Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: This chapter is really long and took longer than usual to get up, but if you read it, you'll see why. Hope you enjoy this! Thanks for all your support!

Sakura Li-chan – His problem is really very simple. It's called Chronic Backstabbing Disorder, lol. The only consistent things about Alex so far is that he's a very manipulative person who will eventually betray you.

Anne Iriel Devay – Glad you like it! Light Adepts won't be a major part of this story, but they will do one more thing before it's all over! Happy 2011 to you too!

goldensun1126 – Thanks for the review! Glad you liked it!

Knight-Dawn – That's what he's for, lol! One of these days, I'm going to write a one-shot that looks at Tyrell seriously. One of these days. But not today. Thanks for the review!

XxXxX

A Different Kind of Storm

CHAPTER 14

Heading Home

Amiti stood in the map room, staring at the map on the table. He watched as his informant rearranged the black pebbles, depicting the approach of the Tuaparang army. His spies had not been able to get close enough to get inside information on the army. Anyone who tried never came back. But it was difficult enough to hide an army of that size. He frowned, staring at Bilibin.

The nation was giving the Tuaparang passage. That had to be what was happening, because he highly doubted that Lord McCoy was completely unaware that an armed force was moving through his territory. He wondered what had caused him to do it. Were the Tuaparang threatening him, or had they simply offered him a profit once the Tuaparang won their war. Was he even in charge? It was highly likely that Lady McCoy was in control of the situation, but without intelligence from Bilibin, it was hard to guess.

It didn't matter anyway. Bilibin was far off enough to not cause a threat. The Tuaparang army settling outside the Konpa Caves, however, was another story.

"You're sure?" he asked, looking up at the spy.

"Yes, Your Majesty," said the spy, inclining his head in a gesture of respect. "It appears that their airship has been damaged, which is why they haven't simply flown over the mountains. The damage is extensive. We have two to three months to prepare, at best."

"And at worst?" asked Amiti.

"Perhaps a month," said the spy.

Amiti nodded, trying to appear calm. He looked at the lands between Ayuthay and Passaj, picking up a black pebble and sliding it into the open space outside of the city.

"If they attack, it will be here," he said. "They cannot land their airship within the city itself, and they will not risk reinforcements coming by sea from Champa and Sana."

"Yes, my lord," said the spy, nodding in agreement.

"What of Kaocho?" he asked, looking up.

His advisor frowned, stepping forward. "They've sent an official notice denying all responsibility for the attack," he said. "But…"

"They're moving," finished Amiti grimly. His advisor looked away uncomfortably, glancing at the spymaster. The old spymaster cleared his throat.

"They've been mustering an army within their walls," he said. "Mostly mercenaries and survivors of the Eclipse. It's highly likely that we are their intended targets."

"Of course," said Amiti, dryly. "Who else?"

For a moment he wished that there were a more prosperous and less defended country in Ei-Jei, so that all of these enemies would leave them alone. He pushed the thought away, staring at Kaocho. Looking at it, he couldn't help feeling an odd sense of foreboding.

"How long?" he asked.

"A month," said the spymaster. "Maybe two."

A month…maybe two. His eyes shifted from Kaocho to the gathering Tuaparang. So that was it. At best, his spies had mistaken the intentions of one of the threats. At worst, they faced an attack on two fronts. Kaocho would arrive first and wouldn't be too much of a challenge, but even so, his own troops would not be able to defeat Kaocho in time to defend themselves against the Tuaparang. Even if they could…they would be too weakened by a Kaocho assault to give the Tuaparang any serious trouble.

More than likely, the Tuaparang knew this too. An image appeared in his mind for a moment as he closed his eyes, his clenched fists at his side shaking slightly from anger. A blue-haired Mercury Adept half-turned away from them, with a smirk on his face. Arcanus—no, Alex. His father.

"The downed airship is a ruse," said Amiti, opening his eyes. "They intend to wait for Kaocho to either finish us off or weaken us, then attack the surviving party."

"That would appear to be the case," said the spymaster, nodding.

"What do we do, my lord?" asked his advisor.

Amiti glanced at him for a moment. 'Don't ask me,' he wanted to say. Or 'I don't know'. How was he supposed to tell his advisor that he had no idea how to win against this—no idea how to face this threat? How was he supposed to tell his advisor that their people would die and their city would fall because their king could not think of a way to save them?

There was no way to do it. He just had to carry on.

"Send word to the officers to gather their men," he said. "I will hold a war council in the morning."

"My lord," said the advisor, bowing. He turned, ready to head off and do what was asked. Amiti watched him, then dismissed the spymaster with a wave of his hand.

Once he was alone, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the Insight Glass. Amiti took a deep breath and held it over one of his eyes, pushing some of his Psynergy into it to activate the Glass. It shimmered for a moment, the map below him going out of focus.

Please…he thought. Show me what to do…

The map came back in blurry focus, Ayuthay a bright circle of gold. As he watched, white flags began to surround the city, a single white flag rising from its heart. He stared at it, his eyes wide.

Surrender?

Was that the only viable option the Insight Glass could give him?

He lowered the Glass, staring at the map in shock. Then he turned, leaving the room and slamming the door behind him. Ayuthay would not surrender. He would die before that. If there truly was no chance to win, he would see to it that the civilians and those that did not wish to die were evacuated tomorrow. The rest of them would stand and fight.

It was all he could do.

XxXxX

Karis dumped the pile of clothes into her bag, her hands shaking. Again. She was leaving again. Amiti hadn't spoken to her since their conversation in Passaj. It wasn't entirely intentional. They had arrived late last night, and he had been in meetings all of today. Even so, he had been avoiding her. And she had been doing the same.

"Karis," said Ivan from across the room, looking up at her. "Are you sure you're alright?"

She closed her pack and set it aside, taking a deep breath. By tomorrow, this would all be over. She knew why Amiti wanted her to leave. He was trying to protect her. She also knew that she was never supposed to be here more than a week or two. The fact that it had gone on for as long as it had was completely up to chance. She was going home to Kalay, which had always been their plan.

And yet…to hear Amiti say that he wanted her gone…

Was she really just that much dead weight?

"I'm fine," she said. She forced a smile and turned to face her father. "Just a little tired of traveling, that's all."

Ivan's frown deepened. He wasn't convinced. Even though he wasn't reading her mind, her father was an astute student of human nature. She wasn't fooling anybody. He took a step forward, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Karis…" he said, gently guiding her towards the bed. She sat down and he sat beside her, just as they had when she was a child and had a problem she couldn't tell anybody else. The memory made her heart ache even further, and she felt tears starting to gather in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice soft. "Tell me."

"It's just…" she said. "…I guess…I'm a little upset to be leaving like this. And I'm worried." She took a deep breath, stopping herself before her emotions took over and she went to pieces entirely. "…What does he think he's doing, sending all his friends away? I…"

She paused, unsure what she wanted to say. That she loved him? Did she? She thought back to the two years she had been in Kalay. In her mind, she had been in her hometown. She was with her family, and things had gone back to their usual routine. But that was all it was, a routine. She loved her family. She still did. But in those two years, it didn't…it didn't feel like home. It felt like she was on an extended vacation, getting ready to leave at any moment. It had never felt like that before. But…

She stared down at her hands. How could she tell her father that home wasn't home to her anymore?

What she was doing now reminded her of what she did then, that day two years ago when she packed her bags and left Ayuthay because she was too afraid to face her friend and ask him why he did what he did and if she meant it. Because she was too afraid to think about whether or not she meant it too.

"…just…A part of me just wishes things could have turned out differently, I suppose…"

She was rambling. She didn't even know what she was saying, much less whether it made any sense or added anything to the conversation. But Ivan understood. He looked in her eyes, violet eyes identical to his own, and understood.

"You know, Karis…" he said. "…Nobody's making you leave."

She looked up at him in surprise. Ivan smiled. It was a warm, fatherly smile. It reached his eyes, even though his eyes were sad. "Stay, if you want," he said. "The decision isn't mine—or Amiti's—to make."

Karis stared at him for a few moments. Then, because she didn't have any words to respond to that, she leaned forward, embracing him. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head and holding her tight. They remained that way for a moment before Karis pulled back, wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand. She sniffed, looking up at him.

"What are you going to tell Mother?" she asked with a short laugh, grinning even as tears ran down her face.

Ivan smiled at her. "I'll think of something," he said.

XxXxX

He stood on the balcony overlooking the lake, his hands on the railing. He had spent hours thinking of the problem, but no solution came to him. Try as he might, he couldn't think of a military strategy that would make this situation work for him. He was a skilled politician, but his father was better—if ruthlessness could be considered better in this case.

His only consolation was that Karis would not be around to see it. In fact, if he had his way, none of them would be. They would all be home with their families, or in their own countries making preparations against the threat that would no doubt befall them after Ayuthay was taken. Against their combined might, he would lose Ayuthay, but he would make them pay dearly for it, so that when they came against Nihan or Morgal or Sana, they would fall.

It should have consoled him. Instead, it did the opposite.

He must have been incredibly selfish, to wish that his friends would remain at his side even when the situation seemed terribly hopeless. To wish that Karis would remain at his side.

"Everyone's prepared to leave," said a soft voice from behind him. "The departure is scheduled for dawn tomorrow."

He didn't need to turn his head to know that she was there. It was just like that night two years ago on this very same balcony, when she had come out of the coronation reception to console him. This time, however, no lights glittered from the lake's glassy surface, no dignitaries celebrated in the brightly colored reception hall behind him. This time, the reception hall was empty, holding only dust. This time, the lake carried no memorial lights, only ghosts.

"He would be proud," Karis had said once.

Would he?

"That's good," he said. He didn't turn to face her. He didn't need to show his weakness in front of her, to make her worry before she left.

"I won't be going with them," she said.

The admission was enough to make him look up sharply, turning towards her. Karis stood behind him. Her voice was soft, but there was determination in her eyes. They were narrowed as she watched him, her hands at her side.

"Karis—," he said. He caught himself before he said something he would regret, taking a deep breath and running a hand through his hair. The motion nearly upset his crown. He thought he had taken it off. She reached out quickly, catching the crown and steadying it before replacing it on his head. "You can't be serious," he said when she withdrew. His voice was quieter now. Her proximity had that effect on him.

"I am," she said. "I don't know what you're worried about, but if you think I'm going to leave just because Wo decides to be difficult—."

"It's not just Wo," he said, cutting her off. He stepped back, away from her.

Karis looked up, a puzzled look on her face for a moment. She watched him, waiting for him to continue.

"…The Tuaparang are mustering," he said. "I believe they intend to wait for Kaocho to engage us, then challenge the winner of the battle, taking the Alchemy Well for themselves." He hesitated. "My…father is with them."

She would have realized exactly what all of this meant. He could see it in her eyes, sparks of understanding appearing as they jumped from fact to fact, traveling on chains of logic. "All the more reason for me to stay," she said.

"Don't you understand?" he asked. "I don't know if we can win this, Karis. I don't want to see you—any of you—hurt."

"Don't you understand?" asked Karis. "None of us want to see you hurt either! We'll all stand by you, just like we did in the past."

"This is different," said Amiti.

"How can it possibly be worse than the end of the world?" asked Karis.

"I didn't say worse, just different," said Amiti. He sighed, leaning back against the railing. "…Back then, it was either we did something about it, or we allowed the world to slip into darkness. We had to stand together because we all had a stake in things. No one life could ever be more important than the lives of everyone in the world. But…this time, it's just me. If anything happened to any of you because of this, it would be because of me. I could never live with that. So please. Go home, Karis."

"Stop being selfish!" snapped Karis.

He looked up, surprised. He thought his words would be enough. She took a step forward, her eyes narrowed at him.

"We fought because we all had a stake in it, but that's not why we stood together," she said. "We stood together because we're your friends, Amiti, and we'll stand together or not at all. You're asking us to save ourselves and let you risk your life alone! How would you react if Sveta or Himi asked the same?"

Amiti stared at her, stunned. He did not reply.

"You can avoid us all you like, but you can't make us leave," she said. "You can have your guards throw us out of the city, but you can't make us get out of Ei-Jei. You can't stop us from standing here and fighting when that army arrives at your gates. Your only choice is whether we fight from beside you, inside the city, or from outside, but we will fight. You can't make Matthew leave, or Tyrell or Rief. Eoleo, Sveta and Himi would return with reinforcements in a heartbeat if you asked them to. And you can't make me leave."

She paused, standing right in front of him. Karis took a deep breath.

"You told me to go home," she said quietly, lowering her voice now. She looked up at him. "I am home. And I'm not leaving."

He exhaled slowly, feeling the tension leave him in that one breath. Amiti looked down, meeting Karis's eyes. He knew he should insist, should tell her that it was too dangerous, but he couldn't.

He had told Karis once that he had high standards. He had been in love with her since before the coronation, but that had only been one of the reasons why he hadn't chosen a queen. He knew that a marriage with any candidate presented to him would only be a marriage of convenience. Ayuthay's royal line would need to continue, and he would have done his duty. But even if it was only that, he would have wanted to choose someone he could talk to, someone who he could tolerate living with.

The first batch of candidates he had been presented with were beautiful, he would give them that, but that was maybe the least of his concerns. He wouldn't lie, it had been a concern, but they were all timid. They were daughters of Ayuthay's upper class, and they had perfected their class's etiquette. They were neither ambitious nor overly energetic, but they were dull. They lacked energy. They wouldn't meet his eyes, much less talk to him.

The next wave had been a little more tolerable. This group was a little more forward, at least to the point that they would talk to him and talk amongst themselves, but they weren't interested in the things he was interested in. He realized that although they were loyal subjects and he cared about their welfare, they weren't…intelligent. That wasn't to say that they weren't smart in their own way, but after talking to some of them for a while, he found that they lost the thread of conversation easily.

The last group of girls had intelligence and energy, but that had given way to ambition. They knew exactly what sort of advantages Amiti could give them, and knew how to play the field just as well as any politician, which was why he couldn't choose any of them. He would not live out the rest of his days locked in a political game with his own wife, no matter how good it would be for the country.

Karis was different.

She was highly intelligent, and she wasn't at all impressed by him. She didn't feel the need to cower or lower her eyes in his presence because he was royalty. She was a princess in her own right, and would be officially if Hammet passed his power to her father. She was a strong person who could make decisions for herself and for the people around her that looked up to her. But she had what the third group didn't have.

She had heart.

He had seen it in her in Belinsk when she charged at foes many times her size, lightning and wind coming to her beck and call and her blade flashing in her hand just so one or two frightened civilians could cower to safety for just a few more minutes before monsters found them again. He had seen it in her when she had been the first to leap from the ledge in the entrance to Apollo Sanctum when Himi slipped, beating even Matthew, who had used his Venus Psynergy to pull them both up when she dangled from a vine, Himi holding onto her free wrist for dear life. He had even seen it at camp, when she scolded Tyrell for eating the last of their supplies and kept order among their small group.

He had seen it most of all the night he found out that Alex was his father, the night that he had sat away from the group, afraid of what they would think of him. When she came to him and brought him back.

This was a person who would stand up for the things she believed in and the people she loved. She was someone who would die before the people she loved were hurt. Karis was someone who understood why he was here and understood what he needed to do. She could stand by him and rule with him, not as a subordinate but as his equal.

And he was about to send that person away.

He wanted her here with him, next to him. And for her to say that she considered Ayuthay her home…

"You're determined to stay?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Yes," said Karis, nodding up at him. He hesitated for just a moment, then caught her hands in his.

"…Then stay. Please," he said, pressing something into her palm and releasing her hands. She opened her hand.

Gold glimmered in the faint light of the lanterns. He watched as Karis slowly unraveled the gold chain. A tear-shaped pendant hung in the center of the necklace, the carved piece of zol resting inside it. It turned in the wind, Karis's name engraved on the back in a flowing script. She stared at it for a moment, her eyes wide.

"In my country…" began Amiti, "…the giving of gold jewelry is equivalent to the giving of a diamond engagement ring. [1] The teardrop and moon, as you know, represents this city and this country, as well as its royal line. Traditionally, the queens of Ayuthay have all worn sapphire, but…"

He watched as she ran her fingers down the small piece of carved zol, understanding. She looked up at him.

"…This wasn't how I planned to do it," he said. "I had planned to ask you before you left, but this situation…" He shook his head, meeting her eyes. "…I'm asking you to marry me, Karis, if that isn't already apparent."

She took a deep breath, her fingers closing around the gold.

"Yes," she said.

They stared at each other for a few moments before Karis cleared her throat, holding the necklace up to Amiti. "I'll need help getting it on…" she said.

He nodded, taking it from her and taking one end in each hand. She turned around, lifting her ponytail. He placed the necklace around her neck, a part of him unable to believe what he was doing.

He had proposed to Karis, he realized vaguely.

…And she had accepted.

He clasped both ends together and released the necklace. Karis let her hair fall, turning towards him. The pendant hung over her dress, glimmering in the lamplight.

He leaned in and kissed her. She tilted her head up, returning the kiss.

When he came to his senses, he pulled away, turning on his heel abruptly and heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Karis, whirling around to face him.

"The stakes have been raised," he said, his eyes hardening in determination. "Go to the others," he said. "Tell them I will meet with all of you after I meet with the war council tomorrow morning. Explain the situation to them."

He paused, opening the door and turning back towards her. She was standing at the center of the balcony watching him, one hand on the hilt of her sword even as the other rested over the pendant he had given her. The sight reminded him of two things. It reminded him that they were at war, and it reminded him just how much he stood to lose.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"You're here," said Amiti. "Which means there's only one thing I can do." He took a deep breath.

"I'm going to win."

XxXxX

[1] Gold jewelry – Actual Thai marriage practice. Looked it up.