A/N: I've been in this consistent Stefan/Sigrun stage for awhile now, so I've been entertaining myself by jotting down a few drabbles here or there. This idea has actually been around for awhile now but I can't necessarily say I'm certain it's going to go anywhere. At least, not soon anyways.

Her letters came and went with every passing week.

There wasn't a day that went by where some form of a messenger was dropping by to hand off another blank envelope to him. She had signed them the first few months but after awhile those signatures disappeared; he still knew she was the one behind them though- she was the only one who sent off letters this far into the desert.

He never replied them though.

After awhile, he stopped reading them all together.

This separation between them was needed; he wanted to further that severance till any notion of them from before was gone. It was safer this way. He had worked hard to convince himself of that and it seemed as though he was finally coming to terms with it.

It seemed impossible to do at first but as more and more things were needed to do around the desert colony, he found himself too busy to even think back on it. As leader of the new colony, he was expected to take care of the people and the land; expected to tend to any problem or crisis that had trespassed onto their territory. He had prepared himself for that kind of responsibility and found himself enjoying it more and more. It felt like he was finally good for something other than fighting and killing.

For once, it felt like he actually had a purpose.

He was busy making a home for people like him; those who had been battered and abused by the actions of both wars; those who had been rejected by society and couldn't find a standing in this fast-paced world. If he could just… give them a home to go to, then he had done his job; he had completed that mission. And if there was nothing more he could do then he would be satisfied with that alone.

"Stefan, there's a visitor here to see you; it's Queen Nailah of the White Wolves."

He pulled himself away from the desk and papers in front of him and towards the red-haired man who just barely stopped in the doorway. A brief nod dismissed the man onward as he turned away from the work and started across the small office to greet the woman. She had dropped by once or twice during their set up and had offered help when they needed it; her Wolf-tailed people seemed gracious to help when it was asked of them and carried on with the charity duties with little remarks. He assumed their long years of isolation had made them rather depleted of the any kind of judgment towards the Branded; it was refreshing to witness but he imagined that things would've been different otherwise.

Stepping out of the small building that had served as some kind of office site for now, he nodded briefly towards the Laguz Queen and headed rather quickly towards her; she was not a woman to waste time and would bitterly remark of such when it occurred. She also had a distaste for conversations which made him wonder why she was here in the first place. Come to think of it, it appeared as though her White Heron shadow was not with her… even more so odd; the two were inseparable at all times of the day and night. Fingertips brushed aside his hanging green strands and pushed them from his face as he moved to approach the woman. "Queen Nailah, I am honored by your presence here. Is there something I can assist you with?"

The stern, scar-covered woman turned back towards him as her massive tail flickered now and again across the hot sun. It would almost seem as though her leather sandals would provide little protection from the scorching sand but he supposed that assumption would be wrong. Her gray-silver strands curled down in bouncy locks that were tossed around her rather broad shoulders; layered patches fell down to cover the mark of her right eye and seemingly hide it and its story from public viewing. Her facial muscles were relaxed and yet she showed nothing more than that every present tension of a stoic look- sometimes it was frightening to think about how she would look without it. Without words, she held up a small envelope with three fingers and planted it almost painfully against his chest. "Your woman continues to send words and yet she gets no replies."

"She is… beautifully persistent." he started as he cautiously took the letter in hand only to keep it from falling to the sand below. "Why did she send you this?"

"Because I would reply in one way or another." Nailah answered. "But I am not the one to be questioned here. You are."

Part of him wanted to open it and the other wanted to crumble it in hand. Not because of her persistence but for his own stupidity… when asked out loud, it seemed as though he had no reason to toss aside her letters. It was for his own selfish reasons because he had blindsided himself with this colony. But it had to be done, right? He had to… help these people first and himself last. "It is a long and complicated answer that I am not prepared to give to you right now."

The Wolf did not seem the least bit entertained by the remark and narrowed her eye briefly. "If you wish for this new kingdom of yours to rise, then you will need her; she is giving you something that is far more valuable than anything this desert can offer you."

"And what is that exactly?"

"She is giving you a son."