Silver pulled Rose through the woods, stopping at every spot where something from their past had occurred. Some memories, like skipping stones, had come easily to the young woman. Others had only come after a long explanation from the patient Guardian.
And then there were some that had, sadly, not come at all. However, that was to be expected. Rose had been very young when she lived in Rynnlee and most people only kept a few scenes in their heads as they grew older. The fact that the princess had been able to pull any of them back after years of locking the memories away was a miracle in itself.
For each and every moment that Rose recalled, Silver's heart leapt inside his chest. His sister remembered him, really remembered. The family that had been lost to him was well and truly found.
After a delightful day, the sibling pair finally admitted defeat. Silver could see that his sister was growing weary. "We can head back now. I am sure I can get one more meal from the inn before Katherine's goodwill runs out." Silver chuckled lightly.
"Katherine will never run out of goodwill for you, I think. She would sooner go out of business than see you go hungry." Rose shook her head. As much as the Guardian took care of Rynnlee, they also seemed to take care of him just as dutifully. It was heartwarming to see. "And don't worry about me. I am fine. It isn't even dark yet."
Silver's eyes flashed. "If you are up for it, I do have one more place I would like for you to see. Ethyn may have taken you to a spot where I have only brought one other soul, but I have one spot where no one but me has ever been. Would you like to go?"
"Yes please!" Rose jumped on her tip toes and winced. "Only, I hope it isn't too far. My feet are not accustomed to so much walking."
Silver paused. There was a place that he could take her which would require more walking than even the Guardian typically did. That would require some help from Hanna to reach, and although the Fate might be willing, he wasn't sure that it was the best way to end their day.
'Mother and Father will have to wait until another time. I know they will forgive me for not bringing her just now. We will have our reunion, just not today.' With this in mind, he selected a different final stop for the day.
"It is not to travel, at least not horizontally…" The hint of mischief in his voice made Rose stop dead in her tracks.
"What do you mean, horizontally?" She asked suspiciously.
"Trust me," Silver said casually, continuing to walk without a care.
"The last time you said that was to convince me to jump from a ledge." The princess narrowed her gaze.
The Guardian tilted his head as he looked back over his shoulder. "Was it? Well then, I guess you could say that I have a very good track record. You landed safely and any emotional trauma was completely Ethyn's fault."
Rose ran after her brother and caught his elbow. "Has anyone ever told you that you can be infuriating?" The princess giggled while squeezing the man's arm gently.
"You would be the third. Only people who know me well have that kind of audacity." Silver stopped suddenly. "We are here. I told you it wasn't far."
The princess looked around. There seemed nothing particularly special about the area. There were some trees, one of the many bodies of water was only a little ways off, and the closest clearing could not be seen at all.
"It's nice..." Rose began politely. "What makes this area so special that---oh!"
The princess realized that her arm, which had been hooked into her brother's elbow, was suddenly dangling in midair. She hadn't even felt the Guardian move, no less disappear.
Spinning in a circle, the blue-eyed woman could not spy her brother anywhere. That's when she remembered that Silver had said the spot was not far 'horizontally'. As she tilted up her head, Rose gasped.
Above her, a figure like a panther was hovering on one of the branches.
"You scared me!" Rose chided Silver.
"I don't know how. I told you I would never leave you while you are here." The Guardian leapt from branch to branch, going ever higher.
Astonished by his seamless movements, it took a moment for the princess to recover her thoughts. When she did, her lips pursed in confusion. "Then what do you call what you are doing now, exactly? My side is waaay down here if you haven't noticed."
"I am preparing the way, dear sister."
Finding an appropriately large branch, the man sat down and removed a looped rope with a small wooden plank attached firmly in the middle. Deftly, he lowered it toward the ground for his waiting companion.
"What exactly do you want me to do?" The apprehension in Rose clenched her stomach. Surely he wasn't about to test her growing fear of heights, yet that seemed to be the only conclusion the princess could come to. 'What could be worth such a trek?'
"Trust me," Silver repeated, his voice echoing strangely through the trees. The sound was somehow calming, and Rose heaved a deep sigh.
Lifting one leg over the plank and then the other, the princess sat in the seat of the swing and held onto the ropes. Silver effortlessly lifted her from the ground, as if she weighed little more than a feather.
Rose felt a whoosh of air tease her golden hair before Silver pulled her up next to him on the branch.
"Just a few more times and we will be at the top," he assured her gently, tucking the swing back into his cloak.
"Top?!" Rose squealed, but it was in vain. The Guardian was already ascending and the princess really had no choice.
She clung to the tree's colossal trunk, waiting for the swing to appear once again and come to her rescue. After two more upward journeys, the princess was finally pulled into her brother's arms for the final time. They had reached the top.
For a moment Rose struggled to open her eyes. All she could think about was the ground and how much it would hurt if she fell.
"Don't be afraid," Silver's words stirred a sense of peace within her. He would not let her tumble down. He was there to keep her safe.
With a quick exhale, the princess opened her eyes, and a profound sense of beauty filled her vision.
The sun was begging to set over the trees, casting a glow of orange, pink, and purple hues across the sky and forest. "It's gorgeous!"
"And there is no one who has seen this view up until now except me. I even kept it a secret from Sage, which was no small task." Silver threw back his hood and the light of the sun reflected in his eyes, creating two moons to rival their golden counterpart.
"You really love her. Sage, I mean." Rose searched her brother's face.
"As much as I know how," he answered, his small smile saying it all.
"How did you know that you loved her?" The princess spoke her thought without meaning to.
Fortunately, he brother was not offended. "It happened slowly…Though much more quickly once we stopped lying to one another. Each letter she sends, even the ones that are all business, make me want to hear her voice and be close to her. I want to care for her, and I know she wants to care for me. She nearly sacrificed her life to save mine!"
"Really?!" Rose sat with her mouth open as Silver recounted the events in great detail of when Borit had last visited Rynnlee.
The sun finally finished setting as Silver completed his tale.
"When Sage nearly died, I begged Hanna to make her a Guardian. I knew I couldn't lose her without losing a part of myself." Silver tensed as he relived those terrible moments of waiting. "I suppose in the end it was a good thing. Now we have forever to finally be together."
"So that's what love is? Feeling incomplete without someone and being willing to wait until the time is right?" Rose tucked away the information.
"Why the sudden interest in love?" Silver looked at her warily. The stars forming overhead lit the Princess's golden hair in a soft glow. She looked angelic.
The night hid Rose's burning cheeks and ears. "Who else am I supposed to ask. The king pines for a woman that did not choose him and everyone at court would just tell me what they thought I wanted to hear."
"You could ask Lily or Katherine." Silver wasn't sure his advice on the matter would be the best. It would be far better to ask a happily married woman.
"Perhaps I shall," Rose answered noncommittally. She sighed, changing the subject. "I cannot believe I leave in the morning. This trip was far too short."
"There will be others. Once Borit's time at the palace is done, we can reveal whatever you are comfortable with to the king." Silver wondered how the king would take having someone considered an outlaw suddenly be referred to as part of his family. If he acknowledged the situation at all, that is.
"That is a problem for another day." Rose shivered. The air up so high was becoming chilly.
The Guardian pulled her close and wrapped the cloak around them both. Rose rested her head on her brother's shoulder like she did as a child.
"Problems can wait," Rose sighed again, this time with contentment. "For now, I just want to watch the stars and hear stories of old from the brother I love."
Silver sighed contentedly. "I love you too. Have I ever told you about the time…"