After the events that freed Zethys van Hellcall from his nightmare, Rei'ann wanders to the edge of the Arboretum in the Jade Forest, where the earth ends in a steep vertical cliff, and serpent riders mount and dismount. There, she sees Avarius.
R: As if you can read me so well.
A: Reading people is my business, and an interest since I rejoined the world of the living. It, of course, helps that I used to know you.
R: As if you knew me that well back then.
A: The minimal interaction was offset by my watching you grow up. However, we are digressing. I saw you with Dawnlight, and you came away looking troubled. What is the problem?
R: .. There isn't a problem. He.. asked me to marry him.
A: So he finally did, after announcing his intentions to others save yourself.
R: It was only to both you and Dal'Danil, apparently. Stop exaggerating.
A: It was enough. Nevertheless, I expected a more positive emotion from you. Are you not willing?
R: No, I am willing. Very willing, in fact.
Rei'ann turns away from the death knight, staring at the serpent riders in the distance.
R: I did not expect things to quite turn out this way, you know.
A: I don't know. Enlighten me.
Rei'ann sighs, staring out into the starry night sky.
R: We were supposed to always remain home; I was supposed to lead us all, and not marry into another family. I was never given a choice to my suitor, even if on the surface it was made to look so. You remember all that, don't you?
Rei'ann glances at him, and he merely looks back at her, clinical and indifferent.
A: What is your point, exactly?
R: When something goes against one's lifelong expectations, it is normal to feel a little overwhelmed, Dawnstorm.
A: By which fact? That you agreed to marry? Or that you agreed to marry him in particular? Even when I gave you advance notice of his intentions?
Rei'ann pauses for a moment, trying to find her words.
She inhales slowly, keeping her facade neutral, although it was an unnecessary gesture before the death knight.
R: To answer your question, it is a bit of both. Grandfather would never have approved, and father would have approved only to spite him.
A: Why is it that the wishes of the long dead still influence you so? I dwell upon it myself merely out of interest, but you seem genuinely affected.
Rei'ann narrows her eyes, and looks away.
A: I do not understand you living beings. You are free. The confines and regulations of our house are no longer around to restrict you. You seem to know this, since you have, up until now, been reluctant to re-establish it.
R: I have a duty to keep the line going, Dawnstorm. Our family's legacy must continue. We have always been protectors of the borders. That will not change. It is already short of a miracle that we still survive.. Or exist, in your case.
Avarius tilts his head sideways, examining her with unwaning clinical interest.
A: So, do you do all this unwillingly?
R: No. I know that it is what I must do. I serve the interests of the Kingdom before myself, always, and we need our border protectors; we need our casters down south.
He straightens his head, cold dead eyes - a similar shade to her own before the fel taint - stare back at her. She seems convinced enough of her answer.
A: I am still trying to pinpoint the issue here. Do you really like him, then?
She answers a bit quickly.
A: I suppose by that response, it's a 'no'.
A: What matters, I presume is that you both are able to live in some semblance of harmony.
A: You can make a confident, if not an educated guess.
R: I mean, I don't know how to react, Dawnstorm. All this time I thought he chose me because he liked me; because of who I am within the Spire, and because I thought he found out about my background. Apparently all that did not matter. His.. love for me is.. true.
A: You like him. Why does it matter so much how you should feel after he has told you that he loves you.
She turns to him, her eyes blazing.
R: Emotions are weak. Remember that saying?
Avarius regards her with quiet indifference.
A: As much as I was a staunch supporter of Lord Silverfire, I should counsel you to look forward-
R: That is not the point, Dawnstorm.
She stares at him piercingly.
R: I feel as if I should feel something; I feel something yet I cannot place it; I once gave my heart to another and I never knew that until long after he was dead and gone. I don't want to make the same mistake here but in the Sun's name I honestly do not know.
She has become more labile recently, as if all the grief that was locked away almost two decades back has finally resurfaced and is finally being acknowledged. Avarius watches her with a hint of curiosity, observing her rare display of passion, of anger and frustration - even he does not remember her ever behaving this way when he was still alive.
R: Yes. I have for a while, but I did not know that until very recently. What bothers me the most is that he does not expect his feelings to be reciprocated in the same way.
It is Avarius' turn to become silent.
R: I do not understand love, Dawnstorm. I want to.
A: Did you love your family?
R: It's family, of course I did.
A: One does not necessitate the other. I say this with complete objectivity, Lady, and I am able to do so because I am dead. You admit that you loved before, so your heart is not dead, obviously.
Rei'ann closes her eyes, facing the sky.
A: What is the most important thing to you right now?
R: Something worth being a better person for.
A: Then that is love, is it not?
A: I know even less than you, my lady, but I suppose that that makes sense, logically.
The invisible veins around his face come into view faintly as they darken gradually. He picks up the dual runeblades, and fastens his cloak around his pauldrons
A: I must go to satisfy the thirst. I suggest not dwelling too much on this matter. Whatever is, is, as your mother used to say.
Rei’ann eyes him, and her lips finally curl into a small smirk.
R: You are less unsentimental than you appear to be, Dawnstorm.
A: You, in that aspect, would definitely know more than I.
With that, he strides away into the orchard of blossoming trees, leaving Rei’ann to stare after his disappearing back.
A: Suffer well, Lady Silverfire.
