A/N: Thank you for my lovely reviews! I'd love some more... :) Please review, thanks for reading!
For a whole week, Dannyl avoided Aurelia.
During that week, Aurelia went to classes a shell of her former self. She felt so guilty for ruining Dannyl's relationship, for all that she had done, and she barely bring herself to pay attention in lessons. It didn't help that she kept suffering from terrible headaches. Elle guarded her fiercely, not letting any other novices even talk to her friend, and was unflinchingly supportive. Aurelia wondered what she had done to deserve the wonderful people that she had found here at the guild.
Dorrien, who had originally been planning to stay for only one night, had stayed the entire week. No-one had yet told him what was going on, and he was determined to stay until they did. Plus, he couldn't stop looking at Aurelia, hanging onto her every word (though she spoke but a little lately) and thinking about all the things he would do to her if she wasn't a novice and so obviously troubled.
Sonea handed Lorkin over to Aurelia's care in the evenings, finding that when she was with the baby, Aurelia seemed brighter, more at ease. She thought that that was a good omen for Aurelia's own child.
And Rothen spent the week trying to convince Dannyl to talk to Aurelia, pleading him, even bribing him on one occasion. But Dannyl insisted he wanted nothing to do with Aurelia, nothing at all.
It was an evening before the weekly Freeday when Dannyl finally consented to speak with her. He arrived at Rothen's rooms as soon as he was sure that she would have returned, scowling darkly when she opened the door. She was holding Lorkin, and behind her, he could see Dorrien's eyes fixed on her backside.
"Dannyl!" she exclaimed, "I, um...come in?"
"I suppose I have to talk to you" he said grumpily, "But I would like to talk to you alone"
"Of course" Aurelia mumbled, a little pink in the face. She turned, looking for someone to give Lorkin to, and Dorrien flew forward, holding out his arms.
"I'll take him" he said at once. He was awarded with one of Aurelia's stunning smiles as he took little Lorkin into his arms, "Do you want me to come along too?"
Aurelia opened her pretty mouth to reply, but Dannyl interrupted with a firm, "No. Come on, Aurelia"
As soon as they had left, and he had released a squirming Lorkin, Dorrien turned to his father and Sonea.
"Can someone please tell me what's going on with those two?" he asked, exasperated, "None of you tell me anything!"
"You're not a child, Dorrien" sighed Sonea, but she looked amused by his tone, "And the less that know, the better, really"
"Sonea, this is me we're talking about!" Dorrien cried, sitting down and looking expectantly at the two of them. Rothen and Sonea exchanged glances.
"Why are you so desperate to know?" asked Sonea, smirking. Rothen was smiling also. Dorrien looked between them both, reddening steadily.
"Fine. I think I'm in love with Aurelia. I fell in love with her the second I saw her. Alright?"
Rothen sighed heavily, "This could make things rather complicated"
"I wish you two would stop being so cryptic and tell me what's going on" Dorrien huffed, slightly disconcerted. Sonea took a deep breath.
"Aurelia is...complicated"
"How?" Dorrien frowned, "She seems so preoccupied, and this whole tension with Dannyl is just weird..."
"Her father abused her when she was a child" Rothen put in, his face sombre, "He raped her, repeatedly, for several years. Only when he died was she free to come here, to the Guild, and become the magician she was always meant to be"
Dorrien's face paled, "Oh God. Poor, poor girl. But what does that have to do with Dannyl?"
"We always thought that Dannyl was a lad, didn't we? And, well, he is. But he slept with Aurelia – she seduced him, she admitted it to me, because she fell for him completely, and wanted to believe that he loved her back" Sonea paused, "But of course, he didn't. He still slept with her though...And last week, we found out that she's carrying his child. Dannyl's lover found out and was outraged – he's left Dannyl now, and Dannyl is devastated. He's been taking it out on Aurelia, and this is the first time that he's spoken to her since it all came out"
Dorrien sat in complete silence for a few moments, looking completely stunned.
"What have I gotten myself into?" he said at last, his face ashen. Rothen looked bemused.
"You can't still love her, surely? Not knowing that she's carrying another man's child...a lad's child?"
"That changes nothing" said Dorrien, shrugging, "I looked into those warm eyes of hers the day that I met her, and I was lost"
"You thought that you loved me, once" said Sonea, half-laughing, "And it sure as hell put you off when you discovered I was carrying someone else's child"
"I gave up on you when I saw how much you loved Akkarin. And I knew I could never compare. But Aurelia...from that first second I was in too deep to swim free" Dorrien only had to picture her lovely face and his heart began to pound, "I can't change that now"
Sonea laughed at last, "Oh dear. Well, you've got a fight ahead of you. After everything that's happened with Dannyl and her father, trust isn't going to be easy for her. And she's not going to fall out of love with Dannyl the second you click your fingers. You'll actually have to win her over"
Rothen couldn't help laughing too, "Why do all the ones I care for end up in such tangled messes?"
Meanwhile, Dannyl and Aurelia were taking a walk. It was getting dark, and Dannyl was concentrating on holding his hovering globe light, rather than talking to Aurelia, who was feeling rather awkward.
"Dorrien keeps looking at you" said Dannyl eventually. Aurelia snorted with laughter.
"Don't be foolish. We're friends, Dorrien and me, but I don't think of him like that" she suddenly got angry, "Is that all you wanted to do, nag me about Dorrien? Bother me with stupid rumours? Because if it is, I might as well just go back inside"
"You're the one who said we needed to talk about this, Aurelia!" Dannyl retorted sharply. Her face crumpled and she looked close to tears.
"Why do all our conversations end in arguments?" she wailed, "This is ridiculous! I'm having a baby, for goodness sake, your baby, and we can't be fighting all the time when it comes along! Yes, we may not have to stay together, if you don't want to, but we at least have to be FRIENDS!"
Dannyl looked down at her, startled by the outburst, "I didn't say that we couldn't be friends. But I'm so angry with you!"
"I know!" Aurelia shrieked. Silence fell heavily over the garden they were walking in, tension fizzling between them.
"I've said sorry" she said, much softer now, tears sparkling down her face, "I can't do anything more than say sorry. If I could change what's happened between us, then I would. If I could, I'd turn back time, and kick some common sense into myself to stop me from even kissing you! But I can't do anything like that. And I'm really, truly sorry. I didn't realise how much you love Tayend, or how much he loves you. I thought it was just a fling. But I see now that it's more than that, and I'm desperately sorry to have ruined it for you"
Dannyl's face softened, "Look, Aurelia, I'm sorry too. I see now how sorry you really are, and I -I wish I hadn't used you like that"
"I think we just need to stay away from each other for while, even if it kills me to say it. I think..." she hesitated, the words stuck in her throat, "I think you should go and see Tayend. Explain to him everything that's happened, from the beginning. Blame it all on me, if you like. Just don't come back until you've sorted it out with him"
Dannyl stared at her, "You really want me to do that?"
Aurelia struggled against her emotions, which were screaming out for him to stay, "Yes. Yes, I do"