Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it belongs to Misty Lackey.

AN: THANK YOU for the reviews. They keep me going when there's nothing else.

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Inevitable
Chapter II: Call of Duty
By: B. Angel

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He was warm. Too warm. Except he was cold at the same time. Even so, he didn't want to wake up, but his brain started working on its own and once the first thoughts trickled into his mind his eyes shot open and he bolted upright. Withen… His eyes darted nervously around the room. But everything was normal. It was his room. And he was sleeping where Tylendel had been previously. His forehead furrowed in confusion. Had it been another dream? And where was 'Lendel? Vanyel was getting sick of dreams. He had no gifts like his lover, he was no Herald. Yet why was he having these visions? The worst part was that he didn't even know if they were visions at all or merely figments of his very imaginative mind. After all, he had no reason to believe they were real, other than the fact that they were extremely lucid. Everything else, the pain, the pages, could be coincidence. Vanyel gripped his head, exhaling slowly. I'm going mad. He wished 'Lendel had never told him about such things.

The door opened and he looked up. Tylendel stood in the doorway. Haloed by the light from the other room, Vanyel could not clearly see his face, and it made him nervous. He carried a tray, steam rising from the bowl to evaporate in wisps around his head. Wthout a word, the Herald-trainee walked in, set the tray on the table beside the bed and turned to leave.

"'Lendel?" Vanyel winced, his voice was pathetically transparent. Tylendel stopped, but he made no move to turn around.

"You'd better eat that Van, you're not well."

Vanyel looked down. So he wasn't forgiven. He shouldn't have expected anymore. A more pressing issue arose in his mind, temporarily forgotten by his lover's presence.

"My—father."

"Is here."

Vanyel swallowed and let out a shaky breathe. So it wasn't a dream. The worst had happened. Gods, what was he going to do now?

"Savil's still with him." Tylendel paused, perhaps feeling some of Vanyel's distress. "Just worry about getting better for now Vanyel. She'll handle it."

Vanyel flinched at hearing his name, an ache forming in his chest that had nothing to do with his illness. He said nothing more as Tylendel walked out and shut the door.

I'm…alone again.

He glanced at the tray but the food it held did not appeal to him. He collapsed backwards onto the pillows, the ache in his chest settling into an empty numbness. A familiar feeling. A welcome feeling right now. What was going to happen now? His father would never believe him and it was a small and faint hope that Withen would listen to Savil. He didn't even know what his aunt planned to say, what she possibly could say. He was going to lose it all. He'd already lost it all.

And with that final realization the tears came. Silent and cold on his heated skin. God. Gods help me.

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Tylendel sat, dejected, on the couch. He was hunched over and his face was buried in his hands. There was a hole inside. So deep and so dark. And he didn't know how to fill it. And every time he saw Vanyel it seemed to grow wider and wider.

Being who and what he was he'd seen more than his fair share of pain. But now…Tylendel could not suppress the slightly hysterical laugh as his thoughts circled once again to the boy in the other room. Thanks to Herald Lancir, he could not remember what it felt like to die, but still he had thought that nothing could hurt worse than Staven's death. But this pain that Vanyel wrought, it ate away at him, gnawing at his insides without end. It overshadowed anything and everything that he thought important to him, gripping his mind so obsessively. But Tylendel couldn't even be angry. The anger in him had been deflated by Herald Lancir and Savil. He was left only with a hole.

He was never one to let matters go. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer. The why behind it all. And what answer could possibly justify what he'd done?

:Just remember that he loves you, Chosen.:

Tylendel scoffed quietly under his breath.

:And that's all that matters I suppose? I should just magically forgive Vanyel because I love him:

:As I love you. As I have forgiven you. The same goes for Savil.:

Tylendel winced, falling silent. Finally, he asked unhappily, :Why didn't he come to me:

:If you loved us, me, Savil, as much as you say you do, then why did you not come to us:

:That's different! You would have—:

The door opened and the conversation was forgotten. He pushed down the rising anxiety that he felt for Vanyel's situation. But anxiety was replaced by guilt and concern when he once again saw his mentor. There were shadows under her eyes that he'd put there, the crease that was etched almost permanently into her forehead was all his doing.

"Savil." He greeted softly.

"That old fool." Savil said tightly, but then her anger dissipated and she dropped into her favorite couch, weariness in her posture.

Tylendel swallowed uneasily.

"He petitions their Majesties in the morning for guardianship. And seeing as how Vanyel is First-born…" Savil exhaled slowly. "The nobles are of course going to side with their own. And the Circle is….wary of getting involved in a personal squabble like this. There are too many ramifications to maneuver around, it's doubtful they could even manage it."

"Basically we have no help." Tylendel concluded bitterly. Highly regarded he might be, but the law was the law and Withen was only demanding what was rightly his. For the Circle to oppose the Queen's decision on account of one trainee…it just wasn't going to happen.

"We knew what would happen if things got out of hand."

Tylendel rubbed his face, suddenly close to tears. He was going to lose him.

"I'm sorry, love. I've done what I could."

"I know." He said quietly. "But it's happening too fast. How did he know to come here? We've been discrete. No one knew!"

"I don't know."

A twinge. Tylendel squinted at his mentor. "Savil. What aren't you telling me?"

She watched him steadily for a moment. Her eyes suddenly drooped, as though in pain. "It was the Leshara." She said quietly. "Withen told me. One of them came to see him and indicated that there was something going on between the two of you. How they knew is beyond me. Maybe they didn't even know, they just wanted to cause trouble for you."

His world stilled for a minute. And then rage coursed through his veins. He welcomed the anger, it filled the empty void inside him. I'm going to kill them. Tylendel thought simply. They had effectively ruined his life. His father, his mother, his brother. And now Vanyel. He was going to kill every last one of them.

"I know what you're thinking and let me tell you right now I'll be damned before I let you get by me again."

:And me.: Gala said tightly.

"The Leshara clan is already in custody. They await trial and sentencing tomorrow. And you will watch it happen, and you will not touch a single one." Savil said heatedly.

:You will not touch a single one.: She reiterated in his mind. Loudly.

Tylendel remained silent, knowing even as he thought it, it was a battle he would never win.

"Well I'll be damned if I let them take Vanyel." He finally said.

Savil looked hesitant, but then her expression hardened.

"You know you can't do anything about it. We've done all we could."

"No!" He yelled, furious with her for daring to say it aloud. "Dammit Savil! I refuse to let them destroy the only thing left in my life!"

"We are Heralds." She retorted icily. "The law is ours to uphold, not to break. It can't be done!"

"Then what am I supposed to do?" He demanded. "Am I supposed to watch? As I did my father, my mother, my brother! Watch while they take away everything I love?"

She looked on the verge of tears, but her expression was that of steel and she answered him with dead calm. "Yes."

"Then what good is being a Herald?" He asked viciously. "If you cannot save the ones you love?"

"I'm sorry 'Lendel." It was the only thing she could offer. He turned away and froze. Vanyel stood in the doorway leading to their bedroom. His presence had gone unnoticed by both, so embroiled in the argument they'd been. His silver eyes watched Tylendel steadily. Tylendel flinched and looked away. He could not bear to meet that gaze, from one he loved so dearly and hated so much.

"I take it you've heard?" Savil asked softly.

"The law is the law, Aunt Savil." Came the reply, just as soft. "We are all bound by duties are we not?"

Tylendel lifted his head then, for the resignation in Vanyel's voice tore at him more than anything. Savil did not reply, but he saw tears on his teacher's face. His pain deepened. He had been harsh. Savil was as much pained, as much bound and helpless and frustrated as he was.

:You finally see.: Came a subdued voice in his head. He ignored her.

"It's okay." Vanyel said. "I am First-born. No harm will come to me." But even as he said it Tylendel could feel the inklings of dread in Vanyel. Abruptly he turned and strode from the room, ignoring Vanyel's pained voice, calling his name.

Once outside he broke into a run, heading blindly anywhere but here. He ran until he had nowhere left to run and he bent over, gasping for breath, his eyes shut tight as if that would keep thoughts out of his head. When he could straighten again, he was surprised, and a bit unnerved, to find himself at the Grove Temple. He stared up at the Death Bell, silent and unmoving, and yet it sent a shiver down his spine.

:Tylendel—: Gala began, concern all over her Mindvoice.

:Go away: He didn't shut her out entirely, she still lingered there in the back of his mind, reading his thoughts, but she wouldn't be able to speak to him anymore. He walked forward and into the temple itself. The emptiness inside calmed him down further. He sat down upon one of the benches against the wall and stared across at the marble wall. Here was a place that was seldom used except in times of great tragedy. How ironic that it would bring him peace now.

"Her Majesty assigns servants to clean this place everyday."

Tylendel jumped at Herald Lancir's voice and looked to the temple doors. The older Herald smiled dryly at him but he said nothing in return. Herald Lancir came and sat beside Tylendel, not too far, but not so close.

"She feels that to do otherwise would almost be criminal. It's a sentiment shared by all of us."

What did he want? Tylendel wondered. He wasn't seeking retribution, his words, his thoughts, vehement as they were, were really half-hearted at best.

"It's a good thing, really. Otherwise, this place would have fallen to ruin decades ago."

"What is it that you want, Herald Lancir?" Tylendel asked abruptly. He didn't want to hear words anymore, he just wanted silence, and hearing the man talk as though his life weren't about to be dealt another devastating blow was something Tylendel couldn't bear.

The Queen's Own fell silent and sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

"It is my job." He replied simply, quietly. "I maintain the stability of Heralds, for we do dangerous things, and sometimes those things leave us traumatized in ways that time alone just won't heal. And sometimes, even worse, there are those situations in which we, though we are believed to be capable of everything, are utterly helpless, bound by those very same rules that makes us so capable."

"What is it that you offer me then? Condolences?" Tylendel answered bitterly. "There is nothing you can say here that will change the situation at hand."

Herald Lancir's lips thinned into a small and sad smile. "I must admit, I'm at a loss at what to do with your situation. What I Felt between the two of you, what I inadvertently gleaned from your memories when I extracted the evidence, well, it's nothing short of a Lifebond, if not a true Lifebond." He shook his head ruefully. "And yet, that changes nothing, for Vanyel is not of age, and his father refuses to choose another Heir."

Tylendel trembled, stunned. A Lifebond? A Lifebond! How? Why? Why was this happening to him? What did he owe the Gods that they would do this to him? Why did Vanyel betray him, if this was a Lifebond? Why was he being taken away, if this was a Lifebond? Why? WHY! He shut his eyes and covered his face in his hands.

"There is hope, Tylendel." The Herald said even more gently. "It would only be a few years until Vanyel is of an age where he can legally relinquish his title as Heir."

He didn't speak. He couldn't speak. He only felt hollowness inside him, larger than before, more profound than before. Lifebonds were supposed to be happy things weren't they? People found each other and lived happily ever after, didn't they? Didn't they?

Herald Lancir finally sighed quietly. "I think I've said enough." A hand gripped Tylendel firmly on the shoulder for a long moment, "I only ask that you wait, for both your sake and his. Wait until things can be done properly so that you can be together, without…difficulties that would prevent it." And then he was gone.

The first sob came muffled. By the second and third the torrent of anguish and pain was rushing out of him. And Tylendel cried his grief in the silence of the Grove Temple.

Outside, a Companion stood, a lonely ghost before the temple doors.

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AN: So? Is it angst-worthy? Are there tears in your eyes? If not, I'm not doing it properly and somebody help me. Constructive comments appreciated on how to make it better.

Please note that I'm basing all of Vanyel's attitudes on the first book only. Because of that he is still immature and blah blah all the great stuff he's going to become hasn't come about yet because it wasn't until he met Moondance and Starwind that he grew up.