QUOTE : I needed to make sure you were okay.” <br />“And if I had not been…?” <br />“I would have done what was required to save you.” <br />Tears entered her eyes, putting a gloss over her vision that blurred him and the meadow. “Why,” she breathed. An eternity of silence stretched out between them. And then he reached out and brushed her cheek. When he dropped his hand, she smelled the scent—and could not understand it. Why would the perfume of fresh flowers be out— Rahvyn gasped. Looking down at their feet, she saw violets spring up from the scruffy ground, the fragile purple blooms unfurling, little flags upon green nests. And among them sprouted also daisies and dandelions, then other colorful blooms, all of the heads lifting free of the soil, maturing as if it were July, not April, as if the air were warm, not chilled. The rush of wild flowers swirled around them both, encompassing their vicinity in the meadow, bringing daylight unto the night—and Rahvyn was so o’ercome, she let out a sound of delight and swept her hands to the sky. In a twirl, she imagined that she could gather them up in her arms, a sight for sore eyes, a lift for a heavy heart, a sniff into a grateful, astounded nose. And then she stilled. Lowering her arms, she saw that he remained grim. “Are you leaving right the now?” <br />He took a step back. “I just wanted to give you something beautiful, so you can feel even a little of the wonder I have whenever I look into your eyes.