A Promise

by Rahalia (rahalia_cat@yahoo.co.uk)

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Summary: A book, a man, a promise.

Spoilers/Warnings: None

Disclaimers: None

It is a large book, heavy with the weight of ink and vellum, its pages crackled with age and history. Many a promise is written between its covers, signed with many a name. Tonight a man stands, charged quill in hand, lost in thought as he confronts the enormity of starting a new page with his solemn vow.

Many hours has he spent turning words over in his mind, twisting and shaping them, attempting to form coherence from the feelings deep inside, but they remain elusive and chaotic. If he could only catch but a few strands of letters then maybe he could construct a promise from them, much as he draws together tendrils of the Force to form a beloved face before his dreams take over.

He sighs, the shallow breath stirring nothing but a few dust motes in the golden evening light that creeps beneath the lowered blinds. It's impossible. How can what I feel be distilled into a single sentence? he thinks, as another sigh breaks the silence.

The warmth of a large hand on his, the serenity of blue eyes gazing at him, the sound of a voice that soothed him from childhood until...

He looks down as the nib lifts from the page, leaving behind a ribbon of words set in glistening black ink: a hand not his own, but instantly recognisable.

I shall never forget.

With a gentle smile, he signs his name to his promise and leaves as quietly as he came.