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| - Born the first and only child to a well off family in Hyrule Castle Town, Averine was certainly spoiled as a child. Her father, Varin, was Captain of the Guard of Hyrule Castle in charge of overseeing the security of the castle’s lower levels and the town. His father had been a guard before him, and Varin had hoped for a son to carry on the tradition. He needn’t have worried however, because Averine took a liking to combat and her father’s weapon collection from a very young age. The castle guard was open to both men and women, but it was still predominately male. In young Averine’s personal opinion, the other girls in her trainee group were manlier than some of the boys. With their short hair, pants, gruff attitudes, and propensity for starting fights (both verbal and physical), Averine often confused them for her male peers. The instructors seemed to like them more for it, though, and Averine was often reprimanded for her long hair, dresses (or otherwise tight clothes), and ‘lack of initiative’ as they liked to call her unwillingness to practice combat outside of regular evaluations. At Varin’s suggestion, Averine consented to a braid for her hair, for she would never cut it, but that was about the only compromise she ever agreed to, and she never received anything worse than a verbal reprimand. Her father was Captain of the Guard, after all, but more than that her long hair, choice of clothing, and ‘lack of initiative’ never stopped her from winning a good percentage of the sparring matches she participated in. Averine officially entered the guard at age thirteen as a page to a female senior officer, Musa. Although, Averine still found her to be too much like the men she worked with, there were things she liked about Musa. Her hair was longer. Not as long as Averine’s but not short either, and Musa simply pulled it up rather than braid it. Musa also commanded a lot of respect of her colleagues both male and female alike, something that Averine had never been able to do despite her skill. “You try too hard,” Musa told her. “You don’t have to become a man to be respected by them, but you don’t have to flaunt the fact that you’re a woman either. That is for special cases only.” Because she preferred a honey rather than vinegar approach, Averine took Musa’s advice and sweetened it to suit her needs. At eighteen Averine, Varin’s fiery daughter, officially entered the Castle Guard along with several others from her trainee group. After the official ceremony, Varin presented his daughter with the same sword that his father had given to him when he had entered the Guard and his father before him. Authority had never been a problem for Averine, and she’d never minded following orders, but as suspicion and fear spread across Hyrule, Averine found herself getting frustrated with her superiors’ ‘lack of initiative.’ Even her father wouldn’t entertain her ideas of going to search for the cause of the new evil. Averine had never been one to go looking for a fight, but it was inconceivable to her that the city would rather close its gates and protect its own than investigate the disturbances. When not on active duty, Averine took to investigating on her own, but she needed information to guide her, and that was how she first meant Calinth. The two knew each other by name and reputation alone, but Averine’s father often spoke highly of the man who was second in command to his major. He was far enough removed from her father’s immediate loyal retainers for her to not feel that she was double crossing him, so she sought out the, then, lieutenant. A smile and an innocent excuse about running an errand for her father was enough for the man, not much older than herself, to grant her access to his living quarters outside the castle. The barracks didn’t provide her with enough privacy to confront him alone. With his back turned she lunched for him, but he reacted quickly and both of them toppled to the ground. They grappled: Calinth’s superior strength against Averine’s superior flexibility. It was Calinth that came out on top with a knee to the small of her back and her arms pinned above her head. He chuckled. “What happened to the honey you’re known for?” “What are you talking about?” Averine growled still writing beneath him and trying to find where his hold was weak. “The way I hear it, it’s your charm that throws a man off his guard in the middle of a fight. Starting fights isn’t your strong suit.” His answer was a muttered response and Calinth lowered his head to his captive’s ear to whisper. “You’re much more likely to get your way if you use that pretty mouth of yours first.” Averine didn’t know whether to be coy or insulted, so she settled for taking the opportunity he gave her. She threw her head back into his. He gave a short cry more of surprise than pain, but tugged her braid in response. Averine yelped as her head was pulled back. “I suppose that was my own fault, but if I let you up will you give me your word not to try this again?” Averine considered it a moment, not sure what game the lieutenant was playing, so she nodded. Calinth released her braid and her arms before rising and offering her a hand up. Averine looked at his outstretched hand before pushing herself to her feet. “Do I dare ask why I’m not under arrest?” She asked, brushing herself off. Calinth laughed. “Well, I assume there’s a reason you threw yourself at me. I’d like to hear it.” “Aren’t you accustomed to women throwing themselves at you?” Averine asked, deciding on her reaction to his earlier comment. The lieutenant laughed. “Not as accustomed as you must be to men doing the same for you, Vixen. Now how about the real reason.” He leveled his gaze with Averine’s and after a few moments, Averine crossed her arms and looked away. “Look I could drag you before your father right now if you prefer. I just thought I’d give you a chance to change my mind.” Averine considered that for a moment before sighing. “I want information on suspicious activity outside the town.” That wasn’t the answer Calinth had been expecting. “Why do you think I have what you want?” “Because your boss reports to my father, and I know my father has the information.” “Then why not get it from him?” Averine paused again. “I can’t. If I sneak into his office, I’m betraying his trust, and I know he won’t give it to me willingly.” Calinth considered the woman before him a while. “I don’t have the information you want. I doubt I know much more than you do.” Averine’s shoulders fells slightly at that and he continued quickly. “But, I think I know who you want to talk to. There’s a small group of townspeople who are very resistant to the safety measures the soldiers have put in place. They operate out of the pub.” “Why are you telling me this?” Averine asked confused. The soldiers were supposed to concern themselves with the town’s security only. The lieutenant gave a shrug of his shoulders. “I’m curious too, but I don’t have your drive to find it. If you can bring the true cause of this chaos to light, it benefits all of us.” Hazel eyes considered the man before her for a while, but eventually offered him a small smile. “Thank you, Lieutenant.” “Calinth,” the man said with a wave of his hand. “This isn’t official, and I’d actually prefer if you wouldn’t name me as your source.” “Very well. Is that all you plan to get out of this arrangement?” Averine asked settling a hand on her hip. Calinth laughed. “Nothing more than you plan to give, Lady. I would settle for your name.” “You know my name.” “But I’d like to hear you give it to me nonetheless.” Averine raised an eyebrow. This man was strange, but it wasn’t an unreasonable request. “Averine. Averine Lassandara.” Calinth took her hand and placed a kiss on it. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Averine. Even if it was rather up close and personal.” He added with a grin. She gave the lieutenant a teasing smile as she pulled her hand away. “Perhaps it will not be the last time you get to see me so close.” Calinth laughed and grinned in response. “I look forward to it, Lady. Just be careful.” He warned as he saw her out. Averine nodded before leaving to head into town. The group that Averine was looking for wasn’t hard to feel out. A few well phrased comments to the barman about her opinion of the way the soldiers were handling the situation earned her an invitation to a meeting later in the evening. When Calinth said small he certainly hadn’t been exaggerating. The Group as they creatively called themselves was only four or five members, and they were both eager and hesitant to welcome the soldier. It would be a few months before Averine was welcomed warmly, but she was content to feel like she was doing something to find the cause rather than simply barricade the city. While Averine rarely left the city herself, she helped finding information to help the other members investigate leads outside the city gates. They also had a better idea of who to get information from, and Averine had no qualms about getting it for them within reason. As long as the soldiers were far enough removed from her father, she didn’t mind sneaking information from their quarters. Calinth never wanted to have a direct hand in her affairs, but he never minded lending a helping hand. He’d keep her target away while she slipped in to get what she needed, or if nothing else would help her determine the best times to slip in. The two grew close through Calinth’s small kindnesses and the secrets they shared. Gradually, Calinth’s kisses to Averine’s hand moved to her cheek, and eventually their friendship blossomed into something more. A pounding on his wooden door roused Calinth from his sleep. Muttering something to himself about the late hour, he dragged himself out of bed and went to unlatch the door. “This had better be important. I don’t appreciate being—Goddess, Averine! What happened?” Calinth quickly helped the woman inside and sat her gently in a chair. “I ran into a pack of wolfos on my way back.” Averine told him sitting sideways in the chair to keep some pressure off of her hip. She laughed softly despite the pain as she watched Calinth stumble around in the dark for a candle and presumably something to treat her wound. After several failed attempts, Calinth managed to find and light a candle by his bed and dragged out some cloth bandages. “Sit there for a minute. I’ll help you in a moment.” Averine wasn’t planning on going anywhere. Not after the trek from the stables here, so she waited for Calinth to return with some clean water. “Alright. Let’s get you out of those.” Averine laughed softly. “Why do I get the impression you’ve been waiting for a chance to say that?” She asked, letting Calinth help her over to his bed. Calinth waited until she’d balanced well enough against the edge of the mattress and him before pulling of her boots and starting to unlace the sides of her leather pants. “Maybe I have, but this is hardly the scene I’d envisioned.” He replied. A slight smile curved Averine’s lips, but she put a hand over Calinth’s once he’d unlaced enough of her pants. “That’s enough. I can take it from there, and you can turn around.” “Averine, this is hardly the time for modesty.” “Since when have you known me to be modest or shy, Cal? This is for neither; I just don’t want you to be distracted.” Averine said, twirling her finger to gesture for Calinth to turn around. The man sighed but did as she asked and turned his back to her while she carefully peeled the leather away from the wound in her hip and slid them down her legs. It took her a while and was accompanied by several hisses of pain, but eventually she had managed to strip her lower half and slid onto Calinth’s bed, lying on her right side so as not to put more pressure on her injured hip, and trying to cover as much of herself as she could given the location of her wound. “You can turn around now.” Calinth turned back to her and knelt by the bedside to start gently washing out the wound. The more blood that he washed away, the more of the actual wound he saw. There were what he assumed were teeth marks all around her hip like the wolfos had latched its jaw onto the soft flesh covering her hip bone and refused to let go. The blood flow was decreasing, but wasn’t going to stop soon, so Calinth bandaged it as tightly as he could considering its awkward position, despite Averine’s teasing comments about his hands being places they shouldn’t be without invitation. “You’re awfully talkative for a woman who could have bled to death,” Calinth remarked as he pulled a blanket over Averine’s lower half. “All the more reason for me to express my gratitude to my savior.” The man shook his head with an amused smile and sat on the edge of the bed with her. “Sleep, Lady.” “Only if you lay with me,” was Averine’s quick reply and Calinth chuckled. “You know I’d like nothing more, but you are injured.” Averine pushed up on one arm to but herself on his level. “I am not so injured that I cannot properly thank my savior,” she whispered as she trailed a finger down Calinth’s cheek and jaw. This was not the playful banter that Calinth was used to, and there had been times before when he’d questioned whether or not her (and his own) words had been in jest or sincerity, but this had lost any pretence of jest. “Averine, I don’t th—” Soft lips fell upon Calinth’s own and swallowed his words. A moment later Averine pulled back just enough to break the kiss, and when she spoke her lips still brushed against his. “Please…” Any sense of propriety that Calinth had been trying to maintain was lost at her purr of a plea, and he gently captured her lips again. Averine laid back against his pillow again, gently pulling Calinth down with her. The man’s hands sought the lacing of her bustier and quickly began pulling them out to expose more of her skin. Averine smiled and gave a pleased sigh as Calinth’s mouth trailed kisses down her neck. She let him love her, perhaps a bit too gently for her taste, but she understood his concern and loved him more for it. She laid her head lightly on his bare chest afterward as he laid at her side and listened to his quick heartbeat. “Daddy will be furious,” she murmured after a few minutes of silence as she traced imaginary patterns on Calinth’s chest. Calinth’s hand around her shoulders tightened a bit but there was a smile in his voice as he spoke. “I hadn’t planned on telling him, Lady.” A light laugh left Averine’s lips and she shook her head slightly. “Nor I, Cal, but I do expect that he’d notice.” Calinth raised his head to look down at her. “Is it so obvious?” Averine laughed again and turned her head so she could see him. “Yes, I would think my limp would be rather obvious to everyone, wouldn’t you?” “Of course, your limp.” Calinth said dropping his head back again and running his free hand over his face. “I thought you meant—” “Yes, Cal I know what you thought I meant,” Averine said with another laugh at Calinth’s expense. The man sighed and lightly rubbed Averine’s arm. “We’ll come up with something to tell him,” He assured. “You aren’t expected back on duty until the day after tomorrow.” Averine nodded her head and her hand stilled on his chest. “Sleep, Lady,” Calinth bid her again, but this time with a kiss to the top of her head. Hazel eyes turned up to him again, and Averine smiled faintly before settling against him and slipping into a peaceful slumber. Like Averine’s work with The Group, Calinth and Averine kept their relationship a secret between them. Soldiers were not permitted to fraternize with one another and neither Calinth nor Averine wanted to see Varin’s reaction to the matter, so they kept their more intimate meetings private, usually to Calinth’s own living quarters. It was their relationship that had given Averine an idea as to how to get more information. “Sneaking around offices can only get me so much. The information I want will likely have to come from someone’s mouth,” Averine commented as she and Calinth sat cleaning their weapons and equipment. She had a feeling that this was an idea she would have to ease him into, and she’d rather do it in a somewhat public setting where they couldn’t make a scene. Calinth laughed at her remark. “And you think they’ll voluntarily give you what very well may be confidential information?” “Well, not if I just ask them.” Averine glanced up at him as she paused for a minute. “But they will if I offer them a bit of honey in exchange.” Calinth stopped what he was doing and met her eyes. He didn’t like that sentence at all. “Offer them honey?” He echoed. “You had better mean that in the most literal sense possible.” Averine gave him a small smile. “You told me once that I’m known for my honey. I charm people. Why not use it to get them to talk?” “Because that puts you in a very dangerous position!” Calinth exclaimed while trying not to outright shout. “But if they give into my advances, they are in a worse position. No one will turn me in.” That Averine was very confident of because it would mean admitting that they had been seduced by her in the first place. “Even if no one reports it, rumors will start, and they will destroy your reputation.” Averine shrugged her shoulders slightly and spoke frankly. “My reputation is my own to create or destroy and rumors are merely talk without any evidence to corroborate them. Besides, I’m sure there are already some going around about me. I’m known for my honey,” she said again. Calinth stood and paced the small room, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. “You know I don’t like it, Averine.” “Well, I hadn’t expected you to, but I’m telling you out of courtesy. I’m not asking for your permission.” Calinth turned to her at that surprised. Averine stood to put herself on his level. “You don’t own me, Calinth. You know that. I belong to myself.” Averine sighed and softened her tone. “Is it so important to you that you have both my body and my heart?” “Do I even have that, Averine? Or will you give that to someone if it becomes a useful tool?” Hazel eyes softened and Averine walked to Calinth, gently taking his hands. “If I do, Cal, it is only for show, not the real thing. My heart does not belong to you. It is mine to take back, but I would like you to keep it awhile.” Averine drew close to him and rested her head in the crook of his neck. “I know it is safe with you.” Calinth took his hands from her and wrapped them around her instead. “I will keep it, Lady, for as long as you let me. But I fear for what others may do to your body,” he whispered into her hair. “I can take care of myself, Cal,” Averine reminded, and he knew she could, but it did not make him any more comfortable with the idea. “But I suppose that if something should I happen I would have to come see my favorite physician.” A smile finally curved Calinth’s lips. “I am no physician, Lady.” “Of course you’re not. I was talking about Raf,” Averine said, stepping back a bit to look up at him. Calinth chuckled and shook his head with a sigh. “Of course you were.” Regardless of how he felt about the plan, Calinth still supported Averine in her decision. When she had reason to suspect that there was someone she could get information from, Calinth would help her determine the best time to approach them. He preferred her noble targets, for they were not military and there was no regulation preventing such intimate relations. Averine consented to his suggestions for targets because she saw the logic in seducing a less dangerous target who was likely to have the same information she sought. Only a few months after Averine’s shift in investigative tactics, Calinth offered her a ring. “You’re serious?” Averine asked, slightly breathless as she looked at the silver ring Calinth was offering her. Calinth nodded. “I love you, Averine, you know that, and I’d like everyone else to know it too.” “I won’t stop what I’m doing, Cal. Which means that everyone can’t know,” Averine said shaking her head. “Does it? Wouldn’t your engagement make you all the more appealing? People always want that which they cannot have.” Hazel eyes blinked in surprise. Considering Calinth’s less than pleased attitude about how Averine worked, it was strange to hear such a suggestion from him. It was strange, but made her more comfortable with the idea. His offer had nothing to do with her behavior. It was a sincere proposal. “You will not own me, Cal,” she said softly. “I would never want to, Lady, but marrying me does not make you mine. You would still belong to you.” Averine’s eyes softened and she gave Calinth a warm smile. “Then yes. I will marry you.” Calinth smiled warmly and slipped the ring onto her finger as he placed a kiss on her lips. “I love you,” he whispered. “I love you too,” Averine replied as she rested her head on his shoulder. The two stood together for a while in the sanctity of Calinth’s living quarters, but eventually Averine broke the silence. “We’ll have to tell Daddy,” she remarked after a while. “I have already spoken to your father,” Calinth told her. Averine blinked and looked up at him surprised. “You have?” Calinth nodded. “I asked him for his blessing.” A small smile curved Averine’s lips and she rested her head against him again. “Was he angry?” She asked with a smile, trying to picture how that conversation had gone. Her father wasn’t known for his temper, but he was very defensive when it came to his only child, and he was also very observant of the regulations. “I suppose you could call it angry. Your mother talked him into it.” Averine laughed softly. She could picture that. She loved her mother dearly, but they had very different tastes. Compared to her father’s general disapproval of her femininity, however, her mother was very open to her daughter portraying herself as a strong woman. “You don’t think he…suspects anything do you?” “I doubt anyone will have reason to suspect we’ve been doing anything against regulations.” Intimate relations of any kind between soldiers were frowned upon, but only sexual relations were specifically forbidden. “Except for rumors,” Averine added. “I thought you didn’t mind rumors,” Calinth said glancing down at her. “I don’t, but you do.” Calinth smiled. “I’ll endure the rumors if it means I get to kiss you when I please.” Averine laughed, stepping back from his embrace. “You mean when I decide you may.” “We’ll see, Lady,” Calinth replied with a grin. Calinth was right. It became easier for Averine to get welcomed to a noble’s bed as the news of her engagement spread. She got plenty of questions about it, but they were easy enough to talk her way around especially considering that both she and her target were usually naked at the time. The information she got was only mildly helpful and often not substantial enough for her to use without more information to connect the threads, but one night one of the nobles dropped a name: General Haldor Gareth. Averine immediately wanted to make him her next project, but Calinth was adamantly opposed. “No, absolutely not. He is too dangerous.” “Cal, I will do this with or without your support. Wouldn’t you rather I had it?” Calinth ran a hand over his face. She always used questions like that when he disagree with her, and as infuriating as it was it was true. “Averine, Gareth lives and breathes regulation. He will turn you in the moment you open your mouth.” “I disagree. I believe he’s a man before a general.” “I resent that remark,” Calinth muttered. Averine laughed. “You have your moments,” she teased before returning to the issue of Gareth. “I will be careful.” Calinth sighed. “He is very close to your father.” Averine paused at that. “I know, but I just can’t ignore it.” She was determined if she was willing to approach on of Varin’s close confidants, so Calinth couldn’t refuse her. “I will support you.” For as much effort as Calinth had put into deciding what day Averine should seek out the general, she hardly thought it mattered, but Calinth went to great pains to assure that he would be on patrol the night she went, so Averine had waited and followed his timeframe. When she finally did knock on his door, she found it relatively easy to gain entry. For all Calinth’s worrying, it was turning out to be no more difficult than any of the nobles. Gareth was a bit more resistant when Averine actually tried to take him to bed, but as her hands went to work on his clothes he submitted to her. Unfortunately, the general didn’t have as loose of a tongue as she’d hoped. He wasn’t one for pillow talk, or at least he wasn’t yet. Averine wasn’t completely disappointed, however. She was willing to do a little extra work for valuable information. With a promise to return to him another night, Averine redressed herself and walked to the door. She occasionally stayed the night with a noble target, but she’d never take the same chance with a soldier. When Averine opened the door, however, she froze. There in the doorway stood Calinth with two other armed guards. Averine read all she needed to in his face, and she whirled around to Gareth. “You pig! You set me up!” She yelled. The general chuckled, already fully dressed as well. “When it is you who attempts to seduce me, I hardly think that it is I who is setting you up.” “‘Attempt’?!” Averine yelled. “I succeeded! You accepted my offer!” “I’d like to see you try and prove that,” Gareth told her. “Captain, I’m sorry to ask this of you, but unfortunately your fiancée is everything I told you she was. Please arrest her.” Averine’s eyes flashed with fury and she started to lunge for the general, but Calinth knew her well enough to guess her intent and he quickly caught her around the waist. “Let me go! He’s lying!” “Averine, please do not make this worse for yourself,” Calinth pleaded. Averine looked back to argue with him but paused. Calinth’s eyes were nothing short of apologetic, and Averine quickly looked away from him and back to Gareth who stood a few feet away with a smug look on his face that she would take no small amount of pleasure in removing. “Attacking him will gain you nothing. Please don’t fight me,” Calinth whispered to her as he felt her muscles start to tense again. Very slowly Averine began to calm again, and Calinth released his grip on her waist. Instead he gently took her arm and started to lead her from the room. “Oh and, Captain.” Calinth paused to hear what else the general had to say. “House arrest will not due for her. Animals need to be caged, or they try to run.” Calinth felt Averine start to turn and quickly pulled her from the room before she tried to escape his hold and before he decided to let go. Hazel eyes turned up to him as they headed away from the general’s quarters, but Averine quickly looked away again as her eyes met Calinth’s. She hated that look. The two guards who had accompanied Calinth fell in behind him as he led Averine down to a temporary holding cell. “You’ll face your father tomorrow,” He told her as he closed the barred door. “He’ll decide what punishment is appropriate.” Calinth turned away and left with the guards. Part of Averine wanted to call him back but part of her was still furious and not just at the general. Averine spent most of the night pacing her cell, and when she finally laid down on the cot she didn’t sleep. She tried to stay angry at anyone she could because if she was angry then she wouldn’t feel worried about facing her father. Calinth returned early to the cell early in the morning, and Averine turned her head just enough to identify him before turning onto her side and putting her back to him. “Averine, please look at me.” “You betrayed me! You said you’d support me, and you abandoned me! You kept information from me, information that could have prevented this whole thing! Why should I indulge you?” “Please, Averine. I tried to warn you, but you were already in with him.” Averine was silent and Calinth rested his head against the bars as he explained. “One of Gareth’s pages came to me and said that the general wanted me to guard his door. I knew that he knew what you were up to then, but there was nothing I could do.” Calinth waited for a response, but he didn’t get one. “Averine, I’m sorry. I want to help you, but there’s nothing I can do.” The captain fell silent, and Averine still refused to speak to him. She knew he was sincere, and she knew that if she asked he would let her out and let her run, but she couldn’t put him in that position despite the anger she was trying to hold onto. Even as the silence stretched between them, Avering could still feel his presence and it was making her anger slowly slip away. “I love you, Averine.” The quiet whisper made Averine bolt off the cot and shove her arms through the bars to get as much contact with Calinth as she could. The captain let her cling to him for a few moments before gently pushing her back and unlocking the cell. The usually smiling, laughing, teasing Averine threw herself into Calinth’s arms, seeking comfort that she rarely needed. Calinth held her close as she trembled against him. “Daddy will be furious with me.” Averine’s voice was small and shook as much as her body did. Calinth lightly stroked the top of her head, trying to offer what comfort he could without getting her hopes up. “Yes, he will be, but there’s nothing you can do about that now. Just be honest with him. Maybe he’ll see reason.” “Reason…he won’t think my methods were reasonable. You don’t even think that.” Calinth sighed. “No, but I understand why you do it. Maybe he will too. Maybe he’ll take it into consideration.” Averine chuckled dryly. “Daddy would never be understanding about what I did.” She wasn’t wrong, and Calinth knew that. But Calinth also knew that the Captain of the Guard had a soft spot for his daughter. He just wasn’t sure if she ranked higher than the protocol that he worked so hard to uphold. The two stayed together for a few minutes longer before Calinth whispered, “He wants to see you.” Averine took a deep breath before stepping back from her captain. She wiped some remnants of tears away from her eyes and looked up at Calinth. “Do I look like me again?” Calinth offered her a warm smile and gave her a gentle kiss. “You look fine,” he told her. Averine smiled and walked with him up to her father’s office. Standing in front of Varin’s office, Averine took several deep breaths and plastered a smile onto her face. Calinth opened the door and Averine preceded him into the room where Varin and General Gareth waited for her. “Hi, Daddy,” she greeted cheerfully. “Averine! Do you have anything to say for the charges that General Gareth has brought against you?” Averine shrugged. “Well, I’m not certain what all he’s told you, Daddy.” “Averine, I do not appreciate your tone. This is no laughing matter.” Father and daughter held each other’s eyes for a moment before Averine crossed her arms. “I will not speak of it with him still in the room.” “You didn’t seem to have any problem with my presence last night,” Gareth commented with a smirk. “Gareth, step outside,” Varin told the other man. The general whirled to Varin surprised but narrowed his eyes. “Would you be asking this is she was anyone else?” Varin turned his eyes to level the man with an unamused expression. “Gareth, you presented your case to me alone. She has the right to do the same, and if you ever question my objectivity again you will be facing a charge of insubordination.” Gareth scowled but obeyed. “Captain, if you would please step out as well.” Calinth nodded and gave Averine’s hand a squeeze before stepping outside. “Do you have anything to say for yourself, Averine?” Varin asked, folding his hands on top of his desk. “I have a lot to say, Daddy, but I don’t know if you will listen.” “I’m asking you for an explanation, Averine. Why wouldn’t I listen?” Averine sighed. “Because you will not approve.” Varin had opened his mouth, but Averine continued quickly. “I make no excuse for what I did, and I will assume that he told you that I tried to seduce him. What I’m sure he didn’t tell you is that I succeeded. He gave into my advances, but I know that that is my word against his. The best explanation that I can give you is that I did what I had to. You refused to give me any information about the disturbances, so I had to find it my own way. I am sorry that the way I found had to violate regulation, but I saw no other way.” “No other way?! Averine, you could have just done as you were told and followed orders!” “Daddy, when have you known me to bend to someone else’s will?” Varin was silent and Averine didn’t press the issue, knowing he knew she simply refused to do so. “I do not believe that closing our borders and allowing suspicion and fear to settle into the minds of the people is the best way to handle the situation. The races should be working together to find the cause rather than pointing fingers at each other!” “Averine…” Varin sighed. “What you did I cannot condone, and you put me in a position I never wanted to be in.” “Daddy, I’m sorry that I’ve dishonored you. I’m sorry if I’ve shamed you, but I do not regret my actions.” “Let me finish, Averine,” Varin said firmly, and Averine fell quiet. “I understand why you felt you had to take action, but I believe there were alternate methods, and I must punish you for the methods you chose.” Averine stood quiet, not sure what sentence he was going to pass. After a few moments of silence Varin sighed heavily and spoke again. “Averine, you are discharged from the Castle Guard.” Hazel eyes widened. “But, Daddy, I—” “Averine, please don’t make this any more difficult. My decision is final.” Varin’s eyes softened at the expression on his daughter’s face. “Averine, maybe away from the castle and outside these walls you can find what you’re looking for. I want you to find the cause, Averine. I’d love nothing more than to see you succeed, but you cannot do it here.” Averine started at the ground and clenched her hands into fists. “Am I dismissed?” She asked quietly when Varin fell quiet. “Yes, Averine. And I will talk with Gareth about his own behavior.” The fact that her word had at least carried some weight was little consolation to Averine at this point, and she simply turned and left the room. Calinth looked up as she stepped out of Varin’s office. He didn’t know what her punishment had been, but he could tell that she was taking it hard. He started to take a step toward her, but Averine turned her attention to Gareth. She stood before the smug man with her hands clenched at her sides. He said something to her that Averine didn’t care enough to hear. Instead she quickly swung up her leg and clipped the general in the temple with her heel. Gareth was knocked to the floor and stunned for long enough to prevent any kind of immediate retaliation. “Daddy will see you now, Swine,” she spat before turning and walking back down the hallway. Calinth immediately followed, sensing something very wrong with Averine. As soon as she was out of sight Averine broke into a run and Calinth was quick to follow. She slowed to a stop several minutes later next to the fountain in the castle garden. Calinth approached her slowly but said nothing. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and met her eyes in their reflection. Tears fell down her cheeks and added to the ripples in the water, but Calinth stayed quiet letting Averine take all the time she needed. After several minutes, Averine took a deep breath and tilted her head onto Calinth’s hand. “Daddy discharged me from the guard.” Calinth’s eyes widened in surprise. That was not a punishment he’d expected, but now he understood why Averine had been so upset. Being a soldier was everything to her; following in her father’s footsteps was everything to her, and she had let him down. She’d disappointed him. She’d shamed him, and even though she didn’t regret what she’d done, she hated that her father had been dragged into it as well. “I’ll talk with him. There has to be another option,” he offered with a squeeze to her shoulder. A faint smile curved Averine’s lips, and she turned away from her reflection to look up at Calinth. “No, maybe he’s right. Maybe I’m better off out on my own where I can search for answers without being bound by rules.” The captain didn’t disagree, but that didn’t mean he wanted to see Averine go. “You’re leaving then? Not just the castle, but the city too?” “I have to, Cal. I won’t find answers behind these walls.” “I know…but that doesn’t make losing you any easier.” Averine smiled and gave him a gentle kiss. “You’ll never lose me, Cal. I’ll leave my heart here with you.” Calinth sighed and drew her close, resting his chin on the top of her head. “I’ll come with you,” he said after a while. Averine laughed softly at that. “No, Cal. You belong here.” “You belong here too, Averine. You belong with me.” “For now, at least, I belong where I’m useful, and that is not here.” She felt Calinth nod slowly. She knew he understood, but he wasn’t necessarily happy with it. “Besides, I’ll need someone to get information from when I stop back." “I would rather keep you safe.” “I know you would, and I thank you for it, but I can take care of myself.” Calinth sighed again. That was what he was afraid of. “I’ll come back to you, Cal; I promise. And I’ll write as often as I can.” Calinth gave her a squeeze. “I suppose that’s as much as I can hope for.” Averine smiled and stepped back from him. Calinth gazed down at her and gently brushed away some remaining tears from her cheeks. “Will you at least wait until tomorrow to leave?” Averine sighed but nodded. “I suppose I can do that. There are some things I need to pick up from town anyway,” she promised. That was the least she could do for him after everything he’d done and was still willing to do for her. “Now go get some sleep. You’ve been up all night,” she said giving him a slight shove. Calinth smiled and caught her hands. Averine knew the look in his eyes and she laughed softly. “So have you. Why don’t you come with me?” It was a request Averine couldn’t refuse, and she let him lead her back to his own living quarters. Calinth wasn’t due back until the following morning, and the couple spent the day together, going out late in the afternoon to gather what Averine would need. Averine spent the evening with her mother. Rhine wasn’t thrilled with letting her daughter go, but she would never stand in her way. After dinner Averine left to spend the night with her fiancé. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,” Calinth said quietly, still gently running his fingers over Averine’s bare hip. “Maybe not, but when have you known me to think things through?” Averine said with a small laugh against Calinth’s neck. The captain sighed and tightened his arm around her waist. “That’s just it, Averine, you don’t, and it makes me worry. You don’t know what you’ll find when you go digging.” Averine’s lips placed a light kiss against the man’s throat. “But I would rather throw myself into danger than live in fear,” she whispered. Calinth sighed. He didn’t necessarily disagree, but himself doing that and him letting her do it were two completely different things. It wouldn’t be so bad if she had allowed him to go with her, but she had denied him even that. “I worry for you, Lady.” Averine’s smile warmed, and she raised her head to look at him. “I know you do, and with every threat I face and every peril I find myself in I will think of you. I will remember that you worry for me, and I will make sure I’m able to come back to you,” Averine promised. “I can’t promise you that I will look before I leap, but I can promise that after I’ve leapt I’ll remember that you still wait for me.” She gave him a light kiss. “I will come back to you, Cal. I promise you that.” Calinth sighed softly but nodded and Averine settled her head in the crook of his neck once more. It was a better response than he’d hoped for, but it would not stop him from worrying. His hand continued to absently stroke the bare skin of her hip and thigh, and he smiled softly as Averine’s legs wrapped around one of his own. “Sleep, Lady. I will see you off in the morning.” Averine smiled and draped an arm around his waist as she curled against his side. “I love you, Cal,” she whispered. The man smiled warmly and looked down at her fondly. “I love you too, Lady,” he whispered as Averine drifted to sleep. In the morning Averine bid her mother farewell. “Take care, Averine. Promise you’ll write?” “Yes, Mama. Don’t worry so much. I’ll be fine,” Averine said, returning her mother’s warm embrace. Rhine released her daughter and held her at arm’s length to look at her. “Don’t stop until you find the answers you seek,” she told her. “Never give up. Promise me that.” Averine smiled, glad she understood. “I promise.” A warm smile lit Rhine’s face and she pulled her daughter into another embrace. “Follow your heart. Do what you think is right.” With those final words of advice Rhine released her daughter and sent her on her way with a kiss to her cheek. Calinth and Averine walked together to the city gates, but as they approached, they found Varin waiting for them. “Daddy…” Averine said surprised to see him. Varin gave the pair a warm smile. “Aren’t you needed at the castle?” “They can manage without me for a few minutes,” Varin said. Averine hesitated and Calinth gave her a light shove forward. She looked between the two for a moment before running to Varin and throwing her arms around him. “I thought you were angry with me.” “That doesn’t mean I want to see you leave,” Varin told her as he held her tight. Averine stayed in his arms for a few moments longer before stepping back and Varin’s hands rested on her shoulders. “Take care of yourself, Averine. And write to your mother. She’ll worry about you.” A smile lit Averine’s face and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, Daddy, I’ll write,” she assured him as she had Calinth and her mother. “I’ll make you proud,” she promised. Varin smiled. “You already have, Averine. Maybe not as an officer, but as a father I am very proud.” He placed a kiss on her forehead and gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Be careful, Averine,” he told her before letting go. “I always am.” Averine placed a kiss on his cheek before heading back to get her pack, which Calinth had insisted on carrying. “I’ll miss you,” Calinth said softly as Averine checked all her gear one last time. Satisfied that she had everything, Averine stood and looked up at Calinth. “I’ll stop by on occasion. It’s not like you’ll never see me again.” Calinth sighed. “I still wish I could go with you.” “I know, and I’d still rather you stay. You can help me more from here.” The captain sighed again and lightly brushed a few loose strands of hair from her face before moving his fingers down her cheek. Averine took his hand in hers and tilted her head into it before turning to place a kiss on his palm. “You worry too much. I’ll be fine.” “You can say that a thousand times, but I’ll still worry. You take too many risks, don’t put enough thought into things, and you’re stubborn enough to not tell me if you’re not fine,” Calinth told her, and Averine only smiled at him. “I’ll be fine, Cal. You’ll be the first one I come to if I need help. I promise you that.” She was sincere, but it did little to set Calinth’s mind at ease. There were things that were beyond her control, and she didn’t know what she would find or what she was even looking for. He didn’t voice any more of his concerns. Instead Calinth just held her eyes for a while before his fingers moved under Averine’s chin, and he tilted her head as he leaned down to kiss her a final time before she left. Averine gave him a gentle smile when they parted. “I will always love you, Cal.” “Be safe, Lady.” Averine’s smile brightened and she nodded before running across the drawbridge. She stopped near the end and turned back to her father and fiancé. She smiled and blew a kiss at them before running and running across Hyrule field. Between following leads and running errands for The Group, Averine only got back to Hyrule Castle Town every few months, and she made a point to always check in with her parents and especially Calinth. Recently, Averine hasn’t been able to find any new information, and has taken to working as an escort in the various towns and villages she passes through. For a few rupees she provides safe passage to her charge’s destination or occasionally provides her companionship in a more intimate fashion always seeking more information on interracial relations or the source of the chaos.
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