Disclaimer : The only thing I own in this fic is the plot (and sometimes I even doubt really owning it)

12- The Father, the Aunt and the Lover

On her way to Rothen's Quarters, Sonea crossed Lord Garrel's road, who glared at her in a threatening way. This would have made her laugh before but it gave her a chill now that she knew about Regin's suspicions. However, she reasoned that if Regin had told any Magician, even his guardian, the news would already have been spread in the Guild. Nevertheless, she promised herself to have a little chat with her nemesis, and the sooner the better. She was thinking of a way to provoke this chat when she knocked at Rothen's door. Rothen, seeing her darkened face, worried.

"Has something happened?" Sonea tried to reassure him.

"Just another of Regin's plots to discredit me. But don't worry, I'll take care of this." Rothen frowned.

"I don't like it, Sonea. What is it this time?" Sonea chewed her lips, not knowing if it was better to tell him or not. Her former guardian sighed.

"I know that I'm not your guardian anymore, but why won't you let me help you? If I am to do anything, I need to know what it is about."

"He has guessed that things aren't like they should be, between the High Lord and me." Rothen's face went blank.

"How?"

"It seems that he's been... observing me, probably trying to find another way to jeopardize my belonging to the Guild." She snorted.

"I dare say he did find one. What are you going to do now?" It was Sonea's turn to sigh. At the moment, she felt discouragement.

"I don't know yet. I can't possibly approach him publicly on this matter, nor secretly... That would be more like helping him expose us ! I hate this feeling that the only thing I'm good at is waiting for him to move!" She had restrained her rage in presence of Akkarin and Lorlen, but could not do it anymore.

"In what mess have you got yourself stuck..." Rothen said softly, unheard by the hard-thinking girl in front of him. Louder, he said : "Maybe the best solution would be not to do a thing, and appear to prove him wrong in everyone's mind."

"Maybe... but I'd much prefer to have a reason to beat him up without anyone getting in the way." Her hands clenched into fists and Rothen thought that should Regin enter the room at the moment, she would have beaten him up, no matter who was nearby or what might have been said afterwards.

Suddenly, Sonea relaxed and turned to face him with a smile.

"But we're not here to speak about this brat the whole day. What about a walk in the garden ? The weather's so nice, we should enjoy it before winter comes."

And so they did. They made the most of the absence of the majority of the Guild, still at the races, to wander in the gardens freely, where Sonea revised her lessons on healing plants. They also spoke of Lord Dannyl's mission in Elyne and his travels throughout the Allied Lands. Sonea thought it impossible for her to leave Kyralia and adapt to another country's rules. But then, not so long ago, she would have thought it impossible for her to penetrate the Inner Circle, never mind to enter the Magicians' Guild. And she had managed to adapt herself to it – most of it, at least, if not for a few magicians. That reminded her of something, and she asked ; "Does Lord Garrel have something which annoys him more than usual, by any chance ?"

"Nothing that I've heard of. Why do you ask ?"

"Because he seemed even less pleased to see me than before, and I was hoping that there could be another reason for it other than his nephew's telling him of some discovery he made."

"I'll try to get information about this. I'm not as skilled as Dannyl at... listening to things, but I'll do my best at the Meet tonight. I'll keep you informed. Do you think the High Lord will attend?"

"I don't think so. We were planning to discuss a few things to which he owes me an explanation." Rothen's eyes went round with realization. He knew this moment was coming, he had wished for it, but suddenly he wasn't sure of how to feel about it. So he stayed silent and they dropped the subject, moving on to news from Dorrien that Rothen had received.

After a lunch they took at Rothen's Quarters, they decided to drop by Sonea's family's place in the town – they had managed to find one thanks to their niece's help, which was a good thing now that Jonna was with a second child. They stopped by the residence to tell the High Lord of their plan, and asked Takan to do it when they realized he wasn't there. Jonna and Ranel welcomed them gladly into their house, and the four began to share information about Sonea's progress and future prospects (save for a certain marriage), and about Ranel's wish to reopen the business he had developed before the Purge which had represented the turning-point of Sonea's life, two years before.

They were drinking raka and sharing a small cake Rothen had bought on the road when a shy cry was heard.

"Your cousin's awake. Come with me to fetch him" Jonna told Sonea, who followed her aunt to the room where the child was sleeping. "He's a good man, the one you came with." She said as soon as said man could not hear her anymore. "He's the one that found you back then, right?" She was referring to the day when Sonea almost lost control on her power in the slums, and when Rothen saved her life.

"Yes. He took a great care of me, as if I were his daughter. How I wish I had a father like him ! I might not have been such a difficult child, then." She sighed with remorse of all the time she caused her aunt to worry for her.

"It's no good to re-live the past. You've found yourself a new father, and a better one than the previous one. This is good." Jonna finished while taking her son from his bed. When the child noticed his cousin, he stretched his arms towards her, calling her name in his baby-speech. Jonna laughed and handed him to Sonea, who awkwardly took him. Her sudden shyness towards the child made her aunt laugh again. Then she turned serious.

"Be sure to choose well the man who will be your children's father, Sonea. Don't make the same mistake as your mother, please. Choose a man like Rothen, who can care for a girl he has never seen before, rather than one like your father, who isn't even able to care for his own family. Promise me, Sonea ! Promise me you won't rush into anything that would lead you to be unhappy." It was no longer seriousness, it was worry, even fear that Sonea could read in her aunt's eyes. Her throat tightened, and her voice wasn't very clear when she answered.

"I promise, aunt Jonna. He'll be nothing like my mom's husband. My children will not have to survive as I had to." That was only then that Jonna noticed the sad longing look Sonea gave the small person in her arms.

"You've already found him, haven't you ?"

"I think so. I hope so. But I can't tell you yet."

"I understand. Well, whenever you can, come at once, will you ?"

"Of course I will." The young woman replied with a smile. Then aunt and niece, feeling better after their conversation, headed towards the room where the men were still talking.

"Sonea." Akkarin's call resounded in her mind as she was telling her aunt of the progress she had made in Healing. She stopped and looked at Rothen, sitting beside her, who nodded to show that he had heard it too.

"You have to go, don't you ?" Jonna understood. Sonea nodded silently. "Take care, then. And come back soon, dear. You too, with my niece or alone, you're now a friend of the family." She added turning to Rothen, who was thanking Sonea's uncle, Ranel. He agreed to visit again, and as soon as the young woman had hugged all of her family, the two of them were on their road to the Guild. They separated in front of the High Lord's residence, after which Rothen went to walk in the garden, feeling that he couldn't possibly stay in his rooms knowing what conversation was being held in the residence.

So, that was done. She knew what she wanted to know so much. But did she really wanted to know that? She wasn't sure anymore. What had she been expecting? She couldn't tell, but it had certainly not been Akkarin's story. She didn't even know if she ought to be relieved that her fiancé wasn't a cruel cold-blood murderer as she first thought, or frightened by the danger that awaiting Kyralia.

Sitting next to her, worry all over his face, was Akkarin waiting for her reaction. She tried to speak, but her mouth didn't obey her and just stayed wide open, while her eyes searched on the man's face some signs that what he said had been a lie, or at least not the entire truth. She found nothing.

"I trust him." She realized. "I trust him and I know him well enough to know when he's hiding something. He's not now." Once again, she wondered how she was supposed to feel.

"Kyralia is in danger?" She eventually asked. As Akkarin nodded, she continued. "Why haven't you told anyone until now? The King, and at least the Higher Magicians have to know of such a threat!"

"They wouldn't have believed me if I had spoken."

"They would have, if they had truth-read..." Then realization struck her. Akkarin understood it and nodded again.

"Yes. They would have truth-read me. But I couldn't have let them. They would have learnt not only that I knew black magic, but also how to practice it themselves. I couldn't let that happen."

"Didn't you trust anyone to understand and help you? Not even Lorlen? "

"When I returned, I hadn't seen Lorlen for five years. I didn't know how much I could trust him with that secret."

"So you charged yourself with every single slaves these Ichani sent here..." She locked herself back into her mind, thinking about what she should do from now on. Akkarin respected her need for thinking, and silently poured them wine. Sonea took her glass mechanically and drank a few sips.

Suddenly, she rose and came to stand just before him.

"I have to tell Rothen. Everything. Also, I want to help. I have to, now that I'm aware of what's going on. I'm definitely not going to stay here, quietly waiting for you to return half-dead like yesterday!" She looked straight into Akkarin's eyes, daring him to say otherwise. Instead, he stood as well and looked at her very tenderly. Reaching for her face, he stroked her cheek gently

"Thank you Sonea. Thank you for believing me."

"Thank you for telling me the truth."

Crossing the short distance between them, she put her hands on his shoulder and, standing on her tiptoes, she pressed her lips against his. Akkarin put his arms around her waist and kept her tightly embraced.

"Don't worry for me." He whispered in her ear. "I'm far less eager to risk my life now that I know that you'll be upset with me if I happen to die."

"That's good to know." Sonea said. She rested her head on his shoulder. "But don't think that'll be enough to keep me here. I'm not going to learn black magic, but if there's something I can do to help you stay alive, I'll do it."

"You could give him your power."

Both the man and the woman embraced in the room jump to the sound of Takan's voice. They turned to see him standing in the doorway. He quickly looked down under their gaze.

"Sorry master, I shouldn't have –"

"Yes you should! Takan you're absolutely right." Sonea turned to face Akkarin. "Let's do it. There's much power in me, no one will notice it if there's a bit less from now on. You'll be stronger this way, and thus safer." She insisted, seeing discontentment rising on her fiancé's face.

"I'm not going to –"

"For God's sake, Akkarin, let me help you!" He looked at her, surprised by her eruption. Defeated, he sighed.

"Alright. Just sleep on it tonight, and we'll speak about it tomorrow."

"No need to speak about it. Tomorrow night, when you'll take power from Takan, you'll take some from me as well."

"It's for the best, master, and you know she risks nothing by doing so." Takan intervened.

"There's no way I could ever win against the two of you, is there?"

"Nope."

"I guess I should have known you'll cause me to worry, when I fell for you!" Akkarin chuckled quietly at Sonea's determined face, before taking her back into his arms. As Takan took his leave, the two lovers kissed fiercely, transmitting all their love and fear for the other without a word. Their hands wandered on the other's body, and robes, black and brown, were soon on the ground of the High Lord's study. As Akkarin's shirt joined their robes and Sonea's hands began to explore the muscles of his chest and back, a memory burst into their minds, interconnected as they were, and made them stopped.

"First of all, you need to be more discreet when together! For instance, by not coming out half-naked from the same room."

It was Lorlen, reprimanding them for their lack of restraint. It recalled them of the morning, and they both took a step apart, flushed with embarrassment.

"I... I should go. I have to wake up early tomorrow, and it's already quite late..." Sonea said, looking through the window. Akkarin followed her gaze. The night had fallen while they were speaking, and they had not noticed, occupied as they were by their conversation.

"I guess it is. And I'm not supposed to keep my novice from going to her classes, am I ?"

He brought her face to his and kissed her one last time, before letting her go. Then, they both turned their back to each other and went in the two opposite directions, Akkarin heading to the window and Sonea to the door. They separated without speaking or glancing at each other, for they knew that if they had looked back or said one more word, they could not have restrained themselves again, no matter how irresponsible or imprudent it was. Their love was growing with each passing minute, and while they could never regret it, they couldn't help but wondering for how long they would be able to keep it hidden.

Hello dear readers ! I am so sorry for taking so long ! I had kind of a writer's block, but it is gone now, and I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. As an apology (or not), I made it a bit longer than the previous one.

A thousand times "Thank You" to my wonderful beta-reader Headlessedwige, who provides me with the best beta-ing I could ever ask.

So, no Regin in this chapter. However, you need not to worry (or maybe you precisely need to worry), we'll find him back, if not in the next chapter, then in the following one. Since I have dreamed quite precisely of what is going to happen next, the main problem will now be to find time to write it down. Anyway, I'll do my best to update more regularly. See you for Chapter 13 !