Ashlyn and Damien arrived back at the village too late for anyone's comfort. Ashlyn supposed she should have felt guilty, but her heart was too ecstatic to find any fault in her behavior. She convinced Damien to come back to the house with her before saying good night. In truth, she had no desire to part with him just yet. 

Upon entering the house, they found a worried Calda hovering near the door, her eyebrows cocked in a knowing, motherly stare. 

"And where have you two been? It's well past both your curfews."

Ashlyn tried to tame her giddy smile.  "I...needed time to dry off."

"So you went swimming?"

"No, I fell. It was an accident."

"Hm." Calda shot a skeptical look toward Damien. "And I assume you were there to help?"

"Of course," Damien answered. "I brought her back safe didn't I? Unharmed?"

"All right then." Calda relaxed and squared her shoulders. "It's best you leave now, it's late."

Damien moved through the door, and Ashlyn made the effort to stall him at the threshold. She stood on the inside, faced him as he lingered on the porch. 

"Come see me tomorrow?" she asked. 

"If I can." He dipped his voice and grinned. "Hopefully I live to see it." 

She laughed at his humor, but after a moment the thought wasn't so amusing anymore. Her face fell. "I've certainly put you in an awkward situation, haven't I?"

"Yes, you have." Damien fastened his hands behind his head. "Not that I'm complaining."

"If Kallus gets angry with you I'll take full responsibility."

"Heh, you'll take responsibility for something I chose? No. If there are consequences I will face them."

"And that is why I admire you. So brave and honest." She came forward, bracing his shoulders at the neck. Damien met her lips for a brief kiss, one that was perfectly hidden from onlooking eyes, then backed out of her grip and went down the steps. 

"I'll see you, Ash. Try not to make trouble for me." 

 She saw him glance back at her before his path became swallowed by night. When Ashlyn closed the door, she turned and found her Mother standing too close with arms crossed. 

Giving a dramatic sigh, Calda said, "All right, spill it child. What is going on?"

Ashlyn tucked her hair behind her ear. "It’s, um, complicated. I think he likes me."

"Oh? In a romantic way?"

"Mhm." She nodded. "He called on me today did he not? He's given me gifts, he doesn't seem to hate it when I'm close anymore. The signs are very good, Mother."

"Yes, it seems Damien is trying to bond with you. I like the boy, I do, but...Ashlyn...you're not long for this place. You know what awaits you in the human world."

"Yes, but that's probably months away yet. Plenty of time for me to get to know Damien better."

"Oh..." Calda groaned, rubbing her temples. She went over to a drawer and pulled out a letter with a broken seal. "I already read it," she said while handing the letter to Ashlyn. 

"Okay." Ashlyn unfolded the parchment and read the script addressed to both her and Calda. 

To the honorable House of Hael, 

I, King Angar of Tauros, hereby summon Ashlyn of Gumber so that she may begin her apprenticeship under me. I understand the young Sorceress recently underwent her sixteenth birthday, and this is the age I was instructed to wait upon before sending any word on this matter. Now that she is grown, I require the Sorceress by my side. There is much to do in order to prepare her for her role as Queen of Lorianthil, and I intend to waste no more time. Ashlyn shall come to Tauros immediately. I shall send a royal escort to her place of dwelling so that she would not make the journey alone and unprotected. Until then, I bid you and your honorable family well. 

With honor and sincerity,

King Angar of Tauros

It was unreal. Ashlyn hadn't expected it to happen so soon after her return. Every part of her believed she would have the summer months at the least. She folded the note back along its creases, let her hands drop to her sides. 

"How did I miss the messenger?" she muttered. 

Calda shrugged. "Perhaps you've been too preoccupied with Damien to notice? I was not ready to tell you when it arrived, and I regret telling you now even more." She rubbed the sides of her arms as if she were cold. "It's true neither of us are prepared for this, Ashlyn, but it's our duty. The King waits for you in Tauros."

Ashlyn couldn't hang on to the letter, so she let it float from her grip to the floor. She paced over to the sofa and sat down, took in slow, focused breaths. She had allowed herself to be distracted by Damien, to close her eye to the other facets of the world. Her life. And now it crashed down on her as a rude awakening. 

"But I can't go now." She looked at Calda, unable to stop her leaking eyes. "I've fallen for him, Mother. He's my entire world, I can't bring myself to care about much else."

"Then perhaps your scope is not large enough to see the vast world that lies before you." Calda stepped toward her, cupped a hand under the girl's chin. "You have the strength to do this, Ashlyn, I know you do. You are much more bold than I, you've never been afraid of your task. Everything you've done has moved you closer to this, and I can truly say I'm proud. Proud to be the one who raised you." Calda sat down and cradled Ashlyn into her chest. "Perhaps...you should explain to the boy. See how he feels."

"I already did. He didn't exactly like it." Ashlyn buried her face, let out the pattering sobs that came. She felt like an idiot, a hopeless débutante who's only concern was finding a suitor. By all rights, she had no need for a suitor; the Crown required no such commitment from her in order to rule. Yet, she needed Damien in her world. He presented so much calm to her busy, chaotic life. His touch steadied her, his kiss warmed her. And he had no idea the depth of her feelings toward him. She had hoped to spend a lifetime telling him, showing him, but that hope was quickly dissolving. 

"I hate myself," she said after the spell of sobs had ebbed. "I waited too long."

"No..." Calda soothed her, "Everything happens in its due course. So flows the river." Then she faced her daughter, gripped her by the shoulders. "Ask him and see what comes of it."

"Ask him what?"

"To go with you. Just because I cannot be happily paired off does not mean you shouldn’t be. I have a feeling he's not fond of Gumber, and he's to be sixteen soon, yes?"

"Yes..." Ashlyn thought about it. Damien was on the verge of cultural manhood, there was no reason he shouldn't be able to leave once he hit that threshold. He could come with her, be by her side in Tauros. "Yes, I could at least ask him." 

***

Damien was hardly surprised to see Kallus waiting for him in the common room. Supper was long over and past, the house was empty and quiet now that everyone else was in bed. Kallus craned his head to look at Damien as he passed through the entryway.

"Ah, look who's finally decided to come home." Kallus had a telling smirk on his face as he said it, causing odd chills to run up Damien's spine. "Come, sit. We need to have a talk."

"Okay..." Damien tried to keep his face still as he sat down in one of the leather chairs that faced the sofa. 

"You went to see Ashlyn again didn't you?" Kallus also kept his face still, like it was a game of cards. 

"I did." There was no point in lying about it now. Damien had spoiled his chance to come home at a timely, inconspicuous hour, but oh had it been worth it.

"Is this to be an ongoing behavior with you, boy? Sneaking off, running around the forest with a Sorceress doing Fates-know-what?"

"I'm sorry." Damien looked down, and he tried to be sincere, though it was a bit difficult to feel guilty in that moment. 

Kallus sighed, holding his forehead. "I had hoped you would respond to reason, I hoped you would respond to asking...but I see now that I must do what I've been trying to avoid: I forbid you to see the Sorceress again. You're not to leave this house until Ashlyn goes to live with the humans. This is the only way I can ensure your safety."

"My safety?" Damien scoffed. "This was never about my safety, Kallus, this is about your pride. Stop cowering behind your poor excuses and accept the truth: Ash is not the creature you fear her to be."

"And how can we trust that? She is not fully grown."

"What does that matter? Grown or not, I understand now what she is. She safeguarded my life, and she continues to do so. Even from afar."

"By the Fates," Kallus cursed, "you've gotten close to her haven't you? Do you not think, boy? Do you not care?"

"Of course I care! But I sure as hell won’t justify you and your ridiculous paranoia."

Damien felt Kallus' palm slapping across his cheek, leaving a red welt near his jawline. The boy's eyes became cold and narrow, but he didn't want to give Kallus satisfaction by showing signs of pain. After a long, agonizing moment, Damien looked down at the floor, felt his eyes moistening. 

"I care very much." He hated admitting it, but he needed to hear himself say it. To make it real. "And I know you care, Kallus, about your loved ones. About your sister."

The elf's aquamarine eyes grew very still and wide. "Of course," Kallus said after several breaths, "you had the Sorceress look into my past."

"I did. I saw what Ithil did to your father; I saw your sister's funeral. I'm sorry that the pain of it still haunts you, but Ash is not her predecessor. She's...good. Gentle. Kind."

"Ithil was kind also." Kallus stared warily. "And yet she did something unthinkable. She took my father from me; everything he was. I would never wish you to suffer the same fate, boy."

Damien looked up, met the elf's fear-filled eyes. "Then we'll both have to do something we hate: trust the Sorceress not to do any harm."

"I gave up trusting Sorceresses long ago." Kallus came and stood over the boy, squeezed a hand around the back of his neck. Damien squirmed at the touch and jolted to his feet. Somehow, though, Kallus still held him there— with the stern look in his eye. "If you are to be broken by this, then let it be now," Kallus said. "You are not going to give her your mind, or your soul. You are not going to see her again."

"Kallus..." Damien scraped in a breath, felt himself trembling, "don't do this."

"I must. Ashlyn was never within your reach. She is to be queen of our kingdom one day; as a ruler, her marriage will likely be arranged for political gain. She cannot afford you as a distraction from her path, and you cannot afford to chase some pointless dream. She will leave you, boy, her destiny is far more demanding than yours. Regardless of how you might feel."

"Damn you." Damien's hands balled into fists. He was certain the next words out of his mouth were to be rude and unforgivably offensive, so he forced himself to say nothing as he tore away from Kallus and dashed upstairs to his quarters. He let out a long breath once he was behind the closed door and plopped face-down on his bed. 

House arrest. He had been placed under house arrest for nothing but a girl. It was madness, it was stupid. 

No! Damien heard his inner voice screaming at him. He wanted to make Kallus see, to prove him wrong. Granted, Ashlyn probably would become Lorianthil's queen but she was in no hurry for it. She had said so back at the river. That was enough to make Damien believe the girl intended to stay. Besides, why would she leave him at a time like this? That would be a cruel act on her part; to declare her feelings for him and then just disappear. 

He let the thought of her staying soothe him, make his sense return. It's alright, he told himself, she doesn't want to leave you.