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Emma could feel some of the tension leave him the moment her hands touch his face, and he relaxes even more as he returns the kiss. Wrapping her arms around her body to hold her close.
Taking a much more relaxed breath, Aiden gazes into his wife's eyes a spark of...something...there as his eyebrow arches ever so slightly. Emma knew her husband's heightened senses well enough to tell that he likely picked up on the trace of whisky on her kiss, even if he chose not to say anything at the moment.
"I suppose washing off the forest and the sweat first will probably be a good idea," he says with a wry grin. "It was a strange hooded figure that moved about as quietly as I do, which not too many people can, and when the touched the stone they just...vanished."
Letting out a sigh he runs a hand through his hair. "I suppose we can figure it all out tomorrow, and we should definitely see if it means anything to Priscilla."
Realizing too late her mistake, Emma takes a step back from him so he can get up.
Worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, she looks up at him through her long lashes. The effect giving her almost an innocent childlike look.
Taking a moment to gather her wits she says, "Well, that is rather disconcerting. I've never seen anyone walk through a rock before. I don't think I have ever seen or heard of the kind of stones you are referring to...but definitely talk to Priscilla about it tonight. I don't want to put if off and she can think on it overnight, and then we can all go there tomorrow. I'm sure you remember exactly where it is with all of your amazing skills that you've learned over the years. I don't like this...nope, not at all. It gives me a kind of...creepy feeling, especially given the timing of this comes right before the Harvest Festival." Shaking her head she twirls one of her blonde ringlets around a finger. Giving a little sigh she says, "Okay, no more worrying about this for the moment. You go get your shower, the soup is staying warm in the hearth, and I will dish it up as soon as you are ready my love."
Reaching down to run his fingers along her cheek, Aiden nods, rolling his shoulders before making his way toward a hot shower, stripping out of his clothes as he does.
Emma leans into the gentle caress, knowing full well that at some point they would be talking about what she had been up to. She couldn't help that she was mischievous and a little naughty sometimes, it was part of her nature. She was also stubborn and fiercly independent. Something that got her in trouble more times than not. Even so, she couldn't stop being herself anymore than Shadow could stop being a wolf.
As Aiden showers, Emma shakes herself from her thoughts and goes into the kitchen, Shadow hot on her heels.
Turning towards her husband's beautiful companion, Emma runs her fingers through his fur before rubbing his large head behind his ears while his tongue hangs out. Giving him a kiss on his snout, "Okay, I know what you want. Are you hungry boy?" Giggling as Shadow wags the whole lower half of his body, she pulls out some plain cooked chicken that she had set aside for him, as well as some carrots.
Emma shreds the meat into good sized chunks, and cuts up the reserved carrots to mix in with the chicken, making sure there are no bones for Shadow to choke on. Putting the mixture in a decent size bowl, Emma sets it on the floor near one of their dining room chairs.
Sitting in the chair next to him, Emma soothes her nerves by petting Shadow as he gobbles up the goodies most greedily. She know he had probably already enjoyed something while hunting, but she couldn't help herself and spoiled him rotten. She wasn't really worried about him gaining weight since he was always running through the woods with Aiden.
When he's finished licking the bowl clean and looks up at Emma expectantly Emma laughs and holds out her empty hands, "Sorry boy, that's all I've got."
After picking up the bowl and setting it in the sink, she gets up on their comfy couch to relax while waiting for Aiden to finish his shower. Shadow joins her on the couch, laying his head over her legs. Emma strokes his head softly and tries not to fall asleep.
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Unwinding with a hot bath, Aiden clears his mind, putting aside the mystery in the forest until later, and simply enjoying the hot water as he cleans off the day. He really needed to remember to put the liquor in a lower cabinet. While he definitely didn't approve of Emma climbing where it was dangerous, he also needed to make sure that things were somewhere convenient for her when he wasn't around.
Drying off, the hunter gets dressed, selecting a nicer shirt for the festival, and running his fingers through his hair before walking out of the bedroom, the sight of Shadow and Emma on the couch bringing a smile to his lips.
Just before starting to doze off, Emma hears him come into the room and looks up at him, returning his smile.
Pushing herself up into a more sitting position on the couch, she rubs her eyes for a moment before pulling herself up into more of a sitting position and pulling her legs free out from under Shadow.
"Ready for dinner love? I already fed Shadow his." Getting down off of the couch, she goes to Aiden. Looking up into his face she says, "I've always liked that shirt on you, it brings out your eyes. Come on, I'll get us some soup, and then I'll get ready for the festival so we can go."
Emma thought she should tell him what she did, even though she was pretty sure that he already figured it out. She just wanted to wait until he was enjoying a nice bowl of her chicken vegetable soup first.
"Definitely," Aiden says with a smile heading over to the kitchen and pulling out Emma's seat before taking his own. "It smells great!"
Emma gets a regular size bowl for her love, and a little smaller one for herself. After making sure they both have some juice to drink, Emma sits in the chair he had made special for her. It was taller and put her at a normal height, enabling her to reach the table without sitting on a bunch of pillows.
Before they start eating, Emma takes Aiden's hand and offers up a prayer of thanks, acknowledging both faiths that they represent, for their continued guidance, protection, and provision.
After the prayer, she gives him a smile before they start eating. As they sit there enjoying the meal, it is obvious that something is bothering his beloved as she squirms occasionally in her seat. Her expression troubled as she tries to figure out how to tell him what she did.
Emma seems to mostly play with her soup between the bites she takes.
The soup is as delicious as he expected, and Aiden tucks into it enthusiastically after EMMa offers a prayer of thanks. Noticing his wife's distracted state, he stops eating for a bit, looking at her and extending a hand to take her free one.
"Something bothering you, Love."
Emma nods slowly as she continues to look down at her bowl of soup, her hair obscuring her face from him.
"I need to tell you something." Emma's voice trembles slightly, "Even though I'm pretty sure you already figured it out, I needed a little whiskey for my tea earlier but....but you weren't home yet, so I got one of the chairs and I...I climbed up onto the counter to get to it." Her voice starts to crack as she begins to tell her love what she had been doing, even though she knew he wouldn't be happy about it. In a softer voice she says, "This wasn't the first time I've done it either...." Emma thought it would be better to be completely honest with him, no matter how hard it was to admit to her willful naughty behavior. She knew better than to climb up on things after what happened last year, not to mention the promise she had made that she had broken several times.
Taking a slow breath, Emma finally lifts her head and looks at him. The emotions playing across her face as she fesses up about what she'd done.
As she looks up at him, Aiden can see her eyes starting to become damp with unshed tears, "I'm not sorry that I got caught. The only thing that I'm sorry about is that I disobeyed you, broke my promise to you....several times, and that I hid it from you." She says, her voice earnest as it breaks in places.
Emma leans against him and sniffles, "I'm so so sorry, do you forgive me?"
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Listening as Emma unburdens herself by telling him the truth, Aiden nods silently, his expression calm as her processes her confession, most of which he'd already deduced.
Leaning in to kiss her forehead, he runs a hand through her hair, looking into her eyes as he replies. "I appreciate you telling me the truth love, and I understand. In all honesty, it's partially my fault for not making sure that it's somewhere you can reach if I'm not home. You're a grown woman, and shouldn't have to ask me if you feel like having a drink." she says with a warm, understanding smile.
After a moment, his expression gets a bit more serious, his tone gaining a touch of sternness. "What don't appreciate, is you breaking your promise though, and that rather than say something, remind me you needed to be ale to reach things, or ask for help after the first time, you hid it and put yourself in danger....multiple times."
Brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes, he gently cups her face with one hand, his expression softening somewhat. "There is very little you could ever do that I couldn't forgive, Emma, but later, we will have to have a reminder, that we will always tell each other the truth."
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A tear slides down her cheek as she understands exactly what he means.
Her lips settle into a sad pout as she climbs into his lap, her soup all but forgotten. Laying against his strong chest, Emma takes comfort in the steady beat of his heart.
Nuzzling against him she says in a small voice, "I really am sorry...I never meant...to lie. I just...kept forgetting to...ask." She manages to get her words out between soft sobs, and sniffling back her tears.
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"It's alright love, I forgive you. And I'm sorry I didn't think to make sure it was on a lower shelf for you. But no more putting yourself at risk when I'm not around, okay? If you fall and got seriously hurt, it could be hours before I find you, if I'm out hunting, and yes I know Sarenrae grants you the power to heal, but that won't help if you get knocked out."
He holds her close, rubbing her back and letting her know how deeply loved she is, as she expresses her emotions.
Emma nods, taking in some deep breaths to calm herself as he soothes her with his loving touch and words.
Once she's calmed a bit, Emma pulls back slightly so she can look into his eyes, "Okay, I won't ever put myself in danger like that again. Cross my heart." She says while making an X across her chest.
"Sooo....does this mean I'm not in trouble anymore?" She asks, her question completely innocent with no hint of her usual smart attitude. Just plain curiosity as to whether or not she had gotten out of the spanking she had earned by hiding it from him.
"Maybe..." Aiden replies with a hint of a smile. "I think with the Harvest Festival tonight, we can overlook a mistake, that'll never happen again, just this once, don't you?"
Emma nods, "Yes, never again.....unless the circumstances are beyond our control. Right? Just not in a way that's reckless....right?"
Looking down and seeing his unfinished dinner, "I hope your soup isn't completely cold. Is it still okay, or do you want me to get you some fresh? I should really start getting ready."
"It's fine, not that cold yet. Go on and get ready, Love, I can't wait to see you in your me dress that you had Polly make you for today." Aiden replies with a smile.
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That makes Emma smile. Being careful not to step on anything important, Emma stands in his lap and holds onto his shoulders to steady herself.
Leaning forward, she presses a soft kiss to his lips. "I hope you like the dress. Ms. Polly spent nearly a month with me designing and making it. It was a challenge because I'm so much smaller than some of the ladies she makes dresses for...but I think it's nice."
Filled with excitement, she jumps off his lap and runs back to their room.
It takes quite a while for her to emerge from the room. Aiden had enough time to finish his own soup, the small amount in Emma's bowl, and rinse the dishes before he hears the door to their room reopen.
Emma comes slowly into the main room of the house. Her long strawberry blond locks have been styled into a cute style. two side braids have been brought around the back with soft ringlets framing her face and bangs that swoop off to the side. Crowning the top of her head is a ring of a mix of summer and fall flowers. The dress is made to cling to her top half, a corset of blue and green accentuating her tiny waist. The long bell sleeves come to a point at her wrist, the sleeves themselves are a soft material made of gold. The outside of the sleeves are green with gold inlay and ribbon. The bottom half of the dress flares out from her waist. The materials soft, but layered in different fall colors and thicknesses to keep her warm. The colors range from hues of yellow and gold, to oranges and reds, making her look as if living fire surrounds her when she moves.
The effect is quite stunning and topped of with a pair of calf high boots that have a slight heel to give her just a little boost to her height.
She stops in front of Aiden, looking very anxious and nervous for his reaction.
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Aiden freezes when Emma comes into sight, eagerly drinking in the breathtaking sight of his wife. His mouth moves, silently for a moment, dazed as he is by her beauty, before a slow smile slips across his lips.
"By the moon, stars, and everything in the sky, you're the most beautiful sight I could ever imagine." he says, his eyes filled with love and adoration.
Knowing him as well as she does, Emma can also see in his eyes that part of him very much considers making them both late for the festival. At least for a moment.
A deep blush spreads across her cheeks, "Really?"
"Absolutely!" he says, striding over and sweeping her up in his arms, to spin around with her for a moment. "You're like the most beautiful sunset." he says giving her a deep kiss.
"I will be the envy of the village tonight!"
Emma's blush deepens, and she squeals in delight as Aiden picks her up, and twirls them around.
She moans softly against his lips as he kisses her, the feel of him against her almost making her want to be naughty with him. Checking her base desires she giggles, "I love you, and the way you hold me in your arms. As much as I love my big, strong, handsome man carrying me around, it would probably be better for me to show up at the festival beside you, not being held in your arms. I promise to let you hold me as much as you want to later, but the material will wrinkle if you don't put me down soon." Emma says with a slight smirk on her face.
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Aiden grins.
"That, and if I don't put you down soon, we'll definitely end up being late." he says, a hint of a primal growl slipping into his voice before he takes a deep breath, setting her down gently.
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Emma shudders and breaks out in goosebumps as he uses the voice that usually drives her wild. She had to control herself though, Ms. Pollyanna would be so disappointed if she messed up the dress before everyone got to see her in it.
Grinning herself with a pretty blush on her cheeks, Emma smacks his arm playfully before he sets her down, "You better behave mister. This contraption wasn't easy to get into, and I don't want to try it again. Besides, I really can't be late. Is Shadow going with us, or staying here?" She asks, trying to distract herself from how much she just wanted to rip his clothes off right then and there.
Emma waits for a couple minutes, but when she doesn't get a response from him, she looks up and sees that he's still grinning in that way he has when thinking about certain....things.
She can't help the smirk that comes to her lips as she realizes how distracted he is. Looking over at where they hang their cloaks,
Emma wonders if they're going to need them tonight.
Since he didn't respond to her question about Shadow the first time, she decides to try and pull him out of his thoughts.
Reaching up, she grabs ahold of part of his shirt and tugs on it insistently, "Hey you! Stop thinking about later, we gotta get going now if I'm going to make it on time. Is Shadow going with us, and do you think I need to put my cloak on, or will I be okay like this?" She asks, indicating her current state of dress. The materials Ms. Polly had used for her special Harvest Festival dress were pretty warm, but she wasn't sure how cold it was going to get tonight.
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As Emma asks the question again, she snaps Aiden out of his reverie, getting a hold of himself to refocus. "Well everyone is likely to be there, and you know how much the village kids love fusing over him. I think there's no harm in him coming along." he says, looking over at the big wolf, who raises his head to return the look, his tail moving slightly.
"As far as the weather, it looks like it should be good enough to not need cloaks tonight. We've got at least another day or two before the chill sets in."
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Getting an excited look on her face she holds up a finger, "In that case, give me just a minute and I'll be right back." She says, running back to the bedroom before Aiden has a chance to react.
A couple minutes later she returns, holding some different colors of material in her hands. Laying out the scraps of red, yellow, and orange material, she layers and folds them into a large triangle, "This material was left over from Ms. Polly making my dress, and she said I could have it. I thought Shadow would look so handsome with his own kind of outfit." She explains, while tying the material around his neck like a bandana.
Stepping back to look at her work she smiles and coos at him, "Who's a big beautiful boy? You are, yes you are." Emma rubs him behind the ears affectionately, while he's lowered for her to reach him.
"Okay then, I guess we're all ready to go." She says, smiling up at her beloved.
Smiling as Emma accessorizes Shadow, Aiden takes his wife's hand as they leave, locking the door behind them.
Stepping outside, Emma notices the subtle shift in the temperature. Slightly cooler than it has been, but not uncomfortably so. Looking down at the ground, she notices how dirty it is.
Though her boots give her a tiny bit more height, it's not enough to keep the bottom of her dress from dragging. She wanted to at least get to the square before it got dirty.
Emma looks from the ground to her dress a couple times, before looking up at Aiden. Holding her arms up to him, she gets a sad pouty look on her face, "My dress..." Her tone is soft and conveys her concern for the cleanliness of her specially made garment.
You step out into the crisp autumn evening. The paths of the village are illuminated by colored lanterns made specifically for tonight. The majority of the festivities are planned to be held in the square, though hay rides and games are to be held in the field across the main road.
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With a grin, Aiden sweeps her up into his arms, carrying his princess as they head into town, taking in the festive decorations and sense of excitement and joy filling the air.
You step out into the crisp autumn evening. The paths of the village are illuminated by colored lanterns made specifically for tonight. The majority of the festivities are planned to be held in the square, though hay rides and games are to be held in the field across the main road.
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Emma oohs and ahhs over all the decorations as he holds her up in his arms, "It's all so pretty, I love it! Didn't everyone do a great job decorating love?" She says, the excitement apparent in her voice as they make their way to the square. She loved it when he carried her like this, as much for the feeling of his strong arms around her, to the way she can see everything from how high up she is.
To someone who didn't know her, Emma would just seem like another excited kid. Such was her youthful spirit and exuberance for life.
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"Yes, they definitely did!" Aiden replies, smiling more at Emma's enthusiasm than the decorations. While to him, it paled in comparison to the natural beauty of the forest when the leaves changed color, or the beauty of a moonlit river to firefly filled glade, through Emma's eyes, he'd gained an appreciation for the beautiful things people could do when they had the mind to.
He notes the grins and warm smiles they're greeted with as they walk by a few of the townsfolk, the sight of their vicar and hunter.
Forgetting herself, Emma bounces up and down in his arms excitedly while pointing off to the side of the square where some booths were set up and folks talked together while some of the men set up chairs in the square, facing a small platform that had been built for the occasion.
Her excitement level set almost to overload, Aiden has a hard time holding onto his most precious package, "Look look! There's Ms. Polly talking with Clair, Iris, and Hannah. I want them to see my new dress!." For someone who barely touched her dinner, Emma seemed filled to the rim with a joyful rambunctious kind of energy that pays no heed to how high up she was in his arms, as she almost vaults out of them to get to the other ladies.
Laughing at his wife's enthusiasm, Aiden lets go so that she jumps down without problem, walking up behind her as she races over to show the women the dazzling effect of her in her new dress.
Having grown up in this village around most of the people that were here tonight, they were used to her hyperactive and somewhat enthusiastic reactions to things. So, it was of little surprise when they saw Emma running up to them as fast as her little legs could carry her, "Ms. Polly, Ms. Polly! Aiden loved my dress! It turned out beautiful dontcha think?" She yells out at them excitedly as she approaches the group of women at full speed.
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The plump woman turns as she is called and she gives Emma a polite smile. "Splendid, Vicar! I think I have outdone myself this time. Tom gave me too much grief for spending so much time on it."
Claire rolls her eyes. "Men...they think anything you're interested in is a waste of time and you should be cooking and cleaning for them from sunup to sundown."
"It's even worse when you have children," Iris pipes up.
Hannah looks a little befuddled by the conversation. "Izzat so?"
Polly gives the younger half-elf a nod that no god could refute. "Aye. No offense, Mr. Northwood. I'm sure you couldn't tame the vicar if you tried."
Emma giggles before looking at the other women, "Aiden and I are not just husband and wife. We're friends and partners. We share what we do at home, though I really do enjoy cooking. I just love the look he gets on his face when I make something yummy."
Emma turns to look up at Aiden with absolute adoration in her eyes before looking back at the others, "I'm his princess and life wouldn't be very fun if I didn't make it at least a little interesting from time to time. Isn't that right love?" Emma can't help but turn and bat her long eyelashes at him playfully.
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Aiden grins, returning the look from Emma with one of pure adoration, before looking to the other women. "Wouldn't ever consider trying to dim her spark. My princess couldn't be more right, and I wouldn't change it for the world!"