The Sage's Reign

by Shakyra Dunn

  “No, it’s not that,” she admitted. “There’s something that I need to do there, something important. We have to go as soon as possible.”

  “Can it wait a couple of days? I don’t think any of us are in a proper state to make such a journey. We will be venturing back to Ocula. Sien’s fiancé should be meeting us there.”

  “Fiancé,” Leilana mouthed before forcing out, “How long have I been asleep?”

  “Five years,” Solus told her evenly, which left Leilana reeling. “We can talk about it once we’ve gotten to a safer place.”

  “Solus! Leilana!” Sien’s voice cut through the trees. She was racing for the two, her eyes glistening with tears, a bright smile on her face. Lancett stepped out after her, his hands in his pockets as he warmly observed the scene. Relief washed over Leilana over being back in pleasurable company. She was home again with people that cherished her. That was Rem’s goal in keeping her alive. Solus knowingly glanced at Leilana before setting her on the ground, holding her hand to steady her. That didn’t stop Sien from nearly tackling the girl to the ground in a tight hug.

  “Sien, please be careful,” Solus warned. “For both of your sakes.”

  “I’m just so happy!” Sien was choking on tears, continuing to hug Leilana, who rubbed the older woman’s head affectionately. “Leidibug, you’ve gotten so big! You look even more like a princess now than you did when we first met!”

  “I don’t know if I should be offended or pleased by that,” Leilana admitted.

  Sien reached out a hand, smoothing out the long bangs in front of Leilana’s face, which made Leilana notice that her hair was reaching the middle of her back. She purposely avoided having long hair after early childhood. Even now it was a hassle to work with. Now that it was reaching her attention, Leilana couldn’t help but notice how defined her hips seemed to be since the last time that she truly marveled at herself. Curiously, she reached up her hands towards her chest, where rather plump breasts had taken form. Funny. Those weren’t nearly as soft before.

  Lancett immediately tore the girl’s hands away, his ashen face tinting red. “Please don’t do that again,” he told her, his voice wavering a bit. “You’ll make some people uncomfortable that way.” Leilana marveled at the sight of him for some time, both completely silent before she reached up to tug at his cheeks. Lancett grunted in pain before prying her hands away.

  “Lancett Lune?” she guessed, to which the man grinned sheepishly. “I’ll be. You’ve gotten really forward.” She reached out to poke his chest once, marveling in the rough hide underneath. “And bulky. Are those muscles real?”

  He chuckled, ruffling the girl’s hair. “Nice to see you too, Leilana. Been a long time since we were face-to-face like this.”

  “No kidding,” Leilana agreed. “I think we’ve done well over the years, at least.”

  “Of course. You look as beautiful as ever.”

  “And that’s where I draw the line.” Solus stepped up to Leilana, wrapping his arms around the girl to nuzzle his face against her shoulder. She couldn’t conceal her growing blush. Lancett held up both hands in defense, never imagining that Solus could be so possessive. “What do you say that we return to Ocula and recuperate? Leilana had a request to meet with Gale, so once we’ve had some rest, we can venture off to Erican.”

  “At last,” Sien groaned. “I’m tired of being on my feet and eating all these ridiculous tree fruits. They taste like dirt and grime and it makes me unhappy.”

  “You’re not usually this picky,” Leilana pointed out.

  “Her taste buds are really out of whack,” Lancett told her before leaning in to whisper, “She’s kind of moody because of high hormones. Her little one stirs within.” Leilana covered her mouth with both hands.

  “Cici!” she exclaimed, racing over to Sien after Solus set her free, taking her by the hands. “You’re pregnant!”

  Sien blinked a few times. “Yes, I am,” she said simply. “Four months along now. Not sure what we’re having yet.”

  “And you and Lancett are-”

  “No!” Lancett immediately shouted, holding up both hands in disapproval. “We are very much friends, mutual country leaders, the works! I have my own kid back at her place!”

  “You have a child,” Leilana breathed.

  “I said the same thing,” Solus responded. “Never imagined he was brazen enough to make the first move and break the mold.”

  “What does that mean?!” Lancett retorted.

  “Try not to fry your brain too much, Lance,” Leilana joked.

  Within a few days, the four were back in Ocula, where Leilana briefly met Lancett’s daughter Olivia, who marveled in the young princess’s aura—Lancett claimed that his daughter was special enough to know when someone of royal blood was standing at their door. He decided to stay in Ocula to assist Luna in caring for the clinic while his allies rested for their trip to Erican in the morning, where Gale and Erya would be waiting for them. It would be a long trek.

  Long after Sien went to bed and the household was practically silent, Leilana snuck into the room where Solus was resting his head, carefully closing the door behind her. He opened one eye and smirked when he realized that she was fetching his attention, sitting up just before she took a seat at his bedside.

  “I thought you’d be asleep,” Leilana told him.

  “Merely resting my eyes rather than my body,” he assured her. “I was too busy thinking about what awaits us to sleep. What are you doing awake?”

  “I’ve been asleep five years. Another day and I’m certain I’d lose much more than time.” She met his gaze. “I’m really looking forward to this trip. It’s been quite a while since we’ve traveled together. It’ll almost be like old times.”

  “All that we need now is to find Rem,” Solus agreed.

  Leilana cupped his cheeks in her hands, pressing her forehead against his, shutting her eyes. “I’m so glad that you’re safe…”

  “Feeling bold, are we?” he whispered. He didn’t open his eyes, instead reaching up his hand to caress her locks before his index finger made its way towards her lips, parting them a bit. He chuckled, his husky voice no longer concealing his accent. “Just as soft as I recall.”

  Leilana swallowed at the statement, her gaze trained on the calm expression he wore like a fitted glove. More and more, he was teasing her in a way that allured her. But this time felt different. Looking at him now, he hadn’t changed much, but the forceful tug at her heartstrings was so unlike how she treated him. He was pulling her to him. And she didn’t mind it.

  “Time has been good to you,” he breathed, brushing his fingers against the loose strands hanging over her right shoulder, allowing them to become entangled in his nails. Leilana was shifting her legs, biting her bottom lip to conceal her words, but she was far from uncomfortable with the situation. “You have become even more impeccable. I didn’t think it possible.”

  Maybe that was it. It had to be because they were working in older bodies that her emotions were swinging in so many different directions just from being around him. They were open to more possibilities that age had previously limited them to. She wanted to kiss him passionately, to allow him to continue whispering sweet nothings to her for hours on end. She wanted to lay next to him and feel the warmth of his breath on her lips as he spoke, embrace the taste on his tongue. But they had a long road ahead, and there would be time for them to think about their actions.

  These feelings were too confusing.

  She averted her gaze, but he returned her attention to him in a snap, laying his warm lips on her neck and leaving chaste kisses behind. Even if they were confusing, she couldn’t ignore them. She couldn’t deny herself from him anymore, and there was comfort swirling in his heart. Their bond had been growing, right from the start, and she couldn’t bear to break him down anymore, but there was something still waiting for him down the road.

  She’d have to be more than his princess, and that alone was dangero
us.

  She laid a hand on his cheek, forcing him to slow his actions before peering up at her eagerly. “Not here,” she told him softly. “Not yet, Solus. There’s still so much that we have to finish before we can properly settle down.”

  And Solus understood that without a doubt. It was clear on his face. He didn’t object, or get disappointed that she’d turned him down again, rather, he seemed resolved that she was so focused on the tasks at hand. Someday, they’d be at peace. And that was okay.

  When they popped up at Gale’s doorstep, Erya was already sitting at the entrance waiting, all the while filing paperwork into his adventure log. He met his ecstatic fiancée face-to-face and promptly put his work aside to hold her close, pressing his forehead against hers and longingly kissing her. Leilana folded her hands behind her back, smiling at the sight. She knew of Erya well by this point after Sien’s stories of how their relationship came to be but seeing them in person, she was thrilled that they were together again after such a long time apart. She could only hope that her future relationship would be as prosperous as theirs seemed to be.

  “Gale! Company!” Erya called upon letting the group inside. A small thud reached their ears seconds thereafter, but Erya chose to ignore it. “I know that you specified earlier that you needed concentration, but there is much to discuss!”

  A chair scraped against the floor, likely Gale’s personal frustrations being executed from his room. He emerged from down the hall, peering out with a still-lit incense in hand, the dark circles under his eyes becoming more visible. He blinked a few times at the sight of his new guests, and his eyes narrowed when they met with Sien.

  “I thought you said that you would be here a few days ago,” Gale scolded her.

  “Windy!” Sien beamed, snaking her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. Gale held up the incense in his hand to keep it from being crushed under her weight and potentially burning them both, sighing before patting her head with his free hand.

  “Yes, yes, wonderful to see you as well, and all that.” Gale nodded in acknowledgment to Solus and Leilana. “Mr. Brenner, Princess Leilana, you as well. To what do I owe the sudden visitation, since Erya neglected to offer up the information?”

  “It was on my orders,” Leilana began. “There’s something that Rem left for you. He asked me to pass along information.” Solus and Sien’s eyes shot over to Leilana at the mention of Rem. Gale understood the situation and took off without another word, leaving Erya raising an eyebrow at the sudden change of pace. Solus laid his hands on her shoulders.

  “You’ve seen Rem? Where? How?” he pleaded with her. “Did he come and see you while you were sleeping? Were you awake at any point?”

  Leilana laid her hands on his. “There’s… a lot that I’m going to need to explain. And you’re going to want to sit down for it.”

  While the three gathered in the dining room, Gale returned with an envelope sealed with the royal family’s insignia, a crescent moon. The same brand that Rem was given at birth. Solus couldn’t stop staring at it, unsure what to think. Sien folded her hands, simply waiting for what their friend had to say. Leilana was mentally preparing to fulfill the first deed of her long list of duties that Rem posthumously left behind. She never imagined that she would be giving the news of his death to two people that he was close with. She carried the weapon that he was born to wield, and the duty of saving Linmus was suddenly put on her shoulders. Leilana got right to the point after silence became too overwhelming, beginning with her encounter with Rem right before her awakening, refusing to leave out any details. Solus and Sien listened attentively.

  “Rem left the Orb of Concord to me… and he told me that it was the last thing that he would be able to do. I’m basically his replacement in ending the war.”

  “What does that mean?” Sien asked quickly.

  Leilana sighed, folding her hands. The moment of truth had finally arrived. “The power of the Orb of Concord was too much for him to handle. It… killed him.”

  Sien was gripping her hair, her lips parting. There was so much that she wanted to say, but the words were escaping her faster than she could process. The tears in her eyes were falling before she could catch them, and her sobs were shaping into hysterics. Erya had to place his hands on her shoulders and guide her out of the room. The words exchanged between them were too distant for Leilana to make out, but she didn’t dare interfere with her friend’s broken heart when she had someone there to shield her already.

  Solus placed his hands firmly on the table before standing up, his chair scraping against the floor. “You must be out of your mind.” Leilana stared blankly at him, silent. Solus could feel his rage sparking like an open flame. She was lying. She had to be. “Say something!”

  “I don’t know what to say,” she said softly. Solus’s bottom lip was quivering, his stomach flipping at the slightest movement. He clenched his hands into fists before slamming them on the table, rattling the wood and causing Leilana to flinch.

  “Rem wouldn’t… die, he… he couldn’t… I… no…”

  Solus made an escape by leaving the house. Leilana couldn’t bear to follow him. He was sinking. He was in denial. He was crumbling. And she couldn’t stop the world and end his pain.

  “I think that you should go,” Gale told her. “Now more than ever, support is necessary. These are trying times for you all. Erya can take care of Sien, but Solus is another story. In light of this tragedy, you are all that he has left now.”

  Leilana was facing the table. “I… I don’t know what I can say to help. This is my fault too. I couldn’t protect Rem either. I’m still so numb. I don’t really know what to feel.”

  “Feeling numb or unnerved is normal in times of loss, just as crying, screaming, and breaking down are. You don’t have to worry about your feelings right now. All that you can do is make sure that others that are suffering can be healed if you can prevent it.” Gale handed her the envelope. “That is your duty as an Arcana.”

  Leilana stared at the sealed note. She could still smell the ink inside, even though the paper itself looked worn. Its contents went untouched, evident by the royal sigil’s indention burned into the envelope, not a single tear visible.

  “Rem left it on my desk with the intention of giving it to Solus, but he must not have been ready to pass it off himself. I assume he wrote it before you left, and that it’s urgent for him to read now that the situation has changed. I trust that you’ll hand it off to him.” Leilana glanced up at Gale before she exited the cottage.

  She must have been searching throughout Erican for hours, for daylight quickly turned into night and Solus was nowhere to be found. She was trailing through the forest just outside of the town when rising smoke caught her eye. She sprinted by the trees, brushing past an assortment of bushes before stumbling across Solus.

  He was sitting on an overturned tree trunk, his ribbon in his hands rather than keeping his long unkempt hair out of his face. His glasses were next to him. A still-burning fire was ignited by several chunks of wood. He tossed a piece into the pile, watching the cinders fly into the dusty air. Occasionally, he would wipe his eyes, sniffling to withhold any more tears. Leilana couldn’t recall a time where Solus was truly in tears before now, but she wondered why he fought so much to hide them. She ducked behind one of the nearby trees, sliding onto the ground.

  “It’s customary for the royal family to light fires when someone passes away,” Solus spoke up after some time. Leilana brought her knees to her chin. He had long since known she was there, but she still couldn’t bring herself to respond. “Cinders burning over a body are representative of the soul’s reunion with the earth. It’s supposed to be an offering of peace to the loved ones left behind to grieve and a chance for those already gone to shield them as they reach the afterlife. The Vesarus family, and many others in Linmus, always preferred cremation for that reason. It gives them hope.”

  Leilana returned to his side but didn’t speak. She allowed
him to relinquish his thoughts as they came to fruition. It was better to dump them. He shakily sighed, wiping his eyes again.

  “Rem treasured hope,” he choked out. “He saw the good in others despite his anguish. He was so good, I just… I don’t understand how this could have happened. He was so close. I reached for him. I tried to feel him one more time. He was right in front of me, but I couldn’t touch him.” He covered his face with his hands. “It’s my fault… It’s my fault that he died…”

  Leilana embraced him, and he buried his face in her shoulder. “Don’t say that. This had nothing to do with you. You did your best to protect Rem, we all did. It was an accident, what happened to him.”

  Solus hit a breaking point listening to her, lifting his face from her shoulder, and now he couldn’t stop crying. “An accident that killed my best friend!” He leaned back on the trunk, covering his eyes with his hands. “What the hell is wrong with me? How could I have been so stupid?”

  “It isn’t your fault,” she assured him. “We all failed, Solus. Don’t blame yourself.” She spoke with conviction, but she wasn’t sure how much it would have helped her. She was feeling as guilty and broken as he was. What was she to expect? Rem was his best friend, and the only family he’d had left in Linmus. There was nothing left to tie him back to happier days either.

  Rem would never become king. He could never complete his goal and save Adrylis. And now his allies were left to pick up the mantle that he’d left behind.

  “It’s my fault too,” she whispered, gripping to his shirt. “I should have considered that something like this would happen…”

  They sat together for some time while waiting for the fire to die out, neither of them saying another word to each other. Leilana continued to hold him as he cried, and Solus tried his best to slow the tears, but he couldn’t bring himself to completely stop. The memories of their time together kept flowing back in increments. So many laughs, tears, fights…

  Their last fight. They never truly apologized to each other. That only made Solus feel worse about the whole situation. Eventually, he fell asleep with tear-stained cheeks, resting his head on Leilana’s lap while she stroked his hair. As weary as she was, it didn’t compare to what pain he must have been shouldering. It released, all at once. She was torn up about Rem’s death, but she couldn’t allow her grievances to push past what mattered most right now: finishing their mission. She could remember him after their work was done.