ireriele's eyes first met taeral's across the room of the candlelit tavern common room she had chosen to play in that night. when he invited her to dine with him, she bemusedly accepted, having no idea of what would come next. she found he was easy to talk to, and he made her laugh, despite the cares she still carried with her. whenever she was with him, she didn't feel quite so lost and cursed. when he leaned across the table one night and kissed her, she knew she was falling in love with him. attachments, however, scared her, for even though she had learned to accept her curse, the idea of having to share the burden with another frightened her. she pushed her feelings aside to travel with him anyway, telling herself that she could bottle up her feelings, and that friendship was already a wonderful new experience for her.
when taeral asked her to return home with him, though, she knew she could not hide the truth from him any longer, or she'd lose him forever, and that—that, she was not prepared to do. she should have expected him to be understanding, but she was still afraid. he met her confession with ready kindness and patience, and she felt a huge burden lifted from her shoulders. when she showed him the gal-ralan she wore and would always wear around her leg, he didn't flinch away. taeral brought her back to the place he grew up and soon after, they were married, as while ireriele had never been impulsive in her relationships with others, she knew that this time, she was making the right choice and she didn't want to wait any longer. irie was ready to spend less time travelling, as long as she was able to share her music with the dusk elves she lived with, though she would never say no to an extended vacation, especially if it was just the two of them.
irie had always been nervous about having children and saddling them with the burden of being cursed, but with taeral, she felt that maybe, they would not be fated to be unhappy, and slowly, he helped her realize that it wouldn't be such a terrible thing. the curse was a dark thing, but she would never have traded her life for anything else, so why be afraid to give someone else that opportunity? she was sure that they would raise their children to fight their darker natures. cheerful and optimistic, they started a family together, and irie felt that after a lifetime of feeling alone, she could make sure that her children never felt that way.
