A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to my first Pellinor fic. I was perusing my shelves last night and happened upon The Singing and decided to try my hand at what might happen between Maerad and Cadvan after the book ends. I liked the idea that their relationship was new, and that they were still acclimating themselves to the other and how their relationship would progress from battle-weary friends to lovers.

So while procrastinating studying for my final exams, I wrote up a short story about my ideas of their relationship. I hope you like it! Please let me know any corrections or suggestions you would have. I edited it (because my beta seems to be AWOL... my guess is that she has her nose two inches away from her coursework), but things do seem to slip by the writer's eyes. I do not know whether or not I will continue this story, but am merely testing the waters of this particular genre of fanfiction.

A/N: I own absolutely nothing; not the characters, not the setting, not the air they breathe.

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The Blossoming

Maerad was happy to pace the streets of Innail alone, finally freed from the burden that had been thrust upon her so unexpectedly, a burden and a duty that had thrown her into adulthood and beyond that… a duty that would leave her forever scarred.

But from that burden good had emerged. So much good, that even at night when the nightmares encroached she had only to reach out to find her center and her serenity… She had her family, she had her friends, and she had her love.

What else did she need?

She did not need to reach far to find that answer, either. She wanted those things that everyone wanted, first and foremost a home, a place from which she could center herself and blossom. Somewhere that she could dig her roots deep into the ground and absorb a whole world full of knowledge and love… a world which she currently resided in, but did not understand.

She wanted to learn so much and how to properly read and write were at the top of the list. She had every intention of spending hours locked away in a dusty corner of a library, or in the fragrant gardens of Schools, or, quite frankly anywhere, with Cadvan teaching her everything she could learn. The sooner, the better, in her opinion.

To her, Cadvan of Lirigon was the most frustrating of men. He was demanding, haughty, and sometimes unreasonable but so was she… and that is what made him her perfect match.

What Cadvan could offer her she was incredibly happy to partake of; he was established, he was intelligent, and he was handsome. All three were things that a young woman could appreciate. Cadvan was much older than she, with age came wisdom and experience. He was able-bodied, had protected her on more than one occasion during their travels, he was an intellectual, her personal mentor, and he was quick-witted. He smiled more often now… and Maerad was full of joy to see him content.

He was her love, as she was his. They would be happy forever.

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"Concentrate, Maerad," Cadvan said steadily, "you are allowing yourself too many distractions." Cadvan looked up from over the book he was reading to watch Maerad bite her tongue in a frustrated manner. She was holding a quill and was botching up copying a poem to practice her writing skills.

"It is not so easy," Maerad retorted in a huff. Cadvan set the book down and stood to stand behind her. He dropped a kiss lightly on the crown of her head and took the quill from her hands, writing the next line with ease while standing braced behind her, leaning over her body. The finely scripted words stared up at and mocked Maerad and she seized the quill back from him, glaring at his penmanship. "You are very cruel, Cadvan." While her words were harsh, he tone was irritable and she quickly tried her hand at the next line. It did not appear as bad as the lines before it, and her lips tilted in a small, triumphant smile.

"You see, Maerad? It is so easy," Cadvan replied, smiling too. He was proud of her, and wanted her to succeed in this; this, and everything.

Cadvan remained standing behind her while she worked for the next few minutes, watching as her unsteady hands produced something which wasn't necessarily beautiful, but was certainly an accomplishment. That made it beautiful in his eyes.

"If I am distracted, it is most certainly your fault," Maerad muttered, while still writing slowly. She set the quill down on the desk and leaned back into Cadvan's embrace, tilting her head back to stare up at him.

"I take all the blame," Cadvan admitted with a smile upon his face. He dipped his head down for a kiss, one which Maerad was happy to give him. They lazily kissed for a moment or two before Cadvan squeezed her shoulder and broke the kiss. He picked up the quill and handed it back to her. "Just a little longer, and that will be all for today," he promised. "Finish that page of the poem."

Maerad happily finished, basking in the tingly feelings that Cadvan awoke in her. While they had not progressed very far in a physical relationship beyond the stolen kisses that they would frequently indulge themselves in, Maerad secretly longed for more. She was recovering, gaining her weight back and beginning to ease into a graceful womanhood. She wished that Cadvan would notice that. But for now, she was more than content with the glances, the touches, and the light kisses that they would steal in the dark.

-----

After dinner a few nights later, Maerad was wandering the streets when Hem found her. Irc sat happily on Hem's shoulder, happily blabbering away about the silver that he had pilfered from the kitchen earlier that day. The white crow was especially happy about a particularly shiny spoon.

"That is some friend you have," Maerad commented slyly, eyeing the crow with an amused smile.

"He's a rotten one, but I love him," Hem said with the same amused tone. Irc bubbled happily.

The brother and sister pair spent some time just wandering, as they were wont to do in these times of peace. They had a lifetime of relationships to make up. While they argued on occasion, it was very frequently over trivial matters and often settled with a hug, a laugh, and every now and then a good natured shove of the other into the bushes to prove one's indisputable rightness.

After a time, they returned to settle in one of Silvia and Malgorn's gardens, their favorite. It was full of flowers and fragrances and was designed in a way to grant the occupants privacy. The siblings continued to talk of a variety of subjects: namely their future, their pasts, and their plans.

When Irc began to complain of hunger pains and Hem could no longer stand the whining, Hem stood, kissed his sister's cheek and excused himself and his impolite bird.

"It is fine," Maerad smiled, kissing her brother's cheek too. "Take care of yourself and Irc. I will be all right alone."

"She will not be alone." Seemingly from nowhere, Cadvan's voice floated to the pair, and both looked up. Cadvan appeared from around a bend, and Maerad's smile mirrored his. She shivered in awareness as she took his hand in hers.

"Goodbye, Maerad," Hem said, suddenly seeming a lot younger and more awkward than he had before. Maerad hardly noticed, but she thought she did hear Hem hiss to Irc, "No, I will not tell them to behave themselves… they are adults."

Maerad could tell that Cadvan had spent all day locked inside meetings, because his free hand kept flexing and twitching. While entirely composed, his little ticks were beginning to reveal themselves to Maerad… and she loved every moment of discovering more about him.

"How were the meetings this afternoon?" Maerad asked, truly interested in the outcomes. While peace once again ruled the land, there was plenty left to do; purging the darkness from the corners of the world was taking a lot of coordination, and the most distinguished of Bards were doing all they could to help.

"Long, repetitive," Cadvan replied. "But I am glad to be with you now." He smiled then, one which revealed more than he could ever voice. He had clearly spent the entire afternoon wishing to be with Maerad, and she was glad that he felt that way. She had felt that way, too.

"What do you wish to do? We have the whole night before us," Maerad said, gesturing widely. Cadvan's smile widened and he wrapped his arms around Maerad to pull her close to him in a loving embrace. A finger under her chin helped her tilt her face up to his so that he could taste her lips. Maerad closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation thoroughly. She loved Cadvan. She wondered if he knew.

Breaking the kiss for a moment, she gathered her breath to tell him just that. "Cadvan of Lirigon, I love you. Do you know that?" she asked softly. Cadvan's dark eyes pierced her soul, and long moments stretched into an eternity, a lifetime of staring into the other's eyes.

"I do know that," he said, his eyes not leaving hers. "But Maerad of Pellinor, do you know that I love you?"

Maerad's heart overflowed with bliss at his admission, and she nodded. Tears blurred her vision as the full realization hit her and she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, harder and more passionately than she ever had before. Cadvan reacted to her just as she had hoped he would, with passion and a new fire that was only just being awoken.

Cadvan's hands were no longer clenching into fists, they were fisting Maerad's hair, holding her face to his with a considerable amount of strength. Maerad was doing her best not to lose control, but was finding it extremely difficult to remain in Cadvan's arms and continue to think straight. Cadvan backed her up into the nearest solid object, which happened to be a flower-laden tree, and pushed her up against it, crowding her in. Their kiss never broke, and the couple seemed to lose all sense of where they were. Cadvan's hands roamed up and down her thin body and pressed himself into her, truly pinning her to where she stood. Maerad could have cared less about the world at that moment, so completely engrossed was she in the man currently taking a flame to her soul and body.

Their frenzy came to a swift end when someone coughed discreetly behind them. Cadvan stiffened visibly and turned his head to see Saliman standing there, wearing a wide and extremely amused smile. "You two are expected at dinner tonight," the man said with barely contained laughter. "I suggest you postpone your… activities for a more suitable time." Saliman clapped a hand over his mouth to stop the laughter from emerging, but laugh he did.

"Thank you, Saliman," Maerad said with as much composure as she could muster. This seemed to send Saliman into another attack of the giggles and he turned to exit the garden to give his friends as much privacy as he could. They could measure his retreat by the fading sounds of laughter, slowly getting farther and farther away.

Maerad sighed and, trying to calm herself, settled her head on Cadvan's shoulder. "Damn that man," he murmured, resting his chin on Maerad's head and inhaling deeply through his nose.

"I cannot grudge him his laughter, but I can certainly grudge him his timing," Maerad added, in the same voice.

"I too cannot grudge him his laughter," Cadvan agreed. "Everyone needs a good deal of laughter now."

Maerad did not want talking of war to interrupt her buzzing and blissful high that her body and mind were experiencing, so she instead nuzzled her nose into Cadvan's neck and breathed in his scent. "Thank you for that," she said quietly.

"For what?" Cadvan asked, honestly curious.

Maerad hesitated with her response. "I have been frustrated as of late. I was not sure that you saw me as fit for your attention. I am a woman, but I am still young, and I thought…"

"That I did not want you," Cadvan finished for her. "Maerad, never doubt that I want you and that I love you," he said, "for although you are young, you have proven yourself beyond what many people twice or thrice your age have. No, it is not your youth that makes me restrain myself."

"Then what is it?" Maerad desperately wanted to rectify whatever it was.

"It is your condition. I thought that you may still be…" Cadvan stopped himself there, clearly ashamed at his thoughts.

"I am anything but weak, Cadvan," Maerad said dangerously, challenging whatever ideas he still harbored about her previously weakened condition.

"And I know that now," Cadvan admitted quickly. He brought a hand to her cheek, and their eyes locked again. "I will not underestimate you, for you only ever prove me a fool." He smiled again, a wide and unrestrained smile that made Maerad go weak. She pulled him down for another kiss, but this time it was light and soft.

"I suppose we should get ready for dinner," Maerad said once their kiss broke. "I want to take another bath!" she added happily.

"Another one?" Cadvan exclaimed. "Did you not take one this morning?"

"Yes, but you know how I love baths," Maerad said, seeming to bounce with every other step in anticipation of the bubbly, soapy and hot water that awaited her, only moments away. She and Cadvan bantered good-naturedly about how many baths were appropriate for one day until they reached her chamber. Cadvan kissed her lips lightly and bade her farewell until later, when he would collect her for dinner.

Maerad opened her door and Cadvan stepped away, turning to walk down the hall. She giggled, "You do not want to join me?" she teased. Cadvan stiffened, but kept walking. He coughed, and Maerad was pleased to think that, under other circumstances, he might have.

"We shall see," she heard him say quietly, as she shut her door.