Ash found himself jolly and not in a way that he had known for a long time. “Just take her to Menomori, I know myself and I am a bard and Menomori would be the place I would want to be taken.” Holly was throwing suggestions out. “Just don’t scare her off. I like Aisling.”

“I’ve already gotten her flowers… Should I get chocolates or.. wine?” Ash looked helplessly at his sister as he tried to decide just what to do for the half elf.

“I would do both. Maybe give her a gift and not be creepy.”

“I am not creepy Holly.” Ash laughed a bit as he jogged out of the inn to find the perfect sweets and wine for the trip. “I will take her tomorrow.” He kept telling himself as he willed his courage forward. Aisling had a soul he had to know and not only that he found himself fiercely protective of the halfling. Once he had spent nearly all of his silver on gifts he came back to the inn and planned out the rest of the trip.

In the morning he didn’t hide the wine or chocolate, he merely found himself at her room and banged on the door. “Flower, may I pry you away from your companions for a few hours?” Ash was nervous but he really did favor the girl and Holly was insistent on him at least trying. Once she opened the door, he gave her a smile and held up the wine and sweets. “I got a day planned for us if you have time for me.”

Aisling had just finished dressing for the day and was finishing her trademark blonde twisted braid when Ash came knocking at the door. The pretty half-elf looked at Holly in surprise as Ash asked for her, but giggled and quickly got up from the vanity and moved to the door. She was wearing her pale blue dress, which brought out the grey in her eyes, and made her glow like she was part of the radiant sun. 

"You are up early, this is a pleasant surprise," she said as he held up the basket and asked if she had any plans for the day. She looked back at Holly. "We don't have any performances planned today, correct?" she asked her friend. The confirmation came that there was nothing scheduled, and she noted Holly's sly look as she said it, but turned back to Ash with a smile. 

"It looks like I am yours for the day, good sir," she said as she grabbed her satchel and harnessed her harp across her back. She waved a happy good-bye to Holly and closed the door behind her as she joined Ash in the hall. 

"So, are you going to keep our little outing a secret, or are you going to tell me what you have planned?" she asked the paladin as they began their walk out into the sunlight. 

Ash took a moment to look her entire body over. “The blue suits you like the night sky meeting the morning.” He took her hand and kissed it gently. The look on Holly’s face entertained him. “You can rest assured that I have already asked all the important questions so that I could have you to myself today.” He waved to his sister before taking Aisling’s arm in his.

“I am not telling you.” The look he gave her was even more sly than the look Holly had moments before. “You can guess though. If you get it right I shall reward you.” While they walked he took her guesses in stride. Even if she got it right he played it off as if she did not, only to keep the surprise and intensity going.

Once they got far enough into the city the sly man took a scrap of cloth and covered her eyes. “It is a surprise, I wouldn’t have told you even if you guessed right.” He kissed her cheek and kept her in tow. Once they got in front of Menomori Ash undid the blindfold and smiled at her. “Holly said as a bard you would like this, so I thought to myself what a good place for a song to be written by the beautiful Aisling.”

Aisling proceeded to spend the next few minutes guessing where Ash was taking her. She asked about the tea shops, the square they had danced in the first day they had arrived, down to the pier, out to the rocks along the coast, and other places. She even asked if he was planning on taking her to the palace, and still he denied all of her guesses, and was even amused by them. Finally she was all but ready to give up when he paused and pulled a scrap of cloth from the basket and draped it over her eyes.

"Ash!" she giggled as he kissed her cheek. "You sneaky devil," she said as he took her hands and carefully guided her out of the city and into the fields. She felt the ground becoming more difficult to traverse while blindfolded. 

"Honestly, Ash, I am going to break an ankle if you keep this up much longer," she laughed as she tripped lightly over a rock. When they finally arrived, Ash squared her in her spot and pulled the blindfold from her eyes. She blinked a couple of times and gasped slightly as she realized where they were standing. In front of her, like a thick green wall, was the bamboo forest of Menomori. She turned back to Ash. 

"I've been wanting to visit this place! I've heard so much about it!" she enthused. She turned back to the wall. "We are going in right? I know that if you go in with ill intent you will never find your way out, but clearly neither of us mean any ill," she smiled. 

“My dear, it is sneaky paladin. If I were the devil you would have been mine last night.” He teased her softly as he guided her to Menomori. “I would never let you break an ankle. Even if you did break an ankle I would take care of you until you were healed. I would wait on you day in and day out and got you whatever your heart desired until you were better. Believe me, I do not tell a lie.” He chuckled a bit at her.

Finally when he revealed the forest to her he braced himself for the excitement that Aisling had. “None.” He took her arm and walked into the bamboo forest with her. Stopping her once they were part way to the lake he smiled at her. “Do not laugh at me, I had Holly help me.”

He got down on one knee and held her hand. “No I’m not proposing just listen Flower.” He cleared his throat. 

“Never had I expected, in all my days of travel, 
to happen upon an angel fair, who made my heart unravel. 
Her hair a cascade of liquid gold, a halo around her shines. 
Her eyes like storms upon the sea, or burnished silver from deep mines. “

Gently he kissed her hand after he got done speaking and stood back up. “A picnic at the lake. I thought that would be a good place for us to talk and for you two maybe write a song or two.” He looped his arm with hers and winked in her direction. "I have a present for you as well if you'll take it, but that's not until later. For now we can enjoy the forest and each other's company."

Aisling was all smiles as she and Ash delved into the misty land of the bamboo forest, and the going was much better now that she could see properly. The cool shade and mist made for a nice trek through the tall straight forest that reached for the sky. The deeper they delved the more the bamboo seemed to spread out, revealing a moss covered scene that was almost surreal. They walked in mostly silence for a time, on occasion making comments of the landscape, but Aisling found herself more in awe of all that surrounded her. Eventually their conversation returned and Ash took a pause, asking that she not laugh at him for what he was about to do. 

She looked at him quizzically as he took her hand and got down on one knee, and the briefest thought entered her mind though he was quick to dispel it. Instead he was reciting a poem, albeit it seemed a partially created poem, but it made her blush and giggle. He kissed her hand again, and then stood, and told her his plans. 

"You have a silvered tongue sometimes, and as silly as those lines were, I can tell you put some real thought into them. Thank you, you are incredibly sweet," she said with a smile as she lightly went to tuck his hair back behind his ears. She smiled coyly as he winked at her and took her arm in his again. 

"So, did you come up with the idea for this outing, or did Holly help you with this as well?" Aisling asked him, in an almost teasing manner. "You don't have to answer that," she added quickly. "We'll just say that this was all your idea," she giggled. 

Soon the forest opened up, and they were standing at the edge of one of the most beautiful lakes Aisling had ever seen. 

"Ash, this is positively beautiful…" she said in awe.

Ash blushed a bit in return and laughed. “A bard deserves everything she loves. Even if I may not be a master of poetry I know you will like the effort.” He bopped her softly on her nose as she pushed his hair back. He was about to answer that Holly helped him when Aisling decided not to hear it. It made him laugh as they walked.

A smile tugged at his face as he stood there watching her reaction. “This is one of the most beautiful lakes in all of Revaliir. My second favorite, only Arri’s beats it.” pulled a blanket out of the basket and laid it out for them to sit on. “I brought us food and a place to sit, but I figured you my dear could sing us a few songs. I’ve yet to hear that voice of yours.”

He sat down on the blanket and took a moment before laughing, “I was suppose to say ‘You sure are”. He was trying to show he wasn’t completely sappy as he pulled out the wine. “This isn’t my mother’s but it was a good price which means it can only be good.” He got them glasses and paused for a moment or two.

“She is my flower
Her radiant petals fill me with hope
Her eyes dazzle me when I see them
Her smile fills me with light
Her voice is akin to the trumpets of the heavens
Without her, my skies are grey
Without her I feel weak and lost
My flower, I keep close to my heart
I dare not to lose her, I dare not to drop her.”

He gave another smiled as he patted the spot besides him. “Everything I say to you is true.”

Aisling sat down upon the blanket, and giggled at his comments. "Silly, you have heard me sing. You've heard me sing the last two nights at the very least. Or did you mean, have yet to here me sing solo?" she asked him as he lifted the glasses and the bottle of wine from the basket he had been carrying. She smiled again, and took the glass so he could pour the wine, and was struck again by the way he had with words. This time, the poem was not sappy, though it still had an unfinished feeling to it. Her heart fluttered beneath her breast and as yet another blush painted her cheeks. 

"I don't think anyone has ever said such sweet things to me," she said softly. "Not without meaning them as you do, at least," she added as she lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip of the wine he had poured. It was sweet, with a rather floral aroma, and she could taste notes of cherry and plum within the red liquid. She scooted a bit closer to him and set the glass down upon a flat stone that was nearby before she pulled out her harp-lute, or her dital lute, and situated it on her lap. 

Lightly, her fingers found their place on the struts of the lute as her other hand plucked at the strings fluidly, with great skill. Her voice was soft, and rich as her notes began to float about them and out onto the surface of the lake. She was a reflection, a visage of those around her, but she knew the truth; would he be able to see beneath the disguise? She would reflect all and the spaces in between, though it was just a dream. But she reminded him that they had to believe in something, in anything. 

She looked up at him as she strummed the strings.
"Do you love me just the way I am?
Do you need me? Will you take a chance?
Do you see me for all that I can be?
Do you believe, believe in me?"

More verses she went through, about getting lost to be found, and freeing those you might wish to have return. About how it was said that true love was blind, and that it was a mental state, and if it was not being sought, one would risk being left behind. Thrice more she repeated her chorus, always looking up into Ash's eyes as she sang. Finally her fingers left the strings and the notes tapered off into the air, lingering over the lake. 

"I hope I did not disappoint you," she said with a soft smile. 



((OOC: if interested in hearing the actual song she sang here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK3peWKNFII ))

“I meant you sang with Holly. I want to hear you solo.” He chuckled at her. He filled the glasses for them and sipped on the wine.  He frowned a bit and reached out to brushed her hair back. “Shame, someone should have said more like that to you and meant it.”

He lounged on the blanket and brought the wine up to his lips one more time. Her song reached his ears and he relaxed to it. It took him back to when his mother use to sing lullabies at the foot of their bed. She may have been a busy person but she never missed that opportunity. His eyes watched hers and he shook his head. “You could never disappoint me Flower.”

He pulled himself up and looped his hand behind her head. His fingers played with her blonde locks as he pulled himself forward to give her a quick kiss. It was nothing too overpowering and as gentle as he could make it. He didn’t want it to seem forced on her. His hand tracked around her face as his thumb gently caressed her skin.

“I’m not too great with poetry or singing but I mean everything that I said. I may need Holly’s help in that department but I made sure she took note of everything I feel and how I see you.” He smiled sheepishly at her. "She just helped me craft the words even if they didn't come out that great." He blushed a bit.

Aisling watched him intently as he sat up and slipped his hand about her and lightly played with her flaxen hair for a moment before he leaned in and slightly pulled her into a light and gentle kiss. It was soft, and Aisling could still taste the wine upon his lips, and she found herself disappointed that it was so fleeting. She did, however, smile and lifted her hand and placed it over the one of his that lingered to caress her face. 

She couldn't help but look down almost shyly as Ash told her he meant what he said. She shook his hand and gripped it gently, and meaningfully. 

"You know, you have more talent for wordsmithing than you give yourself credit for," she told him gently. "And I don't hold it against you if you seek the help of those who know the craft better. That's how you learn," she added as she lightly reached up to play with his salt and peppered hair. "But sometimes words are not needed," she said as she leaned in and pressed her lips to his, kissing him a little longer and a little deeper than he had her.