It was nearly half four in the afternoon by the time Akkarin and Sonea left the house for their walk. They had left the house a little earlier to briefly freshen up in the baths, only offering nods towards any other magicians they had seen. Their cloaks fluttered over the ground as they started up the path towards the forest. They had decided against wearing the robes and had donned the simple garb of a dwell, much like the items of clothing Sonea had worn when she first lived in the Magicians Quarters with Rothen. So much has changed since then, Sonea reflected. She was now an extremely powerful black magician, the person she had hated was now her lover, and she had gained another family with Rothen and Dorrien. She would get to see them again tonight, at the meeting in the Night Room. She bit her lip as she thought about the summons to the meeting. Were they going to exile her and Akkarin again? Surely not, they had saved Imardin from being overthrown despite being exiled.
Tentatively, Akkarin brushed his fingertips against the back of Soneas hand, she pushed all the negative thoughts out of her mind and smiled up at him, slipping her hand into his. He lifted her hand to his lips, smiling back at her with a softness in his eyes.
The sun shone through the trees leaving a carpet of light and dark scattered over the forest floor. Their walk continued in a comfortable silence at a gentle pace so that by the time they reached the spring neither were severely winded.
Akkarin sat on one of the rocks with a practised ease, leaning his back against the rock wall behind. Sonea hesitated, unsure whether he would want space to grieve, but her decision was made by Akkarin when he opened his arms as an invitation. She settled on the rock beside him, his arms pulling her close as she rested her head against his shoulder. She let out a small sigh of contentment and felt a light kiss brush the top of her head.
Sonea listened to the bubbling of the spring and the loud chattering of the birds hidden in the branches of the forest as the sky slowly faded from blue to a light orange on the horizon. Akkarin broke the silence with a whisper.
'Lorlen and I used to come up here to escape Lord Margen's lectures.'
'Yes, I know. You told me that the last time we were here.'
'Oh, yes, so I did. I'm sorry.'
'No, it's ok. A lot has happened since then.'
Akkarin chuckled.
'Yes, a lot has happened since the last time we were here.' He gave Sonea a light squeeze, 'you were so afraid of me. I am sorry about that, Sonea, and I am sorry for what I made you do. It was necessary at the time although I deeply regret it now.'
'I forgive you. And you didn't make me do anything, all the decisions I made were mine. You just pushed me in a certain direction, a direction that I needed to go.' Sonea looked up at him. 'I know how hard it was to shoulder everything that you went through, but it's over now. That part of your life is closed, and you can move onto the next chapter.'
'Thank you.' His voice quiet, 'I couldn't have done it without you. You have changed me in a way I thought no one could, not even Lorlen.'
He lapsed into silence. Sonea could hear and feel his breathing become a little sharper.
'Tell me about him. What was he like? I only knew him as an Administrator.'
'He is... was my best friend.' Akkarin stated after a few calming breaths. 'We were in the same intake but didn't instantly hit it off if you can believe that. We were the strongest magicians in our intake and were constantly competing to be the best. We soon realised that we could compete and still be friends, and it was then that we started getting into trouble.'
He chuckled.
'We were a nightmare to begin with. The two best magicians in our intake playing pranks on our classmates and even a few of the Lords.'
'Really!? How did you manage that!?'
'As I told you earlier, we skipped Lord Margen's lessons every now and again because of how strict he was. The prank we played on him was pretty harmless but was hilarious at the same time. Whilst he was lecturing, one of us, or an unknowing classmate, would distract him with a question and the other would remove the chalk from the chalkboard via levitation.
'We did this over and over again, and he would get so frustrated about losing every single piece of chalk he put down, but he never caught us.
'We kept the chalk we stole and then, right near the end of term just before exams, we hid it in a little alcove above the board. Then, near the end of the class we levitated it out of the alcove as one huge clump and hovered it above his head.
'The rest of the class noticed at that point, but no one said anything because no one wanted to be punished for speaking out of turn. He did notice the shocked faces though and demanded to ask what was wrong, it was then that we released the chalk. Right onto the top of his head!'
Akkarin laughed until he was gasping for breath.
'He was... so surprised... that he... didn't... shield... or do... anything.' His laughter echoed around the rocks, and Soneas laughter joined the chorus. 'No one had ever dared to play a prank on him, and there he stood, covered head to foot in white chalk!
Akkarin dissolved into laughter once more.
'He was furious.' Akkarin chuckled. 'Absolutely furious, and he now knew it was Lorlen and I because we couldn't hold back our laughter whereas the rest of the class were just plain terrified! Margen shouted at us so badly that the other Lords teaching nearby came in. We were punished very severely; I don't think that there's been a punishment as bad since that prank.'
Akkarins laughter petered off, leaving his breathing quick and shallow.
'I miss him,' Akkarin eventually choked out as his body shook with held back sobs. Sonea turned in his arms, shocked at the quick turn in emotion. She wound her arms around his shoulders, supporting him as he mourned the loss of his best friend once again. Tears pricked in her eyes as she listened to his anguished cries.
Gradually the sobs quietened.
'It will be ok,' she murmured into his hair. 'You're going to get though his. I'll help you, I always will.'
Akkarin lifted his head to look her in the eyes. They were bloodshot and watery, tear tracks glistened on his cheeks in the weak sunlight. His hand raised to touch Soneas face, and he brushed a tear away. The pain of Akkarins cries had been too much for Sonea to bear without shedding a tear. Sonea gently wiped at Akkarins cheeks, getting rid of the tear stains. He rested his forehead against Soneas, eyes open and vulnerable. He looks like a lost boy, a child who has been left alone for too long.
Akkarin pulled Sonea back into the position they had been sitting in before, and they watched the setting sun in silence. Sonea trailed her fingertips over the back of his hands which were folded over her stomach.
After a while, Akkarin sighed.
'Takan has made us dinner. We should leave now if we want to eat without rushing before the meeting.'
He stood and held a hand out for Sonea, helping her to her feet. Placing a lingering kiss at her hairline he took her hand and they started down the hill towards the Guild.
Takan didn't disappoint with the meal that evening and soon Sonea was pleasantly full. Their conversation throughout the meal had been minimal and inconsequential, but now that it was over Akkarin spoke.
'I should suspect that there will be quite a few magicians there tonight, even though this is an informal meeting. We are likely to be told rules and restrictions.'
'Do you think they'll exile us again?'
'I doubt it, they know that they need us now in case of another invasion. We'll need to be ready for some strict rules to be suggested. However, there is another option if you want it.'
'What is it?'
'We could leave. We would never be allowed to return; it would be a self-exile of sorts, but we could choose where we wanted to go.'
Sonea was already shaking her head.
'No, I want to stay if I am allowed. I won't leave my family behind.'
'I thought you would say that. I was only offering another option just to cover everything.'
'Ok.' Sonea paused, 'this may sound like a silly question, but what do we say about our... relationship?'
Akkarin rubbed a hand over his chin as he thought.
'I don't think we should go around telling everyone, but if rumours surface then don't deny them. If that's ok with you of course?'
'That's sounds like a good plan.'
'Speaking of good plans, we should get ready to go. We need to be there soon; I'd rather not be late tonight.'
'What should we wear? Robes or this?'
Sonea gestured to her clothing.
'We should wear robes. We are magicians after all, however the only ones I have are black ones. They'll have to do for tonight, I'll just have to take the High Lord's incal off them first.'
'But I'm not a full magician.'
Soneas mood grew sombre. And she may never be one, they probably won't teach her now that she's learnt black magic.
'You should still wear black. Maybe we can cut it so that they're the length of novice robes? Actually, no, you'll wear full length black robes.'
'What? Why?'
'Because when we were exiled you were about to choose a discipline, and since you learnt black magic instead of healing then I'd say that you're a full magician of black magic.'
Akkarin looked upon Soneas downcast face.
'I know you wanted to be a healer, but I don't know how much freedom they're going to give us now. We'll just have to wait and see.'
Sonea nodded. Akkarin stood and walked around the table to embrace her.
'We'll get through this. Just one day at a time. Okay?'
'Okay.'
They walked up to Akkarins room together and donned the black robes minus the incal.
'How do I look?' Sonea held the black robes out, 'it feels weird wearing long robes.'
'Intimidating,' he teased, 'but magnificent.' Sonea rolled her eyes. 'You'll have them all quaking in their boots. What about me?'
Sonea look Akkarin up and down. He looked just like he looked before the exile.
'Absolutely perfect,' she pressed a kiss to his lips, 'like usual.'
'Great. Shall we get going then?'
Sonea nodded, suddenly not trusting her voice.
They strolled across the Guild grounds; arms entwined. Neither in a hurry to reach their destination. Their grip on each other tightened as they came into view of the many bodies that lined the courtyard in front of the University.
'So many.' Sonea whispered.
Lorlen was there somewhere, and not for the first time in her life, Sonea was glad for the darkness. She didn't allow Akkarin to stop, they couldn't afford to break down right now.
'Come on,' she tugged slightly at his arm as he slowed. 'We can pay our respects later, or tomorrow when it's lighter.'
Akkarin nodded and they walked faster towards the Night Room.
It was not long before Sonea stood hand in hand with Akkarin at the door of the Night Room. She looked up at him.
'Are you ready?' She asked.
'No. You?'
'Nope. Let's get this over with.'
Akkarin smiled, gave her a quick peck on the lips, and pushed opened the door.
