Didiane plucked at the same two strings again and again, humming to herself, working out words... She knew what she wanted to say but the words themselves weren't quite right. The tune wasn't quite there.

But she needed to be the first to sing about Orielle's latest feat. That, Didiane knew. She always tried to be first, even when it meant sneaking along to watch Orielle fight. Seeing Orielle in action, her sword cutting though both the air and her enemies, was a sort of poetry that Didiane fought to put to music.

This time, it had been a pack of monsters raiding farms. Orielle had been beautiful as she fought, sweat on her face, blood on her armor, her sword shining in the morning sun as she made short work of the beasts...

Didiane paused and sighed. She would sing of Orielle, as she'd sung of Orielle for the last handful of years. She would sing of Orielle until her voice left her. She would-

But Orielle had never paid her a bit of attention, aside from an occasional nod of appreciation when Didiane volunteered to carry supplies on an expedition. But she'd always disguised herself. No need for a bard on an extermination mission.

"Her blade in the sun..." Didiane closed her eyes and worked through words, there, alone in the quiet ruins of some old stone shrine just beyond the city walls. "It shines like..."

Orielle was not the type to frequent the taverns that Didiane earned her coin in. Not once had Didiane ever seen Orielle cross the threshold when she was performing.

But that was fair; Orielle was probably always training.

"Her blade in the sun..." With a slightly different progression, it sounded a little more daring, even though the monsters hadn't exactly been a challenge. Not for Orielle. That was why she'd been sent. There were other knights, but she was the one that shone.

"Her blade in the sun..." News of the successful mission would spread quickly, but not quickly enough that any of the other bards in town would beat her if she...

Didiane worked through more notes and more words, careful not to exaggerate too much and not let too many of her own feelings slip in. The former was easy, the latter not so much.

But what would she do if Orielle did notice her? The last handful of years suggested it would never happen. Didiane supposed she would just write another song, one of love. That one would be easy. That one would not require any restraint.

Exhaling, Didiane changed to play through a few old standards before working her way through some of her other songs about Orielle. She played for the afternoon sun and the quiet, mossy stones around her and listened to her own voice and the words she used and the words of those before her.

When she'd finished, she knew how to sing of Orielle. She would be the first, and perhaps finally Orielle would hear her.

Didiane played a few notes and sang, wavering only once on word choice, through the morning's adventure. Orielle, in the morning sun, savior of the farms, shining in the early light like an angel...

Words Orielle would never hear. She was perhaps back in her quarters, having met with the princes and reported her success. Perhaps she was sparring with the other knights, stripped of her armor and using only a wooden teaching blade. Or perhaps she was done with everything for the day and retreated to a hot bath where-

No, no, that was not the kind of song that Didiane sang. Not in the afternoon sun, at least, and not without a few mugs of beer and a few handfuls of gold coins. And even then, never of Orielle, just the old bawdy standards made twice as grand coming from a woman's mouth without a blush on her face.

Didiane went through her new song again, not wavering, and then again, sure that she was satisfied. There was no need to write it down; Didiane never forgot anything about Orielle.

And one more time...

She closed her eyes and sang, letting the song flow from her. Soon, it would feel like all the others she knew or had written; it would be a part of her she didn't need to think about. It would be there, Orielle, inside her as another song...

When Didiane finished, there was slow, soft applause. It was far form the first time she'd attracted an audience while practicing, but the old shrine was normally safe from prying ears.

"Why do you always sing about me?"

Didiane knew the voice before she'd opened her eyes, before she saw Orielle standing there not in armor or practice leather but in just a tunic and pants as if she was not the city's greatest knight.

"Because you are incredible," Didiane replied quickly, before her voice threatened to escape her and hide in the ivy and shadows at the back of the shrine.

"I'm just doing what I can," Orielle said softly before looking a bit longer at Didiane. "Until today, I hadn't realized the woman who sometimes carries our gear was also the bard who..."

"I put my hair up..." Didiane shook her head. She did put her hair up and change how she dressed, but that was not it, not why- "I... I want to be the first to sing about you."

Orielle nodded. "I suppose it pays well."

Didiane winced. No, no, that was not why!

"I didn't mean to interrupt you, either," Orielle added. "I've actually been listening for awhile..."

Didiane said nothing, but she was rather glad she hadn't run through the bawdy stuff.

"I've listened to you before, too. One of my cousins owns the Noble Crow Tavern and I slip into the kitchen most nights."

That was where Didiane would perform later. It was her most common stage and oh, well, Orielle had certainly heard all of her songs!

"I just don't really understand why..."

"Because you are incredible," Didiane said again. "Not just as a knight... You..."

There was no reason to hold back, was there? Perhaps Orielle would finally understand, if years of songs had not been enough.

"You are beautiful and noble and kind," Didiane explained as she quietly and gently set her lute aside and got to her feet. She walked over the remains of wooden timbers and fallen stones. "I would sing of you for lifetimes, Orielle."

For a moment, Orielle was silent until her expression changed in an instant.

"You..."

"Yes," Didiane said. She would not deny her feelings, not to the object of her affection. Not to Orielle. Not when Orielle had heard her.

Slowly, Orielle reached out her hand and just as slowly, Didiane closed the rest of the distance between them.

Orielle was warm and Didiane smiled.

"Didiane..."

For a moment, Didiane was surprised that Orielle knew her name, but no, she'd listened for years, after all, just as Didiane had sang...

"May I ask for another private performance?" Orielle asked softly.

"Whenever you would like," Didiane replied. "Whenever you would like until my voice leaves me."