Donnoi

I walked quietly into the Library, stopping at the banister, hearing the soft low voice of the Lady below, seeing Grr kneeling at her feet. The noble outline of his head was silhouetted in the firelight, red and gold light dancing off his fur. The Lady stood still and smooth as stone, draped in red, a tableaux vivant, the queen and her knight.

Grr lifted the dog tags from his neck and placed them in Omega’s hand, setting his paw on them gently, before withdrawing. The Lady’s clear blue eyes widened as she opened her hand, looking at the tags. “GrrBrool…why are you giving me these?”

“These, are…my first possessions, Lady. They are…me.” Grr spoke quietly, his words thick with meaning. I felt a wave of sadness wash over me, thinking of his time in the kennels, in the military, trained to be a thing of only tooth and claw.

“Then you should not part with them, my love,” Omega replied.

“I…just, it…” Grr trailed off.

The Lady held the tags up in one hand, looking at them and smiling gently. “I accept your gift, GrrBrool. Thank you. I can do what I wish with these?”

Grr nodded in silence.

“Display them how I please?” Omega continued.

“They are me,” Grr said simply, seeking her gaze. “Once together, always together. A thing like a thing, is a thing.”

I watched as Omega nodded and repeated her question. “I can display them how I please?”

“Yes, Lady. They are yers now.”

“Then, GrrBrool, I choose, to display them in their only proper setting. Which is, my love, with you, around your neck.” Omega reached out, stroking the ruff of cheek. “You'll do this for me?”

Grr nodded as the Lady leaned down and fastened the tags around his neck once more. I stepped back into the street, feeling much as though I had glimpsed a private thing of beauty never meant to be seen, a pledge to the Lady’s rule in the realm of love.