Disclaimer – I do not own BMT world, it belongs to Trudi Canavan.

An Unexpected Visitor

It was a cheerful party which made its way back to their mountain top farm. Their packhorse was laden with supplies so there was much to look forward to. Justen was particularly happy with his gift, a brightly coloured book filled with illustrations of plants and animals. As far as Sonea was concerned, the past two nights spent at the inn had been exceptionally pleasurable. She had taken the three drops in water as instructed just before going to bed each night. The mixture was bitter and very unpleasant to drink, but the effects were astonishing.

Whether it was the mixture itself, or what it symbolised, she didn't know. All she knew was that she was filled with an overwhelming desire for her lover, which carried her to new heights of passion. To say that both of them had little sleep was no exaggeration, yet they were reluctant to leave their bed, in fact on the second morning, they lingered well past breakfast time and Akkarin was nearly late for a meeting with one of his smuggler contacts.

Later that day, Akkarin had slipped a small package into her hand with instructions to open it immediately. Inside, she was delighted to find a thin gold chain, with a small jewelled pendant in the shape of a bird, with its wings outstretched. Its eyes were tiny fire gems and its wings were covered in sparkling white stones. It was the prettiest thing she had seen for years.

"Th…thank you, Akkarin," she stuttered in pleasant surprise, "It's beautiful!"

He fastened it around her neck and she felt its cool lightness brush against her skin. She craned her neck downwards to catch a glimpse of it as it lay against her breasts. She turned towards him and, flinging her arms around him, stood on tiptoe to kiss him all the while murmuring her delight. He seemed almost embarrassed by her reaction and she was amused to see his heightened colour.

Now, as they neared their home, she couldn't resist frequently putting up a hand to touch the bird, almost as if it were a lucky charm. And perhaps it is, she thought. Perhaps I am with child already. She regretted that she had not thought to buy Akkarin a gift, but up to now, exchanging gifts had not been the usual practice between them. But it will be from now on, she vowed.

Money, which had been rather tight in their early years, was not a problem nowadays. Akkarin's smuggling operation brought in a steady income, so they were able to buy a variety of things to make life at the farm more and more comfortable. There were a dozen birds in an enclosure to provide fresh eggs, a small orchard where they grew the pear-like mountain fruit which was not only good to eat, but made a very acceptable jam into the bargain, and their vegetable garden was well stocked with plants each spring. Inside, they had a lot more furniture, some thick rugs and even one or two ornaments, which had caught her eye on visits to the market. Their supply of books was also steadily increasing. Akkarin had managed to find a bookseller who would provide books to order with no questions asked, providing the buyer was willing to pay a high price. As a result, Akkarin was able to obtain copies of many of the books he had been forced to abandon in the Residence, and although he could never hope to replicate his extensive library in its entirety, he was able to acquire many of the more important texts.

After supper that evening, Sonea sat by the fire, working on a new shirt for Justen, while Akkarin was reading his latest acquisition. She had enjoyed her time in Galia, but it had reawakened her desire to visit further afield.

"Akkarin, do you think we could visit Imardin one of these days?" she asked, breaking the companionable silence.

He looked up quickly, staring at her with an intense gaze, "Why?"

She was surprised at little at the sharpness of his tone and it flustered her, "Oh, I don't know," she began, "But it would be nice to go to a bigger place than Galia. The market is always the same, with the same people selling the same products. I just thought for a change, we could go somewhere else. Justen is growing up and he would love to see more of the world, I'm sure."

"I don't think it would be a good idea, Sonea," he said firmly. "Too many Guild magicians and too close to the Guild, we could be recognised."

She couldn't prevent a laugh, Akkarin looked nothing like the cold and distant High Lord. He wore a small clipped beard around his mouth and chin, his hair was pulled back, loosely held in place by a leather thong, and he wore tight fitting leather trousers and a leather jerkin. There was a steel dagger hanging from the right hand side of his belt and he normally wore a plain sword at his left hip. He didn't look like a magician, he looked exactly what he was, a rather dangerous smuggler!

"I don't think people would recognise you now," she said with a grin, "They probably would be too wary to even look at you closely."

"Be that as it may," he replied, "We will not travel to Imardin."

She could tell by his tone that he would not entertain discussion or argument and mentally shrugged. She had learned over the years there was more than one way of getting Akkarin to do what she wanted. It would just take a lot longer, that was all.

Over the next few weeks, she continued to take Fallea's mixture and her nights continued to be filled with intense pleasure. She hadn't used much of the mixture yet, and at three drops a night, it would take a long time before she needed to see the wise woman again. It wasn't that she needed the mixture to feel desire for Akkarin, she told herself, it was just that the potion intensified her desires in some way and she rather enjoyed that! Her only disappointment was her continued failure to become pregnant.

The Eye of Heaven was at its fullest when Akkarin left the farm for a few days. He was often away at this time during a month because it was the best time to smuggle goods over the treacherous trails, which criss-crossed the mountains. At first, she used to worry that he might meet with an accident, but after so many years without incident, she didn't worry quite so much. She missed him, of course, especially in her bed. She had often asked to take part in one of his journeys, but he always refused to let her get involved.

"There's Justen to consider," he'd said and she had no counter argument to make to that.

The day after Akkarin left, she spent the morning working in the vegetable garden. She could have used magic to rid the plants of the weeds, which grew around them, but somehow, that felt like cheating. She remembered how shocked she had been during her first years in the Guild when she saw magicians use magic for the most simple of tasks. So she prided herself on doing things the hard way, and weeded by hand. There was a degree of satisfaction in looking at the neat weed-free rows afterwards, despite the necessity for Healing her aching back.

After their mid-day meal, Justen went off to brush his pony. He took his job of caring for his mount very seriously and would spend hours brushing until its coat gleamed. Sonea took a book she was studying and went to sit outside in the sun. It was warm, but not unpleasantly so. The long cold winters made her appreciate the sun when it appeared and she was always ready to take every advantage of it.

She had been reading for about an hour, when she heard the distant sound of a horse. Looking up she could see a horse and rider just entering their valley. At first she thought it was Akkarin, but this rider was taking things slowly, not galloping up with a flourish, which was Akkarin's usual pattern. She put the book down and stood up, a hand shading her eyes, but the bright light prevented her from identifying the rider.

"Takan," she called, "Someone's coming. Get Justen and keep him in the house."

They never had visitors. Their farm was not on a regularly used trail and Akkarin had been careful to meet his smuggler associates in places well away from where they lived. In all the years she had been living there, she couldn't remember a stranger coming into the valley. She continued to watch as the horse and rider came nearer. She could see now it was a man, dressed in dark clothes, with the hood of his cloak pulled up over his head, shading his eyes from the bright sunlight.

She used magic to search out something about her visitor and was surprised to catch the hint of a shield. Magician! She activated her own shield and waited for the man to reach her.

He stopped a short distance away and dismounted, tying the reins to a nearby bush. Then he pushed the hood away from his face and started to walk towards her slowly, his arms held slightly away from his body, his hands open, showing he had no weapons. But there's still his magic, she thought, cursing the bright sunlight shining in her eyes preventing her having a clear view of his features. Then, suddenly, she knew him.

"Lorlen!" she cried, starting towards him, "Lorlen, what are you doing here?"

"Sonea!" he shouted cheerfully and moved quickly to meet her, grabbing her in his arms and swinging her around, "Thank the Eye!"

He set her down and smiled at her, his clear green eyes twinkling at her surprise. She stared at him, trying to work out just how he had found their hideaway. She was conscious that Takan had appeared behind her and she turned to reassure him their visitor was a friend.

"Come inside," she said, "You must be hungry and thirsty."

She led the way into their main room, indicating a chair by the fire. When they were settled with refreshments thoughtfully provided by Takan, Sonea asked the question, which had been burning on her lips since she first recognised Lorlen.

"How did you find us?"

He smiled knowingly and reached in the pouch at his side. He drew out his hand and she saw, hanging from it, a long silky black lock of hair with a knot in the middle.

"Oh!" she cried, "The Guild kept it!"

"Vinara kept it," he corrected her, "She has everything you were wearing or carrying when the Guild caught you. No one ever asked her for it and she put it away, as insurance, perhaps. It is obvious this is a lock of Akkarin's hair. There is an old spell which allows a magician to trace the owner from such a thing. It took us a while to track down the book where the spell was described, then after that, it was simply a question of following the trail. I left Imardin two weeks ago with strict instructions to find Akkarin."

Lorlen paused to swallow more tea and was persuaded to sample some of Takan's savoury tartlets while Sonea digested this news. Her last meetings with Vinara had been decidedly unpleasant and she couldn't think why the Healers' Leader had changed her mind about Akkarin. She held out her hand and Lorlen laid the lock across her palm. She remembered stealing it after she had cut Akkarin's hair just before they returned from exile. Then, she'd felt that the hair was probably the only part of Akkarin that she would ever possess. How things had changed since then. She raised the hair to her face, rubbing her cheek against it. She was sure there was still a faint scent clinging to it. She breathed deeply, remembering the first time she had kissed him and how he had reacted.

Lorlen watching her, saw her face break into a smile as she closed her eyes, and wondered what she was thinking.

She looked up, "Why?"

He pretended to misunderstand her, "Why what?"

"Why did Vinara send you to look for us?"

Lorlen put down his cup and stared directly at her, "The Guild is in trouble and there are some who think Akkarin is the only one who can deal with it."