So here we go, another chapter to this story. I want to thank the ones who took time to read and review, these are what keeps me writing. I want to point out that I am coming towards the end of what I had ready in writing and now am onto current in progress chapters, so updates might take time but do not fear, this fic is not forgotten and I plan to complete it as fast as I can. ;)
Another thing is that the Snitch (where all my and Entropist's where hosted before) has come back up under a new name (the Daily Snitcher, you can google it) and thus you can also read them there.
That said, onto the story. ;)
--
Chapter 20: Double cross
--
Talk about an airtight wrap, Yannick thought as he walked through the Ministry's lobby, heading towards the elevators.
The last few weeks had not brought any breakthrough on the case and it was really starting to get on his nerves. It had been a constant search to find the clue that would open it again for investigation and while Forrester and his team were rather obviously incompetent, Yannick had to admit that they had actually done a good job tying this case together. They had left no clue around that would show their so-called "culprit" was just a fake used by them to shelve the case away as "resolved".
Sean and he were spending time in the Ministry in order to look as if trying to find something. The only thing that kept Yannick at it was the fact that this was actually a cover to draw attention onto them while Gran was analyzing her own copy of the case file, which Remus had managed to get to her secretly. She did not let on much on her progress but Yannick knew that she would find anything that they had for some chance overlooked.
She was not doing only this however. She had also been digging around Octavius and his entourage in a bid to find out what that man's interest in getting this case shelved was. They had no clues yet, but it was obvious that he was one of the main players in this and Gran was hell-bent onto finding out exactly how. And Yannick knew that it was only a matter of time before she did find what she was looking for. One did not live for centuries without knowing how to ferret out data from anywhere.
On a brighter note, things were going very well on the personal side. Alex was now his fiancée and the first thing they had done the next day was to announce it to his parents, who had both been delighted for them. Sea and Cynthia had been next to know of the proposal and while they also had been delighted for them, it was clear that they had been expecting it to happen sooner or later. Alex had confided on the news to Angelina at her next practice and Yannick had been greeted by a very happy team when he had come to pick her up that day, not that he had minded at all. After all, the team was like a second family for Alex.
The news had been disclosed to Gran and Aidan the following day and Gran had then arranged a family dinner on the coming weekend in order to make it easier for him to announce the news to all. She had even managed to get Alwena over from Hogwarts for the occasion after a short conversation with Albus Dumbledore. The family's reaction to the announcement of the engagement was what he had expected, with everyone wishing them the best. Alex however had been extremely moved by the way the family had accepted her. Later that evening, while they were in the portrait room of the manor, she had confided that Laure had told her that she had the feeling Valerian was also about to propose to her. If that were true, the Silverleaf family was about to see a few weddings in the near future.
"Do you think our children will look like them?" she had asked him as they had been looking at a painting of Gran and Aidan.
"For the boys looking like Aidan perhaps," he had replied, "but if our daughters look like their mother, I'll be as pleased as possible and as protective of them as Nimloki is of you," he had added.
The weeks after had been used to move with Alex from her old apartment to her parent's house. His father had hooked it up to the floo system now and it was thus a full wizard home. Gran had come to visit them at one point in order to set up a range of protective wards in addition to the ones Dominic had already placed. The former muggle home was now as secure as any of the Silverleaf homes and should it be needed, they just needed to step into the fireplace in order to get to the safety of the manor. The one thing that was different from the last time Alex had set foot in the neighborhood was the fact that the two houses on either side of the home had been abandoned. And as well, the once fully muggle neighborhood had also changed with many wizard families coming to live there. The muggles still living around were none the wiser of course but it was nice to know that there were other wizards around too.
So while the case had not moved much, it had not been a bad few weeks at all and as Yannick stepped out of the elevator on the Auror level, he was sure it could have been a lot worse.
"Nick! Just the person I needed," he heard Sean say as he was starting to go down the corridor. He turned to face his friend.
"Hey Sean, anything new?" he asked.
"Absolutely mate," Sean replied, "Come on, I'll fill you in on the way," he added and he steered him back towards the elevator.
"We just got a tip on something that could help us re-open the case," Sean said once they were inside the cabin, "Kingsley checked it out and he asked me to go check it out with you as we are the ones with the most experience on the case at the moment."
"That sounds great Sean," Yannick said, "but I remember what happened to one of the last tips we got. An attack by blood suckers," he added, the thought still uncomfortably fresh in his mind.
"I had the same reaction mate," Sean said, "This is why I asked for it to be checked out first. We of course did not send anyone close but the tip and the evidence we know of checks out. We have good chances of finding stuff there that would help prove the dead "culprit" innocent. And this would mean the case wide open again for investigation."
"Which means us catching Andrelith faster," Yannick agreed, "Okay mate, lead on but be careful."
"Sure thing."
"Where are we headed?" Yannick asked as they got into the lobby.
"Just outside London," Sean replied, "Here's the address," he added handing Yannick a piece of paper.
He did not know the address that well and had to hold on to Sean while aparating so he would not miss the area.
The area was, as Sean had said, just out of London. They were not anymore in an urban area and from what Yannick could make out of the house, it was clearly a wizard one or a very old style muggle house. It seemed to have a small land property around it with trees surrounding it and lining up on both side of the straight alley that lead from the entrance of the grounds to the door of the house.
Sean started towards the door and cast a few spells to find out if there were any wards protecting it. He did not detect any. The old wooden door seemed clear. Yannick used his power to scan it quickly before Sean would open it and suddenly felt something was amiss.
"Sean, wait!" he told his friend, grabbing him by the shoulder.
But it was too late, no sooner than his friend had tried to turn the door handle that a spell hit him square in the chest. Yannick felt a sharp pain spreading from his hand, which was still on Sean's shoulder, throughout his entire body, overwhelming his senses. He was faintly aware of himself falling onto the ground before being overtaken by the darkness.
--
"Nick?"
The voice was faint, like a person whispering as loud as he dared to not be heard.
"Nick!" the voice urged, "Come on mate! Wake up!"
Yannick opened his eyes only to be greeted by the darkness of a room devoid of any light or window. He was sitting on a chair and could feel his hands and feet bound by a strong and tight rope. The ropes reminded him of what had occurred sometime before, he and Sean had tripped a trap at the entrance door of the house and had been captured. By whom he was not sure, but most probably by the same people trying to stop them capturing Andrelith. That meant their lives were in danger and he needed to act fast. His first impulse was to try and do a short aparation in order to get free but that failed, the captors had apparently cast an anti aparation jinx on the room.
"Nick?"
It was Sean's voice, somewhere behind him. "I'm awake Sean," he replied, "Just tried aparating to free myself," he added.
"Won't work mate," Sean replied, "There is an anti aparation jinx on the room. I tried the same thing a few minutes ago."
"How are you tied?" Yannick asked him.
"Tight rope," Sean said, "I'm against the wall behind you. The rope tying my hands seems to be going through a metallic circle on the wall. My feet are tied separately."
"So you are standing?" Yannick asked.
"Yeah, you?"
"I'm on a chair and bloody tied tight too," he replied, "Any clue who captured us?" he asked again after a minute of unsuccessfully trying to loosen his bonds.
"Not a clue mate," Sean replied, "I've not seen anyone since I woke up. Don't know how long we were out either."
"Well at least they did not drug us," Yannick replied, "Let me try something," he added.
He relaxed a bit and started to use his treeshaping power to feel around the room. This was a neat trick that Oromir had taught him. Being able to feel the wood or plants around made it possible to get a rough outline of one's surroundings, and thus gain a valuable edge in the dark. However, he had only been doing this for a minute when the door of their cell opened and the dark outline of a man stood in the doorway. The man made a movement with his hand, flicking his wand and several torches on the cell's walls burst in flames, flooding the room with light and causing Yannick to recoil at the brightness.
"Well it looks like our guests have finally woken up," the man said as he strode in the room, followed by another person who closed the door.
He sported short black hair that showed a mean scar that ran from the top of his head and marred his face on the left side. Brown eyes were looking at Yannick and Sean behind him with a look of delectation. The look of a predator in front of a helpless prey. Hearing a shuffling noise, Yannick assumed the second man had posted himself near Sean and behind him. A quick way to be able to react should any of them attempt anything.
"Who are you?" Yannick asked.
"That is of no concern to you," the man replied, "soon both of you will be dead and we will have the rest of our payment."
"So someone hired you to get rid of us then?" Yannick said.
"Surprising?" the man asked, "surely you have realized your meddling have stepped on a few toes too many."
"Why keep us alive all this time then?" Yannick heard Sean ask, only to hear the sound of a punch right after, "Son of a…," Sean started, but was silenced by another punch that made him grunt in pain.
"That should teach you to not talk out of turn," the man in front of Yannick sneered.
"My friend's point is valid tough," Yannick said, looking levelly at the man, "why wait until now to dispose of us when you could have done so when you captured us?"
"Defiance, I like that in a victim," the man said, "The answer to your question is simple. Our employer had not yet told us to."
"Who are you working for?"
"Again, none of your concern," the man said smiling evilly, "I do have one request from you before we kill you," the man continued, opening his long cloak and taking out Yannick's katana.
Yannick felt anger shot through him at the sight of his blades, noticing the smaller one at the man's belt.
"We took those from you when we caught you," the man continued, nearing Yannick, his fetid breath splashing on his face, "Now I have been trying for the past hour to find a way to draw them but to no avail. I would hate to break such a nice work and was wondering if you would be so kind as to tell me how to do."
Yannick looked at the man, anger blazing through his eyes. The man was asking him how to unsheathe his blade, and then what? Use them to kill him? He forced himself to calm down by drawing a long slow breath through his nose, but stayed silent nonetheless.
"You won't?" the man asked again, "Pity, but perhaps we can be more convincing. You can off the other one Gregor," the man said above Yannicks shoulder.
Yannick hear a wand being drawn and let his treeshaping power flow through him, he had no clue if it would work but he had no choice. The ropes around his hands and feet fell away, as if his limbs had gone right though and he saw the man's eyes bulge in surprise as he rose, his hands coming to grab the katana and wakizashi. He drew them out of their sheath and launched his knee in the man's face, connecting neatly with his chin and sending him falling backwards onto the floor.
He then spun, preparing to fend off the second person and saw the man's wand pointed at him from where he stood.
"Avada…" the man started, but Yannick did not think twice, his right arm threw the wakizashi at him. Time seemed to slow and Yannick saw the small sword fly at the man, who had continued to enounce his spell. It connected with the man head, sending it snapping back and causing him to crumple to the floor, the blade impaled in his skull.
Yannick turned again, and quickly brought the tip of his katana under the first man's chin, who had started to rise up a wand in hand. The man froze when the blade touched his neck.
"Make any sudden move and I swear this blade will be the last thing you will feel as I run it through your throat," Yannick seethed, "now stand up, slowly," he added.
The man rose shakingly to his feet, blood trickling from his mouth. The eyes where Yannick had first seen delectation now sported another look, that of fear.
"Wand," Yannick demanded, extending his free hand. The man gave it to him and Yannick waved it in Sean's direction, freeing him of his bonds.
Sean grunted as he was released and soon was at Yannick's side, massaging his wrists.
"Bind him," Yannick asked his friend.
Sean did not need to be told twice and soon the man was tightly kept in place by ropes he had invoked. The man now being of no more real threat, Yannick headed to where "Gregor" had fallen. A pool of blood was slowly spreading around the man's head and his eyes showed the surprise the blade must have caused him when it hit him. There was no way that man would come back. Yannick swiftly took the blade out and cleaned it using a pan of the man's robe. A quick search through the man's clothing did not reveal anything apart from his wand, which Yannick took as evidence, and a pouch containing several coins, most probably small change.
Having completed his inspection, Yannick rose, securing his wakizashi to his belt and went again towards the bound leader. The man had not uttered a sound since he had been caught and was being closely watched by Sean.
"You took our wands from us when we were captured," Yannick told the man, "Where are they?"
The man kept silent, openly defying him with a level stare.
"Very well then," Yannick said after a moment, "Let me try another way. Sean, he moves, you stun him."
He then closed his eyes and felt the room with his power, slowly expanding the sphere of what he felt so it started to contain more and more of the house. From doing this he started to have a clear picture of how the house looked and where they were located in it. After a few minutes, he felt a familiar sliver of power in one of the rooms of the first floor.
"Our wands are on the first floor," Yannick said, "First room on the left after the main stairs. There does not seem to be anyone else in the house either," he added after another minute.
The man was looking at him with round eyes that betrayed his surprise.
"How in Merlin's name…" he started before to shut his mouth as Sean was thrusting his wand very close to his face.
"Don't you use Merlin's name you scum," Sean spat.
"Easy Sean," Yannick said, "Seeing your question, it is clear you did a poor job researching on your targets. Your plan to catch us was clever, but you forgot one key thing in all this and you proved it. I am a treeshaper, so next time you choose to tie me up, not that I think you will get another chance anytime soon, use something else than a rope made of plant fibers, and don't even think of seating me on a wooden chair."
The man did not rely to that.
"Now let's go," Yannick said, motioning to the man to precede them out of the room, "And remember, you try anything funny and you will regret it."
Although he had not detected anyone else in the house, Yannick still stayed careful. He had used the same technique to locate his and Sean's wands, but the fact that he had not felt any other wands around in the house did not necessarily mean that it was empty. They however did not find anyone else and soon were in possession of their wands again.
Using his wand, Yannick dispelled the binding spell on their prisoner and cast it again. While a wizard could use another wand, the spells were nowhere as strong as the ones cast by the wizard's own wand and Yannick did not want to risk this man from escaping them before they found out who his employer was.
"Where to from now mate?" Sean asked.
"We head to the Ministry to put this man into Kingsley's custody," Yannick replied, "I'm sure he has a lot of interesting things to tell us," he added, looking at the man.
"We still cannot apparate from here Nick," Sean said, "This apparition jinx is still active here too."
"We'll head outside and apparate from there." Yannick replied, "I doubt they had time to cast anything complicated that would enclose an area bigger than this house. Move," he added to their prisoner, motioning him to take the lead. They went downstairs and as they got into the small entrance hall of the house, Yannick took the lead, handing the watch over their prisoner to Sean.
He saw that it was not yet late in the afternoon when they got out of the house. They were evidently at the same house they had been tipped about, the tip having obviously now been a lure to catch them. He could not see anyone about in the small countryside area this house was located in and he set about to see where the anti-apparation jinx ended by a spell, which revealed to him that the jinx ended a meter after the entrance of the house. Having cleared it, both he and Sean now could apparate safely to the Ministry. As he turned to tell that to Sean he felt something amiss and heard a sound that got him to react instantly.
"Seam, hit the ground!" he told his friend as he rolled out of the way of the arrow that had been shot.
He heard it pass close above him and hear it hit something, a body. Someone had been hit. And killed too when he realized no shout of pain accompanied the sound.
As he looked from where he had rolled to, under the protection of a tree trunk that was nearby. He saw Sean crouching on the floor, his body holding their captive up. The man had an arrow sticking in his head and was clearly dead.
"Sean, apparate to the Ministry, now!" Yannick told his friend.
Sean was gone in an instant, the dead man with him. Yannick took a short look around, trying to see who had shot the arrow, but did not see anyone. Whoever it was, the person was apparently already gone. Concentrating he apparated as well to the Ministry.
--
There were not many things that could anger her, but attempting to kill a person of her family was one of those things. A man had ordered those henchmen to kill Sean and Yannick and that was crossing the line. Yannick had come to Silverleaf manor that afternoon, clearly looking furious and had explained to her what had occurred, showing her what they had found on the dead men's bodies. One item in there had given her the final clue she needed as to who had ordered this to happen. She was now waiting for that man in his own living room, Yannick standing next to the room's door to make sure the man would not make any foolish attempt to escape. It had not taken much to convince the house elves in the man's employ to let them inside the house. House Elves were intelligent and they knew very well that and angry Elf was not to be trifled with.
The sound of the main door opening and a person walking towards the living room told her that she would soon confront that man now. Yannick retreated slightly to the wall, the shadows enveloping him. The door opened soon after and the man walked in, stopping after a few meters when he realized she was there.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" he demanded harshly.
She did not respond but the man was startled by the noise of the door being closed and turned to find Yannick standing there.
"Mr. Silverleaf, what is the meaning of this intrusion?"
"I suggest you take a seat, Octavius," Yannick responded coldly.
"Young man, you are a bit out of your place ordering me this way," Octavius replied harshly.
"I think you should take a seat like he suggested Mr. Octavius," Gran said, "I do think we have a lot to talk about."
"Woman, do you have any idea who I am?" Octavius said turning, his voice rising, "I could have you arrested for trespassing in my home at a moment's notice," he added snapping a finger in the air.
Gran stood up, infuriated by the man's pitiful attempt to intimidate her.
"My kind was studying the secrets of magic when your ancestors were still fiddling with sticks and flints, human," she seethed, "Don't you dare try to intimidate me with your hollow threats. As for arresting us, I dare say you should be the one arrested. I trust you recognize this," she added, throwing him a dark brown pouch, its coins jingling lightly as he caught it.
"This was in my Gringotts vault!" Octavius said, sounding more outraged.
"Yes, I know," Gran replied, "The Goblins were the ones who told me about it and sent me the pouch when I asked them to."
"This is my gold!" Octavius exclaimed, "You had no right!"
"This is Elven gold!" Gran shot back, "I had every right."
Octavius was taken aback by this.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I am Gwenaelle Silverleaf, and I speak for the High Elven Courts," Gran answered, "Are you challenging my authority in all this, human?" she added, crossing her arms and glaring at Octavius.
Octavius was shut by that and looked at her with eyes that were starting to show realization that he might have bitten off more than he could chew on.
"The Goblins have acted this way on a pact that was passed between them and us long before your Ministry even started making laws," Gran continued, "Now you will do as you are told and you will sit down."
"I…" Octavius started.
"Sit!" Gran barked, pointing to the arm char that stood opposite hers.
Octavius recoiled at that and went to sit there, still glaring her and Yannick in turn. Not caring one bit, Gran sat down as well and looked at the man intently.
"You have been a very slippery eel, Octavius, I'll give you that," she said, "I was unable to see the connection between you and the events on the case until very recently, when the Goblins contacted me." She waved her hand and the pouch escaped Octavius' grasp to float back to her.
"You see, Elven gold is rare and thus very prized by collectors in the wizard world. We rarely interact with humans and have little need for riches. I dare say that the amount in this pouch would have made you a very wealthy man," Gran continued, "I would not have given this gold a second look were it not for one thing, it is tainted."
She let that last comment sink in before to continue. "This gold has been marked as tainted because it was the propriety of a Talant, a fallen or Dark Elf in your language. Being cast out of our kind, their property is marked so any Elf will know that it is theirs and that they are not to interact with them," She said, "Now, it could have very well be that you had come upon this gold by chance and this is why I did not move sooner. But you made a mistake Octavius, a very grave one."
Octavius was looking clearly uncomfortable now.
"You ordered men to kill Sean O'Malley and Yannick Silverleaf because they were bothering you on this case and would not accept just leaving it alone. And to pay those men you gave them each a coin of this gold. Ample enough payment for such a dirty task," Gran said, her eyes bearing into Octavius, "Your men failed but were killed before they could be brought and interrogated. The coins however were found by Yannick and once he showed them to me I knew for a fact that you had been behind this."
"This gold was given to you by a Dark Elf named Andrelith. I know this for a fact because I used the revealing spell to find out which talant had owned this gold," Gran continued, "You are in league with a murderer and right now are trying to stop an investigation that is attempting to catch him to put an end to a string of murders that have gone on in France and England. Why? Because he asked you to do this. He was in this very room, sitting in this chair. I can still feel his stench of a presence even now."
Beads of sweat had appeared on Octavius's forehead and he was now wiping them nervously with a handkerchief.
"Wha… what are you going to do?" he asked
"The law of your kind says you should be arrested and judged for your crimes. However, I am not governed by those laws," Gran said, "I believe in redemption and I will thus give you a chance to undo the mess you have done. You will get Forrester and his team away from this case and will allow it to be re-opened, making it known that the suspect was innocent. You will never again attempt to stop it from catching the real culprit behind these crimes and you will lie low for as long as it takes for this to happen. Those are my conditions for not turning you in, Octavius. You would do well following them quickly and to the letter," she added, standing up and going towards the entrance.
"One last thing," she said before reaching the door and turned to face Octavius again, "Should I hear that you have been involved in more of this business of stopping investigations and aiding lawbreakers, I will make sure you pay for what you have done. And I know a lot about you, Octavius, believe it or not. I know about your schooling in Hogwarts and the way you evaded most your detentions there for the problems you caused. I know of that incident with a close friend of yours a year after you came out of Hogwarts. I know of the small bribes you have been using to rise up to your position in the Ministry. And I know quite a few more things. Cross me again and I swear you will be rotting in Azkaban for a very, very long time."
Leaving Octavius to the digestion of that last threat, she turned and went out of the door, followed by Yannick. As soon as it had closed, she disapparated with him back to Silverleaf manor.
--
Something was wrong, she could feel it. Since Yannick had come back with Gran from wherever they had gone, he had been looking very thoughtful. She knew something had happened. Yannick had come back to the manor looking furious and, after a very short meeting with Gran, had gone with her back to England. Alex remembered Gran's expression at the time and she could not recall having seen her that angry before.
But then they had come back, a few hours later, not saying much of what they had been up to in England. As she entered the room she shared with Yannick in the manor, she saw him standing by the window, looking at the night outside and obviously thinking about something. She sighed inwardly and closed the door softly before to walk towards him.
"Are you okay, Nick?" she asked.
Yannick seemed to jump a little at her voice, almost as if he had not realized she was there.
"I'm fine," he replied, his tone telling her the contrary.
He was not and she was sure of that. He had not heard her come in the room, which was something very unusual for him and only happened if he was deep in thoughts.
"Nick, what's wrong?" she asked, her hand reaching to touch his shoulder softly.
"It's nothing important, Alex" he replied, covering her hand with his.
Alex felt a burst of anger flash through her. Her eyes hardened and the tightened her grip on his shoulder, roughly turning him around to face her. Yannick seemed to recoil a bit when he saw the glare in her eyes. She held her left hand in front of him.
"You see that ring on my finger Silverleaf?" she asked, "that's the ring you gave me when I accepted in becoming much more than just your girlfriend. Now I fully intend on marrying you when this whole mess is over but marriage is built onto mutual trust and I won't have you lying to me just to spare my conscience. That is probably the only flaw that I can find in you but I can assure you that I'm easily annoyed by it."
Yannick recoiled more at her sudden harsh words and his eyes widened in surprise. He grabbed her hand, kissed it softly and then took her into a soft embrace which she happily gave into.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
They held each other for a while, staying silent all along. Alex could feel that whatever was bothering Yannick, it was still there. She needed to get him through it. She waited a bit more until she felt he was ready.
"Nick, what's bothering you?" she asked him, stroking his cheek softly.
She saw his eyes go distant again, his thoughts obviously focusing again on the problem.
"You have been almost silent since you came back with Gran," she pressed on, "I know something happened today and that it was grave enough to anger Gran greatly, which is a feat in itself," she added, trying to lighten the mood a little.
Yannick sighed but he still stayed silent and remotely distant.
"Nick, please," she pleaded softly; "I'm supposed to support you in your problems, like you would do if I were in your place right now. But I can't do so if you don't tell me what's wrong."
Yannick looked at her in the eyes and seemed to take a decision before to talk.
"Alex, I killed a person today," he said, his tone very grave.
The seriousness of this statement hit her full force. He must have seen her eyes widening in surprise as he turned away from her and faced the window again, leaning his forehead against the glass.
"You killed someone?" she asked aghast, "Yannick, I know you. You would not hurt anyone if you could. How could this happen?"
She saw him tense again at her question and he became silent once more, as if he was reluctant to say anything that might horrify her. She softly took him by the shoulders and gently led him to sit with her on the bed. There she took him in a soft embrace, trying her best to sooth him until he felt ready to open up to her.
And open up he did, first telling her of the clues that they got with Sean of possible information that could help re-open the case. Of how they both went there to investigate and fell into a trap, only to find themselves in a room and tied up. How the leader of the small group that had caught them had taunted with them, trying to use Yannick's blades before they got rid of Sean and Yannick. How he had freed himself using his gift and tackled the man, throwing his short blade to strike and kill a second man that had been about to cast a killing curse.
At one point during his tale she saw Aidan slowly phasing through the door, looking intently at her to know if he could stay to listen. She nodded imperceptibly and he stayed, listening to Yannick's tale as well.
"What have I become, Alex?" Yannick asked as he finished his grim tale, "That I can just kill a man on automatic this way?"
"Nick, listen to me," she said looking intently in his eyes, "What you did today was not a crime. From what I can understand, if you had not done this then you, or Sean or both of you would be dead. I prefer having you very much alive if you don't mind," she added.
"But Alex," Yannick said, "If I can just kill like this, how different does that make me of Andrelith?"
"It makes you very different, Yannick," Aidan said, causing Yannick to turn in surprise, "Gwenaelle told me about what she was afraid had happened. She sensed it and asked me to talk with you. Alexandra beat me to it however," he added smiling kindly at her.
"How does it make me different?" Yannick asked.
"It makes you different because unlike Andrelith, who kills for pleasure or to gain power, you killed for survival," Aidan said, "Yannick, I will not lie to you by telling it is easy to take the life of a living being. I have had to kill many times while I was alive, but that was mainly because I was in a different time than you are now, with different customs. If a bandit attacked me with intent of robbing me and I killed him in self defense, I would not be tried by any court. It was my right to do so, the right to protect my life and that of my friends and loved ones. I killed my first man when I was sixteen. It was an assassin and he was attempting to murder my father. Even if I knew that I had done the right thing, it was hard for me to admit that I had taken the life of another living person. My father helped me through it by talking to me, much like I'm doing with you now. He did not try to rationalize my act but he told me I had nothing to be ashamed for. That I had done the right thing, protected my family and acted like any good son should to his own father and kin. You did the same today Yannick. You protected yourself and Sean against a man who was ready to kill you both. There is nothing wrong in that."
"It is still hard to admit," Yannick said.
"Yes, I know that it is," Aidan said, "Which is why I'm talking to you right now. But it will ease in time, trust me."
"I do," Yannick said, standing up, "Thank you for this talk, Aidan, I needed it."
"You are welcome Yannick and I could not have done less," Aidan replied.
"Thank you too, love," Yannick added, bending to kiss Alex, "I'm just going to use the bathroom quickly," he added before to walk into their room's bathroom and closing the door softly.
"He'll recover from this event," Aidan said, looking at Alex, a faint smile across his face, "It will just take him a few days. And your support during this will be most precious to him."
"I know," Alex replied, looking at the ghost, "I'd be a fool if I'd let this event scare me away from Nick at a time he most needs me," she added.
"You are wise beyond your years, Alexandra," Aidan replied smiling warmly, "To know that you have agreed to share my descendant's life for the years to come fills me with joy. I hope you two have a life together as joyous and blessed with happiness than mine was with Gwenaelle," he added, before to faze out of the room through the door.
Alex stayed seated on the bed, Aidan's words of approval going back through her head. Aidan had always been very supportive of Yannick, most probably because they shared the same gift. She fully intended to help Yannick through this. He did not deserve the remorse for killing a man that intended to harm him and Sean.
As she thought this Yannick came out of the bathroom, his face wet from water he had splashed on his face. They looked at each other and Alex felt in his gaze the remorse that was still there, lessened by the conversation but still present. He needed her. She rose and walked to him, softly pressing her finger on his mouth when he opened it to say something. She embraced him around the neck and kissed him with all the love she felt for him, felling him doing the same. He needed her, and she would be at his side to support him. Always.
--