The Book of Vinwald

Several years passed, and during that time, it became quite obvious to nearly everyone in Twyla and Vinwald’s families that Vinwald had his eye, and his mind, set on Twyla. He spent less time with her brothers and more time with her, a fact that Arthur and Roland teased him mercilessly about, but only when Twyla herself wasn’t near. She seemed to be the only one oblivious to Vinwald’s feelings, and he intended to keep quiet on the subject until she was old enough to understand, and make up her own mind on the matter. He had admitted as much to his mother when she had cornered him on the subject, and she in turn had informed Twyla’s parents of the situation, which had certainly raised Vinwald’s character in the eyes of her father.



Twyla’s father was head of the city guard, and wanted better for his children. He had originally intended to see all three classed, but Arthur had upset that plan when he blatantly refused and announced his intentions to become a merchant. The reason for his refusal became clear when it was realized that he and the girl had had been courting had put the dessert before the meal, so to speak, and needed to have quite the hasty wedding.



Roland hadn’t disappointed, however, and had eagerly gone on to study the art of magic from the wizards of Dalaran, frequently returning home to visit his family. Twyla, the youngest of the three, had hopes of being classed as a priestess as her mother was, something which put quite the dent in Vinwald’s hopes regarding her. He himself hoped to be classed as a paladin as soon as he could scrape together the money for gear and training, but even as a paladin he would have more freedom in matters of the heart than a priestess would.



And that was even assuming that Twyla would return his affections when he told her how he felt towards her.



And while that was a worry that was frequently on his mind, there were some days when it got pushed to the side to make way for other, more pressing worries.



Currently, the most pressing worry on his mind was whether he should let her win in their footrace, or if he should try to win himself. Not that letting her win would be terribly difficult; she had grown up to be startlingly fast and agile. And she knew how to use her speed, agility, and small stature to the best advantage.



“Hey!” He cried out as she darted through a small space between a large boulder and a stand of trees and thick undergrowth, forcing him to go around and lose precious time. She merely laughed, looking back over her shoulder at him, golden locks of hair flying into her face, but she made no move to brush them away. She only turned, continuing her headlong run to their destination, a tall pine tree in the center of a small clearing. It was the tallest tree for miles, the clearing one of their favorite places to run off to.



She reached the tree and slammed her hands against the trunk as she came to a halt, before turning to face Vinwald as he ran into the clearing.



“I win again!” She crowed, still laughing and breathing heavily from exertion. He was laughing as well, also trying to catch his breath.



“You cheated.” He mock scolded as he moved towards her, “You know I couldn’t have slipped between that boulder and tree the way that you did.”



“Just because I’m smaller than you doesn’t mean I cheated!” She shot back with a grin, before flumping down on the grass, lying on her back in the shade of the tree while she stared up at the sky.



He stood for a moment, merely watching her, drinking in her appearance as if he would never see her again. Only fourteen, she was starting to outgrow her gangly, coltish frame and starting to develop the curves of a woman; though they were hardly noticeable in the hand-me-down shirt and trousers she wore. Her golden hair, normally kept tied out of her way in a low tail, was in wild disarray from their race, her cheeks flushed from the exertion.



“It’s a beautiful day today.” She finally sighed, looking up at Vinwald and giving him a smile, “Don’t you think so, baldy?” She teased as he sat down beside her.



“You say that every day, and don’t call me baldy.” He grumbled, rather darkly. Roland and Arthur, still not above playing practical jokes on a friend, had teamed up and manage to shave his head while he was sleeping one night. He still couldn’t figure out how they had managed to get through his bedroom window; it was on the second floor of the house, and he didn’t think it was big enough to admit either of them. They also refused to admit to the prank, which wasn’t like them either.



“Fine fine,” She was still grinning as she sat up, “But you do look better with your head shaved, you know.”



He gave a grin of his own at that. “I have been getting quite a few appreciative comments and looks lately. I suppose I should thank your brothers for that much, at least.”



She bit her lips at that, looking as if she wanted to scowl at him as well as if she was having difficulty in suppressing her laughter.



“What?” He demanded, “What’s so funny?”



“That was NOT the result I intended.” She finally admitted, giving a weak grin.



Vinwald gaped at her. “… You…?” He finally managed to ask, his mouth having suddenly gone dry. For one, he could barely imagine Twyla pulling such a prank (all right, yes he could, and quite easily at that) and two, because he had a tendency to sleep without any clothes on, and he also had a tendency to be a restless sleeper.



She was blushing now, looking only mildly embarrassed, but also quite pleased with herself. “Climbing up the masonry into your room was the easy part, shaving your head without waking you up was the hard part! You know, it would have been easier if you didn’t toss and turn so much!”



He recovered from his shock quickly, and, deciding to test the waters a bit, gave her an almost feral grin. “See anything you liked while you were increasing my appeal with the ladies?” He asked, receiving his answer when he flush darkened and she looked away from him.



“I…” Her voice cracked, and it was revealed that it was indeed possible for her blush to get even darker. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”



“Liar.” He murmured, his deepening voice a low, seductive rumble, “Look at me, Twyla.”



After a moment, she took a shuddering breath and turned to look at him, her expression one of embarrassment, uncertainty, confusion, and even a small bit of longing intermingled. He saw that expression, and felt a surge of hope; but then she stood and looked away, hiding her face from him.



“Don’t you have something to tell me?” She demanded suddenly, catching him by surprise.



Maybe I wasn’t as subtle as I thought… He thought ruefully, beginning to smile as he stood as well, almost towering over her slight form. “Quite a few things,” He agreed softly, “But I was waiting until you were ready before-”



She whirled on him not trying to hide her emotions this time, looking hurt and angry. “Until I was ready? By the light! How can I be ready for something like this?” She demanded, glaring at him. He reached out to catch her by her shoulders, worried she might try to storm off.



“Twyla-”



“I only just found out from Mother-” She was ranting, and he hurried to try to explain, leaving the both of them talking at the same time.



“-There isn’t exactly an ideal time to tell your best friend that you’re in love with them-”



“-asked my brothers and even they knew before I did-”



“-This isn’t how I wanted you to find out, believe me-”



“-so I asked your mother and she confirmed it-wait, what-?” She asked, looking started as his words finally registered.



Vinwald let out a growl of frustration. This was getting them nowhere fast, so he did the only thing he could think of to cut her off so he could eventually explain himself.



He pulled her into a searing kiss, pouring all his love, longing, frustration and hope into it, praying somehow she would be able to make sense of it all.



She went completely still in his arms, and Vinwald was about to pull away and claim momentary insanity to keep from embarrassing himself further, when she tentatively began to return the kiss, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck.



“Thank the light.” He managed to breathe out against her lips before kissing her again, gently coaxing her mouth open, tongue dueling with hers. She finally pulled back a moment, breaking the kiss and staring up at him as she tried to catch her breath.



Vinwald’s own breathing was ragged as he reached down to caress her cheek, “I have been looking forward to that for… A while.” He finally managed, “I wanted to wait before telling you, but since you managed to ferret out the secret before I could talk to you about it, I-”



“Vinwald, what are you talking about?” She demanded, confusion written across her face as her blue eyes scanned his features.



“That I love you.” He admitted, beginning to feel a little confused himself. “Isn’t that what you were talking about?”



“I was talking about your moving to Stormwind!”



Vinwald could have kicked himself. “Oh. That. Nothing is certain yet, but-”



“-And what is this about loving me? This had better not be some sort of cruel joke at my expense in return for shaving your head!”



“I would never joke about that.” He said seriously, eyes locking with hers. “Never. If you ever believe another word I say, believe that, at least.”



She looked uncertain, “And you’re saying everyone knew about it but me?”



He gave a reluctant nod. “Your brothers figured it out pretty easily, and when my Ma asked me I told her, and she told your Ma, but I asked them all to keep it quiet. Like I was trying to say, I wanted to wait until you were old enough to make up your own mind.”



She let out a groan, resting her forehead against his chest, before starting to laugh. Vinwald wasn’t quite certain what to make of that until she started speaking, her voice muffled, “And everyone has been teasing me about my crush on you since I was nine.” She managed, before lifting her head to look up at him again, flushed and smiling shyly, “Guess the joke is on us.”



“But I like the punch line.” He murmured, bowing his head to kiss her once more. It was a long time before he spoke again, “You know, you never acted like a girl with a crush.”



“Well, I thought it was hopeless.” She shrugged, pulling away and moving to sit on the ground one more, idly plucking at blades of grass as she spoke, “You were more my brothers’ friend than mine when it started, and even back then I knew it was hopeless, even if I know better now, because you’re hoping to be classed as a paladin and I thought I was going to be a priestess, and-”



“Wait. You thought? I thought you were going to be classed as a priestess, and there was no thinking about it.” He moved to sit down beside her.



She looked almost guilty, before she gave a faint, nervous smile. “Father talked to the trainers this morning. It was decided that I’m not meant to be a priestess.”



Vinwald couldn’t help but feel a rush of relief at her words, even though he knew she must be devastated by the destruction of her dreams. They had both studied hard towards their respective goals, and Twyla especially had let her faith in the Light shine and encompass nearly every aspect of her life. Vinwald had done similar in hopes of someday fulfilling his own hopes of being classed as a paladin. Still, this would make things far easier between them.



“I’m sorry, Twyla.” He said softly, reaching out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, “I-”



“Oh, don’t be.” She gave him that faint, nervous smile again, “You see, they believe the Light has shown a different path for me.” Vinwald frowned slightly, confused. “… I’m going to be classed as a paladin.”



Now he knew why she had looked guilty.



“A paladin?” He managed to ask, stunned. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought Twyla would be one to wear plate armor and heft a warhammer.



“I know it’s your dream,” She said quickly, “And I know that someday you will be a paladin and we’ll fight together, just…”



“Just not for a while.” He said after a moment, before forcing a smile. “Well, we always knew we wouldn’t be fighting alongside each other for a while yet. I have to finish scraping together enough gold to become classed first.” He tried to keep the bitterness from creeping into his voice, but didn’t do a very good job at it.



She reached out to cover his hand with her own. “If I could trade places with you, I would.” She said quietly, “You’re the one who always wanted to be a paladin, while I’ve only ever wanted to serve the Light. But you know how father is; he’s determined to see me classed, no matter what.”



“I know.” Vinwald gave a faint smile, before chuckling. “Looks like you get to be your own knight in shining armor now.”



She laughed, shoving his arm playfully. “You’ll never let me live that down, will you?”



“Nope.” He grinned, shoving her back, practically bowling her over as she didn’t fight to remain seated. He leaned down so their noses were nearly touching. “Not even when we’re old and gray.”



She kissed the tip of his nose. “You’ll always be my knight in shining armor, Vinwald. No matter what.”



“I rather like the thought of that.” He mused, before reluctantly pulling away. “We should probably talk about the other thing.”



She sat up, frowning slightly, “You mean your moving?”



He gave a nod, not looking at her. “Mother told me nothing was set in stone yet, but if what you heard is true, it’s as good as done.”



“Why are you leaving? I thought your parents liked it here.”



“I thought so too, but Pa says that there’s less and less work for a good mason about, while Stormwind is starting to rebuild and crying out for good masons.” Vinwald scowled at that, “And Ma is talking about opening up her own shop there, which means that it’s going to take even longer for me to get classed, because the money we had saved for it is going for the move and for her shop.” He heaved a sigh, looking over at her and giving a rueful smile, “And for you and me, the timing couldn’t be worse.”



“Yes it could.” She countered.



“How’s that?”



“We could have not said anything about it before you left.”



He chuckled at that. “True.”



“You will write to me, won’t you? For I intend to write you as often as possible, you know.”



“Of course I’ll write to you!” Vinwald tried his best to look affronted, before smiling tenderly at her. “And I expect you to be there to welcome me to the fold when I finally take steps to become a paladin.”



“You know I’ll always be there for you.” She smiled at him.



“Just as I’ll always be there for you.” He murmured, reaching up to caress her cheek.



“Always?” She asked with an impish smile.



“Always.” He agreed, drawing close to kiss her once more.



“I might just have to hold you to that.” She murmured against his lips, before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close.