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Morning sunlight slanted in through the window, tinted gently green by the curtain hung over the window. Del woke bit by bit, stirring slowly, almost reluctant to face the day when her bed was so comfortable and cozy and her body fit so perfectly beside the man she shared that bed with. She allowed her eyes to blink open, unhurried, breathing deep the smells of comfort and home.
The strangeness of that thought, of the mere idea of home, brought a smile to her face as she stretched. Warm, strong arms came around her, holding her close. There was no way Tiger was awake yet, but even asleep he wasn’t about to let her escape so easily.
She let her body go slack against him and allowed her mind to drift.
The warm, green-tinged light reminded her of a different home, one she had put behind her long ago, and one which would never exist again… at least not for her. It reminded her of sun-dappled northern forests, where she had played with her brothers and known the happiest times of her life. That home had been taken from her and could never be regained, but she could look back on it fondly, now.
Against all the odds, she had succeeded in her quest. She had avenged all those who had been lost and had brought an end to her mission and her song. She had sacrificed much to achieve that goal, it was true, but here she was: alive and happy, and with a family of her own. Her song might be finished but her life was far from over. Wherever her parents and her brothers were now, she hoped they knew that.
She missed them. She would always miss them. But she had other loves now, too, and a new home. A new green place.
Unlooked for, seemingly impossible, tucked away from view; it would have been so easy never to find this place. She remembered how it had felt, the simple joyful abandon of lying on her back in grass over her head. At the time she’d worried that her life was about to fall apart all over again and had found some little solace in the natural beauty of this place. She had come to think—and still did—that this place had been made for them, for her and Tiger.
It was perfection in a place, as close to the verdant beauty of her northern home as she was ever likely to get again, but set within the South that was Tiger's home no matter his true ancestry. And it was where she and Tiger had built this home, their home together. It was where they were raising their daughter. A true new beginning.
After all they had been through to get here, after all the times they had nearly lost each other, she rather thought they deserved that much.
Tiger roused as she rolled over to snuggle against him—her Southron sword-dancer, at turns exasperating and endearing, impulsive and surprisingly steadfast in his loyalty—and blinked open beautiful green eyes to catch her watching him. Green—the color was a thread that bound all her joys together.
She watched, considering this sudden observation, as Tiger worked his way to the realization that he had no hope of pretending to still be asleep.
“Isn’t it a little early for you to be up yet?” she teased, knowing full well that he’d stayed up later than he should last night, and that the bright morning light would only make him crankier than usual.
She kissed him lightly as he grumbled, promising, “I’ll let you sleep, then.”
But she only made it halfway out of the bed before he caught her, tugging her back in to kiss her soundly. The mischievous look in those green eyes told her he had other things than sleep on his mind and, as heat rose between them, she was only too happy to oblige.