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"That was quite the warm welcome," Richard said as he stepped inside, following her floating form towards her couch. She sat down before leaning aside to lay across it, resting her head up by her hand.

"You're lucky I let you live." Her eyes were still filled with the glare, though Richard could see the bags under them.

A twinge of annoyance pulled at his heart. "Didn't I tell you to walk under the sun?" he asked, beginning to remove his cumbersome armour.

"There's no time for walking," she replied back.

"At least sleep properly. It's bad for your health."

"I can't sleep, not until I've figured out the Keys to Fate." Lorelei's voice was filled with greed.

"Then, at the very least… won't you return to your usual form?" Richard asked. His back was facing against her as he slipped out of his armour, slowly taking bits and pieces off. As he turned to look at her, he saw she was still in her glaring, human form.

"It's our anniversary."

"Yes, yes. It is."

"We didn't even have lunch together."

"I know, I'm very sorry. I was caught up with some…"

Her eyes were growing even more eager to kill him, so Richard decided to not make any excuses.

"What did you get me?" she asked.

Richard's fingers froze against his greaves. Instead of removing them, he reached into his pouch. There he revealed the shining, glittering gem.

Her eyes sparkled with genuine surprise. It seemed as though she hadn't scried on him during the moments he was procuring it, leaving it a genuine surprise.

"Is it real?" she asked, sitting up.

"You'll have to find out."

She waited for him to approach her, and so he did. He knelt in front of her, offering the gem to her. She reached out a finger and touched it. The magical energy which filled the room was like an untapped ocean. Her eyes glowed, her irises gaining magical runes which spun into many others. She picked up the gem and stared at it in awe.

"The gem of Imotai…" she whispered. "This will assist me in my quest!" She turned and then tackled Richard, who was kicking off a greave.

He wrapped an arm around her as her form shifted. Her size and shape didn't change at all, but her skin became darker. Now she was grey, with a hint of blue, and parts of her body became scaled. A long tail whipped out from under her, her nails becoming sharp like daggers, and two horns jut out from her forehead.

"So, do you forgive me?" Richard asked.

She leaned in and kissed him. He returned the kiss as they embraced one another. Her fingers made to strip him of his armour, and several floating magical hands came to assist her.

"I forgive you," she whispered against his lips. "How did you acquire it?"

"I traded the gemmed dagger."

She pulled back, staring up into his eyes. "Which gemmed dagger?"

"The only gemmed dagger I had."

"You did what?!" Her eyes flashed with surprise. "Why would you trade that? A national treasure like that!"

"This is a national treasure as well."

"Yes, but the dagger, wasn't it for-"

"It was, but I couldn't just miss our anniversary. I wanted to give you something special."

"You! You're such an idiot. You're too stupid to breathe!" Yet she grabbed his face and kissed him repeatedly. "I can't believe you did something like that…"

Richard smiled. "Even after all these years, I still surprise you, huh?"

"Your stupidity knows no bounds," she said confidently. "Does this mean you love me the most?"

"Of course I love you the most. I married you, didn't I?"

"Aren't you so lucky. Not everyone gets to marry a princess."

"You're not my princess," he whispered, kissing her neck. "You're more than that."

"Don't become a soppy mess now, I'll start laughing."

Richard chuckled and then embraced her tight. He was now out of his armour, allowing them to feel one another properly. He brushed his fingers through her hair and rubbed his cheek against hers.

"You need to get some more sun," Richard said. "Let's go for a walk tomorrow."

"I can't. I must find out the secrets."

"You need to take a break."

"Once I'm done, I'll take a break then!"

"You'll take a break now, right?" Richard kept his strong arms around her.

"Do I have a choice?"

"No." Richard smiled and then nuzzled his nose against hers. "Do you want to hear about my journey?"

Lorelei melted against him. She suddenly became heavy, giving up any semblance of a fight as she relaxed against him to rest. She hummed quietly in affirmation as he picked her up and carried her up the steps. He opened the door with a word and revealed their bedroom, which looked exactly as he had left it.

"Did you really not even sleep in our bed?"

"It's too lonely to sleep alone."

Richard frowned, and his heart twinged. "Sorry." He carried her to the bed and then climbed into it, pinning her under him. "Is this better?"

"Yes."

He pulled the blankets over them as she remained wrapped around him.

"Tell me," she whispered.

"So I left you to your work, and I travelled around to meet with some old friends, as well as to make sure the world was doing fine. I wanted to help you with your work, so I kept the gem in mind. I had to deal with a few of those northerners, they've been talking about coming down with some giants, so I gave them a light warning. I went around to the various towns and cities, and bested some bandits here and there. I met with a dragon too, and she have me some powerful magical items. Ah, I met with Torgon too."

"You saw the dwarf?"

"He was a few towns away, but it seemed he was busy. He told me to give you his greetings."

"What happened to your gear?"

"Ah, right. I handed them over to Garzabul so he could fix it up."

"He didn't kill you?"

"Well, I told him that I needed them to protect you, and he wasn't going to kill me now that we're married."

"I wouldn't have forgiven him."

"I'm sure you would have."

"No," she said, pulling back to look into his eyes. "I wouldn't have. I won't forgive anyone who plans to take you from me." She scratched his back, causing him to straighten up.

"Right, right. Anyway, he promised to fix it and return it to us."

"Did you meet your brother?"

"No, I didn't. I hear there's a war brewing, and chances are he'll be on the front lines."

"Do you want me to check up on him?"

"Would you?"

"Of course." She rubbed his face gently. "He's my brother now too…"

Richard smiled. "I hear he has his own party. So far there's a sorceress and a priestess. He's on his way to make a harem."

"Do you want a harem?" Her claws dug into his back.

"I can't even handle you." Richard kissed her nose, causing her to rub along his back.

"You smell gross," the mage said, keeping her head against his. "Did you use the item I gave you?"

"Well, I've only just returned.' Richard chuckled. "Yes, it was a great help. Thanks for making it for me. I could leave for months on end with such an ite-ah! Not that I would!"

Lorelei stopped digging into his back as she then leaned back and stared up at him. "Did you miss me?"

"Of course I did."

"I've been working on this for so long… I should be done soon."

"Take as long as you need."

Lorelei smiled and then kissed him. This time she did not pull away from the kiss. She cut his clothes with her claws and then climbed on top of him.

*****

His fingers brushed along her coarse demonic scales, before gliding over her silky skin. His fingers squeezed all over her as she allowed him to explore her body. They kissed for a long while before they finally fell together into a frenzy of heat and passion.

When their intense love making finally passed, they embraced one another fondly. His lips trailed along her neck before she finally pulled away.

"I should get back to work," she said, her voice faint like a distant mouse.

Richard grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her back. "It's our anniversary. This is the one night you can spend away from work."

"I suppose if it's only tonight..." Lorelei allowed herself to melt against him. She opened her mouth as though to speak, but her body grew heavy against her husband's. Richard wrapped his arms around, keeping her close.

"You're overworking yourself," he whispered. He kissed her forehead. "What has you so entranced that you must spend months on end studying? What is Mistress Fate keeping from you that you have to hurt yourself so?" He held onto her tighter.

There was no enemy to plunge his blade into. Her fight was between her and the etherealness of magic, something which he had no ability to assist. His hands burned with the need to drive his sword into something, but it soon faded away. He closed his eyes and joined her in slumberland.