Epilogue
Voices awoke Sonea from her deep sleep. She shifted slightly and heard the voices stop abruptly. Then they began again, but in a more hushed tone, meaning Sonea had to listen more carefully.
"... they have broken the law of the King, we must do something about it!"
"Let's not be harsh, Balkan. They saved the Guild and possibly even Imardin, do you really intend to kill our heroes?"
"But it was Akkarin's fault that we were put in danger in the first place!"
Sonea's eyes opened at the mention of Akkarins name and she struggled to sit up.
"Sonea." Sonea noticed Lorlen's voice and felt hands push on her shoulders.
"Akkarin." She whispered, clutching her thumping head.
"He's fine, Sonea. Lay back down." Lorlen ordered softly. Sonea shook her head and pushed the soft blanket she was wrapped in off of her legs and swung out of the wards bed. She had loads of energy inside her, strange, considering the circumstances. She sent some healing energy to chase away her weariness and turned to Lorlen, who was watching her carefully. Balkan was staring at her in distaste and Lady Vinara was holding a rather expressionless face. She turned to Lorlen.
"I wish to see Akkarin. If you are worried that I will run off and try to murder all of the Guild singlehandedly, then you can escort me." Sonea said to Lorlen coldly, flickering her eyes into Balkans direction. At least he had the decency to look slightly ashamed.
"Of course." Lorlen whispered hoarsely, before clearing his throat and placing a light hand on Sonea's shoulder. She nodded up and him and began to walk out of the room. Lorlen turned to give Balkan a warning look, before following her.
"Sonea?"
Sonea gasped and ran forward towards Akkarin, who was sitting up in his own ward bed. He enveloped her in a tight, warm hug and placed his lips on the top of her head. Sonea shuffled herself onto his bed and wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling his closer.
One of the Healers raised her eyebrows at Lorlen and Lorlen replied with a slight upturn in the corner of his mouth. He nodded towards the door and the Healer bowed politely, walking out of it. Lorlen cast Akkarin and Sonea a glance and smiled to himself, before following the Healer, closing the door on the way out.
Sonea pulled away and placed a hand at the base of Akkarins neck. He moved a hand under her gown and began to draw small circles on her back.
"I can't believe we're alive. We made it through." She smiled slightly and her eyes began to well up. Akkarin smiled weakly back and shook his head slightly.
"The fight was not the worst of it. We'll now have to deal with the law and rules of the Guild." He raised a hand to the side of her head and rubbed his thumb along her cheek, staring into each of her eyes in turn.
"Folt forcefully taught you black magic so that you would be exiled if he was unsuccessful in his attempt to kill us. I am sure the Guild may twist the rules, although I am uncertain. I learnt black magic for my own foolish protection. There is more of a chance you can stay here, safe, while I am exiled."
The smile fell from Sonea's face.
"No. They can't. You helped them defend the Guild, why would they send you away?" Her eyes began to well up with tears. Akkarin smiled at her grimly.
"Their argument that is was my fault in the first place will be a lot more welcoming then the real reason."
Sonea frowned in confusion. Akkarin chuckled.
"Folt was planning to invade the Guild, even before I killed his best friend. The war between Imardin and the Sachakans was never forgotten and they did vow to come back one day and destroy it. It just so happens that Folt was foolish enough to try and dispose of me with only two of his strongest men. It will be years before another force as strong as his becomes a threat."
Sonea soaked in this information. She grasped his hand and gazed into his eyes.
"We'll tell them. Tell them everything you told me. They can't exile you, not after you saved them from a future invasion."
Akkarin stared at her. He could tell them everything, but it will mean telling them about the personal secret that he kept from even Sonea. A truth read would be all it took for his name to be cleared.
Sonea knew he was making a decision and happily waited. After a few minutes he leant forwards and kissed her tenderly on the lips, then pulled away and whispered into her ear:
"As long as I'm with you, I don't care what the consequences are."
"Lorlen, we do not mean to be biased here, but you are Akkarin's best friend as well as the Administrator. It is clear that you would say we would allow Akkarin to remain in the Guild." Balkan explained, Lady Vinara at his side.
Lorlen nodded, his two index fingers pressed to his lips and his hands clasped together. He removed them and smiled at them both.
"True enough, but you have not yet thought to yourself... Akkarin may have a valid reason for his actions. It could be an excuse, yes, but there would be no way he could make it up if we can perform the truth read if necessary. There would really be no need to exile Akkarin if he has a good enough reason." Lorlen explained, tipping himself some wine. Balkan frowned and let out a deep sigh, rubbing his forehead with the tips of his fingers.
"Alright." He said impatiently, flicking his hand in the air and then dropping it to his side in defeat. Lorlen gave him a sly nod and Balkan bowed before leaving the room, Lady Vinara at his side.
A week had passed and the Healers had given Sonea and Akkarin the confirmation they needed to leave the Healers Quarters.
They made their way back to the Residence, escorted by Balkan and Lorlen. Sonea glanced around at the novices she passed as Akkarin talked animatedly with Lorlen. She almost laughed. The look of disgust they had usually given her had turned more sympathetic, even slightly in awe of her. She shook her head and caught Akkarin smiling at her as they finally reached the Residence.
Lorlen's expression turned serious.
"The Hearing will be tomorrow morning. You two had better prepare yourself for the worst. It has been decades since the King has decided to attend a Hearing that he considered important. "
Akkarin nodded and Sonea swallowed, bowing to him politely before he turned his back and walked out. Akkarin turned and smiled at Sonea.
"No matter what happens, we'll be together." He lifted his long, slender hand up and stuck out his little finger, clenching his other fingers together. Sonea giggled at his childishness and lifted her little finger up, entwining it with his. He pulled her closer into a hug and she whispered into his ear:
"I love you."
"Fellow magicians, this Hearing is hereby in progress." Lorlen shouted, his voice magnified with a slight touch of magic. The magicians took their seats and a few murmurs were whispered amongst the novices as the King entered and sat in the tallest chair.
Sonea swallowed again and felt Akkarin grip her hand tightly. They were standing in the doorway, awaiting Lorlen's orders to walk in.
They watched Lorlen talk to the court surrounding him and Sonea struggled to observe the expression on the magicians' faces. They didn't seem angry or disgusted in any way. A small rush of hope surged through her.
She jumped when Akkarin pushed her forwards; not realising that the Guards had began to walk. She swallowed, attempting to dampen her dry throat and slowly dragged her feet after her.
She resisted the urge to laugh as a single cheer rang out from the audience. She couldn't help but snort a little when she realised that it was Dannyl.
A few other magicians let out cheers of encouragement until Lorlen announced them to be silent. She took her place just in front of the King, Akkarin at her side.
The Hearing seemed to rush past. Akkarin had described everything which he had explained to her in his room all that time ago. But as Akkarin started to explain a little more in depth, Sonea understood why he had hesitated from the truth read back in the ward.
"Shenko didn't just capture me and hold me hostage. While I was in Sachaka, I met this beautiful woman." His eyes seemed to harden.
"Raiya was a Kyralian herself and had been captured when she was just a child by Shenko. She was raised up by him and each day he would take her energy. She had grown to be quite a beautiful young woman, despite her living conditions." Akkarin grimaced.
"I didn't even get near her. We would have conversations through our bars during the night, but we were too far away to even touch. As soon as Shenko found out about our conversations, he decided to do what he knew would hurt me most." Akkarin paused and looked down to stare at his hands.
"He sent Folt to kill her and forced me to watch as he..." His breath got caught in his throat and he stared up at all the magicians faces. They were all very tense and listening in, even the King seemed to be intrigued.
"They told me they were going to invade Imardin and they were going to make me fight with them. Make it seem as though I had turned against them. But I got out and killed Shenko before he had the chance to attack." He explained, regaining his composure.
Lorlen coughed and turned to the rest of the magicians.
"I will now perform a truth read on both Akkarin and Sonea to confirm that what they had done was not out of pure greed for power, but for the love of the Guild. To defend themselves and to defend Imardin."
A few magicians murmured with agreement loudly and Lorlen began the truth reads.
It was overwhelming. Akkarin had not been so at ease since when he was nothing but a novice. It was gone. Everything was over and done with.
Him and Sonea where free to do as they wished, Sonea could continue her lessons, Sonea could be his.
They both stood outside of the Hall where the Hearing was held and smiled up at each other. Magicians nodded their heads politely as they passed and their eyes gleamed up at the both of them.
"I can see why you were willing to sacrifice yourself for the Guild now." Sonea murmured to him. Akkarin nodded.
"To let all these people die and for me to live would leave me with such a heavy burden that I would not have wanted to live very long anyway."
Sonea smiled up at him and he leant down, placing a soft kiss on her lips. A small cough interrupted them. They broke apart and Sonea stared at the magician.
"Rothen!" She shouted, throwing herself into his arms. He hugged her tightly to his chest.
"I can't believe you've been through all of that. And to think I wasn't there to protect you." He whispered into her hair. He glared up at Akkarin and Sonea laughed.
"Rothen, sometimes I think you forget that I should be nothing but a novice. No matter how much I wish to be your daughter, I'm afraid I'm not."
Rothen grinned at her. "A little imagination can't hurt."
Sonea rolled her eyes. "I'll talk to you later."
Rothen nodded and looked up at Dannyl who had appeared beside him. Dannyl winked at Sonea and walked off with him.
Turning back to Akkarin, Sonea felt happier then she ever had before in her life. Akkarin beamed down at her and sweeped her into his arms, holding her tightly over his shoulder.
"I won't ever lose you."
And she knew he meant it.
You're not alone
Together we stand
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand
When it gets cold
And it feels like the end
There's no place to go
You know I won't give in
No I won't give in
A/N: Well, there's the end of it. Boy, it was a tough ride, but writing this has got me into part-time writing as a hobby now! :D
Thank you to all my reviewers:
wizardfantasy for sticking with me to the end
Moons-Chan for giving me critizcism when I need it. :P
Moon Mysteri for reviewing me AND being on the best forums in the world. :D
alilonghorn for reviewing me when I needed it most.
Thanks again. :D
I'll probably write another fanfic eventually, so keep an eye out. ;]