Mysteries of the future – I know I'm weird, but I still can't get over your name. It's so amazing! Thank you for still being with me, supporting this story.

Antagonist206 – The end sent me into writer's block, I'm still mentally exhausted. Not to be like that, but how the hell do you pick up after an epic speech like that? Because it was freaking epic, I'm not going to lie.
Fluff is such an amazing word and in this chapter, there will be fluff overload. Thank you for all your amazing support!

Natasha – Thank you! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well. Always fun to see a new name!

Sabeling – You asked for an update, here you go, as a thanks for the review. Sorry it took a while but I've spent six days on this one, so it better be good. Another new name, yay. Welcome(I have no idea I you're new here)!

Once again, thank you all for the support and I hope that you are still enjoying reading this! I love writing and it's still crazy knowing that people actually are reading my words and enjoying the stories I tell. So I can't thank all of you enough.

I made a cookie for you guys, enjoy.

Chapter39. The alliance

Aedion's perspective

The sight before him was breath taking, Aedion stared at it with wide opened eyes, trying to take it all in. Everyone was on their knees, bowing to Aelin who stood in the middle of the crowd.

Her facial expression was grim and her lips where pressed to a thin line as she shook her head. Then she opened her mouth and told her people to stand. He saw how she clenched her fists as he told them her story, Aedion disappeared in her words.

When she raised her voice, he was once again back, but different from before. He was no longer alone, but a part of something bigger.

It no longer mattered who his father was or who had sworn The Blood Oath. No, when he roared together with his brothers and sisters, when they let out the battle cry from the people of many nations. It was then he realized that he could do anything and that they together would change the world.

Aelin's perspective

Her throat was sore from the screaming, but it didn't matter. Not when she was surrounded by her people.

A man made his way through the crowd. He was tall, had broad shoulders and blond hair, the typical northern look of someone from Terrasen. His piercing gray stare met hers and Aelin's nose filled with his scent.

Faster than humanly possible she had moved her hand to the hilt of her sword and her face hardened once again.

"Who is it, The Lord of Suria or his brother?" the coldness in her voice didn't seem to shock him.

"Neither, I broke all my ties to the traitor." He spitted like he wanted to get rid of a bad taste. "So I'm just Ravi now, one of the leaders over the rebel movement here in Wendlyn." He bowed and Aelin removed her hand from her sword and extended it to him instead.

"Then, let's do the last preparations before we go and bring down the king." They shook hands and the crowd roared once again.

They stood in the largest tent in the camp, gathered around the large oak table in the tent's center. It's every surface had been covered by supply lists, maps and rapports from different parts of the network. Ravi where giving them a rundown of the operation and judging by Rowan's reaction, it seemed to be over expectation. He and Aedion kept Ravi busy with all of their questions but the man skillfully answered all of them.

The men had experience when it came to war, Aelin hadn't. She and Nox tried to stay out of their way. Aelin where an assassin and had slit far more throats than she had won fair fights. There were not many who would have a fair shot in a battle against her. And Nox, he was a thief, not a soldier.

Aelin and Rowan left the Rebel camp later that afternoon and they once again rode through the capital and also this time the where followed by the peoples stares.

When they reached the courtyard, they were met by the muffled sound of a dog's barking. It had to come from somewhere in the castle. Aelin's eyes searched the limestone walls and a smile spread on her lips when she saw a dog's nose pressed against one of the windows on the second floor.

Aelin dismounted and with a flash of light, she stared sprinting towards her dog. Even if she moved with her immortal speed it didn't seem fast enough and it felt like an eternity until she was able to bury her face into Fleetfoot's fur.

"Hi girl. I've missed you so much. You have been a good girl, haven't you?" Aelin talked with her soft animal-voice and she didn't care who might hear her.

"A good girl?" A low laugh. "I wouldn't call that thing a good girl, rather something like; demon possessed. She ran away four times! Who was in charge of training this one? Whoever it was, that person did a lousy job." Aelin turned her head to prince Galan who stood leaned against the wall.

"Thank you for bringing her back too me." Fleetfoot licked Aelin's fingers and Aelin's eyes was once again on the dog. "Dorian Havilliard."

"What?"

"He was the one who gave me Fleetfoot and he trained her." An unspoken question hung in the air between them. "Yes, Dorian Havilliard was a friend of mine." Aelin knew what question would come next and mentally prepared or what memories it would brig back.

"Was?" The prince tone told her that he was on his guard, waiting for how she would explain the fact that she called the enemy's son, her friend.

"He is the one possessed by a demon, not Fleetfoot. A Walg prince if my sources are correct. Dorian was a good man and would had made a good king, one I would had been proud to follow. He was nothing like his monstrous father." Aelin said all of it without any emotions, she couldn't let Galan see the mess within her.

She felt comfort from the bound and knew that Rowan could feel her pain.

"I'm sorry." Aelin was once again surprised by the prince as he showed his condolences to her as she was grieving the enemy.

"Galan, don't ever leave anything unsaid. You can never predict what the future holds."

They were quiet for a long while, both lost in their own thoughts and Fleetfoot's breaths were the only thing that broke the silence. Aelin noticed how her hands turned black from the dirt in Fleetfoot's fur.

"I'm giving this one a bath. Can you tell your father that we would love to join him for dinner tonight? We have terms of an alliance to go through."

Galan nodded, "of course."

"See you at dinner." Aelin stood and started to walk away, followed by Fleetfoot.

"Wait." She turned around and faced Galan, waiting for him to continue. "I heard what you did, that you broke the alliance between Maeve and my father. That was stupid, but brave. I opposed it from the beginning." Aelin nodded before she started walking again.

Rowan was guffawing from his place by the door, a safe distance from the bathtub.

"I think you are supposed to get the dog wet, and not the other way around." Rowan said between his laughs and Aelin answered by making a vulgar gesture to him. Then she continued to wash Fleetfoot.

The worse thing was that Rowan was right, Aelin was soaked but Fleetfoot was merely damp. Aelin took the bucket full of water from the floor. She was done trying to only use a little amount of water at the time and getting them over herself rather than the dog. So she dumped all of the water over Fleetfoot. Aelin could see how the dog was preparing to shake and threw herself down on the floor. She was not getting wet again.

Aelin started laughing when she realized that Rowan had been wrong; the door wasn't far away enough from the tub. The wide grin had vanished from Rowan's face.

"I don't think that you are supposed to get wet from watching someone wash a dog."

Rowan was even wetter than she was and it was his time to answer with a vulgar gesture.

Ha. Ha.

Aelin rose from the floor and petted Fleetfoot, the dog looked really happy with herself.

"You're such a good girl."

Rowan came up behind Aelin and hugged her, she shrieked when she felt his wet clothes pressed to her no longer dry back.

They washed Fleetfoot together, Rowan had given up trying to stay dry. Later he carried the dog out of the bathtub and cleaned as Aelin sat on the floor with Fleetfoot, who was in a cocoon of towels, sitting on her lap.

-Cookie- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I did not plan to have Galan's perspective in this story. I did not plan to use this form of writing in this story. So I wrote this as a one-shot, but decided to post it here, hope you don't mind.

Yrene's cheek is soft as I stroke it and when she smiles, it feels like my heart is going to stop. Her golden-brown eyes stare up into mine and I take in every single detail of her beautiful face, everything from her straight nose to the lines that tells her story of stress, fear, worriedness and of strength. She was the strongest person I had ever met.

It is in this moment I realize that I can't live without her. I don't care what people will say, I don't care about anything or anyone else than her.

"Marry me." There where thousands of words that could describe how much I love her and why, but they didn't come to me at the moment. Only those two simple words; Marry me.

Her eyes widen and her lips slightly separate.

"What?" She whispers.

I take her face in my hands and kiss her nose.

"I love you and I don't want to spend another day without you." My voice is thick and every single word comes from the deep of my heart.

Yrene closes her eyes and I can see how a single tear slowly falls down her cheek. What is wrong?

"I can't marry you, at least not now. I can't live like this anymore, knowing that my people suffer on the other side of the sea, knowing that I don't help those who needs me the most. Galan, I'm going to go with the rebels to Erilea." I stare at her and my hands has fallen down to my sides. She is going to leave. "Don't look at me like that Gal."

I didn't know. I had no idea.

"I love you and when the war is over and they no longer will need me, then I'll come right back to you, if you are still waiting. Then I'm going to be your wife."

I open my moth to tell her that I'll wait but she hushes me.

"Don't promise to wait for me forever. Promise to wait for me as long as you love me."

When our eyes meet, I know she realizes that as long as I love her is just as long as forever if not longer. She bites her lip and stare up into the roof, taking a deep breath.

"For now, I'm a healer and my duty is to my people. Know that every day we will be apart, will be one day closer to the day we reunite, the day when I'll be truly yours."

We don't say anything about the fact that that there's a big risk that we won't make it, that we will die. I just hold her as we kiss.

Aedion's perspective

As Aedion walked through the castle, he felt how someone was following him and he knew who. But Aedion had his orders, he would not speak to Gavriel.

He met Aelin and Rowan outside king Glaston's private quarters. They didn't notice him as first as they seemed to be deeply engaged in one of their silent conversations. Aelin laughed and Rowan grinned as he pulled her closer, kissing her softly.

For the first time ever, it wasn't jealousy that Aedion felt, but happiness.

Aelin noticed Aedion and pulled away from her mate.

"Aedion! Did you know that Ravi was a Rebel? Had you ever any contact with him?"

"No I didn't know. Otherwise I would had told you. But he seems to know what he is talking about. Don't you think Rowan?"

"Yes. I just wonder who trained him." Rowan confirmed, still holding a hand on Aelin's back.

Aelin wore a stunning dress and Rowan was dressed in a matching shirt. As if it wasn't obvious enough that they were a pair judging by how they glared at each other and moved like they were one.

They hadn't tried to hide their relationship since Aelin returned from Erilea. Aedion wondered if it might have something to do with the fact that they nearly lost each other.

They sat around the table in the king's private quarter, eating and talking about everything else than the alliance. Galan had been quiet for quite some time and Aedion had noticed the thoughtful looks Aelin had given him.

"How is Yrene?" Aelin said quietly, Aedion guessed it was so the king wouldn't hear.

"She is fine and will be joining you when you leave for Erilea." Galan didn't meet her stare.

"Yes, she told me." Aedion couldn't remember the last time Aelin had been so careful with what she said.

"Bring her back to me, please." The panic was clear in the prince's voice and everyone turned their head to him. "Promise." Galan stared at Aelin and Aedion saw how she shifted, unconfutable by the prince's intense stare.

"I can't promise Galan, we will go to war and people will die." The Ashryver eyes met in an intense battle and Aedion felt sorry for them both. "But I'll do everything in my power to bring your love back to you."

Galan nodded and Aedion was suddenly aware of the king's stare.

"Whom do you love?" Glaston asked his son.

"The healer, Yrene Towers. I have asked her to marry me." Aedion wanted nothing else than to be far away or being able to hide under the cover of The Wolf of the North, becoming the snarling prince that says whatever he like, whenever he likes and do not care about anything else than himself, alcohol and women.

"You proposed to a healer and she said no because she is going to go with the rebels to Erilea?"

"She didn't say no." Aedion could see that he wasn't the only one who wanted to be far away from here.

"And why haven't I heard about this woman before, of your love?"

"I didn't know how to tell you." Aedion took a big gulp of the wine and exchanged a look with Rowan. The male also looked like he was thinking about ways to escae the room without being impolite. Aelin on the other hand had a face, but Aedion knew that there was a storm underneath.

"By the Wyrd Galan, I want to meet the woman wonderful enough for making you blush just by the thought of her! You didn't think that I would have something against it, or did you?"

Aedion looked at the father and son and tried not to wonder about how it would feel to have a relationship like that. Tried and failed miserably.

They finished their meals and then started the discussion. Hours of argumentations and negotiations followed and the night ended with a finished alliance. Aedion watched as his cousin, the Queen of Terrasen, and his uncle, the King of Wendlyn, signed the treaty in their own blood.

Soon they would leave to take back all lives that had been taken by the evil king on the other side of the great sea.