Bao glanced over his shoulder when Neya stepped outside, followed closely by Taim. He was not certain how he felt about the other man being alive, especially now that he knew about their bond, even though it had been broken by Taim's too-brief demise. He did not wish for the Saldaean's death, not exactly, but it would certainly have made things easier for everyone if he had died – and remained dead.
Not for the first time, Bao pondered all the facts that Neya had managed to keep hidden from him. Being bonded to Taim was the most prominent among them, to be sure, but he had not realised that she was Cauthon's sister, either. Then again, most of his initial knowledge of her had come from Taim himself, with the occasional snippet from Moridin. Bao's spies at the Black Tower had not been able to tell him much more beyond the fact that Neya and Taim were lovers, and that she knew the Dragon Reborn personally.
Taim had likely wanted to hold back as much information as he could. It was obvious that he loved Neya, and she him. Tearing them apart would cause more harm than good, that was certain. And yet, had Neya not made it clear that she wanted to be with Bao, that she wanted to pick up where they had left off and go on as planned in Shara? He was not sure what to make of the situation.
Bao could only hope that Nessosin would not get involved somehow, on top of everything else. If Neya wanted him to join them in Shara, Bao would allow it, but the man would not be staying at the palace. Bao could not stand the Musician. He was a walking headache.
And yet it was doubtful that the Westlanders would welcome him, now that they knew who he truly was. He would not be safe here for a long time, just like Taim.
Bao slowly massaged his temples. At least he had made peace with Neya. They would have much to sort out once they returned to Shara, to be sure, but they had all the time in the world. Although, in all honesty, he could not begin to imagine a scenario that fitted everyone in.
Abell Cauthon was glaring at him from a little distance, arms crossed over his chest. How strange to think that this tired old man was his father-in-law. It had truly never occurred to Bao that Neya might have any living kin somewhere in the world. Hopefully, her family would see sense and not shut her out completely for marrying him. That would certainly hurt her more than she could bear.
Neya's father abruptly made his way toward Bao, who decided to stand up; it seemed the polite thing to do, although the man was a good deal shorter than he was, which meant that Bao towered over him. "You married her," Cauthon spat out accusingly.
Bao bowed his head in affirmation. "We did not have the luxury to wait," he told the older man. Well, Bao was in fact a few centuries his elder, but Cauthon looked older. "I could have died during the battle."
"Aye, that would have been a bloody shame," he put in wryly.
"I take it you are the one who taught Neya to speak so…colourfully," Bao said with a grimace. Why did they all feel the need to curse so often? It was one thing to hear it from a grizzled farmer, but from Neya's youthful, delicate mouth, he found it utterly out of place, though he had gotten used to it over the last few weeks, admittedly.
Cauthon snorted. "You think you're so high and mighty, do you? What in the Pit of Doom was Neya thinking, involving herself with you?"
"I believe she was trying to save me, as well as her people," Bao answered quietly, "and the whole world in the process."
That clearly unsettled Cauthon. Bao took the opportunity of his stunned silence to withdraw. There was too much noise inside, and he wanted to be with Neya. She had almost died. He remembered only too well how he'd felt when Nessosin had broken the news to him, the feeling that his heart was being slowly and painfully crushed. It was a sensation entirely new to him; he had never experienced anything of the kind before in his long life. The thought of losing her…
Bao shook his head. No one could ever take Neya away from him; not Taim or Nessosin or anyone else. Not even the Dark One.
The scene he walked in on as he exited the command tent was not the one he had expected. Neya was cradling two little girls in her arms. Taim and Nessosin were talking in low voices. Taim threw Bao a venomous look when he spotted him, and Bao returned him a flat stare. They would have to work something out quickly. They could not very well spend the rest of their centuries-long lives glaring stonily at each other.
The younger child disentangled herself from Neya's embrace to look up at Bao, causing the other two to turn around. "Who are you?" the girl demanded, hands on her hips. Neya chuckled, though she had obviously been crying.
Bao took a few more steps toward them and crouched in front of the girls. "I am Bao. What is your name?"
The child frowned at him suspiciously. "Why do you speak funny?"
Neya really laughed at that. Why was his speech…funny? He would have to ask her. Maybe it was his accent. "Because he's very old," Neya explained. "Now introduce yourself properly, will you? It's what polite people are supposed to do."
The child sighed dramatically. "I'm Ilawen Kesunyian. Nice to meet you," she recited with a trace of annoyance. "Oh, and that's my sister Karys," she added more animatedly, pointing to the other girl, who smiled shyly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you both," Bao told them. Ilawen giggled.
"Hey, girls," Neya said, "I need to have a word with Bao. Stay with Mazrim and Jasin for a moment," she told them brightly. "I'll be right back."
Before she could rise to her feet, however, Ilawen clutched her arm tightly. "Promise? You won't leave again?" She seemed ready to cry.
Neya patted her shoulder reassuringly. "I promise. I'll be right there," she said, indicating a spot nearby, "so you can keep an eye on me. Alright?" Ilawen nodded dubiously.
Standing, she took Bao's arm and they walked to the appointed location. "I guess I forgot to mention I had two little girls to take care of," she said with a sly grin.
"It seems you 'forgot' to mention a great many things," he replied flatly.
Her grin widened. "And you never suspected! I'm getting good at this. Light, if I'd been a Forsaken, you could have called me The Deceiver. It has a bloody nice ring to it." Hopefully the children would not pick up the habit of using that sort of language.
"Aw, surely not. I like Lightbringer better," a cheerful voice called from behind them. Bao whirled, hand on his sword. He knew that voice. What was he still doing here?
Neya scowled at the newcomer, but her frown was quickly replaced by a look of awe. "Artur Hawkwing?" she whispered wonderingly. She must have seen portraits of the man before. After all, she had recognised Bao at once, when she had first laid eyes on him.
"Himself," the dead man replied with a beaming smile. He took her hand and gave it a lingering kiss. What did he think he was doing, touching his wife? And Neya actually giggled! Blood and flaming-
Brilliant. Now he was doing it, too. What has she done to me? Bao thought wearily.
"It's an honour," the so-called Hero of the Horn went on, "to finally meet the young woman who saved the day." Neya scoffed, but colour was slowly suffusing in her cheeks. Surely she was not going to fall for that silver-tongued philanderer? The man was dead!
Taim and Nessosin joined them an instant later, trailed by the girls. "Hawkwing, you lecher," Nessosin said with some irritation. "Why are you still here? The battle is over. Go back where you came from, man."
For once, Bao was willing to take the Musician's side. "Nessosin has a point. Why did you not return with the rest of the…Heroes?" Puny heroes they were. Most of the fighting had been over when they had finally deigned to make an appearance. Neya was looking at them with an odd expression; she seemed to be biting back laughter, for some reason.
Hawkwing let out that rich, booming laughter of his, the one he had apparently been famous for. Judging by Neya's reaction, he still knew how to use it to his advantage. "You're right, of course. It seems your situation is complicated enough as it is, in any case. I wouldn't want to intrude," he said pleasantly. "I simply had to see you before I departed, Lightbringer. I was the one who named you, after all."
Neya was staring at him in confusion. "What do you mean, you named me?"
Hawkwing arched an eyebrow in surprise. "Did no one tell you? I was the one who gave you your title, Lightbringer. Of course, you were still unconscious at the time, but it certainly had the desired effect as far as rallying the troops went, especially the Sharans. It's quite fetching, don't you think? I'm rather proud of it," he declared smugly.
"But the Foxes…" Neya cut off abruptly, chewing her lower lip. Bao frowned at her and noticed that Nessosin was studying her keenly. Foxes? Did she mean the Eelfinn? "I mean, I heard it before," she went on hastily. "Months ago."
Hawkwing appeared slightly taken aback, but he recovered quickly. "Time passes differently in the realm of the Finn," he said softly. "The past and present often merge, and it's not unusual to glimpse even the future." That was one way to put it, Bao supposed. In fact, Sindhol lay outside of time; that was why it couldn't be accessed without a ter'angreal. He was not about to try and explain the concept, however. It would take too much time, and that was assuming that they even possessed the ability to comprehend the subtle theory.
There was a moment of silence as everyone pondered Hawkwing's words and their implication. "That explains a lot," Nessosin murmured eventually. He cleared his throat. "Well, it appears you've lingered for nothing after all," he told Hawkwing. "The Foxes beat you to it. You may leave now," he added with a shooing gesture. The children giggled.
Neya smiled, but it quickly turned into a yawn that she couldn't quite cover. "We all need to rest," Bao said firmly.
"Of course," Hawkwing concurred. He turned to Neya and took both her hands in his. With some effort, Bao refrained from cutting the dead man's arms off, mainly because he knew that it would have no lasting effect. "Lightbringer, it has been my pleasure. Mayhap we will meet again, when the Wheel turns."
Neya acknowledged this ludicrous notion with a simple nod. "Thank you for coming up with a title that's neither ridiculously long nor extravagant. Simple is often best."
He beamed at her. "Indeed." He looked around at them all and waved at the children. "I bid you all a good day," he said before vanishing.
Ilawen gasped loudly as Hawkwing disappeared into thin air and Neya picked her up. Bao frowned in disapproval. She should not be carrying anything, in her condition. He took a step forward to take the girl, but Taim was already there, arms extended. "I'll carry her," he whispered.
Neya rolled her eyes and made a sound between a scoff and a chortle, but refused to let go of Ilawen. "Bao is right. We should all get some sleep."
Taim shrugged. "You do that. I'm going to get something to eat. I'm starved. How do you say 'May I have some of your food?' in Sharan?"
Neya scowled slightly. "I'm sure there's food around here. You don't need to go all the way to the Sharan camp. It's probably best for you not to channel until you get your strength back, so no gateway shortcuts for you. And you… " She glanced at Nessosin, and her scowl deepened. "Are you alright, Jay? You look…different."
Taim's face paled slightly, but Neya did not appear to notice. Nessosin cocked his head sideways, as though considering if he should break the news. "We are all exhausted," Bao broke in. If Neya found out that Nessosin had burned himself out, she would not rest properly. He did his best to convey the message to the Musician with a threatening glare. "I'm sure Nessosin will feel better after a good night's sleep."
To Bao's relief, the man simply nodded. "The people in this part of the camp don't want to share their food with Taim," he explained to Neya. "That's why we visited your…loyal subjects instead. We had trouble making ourselves understood, however."
"Oh. I see." Neya hesitated, then enunciated a few words of Sharan. Bao chuckled softly, as much to his own surprise as to that of the others. 'I bet you taste delicious', that translated roughly.
Neya gaped at him in shock. "Of all the bloody times you could have laughed in the last few months, you choose to do it now!" she cried out with mild annoyance, though she appeared delighted at the same time.
Taim gave her a flat look. "I don't even want to know what that meant. How do you really say it?"
Bao said something else with a perfectly straight face.
Taim glared at him, eyes narrowed. When nobody laughed, the Saldaean nodded. "I'll see you later, then." He walked away without another word.
"I'll go with you," Nessosin called, hurriedly trailing after him.
"I don't need an escort, burn you! Why do you keep following me around?" Bao heard Taim complain in the distance.
"After everything you have been through to keep him alive, it would be a shame for him to be killed by a prickly Sharan," Bao told his wife.
Neya grinned at him. "To be fair, my phrasing was much milder than yours. Anyway, he'll be fine. He's got a bodyguard," she pointed out wryly.
Bao scoffed. "Indeed. All shall tremble at the sight of Nessosin and his bloodthirsty harp."
Neya burst out laughing, and the girls did likewise. It was strange to be the cause of someone's genuine laughter, after so long.
Maybe his case was not hopeless after all.