Fabian absentmindedly pushed up his glasses as he looked out of the window beside the desk of a new inn room, studying the busy city below.
He watched as a group of guards came to surround the inn, rigid faces as they did so and it was instantly clear to him who they had come for.
Azel lay on one of the two small beds a few paces away from him, staring blankly at the ceiling in silence.
"It looks like she's about to leave... or taken, rather." Fabian suddenly voiced, his eyes still fixed outside the window.
Azel furrowed his brows on the bed, then let out a defeated sigh. "I suppose, she is," he answered simply.
Fabian was forced to tear his gaze away from the view outside to face him. "You don't sound like you're casually accepting this at all, Milord," he told him plainly. "Aren't you going to go after her?"
Azel shot him a disbelieving sidelong glance. "Have you lost your mind?" he retorted. "What brought about such a ridiculous suggestion?"
His aide shrugged, his eyes following Azel. "Over the years, I've heard that mates can't bear being separated from each other… Am I mistaken?"
Azel clenched his jaw and returned his attention to the sight above him. "... You're not entirely wrong… but she is currently unaware that we're mates, Fabian," he said with another sigh. "She probably doesn't even understand what the word means."
"But does that truly matter?"
"You speak like common sense has left you."
"I'm very aware of what I'm saying, Milord. It truly doesn't matter." Fabian stated more firmly. "If you wish to be with her, you could simply take her away and we could leave. No one would even know."
Azel's lips curved into a humorless smirk. "Then she would despise me."
"The mate pull would ensure she does not"
There was a brief pause.
"The mate pull doesn't affect humans…" Azel finally uttered, and Fabian immediately felt the weight of those words.
The fact appeared to hurt his master a considerable lot, he could tell and maybe he did feel a little sorry for him... But he wasn't one for sappy consolations
"Hmm…" Fabian mused. "It appears to be quite a challenge for you, Milord. Looks like you can't take her away then, she would definitely come to hate you."
"Excellent deduction, Fabian," Azel remarked dryly. "You are as smart as ever."
"I do my best."
Azel clicked his tongue and turned away, with his back to his aide.
Fabian only watched, there was nothing he wanted to say to him, there was nothing he could say, but he knew that understanding his lord was conflicted was enough.
'I would help you, Milord, truly,' Fabian thought. 'But I can only do that if you make your intentions clear...'
Closing his eyes, Azel tried to drown out the voices of the guards outside, his jaw clenching in frustration.
She was leaving, and there was hardly anything he could do about it. Because, although he wanted to so badly, he had to stop himself.
The realization that she was being taken away tugged at him, even if he felt like it wasn't supposed to so soon. He fought every instinct that urged him to rush to wherever she was and take her.
When had the pull gotten so infuriatingly strong?
He supposed that the only thing keeping him in place was the knowledge that she wasn't being taken against her will. She wanted it and so he had to accept it.
Definitely, she longed to go back home after the ordeal she had faced yesterday. Who wouldn't?
He knew where she was headed, but he preferred to restrain himself not to follow. If he were to get any more attached to her, what he was facing at the moment would only be the tip of the iceberg.
He let out a huff, the weight in his heart growing with each ticking second. She could never understand what he was enduring, and she never would.
Because she would never experience the pull.
Just like the last time...
A pang of pain shot through him, making him close his eyes as he let out a dry chuckle.
He couldn't even understand his own emotions. Was he happy or sad she was leaving…?
He was both and it hurt, because he was more pained than happy.
Maybe… it might have given him some more solace if she could feel a little bit of how he was feeling.
How her leaving him was like taking a small part of him away, like he was about to be incomplete.
Azel gritted his teeth. 'I hate this...'
Still, he wouldn't go after her. He refused to go after her or look out of the window to see what was happening.
It would only make things harder for him because right there and then he made up his mind with reasonable difficulty to let her go once and for all.
She didn't need to be a part of his life; it would only complicate his emotions even further.
This would have to be the end.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Adelia remained in her father's embrace, face streaked with tears, it was only after a while that she finally pulled away and wiped her eyes before looking up at him.
The way he consoled her, it was like he knew all that had happened. She was almost certain he knew.
"How did you..." Her voice was shaky and she paused a while to clear her throat and steady it. "How did you find me?"
The Duke's brows furrowed. "We will discuss that once we return to the manor, Delia," he replied with a serious tone. "Right now, our priority is to leave… this place."
Adelia noticed a subtle hesitation in his voice and guessed it was because of the state of the room she had stayed in.
One look at her father's face and she knew he was displeased with the condition of the space.
She pursed her lips and watched as her father ordered the guards that had come in after him to help Edward to his feet. Once they had left the room, Duke Veldon attempted to follow but was quickly halted by his daughter.
"Father, wait," she called out, causing him to turn towards her. "Do you… are you aware that we were attacked by assassins?"
A shadow darkened the Duke's expression, and he frowned in response.
"Yes," he answered simply. "But again, this is not the appropriate place for such a discussion, Delia. I have already told you that we will address this matter fully once we arrive at—"
"No, Father, I'm not suggesting we discuss it here," Adelia quickly interrupted. "I don't even want to discuss it at all. It's just… I wanted you to know that Edward and I didn't escape from them on our own."
The lines on Aldous' forehead deepened. "What are you implying?"
"I mean we had help, Father," she explained. "Someone came to save us and brought us here and... I don't want to leave this place without thanking him properly, with you of course."
In response, the Duke's expression immediately softened, and he placed a gentle hand on Adelia's shoulder.
"I understand your sense of gratitude, Delia. But consider this: if he's not present here in this room while my knights have surrounded this entire establishment…" The Duke's voice trailed off. "Doesn't it suggest that he doesn't wish to meet me?"
Adelia's throat tightened. Her father's logic seemed sensible—commoners were usually wary of nobles. She couldn't help but think that the same might be true for Az.
But why would he? Her father was renowned as one of the most compassionate aristocrats in all of Dalniar. There was no reason for Az to be wary…
And then it dawned on her: Az had never met her father. They had never crossed paths, not even once. He only knew her and it seemed that was more than enough for him.
Still, even if he was intentionally avoiding Duke Veldon, why… why wouldn't he… why didn't he come to at least say goodbye?
Even if she wasn't going to fully repay him, would it be so bad to see him at least one more time before she left this place for good?
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