Clarient Valorous. Of all the fucking people… I sighed quietly and shook my head. Well, if nothing else, that definitely changed my plans for the Kwesta girl. I was very glad I had made sure she would stay unconscious for the foreseeable future because her seeing anything… incriminating in my room would have made things far more complicated than they already were.

Had it been almost anyone else, I probably would have gone through with one of my earlier ideas. I really did need a proper test subject for some of my spellcraft, but it seemed Kwesta was not going to be fulfilling that role. It was far more likely that I would end up trading her back to her ‘friends’ in exchange for some sort of concessions and an assurance that they wouldn’t seek revenge. That sort of deal wasn’t exactly common, fights between skilled mages tended to end with one of them very dead and giving up a prisoner was typically seen as a sign of weakness, but I felt perfectly comfortable appearing weak compared to that particular monster.

Even as just a fourth year, Clarient was well known as one of the most fearsome mages in her year. She’d been casting fifth circle spells since the end of her third year and was on the short list of all but guaranteed-to-graduate students at the academy. More importantly, despite having the abilities of a student at least one year her senior, she was perfectly able to strike down a year at me.

Still, Miranda had been right in saying that it wasn’t as bad as it could be. Beyond her reputation as a terrifyingly talented mage, Clarient was considered rather reasonable and non-confrontational. I’d heard she had been even more cheerful and openly friendly during her first year, but that had been stifled slightly by the entire mess that summer when her kingdom had been overthrown and her entire family had been raped and butchered. Apparently she’d seen almost all of it first hand and had only escaped when her sponsor swooped in and brought her back to Avalon for the start of the semester.

Maybe I could use that? Try to connect with her on a personal level using our shared trauma? It might make her more open to negotiating if I framed it as protecting one of my few friends after my entire family was burned to death in front of me. Hmm, that might be too grim as an opening, but if I could weave it in somehow… Yes, that might work. I would try to get Miranda’s opinion first however, see what she thought of the idea.

If she had still been the heiress to one of the world’s most powerful monarchies, with over a dozen archmages at their beck and call? Well, I would probably be busy groveling right now. There was a time and a place for pride and reputation, but facing down that particular family was not worth the risk. In theory, Avalon’s rules wouldn’t have let Clarient use her family’s forces to get back at me, but the restrictions around external magic items and wealth were very lax for a reason.

In any case, I really hoped Clarient would be willing to negotiate her friend’s release. I didn’t fancy spending the next three years constantly looking over my shoulder for vengeful disintegration spells. Well, more so than I already did, that was.

I sighed again, I’d been doing that a lot recently, and took a deep breath of the crisp evening air. I could taste the ocean on the breeze, a hint of ozone and the lingering puddles on the cobblestones telling of a storm earlier in the morning. I was glad I hadn’t decided to walk through that, if there was one thing I didn’t miss about living in Xethis it was being soaked to the bone during a hunt and making the miserable trek back to our village sopping wet.

Looking around, it was interesting to see how quickly pristine stonework and sparkling paint jobs disappeared, replaced by the normal signs of wear and tear that were unavoidable this close to the ocean. I was only a few minutes off the town’s main thoroughfare and already everything looked much as it had back in my hometown, if built on a slightly larger scale. I imagined the government had cleaned up the busiest parts of town in order to make a better impression on visitors, but hadn’t bothered going farther than the main roads and squares.

I turned a corner and my eyes brightened as I laid eyes on the familiar shop. It looked different in the fading light of the afternoon, the heavy wood beams gleaming with varnish and the bright white paint of the sign standing out starkly against the dark wood. I wrinkled my nose slightly at the construction, I hated the idea of living in a wooden house, but at least I could feel the faint traces of flame-retardant magic on the varnish.

Crossing the street, I nodded politely to an older pair sitting peaceful outside the small shop next door and stopped. I could feel her already, a faint shimmer of mana moving around slowly on the floor above me. She was so close, just a doorway and a few steps away. I set one hand against the heavy door and began to push, then stopped. She was so close, and this time we would talk. Her mana felt invigorated, a faint sense of well being trickling from her mind into her soul and mana.

Was it right for me to step through this door? To push myself back into her life after so long? Was I just… selfishly putting her in danger for my own benefit? She wasn’t of Avalon, she had no protection and lacked the skills to defend herself. Someone could so easily use her against me, I didn’t know how I would react if someone hurt her to get to me, but I imagined it wouldn’t be pretty for anyone involved.

Maybe. Probably not. I was being selfish, but I didn’t care. My Lea was here, just feet away from me, and I would not be denied.

I pushed the door open, surprised by the amount of force it took despite my enhanced muscles. A small bell rang as I stepped through the doorway and an older man with a finely trimmed beard turned to face me from beside one of the racks of clothing. I glanced around, letting my eyes adjust to the comparative gloom of the shop. The last dregs of sunlight streamed in through several small windows and a half dozen lamps hung throughout the shop, but it still felt dark compared to the brightly lit halls and chambers of Avalon.

“Hello there, young man. I’m afraid we will be closing soon, but you are free to browse our wares in the meantime. Is there anything specific you are looking for? Perhaps a new coat, winter is coming and a poor fit like that won’t keep you warm, even in a well shielded town like this.”

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His voice was warm and respectful, and I could almost feel the sincerity in his words. This must be one of Lea’s ‘Uncles’. She’d mentioned the two men in passing, but I had yet to meet them. Lea spoke very fondly of the two, so I would take care to be respectful, at least for now. If they’d hurt her in any way, if those marks on her skin had anything to do with this man, well… They would live long enough to regret their actions.

I smiled cheerfully as I turned to look at the older man. “I’m afraid I’m not here to shop, sir.” I glanced around, noting the fine quality of the leatherwork around me. Though it was clearly made by hand, without any overt use of magic, it was much better than what I’d managed the day before. “Though maybe I’ll come back for that. Your work looks excellent. No, I’m here to speak with Leana? She might have mentioned I was going to come by.”

The man’s eyes widened for a moment and a broad smile appeared on his face. “Oh, yes, Leana said you should be here sometime this afternoon, though we expected you a bit earlier in the day. I must thank you sir, she didn’t go into much detail, but I dread to think what would have happened if you hadn’t been there.” He bowed his head and gestured towards the counter. “She should be up in her room. Let me just put these away and I’ll show you the way.”

“Of course, thank you. I’m just glad I got there in time.” I fell silent, watching as he efficiently hung the last few belts he was carrying up on the rack beside him. I didn’t know how much Lea had told them, both about me and what had happened, so it was better to just wait until I could talk to her before I said something that might upset her.

It only took him another minute, at which point he wiped his hands on his heavy smock and gestured again at the counter. “Right this way,” he pushed aside the bar that divided the counter from the rest of the shop and directed me through the doorway behind it. “Just a little down the hallway and on the left are the stairs. Her room is the first one on the right.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

“Of course. Will I see you at dinner? My brother is an excellent cook.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Oh, it would be no trouble, no trouble at all. I’ll tell Erwin to set out another plate and he’ll call you both down when it's ready.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s the least we could do for saving our darling girl. Leana may not be my daughter, but I care for her as though she were. Run along now, she’ll wear a rut in the floor if she paces around much longer.”

I chuckled quietly and nodded. “I know how she can be.”

Following his directions, I made my way down the even dimmer hallway and towards the second floor. However, I barely made it halfway up the somewhat creaky staircase when Lea’s head poked out of a doorway above me and her eyes widened.

“Orion!” she half screamed, half squealed. She took a single step down the staircase, then paused and stepped back, opening her arms widely. “I almost thought you weren’t coming. It… it all but felt like a dream. I… I don’t know–”

She squealed as I cut her off, wrapping my arms around her waist lifting her off the ground. After a moment, the squeak turned into a soft sigh and she rested her chin on my shoulder, leaning her head against mine. “I’m here. I’m real. It’s really me.” She wormed her arms free from where I had trapped them and wrapped herself around my neck.

“I thought I lost you. I always hoped, but I never really believed.”

“I’m here,” I murmured again, “It’s really me.” Holding her tightly with one arm, the other came up to ruffle her hair. “I thought I’d lost you too, but I never gave up hope.” It was a lie, but the way it made her visibly perk up was well worth the small deception.

After another minute I tried to set her down, the top of the stairs was not a particularly good place to hug, but she made a noise of protest and tightened her grip around my neck. I clicked my tongue and walked over to her room, stooping slightly so her head wouldn’t risk bumping against the rather low doorway.

A fierce rush of nostalgia came over me as I stepped inside and I froze for a moment, head moving slowly back and forth as I took it all in. Though I doubted any of it was original, Lea had decorated the space almost exactly as it had been all those years ago. A light pink curtain hung over the window, patterned with white and purple lilies. The bed was made up with matching sheets and a small vase filled with dried flowers stood beside it on a low table. Dozens of drawings covered the walls and the wooden desk in the corner, a mix of charcoal, ink, and colored chalks decorating the plain wooden walls.

I walked over to the bed and sat down heavily, gently lowering Lea into my lap as I felt a single tear well up in my eye. As I looked closer, I could see some differences, but it was still… so very familiar. The flowers on the sheets were just slightly off, the purple a different shade and the flower petals slightly wider than they should be. The drawings were better too, Lea’s skills had clearly improved over the years, though I did recognize a few framed pictures standing on the desk. They were from her last sketchbook, I realized. Drawings of her family’s house, of me running through a grassy field, of her mother sitting on the rocky beach. She’d always kept that book with her, so it must have survived unlike anything that would have been inside the house itself.

“I… I like what you did here. It’s… nice,” I said slowly.

“Thanks. After… well, after… I wanted something familiar. It’s not perfect, but Erwin and Estin did the best they could to help me feel welcome.”

I nodded, my arms tightening a fraction. I wasn’t sure that this was the right time, maybe I should have waited a few more days, spent some more time with her first, but I had to know and this was as good a transition as any. “What did happen?” I asked quietly. “I… I didn’t stick around for long. Baelin told me what happened and let me stay the night, and then I was on the first boat leaving the next morning. I tried to grab what I could, but his men had already been through the rubble by the time I got there.” I paused for a moment, half forgotten burnt corpses dancing before my eyes. “I saw the bodies. I thought… Well, I thought the worst. How… How did you get away? How are you here?”

Lea pulled away from me slightly, leaning back against my arms so she could look me in the eyes. Her shoulders were hunched and I could see the reticence on her face. I was about to stop her, to tell her that it could wait, when she finally spoke up. “I didn’t,” she whispered. “I didn’t even make it to the party. I was there for a long time. If not for Erwin, I think I would still be there.”