But Koell did not reach the staircase, as from a turn in the hallway Kaehlin appeared, his muscled form blocking his son�s path, cold crimson eyes glaring down on him. Kaehlin was lacking a shirt, and from the shining surface of his gray skin it appeared he had been working out. Koell bit his lip and frowned, looking away from his father purposefully but Kaehlin reached out and grabbed one of his son�s horns, forcefully turning his head back to face him. Koell�s amber eyes sparkled lightly as he met Kaehlin�s gaze, still damp from his time outdoors. Kaehlin spoke first, his voice deep and threatening which only added to his son�s unease.

�Where have you been, boy?�

�Seeking mother, of course.�

Kaehlin sneered unpleasantly at the answer, and Koell watched out of the bottoms of his eyes as his father clenched both fists into tight balls, making his knuckles turn paler than before. Koell remembered the beating he had received by those hands only days ago when his mother had left them; he still bore the bruises to remind him.

�And where do you think you�re going now?�

Koell frowned at the question, looking up the staircase over his father�s shoulder almost as an answer to the question in itself.

�Only to my room, father.�

Kaehlin�s response made the younger man blink in surprise, as the tiefling opened his thin gray lips and began to laugh in a way that made his pointed fangs overly obvious. After a moment Kaehlin fell silent again, staring down at his son in disgust. The damn boy had such a nerve to take hospitality after leveling his father with a double axe and driving Am�naelihn away?

�Wrong answer. You�re not welcome here, boy.�

Koell�s eyes widened, though he knew really he should have seen it coming. He opened his mouth to protest his innocence, but it was futile as Kaehlin cut him off with a sharp reply.

�Get the fuck out of my house and don�t ever come back. Now!�

Koell bit back the retort that was hovering on his tongue, for he knew it would lead to another brutal beating at best. Slowly Koell turned around on his heels, gritting his fanged teeth hard, and made for the door. Kaehlin simply watched him, making certain he did not disobey the command and turn back around. But Koell didn�t, for he knew better, and snatching up his sodden cloak from its hook, he swung the garment over his folded wings and left the manor; the search for his mother would continue, then.

-

In the past few days she had admired and inspected her new appearance countless times, gazing into various mirrors and reflective surfaces at the slim and angular face staring back at her. It had taken Am�naelihn a while to remember exactly how she had lost her ethereal celestial appearance to be replaced by this slender Elven body, but even now the memories poured back to her like a gate had been opened within her mind.

She remembered how her elven friend Cae�ratheuil had aided her, tending to the wounds that her lover, Kaehlin, had inflicted hours before. The elf had helped her to her room, cooking her a meal but as she ate she had sensed something wrong. The sense was confirmed as he mounted her, kissing her hungrily on the lips as though she were his to enjoy. He had been holding a scroll the whole time, and insisted that she ate the food and drank the strange drink that he had said was water. Then it had happened, a burning pain that roared up her body, the strange winds swirling around the room. And she had awoken in a new body, a body that belonged not to an ageless half-celestial but instead the body of a moon elf.

The new appearance had frightened her at first, understandably, as she had set eyes on the flowing black hair where her silver locks should have been, the thin body where once her perfectly formed curves had existed, and the points to her once rounded ears. She still bore one wing, a reminder of how she had been before, but the second was missing, and this gave her a peculiar appearance. All that remained was the pale golden glimmer that was familiar in her eyes, though now slightly more almond in shape, and the faintly rounded stomach in which she knew, with satisfaction, her unborn child still slept.

Am�naelihn stood before the mirror mounted against one wall in her bedroom, absently dragging a slender finger over one of her pointed ears. She felt it tremble to the touch and had to make a conscious effort not to bite back an excited moan. She�d heard before of the pleasures the elven kind found in the touch of their highly sensitive ears, but had, of course, been unable to experience this for herself until now. Indeed it was an unusual sensation to her. Am�naelihn moved calmly away from the mirror, furrowing her brow and rubbing a finger along her lips. In this form, at least, those she had left behind would never find her, never be able to set eyes on the Am�naelihn they knew again. Kaehlin and Koell, both lost to her for the pain they had caused. The second child, now at peace in the confines of her womb, could grow to be peaceful and good, never hurting another being with the intent of causing harm and agony.

Lowering her eyes to the lump in her stomach, Am�naelihn brought a hand to the tight skin and smiled softly, affectionately. She would never let this one be harmed as she and Koell had, and never would she let this one harm and frighten her as her first son had done so many times. Am�naelihn knew she could never forgive Kaehlin for what he had done those days ago, for the pain he had put her through, driving her almost to the brink of death. Without Koell�s aid she would almost certainly not be alive now, in any form. Cae�ratheuil had given her the new body so she could reshape her life, she was almost sure of this despite that he had fled the house, and Am�naelihn was sure he�d never return; not after the kiss he had forced upon her at any rate. She frowned at the prospect of this new life, wondering how she might cope after all these years without Kaehlin at her side� tossing a large white cloak around her, gently tucking the lone wing beneath the fabric, Am�naelihn made her way downstairs�

-

Koell didn�t realize that he had been staring at the gates for hours, allowing the torrential rain to wash over his already drenched body. He had long ago given up searching the town for her, having submitted to the inevitable fact that she had left Rovandon and him long beyond. Had he been conscious of the form standing a few feet behind him, watching his every move, he would have probably been thankful for the rain disguising the tears that slid from the corners of his amber eyes and drowning out the sound of his whimpers as he shook uncontrollably from both grief and cold. He didn�t understand how his own mother, whom he loved more than anyone in the world, could just get up and leave him as she had, especially after he had just rescued her from much of the beating that Kaehlin had planned for her. Did he matter that little to her? Even as the thoughts played over his mind, Koell was unaware of the large wings spanning out behind him, and the woman with long, flowing white hair staring down on him.

Her slender hand touched his shoulder and he whirled around, fists raised ready to strike but the smile that greeted his bleary eyes made him lower them to his side. She was clad in an elegant robe of sparkling silver, wrapped around her form from which two large, white-feathered wings were spread. She greeted him with his name and he replied with hers.

�Koell.�

�Iridia��

Iridia nodded recognition to the young man and he managed a very forced smile. Her smile was as bright as ever despite the rain pouring down around them, and with a small chuckle she reached across and wiped a single finger over his lips, flattening the strained smile from them, as her light eyes roamed over the bruises and cuts on his well formed face.

�What�s the matter, Koell?�

�Nothing.�

He turned away from her stubbornly, looking across to the gates that had captivated his attention for all too long now. He was certainly not in the mood for talking with one of his mother�s old friends at a time like this.

�That�s not true, you�ve been sat here crying your eyes out for hours, Koell.�

He growled in the pit of his throat and shook his head, causing tangled and wet, golden hair to fall over his face, but he didn�t bother pushing it back over his ears. With a sigh he reluctantly told her the situation, all the time facing away from her permanently smiling face.

�My mother is gone, and I�ve been left with that� father of mine. Though he has refused me entry to the manor now, too.�

Iridia frowned slightly at the news, narrowing her eyes through the rain at the back of his head. A moment passed in which neither of them said anything and then she folded her arms beneath her breasts, clutching onto the silver cloak.

�Two hours past sunrise a trade carriage will arrive at the gates, Koell. If I�m right, you may be able to get some assistance from it.�

Koell blinked a raindrop from his eyelid, furrowing his brow at the unexpected advice. He turned around to thank Iridia for the information and question her further, only to find her back was turned and she was making her way towards her home, her wings tucked neatly to her robed back.

-

Am�naelihn stepped out of the house into the raining night, locking the door behind her with a small key from her pocket. Pulling her cloak hood up over her matted black hair, she made her way with hunched shoulders towards the local clothes store only a few minutes walk from her new home. The time was the cause of the relatively empty streets, and this alone was the reason Am�naelihn often walked them at night only. She would usually get stares from people, either for the bulking cloak that had once concealed a pair of wings, and her former ethereal appearance had drawn townspeople�s eyes, but there was also the rumor that had got around about her arriving in the small village only to give birth to children before departing again. Of course, her new elven body certainly attracted much less attention.

She arrived quickly at the store, managing only to get a little wet from the skies above, and with a small fist she hammered on the door. She had asked the storekeeper the past couple of days if he had any elven fitting outfits but he had told her they had none in stock; they did not get many elven visitors in the village. He�d promised to order her some clothes that would fit her, though, and now was the first opportunity she would have to take a look at the new arrivals. She knew the shopkeeper would not mind it being so late, as having four middle-aged sons enabled him to keep the store open from dawn to dusk.

The store was small, but was arranged in a way that wasted no space, racks and trolleys of clothes scattered all over the room. Am�naelihn silently wished the place had been as spacious and welcomingly arranged as her own store, Forbidden Fabric, had been in Rovandon. Almost on instinct the mono-winged elf found that she was looking at the beautiful human dresses in the entrance, but with a silent curse she moved on. She passed a shelf of small clothing, too small even for the smallest of gnomes.

�Baby clothes,� Am�naelihn murmured with a small grin of pleasure, patting the lump concealed beneath her colorless cloak. Pulling down her dripping hood, she slowly picked up a small robe of deep cerulean satin, only as big as one of her arms� length. With a smile she replaced the robe and picked up a dress, dark lavender with silver frills. Am�naelihn shook her head, putting down the baby clothes and moving towards the other end of the store where she saw the storekeeper watching her.

�Ah Madame, you have returned.�

�Yes yes, did you acquire any of those elven outfits I requested?�

�Yes Madame, I did. Come through to the back and I�ll let you take a look over the stock if you like?�

Am�naelihn returned to her home within the hour, carrying with her nineteen different elven outfits in protective covering to keep them dry from the rain.

-

At least by the time the carriage arrived outside Rovandon gates Koell�s clothes had almost completely dried. He had denied himself of sleep that night; for fear that he might not wake in time to catch the trade carriage that Iridia had spoken of. He walked out past the two guards one of whom gave him a weary glance, more than likely recognizing him from a few nights previous, and so was the first to greet the driver as he hopped down out of the horse-drawn carriage. The small man began to pat the horses roughly on the sides, moving them around to face in the opposite direction ready for the return journey. Koell stood there for a moment, his golden hair left to fall freely in the morning sunlight, dark bags of tiredness under his amber eyes. After a moment the driver noticed the man watching him, and took a few steps backwards in surprise; more than likely a result of either Koell�s wings, or the horns on his head, or a mixture of the both. Koell didn�t wait any longer to raise his voice.

�I heard you could help me, carriage driver.�

The man frowned deeply, holding up both hands and biting his lip, looking up at the half-celestial half-fiend stood before him.

�I can, sir?�

�Yes. I�m looking for a woman� hair and eyes alike to mine, wings on her back. Her name is Am�naelihn. You know her?�

The driver furrowed his brow a moment, inspecting Koell�s hair and eyes and then scanning the muscled body, deciding subconsciously that it was probably best that he complied truthfully to the questions.

�Yes, I know Am. Though she doesn�t have any wi-�

�Take me to her.�

The demand interrupted the driver mid-sentence, and he faltered, looking Koell in the eyes and frowning even more so than before at the man�s rashness. He shuffled slightly on the spot, stroking one hand along the closest horse�s back, calming her.

�Well, I can�t jus-�

�I�ll pay you. I just need to find her, alright!?�

The driver realized that denying the man�s requests might not be the wisest of decisions, both in a business sense and a self-preservation sense. He nodded hastily to Koell and began busying himself with items on the back of the carriage.

�Guess we�re heading to Luubramton, then. A moment if you will, sir, I need to unload and pick up some things.�

As much as Koell hated to wait any longer, he knew that this was his best chance of catching up with his mother. He had to find her, she mattered too much to him for him to let her go; and besides that, he had nowhere else to go now that his father had forbidden him entrance to the manor. For whatever reason, the carriage driver seemed to rush his business within the city walls, for within minutes he was ushering Koell into the back of the carriage and hopping up front himself, lashing on the reins that set the horses on a gallop headed for Luubramton and Am�naelihn.

-

The town�s guard, Kent, hadn�t thought much at all about the woman who he had aided in her escape of Rovandon since the strangely winged but horned man had spoken her name. The promise had been kept and he�d told the man nothing, and Am�naelihn was away to her freedom and that was that. He had avoided telling his wife anything for fear of betraying his secret fancy for the fleeing human; he certainly didn�t need an argument of jealousy on top of the financial issues they were having. It was entirely this monetary reason that Kent found himself taking a shift on the gates in the middle of the day. He relieved the morning guard Finnegan of his post and took up his position.

�Good weather, at least,� Kent called across to Cassius, who simply nodded in reply. He�d already been on post for some hours and was not much in a mood for weather conversation. Kent was right though; the sun was burning brightly in the sky, a preferable contrast to the downpours of the night before. Kent checked the gates, making certain they would close at a moment�s notice if it should become necessary. It was during doing so that he noticed something in the distance; a form, large and silhouetted against the sun above.

�Cass? Cassius, what�s that?�

Cassius responded to his name on second calling, looking across to where Kent gestured. He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, watching just as intently as his companion now as the dark figure approached.

�Tiefling�� Cassius muttered eventually and frowned deeply. He was right, as the figure came closer a small pair of horns became apparent, along with glowing red eyes inset on pale gray skin, and in muscled arms there was a double-axe. The tiefling wore black leather that left his arms opened to the air, the shoulders, gloves and boots all spiked and the belt studded with darang. The two guards exchanged glances and quickly returned to their posts either side of the gate, allowing the tiefling to pass through. But rather than pass them by, Kaehlin came to a halt between both men. He stood there, perfectly still, awaiting one of them to be the first to flinch, but neither did, both staring straight ahead down the Crossroads. The tiefling gave a growled question to the air to snatch their attention.

�Where is she?�

Finally the guards looked around, and it was Cassius who cleared his throat and gave the question in reply.

�Where is who?�

�Am�naelihn.�

Kaehlin�s head turned first to Cassius, then to Kent. Neither of the human men answered him, but he could see in Kent�s green eyes that the name registered familiar with him. Kaehlin gave a smirk that made the men hold their longswords all the more tightly.

�You know where she is, human.�

As he spoke the words, Kaehlin turned to face Kent, giving him a shove backwards with his double-axe handle. This act simply angered Kent though; he did not appreciate this tiefling undermining his authority as a town guard, or his threatening the promise made to Am�naelihn. Kent held his ground, raising the longsword just a little.

�Even if I knew where Am�naelihn was, I would feel disinclined to tell you. I recommend you turn back and walk away before you find yourself spending the night in the jail cells, sir.�

Kaehlin grinned now, baring his fangs and breathing down his nose. He slowly and casually looked up to the skies above, his crimson eyes narrowed as if in thought.

�And I suggest you tell me where the fuck the girl is, human.�

Kent stared at the tiefling and then blinked in surprise at what he noticed; scarred on the front of the fiend�s broad neck he saw two letters that spelt a small word, seemingly made by a small blade. �Am.�

�No, I shan�t.�

Kaehlin sighed softly and looked down to Kent, stood defiantly with his longsword held tightly in his fist. The tiefling�s double axe whirred in the air, and a split second later Kent�s head rolled off his neck, just above the darang full plate, hitting the ground followed instantly by the decapitated body. Kaehlin grit his fangs against his lower teeth, turning to stare coldly at Cassius who seemed too horrified by what just happened to react. Kaehlin rolled his eyes; he had been expecting the second guy to at least try to bring him to justice. Instead he settled for giving him a growled message.

�When Am comes back, tell her we need to talk.�

And spitting a mouthful of saliva, the tiefling stepped over Kent�s body as it spilt its liquid contents onto the mud path, and made his way back towards the manor; still without the answer he had initially sought.

-

Koell had managed to catch a few hours rest within the carriage, but still he was tired when the driver slid open the door and announced their arrival in Luubramton. There were outside a house, not large but by no means small, and it was to this house that the driver gestured.

�She�s residing in there, last I heard sir.�

Koell nodded, not taking his eyes off the house as he absently licked his fangs and fingered a small coin bag in his hand. He pushed open the carriage door, and then tossed the coin bag to the driver, before hopping out onto the path.

�It�s all I have. Take it for your efforts.�

The old driver smiled, not bothering to count how much he had been given and rather being thankful that, much to his surprise, the large man had caused him no bother. Koell turned his back entirely on the carriage that had been his six-hour ride; they had made good time in such good conditions, and headed for the doorway. The door itself was, typically, wooden, a thick bronze handle to one side and a similar colored knocker in the middle. Koell took a moment to collect himself before using the knocker to signal his unexpected arrival, the sound barely marked by that of horses making their hasty exit.

The door swung open just enough for the woman on the inside to see her visitor. She stood in the doorway, a slender elf with an unusually rounded stomach, dark midnight-black hair flowing down over pointed ears, and almond-shaped golden eyes staring out. The elf set eyes on Koell, stood unshakably on her doorstep; the shock of the sight of him caused her to pass out backwards, hitting the carpeted floor with a thud. Koell could manage nothing but to blink, the incident being a complete shock to him, naturally. Muttering a curse to one of the many deities he stooped down onto one knee and lifting the light elven woman into his arms and entered the house, forcing the front door closed with his foot.

-

When she regained her senses, Am�naelihn found that she was no longer lying in the doorway to her new home, but instead sat upright in a leather chair, the material cold against her skin. She groaned softly, looking around the room to see an assortment of bookcases and a desk, evidence enough that she had been taken into the study. For a moment she checked her hands, inspecting the size of them in the vain hope that she would no longer be elven and would realize everything had been a dream, but it was not to be; her wrists were the same thin limbs they had been for days. Rubbing her head, she slowly sat up in the chair and gave a gasp of horror as she met a pair of deep amber eyes, glaring into hers.

�Where is my mother?�

She took a deep breath slowly; having not been aware of just how close Koell was to her. His question had confused her for just the smallest of moments, as she had wondered why it was her own son was asking where she was. Of course, though, he did not recognize her through the elven body she had been unwillingly granted. Slowly she pulled herself upright in the chair, feeling her single wing ache behind her.

�I�. I don�t know.�

Koell snorted, moving away from her and sitting on the edge of a wooden table across from her chair, near to the center of the study. He folded his arms over his chest, looking particularly annoyed; Am�naelihn could only assume that he had searched the house for his mother, her, whilst she had lain unconscious; of course, his mood would be related to that fruitless search.

�Liar! I know she�s been here, I�ve seen her things. Where is she?�

Am�naelihn gritted her teeth, very much disliking his tone.

�I told you, I don�t know where she went, Koell!�

�How do you know my name?�

Am�naelihn bit hard on her lip, silently cursing herself for the slip-up. She made a mental note that if she was to remain unknown to him, she must be careful of such small mistakes.

�I� your mother spoke about you. You� look like her� and the wings and the horns, too.�

Koell gave a small nod, which made her realize that she had covered her mistake well, but still he did not look satisfied. He would not rest until he found his mother.

�When is she coming back?�

�She isn�t, Koell� just go home to your father.�

Koell frowned and shook his head slowly, deliberately, finally breaking his intense stare on her. He looked across absently at the bookcase as he spoke, and she could see his hands were shaking just a little.

�I am not welcome there any longer. He cares nothing for me; I need to find my mother!�

Am�naelihn frowned deeply, for it hurt to know she could not comfort him and take him back without blowing the cover she had; one cover, one escape from the cage, one last hope. She moved forwards, out of the comfortable leather chair, and knelt down in front of him, her movement either unnoticed or ignored by the man before her. Slowly she brought her hand to his face, cupping his chin and turning his face, keeping it still in her hand in an attempt to cease the trembling. He stared at her harshly; cold and uninviting, but she ignored the expression as though it weren�t there.

�Calm down, Koell� you�re not alone, don�t let this get to you. Go now, go to Rovandon.�

She stared at him, and could see her words only angered him more. She knew had it been Kaehlin now sat where he sat, she would have been harmed for what was in her mind soothing advice. But instead, Koell simply pushed her hand off his face and stood, and she lifted from the floor with him. With a sigh, he lifted his hood onto his head, letting it shadow his golden hair, his horns, and much of his face.

�No. She means too much to me. I must find my mother..�

She felt him make as though to move away but she grabbed him by the cheek, turning him roughly and pushing her lips onto his. Before he could pull away her tongue had stroked over his bottom lip and into his mouth, touching his and tempting it forward. He whimpered a moment then pulled away briskly, staring at her. Had she just made a mistake? She could feel his eyes burning questions into her as they examined first her wing, then her rounded stomach. The same stomach that gave a lurch that sent a shudder up her spine. She saw Koell tilt his head in curiosity as she cried out; the only thing mattering now was the pain that had unexpectedly, spontaneously, shot up from the womb.

�Koell� Koell, stop it� help me!�

Koell seemed dazed a moment by it all, but he knew now after the unpredicted kiss that he had to aid her; help her out in her time of labor. Something had certainly triggered it off, but Am�naelihn really didn�t give a damn what; her heart was beating fast, and he legs gave out beneath her as she felt herself break, but he was their to catch her and she fell into her son�s arms, his strong arms and chest supporting her small, slender elven frame, this frame that should not have been hers.

-

The night had been the most memorable night in all of his life, and not for the reasons he might have been hoping the last few days gone by. Koell found himself pacing the unknown bedroom, his mind racing like a whirlwind wrecking havoc on a village inside his mind. He had tried to keep his eyes off the elven woman, though he was thinking so many things that made so little sense, as she sat upright on the bed, cradling the tiny boy in her arms, wondering worriedly about the single wing that protruded from his tiny back.