There was a long silence, and then something in the small canine body seemed to give out, the fox sagging on the rock. No, he agreed in a soft voice that was barely a whisper. I could not. I should have... but... But that wasn't the way the world worked. If he had known then he wouldn't have made the mistakes that he had made, now would he? Except...
And even if I had known... I would have made the same decisions anyway, he admitted as she came to stand next to him. He accepted her presence and her strength, but the shadows of his past weighed too heavily on his heart, recalled so vividly to his mind once more, and he couldn't find the strength to accept her solace when he had borne his guilt so dearly and so long. I paid and I paid and I paid, but each price was accepted willingly. Each one, in that long, terrible chain, was necessary. My parents didn't have to die, but we had to go to the Choking Tower. We had to face its master and gain the information that would lead us to the Scar of the Spider. And by doing so, we had no way not to wake the ire of Ozmyn Zaidow and bring his wrath down on my home. If my parents hadn't been in town that day, celebrating our return... if they had chosen a different building to shelter in... if... He grew silent again, and this time when Amalia spoke he sighed and allowed himself to lean against her. Not to comfort himself, but to support her and the loss of her beloved grandmother.
I wish I could have met her, he said wistfully. Though... she probably would have seen that I was trouble immediately, and wouldn't have let you join my guild or consort with me. Did she love the Atheneum as you do?
And even if I had known... I would have made the same decisions anyway, he admitted as she came to stand next to him. He accepted her presence and her strength, but the shadows of his past weighed too heavily on his heart, recalled so vividly to his mind once more, and he couldn't find the strength to accept her solace when he had borne his guilt so dearly and so long. I paid and I paid and I paid, but each price was accepted willingly. Each one, in that long, terrible chain, was necessary. My parents didn't have to die, but we had to go to the Choking Tower. We had to face its master and gain the information that would lead us to the Scar of the Spider. And by doing so, we had no way not to wake the ire of Ozmyn Zaidow and bring his wrath down on my home. If my parents hadn't been in town that day, celebrating our return... if they had chosen a different building to shelter in... if... He grew silent again, and this time when Amalia spoke he sighed and allowed himself to lean against her. Not to comfort himself, but to support her and the loss of her beloved grandmother.
I wish I could have met her, he said wistfully. Though... she probably would have seen that I was trouble immediately, and wouldn't have let you join my guild or consort with me. Did she love the Atheneum as you do?
