GloriaComandini/QueEnFan_Corpus · Datasets at Hugging Face

“Oh..”, Artanis replied, trying to evade. “It just came to my mind that the knowledge would be important to gain.”

“Just like that?”

Oh, Irissё was clever. She did not radiate this gift of hers, but it was there and flared in the most inconvenient moments. Telling her about the vision was certainly an option, but not preferred.

Artanis’ silence had answered for her.

“So there is a story behind it.” Irissё sagged against the tree, her posture suddenly a bit sad. “Tell me about it?”

And so the blonde relented. “I had a vision of the deeply disturbing sort. I was in a dying forest of golden leaves and a monster was hunting me. No path was trodden, so I stumbled among the trees not knowing where to go, fleeing from whatever was after me. I never want to feel this helpless in a forest again.”

“I’m sorry you had to experience this”, Irissё whispered. “But know I am here for you if you ever need to go into such a forest ever. And don’t go alone, take someone with you.”

“Thank you”, Artanis replied, equally as hushed. The tension left her body. “You know, these visions, I never know if they will come true or not. It seems so unlikely”, she trailed off.

Irissё raised her eyebrows. “Your gift is strong.”

“Then why do I only get visions of death and danger and always this strange light? We are in Aman, these are secure lands!” Desperation crawled inside her heart. “I am sick of seeing destruction.”

“How much do you see?”

“Every fifth vision is a pleasant one”, she confessed.

“You never said anything!”

Artanis placed her face in her hands. “Do you think I want to tell my brothers that I saw them burning in fire? No. Especially as I cannot tell how and when, or even if this will happen.”

“If?”

“None of my visions have come true yet, save for the one about Finrod kissing Turgon. Which I never want to see again in my life, thank you.”

“Oh come on, every Eldar in Aman expected this to happen!” Irissё laughed“. At least those with eyes. Watching them literally dance around each other at the feasts was painful.”

“I agree”, Artanis whispered.

They were silent for a few moments.

Then Irissё whispered faintly. “Have you seen my future?”

Artanis shook her head. “No. Your future is shrouded in mystery for me, and I never asked the other ones gifted like this about it. We don’t share much. It is a burden.”

A relieved sigh came from her cousin. “I am glad for it. I do not wish such images upon you.”

“It wouldn’t be your fault.”

Irissё turned towards her and their gazes found each other. Her left hand sneaked over and grabbed Artanis’ right. “It would still feel like it. If you ever need to talk about your visions, I am there for you. As well as for more hunting lessons.” A bright grin split her face and again the blonde was taken aback by how beautiful she was, leaning against the tree. Her dark hair fell around her face, pushed forward to not stick to the bark too much. There was a small green leaf tangled among the locks. It suited her, almost like an ornament and certainly better than all those princesses’ circlets she had been given for court. Maybe there was an idea forming in her head.

Irissё squeezed her hand and Artanis jumped a bit.

“Where were you right now?”

“Right here.”

“And your thoughts, where did they stray?”, the huntress teased her.

‘Like the wind through your hair’, Artanis did not say. Instead, she opted for a simple “You”.

“Aww. I was thinking about you too”, Irissё said, her tone now dancing through the air.

Artanis actually blushed, giving her face a garish contrast to her yellow hair. She wanted to turn away, but also wanted to know what her cousin would say next.

“And what, exactly?”

“That you are so strong. You know, most of the boys think you’re weaker than them, because you do not like to swing a sword. But in truth, you bear so much more than they do. Carrying all those premonitions with you requires unparalleled strength of mind… And you are the most beautiful for it.”

Irissё thought her to be beautiful? The most magnificent elleth thought her, plain and blonde Artanis, to be..? This was a dream, it had to be. If her right hand had been free, she would have pinched herself. But, her fingers were intertwined with her cousin’s. And the fingers tightened a bit, telling her this was reality.

“I noticed your staring”, Irissё whispered and shifted closer. “Tell me, Artanis. Do you desire me?”

The wind was warm and their bodies were next to each other. It would be so easy for the blonde to reach out for her cousin, to shift even closer and answer. Shock held her motionless and she just breathed for a moment. The air was clear and carried the scent of wild berries. It took her a few moments to realize the smell was coming from Irissё, probably a perfume distilled of the fruits of the forest. Why hadn’t she noticed sooner? Now that her senses had picked up on it, it was overwhelming.

The seconds passed and still Artanis was unable to speak the truth, to open up to her cousin, who she desired indeed. It was more than a simple desire of the body.

She finally nodded and squeezed her cousin’s hand back.

The response was immediate. Irissё sat up and swung her right leg over Artanis’ body. She came to sit atop her, her face flushed, the long dark locks falling over her shoulders. She threw them back with a sway of her head, which moved her whole body. Artanis, who now lay underneath her favourite cousin, was reduced to staring. She was glad no witness was there, for their position was inappropriate. It felt good though, to have Irissё seated on her lower abdomen. Only a fraction of her weight was on Artanis’ body, the rest was balanced on the hunter’s knees, which were placed at Artanis’ sides. It left her with not many options how to place her hands. On her stomach, they would be painfully close to very private areas of Irissё’s body, and spreading them out would be awkward. She settled upon resting them on the upper legs of her beautiful cousin. The suede of her trousers was warm of her body and Artanis caressed this part of her friend with gentle strokes.

“You could have told me”, Irissё said and leant forwards, her hair now tickling Artanis’ breast. She was wearing the soft tunic her cousin had given here. It was a modest one, but with the lady sitting in the place she was, the tugging exposed her cleavage a bit. The contact with the hair was light as a feather, but enough to tell her how close their faces had come since the revelation of her desire.

“Could I?”, Artanis whispered back and raised her head a bit, coming closer. “I feared rejection, for you were out more often with the ellyn of the hunt.”

“Truly, I have been with an ellon of the hunt before”, Irissё replied, shifting atop Artanis with a gentle motion. “But my eyes are open for ellyth, too.”

The blonde breathed in sharply. “But the laws…”

“Are customs, not written in the great song.”

“But…”

“Relax”, Irissё said, moving again, her hips like small waves upon the shores of the world. “It takes more than a kiss and a tumble in the woods for a binding bond to form.”

“Oh”, Artanis said and relaxed. She had only heard vague things about marriage and the customs around it and was glad her cousin was knowledgeable in these matters as well. She needed her guidance, it seemed.

“May I kiss you, dearest cousin?”, Irissё whispered and came even closer. Her hips lifted slightly up and her weight vanished from her hips. The blonde mourned the loss for a moment until she remembered the question and nodded. Her stomach was doing a little twist of excitement as she saw Irissё’s eyes lighting up.