Hanna dropped Silver at the edge of town along with his horse. She could have left him right at his home, but she knew he would not want such a dramatic entrance. Her little Guardian much preferred to skulk in quietly.
"If there will be nothing else..." Hanna began to fade from view. "Take care of yourself."
"I am probably safer without your pushes." The Guardian arched his brow.
The Fate's laughter tinkled through the air. She was nearly gone when Silver beckoned her. "Hanna?"
The ethereal creature became opaque once more. "Yes, dear one?"
"Are you going to see Sage? I mean any time soon," the Guardian tried to frame his question carefully, and was very glad the lady had not cut him off.
"Sage is in the middle of quite an ordeal. Is there something you wish me to tell her?" Hanna occasionally brought messages between the two Guardians, but they had other ways to communicate as well.
However, the man had not heard from his companion in an uncomfortably long time. Hanna's words were both comforting and concerning. "Tell her to stay safe. Any chance I will see her aga-?"
"Again soon? I would like to think so, but fate can be a tricky thing." Hanna gave a weary smile. She truly wanted what was best for both Guardians.
Narrowing his eyes, Silver stroked his chin. "But you are a Fate."
"Just because I am one, does not mean I can control it. And trying to exert too much control on anything inevitably leads to consequences." The Fate pressed her lips together. Memories came to her mind for the second time that day.
"You are speaking in riddles again," the Guardian dismounted and sighed.
"It is the only way to explain the unexplainable. Suffice it to say that I try to only do as the Maker bids me. And with that, I bid you goodbye!" The beautiful being disappeared, yet Silver could sense she was not actually gone.
"Goodbye, Hanna. Thank you for the ride." Silver turned toward the town. It was still early afternoon. 'How is that even possible?'
It was almost as if he had spent no time at all with his parents in the Place of Remembrance, yet he was sure it felt like hours. Silver was much earlier than anticipated and more than a day earlier than he should have actually arrived.
Silver tied the reins to Daisy's saddle- a sign that he was ok and unharmed- and released her. "Go home, girl, you deserve it. I will make sure to tell Conall that you saved me later. He will get you a special treat." The Guardian cooed. Daisy whinnied merrily and trotted off toward the inn. Her blonde tail swished happily, reminding him of a lovely fair-haired girl he had left behind just that morning.
Silver shook away the thought. and suddenly he felt very tired. It had been a long couple of days with almost no rest. He needed to shut his eyes soon, but first he needed to go home.
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Ethyn sat at the table sharpening his sword, listening to the soothing ring of the whetstone against the steel. He had not imagined spending his break alone in his living room. Lily had needed to put her littlest child down to sleep before she had a shift at the inn, and as much as the children loved "Uncle Ethyn", he knew he would be an unhelpful distraction.
Lily had asked him to stay anyway, but he had declined. Now he wished that he had taken the older children with him. Their daughter would have been very keen to hear all about the king's court and how everything looked.
Ethyn would have told her all about the beautiful dresses and the finely decorated hall. He would have described in great detail all of the food and the dancing, the former of which he had taken great pleasure in and the latter of which he had done none at all.
'Maybe Lily could teach me to dance...' He had never had real interest in dancing or courting ladies. Though many had taken note of him. Ethyn was a handsome young man, after all.
After how Sage had nearly ruined his life, finding a girl and settling down were not high on his priorities at the moment. Yet, should the right person come along, it would be good to have the necessary skill set. Not that he had anyone in mind for the position.
No, adventure was on the forefront of his mind. Being a knight was a glorious tradition. Many had fought for fame and glory, some had even died--though he hoped this would not be his fate. While the knight had worked with Silver on a quite a few missions, the fighting was generally left to those bigger than he was. That was all about to change.
Ethyn imagined himself defending truth and justice as he had sworn to do. Mighty battles raged across his mind as he emerged the triumphant hero. With enough determination, and an insane amount of luck, the young knight believed he could achieve his goal.
His sharpening became more vigorous. Sparks flew from the friction of his force.
If he reached enough acclaim, who knows what he could accomplish? The king had noticed him. That had to be a good sign. None of the other new knights had garnered the same attention, right?That had to be embarrassing for them, but what a privilege for him! It was one of the highest honors he could have gotten. Five years of training had not gone to waste.
Though if he were honest with himself, not everything at the palace had gone as planned. While Borit had not recognized him, the young man had... other issues. He would not dwell on those. In fact, all things considered, he could pretty much forget about that mess. Almost.
His blade ran across the stone on the table, sending more and more sparks flying. The light show would have been a lovely display if Ethyn had been paying attention...and if the table below the stone were not made of wood.
After dozens of sparks died out without damage, at last one gained a foothold in the knot of the dried timber. It smoked and sizzled, before creating a small flame. Oblivious, the young knight continued in his thoughts.
The more Ethyn tried not to think about his shortcomings, the more the memories plagued the man with the auburn hair. His ears burned. He pressed harder into his craft, hoping to absolve himself of his embarrassment. Now his hands were warm too.
'How strange...They almost feel like they are on fire. And that smokey smell. Someone is already working on dinner.'
The young man had been staring so long at one spot that he had gone blind to the rest of the world around him. The small flame had taken off and was eating away at the surface of the table. The air shifted in the room, and the smoldering ash finally hit Ethyn in the eyes.
"Oh!" he leapt from his seat, causing his sword to thud into the dirt floor. The young man's eyes grew wide as he surveyed the scene. 'How did this happen?'
The young knight rushed to the water bucket that was kept in the house and was relieved to find it still full. He had retrieved it that morning, but he couldn't remember if he had managed to use any. With a little too much force, he threw the contents of the bucket at the fire.
While most of the water had flown clear of the emergency, some of the droplets rained down on the flame, dousing it. The fire hissed in protest, and Ethyn leapt on it with the cloak draped across his chair. Dropping the bucket to one side, the green-eyed man beat the table, water and fire with all his might.
It took a moment to confirm, but at last the fire was out. Ethyn sighed in relief. It had been a close call, but the table was still upright. The thick wood had not completely burned through. The charred spot remained, however, taunting him for yet another folly.
The young man rubbed his bleary eyes, trying to make the cursed stain disappear. "Perhaps he won't notice," Ethyn whispered to himself as he stared at the blight.
"Oh, trust me, he will notice..." another voice answered him.
Ethyn's head snapped up to see Silver's shadowy figure in the doorway.
Water dripped from his hood.