Deer Sasarai,

I have been vary vary good!! Malena says I am vary good at righting and reeding! I dont like the math...it's no fun at all but the magic class is my favarite!

When will yuo come sea me again?

I miss yuo a lot and I want to come home soon.....

Luve,

Sera

The youthful priest smiled softly as he read over the letter from his secret ward once more, amusement and a soft bubble of laughter to shimmer through him. It had been a while since he'd allowed himself to really laugh though his eternal smile remained. Centuries of practice kept that amiable expression on his face though as of late he'd found himself slipping further and further into ennui and a dark depression. For now, the shadows of depression were forced back and he basked in the warmth of the amusement her letter conjured within him as he leaned back in his chair.

"Too cute...." Came his soft murmur as he set the wrinkled paper to the side to look over the rest of the paper's that had come with the packet from his estates. Progress reports from Malena, the talented cleric who'd been assigned to him for the past three decades. He knew he could trust her to be discreet just as he knew the instincts of being a grandmother to five added onto the three children she herself had raised making her the perfect candidate to oversee Sera's education. The motherly elder had nothing but praise for the bright child who'd been placed under her care.

Sera was polite with a sweet disposition and a natural flare for the magickal arts that almost baffled the poor woman as well as retaining an intelligence and awareness that was often shocking. "....nothing will remain a secret around this little one for long, that is for certain...." She admitted in her letter. Sasarai smiled wryly and nodded to himself, understanding all too well the tutor's chagrin for he himself had been on the wrong end of the child's precocious perceptiveness more then once.

Beneath the progress report was an obviously painstakingly painted picture Sera had made, obviously a portrait of himself, and that soft smile curved his lips once more before it died away with a sigh of regret. He did want to escape from the confines of the Crystal Valley for a while but he knew that such a thing would be impossible at this time and that he'd simply have to make do with monitoring Sera's upbringing from afar for now at least. The picture was tenderly set to rest with the rest of the various drawings Sera had sent to him over the course of the two years that she'd been living in exile on his estate.

He'd seen the precocious five year old himself three months before and had been shocked at the change wrought upon her. The tiny little toddler he remembered was gone, a slender and gangling little girl already showing promise of great beauty with her downy silvered-blond hair and those sweet crystal-blue eyes that could gleam like the ocean at midday when she was laughing and happy, an attitude he was relieved to know she often presented to the world around her. She was a happy child, well cared for and cosseted by her beloved nanny/tutor. Though Sasarai often showered her with gifts and all but her every wish, her nature was unspoiled by selfishness or greed. Indeed, she rarely asked for anything, much to everyone's surprise, as she seemed perfectly content with the way things were....well...save for one thing....she wanted to be with her Sasarai...

Dear Sera,

I'm delighted to learn you're doing so well and I promise to come see you as soon as I can escape from my duties long enough for an extended vacation. Malena has nothing but praise to say for you and I'm very, very proud of all the progress you've made. If you're doing this well around winter's eve I'll see about bringing you here for the holiday season. As soon as you're a little older, it will be safe to bring you back permanently but so long as you don't have complete control of your gifts, it's not safe....

I miss you and have faith...we'll be together soon enough I promise...keep up the good work and never forget how proud you make me.....

Love,

Sasarai

The letter was sent back to with the same messenger that had brought the missives from his estates. A purse of gold was sent with it to see to their needs and add to the savings he'd started for Sera. He wanted her to be able to stand on her own independently when she reached of age. While he wanted her to join the holy orders of Harmonia, he wasn't going to leave her penniless if she decided to follow some other vocation in life.

His thoughts were interrupted before they could travel further down that grim path by the soft creak of a body settling into one of the chairs placed in front of his desk. He immediately thought of Dios and glanced up, the beginnings of a frown curving his brow as his mouth opened to deal the poor man a rebuke. But the words froze in his throat as he found himself staring into a pair of tired, but amused looking aqua eyes as they glittered from those leanly handsome visage. "Becoming a regular father figure aren't you?" That rich baritone voice was warm and alight with amusement.

Sasarai frowned at the man though the severity of his look was spoiled by the smile curving his lips, the wry expression crossing his features as he studied the blond man. "So....is there anything that we can't keep from you, Nash?" One brown brow rose in a sardonic manner that merely got a smile from the man opposite him as he leaned back in his chair. The firelight glinted across the sun-gilt gold of his hair as it fell in a messy mane about his face. The years had added a few more lines to his face, added a spider webbing of wrinkles around those glittering aqua depths and treaded grey through those glinting gold locks.

"No...not much I suppose..." Nash admitted with a faint little smile as those too sharp aqua eyes watched the nervous movements of Sasarai's hands when they moved to try and cover Sera's pictures under a sheaf of papers. "You won't be able to keep her a secret for long you know....your trips out to your estates are not as quiet as you'd like them to be. In all fairness it was damned hard to figure out just what has been going on here since the various amount of rumors and speculation make it hard to keep the facts in sight." His words did not please Sasarai, that much was obvious from the darkening of those clear emerald eyes as he scowled at Nash, a definite note of wariness in his eyes as he looked the spy over.

"And just what is your interest in what I do with my time, Latkje...." Uh oh...you knew you were in trouble when someone called you by your last name. Nash winced a bit as unwelcome memories of his time spent in the lovely piece of hell on earth called the Howling Voice Guild and he raised his hands in a sign of supplication.

"Whoa whoa....I didn't come here to pick a fight...I just....want to help is all...." He sighed softly, raking a hand through his hair with a grimace as he tried to find a way to undo the damage his words had already done. "Look.....I owe you for helping with my sister and no doubt a dozen other things I'm not going to bother trying to name....point of fact is...I owe you. So don't get huffy with me when I try to point out how ineffective your attempts at secrecy have been. I am just trying to help after all...." Sasarai sighed softly, a grimace of his own crossing his face as he settled back into his chair.

"You're right of course, forgive my bad manners...." He cocked his head to the side as he peered at the blond curiously. "Are you hungry? Should I have some refreshment brought up?"

"Considering I want to keep this meeting as secret as possible...I think I'll pass...." That wry little smile of amusement curled his lips as he looked toward the crackling fire as it cast warmth across them both. "Why are you hiding her? If you don't mind me asking...?"

Sasarai blinked at the abrupt shift in subject but could only shrug helplessly, shoulders rising and falling in a small manner, that youthful visage growing troubled as his gaze followed Nash's. "You know what it's like to grow up here....she's go great potential for the arts and I just didn't want her to be taken advantage of...." Those suddenly sharp emeralds looked back at Nash, brows knitting together briefly. "I'm not a fool, nor am I blind...I know how ruthless the church can be when they want something." He was speaking from personal experience, his normally cheerful and light tone grim and solemn. "I just want to protect her until she's able to do so for herself"

"Fair enough....." He wasn't going to ask why Sasarai was only just now taking an interest in the children of the country. "No one suspects you're harboring a child so she's safe from that at least. But there are rumors...mostly that you're keeping some lover there and so forth...I'm afraid people with such a...auspicious rank as yourself have no real secrets from the people..." He waved one hand in a negligent manner, one leg crossing across the other in a manner that would have appeared feminine on anyone who managed to look a bit less languid and feline as he sat in his chair.

"Tell me something I don't know...." came the priest's droll, bitingly sarcastic remark as those moody green eyes peering off into nowhere before finally looking back at Nash. There was a sharp glint in his eyes and the smile that curved his lips was a bit too predatory to be truly welcoming as he watched the other man. "Well now...since you've apparently got more then your fair share of criticisms about how I'm carrying this whole thing off, I don't suppose you've got some recommendations or advice to add to this lecture, hmmmn?" One pale brown brow rose in a sardonic manner before he sighed, some of the cool scrutiny draining from his body as he simply sagged there in his seat, suddenly feeling the endless centuries of his life all at once. Gods help him, he was an old man....a tired ancient with the face of a youth and shockingly little to show for his life save for what he'd done within his church. "Anything you have to offer.....would be appreciated...." Came his soft sigh after a drawn out eternity that was only broke by the cracking of logs within the fire.

"Well now.....I think you should ask yourself how you wish to spin the subject of this girl suddenly appearing out of the blue as your ward....the only ward you would have officially taken on in all your years in office." Sasarai made as if to say something but the blond man merely held up one elegant hand in a soft gesture for silence, clearly bespeaking that he wasn't done quite yet. "People are going to ask questions...why the sudden interest in the children of the church? Why this girl in particular...and...." he paused then, teeth catching his lower lip in an unconscious musing manner as those golden brows drew together briefly in a frown. "And....as I know you're no doubt certain, there will be some...those who are...jealous of you and your rank that will try to use her against you. Or to at least woo her away from your side for any young woman who's so spectacular as to catch your eye...well she must be truly unique indeed, hmmn? And some will no doubt seek to control whatever power she has for their own ends."

"And don't forget just outright killing her off so that she'll be of no use to anyone not to mention the side effect of certain people enjoying watching me suffer a little more...." His bitter remark was greeted with a solemn nod from Nash as he tapped a beat out atop the arm of his chair. "I *know* I have enemies here, Nash....I *know* there are certain people that think I've long outgrown my usefulness and no doubt that some of them even hate me. It's a bit hard to live as long as I have without stepping on a few toes every now and then." The grim faced rune bearer scowled and raked both hands through his hair in a frustrated manner, further mussing those honeyed brown locks to send them rakishly spilling across his forehead. "And I *know* that anyone who is close to me could very well be walking with a large target on their back. But what *can* I do!? Hide her away until she's old and grey...that would merely be cheating her of the life she deserves! And I haven't the heart nor the true desire to send her away. Perhaps it's selfish of me...perhaps even bigoted and just down right old fashioned of me but I don't want to see a child of Harmonia be fostered outside our borders to become....something other then Harmonian..... especially one as talented as Sera!"

Nash simply let him vent, sensing the priest needed this small bit of openness more then even Sasarai realized. He'd sprung to his feet, suddenly as tense as a spring and as restless as a hunting cat. The end of his impassioned speech found him standing behind his chair, hands tight and white-knuckled on the hardwood back of the comfortable furniture as those frustrated and helpless green eyes sought to find a place to rest only to find nothing soothing to the eye or to the senses. He hadn't meant to blow up like that and Gods knew he hadn't meant to blurt all that out to...well....a spy like Nash. Gah....the bloody man was right...he was no good at this subterfuge routine. "I....am sorry for that...I had no right to....subject you to such an outburst." He finally admitted with a sigh, shoulders sagging once more to lean wearily against the chair.

"eh...don't worry about it....trust me I've dealt with a lot worse....outbursts from the missus at home...." A knowing smirk curved his lips, the sardonic amusement tingling those pale green eyes as he smiled, moving to climb to his feet once more. "And speaking of which...I should be getting back towards home before she sends the hounds out after me..." Nash executed a flourishing bow that was only half-playful before straitening once more with a faint smile. "You've still got plenty of time to figure out what to do with her. Let me know when you're planning on bringing her back and we can see what we can come up with together, hmmn?" That warm smile curved his lips, the sheer friendliness and camaraderie in those aqua depths taking the sting from all of his previous words. "Take care of yourself and of your little Sera, Sasarai.and don't forget.if you have need of me you know where to reach me.." A flippant little salute was given before Nash slipped away, disappearing into the shadows of his office doorway and into the hallway beyond.

Sasarai sighed softly, brows furrowing together in a frown as he thought over Nash's words. There was great truth in his advice though unfortunately nothing that he himself hadn't already thought of and puzzled for many a time these past few months. He wasn't sure what he was going to do about Sera.he wasn't sure about a lot of things actually and that unnerved him. He'd always had a set plan in his life but now he found himself at a loss at what to do now. Even before he'd discovered the little imp hiding in his rose garden he'd been without any real goals in life..so the true question was..what now?