The sun was already under when Emrys and Audery got to the door of Mildenhall manor, they had left her uncle mister Albury behind at the tavern. Where he had a lot of work to do, but she had asked him to come by the manor before he would leave town. The thick wooden door decorated with an iron frame opened up and the warmth of the burning fires that were burning inside welcomed them. Emrys was the first to enter, and she followed him.

"Terence will be in his office," he said, while pointing at the door. That was slightly ajar, so he had heard them come in. She nodded and Emrys went towards his own room. She went towards the door, pushed it open, she didn't bother knocking. If Terence was smart, which he was, then he knew that this conversation was coming. He was sitting, his face buried into some paper. But he looked up when she entered the room, his face turned from a frown into a large smile. 

"You are back, thank the Gods." He said, while standing up. Rushing towards her side and wrapped her in his arms. "There are no words to describe how worried I was." She slightly pushes him away, looking him straight into his sapphire blue eyes. What in Huibin's name was wrong with that Sophia girl, blue was a beautiful colour. She closed hers for a brief second and then took a deep breath.

"Terence, you know that what you did is not sitting right with me. You promised me freedom, and that those not mean you following me everywhere I go." She said, he wanted to interject. But she stopped him by raising her hand, like she had done while she had discovered him inside the forest. "No, let me finish. Emrys has told me why you did, what you did. And before you are going to say that it was not his place to tell me this, I agree. But he did it because he cared about you, and wanted to let me know where you were coming from. But here it comes, and I know you do not like to hear this. I want you to promise me, that you will never follow me, not when I am out on a job. I am not Sophia, I know how to take care of myself." She knew that their meeting contradict that statement, but those were special circumstances. "I know how to handle Goblins, servants of Dakara, and I am pretty much sure how to handle druids. I can fight, what I can not do when I am out there is worry about Emrys and you. It will break me, to know that you are also there with us and I do not know where you are, or if you are in danger." Terence's gaze soften.

"So you were worried about me?" He asked, and she nodded.

"I was, I didn't know how far gone the servant of Dakara was. I didn't know if there were any goblins nearby, I didn't know anything besides what happened inside the camp and the road we had taken before that. I know that I was the one sending you back, and that was slowly killing me inside. So please, if you love me, do not put me through that again. And If I spot you again, I am going to triple the babysitting fee." She said, his mouth fall opens for a split second. But he smiled after that.

"I do love you, and I am sorry. I was not thinking clearly," he said. "How was your trip?" She smiled and started to tell him everything, about the Ghast and the Ghouls, their fight with the walking plants and then about the First Druids request. "A fourth night, alright, that means two weeks. And I am going on a gut feeling here that he will not be the only First Druid that will visit. Almost every trail has its own circle, and almost all of them have stated that the Faded forest is their domain. Only the First Druid of the main road, has allowed travellers to pass through." She nodded and lay her head on his chest. The rhythm of his beating heart sounded almost like a lullaby. She was feeling that she was drifting off. "Wow, I can see that you are tired. Am I allowed to carry you upstairs?" She nodded. "To your own room, or are you sleeping in mine?"

"I really do not care, as long as I am able to close my eyes." She said. He picked her up, as if she weighted nothing, and took her to his own room. She only didn't notice which room it was, because she fell fast asleep in his arms.

******

As always, the morning came without warning, Audery slowly woke up. Realizing that her head was not laying on a pillow, otherwise, the pillow was very muscular and moved up and down. She opened her eyes, currently she had wrapped herself around the still sleeping Terence. In her dirty clothing, he hadn't called for a maid to undress her and dress her in night clothing. He only had removed her boots and weapons, she smiled. He was so sweet and carrying, she loved him for that. She then thought about all the things he had done for her, to this point. Those were so much, he had given her clothing, care, food, weapons, a roof over her head, the first job. He had been a friend, his little brother was now her partner, and she couldn't imaging it any other way. And now that she thought about it, she almost thanked Anthony for robbing her, leaving her. She otherwise would never come to Spheros, because he never liked the cold that much. With a sigh, she slowly pushes herself off Terence, but he wrapped his arm around her.

"No, please, stay for just a moment longer," he murmured, still half a sleep. She wanted to chuckle.

"But I stink, my lord. It will be better if I take off this dirty clothes and have a bath," she countered. He raised his head with a crooked smile on his face.

"If you want to undress, then there is no need for you to leave at all." He said, his sapphire eyes were not clear. So he either was drunk of sleep, or simply drunk. But that comment came as a surprise, and made her cheeks burn up. He then blinked a few times with his eyes. Clearly realizing what he just had suggested. "Oh, no, did I say that out loud?" She slowly nodded, and he slapped his free hand in front of his eyes. "I am so sorry, I didn't want for you to hear that."

"But you meant it?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Of course, I meant it. I want to be your man in every possible way, but I know that there is a fine line in wanting that stuff and saying it out loud. And know this, I will never pressure in to anything that you do not want or are not ready to give." He said, his arm that was wrapped around her dropped on the bed. "I can not believe that I said that out loud, how can I be so stupid." She moved herself up, so that she was now at eye level with him. When they were laying down, it was easy to do. She was not sure what she was thinking, but now that he had told her that he wanted her... She just realized that she wanted him too.

"You are not stupid to voice your desires," she said. "This means that you feel comfortable enough to do so." She placed her lips on his, before he could say anything. She kissed him with a passion, she didn't know she had in her. When she broke off the kiss, she was out of air. His eyes sparkled, and the crooked smile was back. "I might need some help with my clothes, are you willing to help me with that?"

****** 

The door of the Adventures guild headquarters in Aeria, opened slowly. The hinges could use some oil, but that was not his job or place to tell the Leader of the guild that. Daniel shook off the raindrops, it was raining cats and dogs, another thing that bugged him.

"Good evening, you two are just in time. I was about to close up for the night," a man with grey hair and familiar green eyes stood up from a chair. "So let's make this quick, may I have your papers." Both Percy and Daniel did. "Wait a second, Percy? Are you the man Davina has foolishly pushed aside for that coward of a man?" Percy lowered his head, if this old fellow was not the head of the guild and his source of income, he would have burned him to a crisp. "My best friend has told me all about you, in a letter. So it is great to put a face by the name, welcome to Aeria." He then looked at Daniel's papers. "Archer, and a well seasoned one. Well, I have a team for each of you. Not one for the both of you, I am afraid."

"That is fine, we are just friends," Daniel said, this hurt a little. They had spent a couple of nights inside one bedroll, before they arrived. But he has always been the one who got his expectations too high. Daniel had never hinted to anything more than those couple of nights. Percy slowly nodded, ready to meet his new teammates. He was ready to leave a lot of shit behind him.

"Alright then, if the two of you can come back tomorrow, I will introduce you to them. I am Owen, by the way, Owen Northwood." Owen said, Percy's eyebrows shot up.

"Northwood, do you know for an instance a Rosina Northwood?" Daniel was the one who asked Owen this, and not Percy.

"She is my baby girl, did the two of you see her? Where? Is she still with that son of a b..." His hand slammed on the wooden counter. "I knew from the moment Audery, and he set foot in here, that he was trouble." He slammed again. "Taking my daughter from me, taken all Audery's belongings, leaving her with nothing. And when I say nothing, I mean nothing. He took her weapons, papers, even her food. Leaving her with no other option than to travel north, that sweet woman made it to Spheros." Daniel Now it was Daniel's turn to slam something. 

"That bastard, Audery was the key to their success and he couldn't take it. So he made sure that she wouldn't be competition, how is she?" Daniel asked.

"Well, according to Madam Ward, Audery arrived not only on her doorstep. But she also arrived at Huibin's door." Owen said. There went a rilling through Percy's spine, Huibin was not only the God of the dead. But it was also the name for the underworld, where no soul could escape from. Percy didn't know Audery, but he had met Anthony and he to say that he loathed that man was an understatement. "But she is doing fine now, she also caught the eye of the young Lord there. So things are looking up for her, I wish I could say the same thing for my daughter."

 "Your daughter will be done with him, they were fighting before we left them. I also pointed her towards my old mentors, to developed that raw talent for magic. She is a natural, I have given her a few pointers. But I am not her master and she was not my students, so what I could do was limited." Percy said, he hoped that he didn't underestimate the girl. Not that he was going to say that in front of her father. "But we will leave you, for now. We will see you tomorrow," Percy turned around and opened the door. It was still raining, but he didn't care. He wanted to have a nice warm meal and a warm bed for the night.

"Percy, wait for me," that was Daniel. "Hey, I can see that you are mad at me. Is that because of that 'just friends' comment. I thought we were just friends."

"We are, friends with benefits, and now those benefits have run their course. So now we are just friends," Percy said. He kept on walking while he said that. Aeria was a small town, no more than ten thousand souls are calling it home. The buildings made out of some kind of plaster and wood. The windows have neat little shutters at their sides. Some ivy was climbing up several walls, making it a home for birds and insects. Small rodents, cats and dogs were roaming the streets, which were expecting of those empty. The town's folk would all be sitting in the cosy warmth of their homes, and the travellers were sitting in the local tavern. Taking in the warm meal, discussing everything under the sky and maybe even what is in or above it. The tavern was not easy to pass by, the smell of alcohol, tobacco, and sex was already hanging in front of the building. Maybe he would pay some extra for a lady or gentleman of the night to warm his bed tonight? It all depended on how much they were asking, and if they were available. Which, in a small town like this, seemed rather unlikely. Percy entered the tavern, followed by Daniel, and he went straight up towards the bar. Rooms, food and company were arranged rather quickly. Apparently, Owen and the tavern owner have some kind of deal, but Percy didn't want and didn't care to know the ins and outs of that deal. He wanted simply enjoy his meal, and go on with his life inside this little town. Maybe, just maybe, he was able to build a life here.

*******

Emrys was once again sitting at the bar inside the Blushing Secret, and this time he had the undivided attention of Reese. The man wanted to know all about his first ever job, and his dealings with the druids.

"You were very brave, Emrys. I have to give you that," Reese said, taking Emrys's hand and sighed. "But why are you here this early, normally you will arrive here at midday?" Emrys sighed, it was indeed a bit odd. But besides his brother and Audery, who were now making his brother's bedroom into their lover's nest, he had no one to talk to. Almost all the people inside Spheros saw him as Lord Mildenhall's little brother. Even Reese those this on occasion, but still Reese was someone who really listened to him. "Oh no, I know that look. Emrys, I already told you..."

"No, it is not that," Emrys's said. "It is just," and then he started to share his thought process. Reese's gaze softened, just a little. "I just feel alone, that is all. I am, after all, Terence's little brother. Who has one big goal, to be known as anything else than only that." Reese sighed.

"You are placing too much pressure on yourself, darling." Reese said, he let go of Emrys's hand. "But you are kind of right. A lot of us see you as his lordship's younger brother. But enough talk, let us go to my room and have some fun. Free of charge."

"You know that I pay you either way," Emrys interjected. Reese nodded and walked around the bar.

"Take the treat, just once. It will not kill you, darling." Reese said, he turned around and walked away.