Secrets and Manipulation

When Heron was eleven something happened that caused his sister to go into hysterics. Her best friend had gotten himself lost. Heron did his best to comfort her, assuring her that Asrar would be okay.

And he was, though changed when he managed to find his way back. Heron was the only one who noticed the change, and he barely noticed. If it was not for the spark of lightning that he caught out of the corner of his eye he would have never noticed.

At first, he thought that he might be mistaken, but then realized that it was definite. Asrar had awakened as a sorcerer. And so, it was that Heron started the most difficult project he had ever done. He never knew why Asrar did not notice that he kept covering for him, but he seemed oblivious to the fact that he had a guardian angel.

It was because of this that Heron finally took that step. He started actively practicing magic, particularly magic that he could use to help his young friend. There was only so much he could do, several times he considered talking to him about it but he really did not want to give the boy a heart attack so kept his mouth shut.

Besides talking about it would heighten the chances of both of them being caught, so the most he could do is pray for Asrar not to get too down about it. As time passed, Heron grew more worried about Asrar as he started changing himself, drawing into himself more. It caused his sister no small amount of distress. Her face would crumple as her best friend started withdrawing himself and putting up a wall. Heron watched helplessly as the dynamic between them changed.

There was not much he could do about it though. So, he continued to leave it alone and hoped for the best. He did do one thing though. He talked with his sister about her friend's withdrawal and told her that it might just be an age thing. It was the only thing he could do to try to salvage their friendship. And it worked, his sister was understanding and gave her friend some space.

When Heron was fifteen, he suggested to his father to make Asrar a knight, as the boy had long been working for that position. There were two reasons for this. The first being that he knew that Asrar wanted to protect Hazel and that he would be really good at it. The second was for Asrar's sake. Less people would be suspicious of a knight and so he could avoid a lot of scrutiny if he was no longer in the limelight.

Heron's sixteenth birthday rolled around and as he got a bunch of well wishes he overheard his father talking of sending him away for his out of country trip. Heron was not quite willing to leave as of yet. So, he was glad when he heard his father say that it would not be for another month.

Heron was busy for the next month. He stole some of the spellbooks out of the old storage tower, and hid them in his room. He spent time with his sister, teased the young sorcerer knight, and made some memories to last him the year.

He also talked to his father, suggesting that it would be good for his sister to visit Carendlus when it was her turn to leave. He pointed to the fact that it had been a while, and it would help keep up friendly relations with their allied country. His father merely said he would think about it.

There was a simple reason for this. He wanted his sister to get used to magic and there was no better kingdom for it than the country that most celebrated it. If any country could help her accept her best friend's abilities it was the one that employed a sorcerer in its court.