Flame Song awoke the next morning with Aidan snuggled comfortably around her, his arm draped over her. He was warm, but it was a bit eerie to not be able to feel or hear him breathing. Usually when she woke like this his breath was tickling the back of her neck. “Aidan? Are you awake?”

“Hmmm?” he relied drowsily.

“You know it’s a little weird to be laying here with somebody who isn’t breathing. I’m used to having you breathing down my neck in the morning.”

“This better?” Aidan said, and blew a warm breath over her neck. She giggled.

“That tickles.”

“Mmmmmm,” was Aidan’s only response.

The house was silent. Littlespark was still asleep, probably tired out after chasing the rabbit around in the middle of the night. Flame Song twisted around and kissed Aidan again. “Spark is still sleeping you know.”

Aidan yawned. “Sorry.” His eyes had closed again. “Sun’s up, too tired, ‘l take a rain check.”

She smiled. It had taken forever for her to get used to some of the odd sayings that Aidan used but she knew what that one meant. She got up and got dressed for the day. Aidan’s new nocturnal habits could get to be a nuisance, but she didn’t really mind. So she spent the day around the house while Aidan slept. She painstakingly wrote a letter to Tara, telling her their story and asking if she could send an amulet for Aidan. With the snow now on the ground she wouldn’t be able to send the letter until spring thaw, when the passes opened, but she wanted it to be ready to go as soon as possible. She played with Littlespark and fed her. She was starting to eat solid foods now, and gaining an increasing vocabulary of simple words. About noon she started to nod off, and Flame Song put her down for a nap.

She tiptoed out of the spare bedroom and into the room where Aidan was sleeping. “Aidan?”

He opened one eyes and said, “Yes?”

“Spark is down for a nap, so I thought we might use that rain check of yours.”

His eyes were closed again and he didn’t answer. With a smile and a sigh Flame Song lay down on the bed next to him and curled up. Oh well, she thought. I could use a nap after last night anyhow.

And so their days went by. Finding it nearly impossible to get Aidan to be coherent during the day, Flame Song and Littlespark gradually switched to a more nocturnal schedule. Aidan seemed to finally be coming to terms with his new existence, though at times he would still sink into depression. The winter passed slowly, and the long dark days came. The sun would barely lighten the sky but did not rise about the horizon. The cold deepened, and even Flame Song with her thick furry coat ventured out no more than she had to. Aidan got better at hunting, keeping all three fed with a combination of vampiric speed and the power of flight. He could surprise prey from above and would usually take his own meal then and there to avoid having to feed in front of Flame Song. He was adjusting to this life, but he still wanted to protect her from all aspects of it as much as possible.

At long last the sun peeked above the horizon. Gradually the days began to lengthen. The weather was still bitingly cold, but spring would come soon. Then the temperature began to rise and the snow began to soften and melt. Flame Song kept an eye on the distant mountains, and when the solid white began to show streaks of the gray stone beneath, she knew that the pass would soon be open.

She dug the letter she had written out and handed it to Aidan. “What’s this?” he asked.

“It’s a letter to Tara, explaining our situation and asking if she can send us an amulet. Fly it over to Coppertop tonight and see that it’s mailed to her as soon as possible.”

"Yes sir!” He gave her a mock salute.

She laughed. “Get going then!”

Saluting again, he spun around sharply and marched out the door. Flame Song grinned at his retreating figure. He was starting to act like his old self again. She hoped this was a good sign. It was hard for her to see him so depressed.

It wasn’t too long before Aidan returned. “I had a bit of a time getting it mailed. Aretha needs mail slots you can just put a letter thought anytime. I finally found someplace open that could send it on to Snowcap. They were a little suspicious of me. I guess Belak wasn’t lying when he said that the dwarves aren’t comfortable with me anymore.” He sighed. “But in any case it’s now on its way. The fellow I spoke with said the first spring caravan would be going out tomorrow, so we had good timing.”

“Well, now we just have to wait, I guess.”

So they went about their lives and waited. Only a few weeks had passed when a knock came at their door about noon. Aidan opened his eyes, but couldn’t quite summon the energy to get out of bed. With a yawn Flame Song got up and threw on a robe. She went out into the main room and closed the door firmly behind her to make sure that no trace of sunlight would leak into the bedroom. She opened the front door to find Belak standing in the entryway. She blinked at the brightly sunlit landscape that silhouetted him

He looked at her and blushed just a little. “Sorry, did I wake you?”

“It’s all right Belak. So what brings you here?”

The dwarf held out a small package. “This. It arrived just this morning. Seems Zenobia Starchaser, you know her, was wintering at Snowcap when your letter arrived, and she made a very fast trip to Porttown and back again.” He shook his head. “I think she might be a wee bit mad, sailing this early in the year, but she got it here quick enough.”

“Thank you for bringing it by Belak.”

“Ach well, it wasn’t much. I’ll let you get back to sleep now. I forgot that you all would likely be keeping odd hours these days.”

Flame Song waved goodbye as Belak left. Then she shut the door and returned to the bedroom. “Aidan, did you hear?”

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling his trousers on and blinking the sleep out of his eyes. “Yeah! Let’s go and test it out now!”

“I…” Flame Song hesitated. What if it didn’t work? Aidan would be hurt, might even be killed. She shook her head. No, she trusted Tara too much to really doubt her, but she couldn’t help but worry.

Aidan grinned at her as he slipped the amulet over his head to rest on his bare chest. It was circular and set in the center with a red stone. “It matches your other one,” said Flame, pointing at the black iron torc that Aidan always wore around his neck.

“Yeah. I’m getting a collection of jewelry I can’t remove. Now all I need are a couple of rings, a bracelet, and maybe an earring to match.”

Flame Song laughed. It was good to see Aidan in a good mood again. He left the room and strode to the front door. Drawing a deep breath, he jerked it open. Diffuse light flooded into the room. The sun was too high in the sky to shine directly into the house, but only a few feet in front of Aidan in the entry tunnel, the shadows ended and the sunlight began. “Well, so far so good” he said and drew another deep breath. At the back of her mind, Flame Song was wondering why in the world he was doing that, since he didn’t need to breathe anymore. Just force of habit I guess. Aidan stepped forward quickly, as if he didn’t want to put this off any longer. His bare feet entered the sunny patch, then the rest of him gradually moved into the light. From behind he seemed like an angel, haloed in golden radiance.

“It works!” Aidan laughed out loud and repeated, “It works! It really works!”

Belak, now nearly half a mile off on a low rise, heard the joyful shout and turned around. He saw Aidan laughing with his face tilted up and his arms reaching out towards the sun. He smiled at his young friend, and then turned and headed home.

Aidan stood with the warm sunlight washing over him. It seemed like now he could live again. He looked at Flame Song, who was stepping out of the tunnel behind him. She came and stood next to him, smiling widely. He looked at her with the sunlight on her face, a sight he had thought never to see again. He remembered their earlier conversation about her age. I don’t want to ever live without her, he thought, but maybe, just maybe, two hundred years together will be just long enough.