The Only Way

"Hanna!" Ethyn opened his mouth wide. 

"Your pretending to be shocked is admirable, Dearie. I always have liked you, you know," Hanna winked at the new prince.

"Hello, Hanna," Silver bowed from Daisy's saddle.

"Don't sass me, Guardian. I like you as well. I chose you, didn't I?" Hanna raised an eyebrow in challenge to the man.

"I thought the Maker chose Guardians, and I thought you claimed you couldn't read thoughts!" The cloaked man straightened his shoulders. 'How did she know?'

"The Maker both does and does not choose. And as for your thoughts, you are so used to people not being able to see you beneath that hood that your face tells a story without even trying." Hanna grinned.

'Sneaky Fate…' Silver tried to school his face into a more neutral expression.

"My dear boy, I need a word with the Guardian. Would you excuse us?" Hanna dipped her head lightly at Ethyn.

"Uh, of course, but uh how will I know when to, uh…" Ethyn stumbled over his words.

"You sound like Conall when Katherine asks him what happened to the last of the jelly pie." Silver clicked his tongue. "If you will ride on ahead, I will catch up shortly."

"Ah, that makes sense," Ethyn was very glad for the direction. "If you will excuse me, it is very good to see you, Hanna."

The green-eyed man clicked his heels. With a shake of his mane, Courage trotted off down the path. Hanna floated out of the way, patting the valiant steed as he passed by.

"He is a good one," Hanna cooed while the redheaded man hurried into the distance.

"Not good enough to return him to his uncle as a child?" The words tumbled out before Silver thought the better of it.

"Ah, so we will start there. I knew you would not be in need of my news as soon as the king summoned you." Hanna came alongside Daisy to float at a leisurely pace.

"You have kept far too many secrets, Fate…" Silver felt a wave of anger. "You neglected to tell me that the king was in love with my mother Alexis. You spent years hiding my beloved sister from me and you kept the heir to the throne, Ethyn, from his rightful place with the king."

"You speak the truth," Hanna did not deny any of his claims. "Though the first was less of my secret and more of Alexis's. She preferred that no one know her connection to the king. I would appreciate you moving forward with caution when revealing that information."

Silver would honor his mother's wish and tell Rose, and, if the occasion arose, the king with the utmost care and compassion. But that did not let Hanna off of the hook.

"You kept not one, but two children from people who loved them. What kind of cruel being does that?" Now that the Guardian had allowed his feelings on the subject to rise, the floodgates poured open.

"I can see you are angry," Hanna lowered her head sympathetically. "But you are only looking from a human standpoint. Your vision is limited…"

Seeing the man's incredulous look, the Fate sighed.

"When the Fates were all but eliminated, the peace of the world was thrown out of balance. I have spent many lifetimes trying to put the world back to right. I am so close, Guardian. The end is in sight. Peace is near."

"You didn't exactly answer my question…" Silver heard her goal but not how her actions aligned with it.

"I saw a thousand possibilities, but all of them ended in tragedy. This was the only way…" Hanna's eyes swirled.

Silver arched his back. "I don't understand." 

"What do you think would have happened if Ethyn had been taken in by the king instead of your sister?" Hanna paused as she tilted her head.

"He would have grown up as a prince with all the splendor and the trappings," Silver answered, unsure of the point. 

"Would you ever have met him? Even if you had, would you have trusted him?" Hanna sat down in the air, floating along as if some invisible chair were supporting her.

Silver contemplated the implication for a moment. What use would he have had for knowing a prince? And no, he probably would not have trusted a stuck-up royal. His interactions with the nobility had not been positive ones up until this point. 

Satisfied with the Guardian's silence, Hanna continued, "And what of Haven? What would have been her life?" 

"We would have eventually returned to Rynnlee if you had told me to. But until then we would have continued our restless wandering." Silver sighed.

What kind of life was that for a child? Haven would have been happy to do it for him, but looking back, he would have had to leave her many times to get the things necessary for them to live. The girl hadn't even been out of his sight and trouble had found her. He shuddered to think what tragedy might have befallen her if he had to leave her alone when she was young. 

"Would Ethyn and Haven have ever crossed paths if not for you?" the Fate smiled. "Perhaps you would like it better if they hadn't."

The Guardian bit back his icy retort. Despite Silver's personal feelings on the matter, the two were a very good match. Without Hanna's intervention, there was very little chance a prince and heir would have ever met a little orphan girl and even less chance that they would have gotten to know each other well enough to fall in love. 

Beyond that, the king would have been unlikely to trust the Guardian so easily, if at all. His attempt to save Birle from Borit could have ended with the Commander blaming the entire incident on Silver. Although the Guardian wasn't sure how it could possibly be so, he knew deep down it was true. 

Borit had only been caught by the combined cunning of Rose and Ethyn. Without them...

"I chose the only path that both led to peace and did not bring the entire kingdom of Birle to ruin. I hope someday, you will forgive me." The Fate's contrite attitude softened Silver's heart. 

'Is there anything she can say that will give me back those years? What's done is done.'

"No point dwelling in the past just now." Shaking off the gloomy thoughts of what might have been, Silver decided to look toward the future. "I need to talk to you about Lakyle." 

"The king wants you to go and you are inclined to listen," Hanna pursed her lips, her eyes suddenly swirling faster. 

"I suppose you are about to tell me not to go." The Guardian looked away. "Sage helped me finish the conflict here, and I would like to return the favor." 

Silver braced himself for the impending argument. Despite what he had told the king, the Guardian had already made up his mind on the matter.

It was just a matter of convincing the Fate that his way was the only way. This was likely to be one of their bigger clashes, and the man prepared himself for battle. Silver tightened his hands on the reins as he steeled his mind. 

The Fate smiled enigmatically. 

"You want to go to Lakyle? I agree," Hanna answered easily. "You should go as soon as you can."