Later that evening, Hwestlaeriel stood in front of her looking glass. She carefully untied her hair and let it flow down. It now reached just below her backside. She combed it out for a bit. The dusty blonde of her hair was nearly the same color of her skin.
She quickly slipped out of her gown and put on a robe. She licked her fingers and put out each lit candle in her room. She slipped through the cottage and out into the night.
She stood briefly under the stars, looking up. The stars glittered above her.
"Daemithroch!" Hwestlaeriel hissed into the night. A gentle clatter of hooves could be heard, then the misty-grey colored horse could be seen emerging from the night.
Hwestlaeriel carefully slipped up on top of Daemithroch. The horse cantered quietly into the dark. Trees slipped past Hwestlaeriel as she moved deeper into the woods.
Suddenly, the trees ended. Daemithroch stood still as Hwestlaeriel slipped off of him. She had reached her pond. It was only about twenty yards in diameter and, at deepest, was about seven feet. The moonlight glimmered on the water.
Hwestlaeriel slipped out of her robe and quietly climbed into the water.
**********
Hwestlaeriel swam for about an hour. She knew that her parents would probably look in her room at any moment to see how she was. She quickly climbed out, slipped back into her robe, and mounted Daemithroch. They silently cantered back to the cottage.
Hwestlaeriel dismounted. Dameithroch briefly nuzzled her, then trotted into the night. Hwestlaeriel slipped into the cottage and moved into her room.
She put her robe away and climbed silently into bed. She rested in the Elvish manner, with her eyes open, and let her thoughts drift.
Her mind drifted to fields and castles, heroes and maidens, romance and tragedy, and all other adventures that she had never experienced. She silently cursed that she had never been out of the forest or even more than a few miles away from her cottage.
She sighed and went back to her thoughts, allowing them to quench her desires for heroism for at least one more night...
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"I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each others dreams, we can be together all the time." - Hobbes of Calvin and Hobbes
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