What we Deserve

Alaron had spent the time during the trials overseeing each of them with great care. The Fates had not yet reappeared, and so he saw no rush to hurry back to the secluded cabin in the woods if he was not ordered to.

No one questioned the Guardian's presence as he appeared and disappeared in the courts as well as the palace halls. Why would they? He might have been listening!

But Alaron never interfered with the court nor did he speak to anyone except the royal family and a few select others. So there was no reason for anyone to be concerned with him beyond his mysterious presence.

As soon as Chief Councilman Zan had concluded Baron Gauss's trial, Alaron felt that his time in the city of Valiant had come to a close. Pressing his lips together, he looked across the courtroom and caught Dania's eye. Her face wet with tears, the scientist nodded subtly in his direction.

The Council had overseen all of the trials. Aurora and Devrim had been present during the bulk of the proceedings, but as the attack was against the Empress personally, the fiery-haired ruler did not feel that being the final judge was a fair course of action.

Even more than the royals, Dania had been at most every one of the trials. She had spoken up for a rare few who she did not deem as being worthy of death, but mostly she listened with an occasional tear falling down her face. The process of grief had been real and long, and hopefully the young woman would at last be able to move on.

Alaron sifted his way through the crowd until he reached the beautiful brunette. As he sat down on the bench beside her, the Guardian took her hand in his. Alaron found himself doing that often lately. It was a comfortable position. "It's over," he said gently.

"I'm glad," Dania smiled at him.

"How are you holding up?" The Guardian had been through his own cycle of mourning. Sometimes it helped to talk, other times he preferred silence. The open ended question he asked would help him gauge which path to take.

"I am doing better than I expected. Since the Baron's trial had nothing to do with my research, I was able to burn the last of my papers yesterday. Except for what the water washed away by the Great Lake, no remnants of what I did are left to be found." Dania heaved a heavy sigh.

Alaron patted her hand. "It is a shame that what you meant for good was used so poorly."

The potential to heal had been so great and yet it was perverted in the worst possible way. Although Alaron's neck and leg had healed, phantom pains still reminded him of just how dire things had been.

"Yes, well, I will be far more careful in the future I can assure you. I am not messing with magic anymore." Dania gritted her teeth determinedly before looking away.

"Speaking of research, how is your new junior assistant?" Seeing that Dania seemed to be finished with the topic, Alaron shifted course slightly.

He was rewarded with a genuine smile that warmed his heart.

"Jaymes has been settling in nicely. Gela has been showing him all of the ropes as we set up our new lab. I cannot thank Mairwen enough for getting him a position at such a young age." Dania scanned the emptying courtroom. She spotted the princess and her elven counterpart by the exit and waved lightly at them.

"Jaymes earned that spot. He is clever and the University is a perfect fit for someone of his talent. How does Eliana feel about it all?" Alaron had not seen the eldest sister of the trio in a couple of weeks.

"Eli has resigned herself to the fact that both her siblings will be at the University together. In fact, she decided to find a proper place to stay in town so we can make a life here. It turns out there are a lot of problems for her to fix in the city. Just yesterday she informed me that Kiz was planning to come and visit at the end of the winter." Dania left the end of the statement open to interpretation.

"Your whole village will be moving here before long," Alaron chuckled.

"There are worse things," Dania looked at him. Though she could not see through his hood, she could feel his eyes were staring at her intensely. "You usually aren't this chatty in public..."

Alaron nodded. "I am leaving in the morning. I needed to make sure you are alright before I go. Though I am sure Gela will take good care of you."

"Thank you, for everything. I can never repay you." Dania squeezed the man's hand again.

"You don't need to repay me. Living a long and happy life in the manner you choose will be repayment enough. Oh and you can always name your first child after me...." Alaron's eyes flashed. "Kidding! Actually it may be better if you don't do that. My name still has very strong feelings attached to it."

"Mostly good feelings, at least for me." The scientist's own eyes swirled with various shades of blue. "Will I see you again?"

"Well, now that my presence is established at the palace in a way that does not connect me with my former life, I can come and go as needed." Alaron had not expected that development, but he was very grateful for the gift. "Perhaps I can call upon you as well when I am in town?"

"I'd like that very much," Dania's cheeks reddened slightly.

Alaron nodded. "I would too."

"Would you like to know my address?" Dania raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Don't worry. I'll find it." The Guardian winked, but realized the woman could not see. "I will make sure and see you at least once more before I leave." Alaron looked to the door. Mairwen and Brinn were still there waiting. "For now, I should probably go."

Alaron bid the lady farewell and moved to the women who were waiting for him by a large colonnade.

"Well?!" Mairwen chirped as she ushered her brother out of the room. She resisted the urge to link her arm in his so he couldn't escape.

"Well what?" Alaron couldn't fathom the girls' expectant looks.

"What happened?" Brinn pressed into him on the other side.

"In the trial? You were there, weren't you?" The Guardian was becoming uncomfortable. The ladies were invading his personal space. Why didn't his cloak shock them?!

"Not that, dummy!" Brinn balled her fist, resisting the urge to thwack the fallen prince on the back of his head.

"What happened with Dania?" Mairwen's eyes sparkled.

Alaron scratched his neck, still confused. "Uh, I was just checking on her to see how she was doing. I told her I was leaving in the morning and promised to visit. Why are you looking at me like that?"

The two ladies shook their heads in disappointment.

"You were holding hands!" Brinn grabbed Alaron's hand and mimicked the squeezing that had been occurring.

The Guardian snatched his fingers from her grasp. "So what? We do that often. She needed comfort, and I happily gave it."

"She needed more than comfort," the elven princess raised her eyebrows up and down.

"Brinn!" Mairwen silenced her friend. "Really, brother? You didn't tell her how you feel?"

Alaron started to deny what they were implying, but he could see it was no use.

He sighed. "I did not. At least not now. She associates me with saving her during a difficult time. It would be unfair of me to prey up on that vulnerability no matter how much I care for her. Maybe in a year or two, if she still seems to hold affection for me, I can broach the subject. But I want anything between us to be based on what we have in common, not some harrowing adventure we both managed to survive. If I try now, I will always wonder..."

The ladies' smiles faded. The Guardian had just shared his deep thoughts with them. They made sense and the girls could not fault him for wanting to be careful.

If the relationship was based only on the fact that Alaron prevented Taran from forcing Dania to marry him, then that was not a good foundation for the long term.

And Mairwen also suspected that the beautiful scientist wanted some time to reorient herself with the world. Dania's life had been so wrapped up in Taran and his antics for so long that it would take a while to figure out what life was like without him.

Jumping into a new relationship, however blessed, might still end in disaster. Mairwen sighed, echoing her brother. "I do wish you all the best, whatever may come."

"Thank you," Alaron was very thankful to have a sister who cared for him so deeply. He had done so much to wrong his twin and she still wanted him to live a happy life. "I don't deserve you," he said softly. He thought of the scientist and his mouth turned upwards. "Either of you."