It’s always tough to look at the Tower in the morning, Ranun thought, trying to glance at the Tower of Levi as he walked through Central on his way to City Hall. When the sun hadn’t yet reached the horizon, the Tower caught the earliest glimpse, erected tall enough to reflect the sunlight from many more miles away than anybody could conceive on ground level. Some said that was what proved the world was round, a globe rather than a flat surface.

Only when the sun was slightly above the tower in height could one look at the tower without irritation. At least, Ranun’s eyes at this age.

The front lobby of City Hall was dark when Ranun entered. He was among the first in, last out every workday, as what Ranun expected out of himself. Every day had the same old cycle. They were the wheels that kept the carriage—the kingdom—going.

Anemone and Calace followed close behind him. They chatted, primarily about how she should carry herself when on this trip. They’d gone over many of these points last night when they first brought the mission up to her. And she appeared quite willing to take it on. Did she not mind going back at all? Ranun mentioned Kinler would be training her while they were on the trip, and she sounded ecstatic about the opportunity for more intensive training.

Ranun helped Anemone bring in one of her bags from the house, carrying her armor, while Calace carried another bag with her more casual clothes. It would be a multiple-day trip out to Dork, and they had only a night to prepare.

Anemone carried a sheath around her waist with her sword, much like a color. And here Ranun thought girls were supposed to hug teddy bears, not swords. Though, Anemone was almost an adult. Or was an adult? It was unclear with her not having a record. Calace seemed to think she was seventeen, while Ranun could see her as young as fourteen. But Ranun couldn’t tell age by their face alone. Gordon looked older due to his hardened face, while Anemone looked more youthful due to her softer, round face.

“Kinler is going to be here in a bit,” Ranun said, looking at his watch. It was thirty minutes before seven. But is Kinler punctual? I haven’t considered he could be late…

Anemone nodded.

Ranun leaned down, bringing her bag to the floor. Calace stood but dropped her bag as well. “Are you sure you brought everything?” Ranun asked.

Anemone nodded. She didn’t have much to bring yet.

“Remember, stay close to Kinler,” Ranun said. He spoke as if it was already goodbye. “Don’t talk to anybody without Kinler present. Your safety is our—er—his top priority.”

Anemone nodded. She wore a purple shirt and dark-blue trousers; neither had any branding or design, but Anemone seemed to admire these clothes.

“And don’t forget,” Calace said, her arms crossed with a lone finger tapping her wrist near the elbow. “Be on your best behavior. I don’t want you sneaking off from Kinler and getting lost like you did yesterday, you hear me?”

Anemone flushed, averting her eyes. Calace gave her a stern talking to after she decided to branch off her during a walk yesterday. Calace, on the one hand, was an embodiment of a saint, the friendliest soul of any city. But on the other, if you messed up, she wouldn’t hesitate to let you know. She spoke her mind, told you what she thought.

“Hey,” Ranun turned to Calace, remembering something. “Did we pack her gelguard?”

Calace blinked, thinking. “Yes! I put it in the armor bag. I’m fairly certain.”

Good, Ranun thought. But that didn’t stop him from digging through the bag to make sure she did. He wouldn’t want her training without one. What if Kinler blocked so hard, her sword bounced backward and sliced her in half? That was the whole point of a gelguard; it secured itself around your sword’s edge preventing such disasters from happening.

He found it inside, then sealed the bag back up.

“I’m going back to the house,” Calace said. She didn’t like waking up so early in the morning, but she smiled past the exhaustion.

Then, Calace leaned down to Anemone and hugged her. Their arms wrapping around, embracing each other. They looked like mother and daughter. That was a good sign, wasn’t it?

“Be good, okay?” Calace whispered.

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“Yes mam,” Anemone said. “Thank you.”

Calace nodded, letting her go, waving as she reached the door to head outside.

Ranun smiled.

They spent their time together waiting for Kinler, talking. Ranun would say or do something to make her laugh—one of his tricks being an optical illusion, as she often got caught off guard by tricks on the eye such as “the missing thumb trick.” They were cheap laughs, but laughs nonetheless. Anemone asked more about swordplay, pondering different strokes she hadn’t even practiced yet. Only yesterday, she learned how to stab. But every question Ranun answered spawned another.

When Kinler arrived, Ranun waved them outside on their mission. He knew deep down Kinler wouldn’t let anything happen to her. He valued the lives of others, primarily those closest to him. If there was an agent-general to hand Anemone to, Kinler was the safest choice, all the while being the environment she could thrive best in.

All that was left now was to wait for Anemone to come home a greater warrior.

***

Ranun arrived home after a long night at work. He smiled at Calace as he entered through the front door. But before she could stand up to embrace him, Ranun dropped his sooted jacket to the floor and rushed to her, jumping on the couch, tackling her in a hug. They snuggled together for a moment.

“How was work?” Calace asked, massaging his right shoulder as she reached around his back. She pulled him close in her comforting embrace. “Any news about her?”

“Calace, they left this morning,” Ranun smiled. “I don’t think we’ll hear from them until they return.”

She frowned.

“Miss her already?” Ranun grinned.

“Of course!” Calace said. “She’s like a cat. Quiet and playful. Polite too.”

“I remember you were mad at me at first for taking her in,” Ranun said, remembering her look when he first brought her inside. A stern face of stone. “You were upset I didn’t discuss it with you before making the decision.”

“Just because I liked the outcome doesn’t mean the process in which you did it was right. What if I didn’t want her? It hurts me to say, but what if?”

“Then it would have been my mistake,” Ranun said, squeezing her shoulder. “I’ve made many, right?”

“No…” Calace said. “I’m glad it did work out. I like her. I think she makes you happy too.”

Ranun nodded.

They held each other close. Twenty years and nothing had changed. Their love was solid, unbreaking. Not even death could divide them. Ranun knew from day one he couldn’t love another quite like how he did Calace. And from what Ranun understood, the feeling was mutual. How did he luck out? Landing Calace was like winning a lottery three times in the same purchase of three tickets.

“Are you gonna be okay?” Calace asked. “I know how you like to worry.”

“Hey, I don’t like worrying; I just do. And I trust Kinler,” Ranun said. “I have the same feeling for him as I do Gordon with our son. There’s just something about him that I like.”

“Your gut is usually right,” Calace said.

Ranun nodded. His gut had only failed him once before. Poor Calace, Ranun thought. Their shoulders pressed together, head resting against head. Ranun wrapped his other arm around in this position, and Calace did the same. They were connected. I know it’s hard on you, knowing we might go to war with your brother. Stay strong. Let’s just hope he comes around in time.

But Aidan Payne had changed. Or at the least, he got more radical than he used to be. He always had… pessimistic views of Valorian society and structure, but he longed for world peace—a similar mindset to Ranun. Only now, Aidan’s methods for achieving that came into question. In his mind, he believed that only a single world leader could enforce everlasting peace. He was always an atheist, but he thought only one could become so powerful, so demonstrably strong, that they could become a man-made god.

Aidan had once thought Ranun perfect to lead the world but later called him weak for his refusal to enter any more conflict than was necessary. He wanted to carry on the momentum from the revolution and conquer Valoria, much like Peyton Guilis’ reign many, many years ago.

After his exile, he moved west, crossing borders until he found Dormoor, a land of wreck and division. He found his place among one of the clans through his grit, eventually absorbing that power like a sponge. With his newfound strength and his people who worshiped him, he conquered Dormoor from the inside, uniting their many clans by force.

But Ranun wanted to unite Valoria through different means. He didn’t have to lead Valoria by force but by example. If he could set the stage—and some would argue that he already had—then good change could come out of the world. Hell, all of Valoria had been at peace for a record-long decade!

“Is something wrong?” Calace asked. Her head pressed against his, and her eyes were massive from the closeness.

He didn’t want to bring him up. Not now. But he couldn’t weasel his way out of discussing it without showing a different kind of worry.

“We didn’t hug,” Ranun said.

“Huh?”

“We didn’t hug our goodbye,” Ranun said. “Anemone and I.”

“Ranun…”

“What?”

“Why didn’t you hug her?” Calace frowned. Upset, her grip around his shoulder tightened, evoking a squeal from Ranun. “You were worrying all night! And you didn’t even hug her?”

“It felt awkward…”

Calace sighed.

“Well? What if she didn’t want to hug me back?”

“Ranun, she isn’t accustomed to gestures like that.”

“She seemed to hug you tight,” Ranun said, defeated.

“Oh boy,” Calace said. She started laughing, sparking Ranun to join her eventually. It felt foolish to him, but he did feel some guilt about not even trying. He dodged a bullet by not mentioning Aidan but strafed into another one, which now made him feel bad.

“How was it?” Ranun joked.

“Gentler than how you hug,” Calace said.

“Oh? Am I holding too tight?”

“You aren’t holding tight enough,” Calace said, leaning into Ranun and kissing him. She turned her body on the couch, matching his, grabbing his head. Cold, soft hands on his cheeks. His hands wrapped around her lower back.

“You know, it’s been a while since we said this,” Ranun grinned. “But we finally have the house to ourselves…”