Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 8)

(Righto.)

Three days after Ky met with the sword trainers and met Tristan, Zander was to take his leave. Gaius had discussed it with him shortly after emerging from his room, and so it was decided.
Gaius himself had mixed feelings about seeing Ky's other uncle go. He was a security threat, to be sure, but he provided an anchor for Ky and without him, she could very well fall apart. He'd do his best to keep her occupied with sword lessons and other pastimes, but it would be difficult for the girl to say goodbye after so long being without him.

Ky had spent the entirety of the day before clinging to Zander in anticipation for his departure today, and was grateful that Gaius had allowed them alone time without Emery. She’d stayed physically touching Zander for a large part of the day — snuggled up next to him on a couch or holding his hand or hugging him. And he reciprocated every melancholy feeling, though he hid it better than she could.

It’d been a long, long time apart. And Zander knew, intellectually, that she was safe now. That this was probably the safest place on this continent aside from Kyrkkyni for her. And she wouldn’t be happy there. She’d be the youngest, by a lot. And have entirely too much responsibility placed upon her. She had her childhood stripped from her, but she deserved at least the opportunity to breathe for a few years before she was a proper adult. Not to mention the Elders had voted against it, unless there was no other secure option for her. And there was. Here.

But that didn’t make it any easier to leave her.

He felt like he was abandoning her. And she certainly acted like he was. Which made this doubly hard.

She’d had a complete meltdown last night just before bed, sobbing for a long, long time while Zander held her as tight and close as physically possible. He’d cried, too. But was careful not to let Ky see. He needed to be strong for her.

But it was a good release for both of them, and Ky was far more stable now than she otherwise would have been. She shivered as they stood in the courtyard now, waiting for her heart to be ripped out.

Gaius was standing a little ways off from them with Sara and Emery by his side. He looked and felt ill--not from guilt, but from going a few straight days without eating. The incident in the dungeon had rattled him and he'd spent all of that day and half of the next holed up in his room. His face was drawn and pale now, and he put more weight on his cane than he cared to admit. He wanted badly to go back inside and get warm, but decorum and Ky's sanity required that he see Zander off. It would appear to be, as it was, a mutual agreement between the two men, and hopefully that would help Ky to feel better.

Zander looked around and let out a breath and nodded. Right, then. No point in dragging this out. It wasn’t going to be any easier on Ky for him to leave in half an hour than it would now. And he suspected she’d cry again. And that she wouldn’t want witnesses when she did. So he needed to be kind and let her have her privacy to grieve.

“C’mere, kiddo.” Zander opened his arms for her and hugged her tightly as she walked into them. “I’ll be back soon, okay?”

Ky clung to him and nodded against his chest, even though she didn’t believe him. Best case scenario would be months and months. Worst would be he died and never came back at all. She’d already accepted once she’d never see him again — it was sheer cruelty to make her get used to the idea a second time. But she forced herself not to dwell on it. She wasn’t going to cry. “I love you.”

“I love you so, so much.” He gave her a tighter squeeze and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

Sara gave Gaius's arm a little squeeze, and he glanced down at her. Her lips were pressed into a thin line--she was hurting for Ky, he could tell. She'd be better at comforting her than he would be, he expected--he'd leave her with Ky for a little if Ky needed it. He had a feeling she would, but not yet.

Zander held her a long moment before slowly pulling away and stepping towards the others, nodding to the Ashes. “Thank you for opening your home to me; I’ve appreciated the extra time with my niece.”

"We wish you could stay longer," Sara said to him with a dip of her head. "We hope you'll return soon and safe." Gaius nodded in agreement.
"I'll be in contact with you," he added. "I can provide updates on Ky's wellbeing and pass on any messages, if you wish." It wasn't much, but it was better than them having no contact at all.

“I appreciate that,” Zander said with a nod. “I’ll be sure to include a location with each letter so you know where to send the next.”

"Excellent. And you have the list of contacts I gave you?" he asked. He knew Zander did; he'd gone over it with him several times over the past two days. Zander wouldn't be fool enough to leave something that important behind.

“I do.” Zander said with a nod. They both knew he did. But he supposed it would set Gaius’s mind to ease. “And I thank you kindly. I’ll be sure to put them to good use and send back anything of use I learn.”

"Certainly. I would expect nothing less. And remember to show them my seal if they question your intentions."

(How do you feel about doing a few asides as Zander travels the continent to reach contacts and stuff over time? It occurred to me that I haven't done much world building beyond the Northern Realm and that would be a fun way to do it.)

(I’d love that! I haven’t really developed Zander much aside from being Uncle Zander, so it’d be fun to see him in action ^^ also gives us an excuse to jump if things get stagnant here since all my characters are now together so we don’t have a lot of places to go with them haha)

“Of course.” Zander dipped his head kindly. He wasn’t an amateur. Obviously he knew all of these things. But he supposed it was a good show for Ky. He wanted to stay as innocent as possible in her eyes. No need for her to know that he was setting out with full intentions of killing however many people were after her. “Hopefully won’t be too much longer before this whole mess is behind us all.”

“And then you’re coming back,” Ky said firmly.

Zander’s gaze softened as he looked at her and confirmed, “And then I’m coming back.”

(That's great!! I'll leave it up to you in regards to which Realm he hits first.)

"Hopefully you'll be safely back at Caracal Keep by then," Gaius said, glancing over to Ky. "He can visit you there without any pressure." That Gaius himself applied. He supposed he could stand to be more lenient with the bodyguarding, but he didn't fully trust Zander not to go snooping out of concern for Ky. He'd find some things--none of which would harm Ky but they'd certainly harm the security of House Ash.

(Ooh oki cool. Do you have any like potential contacts in mind anywhere? I remember he gave a plan but I can’t remember what it is haha)

Ky glanced at him irritably, but more or less masked it. She was trying not to be bitter with Gaius for tossing Zander out. But he seemed intent on making that a difficult task. He didn’t need to reiterate how much he hated her uncle. It’d just make her resent him. There was no universe in which being with Gaius was even a fraction as good as being with Zander. And yet she was going to be stuck here.

“Can’t wait,” Zander cut in, deciding to be the buffer before this had a chance to turn nasty. “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of stories to tell me and your parents too by then.”

(I will be making up names very soon and attaching backstories to them. I do have a couple that I know but just can't remember, so I'll tack them on as well.)

Gaius kept silent; he'd let them say their goodbyes. Daylight was beginning to peek through the trees and he'd planned on Zander being out before first light so he could get a head start on the day. That hadn't happened, but time of was the essence now.