Despite how chaotic everything had been, Serena was amazed that, barely an hour later, the entire situation had been mostly handled.

Everyone within the coliseum had been evacuated, easy to achieve when more than half the crowd had fled during the fight. The moment that Harshnag had fallen after Cruck’aa’s lightning strike, attendants had flooded through the stands, escorting and removing everyone that still remained. Barely a minute into the evacuation, a large group of City Watch, led by Werond – still in her purple robes – and Damian, had moved onto the sands, surrounded Harshnag, and pinned him down with a legion of ropes and nets. Thankfully, the Frost Giant didn’t resist; he seemed to resign himself to his fate, a fate that included being interrogated by a somehow visibly annoyed Werond.

During this time, Serena, and everyone else, had moved to the side of the giant hole they had entered through, away from the gaze of those out on the sands. It didn’t take long, however, for one of the Watch to come check on them and inform them all that they were not to leave the coliseum until the Masked Lord had spoken with everyone.

None of them had minded the restriction though, save Cruck’aa – they were all too tired to care otherwise. Though Sosem had managed to heal almost all of Pavel’s injuries, the ordeal had left him exhausted, and he had barely enough energy to lay down next to Pavel when he was done. Pavel was in the same predicament; after having his entire body healed – including all his ribs, the majority of his left arm, and parts of his back – he could barely move any of his limbs. Serena couldn’t blame him though. Sosem had run out of fingers to count the number of injuries Pavel had sustained, and the old cleric was stunned that he had even managed to survive all of them in the first place. He even claimed it to be a miracle, though Pavel thought otherwise.

Jo had joined them on the floor, though she sat up as she and Sosem fell into a long conversation regarding the cost of fixing the coliseum. Pavel was still laid out on the ground next to Sosem, hands folded over his chest, somehow managing to drift off into a shallow sleep. And Cruck’aa, in his usual fashion, stood slightly apart from all of them, arms crossed, brows furrowed, fuming silently as he paced back and forth.

Serena was glad, then, that none of them were focused on her anymore.

Jo and Cruck’aa had jumped Serena the moment they had filed into the coliseum, and for good measure. Serena felt as though she had stepped into an oven, her body burning with an invisible heat, and both Jo and Cruck’aa had been worried that she’d pass out where she stood. It was Jo that had yanked her tunic out and unbuttoned it so Cruck’aa could fan her down, and while it had indeed cooled the heat within her, it had mortified Serena to no end. When she did finally cool, snapping the sweat off her body, the pair had launched into a barrage of questions, both trying to understand what had happened to her. And both walked away irritated when Serena had no answers for them, as they quickly realized that she was just as confused as they were.

Now, she sat on the ground next to Pavel, knees to her chest, arms wrapped about them. And despite the conversation having been dropped some time ago, the questions they asked still rattled about in her head, catching her breath, filling her chest with a sickly, dull ache.

Why were her flames silver?

Serena hadn’t done anything different when she ran out onto the sands to help Pavel, Sosem trailing behind her. She had reached into that well of power that resided within her, only for that well to lash back.

So quickly had it occurred that Serena wasn’t sure what had happened – she knew her body had changed, felt the burning in her eyes and the rippling of her skin, but underneath it all came a brilliant heat. A heat that she had never felt before. It ignited within her chest, boiling her blood in a second, burning through her in a second. Her throat began to itch and burn as the heat traveled to her head, her mind igniting with pain at each heartbeat. Sweat drenched her body, the tips of her fingers going numb as her heart smashed in her chest – faster, faster, faster, each beat desperately propelling her towards a searing oblivion – a fiery end that sung to her – a blazing song that burned her ears, scorched her mind, ignited her very soul.

It was a blinding tempo, deafening, smashing inside her mind like war drums of hellfire.

Each beat urging her along, no rest, no stop, never yielding.

Urging her to raise her hands to the heavens and manifest the blinding flames that raged within her.

To pull them into existence so that they may consume and burn everything! that stood in her way.

Nothing would stand to the flames!

The flames, those silver blinding! flames, could never be stopped!

Sand, stone, metal, and flesh, all simply catalysts! Laid out before her and her alone!

A lance of pain pierced through her thigh.

Serena jerked violently, falling back onto the stone floor, smacking her head, stars blossoming into her vision; the pain in her thigh vanished, her fiery thoughts along with it.

Next to her, Pavel pushed himself up onto his elbows – a miraculous feat from how much he struggled – and stared at her, eyes wide.

“What the hell was that?” He croaked.

Serena pushed herself back to a seated position; the back of her head smarted from where it smashed into the stone, and she suddenly realized that she was sweating again.

“I don’t know.” She signed, snapping her sweat away. “I…bad thoughts, I guess? I…” Her fingers curled into her palms as she struggled to find her words.

Pavel rolled onto his side, closer to her, and grabbed her arm. The skin under his grip instantly began to sweat.

“Does it have something to do with you collapsing back there?” Pavel asked. “What happened with that anyways? You looked awful. Everything okay?”

She stared at him, her words burned away on her fingertips. What was she supposed to say, how was she supposed to describe the maelstrom of heat that consumed her? That, for one moment, she felt as though she could raise her hands and ignite the entire coliseum? Would he even believe her?

Serena flicked her gaze away, searching for something, anything, to say, when she caught sight of Werond and Damian walking through the massive hole in the coliseum wall.

Her fingers went straight, sending a loud yelp through Pavel’s mind – despite the exhaustion that weighed on her body like an anvil, Serena leapt to her feet, wobbling as the blood rushed to her head. Pavel, in turn, somehow rocketed to his feet as well, scaring Jo and Sosem enough that they two leapt to their feet, eyes wide.

Cruck’aa stopped pacing.

The pair caught sight of them all and began to make their way towards them. Werond still wore her Masked Lord outfit, and despite the added height of her helmet, Damian easily towered over her, his golden plate armor menacing even in the magical light of the hallway.

As they walked over, Cruck’aa puffed himself up, appearing larger than he actually was. Serena’s heart leapt in her chest as she realized just how annoyed he must have been.

The Masked Lord halted a few paces away and tipped their helmet in greeting.

“Good evening.” they said. Everyone, save Serena, flinched as the Lord’s thunderous voice echoed through the ruined hallway.

As they recovered, Serena curtsied towards the Masked Lord; Pavel, Jo, and Sosem, after a moment, all followed her cue and bowed.

Cruck’aa, however, remained motionless.

“Ah, please, no need to bow.” The Masked Lord shook their head. “I am who I am, but I never expect anyone to bow. Of course, if anyone should bow, it should be me.

“I uh,” Sosem squeaked. “beg your pardon milord?”

“Well, I wanted to speak with you all so that I may apologize for what happened tonight, as the blame rests entirely on my shoulders.”

Serena blinked, along with Jo and Pavel; Sosem’s mouth fell open.

The Masked Lord sighed, an odd sound, like a rumble that flowed around them.

“If I am to be honest, none of this should have occurred.” They continued. “It has been made abundantly clear that a contestant like Harshnag should have never been permitted to enter our tournament in the first place. It was a rash and ridiculous decision that could have resulted in the deaths of any one of you, along with countless more, had Harshnag not been contained as he was. There is nothing else to say regarding it; the choice to let a Frost Giant into this tournament was a mistake, and anything any of you need in order to recuperate from this, we will of course provide it to you. It is the least we can do, as both an apology, and thank you for containing our giant friend.” They bowed their head. “Again, you have my deepest apologies, and my sincerest gratitude.”

Their bow was met with silence; none of them had expected such a gesture from someone as powerful as the Masked Lord.

As they straightened up, Serena raised her hands and began to sign, before Cruck’aa, arms crossed, marched up and stood toe to toe with the Masked Lord.

Damian grasped the hilt of his sword; the Masked Lord raised a hand to him, somehow aware of his intention, before turning their full attention to Cruck’aa. Who, to everyone’s horror, pointed a single talon towards the Lord.

“You’re sorry?” He hissed. “You, of all people, are simply sorry?! Are you even aware of the actual ramifications had we not been here to stop Harshnag?!”

The Masked Lord sighed deeply; Serena could almost picture Werond’s annoyed look behind the helmet.

“Yes, I am well aware.” They said. “And as such, I wish to work with each of you in order to make this right. Including, of course, handing over the reward money that was promised to the winner. With –”

“Oh, I see how it is!” Cruck’aa threw up his arms. “Throw money at the problem to make it go away! Is that right? Tell me, what exactly would happen if we pushed this issue with the people above you? What then?! How would they react if we told them that a Masked Lord was trying to pay off their problems?!”

The Masked Lord remained silent; the visage of the woman etched onto the helmet seemed to stare through Cruck’aa, sending a shiver down Serena’s spine.

“Ah, of course you don’t have an answer for that!” Cruck’aa gestured behind himself. “Fine! They may not care, but I plan on taking your incompetence as far as I can go! An official like you shouldn’t have –”

“ENOUGH!”

The Masked Lord’s voice boomed throughout the hallway, echoing out into the night; Serena flinched and stuffed her knuckles into her ears, pain flaring through them. Jo and Pavel did the same, each doubled over, spewing a litany of curses. Poor Sosem leapt into the air and had almost fallen over.

Cruck’aa flinched violently, but otherwise did not back down.

“I did not come down here to be lectured by the poorest received contestant in this tournament’s history!” The Masked Lord yelled, their voice vibrating through the walls and pillars around them. “I understand intimately what went wrong with this tournament, I understand the consequences of what occurred here today, and I understand that those responsible for this mess should be punished appropriately, which I personally will see to!

“The fact that you believe me to be some spineless bureaucrat who’s only interested in keeping things quiet is disgusting. I have no understanding of how politics work from whatever city or forest you hail from, but things work differently in Waterdeep. I have a responsibility to this city to keep it safe, a responsibility that I’ve upheld for many years, all of which has been meticulously recorded for the public. This problem will be addressed, those affected, including all of you, will be compensated, and those who are responsible for allowing Harshnag into the tournament will be held accountable. I do not care in the slightest whether you believe me to be truthful or not, but the fact that you chose to attack me based on some ill-conceived notion that –”

“Ill conc-” Cruck’aa tried to interrupt.

“I DID NOT GIVE YOU LEAVE TO SPEAK!”

Cruck’aa flinched and bowed his head.

“I am unable to fathom why you believe that you can interrupt and argue with one of the highest officials in this city!” The Masked Lord spat. “I come down here with good intentions, which seemed to have been received by all of your friends, and you decide to spit in my face? To verbally attack me? To threaten me with my own superiors?!” They leaned forward and loomed over Cruck’aa. “My superiors, the Open Lords, have already been informed of this event, and have given me jurisdiction to do what I need to do in order to resolve everything adequately. As such, I would be well within my rights to have my guard arrest you and hurl you into the deepest cell I can find, because you chose to block! My! Work!” Each word came out louder than the last. “Move aside, do not speak to me again, and pray to whatever god you hold dear that we never cross paths outside this blasted coliseum.”

With that, the Masked Lord straightened up and pushed passed Cruck’aa towards the rest of them.

Cruck’aa did not react.

The Masked Lord placed their hands on their hips and regarded the rest of them.

“Now,” they said. “perhaps one of you will be more pleasant to talk to than your friend?”

Serena’s heart hammered in her chest. Pavel and Jo seemed frozen in place, neither able to meet the Lord’s gaze. Sosem trembled where he stood, hard enough that Serena began to worry if the old cleric was having a fit.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Despite knowing who it was under the mask, Serena couldn’t help but feel her own spike of fear. She was sure that Werond was simply keeping up appearances, but she played the part so well that Serena had forgotten who actually resided under that mask. It didn’t feel like Werond anymore, but instead a faceless individual who wielded the power of the city like a mace – power they weren’t afraid to use.

Serena ripped her fingers out of her ears and sucked in a breath. She knew that nothing horrible would actually happen, but that knowledge didn’t make the moment any less frightening.

“S-sorry about Cruck’aa m– uh, sir.” She hadn’t realized her hands were shaking. “H-h can be a b-bit prickly.”

That horrible helmet turned sharply to look at Serena, sending her heart into her throat.

“A statement we can both agree on.” They said, stepping closer to Serena, who pulled her hands against her chest. “Though I suppose it is I who has erred; I should have spoken directly with you in the first place. Afterall, you were far more pleasant to talk to than your friend is.”

“Ah…” Serena felt her face go red; Pavel and Jo, shaken out of their fright, regarded her with wide eyes. Over the Masked Lord’s shoulder, Cruck’aa had turned around, indignant fury in his eyes; he looked small, though, when Damian loomed over him.

“R-right. Yeah. Uhm…what did you need again? S-sorry, I –”

“No need to apologize, please.” They shook their head. “Now, I’d like to be aware of anything you or anyone else needs, after that debacle. Is there anything I can do now to assist you?”

“Oh…I, ah…I think for the most part, we’re all okay.” Serena signed. “Sosem patched Pavel up really well,” The old cleric’s face turned a bright shade of red. “so he should be okay. Right Pavel?”

“Uh!” Pavel said, jerking back as the Masked Lord turned towards him. “Yeah, I’m fine! Just…really sore and tired. Still in a little bit of pain but uh…I could probably sleep it away.”

“Of course.” The Masked Lord replied. “I’m glad to hear that. Not many can survive a kick to the chest from a Frost Giant.” They turned back towards Serena. “Of course, he wasn’t the only one who seemed hurt. Are you alright as well?”

“What?” All eyes turned back to Serena, that sickly feeling of embarrassment flaring in her chest.

“Before I came down here, I saw you collapse on the sands. Are you –”

“I’m fine!” Serena quickly signed; beside her, Pavel and Jo inched away. “I’m fine! It was nothing, I’m fine! I’m…” Serena nodded. “I’m fine. Yup. I’m ah…I’m fine.”

The Masked Lord nodded their head slowly; Jo narrowed her eyes at Serena but said nothing.

“Right.” The Masked Lord said, a little uncertain. “Well, please reach out to me if that changes, or if you require any assistance with anything else. It’s the least I can do.” They turned back towards Pavel. “In addition, I will personally see to it that the prize money from today finds its way to you. Do you happen to have a bank account with the city?”

“Uh, I do.” Pavel said. “I don’t –”

“Perfect. I will have the funds deposited.” They waved a hand. “It won’t be difficult to find your account.”

The Masked Lord paused for a moment, tilting their head back slightly. They shook their head out and tucked their hands into their oversized sleeves.

“My apologizes.” Despite the rumbling of their voice, they sounded tired. “It has been a long day. And perhaps an even longer night. I’m afraid that I’ve spent too much time with all of you, and I must depart. Should you need me for anything else, please reach out to my office in Castle Waterdeep. Simply ask for the office of the Lord who oversaw the tournament, and you will be pointed in the right direction.”

“Ah, sure!” Serena signed. She blinked as a thought jumped to the surface of her mind. “And it’s a good thing you’re uh, about to leave. We were just about to go meet a friend of ours, uhm, right outside the East Wall. They’re probably already waiting, I think.”

“We are?” Pavel asked. “Who are we waiting for?”

“I assume Werond.” Jo mumbled, eyes still narrowed.

“Yeah! I talked about it with her. I uh…” Serena’s heart hammered in her chest. “I thought I told you guys?”

Jo shook her head, and Pavel shrugged.

“Oh. Sorry. But yeah! Good timing!”

The Masked Lord remained frozen in place, the horrible visage on their helmet staring through Serena. After a moment, she swore she saw their shoulders bounce in a chuckle.

“Well, far be it that I hold all of you up.” They said, taking a step backwards. “It was a pleasure, then, to meet most of you.”

They bowed once more, before turning on their heel, and walking back the way they came. Cruck’aa stared at them as the Masked Lord walked past him, though they paid him no mind. Instead, they gestured for Damian, who turned and followed the Lord a few paces behind them.

The moment they walked through the massive hole and were out of sight, Cruck’aa exploded.

“How dare they come down here like that?!” He yelled. “They mess up this entire damned tournament and think they can buy our silence?! Who do they think they are?!”

“The fucking Masked Lord of the city!” Jo yelled back, stomping over to him. “Are you suicidal?! Why did you think you could argue with them?!”

“Because I know I’m right!” Cruck’aa shouted back.

“Cruck – aa!” Jo spread her palms towards him. “They’re in charge of the city! It doesn’t matter if you’re right, it – fuck!” She threw her hands up. “They agree with you! They said so! They already told the other people in charge about it, why are you still furious?!”

“Do you actually believe that they will do anything about this?”

“Do you actually think that anything would come out of threatening them?!”

Cruck’aa’s neck feathers shot up as he exploded again, shrieking at Jo, who refused to move an inch. Serena rolled her eyes and turned away from them. Her heart still hammered in her chest, and she had no desire to listen to them any longer.

Pavel and Sosem remained where they stood; their shock having worn off, both looked as though they were about to collapsed, so heavy did their eyes droop.

“Sosem,” Serena signed. “are you alright?”

“Yes.” He replied instantly. “Yes. I just…thought I might have a heart attack during all that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Masked Lord that angry before.”

“Yeah, I haven’t either. That was…a bit scary.”

“Just a bit.” He rubbed the back of his neck, hands still shaking somewhat. “Well, I uh…suppose I should be off as well. It’s rather late after all, and I typically don’t stay up this long.”

“Are you sure?” Pavel suddenly turned his head, startling Sosem. “Oh, sorry. But I planned on getting a drink to help put this whole thing behind me. You’re welcome to come with me! I’d love to pay you back for fixing me up.” He nodded at Jo and Cruck’aa, still bickering. “And of course, everyone else is welcome to come too. Drinks are on me tonight!”

“Well, I’ll never turn down an offer like that.” Sosem replied, rubbing his chest. “But how do you plan on paying for all that, when you don’t have the prize money yet?”

“Ah, we’ll figure it out!” Pavel laughed. “We’ll go to a place that knows us. I’m sure Durnan will open a tab or something, right?”

Serena rolled her eyes. He was probably right.

…

The cold night air sent a shiver down Serena’s back as it covered her like a blanket. With a few flicks of her fingers, a small flame burst to life in her palm; she cupped her other hand around it and pulled it close to her chest, savoring the warmth.

She stood alone outside the eastern wall of the coliseum, the square strangely empty save for the odd person that used it to pass from one street to the other. The buildings that made up the square were all dark, windows closed to the cold night. And despite all the streetlamps flooding the place with brilliant yellow light, Serena could still see the stars above her in their shimmering brilliance. The moon shone with them, a sharp crescent, a silver tear amongst the endless sea of twinkling pinpricks. Her gaze kept flicking towards it, unable to stop herself from admiring its beauty. If only her own moon, still buried in her pocket, shone just as bright.

It had taken a bit of time, but Serena had been able to convince everyone else to let her wait for Werond alone. Though they all protested – save Cruck’aa – Serena had convinced them when she admitted that she didn’t actually know when Werond would meet her there. It was possible, she had signed, that she had already tried to wait for them, but gave up some time ago, and that if she didn’t show up in the next ten minutes, Serena would make her way over to the Yawning Portal. It made sense, then, for everyone else to go on ahead of her and snag a table. After all, who knew how packed the place would be this time of night.

That was about an hour ago; the bells had tolled twelve times, startling Serena with just how late it truly was. She didn’t mind the wait though; she would have gladly waited longer for Werond if she had to. Though she did worry about having to explain herself to everyone once they arrived at the tavern. If they arrived at the tavern.

A breeze drifted by, tugging her long skirt to the side, sending a shiver down her spine. Serena blew into her cupped flame and sighed with relief as it burned brighter.

She hoped Werond would come out soon; while she didn’t mind short periods of being alone, it was the longer stretches of time that built up that anxiety within her, allowing her thoughts to drift towards the questions still lodged within her mind.

Another shiver crept up her body.

Serena shoved her thoughts away as she struggled to focus only on the flame in her hands. Just like with her choker, she had no desire to entertain any idea on what had occurred in the coliseum with her flames. She didn’t know, and any attempt in trying to understand would only make her feel worse. It wasn’t worth it right now.

“Serena!”

She jumped and flipped around, flicking her hand to extinguish the fire.

Werond had exited the arches of the coliseum and made her way towards Serena, a small but tired smile upon her lips. The light from a streetlamp washed over her, its yellow light illuminating her light blue tunic and black pants, and a weariness that tugged her shoulders down.

Serena rushed over and met her halfway, almost knocking Werond over as she embraced her. Werond laughed and pulled her tight, planting a kiss on Serena’s cheek.

“Thanks for waiting for me.” Werond said as they pulled away, Serena’s heart hammering to get back. “It took awhile to get everything figured out. Where’s everyone else?”

“Well we were supposed to go to the Yawning Portal, but I told them to go on without me. I didn’t know how long you’d be, and I figured they didn’t want to wait.” Serena grinned. “But honestly, I just wanted to be alone with you for a bit.”

“Good, I don’t have to wait until we get back to the house then.” Werond frowned. “How come you lied to me back there?”

Serena jerked her head back, eyes wide. “What?!”

“I asked you what happened when you collapsed fighting Harshnag, and you completely blew me off. You didn’t look fine at all when I saw you. What happened? Honestly.”

“Ah…” That familiar sickly heat crept back into Serena’s chest, worsened by Werond’s stare. “I-I am fine. I didn’t lie, I’m…I’m fine.”

“Serena.”

“I mean it!”

“Then you’re doing a piss-poor job of convincing me.” Werond’s gaze softened. “Look, I’m not trying to pry. I’m asking because I’m worried. You worry about me all the time, right? So, let me worry about you for once. What happened?”

Serena bit her lip and glanced away. She couldn’t argue with that.

“I…yeah.” She signed. “But I mean it when I say that…I don’t know what happened. I don’t even know how to talk about it. I’ve never seen my fire…do that before. It didn’t make sense. And it felt so hot too. Like…in my chest, I think. And the rest of me. Like something was burning inside of me. It really hurt, but I don’t think it actually hurt me? I think. I’m…not sure. I…” She shook her head. “I really don’t know Werond. It just…happened. Maybe it had something to do with me being worried about Pavel. But I’ve been worried about people before and its never done that. I…I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

“Oh.” Confusion fell across Werond’s face. “Well, is there someone we can talk to then? I’m not magically inclined so I wouldn’t have the faintest idea about any of this, but maybe someone else knows?”

“Maybe? But it’s magic Werond. I feel like they’re going to blow off anything I tell them. Sorcerers have it weird, after all; the whole thing could have been a giant fluke, I don’t know! I just…” She shook her head. “I just don’t want to think about it anymore. I’m too tired to worry about it.”

“Well, are you fine now?”

“Yeah, I feel fine.”

“I suppose that’s all that matters then. Not much we can do.” Werond sighed and rubbed her face. When she pulled her hand away, Serena swore that bags had suddenly popped up under her eyes. “Glad you’re alright though – er, somewhat alright. One less thing to worry.”

Serena frowned. “Did you not get everything handled back there?”

Werond let loose a long sigh and rolled her head around her shoulders. Serena’s heart shot into her throat as Werond’s face wrinkled in frustration.

“Honestly? No.” She said hoarsely. “This is…a huge fucking mess. I’m honestly surprised I got away when I did. Harshnag is going to be barred from the city for a while; he shrunk back down and got escorted out about a couple minutes ago. I don’t know what got into him, he’s never done that before. Gotten angry, sure, but angry enough to destroy a section of the coliseum?” Werond shook her head. “Never. He’s never done that. I need to look into outside influences or something, because this is just so out of character for him.”

“Really?” Serena asked. “I don’t want to seem…rude, I guess, but he seems like the kind of giant to do something like that.”

“Well, he’s not. Else he wouldn’t be allowed to live in the city.” Serena couldn’t argue with that. “I think it’s got something to do with D– my fucking colleague that let him in. Nothing else makes sense.” She crossed her arms and hunched over slightly. “I’m ripping him apart tomorrow. This is proof that Harshnag should have never been admitted, and I’m forcing all the damages onto him. Hell, we didn’t need for something like this to happen to tell us why a fucking Giant shouldn’t be allowed to fight! We didn’t! The amount of people that could have died from this, Serena, Deneir’s Glyphs! I have no idea how a single person in the stands didn’t lose their lives. Everyone made it out, by some miracle. And that’ll lessen the intensity of this whole thing, but it doesn’t change the fact that Harshnag could have killed hundreds of people! Gods, and the cost to repair that place?! Do you know how old it is? Do you know how difficult it is to find stonemasons who have the experience to work on it, and not send us a massive bill?! Do you –”

Serena raised a hand and flicked her fingers; a puff of sparks flew out, showering harmlessly against Werond’s face.

She jerked her head back and stared at Serena.

“What was that for?!” She demanded.

“To get you to stop!”

“Oh, don’t want to listen to me, huh?” Outrage crept into her voice, though Serena could tell that Werond was fighting back a smile.

“No, no, sorry.” She signed. “But there wasn’t another way to stop you. Don’t think about all that right now. It’s a lot, I know, and it’ll suck. But you can do it tomorrow. Figure it all out with a clear head. No one died, and that’s what’s important. Just…relax for the night. With me. And everyone else if you want.” Serena shrugged. “I just don’t want you to get stressed out thinking about it. You did everything could do right now, right?”

Werond rolled her eyes but smiled all the same.

“I guess I can’t argue with that.” She said, wrapping her hands around Serena’s waist. “Although I feel like you’re only saying that because you’re not in my shoes.” She shook her head as Serena pulled her hands up. “I’m joking, I’m joking.”

She sighed and leaned her head back, squeezing her eyes shut, smile dropping from her face.

“Gods,” she muttered. “and here I thought today would be easy. Sit and eat, announce the fights, go home.” Werond looked back at Serena. “It’s you and your damn friends. Making problems for me all day today.”

Serena smiled a toothy smile.

“Oh, so it’s our fault, huh?”

“Of course it is. All of you have been nothing but a pain in my ass since the day you hired me. You especially.”

Serena raised her hands to sign, but as she did, Werond released her waist, reached up, and gently took Serena’s hands into hers. She pushed them together, cupping Serena’s hands in front of her.

It was never a pleasant feeling for Serena to have her hands stopped like that, so unnatural did it feel to have her only way of speaking cut off. And yet, oddly enough, it felt right with Werond; her hands, soft and slightly calloused, felt comforting against her own, a subtle calm that enveloped her like a blanket. As though she knew that everything would be alright.

Werond closed her eyes and pressed her head gently against Serena’s, sending a wonderful jolt through her body.

“I never got to properly thank you for earlier.” Werond whispered. “So…thank you. For today, and everything else you’ve done for me.” Her eyes fluttered open, gaze towards Serena’s hands. “I’ll…try to be better. I will. There’s just…a lot for me to work on. A lot for us to work on together. But…I’m happy that you still want to be with me. I…I really am. I’ll do my best to be the woman you believe me to be. Because if anything, today made me realize just how much I don’t deserve you.”

Werond pulled her hands away, and placed them back on Serena’s hips, though she did not pull her head away – not that Serena wanted her to.

“Don’t say things like that.” Serena whispered. “We deserve each other, you know that. Besides, you’re already the woman I know you’re to be. It’s why I love you as much as I do.”

Werond shook her head, the motion odd against Serena’s. When she pulled away to meet her gaze though, she was smiling.

“Thank you. It’s hard for me to believe all that, but when I hear it from you, I…” Her face slowly grew a pale shade of red. “It makes me love you even more.”

Serena felt her own face grow red – a warmth filled her body, a familiar one, a feeling she had gotten attached to. A sense that she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

“Well,” Werond said, cocking her head. “as much as I enjoy doing…all this with you, we should probably start heading over. I’m sure everyone is wondering where we are by now.”

“Oh!” Serena signed. “I forgot, yeah. We should. I’m getting hungry.”

“And I need to sit down.”

Serena turned and fell in beside Werond as they began making their way towards one of the exit streets from the square. She slipped her arm through Werond’s and pulled herself close, the heat from her body fighting off the chill of the night.

Werond glanced down and smiled, then glanced down again, and narrowed her eyes.

“Hey,” she said. “what happened to your choker? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you take it off.”

Serena sighed and rolled her eyes. Without answering, she fished the band out of her skirt pocket, and quickly snapped it in place around her neck without incident.

“It was acting weird, forgot to put it back on.” She waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it, I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“Oh. Okay. Glad you put it back on though. It suits you too well for you to take it off.”

Serena rolled her eyes as Werond grinned; wrapping both her arms around Werond’s arm, Serena pulled herself close, and hoped that the walk would be a long one.