Father led us to the chieftain’s house, where the leader of the Nox clan lives. We entered to find it empty.

“So where’s the chieftain?” I asked.

“She’s met a tragic fate, unfortunately. I’m a temporary leader until the elders officially elect a new chieftain.”

“Murdered?” I asked.

He nodded. “We believe that her death is linked with your official business Seth. We’ll discuss further, but you two need tending. Valentia looks like she’s about to pass out from exhaustion.”

“Rest would be greatly appreciated, sir.”

Father scratched his beard. “Thought so. Well, we’ll let you two use the bathhouses to clean yourselves up; I’ll go make sure that you two will have your privacy.”

“Val, I’ll show you the way to the women’s bathhouse,” I told her.

Valentia nodded in thanks but before we could leave father coughed.

“Seth you know the traditions.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked puzzled.

“Well, a couple of weeks ago I had a private meeting with various leaders of the three kingdoms. Valentia’s parents were kind enough to be the ambassadors for the meeting despite their retirement. They said you two were engaged.”

I shot Valentia a glance of bewilderment. She avoided my gaze, but I saw her blush. First, she annoys me as we work on finding a group of murderers and now her parents tell father that we’re engaged. Clearly, the Crimverns have a history of having a few loose screws. But thankfully I had some outs I could use.

“Well, we aren’t really engaged father.”

He laughed. “No? Well looking at Valentia who’s red like a ripe tomato says otherwise. You don’t have to be so shy about it Seth. I was going to find out eventually.”

Time for plan B.

“Well I’m no longer part of the clan now, I was exiled. I do not have to follow clan traditions.”

“But you are still a Nox and you are still my son. As long as that stays true you will honor tradition. You will bathe with your fiancée.”

So Valentia and I both walked to the bathhouse that was used only for engaged couples. When we arrived it was deserted (thanks to my father’s orders). I elected myself to go in first. I removed my cloak and clothing and entered the bathroom. The bath was in the traditional Valkyrian style; a giant bath with buckets to wash your head and a water pump nearby to fill the buckets with cleans water. The baths were always kept at a warm temperature, hot enough for the room to be misty.

I stepped into the giant bath. Immediately the warmth of the water surged into my body, numbing my muscles as they finally got a chance to relax, causing me to almost slip into the bath, but I managed to get in without tripping. I sat down, letting the warm water splash against my naked skin, removing the dirt and grime. I never realized how much I missed these bathhouses. This was bliss, absolutely divine. I let my thoughts drift away, letting my mind momentarily forget about what I was here for.

I heard the door open, grabbing my attention. Valentia had arrived. I stared at her as she hesitantly made her way to the bath. I quickly found out it was because she had no towel to hide with. She was blushing like mad.

“Mind not staring?” she asked me as she arrived at the edge of the bath.

I grinned. “This is a part of you I’ve never seen before; blushing, shy. Don’t know if I like it or not.”

“Shut up Seth. This is embarrassing; nobody has seen me nude before.”

“Really? So I’m the first one? What an honor.”

“I can’t tell if you’re joking or being serious.”

“I wonder what happened to the overconfident Valentia back at the castle.”

Valentia stuck out her tongue, as her confidence slowly came back. To prove her point that she wasn’t overconfident, she made her way over to me and promptly sat beside me. I stared at her the entire time.

“Like what you see?” She joked.

This time it was my turn to blush slightly, but thankfully Valentia was too busy splashing water over her breasts to see me blush. To be honest, I did like what I saw. Valentia had a gorgeous figure, she was a Crimvern and they were known for their looks. But I would never admit that to her, it would be another weapon in her arsenal for her to use to annoy me.

“You know, this is the closest we’ve ever been,” Valentia remarked.

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I frowned. No, it wasn’t. On our journey here we had to stick close to keep heat. We only have one tent to share and Val is a hugger, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve woken up stuck in her bear holds. When Val saw my confused expression she laughed and slapped my chest.

“Not like that you imbecile. I meant emotionally. You’re always guarded; refusing to say much or give much away, yet right now you’re joking with me as we sit here, together, naked and vulnerable. Don’t lie; you enjoy my company Seth Nox.”

“I hate your company, you’ve been annoying ever since we met,” I answered.

Val looked down into the water and tried to hold in her laughter.

“What?”

“I mean you’re saying one thing but your body is clearly saying something else. You do enjoy my company.”

I looked down and saw what she was talking about. I splashed her with water and told her to shut up. She laughed, got up and tackled me to the ground. My head submerged under the water and I fought back against Valentia. I grabbed her and pushed her off me, coming up for air. I looked around for her. She was a couple of feet laughing. I chased after her and when I reached her, pushed her into the water. This continued for a while until I heard myself laugh. I paused. I actually laughed. Not a humorless one but a laugh filled with genuine happiness.

“See?” I heard Valentia say. “There’s still some emotions left in you.”

She made her way towards me until our bodies were squished together, her chest against my chest. She got on her toes so that we could be face to face. Her face was so close I could stare deeply into her indigo eyes. Normally they were hard, commanding and slightly sadistic, but now they were tender, docile and full of care, like the eyes of a mother. Our lips were so close I thought she would kiss me, but her hands drifted towards my mask.

“Why do you still wear that mask, Seth? What are you hiding behind it? What does it mean to you?” She asked.

I pulled away from her and touched my mask as if to make sure it was still there. “Like I told somebody once, it hides a part of me that I lost and will never gain back,” I said remembering Elrith. “But now, it’s more a tool of fear than anything else.”

Val crossed her arms over her chest and huffed in frustration. “Sometimes I swear that you’re insufferable. I’ll get you to remove that mask one day Seth, I guarantee it.”

“If that ever happens, I’ll take your hand in marriage.” I joked.

She raised a brow. “Is that a bet?”

“Take it as you like Valentia.”

She smirked. “A bet it is. Now get over here so you can wash my back, that’s an order.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

We left the bathhouse once we had finished cleaning up and fully dressed Valentia decided to wear a robe while I put my cloak. If anything I was more exhausted then before I got in the bathhouse because of Valentia. She, on the other hand, was in big spirits, completely rejuvenated, happily clinging my arm, snuggling me. Father, who was waiting out of the bathhouse, looked at us and a smile spread across his face.

“Looks like you two had fun in there.” He pointed out.

Val nodded happily, pressing herself even more on me; I could see her chest with ease if I just looked down. “Of course sir, we had lots of fun in there, we should do it again soon Seth.” She winked.

“Don’t give him any ideas!” I groaned.

“Follow me, there’s someone that wants to meet you, Seth.”

“The elders?” I asked.

“Soon enough Seth.”

We made our way back to the chieftain’s home. Along the way, villagers bowed in respect towards father and Valentia. I did not receive such treatment. I was scoffed at, ignored and had death threats sent my way (and if they wanted some could manage to kill me).

We reached the house, father opened the door and a woman was standing at the entrance. We immediately recognized each other. She surged forward and hugged me. It was hard to forget who your mother was after all.

“Mother.”

“Seth! It’s so good to see you again. How I’ve missed my baby boy since you were exiled. How have you been? Have you been eating well? Getting plenty of rest?”

We broke our hug. “I’m fine mother, I swear.”

“You aren’t lying now are you?”

“Of course not mother.”

“Come in, come in, we have so much to talk about.”

We sat in the central room of the chieftain’s house, a commuting area of sorts. We all sat on cushions while mother went to fetch some warm tea. She came back shortly after, handing each of us a glass of tea.

“Despite your exile, you’ve managed to make a name for yourself out there son. The Blade of Gaia.” Father remarked.

“Well, I have to find a way to survive after all. Being trained as an assassin, killing for money seemed like the most logical choice.” I answered.

Mother looked Valentia, who was still unfortunately snuggled up against me. “And you dear, I’ve heard from your father that you’ve replaced him as Master of Intelligence for her Majesty. How is that working out for you?”

“The jobs a challenge that’s for sure. My desk is flooded with reports day in and day out. Frankly, this is like a vacation for me.”

“Also I’ve heard from your parents that you two are engaged. How did it feel when he proposed? When’s the wedding? Will I… will we be grandparents?!”

“Mother!” I yelled in protest.

I saw a mischievous grin spread across Val’s face when she realized that she could humiliate me in front of my parents. That grin was replaced with a warm smile. Val patted my head as if I was a child, hugged me, smothering my face in her chest.

“The day he proposed was the happiest day of my life, emotions were so high, and I could barely contain my emotions. Seth had tears in his eyes when I said yes! Her Majesty herself gave us our blessing.”

“I’m going to kill you!” I whispered to her.

Val continued to stroke my hair. “I’m sorry darling; it was the happiest day of our lives. We haven’t made any arrangements for the wedding. The queen and the other royal families are arranging our wedding. As for you being a grandmother Miss. Nox, we’ll all have to wait and see.”

I broke free from Val’s chest prison to see my parents holding hands, lost in happiness about my supposed marriage and having a new member of the family. Family huh.

“So where’s Ymir then? I asked changing the topic.

The atmosphere changed gradually as my parents recovered from the lies Val spouted.

“Ymir is still having trouble dealing with your exile, even after all these years he still thinks you murdered that fellow clan member. But deep down I know that he believes you’re innocent.” Mother replied.

The four of us continued to make small talk until there was a knock at the door. Father excused himself and left to go see who was at the door. He came back shortly after with a scroll. He tossed it to me. It read:

The elders of the Nox clan of assassins have been informed about the arrival of the Blade of Gaia, otherwise known as Seth Nox, a former member of the Nox clan. Seth Nox seeks an audience with the elders. This audience has been granted. The elders will speak with Seth Nox and his associate Valentina Crimvern about the matter at hand.

Valentia clutched my shoulder. I rolled the scroll back. I gave my parents my thanks for allowing Val and I safe passage through the village. It was time to meet the people who exiled me after so many years. The reunion was not going to be fun.