The helpful child

Roland stared at the people in front of him with strongly mixed emotions. Brenna was watching his son with something akin to hero worship. Ivan smiled at her kindly, with a tiredness in his face.

The king had asked him to come along at Finn's suggestion. She had questioned whether Edmar and Brenna had remained loyal to the Void all these years, and posited that Ivan might be able to tell.

She was reluctant to let her son go, but insisted that it was a wise thing to do. They had both looked to Gwen for confirmation of the idea. The fae had sighed and nodded tiredly. She was drained without her kin around her, or the ability to access Faeland, where she drew her power from.

And so, the king, his son, and Caspian had set off with a few additional guards to the location where Brenna and Edmar had been left with a flock of sheep to keep them occupied. They had been delayed by a rockslide caused by a small portal opening, and so had arrived after dark.

Upon their arrival, screams had pierced the air. It had taken several moments to figure out that it was a nightmare, and not an attack, which caused the commotion, and Ivan had asked his father if he could try to intervene, like his mother had described him doing as a baby.

The king had reluctantly agreed, and now he wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Was Brenna truly reformed? Was Edmar also out of the Void's service?

Roland glanced at Caspian. The man was clearly torn underneath his stoic appearance. He'd addressed Edmar gently a moment ago, but anger boiled under the surface. The sight of his brother after so many years of thinking him likely dead had to be difficult. Especially since Edmar had served the being which had murdered their father.

The silence stretched while Roland mulled over the implications of Edmar's statements in his mind. He recalled Titania's ever-present necklace, not thinking much of the accessory. Edmar had said it exploded into a portal, which sounded very similar to Finn's description of Naomi's bracelet. It seemed that two of the original portal-makers had not been in the box he'd destroyed by giving his life.

He wondered at it, but Caspian finally broke the silence, unable to keep himself quiet any longer.

"Why?" He demanded of Edmar.

The elder brother was quiet for a moment, but did not feign ignorance. "There were a lot of reasons."

"Tell me. Tell me what was so important that it set you down a path that led to Father's death." The younger's eyes narrowed.

Roland watched for Edmar's reaction to the news, wondering if it would come as a surprise to him that his father no longer lived, but there was nothing in his eyes to indicate that it was. Brenna also did not seem shocked to find out about Haf's murder.

"They aren't important now," Edmar frowned. "What has become of this world since I left it? Why is the whole of humanity apparently cowering in the mountains from some kind of monster? Is your leadership not strong enough to defeat it?"

"The reasons you betrayed me, tried to get my wife killed, succeeded in getting our father killed, endangered and caused the deaths of hundreds of our people and many foreigners… those reasons aren't important now?" Caspian's voice rose with every syllable until he was shouting.

The king set a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "Peace, Caspian. There will be time for all of this. Old wounds can be the most painful to reopen, and there is no hurry in that regard."

Caspian's upper lip curled in disgust as he looked at his brother before he turned away and stormed off into the night. Ivan looked after him and lifted a hand. The lamp in the Cetoan man's hand burned a little brighter as he picked his way over the rocky hillside to be alone.

Roland took a deep breath and turned back to Edmar. "For the last ten years, the world has been at peace. There was unmatched prosperity as the three major nations united. The last few months, things have become… complicated. So instead of you asking questions, I have several for the two of you to answer. Firstly, do you now, or will you ever again, either of you, serve the Void?"

"No," They answered in unison as Edmar squeezed Brenna's hand.

"What do you intend to do, then?" Roland stared at them intensely.

"We spent many years alone." Brenna glanced at Edmar before looking up into the king's face. "I was convinced we would die, alone, the only two people in that entire world. It was a miserable existence–"

"I was never miserable with you," Edmar cut in gently. She smiled at him, but continued addressing Roland.

"People were not made to live such lives." She said. "Being part of this caravan these past days, even without making friends or being truly part of the community, makes me understand that we are not meant to be alone. Therefore, we must do what we can to ensure humanity's survival. As you seem to be humanity's leader, I think… I believe we will do whatever is possible to assist you."

Roland was slightly taken aback. The Brenna he knew all those years ago was nothing like the woman before him now. It reminded him of the way Jarnsaxa had changed after becoming human. Without pride in the way, transparency came much more easily.

"Of course, we have no way to prove our loyalty," Brenna said thoughtfully, looking mildly worried. "But, in case you've forgotten, I was sentenced to execution by Klain's council last time I interacted with other humans."

"I recall," Roland responded.

"You aren't going to follow through with that, are you?" Edmar tensed.

"I think that ten years' exile from our world was sufficient punishment, but I will take it up with the rest of the Council," The king replied.

"The rest… but aren't you the leader?" Brenna blinked.

"Ah, you have some history to catch up on," Roland smiled. "King Duncan was wounded in the war, and eventually abdicated, pushing me to become King of Rhone. In the interim, Haf had designated me as his heir. Upon his death, I was named Commodore. After that, I was also elected as Provider as well as Judge in Klain, but there are still three other Council members… Many other events have occurred, but they can wait until morning."

"Can they?" Edmar seemed extremely curious now that the topic had been broached.

"Yes. I trust you won't mind if I put you under guard for the night? Though I do not believe the Void will attack Brenna's dreams anymore, I believe Edmar may still be subject to them. I'm not entirely certain, though." He squinted at his oldest cousin.

"Will the boy stay nearby?" Brenna asked eagerly. "What's your name? How is it you can fight the Void? Is it something I can learn?"

"My name is Ivan," The child replied before Roland could interrupt.

"It's past his bedtime," The king said pointedly, and his son ducked his head. "Edmar, Brenna, I bid you goodnight. Men, keep watch over the tent in shifts, at least two at a time."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" They chorused.

Roland led Ivan away from the scene, still heavily in contemplation over it all.

"Will Cousin Caspian be all right?" The boy asked quietly.

"It will take time. Grief is a funny thing. You can think you are past it and have it come back stronger than you thought it could. We must be patient and kind to him," Roland squinted at the lone lamp a distance away. "We'll let him have some time alone to sort out his thoughts."

"That man is Auntie Cora's other son?" Ivan looked back towards Edmar. "Who's been missing forever?"

"Not forever. Ten years, although I can see how you would think that's the same thing," Roland winked at his ten-year-old son.

"What will you do with him and his wife?" Ivan pushed a little further. "They said they would help."

"I'm not sure how they can, but right now anyone not serving the Beast is on our side, aren't they?" Roland mused, wondering if he was saying too much to his son.

"We will all stick together," Ivan said. "Like me and Lily and Roen. Mama says people are better when they work as a team."

"You're mother's very wise." The king smiled and ruffled his son's hair, "and she very wisely reminded me not to let you stay up too late. You're always awake right at dawn, so you need your sleep when you can get it. It's when you grow most, you know, and you don't want to wind up being Jimmy's height when you're an adult."

Ivan smothered his laughter in his hand. "I like him, Papa. None of us are sure why you don't."