Unraveling Legacy

by Princess Keda

The night before Raiyn's eighth birthday, he has an ominous dream about the future. No one is answering his questions about the past, and the present is becoming more difficult to navigate than ever. What did he see and why? Join us for one final installment of the Oniverse, where we catch up with all the characters we've met and grown to love over the course of this crazy story!

2. Chapter 2

4

Even after knowing him for years, Theo still found it difficult to read Dynmar's expression. The soon-to-be southern leader almost always looked annoyed more than anything, and today was no exception.

"Just take them, Theodynn," Dynmar said flatly, barely looking up from the scrolls he was reading through. "I don't see why you're making a big deal out of it."

Theo blinked, not expecting that response. "I just…I was afraid if I let them come with us to the Central Fortress, then more guards will want the same chance, and—"

"And what?" Dynmar cut in, glancing up. "What makes you think I want to be guarded by people who don't want to be here?"

"Um…I guess, I didn't think about it like that," Theo said at last, shifting in his seat.

"Look—you think too much about things," Dynmar accused, signing a few more parchments before setting them off to a side. "In two months, the south won't be under your leadership anymore, but you're still trying to plan everything past that point. You're worried about the guard force not being strong enough, about how people will react to the change in power, whether Ottan's forces will come out of the woodwork." He stamped another parchment aggressively. "But as soon as you take on your role as Ruler, none of those things will be your problem anymore—and you won't get to be the one to think up solutions, even if problems do arise."

"I just don't want to leave you with a weakened guard force," Theo tried, and Dynmar sighed.

"I get it—you had to scramble a lot when you took over for Ottan, and you don't want to leave me in the same position."

"Exactly!" Theo agreed.

"That's noble, but if I can be frank…it mainly just makes it clear you don't trust me."

Theo's smile vanished. "What? Dynmar, obviously I trust you."

"No…not in the way you need to." Dynmar set his work off to one side so he could turn his full attention to Theo. "This is something I've been meaning to talk to you about. The way you treat me isn't like a future Ruler training a new leader. It's more like…you see me as a babysitter for this province; someone trustworthy enough to keep an eye on things, but who you will constantly be checking in on and making suggestions on how they should be leading."

Theo reddened. "No, that's not—"

"I need you to see me as someone in authority, Theodynn. When you look at me, do you think of me as someone as powerful as Ottan? Ymil? Myrah?"

"Um…you don't have the experience that they do, but I still see you as an authority," Theo insisted.

"And if I change everything you've set up? The way you did when you took over for Ottan?" Dynmar challenged.

Theo's heart dropped. "Well, I'm aware that you'll have the authority to do that, if you so choose," Theo admitted. "I guess I hoped that you wouldn't, but if you did, I wouldn't stop you unless you were making decisions that went against realm-wide law and policy."

Dynmar raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Once you're Ruler, you'll be hands-off the south?"

Theo shifted in his chair again. "What exactly are you planning on doing?" he asked.

The leader-to-be shrugged. "My question is mainly hypothetical. But I wanted to ensure that you understood that you won't be the southern leader anymore once you're the Ruler. For better of for worse, I will be in charge of the southern province."

Theo studied Dynmar a little longer, and he finally smiled and pushed himself to his feet. "Actually…I think it's good you feel that way," he admitted, and Dynmar frowned in confusion as he continued. "You see, I've always felt like I roped you into this role—I've been a little worried that maybe I was forcing you down a path you didn't want, because I needed someone to trust the south with. But the way you're talking sounds like you're not just ready to be leader—you're excited about it."

Dynmar broke eye contact as he fiddled with the parchments on the desk. "Well, you did rope me into this—"

"I do trust you Dynmar," Theo cut in, causing the man to pause. "You're level-headed and good under pressure. You understand the south better than I do, even after all these years. Your duty-bound, but you understand when compromise or flexibility is needed. If I leave and find out you've changed everything, then I'll assume it's because you knew the changes needed to be made."

Dynmar didn't answer for a minute or so, and he finally cleared his throat. "Well. I just wanted to make sure you didn't expect me to take on this role as a 'stand-in-Theodynn'. I surely didn't think I'd ever be in the position to become a leader…but if I'm going to be one, then I don't want to be any kind of surrogate or puppet. I'll be Dynmar, Leader of the south…and I want to be treated as such."

"Understandable," Theo assured, and then he stretched as he looked around the office. "Well…I better go tell those hooligans that they'll be able to come with us to the Central Fortress after all. Rook will happy…and it's probably a good idea to have people with us who trust and respect her. I still have no idea how the Central Fortress forces will react to her."

"Probably the same as the ones who joined you here in the south to begin with," Dymar guessed. "Though, after all these years, they've seemed to come around. I suppose it will just take time."

"It's true," Theo mused. "There are a bunch who first came with us are choosing to stay here, right? I guess it makes sense they wouldn't want to come back with us, since a lot of them ended up settling down here in the south. Some even have families here now." Theo frowned thoughtfully. "Even Mahlyn's staying on as your Captain of the Guard, right?"

"That's the plan," Dynmar agreed, having gone back to stamping his parchments. "I suppose I could replace her, but it seemed like a lot of work to do when she's willing to stay and already knows the ropes."

Theodynn chuckled. "Well…I have a feeling she'll enjoy working under you more than she liked working under me."

He was surprised when Dynmar actually smiled, glancing up. "I think I can agree with you on that," he offered dryly.

Pippa stared at the fortress in the distance, twisting a reed idly in her fingers. A cool wind rustled her hair, reminding her that winter wasn't quite over yet.

"Everything okay?" a voice asked, and Pippa turned to see her mother climbing the hill where she was sitting.

"I'm fine," Pippa assured, though she didn't move to stand. Syn made it to where Pippa was and took a seat next to her daughter.

"I guess I'm just not used to seeing you taking it easy," Syn teased, reaching out to tug a curl that had escaped Pippa's braids.

"This wind is ruining my hair," Pippa griped, ignoring her mother's comment.

"I can fix them for you," Syn offered. Pippa stiffened, about to tell her mother that she was certainly old enough to braid her hair herself. However, as she felt Syn's hair gently unbraiding her hair, the words died in her throat.

"Thanks," she offered, moving to make it easier for her mother to braid.

"Hershel said that you've been doing well in your training," her mother pointed out as she worked. "He said you've even been teaching some beginner healer courses at the school."

"It's not really a big deal," Pippa said with a shrug. "I mainly show little kids the difference between good plants and bad plants that can be found around the West."

"Still, it can be exciting to go from student to teacher," Syn pointed out as she began rebraiding. "You're basically a fully fledged healer at this point."

Pippa didn't answer, studying the apprentice tattoos on her arms. The wind continued to weave through the reeds they were sitting in, and they sat in their own thoughts for a while as Syn braided.

"Are you sure nothing's bothering you?" Syn finally asked as she reached the final section of hair.

"I don't know if I'd say it's bothering me. I just feel like I got a lot to think about," Pippa offered softly.

"Sometimes it helps to think out loud," Syn pointed out as she finished the final braid.

Pippa turned to look at her mother. "Teag almost beat me this morning," she blurted. "Well, not really…I probably still would have won regardless. But Dad was right—I brought out my powers because none of my usual attacks were working, and I panicked."

"You don't have to be the best at everything, you know," Syn teased, and Pippa rolled her eyes.

"It's not that," Pippa grumbled. "I know there are fighters better than me…but if I can't even hold my own against Teag, who's been training only a fraction of the amount of time I have…" she trailed off, picking another reed and pulling pieces off the top. "I don't know. I should have been better. I've been training, but I can't train in the west the same way I used to when I lived with you guys."

"I'm sure your father would be happy for you to come train with him again," Syn offered, and Pippa sighed.

"I know. It's just…I've been so busy with all the healer stuff. We're on the tail end of fever season on top of everything. Hershel and I have been to every village at least twice in the past few months, and I have to make sure I have time to teach the classes I'm in charge of and keep up with my own lessons with Hershel. It's been a lot."

"If you told your uncle that, he'd understand," Syn tried, and Pippa threw the reed in frustration.

"It's not that I want a lighter workload," she snapped. "I want to do the healer stuff…but I feel like it's getting in the way of keeping myself sharp in my physical training." She waited for her mother to offer another solution, but this time, Syn kept quiet as she studied her daughter. Pippa finally sighed, continuing softly. "I never really worried about it before, but lately…it feels like maybe I don't have what it takes to do everything I want to. I guess…I'm just scared a time is going to come where I have to pick one or the other, or risk falling hopelessly behind in both."

"Healing and fighting, you mean?" Syn asked, wrapping her arms around Pippa from behind. "You know, you're already a better fighter than the majority of oni…and the same goes for healing. You're already doing well at doing both."

"Not well enough!" Pippa argued, and she was embarrassed when tears smarted her eyes. "The other day, I mixed up ponsi leaves with curltaill weed. I didn't realize until after the poor guy had completely broken out in a rash. I couldn't even fix it without Hershel's help—it was humiliating. What if I had made a worse mistake? Something deadly?"

"Mistakes happen," Syn insisted. "I've made plenty of them as a healer, and so has Hershel. We've all mixed things up before, but in the end, the mistake will help you remember to be more careful in the future."

"But it was a stupid mistake—one I shouldn't have even made in my sleep!" Pippa insisted. "And on top of everything else, there's everything going on with Raiyn—"

"What do you mean? What's been going on with Raiyn?" Syn asked, and Pippa's words died in her throat. Her mind immediately went to that morning, and goosebumps raced down her arms as she remembered the strange thing Raiyn had done. Pippa knew what his manipulation felt like—he had used that trick on her enough for her to recognize it and block him from doing it. Whatever he had done that morning during their training was different. Rather than a warm, persuasive feeling trying to get her to do something, it had felt like Pippa had completely lost control of her own body for a few seconds.

I promised not to tell Hershel…but maybe I could tell my Mom about it. I mean…someone should know, right? Pippa thought, turning to face her mother. Syn's expression was pinched with concern, and Pippa finally sighed.

"He's different," she said. "I don't know that I can protect him…not with everything else I'm trying to do. But he's weak, and won't train to get stronger…so I can't trust him to protect himself."

"Oh, Pippa…" her mother said. "You don't have to put that on yourself. There are a lot of people looking after Raiyn, so there's no reason to be so worried. Or, has something happened recently that's put Raiyn in danger?"

"No…not really," Pippa admitted. "But he won't stay with his bodyguards, and he's old enough to be training in self-defense but refuses to. He doesn't even have proper power, like me or Dad or Teag, so it's not like he could launch a fireball at someone who's trying to hurt him."

"It's true, but he can transport easier than most people. I don't think we have to worry too much about him getting cornered," Syn reminded.

"Why do you think he's so different, Mom?" Pippa asked, turning to her mother. "He can't manifest aura, but he can do a lot of other things that no one else can do. People keep acting like he's fine and normal, but it's obvious he isn't, so why won't anyone talk about it?"

Syn's expression pinched. "I…guess we just don't want him to feel different," she said at last. "It shouldn't matter that his power is slightly different, or that certain skills are difficult for him. He's family, and we love him—and we want that to be the most important thing for him to know."

"His powers aren't 'slightly different,'" Pippa argued dryly. "He can manipulate people's feelings…he brought Teag back from the dead. That's not even close to normal, so isn't it doing him a disservice to pretend it is?"

"Look…Raiyn's abilities are still a bit of a mystery, but what we do know is that the more people know about them, the more they could target him," Syn pointed out, dropping her voice.

"I know that!" Pippa insisted, bristling. "Why do you think I'm trying to get him to take his own safety seriously? He acts like he has no idea why anyone would ever want to hurt him, but even without his title making him a target, I can only imagine how many people would want to target a kid who could heal like he can. I'm not saying we need to make what he can do common knowledge, but why is it we don't even talk about it among ourselves, when we all already know?" Pippa shook her head. "Ancients…you should see the way Hershel acts around him sometimes."

"What do you mean?" Syn asked.

Pippa shrugged. "The older Raiyn gets, the weirder Hershel gets around him. There are times when he acts like Raiyn is going to grow another head…or explode or something. He's good at pretending, but I know Hershel well enough to know that's what he's doing, and I think Raiyn's picking up on it too." Pippa's expression clouded. "It's like…he's scared of him."

"He's not scared of Raiyn," Syn insisted.

"He's scared of something," Pippa argued, looking back at her mother. "So…what is it? The thing you all seem to know, but no one will say out loud? Is Raiyn dangerous, or something?"

"No, of course not," Syn said, sighing. "You know the horrible things that your Uncle went through before Raiyn was born."

"Yeah," Pippa agreed. "But what does that have to do with Raiyn now?"

"Sometimes, the horrible things in our pasts affect our lives now, even if they're over," Syn pointed out. "Like how losing Raiyn to those outsiders four years ago has made you want to train him on how to protect himself, even though those outsiders are gone and dealt with now."

"So…the things Hershel went through with that Island place do have something to do with Raiyn…and why he acts so weird around him now," Pippa said flatly.

Syn gave her a sad smile. "We don't want to jump to any conclusions about anything—especially not considering how they could affect Raiyn," she said. "What I do know is that Hershel came back from that experience a different person, and not just because he looks different now. Certain things are still triggering to him, making him remember back then…but I'm sure he's doing the best he can. You have to know how much he loves Raiyn—that boy is everything your Uncle ever wanted."

Pippa didn't answer, staring at the landscape that stretched out in front of her. It wasn't that she doubted that her uncle loved his son…but he needed to figure out how to show it better. The wind was starting to pick up again, and all at once, Pippa swore she could feel eyes watching her. She turned suddenly, scanning the hillside behind her, but there was no one there.

"What is it?" Syn asked.

"Nothing," Pippa said after a moment, pushing herself to her feet. "I'm hungry, though. Let's go back for lunch."

Raiyn's mind swirled as he stumbled through the corridors of the Central Fortress. He wasn't sure why this was where he had transported, but when he ran into his mother, he realized what he had actually been transporting to.

"Raiyn," Myrah said, looking down at him in surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay with Tolan and Syn."

Raiyn looked up at his mother, and before he could stop them, the tears began running down his face. Her expression furrowed, but he could see her immediate concern as he threw himself against her, hugging her tightly.

"Oh, Leader Myrah! Could I have a moment of your time?" a voice called down the hall. Raiyn kept his face buried in her waist, but he could feel her turning to address the speaker.

"I'm afraid now is not a good time, Pescar…but if it's urgent I'll be sure to get with you later today," she offered. The footsteps coming closer slowed, and the man cleared his throat.

"Oh, I see. No, not at all urgent. I'll send a letter to the Western Fortress later this week, hmm?"

"Very well," Myrah agreed, and the man's footsteps retreated. Myrah held Raiyn for a few minutes, and he finally pulled away, knowing that she would want an explanation.

"Why…am I so bad at things," he mumbled at last. Rather than answer, Myrah took his hand, leading him down the hallway until they found a private room with a place to sit.

"What things?" Myrah asked after they had both taken a seat on the couch, and Raiyn nestled up against her.

"Everything," he said, and his mother held him close.

"I cannot answer a question like that," Myrah argued, and Raiyn looked up at her with tear-filled eyes. She cupped his face gently. "Because, your question is flawed. You are hardly bad at everything, Raiyn."

He studied his mother's face, and when he saw her clouds of concern glowing on the edges with affection, he was tempted to tell her everything. How he had hurt Pippa that morning by doing something he didn't understand…everything he had just overheard Pippa and his Aunt talking about on the hill. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop—he just wanted to climb the hill and ask when lunch would be ready. They hadn't noticed him, which was a common enough occurrence…but after hearing what they had to say about his father, Raiyn had transported to avoid being discovered.

"Mama…" he mumbled, still clinging to her. "Why…why does father…" he trailed off, the words choking in his throat.

"Why does your father what?" Myrah pressed. "Did he ask you to do something you couldn't do? Is this about the notebook, and the writing?"

Why is father afraid of me? Raiyn wanted to ask, but he couldn't force the words out, because as much as he wanted to know the answer, he was afraid of what it could be. Up until now, he could convince himself that he was reading too much into things—that he just didn't understand people well, and that his father didn't have those feelings toward him. But Pippa had just said it as well, which means Raiyn wasn't the only one who had picked up on how strange his father acting toward him…which meant that it couldn't possibly only be in Raiyn's mind. Not to mention, Auntie Syn hadn't given any answers that made any sense to him.

"Raiyn?" Myrah pressed.

"Why does father look different than he used to?" he asked at last, looking up at his mother for a reaction. She was frowning, and Raiyn explained further. "At Tolan and Syn's house, there's a drawing of him and Auntie Syn and their dad…but he doesn't look the same as he did back then. Why does he look so different now?"

Myrah's expression clouded, and Raiyn could tell by her emotional cloud that she was suddenly uncomfortable. "Well…people change based on the experiences they go through," she offered slowly. "Like…getting a scar from an injury."

Raiyn swallowed hard, forcing himself to continue. "Did…he get injuries when he was at the island?"

He felt his mother's entire body stiffen, her cloud suddenly stormy with alarm. "Where did you hear about that?" she demanded, and Raiyn shied away. He hadn't ever heard anything about an island before today, so he hadn't expected this kind of reaction. Suddenly, he had a million more questions—what island was it, and where? What had his father been doing on it to get so hurt? Why was this the first time he had ever heard about it?

"I…I had a dream," Raiyn stammered. It was wrong to lie, he knew…but he didn't want to say he had overheard Pippa and Syn talking about it. If he had stumbled across some big secret, he didn't want his aunt and cousin to get in trouble for talking about it, especially because Pippa might then bring up what he had done to her that morning.

"A dream?" Myrah repeated, her emotions still twisting anxiously. "What did you see in your dream, Raiyn?"

"I…um…" Raiyn's mind went blank. He could hardly describe an island he hadn't actually seen, and since he didn't know what had happened to his father there, he couldn't say anything about that, either. Maybe he should have listened to Pippa's conversation a little longer, but he also hadn't wanted to get caught eavesdropping. "I don't know what I saw," he said slowly. "It was really confusing, which is why I wanted to ask you about it."

Myrah studied him closely, and he wondered if she realized he was lying. She finally sighed, glancing toward the door of the room they were in. "I'm sorry you're confused…it's understandable that you would be. But I think it's better you try and forget whatever it is you saw."

Raiyn felt a flash of alarm. Why was that everyone's answer to everything? "I don't think I can," Raiyn insisted. "Mama…can't you just tell me what happened at the island place?"

Her cloud of emotions rumbled with a blue sadness, and she swept his hair out of his face with one hand as she studied him seriously. "Raiyn…this is important, okay?" she said, and Raiyn nodded his understanding. "Before you were born, your father went through some very difficult things. It is not my place to tell you about them."

"Then…I should ask father directly?" Raiyn guessed, though the thought of doing so made his stomach twist with anxiety. To his surprise, a flash of yellow appeared in his mother's emotions.

"No," she insisted. "Please…don't do that."

Raiyn furrowed his brow. "Why? I just want to know—"

"I can tell you're curious, but the things that your father went through were incredibly painful. It would hurt him, to think about them again…to tell you about them. Do you understand?"

No. Why does there have to be so many things I'm not allowed to know? Raiyn wanted to ask, but as he studied his mother's earnest expression, he fidgeted in his seat.

"I don't want to hurt him," he promised. "I just want to understand."

"I know you do," Myrah said, her emotions starting to calm. "And it isn't wrong to be curious. I've always loved learning as well, and discovering secrets and stories rarely told. But there are some stories that should be left alone." She smoothed his hair one last time. "I'm sure he'll tell you about it when you're older, but it needs to be something he brings up on his own."

"Okay," Raiyn conceded.

"It must have distressed you, to dream about it, though," Myrah offered. "Is that why you were so upset? Or is there something else going on?"

Raiyn sagged. "Pippa's been making me practice sword fighting," he admitted. "But I hate it. I'm not good at it, and I don't want to hurt people."

Myrah chuckled a little, and her mood seemed to lighten at the change of subject. "You are allowed to tell her no, Raiyn. Just because she's older than you doesn't mean you have to do what she says."

"I know, but she acts so disappointed in me."

"You don't have to please everyone," Myrah insisted. "Raiyn…your father and I are proud of you no matter what you do or don't learn or accomplish. You don't have to be perfect at everything…you don't even have to be good at it, if you don't want to be. You understand that, right?" She studied his face. "We love you, just the way you are…so don't upset yourself trying to be perfect."

But that's what's so confusing, Raiyn thought miserably. How can you love me the way I am, when I don't even know what I am? However, he didn't say as much out loud. His mother's emotions had finally calmed, after all…and he didn't want to stir them up again. Besides, he could see the glow of affection radiating off of her—he knew she was being honest, when she said she loved him.

"Thanks, Mama," he said at last, leaning against her. "I love you too."

5

Haiven had been sure Alan would be ready and waiting when she got back to camp, so she was surprised to find him still packing up by the time she returned. He didn't notice her at first, deftly tying up the second tent. She set the canteens on the ground, reaching up to grab the small whistle hanging from her neck. She blew into it gently, and the light trill caught Alan's attention.

"Back already?" he asked, tugging one of the straps tighter. "No line at the well?"

It's been a while—I thought you'd be done packing by now, Haiven signed.

Took some time to cook the leaves, he signed back.

Haiven smirked. Leaves? She repeated, spelling it slowly with her fingers. Alan studied her a moment before realizing his mistake.

Loaves, he corrected, and Haiven laughed as she picked the canteens up and carried them over to where all their other stuff was packed.

"You don't have to be so amused, it was an easy mistake," Alan pointed out as he began loading their belongings into the cart.

You are the one who insisted on using gestures to spell words, she reminded. So, the fact that you spell so poorly—

I'm working on it, Alan signed, rolling his eyes. Haiven continued to smirk, moving to help him load the cart. After traveling together for so many years, she knew he wasn't actually upset with her.

It's a good idea, she offered. But most Oni don't even know how to read or write, so maybe it was a moot point to connect written language with silent language.

Maybe, but it could still be easier for someone to learn than all your specific signals, if they do know how to write, Alan signed back. It took him a while to say things this way, and Haiven knew he'd be able to get his point across faster if he spoke. However, these days Alan switched between spoken and silent language often, claiming he wasn't going to get any faster at it if he didn't practice.

Are you really this behind because of cooking? Haiven asked as they finished loading the cart. Are you sure you weren't dragging your feet, because we're heading to visit your family?

"That's not why," Alan insisted dryly. "I told you, I stopped to cook something for the road."

And where are these loaves you supposedly cooked? Haiven teased. He gestured to where her hoofer was still tied up, and then moved to attach the cart to his own hoofer. Haiven walked over to her hoofer, and noticed a cloth bundle tied up and attached to the pummel on the saddle. She took it down and untied the knot in the cloth. It opened to expose a single loaf, but Haiven's smile faded when she caught sight of a sizable bunch of herbs next to the loaf. She picked up the cluster of purple flowers, turning to look at Alan. He wasn't looking her direction, still finishing up with the cart.

A whistle blow caused him to look back at her, and she held up the flowers questioningly. What's this?

He shrugged. "You said you were running low on regis, didn't you?" he called unapologetically. "Is that not the right herb?"

Haiven looked back down at the bundle and realized that it was in fact regis herb. She had forgotten that she had been running low—in fact, she had been planning on restocking on it before leaving the North today, but it had slipped her mind.

It's the right one, she signed back. After a moment, she added. Thank you.

Alan smiled, but then turned back to his work. Don't worry about it.

"What do you mean, you aren't coming?" Shirka demanded. She paused in buffing her armor to stare at her friend in surprise. "You heard Leader Theodynn—he's giving us permission!"

"Sure…for anyone who wants to go," Gyro pointed out, shooting her a smile as he worked on his own armor.

"Just tell us you hate us and get it over with," Syra pointed out darkly where she was leaning up against the wall.

"I don't hate you," Gyro corrected, glancing at her. "Why aren't you working on your armor, Syra? Don't tell me that you're making Tyme do your work again."

"It's fine," Tyme assured quickly, rubbing his armor aggressively. There was a reason his armor was always the shiniest.

Syra scoffed from where she was standing. "Yeah, maybe he likes doing it, Gyro," she said.

"Or he's just scared of telling you no," the larger oni said dryly.

Syra didn't deny it, shrugging a single shoulder. "That's his problem," she said, and Tyme's polishing seemed to pick up speed as he avoided everyone's eye.

"We're getting off topic," Shirka accused, pointing her rag in Gyro's direction. "Why aren't you going to come?"

"The thing is, you guys aren't guards yet, but I am," Gyro explained. "I already did my oath to serve in the south."

"But the leader said you could—"

"And that's nice of him, but I don't have any intention of leaving the south," Gyro said.

"See? He hates us," Syra said in her monotone way, and Shirka shot her an unappreciative look. Gyro finished up with his armor, and leaned back on the bench he was sitting on.

"Look, the fact you jump to that conclusion is exactly why I'm going to stay here," he said. "I've been looking out for you kids since way before Rook gave us the chance to start training as guards. But I don't plan on taking care of you forever, and I don't want my every decision to be something you take personally."

"Gross, don't talk like you're our Dad or something," Reg growled from where he was working on his own armor. "You're only a few years older than us."

"He's way older than you, Reg," Syra argued, and Reg threw a polishing rag at her, which she dodged with ease.

"Ancients, with how much you all bicker, I feel like your dad half that time," Gyro said, rolling his eyes before turning to meet Shirka's eye. "The truth is, while I'm grateful to Rook for training me, I don't feel like I need to follow her wherever she goes like a stumbling baby hoofer. If that's what all you want to do, then more power to you…but I've already reached my goal of joining the force. I don't mind working for Dynmar or Mahlyn or whoever else here as I continue to work my way up. Going to the Central Fortress at this point would just mean starting over."

"That's not true!" Shirka insisted. "Here, the most we're going to be are guards…but we know Rook and Theodynn well enough that I'm sure they'll give us higher ranks than that—"

"What you'll be getting is more of Rook's inhumane training," Gyro cut in with a laugh. "I'm happy enough to do sane, normal training with Mahlyn, thank you very much."

Shirka scowled, setting her armor to one side so she could give her friend her full attention. "It won't be the same if you're not there with us!" she insisted. For the first time, Gyro's usual smile faded, but he didn't break eye contact.

"Shirka…it's not going to be the same, period. You guys are a bunch of southerners heading to the Central Fortress. People there don't even respect Rook, by the sound of it…do you really think they'll give a sniffer's tail about a bunch of southern servants dressed in armor?"

Shirka bristled. "We're not servants anymore!"

"Is that really why you're not coming? You're afraid of being treated different because you're southern?" Syra asked in disgust. "I thought you were strong enough to handle heckling, Gyro."

"If I really wanted to go, I'd be going, heckling or not," Gyro answered. "But I don't really see the need to throw myself into a new place with new expectations, when I've gotten to a good groove here. In a year or two, I could even be part of the elite guard. At the Central Fortress, there are guards who have been around since before the Rulership took over. Do you really think you guys have any chance of standing out or even being seen as skilled, when compared to them? In their eyes, you'll never be 'proteges' or anything…you'll just be a bunch of southern rookies."

"But…it's not like we're nobodies. After all these years, we're pretty close to Theodynn, and he's going to be the Ruler," Tyme tried, glancing up nervously as he joined the conversation.

Gyro laughed out loud again. "Geez, you guys are so naïve sometimes. It's the Central Fortress. Literally everyone there is going to be close to Theodynn—he was born and raised there!" He shook his head, standing up and gathering his armor. "Listen, I know you were all excited to hear that the leader is going to let you go with them, and I don't mean to kill the mood or anything. After all, I really am happy for you guys. I just want you to realize that following him and Rook wherever they go isn't the only option we have, and that if you choose to do it anyway, you need to be prepared that it may not be exactly like you're picturing it. If you realize that, then I'm sure you'll all be fine."

"We know we have other options," Shirka muttered, watching as he headed to the door of the barracks that would lead to the armor storage. "But…don't you feel like we owe it to them? After all, we'd still be servants if it wasn't for Rook, and now she's going to head into a place where—as you pointed out yourself—people don't give her the respect she deserves. Being by her side to support her is a way we could pay her back."

Gyro stopped by the door. He didn't answer right away, but then he turned and shot Shirka a smile. "I'm grateful to Rook…but I don't feel like I'm in debt to her. Opportunities come and go throughout life, Shirk…don't convince yourself that you have to repay anyone for the opportunities you've been given, especially since I don't think Rook thinks about it that way."

Shirka broke eye contact. "So, you really aren't coming," she said flatly.

"I'm really not," he agreed. "But you're all big boys and girls now…even you, Reg. You don't need me anymore. It's time we all discover who we are without each other, don't you think?"

Shirka didn't answer, and neither did the rest of the group. Syra was scowling in her shadowy corner, while Tyme's polishing had slowed as he stared at his anxious expression in the chest plate. Reg glowered at his sword, using a whetstone to sharpen its edge.

"You guys will be okay…I promise," Gyro offered at last before heading out the door.

The Central Fortress was quiet today, and Raiyn wandered aimlessly, trying to remember if he had told his parents and Tolan and Syn where he was going. He supposed it wouldn't really matter, as long as he made it back to the house by dinner, though he wondered if Pippa would realize he was giving her a wide berth ever since the incident during their sparring a few days prior.

"Raiyn!" The excited voice echoed down the hallway, and Raiyn turned to see a familiar pair coming toward him. Ora was beaming, dragging her brother behind her. "Play with us!"

Raiyn paused in the hall, allowing them to catch up to him. "Hey, Ora, hey Peder. What do you want to play?"

"Hoofer ride!" Ora demanded.

"Okay," Raiyn agreed, lowering himself to the ground so she could climb on. "But I can only do one at a time."

Ora scrambled onto his back with all the gleefulness of a three-and-a-half year old, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Up!" she ordered, but Raiyn spent a minute orienting her so she wasn't choking him.

He felt something tugging on his hip, and he looked down and realized Peder was in the middle of pulling his sword from its sheath. Panic hit, and Ora nearly tumbled from Raiyn's back as he grabbed the sword hilt from Peder.

"That's not safe," he insisted, his tone sterner than he meant to be. The quieter twin didn't say anything in response as he stumbled back, but his eyes filled with tears. Raiyn could see the clouds of sadness starting to gather around the boy, and he winced as he lowered Ora off his back.

"No! Not down!" Ora argued at first, but when she caught sight of Peder crying, her annoyance melted into concern. She darted over to her brother, cooing as she wiped at the tears trailing down his face. "Don't cry, Pedah! It's okay!"

Peder began crying in earnest, and Raiyn felt a stab of guilt. "Okay, Peder…you can look at it," he offered, pulling the sword from its sheath and holding it out for the boy to look. "But it's sharp, so you can't touch it."

"See, Pedah? A sword!" Ora prompted, tugging on his shirt while he cried. Peder ignored them both, his face buried in his hands as he began to wail. Raiyn's heart was pounding as the toddler cried, desperate for a way to make it up to him. Peder had always been more emotional than his sister, but usually Ora could snap him out of it before he got to this point.

"Look, Peder!" Ora begged, still tugging on his shirt while making funny faces. Raiyn sat frozen, still holding onto the sword as he glanced down the hallway to see if anyone else would come investigate the crying, but the hallway remained empty.

"Raiyn, make Pedah better," Ora ordered, and Raiyn turned back to the twins. His eyes widened when he caught sight of Peder's emotions. The bruise-colored feelings were twisting up, weaving into a tangle that looked far more tangible than the usual cloud. Raiyn mentally reached out toward the tangle, wondering if he'd be able to touch it the way he had been able to touch that coil of anger…

He froze, forcing himself to resist the temptation. Remember what happened with Pippa? His mind demanded. Look, but don't touch…just like Yona always says.

"Raiyn…" Ora whined, tugging on his arm again. Raiyn reached out, but this time with his hand rather than his mind. He rested the hand on Peder's head, and the small boy finally looked up through his tears.

"I'm sorry, Peder," Raiyn offered softly. "I didn't mean to make you sad."

"Don't cry!" Ora begged. "You can ride da hoofer first, Pedah! Okay?"

Peder's crying finally started to subside and Ora hugged him earnestly.

"You ride da hoofer!" she insisted, and Peder looked up at Raiyn, who offered a smile. A few minutes later, Peder was situated on Raiyns' back, and Raiyn carried him down the hall while Ora darted around them, jumping and giggling. Soon, the last of Peder's tears were gone, giggling himself as his sister called up to him. Raiyn smiled in relief, happy that his clouds of grief had passed.

Eventually, they came across a large oni, and Ora shrieked as she ran toward the man. "Daddy!"

Retrevan turned, and he smiled softly as he bent to pick her up. "Hello, Raiyn," Ret offered. "I see our children are taking advantage of you again."

"I don't mind," Raiyn insisted, though he winced as Peder accidentally yanked on his ponytail. Ret came over and plucked Peder off Raiyn's back, and Peder wrapped his arms around his father's neck.

"What brings you to the fortress?" Ret asked kindly. "I didn't think that Myrah and Hershel were here again today."

"They aren't," Raiyn admitted. "I was just…um…" his mind went blank, not necessarily wanting to admit that he was avoiding his cousin. "I was looking for Tay-o. I mean, Theo. Prince Theodynn."

"Ah. He's not around today, but I heard he'll be here tomorrow if you want to come back," Retrevan offered.

"Oh, okay. I'm not sure if we will still be around tomorrow, though," Raiyn offered, trying not to tug on the collar of his shirt.

"You used to pop in all the time, whether your family was visiting or not," Ret remembered. "You can transport in and out pretty easily, right?"

"Well, I'm not supposed to transport anymore, unless it's an emergency," Raiyn admitted. "But…um…I'll try to come see Tay—I mean, Theo if I can."

"Theo's coming!" Ora insisted. "Coming to play with us!"

"Theo," Peder agreed softly, still hugging his father.

"You know he doesn't come here just to see the two of you," their father chastised with a smile before looking back at Raiyn. "I think we'll head to the cafeteria to get some dinner. Would you like to join us, Raiyn?"

He nearly said yes, but caught himself. "Um…actually, I was supposed to be back by dinner," he admitted sheepishly. "Is it really that late already?"

"Not too late—these two just need to eat early, or they start falling apart at the drop of a hat," Ret explained. "If you didn't transport in, are you staying nearby?"

"We're staying with Uncle Toto and Auntie Syn," Raiyn offered, and Ret's smile grew.

"Ah, that makes sense. Well, are you okay to get back to the village on your own?"

"I'll be fine," Raiyn promised.

"Bye bye, Raiyn!" Ora called, and even Peder turned around to give a hesitant "bye bye" of his own. Raiyn waved goodbye to the twins and their father, and then turned to head back down the hallway. He knew everyone was probably wondering where on earth he had gone, and he debated whether his parents would be more upset to know he had transported to the fortress and back, or that he had walked the whole way on his own. After some debate, he finally sighed. Transporting is technically safer, right? He thought. And I don't really feel like walking all the way back.

With that decision made, Raiyn vanished from the hallway.

"So…how was the North?" Omar asked, passing the stewed vegetables down the table.

"It's a lot colder up there during the winter than I thought it would be," Alan answered, accepting the bowl from his father. "Last year we were there in the summer, and it was a lot better weather."

"I'm surprised the two of you are still traveling around so much," his mother said. "I would have thought you'd have picked one place to settle down by now."

Rather than answering, Alan just shrugged and passed the bowl across the table to Haiven. She hadn't said much since they had gotten here, but he supposed he couldn't blame her. It was hard for her to be understood by others, which was why he had wanted to come up with a way to make her silent language easier to learn. She accepted the vegetables with a smile and added a scoop to what was already on her plate.

"I bet you travel because you realize that if you stayed in one place for too long, you'd only attract trouble," Freyda muttered from the other side of their father. "After all, that's how you got kicked out of the south and the east. You gotta be careful—not many provinces left for you to visit."

"Freyda…" Omar started with a warning tone, but Alan just snorted.

"We've been to the south and the east multiple times. In fact, we were in the east a few months ago so Haiven could sell everything she had made since our last trip," he corrected.

"Did you make a lot of money?" Mita demanded, moving closer to Haiven as she stared at her expectantly. Haiven blinked at the direct question, using a hand to make a "more or less" sign.

"It's rude to talk about money, Mita," her mother chided.

"Where's Yitti?" Alan asked, glancing down the table at the empty seat where his second-to-youngest sister generally sat.

"She's apprenticing in the North," Omar said. "I thought you knew."

"Did you write me about it?" Alan asked with a wince. "It's harder to get your letters, since you can only ever send them to the fortresses, so sometimes I think I miss them."

"I might have, but I thought you reconnected with Rena while you were in the North," Omar explained. "She's the one who got Yitti the job, so I assumed you would have talked about it."

"Oh." Alan tried not to fidget as he reached for the tea kettle. "We did see Rena once while we were there, but it was a short visit. She's pretty busy with her forge, and all."

"Ah. I guess I thought you had seen a lot of each other, while you were in the same place," Omar offered.

"Please. Rena didn't even like Alan before we all knew he was a scumbag," Freyda pointed out, and the rest of the family shot her identical withering looks.

Did I meet Rena? Haiven signed to Alan for the first time.

Yes—she was the blacksmith we visited who would barely speak to us, Alan signed back. The one with the dragon tattoo.

Haiven's eyebrows rose. You didn't tell me that was your sister!

Sorry. She doesn't really seem to consider me her brother anymore, if that helps.

"Stop it!" Freyda snapped, and Alan looked around and realized the whole family was staring at him. He lowered his hands, realizing he hadn't signed in front of them before.

"What's wrong?" he asked, meeting Freyda's eye challengingly.

"It's rude to speak in code like that in front of us…not to mention, suspicious!" she accused.

"Freyda, you are the one being rude," Omar sighed. "That's Haiven's way of communicating—it's not suspicious."

"But Alan can talk, and she can hear him—he doesn't need to be talking in code," Freyda insisted, glaring bullets. Rather than answer, he began signing to Haiven more rapidly.

Man, if I knew this would piss her off this much, I would have started signing years ago, he said, and Haiven could barely hide her smirk.

Stop torturing your sister. She looks like her head is going to explode.

She can take it—we turn twenty-three this year, so it's high time she grows up a little.

"They're talking about me!" Freyda insisted, pushing herself to her feet. "They're talking about me in code, I know it!"

"Sit down," Omar insisted.

"I can talk with my hands too!" Mitta interrupted, moving her hands in random gestures. "See? Hey, Havien, what am I saying?"

Haiven's expression clouded, and Alan was about to tell his youngest sister off when his mother cut into the conversation.

"You two certainly seem closer than ever, if you can really communicate like that with each other," Pema pointed out as she scraped the last of the vegetables onto her plate. Everyone turned to look at her, and she gave Alan a pointed look. "So? Do I have any grandkids on the way?"

Alan froze, his face flushing red as Haiven choked on her tea from across the table. For a moment, everyone went silent as Haiven desperately cleared her windpipe while gesturing frantically in the negative.

"No," Alan said firmly, shooting his mother an angry look. "I've already told you all a hundred times—Haiven and I don't have that kind of relationship!"

"But you live together!" Mitta accused, and Alan shook his head.

"We travel together…we don't live together. Like I've already explained, we're just friends who benefit from going places in a pair rather than alone. It's safer that way."

"Obviously," Freyda agreed, stabbing her food. "It's no surprise she isn't interested in you…but I still don't get how she can stand to see your face every day."

"Alright, that's enough," Omar cut in. "You all are making Haiven uncomfortable—no wonder she rarely joins Alan when he visits us." He turned to the tattooed young woman, offering an apologetic smile. "Don't judge us too harshly, Haiven. We're just glad you're still sticking around Alan, whether your relationship is romantic or not. It's good to know someone's taking care of him."

Alan dry-washed his face, feeling frustrated. Mainly, he was mad at himself—he should have known the conversation would devolve into this if he brought her along. He risked a glance at Haiven, who still seemed embarrassed. I'm sorry about them, he offered, and she finally smiled.

It's okay. You have to deal with Blist every time we visit the Hidden Village, so I guess we're even.

"Okay, so you aren't together," Pema conceded, though her expression made it seem like she didn't actually believe him. "Are you at least meeting other young women in all your travels? Or are you planning on living this roaming, 'lone sniffer' lifestyle forever?"

Alan flushed again. "I don't have time to be meeting people," he insisted, staring down at his tea. "There's always more work to be done to save up for a hoofer ranch."

"So, that's still the plan?" Omar asked, sounding pleased.

Alan shrugged. "I mean, I don't know what else I would do. Though, if I'm being honest, I don't mind what I do now."

"It'll be better for you once you put down roots," Pema insisted. "Find a nice girl, and settle down."

Alan didn't respond, taking a long drink of his tea. There was no way to tell his family the truth without giving Freyda a reason to be smug. Sometimes, he was tempted by the idea of picking one place to stay, rather than moving every couple weeks…but his sister was right before when she said he kept on the move because he was worried about attracting trouble. Every time he had tried to make a home for himself, it had ended terribly—first with Ottan's followers in the south, and then with the thugs in the East. Yet, in the last three years of roaming, he hadn't had any trouble at all. Maybe it really was just safer for him to stay on the move.

Thank you for dinner, Haiven signed to Omar, and Alan finished his tea.

"Haiven says thank you for dinner," he offered, and Omar smiled at the young woman.

"Of course, anytime. If you can convince this stubborn boy to come more often, we're always happy to feed you and catch up," he offered.

"You'll be in the Central Province a while, won't you?" Pema asked as she began clearing dishes. "It's getting close to foaling season, after all."

"Yeah," Alan agreed. "We'll hang around the fortress for a bit and restock, but then we'll be heading out to the ranches. We should be here at least until Theodynn's coronation."

"Ah, that's right—it's coming up," Omar said, leaning back in his chair. "Ancients…it feels like only yesterday we were watching Keyda get crowned Ruler…and now it's little Theo's turn."

"He's not so little anymore," Alan pointed out as he stood. "Thanks for the food, but we better go set up camp before it gets too dark out."

"You could stay with us," Omar insisted. "I know you don't love being cooped up inside a fortress, but we have plenty of space now that Yitti's moved north."

"That's okay," Alan offered, glancing over at where Haiven was trying to extract herself from a gibberish-signed conversation with Mita. "I think we're both used to sleeping in tents at this point."

Omar looked disappointed, but he didn't press the issue. "All right. Be sure to come visit more before you head to the ranches. In fact, Theodynn and Rook are supposed to be visiting the fortress sometime this week."

Haiven looked up at Theo's name, and Alan felt his heart sink a little when he saw her expression. However, he smiled as he thought of the leader and his wife.

"Yeah, we'll definitely have to visit more."

6

Shirka shielded her eyes, gaping at the building in the distance. "That's the Central Fortress?" she demanded. "It's massive!"

"Technically, the wall you can see is the outer wall," Theodynn offered, pulling his hoofer up next to hers. "The fortress itself starts on the inner wall—you can kind of see it from here. It's the taller one."

"It's a lot bigger than the southern fortress because it served as a central gathering point for the majority of oni forces during the Dragon-Oni Wars," Tyme offered from her other side. "In fact, in the time of the Kahzym's, the fortresses were built to protect oni villagers, and the Central Fortress housed the most. The villagers lived in a village between the inner and outer walls, but not many still live there, since it was used for Dragon training and housing during the Baron's time. Now, I believe the Central Fortress Market takes advantage of that space."

"You know a lot about its history," Theo offered, and Tyme seemed to shrink back a little.

"Well, yeah," he agreed, staring down at his reins. "I've always been interested in history."

"Plus, his father drills it into him," Syra added from her place leading the pack. Of the four of them, Syra had always been the most experienced with hoofers. She pulled hers directly in front of Tyme's, causing the young man to flinch and pull back desperately on the reins. "Calm down…you aren't going to crash," she pointed out dryly.

"Quit doing that, Syra," Tyme muttered back, his hoofer stepping awkwardly as it tried to figure out what he wanted it to do.

"You learned history from your father?" Rook asked, pulling up next to him. "Is he still alive?"

"Duh—did you think none of us had parents?" Reg asked, trying to keep up with the group. His hoofer kept slowing to eat vegetation now that they were in the central province, and he kicked it aggressively to keep it moving.

"You don't have parents, so don't you cop an attitude about it," Syra chastised in her bored tone, and Reg scowled at her in return.

"Everyone has parents. It's just most of ours are dead," he snapped back.

"I guess I assumed you were all orphans," Rook said, and Shirka looked back at her.

"Well, you're not too far off," she offered. "Of the five of us, only Syra and Tyme still have living parents, but they don't really pay much attention to them."

"We don't even know if Syra's parents are actually alive," Reg pointed out. "We've never met them and she refuses to talk about them, so I'm skeptical." His hoofer veered to the left, and the short oni tuggged on his reins in frustration. "Follow them, you stupid thing!"

"Why would I talk about anything with a juvenile like you?" Syra asked with a yawn.

"Ancients…I should have realized that you all could have families. Are your parents going to be okay with you moving to the Central Fortress?" Theodynn asked, his brow furrowed.

"My parents couldn't care less," Syra offered with a shrug.

Everyone turned to look at Tyme as they waited for his answer. He flushed at the sudden attention and cleared his throat. "I mean…I haven't told my father yet but I doubt he'll care. He didn't when I joined the guard-training force, so I doubt he'll care much if I leave the south."

"His head's always buried in books and scrolls anyway—I doubt he'd even notice you're gone," Syra agreed.

Theodynn's expression clouded further. "Does your father work at the fortress?" he asked. "What does he do that he's surrounded by books? We don't even have a library."

"Oh. Um…you know my father, Leader Theodynn," Tyme offered, glancing over. "He's the southern Fortress clerk."

Theodynn blinked in surprise. "Yearnly?"

"Yeah."

Theo shook his head in amazement. "I didn't know Yearnly had any kids!"

Tyme laughed once without humor. "Well…I was kind of an accident," he explained, no longer meeting Theo's eye. "I used to work with him in the record rooms, but I stopped when Rook first offered to teach servants how to fight."

"Wait…so you weren't even a servant?" Rook asked in surprise.

"I was," Tyme corrected. "I was a servant who worked in the record rooms."

"But those servants are paid more," Rook challenged, kicking her hoofer so she could ride alongside Tyme. "I wouldn't have expected someone on a higher rung of the fortress staff to want to train to fight. If you stuck it out there and took over for your father someday, you'd make a lot more money than as a guard."

Tyme's expression clouded. "Um, well yeah…" he offered. "That's a fair point."

"Tyme's just afraid of everything, so he wanted to learn how to protect himself so he wouldn't be such a weakling anymore," Syra offered, and he looked up to glare at her.

"That's not true!"

"It's kind of true," Shirka admitted, and Tyme shot her a betrayed look. She shrugged apologetically. "I remember you saying something about how knowing how to fight was a better skill than knowing how to read because you can't read someone to death if they're attacking you."

"You know how to read?" Theo asked, sounding surprised once again.

"And write," Syra added. "He may act like a warrior, but he's got the heart of a coward and the soul of a parchment-roller."

"Shut up," Tyme muttered, his face bright red.

"There's so much I don't know about you four," Theo said, and when Shirka looked back at the leader, he actually looked a little upset.

"Don't worry about it," she offered. "You have a lot better things to do as the leader than to know the family situation of every guard," she said.

"That's true enough," Rook agreed. "But, if there are things we need to know before we all move to the Central Fortress, I expect you to tell us. That includes how your father feels about you moving after you let him know, Tyme."

Tyme reddened further, but he nodded his understanding. Shirka smiled to herself as the fortress in the distance grew larger. She had never cared much that Rook and Theo didn't know all the details about them, but it would be a lie if she said she wasn't excited about them learning more now. Before, they had just been a handful of faces in a sea of trainees, but they had made themselves known through their hard work. Despite what Gyro had said, she knew that they would be important at the Central Fortress…maybe not to the old Rulers, or the rest of the guard force…but they would always be important to Rook and Theodynn, and that's all that really mattered. The more they worked together, the more they would all learn about each other, after all. Look how much they had already learned today, and it was only their first visit to the fortress—imagine how much closer they would get once they officially moved here in a few months.

This is a job, not a family, Gyro's voice warned in her mind, but she ignored it. She knew this wasn't going to be easy—she wasn't as naïve as he accused. All that she really cared about was that she wasn't getting left behind again.

Rook hadn't been sure if it was a good idea to bring Shirka and the others to the fortress with her and Theo, but she found that them being there kept her from letting her get too nervous about facing Cole and Keyda. The young guards-in-training wouldn't be in on that discussion, of course, but talking with them on the way was a nice distraction at least.

"Stone walls…boring décor. We might as well be back in the south now," Syra muttered nearby, and Shirka elbowed her.

"Stop it—this is the Central Fortress! It's a big deal."

Syra just shrugged. "Looks like every other stone hallway I've ever been in to me."

Rook looked back to see the young men of the group lagging behind. Tyme was studying a tapestry rather intently, and Reg was uncharacteristically silent, staring up at the high ceilings. Rook couldn't help but smile a little at the awe in his expression. Though still made of stone, the Central fortress was a lot larger than the southern one, and this grand hallway near the entrance was impressive.

"Don't fall behind, boys," she called, and both Tyme and Reg snapped to attention and moved to catch up to the others.

"So…what's on the agenda today?" Shirka asked, tugging on her braid. Her hair was shorter than Rook's, and curly, but she had started braiding it the same way that Rook braided her hair only a few months after starting training all those years ago.

"Don't ask me. Ask her," Rook said as she gestured down the hall. The four trainees moved to see who she was talking to as Theo and Jaqah come toward them.

"Thanks for waiting for a minute," Theo offered as they grew closer. "This is the Head of the Central Fortress Guard: Jaqah. She'll be in charge of you today."

Jaqah's expression might as well have been carved from stone as she studied the four of them critically, and Rook couldn't help but do the same. Reg straightened, trying to make himself look taller as he puffed out his chest, while Tyme seemed to shrink in on himself at her gaze. Syra returned the look with one that was almost identical, but Shirka immediately turned to Rook.

"Wait…I thought we were spending the day with you and Theodynn," she said.

"Leader Theodynn," Jaqah corrected, and Shirka straightened at her tone and turned to face the Captain of the Guard.

"Um, right. I meant Leader Theodynn," she stammered.

Jaqah folded her arms as she studied them a little longer. "Well, it's obvious why you haven't let them join the guard ranks yet. They're basically still children. How old is that one on the end?"

Reg reddened. "I'm almost eighteen!" he insisted.

"We aren't sure," Theo admitted, ignoring Reg's outburst. "To be honest, I'm not sure exactly where they would fit best in the Central Fortress Guard force—that's what I was hoping you would help us decide today. Like I said before, they've been training for years, but even now, they aren't technically guards, so they don't have much actual experience."

Rook could see Shirka clench her jaw, but the young woman kept her mouth shut. Jaqah studied them a little longer before she finally sighed.

"Alright, you four—you're with me today. I don't know what kind of force Mahlyn runs down in the south, but I expect you to act like professionals while you're here, whether you're officially guards or not. Understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am," they said in unison, and Rook was relieved that they at least were able to manage that much.

"Right. Fall in line, then. We'll spend today seeing if you have what it takes to be part of our guard force."

The trainees shot Theo and Rook one last disappointed look before falling obediently in line and following after Jaqah. Theo came to stand next to Rook, taking her hand.

"Geez, by the looks on their faces you'd think we'd thrown them to the sniffers."

"I think they just assumed we'd be the ones showing them around today," Rook said dryly. "But we've got something a little more important to deal with, huh?"

Theo squeezed her hand, and when she looked over at him, she realized he looked as nervous as she was beginning to feel. "Yeah," he agreed. "Speaking of, I think my parents are waiting for us."

It was cloudier than usual, and Theo looked up at the sky as he and Rook followed behind his parents. He had expected to have this conversation in their chambers, or an office or meeting room. Rook shoot him a questioning look as they climbed the stairway to the top of the inner wall of the fortress, and he shrugged in reply.

Eventually, they reached the end of the stairs, and the wind tugged at Theo's hair and clothing as he made his way over to where his parents were standing. Cole was watching him and Rook, but Keyda was facing out across the Central Province.

"Sorry for the wind…but we decided we didn't want to be cooped up inside today," Cole offered as they joined him and Keyda. "Taking advantage of any opportunity to be outside rather stuck in a meeting room…that's something I'm sure you understand after these past few years leading the south." He leaned on the railing. "It'll become even worse once you become Ruler, I'm afraid."

Theo felt a glimmer of relief. "So…you aren't revoking my right to become Ruler?" he asked.

"Did you think we would?" Keyda asked. She was being reserved, so it was hard to tell exactly how she was feeling.

"I guess…I wasn't sure what you would say today," Theo admitted, and his mother sighed.

"I'm still not sure what it is I want to say, either," she muttered. "But no matter how we feel about it, the secret you've been keeping from us was a personal one that doesn't have anything to do with your ability to rule. It wouldn't make sense to strip you of your right to become Ruler just because we were hurt; you're still the most qualified person to take over the realm."

Theo glanced between his parents and realized that they seemed to be waiting for him to say something himself. He finally cleared his throat. "Well…I guess that makes sense."

"So now that that's out of the way, I'd like to know why you actually kept this a secret for so long," Keyda said, turning to look at him at last. Theo's heart sank a little, but he supposed it was only fair that his parents would still be looking for an answer.

"This isn't a conversation between Rulers and their Heir. We invited you here today to have this conversation as your parents," Cole added.

"Okay," Theo agreed, but then he glanced at the woman next to him. "Then…why insist that Rook needed to come?"

"Because if you two really are married, then she's not just someone that you're dating, anymore," Keyda replied. "She's our daughter-in-law."

Theo saw Rook blink in surprise, and as he went to answer, he felt his throat close off with emotion. He noticed his parents share a look as his eyes filled with tears, and he forced the feelings back as he got ahold of himself.

"Theo…" Cole started.

"I'm sorry," Theo offered, wiping at his eyes. "I'm fine. It just took me by surprise to hear you say that."

"Is it really that surprising?" Keyda muttered, and he looked up to see his mother studying him. "You asked for our permission for a binding…did you think we wouldn't consider her family until you got our permission for such an influential ceremony? Is that the reason you didn't bother inviting us to your wedding, or telling us about it…because you didn't think it would make any difference?"

"It's not that we didn't want to ever tell you," Rook offered, causing everyone to look at her. "And we should have a long time before now. But the timing of the wedding is probably what made everything so complicated."

"Why would timing have anything to do with it?" Cole asked. "Because there were too many other things going on, and you didn't think we could handle good news alongside a crisis?"

Rook went quiet, and Theo knew she wasn't going to be the one to say what they were both thinking. Rook's right, though…I should have said this a long time ago. As long as we're going to talk about everything, I might as well bring it up.

"We got married around the year mark of me being Southern Leader," Theo offered, meeting his father's eye. "And the reason I didn't tell you about it was because at the time, you had just locked her in a dungeon cell for something she didn't do."

His parents stared at him in shock, and Theo sighed as he continued.

"I'm not bringing it up because I want to argue," he insisted. "But…if you want to know my reasoning…why I was so sure at the time that you weren't going to accept my marriage, or Rook herself…that's why."

"Locked her up?" Keyda repeated, her forehead crinkling in confusion. Surprisingly, it was Cole who broke eye contact.

"That was a miscommunication," Theo's father insisted. "It was when you were poisoned. The guards weren't ever supposed to lock her up, but a wire got crossed—"

"Maybe so, but it's not like you ever apologized for it happening, even after you realized," Theo replied. Cole looked over at Rook, and Theo continued. "Don't be mad at Rook—she actually tried to get me to invite you both at the time, but I didn't think it was fair to make her have to deal with your willful misinterpretation of her character at our wedding of all days."

"That's not being fair—" Keyda started.

"Maybe not," Theo agreed, squeezing Rook's hand. "But at the time, I was angry…and sometimes when you're angry, you do things that aren't fair."

Silence fell, and Theo hated the tension in the air. It was getting windier, and he found himself wondering if some of it was from him or his mother.

"I guess it's true we were wary back then," Keyda offered at last. "And…we made mistakes. But we haven't been that way for a while…so why decide to keep the secret forever?"

"It wasn't supposed to be a secret forever," Theo countered. "I guess I just assumed that the longer Rook and I were together, the more you would warm up to her, and eventually, I could tell you the truth without you treating her like the enemy. But by the time I felt like we had reached that point, it had already been so long, and the more I waited, the harder it was to bring it up." He sighed, rubbing his neck. "I had always intended to get bound to Rook as well after becoming Ruler, so at some point, I decided it would be easiest just to work toward the binding, rather than ever tell you about the wedding."

"If you were waiting for us to warm up to her and were planning on getting bound anyway, why even have the wedding first?" Cole asked. "It's hard for us to feel like you didn't do it just to spite us, especially now that we know that you were upset about the miscommunication with the dungeon."

Theo felt a flash of anger, but then Rook squeezed his hand again. She wasn't saying much, but as he glanced at her, he could tell that she didn't want him to lose his temper. He sighed, knowing that if this devolved into a giant fight, nothing would get better.

"I could see why you feel that way," he finally offered, after getting his anger in check somewhat. "But us getting married didn't have anything to do with the two of you, spite or not. I asked Rook to marry me because I didn't want to have to wait months or years for her to finally be accepted by you or anyone else…and I didn't want her to have to feel like I was basing my decisions about our relationship on the whims and opinions of others." He met his parents' gazes confidently. "I loved her then just as much as I love her now. She'd lived a life of being used and thrown away…and I wanted her to know that I wouldn't ever do the same. A binding was out of the question at the time, so I decided that a marriage was the perfect solution—I could show her what she meant to me, without trying to get approval from anyone else."

His parents didn't respond right away, and Theo could feel his heart pounding as he and Rook waited. Rook stayed quiet, which was pretty typical of her around his parents. He was used to hearing her speak her mind in front of anyone else, regardless of their title. With his parents, she rarely said much at all besides shallow small talk. As Theo studied Cole and Keyda's expressions, he found himself wondering if there would ever come a day where they all actually felt like family. Even if they begrudgingly accepted her today, and even if they let them get bound someday…would Rook ever feel comfortable being herself in front of them?

"Alright," Keyda finally said. "I suppose back when your father and I were bound, I felt the same way. But I never thought that you'd feel that way about us."

"There was a lot happening at the time," Cole conceded, and he finally turned to Rook once again. "In thinking back, I guess Theo is right—I never did apologize for what happened. You weren't ever meant to be put in the dungeons…but I didn't ever try to make amends. I'm sorry."

"I didn't really hold it against you," Rook offered awkwardly. "But thank you."

"Are there any other secrets we should know about?" Keyda blurted. Theo looked at her in surprise, and unexpectedly, Saesh's face came to mind. He froze as his mother continued, her face flushing just a little. "You don't have any…secret children, for instance?"

"What? No! Of course not!" Theo insisted.

"We couldn't help wondering, after the last revelation," his mother muttered. "There were times we wouldn't see Rook for months on end, and after learning you'd kept an entire wedding secret…"

"We don't have any kids," Theo insisted. "That is definitely not something I would have tried to keep from you guys. And besides—" He cut himself off, suddenly realizing what he was about to say. Stupid, he chastised, glancing in Rook's direction.

"Besides what?" his father pressed, and Theo tried to figure out a good way to finish the sentence. However, Rook spoke up instead.

"I can't have children," she said simply, and Theo felt his heart sink. He knew it was something she was self-conscious about, and having to bring it up now to his parents, like this…

"You can't?" Keyda asked in surprise. "How do you know?"

"I could get technical, but it's easier to just say it's not possible for me to have kids," Rook offered, though she wasn't meeting Theo's mother's eye. "So…that's one thing you don't have to worry about."

"Why would we worry about you having kids someday?" Cole asked in surprise. "I feel like it's more worrisome to know that you can't…"

"Stop," Theo cut in, feeling a flash of anger. "It's not something that you need to worry about one way or the other. Rook told me back before we got married…so I already knew, and I'm fine with it. It's not something I really want spread around, though."

His parents didn't look convinced, and his father looked between the two of them. "So…do you just never want a family at all?" he asked, his voice suddenly hushed with sadness. "Theo, I thought you loved kids."

Rook was standing stiffly, not answering as she kept her gaze downward, and Theo tried to figure out how to end the conversation without losing his temper. "That's something we'll decide together," he said at last, unable to keep the edge out of his tone. "Look…we came today because you asked us to, and I've tried to give you more of an explanation for why I kept our marriage a secret. But we're also here because I asked you about a binding, and I'm still waiting for your answer."

His parents made eye contact, and his mother finally spoke up. "It's clear that this is something you're set on," she said. "We aren't going to tell you that you two can't get bound…but the more we've talked about it, the more we feel like it's better to wait."

"Wait until when?" Theo demanded.

"We just think that getting you settled as the Ruler is the priority right now," Cole sighed. "Once you've officially taken over for us and we can tell that your position is secure, we can move on to things like a binding."

"But how long will that even take?" Theo asked. "We've already waited this long because I knew that it would be best to do it after I become Ruler, but I don't want it to be some afterthought."

"We aren't saying that you have to put it off forever," Keyda said. "A few months…maybe a year. Besides wanting you to be secure in your position, bindings are also a lot of work to plan, especially if they're for the Ruler of the realm."

"But if your reason for getting bound is that you want everyone to treat Rook with the respect worthy of a Ruler's bound partner, you could always announce a binding engagement after your coronation," Cole offered. "That way, everyone knows your intentions, but we can wait until things have calmed down to host the actual ceremony."

Theo didn't answer immediately. It wasn't necessarily the answer he wanted, but it was probably as good of a compromise as he could expect. "Alright," he finally said. "I guess that would work."

"Even without the binding, or even telling people about your marriage, it's clear that Rook is your partner," Cole continued. "I don't know that anyone would misconstrue your intentions regardless."

"I don't know; plenty of people misconstrued my intentions with you when you first moved here," Keyda mused, surprising everyone. "That's why I insisted that we be bound."

Cole flushed a little. "Well…yeah, but I mean the realm's a little different now, and anyone who knows Theo would know it wasn't like that."

"I'll announce our plans to be bound eventually, like you said," Theo decided. "I'm not necessarily excited about a long engagement, but I guess it's better than nothing for the time being."

"You're already married…so your engagement to be bound is really only for the politics," Keyda pointed out.

"I guess," Theo agreed. "But…I would like to make it fully official and celebrate with everyone as soon as possible."

"Right. We'll get to it, but for now…we've got our hands full with your coronation," Cole said. He was moving toward the stairway again, gesturing to the others. "I asked for lunch to be prepared and brought to our quarters. I'm sure it's done by now. Why don't we go eat."

Theo glanced at Rook, who gave him a tight smile. It seemed their conversation was over, and though he knew this was probably as good of a response as he could have expected, he couldn't help but feel frustrated about how forced everything felt. He wished that the relationship between him, his wife, and his parents could feel more genuine, but he supposed that it made sense why it felt so strained.

"Right. Let's go eat," he agreed, and he and Rook followed his parents off the roof.