Silver looked at her, visibly startled. "I send you notes all the time. And you usually respond via a messenger. Unless you haven't been the one responding all this time..."
From her seat, Sage nudged the Guardian's side with her shoulder and laughed. "Wouldn't that be embarrassing? Some of the things in those notes are quite personal, especially for you."
The dark-haired man felt his ears burn. "You wrote your fair share of sweet nothings too."
"I did. Which is how you know they were from me." Sage laid her head against the man's shoulder.
While their romance had begun in person, it had blossomed at a distance. Whether through Hanna or one of Sage's many spies, their messages always included a personal note full of affection. Years of such covert messages would have been mortifying if Silver had been sending them to the wrong recipient.
"Yet none of those notes caused you to come..." Silver tried to reason out the puzzle that was before him.
"Not by choice. Things have been very busy." Sage sighed heavier than Silver had ever heard. Just like him, the brunette had a weight resting on her shoulder far beyond herself.
"Wait, did you say they 'have been' busy? Are you finally finished?!" A surge of hope sprung up in Silver. Had the time for them to be together at last come? 'Surely she would have led with that!'
Sage stiffened. "I am actually in the thick of things right now. But I have done all I can reasonably do without jeopardizing our efforts. For now, I must rely on the wits of a girl who is stationed inside the palace..."
Silver blinked a couple of times. "Wait, which palace?"
"King Willric's castle in Lakyle. Why would I need a spy anywhere else?" Sage arched her brow. "That was a strange question even from you."
Silver scratched the back of his head. "It's not as strange as it seems. I have a girl at King Rhodri's castle…"
"Should I be jealous?" Sage cut her eyes toward the man next to her.
"What? Oh! No, of course not. It is nothing like that. Quite the opposite!"
"The opposite of desiring is hating? You hate someone at the castle?" Sage asked calmly.
"Well, Borit is there, but that is beside the point. What I mean to say was that I was confused because I also have a girl being my eyes and ears in a castle. I was confused because I thought it might be the same girl."
"I had a feeling that is what you meant. It was just too perfect of an opportunity to pass up." Sage laughed lightly.
"You like to see me squirm." Silver also laughed, happy that there was no misunderstanding between them.
"It does bring back a sense of nostalgia. I can't show my affection in the normal ways, you know." Having been brought up to show as little real emotion as possible, the woman had become accustomed to either sarcasm or guarded speech being her only two means of communication.
Thankfully with Silver she had found a third option: playful teasing. It helped the man lighten up and made the lady feel quite at home in his arms.
"I love you," she said, hoping the words would sound as sincere as she meant them. "I have missed you."
"I love you too. I cannot believe you are here. I did not think the note about my problems with Borit would get such a personal response or I would have tried that tactic much sooner." Silver went to rest his head on top of Sage's, but she lifted it before he could.
"I came because your note is closely intertwined with the work I am doing right now. I knew Hanna would not object--not that I asked her. It is much easier to ask forgiveness with that Fate." Sage shrugged.
"Oh, uh, of course..." Silver fumbled.
While he to some extent worked on this premise, Silver usually tried to seek Hanna's advice or permission when he could. Sage seemed to take her mission and do her best to complete it with minimal outside input. 'Different methodologies...'
"And speaking of forgiveness, I was expecting an apology from you. You baited me into coming and then weren't even here waiting for me when I arrived!" Sage leaned away from the man beside her and put one hand on her hip.
"I...what?" Silver was actually dumbfounded.
The woman with the silver eyes shook the paper in her hand. "Now where is it?"
"Where is what?" The man felt like he was playing a game he could not win.
"The other half." Sage rolled her eyes.
When the Guardian of Rynnlee continued with his blank stare, her lips pursed. "Please tell me you have the other half of this note. This is all you sent me, correct?"
Looking down at the paper, Silver nodded. "You have everything I sent you."
"Then you did bait me. For how can I decipher a letter when I only have half of each of the words?" Sage sighed. "Where are the rest of the papers that you mentioned were a part of a packet?"
"Oh! Those." Silver reached into his cloak and retrieved with the bundle. Aiden had returned it to him just before he left that evening.
The cloaked man regretted not spending more time with the packet. Once the princess had visited, Silver had only studied it once with her. Maybe if the Guardian had focused better, what Sage was saying would not seem so confusing.
Passing the bundle over to Sage, Silver watched as she set most of the papers on the table. The lady looked down at the piece of furniture as she did so. Her brow furrowed.
Sage touched the wood, feeling the smoothness of the grain. "I never thought you would replace any of your furniture. Especially not since it all reminded you of…her."
"I have so much to tell you…" Silver smiled warmly.
"I look forward to hearing it. But first…" Sage returned to her task. She held two pages together and examined them closely against the dim lamplight.
She clicked her tongue.
"Such thick pages…I need better light." Sage's gorgeous eyes pulled away from the paper and looked toward her host.
He had been waiting so long to see those eyes again. His heart skipped a beat. "More light? Like a fire?"
The night was still very warm, but with their cloaks, they could avoid feeling overwhelmed by the heat of flames. Sage nodded at the man's suggestion.
"I think it would help prove my theory. Or not." Sage chewed her lip. If her hunch was wrong, then her trip to Rynnlee was a huge mistake.
Seeing her angst, Silver quickly went and fetched some dried wood from the side of his dwelling. Soon enough, the small spark from his flint turned into a roaring blaze.
Sage watched the flames dance across the handsome man's face as he worked, her mind wandering to thoughts which, for now, were only dreams.
"Well?" Silver pulled her from her thoughts. "Is that enough light?"
Sage overlapped two of the pages and held them up close to the fire.
"Hmmm." She set down one of the pages and picked up another and then another.
Just when Silver had lost interest in the tedious task, Sage's face lit up.
"Here! Look!"
Coming around to Sage's side, Silver was shocked. The two pages by themselves may have looked like gibberish nonsense, but together they overlapped to complete the missing parts of each symbol.
"The other half!"