It's Obvious Which Is Better

It had been a while since Heron had slept underneath the stars. There was something beautiful about looking up through a ring of leaves and seeing the clear night sky with the bright specks of light. The thought that these were the exact same stars as the ones back home was strangely comforting.

Hazel could be looking at these same stars. He wondered if she was. Or if she was all bundled up in bed. He wondered how the last few months had been going for her. How had she and Asrar been getting along? He doubted they had gotten together yet, his sister was still too young and their father would never allow it. Hazel was not sneaky enough to hide it if she had started an actual romance.

The thoughts of his sister brought a smile to Heron's face. He missed her, but he understood that this separation from his little sister was necessary. He needed this time to refine his skills, that way he could protect her future. In doing so, he hoped that it also had the side effect of improving the kingdom as well, but he would still try even if it would destroy the kingdom.

He had thought this through. He knew how to, if his primary goal became impossible to see through quickly enough, protect his sister's love. But he hated the thought. He really hated the last resort he had. There was no way he wanted to be forced to do that.

But if he had to, he would. Because if it was between that and her losing Asrar, he knew she would not be able to handle losing Asrar. Though there was no way he would let any harm come to him either. The longer that Asrar could keep his secret the higher chance though that he could make it so he could live inside the kingdom well.

If Asrar was exposed though before that time came, even if Heron tried to protect him, there would probably be a witch hunt. If that happened, as painful as the thought was, he would have to let it be – he would have to let his sister leave him to stick with her beloved.

If it wasn't Asrar he would have not been okay with it at all. Yes, it was definitely better to work to pave the way for the three of them to all stick together in Amriel till they grew old. That would be the best outcome. He just hoped he could do it quickly after he returned home. If he could do it by the time his sister came back from her yearly trip that would be good.

Not entirely realistic. But it would be good. After all she would be of age then. And if he could make it so Asrar was no longer having to be afraid of hurting her, then they could get together easier.

The thought of it made Heron happy. He knew it might not be likely, he knew even if he could make it happen it would be by no means an easy feat. He still wanted to. He really wanted to. If that was all he did with his life he would be happy with it.

With these thoughts in his head he fell asleep. His sleep was surprisingly deep for sleeping on the hard ground. They had cleared it though of any sticks so there was none of those poking into him. Something to be thankful to the rangers for – he would not have had it occur to him to do so.

Morning came and Heron woke up by direct sunlight in his face. He was the last one to wake up. He felt bad that they had let him sleep while they packed up, but he knew why they had. They were worried about him fainting yesterday. He really needed to test his theory.

Elswyth helped him stand up and he packed up his bedroll. As they ate a quick breakfast, Elswyth continued hovering over him like a mother hen. It made him feel self-conscious. Though he didn't hate it exactly. Just it was a little much. He wasn't about to faint again!

After the breakfast they headed back. As they were going, Heron stumbled because he hadn't been paying full attention. Luckily Elswyth had been walking beside him and steadied him. As he mumbled a slightly embarrassed thanks, she grabbed his hand and just held onto him the rest of the way.

As they reached the outskirts of the city again, the two siblings took their leave and headed to their home. It didn't take much longer for them to arrive back at the castle. But it was already early afternoon so the day was already halfway over. Still, the trip had been fun.