Love mends even the broken parts
Astra had finally noticed Sugar, and the luxere was standing in the center of the main room, staring up at the dragon with fascinated eyes. The summoner, on the other hand, was solely focused on his former friend. Hearing Ronin call a decision wise was strange, all things considered. After all, Loren was far more used to hearing that his thinking and actions were faulty of late than sound, and he was much more inclined to agree with his critics. ”It was Wessex’s idea.” Actually, he honestly couldn’t remember whose idea it had been; the planning meeting felt like it had been a long time ago and he knew he’d been the one to start stockpiling food.
However, if he’d been surprised by the king’s first comment, the summoner was caught completely off-guard. Maybe he shouldn’t have been, but he was. Apparently, Remi’s definition of telling Ronin everything that had happened wasn’t actually everything. Then again, it was just everything the alchemist had done and said; perhaps the king just wanted Loren’s side. As the other man’s eyes met the summoner’s gaze, his expression grew a little sad, but still firm. ”I am sorry. The last thing I wanted was to cause either of you more distress.” That seemed important to say before anything else. Of course, his intentions didn’t matter.
Running into Remi—especially given how small the Hollowed Grounds were—was an inevitability. However, it was true that the Launceleyn had gone to see the alchemist. ”Remi said there were magically sealed and hidden doors in the Manor, ones that Zariah had forced him to make. This was back when I thought people would be staying there for LongNight, and I didn’t want to risk the monsters getting through them, or risk whatever she’d hidden there getting out.” Everything had spiraled out of control from there, but that was actually how it all started.
Loren had no real excuse or explanation for the rest of it. ”I found out he thought I’d run off with someone else, and I could see how much it was hurting him. So I needed to reassure him that I would never have done that to him because...I loved him.” Past tense. Maybe not anymore, not after everything, but back then it had certainly been true. If the king wanted to take offense at the Launceleyn’s words and actions, well, the other man had every right to do so. And perhaps he should’ve done a better job not mucking it all up. "That's all I wanted to accomplish. To spare him more pain." It hadn't worked, and maybe that was entirely the summoner's fault. Or maybe it was no one's fault, and just one of those unfortunate tricks the world played on them.
However, if he’d been surprised by the king’s first comment, the summoner was caught completely off-guard. Maybe he shouldn’t have been, but he was. Apparently, Remi’s definition of telling Ronin everything that had happened wasn’t actually everything. Then again, it was just everything the alchemist had done and said; perhaps the king just wanted Loren’s side. As the other man’s eyes met the summoner’s gaze, his expression grew a little sad, but still firm. ”I am sorry. The last thing I wanted was to cause either of you more distress.” That seemed important to say before anything else. Of course, his intentions didn’t matter.
Running into Remi—especially given how small the Hollowed Grounds were—was an inevitability. However, it was true that the Launceleyn had gone to see the alchemist. ”Remi said there were magically sealed and hidden doors in the Manor, ones that Zariah had forced him to make. This was back when I thought people would be staying there for LongNight, and I didn’t want to risk the monsters getting through them, or risk whatever she’d hidden there getting out.” Everything had spiraled out of control from there, but that was actually how it all started.
Loren had no real excuse or explanation for the rest of it. ”I found out he thought I’d run off with someone else, and I could see how much it was hurting him. So I needed to reassure him that I would never have done that to him because...I loved him.” Past tense. Maybe not anymore, not after everything, but back then it had certainly been true. If the king wanted to take offense at the Launceleyn’s words and actions, well, the other man had every right to do so. And perhaps he should’ve done a better job not mucking it all up. "That's all I wanted to accomplish. To spare him more pain." It hadn't worked, and maybe that was entirely the summoner's fault. Or maybe it was no one's fault, and just one of those unfortunate tricks the world played on them.
loren
