he put his hand on her shoulder, to draw her near. Shaking her head, she started to resist. “It will be a ring made half of gold and half of steel.” Tanis clasped her more firmly.
Laurana looked into his eyes, then she smiled and yielded to him, sinking back to rest beside him, her head on his shoulder.
“Perhaps I’ll shave,” said Tanis, scratching his beard.
“Don’t,” murmured Laurana, drawing Tanis’s cloak around her shoulders.