Sera woke up to find Nick gone again. Her usual moment of panic set in, and she searched the room for some sign of him. After seeing one of his drawers was left open, she relaxed slightly, but his scent was still fainter than normal. She got dressed and walked out of their room and down the hall. She saw Ierin, whom upon seeing her daughter paused. She fidgeted for a moment, and started to turn when Sera spoke.

"Good morning, mom."

Ierin blinked, and half turned back to her. "Good morning." They stood in silence for a moment, and both spoke. "I was-"

"Oh, sorry," Ierin said.

"No, you go," Sera replied.

Ierin crossed one arm and gripped her other. "I was wondering if, perhaps, you wanted to talk today. Over tea, or go for a walk, or... Something."

Sera watched her for a moment, then nodded. "I'd like that. After breakfast?"

Ierin's eyes lit up. "Absolutely. But... Which one?"

"We can get some tea and go for a walk," Sera said. "The town is quite lovely."

"Okay," Ierin said, a barely reserved smile touching her countenance.

"Also," Sera said. "You should eat in the dining hall with the rest of us. Should pass that along to dad."

"I will," Ierin said. Sera walked away, and Ierin rushed back to her room. She got properly dressed, then knocked on Sterling's door. She opened it and went in without waiting for a response, and he looked up in surprise as he was in the middle of changing. He quickly pulled up his pants.

"I've seen it all before, dear."

He paused, then casually finished getting dressed. "What's got your fires going?"

"She said good morning to me this morning first," Ierin said as she started to pace. "And then I said it back, and then we spoke at the same time, and she let me go first, so I asked her to tea or a walk, and she said yes to both, and that we should eat with everyone else in the dining hall, and I'm kind of freaking out now because I thought she'd say no, and-"

Sterling put his hands on her shoulders, stopping her, and stared into her eyes. "Firstly, you're talking about Sera, right?"

Ierin nodded, and Sterling smiled. "That's great. I'm proud of you."

Ierin nodded. "It's wonderful, and nauseating, and-"

He kissed her, and she blinked rapidly, staring at him until he pulled back. "Ierin, just talk to her. Find something you can use as an icebreaker to start."

Ierin's eyes widened, and she kissed him back as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She suddenly pulled back. "Thank you! I got so nervous I forgot." She smiled and took his hand, pulling him along as he tucked his shirt in. They reached the dining hall and saw Ashley sitting with a family they hadn't seen before. Ashley saw them come in, and her face lit up. She hopped off her chair and ran over to them. "Grand-" she paused. "Sterling, I want you to meet my friend!"

Ierin looked up at Sera as Ashley took Sterling's hand and lead him towards her table. Sera was watching, and she gave a single nod, and Ierin returned it and joined Sterling.

"This is Colm, and his mom and dad," Ashley said.

Fred stood up and held out his hand to Sterling, and Sterling shook it. "Frederick Brakken."

Sterling froze up, and Ierin touched Sterling's elbow. He stirred. "Sterling Aala, I'm..." He glanced down at Ashley. "I'm Ashley's grandfather."

Ashley's eyes sparkled as she looked up at him, and she happily retook her seat.

"Sera's father, then," Fred said. "This is my wife, Teresa, and my son Colm."

"Ierin Galen," Ierin said. They took their seats.

"I'd heard about what happened," Teresa said. "It must be difficult."

Ierin smiled. "I, uh... I should have left the family a long time ago."

"So it was your decision?" Teresa asked.

Ierin nodded. "It was. I realized what was more important."

Teresa smiled. "Well, so long as you've got mister Aala there, I'm sure you'll be fine."

Sterling raised an eyebrow as he ate.

"You've quite the reputation, Sterling," Teresa said.

He swallowed. "Is that so?"

"Is my grandpa famous?" Ashley asked.

"In some ways," Teresa replied. She looked back to Ierin and Sterling. "Are the two of you staying for the month?"

"We'll see," Sterling said.

Over at the Bren table, Sera leaned in to Nick. "Did you come to bed last night?"

He shook his head. "No."

"More committee stuff?"

"I didn't want to wake you," he replied.

She paused. Liar.

"So I slept on a futon in Ashley's room."

He's looking pretty haggard.

Sera finished her meal and stood up. "I'm gonna head out with my mom."

Nick smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. I've gotta head out too." He teleported away as Sera walked around the table and approached Ierin's. Ierin started to stand up, but Sera held up her hand. "Finish your breakfast. Hey Ash, could I talk to you a sec?"

Ashley nodded and hopped off her chair and Sera walked with her away from the other tables.

"Did daddy sleep in your room last night?"

Ashley nodded. "Yeah. He did nights before too."

Sera furrowed her brow. "Did he say why?"

"He has a hard time sleeping alone," Ashley said. "And you're staying out late, and he needs sleep."

"Oh," Sera said quietly.

"Is everything okay?" Ashley asked.

"It's fine," Sera said. "I just wanted to know where he was."

"Okay," Ashley said. "Can I go back to breakfast?"

"Yeah, go ahead, sweetheart," Sera said. "But not before one of these!" She scooped her up in a hug, much to Ashley's delight. She finally put her down and walked back with her to the table and looked to Ierin. "Shall we?"

Ierin quickly nodded and stood up. Sterling watched them go, and let out a breath as he returned to his cup of tea.

"Worried?" Fred asked.

Sterling eyed him over the brim of his cup, then placed his cup down as Ashley and Colm wandered off.

"This is the first time they've spent any time together in... Well, since Sera was younger than Ashley," Sterling said. "And I know how anxious Ierin is about it."

"It's weird to think of one of the most famous music artists of our time being anxious," Fred said. "But, I suppose it can happen to anyone."

Sterling nodded. "Yeah. I'm just hoping they'll both have enough grace for each other today."

Meanwhile, Sera and Ierin walked in silence towards their rooms.

"Can we stop at mine first?" Ierin asked.

Sera nodded and waited outside of her room. She subtly sniffed the air that wafted out, and confusion touched her eyes. She quickly hid it as Ierin came back with the stuffed wolf. "You may not remember this, but-"

"Arctis?" Sera asked.

Ierin smiled and held it out to her. "Yeah."

"I wondered what happened to him..." Sera trailed off, and she looked up at Ierin. "You kept him all this time?"

"It was in my room," Ierin said. "But Oelya caught me partway through packing, so I didn't get the chance to get everything I wanted."

"Then how..?" Sera asked.

Ierin smiled to herself. "That man of yours really cares about you. You know, it was like he knew where it was."

"He didn't say he went to get this," Sera muttered.

"I wanted this to be a surprise," Ierin said.

Sera's smile bore her bittersweet memories, and she sniffed and looked up at Ierin. "Thank you. I'll uh, I'll put this in my room, and we can get going."

"That's why I wanted to stop here first," Ierin said. She followed Sera to her and Nick's room and she peered inside.

"Wow."

Sera glanced back as she put Arctis on the dresser and grabbed her coat. "It's definitely bigger than the one back at the house." She smiled as she walked up. "I kinda miss how cozy it was, though."

They walked out of the estate and to the lifts, which brought them down to the town.

Ierin fidgeted until people started greeting them. Sera observed the change in her mother as she turned into a completely different person, smiling and greeting them warmly. They reached a park and Ierin sat down.

"Dear lord..."

Sera raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"It's draining," Ierin said. "I'm a lot more introverted than people think."

Sera blinked, then sat down beside her. "Then why push yourself so hard?"

"Habit," Ierin said. "Mother would always tell me, 'You're never fully dressed without a smile'."

"She'd told me that a few times too," Sera replied. "And she always said it with the biggest frown."

Ierin laughed. "She did that to you too?"

Sera nodded. "Yeah. It felt like a smoker telling their kid to never smoke."

Ierin nodded. "Exactly. I guess we weren't worth the effort of even a fake smile."

Sera shrugged. "It helped me remember where I stood with her. She turned on the charm for Nick, but he saw right through it."

"What's the story with that, anyways?" Ierin asked.

"With what?"

"You and him," Ierin said. "I mean, did you meet at Marcellus, or before, or..?"

Sera smiled. "Oh, we met at Marcellus, and we did not have a smooth start. But... We grew close."

"Huh," Ierin said. "Your father and I were the same way."

"Really?" Sera asked.

Ierin nodded. "I was... Not a nice person. Well, I mean, it's not like I went out of my way to cause problems for others, but I was really inconsiderate. One day I was inconsiderate to the wrong person, and he did not care that I was a Galen; he let me have it. Said all kinds of things that were assumptions on his part, but they cut deep because so many were based on some level of truth. Not to mention it was in public."

"And dad came to your defense?"

Ierin shook her head. "The man was your father." Sera blinked. Ierin smiled and nodded. "I know, it's hard to believe Sterling would blow up on someone like that, but this was a ways back, when he was still dealing with his childhood." She half laughed. "When he spoke, there was this sharp bite to everything he said. He always knew what to say to cut into a person. I like to think that I rounded out his sharp edges, and he softened my heart." She sniffed. "Mother hated him with a passion, but she never said it in front of him. She was too afraid of what he might say, both to her or publicly, and the fact I told him... Maybe more than I perhaps should have, gave him an added layer of protection."

"Oelya did tell me one time that I reminded her of him," Sera said.

"What'd you do?"

"First I said 'what will happen will happen'," Sera said.

"Sounds like your father now," Ierin said.

"Then when she made the claim, I almost said 'Better than turning out like you' to her," Sera said. "I stopped before saying 'you'."

Ierin chuckled. "And that sounds like him when I first met him, though a lot more tame. He'd have added all kinds of observations that'd take her out at the knees."

"Is reading people his innate ability?" Sera asked.

Ierin looked at her. "He never talked about it?"

"Thinking back, I don't remember ever asking."

"It is," Ierin said. "And since you didn't inherit it, he and his sister are, quite possibly, the last people alive with the innate ability. But who knows, it may skip you and go to your children."

Sera furrowed her brow. "No wonder he became a counselor."

"And he had such a hard time with people when he was younger," Ierin said.

"What do you mean?" Sera asked. "Wouldn't it be easier?"

She shook her head. "His ability doesn't turn off. It'd be like being able to read people's minds at all times. You'd see all of the darkest parts, and always know what's really going on. Since he's not naturally inclined to manipulation, he didn't use it to advance himself socially. Instead he used it as a defense mechanism to push people away."

"Then how did you two even end up together?"

"After getting over the shock of what he said, I realized I wanted to change. Unfortunately, just about every Galen sees things the way mother does, so none of them could help me with that."

"So you went back to the source," Sera said.

Ierin smiled. "Yeah. Oh, you should have seen his face when I asked him out. I might as well have told him I was pregnant with his child. Which of course did happen eventually..." She winked at Sera. "But, he declared he didn't want to date a stuck up, inconsiderate... Well, he flexed his vocabulary, and ended it with 'even if you do look like Aphrodite.' I took the compliment and ran with it, which got him flustered in the cutest way, and then I told him that I agreed. He shouldn't date such a person, and that I don't want to be that person anymore."

"And Oelya just let you two date?"

"Oh God no," Ierin said bluntly. "We went out in secret all the way until he proposed."

"I thought you said Oelya..."

"She'd intended to arrange me off to someone else," Ierin explained. "Which put Sterling in an unfavorable position with her to begin with. Then, even though I'd rounded most of his edges, Sterling's first impression of mother was even worse than when he met me. He ended up lashing out. If you've ever heard of someone going beet red, she actually was. I thought she was going to implode... It took some time for her to acknowledge the marriage, but considering it was to another-" she choked on the words, and she cleared her throat and smiled. "Well, there were advantages."

Sera watched her mother for a moment. "So it's true."

Ierin smiled. "What is?"

"That you can't talk about what happened."

Ierin went incredibly still.

"I'm sorry," Sera said. "I was so mad at you, and dad, and everyone who knew for not telling me, because I can't remember anything from the time of the divorce."

Ierin took in a shaky breath. "What do you know?"

Sera looked down at her hands. "That it wasn't something you wanted, and it protected dad and I."

Ierin sniffed. "You were so young... Your memory was-" she stopped, and growled.

Sera blinked. "My memory was altered?"

Ierin nodded. She thought for a moment, then spoke purposefully. "It is dangerous to cast intricate spells that keep people from talking on a subject on a child. It is safer to simply remove the memory, and it's assumed to be lost like many other childhood memories." Ierin looked to her. "Who told you?"

Sera rubbed her thumbs together. "I can't really say."

"Right," Ierin said. "That was a silly question."

Sera's phone went off, and she looked down at it. "I've gotta go."

"Nick?"

"No," Sera said. "Well, sort of. I mean, it's a bit... I just gotta go."

"Can I help?" Ierin asked.

"I don't..."

Nick did say I should spend time with her… Sera thought. She looked at her mother. "What do you know about runes?"

The Jorhens walked the streets of Sunspeak Hollow, and once they reached a square they all looked at one another and split up. Wytny Jorhen walked towards a bakery nearer the outskirts of the village and she went in. Nobody else was in there, and a bell chimed as she opened the door.

"I'll be with you in a moment!" An eerily familiar voice called from the back. Wytny furrowed her brow, then inspected the goods on display.

Not much here... Are they really feeding their people?

The baker came out and she wiped flour from her hands with a damp rag. "You just missed the midday rush, so we're currently restocking for the evening rush. If what you're looking for isn't here, then I'd recommend-" the baker fell silent, and Wytny paused. She stood up and turned to face her, and both women stared at one another.

"Delilah?"

Meanwhile, Penny Jorhen quietly moved through the streets. She purposely went down the darker streets, and stumbled into a man. She looked up at him, expectantly, and he smiled and took off his hat and held it over his heart.

"My apologies, miss. Are you lost?"

"No," she said.

"That's a relief," he said. "Cause I sure am. Could you guide me outta here? It's like a doggone maze."

She frowned, and guided him back through her steps. Once they were out he bowed.

"Thank you muchly, miss." He straightened and scratched the back of his head. "I don't make it into town much, so I can never remember my way around."

"What brings you to town?" She asked.

"I live out in the middle of the woods up on Mount Pollo, so I don't get to meet many people 'less I'm getting supplies or sellin' wares," he said. "And my momma, may she rest in peace, said I need to find me a wife."

Maybe he's illiterate. That'd be-

"She even gave me a notebook full on how to woo women," he said holding it up. "Though, I don't think people are the same as they used to be. Lotsa the stuff in here is outdated, from what I observed. I guess the life of an artist is s'posed to be a solitary one."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"An artist?" Penny asked.

He nodded. "Yes ma’am. I used to travel a lot, but I fell in love with Sunspeak. Her landscapes, the skies, and the sea at the other end of the valley. Ma'am, you really oughta check it out."

"What's your name?"

He smiled toothily. "Ulwar Nyressa, ma'am. At yer service."

She froze. "You painted the 'Lilacoast'?"

He nodded. "The one and the same. You know, folks around here don't know much 'bout my work. 'Cepting the Brens, of course. Are you from the city?"

"I am," she said. "I'm Penelope Jorhen." She held out her hand. "It's an honor to meet someone as famous as you are."

Ulwar shook it. "Oh, yer makin' me blush, ma'am." He took in a breath. "In any case, I need to honor momma's last wish. I wish you the very best. If you and your husband would like a family portrait, I'll be in town at the Fire Keeper Inn for some time. It's the least I can do for getting me outta that maze."

"I'll take you up on that," Penny said. She watched him go, then turned and absently walked the streets.

Elsewhere, Gafael Jorhen walked through the town, a spell making people not notice his presence. There has to be something...

He caught sight of Nick, and paused to observe him. He was shovelling a particularly deep snowdrift in front of a shop with the owner.

"How's Mal doing?"

The shop owner smiled. "She's doing well. Her leg's healing right up since she took that tumble, so we should be good to dance for the Bren Fire Festival."

"That's great to hear," Nick said. "But I guess you guys will take all the attention from Sera and I."

"Oh come off it," the shop owner scoffed. "You're a better dancer than most of us, and if that city girl of yours is as good as you are..."

"Exactly," Nick said.

The shop owner started to nod along, then paused. "Oi!" He exclaimed as he tossed a shovel full of snow at Nick.

Nick raised his own shovel with a laugh and blocked most of it. "That's no way to treat someone helping you!"

The shop owner shook his head. "An' that's no way to treat your elders!"

"Oh, you're barely sixty," Nick said. "You've still got at least a hundred and forty years left in you."

"Uh huh," he muttered. "You uppity little..."

"Why're you watching daddy?"

Gafael practically jumped out of his skin and looked down to see Ashley and Colm. "Oh, I, uh..."

Maybe she can tell me more.

"What can you tell me about your daddy?"

Back at the bakery, Delilah was frozen as Wytny stared at her. "I thought you were executed, or imprisoned."

Delilah crossed her arms and held herself. "I wasn't."

"Then what happened?" Wytny asked.

"I..." She trailed off. "I was given a second chance."

Wytny blinked. "A second chance? To live as a baker? Why don't you reach out to Oelya-"

"No!" Delilah exclaimed. She lowered her voice. "You have to promise me you won't tell her I'm here."

Wytny furrowed her brow. "Why? Don't you want to go home?"

"This is home," Delilah said. "I like it here. The people are kind, and the land is beautiful, and... Nobody but the Brens know my past. At least, the people here don't know the details."

"Your past?"

"You know how horrible I was," Delilah said. "I... I don't even want to think back on it. I just want to leave it all behind me."

"My family is being strong armed by Nick because of you," Wytny said. "The fact I'm here means your past is catching up with you."

"Nick wouldn't do that," Delilah said. "Not unless you deserved it, and he resolved things with you. So unless your parents did something-"

"Oelya disowned us!" Wytny exclaimed. "She cut all ties because we interviewed Eterna."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Delilah said. "But you're better off separating from the Galens. They're cruel, and manipulative, and only care about themselves."

"You're a Galen!"

"Only by blood," Delilah said. "I'm not like them anymore, and I'm never going back to being that way again."

"So we've just got to let Nick jerk us around," Wytny grumbled.

"No," Delilah said. "He's probably actually trying to convince your family to work with him, even though your father doesn't really have another option."

"How can you defend a monster like him?"

Delilah smiled. "Because Sera loves him."

Wytny blinked. "What?"

"Sera loves him," Delilah repeated. "I've seen them about here together. She genuinely loves him, and there's no way she'd love the kind of person you're describing. Besides, I did a lot to him and Sera, and he warned me what would happen if I kept doing it. I didn't listen, so he did what he had to do."

"What did they do to you?" Wytny asked.

Delilah shook her head. "Opened my eyes to all the hurt I caused."

Wytny grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her out of the store. "No, you're coming with me."

"I said I don't want to!" Delilah shouted as she struggled. "Leave me alone!"

The bell on the door rang, and both women looked up to see Nick in the doorway. He looked down at Wytny, his eyes tired.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Delilah relaxed as she saw him, but Wytny tensed up as she spoke. "You people did something to her!"

Nick nodded and leaned against the doorframe. "We did."

Wytny paused at the honesty. "What did you do?"

"Gave her a choice," Nick said. "Considering she'd incited attempted rapes, assaults, conspiracy to incite conflict between noble families, threatened the life of a child of the Bren family, et cetera, she could have gone to prison, perhaps even been executed. If we put her through the justice system."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because while she was responsible for her actions, it wasn't her fault she ended up the way she did," Nick said. "So she was given a choice: to go through the justice system, or take over this rundown bakery. Delilah is fantastic at management, and she took this shop, which was all but failing, and turned it into one of the most beloved bakeries in town. She's actually quite the pillar of the community now, and it's only been, what, three weeks?"

"Give or take," Delilah said.

"After a few more months, she'll have shown she's changed," Nick said. "She'll then be free to leave the Valley and go wherever and do whatever she wants."

Wytny looked back at Delilah, who nodded. "It's true. But, I don't really want to go anywhere."

"Additionally," Nick added as his eyes hardened. "Informing anyone on the outside of Delilah's whereabouts before she can leave the valley will be treated as an offensive action against the Bren family, and doing so after, without her consent, will be treated as action taken against one of our citizens."

Wytny went still.

"Of course, feel free to talk with her and such, if she wants to," Nick said, his eyes softening slightly. "But if she doesn't want to talk to you, then respect her wishes just like you should anybody else. And don't go trying to drag people around; it's rude." Nick waited until Wytny let go of Delilah's wrist, then smiled. Wytny left the bakery, and Nick waited till she was gone before he looked at Delilah. "By the way, you really should talk to Sera when you see her."

"I know," she replied. "I've just been... Busy."

Nick watched her for a moment. "I know it must be hard, to see her and not just think about the past. But you're here to build a new future, and I think she'd love to see what that looks like."

Delilah sniffed and nodded. "I'll try."

Nick smiled. "Good. How are the Christmas Week preparations going, by the way?"

"Good," Delilah said. "I've got just about all the ingredients we'll need for the new cakes, and I've started making the ones that'll stay fresh until then."

"Good to hear," Nick said. "Give me or one of the Christmas committee members a call if you need anything regarding that."

She nodded. "Thank you."

Nick turned, but she spoke again.

"And thanks for showing up."

He looked back at her. "Now you know the ring works."

He left the store, and Delilah stood at the counter for a moment before she took in a deep breath, let it out, and returned to the back of the store.

As the Jorhens ran amok, Sera brought Ierin to Leander and Isaac. The two looked up as the women entered.

"What's she doing here?" Isaac asked.

"I thought a fresh set of eyes might help," Sera said. "We've been focusing on this for too long."

"What is this?" Ierin asked as she looked over the books. "Runes?"

Sera pulled the pictures of Nick's tattoos from the different spots around the table and laid them out in front of Ierin. She looked them over.

"I'm afraid runes aren't my specialty..." She trailed off. "But, aren't they not supposed to work on living flesh?"

"These ones do," Isaac said. "They're modified and inflicted by a human organization."

"Then why not ask the people who designed them?"

Isaac paused. "Why don't we?"

"Nick killed them all," Sera said.

"Oh," Isaac muttered.

"This is Nick?" Ierin asked, her finger pressing on one of the pictures.

Sera nodded. "The runes are literally burning out. They were designed to contain his... Affliction. We don't know though if he'll be fine or not after they've all burnt out, so we're trying to figure out a way to safely recreate the runes on him while dispelling the old ones."

Ierin looked back down at the pictures. "Why not just make him a mantle bearer?"

They all stared at her, and she noticed their collective gaze. "What?"

"What would that accomplish?" Leander asked.

"The Bren Mantle is based in the spirit, but it has great effect on the body,” Ierin said. “It makes them immune to almost every disease, even Gluttony's Wrath, and survive a lot of wounds that would kill most people. Whatever affliction Nick has would be cured or controlled if he just got the mantle, and he wouldn't have to renew it."

"Mantles can only be passed on during the Bren Fire Festival," Leander said. "And that's in the Spring. Would we have enough time?"

"Probably," Isaac answered. "I calculated it out, and we should have another six months before it becomes an issue, so long as the burn out doesn't speed up."

Sera hugged Ierin. "Thank you!"

Ierin went stiff for a moment, and slowly returned the embrace. "My pleasure."

Sera looked to the other two. "And thank you guys for all you've done, too."

"Of course," Leander said.

"I owed him," Isaac said. "I'll still write up the process of renewing the runes, including what each one does and all of that so that there are no hiccups or explosions, just in case."

"Good idea," Sera said. "I'm gonna go tell him." She turned and swiftly left the three of them behind.

"I've a feeling we shouldn't have gotten involved," Leander said once Sera was gone.

The other two looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Nick doesn't like surprises," Leander said. "And we all just conspired on something that, though it could save his life, is incredibly personal. Something he only revealed to Sera."

They all stared down at the table for a moment, then Isaac continued writing. "It's too late now."

Meanwhile Ashley regaled Gafael with stories about Nick.

"And then-" she looked past Gafael. "Daddy!"

Gafael's mirth melted away and he didn’t move as Nick picked up Ashley in a hug.

"Keeping mister Jorhen company?"

She nodded. "Uh huh. He asked me about you."

"Oh yeah?" Nick asked. "You told him all good things, I hope."

"And funny things," Ashley said. "Like when you got embarrassed about grandma seeing the show you and mom did."

Nick raised his eyebrows. "Oh, well, in that case I've got some stories about you..."

"No!" She exclaimed as she pushed against his chest. "Don't say it!"

Nick glanced at Colm, who was paying close attention. "You know, when she was-"

She placed her hands over his mouth. "Daddy!"

Nick smiled. "Okay, okay." She pulled back her hands and he kissed her cheek as he set her down. Ashley grabbed Colm's hand and quickly ran off before Nick could change his mind. Nick watched them go, then looked to Gafael. "So, how're you finding things?"

"Honestly, it's almost creepy how peaceful things are here," Gafael said.

Nick slowly nodded. "Anybody that wants to move in here is screened by the locals to see if they'll fit in, so you'll find we’re a rather homogenous community, with the exception of Bren charges."

"Charges?" Gafael asked.

"Yeah," Nick said. "Criminals we, and sometimes Harbinger's and Sub-Harbingers, think deserve a second chance at life."

Gafael slowly nodded. "Rather magnanimous of you."

"Depending on the crimes committed, and public exposure of those crimes, they can leave and go or do whatever they want after a trial period. Very few leave."

"How much of the population are they?"

Nick took in a breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Oh, probably... Ten percent, currently. More if we're talking about descendants."

"How many return to crime?"

Nick sniffed. "Well, the only ones that would are the ones that leave or the ones that refuse to chip in and work to earn their place. But those ones we counsel, then send off to sentencing if they continue to refuse, so we don't keep around the ones that are likely to relapse."

"But they're treated just like anybody else here, outside of that?"

Nick nodded. "Pretty much. You've probably met a fair few of them while wandering around here."

"So... Had my daughter refused to help you..."

"She likely would have ended up here," Nick confirmed. "Until she'd learnt her lesson, then been given the option to return to you, as long as we were certain you weren't the cause of her destructive behaviour."

"As her parent, aren't I responsible?"

"To some degree," Nick said. "But even the best parents can produce a terrible child, and the worst parents can produce an angel. As far as I can tell, you didn't intentionally do anything to set your daughter down the path she was walking. And your sons chose to serve out of a sense of duty and honor, and so that their little sister wouldn't have to."

Gafael flinched. "You... Looked into my sons?"

"Of course," Nick said. "I wanted to know the kind of man I was about to get into business with. I'm sure you've looked into me as best you could." Nick paused. "You have my condolences about your sons, by the way."

Gafael sniffed. "Thank you."

Nick gave a single nod. "They were great men, from all the people I talked to. It can't be easy to deal with that."

"You talked to men in their platoon?" Gafael asked, a hopeful curiosity sneaking into his voice.

"Yeah," Nick said. "Don was a natural leader, and always cool under pressure. Len... He kept morale up, always making jokes, poking fun, and pulling pranks, but when it came down to it they could always rely on him."

"I... I never got the chance to talk to any of them."

"Two of them are here," Nick said.

Gafael's eyes widened. "Really?"

Nick smiled. "We may seem rather isolationist, but Sunspeak valley members serve just like everyone else. Interestingly enough they don't have to due to being food production, but they have the same honor and pride your son's had." Nick looked around for a moment. "They've been wanting to meet you and your family since I told them why I was asking after Don and Len. I told them to wait a few days and let you get acquainted with the town first, but if you're ready-"

"I do!" Gafael exclaimed as he grabbed Nick's arm. "I mean, I am. Where are they? I'll have Wytny and Penny meet me there."

Nick smiled. "They're over in Zernia Square. They'll recognize you."

Gafael pulled out his phone and called his wife as he hurried off. Nick watched him go, then let out a breath of relief and started to walk home.

"Tiring, isn't it?"

Nick looked over to see Cyrus leaning against a wall. Nick nodded. "Yeah. Fixing other people's problems, and I can rarely find who I need, and everybody else finds the things and people I don't want them to."

"Underestimated the Journalist's mind, did you?"

Nick nodded. "Wytny found Delilah, so I had to handle that, then I had no choice but to tell Gafael about our rehabilitation program before Wytny could sour those waters, and I had to find his son's squad mates and get them ready and available. Thankfully they were easy to find and eager to meet Gafael, so that was probably the easiest part of the last two weeks."

"Still think you're up for it?" Cyrus asked.

"You wouldn't have chosen me if I wasn't," Nick said. "I just... Haven't had an opportunity to destress, apart from one night, and even that was mixed."

"Mh," Cyrus muttered. "Well, I suggest you set aside some time for that."

"It kind of requires a certain person," Nick said.

Cyrus blinked. "Oh. Then you should probably talk to her about it. After all, this is going to be your life from now on, so you need to make sure she knows exactly what she's getting into."

Nick nodded. "I know, I just... We aren't even engaged yet, so it doesn't feel right to expect certain things from her."

"Never expect anything from anyone," Cyrus said. "But don't be afraid to request what you need, and hope they'll come through."

Nick took in a deep breath and let it out. "Right." Nick looked at his watch. "Well, I've got another meeting to attend to."

He disappeared, and Cyrus remained where he was for a time, until he heard someone panting as they ran. He looked in the direction of the sound to see Sera, out of breath, as she ran in his direction. She stopped in front of him, and placed her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"Looking for someone?" He asked.

She jumped and took a step back, and stared at him for a moment before she went back to catching her breath. She nodded, and finally straightened. "I've been tracking Nick, but his scent is all over town, not to mention mixed in with everyone else's, and it keeps starting and stopping in random places because he keeps teleporting. It isn't fair!"

Cyrus raised an eyebrow. "So... You're looking for Nick?"

"Yes," she said.

"Well, he was just here a minute ago," Cyrus said. "But he teleported away."

She paused and looked at him for a second. "That's what I-" she stopped, and he smiled.

"He has many responsibilities, Sera," he said. "If you don't accompany him to any of them, you will find your time with him quite limited."

She looked down for a moment. "But, we aren't married. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to attend those things with him?"

Cyrus shrugged. "Isn't he the only person whose opinion you should consider?"

Her brow came together. "I know, but I need to consider my place and what people expect of me. If I make a wrong move..."

"Then you can ask for grace," Cyrus said. "The same grace you show others. Besides, expectations are tawdry, and steeped in the imagination. They are often best broken in the fields of reality."

She blinked rapidly a few times and tilted her head. "So... Just go anyways?"

He sighed. "Yes."

"Why not just say that?" Sera asked.

"Now that Nick's taking over, I get to be a crazy old coot," Cyrus said. "So I'm going to enjoy it."

Sera chuckled, and shook her head. "Alright, if that makes you happy."

"It most certainly does," Cyrus said. "And might I offer one more piece of advice?"

"Hmm?"

"To find someone quick,

why run about searching when

they're in your pocket?" He winked and walked off.

"Did he just make a haiku?" She asked the air. She shook her head, then paused and reached for her phone in her pocket. "At least his actually made sense..."

She tried to call Nick, but it went to voicemail, so she switched to a text.

'Hey, I'd like to spend a little time with you, when you're available.'

She stared at the phone for a moment, then shook her head and walked back towards the estate.

Nick glanced down at his phone, then returned his attention to Bill. "So you want to run the same games as last year?"

Bill nodded. "Of course! They're tried and true, and everybody loves them."

"Alright," Nick said. "Is that all?"

Bill scratched the back of his head. "No, it isn't."

Nick waited patiently.

"I think I offended miss Aala."

Nick blinked. "Pardon?"

"My comment the first night you were here," Bill said. "I think that offended her more than she let on, as whenever I've attempted to speak to her, she's rushed past."

Nick frowned. "I explained things to her after dinner that night, and she felt a little awkward, but not upset, and we all talked in town later on."

"Right," Bill said. "Then perhaps she's been working on something that's got her gears grinding."

"Probably," Nick said.

"Well, if that's the case, then I can start breathing again," Bill said.

Nick raised an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't want to piss off a Bren Matriarch before she even made it into the position."

Nick smirked. "I'm sure you're fine."

"When do you intend to propose?" Bill asked.

Nick took in a breath. "I don't know, yet. I kind of want her to get a feel for the kind of life I'll be leading from now on, so she can walk into it with some reasonable level of knowledge."

"If you don't betray her, she will be loyal to you no matter what," Bill said, an unusual gravity in his voice.

Nick blinked. "Why do you..?"

"My wife's a canis-type, remember?" Bill said.

"Yeah," Nick said. "So..?"

"They're often incredibly loyal. Just think about everything she, and probably her father, have done for you without a second thought."

Nick looked down. "Oh."

"I'm ashamed to say I took my wife's loyalty for granted early on, and it led to me neglecting her in many ways. I've of course changed that, but..." He shook his head. "Every time I look back on it, my heart twists itself into a knot, and it often takes her to untie it." He cleared his throat. "It also means she'll take on things she shouldn't. The number of times I caught Kerry trying to work in the fields while pregnant this last harvest..."

"Thank you," Nick said as he stood up.

Bill smiled up at him. "Any time, boss man."

"That's not official yet," Nick said.

"There are many things that aren't official, but still hold the same weight," Bill said. "And you're doing a great job so far, and the only month harder than this one is for the Bren Fire Festival, though you don't have to actually help plan that one so much as just keep it from getting too out of hand."

"Right..." Nick trailed off. "Then the fires I'm putting out will be real."

Bill chuckled. "Yeah, but it's not frowned upon to kill those fires."

Nick smiled. "True. Anyways, if that's all?"

Bill nodded. "It is."

"Then I'll be seeing you," Nick said. Bill stood up and they shook hands, and Nick teleported back to his and Sera's room. He kicked off his shoes and sat down on the edge of the bed and held his head in his hands.

"Oh... I don't know how grandpa did it..." He groaned. "He probably just got used to it. I'm taking on a lot all at once because it's December. It'll lighten up afterwards, and then it'll just be regular running of the family and valley. But did he really have to throw me in the deep end?" He fell back onto the bed. "I guess it was the best way to bring in the Jorhens..." He let out a breath.

"Nick!"

He lifted his head to see Sera in the doorway. "Hey. Sorry, I completely forgot to respond to your text."

"No, it's okay," she said. "I've got a surprise."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a fan of surprises."

She paused, but continued as he sat up. "Okay, but... I may have found a way to help with your runes."

His expression darkened as he watched her. "That's what you've been doing?"

"I was looking through the books, and then I hit a roadblock, so I talked to Leander and Isaac, and we found a way to redo the runes in case we needed more time, and then I asked my mom, and she suggested you becoming a mantle bearer would make the runes unnecessary."

She looked at him, and paused as she started to feel heat radiating off of him, even from that distance. "Nick?"

"You've been-" he clenched his teeth as a red hot light glimmered through his shirt. "And you involved-" the rune burst into flame.

"Nick!"

He teleported away, and she looked around frantically until she felt the ground beneath her feet quake. Across the town people took cover in doorways or under tables. The glass vibrated and warped, and cups clattered. The quakes stopped as suddenly as they'd started, and Sera slowly looked around from her doorway.

She blinked rapidly as Eterna walked through the hallway.

"Eterna?"

She caught sight of her and ran up to her. She held her tight. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No," Sera said. "I hope that was an earthquake."

Eterna blinked. "We don't get those around here."

"Oh..."

"Sera?" Eterna asked as she looked into her eyes. "What is it?"

"I... I looked into Nick's runes," she said. "One of them burnt out a few nights ago, and it's obviously painful. And... We don't know what'll happen when they all burn out. So I researched, and hit a wall, and I asked for Isaac and Leander's help, and eventually I got my mom involved and she suggested Nick become a mantle bearer. When I told Nick... One of his runes literally caught fire."

"Oh dear..." Eterna muttered. "Sera, going beyond some of the other things, Nick tried to be a mantle bearer already."

Sera blinked and looked up at her. "He did?"

"His first year here," Eterna said. "I'm guessing he thought it'd be how he could watch over and protect Ashley forever. But instead Ashley inherited one. I think that, to him, it was a sign that the spirits of our predecessors didn't think he was redeemable in spite of his good intentions."

"So that's what led him to think he should-" her voice caught on the idea.

Eterna nodded. "Most likely. So when the person who made him believe he was redeemable brought up such a thing, it probably hurt quite a bit, and he's been stressing out for the last while with everything dad has put on him. He actually gave him more duties than were his to handle, just to see how the two of you take it."

"The two of us?" Sera asked.

"Leading a family is two parts: the Patriarch and the Matriarch. My sister, Helia, has been filling in the latter role since our mother passed, but dad told her to let Nick and you handle it."

"Why didn't Nick say anything?" Sera asked.

"I don't know," Eterna said. "Maybe he didn't realize he's carrying the jobs of two people, because Cyrus didn't tell him."

Sera looked down. "Where were you two weeks ago?"

"I was-"

"I know, handling an old case," Sera said as she shook her head.

"No, I wasn't," Eterna replied.

Sera looked up at her as she continued. "Dad had asked me to stay away for a bit to try and get him to rely on you instead of me."

"This was all planned?"

"To some degree," Eterna said. "At least with him being Patriarch. Father talked to my brother, sister and I about it before he made his decision."

"So you all just threw him in the deep end without a life jacket?" She asked, her tone cutting.

"He was supposed to have you," Eterna said. Sera paused. "We thought the two of you would face it together, like you have everything else. I told them that the two of you could do it."

Sera's gaze fell. "So I let him down."

"And he let you down by not asking for help," Eterna said. She shook her head, and looked into the room. She noticed Nick's shoes on the floor. "So that's what happened."

"What?" She looked over her shoulder at the shoes.

"Nick's got runes in his footwear that manage his weight so that he doesn't go through floors. He put the same runes on his beds, in the bathrooms, and the floors of his rooms. If he's been eating properly, his mass..." She shook her head.

"What do I do?" Sera asked.

"What have you done before?" Eterna countered.

Sera blinked, then let out a breath. "I'll track him down.”